04-03-2015, 10:14 PM
love is a temporary madness...
She is floating lazily in the high drafts of the sky when she feels the first pangs of labor. At first, she does not think too much of it. She had become accustomed to the twinges and aches that pregnancy brings. But it soon becomes apparent that the pain is growing rather than subsiding. She drops lower, flitting over the trees as see seeks a glen in which she can have some solitude (though it is rather a moot point, given how empty the Dale has been of late). Before long, however, she is driven from the sky by the pain rippling through her torso. She lands on the ground with a thump, followed by an uncharacteristically graceless stumble. A snort escapes her dark nostrils as she steadies herself, though her mind is not so easily calmed.
She paces through the newly green trees as her muscles shudder and clench. Her bright red coat begins to darken with sweat, but she does not halt. She fears for the safety of her child, though she has absolutely no reason to. Old memories had surfaced with the onset of labor, and in her heightened state, she is having a much more difficult time rationalizing her old terrors.
When finally she can continue no longer, she stumbles to a halt. The small meadow she had managed to blunder into will have to do. With her instincts beginning to take hold, she finds she no longer has the time to consider the old memories that haunt her. Instead, she lowers her already wearied body to the ground as she struggles to bring new life into the world.
The foal arrives easily, and despite her exhaustion, the red mare forces herself to her feet. She is dirty, sweaty, and no doubt bedraggled, but she cannot bring herself to care. Her entire attention is focused on the tiny filly that lay before her, brimming with life. She nickers to the babe with happiness and relief, before applying herself to thoroughly cleaning her child. She hovers over the filly until she at last struggles to her feet to take her first sips of milk. Only then does she give herself leave to relax.
She is a beautiful child, her brilliant red coat (so like her mother’s) fading seamlessly into white points (a unique trait no doubt inherited from her father). A smile stretches her lips as she gazes at the filly with loving warmth, the name she had chosen for her at the tip of her tongue.
“Joscelin.”
She paces through the newly green trees as her muscles shudder and clench. Her bright red coat begins to darken with sweat, but she does not halt. She fears for the safety of her child, though she has absolutely no reason to. Old memories had surfaced with the onset of labor, and in her heightened state, she is having a much more difficult time rationalizing her old terrors.
When finally she can continue no longer, she stumbles to a halt. The small meadow she had managed to blunder into will have to do. With her instincts beginning to take hold, she finds she no longer has the time to consider the old memories that haunt her. Instead, she lowers her already wearied body to the ground as she struggles to bring new life into the world.
The foal arrives easily, and despite her exhaustion, the red mare forces herself to her feet. She is dirty, sweaty, and no doubt bedraggled, but she cannot bring herself to care. Her entire attention is focused on the tiny filly that lay before her, brimming with life. She nickers to the babe with happiness and relief, before applying herself to thoroughly cleaning her child. She hovers over the filly until she at last struggles to her feet to take her first sips of milk. Only then does she give herself leave to relax.
She is a beautiful child, her brilliant red coat (so like her mother’s) fading seamlessly into white points (a unique trait no doubt inherited from her father). A smile stretches her lips as she gazes at the filly with loving warmth, the name she had chosen for her at the tip of her tongue.
“Joscelin.”
elysteria