"But the dream, the echo, slips from him as quickly as he had found it and as consciousness comes to him (a slap and not the gentle waves of oceanic tides), it dissolves entirely. His muscles relax as the cold claims him again, as the numbness sets in, and when his grey eyes open, there’s nothing but the faint after burn of a dream often trod and never remembered." --Brigade, written by Laura
Flight was a freedom I had never known before. I hardly spent any more time earthbound, now that my wings were grown and my back was strong. From one corner of Beqanna to another things that had been previously hidden from the others were now privy to me and it felt so damn good. For strength and lift my two fore-wings could serve no better purpose; the golden appendages had grown thick and wide. My hind-wings were more rounded, with the primaries elongated for tight turns with greater speed. Black, gold, and white I was a blend of stone and jem and the sky soon felt more like home than the ground.
To think of what I’d been missing!
Still, all the glory of aerial prowess couldn’t overshadow the fiery girl I’d met some time ago. Jinju, with eyes like glinting rubies and a wit that still caught my attention. Had I … missed her? I barely knew the girl, had only really exchanged pleasantries, but even as I dipped lower to the earth I had the urge to seek her out. Where was she, what had she been up to? Was she taken with someone else, did she even remember me? I had promised to find her again, sooner rather than later.
I’d be loathe to break a promise. So I descend again to feel the unyielding strength of the world and tuck my wings close behind me while I search for her the old-fashioned way. Here, in the tangle of limbs and leaves, I can’t possibly hope to get high enough or far enough to seek her out quickly. The one question that lingers is how different the two of us will be. At nearly eight years old, I was more fit than I’d ever been before - my shoulders curling with new growth while my belly grew hard and my neck stiff. What of her, though?
What of the red-eyed, fire-wielding mare?
I want to live, I want to give, I'm a miner for a heart of gold
Ever since she had seen her mother again, Jinju had kept coming back to the forest. She had yet to tell Enfys, or Ruan for that matter. Yes she had found Reagan, but she had yet to find her mother. Jinju knew she would have that time, if the situation hadn’t been that strange and awkward.
Just before her mother had walked up to her, she had found herself standing face to face with her sire. Tall, black and red eyes. She resembles him in everything he is.
It meant that her trips to the forest were not yet over, even though her pregnancy was slowly but surely progressing. She still didn’t show a lot, thankfully, just a slight bit rounder stomach. Nothing to hold her back from attempting to find her Reagan again. Just like she had promised to little Enfys.
But instead, instead she finds someone else. Someone that was supposed to come looking for her, instead of the other way around. It had – again – taken him quite a long time to find her. At their first parting she had told him that she had been eager to see him, that she wanted to see him rather sooner than later. Season passed and when they met each other again, it had been thát time. And it had led to the inevitable.
Jinju didn’t regret it. Neither had she expected them to be a family – although a part of her longed for it. But she had hoped he would be a bit more involved. Perhaps this could be the start of it?
”Terran” she greets him softly, this time without accusation in her voice. Very unlike last time. Though she now would have to admit that the hormones had pushed her to that edge. She had been rather bitchy, and needy at the same time. Today is different. For once she actually feels calm and relaxed, even though the search for her mother was something serious.
The corners of her lips curl up ever so slightly and she moves closer, not at all caring that she’s entering his personal space as she brushes her muzzle across his cheek. ”How have you been?”
Still red-eyed, but not as fiery as I recall, the satin black mare finds me closer to the heart of the wood. Out here the tranquility of Nature sweeps over me, coupled with her gentle mood and forthcoming greeting, easing my terse shoulders and bringing a warm smile out to compliment my pale mouth. “I’ve been terrible and you know it.” I tease lightly, though the truth of my statement jabs at my ribs. I’ve hurt her, I know. I wasn’t there like I should’ve been afterwards. Jinju had been nervous then and though I hadn’t told her, I’d been nervous too. This was all as fresh and unknown as the first day.
“Can you forgive me?” I murmur, the depth in my tone displaying feeling that my body can’t yet show. I’m trying, though, allowing my lips to press very firmly to the shape of her shoulder, moving forward to brace against her gently while I groom her topline, letting my mouth travel the length of her side where beneath something flutters with life. Shocked, I back up with a start and pin her with a molten look somewhere between amazement and fear. “Are you … was that?” I ask, finding that the words simply won’t come. All of this time I’d been up there, in the blue expanse, carefree and light while below she’d been dealing with so much all on her own.
Made me feel like an ass. "I'm surprised you didn't light me on fire when you saw me." I offer, sheepish now that the cat was out of the bag. Then again, I'd always known that Jinju was ... different.
I want to live, I want to give, I'm a miner for a heart of gold
Oh good, he’s aware of the mistake he had made. It seemed their relationship – if they had any to begin with – was built around them. But then, hadn’t she made mistakes too? She glances back to her slightly rounded stomach. Her lips twitch. No, no mistake. Jinju’s lips are slightly curled up as she steps back and turns her head to look at Terran again. ”That… depends” is her soft answer.
She’s itching to touch him again. To have him touching hér again, but she does not voice it out, she does not ask for it. Though it shows in her eyes, in her smile and in the way she carries her body. Jinju does not finish her prior sentence, instead she allows him to touch her. She shudders and tries very hard to stop herself from pressing into his touch.
An amused smile tugs on the corners of her lips and her head tilts lightly as she watches him. ”Yes” she simply tells him, nodding lightly as her ruby gaze holds his. Then she laughs, tears roll down her cheeks. It takes Jinju a moment to calm down, but once she does she grins at him. ”I’m still very tempted to do so. All depends on what you will do now.” There is truth in her words, even though her tune is teasing.
All left now was to wait and see how he would reply. Her heart is beating loudly and her body is tense. After all, underneath the tough first layer, she’s still a girl.
I often forget that Jinju is still young. She reminds me with that quiet, hopeful patience in her eyes and in her voice, though. It shames me into pausing for a moment, long enough to pull back and really look at her. I can see now what I’d missed before: the soft curve to her belly, the determined air about her. It makes me feel … idiotic. I should have known better than to take her down this path, but hindsight is twenty-twenty and there’s no going back from here. “I’ve got my faults. We all do.” I attempt, even though it rings hollow in my ears. I sigh, turn my bald head to the side in slight frustration, and ruffle my feathers while I shift to a more comfortable position. This was more difficult than I had expected.
“What would you like, Jinju?” I ask instead, my bronze gaze flashing in interest as I redirect my attention to her. I was curious to take a peek inside her brain, get a feel for what she truly envisioned for this happy little accident. The idea that I was a father still hadn’t sunk in as of yet, so it was easy to offer a gentle smile and move back to her side where I felt most comfortable. Later, the shock would wane and I’d be left to try and make sense of it all, but for now it was simple - she just needed someone to be there.
I could do that, at least. “Tell me and I’ll do what I can to see that you … and our child,” I add, nose bumping softly against her midnight side, “are truly happy. That’s all that I want.” I finish, a warm smile spreading across my cheeks with depth that settles hotly in my stomach. I wanted her now as badly as I had wanted her then, perhaps even more so now that I knew what she was carrying, and I took that as a good sign. I … we could make this work. Jinju was worth that.
I want to live, I want to give, I'm a miner for a heart of gold
The four golden wings now seemed to match the size of his body, complimenting his gold painted hooves. Her ears flick when Terran speaks and her ruby gaze travels back to his amber eyes. Only for a short moment, instead her eyes move back to the ruffling wings that dazzle in the faint sunlight.
What would she like? She wanted something he couldn’t give her, something she couldn’t ask of him. Not right here and right now. ”I’m young, but not delusional… I..” she starts before pausing. This time it is Jinju’s turn to look away, staring at a random tree in the forest. A sigh and a shake of the head, then she turns to look at Terran again. ”I don’t.. expect us to be a family-”Not like how my family used to be.”But.. I would like you to be involved.” She carefully watches him to let her words sink in. How much she wanted him to understand, to accept, but a little voice in her head told her to be patient, after all, he had only learned he would be a father a few moments ago.
An electric bolt runs down her spine as his nose touches her side. It causes her breath to stock for a moment and when Jinju turns to face him again the hesitance shows in her gaze. Words were stuck in her throat, words she had yet to speak. The answer that might follow scares her, afraid to hear something she wouldn’t like. ”And.. I would like to you be involved out of your own free will, not because you feel obligated to..” This time she does not look away, ruby eyes holding his. Her eyes show it all: her insecurity, her hopes and the fear too. She wanted him around, maybe more than she had even realized.
OOC: Quick words from the office during lunchbreak~
Her plea could make any stone heart melt. It melts mine, and I’m not even that hard-hearted. Only a little selfish. But that look in her eye and the quirk to her voice are more than enough to draw me closer until my wing stretches to accommodate her chest. Even then I feel I can’t get close enough to hold together the pieces of her that are clearly beginning to crack. Perhaps she doesn’t know it, but her fingers are strumming against my strings and she’s playing me perfectly, hitting every note and sending tremors of electricity through my skin. “How can I say no?” I tease lightly, my lips trailing feverish kisses along her neck as if to soothe her discomfort.
“You have me, Jinju. Don’t be afraid. Please.” I tell her, sensing the apprehension mingled with excitement all because she simply wanted a father-figure for her -(our, it’s mine too)- our child. Inspiration strikes, sending my ears upwards and causing my head to tilt back so that I might speak to her directly. “Why don’t you take me home?” I suggest, an impish grin twisting my lips, “While you deliver the baby, at least. I can get a sense for your likes, get to know you better, see your family…” I trail off, amber eyes glimmering mischievously as I feel the ripple of movement from her side.
“... maybe even make another one in the process, hmm?” I chuckle, the rumble of pleasure from my own chest genuine and deep.
I want to live, I want to give, I'm a miner for a heart of gold
Without realising it she leans into his touch. Her heart is still beating fast and she’s almost breathless as she waits for his reply. Hopeful, but also hesitant, maybe even a little afraid. Afraid he might tell her no, but also afraid of her own longing. Jinju moulds into the touch, her eyes fluttering closed and a soft gasp escaping past the barrier of her lips as presses kisses along her skin. ”D-Don’t” she mumbles breathless. Too soon he pulls back.
Jinju keeps her eyes closed for a moment and takes a deep breath to gain control over herself. Ruby eyes open to look at him, letting his words settle in. And before she can reply he speaks again. Her lips curl up in a smile, wide, enthusiastic and relieved. ”You’d like to see the Taiga?” she asks, almost not believing her own ears. ”I would like to show you around, though I can’t promise my dad will welcome you warmly” she replies, a light tease in her voice as she speaks about Ruan. Her father loved her dearly and she would always be his little girl, but just as much as she wanted Terran involved with the child, she wanted Ruan’s support too.
Then she burst out laughing, ears pricking forward and a twinkle in her eyes. Of course he would like that, didn’t men think about such things all the time? ”I bet you would. Shouldn’t we first finish one before starting the second one?” Her teeth playfully nip at his chest. She steps closer towards Terran, pressing her muzzle against his neck, slowly trailing it down the curved muscle and eventually kneading his withers before pulling back.
”Would you like to go now? To the Taiga I mean? “ It wasn’t like it was a far hike anyway. The forest and Taiga were right beside each other, one forest flowing into the other. The reason why Jinju felt so at home in the forest at the first place.
OOC: I actually wrote Ander's birthing post before I saw you replied . Think I'll post it after we start a new Taiga thread? Haha.
Would I like to go now? “No time like the present.” I chuckle, appreciating the robust touch of her rounded nose as it worked the tension from between my shoulders. I sigh, visibly, eyes closing to half-lid while I relax in her presence. There were certainly pro’s to this ordeal, one of them being Jinju’s undivided attention (which, quite frankly, I still couldn’t fathom) and the other was the excitement of seeing my first child. It made me think of my own family, so far apart yet still so close in our hearts to each other. Jinju had mentioned her father, a meeting I wasn’t particularly excited to attend, but important nonetheless.
If I had a home and family to take her to, I would. My own lips find idle work with her mane, teeth picking softly at the thick tendrils of black rope that curtained her neck. I was lost then, in my own thoughts, wondering if the child inside of her was boy or girl, if it would be black as sin or touched with gold. My warm eyes find her fire-filled ones as I step back reluctantly from her embrace, knowing that her pregnancy wouldn’t wait for a lovers reunion. “Lead the way, sexy mama.” I joke, turning myself about so that one golden wing will drape comfortably across her distended back and belly.
We’ll go, the both of us, make our own way and raise our own child how we see fit. In the Jungle or in the Woods, it doesn’t matter. Surrounded by her loved ones and myself, Jinju and our child would be more than happy.
I want to live, I want to give, I'm a miner for a heart of gold
. Think I'll post it after we start a new Taiga thread? Haha.