It's Been A While Hasn't It?

[Siba]

There were good and bad things about the birthing season when spring rolled in Beqanna after the long, cold winter they had all just endured. The good piece was the birth of new life, the arrival of foals and the excited chatter of either first-time or seasoned dams showing their little ones around the big world they were now a part of. The bad part was the stallions that were itching to find a new mare to go for, either add as part of their herd or to breed with them before leaving them high and dry.

Luckily, the forest was a secluded place, where stuff like that couldn't happen if one knew the area well enough. Siba may not have spent much time here before she and Nitika arrived, but the filly was a quick learn. She listened to the sounds of the forest around her, like another language entirely that few could understand. She felt the earth rumble beneath her hooves with each powerful step; she felt the sway of the breeze, changing with the land whenever tension rose, creating a powerful gust, or the mood settled down, leaving a light flutter of air whistling through her long mane.

The filly closed her eyes a moment, once more allowing her attention to be fully captivated by what was around her. She could hear the noises of the critters as they scurried about to find food, or also introducing their little ones to their new home. A woodpecker busied itself in a tree not too far from the painted filly. A small draft of wind told her some birds had flown over her head just now; more than likely, a family, a dam teaching her young ones to get the hang of their wings.

A couple of rabbits bounced across her path; Siba spotted them a few feet in front of her, the filly now looking around at the forest's beauty. The trees were covered with thick green leaves after spending all of winter without them, their color now vibrant and beautiful. The sky was a thick and lush blue, interrupted here and there by patches of white clouds.

The earth beneath Siba's hooves shifted and crunched with each step she took, some of the rocks on the path being kicked aside. A squirrel raced across her path, prompting the mare to stop a second, one hoof off the ground as she waited for the small forest creature to pass. It did stop a moment, sitting up on its hind legs and looking up at the much larger animal, before its little nose twitched and it continued on, obviously preoccupied with other things.

Siba's lips curved upward in a smile, as she had obviously found that little display entertaining. The rest of her trip was completed in silence, mostly from her, as the forest was still very active this time of day since the animals had so much to do.

Eventually, after a long period of walking, Siba reached the small meadow that she and her dam had discovered after walking away from the other horses so they could have some peace to themselves. It wasn't a remote part of the forest; if one walked along the trail far enough, the meadow was easily spotted. However, Siba and Nitika had gotten lucky; very few other horses were here at any point of the day right now, since the mares felt exposed with their foals in a clearing like this.

Siba spotted her dam's form instantly among the green grass; the shimmering white coat Nitika's possessed sparkled under the light of the sun like the pearly fangs of a wolf, making the filly chuckle somewhat at the thought of comparing her easygoing dam to a predator. Well, except when she was angry, then the comparison was justified.

As Siba walked closer to her dam, her mind went over what had happened in the last few days. Following their departure from Pangea, since their search of a home there turned up nothing, the mares had made their way back to the Field, wanting to get a new grip on things before trying for a home elsewhere. Siba thought her dam could use some time alone without getting involved in the hustle and bustle of a kingdom, since she'd always been so busy the last time she was in one.

A small pain in Siba's shoulder made itself known for a moment as the filly continued to think back. While in the Field, a stallion had tried to take Siba away from Nitika, prompting the filly to fight back so she could protect her dam. Thanks to her dam's teachings, as well as that of Raxa many moons ago, Siba was able to get the stallion to leave her and her dam alone, though not without injury. The wound would not scar, as it was not deep, but it had happened only about three days ago, which was why it wasn't completely healed yet.

It did nothing to impair Siba's gait, which was a good thing. The way that stallion acted, she thought he would've inflicted much worse, the power behind his striking hooves had been tremendous. But, spurred by the desire to protect her dam, Siba fought back, glad to see him run off as she reared in the air, snorting angrily as his form retreated to the far reaches of the Field.

Siba whickered to her dam as she approached, smiling as Nitika lifted her head. The two nuzzled one another upon their reunion, Nitika expressing her relief that Siba had returned unharmed.

The filly had originally left and headed to the Field on her own, luckily not running into any stallions that time. She'd gone back in hopes of meeting a kingdom resident and inquiring if they had space for the mare and filly, but had no such luck. Which was a bummer, since there always seemed to be horses their looking for new members.

Nitika lowered her head to continue grazing on the fresh blades of grass, the morning dew tickling Siba's legs as she moved a stride away to graze on her own patch. The filly yawned, suddenly aware of how tired she was, but the hunger in her belly spurred her to eat. Pushing aside her tiredness for now, Siba lowered her head and began to graze as well, though she remained more on alert than her dam so she could warn the mare if trouble was approaching.

- x - x - x - x - x -

@[Nymphetamine]

So while I did tag a friend so he could come meet up with these two, Siba and Nitika are still looking for a home should they choose to not go with Nymphetamine back to Tephra. So they are also open for approach.

[Nymphetamine]

Nymphetamine

Spring was always a welcome time for the blood bay. He was no fan of the cold weather that accompanied winter and surely that was common knowledge among those who knew him. Much had changed from the the winter months that had melted away recently. He had turned over a new leaf, he had actively chosen to reenter the world, to leave the darkness that been him home for nearly a year. It wasn’t something he was happy to have to do… he simply wished he had never retreated to the abyss to begin with.

Now he as he made his way back to Tephra, having taken a walk after talking to Magnus, ready to see to the tasks at hand. It was nice to have a job to do again. To have a purpose, something to work towards was refreshing. It was the rejuvenation he needed, and not that he had thrown himself back into his work he was starting to look and feel like his old self. The blood bay still looked the same, not a day older that 7, the prime age his immortality kicked in. That was more than fine for him, he quite enjoyed his forever prime..took it for granted even. This new spring just brought a sleek clean coat and the loss of the fluffy exterior he held just a few weeks before. He couldn’t complain.

The forest was relatively quiet, though that tended to be normal for the overcasted expanse of land. There was obviously plenty of noise, but not from the likes of him… most horses who were here wanted to stay hidden wanted to stay unnoticed. But that was neither here nor there, he wasn’t looking to find out the secrets of others, he didn’t want to know what secrets they held nor who was in the shadows. That was fine for now, soon though he would always be listening and looking. He would always be ready to drop into a conversation to get information, but that time was not now, not while he was taking time for himself in the forest. Everyone needed an escape from time to time. He was taking the time he needed to process the information Magnus had shared.

He walked along for some time before a familiar scent hit him, it never took him long to realize who was near. Siba. His interest peaked and he interested to know how his now grown daughter was. He had last seen her in Tephra, he had brought them with him to the land when they first formed it, barely a few days after the Reckoning. Nikita had been injured in the event, and Siba had taken him to her, together they had brought his once lover turned respected friend back to the safety of the volcanic land and those that he had trusted most with Chamber’s safety. So much time had passed since then. Siba had a few more years and should have been a mature mare now, he wondered if Nikita was still holding her close-- she always had kept a close eye of Siba.

The once necromancer followed any sign of the white and bay mare until he finally caught sight over her round a corner and push through some brush, he followed behind, watching from a distance as to not intrude on a private matter. He pushed his tall lanky frame through the brush and found himself peering into a nice clearing. Nitika was there and warmly greeted her daughter. A smile fell across his face as he saw that in many ways the years hadn’t changed a thing. He pushed into the clearing and called out his own greeting.
If I didn’t know better, I would say someone picked us up and took us back to 3 years ago. His voice was deep but jovial. He had always said he would be there for his children, and he was always happy to see them. He wasn’t like many stallions, he had hoped things would work out between Nikita and himself but it just wasn’t meant to be. Didn’t mean he would shun Siba away, Siba had been innocent in everything. It was good to see them both, it would be good to catch up. He closed the distance between them and waited to hear about how things were going.

Like a thorn to the Holy Ones

[Nitika]

A warm feeling entered Nitika's heart as the mare witnessed a rabbit and some of her young ones bounding among the meadow grass, probably out looking for some food since they now had more mouths to feed. Nitika couldn't help but feel slightly envious of the dam rabbit and the family. It seemed so easy for them, remaining with each other for a long time after their young ones were born. Compared to horses, of which the stallions only seemed interested in moving on to the next pretty mare.

Nitika couldn't fault Nymphetamine for moving on after their daughter turned a year old. He'd been generous enough to stick around that long, to help provide Siba with protection until she could properly defend herself despite her one blind eye and small size as a yearling. But still, that didn't mean Nitika wasn't allowed to feel the ache. She respected Nymphetamine a great deal, and though they hadn't spent much time together due to their separate homes and their tasks as members, she'd grown to care for him a great deal. Dare she say it, she might've even thought of having him as a life partner.

However, once Kimber had reentered the scene, Nitika knew it was not meant to be. Hiding the jealousy she felt against the blue roan, Nitika had busied herself with work in the Falls, along with raising her daughter and training her to fight and defend their home. Siba had taken to learning those important tasks right away, which had pleased the warrior mare. Raxa had also taken a liking to Siba's drive, often complimenting the filly on her desire to learn. And getting a compliment out of that mare was an achievement in itself.

To this day though, Nitika still missed the blood-bay stallion. She figured nothing would ever come out of their friendship more than what it was, but she still cared for him. She often still wondered how he was doing too, if he was living well in the Tephra. Nitika remembered the brief time that she and Siba had spent there while the medicine hat mare recovered from her injuries during Beqanna's change. Upon seeing how depressed Nitika was becoming when she thought of how Nymphetamine still loved Kimber, Siba had encouraged her to leave. Nitika had been too much of a shell to argue at that point, but now that she'd had time away and was taking care of herself, she one day wanted to go see her friend, check in on how he was doing.

Siba herself didn't express much interest in seeing her sire, for she blamed him as the source of her dam's depression. Nitika often told her how it wasn't Nymphetamine's fault, but the younger mare seemed deadset. She probably had an idea about how her parents were supposed to be together; something similar to what Archam and Anahi had, even if the stallion also had other mares in his herd.

Nitika did regret that Siba couldn't see her parents like that, but things just hadn't worked out. Perhaps one day, they might grow closer as friends again, and have a healthier relationship for Siba's sake, but now, it didn't seem like that was the case.

The mare's ears turned upon hearing another enter the meadow. Lifting her head, the mare whickered upon seeing her daughter, safely back from a trip to the Field. She cringed as she remembered the last time they'd been there together, and had insisted on going this time too. However, Siba said she could move quicker on her own, and quieter, due to the darker spots on her coat. The white was still as easily spotted as Nitika's, but Siba had an advantage of coat color there.

Nitika's blue eyes scanned Siba's form, marveling at how her daughter at grown. The once wobbly-legged and playful filly had turned into a responsible, respectful, grown mare, fully capable of taking care of herself and others in turn. She would no doubt make a kingdom proud one day when she decided to join, whether it was the one where Nitika hoped to find residence, or she was charmed by a stallion or mare into accepting residence at another.

Stepping forward, Nitika nuzzled her daughter when she got close enough. She nibbled on the edge of the forelock where it met her ears, chuckling as Siba only shook her head in response.

Then, something she never would've expected happened. As soon as Nitika and Siba put their heads down to graze, a voice cut through the silence surrounding the meadow.

"If I didn't know better, I would say someone picked us up and took us back to 3 years ago."

Nitika could barely restrain her gasp as she looked behind Siba's flank, seeing the same blood-bay stallion she'd been thinking about earlier heading right for them. She was unable to smile, for she was speechless. Even her mind had difficulty processing what was happening.

He was actually here... he was okay... healthy... alive...

After he'd closed the distance between himself and the two mares, Nitika finally allowed herself to smile. Though, it was more of a respectful smile, rather than a happy one, for the ache in her heart had come forward once again. He was here to check on Siba, nothing more. Make sure his foal was in good health.

"Hello Nymphetamine," Nitika stated, dipping her head politely at the stallion. She expected her daughter to say hello as well, but when the younger mare hesitated, Nitika nudged her daughter with her shoulder, "Say hello to your father," she whispered.

Siba discreetly rolled her eyes before saying, "Hi dad."

Satisfied with that minimal response, Nitika looked back at the stallion again, "How have you been Nymphetamine? All is well in the Tephra I hope?" Nitika had not been keeping up with the latest kingdom gossip beyond what Siba told her. She didn't even know that Ischia was now under new leadership, though Siba did due to things she'd heard on her trip to the Field. So, in other words, her question about Tephra was completely honest, as she wanted to know how the kingdom was doing.