"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
Spring has been around for a while now, and summer was upon them. The days grew warmer, it did not rain as frequently. The grass began to become more dry, and less morning dew, the flowers started to sprout and the trees stopped shedding there early buddings. His mares had delivered foals this season, with two fillies and two colts to claim, and Morigan who had a filly that was not his. Although Morigans filly was not his, he would accept it as his so long as she desired it.
He stretched his legs out as he made his way to a field that was in his lands, it was a large open space surrounded by trees covered with there green leaves. The grass was lushes here, great for grazing, and the open space safe for the foals to stretch there legs. the creek was not to far off to play in if they decided to ponder off. Archam figured it was about time the mares all meet each other, and the foals could meet there siblings.
Trailing by his side was his first born son, Loken, the red roan colt still small and fragile trailed behind him. Light was rarely around now a days which caused pain to Archams heart, she has had two of his foals now, the first he barely knows, and he would not let that happen again with Loken. He decided to take care of Loken while Light went off, although the stag clearly could not produce milk for him. He hoped that by the mares meeting one would offer to take in Loken while his mother was gone, or they could take turns. He stepped forward letting a whinny escape his maw, it echoed around the field, and could be heard deep in the cobblestone. He hoped this would call the mothers out, so they could all meet. He nudged little Loken to explore out while they waited.
05-06-2016, 07:35 PM (This post was last modified: 05-15-2016, 10:29 AM by Loken.)
Loken
Loken trailed behind his father, he was only a couple of months old and terribly missed his mother already. All he wanted to do was whimper for her, but instead he silently follower his father. Curious to the white poofs that stuck out from the ground (dandelions) and the insects that flew by close to his face. He bumped into his fathers leg not even realizing he stopped. And scanned the open field they came to a halt at, Loken can't remember ever visiting her and really wanted to know why his father had drug him out to the field.
He gave a huff of annoyance, having to follow his father out here, but was quick to hide under his fathers giant leg when he called out. It was unexpected and startled the foal, a call so loud he couldn't believe it came from an equine. His father lowered his nose closer to him until he nudged him out from him, pushing him to explore the field. Slightly grumpy he pondered out a little but stood and turned to him But why are we here.... he did not see the point as it was just the two of them.
05-06-2016, 11:29 PM (This post was last modified: 05-06-2016, 11:49 PM by Anahi.)
As Anahi and her filly walked toward where Archam's call echoed to summon the mares of his herd, she looked down proudly at Sirana. The filly was about six weeks old now, and growing fast. She was already learning so much about the world, and was even starting to say a few words here and there. She couldn't speak fully yet, and wouldn't until she hit two months, as is common with most foals, but she was already learning to, and would hopefully master it by the time she reached two months old.
Anahi appreciated the broken talks she could have with her daughter. It made her very happy to see how her daughter was getting along in this world.
The filly was prancing eagerly alongside her mother, obviously curious as to where they were going. The champagne mare had been taking her daughter on treks throughout Cobblestone, for as far as she could go each day before returning to the small glen by the river where she had been born. Sirana was a very excitable filly, eager to explore the world and see what it had to offer.
Anahi only hoped that she would be eager to see where they were going, and meeting the others that were also going to gather there.
The mare kept a close eye on Sirana as they walked on, the duo soon reaching where Archam had called for them. At seeing the bay roan stallion, Anahi gave a whinny of greeting, excited to see the stallion. He was gone for long periods at a time whenever he went off to the Field or to attend to kingdom business. Anahi was too at times, but now that she had Sirana, she did have to take it easier, at least until the filly was old enough to be on her own.
Walking up to the stallion, the champagne mare nickered in greeting, her eyes bright, "It's good to see you Archam," she said with a smile.
At noticing the colt next to him, and figuring either he had adopted the young one, or that it was related to him, Anahi smiled at him too, to help him feel at ease, "Hello there young one. What a fine colt you are; what's your name?"
Sirana let out a loud whinny of excitement as she and her mother walked toward another area of the Cobblestone they had yet to explore. She just couldn't believe they were going out on yet another adventure! She so loved it when her mother went off with her to see what the rest of their home was like. One of her favorite places so far was a bit down the river from where she'd been born, where it spread out into a beautiful crystal blue pond before thinning into another portion of the river.
The amber filly so loved to splash in the pond and go after the little swimming creatures - fish, her dam had said they are - and see them jump away from her to attempt to escape. One time, one fish had leaped up and tried to hit her cheek, but the filly had moved away, simply whinnying in excitement and trying to catch some of the other fish.
But today, they were heading upstream, to a place she hadn't yet been. That excited the filly immensely; where were they going today?
Oh she just couldn't take it anymore! She had to ask!
The filly slowed so she was walking beside her dam, and looked up at her, "Where... today... mom..."
Anahi smiled at her daughter, "We are going to the Meeting Place. Your father, and others, will be there. You'll get to make some new friends."
Sirana, despite not really understanding what a friend was yet, still hopped up in the air for joy, and raced ahead of her mother once again. The filly threw her head back and galloped ahead, circling back and running around her mother before repeating the cycle. Some other things along the trail did distract her, such as a nearby flower, and a little winged creature landing on it to feed. The flying thing had beautiful blue and black wings. When it left the flower, it flew next to Sirana's face a moment before heading out into the distance and landing on another flower.
Anahi had explained that those small creatures were called butterflies, and they helped the environment around them by making sure flowers could continue to grow. Sirana didn't quite understand, but still found it very fascinating.
After what seemed like an eternity to the energetic filly, they finally reached their destination. Sirana heard her mother nicker as they both spotted Archam up ahead, at first not noticing the colt by his side. Sirana watched her mother greet her father with a well-meaning statement, and the filly, in turn, walked up to him and nuzzled the base of his neck.
Then, when her mother must have spotted something, for she asked a question, Sirana's gaze followed. It was understandable; Sirana had learned that when her dam asked a question, it meant she wanted information. Information was something the filly absolutely craved to have; she desired it, wanted to swallow it like the milk she received from her mother's teats when she was hungry.
When the filly's eyes saw it was another horse, one that appeared to be about her age, if not slightly younger or older, she did hide behind her dam at first, unsure of what to make of this. Her curiosity did get the better of her though, so she moved from behind her dam, a smile on her face as she approached the other young one.
"Hello... my... name... Si...Sirana... yours?" she asked, using some of the few words that she knew. She didn't like that she couldn't speak in full sentences yet, but she was still learning how to talk. Her dam had said it would take time to fully master being able to speak, but she would in time. Sirana just wished it wasn't taking so long.
05-14-2016, 03:00 PM (This post was last modified: 05-14-2016, 03:01 PM by Morigan.)
Morigan
WHAT AM I FIGHTING FOR? THERE MUST BE SOMETHING MORE. FOR ALL THESE WORDS I SING, DO YOU FEEL ANYTHING?
She’s really growing to love Cobblestone Creek. They’ve had a peaceful few months since Merida’s birth, spending their days in and among the trees and keeping mostly to themselves. She hasn’t meant to be antisocial, but it’s been nice to have had some time to herself, some time to simply watch Merida grow.
And grow she has. Merida has blossomed from a spindly little thing into an adorable weanling, her red mane and tail finally beginning to lose their fuzzy qualities. It’s crazy to think about what she might look like when she’s a full year old.
But she has to admit to herself, their isolation isn’t exactly fair to Merida. The filly is young yet, and she needs other foals to interact and play with. And she’s well aware that several of Archam’s other mares gave birth during the spring.
So, when Archam whinnies for the herd to gather, she answers without hesitation. She gives Merida a little nudge, and the both of them make their way through the trees to join the little group.
Both hesitate on the outside of the little gathering, taking a moment to take in the herd members they haven’t met yet. Finally, they move to join them, and Morigan nods politely to the champagne mare. “Hello there, I’m Morigan, and this is my daughter Merida.”
SAID I'M OKAY, BUT I KNOW HOW TO LIE. YOU WERE ALL THAT I HAD, YOU WERE DELICATE AND HARD TO FIND.
Merida is admittedly, rather curious to meet the other foals of the herd. She’s been wanting to introduce herself for weeks, but, like a good little daughter, she’s been giving her mother time. She’d quickly gotten used to her mother’s quirks, and though she’d been champing at the bit to introduce herself, she’d accepted that her mother was going to need time to get comfortable.
But now, finally, she might have the chance to play.
After Morigan introduces herself, she wastes no time and waltzes right up to the other two foals. She pauses for a moment, inspecting them. She’s aware (thanks to her mother) that all of the other foals in the herd are half siblings of some sort (except for her), and she can sort of see the family resemblance between these two. Both have the same white ticking in their coat that Archam does anyway.
She tosses her head slightly, floofing her still slightly baby-fuzzy red mane. She’s rather proud of the colour (though part of her wishes it was her mother’s purple instead), and she kind of wants the other foals to notice. But, really, it’s not what she’s here for. She wants to play! “I’m Merida! Do you guys want to play a game?
Before the colt that was here with her sire, another foal came up to the half-siblings and introduced herself. Sirana was a bit surprised at first, having not expected another foal to show up so suddenly, but the filly got over it soon enough and was soon smiling at the darker filly.
The amber champagne filly reared a little, only so her front hooves came just off the ground. She tossed her own head, her mane, while still a bit short and baby-styled, was longer at the top, near the forelock, so that it fell behind her ears and just above the midline of her neck.
Letting out a happy neigh, Sirana turned to her dam, "Mama... can I... play?"
A few short minutes after Anahi and Sirana had arrived, another mare and foal came to join them. Anahi felt bad that, as alpha mare, she hadn't taken the time to go and check the other mares after they'd given birth, but in her defense, the champagne mare had been a first true mother this year, so she needed time to get used to it.
She'd seen the mare around the territory, but not the filly by her side. She could definitely see the resemblance between dam and filly, even if one of them had a darker coat than the other.
Anahi nodded her head back as the spotted mare introduced herself and her daughter.
"It is good to meet you Morigan, and your filly as well. I am Anahi, and this is my filly, Sirana."
Loken gazed as a mare and her filly approached, both light in color. The filly had a similar coat to his, althugh lighter and more champagne than chestnut. He listened as the mare, that he imagined to be the mother of the foal called Archam her foals father, making this foal his half sister? He did not speak though, only listened as the talked. His gaze trailed off as a bee flew by, curious and highly desiring to chase it, but he refrained with all he had knowing his father would appeal his decision. The filly than approached him introducing herself as Sirana I'm Loken! He said energetically, he tail swayed gently.
He leaped in the air with joy gently coming down resting his legs on the fillies back, he reached his head over and pulled on the puff of a mane that she had. He dropped down to stand again when he heard more equines approaching. A spotted mare and a black filly with red mane and tail, these two surely had some unique coloring. The filly had no resemblance to his father, and surely did not look like him and Sirana, was she his sister? She couldn't be, he pushed the idea out of his head. He listened as the mare introduced herself as Morigan HI! he said and laughed, surely she was not referring her conversation to him, but it was nice to meet another equine.
His gaze followed to the black filly who introduced herself, Merida he said it a couple times out loud, letting it roll of his tong. Hello! I'm Loken! He said playfully, she wanted to play and this was the reason his father brought him out her, to meet others and play with them. He did not need to answer the fillies answer, he ran up to her gently and playfully nipped her shoulder before running off he turned back to see if either of the fillies would chase after him.
His gaze trailed as Anahi and Sirana were the first to appear, a smile grew as he dipped his head in greeting. He extened his neck to nuzzle hers as she came near Hello Anahi He lowered his head nuzzling Sirana and hello Sirana He smiled raising his head back, looking to the red colt who energetically announced his name. Sirana and Loken were quick to introduce each other, and a smile grew. This was exactly what he wanted, the foals to meet and grow up together.
Loken placed himself on the filly and he gave a glare, the colt was full of life and surely amusing to watch, but he had a lot to learn. Before he could correct the colt he got down himself, and just as Loken did Archam turned his gaze to Morigan who was approaching with her filly Merida. A smile grew and he gave a welcoming nicker to them both. He briefly made his presence in the fillies life when she was born, hopeful she would remember him.
Merida and Anahi introduced themselves, meeting for the first time, glad that they seemed relatively comfortable around each other. Merida was quick to join in with Loken and Sirana and the three seemed to mesh together just fine. Hello Morigan he spoke in a soft tone I'm glad that you made it out today
