05-25-2020, 10:08 PM
Yanhua watched his twin go that day, because that was all he was ever capable of doing: watching Nash leave. The abandonment should tear away at him, and at times he does feel jealous when his brother returned from a particularly thrilling flight with a wide grin still plastered on his face, but for the most part Yan understands. He was made to love the earth and all its secrets, while his twin had been crafted to love the sky and all her restricted places. Yanhua felt an anchor made of loyalty that kept him in Taiga, Nashua felt the whispers of the wind and longed to see where it could take him. Most of all, he loved his brother - more than he could love the stand-in mothers who tried to replace their own perfect one. He would never be the type to weigh a free bird down with sibling guilt.
But that day, for some particular reason, the ache is just too much. Yan watched his twin soaring up from a rare open spot of Taiga’s woods and felt that for once, it just wasn’t good enough to be down on the ground. And, his brother's companion had immediately turned wing in the opposite direction he assumed they’d be going, which didn’t do much to ease Yanhua’s fragile nerves.
He hesitated once they disappeared, balancing his thoughts on the knife’s edge of what was expected of him (stay put, don’t leave without notice) and what felt like an adventure waiting to happen… and it hadn’t taken long for him to decide. As soon as he couldn’t make out or hear his twin anymore, Yanhua darted off into the towering redwoods in hot pursuit. Today, for the very first time, he would venture farther from home than he’d ever dared without Lilliana there to guide or protect him. The goat-like yearling felt a rush, a pure energy high, and knew he must be projecting the feeling nearly everywhere like some broadcast, but he didn’t care.
He was following Nash, and he was going to catch up to him, dammit!
He was going to finally - Oh, he thought as he pulled up to a skidding halt near the border of Tephra. The moment of courage wavered as he looked out past the wide expanse of dwindling forest, but Yanhua knew that if he thought too much about what he was planning he’d lose the strength to see it through, so the normally level-headed colt did something in that moment that was extremely irrational: he backed a few strides and flung himself into a canter, ignoring the scent of boundaries left by Tephra’s sentries.
By the grace of fate or the mercy of some divine intervention, the leggy chestnut actually made it through without detection, but he realized (as he skidded and hopped to a stop, drenched from the exertion of his exercise) that he’d lost valuable time in tracking Nashua. He snorted and looked around, pivoting before calling out, “Na.. Nash?!” in a quivering tone. At first, only silence answered back. Then, a faint murmur - the sound of many voices gathered nearby - caught his attention and the tall, short-horned stallion turned his ears and eyes toward the noise.
I should just leave… he thought anxiously, but he felt nothing in the surrounding wilderness that warned him off. So he took a hesitant step forward, then another, and before he knew it, Yanhua was striding through Tephra and into the gathering where Nashua had been the entire time. “Brother!” He greeted his twin first, enthusiasm brightening his earlier expression of caution. He stepped high and trotted over to integrate himself, bumping his sibling on the flat side of his mirroring-chestnut-colored neck with his small horns before turning to glance shyly at both fillies.
@[Laia] hi I'm here to interrupt the posting order. Don't mind if I do
But that day, for some particular reason, the ache is just too much. Yan watched his twin soaring up from a rare open spot of Taiga’s woods and felt that for once, it just wasn’t good enough to be down on the ground. And, his brother's companion had immediately turned wing in the opposite direction he assumed they’d be going, which didn’t do much to ease Yanhua’s fragile nerves.
He hesitated once they disappeared, balancing his thoughts on the knife’s edge of what was expected of him (stay put, don’t leave without notice) and what felt like an adventure waiting to happen… and it hadn’t taken long for him to decide. As soon as he couldn’t make out or hear his twin anymore, Yanhua darted off into the towering redwoods in hot pursuit. Today, for the very first time, he would venture farther from home than he’d ever dared without Lilliana there to guide or protect him. The goat-like yearling felt a rush, a pure energy high, and knew he must be projecting the feeling nearly everywhere like some broadcast, but he didn’t care.
He was following Nash, and he was going to catch up to him, dammit!
He was going to finally - Oh, he thought as he pulled up to a skidding halt near the border of Tephra. The moment of courage wavered as he looked out past the wide expanse of dwindling forest, but Yanhua knew that if he thought too much about what he was planning he’d lose the strength to see it through, so the normally level-headed colt did something in that moment that was extremely irrational: he backed a few strides and flung himself into a canter, ignoring the scent of boundaries left by Tephra’s sentries.
By the grace of fate or the mercy of some divine intervention, the leggy chestnut actually made it through without detection, but he realized (as he skidded and hopped to a stop, drenched from the exertion of his exercise) that he’d lost valuable time in tracking Nashua. He snorted and looked around, pivoting before calling out, “Na.. Nash?!” in a quivering tone. At first, only silence answered back. Then, a faint murmur - the sound of many voices gathered nearby - caught his attention and the tall, short-horned stallion turned his ears and eyes toward the noise.
I should just leave… he thought anxiously, but he felt nothing in the surrounding wilderness that warned him off. So he took a hesitant step forward, then another, and before he knew it, Yanhua was striding through Tephra and into the gathering where Nashua had been the entire time. “Brother!” He greeted his twin first, enthusiasm brightening his earlier expression of caution. He stepped high and trotted over to integrate himself, bumping his sibling on the flat side of his mirroring-chestnut-colored neck with his small horns before turning to glance shyly at both fillies.
@[Laia] hi I'm here to interrupt the posting order. Don't mind if I do