07-26-2019, 07:06 PM
Aten had decided to stay away from the Field and common areas around this time of year, whereas in times past, he would've meandered out there without a care since he was living the life of a bachelor stallion. He had no reason to fear the wrath of the mares who were watching over their newborn foals, he just made sure to give them space.
Like many stallions this time of year however, he did feel the burning instinct inside of him... the call to find the mares, with or without newborns, and make them into a herd... but Aten fought it. Every year, even when he was living as a bachelor, he resisted the burning call flowing through his veins. He just didn't feel ready to follow the same path his sire had, whether or not he had a lead mare, or one he loved above the rest...
Until he met Lethia. Aten had been struggling to name these feelings for some time now, since he'd never really been close enough to a mare to confirm that this was something more. Many seasons before, the stallion had felt something within him changing as his friendship with Jinju had developed the more time they spent together, but due to... certain circumstances, anything that could've developed beyond friendship was blown away like the sands of time.
Aten would always care for the dark colored mare, wherever she may be now, fondly remembering the fiery spark in her eyes... the pretty nature of her face, the proud way she carried herself...
But Lethia now had a special place in his heart as well, along with Turul, Popinjay, and Lethia's little one.
The golden mare had her own spark about life that was different from Jinju, so Aten would never have a reason to compare them. She had a sensitive nature and saw things through different eyes, something that was valuable to the stallion whenever he needed someone else's point of view. She provided support to any horse that needed it, and did not let her personal feelings get in the way. A famous example was how, disregarding how she felt towards Atem and his plight, or the new Taiga queen, she showed her loyalty to the kingdom and her friends.
This could prove to be... worrisome to Aten at times, since Lethia proved to be friends with both himself and the Taiga queen, but the stallion kept his own feelings out of this matter too.
As his thoughts drifted to the golden mare, he realized that he would also be meeting her little one rather soon. The stallion had settled into a grazing period with the mare and Popinjay earlier, the trio enjoying a fresh crop of spring grass in the northern area of Taiga where the growth was considerably thicker off to one side, then opened to a small meadow on the other. Lethia seemed to have preferred this area lately, and it was only after seeing the safety pockets some of the trees offered that he understood why.
After some time that morning, the mare had drifted away to be on her own. Aten did not need an explanation, he knew that it was soon to be her time. He gave her the space she desired and continued to graze, keeping an eye on Popinjay in the meantime. He'd grown fond of the little foal these past suns, as had Turul. When the falcon wasn't resting on the stallion's shoulders, he could often be seen nestled into Popinjay's much smaller withers and mane.
It was almost quite comical, the sight of the largest of his species bird of prey sitting on top of the tiny foal's back. But he was careful to keep his balance so the falcon wouldn't feel the need to dig his talons into Popinjay's sides just to stay upright.
Speaking of the foal, she did not seem keen on staying in one place for long. Soon after Lethia left, the filly took off across the meadow grass. Since she wasn't far, Aten continued to graze, watching as the filly investigated something before erupting into a fit of bucks and kicks prior to taking off into the trees. Wondering if something had spooked her, or if this was just a game, Aten followed, allowing space between himself and the filly since he was only trying to watch her and not impede on the game she was playing.
Given his size, it was rather easy for the large stallion to keep up with Popinjay with minimal effort, his strides eating up the ground in an easy canter while Popinjay raced on ahead. She was gaining knowledge of the land's terrain rather quickly, weaving through the trees in an easy manner. Most likely the fact that she was young helped her to learn off instinct. Aten had taken a bit longer since he was older, and had to adapt thanks to his size, but he now moved through the trees as easily as the fish in the stream and the birds through the air.
The pair continued on before Popinjay stopped up ahead. Aten dug his hind hooves in to avoid running into her, the bark on the forest floor serving well to stop him in his tracks. He'd watched the path as they went along, and knew where Popinjay was headed, so when Aten looked up and spotted the mare and newborn foal at her side, he was struck, not from shock, but from happiness.
The little creature was still on the ground when the stallion and filly arrived, Lethia's tongue moving over its body to clean it up and help get it's blood flowing to provide it with the much needed body heat. Lethia hoisted herself up onto her hooves and nudged the foal to encourage it to stand. The foal took a bit of time to figure it's legs out, but eventually got up, it's limbs shaking from the effort before it seemed to settle down.
Lethia ran her lips through the foal's forelock and whispered something that Aten didn't hear. He just registered Popinjay racing off again through the trees, and in the back of his mind, nudged the link he shared with Turul to ask the falcon if he could keep an eye on Popinjay. He heard a faint affirmative reply before the stallion took a few steps in Lethia's direction, eyes on her in case her instincts took over and she wouldn't want him near the foal.
When he was within easy distance, Aten could make out more of the colt's - as he could now tell - features. He shared his dam's golden color and darker points, with traces of blue speckled throughout his coat, mane, and tail. The colt greedily moved back and began to suckle to get the food he needed, and Aten was careful to not get too close to avoid spooking him.
"It appears everything went well," Aten stated toward the mare. He gave her a gentle smile, "He is a fine one, fit and beautiful, like his dam. Have you chosen a name for him yet?"
@[Raed] @[Izora Lethia]
Like many stallions this time of year however, he did feel the burning instinct inside of him... the call to find the mares, with or without newborns, and make them into a herd... but Aten fought it. Every year, even when he was living as a bachelor, he resisted the burning call flowing through his veins. He just didn't feel ready to follow the same path his sire had, whether or not he had a lead mare, or one he loved above the rest...
Until he met Lethia. Aten had been struggling to name these feelings for some time now, since he'd never really been close enough to a mare to confirm that this was something more. Many seasons before, the stallion had felt something within him changing as his friendship with Jinju had developed the more time they spent together, but due to... certain circumstances, anything that could've developed beyond friendship was blown away like the sands of time.
Aten would always care for the dark colored mare, wherever she may be now, fondly remembering the fiery spark in her eyes... the pretty nature of her face, the proud way she carried herself...
But Lethia now had a special place in his heart as well, along with Turul, Popinjay, and Lethia's little one.
The golden mare had her own spark about life that was different from Jinju, so Aten would never have a reason to compare them. She had a sensitive nature and saw things through different eyes, something that was valuable to the stallion whenever he needed someone else's point of view. She provided support to any horse that needed it, and did not let her personal feelings get in the way. A famous example was how, disregarding how she felt towards Atem and his plight, or the new Taiga queen, she showed her loyalty to the kingdom and her friends.
This could prove to be... worrisome to Aten at times, since Lethia proved to be friends with both himself and the Taiga queen, but the stallion kept his own feelings out of this matter too.
As his thoughts drifted to the golden mare, he realized that he would also be meeting her little one rather soon. The stallion had settled into a grazing period with the mare and Popinjay earlier, the trio enjoying a fresh crop of spring grass in the northern area of Taiga where the growth was considerably thicker off to one side, then opened to a small meadow on the other. Lethia seemed to have preferred this area lately, and it was only after seeing the safety pockets some of the trees offered that he understood why.
After some time that morning, the mare had drifted away to be on her own. Aten did not need an explanation, he knew that it was soon to be her time. He gave her the space she desired and continued to graze, keeping an eye on Popinjay in the meantime. He'd grown fond of the little foal these past suns, as had Turul. When the falcon wasn't resting on the stallion's shoulders, he could often be seen nestled into Popinjay's much smaller withers and mane.
It was almost quite comical, the sight of the largest of his species bird of prey sitting on top of the tiny foal's back. But he was careful to keep his balance so the falcon wouldn't feel the need to dig his talons into Popinjay's sides just to stay upright.
Speaking of the foal, she did not seem keen on staying in one place for long. Soon after Lethia left, the filly took off across the meadow grass. Since she wasn't far, Aten continued to graze, watching as the filly investigated something before erupting into a fit of bucks and kicks prior to taking off into the trees. Wondering if something had spooked her, or if this was just a game, Aten followed, allowing space between himself and the filly since he was only trying to watch her and not impede on the game she was playing.
Given his size, it was rather easy for the large stallion to keep up with Popinjay with minimal effort, his strides eating up the ground in an easy canter while Popinjay raced on ahead. She was gaining knowledge of the land's terrain rather quickly, weaving through the trees in an easy manner. Most likely the fact that she was young helped her to learn off instinct. Aten had taken a bit longer since he was older, and had to adapt thanks to his size, but he now moved through the trees as easily as the fish in the stream and the birds through the air.
The pair continued on before Popinjay stopped up ahead. Aten dug his hind hooves in to avoid running into her, the bark on the forest floor serving well to stop him in his tracks. He'd watched the path as they went along, and knew where Popinjay was headed, so when Aten looked up and spotted the mare and newborn foal at her side, he was struck, not from shock, but from happiness.
The little creature was still on the ground when the stallion and filly arrived, Lethia's tongue moving over its body to clean it up and help get it's blood flowing to provide it with the much needed body heat. Lethia hoisted herself up onto her hooves and nudged the foal to encourage it to stand. The foal took a bit of time to figure it's legs out, but eventually got up, it's limbs shaking from the effort before it seemed to settle down.
Lethia ran her lips through the foal's forelock and whispered something that Aten didn't hear. He just registered Popinjay racing off again through the trees, and in the back of his mind, nudged the link he shared with Turul to ask the falcon if he could keep an eye on Popinjay. He heard a faint affirmative reply before the stallion took a few steps in Lethia's direction, eyes on her in case her instincts took over and she wouldn't want him near the foal.
When he was within easy distance, Aten could make out more of the colt's - as he could now tell - features. He shared his dam's golden color and darker points, with traces of blue speckled throughout his coat, mane, and tail. The colt greedily moved back and began to suckle to get the food he needed, and Aten was careful to not get too close to avoid spooking him.
"It appears everything went well," Aten stated toward the mare. He gave her a gentle smile, "He is a fine one, fit and beautiful, like his dam. Have you chosen a name for him yet?"
@[Raed] @[Izora Lethia]