07-24-2017, 01:22 AM
A short while after she'd given birth to her colt, Sreva detected another's presence approaching. She lifted her head, swallowing the small mouthful of grass she'd been munching on while her son had been taking a few more drinks of his dam's milk. At first, Sreva was a bit nervous for who approached, but when the horse stepped into the moonlight and she caught the familiar sight of his black and white-spotted coat, the mare sighed in relief and greeted the stallion's whicker with one of her own.
Chemdog walked up to the pair, touching his cheek to Sreva's, ignoring the light sheen of sweat covering her body. Sreva twisted her head a little to press her own muzzle into the stallion's cheek, her nostrils slightly flaring as she took in his scent. After a stressful time as the birthing had been, it was a welcome smell, one that reassured her that she was okay, she was healthy and alive after it all, and that the colt beside her belly was real and standing there.
After Chemdog finished his greeting with her his nose moved to the black and white colt. Sreva watched with a careful eye, trusting Chemdog enough to let him close enough to his son. But the protective instincts of a mother never leave, even when the father is around. The stallion seemed to understand how to be gentle with the colt just fine, which reassured the first-time mother. He'd obviously had foals before, some Sreva even remembered, for she briefly recalled being present shortly after the birth of one or two out of that other mare, Vessel. She didn't harbor a grudge against the mare, but at the time, she had been slightly jealous. Now, that raging fire had been cooled, for here she stood with a colt of her own, a proud representation of both herself and his powerful father.
Meanwhile, the colt, who was still trying to figure out these first few hours of life, was a bit startled by the sudden appearance of another of his species. He'd been greedily suckling off his dam's milk when suddenly her belly moved away a little, making the colt follow after her so he could continue. If he'd bothered to look at the time, he would have seen that it was the other horse's arrival that had spurred his dam into movement.
The stallion then seemed to take an interest in the colt, but not the other way around at first. Only when the stallion's nose got close enough to practically touch him; what startled the colt was the feeling of another's breath against his ribcage. He thought it was his dam, the warm horse that treated him sweetly and provided this delicious milk, but he didn't recognize the black fur that appeared in front of him.
The colt sidestepped closer to his dam a moment, trying to shimmy his body under that of her belly. However, the mare had other ideas. She too sidestepped, taking the cover from above the colt and giving him a warm nudge with her nose. The colt turned his head and nickered at her, blowing softly against the whiskers on her muzzle. The mare nickered to the colt, nuzzling his head and neck with her own larger head, using her tongue to clean away some leftover liquid on his neck.
Sreva smiled warmly at the colt as he returned to her side, beginning to look for the milk once again. Chemdog, meanwhile, apologized to her for being late; obviously he knew it had been a painful experience and felt bad he couldn't be here to help. Not like he could have in any way, but Sreva chose not to say that.
Instead, she smiled up at the stallion, briefly wincing when the colt found her teat again and began suckling from her. "You have no need to apologize Chem. Whatever your business was, I will not inquire as it has not to do with me. But now, at least, you're here to see your colt. That is all I needed to make me happy after his birth," she said, smiling back at her son.
Then, something came to her mind. She turned her brown-eyed gaze to the stallion, "I already had an idea for a name, but you are the father so you should have a say if you do not like my choice. Since it turned out to be a colt, I was thinking of naming him... Xzavier. Does that sound like a good name to you?"
@[Chemdog]
Chemdog walked up to the pair, touching his cheek to Sreva's, ignoring the light sheen of sweat covering her body. Sreva twisted her head a little to press her own muzzle into the stallion's cheek, her nostrils slightly flaring as she took in his scent. After a stressful time as the birthing had been, it was a welcome smell, one that reassured her that she was okay, she was healthy and alive after it all, and that the colt beside her belly was real and standing there.
After Chemdog finished his greeting with her his nose moved to the black and white colt. Sreva watched with a careful eye, trusting Chemdog enough to let him close enough to his son. But the protective instincts of a mother never leave, even when the father is around. The stallion seemed to understand how to be gentle with the colt just fine, which reassured the first-time mother. He'd obviously had foals before, some Sreva even remembered, for she briefly recalled being present shortly after the birth of one or two out of that other mare, Vessel. She didn't harbor a grudge against the mare, but at the time, she had been slightly jealous. Now, that raging fire had been cooled, for here she stood with a colt of her own, a proud representation of both herself and his powerful father.
Meanwhile, the colt, who was still trying to figure out these first few hours of life, was a bit startled by the sudden appearance of another of his species. He'd been greedily suckling off his dam's milk when suddenly her belly moved away a little, making the colt follow after her so he could continue. If he'd bothered to look at the time, he would have seen that it was the other horse's arrival that had spurred his dam into movement.
The stallion then seemed to take an interest in the colt, but not the other way around at first. Only when the stallion's nose got close enough to practically touch him; what startled the colt was the feeling of another's breath against his ribcage. He thought it was his dam, the warm horse that treated him sweetly and provided this delicious milk, but he didn't recognize the black fur that appeared in front of him.
The colt sidestepped closer to his dam a moment, trying to shimmy his body under that of her belly. However, the mare had other ideas. She too sidestepped, taking the cover from above the colt and giving him a warm nudge with her nose. The colt turned his head and nickered at her, blowing softly against the whiskers on her muzzle. The mare nickered to the colt, nuzzling his head and neck with her own larger head, using her tongue to clean away some leftover liquid on his neck.
Sreva smiled warmly at the colt as he returned to her side, beginning to look for the milk once again. Chemdog, meanwhile, apologized to her for being late; obviously he knew it had been a painful experience and felt bad he couldn't be here to help. Not like he could have in any way, but Sreva chose not to say that.
Instead, she smiled up at the stallion, briefly wincing when the colt found her teat again and began suckling from her. "You have no need to apologize Chem. Whatever your business was, I will not inquire as it has not to do with me. But now, at least, you're here to see your colt. That is all I needed to make me happy after his birth," she said, smiling back at her son.
Then, something came to her mind. She turned her brown-eyed gaze to the stallion, "I already had an idea for a name, but you are the father so you should have a say if you do not like my choice. Since it turned out to be a colt, I was thinking of naming him... Xzavier. Does that sound like a good name to you?"
@[Chemdog]