12-09-2020, 04:01 PM
The light that meets the dark
Each day it seemed as if Cheri’s hair grew longer and so did her legs; she was growing as a young filly should, surrounded by her parents and siblings, even watched over from afar by a grandmother who loved her dearly. She had very little idea of the legacy flowing from one-half of her family bloodline or the curse flowing from the other, but she could feel the restless sides of both tugging at her nightmares and giving her wings during the light of day so she might escape the nameless pressure of so many generations boiling down to her, Reynard, her half sibling, and countless cousins all the same. On days like this one, where Pappa offered to watch them so that Mama and other momma (Memorie’s dam) could have some rest, she would slip away from the boring lessons her sire liked to teach and fly off into the woods in search of her cousins.
They were, in fact, her aunt and uncle - but gramma Lilli looked so young and beautiful all the time that Cheri hardly ever thought of her as a grandmother ought to be thought of. Roselin and Oren were her elder relations by only a season or two, and their age was an impossible number Cheri was determined to match. She would always be younger than them, but in her own mind it didn’t mean she couldn’t try fitting in with their group despite the gap. Reynard and Memorie were always too busy with their Pappa’s training: he was always closing his eyes with them and doing ‘inner’ stuff, and though he encouraged Cheri to do the ‘inner’ stuff as well she found the task at hand boring. What ‘center’ was she supposed to find and anchor herself to?
She was nothing like Memorie or Reynard, even though her twin brother was, well… her twin. The three of them had their picture game and more often than not Cheri was used as an unwilling guinea pig for their practice. Not today, though. Today she was off on her own, bounding over the springy moss and trotting deeper and deeper into the heart of the Redwoods in search of her distant family. She hadn’t seen them in some time, but Pappa Yan had said Lilli was going on a trip and that they would be close by, so what better time than now?
“Rosey! Oren!” She called, and then she pitter-pattered down a little hillock where the trees thinned out. Neither Roselin or Oren was there, but another foal - one she’d entirely forgotten about until this very moment. “Oh!” The black-and-white girl paused, head up and eyes wide. “You’re, um, @[Reave]... aren’t you?”
They were, in fact, her aunt and uncle - but gramma Lilli looked so young and beautiful all the time that Cheri hardly ever thought of her as a grandmother ought to be thought of. Roselin and Oren were her elder relations by only a season or two, and their age was an impossible number Cheri was determined to match. She would always be younger than them, but in her own mind it didn’t mean she couldn’t try fitting in with their group despite the gap. Reynard and Memorie were always too busy with their Pappa’s training: he was always closing his eyes with them and doing ‘inner’ stuff, and though he encouraged Cheri to do the ‘inner’ stuff as well she found the task at hand boring. What ‘center’ was she supposed to find and anchor herself to?
She was nothing like Memorie or Reynard, even though her twin brother was, well… her twin. The three of them had their picture game and more often than not Cheri was used as an unwilling guinea pig for their practice. Not today, though. Today she was off on her own, bounding over the springy moss and trotting deeper and deeper into the heart of the Redwoods in search of her distant family. She hadn’t seen them in some time, but Pappa Yan had said Lilli was going on a trip and that they would be close by, so what better time than now?
“Rosey! Oren!” She called, and then she pitter-pattered down a little hillock where the trees thinned out. Neither Roselin or Oren was there, but another foal - one she’d entirely forgotten about until this very moment. “Oh!” The black-and-white girl paused, head up and eyes wide. “You’re, um, @[Reave]... aren’t you?”