09-06-2021, 11:00 PM
“My heart still beats for the fog and forest, trust me brother.” Cheri drove her nose into the crook of her twin’s, hoping he could feel the mingled bitterness of her return home. She wanted him to know how she truly felt, tired of the constant nonchalance royal life had forced her to feel instead. “I haven’t nor will I ever forget the herd.” Her eyes flashed deadly green, winking in the low light at him as Rey pulled away.
Family first, her father had emphasized. Always.
Without being prodded, without concern for his own dreams and goals, her brother had assumed the role left empty in their sire’s absence in spirit - to make it official would be to acknowledge the loss of Amarine, Yanhua, and so many others who’d once fleshed out the now-quiet stretch of redwoods. Cheri knew why he’d done it: for Saturnelle and Cerf, for the clans who kept to the shadows, and for the honor of a legacy passed down to them through the generations. Once Lilliana, then Yanhua, now..?
“Rey,” Cheri spoke softly, “is this what you want?”
Staying in Taiga, she meant. To be stuck here like their father, who’d become one of those ghosts he claimed haunted these woods. For Yanhua it’d always seemed to make sense; the tall chestnut stallion had loved these spirited grounds with an almost reverent sort of devotion. It defied Cheri’s understanding nearly as much as his disappearance, and for a long time she considered that link unjust because it meant the rest of them all came second to his worship. These days, she related more than ever. But she would never wish that lifestyle pressed upon an unwilling participant.
“You, Nell and Cerf can always migrate south and live with me.” Cheri tempted him, trying to swallow the feeling of betrayal and her father’s memory altogether. “We could be together, be happy.”
Family first, her father had emphasized. Always.
Without being prodded, without concern for his own dreams and goals, her brother had assumed the role left empty in their sire’s absence in spirit - to make it official would be to acknowledge the loss of Amarine, Yanhua, and so many others who’d once fleshed out the now-quiet stretch of redwoods. Cheri knew why he’d done it: for Saturnelle and Cerf, for the clans who kept to the shadows, and for the honor of a legacy passed down to them through the generations. Once Lilliana, then Yanhua, now..?
“Rey,” Cheri spoke softly, “is this what you want?”
Staying in Taiga, she meant. To be stuck here like their father, who’d become one of those ghosts he claimed haunted these woods. For Yanhua it’d always seemed to make sense; the tall chestnut stallion had loved these spirited grounds with an almost reverent sort of devotion. It defied Cheri’s understanding nearly as much as his disappearance, and for a long time she considered that link unjust because it meant the rest of them all came second to his worship. These days, she related more than ever. But she would never wish that lifestyle pressed upon an unwilling participant.
“You, Nell and Cerf can always migrate south and live with me.” Cheri tempted him, trying to swallow the feeling of betrayal and her father’s memory altogether. “We could be together, be happy.”
@Reynard