"But the dream, the echo, slips from him as quickly as he had found it and as consciousness comes to him (a slap and not the gentle waves of oceanic tides), it dissolves entirely. His muscles relax as the cold claims him again, as the numbness sets in, and when his grey eyes open, there’s nothing but the faint after burn of a dream often trod and never remembered." --Brigade, written by Laura
WHAT AM I FIGHTING FOR? THERE MUST BE SOMETHING MORE. FOR ALL THESE WORDS I SING, DO YOU FEEL ANYTHING?
She hadn’t planned on getting pregnant. She’d been wandering about the meadow after Tiernan had disappeared, when she’d run into a handsome reddish stallion. And one thing had run into another …
It had taken a few weeks for her to notice the swelling of her belly, and now she’s beginning to feel concerned. It’d been alright to stay in the meadow when she’d been on her own, but with a young child on the way, she needs a place to call home. She doesn’t want to raise a child on the move. She wants stability, something she’d never had as a child.
So she’s returned to the field, though with some reluctance. She’s been here so many times now, so many times searching for a home, to only end up with nothing. She’s left with many a stallion, only to have them disappear on her out of the blue. It’s disheartening to be here yet again, but she has no choice. Barely out of childhood she’d raised her brother in the meadow. This time around she wants a proper home.
She strikes out across the field, confident that, given her appearance, she will at least catch someone’s attention. But the real question is, will any of them be willing to approach an already pregnant mare?
SAID I'M OKAY, BUT I KNOW HOW TO LIE. YOU WERE ALL THAT I HAD, YOU WERE DELICATE AND HARD TO FIND.
The days were getting colder, the sun remained hidden and the leaves were now all on the ground. Winter was on its way, and the horses were few in the field. He wanted to gather a few more mares before the winter season when most horses were staying in there kingdom/herds preparing for there future foals. He looked around as he reached the field, it was bare compared to the warm seasons, but most horses were off mating.
He extended his neck looking around the field, he stopped resting his eyes on a spotted mare a purple spotted mare. She was pretty to look at, but the closer he looked the more rounded she looked. He moved closer to get a better look, confirming the mare seemed to be in the very early stages of pregnancy. He was curious to why she was in the field, the father of her future foal must have left after they mated, a stallion wouldn't just leave his future child alone. He pondered the idea of bringing a mare into his herd who held a foal with another stag, he did not like the idea but he did not want to let her raise a foal in the fields. He sighed before picking up a trot towards the mare. "Hello there, I'm Archam, what brings you here?" he said to the spotted mare as he approached her, eye her stomach slightly before gazing back at her.
WHAT AM I FIGHTING FOR? THERE MUST BE SOMETHING MORE. FOR ALL THESE WORDS I SING, DO YOU FEEL ANYTHING?
Much to her surprise, it doesn’t take very long for someone to approach her. She spots the bay roan stallion as he eyes her from across the field, and a nervous smile appears on her face when he finally trots towards her.
She doesn’t miss the way that he’s eyeing her stomach, and knows that he’s also noticed her condition. It means one of two things - he’s approaching her out of concern, or because he realizes how vulnerable and desperate she likely is. So his intent is either one of two extremes. Hopefully the former. If he’s the only one that approaches though, she won’t have much of a choice no matter his intentions. She doesn’t want to raise this child out in the open.
“Hello Archam, nice to meet you.” She bobs her head politely in greeting. “I’m Morigan.” She eyes him for a moment before replying, analyzing. He seems polite enough and not aggressive. Promising so far, but she knows well that some stallions are good at hiding their evil intentions beneath a veneer of charm and civility. Her mother had learned that the hard way several times. But at this point there’s nothing she can really do beyond taking him at face value. “I happen to be looking for a home.”
SAID I'M OKAY, BUT I KNOW HOW TO LIE. YOU WERE ALL THAT I HAD, YOU WERE DELICATE AND HARD TO FIND.
he says to himself, what a pretty name. It was a slightly awkward conversation, due them both being on the same page that she was currently pregnant with another stags foal. Some stags would never consider a mare who was pregnant with anothers foal. But he enjoyed the company of foals, regardless of if she were to have one with him or not.
His ears perked up with interest as she was looking for a home, he was upset that this mare was abandoned by the father of the unborn foal, but he was glad to be able to offer her a home in his lands. "You have a beautiful name" he spat out with a smile. "I am the leader of a herd, there is several mares there, four of which are going to be foaling this coming season. You and your foal are welcome to join, your foal will have plenty of friends" he spoke the truth, there was plenty of foals to be around the herd lands this coming season, and there was always room for more. "Of course, if you do not want to be around the others, you do not have to. You can come and go as you please" he did not want to scare her off with the large amount of horses in his herd. He offered her two different life styles, free to choose either, free to not join his herd. "Do you want to come see the lands?" he left the question to her, winter was coming and it was not a big recruiting time for stallions as they prepared for there new young. Archam desired Morigan to join him though.
WHAT AM I FIGHTING FOR? THERE MUST BE SOMETHING MORE. FOR ALL THESE WORDS I SING, DO YOU FEEL ANYTHING?
He perks up immediately when she introduces herself and mentions her search for a home (though really, he should have been able to figure that out himself - why else would she be here?!). “Thank you.” She shuffles awkwardly and looks away at the compliment. Her mother had named her after an ancient goddess of war and death … pretty as the name may be, it’s a bit of a misnomer. But her gaze quickly returns to his face as he mentions his own herd.
He mentions other mares and foals on the way, even going so far as to suggest her future child would have friends there. He seems earnest enough and the corner of her lip can’t help but to quirk in a more genuine smile. It would be nice to be in a herd with other children. Morigan had grown up on her own, and later, had raised her younger brother on her own. They’d done alright, but both had ended up with lonely childhoods. She would like it if her own son or daughter could avoid the same.
“I …” He asks if she’d like to see the lands and she pauses, considering. She’s not really seeing any downside at this point. Archam does seem kind and genuine and even if turns out to be a fraud in that regard, Morigan is nothing if not resilient. She might as well take a chance. “I think I would like that, thank you Archam.”
SAID I'M OKAY, BUT I KNOW HOW TO LIE. YOU WERE ALL THAT I HAD, YOU WERE DELICATE AND HARD TO FIND.
