"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
Now the summer had arrived she finally understood the name of the herdland that was her birth home. Especially during the sunrise and sunset the view was breath taking. Gyps had already discovered that it was even better from the sky. She wasn’t strong enough yet to fly long and far distances, but she did enjoy the freedom that her wings gave her. At least it was more than her aunt’s abilities, as she had soon learned. Neither her own mother was able to choose the sky over earth, but her father had. And Gyps took great pride in the fact that she took after her black and cobalt blue father. Just as she supported some of her mother’s sky blue hair.
Gyps was a perfect mingle of both her parents. A pair of wings, navy blue mane and a sky blue tail. Little did she know that it automatically meant that she also took after both her grandmother’s; Felidae and Felinae. That she was the product of incest – after all, her father was her grandmother’s half-brother – was also only known to the siblings themselves. Not that it mattered or changed anything, since Gyps was brought into the world already. And she had turned out perfectly fine, maybe a bit vain and biased of those who were just like her. But mostly she was Phaedrus and Besra’s sweet little girl.
It was one of those days that no clouds were visible in the sky, it was clear blue. The kind of blue she and her mother showed. The sun stood high and proud in the sky, not yet ready to decent and hide behind the horizon for just another night. It was the very same sun Gyps was looking up at. Not for too long, the bright light was blinding and it hurt her eyes. Instead she let her gaze travel to the silhouettes of those who lived at the Golden Plains just like her. She knew her own mother wasn’t too far away, feeling perfectly safe and watched over, but with a sad heart she looked at her siblings. They were never alone, always joined at the hip. Both pairs that was. There was Wolfish and Steris and the other two were called Rustic and Clarisse. She knew their names, but Gyps had not dared to approach them, not able to not feel outnumbered if she would. After all, she was the only newborn in the herd that didn’t have a twin to lean on.
He is flying high and proud. He was bent on making the most of the few years that he has with the yearlings in his herd. Each one beautiful and special in their own way. The stallion couldn’t help but be shocked at the amount of females, and varieties that came with them. He finds his daughter, the one that weighs the heaviest on his mind. He needed to come up with a way to break her from that contract. He also needed to find a way to break the news to her in the case that his plans failed.
With a sigh he begins his descent towards the ground where she stood. The deep sounded gush of his wings beating the air warned of his presence, then the gentle thud of his hooves as he lands against the soft dirt of his plains. He nickers to her as he begins to approach her, wings folding, breathing steadying, and shaking the mane from his eyes. He offers her a rarely seen grin, bending his head to her level for a caress of greeting. And how does my princess fare? She had the look of longing in her eyes, and in a way he felt guilty for leaving her without a sibling close to her. But at least she did have his bobcat and himself, along with the doting attentions of her mother.
She was probably the most spoiled out of the bunch. Even if she didn’t realize it. Still he made an effort to pay equal attention to all, there was a slight bias involving her, as her mother and his chemistry had taken a physical aspect in the creating of Gyps. The evidence of their compatibility couldn’t be more visible than through their daughter. As she grew she displayed the same fire as her mother, her mane and tail sporting both their colors, along with the wings of the Felidae heritage. He knew he should probably begin the discussion of what was to happen, but before he delved into such a serious topic he wanted a moment of joy, to show her how much he did love her, and wanted the best for her. Finally, in front of her he nuzzles her tuft of mane with his maw, ruffing it up a bit.
The gush of wind is a sound she recognizes. It’s the same – or maybe a bit louder – as the sound she produces when she was flying herself. The thud tells her he has landed and with a wide grin pulling on the corners of her lips the black and blue child turns towards her father. Gyps whinnies softly in a reply and soon after she’s already bouncing in his direction.
”Dad!” She greet him, reaching out in his direction to brush her nose against his. Over the last year she had grown quite much, but she had not yet reached her parent’s height, nor their strength and definitely not their elegance and wisdom. However, she did have her father’s wings and until the moment Zaravich’s girl had been born she and her dad were the only ones. Now she had to share that privilege with Analiese. Gyps didn’t really know how she felt about that, both liking and hating it at the same time, but right now it didn’t matter, because she had Phaedrus all to herself.
She nuzzles herself close to his side, glad to have found company and like always she enjoyed the security her dad offered. ”Okay, I guess. Just a bit lonely..” Where her first words had been loud and easily audible, she had muttered the second sentence. She knew she didn’t really have the right to complain – after all, her father was with her right now – but Gyps simply cannot banish the ache out of her heart. It had only been moment’s ago that she had been staring at her siblings and he had probably witnessed her doing so.
Once again she’s looking at them. Wolfish, Steris, Clarisse and Rustic. A soft sigh manages to slip past her lips before she’s able to collect herself again. Gyps turns her head to look at her winged father, offering him a smile, a genuine one. ”I’m happy you’re here.” To put more weight to her words she lays her head against his shoulder for a short moment, this time releasing a content sigh, before pulling back to meet his gaze again, smiling softly.
