We aim to misbehave - Ivar

[Santana]

Splish splash, WHOMP! The boys had been rough housing in the shallows of the river, enjoying the coolness of the water on their coats. Sunlight filtered through bushy willows and poplars, making kaleidoscopic patterns in the ripples they were creating. Rearing and bucking, the colts were a whirl of blue and scarlet, vibrant in their little hollow. 

Play turned to wrestling when Raul grabbed hold of his brother's wing in his mouth, unbalancing the pale brother. Slipping in the river muck, Santana stumbled backwards, held in limbo for an instant until his brother released his hold. With a squeal indignation, the slender colt surfaced. Steam rose in a cloud about him. "That was mean, Raul! I'm telling Mommmm!" He huffed, dragging his sopping wings out of the water quicker than the fire maned twin could follow. Raul switched from laughter to anxiety within the space of a heartbeat. "No, don't! I'm sorry Tana, I won't do it again! Tana, wait! SANTANA!" The leggy brothers raced from the river to the willow grove where Mom had been grazing, still within earshot of the boy's play space. 

"You're such a baby, Tana..." Raul grumbled as they trailed each other home. He almost didn't stop fast enough. Santana had paused in his tracks. Staring at the empty space, the brothers stepped subconsciously closer until their shoulders met. A flat spot still marked a space their mother must have laid recently. Strange odors hung in the air, foreign and pungent. Something was really wrong here. "Mom...? Where's mom, Raul?" The shorter colt looked up to his brother, only to find his own concern mirrored on his counterparts face. 

Not knowing what else to do, they wandered back to their sandy river bank. It was afternoon, and night would be there before they knew it. What were they going to do?

@[Ivar]

[Ivar]

I V A R promising everything i do not mean

With his nose pointing upstream and his body tucked behind a fallen log, the sleeping kelpie blends well with the mottled riverbed. His doze has been a long one, and he is not roused until a particularly bold young crawfish attempts to seek shelter in his left nostril. Ivar swallows it with a few quick crunches, shaking his head and blinking bleary brown eyes into wakefulness. He had been up late the previous night, and a long afternoon nap beneath the river had been called for. It is quieter here in the fresh water, though truly it had been proximity rather than preference that had him resting in this particular bend of the river. He surfaces slowly, at first just a pale head in the deep water, but eventually he climbs the bank and shakes the excess water from his scaled hide. Quick movements catch his attention, and Ivar's ears and eyes flick to the pair of colts that stand farther down the river. They are unmistakeable, even at this distance, and as the kelpie moves toward them, he glances into the woods in search of Sabra. She is nowhere to be found, and Ivar supposes the boys must be off on their own adventure. He recalls the strain of parenting just one child along with a mate, and does not begrudge the fire-haired mare her time away from the twins. “I hope you're causing enough trouble,” says the kelpie as he draws closer, his eyes flicking from one colt to the other as a mischievous smile settles on his face. “Or are you in need of some assistance?”

I know my lies could not make you believe in my dark times, baby this is all I could be . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

[Santana]

They hadn't reached the point of tears just yet. It was scary to come back from play to find your mother missing, but they were tough boys. Mama said so. So they stood at the edge of the river, grazing in turn and watching each others backs and looking to the skies for some sign of Sabra. 

A pale ripple in the water draws theirs attentions at once, and for a heart stopping moment it is their mother's drowned form they see in the river. Santana stepped forward, only to fall back with a gasp when the pale body in the water rose and resolved into a familiar figure. Twin grave expressions greeted the river lord as he neared. "Uncle Ivar! We can't find mom anywhere... have you seen her?" Raul took the lead, a hopeful note coloring his wobbly plea. Both boys stared up at the scaled man as though he held every answer ever, and would be able to tell them right away what had happened. He had to. If he didn't know, then momma might actually be gone, and if she was gone, then both of they're parents were gone. Tana threw a wing over his brother's back, trying to feel a bit less alone. 

At least they had met their mother. Stories were all they had of their father and older brother. They had each other, and maybe now Uncle Ivar could help them somehow. Or maybe mom hadn't really left, and the weird scents around their nest had blown in from somewhere else. She'd be back soon, and they'd been worried for nothing. That had to be it, right? 

@[Ivar]

[Ivar]

I V A R promising everything i do not mean

They are not the cheerful and rambunctious boys he had been expecting, and the easy grin on the the kelpie's face straightens into a thin line as he glances from the palomino face to the buckskin and back again. Santana is the first to answer him, and Ivar listens with tilted ears. Sabra is missing? Surely she is just out of sight; the fire-haired mare doesn't seem the type to abandon her children. The twins are getting older, and while Ivar might consider them old enough to be independent, he has learned that women are less trusting and tend to lean toward overprotection. The kelpie glances into the woods around them, but even his senses - attuned to the smallest of prey movements - find nothing, and the only scent of Sabra is what lingers on the boys. So she really is gone, it seems, though he cannot imagine where to. Perhaps she's disappeared to wherever it is that Castile has gone to, though the idea of both leaving their children seems ludicrous. Another creature might have been more upset, but Ivar is rarely given to concern. "I think she's decided its time for you two to have an adventure." The kelpie tells them. "How would you like to see Ischia? When your mother returns, she'll be quite impressed with how well traveled you are, I'm sure."

I know my lies could not make you believe in my dark times, baby this is all I could be . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

@[Santana]