"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
Archam stood in the center of the cobblestone, at the lip of the creek. He had just returned from a border patrol in the Kingdom and Sirana was often on his mind. She was growing closer to being of age, and he had to tel her of his decision promising her to Phaedrus when she was two years old. He silently gazed around the herd lands, they were quiet this morning as most of the equines were still asleep. Although his daughter was very energetic and he hoped that she would be awake, hopeful that she would not hold the grudge against him.
He gave a snort, stepping his left foot forward he took in a deep breath and let a whinny escape his maw. He did not expect many to hear him as they should still be sleeping, or off doing there own tasks. He had hope that his amber daughter would appear before him, and he would have the unfortunate task of telling her he decided on her future. The deal was done, and there was no turning back, she would have to live with his decision and make the best of it. His gaze fell to the water, watching as the fish that swam in the creek disturbed the water. Its own ecosystem that lived down there, hopeful that Sirana could make a future for herself out of his offerings with Phaedrus.
Although it was early in the morning, Sirana, unlike most of the herd, was wide awake. The yearling had inherited her mother's spirit and willingness to be an early riser, something she was quite good at. Every morning, right when the sun came up, the amber yearling would wake, thrilled to begin the day anew.
On this day, as usual, she'd risen with the sun. She'd gone on a short run, leaving her younger sister Eiria with their dam, Anahi. She'd decided to go on these runs in order to increase her stamina and endurance, two things her dam's friend Raxa had said were highly important if you were a wild horse.
After her morning run, Sirana had gone back to be with her dam and younger sister, looking forward to a more peaceful morning. However, when she heard her sire calling out, the amber yearling's head went up, ears perked in attention. It seemed Archam wished to speak with her about something, and Sirana was eager to find out.
Nuzzling her dam and younger sister to say goodbye, Sirana took off, heading for the center of the Cobblestone territory. The bright sun glittered off her coat, making it shimmer like spun gold. Her mane had lightened considerably, though some roots were a darker color, giving her mane a red-streaked appearance. Her dam had often said it had something to do with her sire's genes, given he had a naturally black mane, and Anahi had a gold one.
Seeing her father ahead, Sirana whinnied in greeting. She skidded to a stop a couple of feet from him, then walked the rest of the way until she was standing in front of him. She smiled, her forelock falling a little into her eyes.
"Good morning Father. How are you doing today?" the yearling asked, eyes bright with attention.
Archam stood in what could be his last moments of peace, his daughter could run away, or she could accept her fate. Although it was not one of his best moves, Archam does not regret his decision, it bettered the herd. Sirana would have had to leave eventually, this way she can start her own life with a little push from Archam.
Sure enough the amber filly appeared with a smile, and he returned one of his own. She was almost mature and grew to be beautiful like her mother. It was nice to watch her coat change from a dark amber to the beautiful light with tic roan markings like his own. He extended his neck to nuzzle the fillies shoulder, before he told her the news and most likely upsetting her. Good Morning Sirana, I have some news to share with you.
He took a deep breath, taking a moment to collect his thoughts, figuring out exactly how to share the news with his daughter. It pained him to tell her, but she needed to know. Sirana, I do not know if you remember the blue mare when you were younger, she came to the cobblestone for a while but was than released. I stole the mare from her lead stallion, he obviously grew angry with me. the pain was familiar, he had just lost Morigan in a battle, it hurt him to think about the loss, he vowed to protect these mares and he couldn't. Shaking his own thoughts out of his head he continued I imagined he would attack the herd soon enough as I was promised there first born daughter in return for her release. I offered an alliance with Phaedrus. He looked off slightly pausing You will go to Phaedrus' herd next year, you will also be apart of Dales Kingdom. They are a quiet kingdom and I think you will get along well with the members. He stepped back gazing at her, His voice was more stern basically giving her a demand. She would obey, and she would go to Phaedrus' herd lands.
Sirana returned the show of affection her sire displayed. She nuzzled the base of his neck, glad she was getting to see him today. Even though she didn't spend all her time with her dam, there was hardly any time in which Sirana got to see her sire. This was a nice time for her, to be able to see him for a change.
When he said he had news to share, Sirana stood at attention, obviously excited to hear what he had to say. He began his story by asking if the amber yearling remembered the blue mare that had come to the Cobblestone many moons ago. Sirana nodded, "I remember her. A bit on the cranky side, but she seemed okay."
Archam mentioned how the blue mare had come to be here, that he'd acquired her from another stallion. Sirana understood almost immediately how he'd felt at that point, when he'd acquired the mare. The stallion he'd stolen her from must've felt awful that he hadn't protected his mare. Sirana imagined her sire was feeling the same way, considering he'd just lost one of his favorite mares, Morgan.
Archam then went on to explain the alliance he'd established with Phaedrus, but it came with a price that Sirana never would've suspected. Did she really hear him right? Had he really-? No, he wouldn't do that, not without consulting her first. And yet, as she heard Archam speak, telling her what her future in six months would be, saw the firm look in his eye, she knew he wasn't lying.
"Dad... why? Why would you do that without talking to me? Why would you send me away?! My mom, my little sister... Does my mom know?! Does she know you did this?!" the yearling shouted in an accusing tone, her eyes burning with rage at having not been consulted concerning the alliance with the Dale Kingdom.
His heart broke as he watched her go from an excited young filly to heartbroken and betrayed. It was almost as if he trade her innocence, but he believed Phaedrus wasn't a terrible guy and he wouldn't force Sirana to do anything she didn't want. Just as he wouldn't force his daughter to do anything she didn't want.
Sirana questioned him in disbelief as to why it was he did what he did, he wanted to look away but he stood his ground. His gaze looked for hers ears slightly lowering back It was for the greater good of the herd he said following up with a snort. It was bad enough Chemdog was always on his ass, the last thing he needed was Phaedrus to be an enemy, making an alliance was his best option. His eyes narrowed as she asked if he told Anahi about his decision I just recently told her. There was no need for Sirana to be mad at both her parents, he gave a white lie of when he told Anahi about the alliance. It's not that they were ganging up against her, Anahi really did not have much to say about the trade off. Sirana was promised to another kingdom, and she would leave regardless of anyone's feelings. I think you will truly enjoy the Dale he offered in hopes to ease her mind, the kingdom was quiet and generally nice.
Sirana stomped her hooves angrily. She snorted, restraining the urge to rear and strike out at her father. She couldn't believe this was happening! Why would he do this to her?!
Yet, as he explained, she knew he was somehow right. Was this really the only option for protecting the herd? Giving her away so that Phaedrus wouldn't try to get revenge for Archam making Besra promise her first-born daughter to the bay roan stallion? It made sense, but that didn't mean Sirana didn't have the right to be furious. Her own father had done this; he'd been willing to just give her away without consent.
"How can you know that when I've never visited it?! I can't believe you did this! I don't even care about my feelings, I care about what you did to my mom! She told me about her past! And even though you knew, you did this!"
Sirana couldn't take it anymore. She reared, turned on a dime, and took off, back to the grove where she knew her dam and Eiria were going to be spending the majority of their day, grazing peacefully and spending time together. Sirana had an aching feeling that she wouldn't be getting out of the deal with Phaedrus, and if that was the case, she wanted to spend as much time with the two of them as possible before she had to leave.
06-23-2016, 10:38 PM (This post was last modified: 06-23-2016, 10:43 PM by Anahi.)
Unknown to Sirana, soon after she'd left her dam and Eiria in the grove, Anahi had decided to follow. She knew that this would be hard for the filly to hear, so she wanted to be there, in case Sirana had a breakdown. Not that she thought her daughter would for sure, but it was just in case. She would've left Eiria, but the filly insisted on coming, and, knowing Sirana's nosy personality, Eiria would've followed Anahi anyway. She'd inherited a lot from her older sister.
So, Anahi had taken her younger daughter and followed Sirana. She did tell Eiria to stay back for a little while, so the filly wouldn't have to hear the conversation between father and daughter. Eiria didn't need to know about this yet. Anahi watched the conversation take place, wordless the entire time. When Sirana took off after revealing she knew of Anahi's past, for the mare had indeed told her, Anahi finally walked out of her hiding place after calling Eiria to come to her side.
"I take it that went well?" Anahi asked, looking up at the bay roan stallion.
He gazed at his daughter who grew angrier with every passing moment, the more time she had to think about the situation the more angry she became. He gave a snort holding his bearing, it was hard to be a lead stallion and unfortunately making these decisions was part of the task. He knew that Sirana was strong and she would be able to defend herself should Phaedrus be unkind to her. He knew she would enjoy the Dale, they were a quiet kingdom and they held powers similar to the Falls. The kingdoms also had an alliance with each other, Anahi and Sirana should have no issues meeting with each other in the Dale.
He pushed the thoughts from his head to focus on Sirana who was now yelling at him, his ears layed on his head showing his displeasure with her tone. His daughter reared before him turning and running off, he was never one to deal with upsets and he considered following her but decided on letting her cool off. His head flicked to the left as he heard a whinny followed by Anahi appearing from her hidden place. He gave a sigh and his body relaxed, she heard the conversation. They both knew Sirana would not take it well, but the filly needed to accept her fate, she would be going to the Dale. He moved closer to Anahi and rubbed his head against her shoulder She will have to get over it slight irritation lingered in his tone. He looked down to Eiria who appeared out of hiding, lowering his head to the filly he gave a smile and nuzzled her at the base of her neck. Hello Eiria he spoke softly to the filly who was growing bigger every time he saw her.
Anahi sighed, turning her head to rub it against Archam's neck as he nuzzled her shoulder. The mare hated seeing her daughter so upset. She knew though that Archam had made the decision he did with the herd's well-being in mind. Still, that didn't mean everyone had to like it.
As it was, Anahi was upset with Archam still. She hid the pain from him, knowing it would make him feel even worse, and he didn't need that. At the same time, she wanted to tell him how betrayed she felt. Sirana was her first foal after the stillborn. It was the foal born of the love between her and the stallion in front of her. And he had given her away...
No, she couldn't think about that. The Dale wasn't incredibly far away. Anahi would be able to go visit if she wanted to. She'd just have to get used to the idea of her filly living in another herd that she may not like, especially if she developed a dislike of the stallion. The knowledge that he may do something to her, whether by force or not, infuriated the mare. If that stallion tried to hurt her daughter in any way...
Archam's voice cut into her thoughts. She looked down at her second daughter, smiling gently as she watched the roan stallion say hello to her.
Eiria smiled at her dad, whinnying happily before nuzzling her father. The filly jumped a little, happy to see him. However, her face quickly turned worried, her eyes following Sirana as the older ran off.
Archam quickly glanced at Anahi, he could feel her pain without her saying anything. He knew she was upset with him, but the decision had been made, he did not exile the foal and she was still free to visit her. It is always hard to let your first born off on there own life, but she would have ventured out at some point; this way it secured safety for the herd.
He smiled at Eiria who was happy, whinnying and jumping with joy, the innocence a foal holds is enough to bring joy to any equines life. He couldn't remain bothered when looking at the young filly, although his face matched hers when she grew worried asking why Sirana was upset. He gave a sigh lifting his head to gaze into the sky for a few moments. Returning his gaze to Eiria he spoke Because Sirana will be leaving the herd next year and she is not to happy about it. Although it is nothing you have to worry about he smiled trying to cheer the filly up. He reached down and gently nipped the back of her shoulder before jolting to the right and prancing off, looking behind him to see if the filly could keep up.
