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12-05-2014, 08:48 PM
| The colt accompanied the fascinating pair of mare and wolf with a sort of fragile cheerfulness. Kipling remained unsettled by how it had felt to say “no” to Amani and Ophelia, but the feeling faded as he came to terms with his choice. He resolved to visit them and their homes when the weather improved, both to expand his miniscule knowledge of Helovia and to learn what exactly he had turned down today in the Threshold. Despite his brave words, the reality of an epic journey through the waning winter morning in his present condition would not be as enjoyable as he imagined. He breathed a sigh of conflicted relief as Essetia told him the trek would not be a long one, and he quickly flickered his ears back and forth in a gesture of restless gratitude. As they set off, Kipling was caught unawares by the question about his parents. He paused and tilted his head thoughtfully before responding with a noncommital, infuriatingly unhelpful, “Meh.” What was there to say? As he thought about them, he realized that he really didn’t know them at all. Oh, of course he could recognize them from miles away - he knew their gaits, the sounds of their voices, the distinct angles of their unique conformations, the way the light hit their coats – but he couldn’t fathom anything meaningful to say about either of them. In three years of life lived exclusively with each other, they had shared shockingly little intimacy. It was as though nothing of any significance had happened in Kipling’s life until the day the couple nudged him in the direction of Helovia. He had never learned how they had met, or why they had withdrawn from society, or whether he had any other siblings or half-siblings, or what they cared about most in the world. To be entirely honest, it had never occurred to him to ask. Kipling’s gaze had grown distant and glassy as his thoughts about his parents uncoiled in his mind, but he returned abruptly to the present with a little jolt. “I like him,” He nodded towards Romul, oblivious as to whether the feeling was requited or not but following him intently with curious wide eyes anyways. “Where did you meet?” Around them, the landscape had started to change, although Kipling had not taken much notice. He was following Essetia and Romul quite blindly, for better or for worse. But at the sound of running water, he finally lifted his head and swiveled his ears forward alertly, shooting a questioning glance at his guide with an unspoken request for explanation. |
