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The snow was deep, but she didn't notice as she shuffled forth through the forest. The wind was biting cold but the thick layer of jet black fur protected her from its savage teeth. Or, at least it should have. Lately Shadow had been feeling cold all the time, even when sheltered in dense copses of trees, pressed against her lovers warm skin. It was odd, but the mare blamed it on her own increasing age. What else could it be, when already her joints were aching and every scar both faded and new prickled and burned with every change in the weather?
She had other things on her mind as she wound her way between the trees, picking her way across the stone-strewn and snow-covered ground. A secret was sheltered within the folded wings, growing stronger and more real with every passing day. She could no longer attribute it to regained health and vigor, not when the ribs still lay too close to the dark skin, not when she ate and ate of the dry winter grass but never felt sated. This was not the season to swell and bloat from over-feeding - there just wasn't enough food around for that. No, there could only be one explanation as to why she was growing heavier, and the prospect both thrilled and terrified her, placing a heavy burden of increased responsibility on her shoulders. And guilt, towards the child she had still yet to find.
Most of all she wondered what Vadim would say. He had given her the impression that their relationship was temporary, something transient that was bound to unravel eventually. At first she too had been thinking the same, but the more Shadow pondered the tall stallion the less she felt like leaving his side. Oh, she wasn't the kind of mare to cling to him night and day - she was off on her own adventures every now and then, coming and going like a fickle wind, but it was always with the intent of returning. It was comforting, it was reassuring... At least it had been, until this new prospect had interrupted a well-kept order of mutual understanding.
She could feel her own heartbeat increase slightly as she entered the clearing where she usually found him, gleaming purple eyes searching for his now familiar frame. Tall among the tall trees, pale among the pallid snow and glittering icicles; eyes blue as the high winter sky, as capable of piercing her heart as the lethal horn on his brow.
"Vadim? We... eh... I need to talk to you."
@[Vadim]
HP: 42Healed
| Outcast atk: 4.5 | def: 8.5 | dam: 6 |
| Stallion :: Hybrid :: 17.1 :: 5 HP: 64.5 | Buff: NOVICE |
| Vlasi :: Common Rougarou :: Water ali |
 Vadim hello teacher tell me whats my lesson look right through me look right through me It continues to surprise Vadim with how comfortable he is with this mare that he found and bedded in the Grove. The first time she wandered off on her own he didn't expect her to return and was shocked when she did come back. It happened again and again and he came to accept that she had meant that she would stick around, but he can't help but wonder for how long. He knows that when she does finally grow tired of him and take her leave that he'll miss her. He's gotten too used to sleeping beside her at night, too accustomed to resting his head on her back and soaking in the warmth that she had to offer in the dead of winter. Even Vlasi has come to accept Shadow into their tiny family and runs to greet her when the mare finally returns after her adventures. He hears Vlasi's barking and the crunch of her paws on the snow as she runs and he knows it is because Shadow returned. Vadim lifts his head from the patch of ground he'd cleared and his blue eyes find the mare and his own companion dancing around her in boundless excitement. His ears tilt forward and he slowly chews the dried grass he'd ripped from the ground only seconds before. He remains silent and motions for her to join him and he clears away more snow, revealing more frozen, brittle grass underneath. "Vadim? We... eh... I need to talk to you." "So this is it." He thinks and Vlasi suddenly grows quiet and still. Vadim's movement stills and he stares down at the ground, unblinking. "You're leaving?" He asks quietly, accepting that their time together has come to an end. What more did he expect when they had both figured their relationship was 'no strings attached'. Unfortunately he'd gotten too used to not being alone as did Vlasi. "." @[Shadow] |
Icon by Tay
| Deceased atk: 6.5 | def: 9.5 | dam: 4.5 |
| Filly :: Hybrid :: 14.2 :: 8 HP: 63 | Buff: ENDURE |
| Chan |
She gathered all the courage she could muster as she waded through the snow to join Vadim, quietly scolding herself for the pangs of joy that stabbed through the chest at the mere sight of him. Was she a yearling filly suffering her first crush or a seasoned, sensible mare? Sometimes she doubted her own age, or rather her mental sanity. Dark lips pulled into a slight smile as she bent down to lip at the three-headed beast, not pausing in her stride or joining in the jumping game - time and experience had made her less terrified of the creature that followed her mate than the first time she came across it. Normally she might have dared tug the wagging tail or risk a lick of the slobbering tongue but... not right now. She had more important things to discuss, and as the jewel-bright eyes turned back to Vlasi's silver-colored master they were set, determined.
"You're leaving?"
"What?"
The mare faltered mid step and froze, staring at him with the mouth hanging open. What was he talking about, hadn't she just arrived? Just what nonsense... But then she registered the dejected slump, the averted gaze, and the blackbird bristled as worry and insecurity flipped over into pulsating annoyance.
"Is that the only thing you can think of that I would like to talk to you about?" she snorted, glaring as she started forward again and walked right up to him. It came out a bit sharper than she had intended, but she was in no mind to pay attention to potentially hurt feelings right now.
"Believe me Vadim, if I'm about to leave you you will know about it - and if you don't stop that insecure huddling right now it's likely to be sooner rather than later!"
Shadow looked fierce as she pressed in towards him, stopping just short of his broad chest while trying to force his gaze towards her. What was he doing, sidetracking her like this when she needed to keep her head clear!? If he had one flaw it was this infuriating insecurity that he persisted in wearing on the outside - as if the world was bound to come crashing down around him any second.
Well, mind you it very well might in a few seconds.
"Now are you going to listen to me or are you too busy moping to pay attention?"
If he was, she might have to kick him to return it to its rightful place. Shadow liked him, but not so much that she wouldn't kick his ass if she had to.
HP: 42Healed
| Outcast atk: 4.5 | def: 8.5 | dam: 6 |
| Stallion :: Hybrid :: 17.1 :: 5 HP: 64.5 | Buff: NOVICE |
| Vlasi :: Common Rougarou :: Water ali |
Vadim hello teacher tell me whats my lesson look right through me look right through me "Is that the only thing you can think that I would like to talk to you about?" "...yes?" Because he cannot remember anything that they've really discussed. Most of their time has been spent in comfortable silence, the pair of them simply enjoying the company that the other offered. Whay else could 'I need to talk to you' mean besides it being her time to finally take her leave? But she marches right up to him, her expresssion clearly annoyed and he remembers the same look being on the face of his brother whenever he said the wrong thing. Time goes on, but things never change and here he is putting his hoof in his mouth yet again. "Believe me Vadim, if I'm about to leave you you will know about it - and if you don't stop that insecure huddling right now it's likely to be sooner rather than later!" His head snaps up and he looks at Shadow, his eyes a bit wider since he knows that she's not leaving right then, but the threat is there. He wants to tell her to stay, to apologize for what he's said, but he's scared of saying the wrong thing again and angering the fiery little mare. So he remains quiet and watches her, he doesn't even spare Vlasi a glance as she settles herself against his leg and looks up at Shadow as, she too, waits for whatever it is the blackbird wants to speak to Vadim about. She asks if he is going to listen to her and he nods his head because he still doesn't trust himself to speak because he feels like he will only upset her further. His ears tilt forward and he looks to her face to show her that he is listening, but he is a little distracted because he can't help but wonder what it is she needs to talk to him about. He tries to remember if he's done anything else to upset her. Is it how quiet he is? Is it his choice of the forest to wait out the winter? His weight shifts as his mind buzzes, but the minute she speaks again his focus is entirely on the small black mare. "." @[Shadow] |
Icon by Tay
| Deceased atk: 6.5 | def: 9.5 | dam: 4.5 |
| Filly :: Hybrid :: 14.2 :: 8 HP: 63 | Buff: ENDURE |
| Chan |
Her magnificent eyes narrowed suspiciously when the stallion didn't snap back at her, more taken aback by his obedient silence than she wanted to let show. The lack of retorts threatened to unbalance her even more, because what was the point of getting riled up if he wasn't going to help her release her anxieties through a pleasant row? Instead Vadim was showing unprecedented amounts of politeness and attention where he looked down at her, and Shadow realized that she now was completely out of excuses not to move right to the issue at hand.
Which, of course, had been what she intended to do from the start, but couldn't he at least try to talk about the weather first?
"Good" she mumbled and drew in a deep breath, suppressing the guilty twinge at having been so snappy with him along with the rest of her doubts. Butterflies were alive in her stomach as the mare steeled herself, then blurted out the words before she had time to change her mind;
"I'm pregnant. You are going to be a father."
There, she'd said it. Delivered the horrible, definitive words that might make or break their fragile relationship. It was rocky from beginning to end, the premises for the companionship more than a little loose and the foundations brittle. This exchange was solid proof; so much time had been spent saying nothing, wasted away in silence or the throws of passion that she still hardly knew anything about the man before her. Who was Vadim, really? A loner, a vagabond, a quiet spirit of winter who seemed as lonely as she. Where was his family? His herd? Had he no friends or relations apart from her and the enigmatic little shape-shifter?
Well. Now he was going to have a family, whether he liked it or not. Winter had long to go before its back was broken but a foal would likely arrive before it was over.
Shadow regarded her lover in quiet trepidation, clueless as to how he would take these news. Would he be there for them when the time came? Would he stay afterwards, share the burdens and joys of parenthood with her? Or would he run, sever all ties before they could be formed, and leave her like so many already had done before?
She didn't know. The snow creaked beneath her feet as she shifted her steadily growing weight, and waited for a reaction.
HP: 42Healed
