[PRP] For the soon-to-be (Biting Dawn and Starburst)

[Samuel Carlin]

There was little to be said about it. Nature had take its course, and an early morning meeting with Canopy Fruit had turned into a string of them, all in the still-warming light of those very same days. Casual conversation turned into a curious sort of flirtation, and flirtation--well.

Canopy Fruit was heavy and there were things that needed doing before the sacs arrived. Things that found him deep in the swamp even earlier than he usually rose. "Hello?"

Surely one of the Elders would be stirring...

Amorpheous

Thank you! <3

 

[Amorpheous]

Certainly, at least one was, if not many.

Luckily for Biting Dawn, Starburst was the type to rise with the sun that lit her eyes as the sky became the clear blue that her markings took after.

When a voice called out, accompanied by that now familiar tugging in her gut, she popped her head down from the canopy she had been occupy, leaves rustling with the movement, to smile down at the buck. "Hello."  

[Samuel Carlin]

Cheetah! Cheetah cheetah chee--! It was unreasoning panic, a burst of it, just for a second before he realized that the cat had, first of all, spoken to him and secondly, wouldn't be lounging on a branch in the swamp, probably. Not unless it--she--belonged here. And if she belonged here...

He lifted his head. Formality wasn't his strong suit, but she deserved better than bleary-eyed half-hearted attention. "Hello," he said again. "I'm called Biting Dawn, and you... well. What can I call you?"  

[Amorpheous]

Her head disappeared for just a second before she came dropping down from the branch to stand in front of the buck.

She smiled again, tail sweeping back and forth, "My name is Tastes Like Summer, but some choose to call me differently."

"Congratulations," she began before diving into what was obviously on his mind. "You must be looking for a blessing. And I must ask for a honest answer to a question in return."  

[Samuel Carlin]

The whole ability to change shapes still twisted his mind a little, no matter how many kin in other forms he'd seen. Not so many, but enough that he absolutely knew the ability existed. It awed him, more than a little. And frightened him, some.

Still, he stood his ground, watching her drop from the tree, watching that tail. And plucking thoughts out of his mind as well. He took a breath. "I do. For Canopy Fruit. To make sure that she and the little ones are well. Healthy. And strong." He flicked an ear. "I'll answer, if I can."  

[Amorpheous]

She nodded cheerfully. She was one of the least scary kin she could think of, save for Peep who was even sweeter and more gentle than she, so she certainly wasn't reading his mind in that respect.

"Very well. Let's see..." She began, trailing off as she tried to think of a suitable question. "Other than health and strength, what would you want most for you children and why? Tell me about yourself in your answer, open up your heart."  

[Samuel Carlin]

"Oh." Well then. Just a couple of light, easily-answered questions. Nothing at all to worry about.

He thought for a moment, then shook himself. "I think I'd like them to be smart. No. Smarter. Sharper. Sharp enough to be able to travel as far as their hooves will take them without finding trouble they can't survive. I'd want them to be curious, but careful and ... see everything they want to see. I don't travel much," he explained, ducking his head. "Tied too much to the sun, they say. I'd fall asleep somewhere wrong and end up eaten. But maybe my children won't be like me and they'll be able to get out and see it all. I hear there are things worth seeing."  

[Amorpheous]

She nodded, her smile softening. "Thank you for sharing."

And perhaps some of those that she had blessed in the past were right. She didn't simply ask these questions because she had ascended by determining the contents of the heart. She asked because, in some ways as a legendary, knowledge had become paramount, had become currency and the highest interest since the MotherFather opened up her mind.

"Very well then, may mother and children be healthy and strong, and may your children know what they desire to see and have the ability to see these things. Let them have hooves strong enough to carry them to their destinations and hearts light enough to let them do so. May they find satisfaction in the journey and in the starting place though, and never feel disappointed by their choice to journey even if the destination is not always what they hoped."

One last smile and she had leaped back into the tree. The last Biting Dawn would see would be her tail giving a little wave at him as she disappeared into the leaves.