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 Posted: Sun Jul 09, 2017 10:57 am
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He knew the day would probably come, given the way of nature, but he truly had no recourse for it. Dash wasn't even sure he cared that he could (and in all probability, would) be a father some day, but...
...but...
She was pretty, and he felt like he had the easy part in it all: a great night and no worries or sight of the doe ever again. That was a perk, right? (He had doubts.) He knew his own father had a heavy hoof in the care of bringing up his siblings and himself, but he also knew that was unusual, and not the way of things. So why did it matter?
Why did he hesitate to just turn tail for good?
Maybe he really did get out of the whole thing too easy. The responsibility wasn't his. But what could he possibly do?
During this entire struggle, the buck stood still as a tree, one hoof in mid lift, eyes downcast and seeing his own internal thoughts that he did not give voice to. He was, quite literally, frozen with indecision.
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Posted: Sun Jul 09, 2017 11:18 am
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He was changed; a new feeling had taken a hold of his limbs one eve and he had woken with a new mind melded with his own. A world of instinct and a wandering spirit held firm as his velvet maw opened in a growl. And he'd been delighted.
Even now, as he wandered--for the first time--away from his beloved, he was beginning to truly be the bear he was. It wasn't as easy as sinking into a pond, not after years of gangly legs and then the flick-twist of a caiman. And so he did look a touch off. His stag mind was too conscious, his bear mind too new, as he quite literally tried walking in a new body. He brought his paws too high or swung them too wide, but with every wrong, the right began to emerge. And so, too, did the familiar itch that flared beneath his skin.
Bitter Heartbeat broke into a lumbering run, easing back as the bear within him took charge and left him to consider the energy he felt. Hesitation and--he skidded to a stop, as his nose twitched. Honey--no! With a violent snort, he corrected himself. He could explore that later, right now--gold glowing eyes settled on the buck in question.
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Posted: Sun Jul 09, 2017 12:23 pm
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It was fine that it was an odd bear, until it wasn't a bear, and Dash hardly knew how to react. Here he'd been, minding his own business about fatherhood, and then there was a MotherFather-be-damned shapeshifting toothy flower bear and he was just supposed to be okay with it?
Dash let out the most undignified sound of alarm and stumbled backwards, legs akimbo and nearly spilling him to the ground, but not quite; he tripped, scrambled to get his hooves back on solid ground and then righted himself all within a handful of seconds. It would have been comical to him any other time than...well, now.
Wide blue eyes stared, his heart beating high and fast in his chest and throat, trying to make sense of what was happening. There had to be reason to this, some sort of logical explanation!
"I'm so indecisive, I've manifested my own thoughts?" His voice cracked, as if he wasn't quite sure he believed himself. If he had his wits about him, he'd remember the stories his father told him, but he was trying to avoid the whole 'responsibility' and 'look what good a father can be' thing. "A bear. I am...wrestling with a bear of a situation? And now -- now a -- a -- " 'buck' didn't quite seem to fit. "An avatar of some great fatherly figure? I don't -- I don't understand." Words were becoming difficult to squeeze around the knot in his throat. "There is no help, it is -- it is the way of things. Nothing can stop it. I have to decide what it means to me." Which was nothing. Right?
What he hoped to gain from saying that, not even he could say, but for as thick as he was in rationality, he was having a heck of a time finding reason here.
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Posted: Sun Jul 09, 2017 1:14 pm
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It had been a long, long, time since he had startled anyone and he watched with wide eyes (and, yes, a tiny bit of amusement) as the buck... Well, he couldn't remember startling anyone quite that much before. And then he was talking and, goodness.
"Perhaps we should take this a touch slower. I am Bitter Heartbeat, a Legendary. A stag, if you'd rather," he introduced himself, voice calm and genial. He'd been scared once but this was different, he could tell, as he took in the words that had rambled like a whirlwind.
"You are right, in a sense. I felt that you needed me and so I came. I'm quite real though. As for whether there is no help... Not all does decide to have children, you know. That is up to them. You seem to have a quite lot more on your mind than such a thing as whether there are children or not." He made sure his words were slow, allowed the buck time enough to catch the breath he sorely needed.
"Is it so hard to decide on a meaning?" That seemed to the be the crux of the matter.
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