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Posted: Sun May 03, 2015 2:54 pm
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Another day, another pregnancy. It had been a long time since the last one. Shadelight felt entirely inadequate about her membership to the Mothers' Club when she herself had not had fresh new babies since before she had joined. And oh, did she want to. Being surrounded by happy mothers and bouncy foals had awakened her competitive spirit. She would show all of those old biddies who could have the most rambunctious tykes.
Of course, in order to do that, Shadelight would need to do things right this time. She would need to see a legendary kin. She couldn't very well ask the resident legendary of the club about the matter, who, after all, was one of her competitors in the campaign of motherly one-upmanship (that only she was aware of). So, feigning some errand for some herb requiring a long trip to some forgotten corner of the Swamp, Shadelight...took herself straight to her son's home.
Well. She wasn't going to have no one looking after her, after all. Shadelight was getting on in years herself, and had grown accustomed to the cozy treatment of her clan. Besides, she often thought her son was older than she was. He was probably half-legendary himself.
-----
"Mother," groaned Murkcrow, "I have absolutely no ability to bless your pregnancy. You know very well I have never been called to service by the Swamp."
"How do you know if you don't try?" Shadelight complained.
Murkcrow rolled his eyes. "Fine. May your children be many and long-lived, and not given to petty grievances such as yourself. Feeling any different?"
"No," Shadelight admitted. "But I'm not sure there is any different feeling, when a doe is blessed."
"Look, I think you should see a known Legendary about this. Why don't you just go back to the Mother's Club and see--"
"No way," Shadelight said firmly. "Well, if you can't do it, you can at least help me find someone who can."
Murkcrow sighed. He really didn't want to be involved in this.
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Posted: Sun May 03, 2015 3:42 pm
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Posted: Sun May 03, 2015 4:11 pm
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Startled out of his reverie by being addressed, the autumn-colored stag yelped and missed a step. He stumbled forward a few steps, trying to regain his balance, but to no avail, one of his forelegs slipped and he was falling, falling -
And then, in an instant, he wasn't there, and a songbird was winging into the air from a few feet above the underbrush. It chirped loudly, indignantly, as it gained its bearings, and then landed on Murkcrow's back.
"My word," the bird said in the voice of a winded, aging kimeti buck.
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Posted: Sun May 03, 2015 4:20 pm
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Posted: Sun May 03, 2015 4:30 pm
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The stag-bird paused, catching its breath and stilling its tiny, furiously beating heart. "I assure you, miss, I am actually rather average sized," he said at last, and lifted himself form the young buck's back. He returned to his stag form to prove it, none the worse for wear, then turned a quick little circle. "See? Haven't even got any feathers anymore. You handled that very well, by the way, young man," he said to Murkcrow. "Must be familiar with my kind, eh?
"And did I hear something about a quest?" He turned back to Shadelight, eyes all a-sparkle. "I do love a good quest, though if yours is already over, I take it that means you were looking for one of us blessed? My name," he said, proudly puffing up his chest very like the songbird he just was, "is Wildflower Breeze, and I would be glad to assist you in whatever capacity I can."
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Posted: Sun May 03, 2015 4:47 pm
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"Ah, I see," said Shadelight.
"Well," Murkcrow admitted, "a lot of strange things have been happening to me lately."
"Oh, please," Shadelight said, rolling her eyes. She had heard these stories before. "Don't bore him with that."
"Weren't you just saying-"
"Ssh!" Shadelight kicked him lightly and bobbed her head in greeting to Wildflower Breeze. "As it happens, I was indeed looking for one such as yourself. As you probably know, I happen to be pregnant. I was hoping to find a blessed one to ensure a full, healthy litter of lovely foals."
"So she can show up the other ladies in the mothers' club," muttered Murkcrow.
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Posted: Sun May 03, 2015 4:57 pm
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Breeze watched the mother and son banter, his head turning from one to the other as they spoke. His grin twitched at the buck's last phrase, but he tried his best to keep a serious face on. "Ah, I thought such a thing might be needed in this neck of the woods today," he said with faux mystique. "Full and healthy they shall be, and a lively lot, too. And graceful, in their movements and their manners," he added with a chuckle. "Just take this token," he said, the songbird returning as something half-solid to tuck a sprig of his minty boa behind her ear, "as a sign of my goodwill and protection."
He paused, trying to show some restraint, but he couldn't help asking, "Now, is this an official competition of some kind, or are you just looking to set a personal record of some sort? If it's the former, it's perhaps the strangest I've heard of, though I do hear sometimes about kin whose greatest desire is to bear as many children as possible..."
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Posted: Sun May 03, 2015 5:07 pm
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Posted: Sun May 03, 2015 5:25 pm
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Posted: Sun May 03, 2015 5:39 pm
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Posted: Sun May 03, 2015 5:50 pm
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Posted: Sun May 03, 2015 5:55 pm
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