[Bless] Kiss from a rose [Youth/Roses In Bloom]

[Ruriska]

The rose bushes were dormant, their tangled growth deep greens and browns, spiky thorns all the more fearsome with the lack of flowers and leaves. Youth moved around them, tender in his regard, longing for the sun to return, to melt the last of the frost and bring life back into the earth. He felt just as drag and lifeless as his roses, depressed by the season, at the mercy out of the cold.

He’d at least found some warmth during the bad weather and just thinking on it brought a soft smile to his face and a tightness to his chest.  

[So Long Gay Bowser]

Winter in the swamp brought a sudden surge of life, Roses in Bloom had found. The tug within her to answer the call- one she now recognized as that blooming foundation of life within another- had her leaving home frequently these days, taking off on quiet wings to find the parents to be. When she found the buck, the swan landed, turning back into the doe once more. Roses in Bloom smiled at him, sitting across from the acha.

"Hello there, little one! And may I be the first to say, congratulations on your future children. What is it that you wish for them, in this life? And may I ask your name?"

Ruriska

 

[Ruriska]

Youth reacted to the arrival of the swan mare with quiet awe. The moment rolled over him, a quiver that ran through his body, emotions tumbling over each other - surprise, delight, amazement - and beneath them all, a creeping fear.

“Youth,” he answered the last question first.

She was lovely, this mare, with her golden hair and gentle smile. He smiled back.

“I didn’t realize,” he began but never finished, trailing off. His gaze slipped sideways, to the thorny hibernating rose bushes. It took him a while to find his voice again, to push his thoughts into words. “I suppose... I suppose I would like them to grow strong and healthy, to blossom in their own time and find joy in this life.”

A father. Such a strange thought. He still felt so very young.

He wasn't ready.

Moonstone Dazzle

Thank you!

 

[So Long Gay Bowser]

"Youth! What a lovely name. Something so precious, yet so fleeting," Roses in Bloom sighed dreamily, thinking to her own fillyhood. If only she'd been the soul then that she was now, with all her life ahead of her! But then again, would she be the mare she was now, without that growth? It was hard to say.

She perked up at his wish for his children, her happiness turning to giddy at his words.

"Blossoming in their own time, ah! A perfect wish. That was something akin to my dream, you know.
Roses in Bloom," she mentioned by way of introduction, standing from where she sat. With tender hooves she trot over to the buck, offering him a gentle muzzle.

"Then I wish for your future children to live those good and happy lives, and know only more happiness as they grow." Her words were gentler, then, as she continued.

"And don't be worried. Life goes on after children, even if you're afraid now. I mean, I'm a mother of twelve, and I still live on. I promise you, Youth, it isn't going to kill you."

Ruriska

 

[Ruriska]

Youth smiled at the compliment and accepted both her blessing and her nuzzle with a grateful dip of his head. “Thank you,” he said. “I am glad they will be given a good start in life.” That eased some of his worry, though his concerns were hardly for his unborn children and instead for his own simple world.

“Life goes on but differently.” He looked to the roses again, how they fought through the hard winter and waited to bloom, how they survived rain or shine. “All will be well.” Then he laughed, a high sound of delight. “Twelve, though? That must be quite the handful!”

Moonstone Dazzle

 

[So Long Gay Bowser]

"You know, the first batch of them was," Roses agreed, thinking to what a fretful young thing she'd been. She'd scarcely been more than a filly herself, chasing after her kids like any sort of bump or bruise would be the death of them. She laughed to herself, shaking her head.

"But life is always different, always changing. With or without kids, life moves on." She stood up and looked down upon the acha, smiling.

"You're so right, though. All will be well. Have faith in the MotherFather, and know that I'll be around if you need help!" With that, she was a swan once more, taking off into the treetops.

Ruriska