[B] Those Yet to Be (Turmoil/Light in the Night)

[AMItotic]

[imgleft]https://matope.pixel-blueberry.com/imag ... uncert.png[/imgleft]It was not the first time Turmoil had been given such news. One of the does he'd taken comfort in had come up expecting, and his world was about to once again with little eggs and little hooves. It had been a miracle that the first set of foals had come out with all their eyes and ears and hooves, that they'd grown up to be healthy and sturdy. Still, it never kept Turmoil alone from his thoughts of a world where they hadn't, where something awful happened and they all were disfigured, malformed, blaming him, hating him--

He'd been young for his first clutch but he was taking no chances this time. He knew the stories of the glow-eyed kin who communed with the Motherfather and (if given proper tribute) gave boons to those yet to be. Two days of fishing had earned him a small bundle of crane feathers in trade, which Turmoil held gingerly between his teeth as he plodded through the soft ground of the marshland, seeking an audience with...something.

[blue]

[imgright]https://matope.pixel-blueberry.com/imag ... ncert3.png[/imgright] The swamp helped those who helped themselves, perhaps; guided Turmoil's foosteps through the trees to a quiet spot close enough to the seashore that the faint scent floated on the breeze, a rolling wind that cooled the air to something gentler.

This was where Light in the Night was wandering, serenely alone, aside from the wolf trotting at her heels, like a pale shadow. The sound of an approaching kin brought both their heads up and turning in that direction, antlers scraping low boughs as she did. Another kin would have called out, but she didn't, only took a few steps out so that she was more visible against the background of the swamp.

@AMItotic

[AMItotic]

Turmoil almost didn't hear the other kin at first. Almost didn't see her, either--until she and a wolf stepped forward, diaphenous and softly glowing. Turmoil shuffled on his hooves and almost dropped his collected feathers, but he made himself breathe deeply through his nose. Wolves were trusted companions of kin, they were well trained and it certainly wasn't typical to think of the ways they could strip flesh from bone. (Turmoil thought about it anyway--he always did.)

"...Hullo," he said softly, somewhat stifled by the gentle way he held his proposed gift between his teeth. Would she attack? Reject him? Words, Turmoil, find your words. "I--heard stories there are kin in the swamp. Who can..." Eggs ruined, dashed and scattered among the rocks. Blights upon them all. "...who can help, if there are--if a doe is expecting. To help the little ones."

"I want to help her. Them. I don't want...bad things to happen." He looked at the doe, hoping he didn't sound too hopeless or lost. "...Can you help?"

@blue

[blue]

It had, perhaps, been weeks since last Light in the Night spoke -- most of her time spent alone on the outskirts, quietly finding her way on her own, making her own space, enjoying the quiet and solitude of her own company. Some kin might have gone bad living like that, but it worked for her; had worked for her since she'd shed the bond she shared with another, the ties that had tangled them together.

Now, though, she drew in a deep breath, taking a step closer to him with her head bent slightly. Her voice lilted and wobbled, gentle and reedy and not as rich as the song many Kin used.

"Are you on a precipice?" A pause; she wasn't quite sure that was clear enough, so she pressed on. "Unsure which way to go?"

@AMItotic

[AMItotic]

Her voice was so soft, it disarmed the rolling anxiousness in Turmoil's ribcage, if only for a moment. "Always," he nodded, willing himself to be still as she was, to be quiet as she was lest he somehow startle her and ruin the whole encounter.

"I always feel as if I'm standing at the edge of a deep dark pool, and something's stirring underneath that I can't see, and I don't know if it helps or harms but I'm thirsty so I have to drink the water. And--and the ones I care about, they have to drink the water, too, and I don't know if what's coming is going to help them or harm them either. If I let them drink, so to speak, I risk that they get gobbled up, but if I forbid them from drinking then they'll be hurt from thirst. I don't know which one is better. It's so hard not knowing."

In spite of his best efforts, his song went higher in pitch the longer he sang, sheepishly scraping at the ground with one of his hooves. "But I can't choose not to have little ones, so the best I can do is try to help them. I thought...I don't know. I thought maybe they could be better than me, to see what lurks underneath."

@blue

[blue]

"You can absolutely influence the lives of others." She dipped her head as she spoke -- gesturing him nearer with a careful arch of her neck and a serious expression on her face. She had to clear her throat, drawing one step closer herself. She wouldn't meet him halfway. He'd have to come close enough for her to touch himself.

"I can't tell you how, but I can give you a gift that will help you figure out the best path yourself. Then you don't need me to bless your children; you can do that yourself."

@AMItotic

[AMItotic]

Turmoil was ever-aware at the wolf beside the doe, and wasn't terribly eager to spook either (or himself, really). Still, at her permission, the splotch-furred buck approached slowly, and when he was close enough to see the scales on her brow he knelt down to lay the bundle of feathers at her hooves, an offering and a petition.

"I'm not worried about the how, so long as it works," he shook his head, closing his eyes. It was a lie, somewhat--he worried about everything from the way the moss grew to an errant wind to the state of hunting, and he would almost certainly be kept up by the notion that he could somehow figure out what had happened, if only he were to think enough at it. But it was true that his future children were worth the effort and the worry, and he would fight his mind a thousand time if it would ensure their safety and health.

@blue

[blue]

"Well, in that case, anything will work." She stepped forward again, to bump her shoulder against his this time: her body passing against his and then away, Light in the Night tossing her head as she started away again. The contact tingled, the feeling spread. Magic would blossom in Turmoil as she stepped back toward the woods, cementing her words, offering a breath of hope that maybe they were true.

"You care. That's all that matters. The rest will fall into place."

@AMItotic

[AMItotic]

Turmoil wasn't sure what to do, how to stand, or if he should close his eyes while she worked--but all of that was pushed aside with a touch, where suddenly he knew...something beyond his understanding was at work. He dreaded that there was so much to the world that would forever be unknown, but more importantly, he was grateful to know that something other than him would be watching out.

"Thank you," he called, watching the doe take her leave.

@blue