Grave Protector knew where foals came from, but he didn't expect to find himself expecting them so early in life. He thought back to the first time he met the bright eyed doe. She seemed quiet, but curious, and somehow the stars aligned and he caught her interest. The fact that he caught her interest again and again over time surprised him more than anything. They frequented some of the same spaces, and conversation started small, but they eventually got to know a bit about each other.

Who knew that making eyes at a beautiful doe would lead to so much more. The buck saw the changes she was going through, and knew what that meant for them. He only wished there was a way he could help her beyond finding some of her favorite snacks.

Sun-Cursed was snoozing up in the branches, safely sheltered among the leaves when she felt the tug pull her into waking. Her tiny halo brightened as she blinked the sleep out of her eyes. Someone out there was a parent-to-be. Still in her small, sugar glider form she began to sniff at the air, as if she would be able to better tell where she would have to go.

She took no running leap, instead simply bounding up and off the branch and into the dark canopy towards the pull. Several moment of gliding later, she came upon a kimeti buck and just knew he was the one seeking her out. She skittered down the trunk to hop towards him, stopping on top of a root raised just high up enough from the ground that he would be able to notice her.

lilacfishie wrote:

Grave Protector had been a little lost in thought. His ear twitched and his feathery tail swished back in forth as his expression stayed fixed. Spring was here, would new flowers he hadn't shown her make her smile? Were there some out there she could eat as an interesting snack? What did an expecting doe want? He did not feel equipped for this. He was too young, where was the adult? Wait, he was the adult.

Something bright orange and glowing slipped into his peripheral vision. Grave Protector blinked a few times and looked down at the little creature who was...staring up at him? He cocked his head to the side for a moment. Sugar gliders didn't usually have little glowing eyes and a halo of light around them. How strange. The dark buck dipped his head low and sniffed the creature with his sleek nose.

Huni Pi wrote:Thanks so much for picking this up!

Once she was sure she had the buck's attention, she scampered off the root and onto the ground. But when she landed on all fours, it was not with her little paws as a sugar glider but with her hooves as an acha. The ghostly image of her alternate self lingered just behind her, visible in the glow of her halo. Despite the change in her form, she stayed in the shadow of the trees.

"Hello," she greeted, trying to sound warm and welcoming. "You look like you were searching for something. Is there anything I can help with?"

lilacfishie wrote: