Paralogue 13.1: This Horse Is My Child

Featuring: Vivianna, Sula

[4:54 PM] Mika: Vivianna smiles as she brushes a tall chestnut mare. She was going into labor soon and she was assigned to help her through it. She gives the mare a few sugar cubes and comforts her. She starts to hum. "~You're never gonna love me, so what's the use? What's the point in playing a game you're gonna lose?~"

[5:00 PM] Kwak: Not too far off, Sula approaches the stables on his pitch-black pegasus, leisurely trotting along the path. He fiddled with the twin tickets in his robe pocket, feeling their energy, dreading the inevitable confrontation with yet another newly-hired stable boy. But rather than humming, he belts out a rhythmic series of "ees" and "ohs" that rings through the sky.(edited)

[5:02 PM] Kwak: "I-E-I-EEEEEE ~ I-E-I-OOOOOO ~"

[5:03 PM] Mika: Vivi lets out a sound of shock as the mare rears a little at the sound. "Shhh shhh be calm for the child." She calms her back down. "~You're too proud to say that you've made a mistake. You're a coward 'til the en.." The mare starts to look mad again as Vivianna pats her and tries to calm her down. She peaks out of the stable. "Whoever is singing please stop!"

[5:07 PM] Kwak: As if on cue, the singing stops. Sula begins to pull out an invitation, but stops in surprise as he sees the castle's latest adversary is none other than Vivianna. His mount's pace begins to hasten erratically as they approach.

[5:07 PM] Kwak: "Viviann-u? Is that you?"

[5:09 PM] Mika: "Sula! It was you singing!?"

[5:10 PM] Kwak: "A ha ha...I am sorry. In the land of the Dwabi no one is ever mad at singing. Sometimes I forget."

[5:11 PM] Kwak: Shimi reaches the stables and stops, tilting her head a bit at the mare. Sula leans forward to give the pegasus a hug.

[5:14 PM] Mika: "I wasn't mad, you were just scaring Dahlia. She's ready to bare her young soon and I was assigned to care for her."

[5:15 PM] Kwak: "Oh, I see, I see! Yes, the gift of children is a great Kwemo to be treasured."

[5:16 PM] Kwak: Sula slides down from the saddle, remaining lost in thoughts for a moment before standing up.

[5:17 PM] Mika: She smiles. "So how is Shimi doing? I missed her."

[5:19 PM] Kwak: "Ah, it has been some time since...that night. Shimi-e healed quite nicely I think...just a little restless. But..." Sula ponders today's change in plans. "Maybe that is what her heart needs."

[5:20 PM] Mika: "I too am a little restless..a lot has happen you know." She sighs.

[5:21 PM] Kwak: Shimi, meanwhile, totters back and forth, drawn to the young woman but not wanting to provoke Dahlia.

[5:21 PM] Kwak: "I, ah, see that you are working at the stables now. Fortunate fate for all, ii."

[5:24 PM] Mika: "Yeah I deiced I really needed a real job and so I'm here helping horses." She finally moves close to Shimi. "I missed you, I needed you a night ago." She hugs her.

[5:26 PM] Kwak: Shimi's body settles, except for her ecstaticly-whipping tail. "Last night? I thought it had been a few days since we met that woman..Yava, no?"

[5:28 PM] Mika: "It had..but...but something happened..I finally told Leodin..that we could never been together."

[5:30 PM] Kwak: Sula's feigned confusion turns to genuine confusion. "But...Leo-din...Is he safe?"

[5:32 PM] Mika: "Elwyn talked to him, he told me he'd be fine and that being friends with me is more than enough for him." She lays her head on Shimi side.

[5:33 PM] Kwak: Sula dragged his sole across the grass, a little hesitant. "Oh...I am sorry to have caused you such pain."

[5:34 PM] Mika: "Huh? You didn't do anything wrong."

[5:34 PM] Kwak: Shimi's wing gently slid out against Vivianna's face, just a bit ticklish.

[5:34 PM] Mika: She giggles

[5:35 PM] Kwak: "Truly, I did not, ha ha! But...sometimes the greatest Nanyo comes from what we did not do, Vivii."(edited)

[5:36 PM] Mika: She looks at him Confused. "I don't understand."

[5:36 PM] Kwak: He rubs his hands together, then opens his palms. "You remember that Sula-o is a fortune teller, yes?"

[5:36 PM] Mika: "Yes I do."

[5:38 PM] Kwak: Sula comes a bit closer, stroking Shimi's other wing. while his other palm seemed to glide through the air. "The spirits of the earth feed me...I empty my mind, and they give me a...taste of the future, you see."

[5:40 PM] Mika: "Ok...I understand but what does that have to do with anything?"

[5:40 PM] Kwak: "Not long ago, I saw a glimpse of Leo-din's future. That his heart would burn up out of control, and turn him into a fool babbling madness."

[5:41 PM] Kwak: "That..." Sula coughs "..was the day I came to you in the training grounds, singing the same song. I wanted to warn Leo-din before he...made a fool of himself, as the spirits had told me."

[5:43 PM] Mika: "Oh..Y-You didn't know, I mean..."

[5:44 PM] Kwak: Sula shakes his head. "I thought that maybe he was going to embarrass himself in a duel. But when I saw the two of you talking, I...I...I..." Sula rests his face in the open palm of his hand. "I knew the future perfectly, but I was too afraid to hurt him."

[5:44 PM] Kwak: Shimi tries to bite a nearby fly

[5:45 PM] Kwak: "And yet I only brought on greater Nanyo..."

[6:37 PM] Mika: She looks away shocked. "You should have told him...but I don't blame you...I just wish I could return his feelings." She sighs. "Time does heal all wounds Sula, Leodin is strong, he'll be fine won't he..."

[6:39 PM] Kwak: Sula raises his head, with an apparently unfazed smile. "Of course. I did not come here to look after him, after all..."

[6:41 PM] Kwak: He looks to Shimi, recalling ominous visions of her future. "I wonder if you could help me look after this one for a little while?"

[6:42 PM] Mika: "Shimi? I'd love to look after her!" She smiles wide before her turns into a shocked look. "Dahlia! She's going into labor!"

[6:44 PM] Kwak: Sula returns the shocked look, and tears into one of the saddlebags.

[6:45 PM] Kwak: He rifles through various books, some almost entirely burnt or covered in jet-black binding, eventually finding a small soft-green tome with a beautiful horse engraving on it.

[6:46 PM] Kwak: Its Title: The Nature of Horses

[6:47 PM] Kwak: "Ba, Vivi!" Sula hands her the book. "Read this! It will tell us what to do, I am sure!"

[6:48 PM] Mika: Vivianna drops to the ground, rubbing Dahlia stomach. "Good thing I cleaned her stall out today. Sula calm, I know what to do."

[6:48 PM] Kwak: Sula, trembling, puts the book down and clings to Shimi. "A-h-ha. Yes, of course. How rude of me...!"

[6:50 PM] Mika: She giggles and takes his hand, pulling him down to her. "Calm down. This is a natural thing."

[6:52 PM] Kwak: "Ommm...." Sula's hand steels itself remarkably fast. "Yes, yes. The greatest Kwemo. I am interested to see your technique..." He gives a bit too cheery of a smile, watching her every motion like a hawk.

[6:54 PM] Mika: She takes him back, shushing him as the mare lets out pained noises. "One day Shimi will go through this, I wish to be there when it happens."

[6:55 PM] Kwak: The Dwabi silently concedes, spreading his toes to feel life's rhythm around him. And Vivianna's.

[6:57 PM] Mika: She hums softly, hand tighten around his. She moves closer to him, wiping a few tears. "I'll let you name him."

[6:58 PM] Kwak: The Dwabi submits to the spirits. A cool breeze from behind them wraps around Dahlia, soothing her exhausted body and whispering sounds into the mystic's heart.

[6:59 PM] Kwak: "..almost..." he whispers. "...I can almost hear it."

[7:03 PM] Mika: She just smile. "Now you might want to look away. I have to pull the foal as he is a little big...you could help but it might be a little too much for you." She giggles before slowing getting closer to the mare and kneeling, grabbing the small head coming out.

[7:06 PM] Kwak: Sula awakens from his trance, calmer than she's ever seen him. He reaches to the foal's head, pulling gently, and speaks with a higher, softer voice: "Come...Este."(edited)

[7:09 PM] Mika: "Este, his name is Este. How wonderful Sula." The foal finally comes out. "Now we need to make sure he's breathing." She cleans his face and nose.

[7:11 PM] Kwak: Sula puts a palm to the ground. The wind dies down, quiter, quieter, letting them listen closely.

[7:14 PM] Mika: The foal lets out some shaky breaths. "He's fine! Este is fine..Now we must leave the two to bond."

[7:17 PM] Kwak: "Yes...Sula pants, having come out of his bizarre communion. "Lead the way." He smiles as usual, but his eyes are cloudy...

[7:19 PM] Mika: "It is strange birth isn't it." She leads him to a small well where to rises her hands. "I find it beautiful." She smiles shly at him. "Thank you Sula."

[7:21 PM] Kwak: "But...I did nothing." Sula dunks his entire head into the well, filling it with salt. At the bottom, he gazes upon the Stormblade manor in Khlin.(edited)

[7:22 PM] Mika: "But..I felt like you did something.."

[7:23 PM] Kwak: As his head surfaces, Vivianna can only make out the sounds: "di, a"(edited)

[7:24 PM] Mika: "What?"

[7:25 PM] Kwak: "........Radiant." Sula wipes his drenched face with his sleeves. "It is strange...I wonder why a creature so far from it, reminds me of Dwabi..."(edited)

[7:26 PM] Mika: "Radiant? Este? Yes he is a lovely little boy, he will grow up strong and fast like his father." She gives him a loving smile. "You may come and see him anytime ok."

[7:28 PM] Kwak: Sula nods, splashing a bit of water on his bare feet. "It would be an honor, Vivi-i. You are quite skilled with horses, ha ha!"

[7:29 PM] Mika: She shrugs, seems he was back to his normal self. "Sula..do you see me with anyone?"

[7:30 PM] Kwak: Sula blinked, rubbing his eyes. "Is someone...following us?"

[7:34 PM] Mika: "What?" She looks around. "I don't think so."

[7:36 PM] Kwak: "Ah." Sula breathed a sigh of relief.

[7:37 PM] Mika: "So do you see me with anyone?"

[7:39 PM] Kwak: Sula raises an eyebrow.

[7:39 PM] Kwak: "I don't understand."

[7:40 PM] Kwak: He lets out another droning hum... "Oh! The fortune teller! Of course." He looks around for Shimi-e.

[7:41 PM] Mika: She looks away, seems he wasn't going to tell her. Vivianna slumps down, a little hurt...ah she was starting to like someone again..she needed to stop it right now.

[7:42 PM] Kwak: "I do, of course."

[7:43 PM] Kwak: Shimi-e approaches the well, looking a bit lost and bored.

[7:45 PM] Kwak: "It is clear to me now. Vivi, you have a kind heart and a love for Kwemo. Not Nanyo. Not evil."

[7:45 PM] Mika: She approaches Shimi, hugging her."Evil? You thought I was evil?"

[7:47 PM] Kwak: Sula gulps. "No, no, ha ha!" He takes a step towards Shimi, but stops, seeing with his own eyes the close bond she had with the accursed beast. "But only the gods can judge the heart."

[7:49 PM] Mika: She nuzzles Shimi, letting out a soft hum. "....The gods huh. Sula...w-will d-do you see any of my future?"

[7:50 PM] Kwak: "..."

[7:50 PM] Kwak: Sula sits down in the middle of the dirt.

[7:51 PM] Mika: "I take that as a no, I shouldn't have asked."

[7:51 PM] Kwak: "Wait, please, Vivi-i."

[7:53 PM] Mika: She turns to him. "Yes Sula?"

[7:53 PM] Kwak: He wracks his brain over what to reveal, what to conceal. Until now they had been in Freyzenwald, the land of demons. Equivocating and misdirection were a necessity. But for a moment, he had felt...at home again.

[7:53 PM] Kwak: He thought back to Versailles' words on cowardice and morality.

[7:54 PM] Kwak: "The future is...not always so clear."

[7:54 PM] Kwak: "We fortune tellers, many times we are just liars."

[7:55 PM] Kwak: Sula leans back.

[7:55 PM] Kwak: "When the gods give us silence, or tastes we do not understand, many times we must make our own answers."

[7:56 PM] Mika: She gasp, feeling herself tear up. "Ah is t-that so.."

[7:57 PM] Kwak: "But even the good ones, the skilled ones free of Nanyo...for them the temptation is even greater."

[7:58 PM] Kwak: "How can I tell the leader of a thousand men that they will die before the sun rises again?"

[7:59 PM] Mika: "S-Sula p-please tell me straight..w-will I ever find love? I know it was silly to trust a fortune teller but..but I was desperate!" She hids her face in Shimi mane.

[8:00 PM] Kwak: "...I have not looked, Vivian-ni." Sula gets up, and walks the rest of the way to his Pegasus. "Would you...ask me to do so?"

[8:03 PM] Mika: "I-I'm scared..really scared ok." She looks at him. "I..I don't want to spend my live looking for something I won't find Sula..." She looks away again...no..she did not want to know..not when she could see herself...no!

[8:07 PM] Kwak: "Vivi!" A commanding tone, a sharp tone. "If you are not ready, it is fine. I have already told you what Sula-o sees...A strong Vivi. A kind..Vivi. A Vivi with a power that thousands have craved..."

[8:08 PM] Kwak: Sula closes his eyes, already feeling the sting of regret.

[8:09 PM] Kwak: "The Vivi-i I see..will find love, no matter what fate brings her."(edited)

[8:11 PM] Mika: She backs up some before throwing herself at him in tears. "Thank you Sula, thank you so much." What he said at first was strange but somehow she believed him. A soft feeling settles into her chest, she ignores this.

[8:12 PM] Kwak: Sula looks puzzled for a moment, hums, and returns the embrace. He looks to Shimi in desperation, finding no special insight or fortune. But it does calm him.

[8:13 PM] Mika: She pushes away fast. "S-Sorry. I'm a bit too touchy at times."

[8:15 PM] Kwak: Sula gives a hearty shrug. "I just told you your reason for leaving Nanya could be a lie."

[8:18 PM] Mika: "I know, I very much know. But I suppose I want to believe what she said was true Sula..I'm a bit hardheaded." She smiles softly. "Besides even if she was lying, I'm glad I got to meet so many wonderful people. Including you Sula, . I'm happy I could meet you."

[8:21 PM] Kwak: Sula nods. "So you see now, a fortune teller's real job, ha ha ha." A sour taste crept along his tongue. "Sometimes we must accept our lies as gifts from the gods."

[8:23 PM] Mika: "Sula you are sometimes very weird but other times you make me so sad...and I don't know why." Vivianna doesn't like the warmth she starts to feel when she see him. "Ah well little Este should be ready to see."

[8:25 PM] Kwak: Sula hummed to himself, scratching Shimi's nose. "Very well. I would be honored to present his first Kwemo, ha ha ha."

[8:26 PM] Kwak: He suddenly mounted Shimi, directing her to the well, and pulled a strange gourd from a saddlebag while she drank.

[8:27 PM] Mika: She looks at him. "What is that? Why have you mounted her?"

[8:27 PM] Kwak: Sula climbs down, and kneels by the well, chanting softly while he fills the gourd, pours the gourd, over and over...

[8:29 PM] Kwak: The two of them, finished, start to make their way back to the stable.

[8:30 PM] Mika: She looks ever confused but walks back in with them. Este is there laying with his mother.

[8:31 PM] Kwak: Sula gives Este a drink from his gourd, uttering a single, clarion: "Este Kwemi."

[8:32 PM] Mika: "Sula he can't eat anything but his mothers milk!"

[8:32 PM] Kwak: Sula just smiles. "Do not worry. The gods will protect him, and bring Kwemo."

[8:33 PM] Mika: She laughs. "Did you bless him?"

[8:34 PM] Kwak: Sula nods, without a hint of humor in his voice. "The gods will test him, but if his spirit is pure Este will grow up strong and full."

[8:37 PM] Mika: "Oh, I think he will pass."

[8:40 PM] Kwak: Sula returns the gourd to the saddlebag, watching the mother and child.

[8:41 PM] Kwak: "Ba-bi..."

[8:42 PM] Mika: "He's kinda like your kid too."

[8:42 PM] Mika: She laughs some

[8:47 PM] Kwak: Sula scowls, quickly bending over to pick up his horse book. "In my land, every creature has a name. The Dwabi are responsible for everything in the land."

[8:48 PM] Kwak: He stands up, smiling. "No need for succession wars or elections. "Every creature, every child, has all the Dwabi to watch over them."(edited)

[8:48 PM] Mika: "I feel so silly for not understanding.."

[8:52 PM] Kwak: The Dwabi shakes his head. "It is impossible to understand from the mainland."

[8:53 PM] Kwak: "Only by living it, can we know it."(edited)

[8:54 PM] Mika: "Sula..I know this is weird..but have you ever fallen in love?"

[8:54 PM] Kwak: "Ha ha ha ha ha ha!"

[8:55 PM] Kwak: Sula leans his head back(edited)

[8:56 PM] Mika: "No?"

[8:56 PM] Kwak: He looks back at Este. "It is my duty to fall in love every day, Vivi-i."

[8:58 PM] Mika: "What?"

[9:04 PM] Kwak: "With the birds, and the land, and the wind and the sky. " Sula's eyes return to Vivianna. "That is my duty."

[9:06 PM] Mika: She ignores the dull ache in her chest. "Wow."

[9:07 PM] Kwak: "For a holy man like me, you are right, Vivi-i. This horse is my child."

[9:08 PM] Kwak: "As are you."

[9:08 PM] Kwak: "And Leo-din."

[9:09 PM] Kwak: Sula smiles, unaware of the weight of his words. "For us, Dwabi of the Dwabi, having children like the others...is Nanyo."(edited)

[9:10 PM] Mika: She lets out a soft sigh. Elwyn has been wrong...she needed to give up. She touches her belly...maybe she could bear children for those who couldn't.

[9:11 PM] Kwak: "But there is no need to worry for Sula-o!" He brings his palms wide.

[9:11 PM] Mika: "I don't."

[9:12 PM] Kwak: "Since I was a little child, as small as Este, my Dwabi-o taught me...trained me in how to deal with my..." A tear wriggles at his eyelid. "My Nanyo."

[9:13 PM] Mika: She isn't listening. "I'm cursed...completely cursed.."

[9:13 PM] Kwak: Sula lets out the ritual hum that he inherited so long ago. "Ommmm...." His sorrow slides out of sight. Out of mind.

[9:14 PM] Mika: "I was borne under a bad moon and it has left me alone...Sula how do I break this curse?"

[9:15 PM] Kwak: "And so I am free to love you, Vivi-i, and Shimi-e, and Dahli-a..."

[9:15 PM] Kwak: Sula loses his words for a moment.

[9:15 PM] Kwak: Then another.

[9:15 PM] Kwak: "You said...a curse?"

[9:16 PM] Mika: "Yes I was cursed to never find love."

[9:17 PM] Kwak: "Ha ha ha! What do we know of that fortune teller? Perhaps they told the truth, perhaps they lied, but...a curse."

[9:18 PM] Kwak: Sula clutched at his Ox Scroll, his hand filling with infernal dread.(edited)

[9:19 PM] Kwak: "...You're wrong, Vivian-na. That is not possible."

[9:20 PM] Mika: "It is."

[9:21 PM] Kwak: "Ommmmmm........"

[9:21 PM] Kwak: Sula tore into the book-bag again, perhaps even more desperately than when Dahlia was in labor.

[9:22 PM] Kwak: He pulled out a hefty tome, written entirely in an obscure Nolorian script.(edited)

[9:23 PM] Mika: "What are you doing?"

[9:23 PM] Kwak: "The Pegasus," he recited, his eyes passing from line to line, "can only attach to someone they accept as their master."

[9:25 PM] Kwak: Sula continued reading, even though he knew this passage by heart after countless meetings with scribes. "The Pegasus will only accept a master with a pure heart. The impure, the accursed, and the wicked, can never master a Pegasus."

[9:26 PM] Kwak: Sula slammed the book shut the moment the last word left his lips.

[9:27 PM] Mika: "So..I wasn't cursed at birth..I just can't attract men who I will love back...how horrible." Her voice is dull.

[9:30 PM] Kwak: "I have not read your future, Viviann-a, because I did not have to." He points to Shimi. "She is all the proof you need: You cannot be among the accursed, Vivianna, and be accepted by Shimi-e."

[9:31 PM] Mika: "Then why is it I can only find those whom I could never love back and not those I love?"

[9:35 PM] Kwak: "Perhaps the gods are testing their most Kwemo child."

[9:35 PM] Kwak: Sula glances at Este, coughing up the last of the water

[9:36 PM] Kwak: "Perhaps you will find the one whose fate intersects yours later."

[9:36 PM] Kwak: "Perhaps you are not ready...or they."(edited)

[9:37 PM] Kwak: Sula averts his eyes.

[9:39 PM] Mika: "Perhaps.." W-was he..no she couldn't get that sliver of hope up. Still. "I'll wait for them then."

[9:39 PM] Kwak: Sula grinned at her, clasping his hands together. "Yes! Yes, Vivi-i! Believe in Shimi-e! Believe in the beauty that she sees in your heart!"(edited)

[9:40 PM] Mika: She looks dead at him. "Will you wait from me Sula?"

[9:42 PM] Kwak: Sula's eyes meet hers. Then they close, as the "Ommm...." washes over him. "Yes, Vivi-i."

[9:43 PM] Kwak: "When you are ready to face your future and hear your fortune..." He stroked Shimi, looking deep into the Dark Pegasus's eyes. "We will be here for you. Ba-ba."(edited)

[9:47 PM] Mika: Vivianna looks at the man and his pegasus and is it with a deep longing..she wanted this...she wanted to be with them. She gives him a small but deep smile, a smile of untold future they could have. She doesn't blush.

[9:49 PM] Kwak: Sula and Shimi are entranced, in their own world, it seems. Without looking back, he says: "Kwemo, Vivi-i. I see that I have much to learn about caring for my mount."

[9:51 PM] Mika: Her heart cracks a little but she gives him a tired smile. She would always wait...even if it was just a little part of her, she would always wait fot him to notice her smile. "It was lovely seeing you Sula..just lovely."(edited)

[9:52 PM] Kwak: Shimi walks over to her, licking her face abruptly. Sula burst into his usual, rhythmic laugh

[9:53 PM] Kwak: He turned to face them, smiling sincerely. "And you, Vivi-i. His thoughts drifted back to Khlin....

[9:54 PM] Mika: She gives her a weak laugh. Ah she needed to numb her heart again. "See you later then, I must be off."

[9:56 PM] Kwak: Sula climbed atop the saddle, stowing the Pegasus book away for now. "Yes, yes. We all need some rest. Shimi's wings stretched out, preparing for their flight back to the camp. "Take care of Este-i for me, yes? I have a reputation to uphold...ha!"

[9:58 PM] Mika: Vivianna only waves hiding her few tears as she walks away.

[9:59 PM] Kwak: The two mysterious beasts returned to the sky. "AND TAKE CARE OF VIVI-I!"

[10:00 PM] Kwak: And thus they departed from Amaterasu, back to security and seclusion.

[10:01 PM] Mika: ==RP END==