Welcome to Gaia! ::

Reo listened to Dante’s story while she picked a few peaches and tossed them in her face was passive but she knew what it was like to be abandoned and emotionally alone, at least before Alu-lote. “I see.” Reo thought for a moment. “Well I have known Alu-lote for quite some time. She came up and claimed me while I was sitting and reading poetry.” Reo smiled at the memory. “It’s nice to know you’ll be around for the little ones.” Reo searched the bond she shared with Alu-lote to see how the mare felt about Dante. She held a mental image of him in her mind and while she did not ‘send’ it she could feel a wash of warmth from Alu-lote. She rolled peach in her hand as she thought aloud for a moment. “Well I don’t think you need a human to hold you or to learn about us. I would be happy to let you stay in the stable with Alu-lote. I am on the edge of the village and it is quite small so venturing into the wilds at any time would not be so difficult a thing. Long term….” Reo set the peach in so as not to bruise it. “I think she’d just want you to be happy. So come and go as you will is also an option. There are some apples over yonder. Should we add a few?”

Reo looked at Dante like he was nuts and then remembered that he didn’t know the layout of her home. She laughed. “You’d think that. The stables right behind the shop would hold about five Arzein and then the ones on the other side of the living quarters would hold another five. So since only Dome Menel Alu-lote lives with me I think there is more than enough room as long as she doesn’t pop out ten little ones all at once.” Reo winked at Dante. “And should the little ones want a bit more space as they grow, they can move to the other stables so they can be safe and close, but still independent.” Reo pointed this out just in case the young had a stubborn streak which she suspected would be the case. She made note of his love for apples since it wasn’t often Alu-lote brought company home. How to describe the bond? She sighed lightly and leaned her back against the tree and looked up through the branches. “It is so incredible it’s terrifying. I was … alone and then I heard her voice in my head. I looked up and as I met her eyes I felt the bond form. All of the sadness I was feeling was washed away and I could well feel her emotions. I will never be alone as long as I live. Neither will she. Of course we try to keep some parts of our minds separate so that some sense of individuality can be preserved.” Reo winced and held a hand over her stomach. “Well now I suppose we should head back after the apples.” Reo reached up and pulled a few apples roughly tossing them into the basket without much care. “Is there anything else I can help describe for you Dante?” Reo was focused more on the apples but kept calm by talking.

“I think having that many little ones around at once would turn my hair white and make me hide in the house or the shop all the time.” Reo laughed. “It would be worse to be the parents I suppose. At least if they’re not mine I can spoil them and send them to you or her.” Reo began to plot how to spoil the little ones. Maybe one of them would like apples or peaches. Getting sugar cubes would be a pain. She sighed. “It is and it isn’t. My bonded feels joy, worry, pain, and love. The time should be up by the time we get bake to the stable.” She reached down and grabbed the basket. It was heavy and Reo nearly fell over. Using the tree to stabilize herself she shifted the basket to her side so she could carry it and walk swiftly. “Smart boy. If you’re around I’m sure you and I will have plenty of chances to talk. I fear you won’t find me as cheerful as my bonded, but I promise I won’t bite.” Reo’s face took on a look of determination as she started to march back to the stables. Nothing was going to stand between her and her bonded, especially not some silly thing like carrying a heavy basket. She didn’t even bother to look whether Dante was following her.


Alu-lote could feel her bonded’s stubbornness and smiled to herself. She was laying down with two small bundles of joy next to her draped in the blankets Reo had left for her. “Soon you’ll meet your father little ones, and of course my human. She’s really a half elf half human, but most can’t tell.” Alu-lote nuzzled her little girl and then her little boy softly.

Reo mentally grumbled after the male that had passed her. She understood his hurry but he might have stopped to help. It wasn’t as though Alu-lote or her little ones where going anywhere. Marching back to the stables Reo had to turn to get inside the threshold. She already knew Alu-lote’s state since she had felt all the worry gone from the mare. Reo hauled the basket over to Alu-lote. She set it down by the two adult Azrein and then had to back away. There simply wasn’t enough room in the cozy little area to allow the basket, two adult Azrein, and two young ones with the human. With Reo not there it was cozy and not cramped. Reo used a hand to rub her arms that were sore from hauling the basket. She also took a small bit of the basket that was clinging to her sleeve off. It must have broken off in her rush to the stable.

Alu-lote relished Dante’s touch. She felt tired with what she had just brought into the world. She nuzzled him back. She watched him interact with her children and was filled with pride. She watched him lay his head down. She felt love bursting out of her. She picked up and apple from the top of the basket and munched on it quietly. When she finished she snorted softly. “You just wait until I finish this entire basket of food by myself. I’ll be to pudgy to be beautiful any longer. That is unless of course you’d be willing to save me from such a horrible fate.” Her eyes twinkled as she picked up another apple and placed it before Dante. She then dug into the basket to find a sweet peach. She looked up to see Reo sitting on a small stool by the tack so that she could read. “Well what say you bonded? Terrified of having little ones around yet? I know what a hermit you are.” She smiled at her bonded feeling in a very teasing mood. And of course this let Dante know a bit more about her bonded.

Reo only made a rude non-comental noise to both Alu-lote and Dante. “Yes yes. I’m a hermit and too weak to haul a little basket.” Reo was not about to admit to being weak. She stayed curled up around her book when a thought struck her. “mm..” She got up and headed out of the stable and then headed into the shop to rummage around for the object of her desire.

“Dante you have a silver tounge.” She gently kissed Dante’s nose before diving back into the basket. While munching away on an apple she felt the little filly nudge her from under the blanket. “Ah it seems like our little girl would look forward to traveling. Or at least apples. I’m not sure which.” Alu-lote continued to eat surprised at how hungry she was. She tried to image what it would be like to be on the mountain and still truly had no idea. “Perhaps we could go to the mountains as a family. I doubt Reo would come along, but I’d still ask if you didn’t have any issue to traveling with a human.”