Homecoming [ANY]

[Circinae]

oh, my love, don't forsake me. take what the water gave me ..

What is she so afraid of? Circinae is home, standing unusually still right inside the boundary lines of Taiga, and she can’t seem to move any further. At first, she reasoned it was the boys. They would be bored, get lost, anything could happen - so she’d left them with the best caregivers in Beqanna and tried once more to go back. She’d gotten as far as this point and then … she’d stopped. Just quit walking and instead took up staring into the winding, shaded forest that had once been such a comfort to her. Now? It seemed dark, imposing, unwelcoming.
 
The little two-toned mare knows what it is, but her heart twists the thought and breaks it apart before she can dwell too long upon it. Lingering had never done her any good, ever, so she brushes the fear away and swallows her hesitation, breathing deeply to fill her lungs before closing her eyes and shifting.
 
The nimble brown wolf is not so afraid. In fact, she’s bold, something near to blind in her excitement as she leaps ahead to blur past the towering redwoods and their less-ornate cousins. The memories return, unbidden and overwhelming but she drinks them, raises her head to the shrouded sky, and inhales all of the things she had missed so much during her time away. There isn’t even a need to look at her direction, the way is known from having run these trails thousands of times over.
 
When she reaches the clearing where the ground has been worn down through the years of gatherings she stops, tail curling happily above her hips while her tongue lolls from the side of her toothy mouth. A yip, and then a high-pitched note of distinction that wavers above the treetops and floods each corner of their woods. Happy, healthy, and whole, the little water wolf has finally made her way back to her beginnings.

Circinae

[Jinju]

Jinju

She does not know if she should be excited or upset or angry. Or perhaps it are the hormones that make her think that, because of course Jinju is thrilled to see her friend again. She considered Circinae that. It had just been a really long time since they had last seen each other. Nothing much had really changed – or not that Jinju was aware of – and nothing about the proud creature that stood in the clearing showed it had been.

Until the moment Jinju could lie her eyes on her friend, she had been afraid to answer the call. What if she had imagined it? What if it wasn’t Circy? But it was her. She stood frozen next to one of the thick pine trees, ruby eyes bright as the fire within her flared. Then she softly nickers back, ears pinned forward before she takes a few hesitant steps further into the clearing, her patrolling the border while Ruan was way temporary to take care of things.

And then a few more, and more, until she stops a little away from the brown wolf. Her head dips a little, so she’s closer to the wolf’s eye level. Her breath hitches for a moment and tears well up in her ruby eyes. Not anger tears, not upset tears, happy tears. ”Circy” she murmurs softly before pausing for a moment. Swallowing the lump in her throat that had formed. ”You’re back. Please say you are.”

Jinju would need a friend now. A female friend, to be more specific. She knew she could count on Aten and her father would do anything he could, but it was different with Circy. With Heda gone and Enfys and Polaris both way too young, her friend’s return couldn’t have had a better timing. Her barrel was swollen with child, Jinju wouldn’t need words to tell Circinae that she was expecting.

[Circinae]

oh, my love, don't forsake me. take what the water gave me ..

Of course she was back for good. The nimble brown wolf is all energy and soft yips when Jinju breaks through to the clearing, her dainty paws sending her bounding ahead to meet the fire-wielder halfway, tail animated behind her. They exchange a hello that crosses the boundaries of species; one black nose distended to meet a wetter, more pointed variation, and the two are reunited. Circy could cover her in hot kisses, she was so excited, but she refrains and instead races forward to weave underneath and between the legs of the great, black mare. It had been far too long.

When she finally comes to a stop, skidding gently to disturb the earth beneath her claws, her bright blue eyes finally catch the undercurrent of worry in Jinju’s red gaze. Her ears, so alert and steady, flip backwards with uncertainty as she pads slowly forward. The little wolf isn’t made for finer things like fear and tenderness, so Circy shifts mid-step and faces the mother-to-be as a horse. “Oh Jinju, I’m so glad to be back. Glad to be here with you and home, where I belong. Come here and hug me properly!” She coos, not even waiting for an invitation but instead stepping ahead to wrap her smaller neck about the larger mare’s.

She squeezes, tightly as a horse can manage, and then retracts to run her soft, green nose over the budding life in Jinju’s belly. She was large, even for her size, but Circy had felt and seen the globe she’d become during her own pregnancy with twins to know that her friend was safely bringing only one to term. “What a miracle.” The shifter hums, letting the sound vibrate through that midnight-colored skin. “This is your first, am I right?”

Circinae

[Jinju]

Jinju

Her soft laugh breaks through the Taiga’s silence, pure joy and relief. It’s only that she remembers that she could easily trample the brown wolf that she keeps still, instead of joining Circinae’s happiness by jumping around. Her muzzle dips down, brushing over the wolf’s back as it circles her legs. And then, then she can greet her friend on the same level. The forest green mare’s hug is one she doesn’t mind at all, her own neck curving to wrap around Circy’s. ”I’m so happy you’re back” she mumbles against her friend’s skin, muzzle sliding down the curve of Circinae’s back to scratch her mane just before her withers.

A shiver run’s down her back and at the same time a pleasant twinkle settles in her stomach. The time to deliver was getting closer and closer with every day and with her size, well, Jinju didn’t think the baby would keep them waiting much longer. She’s cared though. Afraid of the responsibility that would come to lie upon her shoulders, what it would meant to be a mother. Having a female friend around – because honestly, Jinju didn’t have such in the Taiga – surely lifted a little bit of that weight of her shoulders. She nods slightly, though with a small smile tugging on the corner of her lips. ”It is” she confirms. Jinju wants to spill her insecurities, her worries, but at the same time doesn’t want to ruin their happy reunion.

So instead she draws closer again, ruby eyes closed for a moment as she leans against her friend. Then, with a breath, she pulls back, eyes open again to search her friend’s gaze. ”Will you tell me of all your adventures?” It had been so long, Jinju is sure that Circy would have a whole lot to tell her.

[Circinae]

oh, my love, don't forsake me. take what the water gave me ..

Circinae is more than glad to have Jinju in this moment. She thinks, while the black mare settles comfortably into the curve of her shape, that she would have been disappointed in anyone else coming to welcome her home. “I’ll spill if you will.” She rhymes humorously, placing a light peck against the other girl’s shoulder before Jinju can completely disentangle herself.

And just like that, Circy feels the worry bleach from her mind. She’d been silly to think that coming home would be anything less than wonderful. “Where do I begin?!” The colored mare exhales, tipping one hoof with the effort of relaxing. She ponders for a moment, smiles sweetly, and then turn a mischievous eye to the black. “I was perusing the Forest with my lover,” She tells the girl in hushed, heady tones, “you know, like all temptresses are prone to do, when we’d decided to take a dip in a nearby reflection pool.”

It was fun to remember that part. Canaan had been cloaked in riveting gold, dappled only by the shade of the leaves while they strolled together. She’d been in her prime, excited to have him nearby and more than willing to drown in those amber eyes. Her heart clenches with the thought and she realizes, very suddenly, that’s it’s been far too long since she’s seen her winged traveler. “I had sunk easily into the water when out of the blue, a whirlpool opened beneath me and sucked me away.” She regaled, eyes as wide as they had been when she’d first experienced that terror.

“I got spat out on a lonely island somewhere. No idea if it was even in Beqanna. I was too afraid to get back in the water and try to swim anywhere, so I stayed. A prisoner with twins growing in my belly.” She sighs, relaxing her expression once more. “Eventually, I realized I could either try the waters once more or die there -” She shrugs, finding the rest of the story rather uninteresting and common compared to the beginning. “- and that’s how I found out I’m a teleporter.” She finishes, laughing softly with an energy that crinkles the corners of her lids.

“What of you? What lucky lover stole your flower?”

Circinae

[Jinju]

Jinju

What else could she do than teasingly roll her eyes in their cases as a grin lies on her lips. She could’ve known that it would be a this for that, and honestly, Jinju couldn’t really blame her friend. ”Like I would keep any juicy details from you” she instead teases back. She nips at Circy’s shoulder lightly, so opposite of the peck she had gotten from the deep green and blue mare herself.

To make up for it, she brushes her muzzle over the spot, before pulling back in favour of being able to meet her friend’s eyes, except for the moment she let her eyes wander over Circinae’s body. Jinju doesn’t press, giving her friend a moment to collect her thoughts before spilling her story. ”Lover?” she repeats softly when she’s done chuckling, but the twinkle never leaves her eyes. She probably shouldn’t be surprised by that, but she was. Curious too. Who had it been that had stolen her dear friend’s heart?

Girly gossip and curiosity is soon replaced by worry and genuine concern when Circy’s story takes a dark turn. Eyes widen ever so slightly and Jinju steps back to take a good look at the forest green mare in front of her. ”You.. got attacked and trapped by someone?” That was the logical assumption to make after all. Jinju doesn’t like the idea at all, ears flicking backwards and body tensing up. That she learns that her friend had been heavily pregnant – even of a pair of twins for the lord’s sake – only to have Circinae tell her that it had all been her own doing.

It takes her by surprise and for a moment she’s indignant for the prank Circy pulled on her. Ears flick back, then forward, and with a shake of the head she grins. ”You tease. Got me there real good” she admits, joining Circinae’s soft laugher with her own. Then, when they quiet down, Jinju cannot stop herself from grinning.

One of her hind legs lifts in a stance of rest, tail lazily flicking through the air as her gaze moves to somewhere in the distance. ”Terran..” she murmurs his name. It was hard to express what she felt for him, was it love? She didn’t know, but she surely did like him. And that he had agreed to be a part of their child’s life, Jinju had really felt relieved at hearing that.

A light shake of her head and her ruby eyes find Circy’s again. ”Nothing special honestly. After.. what happened I left Taiga more and more often, to look for mom, for personal growth, but also to idk, explore?” she pauses for a moment. It still very much got to her how things hand done between her parents, and it hurt her that she didn’t have both of them around. But she maybe wouldn’t have met Terran if things had gone any different. ”That’s how I met Terran. We hit of pretty well and got together a few more times. One thing led to another.”

There is a light twinkle in her eyes as she holds the mare’s gaze, her head tilting lightly to the side before allowing her gaze to move to Circy’s barrel. No trace of her pregnancy left. ”So, twins you said?” If she hadn’t been told, she would’ve never guessed that her friend had become a mother during the time she had been away from home.

[Circinae]

oh, my love, don't forsake me. take what the water gave me ..

Oh god, it felt so good to laugh again. Even the sting of her companions bite does nothing more than rouse a flick of her navy tail. Circy is simply too happy to be put off by anything in this moment. “Ooo, Terran, very sexy.” She winks mirthfully, finding the sudden shyness of Jinju’s body language more telling than the black’s words. The mare’s story unfolds and Circinae listens with rapt attention, riding the waves of confusion and uncertainty with Jinju as she relates her tale. It was a beautiful thing, to be so crossed in love. The air of it all gave Jinju a distinction of sorts, an extra something that softened her corners and inevitably led to the rounding of her belly.

Circy cannot be more astonished if she had tried. “I told you that adventure was out there and between the two of us, it seems we found a heap of it.” She sighs as the other girls spiel winds down. In the comfortable silence that follows the shifter finds she cannot peel her bright eyes away from those adorably heavy sides. “Oh yes!” She chirps when Jinju prompts her for more information on the boys. “Corvus and Crevan, the lights of my life.” She regals, somewhat sarcastically.

They were the apple of her eye, make no mistake, but they were also a handful and (in some instances) a tiresome grate on her nerves. “I pray that you’re spared from ever having to go through that ordeal,” She chuckles, remembering the delivery all too well, “it’s one adventure you might not want just yet.”

“But enough about me! Come, let’s get you moving.” She prompts, jerking forward to glide past the heavily laden daughter of Ruan and into the worn paths of their home. “You look ready to pop and nothing helps that uncomfortable sensation better than mild activity.” Circy calls back over her shoulder with an understanding smile. She was home and her beloved kingdom was well and happy. For now, everything else could wait.

Circinae