walk that mile until the end starts; Wolfbane

[Wolfbane]

My dreams have all come true

In the very limited way he knew how, Wolfbane was trying his best to be both a close comfort and at times, a distant support to @[Lepis]. He’d wanted nothing more than to smother her with questions and concerns at all hours of the day, to press his nose or cheek into the supple curve of her distended belly and wait for movement, but there wasn’t a need for it. Though their child would be his first he knew good and well that the mare he’d chosen as his own was already a mother once over, and his incessant presence might be seen as more of a problem than a help.

So he’d left with Titus and given her the one thing a mature female desires most in the world: her freedom. That’s not to say he wasn’t close by, however. The two pegasi stallions had made quick work of the circuit, stopped briefly in Nerine, and then promptly headed back to Brilliant Pampas, refreshingly worn-out and eager for rest. That being said, it should come as no surprise that Lepis wouldn’t allow it - or rather, their foal wouldn’t allow it.

Her cry for Wolfbane’s companionship in those early hours of the morning held a sense of urgency, a note of come here, now lingering as a warning call to give her flighty lover a clear idea of why she needed him long before he arrived. Peeling away from his acolyte, the disbanded Lord veered off into a sky blooming with streaks of dawn colors and used every bit of his reserve energy to hastily fly towards the cozy alcove where the creamy blue mare had hidden away.

And there, teetering into a wide circle that brought him steadily down to the carpeted, gold-tinted earth, was his firstborn - cupped perfectly into the arch of Lepis’ side and staring right back at him when Bane finally came to land.

A million overwhelming emotions overtook him in that moment: Pride, joy, a sense of the unknown as well as an instinctual need to protect, all rushed through the very core of his being as he took in the impossibly sublime picture without a word. In the next instant it had changed, the little creature blinking out of existence so suddenly and so unexpectedly it caused the hair atop his spine to grow rigid with shock. Wolfbane lurched forward, a long step driven by that ancient desire to guard and defend accentuated by the equally surprised, gaping mouth of his confused wife, and snorted brazenly with white-rimmed eyes as his mate began to shift and search herself.

He should’ve known! He should’ve guessed it as soon as the first ghostly sneeze broke through their worried grunts and murmurs, guessed that the winged foal was (of course) gifted like his parents, but he doesn’t see the obviousness of it until Pteron reforms himself right underneath their noses.

“I’ll be damned.” The colt’s father announces with a relieved chuckle, shaking a disbelieving head before closing those precious few feet between himself and the two beings that had just become his entire universe. To Lepis he gives a long, appreciative kiss at the temple, eyes closed, and to Pteron he gives the grace of his hot breath, along with the gentle touch of his matching nose so that the boy might learn and distinguish his important scent. “What have you named him, dove?” Lepis’ counterpart asks, fondly calling her by a nickname that he enjoyed even if she detested it.

Call it retaliation for blaming their child’s disappearance on his ancestry, Bane just couldn’t help himself. He’d let her scathe him all she liked because he knew this wouldn’t be the last time she’d be cursing that particular trick. Lepis was bound to have her hands full with his offspring and for his credit, Wolfbane couldn’t wait to start raising their perfect little hatchling.

Like all good nightmares do