Rivaini

Motherhood was not without its trials, and Rivaini still felt more uncomfortable than certain in her new role.

But neither was the silver bay as miserable as she’d feared to find herself. She had expected to be both isolated and restricted for days while the frail creature she’d birthed developed and grew stronger. Instead, she was surprised by how quickly Hades learned to navigate the tumultuous waters of using his legs. It seemed impossible that the boy should be able to walk - let alone run - on such long and spindly limbs. Yet within the first day of his existence, the chestnut colt had accomplished both. And by the time a couple more days had passed, her son was running laps around her while Rivaini rested, still drained and weary from the trials of pregnancy and birth.The fretting and chasing she left to Faolain - and shook with mirth each time the colt nipped the ‘Teke in retaliation for her little-appreciated efforts to safeguard him.

The height of the day offered a lull from such activities, however. After a morning spent getting himself into - and being subsequently extracted from - whatever mischief he could find, Hades typically found a shady spot to nap in for an hour or two. Sometimes this was in the shadow of one of the trees at the forest’s edge, but more often it was beneath either Rivaini or her slender companion. And though neither Guardian had faced the colt’s conception and birth without their share of doubts and resentment, each one had caught the other smiling tenderly at Hades when he curled up beside them. The silver bay’s heart was filled with a strange, buoyant warmth to see Faolain embrace the boy as readily as she might her own son - which, had Rivaini but chosen a different path, he might have easily been. It made it easier for her to release the few regrets that had remained to her, and surrender more wholly to the love that she harbored for the dark mare.

When Iscariot had first welcomed Faolain into the folds of their family, neither he nor his sibling could have imagined how prophetic the decision would prove to be.

Enjoying the silent companionship of her beloved, Rivaini was halfway between sleep and waking herself when the familiar voice of her chocolate paramour caused one red ear to twitch. Blinking her bright eyes back open, the muscular mare placed herself instinctively between Rougaru and the small figure that dozed beneath the gentle curve of Faolain’s belly. It was not that she believed the stallion might harm the boy - not truly - but a simple instinctive response that she could not have controlled without first anticipating it. And the depths of the tobiano Guardian’s bond with her son still astounded her, even nearly a week after she’d birthed him. “Rougaru,” the silver bay greeted in warm contrast, struggling to force the stiff language of her body to match. Stepping aside again, she gave Paradise’s king room to approach the colt, watching his expression with a measure of pride. “Meet Hades.”

Unaware that he was the subject of both conversation and adoration, the dark chestnut colt shifted fretfully in his sleep. One chocolate ear flicked, stirring the bright brush of his copper mane in its passage. Tucking his muzzle into the pocket between his hind legs, the boy settled down again, his sides heaving with a deep exhale of breath.

“He’s almost due to wake up, so don’t worry about disturbing him,” Rivaini said after a moment, her eyes meet Faolain’s with the brief flicker of a sly smile. “If you’d like to introduce yourself, I bet he’d welcome the opportunity to familiarize himself with his father’s scent..” With great effort, she managed to straighten her expression - though she was not as successful in concealing the humor that sparkled in her pale eyes. Given the strong possibility that Hades had inherited his nippish tendencies from the wolflike stallion, Rivaini thought it only fair that Rougaru become acquainted with his habits in the same way that she and Faolain had.

Stirring again, the liver chestnut colt uncoiled slowly from his tight ball. Between bleary blinks, a pair of orange eyes struggled to focus themselves on the new and unfamiliar figure that hovered nearby. He wasn’t afraid - in his short life, nothing had ever given Hades cause to be - but this abrupt change in his world left him uncertain. The small sphere of his world had only ever included himself and the two mares who watched over him. But suddenly - confronted with evidence of yet another of his kind - that sphere had grown, and would never be able to shrink again.

Small ears flipping forward and head tilting to one side, the son gazed raptly at his father and almost forgot to breathe.

mare / seven / silver bay tobiano / andalusian mix / 15.3hh