[BLESS] Free Souls (Sylph x Real Big Fish)

[anemosagkelos]

Sylph was conflicted as he walked back towards the tribe lands and, more importantly, Born Again. He'd had a little rendezvous with a beautiful doe and only just found that she was not only pregnant with his children but that she did not wish to raise them. It was not uncommon for kin to let children grow as they would, not unlike weeds or wild flowers, but the more he thought about it the more it did not sit right to him that these children should be raised to fend for themselves when he had, essentially, now that he considered it, a home for them to grow up in. The tribe, Born Again, himself. He wanted these children and while he had no doubt that his pleas would be heard and granted for she did not want to do it herself, he did worry about their chances of survival. More importantly, he worried about their characters.

Dreams were powerful when it came to names and he was no stranger to how his own had shaped him. He did not want that same journey for his children. And so it was only right that he should look for a Legendary, or so he planned to do first thing tomorrow. He would have to ask to see if any of them knew where one might reside. He'd never sought one out himself; Fluke had found one the only time he'd had offspring. And it felt wrong to seek her out to ask her how she had done it then. He'd rather seek her out for other things than to bless his new clutch.

But that help him without a Legendary and without a plan.

[Scaramouche Fandango]

There was a very small bear that could help Sylph with… well, half of that. Real Big Fish, full of salmon and stuffed to the gills with honey, was enjoying some time in her bear shape. She ambled aimlessly, strode sans purpose- until she felt a pull and went to go look for the doe who needed her.

Much to her surprise, it wasn’t a doe. It was a buck. She was drawn to new parents, but usually it was the mothers that sought her, worried as the offspring they carried formed within them. But she knew she wasn’t mistaken. This fellow, with roguishly red eyes and a serious look to him, was definitely the father-to-be, and he was definitely looking for someone like her.

The world looked so much bigger when you were a such a small thing, and Fish approached him guilelessly, watching his reaction. She snuffled in a friendly way and looked cute and helpless- well, as helpless as a small bear with glowing eyes could ever look.

[anemosagkelos]

Very used to small bear, Sylph grinned, "Now, you're a new one!" he exclaimed for he had not seen it before. Nightmare's entourage were very distinct and this little minibear was much too different to be one of them. Still, instinctively, he looked up as if Nightmare himself would appear and he chuckled softly when no red eyes greeted him in return. "I'm glad to see you aren't an owner of my friend, he has enough little ones to deal with with four minibears."

This one, however, gave off a strange vibe. It was not as active as the other minibears he had met nor as in need of entertainment. It stared at him as if it was on a mission and he wondered if he had something, unknowningly, that it wanted.

"Is there something I can help you with?"

[Scaramouche Fandango]

“Four!?” she said, surprised enough to pop back into her kin form. “One’s plenty to deal with- how on earth does he handle four? Musta got ‘em as cubs. But- wait, hang on, that’s not- I mean- dangit, you gave me the perfect entrance and I messed it up. Ok. Pretend I didn’t do that and instead said this–“ and she cleared her throat loudly and boomed “Oh ho ho, I think it is I who can help you! You’re here on your own, aren’t you? She’s not with you?”

Mentally, she was kicking herself. Fish liked to make an entrance, but messing up a perfect segue like that… unforgiveable. Completely unforgiveable.

[anemosagkelos]

He almost yelped at the sudden voice as a totoma popped in before him. Almost, though he jump about a mile high in a mixture of surprise and amusement. Once he was safely on the ground, he opened his mouth to reply, and was promptly cut off. He could only grin in response; he stifled his laughter as she asked him to ignore the previous astoundment and then schooled his features into overdramatic surprise.

He blinked as it went from a statement to questions and he had to pause to take it all in before responding.

"I am indeed alone; she wanted some time to herself for the evening and I am not one to argue with anyone full of life," he smiled, "but, you are a Legendary and I was in ne—am in need, yes."

He took a deep breath, "She doesn't want to raise them and that is her, any kin's right, but I do. I want them to be more than wildflowers grown in the swamp. I want them to be nurtured and flourish and free. I have started to frequent a tribe and my moon, Born Again, and I would raise them well," he explained with a wistful smile.

[Scaramouche Fandango]

Fish chuckled. “I don’t think you don’t need me to tell you what to do. Those are your kids, and you’ve got every right to raise them. She might be catch and release, but that doesn’t mean you have to be, too. You might wanna give her some space, but you should tell her before it’s time for the sacs to get here. She might be quietly relieved, or she might not care, or she might be mad. There’s a lot of things she might be. But whatever she is, you don’t have to give up your feelings of responsibility or duty or love. It takes two to make them, you know? You deserve to have as much involvement as you want. And trust me, kids do just fine even if there’s a non-parent parenting them. They do fine on their own, but I think they do way better with someone looking out for them, helping them grow. You can keep ‘em out of trouble.” Kids could get in a whole lot of trouble. She’d helped raise broods that weren’t hers, biologically, but that never mattered. Kids were kids, and being a parent could be a whole lot of fun if you wanted to do it. Heartbreaking, sometimes, but worth it.

“Now, you didn’t need me for that- but you miiiiight need me for a blessing. But before I bless them, I need you to show me something. If you’re gonna raise them, you gotta be a provider. So! You gotta catch me a fish. Think you’re up to it?”

[anemosagkelos]

"You're right, of course, but I still needed to hear it from someone who didn't know either of us," he smiled before grinning wide. "I happen to be an excellent catcher of fish!" A bit of irony as it was not that long enough he'd spent a whole day catching them for Nightmare and his quartet of minibears. All of which had enjoy the catches quite enthusiastically.

There was more to it than one lake, however, and he looked up to take note of the placement of the moon and then turned to his left, "The north lake will be teeming with late fishers for a meal but the south lake will be nearly bare at this time," he explained to the Legendary in case she wasn't as familiar with this area. "And while I can easily catch you a fish in either, it'll be a bigger fish from the south since the guppies are given time to grown."

With that said, he began to lead her down a less worn path than he'd been on before and it was not long until he saw the lake in question. There were no kin competing for fish as he knew there wouldn't be and the animals in the lake were always there. He took in their positions, the best way to not bother them, before waltzing into the lake and sinking down into the waters. He'd never bothered to learn how to make line and now that he did know how to make it, well, this way was easier.

It took awhile for the fish to start to lure closer in and he might have had such luck because of his long hair and longer tail. Both were such good lures when the water swept them so lightly this way and that.

Chomp. Sylph's teeth clamped down and he turned, rising from the water like some sort of spirit, a wriggling fish caught within his jaws.

He dropped the pike at the totoma's feet with a grin, "Will that do?"

[Scaramouche Fandango]

As he fished, she watched him. He knew the land, knew the water. Knew how to fish. Perfect. His children wouldn’t be lacking for food, nor would they lack a strong role model to help them grow. She wouldn’t need to bless for confidence, and she certainly wouldn’t need to bless for food-finding. Their dad had them covered. She saw their future laid out before him like a river. There might be rivulets and rapids, might be twists and turns, but the path forward was generally one of prosperity. He was strong-hearted. And that’s what she’d ensure for his children, as well. “Perfect. Just perfect.” She inspected the pike, thinking for a moment about what to promise.

“Your children will be strong. Strong and healthy of body, but also strong and healthy of mind and heart. They will see clearly what’s right, and they will have the courage to go for it.” Fish smiled. She knew these kids were going to have it great.

“Now, let’s share this delicious fish. Then you go rest up, because you’ve got some big changes ahead. Bears are nothing compared to children.”

[anemosagkelos]

"Thank you," he smiled genuinely touched all the while Sylph preened just a little bit at what was in store for his children before sharing the fish the Legendary. It was the perfect end to a long day and he felt buoyed, relieved, satisfied that his children would have wonderful lives.