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Post by Blubber-Bun on Nov 2, 2016 17:15:47 GMT -6
Unplanned Reunion Early Morning; House of Ahila/Xer
After years of neglecting his role as a family member, Jemin has arrived unannounced to stay overnight at his cousin's place. But he isn't the only one planning a visit.
JellyBlubber's Jemin, Xana-Akai's Xer and seechem's Nero
Jemin awakened slowly, only faintly aware of the milky light which had spilled across the floor, and of the dull ache in his head. How long had he slept...? Well, it didn't matter, for he certainly didn't feel like getting up quite yet. Not while the temperature was actually comfortable for once, and while the pillows simply felt so fluffy - ....pillows? Funny. He couldn't recall ever having slept with a pillow in recent years. Actually, he couldn't recall ever buying one. And then, in an abrupt jolt of memory, the events of the night prior came rushing back to him; from his delayed travels on the road to Osulas, to the convenient discovery of his cousin's nearby house, and finally to the arrival at her doorstep. Mumbling under his breath, both eyes blinked open reluctantly. Jemin then slid sideways, flopping to the hard ground with a muffled groan. So this was Xer's place - or at least her adoptive father's house. Stifling a grimace as life gradually returned to now-sore limbs, the mule staggered upright, knocking into a bedside table as he did so. The shattering sound that followed sounded suspiciously like a glass bottle, but he quickly pushed the thought aside and groggily trotted out the door. The corridor outside was more spacious then Jemin was accustomed to. When he'd first arrived, he'd been rather impressed by the size of Ahila's house. Impressed enough to feel a twinge of envy. But now everything appeared too sharp and harshly bright to his bleary eyes, and for a second he almost longed for the familiar itch of sand and dust upon his hooves. However, he'd already brought that aspect with him. Glancing back at the door from which he'd left, he could already see a trail of muddy hoof prints across the otherwise clean floor; laid out like a pattern of shame. Whether intentional or not, there was no doubt he'd have the house transformed by the time he left. Jemin continued down the corridor. Already he could hear muffled voices up ahead. One of them he quickly recognized as Xer's. And the other one...probably male, but too young to be Ahila. So she had some morning company over? Oh boy. As he came upon the open door to their room, he halted outside for a brief moment, although not so he could contemplate whether it'd be rude to interrupt. No, instead he stopped so to give his unruly mane a hasty comb-through (not that it improved the hair situation anyhow). He then peered in with a small yawn, one shoulder leaned against the door frame. "Ey, Xer? One of your...um, vases might have shattered back there. May wanna check that out." His younger cousin was indeed in the large room - and, as he'd suspected, she did have company in the form of a stallion...pony? The visitor was lanky, and blue, with a rather disgruntled expression. Wait...blue? Lanky? Disgruntled expression?
"...Nero?" |
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Post by seechem on Nov 3, 2016 3:45:31 GMT -6
The early morning light shone harshly onto Nero's face causing him to blink furiously. He hated mornings, so bright and bubbly no matter whether he was awake or not. With a groan he quickly realised he had fallen asleep on his spare bed, rather than walking upstairs to his actual bed. Great. Heaving himself up he felt his rib age creak as it adjusted to know longer being crushed.
"I'm too tired for this..." He whined to himself as he stretched a foreleg absently. No matter how dozey he felt or how fresh and cool it was outside, he knew he had rounds to do. Recently Nero had taken to calling on various patients rather than insisting that they come to his practice. Some would probably hurt themselves trying to get there.
With a final yawn he approached the list he had pinned to the wall of his side room. It had a list of names and days of the week scrawled nearly illegibly across it. He needed to tidy it up at some point. Never the less Nero already had a vague idea of what day it was, and therefore an inkling of who he would be visiting. The name sat bold as brass on his sheet. "Xer." He said aloud. His cousin Xer who had no left foreleg. Hurray. He thought to himself sarcastically, pouting a little, his ears pinned back. He was terrible when it came to catching up with family. His mother had two sisters and that meant cousins. He knew it was his duty to tend to her, and that was what finally prompted his legs to move to the door.
By the time he was halfway there he began to regret not grabbing his blanket and stuffing it into his saddle bag. He was freezing. A bag of shivers and chattering teeth, he looked over at his own saddle bags, stuffed with herbs and elixirs. There wouldn't have been room anyway.
He he knew Xer would be expecting him, and tapped his hoof on the door. He hadn't called on her in weeks, maybe even months. Most days he slept in and missed their appointment, but thanks to his careless sleeping he had woken just in time. "Xer, it me. Nero." He felt a little dim witted for saying that, but he put it down to the cold nipping at his fetlocks.
When the mare answered he regarded her with a weak, forced smile. "May I come in?" He was ushered into a large room, well upholstered with a nice window on one wall allowing streams of misleading sunlight to drench the furniture within. Nero moved into the room, his tail flicking as he regarded the space. A few bookshelves, some seating here and there. Altogether a rather lovely home, more spacious than his upstairs abode.
"How has your leg been? I really am sorry for not calling before now. Been quite busy lately." As he spoke his eyes wandered, distracted, before falling back onto his cousin. It didn't help that he was the youngest, and a medicine horse. Suddenly, his ears pricked back as he heard shuffling by the door. A dark mule stood slumped on the doorframe, eyes bleary with sleep. "Ey, Xer? One of your...um, vases might have shattered back there. May wanna check that out." The stallions eyes slowly fell on Nero, who straighted, ears now perked forward hesitantly. "...Nero?"
At the sound of his name he instantly recognised who this was. The fact that the mule was in Xer's home should have given him some hint. "Jemin." He addressed his older cousin with a curt nod of his head, "What in Hireth are you doing here?" The sudden abundance of family relations all in one room had caught Nero quite off guard, he was rather intrigued as he hadn't spoken to Jemin much, if ever, while he had called on Xer a few times. Well, he had avoided it a lot too, and he rarely actually spoke to her about family matters. "What a peculiar turn of events."
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Post by Blubber-Bun on Nov 12, 2016 23:57:12 GMT -6
The response was quick; curt and perhaps even formal. Yes, this was his cousin alright. Jemin suppressed the bewildered laugh that threatened to spill, and instead broke into a broad, lopsided grin. Nero didn't appear especially enthusiastic, but he took no mind of this - if anything, he merely found it amusing. The mule pushed himself off the door frame and trotted forward, his previous exhaustion forgotten.
"Peculiar is one way to put it. You sure this isn't all one big setup?" He replied, casting Xer a wry side glance. It seemed almost too coincidental for her to not have planned this. And yet, on the other hoof, it appeared that this was indeed a coincidence. Returning his gaze to the Medicine Horse, he halted at his side - giving him a light bump with one shoulder.
"What am I doing here? Nothing much, really - just, um..." Showed up in the night? Unannounced? Uninvited? "...coming to visit."
Jemin was, in fact, well aware of how rare his "visits" truly were. And in all honesty, he had no good excuse as to why. Farming often kept him busy, sure, but with his numerous travels he had plenty of time for detours, should he have wished to stop by earlier. In his younger days, he could recall how his mother encouraged reunions and "play dates" whenever possible; making it a point to keep in contact with her sisters, and thus also with her nephew and niece. However, those days were long gone now - and the few memories he did possess were far overshadowed by his father's larger family, which consisted entirely of nearly identical and equally boisterous donkeys.
Snapping back into the present, he took a small step back with a tilt of his head. Now that he'd noticed it, Nero had grown considerably since their last meeting, matching (if not exceeding) Jemin in height. "Well well well, someone has certainly grown. How long has it been? 3, 2 years?"
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