It'd been a few days since Pride had had any visitors. They came and went; there were enough of the Seven still around, and enough of his immediate family, that it wasn't uncommon at least. But it'd still been days, and so when he heard someone calling, his ears swept forward at once with pleasure. Both a visitor and family--that was good. Vivilene, if he wasn't mistaken.

His diamond armor was off, at the moment, stashed near the Throne--but that didn't stop Mischief from scampering over, leaning upward and waving paws in the air. He knew what she wanted: a free ride. The arctic hare was used to sitting on the armor, but he knelt nonetheless, allowing her to scramble up behind his shoulders, before he pushed up and moved on.

She braced herself, broadcasting cheerful energy along the familiar's link. Pride, for his part, found his mood improved: happy familiar, visiting family, it was hard to remain his usual stoic self. His approach toward where he'd heard Vivilene was swifter than usual, then, though with his typical precise, graceful steps. His hooves clicked on approach, and he called out: "Here; Vivilene, was that you?" It could be difficult to hear her, at times, but he-

Oh. A fawn? No, he realized, drawing closer. A foal. A--what was it. A horse. Yes? I think that was it--a horse. Now he was curious, too, but he kept a polite expression as he approached, inclining his head in greeting. "Hello," he offered, to them both.

red deer img credit - dan seagrave

@Filth

Filth's ears flicked towards the sound of hoofbeats. When Pride called it was already trotting towards him, unsteady but determined - ears fixed on the noise, nose on the strange scent, eyes struggling to focus on the four-legged pale smudge that must have been him. He looked like he was the same shape as itself, although his head extended up in a pattern that made pretty trails in Filth's vision when he moved it. Maybe it was a grandfather thing.

"Hello," it squeaked, having some notion that it was good to return that word. "I'm Filth. That is Vivilene and she is good. Are you a grandfather? Do you have food? What's that thing on your head? Can I grow that too?" It craned its neck to try to nibble at the stag's leg between questions, curious what he was made of.

@Pride @Vivilene

Vivilene felt a little lift in her chest, excitement upon hearing a family member. Without much control over the matter, her face split into a grin that dimpled her cheeks as she kept leading Filth towards the deer. It seemed to be finding its own way over to him though-- so she took a moment to step near Pride and pressed herself against him.

She'd hug him with her arms, but she understood that was intimidating to most people.

"Hi," she said, first to Pride and then to Mischief on his back-- "hello" --before going on. "This is, ahh... Filth. I found it in the rocks. It eats penches."

A beat. "I don't have any left." Like it needed to be said.

She straightened and reached down, gently, to Filth, trying to politely nudge the foal from gnawing at her grandfather's legs. "Biting people is rude," she whispered softly, matter-of-factly. To Pride, she said a little louder, "I don't know how to, ahh... take care of it. I don't have food. Um... I just woke up a few days ago, too."

The hybrid side-eyed Pride. She half-hoped he'd have some kind of wisdom to impart to her on baby-helping, or maybe even talk to it himself. She more-than-half-hoped that he would give Filth a better name than... Filth. But she did not say so.

But she did say, as if she had already forgotten she had greeted him already, "Oh, ahh, and hello."

@Pride

The fact that Filth was a foal made its transgressions, minor as they were, wholly forgivable. "Hello," Pride started to respond, and then was amused to find it introducing his own grandchild. "Err--yes, we've met." As for the nibbling, Pride peered down, bemused. "Yes, I am a grandfather--there should be food, and a garden-... Ahh, these are antlers. I don't think so, not judging by the few of your kind that I have known, at least."

Thankfully, Vivilene was there to save the day--sort of. He offered her a warm eye-squint of a smile. "Hello. -Peaches," he corrected absently, for what had to be the thirtieth time. There was no heart in it; it was automatic, at this point. "Err. You can both live here for a bit, if you like? Erm. Generally children need food, yes, and also guidance..."

The stag trailed off, peering down to Filth. Then he looked back at Vivilene--and reality snapped in. Realization hit. His heart went from warm and amused to horrified and cold in a second. He'd forgotten-... she'd been asleep.

She doesn't know.

He'd thought of how to break this to her, but--here? Now, in front of a child? And she was... she struck him as delicate at the best of times, and...

Pride winced, a little, and spoke more softly.

"To begin with, I did need to speak to you--what do you both say we head to the garden? Then Filth can eat a full meal, and you and I can talk a little, meanwhile..?" He glanced down at the foal. "How does that sound?"

red deer img credit - dan seagrave

@Filth

Filth stopped nibbling with a slightly dismayed nicker once corrected, and instead turned its head every which way to get a better look at the others. "Okay," it said while twisting its neck to peer at the antlers. "But how else am I supposed to tell who it is?"

Without waiting for an answer, as it was distracted by Pride's words, it continued, "I like gardens," which was probably true if a garden had food in it. "Can we go now? Are there more children there? How long will I be a child for? I want to be large, and also to have antlers and be pretty." Its ears flicked around trying to listen for gardens or children or even more grandfathers, but so far everything sounded disappointingly cave-y. It stumbled onwards nonetheless in a direction it hoped had gardens in it, eager to move.

@Vivilene

Vivilene was completely oblivious to whichever terrible dread was washing over Pride, presently, though his change in tone didn't go entirely unnoticed. All it earned him, however, was a little sideways glance from his granddaughter. Though Vivilene had a vague notion that whatever Pride had to speak with her about was unpleasant, she didn't press him about it for the time being. "Okay," she said, and she turned her gaze back to Filth.

Now, she was certain something might have been amiss here. "You can look at them, or smell them, or listen to them," she said, but she was half-leaning over-- as much as her gemstone would allow her to --to glance at the foal's face. "Can you, ahhh, see alright? It's okay if you can't." Her tone had changed, slightly, then; concern that brushed away the anxiety that usually gnawed at her.

It returned all the same, though. "You might have, ahh, antlers," she contemplated. Some people didn't, but Filth looked mostly similar to Pride and the cave deer, and most of them had antlers of some sort. "And I bet you'll be pretty."

The hybrid stepped along with Pride, assuming he started walking. "Everyone is, ahh... children for a while, I think. We're small for a few cycles. If you eat lots of pen-- peaches," side-eye to Pride, "you'll get big in no time."

@Pride

Pride blinked at Filth for a moment. He wasn't sure what the foal was asking. How is he supposed to tell who... what is, what? he thought, but before he could untangle the question, the foal had moved on. Vivilene tackled most of it. Pride simply nodded along, offering the correct sounds of agreement. "If you are a horse," he tacked on, when she is finished, "you will be much larger than I am. Double my size," he estimated. He'd only met a few, but they'd only ranged upward from more than double his weight.

He was pretty dang sure Filth would not, in fact, have antlers. He'd already said as much, but Vivilene gave the foal some hope (maybe) and he didn't want to warn against it now. So he said nothing, focusing instead on the conversation he was about to have to have.

He turned, picking his way back toward, and past, the throne, to the little grove of a garden that had been created and tended by the white lion Mercurious. It still grew; Pride still tended it himself, when needed, with water and light. Little baubled lights provided illumination; plenty of plants, most edible, grew in proliferation here. It was a good source of food for the herbivores of the Seven, though Pride often went to Eridanus anyway just so he didn't overtax the magic-grown plants here.

A foal, though, probably wouldn't be a problem. "Go on in. There should be more fruits, and plenty of grasses for you."

Then he stood quietly at the edge of the garden, waiting for a moment alone with Vivilene.

red deer img credit - dan seagrave

@Filth

Filth's face had nothing obviously wrong with it, aside from a vaguely uneasy effect. It wasn't not a horse - it was certainly nothing but a horse - but there remained a feeling that it was simply not very good at it yet.

The eyes were a deep red, unclouded, though at a closer look, also unfocused. When Vivilene leaned down, it craned its neck to nose at her, gaze flicking uncertainly until she was close. It would not be hard to guess that the creature was, at best, terribly nearsighted.

"I think I can see you. You two look about the same, except your head is more purple and has two leg-things coming out of it," Filth said and punctuated the sentence with a soft thud as it cheerfully trotted into another rock, putting its limitations on immediate display. It shook its head, adjusted direction and continued, "You smell more different than you look."

As the trio approached the garden, the foal was distracted at once by the plethora of impressions. Determined to grow large indeed, it eagerly made its way inside and began to nibble at anything that smelled interesting, leaving a trail of torn leaves and spilled fruit in its wake. While chewing on something that might have been another pench amidst its exhaustive efforts to taste everything, Filth looked around with a sudden air of contemplation and tried to focus its senses, ears flicking toward the slightest of sounds. Was there really more to perceive?

Yes. There was. Too much - suddenly there were rushing, beating noises all around it with no clear source. Filth let out a startled whinny and bounded away blindly, trying to get away from the overwhelming sensation, and promptly tangled its wobbly legs in the undergrowth. There it lay thrashing, kicking at vines and leaves in a panic. [Failed Red Sense]

@Vivilene

If Vivilene knew what near-sightedness was, she might have named it then and there. As it was, she simply and quietly documented it under 'there's something wrong with its eyes, probably' and left it there. She knew there was also the possibility that it was just very young and still adjusting. Eyes did that, right?

"Those are, ahh, arms," she said, offering her padded hands to Filth's mouth. They smelled of peaches, still; and dust and plants and Filth's butt from guiding it.

It'd been a while since she'd been in her grandparents' garden. She fell quiet but happy when they approached, white-tipped tail whipping gently behind her. It smelled like she remembered; plants and fruits and dirt that shone underneath the baubles. She realized all at once how hungry she was.

While Filth began its feverish excursion, Vivilene followed behind and plucked at the half-nibbled fruit. She delicately stuck the seeds back into the ground (seeds liked that, yes) before taking the bundle of leftovers to Pride. She settled, then-- long legs folded beneath her and she rolled a few tooth-scuffed peaches to the deer.

She opened her mouth to speak, barely managing a soft 'ah' before the foal clattered to the ground. She half-jerked back, limbs trying to untangle and stand up at the same time as she toppled over with a startled bleat. She couldn't tell if this was normal horse behaviour or if something was wrong.

Heart racing, she looked to Pride to handle the situation.

@Pride

Pride's ears pricked up at the mention of 'smelling more different.' He, too, picked up on the apparent deficiency in the foal's sight, and after a moment's hesitation, committed it to memory without mentioning it. Maybe later on he could test that theory, and teach Filth other ways to 'see.'

He waited until the horse was eating before turning to Vivilene, drawing closer so as to speak quietly. He'd not gotten a word out before it was flailing, and he peered in some confusion. There were no thorns here, no toxic plants, so what-? Did it run into something? he wondered--if so, he hadn't seen it happen.

Either way, he didn't move at first; he just used his magic to reach out, like a giant hand, and attempted to gently right the foal and guide it to its feet. "Are you all right?" he called out, though now he was a little worried about this conversation that he had to have. Vivilene, as always, was gentle and calm. He hated to potentially break that (though truth be told, he had no idea how she'd react). But moreso, he feared the idea that she might have to leave before he could bring it up.

Once he was certain Filth was not actually injured, he leaned in and at least brought the topic up.

"I need to talk to you about Azizos," he told her quietly.

red deer img credit - dan seagrave

@Filth