Asabi wasn't entirely sure what had woken her initially, but once woken, she had somehow just...
known that something was amiss. After checking on her family and ensuring that everyone seemed to be okay, she had ventured outside quietly, careful not to disturb anyone else. Perhaps it was nothing, just her overactive imagination, or the feeling of a dream that did not quite slip away with the return to the waking world. However, as she stepped outside, she realized that she was very much awake and not imagining anything. Above, the sun had been overtaken by a shadow, and a deathly silence covered the land. Something about it all made her skin feel as if it were to crawl off of her very body.
Her golden eyes stared out into the darkness at something unseen as her son approached her. They stood in silence for a few minutes more before Zuberi finally broke the silence between them.
"What's going on? I've never seen anything like this before, Mother." The stallion snorted, shaking his head to clear his hair from his eyes. His whip-like tail flicked behind him, betraying the anxious feeling trying to take up residence in his spine.
Asabi shook her head. "Nor have I, my son. I do not like this ominous air that hangs over the land and silences the creatures both above and below." The mare was also a creature of shadow, which was where her children got their affinity as well. That being said, something about this darkness was unsettling, almost unnatural. Could it be an omen? A warning of ill winds soon to blow across the Kawani lands?
"Dare we venture out to investigate?" Zuberi didn't much like the idea of his mother possibly putting herself in any sort of danger, but nor did he see it likely that she would let him go alone if he volunteered. He would have been happy to do so; he liked to think that he could take care of himself, afterall.
"Actually, your uncle has already gone out to see if there are any clues to be gathered about what is happening. Baruti headed out some time ago," she gestured in the direction she had previously been staring to indicate where he had gone. Her brother had been antsy from the start of whatever this was, unable to keep still or keep from shifting from foot to foot. She couldn't have stopped him from going if she had tried. He'd always been stubborn, but with a growing extended family, she had noted that he had slipped into the role of protector without saying so bluntly. It was a good look for him, after being alone so long, but Asabi wasn't going to be the one to say so aloud, for fear of ruining the silent understanding they currently shared.
"Did he go alone? I could have gone with him if he would have just waited a moment--"
"No, your cousin Tsion is with him."
Zuberi frowned for a moment. Tsion, though his elder as well as family, did not exactly strike him as the type to be much help in a fight if danger reared its head. Of course, he couldn't speak from experience, but... Still, Uncle Baruti could likely take care of himself. And if Tsion was with him, well that was at least another pair of eyes to keep watch for trouble. As it were, it seemed there was likely little Zuberi would be able to do about it right now, unless his mother relented. At least Tsion could also be eyes in the sky if his uncle needed it; an amusing twist of the spirits to give a child wings when his parents had none. Perhaps one day, Zuberi may ask his mother and uncle about their parents...
"They will be okay," Asabi continued as if to reassure her son regarding his silent thoughts. "In the meantime, we keep our home safe while we wait for their return with any news there is to have."
Zuberi leaned in to nuzzle his head against his mother's reassuringly. Even if she was keeping a calm front, he could tell she was just as anxious as he about this strange event. What could it mean? Was this only a sign of bad news to come on the horizon? Or was this event itself more than it appeared? His gaze flickered back up towards the sky. Shadow and darkness, the sun being dimmed, or almost seeming blocked by something...what had the power to block out the sun?
Asabi knickered softly, returning her son's gesture with a fond nuzzling of her own. Noting the way he kept shifting his wings against his back with nervous energy, as if he couldn't get them to lay properly or comfortably, she extended one of her own wings, so like to his, to brush against his back lightly. "Come, my son. We can no more chase away these shadows than we could drag the sun itself from hiding. We will simply have to wait and watch, stay alert as we see whether any other effects are to come from this. If danger arises, then we will face it together. Until then, there is no use in worrying ourselves unnecessarily. We rest and prepare in case we are needed."
The stallion chuckled quietly, then cast a wary look out towards the horizon. "Fair enough, Mother. We shall wait and see what news Uncle Baruti and cousin Tsion bring before we consider further actions." He could only hope that they brought back good news, and that trouble was not intent on coming to his family. If it were, he would not hesitate to meet that trouble with teeth and claws brought to bare. Zuberi wouldn't let anything happen to his family, not while breath remained in his lungs.
Side by side, flanks touching, mother and son turned to retreat into the safety of the cave. To wait. To rest. And to prepare if they needed to take action.
WC: 1,002[FIN]
