Couscous lazily eyed the scenery around him. He was surrounded by more soquili than usual - more soquili than he would have liked to be in his company. He sighed, and wandered off to a large tree with overhanging leaves nearby. Remaining in the shadows of the tree, he watched the other soquili socialize... and for the first time, a content smile fell upon his mouth. However, it quickly vanished as soon as it had come. Couscous had an arduous burden on top of his shoulders. His herd would only prosper if he made the right judgments--if he provided the knowledge and wisdom for the entirety. He was almost confident that with the help of his friends, and family especially, no trouble would come to the herd.
He took a moment to carefully observe the protruding, rigid lines coming down the tree, and the plant and floral life surrounding it. He bent down temporarily to sniff a flower. He hadn't done this for quite a while. Lifting his head back up and swaying his tail a little tranquilly, he circled the tree once more before hearing a faint, familiar sound of hooves clopping their way towards him.
"Father," calmly sounded the winged mare. It was Maize, one of his own pride and blood; his daughter. "Is there anything that ails you?" She had reached him, wings folded along her sides, the feathers almost shining, gleaming in the sunlight that bathed her. Her long tail peacefully flowed in the air, though its very tip still caressed the grass beneath her. She lowered her head, almost bowing as she approached her father, out of respect. She showed her concern for him, as he looked quite honestly strange circling the tree by himself, away from the rest of the soquili.
The corners of Couscous's mouth stretched upwards ever-so-slightly, touched by his daughter's worry for him. "Nothing to worry about," he softly spoke. "The herd seems to be forming... getting along well enough." He flicked his tail in amusement. Although he wished to spend most of his time alone these days, the small herd seemed to instill a sense of pride and satisfaction in Couscous. He even went so far as to touch upon the idea of having an even greater number of soquilis in his herd one day. One day...
"When I'm gone, you need to lead the way," he thoughtfully said. He trusted his matured winged daughter very much. She was unlike a lot of others, as her nature seemed more mellow and perceptive than most.
Maize opened her mouth to say something, but then closed it back when she found herself at a loss for words. She weakly smiled, and nodded slightly. Lead the way? Be the leader? She understood what he had meant, but what she didn't understand was why the duty would be placed on her -- why not her sister, Rei? Why not one of her father's friends? She felt inadequate, but dared not to question her father's judgment. Perhaps he knew what he was doing. Surely, she did not.
Turning her back to her father, she frowned, and started to walk back towards the group, and soon went into a trot. Her wings remained folded along her flanks, as she did not use them often at all out of humbleness and consideration to the rest of the group.
Couscous knew that Maize would be a great leader if the time had come when he would go away for a very long time. He then turned towards the sky in gratitude, and yet, also wistfulness...
