WC: 776
Zhivka's ears had been canted back for a while now, head down some as she listened behind her. Interspersed with the clucking of a hen was the bickering of her two children, pushing at each other back and forth. It was taking a lot for the mare to not snap at them, but they were really starting to push it.
Then there was the loud squawk of Admiral Bokington and the unicorn lifted her head, turning and barking at the two as she stopped and stamped her hoof, "Will you two knock that off?!"
They had the decency to both look sheepish, in unison saying, "Sorry, Mom..."
Snorting, Zhivka turned fully and walked over to them. When she got close, she leaned up and nipped her son's nose, then turned and nipped her daughter's shoulder, and asked, "What are you even arguing about? And why did you drag the poor chicken into it?"
On Astor's back, Admiral Bokington fluffed her feathers. "I was trying to get them to stop before you got involved, the bickering was ruffling my feathers too much."
"And what," Zhivka asked, "Was the arguing even about?" She looked between her children, eyebrow up. They stayed quiet, neither looking at her, their own ears back. Finally, the pink and white mare sighed, turning and starting to walk again. "Fine, don't tell me. Let's get a move on, nothing waits for anybody."
Behind her, brother and sister shared a look, before falling in line behind her again. Bokington settled once again, feathers now in place again. After a while, Alma asked, "Where are we even going? We've been traveling since we were little..."
It was true, Zhivka had only stopped long enough to have her two children and then they'd continued on as soon as they were old enough to keep up. Her ears moved forward, then back again, before shifting to the sides. "Trying to find someone important to me."
Another glance was shared between the siblings, before Astor asked, "Aren't we important to you?"
That made Zhivka stop. Her ears moved about again, as the question sank in. She'd been so set on her search, for so long now... She turned, going and nuzzling each of her children in turn. "You are important to me, my darlings. I think I've gotten so set on finding this person that I've lost track of what's been in front of me."
Both Astor and Alma leaned into their mother, each nuzzling a side of her. Finally, Alma asked, "Can we just... Stop traveling for a while? Or all together? Settle somewhere? I'd like to just exist somewhere, maybe meet somebody. We don't have that chance traveling all the time, neither of us can make connections because we don't stay in one place long enough to do that." She wanted to find love, to find friends. Maybe some romance! Beside her, Astor's head bobbed in agreement.
"I don't even know what kind of person I'm attracted to because we never stop! Whoever you're looking for," he said, "They can surely also find you in one place. Isn't that what lost foals are told? If you get lost, stay in one place until somebody comes to find you so you don't get more lost. We can surely find a- A herd or something somewhere, and stay with them until whoever you're looking for comes to find you."
Letting out a long sigh, Zhivka closed her eyes. She was quiet for a moment, almost making her children think she was going to tell them no, that they'd just keep going, before she smiled and opened her eyes, looking at them both with a soft gaze. "Alright. We'll find somewhere to stop for a while. Somewhere with other Soquili so you two can socialize and form connections, make some friends... Find partners, maybe..." She got maybe a bit of delight at the embarrassed sounds her children made, the red tinting their faces and ears. Astor even tried to hide his face in both his mane and his chicken!
Her tail flicked, before she turned away, lifting her head and moving her ears about. She didn't hear any herds near by right now, big or small, so they'd probably have to walk for a bit longer. "Come on, now, let's see if we can find a herd of some sort to let us stick around for a time." As she started walking, she heard her children continue to sputter behind her. After a moment, there was a squawk from Astor before they both chased after her, catching up to keep pace.
