The Academy: There is no fate but what we make; part one

Wish upon a shooting star;
For dreams and things that never are.

Becoming a mother changes a mare. It has a sense of special bonding that comes with it. It is said that a child in the womb shares its mother’s dreams. Connor was a true dream for Courage, who had never really had a mother or a father as Fantome was too busy being a ghost and Genesis was an immortal warrior and Queen in a faraway land. Perhaps that was why the golden Courage was so protective of her son. He would have all the hope of a future without anything remotely tragic as his parents had endured. Connor would grow into a beautiful specimen of a fiery stallion. Already, he looked so much like his father it was uncanny. His attitude was also quite similar. But there were days when he had a stroke of Notte, of Genesis, of Alshain in his veins. The red colt possessed every quality of a hero, and yet he had done nothing to secure those characteristics other than be born with them. It was curious for his mother to watch. But at the same time, it was very intriguing. She would watch her son with pride and affection as he frolicked around Solira’s oceanic landscape. His fire should have detested the sight of such water, but when it came from his mother, it knew how to handle the scenery quite well.

Courage whickered ever so softly to her son, who played nearby in the spring. The colt sprang up from the water’s liquid pool and instantly squealed. The golden mother was instantly at his side, but the blood had already begun to pour from his body. Courage bent down to examine the wound, with Connor bravely crying without a sound as the pain gripped his body. The flesh was broken, and Courage could not carry her son away from the scene. Her water carried him to the bank, helping him out of the water. Already, the cut was deep as the blood poured from it. Courage glanced around, desperate for help. When no one came to her calls, she remembered Pirate healing her. The memory was powerful – much too powerful to have simply recalled it in passing. Her eyes closed as she remembered the feeling of the bites being cured, remembered the stallion bending over her with no bright lights and nothing really all that special to what happened besides her ability to live after that. When the memory was over, so was the healing. Connor smiled up at his mother, and the laceration on his leg was gone as well. For a moment, the golden mare thought it might be a miracle the elements had bestowed upon her and she gracefully thanked them in her subconscious. Her muzzle went to her son, and the two were off again.

There. Connor was settled in for the night. Courage smiled down at her red bundle of a colt. His legs were still awkwardly too long, while his ears remained rather out of proportion for their length against his face. But he would grow to be handsome, much like his father. Already, he showed great promise for whatever path lay ahead of him, and the golden mare could not help her fire’s instant attachment to the child. The blond mare continued to smile as she noticed one stray hair away from his face. With a maternal glance, Courage’s neck reached down to the colt and moved the hair out of the way. Then she heard leaves rustling behind them, and the blond mare twisted her head to see what or who was approaching. Kratos was off with Alshain and Baraqel again, fighting no doubt. As Connor slept, the mother stood over him in a protective manner. Without a sound, she saw a rock raise itself from the ground. She instantly snorted and watched it, mesmerized by it. Curious, she let her mind flow around it, and her water and fire elements laughed at her as it manipulated the rock with her mind. The two elements played inside of her body, and the power of her Nidor Nex and her Greek Fire came over her. The steam covered the air, while the Greek Fire consumed her flesh and made her into a ball of fury as she watched the shadows which flickered with every flame.

She heard a squeaking sound, and immediately she moved closer, rock still beside her and flames still engulfing her body. With a curious gaze, she spied the tiny thing that had stumbled across her path. It was white, with pink eyes and a pink nose. Upon curiously inspecting what appeared to be a small bear, Courage found no hint of danger surrounding it. The cub looked at her with a curious gaze, tilting its head much like a puppy would do at a strange noise. Toppling over, the albino cub raised its paws to her in a playful manner. Courage tilted her head and let her muzzle run along its fur. Immediately, the cub made a noise and pawed at her nose. Courage’s maternal instincts kicked in, and she continued stroking the bear-child. ”What happened to your mother?” she asked, not at all expecting an answer. When a little voice inside her head replied ’She left me here,’ she had to take a step back. Instantly, her water element curled around the bear-child, and the fire element laughed and danced inside of her. They knew what was going on, which was a good thing because Courage was completely lost. When finally her elements decided to help her out and tell her it was her next step towards becoming an Oracle, Courage glanced to the rock, which by now had dropped alongside her and then back to her son, who slept without a scratch on him. Her oceanic eyes turned to the bear cub again before speaking, ”It wasn’t a miracle, was it?” The cub shook its head and continued to stare at her. ’You my momma?’

Courage didn’t know how to respond so she didn’t and instead chose to continue the conversation using her telepathy, not wanting to chance waking Connor. ”What are you? You’re not a normal bear.” The bear cub obviously took offense to that, and tried to swat away the water element as it tried to douse it in the liquid substance, as if testing that it was a real thing or perhaps just being playful as always; there was no telling. ’I’m an albino bear is what they told me.’ Courage smiled and shooed away her elements to let the cub get to its feet to follow her to Connor, where it would sleep until the morning. The cub curled up next to the chestnut colt and sighed, enjoying the warmth. Before it succumbed to sleep, Courage whispered softly to it: ”What do I call you?” The cub’s pink eyes didn’t open and instead it just replied in a sleepy, tired voice. ’Abban.’ Then he slept, and Courage watched over her son and her new familiar.

AP: C O U R A G E

Water III | Fire III

Nidor Nex