Family Matters - Doubts of the Future
Zheyna lay stretched out on the grass, her wings outspread. Above her soft white clouds wandered across the deep blue sky. Occasional magnolia blossom petals drifted by on the wind, only to be chased by Zheyna’s gnuzzle. The little sprite had caught on to Zheyna’s contemplative mood but found lying still on the ground to be a waste of time.
Zheyna however had too many thoughts chasing each other in her head to join the pippet in the air.
Faint rustling of the grass and leaves heralded the arrival of Trout. Zheyna turned her head to avoid looking at her adoptive father. She had never felt unloved by him, but she was nearly full grown now! She wanted to prove her independence, the ability to live on her own and make important decisions on her own!
Trout was silent for a long time before laying down with a deep grunt of strain. His body was recovering alright from the fight with The Tower, but some body aches especially in the old scars were still causing some trouble.
For a moment all was quiet except for the excited squeaking from the gnuzzle overhead, then:
“What are you thinking about darling?”
Zheyna sighed, finally looking over at Trout.
“Am I being silly for wanting to be a Mail Carrier?” She finally voiced.
“Silly? You have wanted this since before we met you!”
“Yeah but,” Zheyna looked away again, the words from another in her class coming back just as they had been for the last hour. “We are so secluded, and small, what purpose would I really serve being a one Pouf post office? There are so many other things I could be doing instead. Like a builder. Or, or I don’t know a knight maybe?”
“Zheyna.” Trout extended his own wing to intertwine with Zheyna’s on the ground. “We are not secluded by necessity. We are not hiding. We don’t need protectors from the rest of the world. Our community is growing, and it’s a good thing that it is, a mail service is not unneeded, or silly, even if some may think that our current system needs no improvement, nothing good comes from stagnation. But Zheyna,” He levered himself up on his prosthetic foreleg, making direct eye contact with Zheyna. “Even if all you wanted to do was pic up worms and hang them on flagpoles not only would there be a place for you here, but I would love you no less. I am so proud of you for your conviction and the service that you do and will provide, but more than that, you are not a waste. Of my time, of Crunch’s or Charmie’s time, or, most importantly, yourself. You are my daughter and I love you.”
Zheyna’s gnuzzle swooped down to nuzzle into her cheek fluff as the overhead branches and leaves started to swim in her vision, tears dripping down her face into her hair and the grass under her head. She suddenly surged up and wrapped herself around Trout, continuing to sob into his thick neck ruff.
“Thank you so much dad. I-“ She sniffled “I really needed that. All I want to do is make you proud.”
Trout’s arms came up to hug Zheyna tightly back, his heavy claws brushing through her fur and hair at the base of her skull as she cried into his shoulder.
Time passed, it may have been seconds or minutes, but eventually Zheyna pulled back, feeling wrung out like an old washcloth, but her heart was full, and her face was split in a smile even so.
Trout also pulled back, keeping eye contact to make sure that she really was doing alright.
“You want to go have lunch? I think that Crunch made fresh bread earlier.”
“Bet!” Zheyna jumped up onto her hooves in a startling show of speed. “Race you there!” She shouted shoving her gnuzzle into its carrier tucked under her secondary pair of wings as she propelled herself into the air before Trout could even get to his paws.
She was newly reinvigorated, not only was she not going to give up on her dream, but she was going to be the best mail pouf in all of Bellacoste!