[PAST SOLO] Ties that no longer bind (Soren)

[ramenli]

"Hey Soren, you going home for the holidays?" Soren glanced up at the other trainee, shaking his head. A full clan holiday, meant to be shared with family as a religious observation, well, those not out reaping Fear at least. Training put on hold for the weekend, everyone packing up to go home. As usual he planned to stay there, at the training grounds. There was no need to go home, not much of a home to go back to. "Not this time."

A hand fell on his shoulder and he looked down and over, almost surprised when he had to lift his eyes back up to see the other person's face. His riding instructor, the one person that was actually taller than him in that group, a fact that both he and his neck were grateful for. Well, taller until he finished his current growth spurt, though at 6'2" he simply could not grow that much more. "Afraid not Soren, housing is closing for the weekend and everyone is to return home. We'll be back open at dawn the day classes resume." Soren nodded, trying not to look annoyed or disheartened. There were mares he could probably stay with for a night, but not several. That meant going home. What a joy.  

[ramenli]

He easily filled the majority of the doorway of his childhood home, taking a moment to just look around. Since he had become a trainee...there had been nothing that made him want to come back. Not that there was a strong reason not to, simply that it was a pointless hassle. There was the familiar light streaming under the current to his sire's workroom, and everything was...almost the same. A new curtain, but the same color. The same furniture that had been new when his mother's arm had been taken and she had come home to work as a quartermaster, deciding to freshen up the place in case they got company, but it still looked almost new. Not broken in. Like no one really lived there. "Hello?"

A light rustling. "Be right with you!" A clattering of tools and then finally the current moving aside, his sire blinking as his eyes adjusted to the dim lighting. "Soren? Just you? Didn't know you were coming." "Holiday." "Oh right, right. Yes...well you know your way around colt." He disappeared back to his workroom, and Soren carried in his pack, tromping through the house back to his room. Untouched. Out of view to visitors meant it did not need to be cleaned and dust coated everything. He stripped off the outer blanket, removing most of the dust from the bed, leaving it piled in a corner and sat his pack down.

Home sweet home.  

[ramenli]

His dam was equally surprised and welcoming when she returned from work. Late, something that seemed expected. "We'll eat together tomorrow colt." A nod of acknowledgement from him. All the conversation they needed for the day. She was awake early and gone, and he spent the day reading, cleaning a bit when he was bored, at the realization that the only food in the house was a stale loaf of bread and a bit of jam he got money from his father and went to get groceries.

But that night they sat down together as a family. A few minutes of awkward silence as they served up their food and started eating before his dam broke the silence. "I trust you're in officer training now." He shook his head and her eyes narrowed. "Why not?" she demanded to know, but didn't give him time to answer. "You need to bulk up. If you don't look impressive they won't give you the time of day."

He was already large. His height coming from his father, though his father was scrawny and bony, and his mother's thick bones coming through. Muscular, fit, but not overwhelmingly so. He was stronger than everyone in his class on an average day when it came to just brute strength. Bulking up was not really his problem. "Oh or...you're going for guardian aren't you. Smart move Colt." "No."

His sire remained silent, his dam snorted, clearly unimpressed. "I heard the filly up the road got taken to be a priestess. That's someone who knows how to move up in the world. You should take after her, not after someone like your sire here." Bitter words from a bitter mare. A husband that worked but never really improved, and her...he could not stay silent any longer. "What Dam? Move up the ranks like you did?"

The flash of anger that twisted her face as she reached out, cuffing his head as he stayed still, making no move to block her or retaliate before her fingers were pinching his ear. "I sacrificed my arm for the Clan, and they rewarded me as they should." Lost her arm in battle and now the mare was stuck behind a desk, making sure soldiers had sufficient Fear levels before they headed out on a mission. Promotion.

"Its a holiday, lets behave like a family." Dry words as this fingers dug into his ear more harshly before she dropped her hand. The rest of their dinner was eaten in silence.  

[ramenli]

Soren stretched out on his bed, enjoying his new quarters. Guardians did have a few perks, like this room to himself whenever he wasn't needed elsewhere, connected to Ástríđr's room that she received visitors in. A life of luxury practically as he read in silence, duties done for the day. It was getting late when the knock came at his door and he glanced up, surprised. He had not made any arrangements for the evening. Sure, mares knew where to find him, if they had an emergency needs or something along those lines, but in general he went to their quarters if they wanted a quick tumble in the hay.

He opened his door, bulk blocking the doorway and was surprised to see his parents, dressed in some of what he knew had to be their nicest clothing. "Soren! Here you are, oh look, we found him." He stared at her, looking between his dam and sire. "Could you imagine our shock when one of the neighbors told us you had been chosen by that little filly down the street?" A nervous little...giggle from her. "Well, aren't you going to invite us in Soren? Lets all celebrate together."

He glanced back into his room. They were here, now. Because of this. All his time as a trainee, his years as a soldier, nothing. A note when a family member had fallen in battle, but nothing personal about it. "I...I have duties to attend to." Stiff. Formal. His Dam tried to peer around him, into the room. "Oh! Of course, a priestess would need to break in her new guardian." They both laughed but there was no trace of amusement from their son. "Goodbye." He shut the door, moving back to his bed, back to his book. Trying not to think about it anymore.

There was another knock on his door, but this one from the room joined to his and he all but bolted out of his bed. "Do you require something Priestess?"

The blonde priestess looked up at him for a moment, silent, blue eyes searching his face before she seemed to have reached an internal decision. "I thought I told you to call me by my name, Guardian." "Do you require something, Ástríđr?" She rolled her eyes at him, shoving at his arm. "I ordered apple crisp and they sent me the whole thing instead of a serving. I'm going to need your help with it." It was easy to see the way he brightened at the thought. "If you insist."