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 Posted: Sat Feb 28, 2026 5:46 pm
RP Prompt Quite a number seem to celebrate the end of the Year, but now we've reached the Spring Festival. It begins on a new moon and is typically 15 days long with the festival honoring deities and ancestors. During this time, you see families big and small coming together for reunion dinners, cleaning of their home to remove bad luck, lots of red decorations and other festivities. How do you choose to celebrate? Are you with family and friends? Are you solo? Perhaps you're not much of a Spring Festival kind of sort and don't celebrate at all. What do you think about the ongoing festivities whether or not you partake in them?
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Posted: Sat Feb 28, 2026 7:23 pm
The days were growing longer, the air warmer. Slowly, life was leeching back into the Kawani and its inhabitants. Said inhabitants were abuzz with excitement. Many of them gathering to celebrate the Spring Festival with friends and family. One such group could be found in a well loved clearing beyond a dense thicket.
Dhiren stretched his neck, slowly turning his head until he felt the relieving pops along the vertebrae. His blue eyes critically assessed the strung beads he had been draping across the strong branches of the gnarled, ancient honey locust tree that he and his lovely mate had welcomed their children, cried, loved, grown and experienced day-to-day life under.
Suddenly, and unexpectedly, nostalgia swept through him so fiercely he thought he could hear Dorian complain about flying lessons again, and little Dakota's giggle echoed in his memories.
A sigh escaped him, shaking his musings away and tuning back in to the task at hand. The red beads hung in swoops on the largest branches and ended when they got to the trunk. It was a simple addition but he didn't want to take away from the tree's timeless beauty. Nodding in approval to himself he turned away to move to the next task - sweeping. Adding the beads to the branches didn't come without its own consequences and now the packed earth was littered with seed-pods that had stubbornly clung throughout winter and the wicked-sharp thorns he had tried to miss, but some of the brittle ones had still snapped off and he wanted to avoid anyone getting hurt.
Taking the straw broom he quickly gathered the leaf litter into a pile where the grasses began. When he was satisfied - he threw his wings down and forward - sending the seeds and thorns to join the thicket to become part of the wild chaos.
Smiling, he shifted his attention to Shania, taking her in for a moment while she wasn't aware - appreciating how the sun caught on her feathers, making her almost luminous. Dhiren moved to join her with her task, having completed his and wanting to see them enjoy the remainder of their day together.
346 wc
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Posted: Sat Feb 28, 2026 7:40 pm
Shania sensed Dhiren moving around behind her and as he approached she lifted one of her front wings so that he could walk up under and she smoothed his hair over his neck. "You've been busy," she said softly. "Seems you've gotten much more done than I have. I've been trying to detangle some more of these beads but it's just not working out so great." She chuckled softly and nodded her head towards the pile of beads.
Her small winged cat Fancy slept nearby in a bed of clover, ignoring the two soquili. She seemed to sleep alot these days as she was now rather old. Shania worried about her most days and felt she might have to say goodbye to her tiny friend soon. It was a sad thought but she cherished all the time she had had with her.
Carson, her familiar, usually helped with things like this. His tiny hands could make quick work of detangling those beads but he had his own family now and wasn't around very much anymore. Shania considered finding another familiar friend to help her with tasks, but for now she and Dhiren would suffice with helping each other.
She bent down and picked up a strand of the beads with her teeth, gently tugging at the pile, but letting them go again and sighing. "I think that will just have to wait until we have some small paws to help," she said and turned her attention to Dhiren. "Is there something I can help you with, love?" She nuzzled against him as he trailed kisses along her neck.
268wc
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Posted: Sat Feb 28, 2026 8:38 pm
Affection lit up his blue eyes when her wing raised to allow him closer and he quickly stepped into the comfort of her embrace while nuzzling along her neck before stooping slightly to press a kiss to her jaw, cheek, and then, finally, one that lingered a little longer, to her forehead. He maneuvered his wing to lay over the one of hers across his back as he frowned down at the pile of strung beads. They were well and truly, a mess. It seemed like there was no end or beginning to the mass. In agreement, he rumbled softly; "Mmm I think those are a lost cause."
Reluctantly, he disentangled their wings and moved to the offending pile, careful not to disturb the tired Fancy, though a fond smile graced his features when he looked over at her. Picking up the bundle, he moved it off to the side and out of the way. "I think its safe to say these can wait for now." He joined her again, resuming his place next to her and intertwining their wings.
It was good, what they had created together and come up with. Shaking his head, he grinned a bit, tugging her gently to urge her to walk with him. "No, no." His low bass held a hint of humor, lessening the seriousness. "It's break time for the rest of the day." The sun was warming his back and making him anxious to shift his focus from festival prep. "We need to enjoy this weather and take advantage of it. What do you say?"
263 wc
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Posted: Sun Mar 01, 2026 5:15 pm
She leaned into his kisses and sighed, content and happy. She cherished him and their love. She nodded at his suggestion to leave the preparations and to just enjoy the day and each other. "I'd love to take a break and just enjoy the day with you. What do you think about a little flying and maybe we can see how the festivities nearby are coming along. Maybe we might even come across one of our children. I'd say Dakota might be trying to help out. He really loves decorating."
It had been a while since they had just been flying together. She missed the feeling of the wind in her wings and hair, as well as the thrill of just feeling free and weightless in the air. She disentangled her wing from his and stretched them out. "These old wings could use a good stretch. The weather seems perfect for flying." She paused to look towards Fancy, to see if she was still sleeping. She smiled at the tiny creature again. "Fancy, you'll stay here until we return." The cat stretched in her sleep, extending her paws and spreading her toes in response, and went right back to sleep as if to say, 'yep, yep, not going anywhere.' Shania chuckled softly as she knew Fancy would be fine here on her own.
She tucked her wings back against her body and nuzzled against Dhiren again, turning her head to return his kisses, and lifted her wing to caress his cheek. "Where ever you want to go is fine with me, though. I'll be happy either way."
267wc
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Posted: Sun Mar 01, 2026 9:48 pm
Dhiren listened and hummed in agreement, "Maybe they'll already have decorated and we can steal his expertise." The still chilled wind chose just then to kick up a bit and sent his feathers ruffling in all directions. When it died back down and he could open his eyes again without the threat of his hair flinging into them, he took a wing and lightly swatted at her rump. "Hey now. There is nothing old about you - including your wings." An affectionate smile played on his lips and made the corners of his eyes crinkle. "I have it on good authority that she is perfectly youthful."
He said that but stretched his own wings out, the joints popping and settling. An undignified groan rumbled from him as he shook out his feathers and settled them back against his body. "Oh it has been too long since we've been in the air. When did we ground ourselves?" The reality of it crashed over him, making him pause. When was the last time they had flown? What was keeping them from doing their favorite activity? Absurd!
Feeling tenacious and excited, he was able to keep it reined in while he watched as his lovely mate checked on her (and his) long time friend. He recalled the when he met Shania, Fancy, and Carson. Fancy had made him work for her trust, but of course he won her over. A fond smile graced his features as Shania made her way over. "All tucked in?"
Dhiren reveled in the affection, closing his eyes and returning her nuzzles with some of his own and tilting his face to accept more of her caresses. No matter the years he would always enjoy being on the recieving end of her affection. Hearts in his eyes, he shook himself, bringing him back to their objective. Absently trailing his own wing tips over Shania's shoulder, he looked from her to the clear, beckoning sky. "Lets just...go where the wind takes us." His earlier excitement pushed itself to the forefront then, making him grin and his eyes sparkle with the possibilities.
351 wc
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Posted: Mon Mar 02, 2026 4:03 pm
She felt her cheeks grow warm at his sweet comments and rump tap. "Thank you, Love. I appreciate your kind words. I feel the age on my bones, especially when the air is cold. After having 6 kids, I definitely feel old." She sighed softly and smiled at him.
She watched as he stretched out his wings with a slight groan. "You have a point. We should probably stretch before we try to take flight." She giggled a little as she pondered his question. "I'm not sure how long it's been, but it's definitely been too long for sure. Old or not, we need to stretch or we will definitely regret it later."
She stepped forward so she had some room and unfolded all four of her wings and stretched them one by one open as wide as possible. She stretched her legs and neck as well feeling the pull of the muscles. "Sounds like a wonderful plan Dhir (said as dear, but is just a little nickname she's given him)." She smiled once more at him, spread her wings wide and after a few quick thrusts, she took a running start and lifted herself into the air where she quickly climbed high enough to catch the wind, turned and waited for him to join her. Her hair blew everywhere, it's length flowing out behind her, trying to tangle in her wings. She usually kept it bound when flying, but without Carson around to help her manage her hair, it had grown quite a lot since she'd last had it tied back. Maybe she would get it braided while they were at the festival. She knew there were usually some critters there who could do that. She imagined some intricate braids and flowers and beads woven through her hair. She had gotten lost in thought about her hair while waiting for Dhiren to join her.
315wc
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Posted: Mon Mar 02, 2026 6:07 pm
Dhiren's gaze tracked her movements, mesmerized by her lithe form and stunning coloration, still after all these years, he was enamored. He wasn't sure how he had gotten so lucky, but here they were, and he was still the most fortunate stallion he knew. His eyes glittered with her reflection, her hair tossing behind her as she finished her stretches and started her running leap. It wasn’t until her powerful wings sent a gust tousling through his mane that he realized - he was still on the ground. “Ah…” He’d been caught staring and the blush that graced his cheeks was flaming.
He shook himself from his trance, quickly following suit to join Shania in the air. Her wings afforded her more power with her down-sweep and she had quite quickly gained altitude. Gathering himself he too took a running start before leaping into the air and catching himself on the wind until he was next to her. His wings snapped out from his sides and he immediately knew he should have stretched longer. The strain was a welcome burn though, one that felt right, as he used muscles that had been dormant for much too long
Grinning so wide his cheeks ached, he pointed them in the direction of Dakota and the festival, excitement coursed through him at the impromptu change in plans. He was grateful, though. If he didn’t have to hang up or untangle any more strings of beads and it came with the added bonus of celebrating with his family…well, you wouldn’t hear any disagreements from this “old” stallion.
All too quickly the festivals melodies could be heard as they neared, a little closer and they were able to see the luminous lanterns in all shades of reds, yellows, oranges…
They started their controlled spiral descent to the ground, looking forward to what the days would bring them. First order was taking Shania to get her mane done up. He knew she missed it, and to see her eyes light up would make his week. He was determined to make the next days of the festival memorable and delightful.
353 wc
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