set on the very edge of the plains, between the plains and whitewater gorge
Clods of dirt followed her, kicked up from the violent slam of her hooves into the dirt. Her coat was dark with sweat, streaked heavily beneath her mane and her underbelly. Her tangled tail, shot through with burrs, dragged through the air. Wind whipped past her ears and the little stings of cuts at her ankles, gifts from the forest she had fled through.
Eventually, the land nearly disappeared beneath her, and Swallowtail slammed onto the breaks, skidding to a halt at the very edge of a gorge. Pebbles danced down the steep sides as she tried to catch her breath, nostrils wide, rear sat to the ground. Her sides heaved with the effort it took to just breathe, and the whistle of breath through her nostrils nearly set her off again. Her nerves were pitifully frayed, and with every gust of wind she flinched, throwing her head up to glance at the plains to her right side.
Eventually, she gathered the fortitude to stand, somehow steady despite the anxious rolling of her white-rimmed eyes. The young mare shook out the thick, snarled strands of her mane, tossing her head again to get her forelock out of her eyes, and anxiously yanked up a mouthful of grasses. A horse should not be alone, but Swallowtail was too terrified to let her voice ring out over the plains. Predator scent suffocated her with every breath. It would be an ending to a pitifully short life.
tags for reference or joining! <3
@Mallow was here and selenia was settling. the younger mares kept themselves close to
@Fancy and under the observant eye of
@Maplesmoke.
she was growing fat again, her hips more rounded, her pelt glossy despite its unkempt and wintry nature. from time to time she played with one or both of the other mares, enticing them into a run along the river.
and her ears were up, bright.
if mallow had found her with all this space between, then the others could discover the small herd as well.
that day, the pregnant horse whinnied a piercing sound into the cold air, watching as the bison raised their heads.
she was calling for any of their family, announcing herself as twofeather in the message.
Mallow stuck close to Selenia as she settled into the new groove of the herd. She was initially on edge, unsure of what the day-to-day would look like, but she soon adjusted. Like her sister, there was a change to her demeanor; her eyes were bright again, her coat shiny and unkempt from the wind, and there was often a smile on her face.
Life was good despite the circumstances that brought them here.
While Selenia whinnied and searched for their family, Mallow kept an eye on the bison herd. She often liked to tease them, prancing about and circling them until she struck a nerve, but today, with her sister nearby, she kept her distance from them and lent her voice to the search.
Voices.
They rose high across the distant plains, and the remaining grasses dropped from her mouth. Twofeather.
They were Twofeather, and she knew their voices because she kept them beneath her breastbone where her fluttering heart did it’s best to fly right out of her chest. Swallowtail was quiet for only a moment.
Then, her voice rose into a piercing shriek, pitchy and crackling with emotion. Her hooves were moving before she knew it, driving her already exhausted body into a frenzied gallop. She was a dust cloud on the horizon, coat steaming with body heat and the sweat that slicked her sides.
The other horses would hear the thunder of her hooves long before they ever saw her
Arriving fully next round <3!
"it's swallowtail," selenia breathed to mallow, wide-eyed as the same mixture of relief and joy touched her eyes. her voice rose a second time; come to the bison!
her hindhoof stamped impatiently; she wanted to run to swallowtail but the warm protectiveness of lead-mare and stallion kept her close now.
and so selenia was only restless, cantering back and forth as the bison separated around her and parted further on for the approach of who she hoped was indeed their sister.
the shouting of voices on the plain drew the attention of the stallion as well. he had been watching a trio of cows standing apart from their bovine herd; when those voices raised they each passed him a judgemental look and then together turned to face one-another as if to conspire.
he began to trot along the hill. maplesmoke picked up to a canter when the beat of hooves reached him, and he looked sharply at the approaching dust as he drew near the mares; he slowed to a crawl and then wheeled in small, tight circles while his head and ears were up.
who is this? he did not like the way they moved.
There was very little they could do but wait. While Selenia paced, Mallow repeatedly stamped at the ground and began forming a divot. She'd cease digging occasionally to look around for any signs of their sister.
Soon enough, the stallion arrived, circling them with a possessiveness that she still hadn't gotten used to, especially since he was practically a stranger. She gently exhaled, hoping to calm the man, and canted her head as she watched him.
Our sister is on the way,
she informed him, her voice eager and edged in anticipation.
She could see great, milling shapes in the distance. That wasn’t her sisters. She slowed to try and see them, from her frantic gallop to a half canter, head swinging rapidly. Side to side it shook, before she finally found their shapes.
Her voice didn’t raise again, couldn’t, the hoarseness felt deep in her throat, but she came for them. At least, up until the shape of another joined them, circling like a hawk. Swallowtail felt the freeze before it happened. She slid to a great halt, muscles locked. Fear swept into her scent, more now than before. Her eyes rolled, a nervous hoof stamp showing how the mare was feeling.
Who is this? She wanted to say, but no words would come. All she could do was sit and quiver.
mallow glittered with anxious energy. selenia was heading back along the top of the small rise when maplesmoke approached.
the foal shifted, making her step heavy as she slowed in response.
"she's out there," selenia called to maplesmoke, whickering over the press of hooves to soothe swallowtail.
"can you —"
it was the first request she had made of him, and she stepped back with lifted ears, finding comfort in mallow's closeness and her sister's even voice.
She raised her head, still chewing on a mouthful of dry grass as Selenia called out into the wild. She inhaled a long draw of cold air, exhaling a soft puff of mist; she’d wondered if the buckskin had caught scent of someone. It would have been nearly impossible- over the scent of the bison nearby.
She began to lower her head, willing to tolerate a bit of calling (so long as she didn’t go on for hours and attract too much attention) but jerked it up when there came an answer. Her breath hitched and she lifted her head high, ears flicking as she caught the sound of hooves echoing across the plains.
The voice had sounded almost panicked; Maplesmoke loped around and circled, and both Twofeathers bustled. She could sense nervousness and excitement and planed her ears as the bison moved away from the others, coming a few steps too close to the sorrel who squealed and hopped two stiff steps toward them, head lowered and ears pinned to ward them away from her.
Maplesmoke circled in the space between the two mares and the approaching stranger, and Fancy moved in to gently but firmly cut Selenia’s pacing and drive her back toward her sister with a shake of her neck. ”Settle,” she said. Mallow pawed the ground, but she looked eager.
A quiet request was voiced to Maplesmoke. Fancy looked to him and nodded; she would stay with the others and make sure they stayed together if he was willing to go and greet the stranded mare.
the mares were alert. they each became agitated and eager, hearing the stomping of hooves. fancy came to corral them; the stallion continued to swagger in the space between, wary, and he saw the way the distant shape came to a stop.
one of the sisters drew his attention and asked his help; he looked to fancy as lead mare, and she was agreeable to this. maplesmoke headed off from the clutch of mares to the solitary stranger.
as he neared he reached out, stretching his neck, shaking his mane; looking altogether draconian in his amble. come, woman. your sisters await.
would they stay out here or would maplesmoke be heeded? he gave a whistle, impatient.
Given the circumstances, especially with Fancy allowing them to bring over thrift sister, all Mallow could do was stick close to Selenia and comfort her as Maplesmoke went to collect Swallowtail. She whinnied in their direction, attempting to assure her sister that it was okay to go with the man. He's with us! her message meant to convey.
The wheeling shape approached her on slow feet, and she stretched her neck out to inhale the sharp scent of stallion. It made her balk, her withers tensing and quivering, but surprisingly she did not move. Swallowtail pushed down the fear, taking Mallow’s message to heart and pushing her ears down.
She swept forward on anxious feet, stopping for a moment to whiffle anxiously at the stallion, take in his scent and let him take in her own. Then, she slid past him, trotting the remaining space between her sisters and her and wordlessly placing her head against Selenia’s shoulder, before raising it again to whuffle at Mallow a few times.
They were safe. Swallowtail didn’t feel like she was safe, but she’d been as shy as a deer from the moment she’d been dropped, so it was an old feeling now.
a shaking breath came from her throat; she stood with her sisters in a close huddle, exchanging breath and exploring the edges of swallowtail's mane.
"we're safe," she murmured for the three of them, before stepping back with a pointed step toward fancy.
maplesmoke was given a look more interested than before, and then selenia began to encourage swallowtail and mallow away from the bison herd with an older sister's expression.
sorry for leaving this for so long!
@Swallowtail I hope you come back to us!
the women were together. barring any sort of complication, maplesmoke saw no reason to linger when they were three bodies strong; so he would shift in to a run and leave them, but not without first catching the eye of selenia. he went, racing with the wind, feeling the plains grass brush against his belly as he ran — doing a circuit to make sure they were indeed safe.
when he was finished, he was huffing and puffing and turning to watch the bison, and the mares as they moved further from it.
Once reunited, Mallow breathed a sigh of relief as she explored the scents their sister had collected in her travels. I'm so glad you are here,
the youngest whinnied, her tail swishing as she investigated all the foreign smells.
Maplesmoke, for now, was Mostly ignored. Instead, she followed Selenia's lead, oblivious to the exchange between them, and moved further away from the bison.