he'd been born running, his mother had said.
legs churning in the long grass, snorts steaming from his tiny nostrils, blue-gray coat gleaming wet and hot in the moonlight. a cold early spring night; the other babe born that evening had perished soon after.
a good omen, said the wise men, this boy's birth. born running,
soon to stand;
rare to fall.
their kind had to be born running. the flesh-eaters could enjoy the luxury of their young staying blind, senseless, squidgy as worms after a hard rain.
kinya loped along now, having run smack into the scent of wolves in various corners of this place. only on the open prairie did he feel safe.
they lurked in the shadows of trees—
snow fell slow but heavy, big flakes settling upon his charcoal mane and trembling withers. horses were here, too, and the bison.
safety in numbers.
She dug at the ground with a hoof, lowering her muzzle to sniff the ground only to find that the grass here had already been chewed down to little but the yellowish snips that connected to roots. The bison were to thank for that, she thought, and she gave the herd a wary glance. There was enough food to scavenge, but Spring couldn't come soon enough; Fancy had already begun to dream of greener pastures, of long gold timothy and of thick, juicy swamp grasses.
While others dozed, the lead mare kept watch, grateful for the few bison sentries who looked after their own who had lain in the snow to slumber. One great, thick head lifted, and she saw a short expel of silvery breath on the air- a sign of interest. She followed his gaze, to pick out the figure of another horse through the falling snow. She whickered softly, hoping to awaken
@Selenia in case she recognized this one too-
but her voice caught in her throat. This was a stallion- and regardless of whether this had been one of Selenia's herdmates, it was against her laws to invite a stallion into the herd.
That was for
@Maplesmoke to decide.
She whinnied for him instead, her head lifted and gaze trained on the stranger in the distance, before she arched her neck and moved toward the small band of women, seeking to herd them closer together so they might not be separated and stolen so easily.
he'd done nothing. mares congregated around him like flies to carcass; obviously, since he was a pillar of health and male, and—
but. he'd done nothing.
the other stallion arrived on scene and lunged, teeth bared. the whites of his eyes showing, kinya moved forward to meet the challenge, rearing up slightly, hooves flailing in his attempt to beat the man back.
he wasn't looking to take charge of this harem. as lovely as they were, he didn't have the reputation or muscle to hold them.
self-preservation was the only goal.
i don't mean to skip, so i can move this if needed, but wanted to keep it going!
the other stallion reacted defensively and went back, appeasing some part of maplesmoke; he saw the way the stranger's muscles tensed and his body flexed, and gave one more lunge to press his advantage but otherwise did not get too close to those flailing limbs. as eager as maplesmoke was to defend the herd he did not want to risk himself too greatly; the point was made, the man had yielded so far as he was concerned.
the clip of his teeth at the air was followed by the shake of his neck, and he withdrew from his snaking posture, snorting and bobbing his head, and stomping, but not going again for an attack.
Fancy can be skipped unless there is an attempt to steal!
Her ears flicked back in silent warnings for the mares to stick together and be wary. Selenia responded as expected, seeking solace in proximity and Fancy was happy to have found Hernanes that did not bolt or split up when trouble came. Fancy was keen to keep out of the stranger’s reach, not knowing his manners.
Fortunately, Maplesmoke was quick to act and defensive of the band, no matter how few they were. As he thundered toward the stranger, Fancy motioned for the other mares to push back, hoping to give the studs plenty of room to duke it out if it came to blows. She kept one dark eye toward them, equally as interested in the process as the outcome.