the mare's sides rippled as the foal turned.
the bison had become the constant companion to the horse-herd; she had grown accustomed to their scent, their dung, their wallowing.
once or twice she had sought out umini.
you are fat, the cow rumbled in teasing tone, her liquid eyes conveying relief for her one-time herdmate.
leader says we move soon.
away from the horses was the implication. relaying this to
@Fancy, she kept close to the other mares, wondering when the bison were moving and wondering if the lead-mare would follow them anyway. their relationship had been largely undisturbed.
Fancy did not often cross paths with the bison, preferring to graze alongside the herd rather than in its midst. On one occasion when she had been stopped in a particularly nutritious patch of grass, a few of them had overtaken her on her far side- and with jerk of her head and a pin of her ears she had made it clear that she preferred not to be enveloped by them- and that she would hold her ground when she found good grazing. Otherwise, there was peace, and there was safety in numbers.
She was not pregnant, like Selenia, and yet she ate fiercely. She was welcoming of the woman at her side, and gracious enough to summon her when she found a good patch of grass to nibble at. She kept an eye on the broodmare's state, and flared her nostrils when she saw something like a limb press up against the woman's belly from the inside.
"She'll be running on flat ground soon," She said. "You must be only about a month out now, hmm?" She asked. She could smell that change was coming; it would come for them both, she knew, in the welcoming green of the Spring season.
"oh, goodness," ouch! "i hope so," selenia gritted as the foal rolled again! but then her babe was quieting, tucking knobby knees back into folded place. "i can't imagine being pregnant any longer than that."
eating, lying down, even the occasional roll for scratching and pleasure had become awkward and cumbersome.
she was ready for it to be over, though tenderly she reached to lip at her own flank. "you said she," selenia said suddenly, looking back at fancy. "how do you know?" her leadmare had no shortage of wisdom, and she was quite intrigued.
She smiled softly. She'd known some pregnancies could last an age and a half- but she wasn't keen to put that stress on the mare while she was pregnant for the first time.
She rubbed her muzzle along the mare's topline, and chuffed a faint laugh. "I can just tell," She said. Something about the slope of her belly, the mannerisms of the mild mare- made her believe that she was carrying a filly.
selenia chuffed, but in many ways she trusted fancy. why not in this? lead mares knew many things, and the younger mare had never been pregnant before.
"when are we leaving?" she asked, not wanting to be impatient but trusting that fancy might understand her growing impulse to seek even a bare stand of trees for this, especially with the presence of wolves.
She thought she sensed a bit of anxiety from the mare, and she could understand why. The scent of predators was in the air, and at times she saw the glint of their eyes in the dark. They were watchful of the great bison herd, and the horses had begun to rely on their presence as if the moving mass of bovines were a fortress.
”When the grass is greener,” She said. ”We’ll move to higher ground when there’s enough to eat up there.” All a hypothesis- it was Maplesmoke’s decision, but Fancy felt he would listen to reason. They would be more protected in the wooded areas up the slope than out in the open, she felt.
selenia flicked her flank thoughtfully and nodded in trusting silence. fancy knew when to lead them; the pregnant mare was relieved not to have to do it herself.
"maybe — maybe next year, the foals in this band will be siblings," she suggested lightly, shyly. fancy was more than young enough to have another baby, and selenia intended the same for herself.
and at present, only maplesmoke ran with them.
Fancy wondered if Selenia felt nervous in the grasslands. Begrudgingly, she had to admit that the bison had undoubtedly offered them some protection from predators- but even they would move on, eventually. She did not wish to tag along with them forever. They ate ferociously- if there came a drought, they would be competition for food.
She snorted softly, a smile pulling at the corners of her lips the way a gentle bit might. ”I hope so,” She affirmed. With no other stallions vying for Maplesmoke’s position, it seemed likely. ”I didn’t catch, last year.” She said, as she chewed a mouthful of grass. ”First time for me. The last year’s felt like a waste of time, being empty.”
"i understand, somehow. feeling empty without it, i mean," selenia murmured. she had spent most of the last year slowly growing her foal, and the weight and the changes had been all she'd known.
"well. i hope it's the same for us both soon," she decided, shaking out her mane as she thought of pretty foals with matching coats and maplesmoke's proud stride.
She nodded once, having dealt some time ago with the grief and disappointment that she had felt when she had finally accepted the fact that she would not bear a goal. She had punished herself, cursed the stallion, wondered if she’d strayed too far in telling one of the Equus stories…Nothing had helped her make sense of it. But with time came the grace to accept, and with Spring came the opportunity to try again.
”Mmhmm,” she agreed thoughtfully, her lips finally drawing into a soft smile. ”Maplesmoke’s alright, hmm? He does his job, he doesn’t needlessly push us around, doesn’t showboat unless it’s time to do so,” She said.
"oh, yes. he reminds me of — well. i mean, he's calm. stallions aren't always like that."
the mare flicked a tail as hunger climbed her belly. "i found some new grass over that way," she suggested to fancy with a whicker, eager for the taste of the soft green.
She was given reason to ponder who it was that Maplesmoke reminded Selenia of, but she chose not to press. The mention of green grass was a sufficient distraction as well, and the sorrel whickered happily in approval and thumped her lips together.
”A bit more rain,” She said, as they began to move, ”And this will all spring to life.” She said. Her eyes rocked over toward the herd of bison, always nearby, always grazing. She looked then to the mountains in the distance, and sighed softly, willing for Spring to come, and pure them back into the higher grounds.