[private] For every action there is a reaction

[Jakub]

Jakub stood along the edge of the field. He watched as horses with out homes roamed the land. He watched as recruiters made pleasantries. He watched as agreements were made, and some offers turned down with an apathetic nod of the head, recruiters moving on to their next attempt.

It had been here that Magnus had met him and had taken him under his wing. The beginning of everything. He had found a home and had come to care for it's residence and it's  leaders. He vowed to protect that land and it's  people,  but had failed when it mattered most.

His dark blue eyes scanned the out cropping settling on a rather grungy looking man who seemed to exclude himself from the rest. Scars streaked his hide and one particularly deep one ran from the base of his ear, down across his eye and stopping at his jaw bone. The tip of his right ear was gone the remainder tattered as if it was ripped from his head. 

Jakub made his way around the field, sticking to the border hoping to avoid the nomads and the recruiters. His ears swiveled forward focused on the battered stallion. As he got within speaking distance, he could see more clearly that the eye with the unruly scar was ghosted over, blind. 

Hello, avoiding the afternoon rush? he asked motioning towards the center of the field. Don't  worry I'm not here to recruit. And I already have a home. he had hoped he could make the conversation light before exposing why he really came over.

JAKUB

and out he came, holding his brothers heel

I will be responding with an NPC account.

[NPC]

He gave a mild glance at the approaching stallion. It was obvious he was generations younger than him, even he could tell that with only one good eye. The bay overo gave a small snort of his nostrils when the boy had finished talking.

He hadn't  intended on amusing the boy with an answer but as they sat there in silence for a moment he thought to himself why the hell not.

The stallion turned towards the obsidian boy, tall for his age he assumed and took in a lazy breath letting it out slowly before proceeding to talk. I'm not much for conversating. I myself am no recruiter and have a home. he paused a minute not bothering for introductions, If not for the nomads or a home what brings you here, or more so by me to disrupt my peace. the stallion was not being aggressive but mild irritation lingered in his voice. His good brown eye, laced with ribbons of dancing gold made it's way back to the gathering horses and darted along the border.

This is where he sat most every day, the recruiters knew better by now then to try and approach him. He was here to watch.

[Jakub]

He watched the tattered man as he ignored his entrance but he would not leave until he finished what he came here to talk about. The man looked like hell, his coat caked in dirt and mud as if he hadn't cleaned himself in years. His mane was knotted and in some places non existent. What had happened to this man?

Finally, the stallion turned towards Jakub and acknowledged him. He told Jakub he was neither a recruiter or nomad as well, and Jakub wondered how that could be in the current state that he was in. You'd think if he had a home he would be a little more well kept.

He continued on asking why Jakub was here and then diverted his attention back to the groups and borders. Jakub noted how the man seemed to be an unknown lookout for the group of homeless that wondered here and he could not help but wonder about the scars the man sported.

If I may ask, how did you come about your wounds? he asked, avoiding the man's question but only temporarily. I am looking for others who feel the need to protect others to ask them for their knowledge. You strike me as one of those types. Jakub followed the man's gaze to the borders.

JAKUB

and out he came, holding his brothers heel

[NPC]

The question pulls the stallions attention back to the thoroughbred. Who does he think he is being so blunt? He is only upset for a moment though, his good eye digging in at the boy. His brow crinkles as his mind filters back to the many nights he had spent keeping an eye out over this particular pasture.

He thought of the big cat he had spotted creeping in on the unknowing filly and her mother. Sadness crept into his body as he thought about how he had only enough time to save one, and a decision was to be made. The stallion possessed the gift to control the air that flowed around his immediate surroundings, but this gift had been new to him at the moment.

Without realizing it entirely the man began to talk outloud telling the black boy of that particular night. I ran as quickly as I could towards the duo. I didn't have enough time to think through a decision well before acting, but I knew if I didn't act both would not survive as another big cat slinked in behind the first. I had been up here by myself, the only one to see the on coming attack. he pauses in thought as a mix of emotions flow through him.

I saved the girl. Using my gifts to pull her towards the middle of the field and out of dangers way. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get to the mother quickly enough. I fought with the cats as soon as I had pulled my powers back from the girl but was over ran by the bigger of the two. Eventually after he had gotten a few good advances in I was able to push them out of the field with their tails between their legs, but it was to late for the mother. She had bled out and the girl I had protected was now an orphan his voice trailed of his gaze fixed to Jakubs.

[Jakub]

Jakub watched the man intently as he talked. Emotions filled him as he talked of a night two big cats attacked and he had to make a decision to protect. A decision that apparently hadn't ended the way the stallion had hoped.


Even as a protector he would have to understand that you couldn't save them all. And the ones you couldn't save would stick with you through the years, this he could see plain as day on the overo's face.

I am sorry that the outcome was not as you planned, but would you have done it differently if you could have? he asked, his eyes falling to the ground to stare at his hooves and then returning to glance over the scare searing the man's face.

JAKUB

and out he came, holding his brothers heel

[NPC]

The overo contemplated Jakubs question for a moment, standing in silence shared between the two. When Jakub had first walked up to him he couldn't wait for him to leave. He assumed he was just another young boy coming to inspect that ragged old man. To boast about how young and strong he was, but the obsidian listened patiently and seemed to be genuinely interested in how he came to be.

Would I have wanted to do things differently? Sure. If possible I would have wanted to spot the predators earlier, or saved both of them. Would I have been able to do it differently? No, I wouldn't have been more in tune with my gifts or quicker on my hooves the second time around. Though I wish the girl could still have her mother today, I dont regret taking action when and how I could in the moment. I would rather do something than sit idly by. he said searching a nearby group of horses.

 I come here every day to stand watch so that if something happens I can do my best to take action over a group of horses who do not have a home behind them to protect and help them. I also get to see that filly I saved that day, come down to the field and recruit others and that is enough to keep me here. If you don't  mind I think I am going to go talk to her now. he gave Jakub a nod in parting It was a pleasure to meet you. he said though no introductions were made he would not forget his face.