"But the dream, the echo, slips from him as quickly as he had found it and as consciousness comes to him (a slap and not the gentle waves of oceanic tides), it dissolves entirely. His muscles relax as the cold claims him again, as the numbness sets in, and when his grey eyes open, there’s nothing but the faint after burn of a dream often trod and never remembered." --Brigade, written by Laura
Though he plans to stay away from the Feild (the journey takes longer than he is comfortable leaving his herd alone), the other herdlands are close enough.
The striped and spotted stallion stands at the edge of the Golden Plains, having been drawn in by the place's resemblance to his homeland as well as the scent of a band of mares. There was no cluster of half-grown bachelors at the edge of her, which makes Njenyi suspect that the herd stallion is either infertile or far too lenient with his sons and allows them to stay in the herd past weaning.
There's only one way to find out, and that's to check out the herd. He inches closer, keeping sharp brown eyes alert for any mare standing too far from the bunch that he might easily herd away.
Phaedrus can’t help but catch the scent of a new comer, especially since most scents here had gone stale over the past year. Nothing against the fine ladies that stayed with him, even when he proved to be the biggest jerk ever. Making promises, swaying from one lady to the next, and most of all being absent enough that the women ended up being subjected to some horrendous brute that cared little if anything for the mares in question. Today is no different from any other, sulking around, pitying himself for things that if he made half an effort could easily be remedied. But there is the problem, he can’t make an effort. Be it brooding, kingdom, or chasing off other testosterone addled monsters, there just isn’t time for it all. Not like he could create a duplicate of himself, and be everywhere at once, taking care of everyone and everything. Even now, as if the danger wasn’t really there he stops to look at the flowers.
It’s with a frown that he steps across the border looking for the source of this scent. Can I help you? He asks as soon as he spots the other male. For a moment he hesitates. All those thoughts, the whole burden, he could walk away right now, he could end all their suffering and give them what they need most. Stability. If you’re here to take the herd, be my guest. They are all yours should you want them. Could anything be as freeing as those words? Suddenly he smiled, all the pressure, all the nibbling thoughts, and the constant drag of discipline washed away. He was free, he could live his life without some whinny bitches breathing down his neck begging for attention, love, and emotion that he honestly couldn’t give. Be it as it may, this was the right decision. He could go back to being the sulky absent minded brute that devoted himself to a kingdom, and strived for a purpose greater than himself. there should be about four mares, possibly more if the others chose to stick around. Then of course theirs my daughters five in total. He begins to walk away glad to be done with the experiment. It had been a successful one, up till this year. And that was his own fault, his own doing, now it was simply time to move on to the next project.
The mare grazed a little bit away from the her,enough for a stallion to herd her away.She didn't see the stallions,her focus was on eating not her surroundings.She wa staying to make the most of the winter grass.In the next few days it would be spring and there will be loads of little foals jumping around.She wish she courld have a foal of her own.She couldn't remember having one before.
She smelt stallions but knew it couldn't be true.She looked up and sure enough.There were two stallions standing by each other.Discussing about mares.She would stay out of their conversation for now,or would she.She walked a little closer and stared at them.She hoped they wouldn't see her.
Sirana gave her head and neck a good shake to get rid of some of the snow that had fallen onto her mane during the last snowfall. Despite her best efforts, a majority of it still stuck, something that annoyed her. Her mane now looked like the coat of an appaloosa, while her body retained its flawless champagne color, even with her thick winter coat.
Her mane and tail had grown quite long, just like her dam's. They were a deep red chestnut in color, almost like the color of blood mixed with dirt. Her legs were dark as well, and part of the skin under her muzzle had started to turn pink, something that even her dam probably wouldn't have suspected. It seemed a bit strange against her champagne fur, but it didn't look incredibly strange.
Her body was lean but muscular, traits from her time spent running to increase her stamina and speed, something she'd been working on since the days that her dam's friend, Raxa, had started to teach her. Her belly was lean as well, a sign that she was not carrying a foal this season. Some of the mares had given her a bit of an odd look, almost as if they found it strange she wasn't carrying a foal this season. Sirana had simply given them an angry look; why should she have a foal now? She was only three years old for goodness sake; she had plenty of time to have a kid, if she ever wanted to that is.
The filly used her muzzle to push the snow aside, searching for some grass she could eat. She ignored the feeling of the snow biting at the skin on her face, the frigid tingling it left behind. It didn't do much to phase her, and the hunger in her belly made her focus on something else. Every so often, she found a small patch of grass, and quickly devoured it, continuing the search again afterwards.
The winter breeze blew a new scent toward the mare; it was of a stallion that she did not recognize. She lifted her finely tapered head, her almond brown eyes following the trail of the scent up a small hill. In the distance, she could see the herd stallion, Phaedrus, and the other stallion she must've smelled, the one who was unfamiliar. Figuring that Phaedrus would handle it (since the stallion so loved to show off his superior strength), the champagne filly returned to her efforts at finding grass. She'd worry about the stallion when the situation suddenly involved her.
It’s been so long since she last saw Phaedrus. The blue and black stallion has been busy as of late, so it hasn’t bothered her, but she has been missing his presence in the herd. Partially, she must confess, because of Steris.
Their daughter has grown into a beautiful young mare, almost three years of age, but … god the curst girl is so scared of everything. Vakarian has tried so, so hard to get her out of the herd, to interact with even her half siblings in the herd … and nothing has worked. The damn girl refuses to interact with anyone besides herself and Wolfish, and Vakarian is getting SO tired of it.
She and Steris are grazing quietly away from the herd when the sound of Phaedrus’ voice catches her attention. “Phaedrus!” She nudges at her daughter, and the two of them rush back to where the rest of the herd is grazing (though Steris hangs back reluctantly).
They arrive just in time to hear Phaedrus offer the herd to a strange spotted stallion. “What?!” She can feel Steris squash herself up against her side. “Do we even get any say in this Phaedrus?” But, even though she complains, she can already feel that it’s probably for the best. He’s been busy for so long, so absent from their lives. And Steris … well, maybe she could benefit from a little forced change.
08-31-2016, 09:56 PM (This post was last modified: 08-31-2016, 09:59 PM by Njenyi.)
The herd stallion appears from the waving grasses, and Njenyi eyes him warily. Rather than drive him off immediately (the way that Njenyi would have were they in opposite places), he simply asks what he is doing. He does'nt answer - why bother - but is starteld by the other male's next words.
Take them?
Could it really be that easy?
He can see the mares nearby. There doesn't appear to be anything wrong with them, but the black stallion seems surprisingly eager to be rid of them. He lists off their numbers- nearly twice the size of Njenyi's own herd - and the opportunity is too tempting to pass up.
The winged stallion begins to walk away, and Njenyi takes a hesitant step forward, toward the bunch of mares. He glances back at Phaedrus, but the other stallion makes no move to stop him, so he continues forward. The closest mare is one that is staring openly at them both, but seems to think herself invisible. He angles forward, using his chest to guide her closer to the rest of the herd. It will be easier to drive them as a group than individually.
The mares of the Gemstone Ridge will be pleased with this new company.
The next nearest mare is an amber champagne roan, a color that he's never seen before. He likes it, and knows that the foals she'll bear him will probably share her unique coloring. He comes closer and nips at her hip, doing his best to drive her and the paint mare a little closer to the Ridge. The angry voice of a bay mare distracts him, and he glances up to see her speaking to the other stallion.
Phaedrus is not her stallion anymore, he's given his consent. The bay mare and the grown foal at her side belong to Njenyi now, and he will do his best to keep them, and keep them happy.
"Go," he tells them both, snapping his teeth in the empty air with a threat that he'd prefer to not carry out. They'll be content in the Ridge, he knows, he just has to get them there. "Gemstone Ridge. Go now." He looks to the rest of Phaedrus' assembled herd and does his best to move them along.
ooc: if any of Phaedrus' mares really don't want to go or you've got a legit ooc reason (like tinsel who i now have kidnapped like 3 of her horses for the same herd) feel free to PM me and we'll work something out. Otherwise, please head to Gemstone Ridge asap :D
All her life she knew kindness, fairytales, day dreams, and love. But now she gazes at her father with pure disdain. She had always known him to be loyal to his family, that he was dependable and reasonable with decisions. But this was not her father, nor is it someone she would call remotely close to family. He was a man of betrayal.
She cranes her neck towards her mother in means of distress, as the stallion herds them like sheep. Her body is tense, slender ebony limbs felt like she had weights bound to her feet, and they become heavier and heavier with each stride. Until she finally plants her hooves firmly in the frost grazed dirt. Tendrils of vegetation sway at her hocks, as she shares a glance at her father, protest expressed with a sharp whisper, "How dare you betray us." Thats all she can manage before the waterworks begin, oily tears are shed down her inky cheeks glossed with a salty exterior.
Tears still welling within those chocolate eyes of hers Clarisse, finds herself face to face with the stallion herding them like cattle(I'm guessing he would try and push her in a way because she stopped moving). Her lobes flick back pressing against her nape, she inclines her cranium. He does little but nip at the point of her hip and she throws out a kick from her hind (Guessing it would hit about lower chest level and or shoulder). "Fuck off." She manages to speak between silent sobs. She steps away slender limbs guiding her in the opposite direction, towards the Jungle.
Each step the mental weights bound to her feet grow less and less until it feels as if she is no longer chained to them. She trembles, allowing herself to glance back at her own mother, at Zara and the other children like herself that still lingered. As she makes her way over a petite hill, her sorrowful gaze meets her father's build, memories of her mother calling to him as her warrior flash through her mind. She would never find someone like him to betray anyone, and her mother had so much faith in him. It is such a pity how much faith they all had put into them, only for that to be flushed out of existence.
dont make promises that you cant keep
html by call
OOC: I'm so sorry to write this but I never really saw Clarisse as much of a herd mare. I would rather see her as a Jungle sister or a nomad in the meadow. Don't take any of this personally..... Clarisse may visit from time to time to visit her mother otherwise she'd rather stay away from him.
@[Njenyi]
Okay, now this was an interesting turn of events. Hearing Phaedrus' hoof steps moving away, Sirana looked up again. The stallion; wait, what was he doing? Was he abandoning the herd? What was going on here?
The stallion that had come here to probably seek out mares from a herd nipped at a paint mare grazing near the edge of the herd. It was a new one; Wild Hope, she believed the name of the mare was. Then again, Sirana hadn't had the chance to socialize much with her yet. She watched as the stallion drove the mare closer to the herd before suddenly changing directions, now coming for Sirana.
The amber champagne filly, as one would expect, was not entirely pleased with that. When the stallion came and nipped at her hip, Sirana lashed out with her back hooves, trying to drive him away. His attention was soon drawn elsewhere when a bay mare, Vakarian, from the herd, went and spoke to Phaedrus, saying that the matter was unfair of how he'd just given up the herd. Her daughter, Streis, was also by her side.
The unfamiliar stallion went over to the mare and filly, herding them back towards the other mares. Sirana may not have bonded with them closely as of yet, but she would try to defend them from the stallion's treatment.
Sirana looked over at Wild Hope, hoping to calm the mare in case she started to panic a little, "We'll find a way out of this, don't worry. Let's get to the herd; there'll be safety in numbers. Don't worry, that stallion won't get his teeth on you again unless he wants my hooves to knock them out."
"Ok,I want to be safe again."she didn't like this.She galloped to the centre where the herd of mares was.She could see almost over the top.She was tall for a mare,considering her dam and sire where smaller."Listen!I know what to do.Come closer so he doesn't here."She whispered to each mare and foal."Split up in small groups and then gallop off in different directions so he doesn't know what to do.I will stay here."She hoped every horse knew what to do now.She wanted this to go well but at the same time she wanted to leave Teh Dale.She had lived here her whole life,never seen any other place.She reared up and whinnied.Her front hooves slammed back down on the ground,leaving a thud."I hope this goes well."She stood there waiting for The groups to gallop off.
ooc: since wild hope already posted in gemstone ridge (and Njenyi has replied) I'm just replying to Clarisse and Siranna in this particular post. let me know if that - or my line skipping! - causes any issues
There's a young black mare that seems reluctant, and when Njenyi sees her slowing he draws back. He's no young bachelor stallion, and avoiding kicks from irritated mares has become almost econd nature to him. Her left hind hoof scrapes against his right shoulder, but he's gotten worse, and he only looses a bit of skin and hair. When she makes to run away he does not follow.
He won't force her, though he knows she's likely to regret her choice. Perhaps she'll find a stallion that will protect her with his own life out where she is going...but she probably won't.
The champagne mares kicks out as well, and distracted by the leaving mare, Njenyi doesn't avoid that one as neatly. He huffs out a breath as her hooves make contact, but a kick to the chest is not enough to down him. Instead he eyes the mare with a bit more wary admiration as she reassures the others. She seems to be concerned that he'll hurt them, and for a moment he frowns (a strange emotion on his usually unemotive face. Hurt them? He is only trying to be sure they all make it the the Ridge in a single group. He is no sadist; he nips to guide, not to cause pain.
"No more biting", he says to Siranna, gesturing with his muzzle toward his own chest. He won't guide her if she doesn't like it, but she will go to the Gemstone Risge and join the rest of the herd. "Now go. Go."
