Thuruyaal flicked her tail at a couple of pesky flies but did not halt her grazing. After losing so much weight over winter she felt the need to eat for hours on end without stopping. At least she was sure no men would come looking for them up here. Well, not them specifically anyway. They were grazing with the men’s cattle that were friendly and put up with pretty much anything. They were good companions at least.

“Would you rather be an elephant or a cow?” asked Wara suddenly, pulling at Thuru’s mane. It was still short, and Thuru decided after catching a few elusive glimpses of some other the other brumbies up here that she wanted a long flowing mane too. Not a silly scraggly one like she currently had. Remembering Wara’s question, she returned her attention back to reality.

“I think I’d like to be a cow,” she replied after thinking it over for a minute, “The cows here have a nice lifestyle I think; and they wouldn’t have to perform like the elephants back home had to. What about you?”

Thuru didn’t even think twice about the intelligence of Wara’s question. She had answered it with complete seriousness, , perhaps because she was used to it. Thuru’s thoughts then turned back to the rest of the horse population up here. None of them had come to talk to them, or even have a little chat. They were avoiding the two vanners like a bad smell, and Thuru was rather annoyed by it. What could possibly be their reason for avoiding two perfectly respectable, intelligent, attractive horses like herself and Wara? It simply made no sense.

Waragaal nodded, her punkish mane flapping about. "But elephants can pick things up with their noses, and they get given more food than cows." Elephants were well looked after by humans, whereas cows were left in a field to graze. Wara paused for a brief moment, looking to the horizon to where she though was home (she was actually looking completely the wrong way), and gave a wistful sigh. There was no doubt that life had been good at the circus, but once they'd gotten used to the constant hunger and daily travelling, she could see the merits of this place too. No loud noises, no smoke, no humans bustling about. Only the cows and the grass.

The pinto mare was just debating the idea of circus cows with her friend, not having yet made the important descision of elephant or cow, when a deep voice startled her. Being tame, her senses were dull and that wouldn't likely change no matter how long she spent in the High Country. She turned her head swiftly and gasped, the sight of a wild stallion confronting her.

He was quite lean, and while not much shorter than she and Thuru, he looks alomost stick thin compared to the stocky Gypsy Vanners. His coat was a strange brown, not unlike the dirt, but his eyes were the real shock; one was brown and the other blue! She had never seen a blue eye on a horse before, only humans, and she wondered if the stallion had somehow stolen it.

With her ears perked forward, the mare was not obviously hostile, but she stared intently at the male. As if suddenly coming to her senses, she nudged Thuruyaal (even though she hadn't missed the stallion's appearance out of nowhere) and gestured to the stranger. "He's a magician!" She whispered, and subtlety not being her strong point, the male would probably hear.