the winds called me home, [O]

[Corowa]

mist blanketed the gently undulating hills of the southern ramshead. a thick belt of stringybarks was outlined by the rising sun, and somewhere in the valley below, the warble of a mountain wren could be heard over the screech of gang gangs as they quarrelled nosily in the branches of a white sallee, whose roots clung to the granite rock of the incline.

two brumbies grazed in the cover of the trees. one raised its head, and gave a fearful snort. she was a creamy, descendent of the silver brumbies whose dam carried the blood of the whirlwind himself. little more than a yearling, karuah still did not wander far from her mother. with a gentle nicker, corowa ambled over to her daughter, resting her head on her withers. yet karuah's eyes were rimmed with white, for she was a nervous filly who had both the flightiness and swiftness of her mother.

"hush foolish one, we are safe here," corowa said, touching karuah's nose with her own. unlike her grand-sire, and his sire before him, karuah lacked the wisdom and daring that had made the silver brumbies a legend. indeed, corowa had, had difficulty teaching karuah to remain both silent and unseen, to move without leaving tracks and to avoid men and their tame horses. even kessa was able to move as though a wraith through the bush. but karuah seemed drawn to men, and corowa had been careful to stay in the ramshead, where men no longer came with their white-faced cattle and dogs.

in the blackest of nights, the mare had led her filly into the bush. melting into the cover of the trees, they had travelled southwards, for corowa was drawn to the granite tors of the ramshead. this was where the bones of bel bel and thowra rested, bleached by blizzard and storm. those cold mountain winds had called them home.

ooc: a corowa and karuah post. it's kind of odd to rp karuah as a foal in one post to almost a yearling in the other! anyways i made it so that corowa separated from rezar some while back since she was seeking the shelter of the ramshead for karuah and she's a bit of a loner.

[Illu]

||OoC|| No idea what Tiggy is doing, so if anyone else wants in, they can say they just tagged along.||

Well, he could hardly question Corowa’s choice in regards to safety, but that was really the only reason Rezar felt drawn to the Ramshead. The hills were tough and the grazing was unsuitable for long periods. He didn’t feel the same longing for the high country as she did, no sense of wonder and joy at the majestic tors; she was bred for it, he wasn’t. They were just a hassle, and thanks to the oncoming winter, sinfully freezing.

So, now, there he was, picking his way up the Range with scarcely a method to track them by, save Karuah’s occasional misplaced footprint. Eventually he caught the scent of the two on the bitter winds and followed it until at last he caught sight of the two of them and totted down with relief to meet them. ”I’d rather wish you wouldn’t,” he said with a hint of amusement in reference to her running off, then nibbled down her shoulder as a ruse for a check-up. She was fine, as always, and Karuah looked the same.

[Corowa]

there was the sound of hoof striking rock, and karuah melted back into scrub of messmate and stringy barks; uncertain and afraid. bolder than her spirited daughter, corowa did not move. rather she quivered with excitement, half-forgotten memories stirred by the scent that carried on those cold southern winds. she heard karuah creep forwards, felt the filly's nose bump her flanks as she thrust her head under and nursed. with a soft nicker, corowa turned to her silver daughter, nosing her rump gently.

the stallion's hooves clattered on the incline as he picked his way down towards them, and corowa threw up her head, ears pricked forwards as she trembled. in the blackness of the night she had taken karuah and followed the south winds back to the ramshead. yet rezar had come to them, as strong and alive as the mountains that had drawn her.

karuah whinnied and corowa watched as the beautiful filly trotted out to meet him. the morning light played in the silver hair of her mane and tail, so that karuah seemed to shine with all the splendour of the sun. then the stallion was beside her, and corowa stiffened, sidestepping with a snort. when karuah struck at rezar playfully, corowa reached over and steadied her with a well-placed nip. "i'm sorry," she said, shyly returning the stallion's greeting with her own gentle nuzzle. "yet it's in my blood, in our daughter's blood to heed the call of the wind. it was foolish, but karuah is curious, and you know that such a beautiful filly could be hidden from neither men nor brumby."

ooc: ugh sorry for the wait. my computer hates this site and all its pop-ups. it took me about half an hour just to get it loaded.

[Illu]

Spomething cold suddenly landed on his rump, then his eyelash. Rezar shook his head once to get it off, and then looked up in time for one to fall on his nose. It was snowing very slightly, for a moment he wondered why the snows were so early, and then he remembered they were on the Ramshead. It was probably still dry lower down.

Seemed as good a reason as any for him to leave, but the snow had let him decide to give Corowa and Karuah a few more days up there if they wanted it. This was Karuah’s first snowfall, the arrival of her element. It wasn’t his snow, he couldn’t feel what Karuah would this season, but the least he could do was be understanding and give her and mother the liberty they needed now that the men were gone.

Corowa, as usual, was right and he nodded his assent, ”I know, but perhaps now for a few months she can be as free as she was meant to be. I am starting to suspect being silver may be more akin to living in a cage.”

[yaruka]

OOC: I'm going to work under the assumption that Wyuna worked herself out and ended up joining Rezar's herd, at least for the duration of the winter. we'll have to see come spring time also, I figure this is quite some time after they met because obviously Karuah's more grown up now 8)

BIC:

Wyuna had followed Rezar's mad dash off to check on his precious mare and her silver daughter at her own leisurely pace. Honestly, she wasn't quite sure what she was still doing here with them. If it wasn't for a deep born instinct that told her that being alone in the winter was a bad idea, she would probably be off wandering, looking for a less neurotic stallion. That and she was pretty sure she would be expecting a foal this spring. Her first actually. Daintily, she picked her way over the last bunch of rocks and snorted in contempt as she caught the end of Rezar and Corowa's exchange. Honesty it wasn't as if the mare had been missing for days. When she was at a reasonable distance from the other three, she dropped her head and fell to cropping the wet grass. Although slightly soggy, it was better here than it would be in other places, and Wyuna planned to make the most of the grass before the snow really began to fall in earnest. The dark mare grazed by herself, proudly but making an almost sad sight as the white flakes slowly drifted down and dotted her dark coat as stars spangle he night sky.

[Corowa]

corowa looked at her beautiful daughter and knew that the stallion spoke the truth. for karuah was neither wise nor cunning enough to leave no tracks, to baffle the men who would hunt her so that her wildness was not tamed at the end of their ropes. only in the whirlwind of snow and mist, in the fiercest of blizzards, could the silver filly hide. in the boughs of the candlebarks, a crow cawed, and a shiver of fear went through her. it was seemingly a call without answer, for not even the mysteries of the bush, the spirits of those who had come before them, could protect karuah from the greed of men who would seek her.

"i will not let our daughter be caught," corowa said softly. "i will not let her be tamed by men who would take her from these mountains that had once been her own." with a snort, the grey brumby mare backed away. though corowa was fond of her mate, this handsome and gentle stallion, he had been a tame horse himself, and the mare did not think he understood. "i will not be driven downwards until the snow is at its deepest. for this is still our home."

then corowa threw up her head and stilled. for another brumby had joined them on these southern tors of the ramshead.

the dark bay brumby mare grazed alone, and corowa wondered whether wyuna was with foal. perhaps there would be a foal tottering shakily beside its dam, half-sister to karuah, she who had come before. corowa moved towards the mare, and karuah cantered at her side, excited by the prospect of a new playmate. "greetings wyuna," corowa said warily, a little uncertain. for it seemed that no longer would she be alone with nothing but the blizzards and this shining silver filly, descendent of the whirlwind whose bones rested here; buried beneath the snow, and bleached by the winds for which he had been named.

[yaruka]

Wyuna's ears twitched as she felt a pair of eyes upon her. Glancing upwards, but not bothering to raise her head, she caught sight of Corowa and her glittering silver daughter looking at her. Wyuna snorted, she could see the mare looking at her, could read the expression in her gaze as the grey mare's eyes dropped almost imperceptibly to her stomach. Oh subtle. NOT. Of course the other mare was wondering if she was with foal, which indeed she was, a slightly sore subject with Wyuna at the moment. Ok,maybe more than slighty sore. The mare and her foal started to make their way over to her, and huffily Wyuna began to make a great deal out of stamping about and moving her hooves, establishing her "space". "Greetings Wyuna" said Corowa and Wyuna considered snapping at the mare but caught herself just before she laid her ears back, thinking better of driving the other mare off. After all, the other two would be her herdmates, at least for the winter. Grudgingly, Wyuna let them approach and nodded a curt greeting of her own. She then dropped her head again to graze, pinning her ears slightly. After all, she didn't want the other mare to get the idea that she was friendly or something.

[Illu]

The bitchy mare curse wasn’t going to abate any time soon apparently. First Corowa had been a problem when it came to Kessa, thankfully calming down after her foal, and Kessa had been another matter entirely, he had basically had to chase her around the High Country to even make her look twice at him. Now it looked like Wyuna was going to pull Corowa’s same stunt and Rezar would rather not have a repeat of past affairs.

It hadn’t been fair both Kessa and Wyuna to leave them there like that, he knew Kessa would cope, but he should have been more careful with his new mare. The sight of her dragging her pregnant self up the Ramshead made him feel incredibly guilty. He wondered if she’d stay with them after the foal was born, if winter alone was tough, alone with a foal at foot surely had to be just as harsh. For the foal too, he was sure Karuah had been made worse-off for the lack of playmates.

Looking as bad as he felt, Rezar followed awkwardly behind Corowa to go greet her, hoping she’d actually let him get close enough to groom her shoulder.

[yaruka]

OOC: ooh! Illu I'm really sorry. I just realized that I totally butted in and took your turn sorry!

[Illu]

||OoC|| Ha, I'm not complaining, you gave me something to post about. xD ||