Losing It [O]

[Xarae]

The verdant valley lay sprawled before her pale hooves like a slowly unfurling carpet. Thundarta inspected the land with a keen eye, smiling contentedly to herself. The Kosciusko outback was at least ten kinds of beautiful, and perhaps a couple of other adjectives that she couldn't begin to place. Thundarta stood at the edge of the incline in a small copse of trees, the valley laid out in front of her. From this vantage point she could see all who approach her head on; however, her rear lay unguarded.

The wind worked in her favor, blowing the breeze in such a direction that she could scent an approach from behind just as easily as she could see the valley before her. Suitably satisfied with her newly secured parcel of land, Thundarta bent her head to rummage between the spiky leaves that lay upon the copse's floor to the tender grass beneath. It was slim pickings, for it seemed that a herd of similar minded brumbies had passed through earlier in the day while the sun remained high.

During the night and early morning, Thundarta preferred to stay in the brush where there was less of a chance of being discovered by men. On the very precarious perch she had positioned herself in, she was on the edge of being in open grazing territory. This was not a problem with her, but she was hesitant to return to such a widely visited area. Stallions were scavenging mares left and right now that it was the peak of the breeding season, and though Thundarta's instincts begged for a foal, her mind wasn't so sure yet.

The quiet mare uprooted a few sparse mouthfuls of grass before carefully eyeing the surrounding territory once again. It seemed that - for now - the coast was clear. Thundarta picked a spot between two heavily branched trees and folded her legs daintily. Her hind end soon followed and then her muzzle drooped to the ground. Her nose twitched occasionally, adjusting to the grass that tickled her lips, before she finally drifted off for a well deserved rest.

[Ehetere]

Orroroo was trotting aimlessly through the bush. Well, not aimlessly, per say, he was looking for good grazing after all. But he wasn’t exactly going somewhere in particular. He knew that Yarraman’s Valley was up ahead, and it usually had excellent grazing this time of year. It did not even cross his mind to think that there might be other horses there, or other hostile stallions.

He paused to sniff curiously at a churned up track; showing signs of an enormous number of horses having passed here recently. Now a little worried; he moved away from the main track to the Valley, since he didn’t particularly want to have a run in with any stallions that could hold so many mares. He was now wandering through the scrub above the fertile valley, and ever here the grass had been mowed down something fierce. Exactly how many horses had been hanging around here?

Cautiously, he crept towards the tree line, to check whether there were any more horses hanging around before venturing out into the open. Actually, he was so intent on keeping quiet; that he almost stepped on perhaps the most uniquely coloured mare he had ever set his eyen on. She had a lovely white face, curious appaloosa markings and that was just the beginning; as if that combination wasn’t enough. Her coat shone golden in the dappled light, and her mane was silver.

Clearly she was exhausted though; and he could not find it in his nature to wake her. He was nice like that. Instead, he crept over to survey the Valley, as he had been intending to do before he had almost stepped on the sleeping mare. Nope; not another horse in sight, but then again, maybe he just wasn’t looking in the right places.

[Xarae]

Thundarta flicked an ear absently in her sleep, dreaming of sparkling rivers and endless valleys. In the her reverie, the scent of an unfamiliar stallion clouded her nostrils. The shiver of fear that awoke her, however, was real. Thundarta opened her eyes and glanced around suspiciously, finding herself eye-to-pastern with an unfamiliar hoof. With a gasp of surprise, she lurched ungracefully to her hooves and stumbled back a few paces until her rump hit a tree.

The golden appaloosa was rarely caught off guard, but when she was - well, it took her more than a few minutes to get adjusted. After she had composed herself well enough, Thundarta drew in a shaky breath and appraised the stallion. He was a striking blue roan color, which brought a shy smile to her features. It wasn't often she saw one like him around these parts.

"Hello," She began cautiously in her slow, quiet voice. Her tones dripped like honey, hung suspended in the air between them. The simple word was more of a question than a statement, but Thundarta didn't elaborate upon this introduction.

She felt safe for now; this would be enough.

[Ehetere]

OOC: Hmm, do you mind if this is just a ‘first meeting’ of these two? I kind of have another plot line that I would like to involve this guy in that a) requires him to be alone, and b) requires him to not being able to be beaten up for a mare. I don't know if Tiggles had stallion who had their eyes on her if you want her to go with a stallion… But anyway, sorry for any inconvenience I am quite happy to continue this thread for as long as you want to, but if another stallion turns up he is probably going to leg it, the chicken that he is XD


Orroroo whipped around as he heard the palomino mare stir. He watched with concealed amusement as she struggled to find her feet and ended up backing into a tree. Not that he was going to laugh or anything rude like that. So instead he waited patiently until she seemed ready to speak herself. He was just about to introduce himself and give explanation for why he had accidentally crept up on her in her sleep when he noticed that she was looking at him in a peculiar way. Why was she looking at him like that? It was making him self conscious; that was for sure.

Luckily, the uncomfortable feeling passed when she greeted him with a simple, “Hello.” Her voice was unusual; attractive for sure. He could hear the question in her unusual voice too – and instead of beating around the bush, so to speak, he launched right into an explanation of his appearance here.

“Hello to you also, Golden Mare, and my humble apologies for disturbing you in your sleep. I stumbled upon you quite by accident while looking to see whether the coast was clear down in the valley below,” he said as politely as possible. There was no need to mention the fact that he had almost stepped on her, since that would seem extremely rude. “I am Orroroo, named thus for the wind that whispers through the trees. May I inquire as to your own name also?”

[Xarae]

Thundarta chuckled when he spoke, inclining her head slightly to listen to his acumen. He seemed like a kind, decent thing - but a bit flighty, to say the least. "I'm sorry to say the coast is anything but, sir," Thundarta murmured, angling her head towards the crowded area that lay below them. "The King himself has taken up residence below; I've been hiding out here for fear of being rounded up, but it's a foolish mare who avoids the attention of stallions, I would suppose," the mare commented dryly, more to herself than to the blue roan.

She blinked balefully as he explained the meaning to his name, ducking her head for she felt the need to explain the meaning of her own calling. "My name is Thundarta... named for... well," she paused shyly and ducked her head before continuing, "Nothing. My mother was a bitter old thing," she offered, trying to make light of the dreary topic. Her mother had named her Thundarta - literally meaning nothing - because her father had died just days before her birth, and it certainly felt like her mother had nothing left.

[Ehetere]

"I'm sorry to say the coast is anything but, sir," replied the mare with all seriousness, "The King himself has taken up residence below; I've been hiding out here for fear of being rounded up, but it's a foolish mare who avoids the attention of stallions, I would suppose," Orroroo flicked his ears nervously and glanced anxiously over his shoulder in case a giant black shape was looming behind him. Orroroo liked many things, but being beaten up and fighting in general wasn’t one of them. He just wasn’t the confrontational type really.

“I would not think it foolish at all,” replied Orroroo, turning his attention back to the mare before him. He was going to be dead if another stallion showed up now. “Some may even call it wise; especially if that mare didn’t want to have to share her stallion with countless other mares.” This last thought was somewhat bitter coming from Orroroo; since it was a well known fact that the King had quite a large herd. Of course, he didn’t imagine that it was quite as large as it actually was, but he knew full well that the King had numerous mares.

"My name is Thundarta... named for... well," began the mare uncertainly, "Nothing. My mother was a bitter old thing," Orroroo snorted apologetically; his own mother had been disappointed in him, but he had never found out why. A bird squawked loudly over head, and Orroroo shied badly, fears of terrifying black stallions returning. He knew he hadn’t intentionally thought about it, but somehow his subconscious had wanted him to take this mare for his own. But he was not a cocky stallion, far from it actually, and did not think himself anywhere near strong or experienced enough to think of claiming a mare practically right beside the King’s herd. What would happen if the Kind spotted him while he tried to sneak her away? Or even scented them both before that? He would be beaten and killed for his impertinence, that’s what. And to be perfectly honest, he really didn’t want to get killed. But surely he would be able to sneak a little more conversation with her?