Melting Snow

[Corowa]

Corowa could hear the stallion slithering about in the darkness, and the mare threw up her head and whinnied. Then he was beside her, so close that she could feel the beat of his heart and knew that something strangely exciting had entered her world. Corowa was just a grey streak in this black, black night, and she bumped into the stallion's side with her rump, suddenly nervous.

"I will follow you," she said, and indeed that provocative dance, wreathed by mist and interwoven with all the mystery of the bush, had been for this stallion alone. The wind moaned and wailed, and there was a thud as one of the mighty snow gums fell, unable to withstand the onslaught. Water roared all around them, running down the slopes to form puddles in the cracks and crevices. Corowa stirred uneasily, knowing that to seek higher ground in such weather would be foolish.

Yet there was the threat of a flood, when even the rivers of the high country could not contain such a destructive force. Then there would be death, the animals of the bush swept away and drowned; kangaroos, wallabies, snakes and brumbies alike.

[Illu]

Corowa had picked their place of shelter well, the powerful trunks and thick bushes on all sides acted as an effective buffer from the gale. It made it safer at least, but the roaring of the wind and the water still made the ordeal rather distressing. Rezar’s ears snapped back as the sudden crash resounded all around to accompany the fall of the tree. With any luck the storm would burn itself out and the morning would be relatively clear, but, even if it didn’t, things where never as bad when you had someone to wait it out with.

The night passed restlessly and Rezar didn’t get much sleep, so he dedicated the time that he was awake to ensuring Corowa was all right. It was, different; this new sense of responsibility, but it was something he quickly grew to like. If he ever got a large herd, doting on individual mares would be difficult, as well as making them hard to move and to govern when danger came. He had little else to think about that night except the future, and eventually came to the conclusion four mares was enough, unless he felt he could handle more. Even with just four mares, once you added yearlings that pushed the total number to eight, and if any had foals at foot as well, it could get to twelve horses, thirteen including himself.

Finally, a pale, watery sort of dawn broke out and Rezar took a few steps out of the hollow to check the sky. There seemed to be no immediate threat of any more downpours like the one from last night, and Rezar decided it would be safe to move again. The next lowest spot was Cascade Creek, so that seemed a good bet, even if only to stuff themselves before things got really bad. Therefore, giving Corowa a friendly nip, he made his way south, hooves sinking in the mud formed last night as he went.