Expecting the Expected [Nandalie Herd/Open]

[Tiggs]

Nandalie had moved his mares to the Bogong where the ground was flatter. The Brindle might have been safe for a herd who knew where all the rocks and bumps were, but new foals might trip and fall if there were not careful. The red roan stallion thought that the fresh grazing of the Bogong would be a better place for this year’s foals to find their feet.

Grazing with him now was Irawaddy and their two bay roan daughters, and Camira, his little palomino mare. The other mares, Baramay, Corowa and the newly added Yaruka had drifted away at staggered intervals over the last few days, presumably to give birth. He knew his mares could look after themselves, but he worried nonetheless.

Cropping grass, Nandalie stood close to Irawaddy and Camira, keeping his eye on the occasional passing brumby mob or sniffing the air in case he could sense one of the mares returning with their foals.

He had been just as anxious every time a mare left to foal. He cast a glance to the two of his daughters, Amarina and Kiata. Amarina had surprised him by not following the lead of any young colt that tried to woo her away. He supposed he should encourage her to go her own way but he enjoyed having his family around him.

[Corowa]

Warriwillah cantered down the wide slope, and Corowa whinnied, a high sound of joy as she raced over the snowgrass after the filly. In the shallow grassy basin below, the small mob of mares grazed with their strawberry roan stallion. Corowa galloped shoulder to shoulder with Warriwillah, and she reached over to give the filly a swift nip, so she tossed her head and squealed furiously. The two horses plunged down the slope, and quite unable to contain herself, the mare gave another ringing neigh. Then Corowa stopped in her tracks, to stand with head upflung, her hide prickling with excitement. Warriwillah’s interest in the other mares and fillies was strong, and her nostrils quivered as she stood with head held high and ears pricked.

Corowa led her on towards the mob of mares, and she snorted with amusement when the filly pranced impatiently forwards. Corowa watched as the filly loudly greeted the mares and other fillies. Warriwillah was squealing and nickering with excitement, and the mare looked on with interest as she stretched out her nose to Amarina. The two bays were half-sisters, and Corowa could see Nandalie in the proud way they held their heads, in every line of their young bodies. Suddenly, Warriwillah went up on her hind legs, and then she was off over the snowgrass, so swift and sure as she stretched her legs to their fullest. The filly propped neatly on her haunches where the flat grew rougher, scattered with scrubby clumps of stringybarks. Corowa gave a peremptory neigh, and the filly swung about and cantered back towards her.

Warriwillah thrust her head under her belly to drink, and Corowa turned and gently nuzzled her daughter. The filly was tired, for it had been a hard, long run and she swayed where she stood, as if she might drop suddenly to the snowgrass. Corowa gave Warriwillah a gentle nudge and started towards Nandalie, while the filly followed more nervously after. Warriwillah had seen the proud-looking stallion, and he both fascinated and worried her. Corowa nickered fondly to Irawaddy and Camira, and then she turned to Nandalie, suddenly intensely aware of how strongly she felt for the strawberry roan. Warriwillah was fascinated by the stallion, and she took one slow step forwards, and stopped. Then Corowa touched her trembling nose to his, and blew softly through her nostrils, “This is Warriwillah. She is ours, our daughter”.

While the mare greeted her stallion, Warriwillah gave a little sigh, and then as was the way with foals, collapsed into a heap at her mother’s feet. Corowa sniffed her gently, and then reassured, she dropped her head to graze. The mare moved nearer to the stallion and his two favourite mares. Corowa would not go much further from her filly, and truthfully, she was glad for the companionship of other horses. And so the light grey mare nibbled on the snowgrass, while one ear stayed flicked towards Nandalie and the two mares. Every so often, she would lift her head and look back towards her filly, and feel herself tremble with the strength of her affection.

[Tiggs]

At the familiar call of Corowa, Nandalie’s noble head lifted and his ears cupped towards the grey mare coming fast down the slope with a sure-footed filly at her side. The stallion neighed a greeting, and watched from afar at the lively young filly gallivanted about, greeting her sisters and aunts, and running riot before she calmed enough to come to her mother’s call.

Nandalie cropped the grass absently, one eye trained on the new mother while the little bay suckled. Corowa was a delightful mare, and she seemed to take to motherhood quite well. Seeing the shaggy black tail of the filly foal wiggle with glee while she drunk, Nandalie felt the warm flush of fatherly pride rush through him. Daughters kindled in him a joy that was different to that of a son. A daughter was a delicate thing, to be cherished and adored. A son was loved no less, but he needed to be hardened for the world that awaited him.

During his ponderings, Corwa was leading the foal over. Focussing himself, the stallion nickered a warm greeting and nuzzled his russet muzzle on the grey lips of Corowa’s. He was glad to have the mare back at his side, and he let her know as such with a tender blow of air through his nostrils. “Corowa.” He breathed, nosing her cheek and lowering his head to sniff at the solid bay filly. “Warriwillah? A beautiful name.” He could never have picked a name so sweet – ‘twisting water’. She did remind him of a bubbling brook, the water falling over the stones and twisting all around it as if deciding on a direction then changing its mind. So rapid and wild. It suited her.

And just as water could be turbulent in a river, it could also be calm and placid as a lake. Little Warriwillah folded herself up at her mother’s feet and promptly fell asleep. He chuckled; where else would she get all that energy from? He nosed her downy brown neck, then returned to grazing.

The excited greeting had not been enough for playful Kiata, and she cantered over to investigate Warriwillah some more. To her dismay, the foal was asleep. She nosed her non-roaned sister with impatience, but received a gentle nicker of reprimand from her father. “Let her sleep, Kiata, you can play later.” The stallion was ever watchful, but when his eyes turned away, assuming his job done, Kiata grumbled and sniffled at the grass around the foal’s spindly legs in the hope that continued bothering would wake her new half-sister.

[Ehetere]

Meanwhile, a little way off in the bush, another roaned stallion made his way around the ridge so he could get a look at the herd below. Orroroo had travelled far to reach the Bogong this spring; after making his way through the Brolga’s country he’d walked north through the otherwise deserted Big Boggy - and had come to the Crackenback to was the mud from his coat and legs. The reason he was wandering so aimlessly was that he felt he had failed as a stallion. He was four years old now, and still did not have a mare or filly by his side. Even two year old colts could do better than him.

But his depression had been lifted when he heard the sound of hooves pounding the earth and whinnies ringing that morning. These sounds could only mean one thing up here on the Bogong - brumbies.

He pulled his now squeaky clean body up over a bunch of rocks - for once taking special care to avoid stepping on sticks and leaves - even watching where he stepped so he could not be tracked. He was more than a little nervous now, and his caution well granted. He had picked up the mare’s trail - and it was not just her hoofprints that were imprinted in the dirt - she had a young foal with her too. And foals unfortunately could only mean one thing - a stallion was nearby too.

He was downwind of the herd when he peered out from between the trees; praying the wind would not change. The herd he saw was not overly large by any means, but to a stallion who had not had a whiff of a mare in seasons, it seemed dauntingly large. As did the mature stallion who stood in the midst of the mares and fillies milling about - a big strawberry roan who looked like he meant business. Orroroo could tell that the stallion was far older than he, and much more experienced. Not that it stopped him from eyeing the mares and fillies wistfully.

The first thing that struck him was that the herd was rather… well plain. He did not claim to have met many mares, but the ones he had were rather exotically coloured. The little palomino was possibly the most extravagant of them all. Unless you counted the curious colours that the roaning brought out on some of the fillies’ coats. Orroroo despite being roaned had not seen many a horse coloured like him, and he really did quite like these different shades of it. His eyes were particularly drawn to a certain bay roan filly who looked older than the rest - she could even have been a mare.

Orroroo knew he shouldn’t think of stealing her away - look at his last attempts at unclaimed mares had been a disaster, so why could he even think that stealing a mare a way would be easier? Still; it was obvious that the roan was her father. But that could just make things worse! He could be one of those over-protective fathers who beat up any stallion who came near his daughters. Maybe that was why the bay roan was still there. But he concluded that he would just have to try. The mare was beautiful enough to justify it, even if he did end up being beaten to a pulp.

Deciding that skulking around in the trees wasn’t the best first impression, Orroroo stepped out with as much confidence that he could muster, offering a low respectful nicker in greeting. He was tempted to say, ‘I come in peace’, but decided that was going a little too far. He didn’t want to come off as a complete coward, which in fact he was.

He trotted forward a little; trying to show off while at the same time trying to appear non-cocky and unthreatening. He somehow doubted that becoming a bloodied pulp on the ground was the best way to impress mares, unless of course they were particularly sadistic. He shook his head to clear such thoughts - it was if he was going completely loopy. It was a good thing these thoughts weren’t spoken out loud.

He stopped and threw up his head, whinnying excitedly - calling out the bay roan mare. He wanted to keep his distance as much as possible, but if it was unavoidable he would venture closer to the roan - who was looking huger and more menacing the closer he got. He cocked his head on the side, gesturing that the bay roan should come over. His big brown eyes were friendly, and his forelock flopped to one side of his face - making him look incredibly goofy. Luckily he couldn’t see his own reflection right now.

[aquiladorado]

OOC: Sorry to budge in with a paranoid mare and an eagle, but wise old Guyra has business to take care of and a favor to ask of Nandalie lol. I know, it's long too and not very good.. sorry :S

A shrill cry echoed throughout the peaceful silence of the Bobong. Overhead, a large eagle soared on the currents of wind with her wings stretched in an odd "V" shape. Guyra scouted the land with her exceptional vision. Nothing seemed to be out of place, so she changed her course and veered off towards a dead, leafless tree. Despite the warmth of summer, this tree had sadly not been revived after its lengthy winter hibernation. The white-bellied sea eagle craned her neck outwards. Only a short distance from her current perch was a gathered herd; among them was a magnificent roan stallion that calmly nibbled at the dry grass while keeping a watchful eye on the young foals that surrounded him. Guyra was not startled by the presence of the herd, yet she leapt into the air with a single quick movement and began to propel herself with powerful strokes of her wings higher up the slope. It was not long before she reached the top, and it was there she resumed a different perch and patiently waited.

Beneath the glowing sun that shined on the landscape, a flitting shadow passed between the small copses of trees that were spread out evenly across the Bobong. Leaving nothing but a delicate trail of dust behind her, a smoky cream mare traveled silently across the cushioned terrain. The tall grass swayed playfully with the wind, and the mare breathed in its sweet smell as she made a determined path to the next small gathering of trees. She was nervous of being alone, in the vast expanse of open land that gave her no means of protection. The shriek of an eagle ahead caused her to breathe out a sigh of relief, and AquilaDorado cantered with a new found enthusiasm to where Guyra sat waiting for her. She slowed to a stop in front of the large bird, careful not to arouse too much dust, and nudged Guyra affectionately.

The eagle looked down at the beautiful young mare with shining eyes. 'Took you long enough,' she stated matter-of-factly. The mare snorted, and squinted as she challenged the gaze of the ealge under the bright sunlight. "I arrived when I planned on arriving, with a steady pace and a keen eye."[/i] Guyra couldn't help but let out low rumbles of laughter, for the little mare was certainly full of pride and she had missed her. Both of their journeys had been tiresome, and the first time the eagle and the Brumby had ever been seperated from each other. It pained Guyra to have the knowledge that their current time together would not last long, despite the hapiness that she knew was running through the mind of the smoky cream mare. But there was a danger that had once again entered the beautiful High Country and set off a deep fear inside the eagle - a fear she would not bother the young mare with. It was not time for her to understand the cruelties of her past, so it was up to Guyra to set the situation straight before AquilaDorado's life would be put in danger. With that thought pressing her on, Guyra opened her wings and slowly advanced through the clear sky. The Brumby followed her like a puppy dog, her steady walk increasing to a springy trot when she reached the downhill slope. Her ears pricked forward as a gust of wind carried the scent of other horses to her, and she froze in her tracks.

"Who are they, Guyra?"[/i] the mare questioned, a guarded look of distrust appearing on her face. AquilaDorado remembered the previous situation the eagle had put her through and was now overly cautious in the way she reacted to the sudden presence of others. Guyra looked back over her shoulder and soothed the worries of the mare. 'Fear not, Little One, for they cannot see you from such a distance.' The odd pair of companions slowly approached the edge of the grazing lands, where the stallion and his small herd came into view. The distictive color of the stallion struck the interest of AquilaDorado, as she had never seen a roan before... and then her attention turned to the foals. A small bunch of them frolicked among their grazing mothers, so full of life and joy. A yearning stirred inside the mare, and the eagle who sensed her pain lowered her head. "One day, I would like to have children of my own,"[/i] came a soft whisper that was almost drained out by the whistling of the wind. AquilaDorado gazed at the eagle with sorrow in her eyes. "If only I was not afraid, if only things had been different."[/i] Guyra felt for the mare and the lack of socialization she had burdened. Guyra, too, longed that the mare had had a mother to raise her and shower her with love at every instant - but that had not been the case. Perhaps it is time for a change, perhaps I have carried this out for too long, Guyra thought to herself. She knew it would have to be forced upon the smoky cream mare for the fiesty Brumby would not accept it, but did she really have another choice? The mare's earlier comments about wanting a family were a good sign, so Guyra decided to use the opportunity for an open discussion.

'Have you ever thought about joining a herd, my child? There are many stallions out there seeking the same companionship as you, and who would be more than happy to offer their protection to one such as yourself.' AquilaDorado pondered as the words of the wise eagle settled down upon her. She bobbed her head, the muscles in her neck showing themselves beneath her pale coat. "Of course I have. And yet the idea does not quite appeal to me... there are normally too many in a herd and a stallion could not possibly protect everyone if any harm were to threaten them. Besides, what decent stallions are out there who are not vicious and self-centered?"[/i] The eagle shuddered at the mare's description of stallions. Like her father... Guyra pushed the memory aside and continued to prod the interest of the Brumby. 'Well, there most certainly are some out there! Would you not trust kind Warrigal? Or if not, would you feel safe among the King himself? Or Boolee, or Nandalie?' AquilaDorado had felt no obvious danger from the dun stallion Warrigal when they had encountered him and his mare Warrah during a blizzard, yet she remained paranoid to the presence of other horses. Despite that fact, her curiosity peaked at the names Guyra threw at her. "Who is Nandalie?"[/i] Guyra's heart quickened, but she remained calm and collected. 'Why, he is the very stallion you see before you.'

With those last words, Guyra was gone. She ignored the screaming protests of the mare she had just left behind, and soared over the land to the gathering of Brumbies under the control of the roan stallion. On her way, she passed another roan stallion who was also approaching the herd. Guyra offered him a soft call of greeting and chuckled to herself as bits of his thoughts ran though her mind. She loved the young ones, and enjoyed watching and sharing in their adventures as they matured in to adults. It was Nandalie himself who happened to be one of those very colts she had surveyed over the years, and she shared in his pride of the beautiful stallion he had become. Drawing nearer to his herd, she uttered yet another cry to capture the attention of the horses below her. Her white belly reflected the rays of the sun as she circled high above them, and then descended - landing as close to Nandalie as she could.

'Greetings to you, stallion of fire, and your herd. I extend my congratualtions for the birth of your young ones, too.' She paused then, and waited. It was unlikely for these Brumbies to be uninformed of her existence, considering she had been on this Earth longer than the majority of them, so she felt no obvious need to introduce herself. After all, she was Guyra the Wise.

[aquiladorado]

OOC: By the way... I FOUND A PRETTY PICTURE OF HER SUMMER COAT! AquilaDorado's that is. I will share it because I feel like it lol ^.^

Blue left eye and reddish-looking right eye too! So yeah, haha destroying Nandalie's pretty family thread... sorry.

[Corowa]

Corowa snorted and lifted her head when the bay yearling approached. Her ears flicked back and forth, and she stretched out and nipped one roan shoulder. Warriwillah was still much too young to be bothered, and the mare struck out with a hind leg, and told the yearling filly not to come any closer to her foal.

Warriwillah stirred, and then seeing her mother, struggled unsteadily to stand. The mare stood completely still, and then she turned her haunches towards the foal with a little nicker of encouragement. The foal thrust her head under and nursed until she had drunk her fill of rich, warm milk.

Corowa rubbed her head on Nandalie and then she moved away from the herd to graze quietly beneath some particularly large snowgums. Warriwillah dropped to shelter underneath her belly, and the mare nosed the foal and whickered gently to it. The foal stretched out flat on her side, and was soon asleep.

Corowa tossed up her head and stood with ears pricked forwards when she heard the loud whinny. She looked on with interest, at the young roan stallion, and then the mare swished her tail and continued to graze. Nandalie stood and watched the young stallion, and Corowa noticed the sudden tenseness in him, as the stallion stared suspiciously at the intruder.

Just at that moment, something landed in the snowgrass, and with a nervous whinny, Corowa laid back her ears and stood foursquare over her foal. The mare stretched out her neck and peered suspiciously at the dark shape, and it was only when the large bird hopped towards Nandalie, did she settle down to graze.

OOC: You can refer to Corowa in your posts but she's off about 100m away grazing.

[yaruka]

OOC: Lol Ehetere, Orroroo's so cute!

BIC: Amarina had been grazing peacefully beside her mother when the white-bellied eagle landed amongst the herd. Curiously, she pricked her ears, watching it warily as it hopped closer to Nandalie. How strange that a bird should land in the thick of a herd...Amarina wasn't quite sure how she felt about it, so she kept an eye on its movements, just in case.
But as it turned out the filly would soon have her mind on something considerably bigger. From out of the brushes opposite her there suddenly appeared a blue and white stallion. Amarina started, moving so that she was half-concealed by her mother. The stallion was clearly nervous, but Amarina was more so, and so she barely noticed the awkward way which he trotted forward, as though he was trying to appear suave and not get killed at the same time.
Peering around her mother with large, dark eyes rimmed with white she glanced at Nandalie, wondering how he would react to such an intruder. The stallion had to be at least three or four, no harmless colt, and Amarina began shaking nervously as she thought of the trouble a mature stallion could bring upon the herd.
But it was the stallion's whinny that nearly gave her a heart attack. There was no mistaking it, he was calling to her. Sweat broke out behind the mare's dark ears and she fidgeted nervously. She hadn't seen a stallion other than her father practically her whole life and had no idea what to make of this new one's sudden interest in her. Her tail flagged nervously and her nostrils flared as she watched him. The stallion cocked his head, seemingly trying to convey friendliness though this display of good nature was completely lost on the stressed out young mare.
------------------------
Irawaddy had not been disturbed by the eagle's arrival, nor had it caused her concern that the bird evidenly intended to speak to Nandalie. The tall bay mare was much calmer than her daughter and even the sudden arrival of the young stallion didn't give her much pause. It was clear from the way he moved that the stallion did not mean to challenge Nandalie, so Irawaddy watched him with mere curiosity in her gaze, hardly reacting when Amarina dove behind her save to give her daughter's roaned shoulder a gentle reassuring nudge.
Excitedly the stallion whinnied, looking directly at Amarina and Irawaddy's interest was piqued further. She loved her daughter dearly, but it really was about time that Amarina found a herd of her own. Noting the stallion's goofy, obviously harmless, expression she nudged Amarina once again, this time encouraging her to come out from behind her. The roan mare had frozen in fear though, and remained standing with her long legs braced, nostrils flaring in her distress.
---------------------------------
When Corowa had finished talking to Nandalie and gone off to graze Camira had wandered closer to the grey mare and her new foal, affection for the older mare and curiosity pushing her to investigate her herd's newest arrival. Nickering quietly she greeted Corowa, watching the young foal with something close to adoration in her eyes. The foal was adorable, and Camira suddenly felt the stirring of protectiveness for it within her that only a mare would recognise. A soft thump startled her from these thoughts, and Corowa's nervous whinny caused her to tremble in concern. But it was only an eagle, and as Corowa relaxed so did she.
Not more than a few moments later the peace was once again disturbed by the arrival of a strange stallion. He had come from downwind, taking the herd by surprise, and Camira's ears flickered backwards in an uncharacterstically hostile expression until the stallion's nervousness made it apparent that he meant the herd, and Corowa's new foal, no harm. Reassured, she dropped her lovely head to graze, keeping an ear trained on the stallion just in case, but trusting that Nandalie would let no harm come to the herd, and that this new roan stud was no true threat to her beloved stallion.

OOC: I'll leave out Yaruka and Ukamirra for now as there is more than enough new activity going on the clearing for the moment

[Tiggs]

Grazing quietly, the arrival of the white and black eagle was a surprise. The stallion lifted his head, perked his ears and snorted good-naturedly. The compliments were well recieved, and the roan stallion was obviously proud of his herd and daughters. "Good day, winged one - to what do I owe this pleasure?" He asked, peering down at the bird nestled in the snowgrass.

He had not seen a bird this size so close before. He might occasionally see them soaring high above, but he had never seen one of the wise birds down at his level. "What news is there from the skies?" He sobered a little, hoping the bird did not bring bad news. He glanced up, tail twitching nervously. Yaruka was not yet back - was she in trouble?

He caught sight of movement near the trees. It was a dark roan colt marked with much more white than himself. The mature stallion snorted, glancing to the eagle. "I'm afraid this might have to wait - I cannot have colts getting ideas about my mares." He said, turning and taking a few long strided toward the colt.

Nandalie lifted his head and called a countering neigh to the colt's excited whinny. It was a strong sound, stating simply that the colt had been noticed, and was advised not to come closer. The stallion was not best pleased at a colt so bold this close to his herd, but it seemed the younger male understood the rules, and called only for his grown daughter, Amarina.

Nandalie looked to the young bay roan, and huffed. She was so timid, yet her mother had not one worry about the colt. Nandalie nickered to his daughter, reassuring her. Should she wish it, he would drive away the colt, but he was not going to prevent her from leaving with him if that was what she desired.

Young Amarina was such a lovely little filly. He conveyed his pride toward her with the arch in his neck and the flagging of his tail. But she was grown now, ready to leave the herd and start her own family. The blue colt was a little older than most, on the cusp of being a mature stallion. Nandalie would like to know more about the colt who wished to take his daughter, but this was Amarina's descision.

The red roan stayed alert, one eye and one ear always trained on the younger male. There was no need to take action against to colt, but he made it clear that should he step out of line, he would be down there in an instant to defend his herd. For now though, he could simply watch. He nickered to the eagle, inviting her closer. "Apologies, feathered friend; you were saying?"


Kiata had seen the stallion too, and pranced over to Amarina, her nostrils quivering in excitement. "Look, sister! He's calling for you!" She bobbed her head, trotting forward a little to get a better view. "He's not bad looking..." She crept forward, but a nicker from her father was a kind reminder that the call was for her older sister.

Kiata turned and loped back to her sister's side, rubbing her forehead on her peppered flank. The yearling filly would be sad to see her sister go, but the idea of adventuring inspired the younger bay roan. How exciting it would be! She nudged her sister, "What are you going to do?"

[Ehetere]

Orroroo nearly balked as the big roan started to make his way towards him. He flicked an ear nervously, bracing himself on his forelegs in case he needed to make a quick escape. Stopping in his tracks, Orroroo was torn - the pretty filly or saving his own hide. There was no doubt in his mind that the other stallion would make short work of him.

Although, it seemed as if it was not going to be Orroroo’s choice. At the sight of him, the very filly he had been trying to woo had hidden herself away as if she could not stand the sight of him. Orroroo’s ears flopped dejectedly - wondering what was wrong. Was he really that ugly? Was he really that pathetic that no filly or mare would want to follow him? All the evidence seemed to support this idea, as so far he’d had no luck whatsoever when it came to gathering a herd together. Perhaps he should start trying for fillies that weren’t so pretty, if he was indeed so ugly himself. Pretty mares deserved to go to pretty stallions.

Orroroo shot another glace at the stallion; that appeared to have lost interest in him. He was not entirely sure whether to be offended that he was not considered a threat or relieved that he was not about to be beaten to a pulp. Orroroo turned his large brown eyes back to the filly - or at least what he could see of her, and wondered how to proceed. Her body language was not promising, and he didn’t think her father would let him get much closer anyway. It was then that another bay roan appeared on the scene - a younger filly who was clearly the hiding roan’s half sister.

He watched curiously, his ears pricking up hopefully as clearly the younger filly was helping him out. Not that he was complaining or anything - help was greatly appreciated at this point. He took another few tentative steps towards the herd of horses and tossed his dark mane in the air enthusiastically while prancing a little on the spot. He gave a low encouraging nicker - inviting the bay roan to come over. He couldn’t exactly convince her to come with him at this distance with her father watching him like a hawk ready to pounce if he got too close.