the grey gale, [O]

[yaruka]

Waiirri was disappointed with the mare's persistent indifference to him, and kicked himself mentally as she made off towards some better shelter on her own whim. What was wrong with him? He'd had mares before, in fact he'd had a herd of seven at one point, a decent size for a regular bush stallion. So what was he doing here beating about the bush? In truth, Waiirri had hated his previous lonliness so much that he was scared of giving this new mare a chance to reject him. He didn't think he could bear to be alone again. Now though, he was determined to impress her, or at least force her to consider him a proper stallion. Following , he soon passed her to take the lead, with the intent of clearing the way for the injured mare. As they walked he mulled over in his mind what he could possibly say to such an obviously independantly-minded mare, finally deciding it was best to be direct.
"It has been a pleasure to meet you, Yarrawah," he said, wondering how many other horses would consider this ordeal in anything but a negative light, "I hope you will allow me to remain with you, at least until your leg is properly healed." Okay, still kind of pathetic and wishy-washy, but it was the best he could come up with when faced with her determindedly unfriendly attitude.

[Corowa]

Yarrawah flattened her ears when the stallion went on ahead. It sometimes took stallions a little while to see she was supposed to be boss. So just then, with a twitch of her ears and a swish of her tail, the mare reached forwards and gave the stallion’s rump a good nip.

There was something about the stallion that confused her. Though he was obviously gentle-natured, there had been such braveness in him, as he challenged the stockmen, which had surprised the mare. In one moment, he had seemed so much stronger than any other stallion she had run with, to risk capture to protect a mare that was not even his.

Yarrawah would be glad to run with him, perhaps for longer than she might have otherwise. It had been some time since she had settled down long enough to bring up a foal properly. Even though the mare pretended not to enjoy his companionship, Yarrawah was relieved to have the stallion watch over her, particularly while she was still very much lame.

Of course, this stallion was hopeless as a yearling. Even now, Waiirri travelled in a completely different direction to the track the mare had picked out. The ground was rougher here, and as she did her best to travel down the steep slope, Yarrawah watched the stallion intently. She was certain Waiirri would blunder right into a snowgum if he did not watch where he was going.

“Of course you can remain with me, you dolt!” the mare replied crossly. “I was just looking for some good grazing and perhaps even a creek, since I was thirsty and thought you could do with a drink." With that, she barged on through the snowgums, purposefully going in the opposite direction to Waiirri, so the stallion would have no choice but to follow.