Arana [Open]

[Cheyenne]

Behind the safety of the snowgum trees, Arana watched the open grassland with wary eyes. Her ears flickered back and forth, listening.

It was getting dark. The sun had almost disappeared behind the mountains and the moon was creeping upward to take its place high in the sky. The cry of "mopoke" echoed across the land.

Arana was unusually small for a Bumbry. Although she was only a young filly, she was very fast and strong for her age. Her neck and legs were short and stocky and her face wore a kind expression. Arana's coat was as black as night with only a small, white star that was hidden under her thick forelock.

The sun had gone now and the grassland would have been pitch black if the moon didn't light up the land a little. The filly stepped out from behind the trees. This was what she had been waiting for, a time when she could play without being seen. She kicked up her heels and galloped madly across the springy grass, bucking and leaping up into the air as she went.

A small, flat rock - that sloped upward a bit - stood not far away from where Arana was playing happily. She spotted it and jumped easily on top and reared, making no noise until her hooves crashed down onto the hard rock.

[KAREE]

Through the snowgums, on the opposite side of the Valley, a tall pale figure stooped to a halt. He stood rock solid, the only sign of life being the soft rise and fall of his flank and the occasional flicker from his ears. The sun sank behind Mount Kosciusko, and the night was soon apon the world.

Kambigo glanced up at the sky, fiery eyes bright and vibrant, nostrils quivering as he watched the stars appear one by one in the sky. Over the valley, movement caught his eye. He glanced lazily over to where the movement came from, a soft sigh fluttering past his nostrils. "Now, who could be out while the stars are up?" Kambigo mused quietly to himself. Curious, he took a silent step forward, peering out through the leaves of a wattle.

He stood completely still and watched from across the valley as a dark figure appeared out of the line of trees on the opposite side. From where he stood, the figure looked small, but he couldn't completely tell, as at this distance, size was easily misjudged. The dark brumby moved across the plain, their steps fluent and beautiful to look at.

Kambigo moved out from where he was hiding, brushing past the wattle and snowgums easily. He kept an eye on the brumby when he moved freely across the plain as most horses, when they saw him, where often startled, acting in very different ways; some in fright, some were aggresive and tried to fight him and others would act normal around him, which he, silently, prefered. Though he would quickerly prove himself in battle if need be.

Slowly, the nightrunner moved, closing the gap between the two quickerly. His snowy white coat glittered and shone under the faint moonlight, his feiry red eyes gleaming, making him look fearsome and devilish. Kambigo slowed almost to a halt when he saw the black filly jump onto a flat rock with much ease. She reared, showing off her pretty little body. A slow smirk chased across the stallion's face, she's definately cute, he thought to himself. He jumped slightly when she crashed her hooves onto the rock, but soon re-gained his composture.

"Careful, young filly of the night, you don't want any unexpected company, especially of one so lovely as yourself." His voice was smooth, and attractive. Even though it was night, Kambigo could point out every flaw and every feature apon the filly and any other thing across the darkened valley, in other words, what he saw now would have been the exact same thing other's saw in the day, only in monotone.

[Cheyenne]

The black filly jumped suddenly as she heard the voice of the stranger and whipped around, finding her self face to face with an extremely handsome stallion. He was taller than her, even standing on her rock they were level with eachother. How long had he been watching her?

His coat - she noticed - was an unusual colour, white but with a small tinge of pink that seemed to twinkle with the stars. The next thing she saw was his eyes. Were they red? She couldn't quite see properly in the dark but she was pretty sure. She would have jumped off her rock at the sight of this strange horse but somehow she couldn't quite bring herself to do it. She was curious, she hadn't seen many Brumbys - except for her own herd - before and yet this horse looked extraordinary to her.

Arana bowed. "Greeting, young stranger. Sorry for staring but your coat is a colour I have not seen before and it looks... well, beautiful," She said, her eyes filled with curiosity. "My name is Arana. May I ask for yours?"

[KAREE]

The Nightrunner grinned sheepishly as the filly jumped. He took a step back, hoping to not scare her more than she probably already was. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." He said sincerely, blinking, he turned away. Moving around the rock, and up onto the small hill it sat on. When he reached the rock, he paused, glancing at her questioningly. One of his front legs where outstretched, resting on the rock. It was here that he realised how short she was. An amused smile danced across his lips. Definately a cutie. He smirked, then stared up at her small round eyes.

Had she been watching him that whole time? He snorted, and grinned. Something about the way she looked at him reminded him of another young filly he had met once apon Mount. Kosciusko, she had that same look of...curiousity imprinted on her features as this little midnight filly. Nirribi and he had raced a terrifying storm down from Kosciusko and onto the South Ramshead. The mention of the buckskin's name sent a shiver down his spine, and his heart suddenly yearned to race another storm with her once more.

The filly brought him back from his memories, he looked up and looked at her politely as she spoke. He managed to catch her name and silently locked it away for further use. "Beautiful?" Kambigo snorted lightly, but felt happy that the filly did not fear him. "Ahh..most would not think of my coat as beautiful young filly, terrifying, dangerous, rare, yes. But never beautiful." He spoke in a soft tone, then shook his head, "Sorry, I'm rambling again." He laughed, and stared at Arana a happy smile making his features look less fearsome and more friendly. "I am Kambigo, named for the night, for obvious reasons." He rolled his eyes, and grinned, "It is a pleasure to meet you Arana." He added.

A cool gust of air forced its way past the two horses, carrying itself down the valley. Kambigo sucked in the fresh air, his eyes shutting slightly. "Ahhh.." He let the air escape his lungs, then feeling a little more confident about Arana's reaction, he pushed his nose forward and nudged her gently. "You where playing before." He stated, then said, "Come. Race the wind with me." He pulled away from her, beckoning with bodily motions. "It will be fun!" He called out to her and started to trot down the slope.

[Cheyenne]

Terrifying? Dangerous? Those weren't the words Arana thought of when she looked at him. But rare? Yes, she hadn't seen anything like it before, something she found very alluring and different to all the bays, grays and chestnuts that was common amongst the Brumbys.

"Well, I think your coat is beautiful," She said, smiling. She leaped down from her rock gracefully, kicked up her heels and galloped off, wind lifting her thick mane from her neck. "Come" She called over her shoulder, listening for the sound of hooves to come and race after her. She may be small but she was very fast.

[KAREE]

He paused, a small smile danced across his features. She thought his coat was beautiful? His cheeks were suddenly burning, and if it hadn't been the fact that horses could not blush, he would have been turning rosy red by then. Grunting, he turned and watched as the black filly darted down from her spot on the flat rock.

He laughed, shaking his head. He felt strangely giddy and..happy. He let Arana get a head start, before he lunged down after her. His long white mane and tail silhoetted behind him, rippling like the river and lake. His light coat sparkled and was illuminated by the moon.

He realised that he hadn't felt this good since he raced Nirribi to the South Ramshead. It was strange. But he refrained from thinking too much about it as his huge body plunged closer and closer to Arana's dante small body. "I've got to admit," He huffed, grinning at Arana, "You are fast for a little brumby!" He said jokingly, just incase she took it as an offense. He was barely level with the little filly, a light layer of sweat building up on his shining neck.

The snow grass rippled under them both, and was like a playground for the mysterious, like Kambigo and possibly even Arana. He slowed his pace, his sides heaving. "Tell me.." He panted, then swallowed, "Why do you not fear me Arana?" He asked after a couple of mouthfuls of oxygen. He didn't stop completely, but kept at a smooth, loping canter.

[Cheyenne]

Arana laughed. "I do... not... know," She said, between quick, gasping breaths. "I suppose... I feel... comfortable around you." She wasn't sure if what she had said actually made sense.

Arana slowed down a little to keep in pace with his smooth canter. She gave a small, happy buck that she purposely directed away from Kambigo so that she didn't accidentally kick him by mistake. She pulled up quickly on her haunches just before she ran into a lone tree that randomly stuck out.

OOC: Sorry for the short reply but I had to go, sorry =]

[KAREE]

Kambigo raised what would have been an 'eyebrow' staring at her as if she had said something impossible. Well, actually she had said something impossible. She felt comfortable around him? A lengendary Nightrunner who was said to bring bad luck apon those who see him. He searched her face to see, trying to catch a hint that would have signified that she had been joking. He turned his gaze back to where he was heading, then glanced back over his shoulder.

How could one so small have such an impact on him? Not even Nirribi had given him this sort of happiness, never had he felt so..swell and bubbly inside. What was it? It certainly couldn't be love...it was too early for that. He barely knew her! He snorted, instinctively swerving a little away from Arana as she kicked up, even though she hadn't aimed for him.

"Tell me about yourself." He finally said, an amused grin forming over his lips as he watched her swerve a tree. She obviously wasn't all that talkative, she hadn't asked him many questions, but that didn't bother him. Sometimes, it was nice for one to take over and do all the talking. He shook his head and realised that he was possibly talking too much, meaning Arana would barely be able to get a word in. "Sorry, I haven't been in another's company for so long now. I suppose I just got a little carried away there."

OOC|| Its alright! ^^; I don't mind how long or short posts are, mine are just long because I've had muse stored up for this guy for a long time now. XDD

[Cheyenne]

The little filly shook her head. "No, I don't mind." She enjoyed talking to him - although she had said very little - and she was going to tell him all. "But I want to know more about you after I have finished." She asked, shaking her head to get rid of a little, white moth that had landed on her ear.

"I grew up in a herd of only three - me, my mother and my father - in a place not far from Kosciusko. Being the only foal means that I have not grown up with others of my own age. I took an interest in the wildlife around me - like the wallabies and dingos - so naturally, I loved to explore. I was always getting to trouble, once I got lost for a couple of days in a storm until my father found me,"

"When I turned two, I left the small herd to venture off on my own. Didn't know where I was going or why I was going, I like adventure to find me as I go. Then I came here and found you." She watched Kambigo with a calm expression although she was excited inside to hear what he was going to say about himself.

[KAREE]

Kambigo chuckled, "Oh, alright, if you insist." He shook his head. His red eyes bright. He began to slow down even more, his ears cocked in the direction of Arana. His coat was shining even more now, with a light layer of sweat.

He listened intently, occasionally looking at her, other times he stared down at his hooves and the disappearing ground. He imagined Arana with her sire and her dam, exploring the world. It must have been sort of nice, not having to worry about anything in particular. But. For Kambigo, it had been quite the opposite. The only chance had had gotten to explore was when that Silver Nightrunner was born.

He smiled politely, and looked at her, "When you say that...you remind me of someone I met ages ago." He laughed, indicating the 'I like adventure to find me as I go.' He waited for more, but when nothing else came out of Arana's mouth, he sighed. He looked up at the sky, the moon was large and round, the stars where bright and very, very beautiful. "I guess its my turn now.." He murmured than stopped. He waited for Arana before he continued on, "Well...I used to live in a very isolated herd. I'm sure you have heard the legends about the Nightrunners...that we are considered death omens, or demons..well I am not sure whether all these legends following us are true or not," he shrugged. What else could he say? Perhaps he would strike fear in the little brumbies heart? And if that didn't scare her...he shook his head, banishing the sudden thought. She was still so young.

"Anyway," He continued, clearing his throat, "I was born when..an oddity was born amoung our herd. He was queer looking, and was resented amoung us Nightrunners...new blood he carried, and not that of any...typical horse either. No. His dam had bred with a Silver horse. So this colt was even queerer looking than ourselves, instead of a white coat, he was more creamy. Instead of two red eyes, he had one red and one blue. And instead of hiding throughout the day as we normally do, this colt was able to stay out when the sun was high in the sky. Such an oddity he was. Why am I talking about this horse? Well because he is the reason why I am here." Kambigo's eyes glimmered, he stared up at the stars. "All the other nightrunners, including myself, kept away from him...but I was curious, a very curious young colt and when the blue eyed nightrunner was of age and left the herd...so did I." He looked down at Arana and grinned. "Do you know what I call him..his breed?" He asked, it was a rhetorical question, she would not be able to answer it. "The Silver Nightrunner. The only one of his kind." Kambigo shrugged, "I search him...to get answers...to be able to finally meet him. I never stayed away because I was scared..I only stayed away because everyone else did." It was the obvious choice, who would want to stick out in a crowd anyway? "Thats when I came here...I started on Kosciusko, meeting a couple of nice mares along the way. Of course, I only stayed with one, Nirribi. She and I raced a terrible storm right down from Kossy and to the South Ramshead where we were able to find shelter. I never saw her again after that, but I have been travelling around for quite a while now. I haven't run into that Silver Nightrunner yet, but I count down the days until I can." He shivered in excitement, his eyes widened and his jaw dropped in awe as a shooting star raced across the sky. He turned and looked at Arana, "And I came here, saw you playing out in the open, under the stars...and couldn't resist myself." He laughed, then shrugged. "Wow, that was long." He frowned. "I'm sure you sick of my voice by now."

OOC|| Oopsy. Sorry, got a bit carried away. X3