Midnight Visits

[Shay]

The dulled thud of stone chipped hooves meeting the earth only to say farewell a few heartbeats later in a steady unbroken tempo heralded the mares decent. The longer strands of a winter coat slowly making their presence known, giving a faintly shagged appearance to the rich chocolate pelt, the depths and darkness shifting in the sliver of light with the play of muscles beneath. A flaring of that banner behind slapping against darker flanks, the brillance of a pale moon against a seemingly midnight expanse, matched the trail that arched above her neck. Large sparkling brown gems peered from a heavy cranium. Twins swirvled atop that skull, catching the sounds of the world around.

This would be her first venture from the safety of the mountains. That heart thundered against a deep chest, nostrils flaring with the hints of nerves. Muscles froze, a symphony of motion ceased in the blink of an eye. The dancing shadows of her gaze drifted over the terrain.

The source of the sudden statue like state was a scent, faint but still it was there. To faint to pinpoint its location, or even gain even the simplest of informations such as gender. It was only instinct that told her it was an equine scent.

For a moment the mare stood solid, frozen in her panic, she had not anticipated crossing paths with her own kind so swiftly. It was indicision that kept the three year old mare firmly rooted into her place, muzzle cast into the breeze, trying to discover it the scent drew closer or would vanish.

[stormsnow]

A huge, handsome stallion trotted through the Ash Forest. He was a blue roan, with eyes so dark they were almost black. Picking up a faint scent on the breeze, he cantered toward it, kicking up dust and the occasional clump of grass in his wake.

It was definitely that of a brumby, a mare, to be exact. But she was nervous, he could tell; and nervous mares needed to be approached with caution. Slowing to a trot, he drew nearer, making out the beautiful chocolate coat and the flaxen mane.

Stepping out from behind an ash, he stopped in front of the mare. Taking a closer look at her, he whinnied softly, "You have no need to fear, O pretty one. I will not raise a hoof to harm you."

[KAREE]

OOC|| Hope you don't mind if I bring Kambigo in, I thought it would be a little more interesting. >.>

The sun was probably high in the sky, though, Kambigo would not know as he carefully picked his way through the thick undergrowth. By his side was a pretty little filly named Arana. He paused under a large patch of shade, glancing over his shoulder. He grinned lightly, "Feel free to venture out into the sun if you want, Arana." He mentioned, he did not want to keep her locked at his side and keep her from her usual duties.

He shuffled closer to the large ebony tree trunk, and leant up against it. His eyelids fluttered over his feiry red eyes, he stood there like that for a moment or two, resting, hoping for the sun to go down or for some clouds to float over the sun for even a couple of minutes. That would be enough time for him to trot down the mountain. He would probably even be able to find a nice little hidey hole.

The wind picked up and blew past him, carrying along with it a couple of new scents. They were fresh. He opened his eyes, quickerly looking up at Arana to see if she had smelt them. Sighing, he picked himself up from the tree, giving a vigerous shake. He gave himself a moment to admire Arana's pretty dark coat, thinking how she was easily camoflaged against the trees. Unlike himself, who stood out like a sore thumb.

He walked forward, keeping amoung the shadows as he did. He covered the ground quickerly, dispite his disability. And it did not take long for the two horses to reach a small over hang of trees that would easily Arana, but not so easily himself. Through the branches he eyed off another stallion, he was younger than himself, and less of a rarity also. He was talking to someone. Kambigo shifted his weight so that he could see who this stallion was sweet-talking. And what he saw made his skin tingle with excitement. A Moon filly.

Oh how lovely! He thought, his red eyes wide with wonder. He would be able to start a new legend! The Nightrunner and the Moon filly. The gang gangs would be able to screech all they could about a Nightrunner coming out in broad daylight...no. Kambigo frowned. That was his problem, it was day time. He would be a bit weaker than he normally would. He glanced up carefully at the sky, then pulled away quickerly, his eyes watering. A storm was coming. Perfect. Kambigo looked over at Arana, wondering what she would think if he tried to claim this mysterious Moon Filly from the blue roan. He didn't speak, but he was sure she would be able to tell what he wanted to do or try to do.

[Shay]

A stallion, the scent had belonged to a blue roan stallion. Nostrils flare at the approach, long slender legs built for speed danced beneath the sleek compact frame. Muscles quiver in an attempt to cease action. Dark twin soldiers pinned back against that cranium bearly seen among the strands of golden light.

Skull tossed to the skies, a storm brewed, prehaps this day wasn't the best to make this attempt. The thought came and went with the speed of the wind.

The scent drew closer, Shaylx was so focused on that particular equine whose large form had suddenly appeared before her that she didn't catch the scents of another pair's approach. Shying away from the large beast teeth bared, body thrown in a half rear. After all the roan had appeared seemingly out of nowhere, startling the mare despite his soothing words, and cautious manner.

A heartbeat later all fours hit the earth, prancing back away from the other a pace or two. A whinney vibrated up the confines of her throat. Eyes showing whites.

Well, for first impressions she certianly wasn't endearing herself. Moments would pass before the mare settled herself, returning to her nearly statue like pose. Muscles would twitch oocasionally beneath the dark expanse of that pelt. Shaylx regarded the larger stallion with slightly widen eyes finally taking in his full visage from hooves to ear-tips. He wasn't just the first of her kind that she would meet, he would also be the first stallion whose path she had crossed. An exciting and nervous moment revealed in the forward twist of those ears. Still she did not lift her voice to respond merely kept her gaze locked on the blue roan, ready to bolt should the need arise.

[Cheyenne]

The little, black filly stayed close to Kambigo's side for she didn't want to attract attention to herself. Hidden in the shadows was where she belonged until night came when she could play under the moon. It was the time of day she longed for. She gave him a playful nip on the shoulder to tell him that she wanted to stay with him.

A small gust of wind brought Arana a scent of another brumby. Was it one? Maybe it was two but she wasn't entirely sure. Kambigo had obviously caught the new scent too as he began to walk forwards. The filly went with him, taking small trotting steps every now and then to keep up with his big stride. She slipped through the trees, following the nightrunner, her black hide blending into the background.

The stallion looked through a gap in the trees and Arana quickly shuffled over, sticking her head under Kambigo's neck to see what he was looking at. As her eyes adjusted to the light she could just about make out two figures. One was a mare - she could easily tell - with a coat that stood out against the other brumby. It was a medium coloured brown - like chocolate - that seemed to glisten underneath the hot sun. Her mane and tail where like creamy silk - no doubt about it, she was a moon filly.

Arana dislodged her head from underneath Kambigo - as it was beginning to ache - and gave a small shiver of excitement. She may not of heard of nightrunners before but she had definitely knew about the moon fillys. She gave her head a quick shake to get rid of the rest of the aching pain and took her place back under her stally's neck. She took more notice of the other horse now. It was a stallion with a coat that seemed blue from where she stood. It was obvious about what Kambigo was going to attempt. "Go for it," She thought to herself, pulled her head back out from the view of the two horses and gave the nightrunner an encouraging nip just behind his ears.

[stormsnow]

Barwon whipped around at the sight of another horse- a stallion. He saw that he had a small black filly with him, but what he took most notice of was the fact that this stallion was a nightrunner. He certainly was smaller than Barwon, and not as well built. He saw the stallion shooting a longing glance at the mare, the moon filly. He turned back to her, ignoring the other two for the moment. He repeated his words, "You have nothing to fear from me. If you wish it, I shall go. But-" A lump caught in his throat. "-I would dearly love to run with you, become your companion, if you have no objections." The huge blue roan gazed nervously at the mare as he spoke, awaiting her reaction.

[aquiladorado]

OOC: Hehe thought we`d add some more excitement

For days now, Yunkara had been following the Nightrunner stallion. He kept his distance from the odd Brumby, resting as usual during the night and easily able to catch up to him during the day while the other stallion was weakened. He was not interested in conversing with the Nightrunner; what he sought was the legendary herd that he must have come from. His intuition and common sense told him she might been there... Yet so far the stallion had disappointed him. Yunkara had pondered that this particular Nightrunner could have been born an outcast, such as himself, but for the time being this Brumby was the only current connection he had to his search.

He studied the strange stallion as he wandered across the High Country - the thing was younger than him and slightly disturbing with his blood red eyes. Yunkara couldn’t recall ever seeing a Nightrunner, but he didn’t find it desirable able to be one either. I mean, who really wanted to lose strength if they walked into sunlight? No, strength was a valuable thing and the buckskin stallion wasn’t prepared to give any of his up. Therefore he paid little attention to this Nightrunner, and his newly acquired filly that had surprised Yunkara but deserved no more than to be scoffed at. Which he did, and then returned to his self confinement as he absorbed himself in the soft thud of his footfalls. Young fillies were not of his interest, and neither was company for that matter. It was on a later day that he re-considered that thought.

After the Nightrunner, whose name he had caught as Kambigo, had gathered up the black filly, Yunkara had been pursuing the pair with a lessened distance than before. Considering he traveled under the sun when Kambigo required his rest, a threat did not exist from the younger Brumby – plus the filly who occasionally remained outside would never dare to stand up to such a large stallion if she managed to sense him. Yunkara was very experienced in the avertive ways of Brumbies and followed from the opposite direction of the wind, so he didn’t worry about that possibility anyways. One morning while he cautiously picked his way through the giant Ash trees, exposing the trail left behind my Kambigo from the night before, the buckskin was surprised at how strong the scent was... He was even more surprised when he almost loped directly into a clearing and came face-to-face with the Nightrunner stallion and his filly. He skidded to a halt, legs bracing against the earth in one quick motion, turned on his haunches and bolted behind the cover of a clump of wide trunks. His heart beat wildly beneath his broad chest as he anticipated a reaction from the Brumbies, but as the seconds passed while he waited (and Yunkara being a very impatient stallion), there was none. Quietly he peered around one of the thick trunks. The stallion narrowed his eyes in frustration at the pair who stood lifelessly under the shadows across from him. What was the Nightrunner doing outside during the daytime?! Completely unacceptable! But thankfully they had not seen him; it looked as though they had been too busy talking.

Yunkara was muttering to himself about the complaints he had on the actions of Kambigo, when a distant sound caught his ear. He shot up his head immediately, and turned to the West where the sound had come from and was greeted by the floating scent of Brumbies. The large stallion saw that the Nightrunner had done the same, so without hesitating he drifted off into the trees. Taking an approach from the South so he would not be detected, Yunkara covered the ground easily with his huge stride and it wasn’t long before he found the location of the scents. It seemed to be a stallion – a young one at that, and a mare. The closer he got, the quicker Kambigo’s familiar scent approached too. The buckskin stallion paused near the edge of the trees. Did he really want to go any further? After all, his last meeting with others had not been so quaint. He could simply catch up on some good grazing before the snowfall and track down Kambigo after.

It was the mare’s cry that made his decision. It rang through the trees, a cry of distress, and once again Yunkara found himself being drawn to a small gathering of Brumbies. The stallion pinned his ears and charged forward. He burst from the shadows, his exquisite mane rising off his muscular neck as he reared in front of the stallion. He drove a barrier between the blue roan and the mare, eying up the young stallion with a fierce gaze. He started to pace – never taking his eyes off the other Brumby. ”Who dares to bother a young mare?“[/i] he queried. He could feel eyes watching him from above, but Yunkara ignored the Nightrunner and his filly. It was strange that this blue roan beast did not look the type to hassle others, but as he turned around to actually look over the filly, the buckskin stallion froze in his tracks. It was a Moon Filly. She was beautiful, and as Yunkara took in the sight of her his eyes widened. She was built similar to him in a way, but something else about her seemed familiar to him. He cocked his head to the side as he tried to figure it out. Same as the Nightrunners, he had never seen a Moon Filly. Yet the simple rareness of her coat, the whites in her eyes portraying her fear...

Pain ripped at his insides and blurred his vision. The large stallion closed his eyes and turned his head away from the mare. Memories of his past filled him with regret as he remembered his last and only mate. He suddenly felt sympathy for the Moon Filly, something he had never really shown anyone. He relaxed his posture and whickered softly to comfort her. Yunkara wanted to protect this young mare. He owed it to someone. Or at least he needed to take responsibility for his mistakes.

[KAREE]

He pulled his head out of the patch of trees, and glanced down at Arana. He could feel the warmth that radiated from her body, it kept him from shivering when a cool breeze wafted past them both. He snorted lightly, and felt the encouraging nip from Arana. He glanced over and grinned at her. It would probably be good for her, to have another mare around. He stared at her for a moment, his red orbs scrapping over her small dark mass. He was glad that she had chosen to run with him, it was..sort of nice having some company with him while he roamed the High Country. Reaching over with his pink nose, he gently wuffled the soft tuft of forelock on her head.

He pulled away, his ears snapping around at the sound of a loud whinny. He whipped his head around to watch as the Moon Filly danced away from the blue roan. She seemed rather shy, and a bit skittish, especially at the sight of the blue stallion. His tail flicked up against his flanks as he watched the stallion. He ignored the awkward look the stallion gave him and Arana, and peered over to see what the mare was about to do. The stallion seemed a little nervous now, and he seemed rather hasty. He moved over to the mare and talked quietly to her. Kambigo leant forward, straining his ears to see if he could make out the words the stallion was saying, he managed to catch the end of what he was saying, "-I would dearly love to run with you, become your companion, if you have no objections." Suddenly his stomach churned, he felt rather embarassed for the stallion while at the same time he was annoyed. "This poor mare doesn't even know who he is! So why would she go with him?!" He thought, his ears flattened against his neck and he felt a light snarl ripple down his throat. How dare he! Kambigo was about to charge through the trees and let this stalion know what he thought of him when a flash of gold and black bolted out into the clearing.

Taking a deep breath, Kambigo fell back. He didn't take his eyes off of the buckskin brute that had taken over, the stallion seemed rather protective of the moon filly, maybe this mare was already claimed by him? He chewed at his bottom lip. The buckskin was older than Kambigo, so would pose as a real threat if Kambigo was to challenge him for the moon filly, which could mean that he might take his own little midnight filly from him. Without truly realising it, the nightrunner took a step closer to Arana, arching his neck, he studied the all the brumbies that were in the clearing. He ready to protect Arana from anything, if the need was to rise.

[Shay]

The actions of the blue, whipping around brought the pair that stood off partly sheilded from view, to the young mares attention. A black filly, tiny, but what difference does size make should one have a strong heart? The flash of curiosity to find out flare briefly. That silent dark gaze shifted from filly to stallion. A pale stallion, the gleem of strange red eyes and pinken muzzle brought a startled expression ghosting across delicate features. She knew the legends, had been told their tale on one of the many countless nights she had spent at her mothers side.

The simple thought of her mother brought with it the farmilar wave of guilt, a vise that clamped over her soul. For one brief moment Shaylx was thankful for the presence of others. They were an easy distraction from dark memories. That was until the blue's words brought full attention from the pair to him. Twins flickered forward, eyes widen. What did one say to such a bold statement? Her short comings on the social side worked against her once more.

It was only an unexpected and abrupt presence in the form of gold and black that saved her from giving an immediate response. Ears layed back that skull thrown left then right. Do they all just pop up under your nose like this? Twisting half away from the two stallions, chocolate muzzle thrown to the skies, a deep breath taken in through flaring nostrils. Scenting the wind for any other unexpected guests. It would be in this pose the buckskin would catch her. Tail fanned in the wind, strands of spun moon pale silk dancing on the breeze. One ear twisted to catch the exchanged words.

Cranium pivoted atop its muscled pillar. That gaze shifted first from the pale stallion and dark filly, to the buckskin, then towards the blue roan, in their depths was a silence. The quiver of muscles rippling beneath the warm chocolate one of the few signs that she was not as calm as she outwardly appeared to be now. Jaws would work, lips parting, vocals raised.

"I am called Shaylx.." The smooth honeyed voice held a note of uncertianty. While directed to the small gathering her gaze returned to the buckskin, seeking answers. What did they expect of her? How she wished her mother had told her more about herd behavior instead of hiding away.

Again that mind touched on the thought of flight, even beneath the sun, with the moon near its fullness she was certian she could escape. Still she didn't move,it was the calming whicker, the faintly relaxed postures that kept the mare outwardly calm. Simply standing rooted to the earth, watching the four warily.

[stormsnow]

Barwon snorted at the buckskin who had rudely come between the mare and himself. "You do not have any reason to ask such a question," the stallion retorted. "I am not so disrespectful of others as to harm anyone for no reason, especially not a mare. I have not bothered her in any way, shape or form." He stared accusingly at the stallion who would think him capable of doing anything to make a mare or filly cry out in distress. Barwon was not easily angered, and so was just annoyed that anyone would imply such a thing.

Turning back to the mare, he heard her reply to his query. "I am Barwon, named for the river beside which I was born, O beautiful Shaylx." His neigh was soft and soothing. The huge blue roan was not in any way a stallion who took advantage of mares. His character was far from sleazy.