A Mare of a Different Colour [AD]

[yaruka]

It was a strange thing to find a brumby, any normalbrumby, grazing by the Moyungal River. Nearly concealed under the low hanging branches, a young sooty palomino mare nosed about. But Kaooroo was no normal horse. She too had heard the horror stories that plagued this country, but unlike the other brumbies, she was not frightened off by them. She wasn't from these parts, which perhaps accounted for her bravity, but truly, Kaoorroo was a mare in a million anyways.

Boldly, she poked at the queer plants growing on the banks, lipping at a salty weed curiously with her sooty lips. Curling her lip back at its odd taste, the mare moved off again, making her way over the half-concealed bolders. It was a treachourous place indeed, but Kaoorroo had been determined to check it out. But now her skin had started to crawl, from just the bugs or some late-coming recognition of danger, she did not know. Flicking her tail irritably, she looked about her. Now which way had she come. In sudden panic she realised that the horrid land looked the same in all directions. She had got completley turned around exploring, and fear finally began to set in as she contemplated wasting away in this swamp.

[aquiladorado]

OOC: Better late than never? And crappy, I understnad...

Why would anyone come to this godforsaken place? The large stallion who pondered those words found it ironic he had to think such a thing when he himself was striding into the valley of the Moyungal River. And what for? To track down the scent of some Brumby. Dhakhan followed the scent out of curiosity mainly, and despite the fact that he flinched at every noise in the bush and every shadow that lurked just out of sight, the Dun figured his chances of survival were on the higher side as it was daylight – everyone knew that the fabled creatures that inhabited this land were weakened by the sun and therefore preferred to come out at night. Still, so much remained to learn about the Nightrunners that the stallion couldn’t find complete comfort in his decision.

The scent led him on quite the trail, zigzagging over the treacherous bank beside the murky water, but Dhakhan kept up his search. He minded his footing, and refused to look back in fear of confronting the monster that followed him. If there even was a monster following him, in which case he’d rather not see it. He did, however, note the gloomy trees and their gnarled branches as he passed them, questioning their sad expressions. Never before had he seen trees like that – so deprived of life.

Dhakhan needed not be so frightened due to his obvious bulk, but the Dun never really took his size into account. Even with his muscular build, he had never won a fight. Or participated in one, for that matter. And obviously, he had therefore never won any mares. The stallion hung his head down to his knees as he continued on. It was shameful, really, to have no mares. He had never sought them out though, never thrived on the goal of proving himself as the most powerful stallion in the High Country by collecting a harem of 20+ mares. So why follow the scent?

Because it was the familiarity. For so long the Dun stallion had wandered alone, missing the family that always prevented him from experiencing such feelings. Missing the brother who had promised to travel with him – the brother that was of the reckless sort and might just have wandered into such a horrid place for the sake of proving himself. Yes, that was why Dhakhan had come here. Yet already from far away, the shape that was taking form before his eyes was not who the Dun had hoped to find. He stopped a fair distance from the Brumby, gazing at the odd coat curiously. The young stallion was very cautious, and anyone who dared enter this land on their own free will was surely someone to look out for. He contemplated turning around and going back the way he had come, but the poor creature was mulling about on the bank in such a manner that Dhakhan reconsidered.

Taking a few more strides towards the figure, he stiffened. It was a mare. Surely he couldn’t have noticed that earlier?! Apparently not. The Dun found himself at a loss for words for a moment – he had never been good at interacting with mares. ”Erm, excuse me – do you need help?”[/i] Dhakhan knew he would come across as a fool, but what else was he supposed to say? Might as well point out the obvious. Or maybe not so obvious – perhaps this mare knew exactly what she was doing and he was just being a bother. He braced himself for the outcome.