Flying on Broken Wings [Open!]

[Tiggs]

Uwan did not like winter. No, not at all. He trudged alone, his fine coltish legs drawing furrows in the snow. His orange pelt was smattered with snow and natural white spots. His rump was the most heavily affected, and his young face also had a liberal smattering of spots. His small hooves were cream and brown striped, and his whiskery muzzle was mottled under the winter fur.

The colt, reaching his first year when spring came, was utterly dejected. His mother had passed away not days ago, falling to sleep one night and not awakening the next morning. At least she had died peacefully. His father was nowhere to be seen, and the worst was assumed. The other mares and foals of the herd were scattered, and so Uwan had been abandoned.

He searched for shelter now, his hide prickling with the bitter cold. Winter was making its last stand, and the snow under hoof was almost solid and crunched and crackled like old bleached bones with each step. Walking was hard work, a faster pace impossible. Uwan was exhausted, but he could not stop until he found somewhere – a copse of trees, a collection of tall boulders – anywhere to rest.

He could not stop to think about his mother, or his lost friends, else he would not be abe to move from the sorrow of it. Oh how he missed his mother! Her soft touch, her warm milk, her calm influence. Uwan was alone and scared, with nobody to help him.

[f u z z z u m s]

She'd been watching him for sometime now, the grey mare gazing at the orange colt with bright brown eyes. She shivered a bit at the cold bite but no more. Kendall had never honestly been the motherly type, perferring to avoid such emotional situations. But something about the sway of this colts spindly legs, the bob of his slender head, the grief in his eyes pulled at her heartstrings. She just wanted to rush forward and make sure he was completely alright!

But she did not, she waited for the right time instead. Watching him putter about at nothing in particular, plowing at the snow for a path or perhaps somewhere to stop. He looked tired and unhappy, as though something horrible had happened to him. She vaguely wondered at where his mother might have been.

"Hey! you!"

She barked with ears pulled forward yet flickering lightly, her tail smacked her hide at invisible flies. She shifted through the snow with ease, her larger limbs moving easier through the thick white. Kendall moved forth with a slight jog in her step, her eyes never leaving his smaller figure. He looked so innocent! How could someone just leave him alone like that? Did they not know the dangers of the outback? For they were fools if they did not.

"Are you well? Are you alright? Where's your mother?"

Note: SO CUTE.

K e N D A L L
everyone needs a best friend...yeah, that means you to!

[Ehetere]

Two other young colts crunched through the snow that day. While one was easily visible – a skinny bay – the other was nearly as white as the cold ice, with only a few smudges of chestnut hair marring his stark coat. The white one was much bigger, tall for a colt of his size though not necessarily heavily set, with long, powerful looking legs which were making the going much easier.

The bay colt was not so lucky, being smaller but still leggy, he did not have the height of the other so was left with a sinking feeling far more often. They certainly made an odd pair, and none would have guessed the bay was the older of the two. Crunching through the snow though, it was the bay who led, with the white bringing up the rear rather vocally. Illalong, the bay colt, came to a sharp halt resulting in the white colt almost running into him.

“If you step on me one more time Tarraloo, I will leave you here,” he threatened, sighing as he turned back to face the way forward once more. Surely the white colt did not know the meaning of quiet – he spent half his time snorting and huffing unnecessarily, and the other half nipping and goading Illalong in hopes of enticing a mock battle from him. Unluckily for Tarraloo, Illalong was one of the least confrontational colts anyone was likely to find, hating anything to do with fighting. Normally he was very quiet and spoke little, though Tarraloo’s constant pestering had finally gotten on his nerves after putting up with it for their long trek down from the northern slopes.

They had met under unusual circumstances – Illalong had been out exploring in the snow away from his mother, being independent as always, when he’d come across the loud, bold colt who had become separated from his own herd though through less deliberate circumstances. Illalong barely possessed a mean bone in his body, and worried the bigger colt might starve or freeze, so agreed to take him along. Had he known at the time how bothersome the colt was he might have thought more carefully on it, but he was not about to go back on his word now.

Once again the bay colt came to an abrupt halt, this time throwing his handsome head up with his delicate ears pricked, listening. Tarraloo had been distracted by the eye-catching glint of sunlight reflecting off an icicle, and this time really did crash into the littler bay, earning him a frustrated snort and a chastising nip. Creeping forward cautiously, for once ignoring the fact that this was the first move of violence Illalong had displayed, Tarraloo pricked his own ears curiously as well, and he could hear the voice of a mare.

Indicating that the white colt should be very quiet, Illalong began to creep forward, wincing as each footfall crunched on the crisp surface slightly. Beyond the slight cover of ice-encrusted leaves, the pair spied a grey mare with an oddly spotted colt. Illalong hadn’t seen any horses since he’d wandered away from his herd, and this spotty colt looked about his age, not quite a yearling. He wondered whether this comparatively unremarkable mare was the dam of such a loudly coloured colt, but before he could ponder any further, a shrill whinny rung out from Tarraloo, who had been spooked by the freezing touch of icy leaves on his rump.

The white colt bolted out into the clearing, the whites of his eyes showing as he turned in circles wildly in an attempt to spot what freezing thing had landed on him. Sighing again, an activity which was becoming far too frequent in his opinion, Illalong too stepped much more elegantly from their hiding place, watching warily for how they might be received. The last thing he wanted was for some fully grown stallion to be near by – the ruckus that the white colt had produced would alert anyone nearby to their presence, and most stallions probably didn’t want young colts sniffing around.

[Tiggs]

Perking his fuzzy ears, Uwan halted and looked over his shoulder. He did not recognise the grey mare, and warm air billowed like a cloud from his nose as he sighed. He watched as she came over, his eyes dull and listless. Company! He tried to enthuse himself, but could not muster the energy. Company meant warmth, and warmth mean survival. Uwan did not want to die.

The colt sniffled and dropped his gaze at the mention of his mother. “She’s gone. She… She died.” The raw hurt in his eyes told the tale of just how recent it was. He couldn’t even talk about it, and he hoped she wouldn’t ask. It seemed rude though to ask, “Please stay? I’m really cold, and I haven’t seen anybody for days.” He asked, dark eyes imploring and earnest. He hoped she wouldn’t go. All he wanted was company.

It seemed his prayers were being answered threefold, as just then a pair of colts made a commotion and caught the spotted colt’s attention. He eyed them both eagerly, but neither was of his birth herd. Never the less, Uwan has loved the company of his brothers and sisters, and being a social creature by nature, the more the merrier.

He glanced to the mare that had discovered him first, and offered a shy smile. He gave a feeble wag of his wispy chestnut and white tail and tried to cheer up a little. The colt didn’t want to depress the company he’d just found with his mood! He invited the two colts over with a gesture of his spotted head, hoping they too might join them.

[f u z z z u m s]

Kendall wasted no time when the colts frail words reached her ears. Her whiskers trembled as her maw gaped in horror at the truth behind his lonesome. The grey creature moved foreward with speed yet a shock of grace as her limbs flittered through the snow.

She approached the colt in reply to his invisible whim, the occasional jittering of his flesh was proof enough that he was cold. He most definitely needed some warmth, and all the company he could get for cripes sake! He was just barely a weanling in his own right! Or atleast thats what she got from his still boned visage. Yet she noticed remarkably that for a colt he was rather calm, taking all the grief that plagued him into the depths of his soul. Though his lack of motivation was startlingly obvious to the mare.

She reached the colt in record time she liked to think and proceed to lower her head to him, her neck reaching out like a protective snake. For indeed that is what she intended to do, snake the little thing into the heat of her bosom so that she may offer him some comfort, though never had she bourne a foal of her own.

"Poor little thing, I will stay with you forever if you'd like, for none should have to go through what you clearly have. I am Kendall, what is your name young one?"

The smashing of dead branches, the creaking of cold joints, and the scream of a horse in shock had the mare on almost instant alert. Her large, grey body moving to stand in front of the brightly colored foal. Sudden fear for his safety the only thing on her mind, it was amazing what maternal instincts could do for a horse.

As she looked on with erected ears and whited eyes she saw a tall, thick-set, white colt going in continuous circles. His own whites glaring through the fog of the eve' as he searched frantically along his own bum. This was a curious display to Kendall and she cocked her head with curiosity, not quite sure about the colt's entirety. It was soon apparent though that he was not alone, and it came in the form of another small foal, another colt. This one was sheer white with small smudges of sorrel and chestnut dappling his hide. He was a handsome devil, gangly yet sure of himself in a way she could not understand.

"It seems I have been gifted with many toddlers this day, what brings you two to the Brindle Bull and where is your herd?"

Note: Sorry for the late reply, Tiggs knows my restricted internet problems (hopes). I just managed to get time today, but I'm replying as well as I can while I have it. I'll try whenever I can, sorry again, love ya guys!

K e N D A L L
everyone needs a best friend...yeah, that means you to!

[Ehetere]

Illalong remained cautiously at the treeline, eyeing off the pair of horses. The mare looked a little protective, and he was about to call that idiot of a white colt away when the spotty weanling indicated they should come over. He looked friendly enough, though the mare was still a deterrent. Her kind words convinced him otherwise however, and Illalong relaxed his tense stance and moved forward.

“I am Illalong, and this here…” he paused to look at the still frantic colt. “…is Tarraloo.”

The sabino colt responded to his name being spoken – stopping suddenly and whipping his head around with perked ears. The result was the most amusing startled expression you ever did see, possibly due to the stark contrast of the colt’s white coat and his dark eyes. Shaking his head in disbelief that any horse could be lacking in so much common sense, Illalong continued.

“I left my birth herd in search of adventure earlier in the winter, and found… well him.”

Tarraloo for all his foolishness was not thick enough to miss this quip, and snorted in annoyance. Lifting his multi coloured tail a little higher, he pranced over to the spotty colt and bumped him on the shoulder in a friendly greeting, at least for Tarraloo. The white colt sometimes did not know his own strength, and had unbalanced his bay companion on more than one occasion.

[Tiggs]

Uwan snuggled promptly into the mare’s side, pushing his nose under her abdomen in a comforting gesture. She was so big and warm! “I am Uwan,” he answered her after peeking around at her gentle face. His smile lit up his features, and he was almost a different colt from the frozen one of just minutes ago.

He picked up his head as the other colts came near, his ears perked forward and he looked so earnest and happy that there was no way he could be perceived as a danger. Kendall had moved from his side to get a better look at the other colts, but Uwan peeked under her belly at their approach.

He nickered to the big white colt, and almost fall back in the snow when he was greeted so firmly. Uwan whinnied and returned the headbutt with gusto, though he was too foolish to make much of an impact.

The spotted colt kicked up his heels and raced around Kendall to greet Illalong. “I’m Uwan.” He told them, sidestepping back to Kendal to snuggle under her neck. Compared to the other colts he was much less mature, but that was to be expected from a colt not long separated from his mother.

All of a sudden he was no longer alone, and his heart soared elatedly. Kendall would keep him company, and perhaps the two colts would do the same.