Worthless Misgivings [R] [Balaroo's Herd]

[Rivre]

OOC: Open to mares and fillies - and he doesn't necessarily want to steal them away either! <3 He's a gentleman.

So it seemed winter had arrived, truly, to the foothills. Frost capped the furled leaves of sheltering plants and a fine mist of drizzle and sleat fell continuously into the valley; not a wombat stirred from their long seasons sleep, not a roo remained in this snow-blanketed region, long gone were the days when one could spy such a thing! Qana's colt foal was nearly a year now, Kambura, an admirable creature and he reminded Balaroo greatly of the bay mare - her quiet ways. Alkina - soon to foal worried him, for her head-strong ways could easily lead her into a turmoil of difficulty, but no - he had Rewind now to keep them in check, for she slipped easily into their herd routine, taking control of his wonderful family with one swift stamp of a hoof.

But now that winter had set in fully, and the paths leading out of their tiny nook in the valley were clogged with ice and snow too treacherous for mares and foals, Balaroo found himself wishing he were at the Tin Mine after all. This was not his country to be in. It was tainted by the memory of an old grey stallion, his angry screams and thunder of sharp hooves on the never-changing soil. Balaroo's rich golden coat was thick with winter protection, two hind-white stockings melding into the snow, a more yellow colour in their dampened state, his hide more dun that gold and mouse buckskin touched forelegs were a darker grullo shade, cream and grey-brown tips of a mane dripping quietly, rivulets of water down his neck. There were no flies to bother him today, but his tail swished occasionally, distracted, ears swiveling, tuning into something that was not audiable, or in some cases - didn't exist.

The grazing here was not all that good, but it was better than what he could afford to hope for, and as his gaze slipped over the chestnut, bay, chocolate, buckskin and grey hides, he felt his misgivings become worthless. They were alive, that counted for something at least.

[rewind]

The winter brought its own flood of good and bad. The snow was a hassle, and hindered not only their movement but the ability to find food, though dangerous snakes had long since gone into hiding and could be crossed off the list of threats the wild Brumbies faced. Rewind had seen once before the painful death caused by a snake; an Inland Taipan had caused the death of a foal. A bite led to a swollen leg, which became infected and slowly sickness disabled it. The poor thing had been haunted by dingoes which the herd had fended off until and after its death. The winter snow made predators more visible, but all the more voracious as well. Winter brought starvation and desperation.

Scraping one of her forehooves against the ground she unearthed a good patch of grass. Lowering her muzzle she sniffed at it, blowing out warm breath to expose it even more. The lead mare scraped a bit more of the earth away until the snow came away to reveal bare ground surrounding the patch. Lifting her head, she uttered a low whicker, to beckon Baragoola's fillies, Milyali and Killuna. As they were younger and because there were two of them that Baragoola had to see through the winter, she called for them to come graze where she'd found a suitable patch of grass. "Milyali, Killuna, there is grass here," She said softly, and with a soft puff of air to invite them to it, she moved away, leaving the fillies to it if they chose to eat.

She noticed the distant look on Balaroo's face and approached him through ankle-deep snow, her black tail swishing at her wheat-coloured flanks. Her fur had grown in long and thick for the winter, subsequently a few shades darker than it was in the summer. Her zebra-striped legs looked almost completely black, and her dorsal stripe had spread so that the flat of her back and top of her haunches looked much darker with her winter coat grown in. She did not lose the keen, wild look in her dark eyes, however. If anything, the cold and her new placement in the herd had sharpened her senses. She felt alive when she was part of a herd.

"I've seen that look before, Balaroo," She commented as she sidled alongside of him. She scraped the ground with one of her forehooves only to reveal dry, grassless turf. She exhaled a short, sharp breath. It was no matter; there was grass elsewhere. Digging through the light snow here was like scratching a lottery ticket; with some you won, with some you lost. She'd scraped away a modest win earlier, but had left it for the youngest in their herd. She regarded him with a somewhat vague, though interested look. Instead of commenting further, she lifted her head to groom his withers as a calming gesture.

[aquiladorado]

The howling winter winds lashed past the small herd that was nestled into a valley, bringing with it more flakes of white from higher ground. The Sun stallion, Balaroo, had brought his herd to the Brolga’s Country with the best intentions; the land was spacious, and normally provided a collection of herds with nourishment for the more difficult of seasons. But unlike the year before, these cold months were proving much more deadly than usual. While the temperature remained fairly normal during the day, the nights seemed an endless period of glacial chills and new deposits of snow that could easily be record-breaking depths. What little grazing there was happened to be encased by the wretched blanket of white, and took numerous attempts to find. Balaroo had done what he could, but not all of his mares would make it through the winter as easily as he had hoped.

Even one who was as familiar with the night as a Brumby can get began to dread its arrival – and without being able to relax beneath her beloved darkness, the once beautiful Moon filly was becoming wearier and wearier with every passing day. The almost-grown foal within her provided no comfort. In fact, it did the opposite. Alkina still clung to her natural pulchritude, but barely; while her coat was still alluring with its unusual lack of winter shagginess, it no longer possessed the un-earthly shine that it once had. Her face was dull, mysterious dark eyes residing to lifeless orbs, and the witty comments and riddles that had left her velvet lips now remained locked inside – subduing the Moon filly into silence. Surprisingly enough Alkina had retained most of her slender form, despite the foal within, and it was that above all things that worried her the most.

After having studied the other mares when they had been with foal, Alkina knew that something was not right. Quana had not looked one bit like how Alkina did now – her sides had swollen more than the Moon filly had ever thought possible when Quana had been just as heavy in-foal – and it was the same case with Baragoola. Perhaps it is because this child shall be my first, had been a wandering thought, but that was a problem in itself. Alkina knew next to nothing about parenthood. While her belly was certainly rounder and the gained weight very apparent when she tried to move, it merely seemed as though the Moon filly had gotten a little fat off the summer grass. To Alkina, it seemed that perhaps she had not eaten enough of the sweet stalks to provide for both herself and her foal. And maybe she should have been more careful during their journeys between grazing spots, she should have asked Balaroo to make more frequent stops so she could rest her aching legs, or she should have worried less about her appearance and made a point to grow a suitable winter coat... not that she knew how to make her hair grow, anyways. But the definite lack of extra warmth haunted the Moon filly with every gust of cold air and every deep pile of snow she was forced to stand in.

Alkina shivered as that wind encircled her, whistling its eerie tune. She pawed delicately at the snow before her – too frail to break past the white barrier, too little enthusiasm to bother. She had isolated herself from the herd by standing off to the side of it and turning her back on them; her desire for solitude was especially prominent today, and the message to the others was clear. With a deep groan, the Moon filly lowered herself to the cold ground and wrapped her neck around her forelegs the best she could in an attempt to stay warm. A momentary pain in her side had Alkina hauling her dark body back onto her feet to stop it. The young mare scowled off into the distance as she waited for the sharp protests to subside, and let her thoughts consume her.