His first scouting for Man

[Tex]

The white stallion danced his way down the steep slopes of Cascade creek, occasionally stopping to drink a few gulps of water, but always dancing on. His blazing red mane and tail blew wildly in the wind, and he arched his neck with great pride.
Altjira reared and whinnied loudly, before beginning to bolt along the creek.

[Illu]

Lattendämon was NOT enjoying this at ALL. Maybe that draft horse was right after all, maybe the winter wasn’t going to suit him as well as he thought it might. Even though there where only little patches here and there of snow after the first fall that night, the enormous perlino gelding was already finding the snow highly disagreeable.

True, he looked as glorious as ever as he went down to the creek, with his high knee action and glittering coat, but there was a noticeable incensed look in his face that his keepers were quick to associate with danger. He arched his neck down to take a drink of the creek, and then jerked it back up again with a surprised snort. Good God! It was freezing! What was happening to the goddamned world? Shaking his head furiously to rid his mouth of the icy water, out of the corner of his eye he spotted another white horse comming at him.

The sight of a stallion galloping along in his direction did not do much to improve his mood. The fancy struck him to collide with the interloper on purpose, to send him crashing into the ground violently to vent his temper. It certainly wouldn’t be difficult, the other male was tall for a brumby still couldn’t escape the height restraints of his breeding, so Dämon had a definite weight advantage.

Still, there was no point picking a fight though, he hadn’t actually come to blows with another horse since his surgery, so instead, the big double cream just watched the stallion through narrowed eyes and hoped he’d somehow get the hint and just keep running.

[Tex]

Altjira slowed his hoofbeats at the sight of the stranger, and couldn't resist giving a high-spirited buck of excitement at it's expression. The other stallion looked pretty stroppy, and Altjira was delighted to be so pleased when another was so depressed. Call it cruel if you must, but this boy was just enjoying himself.
He suddenly skidded to a halt a few metres from the other stallion, and reared into the air, actually stepping around in a full circle. Life felt so good right now!

[Illu]

ahOh great, an ill-bred little whelp that thought he was a show-pony. Altjira’s brand caught his attention though, but it only showed by a twitch of Dämon’s ear. Huh, it wasn’t a known stable brand, which just confirmed his suspicions, and obviously applied by poor people or they would have bothered to apply a proper freeze brand like the one he himself had. No known breed, owned by lower class men. That was all he needed to know, Dämon was going to have nothing to do with this horse if he could help it.

So, he waited patiently for the other horse to finish, ears back with hostility and a blasé expression that just oozed the message ‘I am not impressed.’

“Do you really feel the need to persist, or must you continue attempting to make a fool of yourself?”

[Tex]

Altjira merely piroutted in a half-circle and kicked in a good-natured manner at the air a meter from the other stallion's head. No grouch was going to get on his nerves today.
"No need to voice your comments, o silent one, for it is better to be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt of that impression!"
He stopped prancing for a second to wonder if he could smash him into the freezing creek, just for a laugh.

[Illu]

Dämon jerked his head back sharply in alarm at the other horses kick. He didn’t care how adept the other horses thought he was at this, a kick like that could cause serious damage if an accident happened. Furious, he made lurched forwards after Altjira ears pinned back and teeth bared aggressively.

The water sprayed up around his legs, hitting against his stomach in his wake and almost sending him galloping back out again. How could he temporarily forget that the creek was between them? Still, that wouldn’t exactly help the fearsome impression he was trying to give, so bearing it, he continued coming forwards at a dignified pace. The only positive thing he thought could come out of that was that horses always looked more handsome and impressive when splashing in the water, not that it was worth getting out with freezing legs, but still.

”All the more reason for you yourself to keep your mouth shut,” he growled, snapping his teeth at Altjira and arching his neck belligerently, ”especially if the only thing you are capable of parroting is over uttered clichés.”

[Tex]

He had to take a hurried drink from the stream so his laughter wouldn't be so prominent as the other stallion fluffed up his feathers and displayed his crest. In fact, the white stallion wouldn't be surprised if the other one had turned into a cockatoo and screeched his innermost thoughts to the whole world. Silly creature, displaying exactly what he thinks for the whole world to see!
Altjira began to dance teasingly along the river bank, purposely showing his behind and waving his red tail infuriatingly before leaping away a few steps and doing so again. After about four times of doing this, he pranced back a few steps and watched the other beast placidly, as if all of his energy had suddenly disappeared.
"Hmmmm... touche. But, for a guy who looks like he's gonna trip over his own hooves climbing out of that steep banked river... I suggest you turn around and walk away."

[Illu]

It didn’t take more than a second for Dämon to figure out what the brumby was doing and quickly slowed his advance. It wasn’t his fault if the other horse was too thick to get the hint that he didn’t want to play.

This time, he didn’t even need to put on an act, Altjira’s jumping taunts where leaving him severely underwhelmed. Likely because as a gelding he didn’t have the natural hatred for stallions that he should have, and secondly, Dämon was unlikely to be impressed even by a champion thoroughbred. Not to mention, what with being a dressage horse Dämon knew perfectly executed paces when he saw them and Altjira’s lack of professional schooling was telling by the way he was placing his feet and holding himself. All that the red and white horse got when he looked down was a sneering, amused ”Is that it?”

[Tex]

He grinned and yet again turned in a circle. Man, Coorah would be SO mad if she saw this!
The white stallion began to trot in the same direction he had been galloping a while earlier, displaying yet again that energy that never seemed to go. When he was a quarter back up the creek, Altjira suddenly whirled and began to gallop again. His fore legs thrust out and struck the ground, and his back legs hurried to catch up, while his fore legs pushed off and kicked out again. His red mane and tail flew like fire in the wind, and he arched his neck yet again, making a silly act that, in his mind, looked just like the other dude.
He threw out his legs and pulled himself along the ground like an old man, grumbling and making loud gurgling noises. Altjira then threw a dirty look at the stallion, making it look as petty as possible, and swiftly moved right back into an easy trot, this time across the river. The cold did not bother him too much, and he made sure to splash as much water as possible at the older stallion, before making a final leap out of the water. Now he was beginning to sweat, and Altjira stood nobly and serenely, looking at peace with everything around him.
"No, of course not. Why should I let a potential foe leave before thrashing them?"

[Illu]

Wow, the red grey was actually trying to take his criticism seriously, there was no way that useless dancing around was for the careless reason he was pretending it was. Still, once again, lack of professional training was showing, but the little dance was having an effect on the bigger horse. He’d had this happen back at the stables, younger horses showing off their paces for critique, and he found himself invariably slipping into teacher mode, evaluating every step and movement with a hardened eye. Still he had enough wits around him to retreat as the water came his way.

”You dropped your tail in the river,” he responded like an automaton. ”You’re not low set in that regard, but you’re no Arabian. Be mindful. Your step lacks sufficient spring on the ground but you managed to hold well in the river only because the drag was forcing your legs up, though it would have been better if you weren’t concentrating on making a huge splash. If you can maintain that on the dry, it’ll have a better effect. Watch your speed on that sharp turn, because you have trouble collecting yourself, your back legs shouldn’t have to work to keep up to the front, it finishes looking sloppy. In addition, because of the maintained arch in your crest, you weren’t carrying your head as high as you should; a high carriage makes the movement look more effortless than otherwise.” If he had of been feeling charitable, he may of gone through the numerous positives like how Altjira thankfully knew how to work his pasterns, a hard skill to master, but making his adversary feel better about himself wasn’t what he was there for.