Two came in the Night (haha, original I know)

[yaruka]

Wurring and Waiiri moved silently through the dark forest, picking there way along the rough path, one more gracefully then the other. Wurring sighed exasperatedly as for the umpteenth time his blue companion stepped on a twig with a loud crunch instead of placing his feet elsewhere, aka on the soft clumps of grass that dotted the path and on which hooves made no sound or print. Oh well, he thought, if some one tracked them they'd only be able to tell that one horse had passed. Subconciously he raised his head proudly at his self-taught prowess at moving invisibly through the bush. He had heard the tales of the silver brumbies, and unlike Waiiri had listened, and figured out how to work out some of their secrets for his own usage. His flicked his tail excitedly as he contemplated the new life he was heading towards, a life where he could build his own herd of mares and run with them all across this new territory. His reverie was interrupted by Waiiri's loud voice "I think we should stop for the night here." said his older cousin "Well I think we'd better keep going a bit so that whoever heard you just then doesn't decided to pay us a visit in the night" said Wurring quietly, looking pointedly at Waiiri. Waiiri looked around him at the foreign territory, and in frusteration realized that his younger cousin was right, but he would never admit it. "Actually, I think we should keep going a bit, the moonlight is strong and we need to make good timing." he said firmly, as though it was his idea. Wurring snorted silently in amusement, he knew it unerved and irked the impulsive Waiiri when he was right, espeically since he was younger than the blue roan. Wurring just nodded though, he was quite content to let Waiiri think he was the leader. What did it matter to him? Soon they would split up and have their own herds, though Wurring hoped they would remain on good terms. Despite Waiiri's bossyness, he had grown to be quite fond of his cousin, and he was the only tie he had to his old home. The two eventually stopped for the night in a thick grove of trees and had already started on again in the morning when they heard the call of a stallion from the large mountain to their right. "King!" snorted Waiiri "Who does he think he is!" He kept going without concern but Wurring looked thoughtful. "I don't know," he replied "he is obviously the dominant stallion around here, it could be useful to be on good terms with him. Certainly if we want to build our herds here we don't want to make him our enemy. I think we should go and greet him, to be polite." "Suit yourself," said Waiiri with contempt "But I'm not bowing down to any other stallion around here, even if he calls himself 'king'" "Fine," said Wurring, "I will go and introduce myself in a polite manner and hope he remembers my good manners and that I mean no harm if I should ever cross his path again" Waiiri looked slightly put out, he hadn't expected his cousin to leave him just yet. Actually, he was hoping he could win his first mare with Wurring nearby so that he could show off in front of his friend. And he didn't like the thought of being alone. But Wairri was too proud to say anything or back down from his decision. "Fine," he said echoing his cousin's response "Good luck", and he turned and pushed his way through the undergrowth, plowing northwest, in the opposite direction of the stallion's call. Wurring watched him go with a slight air of sadness, he was going to miss Waiiri, in all his life he had never been far from the other colt. But the time had come for their paths to seperate, at least temporarily, and if Wurring wanted a herd of his own he'd have to prove to Waiiri that he needed his own space anyway. So, shaking himself to chase away the last of his nostalgia, Wurring began trotting in the direction the stallion's voice had seemed to come from. He planned on introducing himself politely, asking for news of this terroritory, then disappearing and keeping a low profile for the season, and hoping the stallion would not give him a second thought until he saw him again.

[tingara]

A horse moved silently through the darkness, he was but a shadow in the night. Along the ridge Tingara trotted, hardly letting his hooves touch the ground. Being careful not to leave a print or make a sound, he made his way through the undergrowth. Tingara headed South, stopping ever so often to listen for the sounds of other horses. His ears pricked up as faint sounds reached them. Shaking the sounds from his mind, he continued on his journey. Soon hunger overwhelmed his sense of urgency and he began to look for a suitable place to graze for awhile.
Out in the open he grazed, moonlight reflecting off his ebony coat. All the while he twitched his ears in all directions, ever vigilant of any possible threats.

[yaruka]

Waiiri trotted through the forest, more vigilant now that he was alone. His ears flicked back and forth and his breath was coming heavier, he felt as though the thick bushes were closing in around him. His skin crawling, he swung back around and started heading more in the direction Wurring and he had been heading before they split up. Maybe he could "accidently" run in to his cousin and they could travel together again. Being alone gave Waiiri the creeps. Up ahead he could see the trees begin to thin out and he thought there must be a opening. Relieved, he trotted faster towards the lighter part of the forest and pushed his way to the edge of the trees. Forgetting himself, he started out into the clearing then froze as he saw the faint shape of a black horse grazing in the moonlight. Backing hastily back into the trees, he peered out, watching the horse to see if he appeared to pose any threat. Finally, he stuck his nose out, then his entire body and walked over to the other horse, his blue coat shining palely in the moonlight. He walked a certain distance then stopped, flicking his ears back nervously "Uhhh...hi?" he said, wondering how the other horse would respond to his sudden appearance, then again he hadn't exactly been moving quietly through the trees, the black had probably heard him coming.

[tingara]

Tingara heard the other horse way before he showed himself. Lifting his Arabesque head he saw a younger roan stallion step through the trees. He flicked his tail haphazardly and arched his neck.
"Good evening stranger. What brings you to the High Country?" Tingara's voice ebbed proudly with his new found confidence as king. He'd refrained himself from saying 'my country' as this was not true and he knew it.

[yaruka]

"Good evening stranger. What brings you to the High Country?" said the black stallion, gazing calmly at Waiirri. Waiirri shuffled his hooves awkwardly "I-uh-umm..." he started, caught off guard by this horse's formal tone. Then he remembered this was how Wurring had always spoken to strangers. Ok, so this shouldn't be too hard then...he'd just have to act like Wurring, "I- good evening! I...am new here. I have come from the North and hope to start my own herd somewhere nearby" he said, his voice becoming more confident as he spoke (though nothing at all like the courtous Wurring). Then he kicked himself mentally, had he said too much? What if this stallion was the 'king' he and Wurring had heard from the mountaintop! Oh well, he thought with a sigh- it too late to do anything about it now. This was better than being alone at least.

[tingara]

Listening intently to the stranger's words Tingara stood thinking. This horse meant no trouble, Tingara heard it in his voice.
"Well then you have my blessing to do so," Tingara nodded respectfully, "what is your name? My name is Tingara and they call me the 'king' around here." Tingara's tone became a little less suspicious and he watched the stranger, listening carefully for his answer.

[yaruka]

Waiirri was relieved to hear the stallion's non-threatening and welcoming reply. "Thank you," he answered, pricking his ears when the stallion said he was the 'king'. So this was the horse they had heard from the mountaintop. Waiirri looked at the big horse's strong muscles and decided this was not a horse he would want to meet in a fight any time soon. Not that he had any intention of challenging him. This horse had given him his blessing too, at least that meant he was free to stay here without challenge, although his sense of pride was slightly ruffled by the other horse giving him permission to start his herd, surely it was a free country? Oh well, better to be polite and make a good impression. He wished Warring was here, he had ended up meeting the 'king' after all, and lost his traveling partenar to boot. "My name is Waiirri," he said "I am named for the sky that my coat colour so closely mimics". He stood there, still slightly awkward, waiting for the other horse to reply.