The Day After

[Illu]

Last night’s rather temperamental storm had left its mark on the surrounding area. Many young saplings where bent or crushed thanks to the wind, and to add insult the ground underfoot was very damp and in some areas very, very muddy. Thankfully, the Cascades had been left relatively okay, but a roll in the grass wouldn’t be recommended any time soon. Of course, there was always a worry that dead stallion Corowa had seen trapped among the branches wasn’t the only one.

Some of the first horses to the creek that day where Rezar and his new, pretty grey. For the first time the odd palomino was bothering to check for the presence of threats before moving out of the trees and into the open now that it wasn’t just his own hide he had to worry about. There was no one in immediate view, and there was no scent of horses that had been since yesterday, so Rezar proudly led the way forwards up to the creek, keeping an eye out all the while.

[Corowa]

Corowa followed silently behind the stallion. The grey brumby mare was careful to leave no tracks, looking like a will-o'-the-wisp through the mottled trunks of the snowgums. Placing her hooves where the stallion had placed his, Corowa snorted and shied when the shadow of a kestrel passed over her. Blindly panicking, she stumbled on the rocky slope, and sweating with fear, came up beside Rezar.

Standing at his shoulder as the stallion stopped, the mare was frightened by the raging, roaring waters. Swollen with rain, the creek flowed and eddied, the noise so loud that it drowned out all else. Nervously, Corowa stuck close to his side, trembling when the bodies of several wallabies were carried on that surging torrent. The skies overhead were clear, but the mare sensed there would be more bad weather to come. The surrounding bush was quiet, as if it too held its breath and wondered.

"I do not like this," Corowa said, troubled by this eerie hush. "It is too still," she went on, and indeed this silence was more unsettling than even those brown seething waters. The birds made no noise, and there was not even a gentle wind to stir the leaves and rouse sleeping animals from their burrows.

ooc: ok, I did steal the will-o'-the-wisp phrase from the books :]

[Illu]

Rezar almost leapt back himself when the dead wallabies were carried down the river. Well, that was disturbing. He took a moment to regain himself then shook his coat roughly as though to dislodge the memory. The creek was in worse condition than he’d ever seen it, the force of the surge was strong enough to drag him and Corowa as far as it pleased. He wasn’t thirsty yet, and until then he was he was going to stay a safe distance.

Instead, he tried to appear unbothered and put his nose down to check and see if the grass was in good condition to eat. It hadn’t escaped him that Corowa was very jumpy, which unfortunately was likely to make him fidgety. Though he’d met horses like that before he wasn’t entirely sure how to comfort her except to act as if everything was fine and hope she relaxed.

Bah, the grass was dreadful, so he started meandering away to some grass that looked less likely to be muddy and drenched, but Corowa was starting to make him nervous, partly because he didn’t like the feeling of not being able to do anything for her, and partly she seemed to know the weather better than he did and her comment was alluding that worse was going to come. Maybe there was a way to get her mind off it.

Get her talking perhaps? ”So, what’s your story? Where did you come from?”

[Corowa]

Corowa moved closer to the grazing stallion, dropping her nose down to the muddied snowgrass, hoof-marks showing brumbies had come this way not so long ago. With a worried snort, the mare moved closer to Rezar, who seemed to be troubled by something. Shivering, Corowa heard the distant call of a dingo, mourning the loss of its mate. Unsettled, the mare stood beside the stallion, pressing against his warm body.

"I come from the south," Corowa said, remembering the rugged peaks of the Ramshead Range, remembering a place where one could dance with the whirlwind itself. "Tiarri was my dam's sire, and he himself was a descendent of Thowra." Indeed, once the bush had told of such a legend, of a silver brumby stolen by the willy-willy, who had been befriended by a silver dingo pup. Yet these were old stories now, stories that the bush had forgotten so long ago.

"And what of you?" the mare asked. She sensed there was some greater mystery here about this stallion. He was indeed, beautiful. Yet there was a strangeness about him, for Corowa had seen those silver shoes, and had wondered. A brumby had to move silently, leave no tracks, and yet here was this golden stallion who carried himself proudly, and who no doubt, had once been tame.

[Illu]

Well, that explained an awful lot. A relative of Thowra of all things! Rezar’s sense of pride magnified at the sheer luck of his find. The information seemed to explain quite a bit, like how she was able to keep her mind focused on every little detail around her, and that mysterious quality he had first noticed with he thought the weather might he her fault.

His ear twitched backwards at her question. Considering the last mare he had told that to ran off as though chased by the ghost of Thowra himself, he wasn’t too inclined to answering that. Of course, she’d already seen his shoes and didn’t panic as Kessa did, so maybe she wouldn’t take it as badly.

”Bit of a long story,” he started, making up his mind to get it over quickly, like ripping off a bandaid. ”I was caught in a brumby drive as a colt, then I got caught in an accident – “ he inclined his head leave little doubt as to where “- so they let me go.” Eh, didn’t sound as bad out in the open as it did in his head.

[Tiggs]

The storm that night hadn't helped her nerves. It had washed away any trails Dilali would have made if she's left the Ramshead, and now she was on her way back, Kessa was fretting that she'd lost her friend. Her hooves were cushioned by the soft ground, and she delicately picked her away across the damp ground, weaving between the trees. Mist started to rise from the ground as the sun heated up the water and it turned of vapour.

She liked this type of whether. It was cool, and the shroud of mist blended her coat in with the scenery. She reached the swollen creek, and approached it to carefully take a drink. Part of her wanted to go back to the hut and see the stallion in daylight but that would be too dangerous. Huffing, the palomino raised her head and trotted along the bank.

Up ahead, she spotted a bronze rump with a flaxen tail. She paused, wondering if she should go on. She made out the shape of a grey mare in the mist, and she crept forward to listen in. --Accident, so they let me go. Kessa had lost all reason when she saw his silver shoes at their last meeting. If he'd explained then, she hadn't heard it in her rush to get away. She approached, ears flicking backward and forward. She couldn't help staring at the shoes as she stood nearby, forgetting to announce herself. She was quite obvious to the pair, and she looked somewhat guilty as she eyed Rezar.

She'd judged too soon, but she couldn't of helped it. Rational fears and her boisterous personality were strong factors in the way she acted. She'd do the same even if the scenario played over and over. She nickered to Rezar, then turned and started back toward the bush. She's seek out Dilali, and then they'd graze a while and talk about Rezar and Aleo. She glanced back at the stallion, wondering if the men really were after him. He did look like a man's horse. They chose the most interesting colours and Rezar was certainly intriguing.

[Corowa]

Corowa reached over and nipped the stallion gently, nostrils quivering as she used her teeth to remove the dried sweat from his coat, working her way up his neck and down towards his shoulder. Yet there was more to this, and indeed the mare knew that even in the blackest of nights, and the darkest of storms, when the wind howled, and the snow fell, when death came in sleep and when the bush spoke of mourning and loss, she would find him, and know she was his.

A thick belt of Black Sallee trees lined the banks of the Crackenback. Moss hung from the branches of the trees, and a wombat made its way back to its hole, snuffling to itself as it passed by the two brumbies. Corowa regarded it curiously, the mare lowering her head to look at its small child-like footprints. Several gang gangs squabbled amidst the branches of a nearby Mountain Ash, and Corowa wondered whether they mocked the brumbies for their foolishness, O birds who saw all, and knew all.

It was only then that other mare came out from the trees and into view. Like Rezar, she seemed to draw all the sunlight to her, and Corowa felt suddenly afraid, as if this mare would steal the stallion away. Yet the mare only called to him, and Corowa stirred nervously, not certain whether such a call was of longing, or regret. But it seemed she was not to know, for the mare moved away, fading into the bush even as Corowa gave an answering whinny. Come back to me.

[Illu]

Rezar was starting to grow quite relaxed as Corowa worked her way up through his coat. She was a good mare, with a streak of loyalty which made her worth more than any fickle little filly, no matter how pretty she might be. It would be nice to get to know her better when the weather improved and she wasn’t so worried all the time.

When Kessa arrived, he took longer to notice than Corowa had, but the second he became aware of her his head snapped up and his ears jerked forwards. Was that..? What was she doing here? Almost immediately after calling to him, the silver filly began walking away, making him feel a tad confused. Mixed messages much? Still, he didn’t want to let her go again without at least trying to talk, so he nosed Corowa once to come and started following her.

Considering their last meeting, he had some reservations and had absolutely no idea what he was going to say upon catching up. This time he took no pains to conceal, he was coming so Kessa would be well aware. He was going to have to expand his herd sometime, but he also didn’t want to alienate Corowa when that happened.

“Nice to see you again,” he said to her warily, remembering all too vividly what had happened last time they met. Hopefully she wouldn’t run away again.

[Valatone]

The mist was freezing as Bakoli slipped through the trees and down to the river. Thirsty after a long run, he barely noticed the other mares and stallion talking amongst themselves as he reached down to the creek with his slender nose to find broken bushes and trees in it's place, and up stream a few dead wallabies and a dead stallion too. He was revolted at the sight and whinnied in fright as he finaly noticed the other brumbies. "I'm not here to fight!!" he quickly said to Rezar. "I don't have a herd! I don't want your mares!" he added, backing away. This place scared the wits out of him. He'd never seen disaster in his life. It was like spirits of evil were creeping all around the bush as mist, rising around his ankles and sparking fear in his eyes.

[Tiggs]

Kessa halted, looking back to the dappled mare and the stallion. "Is it?" She replied sardonically. "I'm on my way to find Dilali... You may follow." She said, surprising herself. She was willing to give the stallion another chance, though she really should be finding Dilali before she thought her lost. Of course, he'd have to work for it, he wouldn't win her affections easily.

Kessa tilted her head, spotting the distressed colt. She whinnied, offering her darkened muzzle in comfort when he finished speaking. "Come, young one. I'll lead you away from this frightening place." She said, a little bit condescendingly. She looked back to Rezar, hoping he'd follow with his mare. He was an interesting beast, and she admitted to herself she was somewhat intrigued by his past now the fear of the shoes was subsiding. Flicking her tail, the palomino trotted briskly away, nickering for the youth to follow.

She imagined storms would scare a young colt more than herself, and he'd make an interesting conversation piece when she caught up with Dilali.