That Time Again

[Tiggs]

Winter. The stallion let out a billowing sigh of breath and turned again, his hooves skidding on the soft ground under the covering of snow. He raced back across the hoof prints he'd made before, kicking up his back legs and tossing his head. Snow always put him in high spirits, and the solid white stallion would never grow out of the novelty of fresh blankets of snow. He liked to run across them, leave his mark on the blank canvas.

His herd foraged for grass nearby, and when his sides were heaving and he felt subdued enough to stop prancing, he trotted over to the first of them. Brael. Who knew why she hadn't driven him insane yet, but he persevered. Along with Taworri, he was the wealthiest stallion in the high country with not just one, but two moon fillies. Both a blessing and a curse. He maintained some days that Brael was the curse.

Upon reaching his first mare, he nibbled her pale mane and greeted their pale gruello daughter who grazed nearby with a whinny. Dilali was the next closest, and he greeted her with a soft whinny and a rub of teeth over her withers. Onto Taworri who received a feather-light brush of his muzzle on hers and for their darker gruello daughter the same. Jannali and their roaned daughter were next, each given a nuzzle and a friendly nip. And then he reached Baramay.

She had been nervous since he rescued her from that black stallion, and she even shied at him if he approached too fast or without warning. With a nicker, he stepped carefully up to her, slowly and deliberately reaching for her withers. He began to groom her, using soft and rhythmic movements of his teeth along her spine. The poor liver-chestnut had been through too much, and he vowed she would never leave his sight again.

The two black foals he deftly ignored as always. Baramay and Dilali had been covered by the black stallion while they were in his company, and Nevada had only spared them because Dilali valued the life of her wretched little demon spawn. The two were reminders of his failure, and anything that upset Baramay angered him. He would often aim kicks at the horrid black creatures, or nip them when their mothers were looking the other way. As a result, they'd learned to keep their distance, and Nevada couldn't hope any more for the day when he could drive them away for good.

The rest of the almost-yearling fillies and colts he was overly proud of. Calca and Boorana were lovely specimens, and would be as beautiful as their mother in shape Calca thankfully was developing to be more agreeable than her mother Brael, but she had that same spark. Bindaree was another lovely filly, her roaning becoming more prominent by the day, and he knew she would be just as lovely as her mother. Yarran was almost ready to leave the herd come spring, and he would be sad to see his first colt part ways.

With winter came that time again, and soon there would be even more fillies and colts to take care of and admire. Dilali he was sure was going to bare him a foal in the following season, their first since he's won her two years ago. He was still trying to win Brael over, but he was sure she was near breaking point. He'd persuaded her the previous two years, this year would be know different. He would promise her a moon filly daughter, that would be his next resort. But what of Baramay? He was hesitant to broach the subject of foals with her. He longed to sire a foal out of her, but after the circumstances of her first foal, he was not sure if she would appreciate his advances.

He continued to groom and nibble, running over in his head what he could say to bring up the subject. Maybe it was best not too, but what did Baramay think?

[yaruka]

As Yarran grazed idly on the outskirts of the herd he watched his father go up to each of the mares and their foals. The red roan colt was caught between two worlds. Though not a baby or needy of his mother's attention he was not yet strong enough to go off on his own. Nevada ignored him for the most part but he still played with the foals. Come spring time he knew that it would be about time for him to strike off on his own. As it was winter he kept relatively close to the main herd, but each day he made his circle of exploration a little wider, hoping to learn as much as he could while still being protected by the herd's prescense. He watched Nevada constantly, trying to learn from his sire's prescense. He greatly admired and respected the white stallion, even though the way he went after the black foals made him uneasy. To be honest though, the black foals themselves made Yarran uneasy also. They served as a reminder of the brutish black stallion that had bloodily fought his father when he had been very little. Their scent was strange and he could tell they were not supposed to be here but for the most part he simply ignored them.
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Taworri gently blew warm breath in Nevada's nostrils as his muzzle brushed her own. She lipped delicately and his forelock then nudged Boorana forwards to greet her father.
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At her father's contact Boorana squealed and struck out playfully with her right foreleg-instantly dashing behind Taworri for proetection in case the stallion be offended by her boldness. Though just as graceful and fine in appearance as her dam, Boorana had nothing of Taworri's sweetly shy nature.
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Jannali foraged for grass next to Bindaree, who was dozing with her leg cocked and leaning against her mother. She was for the most part content, she loved the adventure of being in Nevada's herd and Bindaree kept her plenty busy. She still missed Kala though, and often thought of her half sister with sadness. Nevada made his way over to her and she touched his nose gently, the spark she felt at his touch reminding her of why she had to be with him. To her Nevada represented freedom and truly living life to the fullest. The energy that coursed through her veins as they travelled each day was thrilling. She nickered gently to him and nosed Bindaree awake so that she could greet her father. The little foal, almost an identical copy of her mother, blinked sleepily and yawned. Noticing Nevada she ducked her head shyly, allowing him to brush his muzzle against her own but not reciprocating any contact. When he left she bounded over to Boorana and Calca, kicking up her heels and urging them to play with her.

[tingara]

What did Baramay think? That was a good question. As of late, nothing much at all. Somehow the liver chestnut mare had gotten herself past thinking about anything to do with Garrong or her ordeal but that meant she’d all but blocked out any notion that she had given birth to his filly.

At Nevada’s approach, the mare began to grow nervous, pinning her ears to her neck and rolling her eyes back in fear. This reaction was not an uncommon one and the white stallion seemed used to it. As Nevada touched her gently, Baramay soon calmed, telling herself that she was in the company of a stallion who would never make a wrong move against her. She knew deep down that he wanted a foal from her and she would love nothing more than a Nevada baby to call her own, after all she still hadn’t had a foal ever since she’d reached breeding age...

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By some small miracle Yindi had survived for almost a year although it had not been an enjoyable year. The stallion –the one she assumed was her father- the foal looked up to continuously kicked out at her for reasons she didn’t understand and the one horse that was supposed to love her unconditionally looked at her with cold, loveless eyes, when she looked at her. Instead of growing up playing with all but one of the other foals of the herd, the others avoided her and her brother Yeranda at the whispered insistence of their mothers.

Why? What had she done to offend them all so? The seal brown filly watched wistfully as one of the foals began to ask the others to play. Never had she been asked to play and in the earlier days when she’d done the asking, the others would make excuses and run off somewhere else to play. All except Yeranda of course. With a small, saddened sigh Yindi huddled closer to her brother and the brown and white mare, the one who had taken her in when it was clear her own mother didn’t want her.

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Unlike his sister, Yeranda wasn’t interested in Nevada or any of the others’ approval, except his mother’s of course. Already there was deep seated dislike of the white stallion, his mares and offspring. He knew who is father was, not like Yindi. As much as he loved his sister, she was a fool to believe that Nevada had sired her. Yeranda had been around to see the white beat their noble father. The black colt held a firm belief that Nevada had cheated by using his white pelt in the snow and, as he had not voiced this opinion, he had not been told how Garrong had used his pelt to beat Nevada in the dark. If Yeranda had been told this story, he would have made an excuse for his father anyway.

Feeling his sister press closer to him and Dilali hearing her longful sigh, Yeranda began to grow angry at the others. Just because he and Yindi weren’t related to them it gave them, their mothers and awful excuse for a stallion the right to cast them aside. With and undignified snort, Yeranda held himself back from going and delivering a beating to the other foals. Neither his mother or Yindi would want that. Instead he resigned himself to glaring fiercely at the others as they played.

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Dilali welcomed Nevada’s touch as she always did. As he nuzzled her she made sure to move herself in-between he and Yeranda. She wasn’t stupid, she knew that Nevada struck out at her colt whenever possible but still she said nothing. Soon Yeranda would be gone and, although she’d be sad to see her son go, Nevada would be happier than he was now. Yeranda had made it clear he wasn’t interested in hanging around longer than he had to. As much as Dilali had tried to tell him leaving as a yearling was too young, her head strong son had ignored her. Once Yeranda left, Yindi would be shattered and Dilali would have a new foal that would require her undivided attention. The filly would be alone in a herd, how was that even possible?

Once Nevada moved on, Dilali’s glance crossed over her son, who was looking angry which was normal and then came to rest on Yindi. The brown and white mare had taken her in when it was made clear Baramay had rejected her. The Liver chestnut mare had even gone so far as to say ‘I haven’t had a foal yet,’ in front of her own daughter. Both Yindi and Yeranda hardly spoke and that worried the mare. Her first foal, Birubi and the foals around her were boisterous and loud but these two were so different. Yeranda didn’t speak because he did not want to, Yindi was silent simply because speaking brought her pain.

She followed Yindi’s gaze to see she was watching the other foals play. It had hurt to see Nevada and the others reject the two black foals when they’d first arrived. It was almost as if they were demon spawn. And of course the two young horses had had no idea what was going on. Dilali was yet to forgive the other mares, and even Nevada, for being so segregating but both she and Yeranda had gotten passed letting the hurt show on the outside but Yindi was yet to. Gently the mare nuzzled her adopted daughter, trying to reassure her things would be ok, like normal there was no reaction. In turn she nuzzled the fluffy mane of her son who welcomed the affection with a small whinny before returning to glaring, this time at Nevada.

[yaruka]

OOC: I'm going to go ahead and reply if that's alright with you guys?
BIC: Taworri continued to forage beside her daughter as night began to fall. She was troubled. Though extremely shy she was also quite sensitive to the feelings and emotions of others and Nevada's attitude towards the other foals, and the apartness of the two retrieved mares saddened and worried her. Several times she had thought to go over to Dilali and Baramay but each time she had been turned back by her own timidness. Out of the corner of her eye she could see the black colt glaring and his mother's determined indifference to her semi-isolation. Sighing she nuzzled Boorana affectionately, thinking how it would destroy her to be in either Baramay or Dilali's position.
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Boorana did not know what to make of the strange black foals and their mothers. Since she had been born they had always stayed slightly apart from the rest of the herd. A certain stigma seemed to surround them and though she would never be rude or malicious to them it was true that she was a bit frightened by the much larger and heavier set foals. They smelled different then her other half-sisters and half brother and well...they were just strange. She tended to keep away from Yindi because wherever the black foal went a cloud of depression seemed to hover. This was too much for a lighthearted and highspirited filly like Boorana, who didn't like anything that made her feel down. And Yeranda was so angry and bitter all the time, his dark gaze frightened and disturbed her. No, she didn't go out of her way to be friendly but could she really be blamed all that much? After all, she was only a foal and did not understand the circumstances of the other's isolation.
When Bindaree pranced over to her Boorana eagerly joined in on her play, frolicking around Jannali and nipping playfully at Calca, urging her to join in.
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While Boorana wandered over to Jannali for a game with the other foals Taworri began to graze slowly towards the Baramay,Dilali and their foals. Keeping one ear trained on the whereabouts of her foal, but determined this time to go over to the others, she slowly drifted in their direction, away from the main body of the herd. When she was within about 10 feet of Dilali she raised her head and nickered shyly, her body position passive but friendly, or as friendly as she could seem being so shy herself.


Janali herself had been feeling slightly guilty about the segregation between the mares. Had the other mares and foals come over to her she would have been friendly and respectful towards them but as it was they kept their distance, giving Jannali the perhaps mistaken impression that they did not want to be talked to. She watched the foals play as Taworri made her way over to the others, wondering if she should have perhaps done the same. She knew Nevada hated the black foals but allowed them to live out of respect for their mothers. She, having joined the herd after the battle with Garrong, knew not much of the history of the situation, nor did she have any particular hatred towards the foals. After all, they were only young and they could not be blamed for whatever sins their father had committed. She did not know Dilali or Baramay before they were taken,and given the circumstances, still did not know her herdmates properly. And Jannali was quite preoccupied with feelings of guilt and sorrow entirely unrelated to the four outsiders. Between brooding over her seperation from Kala, raising Bindaree and hiding her worries from everyone else she really did not have time to seek out and welcome the others. So each day she simply minded her own business, keeping within the core of the herd, not really realizing that her somewhat frequent spells of depression made her seem slightly standoffish at times.
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Bindaree, like Boorana, was slightly disturbed by the other foals and as such kept her distance. She prefered playing with Boorana, Calca and sometimes Yarran who were much more lighthearted then the sombre black newcomers. She did not realize that they were like this mainly because they felt unwelcomed, and she did not understand why Dilali and Yeranda always seemed so cold. Like her mother she had got the impression that they did not want to interact with the rest of the herd so she simply left them alone.
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Seeing the foals begin their game, Yarran trotted over to join in. He knew his time as a youngster with the herd was drawing to a close and having been the only foal of his father's herd the year he had been born, and thus having lacked interaction with other young horses, he eagerly joined in the games with his younger half-sisters. He was careful not to play too roughly with them, realizing that though they were bold and full of energy they were more fragile than he. As Boorana nipped Calca playfully he snuck behind the grulla and pulled her tail. Squealing, Boorana spun around and battered him with her tiny hooves. Tossing his head Yarran cantered off in a tight circle, waiting for them to give chase, which they often did, all three of them teaming up on him as he raced around the clearing.


OOC: ughhhhhhhh this is messy-sorry I'm supposed to be doing homework but I wanted to get a reply in :/

[Illu]

Okay, let’s play a game. It’s called Pick a Herd Member! Out of all the mares in Nevada’s herd, which one would be most likely to be giving Dilali and Baramay a hard time about their ‘Satan Spawn’ foals?

Oh second thought: Easiest. Game. Ever.

Brael had been making a point to stay as far away from Dilali as she could muster; ensuring all the perlino dun ever saw was the velvety brown of Brael’s immaculate rump and silky white tail. Nevada hated their foals, so Brael made a point to do the same (though whether her hatred was a mirroring of Nevada’s or she was still bitter Garrong had chosen the two ‘commoners’ instead of her was anyone’s guess). She had always loathed Dilali the second she had set eyes on the other mare, although she and Baramay had always seemed a bit closer thanks to the browns sheer, enormous patience with her antics. She had attempted to talk to Baramay once or twice, even suggesting she dump her bastard foal and leave it to die, but Baramay was almost off in another world so Brael had more or less given up on her. She would talk to Baramay once Yindi was well and gone, and until then she was firmly sticking with Taworri.

The two foals had quickly learned to stay away from the grumpier Moon Filly. It was easy for them to tell Brael apart because she was always the one to lay her ears back at them when they got close. Once or twice they had made the mistake when they were younger to stray too near and almost got a solid kick in the skull for their trouble. Dilali was the only one that had come to the foals defence after the narrow misses, and the two had seemed to learn their lesson.

As for her own spawn, Calca, again Brael had missed out on her precious Moon Filly foal, though again she couldn’t be all disappointed. The filly was a beautiful grey colour she hadn’t seen before and her glowing white mane and tail were certainly her Mothers. Not so much a filly of the moon, but of the twilight, and with that Brael was temporarily satisfied. Yarran, in the way of most mares and their offspring, was starting to become more of a flit in the back of her mind and she only really remembered him when he happened to prance along her vision. After he left she would forget him forever, as was usual for horses.

Inexplicably, Taworri suddenly moved from her side to go investigate the two loners. ”Don’t bother, they’re not worth it,” she chided quickly, but wasn’t really expecting results. Taworri was a kind soul that thought with her heart (which Brael considered a weakness more than anything), so, without even fully attempting to stop her Brael found herself plodding along after her twin-in-colour anyway as they got close enough to say hello.

Taworri stopped and politely invited conversation by sticking her delicate nose out rather than impose, but in her true brash self, Brael charged forwards instead past Taworri. She made sure to toss her mane and pick up her feet so as to look her best before promptly flattening her ears at Dilali to make her feelings well known and ended up almost right in the mares face. Dilali had so far copped all of Brael’s taunts, Baramay mercifully only getting a cold indifference and the occasional word or two because Brael could at least remember enough that the two had used to be friends before the ‘kidnapping’. That, and Yindi was rarely with her mother, so Brael hoped that meant Baramay was coming to her senses and dumping the black trash before it was too late.

That and Nevada was currently attending to Baramay, so it was a good shot for her to taunt Dilali without being immediately spotted.

”Still toting those two half-breeds along with you?” Brael asked, clearly just insulting rather than asking an actual question. ”Yanno you could make your life a lot easier if you just dumped them. You didn’t ask for them so they’re not your responsibility. You’re making a proper one now anyway so you should be focusing on that one like a good mother should! The two disgusting ghouls you got there are probably too dumb to tell when they get abandoned anyway. Lookit them, they’re not even horses, they’re too big to be horses, so they’re something else entirely. You’re bringing all this on yourself so do yourself a favour and listen to sense already!”

[Tiggs]

Nevada was pleased Baramay seemed to be calming, and he turned his silver rump to the rest of the herd as he gave his fragile mare careful attention. It was only a matter of time before the black foals could be driven off, and if Brael had anything to do with it, it would be sooner rather than later. Brael thought she was being subtle, but Nevada could pick up every word of her shrill voice. Ordinarily, he would never let her talk to Dilali like that - he was not unaware of the moonfillies perceived rivalry - but perhaps she would speak some sense into.... No, when did Brael ever speak sense?

Nevertheless, Nevada continued to eavesdrop, making sure Brael didn't insult Dilali too much. He could always intervene later if the brash moonfilly started digging too big a hole.

Meanwhile, Calca was playing with Boorana and Bindaree, squealing and prancing. Her voice had that slight high-pitched tone that her mother often used, but Calca had managed thus far to grow into a fairly sane filly. She loved to play with her half-sisters, but like the others, she was also suspicious of the black pair. He mother warned her away from them, and she'd seen Nevada strike out at them more than once. Calca had even gone as far as disliking them, taking cues from her mother and father.

Yarran on the other hand, she adored. Her older brother was fun to play with, and he even let her win occasionally. As he often did, he came over to join their game and Calca took the bait, bolting off after her pale chestnut brother.