Picking up the Pieces [Wairri's herd]

[yaruka]

It had been months since he’d been this far down the range. Waiirri’s skin crawled with nerves as he cautiously tread beside the creek, leading his herd to lower pastures for the winter. In theory he had nothing to be concerned about; the men and dogs were long gone, taken the captured brumbies with them. But still, the bush seemed so strange somehow, haunted with the fractured dreams of those who had lost loved ones to the men or who had been captured themselves. Waiirri hadn’t forgotten his desperate promise to Nirrike and Dinga, everywhere he took his little band he kept a close watch for the missing mares. He would have liked to mount a full scale search for them but knew that was impossible with a herd to care for. He would never abandon him remaining family. He regretted leaving the area where he had last saw them, but also knew it would be dangerous to stay up there for any longer. Snow was coming, and with snow came death to the mountains. His pale roan coat was already thick in preparation for the coming storm, there was not much time left until the path they now trod would be impassable. He hoped the two mares, if they remained uncaptured, would have the sense to come to lower country.

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[{ Opal }]

Aruna's ears flicked back and forth, showing she was somewhat nervous, but her expression was calm as she followed alongside the roan stallion. The drive had passed, leaving them unscathed, not considering the new mare Dinga who had surely been captured. Aruna could care less, really, and was particularly glad that the white brumby had left; for some reason she disliked the mare's apparent jumpiness. It was annoying, frankly. Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Aruna turned to her silver-coated filly. Mirrin was an energetic thing, the mirror of playful peskiness. She was rather spirited, though never truly aggressive, which Aruna supposed was a good sign. Already so old... Blowing gently on the youngster's coat, Aruna nuzzled the small space between her grey ears. In response Mirrin shook her head and ducked away, while squealing delightedly. Aruna snorted. "Quite, now," she whispered, glancing around. For some reason she didn't want to break the quiet; perhaps it would attract unwanted attention... Mirrin twitched her ears irritably, but didn't say anything. It was somewhat annoying to be bossed around as if still a foal; though, she thought sarcastically, she still sorta was one.

A wind picked up, picking up the old snow and flinging it in Aruna's face. She jerked back, shaking her head, and blinking the snow out of her eyes. Blasted cold... Aruna hated winter, and her face now looked grim as she caught up to Waiirri. A swirling mass of snowflakes hid him from view for a moment, but them she caught a glimpse of his dark figure next to her. Aruna called Mirrin close. It would be horrible to loose her here, out in this frigid cold.

[Tex]

Doowi had calmed down since the run from Men, and was currently tending to her beautiful colt's coat. It had become bedraggled in the snow melting on his back, and she tsked while licking it flat and smooth. She looked up every few moments, to make sure he was keeping up, and her colt nickered crossly after an extra-strong gale of wind that cut right through his even wetter fur to the bone. He did not like her excessive worries about looking good, as he did not have her coat's silvery colour, and he did now thought that having that colour made you instantly an air-head with constant worries about mud and blood. What he wouldn't give to roll in some mud and not have his mother cry out like the tall mountains in a storm.
In truth, Doowi was worried about finding her way to her Warri, and called out for him folornly.

[yaruka]

Waiirri shared Aruna's feeling that they should be quiet, something about the evening was markedly eerie and he was determined to move through this section of the High Country before they rested that night. The stillness of the evening pressed in on all sides and more than once the blue roan stallion involuntarily tossed his head to try and free himself from the tension. He tried to limit the amount of unease he expressed, he did not wish to unsettle his mares. Aruna was intuitive enough to have sensed his discomfort he knew, but he was hoping Doowi was otherwise distracted, not something unusual for the pretty filly. A sudden emptiness by his side made him pause, and turning his head to check on Doowi, he saw that the creamy filly had suddenly disappeared from his side. And in this snow too, it could take him ages to find her! What harm could befall her before he would be able to locate her! Spinning right around he gazed about desperately, bemoaning the filly's tendency to get distracted and his own focus on the weather. He should have known better than to leave Doowi alone for more than a few moments. A sudden forlorn cry met his ears and Waiirri sighed in relief. It came from just behind them, only a few feet. Signaling with his ears for Aruna and Mirrin to stay put, he turned back the way they had come, trotting just to the right of the path. Calling gently he came upon Doowi tending to their chestnut son and, too relieved to be annoyed, simply nosed the creamy filly comfortingly, touched noses with the colt, and led them both back to where Aruna and his daughter stood.

OOC: sorry it's rushed!!

[{ Opal }]

Aruna, indeed, had sensed Waiirri's wariness, but had actually thought little of it. Ah, he's just a worry-wart. she thought to herself with a bob of her head. Though the area seemed oddly sinister, perhaps even spooky, Aruna had no doubts about them making it out of there safely. But suddenly Waiirri seemed to panic, and Aruna glanced around a little nervously, wondering what had caused the reaction. Oh it's just Doowi. She thought with disgust, and wished that the mare had gotten lost permanently. Aruna was, of coarse, not serious about the matter; she just had a tendency to over-react.

Aruna flicked back her ears irritably as she was subtly told to stay put. She was tempted to rebel, but that meant more time staying in this creepy place, and she decided against it. So Aruna waited impatiently as the stallion went back to fetch the mare, whom Aruna blamed for the delays, and shivered with the cold. She glanced down at Mirrin, who was currently nibbling on her dangling tail, but the filly didn't seem affected by the freezing weather. Lucky you, she thought, then wondered if her next foal would be so fortunate. Yes, Aruna was pregnant again; she wasn't that far along, though, and had some time before the foal would be born. Hopefully long enough to get out of this place. The thought was sarcastic, as usual. Aruna kicked Mirrin away from her tail as it was dealt a rather vicious tug.

[Tex]

Doowi acknowledged Warri with a flick of her ears, but continued to care for her colt's coat, making sure it was flattened against the wind and his forelock was not in his eyes. She seemed to think that an immaculate appearance was one that won wars. Then again, humans seemed to like beauty enough to fight wars for it, so perhaps her wants had solid ground.
Her colt finally had enough, and tossed his head hard, bumping her nose away. Doowi whinnied under her breath at him, irritated, and used her nose to push him back to the other mare, who Doowi had a growing dislike for. The other mare was impatient, and did not want to stop if the silver mare got lost, which Doowi thought unimagineable. Who could possibly resist her charms? So, once she was in sight of the other mare, she flicked her ears against her skull, bared her teeth, and started directly into her eyes for a few moments until Warri got sick of her standing in one spot. Doowi then ignored the other mare, instead focusing once more on her colt's coat.

[yaruka]

The emnity between his two remaining mares had not gone unoticed by the pale blue stallion and it was beginning to become a cause for concern. Waiirri squealed warningly at Doowi as she pinned her ears and glared in Aruna's direction, knowing the silver filly was likely to take her frusteration out on him next but unable to leave the gesture unreprimanded. Not that Aruna was that much better, just less obvious about it. Her impatience with Doowi was almost tangible. Waiirri respected that the two of them were as opposite as night and day but it really was getting a bit much. Surely they could just pretend to get along? He wasn't going to leave one of them behind. It had been a little better when Dinga had been there, the other mare had acted somewhat as a buffer zone between the two others Waiirri supposed. So what was the solution then? To find Dinga, which he already intended to do, and then more and more mares so that Aruna and Doowi would be unable to see each other unless they were right under each other's noses? Not quite practical. Huffing impatiently, he glanced warningly at each of them, eyes begging them to just get along. Silly, jealous mares. Waiirri had never thought having a herd could be this much trouble. Still, he loved both of them, and was determined to make this work. With a definate flick of his tail he led the way off again, towards lower country.

[{ Opal }]

Aruna bristled at how the silver mare clearly showed her distaste. Her muscles unconsciously tensed at the display of aggression, and a flood of hostility coursed through her body, making her stocky figure turn rigid and strained. How dare that mare act with such belligerence? At least Aruna wasn't begging for a fight (though the thought did seem appetizing), and wasn't getting lost. Aruna snorted angrily and stared right back at the brumby, her gaze cold and unyielding. She was finding it hard to restrain herself from kicking out at her offender, but Waiirri luckily broke the silver's concentration. Aruna lingered for a moment and glared forcefully, then finally beckoned her own filly and set off after the rest of the brumbies. Revenge of some sort kept flickering through her mind, and she was tempted to pull some sort of cruel prank on Doowi. Nothing savage, just enough to make the mare angry...

Meanwhile, Mirrin watched the two mares with interest. Though most of the time she appeared silly and somewhat unmindful, Mirrin was very intuitive, and so keen to see the complex relationships between the members in her herd. She had observed the scene with unusual solemnity, and as the group traveled on, she still seemed to be deep in thought. Mirrin was young and still frivolous, and had not a clue as to how she should react to that ominous interaction. She was unknowingly angry at the silver mare, but the emotion was foreign and Mirrin couldn't quite name it. Disconcerted by the feeling, she restlessly shook her short mane, then trudged on through the snow, unusually silent and foreboding.

[Tex]

The chestnut colt finally really did have enough of getting pampered on such a cold day, and reared up to break off Doowi's muzzle from his flank, cantering up ahead. Doowi whinnied in surprise, and began to trot after him, making sure he wouldn't run through any icky mud accidentally. Because who would actually run through mud on purpose?
Kurung-Jang found a mud puddle, and snorted in laughter at the ideas that popped into his mind. Looking around to make sure that his mother could see him, the chestnut leaped into the mud, rolling and rolling to coat himself with the stuff. Doowi came over a small rise to see him, covered with mud and filthy, and he squealed cheekily at her. She neighed in horror, and immediately zipped to his side, using her muzzle to get the worst of the mud off, not caring if she herself became muddy. Kurung-Jang cheekily shook himself, coating every horse around him with the gelatinous stuff, and Doowi sighed hopelessly. She would have to leave him alone for now.
Ignoring the looks of every horse there, including Waiirri, she trotted faster, keeping in the front of the herd.

[yaruka]

OOC: do you guys want to start a new thread now for spring or keep going with this one?