Don't Worry, I Got You (Open)

[casanova]

Nothing could be heard among the silent terrain other then the clomping of hooves against the ground. Two equines; a stallion and a younger mare traveled together along the dark and gloomy plains. The mare; a pretty chestnut brown colored thing seemed tired as her hooves dragged against the ground which made her stumble along the way. The older and bigger equine a stallion the color of dark bay quickly lowered himself to steady the smaller of the two and gave her a concerned look with his dark eyes which she merely smiled slightly in reassurance. 

"We can rest here; you're exhausted." the dark of the two murmured softly giving the smaller a nuzzle against her neck. 

Truth be told so was he; Rage as his name was called. Was used to the hard workout and the long runs or walks but his little sister Shy was not. Sweat glistened on their coats which cooled in the shadowed area of the dark forest they had been traveling through. Rage paused under a tree and nudged his sister to stop; they could rest here. 

"Try and find something to eat to regain your strength." he offered looking around at the scarcely spotted plants around them. 

There wasn't much that looked to be edible or good for them without being poisonous which made Rage nervous. He snorted and walked over towards a bush nearby and tugged a few leaves off of it's branches to go and give it to his sister who hesitantly took it and ate it. It didn't taste very good but she couldn't be too picky. 

"How far are we from the herd do you think?" she asked tiredly.

The dark bay rested his weight on his hooves to be able to let his sister rest against him comfortably and give him her weight so that her tired feet could rest up. 

"Not far, I heard the falls aren't too far away. Maybe another day's run at most." he looked at her worriedly seeing that the very idea didn't seem to promising. 

Before they could continue Rage's alert posture stiffened and his head whipped around when he heard the on coming steps of another coming their way; nostrils flared and ready for a fight the name sake stallion stood straighter and took a few steps in front of the chestnut mare and stood his ground protectively and challenging to whomever came before him.

[FennecFyre]

They were not the only travelers through the woods today, although the lone mare would have certainly been a stranger to them. The black forest was unsettling on its own, with its low light and claustrophobic game trails among the ancient, gnarled pines, but to one who was used to wide-open steppes and whistling winds, it was all the more unnerving. The still air was heavy with the scent of loam and pinesap, among the smells of unfamiliar creatures and plants. Several times, she thought she saw something flitting through the mist, but only ever out of the corner of her eye. Aryel was not one to let her unease show, however. If anything, the little grulla mare's form positively radiated challenge as she strode through the dark woods. Her head was up, ears forward, each step purposeful. Whether the confidence she exuded was genuine, or merely a mask held in place to deter would-be trouble, was up for debate.

The lack of wind made it difficult to smell what was up ahead of her, but she nevertheless managed to catch a whiff of equine. After running away from home, she was somewhat apprehensive at the idea of seeking them out, not wanting to run into another guard sent by her father to bring his wayward daughter home. Another sniff of the air made it obvious that they were unfamiliar to her, however, almost certainly not belonging to her own herd.

Curious as to what another was doing in a place like this, she broke into an unhurried trot down the game trail, often sniffing the air once more to ensure that she was staying on course. Gradually, what she had thought was the scent of a solitary stallion resolved itself into that of two distinct equines, a male and a female. It was difficult to see anything through the trees and shadows, but Rage and Shy would soon hear the sounds of hoofbeats drawing closer.

Presently, she emerged from the underbrush to catch sight of them at last. If they had expected something more intimidating, the small, scruffy grulla mare with her strange bristled mane might be a bit of a surprise. Upon catching sight of the glower on the stallion's face, she snorted, whisking her tail against her hocks. "You can stop glaring like that, I'm not lookin' for trouble. Just wondering what brought the two of you out to a place like this--doesn't seem to be the most hospitable of lands, from what I've seen of it so far."

[casanova]

The longer it took the other to appear the tenser Rage became. His instincts honed to protect and defend a territory that wasn't even his to begin with but if anything to protect his loved one. Shy was huddled against his hind quarters nickering in worry as she hid herself against her larger companion. When the new comer did however appear Rage wanted to laugh. This tiny little scruffy mare was what got him so on edge? He must be losing his touch. He snorted and gave her a glare before taking a step forward towards her with his held held proudly high.

"I could be asking the same of you. It's strange to find one let alone three horses in these lands at once. What are YOU doing here?" he argued back not willing to back down.

He winced when his hind quarters received a small nip in warning from his sister who peeked around his larger from at the other mare and gave her a curious look.

"S-sorry about him. He has a temperament. Hard to control sometimes. What are you doing here though? It's not an common land to travel. Where you heading off to?" she asked softly

[FennecFyre]

Aryel's eyes narrowed at his flippant response, not missing the way his hostility was suddenly replaced with bluster. She tossed her head with a snort, cocking a brow at him. "Not sure if that's any of your business, but I'll tell you what I'm not doing--jumpin' and bristlin' at shadows like a day-old foal."

Fortunately, before their squabble could evolve into an all-out brawl, the svelte mare intervened with a sharp nip to the stallion's hindquarters that seemed to deflate him somewhat. She was gentler in her demeanor, apologizing for her companion before expressing her own curiosity. Aryel rolled her shoulders, shifting her weight backwards and cocking a hoof. "Truth be told," she admitted, "I'm not sure where I'm going, only that it isn't where I came from. I'm sorta between homes at the moment, my old man and I didn't really see eye to eye on some things." Things like whether or not her sole value lay only in the alliance trading her off might secure for him. "But I'm far from home, now, and I ain't looking back." Cocking her head, she regarded the two of them curiously. "Aryel's the name, what are yours?"

[casanova]

Shy realized the other mare must not be too keen on her brother with how stand off-ish he was which to be fair she didn't actually blame the other female. Taking a few more steps forwards to be beside the taller stallion. She gave the other mare a compliant caring smile if it wasn't a bit timid.

"Sorry, I'm Shy Spirit and this is Rage my brother. We are traveling by ourselves as well right now. We left our herd for a better life." Shy said softly.

Rage gave her a disappoving look. She didn't need to know why they left their herd. It wasn't any of Aryel's business anymore it was theirs for her reason of leaving her herd.

FennecFyre