Post by avalikia on Jun 23, 2010 13:32:02 GMT -5
Characters:
Nukpana - Female Horse
Luna - Female Horse
Virgil - Male Horse
Sirocco - Male Horse
Setting:
Grassy Plains
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The skies seem to have cleared up this afternoon, at least for the moment, so Nukpana is happy. Or at least, as happy as she ever is which tends to be within the realm of 'pleased'. She's had enough of grazing, at least for the moment, and instead she seems to be eyeing the horizon thoughtfully. It's not quite hot enough for her to have retreated to the shade of one of the few trees just yet, but surely that will become a hobby of hers within the coming moons.
Luna is taking one of her few, but in her mind deserved rests, having laid down in the grass while Nukpana is just standing there anyway. She's not asleep, just dozing now and then interrupted by moments of being awake enough to nip off some of the nearest grass.
Generally, it's Virgil who is in a pleased mood. In fact, since he'd been here he hadn't really been in a 'bad' mood, but today is just one of those days for the stallion, it seems. It was getting hot outside. Irritatingly hot. The flies were growing in number and worsening in malice. Frustratedly, his muscles twitched, his tail flicked, his mane shook, and his hooves stomped the pesky insects from off his muddy colored frame, and it had begun to wear on his nerves. /This/ was why he liked running. To avoid the bugs. Albeit he had about two hundred and eighty or so extra pounds to carry at that time and would sweat up a storm, it kept the flies off him for a little while. No more of that, though. Not to mention he was bored out of his mind, and one can only take so much boredom. From where he is, he can see Luna and Nukpana, but doesn't even make the effort to look over at them first. Not today.
In a way, Nukpana considers guarding Luna to be her job. If her fellow lead mare were young enough and strong enough to fight for herself, she wouldn't have agreed to the position in the first place. After all, she has none of the necessary tact, ability to work with others, or most importantly the caring about anyone else. But she isn't particularly focused on that job. Actually her thoughts are more along the lines of what Virgil's thinking, unbeknownst to her. The difference though is that while the flies are troublesome, she's never had anyone else to chase them away or groom her to prevent them so she's as patient about flies as she is with the hot sun of summer. The stomping hooves of the stallion draw her attention away from the horizon and onto him, and she snorts a little in amusement. What a foal!
Luna only offers the most casual of glances to the bachelor. Where she is the flies aren't quite so bothersome. The tall grass keeps her relatively covered, and Nukpana is a far more inviting target. Still, it's hot and she's got a mostly black coat so she's not completely spared the insects, but like Nukpana she's used to just dealing with it, only swatting her tail at the ones that actually sting or bite. It's a rare treat that she gets to come off her hooves, what with looking after not only the herd itself, but also keeping an eye on Virgil whether he's coming or going, so she's going to enjoy this mini-vacation for as long as possible.
The stomping of his hooves actually served a purpose; flies landing near his ankles and his tail being occupied in swatting at his sides. Angrily, his ears begin to flatten as more flies replace the ones that had been swatted, and with a snort, he tosses his head a bit and unexpectedly bolts off to another spot. There's no shade here. The grass is drying out beneath the sun. There are flies /everywhere/, and there is /nothing/ to occupy himself with. Oh yeah, he was enjoying this 'freedom' alright. His eyes turn and sharply narrow at the two lead mares, confident that they wouldn't be able to see him glaring from that far away, but he'd forgotten to tilt his ears back up, as he was still swarmed by insects. That little bit of body language would've given Virgil's mood away.
The confirmation of the stallion's mood only seems to amuse Nukpana further. She's satisfied with the occasional tailflick on particularly bothersome spots, and occasionally one at random that just so happens shoo some away from Luna. With another snort and a shake of her head, Nukpana whinnies at Virgil, "Really, you're acting just like my mother did." And the tone is probably more than enough to indicate that it isn't at all a good thing to be acting like her mother. Not even a little bit.
Luna finds some weak amusement in watching the tame-raised stallion deal with some of the harshness of nature. That he'd expend so much energy on the bugs is strange, almost foreign to her. There are ways of taking care of them that uses only a fraction of that, and yet there he is. Perhaps he thinks ANY show of strength is impressive to mares? If so, it's certainly not working on her. With a lazy flick of her tail up over her rump she looks up at Nukpana, then towards Virgil again. "Think he's unaware he can just go dip in the river to cool off?"
It's not that Virgil isn't aware of how to remove the bugs, it's that he's frustrated, and it shows in how silly he's being. He's bored, kind of tired, and hasn't really talked to any of the herd since the minor conflict between Hototo, Mimiteh and himself. Just thinking about it causes him to roll his eyes, and continue to flick off the bugs. Sharply, the grullo turns his head back at Nukpana and sends back a whinny. "What, your ma' want a better life'n standin' around gettin' eaten alive by these damned bugs all day?" Virgil's tone is different as well. Sarcastic, but also angry sounding. Must be the heat.
Tossing her head, though not apparently angered by that comment about her mother, Nukpana's tone is scolding as she replies, "My mother was too focused on every bad aspect of being wild to ever appreciate any of the good parts. Never stopped griping about how much better she had it before. She died miserable." And the way the proud mare holds her head in that cocky way seems to indicate that /she/ at least isn't miserable. And she's not... at the moment.
Luna is just gonna stay out of this exchange of words. She's relaxing, this is her half hour off duty, and she's not going to let it go to waste. Also, her player needs to switch to the laptop now, but that's not why she stays quiet!
Tucking his ears back further; as if he could, Virgil raises his head and stares directly at Nukpana, stomping another hoof and thrashing his tail from side to side. "If I'd seen any /good/ aspects of being wild, I'm sure I'd appreciate 'em." Unfortunately, since he'd been here he'd been only half-accepted into a herd, told to keep to the outskirts, warned of predators that he still thought were just a scare tactic almost, and given a hard time every time he was to strike up conversation. The stallion hadn't complained at all since he'd arrived, but the combination of his frustrations, the bugs, and the heat were finally overflowing and out came his true outlook. "Care to show me any of 'em? Or you just gonna stand around all day too?"
Shaking her head, Nukpana gives another amused snort before she says, "I would, but I'm sure it would be completely lost on you. You'll probably be eaten by the first wolves that come along anyway, so I should just spare myself the effort." Her tail flicks absentmindedly at a cluster of flies on her flank as her eyes drift back to the horizon. Actually, she was just thinking about doing something... but if continuing to just stand her pesters Virgil a little then she can wait on it.
Luna sighs a bit, but still she stays down in the grass. The earth is nicely cool against her hide, and the grass is juicy - but geez, she came here to relax, not to listen to foals bickering. She may have missed Virgil's last comment, but it's bickering all the same. Reluctantly she looks up, eyes focusing on the distant stallion, trying to figure out how best to send him away under the guise of helping him with his fly problem.
Under all this stress, it's easy for an already short-tempered stallion to lose that temper. From as far off as he was, he flicks his tail once more before he makes a bee-line for Nukpana in a sudden bolt, and snorts right near her face. He wasn't afraid of her; she didn't intimidate him at all. "First wolves that come along are gonna be stomped flat and used to fertilize this dried up grass." Virgil of course didn't think that move through. He hoped that neither Luna nor Nukpana would take it as a serious threat, even though he had kind of meant it to be. Kind of.
As it happens, Nukpana takes that as a semi-serious threat. Mostly because she doesn't really see Virgil as a serious threat in any case - he may be a stallion, but does that mean he can fight? Given her opinion of him, it should be no surprise that her answer to that is 'probably not'. So she raises her head even higher and stands her ground, neighing angrily at him as her ears flick back, she half-turns around and one of her hind legs rises off the ground. She doesn't kick, however, just managing to hold it back when she sees that he's not actually attacking. Of course, given that he had the gall to do that, she half wishes that she hadn't stopped herself. "If you ever do that again, it won't be a wolf that is stomped flat," she says with narrowed eyes.
Luna gets up quickly, mainly because she isn't sure whether Virgil is even aware of her presence in the grass. She doesn't expect him to have a desire to harm her, but accidents can happen to hidden horses. As she rises and puts weight on her right foreleg she winces for a moment, but the shot of pain is quickly ignored in favor of putting her muzzle right up in front of Virgil's. "Who on all the plains do you think you are?" she questions in a low, threatening tone. The kind of tone that suggests it's best to shut up and listen. "You are a nobody. A herdless bachelor stallion who does not even have a few other colts to run with for protection. Do not pretend to come here from the two-leggers and think you know all about how we should lead our lives, what we should be afraid of and not, and how to survive without OUR help. You don't, and the sooner you realize that, the longer you will live." Wow. Someone pissed her off.
Still glaring at the mare, Virgil can see that she's trying to lift her head higher, but ultimately he lifts his head even higher, and continues to stare her down. Some rowdy mare isn't going to get the best of him. In truth, he isn't even upset anymore. Her temper rather amused him from the beginning, and he noticed a trend as well. "You're all talk, y'know that?" The stallion asks with a cocky tone and an amused grin. "Go on ahead and try it, miss." He adds, turning to his side and taking a step forward, egging her on in a sense. Of course, Luna butts in at that point, getting far too close for his comfort. Pinning his hears back, he listens to her at first, but pushes his head forward with just a hint of force. Not enough to touch her, though. "Aw, save it ya' old sow." He says, rolling his eyes and forcing his ears forward. "I never said nothin' about how you should live your lives. You wanna sit around in the grass all day? Fine by me. You wanna tell horror stories 'bout the wolves and the coyotes and the cougars? Go right on ahead." Virgil leaves out what he'll do, as he has no intention of straying far from the herd. A straggler horse /was/ an easy target, especially for group hunts. But that didn't make his tone any nicer.
Normally insults directed towards Nukpana don't work very well. She's too sure of her own superiority to think much about them; if others don't think much of her then obviously they're idiots and she'll let be idiots if they want to be so badly. However, to have this ignorant /stallion/ acting like he knows better, insulting her and talking back to Luna... well, she's at a loss for words. Which obviously means it's time for action, and without any warning she turns back and charges straight at Virgil. She neither has the time nor the room to kick at him: she only runs straight at him with all the energy she can muster in the few feet separating him, trusting that her sheer size carries plenty of force behind it to at least knock him back or, if he happens to be unbalanced, knocked over. In the meantime, she hold her head back and up to keep it ready to fend off any counter-attacks.
Luna sees movement out of the corner of her eye, a reddish blur coming straight at her and the stallion. She spins, ducking out of the way of the freight train that is an angry Nukpana, forgetting all about her own verbal fight with Virgil. That's gonna have to wait, because there is no way in hell she's getting caught in the middle of this. She doesn't like resorting to physical violence, that's what you keep a stallion around for, but she's not going to stop this particular fight - at least not while it looks like Nukpana might be winning it.
Virgil shouldn't have been so surprised when the obviously temperamental mare charges for him, but his eyes did widen a bit. He stands his ground however, letting the brunt of her weight hit him in the side. It hurt, but no more than being ran into by other horses on the run, or than getting spurs jabbed into your sides, or being whipped endlessly for miles in order to encourage speed that was already maxed out. Virgil is pushed back, but had his balance kept and so he didn't fall over. Instead of getting angry and fighting back as many would, he just raises a brow and flicks his tail in her direction, hoping to hit her in the face. She may have been too far away for that, though. A chuckle is given as he turns to face the bay mare, and he speaks up. "See? I knew you didn't have it in ya. All talk, darlin'. But thanks for takin' it easy on me."
Her head was in range of his tail, but only just and she easily twists her head away from the tail flick. She scowls at his response, eyeing him with complete contempt as she practically scream, "That was just a warning. And you'd better think long and hard about it too. Luna's right: you don't know your place. She and I are the leaders of this herd, while you are lower than the tiniest foal, and we expect a certain level of respect. And if we don't get it right now, I'll either pound it out of you now or take it up with Sirocco; depends on how dirty I want to get my hooves. And if we do get it, I expect you to shut up and listen right now." That said, she continues to glare at the stallion, eyes blazing. I do believe she means it!
"Look here miss, I ain't afraid of you or no one in your herd, alright? Now, I've followed the rules that your stallion put out there for me, but lemme' make this clear: I don't give a rats hind end for how I rank. I reckon I'll be stuck at the fringes here for a while, and I've got no problem with that." Clearing his throat and pushing his ears forward sincerely this time, Virgil has to stifle a laugh for a moment. "You're pretty strong for a mare, though."
"What in the darn-blessed name of the ancestors is all this ruckus?!" Comes an sharp and angry neigh that cuts across the landscape, the words punctuated by the hard hoofbeats of a large and heavy horse. Drawn by the uproar, Sirocco is galloping towards where he'd heard, and then seen, the fighting horses. His ears are slicked back and his eyes gleaming with fury.
There's a momentary flicker of pride on the mare's face at the compliment, even though she didn't particularly care for the qualifier. But she knows she's no match for the strength of a stallion - though she has many advantages in other areas... Sufficeth to say, Virgil is lucky she hadn't actually meant it. She might have if he'd fought back, but the point there was to prove she wasn't a pushover. However, that look is very fleeting before her expression becomes hard again. "I said shut up!" she says lowly, her voice almost a threat. She looks like she's about to elaborate when the sound of heavy hooves that can only be from Sirocco reaches her ears and she stops, glowering at Virgil until he has a chance to reach them. When he does, Nukpana turns in Sirocco's direction and explains, "This stallion thinks that he can insult lead mares, ignore what we say, and seems to think that he matters. I was just telling him otherwise."
A grin forms, but this time it's sinister in it's intent. Not important? Virgil had his share of knowledge from both sides of the fence; human world and feral world. Well. He knew the /location/ of the feral world, and that was what was important. Though the humans were miles away, their expansions would dictate that they wouldn't be hard to find. Without his tack, any unsuspecting man could figure him for a wild horse, and if he gave good enough chase, he could lead them back here and get the whole herd captured, if he wanted. So, there's another quirk of his brow. "I think I'm more important than you're aware of, miss." He says, and looks to Sirocco as he comes in, obviously angry with their outbursts. Virgil doesn't look surprised or intimidated though. Instead, an ear simply shifted in his direction and the muddy gray stallion nodded to greet him. "Hello there again, friend!" He says, oddly pleasant sounding all the sudden. "Haven't seen ya in a few days. Keepin' busy, I hope. Runnin' off all them pesky predators, I'll bet. If so, you're doin' a helluva job. Ain't seen /one/ in the days since I been here."
"I ain't yer friend." Comes the gruff response from the red stallion as he arches up his neck, ears remaining slicked back and nostrils flared. "And yes, I've been busy seein' the herd safe and I ain't got the time to be puttin' things to peace around here just cuz' some lost stallion can't seem ta' be followin' a few simple rules." One forehoof rears and slams down against the dirt, punctuating his frustration and irritation as much as the switch of his tail. "What did I tell ya about pesterin' the mares and not listenin' to them?"
Nukpana seems to completely ignore Virgil's words, despite the look on his face. Even if she knew what he was thinking about she wouldn't be that concerned - she knows that humans are trouble but she also assumes that they're easy enough to avoid if you know what you're doing. And she does, thanks to the neverending lectures from her mother. So she simply turns away, flicking her tail in his direction; doubtless it will miss but that seems to indicate exactly what she thinks of his threat. She'll leave him to Sirocco to deal with: if he thinks that he's better than her then she could care less about him.
Chuckling at the response that came from the lead stallion, Virgil keeps himself calm and picks up his hooves, beginning to walk around the both of them in a circular fashion. All the signs of irritation from Sirocco seem to add fuel to Virgil's ego-fire, and his tail too begins to swish around. "I've listened to them plenty. And I wasn't pesterin' 'em at all. Seems like wherever I go they're not too far off; I've stuck to the edges of the herd. They're the ones pesterin' me. Lookin' for trouble, I think." And if it was trouble any of them wanted, trouble they would get. In due time, of course.
"Then I got an easy fix for ya." Sirocco remarks as his eyes follow the circling Virgil. "We forget you ever crossed our paths and you be on your merry. No trouble for them, no trouble for you, no trouble for me." He snorts out a harsh note before he remarks, "Ya know, I've been thinkin' what you remind me of, and I think ya just helped me peg it. A buzzard. Always watchin', always hoppin' in just a lil closer... you sure can squawk, but I ain't seen anymore outta ya than that."
At Virgil's words, Nukpana silently shakes her head as her only defense against his accusation. Though perhaps they's provoked him a little, she felt pretty provoked herself. But she more or less lets Sirocco keep charge of this situation now. The irony that Virgil said pretty much the same thing to her mere moments ago isn't lost on Nukpana, and she looks amused as Virgil tries to circle them all intimidating-like. She trots out of it, as if daring him to object. She doesn't go far, however, not wanting to be out of earshot.
"A buzzard?" Virgil asks amusedly, still circling the red-gold stallion slowly, acting in a very buzzard-esque manner in that sense. "Nah, I don't quite see the resemblance." Flicking his tail almost with his steps now, his ears begin to turn back further when Nukpana leaves, but it's not as if he's going to give chase. Now, he's in somewhat of a face-off with Sirocco. However /that/ happened. He's not frightened, though. Not in the least. Though, some fear would've been understandable, given the sheer size difference between the two horses. Virgil was big, but Sirocco was -BIG.- "I think I like it here. Ain't got much to worry about, I don't believe." Stopping his circular motion, the grullo forms an eye contact between him and the larger horse, and grins again. "I think you'd be making a hell of a lot of trouble for yourself and for your herd if you went and did something stupid, mister."
Sirocco hasn't shown himself to be the aggressive sort of stallion, though one might blame his cold-blooded sire for that bit. Still, he's no pushover and the aloof sort of attitude of Virgil is just rankling him. If he had hackles, no doubt they'd be up, but he does just as well with agitated cracks of his tail. "How would you be trouble?" The belgian-mustang cross snorts disdainfully. "It's just you by your lonesome, and as I'm recallin', you said there wasn't anyone who ran with you. Unless you were lying about that and have some friends hidin' out."
Not particularly concerned by the way things are going, Nukpana is actually relaxed enough to graze. Because, really, what is an ignorant punk going to manage to pull against Sirocco? She may not really like either stallion very much, but she has to admit that Sirocco is useful in situations like this, and he's not /too/ much of a bother at other times. However, as unconcerned as she is, her perked ears indicate that she's still listening even though she'll probably not bother to add anything.
Virgil can tell that he's getting on Sirocco's nerves, but all was well with the gray stallion, as that was just what he intended to do. Holding his head up high to be as tall as he could against Sirocco's height, he keeps his grin but does back off a few steps. "I think you know." He says lowly, giving him a look of almost confusion. "I ain't got any other stallions to come and raise hell for ya' yet, no. But I do know the general direction of some things you folks think 'er worse than stallions. I could bring 'em back here." Whether he could or couldn't, he really wasn't sure. It was a long run to the location of the humans, and even then, he might be captured by himself. Or the humans might follow him quietly until he got back to 'his herd;' the probability was shaky at best.
Irritation bubbles up into outright fury and for an honest second it really does seem like Sirocco is just going to pummel the grullo. He rears up, lunging forward half a leap before he slams his hooves into the ground, the clap of them against the packed dirt almost drowned by a bellowed neigh. "COWARD! You got the gall to threaten us with /them/?! Wolves fight with more dignity, but you, you hide behind twolegs... get outta my sight." His voice is bitter and strained, full of outright contempt and even disgust. "Run back to your masters, run and hide like a colt behind it's ma cuz your own'd be ashamed of you. You're no horse, you're no better'n a dog."
That particular threat is enough to cause the blood bay mare to lift her head a scowl at Virgil. From everything she knows about humans, she finds it hard to believe that Virgil would be able to get them to follow him here - her mother mentioned the trouble she'd had communicating with them. And she's inclined to agree with Sirocco's assessment of his reasons for using that threat. Shaking her head, she suppresses the urge to chew him out herself. He's hardly worth any more of her time, at least while she's in her current mood. He wouldn't listen to her anyway, so what would be the point?
At seeing the behemoth of a horse rear up right in front of him, Virgil recoils with a half-rear of his own, his ears pinned against his skull by now. After Sirocco's little outburst though, Virgil flits his ears up quickly and starts to chuckle at the belgian cross' temper flare. "/They/'ll be out here not too long from now, I reckon. Makin' their way across the land and whatnot. It's only a matter'a time 'fore your whole herd is strapped up and ridden around by some know-it-all easterner." Turning to his side, hardly phased by Sirocco's temper, Virgil looks off to the west again. "Seems ta' me that you're the coward. 'Fraid of a little human. You don't wanna get caught? Don't get caught. Ya' do, it's yer own damned fault." Another flick of his tail, and Virgil turns his ears back again. "Doubt if you won't though. And ya know.. you don't seem like the ridin' type. They'll probably put ya a farm. In the hot sun, all day, plowin' dirt." Pausing, he makes an effort to appear as snide and manipulative as he can. "I think that's the brightest future I can offer ya."
Sirocco doesn't seem dissuaded by Virgil's vision of the future. In fact, it seems to just make him crack a wry, sour grin. "Was a noble enough job for my pa', and I might actually do it, long as I'm plowin' the hole for them to dump you in. But, I ain't plan on gettin' caught. Better to die a wild horse than ridden to death, though I can't be seein' how you're scoldin' me if I'd get caught. Seems to be you were the one stuck under a saddle, not me. Still, I'll be tellin' ya this... you dare bring danger back to this herd, and I'll see ya more misery than you've ever seen in yer whole, sad, shameful lil' life. You may have let the twolegs corrupt ya to be like them, and if you ain't mindin the blood of foals under your hooves that's your choice, but I swore I'd be protectin' this herd and if I gotta face down every twoleg you run home to, then bring 'em. That's what a stallion does. Now get outta my sight, unless you think you can actually fight like a'horse."
There's a general snort of agreement from Nukpana at Sirocco's words. There's no way a human would ever get anywhere near her, that's for sure! And her mother led her to believe that if she ever was caught she certainly had far too noble blood to end up as a work horse, so even if there was even the most remote possibility that she was caught she can't see it not ending well - likely she'd figure out a way to escape if it came to that. "Nobody here is afraid of you, Virgil," she finally says, "And the sooner you get that into that human-loving skull of yours, the better."
"Plowin' fields isn't noble. It's the job humans give to horses unfit to be seen in public. Suitable for your pa' though then, I reckon." Virgil says, and snorts as well, finally beginning to get maybe a bit frustrated. "I was caught when I was a colt. Couldn't run off then, and I didn't necessarily know it was a bad thing. Turns out it wasn't, but it don't seem like you feral types will fit in very well." Again, he begins to circle, and flicks his tail a few more times. "I'd like to see your bulbous hide try and keep up with me /when/ I bring the humans straight to ya." Virgil's tone is deeper than usual when he says this, his ears turned back and his head held high still. Looking to Nukpana, he gives a glare, but then just smirks. "Well, you'd outta be. I'd be mighty scared if I were you."
"Buzzard." Sirocco reiterates. "Circlin' and squackin', too cowardly to put up a fight but all to happy to dive on the scraps left behind. We aren't scared, not of your hot air, nor your masters. An' my "bulbous hide" don't need to be runnin'. You can bring all the friends ya' want, I'll stand here and wait for ya, and then we can see if you're stallion enough to put up a real fight... or did they take Those along with yer dignity?" Snorting, he swings his back end towards Virgil, sharp-haired tail lashing out in a dismissing swipe. "I'm done wastin' me time. Leave. If yer here by nightfall, I'll be back to break yer legs and you can crawl back to yer humans." This said, he pointedly begins to walk away, seeming deciding Virgil's not worth trading words with any longer.
The rest of Virgil's words don't seem to change Nukpana's words in the least. She snorts and shakes her head, eyeing Sirocco's departure for a moment before she half-turns herself to head closer to the rest of the herd, but she pauses to say, "Of course you'd be scared: I've never met a more foal-brained stallion than you. But /I/ see nothing here to be afraid of." Flicking her tail dismissively, she turns the rest of the way and starts walking off herself.
All of their talk /does/ anger Virgil. In fact, by now he's very angry. But he chooses different ways to take out his anger. There were plenty of rabbits wandering around that could be stomped. Or snakes, or many other small animals. Horses by nature weren't great killers, but he managed to learn a few stress-relieving techniques in his days with his owner. "Doubt it, mister. I'll be halfway back to the humans by nightfall." He says with another smirk, dismissing him and turning back to Nukpana. Had Sirocco not been there or had she the ability to /not/ make a scene, he'd probably send a charge to her like she did earlier, only make an effort to knock her down and then give her a good few stomps as well. "We'll see how not scared ya are when you've got three ropes around your neck and you're bein' led off to a town to be broken, miss." He says rather pleasantly, and turns to walk in the westward direction as well.
Nukpana - Female Horse
Luna - Female Horse
Virgil - Male Horse
Sirocco - Male Horse
Setting:
Grassy Plains
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The skies seem to have cleared up this afternoon, at least for the moment, so Nukpana is happy. Or at least, as happy as she ever is which tends to be within the realm of 'pleased'. She's had enough of grazing, at least for the moment, and instead she seems to be eyeing the horizon thoughtfully. It's not quite hot enough for her to have retreated to the shade of one of the few trees just yet, but surely that will become a hobby of hers within the coming moons.
Luna is taking one of her few, but in her mind deserved rests, having laid down in the grass while Nukpana is just standing there anyway. She's not asleep, just dozing now and then interrupted by moments of being awake enough to nip off some of the nearest grass.
Generally, it's Virgil who is in a pleased mood. In fact, since he'd been here he hadn't really been in a 'bad' mood, but today is just one of those days for the stallion, it seems. It was getting hot outside. Irritatingly hot. The flies were growing in number and worsening in malice. Frustratedly, his muscles twitched, his tail flicked, his mane shook, and his hooves stomped the pesky insects from off his muddy colored frame, and it had begun to wear on his nerves. /This/ was why he liked running. To avoid the bugs. Albeit he had about two hundred and eighty or so extra pounds to carry at that time and would sweat up a storm, it kept the flies off him for a little while. No more of that, though. Not to mention he was bored out of his mind, and one can only take so much boredom. From where he is, he can see Luna and Nukpana, but doesn't even make the effort to look over at them first. Not today.
In a way, Nukpana considers guarding Luna to be her job. If her fellow lead mare were young enough and strong enough to fight for herself, she wouldn't have agreed to the position in the first place. After all, she has none of the necessary tact, ability to work with others, or most importantly the caring about anyone else. But she isn't particularly focused on that job. Actually her thoughts are more along the lines of what Virgil's thinking, unbeknownst to her. The difference though is that while the flies are troublesome, she's never had anyone else to chase them away or groom her to prevent them so she's as patient about flies as she is with the hot sun of summer. The stomping hooves of the stallion draw her attention away from the horizon and onto him, and she snorts a little in amusement. What a foal!
Luna only offers the most casual of glances to the bachelor. Where she is the flies aren't quite so bothersome. The tall grass keeps her relatively covered, and Nukpana is a far more inviting target. Still, it's hot and she's got a mostly black coat so she's not completely spared the insects, but like Nukpana she's used to just dealing with it, only swatting her tail at the ones that actually sting or bite. It's a rare treat that she gets to come off her hooves, what with looking after not only the herd itself, but also keeping an eye on Virgil whether he's coming or going, so she's going to enjoy this mini-vacation for as long as possible.
The stomping of his hooves actually served a purpose; flies landing near his ankles and his tail being occupied in swatting at his sides. Angrily, his ears begin to flatten as more flies replace the ones that had been swatted, and with a snort, he tosses his head a bit and unexpectedly bolts off to another spot. There's no shade here. The grass is drying out beneath the sun. There are flies /everywhere/, and there is /nothing/ to occupy himself with. Oh yeah, he was enjoying this 'freedom' alright. His eyes turn and sharply narrow at the two lead mares, confident that they wouldn't be able to see him glaring from that far away, but he'd forgotten to tilt his ears back up, as he was still swarmed by insects. That little bit of body language would've given Virgil's mood away.
The confirmation of the stallion's mood only seems to amuse Nukpana further. She's satisfied with the occasional tailflick on particularly bothersome spots, and occasionally one at random that just so happens shoo some away from Luna. With another snort and a shake of her head, Nukpana whinnies at Virgil, "Really, you're acting just like my mother did." And the tone is probably more than enough to indicate that it isn't at all a good thing to be acting like her mother. Not even a little bit.
Luna finds some weak amusement in watching the tame-raised stallion deal with some of the harshness of nature. That he'd expend so much energy on the bugs is strange, almost foreign to her. There are ways of taking care of them that uses only a fraction of that, and yet there he is. Perhaps he thinks ANY show of strength is impressive to mares? If so, it's certainly not working on her. With a lazy flick of her tail up over her rump she looks up at Nukpana, then towards Virgil again. "Think he's unaware he can just go dip in the river to cool off?"
It's not that Virgil isn't aware of how to remove the bugs, it's that he's frustrated, and it shows in how silly he's being. He's bored, kind of tired, and hasn't really talked to any of the herd since the minor conflict between Hototo, Mimiteh and himself. Just thinking about it causes him to roll his eyes, and continue to flick off the bugs. Sharply, the grullo turns his head back at Nukpana and sends back a whinny. "What, your ma' want a better life'n standin' around gettin' eaten alive by these damned bugs all day?" Virgil's tone is different as well. Sarcastic, but also angry sounding. Must be the heat.
Tossing her head, though not apparently angered by that comment about her mother, Nukpana's tone is scolding as she replies, "My mother was too focused on every bad aspect of being wild to ever appreciate any of the good parts. Never stopped griping about how much better she had it before. She died miserable." And the way the proud mare holds her head in that cocky way seems to indicate that /she/ at least isn't miserable. And she's not... at the moment.
Luna is just gonna stay out of this exchange of words. She's relaxing, this is her half hour off duty, and she's not going to let it go to waste. Also, her player needs to switch to the laptop now, but that's not why she stays quiet!
Tucking his ears back further; as if he could, Virgil raises his head and stares directly at Nukpana, stomping another hoof and thrashing his tail from side to side. "If I'd seen any /good/ aspects of being wild, I'm sure I'd appreciate 'em." Unfortunately, since he'd been here he'd been only half-accepted into a herd, told to keep to the outskirts, warned of predators that he still thought were just a scare tactic almost, and given a hard time every time he was to strike up conversation. The stallion hadn't complained at all since he'd arrived, but the combination of his frustrations, the bugs, and the heat were finally overflowing and out came his true outlook. "Care to show me any of 'em? Or you just gonna stand around all day too?"
Shaking her head, Nukpana gives another amused snort before she says, "I would, but I'm sure it would be completely lost on you. You'll probably be eaten by the first wolves that come along anyway, so I should just spare myself the effort." Her tail flicks absentmindedly at a cluster of flies on her flank as her eyes drift back to the horizon. Actually, she was just thinking about doing something... but if continuing to just stand her pesters Virgil a little then she can wait on it.
Luna sighs a bit, but still she stays down in the grass. The earth is nicely cool against her hide, and the grass is juicy - but geez, she came here to relax, not to listen to foals bickering. She may have missed Virgil's last comment, but it's bickering all the same. Reluctantly she looks up, eyes focusing on the distant stallion, trying to figure out how best to send him away under the guise of helping him with his fly problem.
Under all this stress, it's easy for an already short-tempered stallion to lose that temper. From as far off as he was, he flicks his tail once more before he makes a bee-line for Nukpana in a sudden bolt, and snorts right near her face. He wasn't afraid of her; she didn't intimidate him at all. "First wolves that come along are gonna be stomped flat and used to fertilize this dried up grass." Virgil of course didn't think that move through. He hoped that neither Luna nor Nukpana would take it as a serious threat, even though he had kind of meant it to be. Kind of.
As it happens, Nukpana takes that as a semi-serious threat. Mostly because she doesn't really see Virgil as a serious threat in any case - he may be a stallion, but does that mean he can fight? Given her opinion of him, it should be no surprise that her answer to that is 'probably not'. So she raises her head even higher and stands her ground, neighing angrily at him as her ears flick back, she half-turns around and one of her hind legs rises off the ground. She doesn't kick, however, just managing to hold it back when she sees that he's not actually attacking. Of course, given that he had the gall to do that, she half wishes that she hadn't stopped herself. "If you ever do that again, it won't be a wolf that is stomped flat," she says with narrowed eyes.
Luna gets up quickly, mainly because she isn't sure whether Virgil is even aware of her presence in the grass. She doesn't expect him to have a desire to harm her, but accidents can happen to hidden horses. As she rises and puts weight on her right foreleg she winces for a moment, but the shot of pain is quickly ignored in favor of putting her muzzle right up in front of Virgil's. "Who on all the plains do you think you are?" she questions in a low, threatening tone. The kind of tone that suggests it's best to shut up and listen. "You are a nobody. A herdless bachelor stallion who does not even have a few other colts to run with for protection. Do not pretend to come here from the two-leggers and think you know all about how we should lead our lives, what we should be afraid of and not, and how to survive without OUR help. You don't, and the sooner you realize that, the longer you will live." Wow. Someone pissed her off.
Still glaring at the mare, Virgil can see that she's trying to lift her head higher, but ultimately he lifts his head even higher, and continues to stare her down. Some rowdy mare isn't going to get the best of him. In truth, he isn't even upset anymore. Her temper rather amused him from the beginning, and he noticed a trend as well. "You're all talk, y'know that?" The stallion asks with a cocky tone and an amused grin. "Go on ahead and try it, miss." He adds, turning to his side and taking a step forward, egging her on in a sense. Of course, Luna butts in at that point, getting far too close for his comfort. Pinning his hears back, he listens to her at first, but pushes his head forward with just a hint of force. Not enough to touch her, though. "Aw, save it ya' old sow." He says, rolling his eyes and forcing his ears forward. "I never said nothin' about how you should live your lives. You wanna sit around in the grass all day? Fine by me. You wanna tell horror stories 'bout the wolves and the coyotes and the cougars? Go right on ahead." Virgil leaves out what he'll do, as he has no intention of straying far from the herd. A straggler horse /was/ an easy target, especially for group hunts. But that didn't make his tone any nicer.
Normally insults directed towards Nukpana don't work very well. She's too sure of her own superiority to think much about them; if others don't think much of her then obviously they're idiots and she'll let be idiots if they want to be so badly. However, to have this ignorant /stallion/ acting like he knows better, insulting her and talking back to Luna... well, she's at a loss for words. Which obviously means it's time for action, and without any warning she turns back and charges straight at Virgil. She neither has the time nor the room to kick at him: she only runs straight at him with all the energy she can muster in the few feet separating him, trusting that her sheer size carries plenty of force behind it to at least knock him back or, if he happens to be unbalanced, knocked over. In the meantime, she hold her head back and up to keep it ready to fend off any counter-attacks.
Luna sees movement out of the corner of her eye, a reddish blur coming straight at her and the stallion. She spins, ducking out of the way of the freight train that is an angry Nukpana, forgetting all about her own verbal fight with Virgil. That's gonna have to wait, because there is no way in hell she's getting caught in the middle of this. She doesn't like resorting to physical violence, that's what you keep a stallion around for, but she's not going to stop this particular fight - at least not while it looks like Nukpana might be winning it.
Virgil shouldn't have been so surprised when the obviously temperamental mare charges for him, but his eyes did widen a bit. He stands his ground however, letting the brunt of her weight hit him in the side. It hurt, but no more than being ran into by other horses on the run, or than getting spurs jabbed into your sides, or being whipped endlessly for miles in order to encourage speed that was already maxed out. Virgil is pushed back, but had his balance kept and so he didn't fall over. Instead of getting angry and fighting back as many would, he just raises a brow and flicks his tail in her direction, hoping to hit her in the face. She may have been too far away for that, though. A chuckle is given as he turns to face the bay mare, and he speaks up. "See? I knew you didn't have it in ya. All talk, darlin'. But thanks for takin' it easy on me."
Her head was in range of his tail, but only just and she easily twists her head away from the tail flick. She scowls at his response, eyeing him with complete contempt as she practically scream, "That was just a warning. And you'd better think long and hard about it too. Luna's right: you don't know your place. She and I are the leaders of this herd, while you are lower than the tiniest foal, and we expect a certain level of respect. And if we don't get it right now, I'll either pound it out of you now or take it up with Sirocco; depends on how dirty I want to get my hooves. And if we do get it, I expect you to shut up and listen right now." That said, she continues to glare at the stallion, eyes blazing. I do believe she means it!
"Look here miss, I ain't afraid of you or no one in your herd, alright? Now, I've followed the rules that your stallion put out there for me, but lemme' make this clear: I don't give a rats hind end for how I rank. I reckon I'll be stuck at the fringes here for a while, and I've got no problem with that." Clearing his throat and pushing his ears forward sincerely this time, Virgil has to stifle a laugh for a moment. "You're pretty strong for a mare, though."
"What in the darn-blessed name of the ancestors is all this ruckus?!" Comes an sharp and angry neigh that cuts across the landscape, the words punctuated by the hard hoofbeats of a large and heavy horse. Drawn by the uproar, Sirocco is galloping towards where he'd heard, and then seen, the fighting horses. His ears are slicked back and his eyes gleaming with fury.
There's a momentary flicker of pride on the mare's face at the compliment, even though she didn't particularly care for the qualifier. But she knows she's no match for the strength of a stallion - though she has many advantages in other areas... Sufficeth to say, Virgil is lucky she hadn't actually meant it. She might have if he'd fought back, but the point there was to prove she wasn't a pushover. However, that look is very fleeting before her expression becomes hard again. "I said shut up!" she says lowly, her voice almost a threat. She looks like she's about to elaborate when the sound of heavy hooves that can only be from Sirocco reaches her ears and she stops, glowering at Virgil until he has a chance to reach them. When he does, Nukpana turns in Sirocco's direction and explains, "This stallion thinks that he can insult lead mares, ignore what we say, and seems to think that he matters. I was just telling him otherwise."
A grin forms, but this time it's sinister in it's intent. Not important? Virgil had his share of knowledge from both sides of the fence; human world and feral world. Well. He knew the /location/ of the feral world, and that was what was important. Though the humans were miles away, their expansions would dictate that they wouldn't be hard to find. Without his tack, any unsuspecting man could figure him for a wild horse, and if he gave good enough chase, he could lead them back here and get the whole herd captured, if he wanted. So, there's another quirk of his brow. "I think I'm more important than you're aware of, miss." He says, and looks to Sirocco as he comes in, obviously angry with their outbursts. Virgil doesn't look surprised or intimidated though. Instead, an ear simply shifted in his direction and the muddy gray stallion nodded to greet him. "Hello there again, friend!" He says, oddly pleasant sounding all the sudden. "Haven't seen ya in a few days. Keepin' busy, I hope. Runnin' off all them pesky predators, I'll bet. If so, you're doin' a helluva job. Ain't seen /one/ in the days since I been here."
"I ain't yer friend." Comes the gruff response from the red stallion as he arches up his neck, ears remaining slicked back and nostrils flared. "And yes, I've been busy seein' the herd safe and I ain't got the time to be puttin' things to peace around here just cuz' some lost stallion can't seem ta' be followin' a few simple rules." One forehoof rears and slams down against the dirt, punctuating his frustration and irritation as much as the switch of his tail. "What did I tell ya about pesterin' the mares and not listenin' to them?"
Nukpana seems to completely ignore Virgil's words, despite the look on his face. Even if she knew what he was thinking about she wouldn't be that concerned - she knows that humans are trouble but she also assumes that they're easy enough to avoid if you know what you're doing. And she does, thanks to the neverending lectures from her mother. So she simply turns away, flicking her tail in his direction; doubtless it will miss but that seems to indicate exactly what she thinks of his threat. She'll leave him to Sirocco to deal with: if he thinks that he's better than her then she could care less about him.
Chuckling at the response that came from the lead stallion, Virgil keeps himself calm and picks up his hooves, beginning to walk around the both of them in a circular fashion. All the signs of irritation from Sirocco seem to add fuel to Virgil's ego-fire, and his tail too begins to swish around. "I've listened to them plenty. And I wasn't pesterin' 'em at all. Seems like wherever I go they're not too far off; I've stuck to the edges of the herd. They're the ones pesterin' me. Lookin' for trouble, I think." And if it was trouble any of them wanted, trouble they would get. In due time, of course.
"Then I got an easy fix for ya." Sirocco remarks as his eyes follow the circling Virgil. "We forget you ever crossed our paths and you be on your merry. No trouble for them, no trouble for you, no trouble for me." He snorts out a harsh note before he remarks, "Ya know, I've been thinkin' what you remind me of, and I think ya just helped me peg it. A buzzard. Always watchin', always hoppin' in just a lil closer... you sure can squawk, but I ain't seen anymore outta ya than that."
At Virgil's words, Nukpana silently shakes her head as her only defense against his accusation. Though perhaps they's provoked him a little, she felt pretty provoked herself. But she more or less lets Sirocco keep charge of this situation now. The irony that Virgil said pretty much the same thing to her mere moments ago isn't lost on Nukpana, and she looks amused as Virgil tries to circle them all intimidating-like. She trots out of it, as if daring him to object. She doesn't go far, however, not wanting to be out of earshot.
"A buzzard?" Virgil asks amusedly, still circling the red-gold stallion slowly, acting in a very buzzard-esque manner in that sense. "Nah, I don't quite see the resemblance." Flicking his tail almost with his steps now, his ears begin to turn back further when Nukpana leaves, but it's not as if he's going to give chase. Now, he's in somewhat of a face-off with Sirocco. However /that/ happened. He's not frightened, though. Not in the least. Though, some fear would've been understandable, given the sheer size difference between the two horses. Virgil was big, but Sirocco was -BIG.- "I think I like it here. Ain't got much to worry about, I don't believe." Stopping his circular motion, the grullo forms an eye contact between him and the larger horse, and grins again. "I think you'd be making a hell of a lot of trouble for yourself and for your herd if you went and did something stupid, mister."
Sirocco hasn't shown himself to be the aggressive sort of stallion, though one might blame his cold-blooded sire for that bit. Still, he's no pushover and the aloof sort of attitude of Virgil is just rankling him. If he had hackles, no doubt they'd be up, but he does just as well with agitated cracks of his tail. "How would you be trouble?" The belgian-mustang cross snorts disdainfully. "It's just you by your lonesome, and as I'm recallin', you said there wasn't anyone who ran with you. Unless you were lying about that and have some friends hidin' out."
Not particularly concerned by the way things are going, Nukpana is actually relaxed enough to graze. Because, really, what is an ignorant punk going to manage to pull against Sirocco? She may not really like either stallion very much, but she has to admit that Sirocco is useful in situations like this, and he's not /too/ much of a bother at other times. However, as unconcerned as she is, her perked ears indicate that she's still listening even though she'll probably not bother to add anything.
Virgil can tell that he's getting on Sirocco's nerves, but all was well with the gray stallion, as that was just what he intended to do. Holding his head up high to be as tall as he could against Sirocco's height, he keeps his grin but does back off a few steps. "I think you know." He says lowly, giving him a look of almost confusion. "I ain't got any other stallions to come and raise hell for ya' yet, no. But I do know the general direction of some things you folks think 'er worse than stallions. I could bring 'em back here." Whether he could or couldn't, he really wasn't sure. It was a long run to the location of the humans, and even then, he might be captured by himself. Or the humans might follow him quietly until he got back to 'his herd;' the probability was shaky at best.
Irritation bubbles up into outright fury and for an honest second it really does seem like Sirocco is just going to pummel the grullo. He rears up, lunging forward half a leap before he slams his hooves into the ground, the clap of them against the packed dirt almost drowned by a bellowed neigh. "COWARD! You got the gall to threaten us with /them/?! Wolves fight with more dignity, but you, you hide behind twolegs... get outta my sight." His voice is bitter and strained, full of outright contempt and even disgust. "Run back to your masters, run and hide like a colt behind it's ma cuz your own'd be ashamed of you. You're no horse, you're no better'n a dog."
That particular threat is enough to cause the blood bay mare to lift her head a scowl at Virgil. From everything she knows about humans, she finds it hard to believe that Virgil would be able to get them to follow him here - her mother mentioned the trouble she'd had communicating with them. And she's inclined to agree with Sirocco's assessment of his reasons for using that threat. Shaking her head, she suppresses the urge to chew him out herself. He's hardly worth any more of her time, at least while she's in her current mood. He wouldn't listen to her anyway, so what would be the point?
At seeing the behemoth of a horse rear up right in front of him, Virgil recoils with a half-rear of his own, his ears pinned against his skull by now. After Sirocco's little outburst though, Virgil flits his ears up quickly and starts to chuckle at the belgian cross' temper flare. "/They/'ll be out here not too long from now, I reckon. Makin' their way across the land and whatnot. It's only a matter'a time 'fore your whole herd is strapped up and ridden around by some know-it-all easterner." Turning to his side, hardly phased by Sirocco's temper, Virgil looks off to the west again. "Seems ta' me that you're the coward. 'Fraid of a little human. You don't wanna get caught? Don't get caught. Ya' do, it's yer own damned fault." Another flick of his tail, and Virgil turns his ears back again. "Doubt if you won't though. And ya know.. you don't seem like the ridin' type. They'll probably put ya a farm. In the hot sun, all day, plowin' dirt." Pausing, he makes an effort to appear as snide and manipulative as he can. "I think that's the brightest future I can offer ya."
Sirocco doesn't seem dissuaded by Virgil's vision of the future. In fact, it seems to just make him crack a wry, sour grin. "Was a noble enough job for my pa', and I might actually do it, long as I'm plowin' the hole for them to dump you in. But, I ain't plan on gettin' caught. Better to die a wild horse than ridden to death, though I can't be seein' how you're scoldin' me if I'd get caught. Seems to be you were the one stuck under a saddle, not me. Still, I'll be tellin' ya this... you dare bring danger back to this herd, and I'll see ya more misery than you've ever seen in yer whole, sad, shameful lil' life. You may have let the twolegs corrupt ya to be like them, and if you ain't mindin the blood of foals under your hooves that's your choice, but I swore I'd be protectin' this herd and if I gotta face down every twoleg you run home to, then bring 'em. That's what a stallion does. Now get outta my sight, unless you think you can actually fight like a'horse."
There's a general snort of agreement from Nukpana at Sirocco's words. There's no way a human would ever get anywhere near her, that's for sure! And her mother led her to believe that if she ever was caught she certainly had far too noble blood to end up as a work horse, so even if there was even the most remote possibility that she was caught she can't see it not ending well - likely she'd figure out a way to escape if it came to that. "Nobody here is afraid of you, Virgil," she finally says, "And the sooner you get that into that human-loving skull of yours, the better."
"Plowin' fields isn't noble. It's the job humans give to horses unfit to be seen in public. Suitable for your pa' though then, I reckon." Virgil says, and snorts as well, finally beginning to get maybe a bit frustrated. "I was caught when I was a colt. Couldn't run off then, and I didn't necessarily know it was a bad thing. Turns out it wasn't, but it don't seem like you feral types will fit in very well." Again, he begins to circle, and flicks his tail a few more times. "I'd like to see your bulbous hide try and keep up with me /when/ I bring the humans straight to ya." Virgil's tone is deeper than usual when he says this, his ears turned back and his head held high still. Looking to Nukpana, he gives a glare, but then just smirks. "Well, you'd outta be. I'd be mighty scared if I were you."
"Buzzard." Sirocco reiterates. "Circlin' and squackin', too cowardly to put up a fight but all to happy to dive on the scraps left behind. We aren't scared, not of your hot air, nor your masters. An' my "bulbous hide" don't need to be runnin'. You can bring all the friends ya' want, I'll stand here and wait for ya, and then we can see if you're stallion enough to put up a real fight... or did they take Those along with yer dignity?" Snorting, he swings his back end towards Virgil, sharp-haired tail lashing out in a dismissing swipe. "I'm done wastin' me time. Leave. If yer here by nightfall, I'll be back to break yer legs and you can crawl back to yer humans." This said, he pointedly begins to walk away, seeming deciding Virgil's not worth trading words with any longer.
The rest of Virgil's words don't seem to change Nukpana's words in the least. She snorts and shakes her head, eyeing Sirocco's departure for a moment before she half-turns herself to head closer to the rest of the herd, but she pauses to say, "Of course you'd be scared: I've never met a more foal-brained stallion than you. But /I/ see nothing here to be afraid of." Flicking her tail dismissively, she turns the rest of the way and starts walking off herself.
All of their talk /does/ anger Virgil. In fact, by now he's very angry. But he chooses different ways to take out his anger. There were plenty of rabbits wandering around that could be stomped. Or snakes, or many other small animals. Horses by nature weren't great killers, but he managed to learn a few stress-relieving techniques in his days with his owner. "Doubt it, mister. I'll be halfway back to the humans by nightfall." He says with another smirk, dismissing him and turning back to Nukpana. Had Sirocco not been there or had she the ability to /not/ make a scene, he'd probably send a charge to her like she did earlier, only make an effort to knock her down and then give her a good few stomps as well. "We'll see how not scared ya are when you've got three ropes around your neck and you're bein' led off to a town to be broken, miss." He says rather pleasantly, and turns to walk in the westward direction as well.