Post by Sohtoh on Feb 7, 2010 2:16:16 GMT -5
Starring:
Luna - Female Horse
Starlight - Female Horse
Lootah - Male Horse
Setting:
Wind-Swept Lowlands
-------
It was no secret that Lootah wished to keep the mares close and safe. Having them spread out over the land, while it would eventually be fine if their numbers grew, wasn't safe at the moment. Not to him, anyway. They had said it amongst themselves, that cougars and coyotes roamed this southern end of the land. To think of a mare already being hunted wasn't a thought the stallion liked to think. With his hooves carrying him in a full gallop through the vast land, his deep brown eyes kept focus all around him, looking for any sign of either Dandelion or Luna. Nothing yet.
Luna had decided to leave mare and stallion to talk amongst themselves, and had therefore broken off into the nearest little gathering of trees she could find. They provided some shelter from both sun and wind, and the grass was just as tasty and juicy there as anywhere else on the plains. It's not long until she hears the sound of hurried, near-frantic hoofsteps, however, and she peeks out from her little hiding place - her black head appearing around the trunk of a tree just as the stallion runs by. "Looking for me?" she calls after him, with a soft giggle to her voice.
Just as he'd passed the tree, the voice rang through to his ears, and with a perking of his head and tail, Lootah's white hooves skidded to a stop and he turned around to look at the older mare. "What are you doing, all the way out here?" He asked, not a hint of tire in his voice. Stamina was something that came to their kind quite readily, but Lootah seemed to be able to employ it with a discipline. Flicking his tail, he was visually a little irritated, but it was nothing to lecture an older, smarter mare about.
Luna chews a couple of times on the long blades of grass hanging out on each side of her mouth. "Eating," she replies with a bit of a smirk. "I wanted to give the two of you a bit of privacy to talk, it seemed like you might need it." The grass disappears into her mouth with a twitch of her lips, and she steps out from the trees. "And before you say it, I was never in any danger here. Some of my foals have foals older than you, I do know how to keep myself alive."
His ears tuck back at the obvious answer, though he does grin, and thus lets her know that he's not upset with her. Though he is the protective stallion of the herd, he has no right to tell the mares where they can and cannot go. Espcially not one who was so much more advanced in years than he was. "I can see that.." He replies quietly, and glances off from side to side, taking a step forward, and then one more step forward, looking alert and anxious again. "Have you seen Dandelion around, then?"
Luna looks over her shoulder. "She went somewhere out that way," she replies, then reaches down for more grass. "She wanted to see if she could find some of those berry bushes Starbite was talking about." She looks up, resting her weight on one hindhoof as she watches you. "So did you find out how to nuzzle her without favoring her?" she asks after a couple of seconds.
Sighing heavily, Lootah shakes his head. "We're supposed to stick together." He murmured, his tone taking an edge as he narrowed his eyes into the distance, and then looked to Luna again, not bothering to correct Starlight's name. Raising his head, he simply stares at her for a minute, and then turns away, not wanting to answer the question. The best way to do that? Not answer the question. "If you see Dandelion come back this way, let her know I want to speak with her." He said nonchalantly, and readied to turn and run off again. Oh, he could go anywhere he wanted. But the mares had to be kept under rein, so that their safety wasn't compromised, of course!
Luna mmhmms, unphased by the lack of answer to her question. It's not like she won't be around to see whether or not the stallion has taken to giving out affection now and then. "What are you running from, stallion?" she asks instead, prompted by the easily recognized pose, the tense muscles, the far gaze. "Of course, only if you want to share," she adds, before you get a chance to tell her to mind her own business.
"Running from?" He asks, rather bewildered at the question. He wasn't running /from/ anything. Well. To get here, he had run from something. Obviously. But at the moment he would be running to something. A blink was given toward Luna, and he relaxed his muscles, instead letting out a snort and making a half-circle around her. "I'm not running from anything.. what do you mean?"
Luna follows the half-circle with her head only, never taking her eyes off of you but not turning, either. "You came here at a run looking for me and Daisy," she says, obviously meaning Dandelion. There must be something wrong with her head when it comes to names. "You found me, and you took my word for where she is. That much is fine." Her tail flicks at a fly, giving her the opportunity to pause her little monologue for a second. "But you don't go running to find her. You turn, looking to run the other way. That makes me curious."
"You said she was probably off getting berries. I know where berries grow, and you seem to have an idea of where she is regardless." Speaking calmly, he knew he'd kind of put himself into a corner. Really, he hadn't even thought of going to search for the palomino mare, as Luna seemed to know where she was. That much was true. "I didn't know where you were, hence why I came looking for you." And what about Starlight? Where had she gone to graze? Ears tucking back with his own thoughts, he remembered why he'd decided, even as a colt, to be a rogue stallion and not take on the responsibility of a herd. Why was he here, again?
Luna waits, tail giving another flick at the pesky fly that won't seem to leave her alone. At least it's not a swarm of mosquitoes. "Thank you for the summary of what brought you here, and why you were going to run in that particular direction." She pauses, cocking her head a bit at you. "And yet you skillfully avoid the question I asked by answering something I did not. If you don't want to talk about it, you need only say so. I wish not to pry, merely to get to know you." She smiles, warm and innocent.
Eyes narrowing a bit at the older mare, Lootah takes a step towards her, his ears still back with his memories of the good ol' days of no responsibilities. "I answered your question. I'm not running from anything, and if you know where she is, there's no point in me leaving you and.." Oh, right, Starlight wasn't here. Another snort, and this time, a stomp of his hoof.
Luna raises her head a bit at the stomp, but she stands her ground. "If you are really just trying to round us up, keep us all within eyesight, I should warn you that it never works. You can't go having a heart attack every time one is out of sight." She smiles, turning now and reaching out her muzzle to yours. "You have to trust in us to stay safe, just as we must trust in you to protect us when we don't."
Rolling his eyes, again Lootah turns away. "I didn't have a heart attack over it.. I was.." He blinked, not able to find the correct vocabulary for his explanation. Looking back to Luna once more, he sees her muzzle reaching for his, and he pulls away briefly, but then remembers; 'it's okay if a mare shows you affection first.' Standing there idly, he brushes his muzzle to hers nonchalantly, and looks away again, in no particular direction.
Luna smirks to herself. So awkward, much like a colt. She can work with that, certainly; she's seen far worse behavior from a stallion. "Relax," she nickers, stepping forward and nosing at your neck. "Star and Dante are both fine. Take a deep breath, trust in them, and take the time to eat. You'll be of no help to anyone if you're starved."
It wasn't much of an insult to say that he was like a colt. He wasn't that old. Five years and a few months. Really just having reached adulthood a few months ago. For him to already be at least attempting to protect a budding herd was respectable in itself, but Luna was right. "Starlight and Dandelion." He corrects mildly, and remains where he stands, his eyes still forward, statuesque for some reason or another. He wasn't hungry, he was nervous. So, he couldn't eat. Not now, anyway. Shaking his head, he stomped a back hoof in order to remove an annoying fly, but otherwise just continued to stare.
Luna nods slowly to herself. "How old were you?" she asks. "When you were sent out on your own?" She shifts her weight from one hindhoof to the other, the very picture of relaxing. "You can't have been more than what, a year and a half?" She cocks her head, eyes narrowing as she looks over you closely. "You're not the type that would've joined up with a bachelor band," she muses. "Too proud, not your style. Must have been very lonely to run for so long. I only ran a couple of weeks, and even then the loneliness was starting to nip at my hocks."
Lootah didn't have any problems talking about his past, if of course, he could avoid the part where he stole a few mares per each herd he passed by and then left them with the possibility foals the next minute. But his foalhood was something that he kind of missed. His mother was a beautiful mare that had been seduced by a stallion that wasn't unlike him in his adulthood; a wandering rogue with some kind of charm.. enough to produce Lootah, anyway. The leading stallion of his birth herd was much more mellow than others he'd grown to know, but regardless, yes. He was kicked out when he was only a few weeks over a year old. So, he nodded. "When I was about a year old, yes." He said, and the painted male gave her a funny sort of look; she seemed.. upset, kind of. Shrugging, he grinned, though kept the reason vague. "Ah, being alone had it's perks."
Luna nods again, slowly, as if the pieces of a puzzle are falling into place for her. "Started looking at tails instead of heads already, were you?" she smiles. "Two of my colts were like that, to be honest. Not much you can do once they realize interesting things hide under a filly's tail." She shrugs, turning away and biting off more grass. "The rest of them left somewhat more willingly when they turned two, but those two ..." She giggles, shaking her head. "They almost had me swearing off ever having foals again." There's a quick turn of expression in her eyes, a sadness, but with another shake of her head it's gone again. "Some colts are just like that. I wonder if they ever settled down."
Again, Lootah shrugged. If that's how she wanted to put it, then he had to reason to argue. It was what he did, after all. He was much more interested in just mating with mares instead of getting to know them, but perhaps a change came with his real adulthood. "Guess so." He said in a snide sort of tone, and chuckled a bit at her last comment. "Settled down? Why on earth would they do that?" Why on earth did /he/ do that?
Luna gives another little shrug, looking towards the stallion. "Perhaps they found something they didn't know they were looking for. Perhaps they finally grew to realize there're more to mares than their tails. Spirits know I could never get that into their heads, but perhaps time could." She smiles, looking away again. She seems to have a way of saying things without actually saying them.
Eventually, the sound of conversation begins to awaken Starlight, who has slept soundly after a good meal the previous night. Yawning lightly, she lifts her head and flicks her ears, smiling as she sees the other two horses. "Hello." she says, turning and first greeting Lootah with a nuzzle, before she moves to do the same with Luna.
Lootah gives a thoughtful look, as if he's really pondering what she had to say, but looks away afterward, and takes another few steps away from the older mare. "Some colts never change." He said, and flicked his tail from side to side. Maybe he was one of them? The ones that never changed? He wasn't sure if he was going to stick around here or not. He wanted to try, but if he came into contact with one too many adverse situations, well.. he could always just run back to another herd. His thoughts were interrupted by Starlight, who suprises him with a nuzzle, but he doesn't bother to return it this time, not for his own stigma against affection, but because she had moved toward Luna anyway.
Luna gives Star a happy nuzzle in return, glancing at Lootah as she does. There's something to her eyes, a knowing, but she says nothing more now that there is an audience. She's not going to force any kinds of admissions. "Slept well, Starnight?" she asks instead of the other mare.
Starlight grins. "Starlight." she reminds her. "And yes, I had a very good sleep." she turns again to this time nuzzle Lootah again, whickering softly while her tail gives a flick.
Lootah keeps himself quiet, finally. If there's a chance to look away, he takes it. He becomes statuesque again, hardly even breaking from his tense observance of the land when Starlight nuzzles against him. He half-heartedly returns the nudge, and keeps himself to his thoughts.
Luna noses at Starlight's shoulder. "We had ourselves a pleasant little chat just now," she smiles. "One that's convinced me to stay here with the rest of you. I think it will be beneficial for everyone, especially myself." The last two words are added with a little giggle. One should be allowed a moment of selfishness now and then.
Starlight nibbles lightly at Lootah's mane. "Something wrong?" she asks him, resting against him as she turns to Luna with a smile. "I'm glad you've decided to stay. You'll certainly be welcome." she says, dipping her head to the older mare.
"Nothing at all." He said quietly, taking in a breath of fresh air and feeling the urge to run again. Not to run away from them, but just.. to run. It was one of those feelings he and others of the equine kind got quite frequently, he assumed, and Lootah wasn't immune to the urge in any sense of the word.
Luna watches the stallion for a few moments. She knows that look, not unrelated to the wanderlust in a colt's eyes when it's getting time for him to leave his birth herd. "Try something," she suggests, turning to face him. "Close your eyes. Imagine all your mares are around you, even those you wish you had. Deep breaths. All is good and right. Just relax, it's a moment where there's no need to be wary or alert. All is good." She's seen it work before; of course, she's also seen it not work.
Again, his concentration is broken as Luna, this time, speaks to him. His eyes drift to her, and he blinks in confusion. Perhaps she is wiser than he gives her credit for, due to the fact that she could read him very well. He does as she says, closing his eyes and instead of seeing the vast, empty land in front of him, his imagination gives wind to seeing the same land, filled with various individual mares, from the ones here that he just met not long ago, to some of the ones who undoubtedly were now raising his foals, and even to some back from his birth herd. It was topped off with a deep breath, and his eyes remained closed with that image for a moment or two, a smile forming. Opening his eyes though, he sees the empty land, with only the wind to knock it over, and his smile fades. Still, he doesn't move.
Luna mmms. "And keep your eyes closed until you feel at peace," she finishes. "Make it something to strive for, a goal in life. And realize you only get their one day at a time, not by running towards it all your life." She smiles, nuzzling the stallion's neck. "Do so whenever you start feeling stressed about life. Use it to find peace of heart and mind."
Finally, Lootah takes a step forward, though perhaps not for the right reason. Moving away from her, he lets out a scoff and shakes his head. "Nonsense. Daydreaming about the impossible would only create more anxiety." He says rather harshly, and lets out a frustrated snort. The stallion's tail flicks quickly at his sides, his ears turn back a few notches, and another glance to the field results in an almost melancholy look. "I'll have to search for others."
Luna just nods. "If that is your way of gathering a herd, then yes, you should." She turns in the other direction, reaching down to bite off a particularly tasty looking patch of grass. Still there is that calm, relaxed look to her, the look of one who has learned to just wait for the good things to come.
Starlight, it seems, fell asleep again sometime during the conversation. Lifting her head again, she snorts softly and shakes out her mane, looking between the two with a questioning gaze, ears flicking lightly.
Luna is just trying to teach the stallion how to relax. Meditation, if you want to call it that.
Lootah didn't want any lessons on meditation. What he wanted was to just run off and never return like he'd done countless times before, but he couldn't bring himself to do it, hence why he was so uppity and anxious all the sudden. His head tossed, his hooves stomped, and his tail flicked as he paced around at a distance away from them, the urge to go look for Dandelion and any others nagging at him as well, but it was almost like he couldn't trust himself from just running off. Poor Lootah didn't know what to do!
Starlight sees Lootah's agitation, and she whickers softly to him. She wants him to calm down, but this time will do it gently instead of nipping. She approaches him, nuzzling and mane-nibbling to try and distract him from whatever's stressing him out so much.
It was just restlessness, and the wanderlust that Luna had noted that made him act so strange. Perhaps it was just him settling in though; didn't everyone want to wander around, to escape from whatever confines they had? Of course they did, but not necessarily to the extent to which Lootah was feeling. Though, his case was unique from the mares, just given his gender. "I have to.. go, and look for others. There.. there might be predators that are inhibiting migrations to this area, I have to see." All of this was said rather quickly, and he didn't take off just yet, wanting to hear Starlight's approval; as he did hope she would approve, but he had all the significant signs of being ready to gallop.
Starlight nods. "I could go with you." she offers with a soft flick of her tail while she brushes her nose along his neck. After all, there could be something lurking that could catch her if she stays without him...right? She smiles. "I could use a good run."
A glance is cast to Starlight, and it takes him a minute.. but before long, he nods. "If you wish." He says, and rears up on his hind legs in an effort to, what, impress her? Possibly. Either way, he lets out a happy toned whinny, excited to be able to run through the land again, with a cause and goal in mind, like Luna had proposed. With his front legs landing, the stallion took off at a full gallop, confident in Starlight's ability to catch up to him.
Starlight grins and rears up in similar fashion before she gallops off after him, her hooves pounding the ground to catch up with her stallion. Her long mane and tail flow in the wind created by her kinesis. She tosses her head up and whinnies happily as well. She loves running.
Luna - Female Horse
Starlight - Female Horse
Lootah - Male Horse
Setting:
Wind-Swept Lowlands
-------
It was no secret that Lootah wished to keep the mares close and safe. Having them spread out over the land, while it would eventually be fine if their numbers grew, wasn't safe at the moment. Not to him, anyway. They had said it amongst themselves, that cougars and coyotes roamed this southern end of the land. To think of a mare already being hunted wasn't a thought the stallion liked to think. With his hooves carrying him in a full gallop through the vast land, his deep brown eyes kept focus all around him, looking for any sign of either Dandelion or Luna. Nothing yet.
Luna had decided to leave mare and stallion to talk amongst themselves, and had therefore broken off into the nearest little gathering of trees she could find. They provided some shelter from both sun and wind, and the grass was just as tasty and juicy there as anywhere else on the plains. It's not long until she hears the sound of hurried, near-frantic hoofsteps, however, and she peeks out from her little hiding place - her black head appearing around the trunk of a tree just as the stallion runs by. "Looking for me?" she calls after him, with a soft giggle to her voice.
Just as he'd passed the tree, the voice rang through to his ears, and with a perking of his head and tail, Lootah's white hooves skidded to a stop and he turned around to look at the older mare. "What are you doing, all the way out here?" He asked, not a hint of tire in his voice. Stamina was something that came to their kind quite readily, but Lootah seemed to be able to employ it with a discipline. Flicking his tail, he was visually a little irritated, but it was nothing to lecture an older, smarter mare about.
Luna chews a couple of times on the long blades of grass hanging out on each side of her mouth. "Eating," she replies with a bit of a smirk. "I wanted to give the two of you a bit of privacy to talk, it seemed like you might need it." The grass disappears into her mouth with a twitch of her lips, and she steps out from the trees. "And before you say it, I was never in any danger here. Some of my foals have foals older than you, I do know how to keep myself alive."
His ears tuck back at the obvious answer, though he does grin, and thus lets her know that he's not upset with her. Though he is the protective stallion of the herd, he has no right to tell the mares where they can and cannot go. Espcially not one who was so much more advanced in years than he was. "I can see that.." He replies quietly, and glances off from side to side, taking a step forward, and then one more step forward, looking alert and anxious again. "Have you seen Dandelion around, then?"
Luna looks over her shoulder. "She went somewhere out that way," she replies, then reaches down for more grass. "She wanted to see if she could find some of those berry bushes Starbite was talking about." She looks up, resting her weight on one hindhoof as she watches you. "So did you find out how to nuzzle her without favoring her?" she asks after a couple of seconds.
Sighing heavily, Lootah shakes his head. "We're supposed to stick together." He murmured, his tone taking an edge as he narrowed his eyes into the distance, and then looked to Luna again, not bothering to correct Starlight's name. Raising his head, he simply stares at her for a minute, and then turns away, not wanting to answer the question. The best way to do that? Not answer the question. "If you see Dandelion come back this way, let her know I want to speak with her." He said nonchalantly, and readied to turn and run off again. Oh, he could go anywhere he wanted. But the mares had to be kept under rein, so that their safety wasn't compromised, of course!
Luna mmhmms, unphased by the lack of answer to her question. It's not like she won't be around to see whether or not the stallion has taken to giving out affection now and then. "What are you running from, stallion?" she asks instead, prompted by the easily recognized pose, the tense muscles, the far gaze. "Of course, only if you want to share," she adds, before you get a chance to tell her to mind her own business.
"Running from?" He asks, rather bewildered at the question. He wasn't running /from/ anything. Well. To get here, he had run from something. Obviously. But at the moment he would be running to something. A blink was given toward Luna, and he relaxed his muscles, instead letting out a snort and making a half-circle around her. "I'm not running from anything.. what do you mean?"
Luna follows the half-circle with her head only, never taking her eyes off of you but not turning, either. "You came here at a run looking for me and Daisy," she says, obviously meaning Dandelion. There must be something wrong with her head when it comes to names. "You found me, and you took my word for where she is. That much is fine." Her tail flicks at a fly, giving her the opportunity to pause her little monologue for a second. "But you don't go running to find her. You turn, looking to run the other way. That makes me curious."
"You said she was probably off getting berries. I know where berries grow, and you seem to have an idea of where she is regardless." Speaking calmly, he knew he'd kind of put himself into a corner. Really, he hadn't even thought of going to search for the palomino mare, as Luna seemed to know where she was. That much was true. "I didn't know where you were, hence why I came looking for you." And what about Starlight? Where had she gone to graze? Ears tucking back with his own thoughts, he remembered why he'd decided, even as a colt, to be a rogue stallion and not take on the responsibility of a herd. Why was he here, again?
Luna waits, tail giving another flick at the pesky fly that won't seem to leave her alone. At least it's not a swarm of mosquitoes. "Thank you for the summary of what brought you here, and why you were going to run in that particular direction." She pauses, cocking her head a bit at you. "And yet you skillfully avoid the question I asked by answering something I did not. If you don't want to talk about it, you need only say so. I wish not to pry, merely to get to know you." She smiles, warm and innocent.
Eyes narrowing a bit at the older mare, Lootah takes a step towards her, his ears still back with his memories of the good ol' days of no responsibilities. "I answered your question. I'm not running from anything, and if you know where she is, there's no point in me leaving you and.." Oh, right, Starlight wasn't here. Another snort, and this time, a stomp of his hoof.
Luna raises her head a bit at the stomp, but she stands her ground. "If you are really just trying to round us up, keep us all within eyesight, I should warn you that it never works. You can't go having a heart attack every time one is out of sight." She smiles, turning now and reaching out her muzzle to yours. "You have to trust in us to stay safe, just as we must trust in you to protect us when we don't."
Rolling his eyes, again Lootah turns away. "I didn't have a heart attack over it.. I was.." He blinked, not able to find the correct vocabulary for his explanation. Looking back to Luna once more, he sees her muzzle reaching for his, and he pulls away briefly, but then remembers; 'it's okay if a mare shows you affection first.' Standing there idly, he brushes his muzzle to hers nonchalantly, and looks away again, in no particular direction.
Luna smirks to herself. So awkward, much like a colt. She can work with that, certainly; she's seen far worse behavior from a stallion. "Relax," she nickers, stepping forward and nosing at your neck. "Star and Dante are both fine. Take a deep breath, trust in them, and take the time to eat. You'll be of no help to anyone if you're starved."
It wasn't much of an insult to say that he was like a colt. He wasn't that old. Five years and a few months. Really just having reached adulthood a few months ago. For him to already be at least attempting to protect a budding herd was respectable in itself, but Luna was right. "Starlight and Dandelion." He corrects mildly, and remains where he stands, his eyes still forward, statuesque for some reason or another. He wasn't hungry, he was nervous. So, he couldn't eat. Not now, anyway. Shaking his head, he stomped a back hoof in order to remove an annoying fly, but otherwise just continued to stare.
Luna nods slowly to herself. "How old were you?" she asks. "When you were sent out on your own?" She shifts her weight from one hindhoof to the other, the very picture of relaxing. "You can't have been more than what, a year and a half?" She cocks her head, eyes narrowing as she looks over you closely. "You're not the type that would've joined up with a bachelor band," she muses. "Too proud, not your style. Must have been very lonely to run for so long. I only ran a couple of weeks, and even then the loneliness was starting to nip at my hocks."
Lootah didn't have any problems talking about his past, if of course, he could avoid the part where he stole a few mares per each herd he passed by and then left them with the possibility foals the next minute. But his foalhood was something that he kind of missed. His mother was a beautiful mare that had been seduced by a stallion that wasn't unlike him in his adulthood; a wandering rogue with some kind of charm.. enough to produce Lootah, anyway. The leading stallion of his birth herd was much more mellow than others he'd grown to know, but regardless, yes. He was kicked out when he was only a few weeks over a year old. So, he nodded. "When I was about a year old, yes." He said, and the painted male gave her a funny sort of look; she seemed.. upset, kind of. Shrugging, he grinned, though kept the reason vague. "Ah, being alone had it's perks."
Luna nods again, slowly, as if the pieces of a puzzle are falling into place for her. "Started looking at tails instead of heads already, were you?" she smiles. "Two of my colts were like that, to be honest. Not much you can do once they realize interesting things hide under a filly's tail." She shrugs, turning away and biting off more grass. "The rest of them left somewhat more willingly when they turned two, but those two ..." She giggles, shaking her head. "They almost had me swearing off ever having foals again." There's a quick turn of expression in her eyes, a sadness, but with another shake of her head it's gone again. "Some colts are just like that. I wonder if they ever settled down."
Again, Lootah shrugged. If that's how she wanted to put it, then he had to reason to argue. It was what he did, after all. He was much more interested in just mating with mares instead of getting to know them, but perhaps a change came with his real adulthood. "Guess so." He said in a snide sort of tone, and chuckled a bit at her last comment. "Settled down? Why on earth would they do that?" Why on earth did /he/ do that?
Luna gives another little shrug, looking towards the stallion. "Perhaps they found something they didn't know they were looking for. Perhaps they finally grew to realize there're more to mares than their tails. Spirits know I could never get that into their heads, but perhaps time could." She smiles, looking away again. She seems to have a way of saying things without actually saying them.
Eventually, the sound of conversation begins to awaken Starlight, who has slept soundly after a good meal the previous night. Yawning lightly, she lifts her head and flicks her ears, smiling as she sees the other two horses. "Hello." she says, turning and first greeting Lootah with a nuzzle, before she moves to do the same with Luna.
Lootah gives a thoughtful look, as if he's really pondering what she had to say, but looks away afterward, and takes another few steps away from the older mare. "Some colts never change." He said, and flicked his tail from side to side. Maybe he was one of them? The ones that never changed? He wasn't sure if he was going to stick around here or not. He wanted to try, but if he came into contact with one too many adverse situations, well.. he could always just run back to another herd. His thoughts were interrupted by Starlight, who suprises him with a nuzzle, but he doesn't bother to return it this time, not for his own stigma against affection, but because she had moved toward Luna anyway.
Luna gives Star a happy nuzzle in return, glancing at Lootah as she does. There's something to her eyes, a knowing, but she says nothing more now that there is an audience. She's not going to force any kinds of admissions. "Slept well, Starnight?" she asks instead of the other mare.
Starlight grins. "Starlight." she reminds her. "And yes, I had a very good sleep." she turns again to this time nuzzle Lootah again, whickering softly while her tail gives a flick.
Lootah keeps himself quiet, finally. If there's a chance to look away, he takes it. He becomes statuesque again, hardly even breaking from his tense observance of the land when Starlight nuzzles against him. He half-heartedly returns the nudge, and keeps himself to his thoughts.
Luna noses at Starlight's shoulder. "We had ourselves a pleasant little chat just now," she smiles. "One that's convinced me to stay here with the rest of you. I think it will be beneficial for everyone, especially myself." The last two words are added with a little giggle. One should be allowed a moment of selfishness now and then.
Starlight nibbles lightly at Lootah's mane. "Something wrong?" she asks him, resting against him as she turns to Luna with a smile. "I'm glad you've decided to stay. You'll certainly be welcome." she says, dipping her head to the older mare.
"Nothing at all." He said quietly, taking in a breath of fresh air and feeling the urge to run again. Not to run away from them, but just.. to run. It was one of those feelings he and others of the equine kind got quite frequently, he assumed, and Lootah wasn't immune to the urge in any sense of the word.
Luna watches the stallion for a few moments. She knows that look, not unrelated to the wanderlust in a colt's eyes when it's getting time for him to leave his birth herd. "Try something," she suggests, turning to face him. "Close your eyes. Imagine all your mares are around you, even those you wish you had. Deep breaths. All is good and right. Just relax, it's a moment where there's no need to be wary or alert. All is good." She's seen it work before; of course, she's also seen it not work.
Again, his concentration is broken as Luna, this time, speaks to him. His eyes drift to her, and he blinks in confusion. Perhaps she is wiser than he gives her credit for, due to the fact that she could read him very well. He does as she says, closing his eyes and instead of seeing the vast, empty land in front of him, his imagination gives wind to seeing the same land, filled with various individual mares, from the ones here that he just met not long ago, to some of the ones who undoubtedly were now raising his foals, and even to some back from his birth herd. It was topped off with a deep breath, and his eyes remained closed with that image for a moment or two, a smile forming. Opening his eyes though, he sees the empty land, with only the wind to knock it over, and his smile fades. Still, he doesn't move.
Luna mmms. "And keep your eyes closed until you feel at peace," she finishes. "Make it something to strive for, a goal in life. And realize you only get their one day at a time, not by running towards it all your life." She smiles, nuzzling the stallion's neck. "Do so whenever you start feeling stressed about life. Use it to find peace of heart and mind."
Finally, Lootah takes a step forward, though perhaps not for the right reason. Moving away from her, he lets out a scoff and shakes his head. "Nonsense. Daydreaming about the impossible would only create more anxiety." He says rather harshly, and lets out a frustrated snort. The stallion's tail flicks quickly at his sides, his ears turn back a few notches, and another glance to the field results in an almost melancholy look. "I'll have to search for others."
Luna just nods. "If that is your way of gathering a herd, then yes, you should." She turns in the other direction, reaching down to bite off a particularly tasty looking patch of grass. Still there is that calm, relaxed look to her, the look of one who has learned to just wait for the good things to come.
Starlight, it seems, fell asleep again sometime during the conversation. Lifting her head again, she snorts softly and shakes out her mane, looking between the two with a questioning gaze, ears flicking lightly.
Luna is just trying to teach the stallion how to relax. Meditation, if you want to call it that.
Lootah didn't want any lessons on meditation. What he wanted was to just run off and never return like he'd done countless times before, but he couldn't bring himself to do it, hence why he was so uppity and anxious all the sudden. His head tossed, his hooves stomped, and his tail flicked as he paced around at a distance away from them, the urge to go look for Dandelion and any others nagging at him as well, but it was almost like he couldn't trust himself from just running off. Poor Lootah didn't know what to do!
Starlight sees Lootah's agitation, and she whickers softly to him. She wants him to calm down, but this time will do it gently instead of nipping. She approaches him, nuzzling and mane-nibbling to try and distract him from whatever's stressing him out so much.
It was just restlessness, and the wanderlust that Luna had noted that made him act so strange. Perhaps it was just him settling in though; didn't everyone want to wander around, to escape from whatever confines they had? Of course they did, but not necessarily to the extent to which Lootah was feeling. Though, his case was unique from the mares, just given his gender. "I have to.. go, and look for others. There.. there might be predators that are inhibiting migrations to this area, I have to see." All of this was said rather quickly, and he didn't take off just yet, wanting to hear Starlight's approval; as he did hope she would approve, but he had all the significant signs of being ready to gallop.
Starlight nods. "I could go with you." she offers with a soft flick of her tail while she brushes her nose along his neck. After all, there could be something lurking that could catch her if she stays without him...right? She smiles. "I could use a good run."
A glance is cast to Starlight, and it takes him a minute.. but before long, he nods. "If you wish." He says, and rears up on his hind legs in an effort to, what, impress her? Possibly. Either way, he lets out a happy toned whinny, excited to be able to run through the land again, with a cause and goal in mind, like Luna had proposed. With his front legs landing, the stallion took off at a full gallop, confident in Starlight's ability to catch up to him.
Starlight grins and rears up in similar fashion before she gallops off after him, her hooves pounding the ground to catch up with her stallion. Her long mane and tail flow in the wind created by her kinesis. She tosses her head up and whinnies happily as well. She loves running.