Post by avalikia on Jun 14, 2010 15:52:13 GMT -5
Characters:
Virgil - Male Horse
Luna - Female Horse
Nukpana - Female Horse
Orion - Male Horse Foal
Sirocco - Male Horse
Setting:
Grassy Plains
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From the same area that his saddle was still at, the wind biting at the hard leather and no doubt wearing it out little by little does come Virgil. He's been sticking near that area, perhaps not so wisely. Predators though, he's been on the look for and has not seen in his few days here. Staying a good distance from the herd, it's only after his encounter with the brown-gold filly that his interest is piqued again, and that he wishes to speak with the mares yet again. Maybe they'll give him a chance to speak with their stallion. Hardly the diplomatic sort, but hardly the fighting sort either. Just what sort that he was, was a chore to find out. Either way, to the herd Virgil heads, his blonde tail flicking behind him as he walks at a slowish pace.
Luna is grazing. This can hardly come as a surprise considering most of her day is spent with her muzzle in the grass. Bite, tug, grind, swallow - there's really not a lot of mystery to the process, very little for a museless player to write about and make the pose seem long, but grazing she is. Not at the center of the herd, always gravitating out to the edges of where the others gather. She likes it there, it's quiet and she has time to think. Always a lot to think about, particularly with a herd looking to her for advice on matters.
Though she's been perfectly content to remain with the herd after speaking with Sirocco, Nukpana's eyes keep on subtly shifting in the direction that Virgil went. More than likely it's gone unnoticed by the herd though, since looking at her too often will earn you an irritated glare back. She's grazing near the edge of the herd herself, half so that she can keep an eye on them and half because she doesn't particularly like any of them.
Looking out into the distance, Virgil can see the painted mare grazing, and the bay mare grazing as well. Huh. So, this was how the wild ones spent their days? Grazing? Didn't seem very interesting to him. When new horses were captured and brought to makeshift corrals back with his rider, they would claim that the lives of the owned horses were boring. Well, his life before this certainly was anything but boring. Grinning a bit at the irony of it, he keeps quiet as he advances toward the two mares, but keeps his head lifted tall and with a neutral expression. His pace is still slow, but quicker than before. A pretty steady trot, is all.
Luna doesn't give any indication of whether she's noticed the bachelor approaching, not a pair of perked ears or raised head, though it would seem odd if she hadn't - it's not like the plains offer much in the way of places to hide. Perhaps she simply has no idea how to react to him, especially when the herd has a stallion who really ought to be the one handling this ... intruder? No, that's not a fair label, he isn't running in and leading away mares for his own.
Well, it's what happens when they're not grazing that's the interesting part of being a wild horse - not knowing if you'll make it to tomorrow tends to keep you on your hooftips. Though the stallion remains quiet, it doesn't take Nukpana very long at all to lift her head and stare at him as she chews a mouthful of grass, her ears pinning back briefly before she lowers he head again and flicks her tail in seeming dismissal as if he simply isn't worth paying that much attention to.
The complete dismissal of his presence doesn't offend Virgil in the least. He didn't necessarily feel as if he required a greeting or anything. 'Sides, he was the male here, and wasn't it his duty to greet the females? Even if he was from outside of their herd, and really had no business being here? Clearing his throat, Virgil flicks his tail again and cups his ears forward, looking first to the older mare, but then focusing more on Nukpana. She'd given him a glare, which resulted in him chuckling and finally speaking up. "Well, hello to you too miss Nukpana. Luna." He at least mentions the other one, not wanting to seem like he was ignoring her, contrary to her apparently wanting to seem like she was ignoring him. "How's the day been treatin' you two?"
Luna glances towards the herd. They're within view from here, which means she and Nukpana - and by extension, Virgil - are within view from the herd. This is a good precaution. "The day is treating us to a lack of attacks by predators," she replies, unphased by the fact that the stallion seems to be favoring Nukpana over her. Really, has she any reason to mind this? "It's good to see you alive and well. Taking to life in the wild?"
That their reaction didn't seem to put him off at all, seems to irritate Nukpana, who expresses this with another tail flick. She doesn't bother to reply, since Luna did a good enough job of that already (and much more kindly put than she would too). In fact, she doesn't even bother to raise her head or stop grazing - talking to other horses is Luna's job anyway, right? And the further away she keeps herself from this stallion the better, she can tell already. There's something simply unnerving about him.
Taking in a breath and looking around with a nod, Virgil confirms that there are, in fact, no predators attacking. "Yep, that's always a good start to the day, I reckon." He says this rather boredly, as if he's kind of tired of the predator shpeal. From the time he'd been here, he hadn't seen one /trace/ of a predator, let alone been afraid of one attacking. Maybe these ferals were just paranoid? From what he could tell, they seemed like the jumpy, jittery sort. He doesn't speak this though, obviously. Doesn't even express that he feels their concerns are overbearing. He'll just keep his mouth shut about that. "I s'pose so. Not much to get used to, so far. Not like it's a struggle out here 'er nothin'. Least, not now it ain't. I'm sure ya'll got your share of troubles from time to time, just thankfully I've not been a part of any of it yet." Knowing that he was sort of rambling, he gives his tail one more flick and lowers his head to the ground, taking a nip of the grass also.
Luna watches the stallion, trying to make sense of his line of thought. After a few moment she shakes her head, however, mimicking him when she lowers her head for more grass. "Pray every last predator were to evade these plains," she sighs. "They'll be more of a problem when the leaves start falling from the trees again, they always do." She looks to Nukpana, then back to Virgil. "So what brings you back to our herd?" she asks, taking the direct approach rather than beating around the bush.
As Virgil rambles, on Nukpana finally lifts her head and gives him a look of disdain. So, he shows up during a good spell and thinks that's how it is all the time, does he? Well, let him think that. She'd think that he'd be smart enough to take the attitude of the herd as a warning, but apparently not. Luna's question causes Nukpana to snort and give Virgil a slightly amused look, though once again she doesn't actually say anything.
Noticing the look that Nukpana gives him, he returns it with a sort of glare, and explains himself rather gruffly; a sharp sort of turn from his otherwise peaceful and polite attitude. "Like I said. I'm /sure/ you all got your problems later on." With his ears tucked back at that, he gives his mane a shake and takes a few steps closer to both of the mares, a bit of boldness maybe overcoming him. "Figured I'd stop by and see if I couldn't have a chat with that stallion y'all were both talkin' about them few days ago." Giving a mix between a laugh and a scoff, he looks off in the distance and rolls his eyes. "Much as you ladies talk about 'im, he sure don't seem to be around much."
Luna abandons grazing, walking straight up to the - in her head - now intruding stallion. She keeps her attitude very obvious, that she's not going to be bullied with condescending remarks. "That he has not been out to chase you across the river is something you should consider yourself lucky with. These may not be the most dangerous of lands, but rest assured there could easily be a cougar crouching in the grass right behind you and you would not even see it before it was on your back." Her tone is firm and direct, but she keeps whatever anger she may feel well in check. "You need us here to watch out for predators far more than we need a stallion causing trouble."
Snorting, Nukpana is finally given something to say, "I'm sure half the reason we haven't seen any predators is because he's doing his job, which is more than just standing around keeping an eye on the 'ladies'. And it's not like we need him around guiding our every hoofstep either. I do know that he's been looking for you - as Luna said, you're probably lucky he hasn't found you yet." She tosses her head and shakes it wearily. This stallion really doesn't have a clue, does he? But that just means he'll probably get killed off soon and she won't have to worry about him.
Orion is older and wiser! Well.. older perhaps. The young colt is trotting along with a few blades of grass sticking out from his maw. His ears flick forward and back as he moves on closer towards his mother and the others. Head tilting he blinks and peers from one to another. "Ma?" Is questioned after a moment. Seems the kid finally figured out how to talk at least.
Amused by the attitude that both the mares take on, Virgil continues to grin, not letting them get the better of him. For as odd of a mind as he had, he did a mighty fine job of keeping himself calm. Even if he /did/ have the wishes of his rider being here yet again to put the two of them out of their misery when they spoke to him like that. "Oh, I'm sure he's a real brute. But I ain't here to cause trouble and I sure don't think anybody will be chasin' me out. Not like they got the cause to. Haven't done nothin' wrong." Looking over to Nukpana, he shrugs and looks away again. "Well, says so much for his skill at finding folk. I haven't been much of anywhere, 'cept where you found me by." The high pitched voice of a foal brings his attention to little Orion, who addresses Nukpana as his mother. "Howdy there, boy." He says, but looks back to the bay mare afterward, interested to see if she'll argue with him again.
Luna steps forward, immediately putting herself between stallion and foal when Virgil addresses Orion. "You have no business with our herd," she says matter-of-factly. "We are letting you stick around nearby because seeing too far from the herd will bring predators, and they'll start seeing if they can pick others out of the herd as well. There is no other reason." She looks to Nukpana and Orion, then back to Virgil. "You wish to meet with our stallion, then very well. I'll go get him right now." And with that she turns, bolting back towards the herd with surprising speed for her age, not wanting to leave Nukpana alone with the strange stallion a second longer than necessary.
The best way to respond to foolishness if the fool refuses to listen is to let them find out that they're being stupid the hard way, in Nukpana's opinion. So she doesn't bother with much of a reply, only to note that, "It may not matter if you've done nothing wrong." When Orion approaches, Nukpana's ears flick back as she takes a defensive position between him and the stallion, and she says, "Stay back Orion." She's not going to let him anywhere near this guy, that's for sure. When Luna leaves to get Sirocco, Nukpana seems completely unphased. Like Virgil could do anything with her around - hah!
Orion ears perk forward and she blinks before ohing and nods while he stays behind his mother like he is suppose to. Still he tilts his head to the side and peers over at the new horse curiously. "Who is he?" Is finally questioned.
The stallion pins his ears back at Luna as she speaks her peace, looking quite aggressive but not actually doing anything about it. He knows he's treading on soft ground here, and isn't going to push it too far. But he's also not going to be a push over. He lets her leave without saying anything in return, instead focusing on Nukpana and her foal. How they get so defensive when he comes around has him irritated; can't they see that he's really /not/ a threat? So mistrusting, even of their own kind. So far, he didn't particularly care for the ferals. Had he a choice in the matter, he would've gone back home. But, with no owner to return to and with a general mistrust for other men in general, it looked like he was stuck out here. Cupping his ears forward again but keeping his eyes intently on Nukpana, he answers Orion. "Name's Virgil, son. Nice to meet ya."
Said herd stallion, who has been looking for said stranger stallion, gets the unfortunate news that he has not so much found the visitor as the visitor has found him. How embarrassing. It's not long after Luna reaches the herd proper than Sirocco can be seen on the approach. There's no missing not just his size but distinctly stocky and decidedly un-mustang like build, though for all his weight he does move with a surprising bit of urgency when he needs to. At a full gallop, he crosses the distance in relatively short time, his hooves kicking up dust and grass as he goes. A ringing peal of a neigh sounds out to announce his approach and he calls out to Nukpana once he's close enough to be heard, "So this'll be the one ya'll were tellin' me about?"
"He's a stranger," Nukpana answers her son quickly, seeming to bristle when Virgil has the gall to talk to him again in front of her. Clearly she has issues with them making eachother's acquaintance. She actually looks a bit wary when she sees Sirocco approach, and she backs a few steps away from Virgil as he does, answering his question with, "Yes, this is Virgil." Her voice is steady, but the way her eyes flick from one stallion to the other indicates tension. However, most of her own focus seems to be in keeping herself defensively in front of her colt.
Orion ears flick forward and back, his tail lashing a few times while he offers a smile towards Virgil and nods. He blinks and peers up to his mother, and quickly slips quiet. His gaze turns towards Sirocco and he offers him a smile.
"Friendly boy you got there, ma'am. Not anything like his ma, I see." He says with a grin, just making a quick joke before he finally sees the stallion that he's heard so much about, and yet only now gets to meet. He was a /big/ son of a gun, that was for sure. With that size though, if he did decide to chase him out, Virgil would certainly have the upper hand in that area. Not only because he was smaller and more agile, but because of his previous 'employment' of sorts; escapes were his specialty. "And you're the one they was tellin' me about." He says, noting the other stallion's sort of accent, too. Virgil spoke like his owner did, he wasn't sure if this one had the pleasure, or displeasure even, of meeting with men. Either way, their dialects weren't important. "How ya doin', sir? I came up here so I could talk with you myself about my little.. predicament. I ain't trying to be a cause of trouble for your herd or nothin' like that."
"The herd belongs to the ladies. Wouldn't be one without them." Sirocco remarks in his slow, steady way of speaking as he casts a glance towards Nukpana and Orion as if to assure himself they're well, though there is the quickest flash of a warm look back to Orion in turn before he becomes serious once more. "I'm here ta be makin' sure they're safe and happy. I can't be sayin' Luna seemed all too happy." It's not in the tone of a decided threat, but there is a heavy tone of dissatisfaction in his voice. "Let's be down to business then. I've been hearin' you're split from your twoleg folk, but I ain't convinced they still ain't out there and I got no desire to see 'em in these parts. Problem is, you're here, and if you were runnin' with them, what's ta' stop them comin' to get you back?"
The 'joke' doesn't seem to go over well, but Nukpana responds to it with nothing more than an angry glare. What does he know about how dangerous it is to be friendly to strangers? She'll have to have a little talk with Orion about that one later, though she does give him a slightly approving nod when he goes quiet. But of course far more of her attention is on the stallions, though she chooses not to add anything herself. She already told Sirocco everything she knew that she thought he ought to know, though she'll remain on hand in case there's anything she needs to say. Even with her son there, she's not too concerned about what might happen if things turn ugly.
Orion glances from one stallion to another and then to her mother curiously. His ears flick forward and back while he offers a warm smile back to Sirocco before glancing to his mother hoping that is at least alright to do!
"Seems to be," Virgil comments, but obviously the herd is mostly mares. Though he wasn't one hundred percent in tune with his biological instincts, he did recall that much from his early colthood. Mares everywhere. Generally, only one stallion. Hence his situation. Looking off in the direction that Luna ran to, he tucks one ear back, thinking that he heard something, but eventually cups both ears forward to Sirocco. "Guess me an' her had a little disagreement back there. I said somethin' about not seein' any predators out here, and she got all upset." Honest enough. Again, it wasn't like he spoke how he really felt. The grey stallion nods at Sirocco's next words, and lets out a light breath, ready to explain himself again. "Yep, my rider done got himself shot and killed back a long ways back. I don't think any of 'em cared enough to follow the likes of me way out here, though. Soon as he got shot I ran as fast and as far as I could, took me ta' gettin' out here to find any other horses."
"Thinkin' and knowin' are two different things, and assumin' has some high odds." Sirocco says as his nostrils flare, as much inhaling the scent of the other stallion as letting it out in a snort. "And I ain't fond of those odds. If they might be on yer tail, than I'd say you need to be on your way. I'm also hearin' you've lived most all your days with the twolegs? You even think you'll be able to survive out here in the open?" It's not spoken with a rude tone, if Sirocco would even be capable of it, but it's very frank and his tone is full of suspicion and uncertainty. "We ain't got the time to wonderin' after strangers tellin' ya which plants are safe ta' eat."
The smiles that Orion gives Sirocco are ignored by Nukpana. It's only natural that a colt will find a stallion to look up to, and she's at least okay enough with Sirocco to not object to him being with the herd so she can't object to him too much. Virgil's mostly an unknown, and unknowns are bad. "He said he was wild when he was a colt," Nukpana quickly notes, "He seems a bit too much like my mother, anyway though..." Which is a pretty big insult, actually, not that anyone else here would know /how/ big.
Orion lowers his head and rubs it across his foreleg a few times. Ears flicking forward and back while he listens to the conversation. He shifts about upon his hooves and moves to grab a few blades of grass and munches on it.
"I don't see any reason why they'd come a-lookin' for me. The gang that I rode with, most of 'em got shot back there. What little were left were either taken by the law or ran off with the horses that were left. Ain't no sense comin' for me when I'm out this far. Not that they'd come out here anyway. Nothin' for 'em out here. Men are picky critters, need lots'a shelter and whatnot. Ain't none'a that out here." He says, taking another quick look around before scuffing at the ground with a hoof, like he was being scolded or something similar. When Nukpana speaks up, he clears his throat and agrees. "My ma's herd lived in land not unlike this kind. I know what and what not to eat. 'Sides, even my rider and his gang, we'd often stay out of the men's towns and camp out to wait out bounties an' all that." The human terms he's using; gang, towns, camp, bounties, he's not sure if they're familiar with any of it. Regardless, it was what it was, and he wasn't going to appeal to their ignorance at the moment. "I'm positive no one's gonna be after me."
Nope, Sirocco has no clue about Nukpana's mother. Nor about Virgil's mother. Heck, he hasn't even seen his mother in many a'year. Neither is he clued in to all the human terms Virgil yammers on about. There's a reason his ma' told his father she was bouncing, and humans were why, with their confusing talk and their odd behaviors and ... well, everything. "May be so, may be so." Remarks the stallion with a slow swish of his flaxen tail, the pale color distinct against his red-chestnut coat. "Don't make you any less an unknown. Tell ya' what. I ain't a brute, my ma' taught me better, so I ain't ganna be runnin' ya off." Yet. It might not he said, but his grave tone suggests it. "Ya sound as if you've had a bit of a rough spot, so, I suppose you can stick around. Still, I ain't going to tolerate trouble. Stick to the edge of the herd, keep clear of the youngsters, and if the mares tell you to be off I best hear ya askin' how fast. No sass. If you show yourself to be a bother, I'll see you off myself faster than a pack a'wolves and about as warmly. Do we have an understandin'?"
While Nukpana may know many more human terms than the average horse, most of what Virgil is saying simply tells her that the stallion was with a much different group of humans than the one her mother came from. She can follow most of what he's saying through context though, but that doesn't mean that she trusts his judgment as to whether or not he'll be followed. Whose to say what they would or would not do? When Sirocco speaks she listens intently, and by the end she can be seen nodding slowly; that sounds more than fair to her. If it weren't for Virgil's past she'd be outraged by that offer - she doesn't like the idea of one stallion being around, let alone two. But for whatever reason she has some pity for Virgil so this seems okay with her. However, when Sirocco mentions the part about staying away from the youngsters, her eyes flick protectively towards Orion and her expression is hard - 'Especially Orion.' is implied by that look.
The fact that he'd been accepted, more or less into the herd was definitely a pleasant surprise. Their protection may not be personal, but just the fact that he was allowed within the low end of their ranks was certainly a very good thing. "Like I said, I ain't aimin' to cause any trouble 'round these parts. I really appreciate the help, and I'll keep my distance from everybody." He says, letting out a little sigh at the end of that particular sentence. Virgil was the social sort. He didn't particularly want to have to be kept on the sidelines, but it wasn't like he had any choice in the matter. Either stay away from them and still be informally protected, or get too close and get run off. The primal urge to start a fight with this stallion is actually absent. Something that perhaps his upbringing had inhibited, which was a great thing for Sirocco and an even better thing for Virgil. Instead, he's completely obedient. With these orders, anyway. "Thanks a bunch, I won't cause a ruckus, promise."
Sirocco gives the other stallion a slow regard, his ears flicking backwards with a thoughtful stare before settling upright again. "I'm hopin' not. I'll be back this way later on." Is it for idle chat, or to check on him? It's hard to say. Maybe for both. "I'll be leavin' ya to settle yourself, then." Turning then from Virgil, he turns his regards to Nukpana. "I'm ganna go have a talk with Luna. Ya stayin here, or ya planning on headin' back?"
When Virgil reiterates that he doesn't want to cause trouble, Nukpana snorts. Can't he see that he's causing some trouble just by being here? The fact that it isn't his fault isn't quite lost to Nukpana, but that doesn't fix anything, does it. "I think I'd better help Orion find something better to eat," she answers Sirocco after a moment of hesitation. That answer should have only been expected, though the hesitation is an interesting sign for anyone who knows Nukpana very well at all.
While he still wasn't offended at their reluctance to accept him, he did have to admit that it was painfully awkward for him. Human-owned horses didn't have any problems with one another. They all worked together and they generally were friendly with one another. Oh, there were rivalries, sure. But never had he felt so unwelcome in all his life. And they had /accepted/ him, which was the strange part. Standing there with an odd sort of look on his face, he takes the moment to send a glare toward Sirocco when he isn't looking; no threat behind it, just a contemplative sort of glare. Then to Nukpana, he stares, and then turns away, ready to find something to eat for himself as well, but he doesn't speak to her, or give any more thanks. It wasn't as if they were much appreciated anyway.
Virgil - Male Horse
Luna - Female Horse
Nukpana - Female Horse
Orion - Male Horse Foal
Sirocco - Male Horse
Setting:
Grassy Plains
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From the same area that his saddle was still at, the wind biting at the hard leather and no doubt wearing it out little by little does come Virgil. He's been sticking near that area, perhaps not so wisely. Predators though, he's been on the look for and has not seen in his few days here. Staying a good distance from the herd, it's only after his encounter with the brown-gold filly that his interest is piqued again, and that he wishes to speak with the mares yet again. Maybe they'll give him a chance to speak with their stallion. Hardly the diplomatic sort, but hardly the fighting sort either. Just what sort that he was, was a chore to find out. Either way, to the herd Virgil heads, his blonde tail flicking behind him as he walks at a slowish pace.
Luna is grazing. This can hardly come as a surprise considering most of her day is spent with her muzzle in the grass. Bite, tug, grind, swallow - there's really not a lot of mystery to the process, very little for a museless player to write about and make the pose seem long, but grazing she is. Not at the center of the herd, always gravitating out to the edges of where the others gather. She likes it there, it's quiet and she has time to think. Always a lot to think about, particularly with a herd looking to her for advice on matters.
Though she's been perfectly content to remain with the herd after speaking with Sirocco, Nukpana's eyes keep on subtly shifting in the direction that Virgil went. More than likely it's gone unnoticed by the herd though, since looking at her too often will earn you an irritated glare back. She's grazing near the edge of the herd herself, half so that she can keep an eye on them and half because she doesn't particularly like any of them.
Looking out into the distance, Virgil can see the painted mare grazing, and the bay mare grazing as well. Huh. So, this was how the wild ones spent their days? Grazing? Didn't seem very interesting to him. When new horses were captured and brought to makeshift corrals back with his rider, they would claim that the lives of the owned horses were boring. Well, his life before this certainly was anything but boring. Grinning a bit at the irony of it, he keeps quiet as he advances toward the two mares, but keeps his head lifted tall and with a neutral expression. His pace is still slow, but quicker than before. A pretty steady trot, is all.
Luna doesn't give any indication of whether she's noticed the bachelor approaching, not a pair of perked ears or raised head, though it would seem odd if she hadn't - it's not like the plains offer much in the way of places to hide. Perhaps she simply has no idea how to react to him, especially when the herd has a stallion who really ought to be the one handling this ... intruder? No, that's not a fair label, he isn't running in and leading away mares for his own.
Well, it's what happens when they're not grazing that's the interesting part of being a wild horse - not knowing if you'll make it to tomorrow tends to keep you on your hooftips. Though the stallion remains quiet, it doesn't take Nukpana very long at all to lift her head and stare at him as she chews a mouthful of grass, her ears pinning back briefly before she lowers he head again and flicks her tail in seeming dismissal as if he simply isn't worth paying that much attention to.
The complete dismissal of his presence doesn't offend Virgil in the least. He didn't necessarily feel as if he required a greeting or anything. 'Sides, he was the male here, and wasn't it his duty to greet the females? Even if he was from outside of their herd, and really had no business being here? Clearing his throat, Virgil flicks his tail again and cups his ears forward, looking first to the older mare, but then focusing more on Nukpana. She'd given him a glare, which resulted in him chuckling and finally speaking up. "Well, hello to you too miss Nukpana. Luna." He at least mentions the other one, not wanting to seem like he was ignoring her, contrary to her apparently wanting to seem like she was ignoring him. "How's the day been treatin' you two?"
Luna glances towards the herd. They're within view from here, which means she and Nukpana - and by extension, Virgil - are within view from the herd. This is a good precaution. "The day is treating us to a lack of attacks by predators," she replies, unphased by the fact that the stallion seems to be favoring Nukpana over her. Really, has she any reason to mind this? "It's good to see you alive and well. Taking to life in the wild?"
That their reaction didn't seem to put him off at all, seems to irritate Nukpana, who expresses this with another tail flick. She doesn't bother to reply, since Luna did a good enough job of that already (and much more kindly put than she would too). In fact, she doesn't even bother to raise her head or stop grazing - talking to other horses is Luna's job anyway, right? And the further away she keeps herself from this stallion the better, she can tell already. There's something simply unnerving about him.
Taking in a breath and looking around with a nod, Virgil confirms that there are, in fact, no predators attacking. "Yep, that's always a good start to the day, I reckon." He says this rather boredly, as if he's kind of tired of the predator shpeal. From the time he'd been here, he hadn't seen one /trace/ of a predator, let alone been afraid of one attacking. Maybe these ferals were just paranoid? From what he could tell, they seemed like the jumpy, jittery sort. He doesn't speak this though, obviously. Doesn't even express that he feels their concerns are overbearing. He'll just keep his mouth shut about that. "I s'pose so. Not much to get used to, so far. Not like it's a struggle out here 'er nothin'. Least, not now it ain't. I'm sure ya'll got your share of troubles from time to time, just thankfully I've not been a part of any of it yet." Knowing that he was sort of rambling, he gives his tail one more flick and lowers his head to the ground, taking a nip of the grass also.
Luna watches the stallion, trying to make sense of his line of thought. After a few moment she shakes her head, however, mimicking him when she lowers her head for more grass. "Pray every last predator were to evade these plains," she sighs. "They'll be more of a problem when the leaves start falling from the trees again, they always do." She looks to Nukpana, then back to Virgil. "So what brings you back to our herd?" she asks, taking the direct approach rather than beating around the bush.
As Virgil rambles, on Nukpana finally lifts her head and gives him a look of disdain. So, he shows up during a good spell and thinks that's how it is all the time, does he? Well, let him think that. She'd think that he'd be smart enough to take the attitude of the herd as a warning, but apparently not. Luna's question causes Nukpana to snort and give Virgil a slightly amused look, though once again she doesn't actually say anything.
Noticing the look that Nukpana gives him, he returns it with a sort of glare, and explains himself rather gruffly; a sharp sort of turn from his otherwise peaceful and polite attitude. "Like I said. I'm /sure/ you all got your problems later on." With his ears tucked back at that, he gives his mane a shake and takes a few steps closer to both of the mares, a bit of boldness maybe overcoming him. "Figured I'd stop by and see if I couldn't have a chat with that stallion y'all were both talkin' about them few days ago." Giving a mix between a laugh and a scoff, he looks off in the distance and rolls his eyes. "Much as you ladies talk about 'im, he sure don't seem to be around much."
Luna abandons grazing, walking straight up to the - in her head - now intruding stallion. She keeps her attitude very obvious, that she's not going to be bullied with condescending remarks. "That he has not been out to chase you across the river is something you should consider yourself lucky with. These may not be the most dangerous of lands, but rest assured there could easily be a cougar crouching in the grass right behind you and you would not even see it before it was on your back." Her tone is firm and direct, but she keeps whatever anger she may feel well in check. "You need us here to watch out for predators far more than we need a stallion causing trouble."
Snorting, Nukpana is finally given something to say, "I'm sure half the reason we haven't seen any predators is because he's doing his job, which is more than just standing around keeping an eye on the 'ladies'. And it's not like we need him around guiding our every hoofstep either. I do know that he's been looking for you - as Luna said, you're probably lucky he hasn't found you yet." She tosses her head and shakes it wearily. This stallion really doesn't have a clue, does he? But that just means he'll probably get killed off soon and she won't have to worry about him.
Orion is older and wiser! Well.. older perhaps. The young colt is trotting along with a few blades of grass sticking out from his maw. His ears flick forward and back as he moves on closer towards his mother and the others. Head tilting he blinks and peers from one to another. "Ma?" Is questioned after a moment. Seems the kid finally figured out how to talk at least.
Amused by the attitude that both the mares take on, Virgil continues to grin, not letting them get the better of him. For as odd of a mind as he had, he did a mighty fine job of keeping himself calm. Even if he /did/ have the wishes of his rider being here yet again to put the two of them out of their misery when they spoke to him like that. "Oh, I'm sure he's a real brute. But I ain't here to cause trouble and I sure don't think anybody will be chasin' me out. Not like they got the cause to. Haven't done nothin' wrong." Looking over to Nukpana, he shrugs and looks away again. "Well, says so much for his skill at finding folk. I haven't been much of anywhere, 'cept where you found me by." The high pitched voice of a foal brings his attention to little Orion, who addresses Nukpana as his mother. "Howdy there, boy." He says, but looks back to the bay mare afterward, interested to see if she'll argue with him again.
Luna steps forward, immediately putting herself between stallion and foal when Virgil addresses Orion. "You have no business with our herd," she says matter-of-factly. "We are letting you stick around nearby because seeing too far from the herd will bring predators, and they'll start seeing if they can pick others out of the herd as well. There is no other reason." She looks to Nukpana and Orion, then back to Virgil. "You wish to meet with our stallion, then very well. I'll go get him right now." And with that she turns, bolting back towards the herd with surprising speed for her age, not wanting to leave Nukpana alone with the strange stallion a second longer than necessary.
The best way to respond to foolishness if the fool refuses to listen is to let them find out that they're being stupid the hard way, in Nukpana's opinion. So she doesn't bother with much of a reply, only to note that, "It may not matter if you've done nothing wrong." When Orion approaches, Nukpana's ears flick back as she takes a defensive position between him and the stallion, and she says, "Stay back Orion." She's not going to let him anywhere near this guy, that's for sure. When Luna leaves to get Sirocco, Nukpana seems completely unphased. Like Virgil could do anything with her around - hah!
Orion ears perk forward and she blinks before ohing and nods while he stays behind his mother like he is suppose to. Still he tilts his head to the side and peers over at the new horse curiously. "Who is he?" Is finally questioned.
The stallion pins his ears back at Luna as she speaks her peace, looking quite aggressive but not actually doing anything about it. He knows he's treading on soft ground here, and isn't going to push it too far. But he's also not going to be a push over. He lets her leave without saying anything in return, instead focusing on Nukpana and her foal. How they get so defensive when he comes around has him irritated; can't they see that he's really /not/ a threat? So mistrusting, even of their own kind. So far, he didn't particularly care for the ferals. Had he a choice in the matter, he would've gone back home. But, with no owner to return to and with a general mistrust for other men in general, it looked like he was stuck out here. Cupping his ears forward again but keeping his eyes intently on Nukpana, he answers Orion. "Name's Virgil, son. Nice to meet ya."
Said herd stallion, who has been looking for said stranger stallion, gets the unfortunate news that he has not so much found the visitor as the visitor has found him. How embarrassing. It's not long after Luna reaches the herd proper than Sirocco can be seen on the approach. There's no missing not just his size but distinctly stocky and decidedly un-mustang like build, though for all his weight he does move with a surprising bit of urgency when he needs to. At a full gallop, he crosses the distance in relatively short time, his hooves kicking up dust and grass as he goes. A ringing peal of a neigh sounds out to announce his approach and he calls out to Nukpana once he's close enough to be heard, "So this'll be the one ya'll were tellin' me about?"
"He's a stranger," Nukpana answers her son quickly, seeming to bristle when Virgil has the gall to talk to him again in front of her. Clearly she has issues with them making eachother's acquaintance. She actually looks a bit wary when she sees Sirocco approach, and she backs a few steps away from Virgil as he does, answering his question with, "Yes, this is Virgil." Her voice is steady, but the way her eyes flick from one stallion to the other indicates tension. However, most of her own focus seems to be in keeping herself defensively in front of her colt.
Orion ears flick forward and back, his tail lashing a few times while he offers a smile towards Virgil and nods. He blinks and peers up to his mother, and quickly slips quiet. His gaze turns towards Sirocco and he offers him a smile.
"Friendly boy you got there, ma'am. Not anything like his ma, I see." He says with a grin, just making a quick joke before he finally sees the stallion that he's heard so much about, and yet only now gets to meet. He was a /big/ son of a gun, that was for sure. With that size though, if he did decide to chase him out, Virgil would certainly have the upper hand in that area. Not only because he was smaller and more agile, but because of his previous 'employment' of sorts; escapes were his specialty. "And you're the one they was tellin' me about." He says, noting the other stallion's sort of accent, too. Virgil spoke like his owner did, he wasn't sure if this one had the pleasure, or displeasure even, of meeting with men. Either way, their dialects weren't important. "How ya doin', sir? I came up here so I could talk with you myself about my little.. predicament. I ain't trying to be a cause of trouble for your herd or nothin' like that."
"The herd belongs to the ladies. Wouldn't be one without them." Sirocco remarks in his slow, steady way of speaking as he casts a glance towards Nukpana and Orion as if to assure himself they're well, though there is the quickest flash of a warm look back to Orion in turn before he becomes serious once more. "I'm here ta be makin' sure they're safe and happy. I can't be sayin' Luna seemed all too happy." It's not in the tone of a decided threat, but there is a heavy tone of dissatisfaction in his voice. "Let's be down to business then. I've been hearin' you're split from your twoleg folk, but I ain't convinced they still ain't out there and I got no desire to see 'em in these parts. Problem is, you're here, and if you were runnin' with them, what's ta' stop them comin' to get you back?"
The 'joke' doesn't seem to go over well, but Nukpana responds to it with nothing more than an angry glare. What does he know about how dangerous it is to be friendly to strangers? She'll have to have a little talk with Orion about that one later, though she does give him a slightly approving nod when he goes quiet. But of course far more of her attention is on the stallions, though she chooses not to add anything herself. She already told Sirocco everything she knew that she thought he ought to know, though she'll remain on hand in case there's anything she needs to say. Even with her son there, she's not too concerned about what might happen if things turn ugly.
Orion glances from one stallion to another and then to her mother curiously. His ears flick forward and back while he offers a warm smile back to Sirocco before glancing to his mother hoping that is at least alright to do!
"Seems to be," Virgil comments, but obviously the herd is mostly mares. Though he wasn't one hundred percent in tune with his biological instincts, he did recall that much from his early colthood. Mares everywhere. Generally, only one stallion. Hence his situation. Looking off in the direction that Luna ran to, he tucks one ear back, thinking that he heard something, but eventually cups both ears forward to Sirocco. "Guess me an' her had a little disagreement back there. I said somethin' about not seein' any predators out here, and she got all upset." Honest enough. Again, it wasn't like he spoke how he really felt. The grey stallion nods at Sirocco's next words, and lets out a light breath, ready to explain himself again. "Yep, my rider done got himself shot and killed back a long ways back. I don't think any of 'em cared enough to follow the likes of me way out here, though. Soon as he got shot I ran as fast and as far as I could, took me ta' gettin' out here to find any other horses."
"Thinkin' and knowin' are two different things, and assumin' has some high odds." Sirocco says as his nostrils flare, as much inhaling the scent of the other stallion as letting it out in a snort. "And I ain't fond of those odds. If they might be on yer tail, than I'd say you need to be on your way. I'm also hearin' you've lived most all your days with the twolegs? You even think you'll be able to survive out here in the open?" It's not spoken with a rude tone, if Sirocco would even be capable of it, but it's very frank and his tone is full of suspicion and uncertainty. "We ain't got the time to wonderin' after strangers tellin' ya which plants are safe ta' eat."
The smiles that Orion gives Sirocco are ignored by Nukpana. It's only natural that a colt will find a stallion to look up to, and she's at least okay enough with Sirocco to not object to him being with the herd so she can't object to him too much. Virgil's mostly an unknown, and unknowns are bad. "He said he was wild when he was a colt," Nukpana quickly notes, "He seems a bit too much like my mother, anyway though..." Which is a pretty big insult, actually, not that anyone else here would know /how/ big.
Orion lowers his head and rubs it across his foreleg a few times. Ears flicking forward and back while he listens to the conversation. He shifts about upon his hooves and moves to grab a few blades of grass and munches on it.
"I don't see any reason why they'd come a-lookin' for me. The gang that I rode with, most of 'em got shot back there. What little were left were either taken by the law or ran off with the horses that were left. Ain't no sense comin' for me when I'm out this far. Not that they'd come out here anyway. Nothin' for 'em out here. Men are picky critters, need lots'a shelter and whatnot. Ain't none'a that out here." He says, taking another quick look around before scuffing at the ground with a hoof, like he was being scolded or something similar. When Nukpana speaks up, he clears his throat and agrees. "My ma's herd lived in land not unlike this kind. I know what and what not to eat. 'Sides, even my rider and his gang, we'd often stay out of the men's towns and camp out to wait out bounties an' all that." The human terms he's using; gang, towns, camp, bounties, he's not sure if they're familiar with any of it. Regardless, it was what it was, and he wasn't going to appeal to their ignorance at the moment. "I'm positive no one's gonna be after me."
Nope, Sirocco has no clue about Nukpana's mother. Nor about Virgil's mother. Heck, he hasn't even seen his mother in many a'year. Neither is he clued in to all the human terms Virgil yammers on about. There's a reason his ma' told his father she was bouncing, and humans were why, with their confusing talk and their odd behaviors and ... well, everything. "May be so, may be so." Remarks the stallion with a slow swish of his flaxen tail, the pale color distinct against his red-chestnut coat. "Don't make you any less an unknown. Tell ya' what. I ain't a brute, my ma' taught me better, so I ain't ganna be runnin' ya off." Yet. It might not he said, but his grave tone suggests it. "Ya sound as if you've had a bit of a rough spot, so, I suppose you can stick around. Still, I ain't going to tolerate trouble. Stick to the edge of the herd, keep clear of the youngsters, and if the mares tell you to be off I best hear ya askin' how fast. No sass. If you show yourself to be a bother, I'll see you off myself faster than a pack a'wolves and about as warmly. Do we have an understandin'?"
While Nukpana may know many more human terms than the average horse, most of what Virgil is saying simply tells her that the stallion was with a much different group of humans than the one her mother came from. She can follow most of what he's saying through context though, but that doesn't mean that she trusts his judgment as to whether or not he'll be followed. Whose to say what they would or would not do? When Sirocco speaks she listens intently, and by the end she can be seen nodding slowly; that sounds more than fair to her. If it weren't for Virgil's past she'd be outraged by that offer - she doesn't like the idea of one stallion being around, let alone two. But for whatever reason she has some pity for Virgil so this seems okay with her. However, when Sirocco mentions the part about staying away from the youngsters, her eyes flick protectively towards Orion and her expression is hard - 'Especially Orion.' is implied by that look.
The fact that he'd been accepted, more or less into the herd was definitely a pleasant surprise. Their protection may not be personal, but just the fact that he was allowed within the low end of their ranks was certainly a very good thing. "Like I said, I ain't aimin' to cause any trouble 'round these parts. I really appreciate the help, and I'll keep my distance from everybody." He says, letting out a little sigh at the end of that particular sentence. Virgil was the social sort. He didn't particularly want to have to be kept on the sidelines, but it wasn't like he had any choice in the matter. Either stay away from them and still be informally protected, or get too close and get run off. The primal urge to start a fight with this stallion is actually absent. Something that perhaps his upbringing had inhibited, which was a great thing for Sirocco and an even better thing for Virgil. Instead, he's completely obedient. With these orders, anyway. "Thanks a bunch, I won't cause a ruckus, promise."
Sirocco gives the other stallion a slow regard, his ears flicking backwards with a thoughtful stare before settling upright again. "I'm hopin' not. I'll be back this way later on." Is it for idle chat, or to check on him? It's hard to say. Maybe for both. "I'll be leavin' ya to settle yourself, then." Turning then from Virgil, he turns his regards to Nukpana. "I'm ganna go have a talk with Luna. Ya stayin here, or ya planning on headin' back?"
When Virgil reiterates that he doesn't want to cause trouble, Nukpana snorts. Can't he see that he's causing some trouble just by being here? The fact that it isn't his fault isn't quite lost to Nukpana, but that doesn't fix anything, does it. "I think I'd better help Orion find something better to eat," she answers Sirocco after a moment of hesitation. That answer should have only been expected, though the hesitation is an interesting sign for anyone who knows Nukpana very well at all.
While he still wasn't offended at their reluctance to accept him, he did have to admit that it was painfully awkward for him. Human-owned horses didn't have any problems with one another. They all worked together and they generally were friendly with one another. Oh, there were rivalries, sure. But never had he felt so unwelcome in all his life. And they had /accepted/ him, which was the strange part. Standing there with an odd sort of look on his face, he takes the moment to send a glare toward Sirocco when he isn't looking; no threat behind it, just a contemplative sort of glare. Then to Nukpana, he stares, and then turns away, ready to find something to eat for himself as well, but he doesn't speak to her, or give any more thanks. It wasn't as if they were much appreciated anyway.