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Post by avalikia on May 21, 2010 5:22:45 GMT -5
Characters: Dorado herd members and Sirocco
Setting: Wildwood Acre, then south and a little west from there
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As the rising sun starts to burn away the chill of another spring morning, Nukpana's eyes turn to the southwest. That's the way to open land, where horses were meant to be. Where you can run in the wind and graze on endless plains of grass. Where there are no trees or large bushes to get in your way or provide cover for predators. Where you can be 16.2 hands tall and not constantly bump into branches. -.- Though this wooded area isn't very well suited for horses, it provided them shelter when they needed it over the harsh winter. But now that spring is here and their strength is returning it seems too confining, and the howling of wolves is a constant reminder that they're much too close. They probably would have left already, but there's a river swollen by the spring runoff in the way and her young son needed some time to grow before attempting to cross it.
But now the time seems right, and Nukpana neighs to call the herd together. As they start to gather, she looks for Luna in particular, expecting that the older mare to do most of the leading this time around. The journey back will be trickier than the one here because many of the obstacles were frozen over before. However, without the constant threat of freezing to death it should be less dangerous overall, except possibly the river crossing. But that means that her strength will be better put to use if she keeps to the back where she can keep an eye on the others and offer help if they need it. Then again, depending on how well Orion does she might be too busy helping him to worry too much about the others.
When it seems to her that everyone has gathered, she nickers impatiently, "Everyone ready to go?" After enduring such a terrible winter her time-enhanced memories of the richness of the pastures they left behind is almost enough to cause her to forget the terrain and distance that lies ahead of them.
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Post by Luna on May 21, 2010 11:22:07 GMT -5
Luna has been preparing for this trek for a few days already, scouting out in the south parts of the forest, realizing there was a marsh between there and the river. To think they crossed that during the winter without serious injury is incredible.
"I'm ready," comes her reply, moving up next to the bay mare. She looks scruffy at best, the winter coat starting to come out on her in large clumps; mainly along the white of her belly and upper legs, and whenever the wind hits her it carries off a sea of hairs.
She has planned this as well as she can. The herd only has a single foal in its ranks, but he'll be the one setting the pace. When Orion needs to rest, the whole herd will rest, that much she has already decided. Her eyes scan the horizon, the marshlands. They're wet, swampy in places, rather than the solid ice sheet they must have walked across on their way here. She doesn't remember much of that last stretch; after crossing the river most of her memories are a blur.
Out there in the distance she can see the river, or at least she tells herself she can. If it's that close it won't take too long to reach it. She hesitates for a moment, but as if to help her make her mind up there's the sound of a howling wolf somewhere to the north or northwest - and that's all it takes to make her start walking, one hoof in front of the other. There's a slight limp to her gait, the result of an injury she barely remembers, but she knows it'll wear off when it gets warmer and she gets into a good rhythm.
She walks, doesn't run - there's no need to rush ahead and be tired out far too soon.
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Post by Azoto on May 21, 2010 13:21:49 GMT -5
This will be the first 'Migration', so to speak, of any kind that Hototo has experienced; and the Paint mare, knowing it was coming from even the moment she joined the herd, has been anxious about it. She could hardly sleep the evening before, and now, in the brisk morning, she lingers near the middle of the herd. It's when Nukpana makes her call that the more nervous of mares in her shivers slightly, then, bobbing her head, makes ready to follow the rest, deciding to keep eyes on the tall red mare for sake of keeping up.
"I'm here, I'm ready," she calls back in her usual calm and measured manner; but she's not so sure about either of those. The call of a wolf to the north causes more uneasiness, and she briefly capers in her gate, before slowing down to a walk.
She will follow the Herd as best she can in these days of travel coming. She's never followed a herd before; but, she kind of likes the idea of being part of a 'family' again, and one not kept in confines of wooden sticks and brier branch fences.
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Post by hahtalekin on May 22, 2010 18:33:11 GMT -5
He kept his word, as any proper gentleman should, even if that gentleman is a stallion and less likely to be seen as a honorable and sacrificing sort. Even in the thick, green, obscuring growth Sirocco sticks out like a beacon. Tall and heavy, his half-draft blood all the more evident amongst the lean and shorter mustangs, and his vivid red coat with it's pale flaxen mane hardly suitable color for a forested setting. At very least, he'll hopefully prove a more attractive target than the plainer and smaller horses should the migration attract the predators, and that's fine by him. It's what he's here for.
He watches the herd gather as Nukpana summons the small band, slowly moving back and forth along the outskirts of the herd, not so much serving to usher them into place as ensure everyone is accounted for and there are no stragglers. There's the faint sound of a murmur or a response in his drawled tone to a passing horse or two, but for the most part, he keeps quiet and busy.
His low-toned but loud neigh sounds from the rear of the band as the call for readiness is sounded, announcing that all seem present and he is ready to move out. As the herd moves, so does he, his heavy feathered hooves sucking against the mud, his head up and ears perked, attentive and watchful as he keeps on the move on a swinging path side to side so he can watch the rear and sides of the herd, leaving the forefront to the lead mares.
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Post by Pavane on May 22, 2010 19:35:10 GMT -5
Miel starts out the day determined. She's going to make sure she doesn't fall behind... though even more than wanting to prove herself, she wants to make sure she doesn't end up alone again.
She finds herself a place near the middle of the herd, setting her pace by the tall red beacon of Nukpana and the black and white of Luna.
Or at least, she tries to. She lags a bit at some moments as her attention is distracted by something moving in the trees or some interesting-smelling herb poking up from the ground, and then breaks into a trot for a few moments to catch up again.
Still, she keeps herself up with the herd well enough, for now - she's no foal anymore, and any pace that the young Orion can keep up should present the not-quite-yearling few problems - as long as nothing manages to draw her attention away from the herd for too long.
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Post by Luna on May 23, 2010 13:06:20 GMT -5
Out of the forested area the marshland stretches far into the horizon; getting separated or lost shouldn't prove much of a problem. The herd managed to stick together - more or less - during a blizzard coming here, so in calm, sunny weather there shouldn't be much a problem.
"Be careful where you step," Luna warns as she takes the lead. "What looks like solid ground can easily be a mudhole that can swallow your leg whole." Okay, so maybe not THAT bad, but the herd has acquired a couple of seemingly inexperienced youngsters, and it's better to keep them alert and safe than the opposite.
As she walks she casts a few glances over her shoulders at those following, mainly at Sirocco - she doesn't know much about this bachelor, but she's thankful that the herd now has a stallion to protect it should something bad happen, though she's unsure what he would have to gain from sacrificing himself for them. To the best of her knowledge, no one is carrying a foal of his yet.
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Post by Azoto on May 23, 2010 14:31:09 GMT -5
Taking heed of Luna's warning, Hototo lifts her head, tossing it in a bob of motion to show she heard, then, head lowering again, she starts to walk a bit more carefully, though keeping her even pace. She's never been this far from.. any manner of land she's seen before, and that makes her grateful for the older mares around her.
She does take note of Sirocco; a stallion. She hasn't seen a wild stallion like this, not so up close, and certainly not so... Big. In her experience it was usually mares or younger males that had been grouped together. But that was then, that was because of the humans, who she's already started to forget in a way. After all, out here, with a herd.. isn't that where horses are supposed to belong?
Careful pace matches that set by Luna, Nukpana, and of course, Orion. Hototo can't help, as they walk, a light humming that makes her feel better about the 'dangerous' land.
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Post by Tala on May 23, 2010 19:00:18 GMT -5
The movement is heard, along with the voice of his mother. Orion is quick to catch up to the others. No telling just what he was up to, off watching a dragonfly again, his rather interested in the little flying bugs.
The young colt trots along, a faint whinney escaping him as he goes, ears perking forward and nose twitching. He wonders where they might be going, though as his still on the young side having been born not all that long ago. The thought of going on a trip is rather interesting for him to say the least!
Though as much as he wants to go checking the newer areas out he knows better then to make his mother mad.
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Post by avalikia on May 23, 2010 19:35:47 GMT -5
Aside from crossing the marshes during the winter trek, which didn't really count, Nukpana hasn't had much of an occasion to cross them in her life. There weren't any such areas around her birth herd and during her brief time as a loner she'd avoided difficult terrain whenever she could. Therefore she pays particular attention to Luna's advice even though it's meant for the younger members of the herd, though mainly she uses it to figure out what she needs to do to help Orion. It would take a very large mudhole indeed to cause a mare of Nukpana's size any trouble, but her son is still young enough that could be a real problem.
Therefore she nickers to him in that commanding way mothers have, to encourage him to keep close. This will be one situation where him running around all over the place is not okay at all. And hopefully she can keep him contained enough to not use up all the energy he should be saving for the trip, though given how much hotbloodedness he surely inherited from her that's a challenge. She hopes to be able to make sure the path ahead of them is clear of any hazards on the way through the marshes, but that requires him to stay close and not run ahead which is probably a tall order. More realistically she hopes that he'll simply not be unlucky enough to find something that will be hard to get out of.
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Post by Pavane on May 23, 2010 19:45:52 GMT -5
Miel perks her ears at the warning from Luna. She hesitates for a moment, reaching out with one hoof to tap at a hummock of grass in front of her, then slowly shifts her weight onto it when it seems stable enough.
She's probably one of the ones most likely to encounter problems - the big mares are strong enough to pull themselves out, while Orion is still small and light enough that he probably won't sink in too far. She flicks her tail back and forth as she considers for a moment, and then rears up onto her hind legs, stretching out to make a little hop over to where Nukpana was a few moments before, the grass trampled by her passage. If she follows right where the others were, it should be safe, right?
Of course, having her weight coming down from those little jumps is just looking for trouble, if her hoof happens to slip on a slick bit of mud...
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Post by hahtalekin on May 23, 2010 19:49:29 GMT -5
As the herd moves, a second howl sounds in answer to the first, and Sirocco briefly stops in his following of the herd. He swings his head head around to look over his shoulder, ears pricked forward as nostrils flaring in a loud snort as he paws restlessly at the ground. It's been some time since he's had to face a wolf, or a pack, and he's in no hurry to repeat the experience. He has enough scars on him, and he's got no desire to be adding to them anytime soon.
As the bushes remain still and no warning smells reach his nostrils, he turns to pick up his pace, trotting a few sloshing steps through the turf and muck, ignorant of the mud he kicks up and splatters himself with. His eyes travel in particular to the younger members - Hototo, Miel, and Orion - each in turn, mindful of their places in the overall position of the herd. "Keep the youngin's to the center. We don't wanna be lookin' more appetizing than we likely already are." Though his slow, drawling voice isn't raised, there is a distinctly serious note to it, emphasized by a sharp switch-crack of his flaxen tail.
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Post by Luna on May 26, 2010 13:33:52 GMT -5
OOC: Pretty hectic IRL and I'm having trouble connecting with my muse, so apologies for being slow, boring and pathetic.
IC: She doesn't say much, focusing on finding the safest path through the marshy area. Several times she finds a need to stop, making the herd wait while she tries two, three, once even four different paths before finding a safe route.
It's not long until the forest is far behind, however, and every step brings the herd farther away from the threat of the wolves, and should they suddenly be chased, they'll have a longer and longer warning.
A little under a year ago she swore she'd never be a herd's leader again. That she was getting too old, too frail - and here she is acting as both scout and leader. She has no idea how that happened, but here she is, leading a small group through treacherous terrain to even more treacherous terrain. Ahead the river is slowly coming into view, the sun reflecting off the water's surface.
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Post by Azoto on May 26, 2010 14:49:24 GMT -5
Other mares might take a little offense to being called a young'n, by anyone, but. Hototo is really the calm sort, plus she is one to admit she only recently achieved adolescence. When Sirroco suggests she move to the middle, and especially after the call of wolves somewhere nearby, she takes this to heart, and carefully, moves towards the middle of the moving mass of horses. Light on her feet, she has taken to carefully judging each step through the swamp.
Despite care, though, she can't help getting a little muddy from occasional mis-steps. This does not really bother her; for as she can see, up ahead lies a river, and a river crossing can wash away most mud or muck. But, the water does make her look warily to Orion; he is smaller, and could quite possibly be swept away when they do reach the river. She says nothing, however; judging Nukpana to be the best authority in the manner of the colt.
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Post by Pavane on May 26, 2010 17:02:36 GMT -5
At Sirocco's warning, and the howls that lead to it, Miel gives a little shiver. The sound of wolves is not a pleasant one - but at least this time, she has a herd to stay near the middle of.
She stops her leaping, moving back to an easier sort of pace, and sidles up next to Hototo as the other young mare also comes near the center of the herd.
"Wish we could see if they were coming..." she murmurs. Though she'd rather the wolves didn't come at all, really. It's just this not-knowing that's making her nervous.
The river is growing nearer, though, despite all the delays as Luna looks for the right path to proceed, and she's eager to see the plains that are supposed to lie beyond it.
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Post by avalikia on May 26, 2010 22:39:28 GMT -5
Though she'd positioned herself in the back so that she could see the others and offer help if needed, more and more Nukpana's attention is directed towards keeping Orion out of the worst of it. She may have her issues with her son, but that doesn't mean she's any less interested in seeing him make it through this journey in one piece. Actually, if anything she's overcompensating for her failures of emotion with too much attention to his physical safety.
And she knows that this marsh and the river on the horizon are difficult and dangerous for a young foal, but if she didn't think that the problems with the forest now outweighed this danger then she'd have waited there longer. Besides, any foal worthy of being hers is very likely to manage the trip just fine.
Her ears tilt back at the second howl, but the further the go the less worried she gets. The marshland may cause them difficulty, but she imagines it would be worse for wolves - horses at least have long legs to keep them more out of the muck than a wolf. And as they get further from the trees the chances of being ambushed go way down, which really is her main worry. Perhaps it's arrogance on her part, but Nukpana is certain that they'll be able to handle anything sort of a sneak-attack. It's a large part of the reason she's willing to risk this trip - the plains will give anything dangerous a much more difficult time of creeping up on them unawares, unlike the forest.
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