~

Dusty stared around at the still-burned grass. It should've grown back by now. She thought. If it did grow back, we would've had enough strength to chase the Mountain Herd out. She cast a cold look towards where the Mountain Herd was grouped together. Dusty shifted her gaze away and stared at the barn in the distance. That's where all those horses who were taken went to. I wonder what its like in there.

Epona trotted over to Dusty"do you think we will ever be able to thrive again?" she snorted and bobbed her head glancing at the other herd anxiously, "If only the grass would grow back, could we even consider moving at this point?" Epona glanced at the barn"think they have a better life?,well I would rather have my freedome then become some pet"she let out a snuffle and looked around

Hail trotted over to the two mares"Epona! Dusty! there is a little patchy of grass thats hidden under a rock!" she neighed and pranced happily, only to have epona roll her eyes"im serious!" she snorted and nipped epona only to get a small kick "hey! thats not fine,we are weak already we don't need to be fighting each other" hail turned and trotted off to look for foals

~

Dusty glanced over at Epona. "We'll see," Dusty whinnied. "I just hope the Mountain Herd won't do too much damage. And have you seen the horses that come out of the barn? They are well-fed, taken care of, and they don't have much of a struggle. They don't have to worry about not eating enough." She swished her tail. Dusty blinked in reply to Hail and trotted off to move the rocks over, nibbling on the bits of grass that was underneath.

epona looked at her"are freedom is the only thing we have left,there we cant run around and be free"epona glanced at the barn"humans are not all fun and games, they believe us to be their servants "she nipped her back"I have seen horses die being ran into the pens" she watched the horses run and jump"if they caught us we would be seperated" epona looked at the grass with a longing in her eyes

Morrigan | Human | M - The Herds

Sunlight glinted off of dark rims as lithe fingers removed black framed sunglasses from a tall nose bridge. Morrigan’s lips titled down in a frown while she stared out at a herd of horses. Her attention was focused on a grey mare in the distance that seemed to be eyeing the burnt tall grass. She wiped sweat off her brow and placed the sunglasses on her nose again, covering the smattering of freckles that lined her cheeks. Worry filled her chest, how could she help the herds when wildfires threatened her farm? Shaking off any doubt that clouded her mind, she brought her fingers to her lips, creating a loud whistle that caught the attention of Adonis.

Adonis | Stallion | M - Morrigan, Lucky

The blood bay stallion lazily grazed on grass within the safety of his paddock, tail swishing to swat off pesky flies. A whistle penetrated the air and his head shot up, ears flicked forward. Spotting Morrigan standing near his paddock gate, he sprung into a canter, tail lifted high as he closed the distance to the fence. After stopping abruptly in front of the woman, he briefly looked back to the seal brown mare that accompanied him in his pasture. Morrigan opened the gate and put on Adonis’ halter. “Come along Adonis, let’s get you saddled up.” With one ear perked towards Morrigan and the other to the mare, he nodded his goodbye before being lead to the barn.

Amaranth | Mare | Prairie Herd | M - Dusty, Epona

Ears perked inquisitively as Amaranth overheard the conversation between Dusty and Epona. She had remained unbothered by the whole ordeal with the other herd. All that she needed to worry about was protecting the foals, and it seemed like the other herd had no intention of harming them. The black mare intended on remaining neutral, despite being second-in-command, but she still had her reservations. The black mare’s tail twitched at the sudden thought of confrontation, she did not know if she could truly remain neutral if anything bad were to happen. She glanced over to her sister, Hera. The small mare was lying on the ground, feet curled to her side with eyes half closed.

Hera | Mare | Prairie Herd

Lost in thought, Hera was imagining soft fields of grass and flowers, a place where her foal could have thrived and played joyfully. She grimaced at the intruding thought, shaking it away with a ruffle of her mane. Hearing a sudden huff above her, she looked up and met eyes with Amaranth.

"Have you been sleeping well?” The black mare asked worriedly.

Hera sighed in her heart at the question. “Yes, I know it’s been hard for the both of us, but I’d like to stop worrying you like this.” What kind of older sister was she? Letting Amaranth fuss over her instead of taking care of the herd. Hera suddenly felt selfish for the attention from her relative and softly shoo’d her sister away.

~

Dusty huffed. "To be well-fed and taken care of, I wouldn't mind a human riding on me. Besides, the horses only die because they are too stubborn to take food from humans." She returned from nibbling on the bits of grass patches. Finishing, she walked to a small pond and drank some water. Dusty stared at the water for a moment, looked up at the hot sun, and thought, Why not? before plunging into the pond. She stood in the shallow end, listening to the frogs croak.

~

~

Arion stood a little off from the rest of the herd. He was poking around, turning over rocks, and eating the tiny bits of grass stuck underneath. He stopped poking around for a bit to watch a grey mare plunge into the small pond. Tch, I wish everybody would be a bit more quiet. He thought as he returned to turning moss-covered rocks over. He particularly stayed away from where the fire first started, where lightning struck during a drought.

she saw the human looking this way and was tempted to go over,she knew her freedom was important but she was not happy with another herd pushing her around,she sniffed the ground inhaling the dry scent and then looked at the barn, its not fair, they have plenty of food and water and get to enjoy the attention of others she sighed and went back to nipping pieces of grass