The stallion stood there for a moments more before taking one last look at the herd as he trotted off after the golden mare, Dae. Audits perked as he tracked her as he coarsed over the river, the cool waters chilled his legs as he stepped in. Marching out rather fast as the tip of his plumage was wet as he flicked it sending drops at ether said of his pelt. Nostrils flared as he took in her scent as he galloped up the steep hill, only to break back into a long gaited walk as he seen her a few miles ahead of him. "Dae!" he called with his deep husky call. Powerful hooves struck the grounds with each step, his large hips swayed side to side as his muscles flexed with each step. Blowing out warm air through his muzzle as his golden hues locked to her frame the closer he got, as his mane and forelock brisked against him in the gentle breeze, sending his wooded scent into the air around them. Night was coming as the sun hung low in the horizon as the hot sun become more cooling in the area.

Sundae | 4yrs | Mare | M: Comanche, Delta, Open

It looked like it would be peaceful, like she would finally have a moment to take a deep breath and close her eyes. Like she could finally think clearly about what was going to come next. At least, she thought she was going to have a nice moment to herself before she heard a voice behind her.

At first it made her spook, sidestepping quickly in order to face the oncomer. Upon seeing the vague black coat in the now darkening earth, Dae eased up a little. Why on earth had he come all the way out here?

"Glad you cared to join me on my walk," She said without making the words sound remotely genuine, as soon as his pace slowed to a walk not far from her, "I was doing you a favor, dear. I was removing myself from your happy little herd. You're welcome. And you're also welcome to leave me alone."

She didn't sway from her position, letting the tall grass brush gently against her white socks and feeling the soft earth sink beneath her hooves. Her ears relaxed, even when her forelock insisted on covering them.

"You do have something good," She admitted, gesturing with a nod toward the direction in which he came, "Even if she is a dramatic, heartbreaking mare, you're happy. And so is she. For the time being. I guess that's all that matters. The here and now."

He paused right in front of her but left room in between them. Clearly she wasn't happy that he came after her but, he didn't much care. Audits swivled at her words as he turned his frame to look back at his herd before regaining his attention towards her once more. He smiled some "I'm here to apologize for lashing out at you... I didn't think you'd run away after a few harsh words being spoken" he smirked a bit before it disappeared "I know what I have back there. I'm not leaving it behind. I come to see why you did." his words floated calmly towards her audits. He was curious and yet it made no sense why she would just shove an opprotunity like she had away. "I'm not here to force you back or do some claiming on you. I welcomed you into our herd, protection from the stallions chasing you yet here you are and making up silly illusions as if I'm out here to win you over when I have a mate. You are so wrapped up in my life... why is that?" he questioned her with a intriding raise of his brow.

Sundae | 4yrs | Mare | M: Comanche, Open

Why was that? She wanted him to answer his own question. There he stood, acually behaving as though he cared about what happened to her even though they'd met less than a twenty four hours ago. She didn't care, not really. She could put her behind him fairly easily... somewhat easily.

"Your guess is as good as mine dear. But trust me when I say I want nothing more than to remove myself from your life and never see any of you again," She would have continued with some semblance of patience and willingness to talk. But something in the air shifted. And she shifted with it.

There was a smell on the wind, a smell like pine needles. A smell that would have gone unnoticed... if she didn't recognize it like she had many times before. All at once her body tensed and her tail pinned against her legs.

She had to get him out of here, and the quickest way to do what was through words. Words that could hurt as badly as a scar. Her eyes narrowed into character, and her voice became thick with ice, "You're nothing to me and frankly you're worthless. You can't protect me from anything. You can't save me from my past. Everything that happened happened year ago and you weren't there. No one was. And I don't want anything from you now."

This wasn't going to work, she could see this wasn't going to work. So she took the risk of crossing a line that would make his blood boil, "Your family is nothing. What you have is nothing. They don't need you. And I doubt you care about them at all."

She hated, actually hated what she said to him. But she didn't stop. Instead she rose a little taller, glancing over his shoulder for a moment before meeting his gaze, "Leave now or I'll kill you."

The stud's audits perked in alert as he too caught a rather heavy scent that flooded the air, golden hues softly glanced aroundw ithout moving his frame as he soon noticed her change in body language. He felt himself get stiff as he let out a blow warning bellow before her voice suddenly took over the air. Golden hues locked to her blues as she kept firing words at him, stinging his pelt with each word. His adutis began to pin as he bared his teeth together as he felt his blood began to boil. He had about had it with his mare. No manners, no thankfulness even when he was trying to apologize she still tried to knock him down.

His hooves bared to the ground hard as if he could make a sinking hole as his whole body went so stiff he could make holes in the ground. Golden hues turned dark gold as he narrowed his orbs at her, eyebrows furrowed as he had enough of her talk. "ENOUGH!" he shouted at her with a stomp of his hoof.

"I CARE about my family and they know it! Unlike you, you are nothing but a loveless mare that couldn't love her own family even if she had one! You walk around like you don't need anybody and you don't have a care in the world! You must love being lonely because you are nothing but a cold hearted, unloveable ruthless cold mare and you will DIE ALONE!" his tongue lashed out venom with every word he spat back in her face, he was clacking his teeth he was so in ranged. He began to think, he needed to stop being so nice to others.

He was panting some as it seemed all that anger took energy away from him, now he despided this mare as he looked her up and down. His forelock fell in front of his eyes as his nostrils flared with each breathe. He slowly crept closer to her frame as his frame become emotionless "I take orders from no one. You think you can kill me take your best shot. Maybe whatever you are scared of, I'll help them kill you instead" his tone become deep and almost errie as his words tried to send a cold chill down the mares's spine. There noses touched for a moment, before he quickly turned his frame away. "Pathetic Mare" he whispered with spite as he soon turned allowing his pluamge to slap her frame as he spun around. Steam could be seen coming off his now hot pelt as sweat began to drip on his chest from the anger. He rolled his hues as he faced away from her, cussing under his breathe.

Sundae | 4yrs | Mare | M: Comanche, Open

Dae did her best to sheild the harsh words from getting to her. But unlike what she had said to him, he beleived what he said to her. It was true what he said to her, even if it was purely in anger.

Even in the darkness she could see the rage that he tried deperately to contain. She could see his effort, his effort to hold back the instinct to kick, bite, scar, bruise her. It was impressive, honestly, that all she got was a tail to the face. What she'd said deserved that much if nothing else.

But she would have prefered he didn't say anything at all. She would have rather had him sink his teeth into her pelt, or thrown a hoof at her. Words hurt more than she had anticipated. And she wasn't used to defending herself from them.

But despite the crushing effect his cruel words had, she remained where she was. Her ears were all the while set in one direction. And as soon as he finished, a very faint whinny just reached those ears.

Drawing in a frightened breath, she bit onto the stallions neck and just managed to shove her weight into his forelegs. This resulted into them both landing on thier sides in the tall grass. She tried to pull him to the ground, enough so that they were comletely hidden. As soon as she could, she pressed her chin hard against his neck as if to keep him down.

"Quiet Comanche, quiet please. Please. Our lives depend on it," She swallowed the fear that swelled up into her throat, beginning to feel that aching pain in her stomach return. She hoped he wouldn't give away where she was. She prayed he wouldn't. She continued to beg him not to in whispers, "Please, please. If you have any compassion left for me, show it now. They'll pass soon. Please don't give away our position, please don't. Please."

The stallion was so focused on his anger and what just happened before him, he didn't even hear the nicker that peirced the air, the sun had gone completely and it was only darkness and stars the surrounded them now. He felt the hairs on his back stand up as he felt a very unwelcoming feeling, almost concerned he turned his frame to see what it was, he locked his golden hues to the golden mare, furrowing his eyebrows he wanted to lash out more words, but before he could, he felt nothing but her sharp teeth digging into his shiny smooth pelt, he could feel blood trickling slowly down his neck, as he was brutely foreced the the ground, he his his side with a thud.


He let out a grunt, baring his teeth "get off me" he snorted with irration as he struggled to fight against her as she pressed her body to his as the tall grass surrounded them. Hearing her shaken voice, his golden hues flocked to her frame. His expression began to soften as he felt the fear in her voice, he could feel her body trimble as he stopped fighting her. Audits flicked to listen in their surroundings through her pleading whispers. He felt his demenor change as he laid quiet with her. Though she her hues was lurking around them to watch for whatever she was afriad of, he couldn't help but keep his orbs locked to hers. This time he could feel it.... and this time it wasn't a game.

"Look at me.. it's going to be okay" he cooed in a whisper to the mare, hoping to calm her down some as he reached his frame softly from the grounds to press his muzle to her cheek "Shhh Shh Shhh" he hummed though he too wondered who "they" was. "I'm not going to let them have you" he spoke in another whisper

Sundae | 4yrs | Mare | M: Comanche, Open

Dae found herself releasing a sigh, still struggling slightly with the pain that ebbed in her stomach. It wasn't enough that she couldn't ignore it. And so she did, paying attention instead to the sounds and smells in the air after having Comanche calm down.

She let him carress her, not really caring for the kind gesture but also not about to stop him. She painfully closed her eyes when he offered to protect her. A pang of jelousy fleeting fell over her. It was much like a breeze. There one moment and gone the next.

It was jelousy for Dell. Not because she had Comanche speficially, but becuase she actually had someone who cared, loved, and was willing to protect her. Sundae had always been alone, had always relied on herself. And after feeling the soft strokes of his warm muzzle on her cheek, she wished she'd had someone willing to protect her. Someone willing to help her carry all the wieght on her shoulders.

She nodding after a while, after the scent was very well gone from the air and there were no longer sounds to worry about, she propped herself up a little. She didn't stand yet, as though it would take some time before she had enough courage to do so.

"Thank you," She distanced herself from him a little ways, and that entire pretence she'd used since meeting him died away. She was no longer holding anything back. Her eyes softened with weariness and actual gratitude, "I didn't mean what I said. I was hoping you'd leave... I'm glad you stayed though. They'd have found you then me."

The stallion smiled at the mare when she spoke two words she didn't think he'd ever hear her say, 'thank you'. Realizing they was maybe a bit to close for comort. He cleared his throat as he soon sat up "Welcome", shaking his frame, as he soon tucked his legs under his body, his thick plumage curling over them, as they both laid in the cool grasses. Audits softly swivled as the errie feeling seemed to be gone in the air. Golden hues looked around before he refocused on her, seeing her feeling more a ease, brough him comfort. "It's okay.. we all say things we don't mean too" he spoke with a slight chuckle as his nostril blew out warm breathe. Smelling the faint scent of blood, he eyed his neck once more before an audit flicked to her "Who are they?" he questioned with concern.