As the lone stallion relentlessly walked he eventually found another water source, looking similar to a small stream he leaned in and drank. Once he got his fill, he then nibbled on the reeds and grasses that coated the water's edge, which tasted twice as good since his mouth was dry.

After a bit of eating, drinking, and some well deserved rest, he was ready to continue. With a loud whinny he bolted and sniffed the air, his hind legs propelled him forward, muscles rippling under his shiny red, black, and white coat, each stride caused him to snort due to him over working himself a bit.

After a brutal ten to fifteen minutes of sprinting he followed the sent of the herd to a smaller valley, which he immediately put all his weight on his haunches and slid to a halt, then he lifted his head and flared his upper lip, taking in all the sents. They were here and he knew it, so he began cautiously and carefully going down the path, well, he wouldn't even call it walking, he would call it sliding down the trail, until he saw the herd, and the stallion by the water with a mare. Without thinking he let out a small nicker, ears forward. Instead of a aggressive or nervous stance, he was rather curious and a bit too bold..

(I uhh, got tired so sorry if this didn't make sense, loll)

________ Amira | Band B | Mare | Mahogany Bay Badger Tobiano

Amira sighed, giving Gunnya a smile "Great news, i'm glad you're ok!" She said softly, pleased by the answer. When Gunnya asked if she'd been here before she glanced around the plain before looking at Gunnya to answer "Something about this place... Feels familiar.. But i can't quite put my hoof on it? Why do you ask?" Amira looked at the lead stallion with gentle eyes feeling more relaxed.

After speaking with Gunnya, Amira lowered her head to drink some water. Her body stiffened and head shot up when the Band stallion took off so agressively, she spun around to see a red roan snowcap appaloosa with the most lushious black mane she'd ever seen. But still a outsider.

Amira quickly grew anxious and joined the band mares, Amira hoped Gunnya wouldn't get hurt or worse... But perhaps the bachelor stallion was just passing by? So she hoped he wouldn't get hurt either...

Val was too busy staring at the mares to even see the lead Stallion charging him until he was a few meters away, which made Val jump out of his skin, causing him to instantly put his weight on his haunches, spin around and bolt away, scaling the trail that led out of the small valley. While getting out of there the younger stallion called, "Sorry! I won't stick around long sir!". With that he made it out, instantly coming to a gallop, heading back to the last stream he originally came from before going there.

...

Once at his preferred spot Val took a drink and eventually he began playing in the water with his nose and muzzle, but quickly stopped his actions and faced the direction of where the herd was.

Deep down Val was admiring the Stallion, either way he was scary as hell, but Val wasn't quick to judge, he most likely would've done the same if he saw a bachelor...

But he still thought and pondered about in his mind, which caused him to slowly drift to sleep, his lower lip got droopy, his eyes got heavy, his head lowered towards the ground, and he rested his right hind hoof.

Scarab | Stallion | 4 | Palamino | Bachelor | M; Kirra, NPC band
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Scarab watched as the mare responded to him, he felt a strong sense of determination flood him. He wasn't leaving here without this mare...the withdrawn nicker from her made his ears prick forward. His attention falling away from the lead stallion for a moment- until he interrupted the moment- Scarab pawed roughly at the ground, kicking up dust and rasping out a challenging cry to the lead. It made his head pound to see the way this lead so readily nipped at the mare. Any lead stallion that could only direct his band through violence would see no respect from Scarab. He squared up to him. They paced around each other for several moments before the tension in the air snapped and Scarab lunged forward.
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Their fight wasn't extraordinary, blows were dealt back and forth. Kicks aimed at flanks and heads, bites landing on necks and shoulders. All the while Scarab was driving the stallion away from the Buckskin mare. Getting between them as if he was defending her. He pushed him back, not without consequence of course. The fight nevertheless ended with Scarab as the victor. He hadn't taken the entire band but the mare he'd seen...he'd won her. That was enough to bolster his pride. He was bleeding from a particularly sharp bite from the other lead at his neck and his muscles would ache for a while...but it was worth it. He turned his attention back to the patterned mare, whinnying and trotting over to where she'd been separated from the rest of the herd
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"I never got to ask your name" He nickered, wanting to come off as friendly as he made a move to lead her away from this dust bowl.

Kirra | Mare | 6 | Tobiano Buckskin | M; NPC Lead Stallion, Scarab

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Her brown eyes watched as the fight unfolded before her eyes, looking back at the other band mares they'd already moved away from the scuffle and were watching from the sideline as the two stallions bit and fought with the bachelor gaining the upper hand.

As they drew blows to each other Kirra managed to scamper over to the bachelors side watching as the once lead stallion eventually lost and with his hurt body and ego withrew back to the rest of his band quickly moving them away.

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Kirra only had a few small nip marks on her haunches but it was nothing compared to what the two stallions had sustained, her eyes gazed at the Bachelor stallion seeing the blood on his neck from a nasty bite wound. She didn't properly know him yet but she felt bad knowing that wouldn't exactly feel great.

The tobiano buckskin watched as his attention drew back to her, anxiousness rose in her chest again watching him trot closer to her. Her ears moved back not pinned but ready to defend herself if needed, she didn't know what he was like yet so she had a bit of a guard up. Hearing how he spoke she realised he was trying to be friendly, it took her anxiousness down a few notches with some relief seeing he wasn't as brute like as her old lead.

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Her lean body moved with the stallion glad to get out of this place. "Kirra" she responded, "What about you?" she added gazing over him properly now that she was closer to him. She didn't like being moved around so much but this was for the better this time, she needed to put on some weight before the breeding season rolled around which it already had, you could see she had a good amount of muscle but not so much with healthy fat.

.

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After the nice short slumber that Val had he let out a shakey sigh and let out a long yawn, opening his mouth and baring his teeth. While yawning he didn't realise the fly that snuck in until he finally closed his mouth (poor lad Xd). After a second his throat got ticklish and itchy, causing him to shake his head and cough.

A few minutes went by after the stupid fly incident, which Val decided to keep it to himself, and began grazing, eagerly pulling mouthful after mouthful of the reeds and grasses that grew alongside the stream. Once in awhile he would lift his head and sniff the air around him, making sure that there were no predators around.

Scarab held his head in a slightly stiff way, not wanting to stretch the muscles near the wound. It would heal, but what he really wanted was to wash some of the blood away, attracting dingos was asking for trouble. He could fend them off, but it was a lot of energy spent and even small injuries were dangerous if they built up. He slowed his walking pace for a moment as he tried to remember where the closest river was, and turned his body towards it, making sure the mare was walking with him.
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"Kirra?" He checked that he'd heard her right "Its a beautiful name, it suits you" The bachelor nickered, he wasn't really the lead of a herd yet.."I'm Scarab" He answered her as he flared his nostrils to take in the scent of their environment, he felt more of a need to be alert now that Kirra was with him. He didn't want her to get hurt- or for another bachelor to take her "Your old herd, what was it like?" He asked after a few moments. The scattered nips on her hind quarters and her lack of fat made Scarab think her old stallion may have been overly-paranoid about keeping his herd out of sight and controlling his mares. He made a mental note not to go down a similar path.
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They were edging on a ravine by now, and Scarab stepped in front of her, blocking her path. He'd go down first to find the safest way to get to the bottom- where a river was bubbling over rocks and against reeds- His steps were careful as not to slip on any loose rocks "We can stop here" He called up to her from the bottom of the slope once he'd reached it.

Kirra | Mare | 6 | Tobiano Buckskin | M; Scarab

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Trailing along after the Bachelor she appreciated his compliment, her mother was quite proud when she named her and it brought some joy to Kirra thinking about her dam again it'd been a long time since she'd seen her.

"Scarab" she repeated to herself processing his name to remember, she gazed down at the ground beneath them watching as her pale hooves dusted with the red earth walked on. There certainly wasn't a lot of forage in this area and that was exactly why her old lead had chosen this spot because no sane stallion would choose this area to graze their herd but it clearly didnt mean nobody would cross paths with them.

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Flaring her nostrils more she could tell he was guiding them to a water source, she was glad because her throat was on the dry side after everything. Her ears perking up listening to Scarab as he spoke and after listening to him she thought on it for a few moment, "It wasn't pleasant, he was always paranoid about someone coming to take us away from him" she snorted looking up and over to him for a moment her brown eyes looking over the palomino stallion once more. Her black and white tail swished through the air as they began coming upon a ravine, there were more bugs near the water probably gathering the liquid for themselves too.

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Stopping short as he blocked her path her ear flicked to the side with a bit of confusion but soon realised he was checking the path before her, after he'd found the safest route down she followed down the path. Slow and steady she made sure to not slip on any of the stones below her, wading into the deeper part of the water she let out a sharp snort when the cool ravine touched her chest. Moving back over to the more shallow end Kirra lowered her head slightly to sip at the cool liquid.

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He tossed his head, his mane whipping about at the onslaught of bugs that had gathered near the water. Their buzzing and chirping in the long grass and reeds was a familiar sound, but Scarab preferred them not to come and scream near his ears. Their movement closer to the water had kicked several of the insects up into the air, disturbing them and resulting in the small, living clouds. He hoped they'd settle back into the foliage soon..."I see, its funny how broad the spectrum is" He noted, his tail swishing across the surface of the water "Some stallions are like yours, paranoid and over-protective...then you get the bold and reckless ones"
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He wasn't actually sure of what kind he was yet. He didn't think he'd be terribly paranoid...probably something in between the two extremes. He'd find out soon enough. For now he was leaning more to keeping Kirra safe. After all she needed to pick up some weight, he couldn't expect a foal from her now. He was content with being patient though.
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Her reaction to the water made him nicker in amusement. Not every horse liked the water in the same way he did. He picked up his hooves and joined her in the shallower part of the ravine, gently pushing his nose against her shoulder for a moment. He didn't dip his head yet. They weren't in easy sights...and there were really only so many directions a threat could come from, but he had to keep a look out. He moved so that his head was on the opposite end of her's "eat while we're here too" he added on after a few moments