[wandering into the valley][meiko&tarren&OPEN]

[ViXEN]

The wind danced across the valley, bringing its autumn chill and nipping at those brave enough to call to its challenge. One such "brave" wind-challenger was a mare. Her fur was as if she was born a bloody bay, then dipped into the pure night sky, giving her velvety black socks. She gazed across the land timidly. For the longest time, she had lived on her own, away from a herd or any other horses for that matter, except for her mother. When it was time for her to find her own life, she had left with her head full of worry and doubt. The mare had never developed any confidence or any true social skills, thus leaving her awkward and very shy. Her mother had seen this in her filly and had named her Meiko, a name passed down ear from ear to mean "bud". The mare had hope that the little Meiko would bloom into a beautiful flower...

A snort broke the silence surrounding Meiko. Her? A blooming flower? Unlikely. She slowly found her way down the side of the slope she was on, the ground too solid to break away as Meiko dug her hooves into the grass and earth. Her ears pinned back in worry. She could smell that other horses frequented the area. What if she ran into one? Or more? Meiko paused her descent and vacillated between fleeing or continuing. What would her mother say if she ran back like some scared, silly filly? Her eyes narrowed determinedly. She would not face her mother again. Meiko had waited for her day of freedom so long and she would follow the course, no matter how lost she was feeling.

Meiko perked her ears and scanned the landscape once more. Not a sight of another equine... or anything else, now that she focused. Was that a bad thing? When watching the local fauna with her mother, she had asked all sort of questions. Meiko recalled one such conversation...

Meiko, a young filly then, looked up at her bay mother. "Why are they running, mother?" she asked softly, watching the birds fleeing into the sky. She marveled at their format; each bird rose and flew with the flock like a synchronized dance.
"They are flying, little bud, because we are too close." The mare looked down at her child, then up at the birds. She fancied them as well.
"But... why? We aren't scary, are we?" Meiko noted the word 'flying' and remembered to use it when talking about birds.
"Birds and all other animals have instincts to run from others bigger than themselves. Predators are usually larger than their prey, so they fly away since they think they are being hunted." The mare had simplified the instinct as best as she could. The filly wouldn't understand fully, but it would be enough to carry her through adulthood. "Use the birds as a sign. When they fly, there could be something big lurking in the shadows.."

Meiko shook her head, freeing herself from the memory of the lesson. Her eyes drifted up to the sky. No birds. Was it because they had fled already or was there truly no danger? She would find out soon enough...

ooc: So, I haven't really role played horses before. I hope this is a good enough starting post. x-x I don't know many horse thumb-of-rules, so feel free to give me some advice. It could be longer, I know, but I'm just testing it out. :3

[L Y N X !]

» It was chilly on the island today, signalling that autumn had finally arrived. The trees were already painted with hues of gold, red, and brown, and leaves were littered on the forest floor, crunching under the stallion's hooves. Despite the cool temperatures, young Taren fancied it a nice day. He held his head up as he gazed up at the tops of the trees, facinated by the little birds and occasional squirrels going from tree to tree, eating as much food as they could possibly find and bickering loudly at each other. The birds always disapeared by the time fall was in full swing, except for the ravens that all the horses on the isle talked to. He never understood where in the world they went. It was pure ocean as far as he could see. But despite that, they always returned. They must go somewhere, and Taren would like to know where they went one day, but until that day game, he was content to play the guessing game.

» Now, Taren didn't ever usually leave Liberta, but it was around time that he stretched his legs out somewhere new. He and his mother came to Belle Valle when he was really little, and it was all just a fuzzy memory, but he knew it was here in which they came. The bay blinked his green orbs as he took a sniff, a breath of icy air filling his lungs. His ears pricked as he picked up the scent of a nearby mare. Curious, Taren called out with a loud whinny.

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[ViXEN]

The mare continued sliding down the slope, carefully placing each hoof on the awkward footing of the ground. The sound of rolling rocks and shifting dirt muffled the tell-tale noises of hoofsteps that would have sounded the arrival of Taren, though his whinny was clear as air. Meiko's head snapped up, her ears perked and pinpointed towards the source. The call wasn't aggressive, she noted after a moment, only curious. The mare paused when she reached the end of the hill and looked around. At first, she could not see any equine-like form but then her orbs focused on Taren properly.

He was a well-built stallion, though she couldn't be a judge seeing as she hadn't seen many males before. His dark brown pelt had blended in with the surroundings so well with the bark of the trees that lined the valley ground. Meiko's ears pinned back slightly. It was her first time meeting a strange, new horse without her mother. She tentatively padded forward until she was in his view. It was a good idea to let him see her first before anything else happened.

Meiko didn't know if this land was free or claimed. She was as blind as a bat without echolocation in the sense of herds and territory of this land. Briefly, she wondered if straying to far into the land might cause her much trouble but she brushed it off. Horses of all scents, which varied every time she breathed in, seemed to wander among the grassy plains of the valley. If it was claimed, a Lord or Lady wouldn't allow such a breach onto their territory. The mare's ears corrected themselves as she raised her confidence.

ooc: Blah, short post. Distracted by hunger and Supernatural. ;3

[L Y N X !]

» Taren slowed to a skidding halt, giving a snort of surprise as the forest gave way to a rocky slope that dipped down into a deeper part of the valley. His ears flicked as he peered over the edge, licking his muzzle nervously as he spied some of the sharp rocks jutting out from the mass piles. And then his green eyes shifted over to spy a mare about his age looking up at him

» She was redder than a squirrel, and she was quite the pretty little mare. He blinked at the fae, but gave her a friendly smile. "Hello!" he called down to her, then tentively began hiking down the slope towards her, occasionally glancing at the rocks. He wasn't used to climbing around like this, it was outrageous! Climbing was for goats.

ooc; FAIL post D:
character; taren
song; jane doe - nevershoutnever
muse;

[sibber-chow]

Char was determined to learn her way around this blasted island without getting lost! She was resolute that she would not have to be rescued! Rune would not have to come save her again! Crap, she was lost. Hopeless eyes surveyed the landscape as the young mare trekked through… through… what was this place called again? The name did not really matter she supposed; what was important now was figuring out how to get from here and back to home. It was not long until the mare stumbled (quite literally) out of the forestry and down the slope into the large valley that made up, ah, yes, Belle Valle! (Fortunately, for young Char the slope from which she tumbled down was not too steep or rocky.

After a few moments down, Char wobbled to her feet. She was quick to recover as her curious blue eyes peered around with nostrils flaring. There were several scents that lingered upon the air although Char did not distinctly recognize any of them. It did not matter for soon she heard a distant calling – another equine. She haphazardly charged in the direction of the noise. But, before she could locate the stallion that had made such a call, her eyes caught sight of the wandering mare much closer than the caller. The young lead of Rocas immediately changed course for the figure – without considering that the sight of her charging carelessly towards the mare might be a daunting prospect.

She skidded to a rough halt in front of the mare in question with an optimistic whinny. “Boy, am I glad to see someone else here!” Suddenly her face turned quite serious as she remembered that she was supposed to act more… diplomatic. “I… mean, hello, I am Char, leader of the Rocas territory,” the mare had tried so hard to keep a serious face, one like her mother would have, but wound up with a bright (and slightly eerie) smile propped upon her kissers as she spoke. The young one must have seemed quite neurotic.

And, it was about this time that Char realized the stallion she'd heard earlier was now hiking the slope down towards them. Her head tilted to the side quietly as she slapped her tail against her flank quite excitedly. This little one was not one to realize the danger that a stallion could impose.

[ViXEN]

The mare watched the stallion as he noticed her, then started shuffling down the side of the hill. She waited, her left ear twitching with nervous anticipation. It was her first time interacting with a new, unfamiliar horse. She hoped she wasn't too weird. Well, she was weird... definitely. But maybe she was a good enough actress to learn the ways of the horse herds. Damn her mother for sheltering her too much...

Suddenly, the sound of another horse tumbling down the side of the slope near her. Meiko turned and blinked her eyes, then focused on the shape of a young mare trotting up to her.

Boy, am I glad someone else here! The mare had whinnied to her in greeting. Meiko offered a small smile, but before she could say anything else, the stranger corrected herself. I… mean, hello, I am Char, leader of the Rocas territory. A leader, eh? The bloody bay bowed her head slightly in respect, hoping it was the right thing to do.

"I am Meiko... However, I have no territory." Her ear twitched again, nervous. It was the point of no return. She identified herself as an outsider, a herdless mare... Now things were going to get interesting. "Is... this the Rocas territory? I didn't mean to intrude, I'm just lost."

As the other mare--Char, as she recalled her name--looked over at the stallion, she turned as well to wait for him to arrive. Hopefully he wasn't a leader as well. Her mother had warned her about leader stags; they claimed as much as they could and whoever they wanted.

[L Y N X !]

» Taren breifly paused when her heard the sudden shifting of rocks, freezing him in fear that it was the rocks under her hooves moving, but as it turned out, it wasn't. He swiveled his ears, confused, but came to the conclusion that it was a large slope of rocks, and some were bound to just give way to gravity and tumble down to the valley below. He gave a sheepish look at the blood bay mare, but her attention was turned to a young mare that suddenly appeared. She must have been the cause of the rockslide. The bay slowed his dissent to the pair, allowing them to talk a few more minutes before he actually came upon them.

» He was able to catch the two mare's names, so when he arrived, he dipped his head politely to both mares, but his head went a bit lower towards Char, ears angled back in respect. "Miss Mieko, Lady Char. Glad to meet you two," he said, giving them a coy smile. "My name's Taren, and my father leads Terra Delle Liberta. I'm sure you'll know where that is, Char." His bright, forest green eyes shifted to the mare. Liberta and Rocas were very well-known allies, and Liberta was the first herd to know that Fiana had passed. They knew everything that went on with that herd, and vice versa.

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ooc; derp hurrr
character; taren
song; jane doe - nevershoutnever
muse; meh, I got it done good enough