L'eau is here

[manda]

L'eau trotted into Sunshine River happily. She was a bit glad to be away from Faradera and the others. She wondered if there would be any other foals or other horses around, maybe some her age, maybe some much older than her. She wouldn't mind if they weren't her age as long as they didn't tease her for being small. She let out a small call to anyone that might be around and began to graze a bit. She had been wheaned some time ago and was getting very used to the taste of grass. L'eau quit grazing after a few minutes and let out another call before trotting around a bit.

[lilmisspony]

Tiger was drinking from the river, slowly and softly, for he did not want to damage his neck further. It was healing well, if not slowly, and he did worry slightly about it becoming worse form the flies, he had seen horses heal before, only to die form what was known as the yellow fever.
The water was sweet, the grass was green and he did feel ever so good, for spring was his season, the season of renewal and growth. He pawed at the water and relished in the cooling effect it had over himself, if only he could get it to reach up to his neck. Swimming was too risky, the winter snow was still melting up stream, and the river here was flowing swiftly. He would have to leave it, although he knew that the water would be one of the best ways to settle the wound, and to cleanse it.
Tiger sighed, what to do? He continued to drink once more, for it seemed to be the customary way to fill in time here, a way to think without obviously doing so. He failed to notice the little filly nearby, but Tiger had never been a pushy and intrusive horse, and had he seen her he would have let her be.

[manda]

L'eau noticed a stallion drinking from the river. He seemed to be the only other horse around so she trotted over to him. She nickered cautiously. Farandi had flipped out and she didn't want this stallion to do the same. "Hello sir. I'm L'eau. Who are you?" L'eau stood a bit away from the stallion, but she could still see the hole in his neck from where she was standing. L'eau lowered her head to drink from the river, but she kept one eye on the stallion. She took a few slow sips of the refreshing water before she lifted her head to look at the stallion.

[lilmisspony]

Tiger heard a little call, and ignored it, as it was just a foal calling to its mother. So, he was surprised to hear the little filly talking to him. He was, after all, just another dark stallion, a stallion without any young foals of his own, although he had taken in a few as time had passed.

Tiger coughed, as he had taken in a little too much water too quickly, and this combined with shock had caused damage. Excellent.

He turned and looked at the dark little filly. She seemed too well off to be homeless; surely her mother was about somewhere. In his slow calm voice, he spoke gently to her ”names do not matter, little one, they never have. But if you must, I hail by the name of tiger.” he paused, and looked the little one over, thinking deeply, before continuing ”Where is your mother little one?”

He did not bend down to drink again, but rather looked over the little dark one, neither with kindness nor anger. What would she be doing here on her own? And what tales did she hold, a young one without a mother by her side was sure to be one for adventure. And trouble. Bucketfuls of trouble.

[manda]

L'eau looked at the stallion by the name of Tiger. "Hello Tiger. As for my mom, well, my real mother she was killed when our herd was attacked by cougars." L'eau held back most of her tears, but a few slipped out at the memory of her mother lying limp and cold on the ground with blood covering her body. L'eau spoke again. "I was just a newborn then, a year ago. My adoptive mother, Faradera, is talking to some other horses. I was with her, but I came here to met new horses." L'eau smiled at Tiger again before she trotted around a bit. She let out some energy by trotting before she stopped in front of the stallion.

[lilmisspony]

Tiger could not miss the tears, no half-respecting, trained-to-be-observant horse could, no matter how few there were. Nor could he miss the C-word. Another thing that seemed to be a custom of this strange land; the name dropping of a ferocious beast willing to eat horse-kind. Tiger had never met one, as his home land did not house such beasts, and he was thankful for it.

He was secretly pleased to watch the foal compose herself, for it meant that he did not have to do it for her, and Tiger was hopeless when it came to cheering up either mares or foals. Despite his "promise" to always look after mares and foals, part of him cared little to see them in tears, perhaps the testosterone-fulled male part. That part of him was also inclined to leave the helpless and the crying be.

He still stood as the foal trotted, at a loss for words. Not honestly a loss, just a profound lack of thinking of anything needing saying, and Tiger was not one to spout useless garble from his jaws. But he could see her yearning for interaction, so he composed a a sentence or two, to keep the little one happy. "You are a lucky one then. But you must be cautious, little one, not to be wandering on your own. One would think that you would be a little less daring after witnessing your mother's fate, yes?"

[brockschink]

Snow Dancer was grazing a bit off from the stallion and foal. She didn't notice them and continued to graze on the graze as her ebony pelt shone in the sun. She swished her tassle and went on, minding her own bisness. She looked up brefliy, knowing this was a land where stallions claimed mares, to see is a stallion was around. She needed a herd, a family, she didn't like always being alone and wandering.

[lilmisspony]

Tiger noted a mare out of the corner of his eye. Perhaps this was the adoptive mother of the foal, they were both dark. He looked a little closer, perhaps not, the mare seemed to be a little too refined ot be taking in a little one such as L'eau.

But she was dark, and that was all tiger needed for him to notice her. It was not that he was drawn to the blackness, for one could see with the dished nose that she would be of a spirited temperment.

(OOC: well, it is true, arabs are flighty)

But that still did not stop him from thinking about the fateful day that had split him form the dark beauty. Not that it mattered anymore, for Tiger had killed her. It had indeed been him, and he would never forgive himself for it.

He looked back at the little filly, perhaps he had upset her about mentioning her mother? He almost laughed, that was hardly a reason to cry.

[manda]

L'eau looked at the new mare, but turned her attention back to Tiger. "Well, I'm cautious when I think those cougars are around, but there aren't any cougars around here. My mother wasn't smart enough to get away, that's the difference between us. I'm smart and she isn't, wasn't." The last bit was added in a slightly softer tone with a hint of sadness in great contrast to the strong tone in the previous statement. She lowered her head to the ground and began to graze on the new spring grass. She wondered if Faradera had her foal yet.

[lilmisspony]

Tiger was impressed with the sheer obtuseness of the young filly, especially considering that she had only just stopped crying about her mother's death. But, it was true that the foal would never have truely known the mother, if she had been killed by those "cougars" whilst the filly had been as young as she had said.

Tiger looked at her once more. Ah, those tears had never truely died, he noticed. Was he to cheer her up? Was he to care, was perhaps a more worthy answer. Altohugh he had been taught to look after the small. And he could not ignore what she had said, either. He nodded, and simply stated, "You must be strong to survive". It held truth in more ways than one, he thought. And he could hide behind such a statement quite well.

He bent lower to look at the litttle one properly. There was thing that intrigued him above all the things about this little filly. And he did have to find out. Politely, and in his deep, quiet tones, he asked her "Are you not spooked by the wounds I hold, little one?"

[manda]

L'eau looked up at the stallion and spoke quietly. "I know I need to be strong and cautious. I have been taught by Faradera and Farandi." L'eau looked at Tiger's wounds once again, but didn't even flinch. She knew that they couldn't be from a cougar, no, cougar wounds wound be much different. Cougar wounds would have claw marks, but his wounds had a look that seemed to be caused by hooves, probably the hooves of another stallion. She was only a year old, but she was already observing the world around her with much interest. She knew much about the world and how it worked. "I'm not spooked. They were probably from a fight with another stallion, weren't they. I can tell, they look like they were caused by hooves. If they were from a cougar they would look like they were from claws." L'eau smiled up at the stallion. She was intelligent for her age, but she still had a lot to learn about the world around her.

[lilmisspony]

Tiger chuckled lightly, before he replied "Oh, little one, if only they had been caused by hooves, then the wound would not be there. Tiger paused and sighed before he continued hes explanation "You are correct in thinking that it was a stallion, little one, but rather, it was his teeth that did this. No hoof could. "

Tiger allowed himself to take a breif drink form the river, he was not delaying the process, as seemed costomary, but he was actually thirsty. Wounds caused strain, he knew that, and he would need ot drink plenty if he were to make a full recovery.

Again, he looked back at the filly, with water dripping gently from his muzzle, all he said in reply to the gentle drip of the water was "strong indeed"

[manda]

L'eau looked at the stallion and felt some sympathy for him, but knew that it was in the life of a stallion to fight, be injured, and protect his mares. She looked up at him with interest. "What was the fight about? Were you protecting your mares and land?" L'eau looked at the wound again and saw that it was, indeed, caused by teeth. She had not examined it close enough before to notice that it was caused by teeth and not hooves. She walked to the edge of the river and took a small drink. She walked back toward Tiger and began to graze quietly. She looked up again. "Does it hurt when you eat and drink, your neck I mean, does it hurt?"

[lilmisspony]

Tiger again chuckled lightly upon the filly's words; innocence was indeed a thing of great happiness. "No, it no longer hurts. It did, greatly so, but, I have my ways of blocking pain". Time, of course, Tiger thought, almost six months, surely it would not go much longer before things healed up properly. Time was the great healer, too bad that some scars are never fully gone.

But how was Tiger to politely answer the filly, without offending her? He had not fought for mares, herds or really, even land. Just what was right, like ol' Centurio would have done. Tiger rose his head, and looked away a little "I fought.... becasue I had to. I fought, not for my mares, but becasue it was the right thing to do, Little one," he said slowly and softly. "War is a dark thing, and all stallions sohuld advoid it where they can, but sometimes, we do not have a choice".

Tiger looked over, and breifely noted the dark mare. What was she doing?

[brockschink]

Snow dancer finally looked up from grazing, still unaware of the horses standing nearby. A drink would do me good. She thought. She turned and headed towards the river, stopping to notice the stallion and the filly. She waited to be noticed before proceding any farther. She wondered what these two were doing, it isn't often you see a wounded stallion and a young filly alone together.

OOC: sry i couldn't relpy sooner! And yes, Arabs are fighty! lol