Sleeping Beauty

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The slight breeze rippled her sparse mane and tail, her ears flicking and nostrils taking in all of the scents. Yes, other horses were here in this land, but she did not try to find them. Her head ducked down towards the ground as she ran her lips over the grasses. The sun shone down on her metallic buckskin coat. She was a lovely buckskin, her coat healthy and covered in dapples. Her body was lean like a greyhound, a sure sign that she was a desert breed.

A noise tickled her ears and her head rose upright. The sound of hoofbeats made her look towards the trees. A glimpse of a horse was seen. The horse was a deep red color with black on the mane and tail. White markings were limited, but scars crisscrossed the hide. One eye was missing and it walked with a limp. But it did not seem bothersome or angry. Just there. Sighing to herself, she tore her gaze away from the strange horse and continued to graze.

Tsetse was far from her home land. This was certainly not the desert that she was used to. This grass was almost too fresh and the smells were too heavy. But she was lost now. Lost in a world that was different and she was being watched by another horse.

[Swede]

The grizzled roan had been master of this territory for the past eleven years, and he knew every inch of it. He was also acutely aware of whenever there was something out of place, even the slightest of disturbances had difficulty evading his attention; now, he could smell it on the breeze, hear it in the grass, feel it in his bones: there was an intruder here.

Leaving his herd to graze in the sun, Kahuna wove between the gnarled old apple trees, doggedly hunting down whatever it was that dared enter his land unannounced. Time had not made him any less wary; on the contrary, he had only grown more careful, but also more cunning. He learned from past mistakes. He was vaguely aware of trouble brewing elsewhere in the land, and wanted no part of it. He would defend the peace of his herd with teeth and hooves if need be, and pull no punches in doing so.

Whoever was here now though did not appear to be issuing any sort of challenge or making any move near his family, and thus Kahuna exercised the benefit of the doubt instead of attacking immediately. As they came into view, he halted among the trees, emitting a rough snort to announce his presence. He said nothing, only flicking his ears to and fro inquisitively, but the proud set of his head commanded respect, and his tense but fearless stance demanded answers.

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Tsetse raised her head to the proud snort and dipped her head in respect. She was a mare and knew quite well how stallions demanded their respect. A remembered sting on her haunches reminded her quite well what happened when she did not properly respect the elder stallion.
"Greetings, kind stallion. I am named Tsetse and apologize for having intruded, if this is your land. You see, I am lost beyond measure and I cannot fathom as how to return to my homeland. Not that I truly wish to return though. It is a dreary and sand filled place where the humans pair you with a commanding stallion and his harem of mares after you prove fit to breed. I'm sorry, I rattled..." She lowered her head in dread of the pain that she could foresee coming.

Her black tail swung slightly behind her as she awaited the stallion's next move, her eyes following him softly.

He stood among the trees, watching his father. Indeed, it was time to move on. He knew that now. And move on he did, to lands unknown.

[Swede]

Kahuna exhaled in a short puff and stepped closer, still wary of any potential threat but unafraid. What had he to fear? He was master of this territory, this was his home turf and few things could threaten him here, certainly not a timid lone mare. "This is indeed my land," he said in his usual gruff tone, "and I have lived here with my herd for a number of years now. I am Kahuna." He paused, taking a few more steps towards her before halting again. Even though he had never seen this mare before, she was still starkly familiar to him. "I have met others who came from the same place as you. You aren't the first of your kind to tread this ground. It's a curious thing... what brings you here?" Memories flitted through his thoughts of time past and mares found and lost. He wasn't one to lose himself in them; a tough hide and ironclad heart kept you strong, kept you moving forward. If he allowed himself to grieve everything he had lost in life, he would not still be standing here, would not be able to protect the family he still had.

[Deleted]

"I am not the first of my kind here? Well, they must have traveled as far as I have to have gotten here at one point. Life is funny like that, I guess. She sighed softly and shook her head, her black mane and tail shifting gently as she moved. A hoof raised up and then set back down on the ground gently as she thought of her next move to make towards this stallion.

"Well met, Kahuna. I hope that I am not intruding much in your lands. I just have been traveling for so long and had wished to rest before finding a place to live. This place is quite lovely indeed and I hope that you and your family love it here as well." Her voice was soft as she backed up slightly, her head bent down in respect for the stallion that stood before her.

[Swede]

She seemed harmless; though turmoil rocked surrounding territories and even mares had been used to assist in sabotage, there was no reason to suspect that she was involved in any such thing. Kahuna didn't understand such methods, preferring the old ways of honorable up-front physical fights if a dispute had to be dealt with. Power-hungry fools only set themselves up for their own destruction. His land was his oasis, and though he would defend it with his life, he had no aspirations concerning the outside world.

"My land is a safe harbor if you wish to rest peacefully. As long as you don't cause trouble for my herd, that is. I won't keep you if you choose to leave, but I won't drive you out. The decision is yours, do as you wish," he said finally.

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"I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I wish to rest without bother, though I am quite alone anymore. had let a herd where I am from. But those ways are not mine anymore. Those stallions were too harsh for me and my family. I am the only one to have escaped from my herd, though I have heard of others leaving as well." She nodded her head towards Kahuna, her tail lashing softly behind her as she looked around the land.

It was lush here, a color that she had not seen often in the land of her youth. Everything here was green and not brown. Where was the sand? Where were the desert date palm tress? But this! This was like she had come to heaven. Food stretched out in front of her and she only had to lower her head to eat from the bounty here. She would be in this stallion's debt for a very long time.

She lowered her head, even while still in his presence, and began to tear up mouthfuls of grass. It tasted like.....heaven. It was amazing.

[Swede]

Kahuna observed the sleek mare for a moment as she grazed. He flicked his ears, listening for any unusual sounds and scenting the air out of habitual caution, but there was nothing out of the ordinary. The herd was not too far off, he would hear if they sounded any alarm in the unlikely event that danger had crept into his territory unnoticed. He would have to notify the others of their guest soon, but there was no reason to rush. There was something in Tsetse's words that bothered him; though she spoke with modest courtesy, an undercurrent of something akin to fear laced her behavior, and the past she hinted at did not seem altogether pleasant. "Only one to escape? What were you escaping from?" Kahuna questioned. "I'm curious about your old home... you don't seem to miss it much."