Dog Days

[Swede]

The apple blossoms had faded with spring, and the trees scattered across the hillsides were covered in mature leaves, as had been the case every year since Kahuna had taken up residence here. The grizzled roan stallion was concerned, however. As he ambled along the familiar paths through the territory that the herd had worn down over time, he noticed some of the trees seemed tired and wilted. It wasn't difficult to understand why; he often felt the same way lately. The sun was relentless this summer, the heat punishing and the rain absent. Luckily, his herd had the trees to take shade under; it wasn't much, but it was something. He just hoped that the creek wouldn't dry up completely. It had never happened before, but the flow of water was more sluggish than usual, and the stream shallower and narrower. If it came to that, he would have to move the herd elsewhere for a while, even if there were risks involved. The possibility seemed unlikely, but Kahuna had become a wise band leader over the years, and he knew it was better to prepare for the worst, even if it ended up being a waste of time, than to hope everything would be alright and then be caught unawares.

Heaving a sigh, he turned away from the borders and began the trek towards the middle of the territory in search of the herd. No doubt Serena was keeping an eye on things; not that there was much to keep an eye on, not after his older sons had been driven out or left voluntarily. Few outside stallions had ever dared challenge him, and they certainly wouldn't make it this far into the territory without being discovered. Still, he trusted his lead mare implicitly, and it was reassuring to know she was in control whenever he was away.

[Saz]

It was looking to be a long summer already, the sun beat down overhead drying out the ground and it was beginning to crack beneath their hooves. The grass had soaked up what nutrients it could but it was mostly dry and was slowly turning the entire land into a giant tinder box, the remaining residents of Sunshine River could only hope there wasn't a summer storm in the cards for them. The pale grey mare absent-mindedly nibbled at the coarse shoots that grew up from between the roots of some of the apple trees, she sighed in quiet contentment. Although the surrounding territories felt empty and there had been a lingering cloud of angst hovering over the entire land of Sunshine River for a long time, it felt as though it was finally lifted and that they could continue living their quiet lives in peace. Of course she'd not been naive to the changes in the lands, the disturbances and large amount of deaths between two war lords in the edges of Sunshine River, but she trusted Kahuna with her life and their children's lives. So if they had been in danger they would've been moved, and if they came into any danger then they would move on together. After all, you're strongest together than you are apart. And that was incredibly true for the inhabitants of these lands.

Many a time she had seen small, new herds move into the rest of the territory only to be broken apart by petty squabbling and pointless arguments. Nine times out of ten it was because there was never a definitive leader, both in stallions and mares. The strongest herds, in her opinion, had both a good stallion and a sensible mare that worked well together. And she was glad she had that in Serena and Kahuna. She smiled gently as she remembered the first time she had met the battle-worn roan, he had been no less charming than he usually was, but he held a quality that not many others did now-a-days, a confident, upfront attitude with more than an ounce of honesty. Previously, Halo had gone for the charmers, the sweet-talkers and the handsome ones, but none of those had turned out remotely well, the first had ended up with a foal and no herd, and the second ended up turning her first-born against her. But Kahuna... Kahuna had never disappointed, abused or failed her in any way, and for that she was forever thankful. He had blessed her with three beautiful daughters, and she was beginning to feel as though it may be time for another, perhaps a colt this time.

--

Whilst her mother was occupied with other things and other thoughts, the blue roan yearling kicked up her heels and romped through the meadow. As she neared her dozing sister, she sped up before skidding to a halt just inches from the smoky black's head. Electra's head shot upright, ears flattened and eyes narrowed against the summer sunshine as she attempted to figure out what had disturbed her sleep. She groaned in annoyance and flopped back onto the warm earth, stretching her legs a little as she soaked up the sun. Ace whinnied and snorted, stomping on the ground in loud protest as she was ignored, "Electraaaaaaa..." She whined, lowering her head to nudge her sister in a poor attempt to get her upright. The other yearling grumbled, opening one eye to glower at the blue roan, "Go away Ace. I'm sleeping." She snorted, moving her head away from the insistent nudging.

"But you promised. You said that we could play." Ace replied, her head bobbing up and down in excitement as she practically vibrated with unspent energy. Electra lifted her head just above the grass, opened both eyes and sent a cursory glance around the meadow before snorting grumpily and turning her head away from her energetic relative. "Yeah, I said that we could when dad was back. And he's not back yet. So shoo. Go find Charm or something. Better yet, go chase a butterfly." She snapped, ears flat and eyes closed, hoping that if she ignored Ace enough then she'd go away. Something that would probably never happen.

"Ugh, fine grumpy. I will. She's more fun than you are anyway." Ace grumbled back, tail swishing in irritation and ears tilted back at being rebuked by her sister. With a flourish of her head, she spun away from the sprawled out yearling and loped toward the trees, whizzing past her mother without a glance and off into the trees.

--

Her heart had been heavy ever since Savage had been chased out by Kahuna. She knew it was the way of life, and that technically she was Kahuna's mare, and that she shouldn't be lusting after another stallion. But she knew in her gut that she belonged with the bay roan that she'd become so close with over the seasons she'd been with the herd. The dark young mare grazed sporadically on the dried out grasses of the meadows, chewing slowly and with quiet melancholy as she thought over her choices. The way she saw it, she had two options, leave of her own free will and attempt to find Savage on her lonesome, putting herself in a huge amount of danger without the protection of a herd and a stallion... Or stay here, raise a family in the only safe space she'd ever known. It was a hard choice, and she knew that she would love her foals no matter what, but with a gust of tired sadness, she continued to nip at the grass, thinking over her choices a little bit more.