Home At Last

[fORTE]

Hestia, trailed by her colt, followed Xavier as he led them through his territory, unaware of the memories that both haunted and elated her stallion. She was wrapped up in her own thoughts, mostly of how bored she was. The trio was passing nothing interesting; once in a while they had to cross a creek, often wading through to stay cool rather than leap it, and at these times Notus playfully splashed his mother as they moved. These streams and other such obstacles were all the relief that was offered to the mare from her boredom. They were not real obstacles but in her immature imagination she could make molehills into mountains.

Notus was not bored. During his stay in the shady forest around the clearing, he had often explored nothing—that is, wandering between the trees, aimlessly hoping to come across something interesting. Unconsciously he had trained his mind to disregard boredom and simply lose himself in idle thoughts. When they had first started out his mind had been full of nothing but his new home: what it would look like, what new places he could find, friends he could make. He thought of the foals that his father’s future mares would have: his playmates. He thought of how he would wow them with his strength and intelligence and resourcefulness in times of crisis, and he would rise among them to become their king. How they would worship him! But only Notus’s rested mind could be so creative. As the journey wore on and fatigue started to gnaw at the young horse’s bones, he found it more tiring to conjure these images and soon was concentrating only on putting one hoof in front of the other, impatiently but silently awaiting their arrival at the new place.

[Kailolu]

Xavier’s ears swiveled to and fro as he quickened his pace. His chest swelled unnecessarily, and he flared his nostrils, showing off to nothing in particular. With the burning sensation of pointless pride coursing through his veins, he craned his head and gave a quick nicker at Hestia and Notus to keep their spirits up as he increased to a lope. A dull lingering smell suddenly caught his attention and it caused to him to dig his hooves into the ground and stop. Breathing quietly, the black stallion lifted his head and looked to his left. The ground grew dry and bare, and the little grass there was dulled to a horrid brown color, until it was gone. A bright yellowish canyon made of rock lay in the distance. A flash back struck Xavier as he recalled the little black mare and her stallion. Was that what he smelled?

Remaining silent, he lifted his head and inhaled. The scent wasn’t fresh, but what made Xavier’s muscles coil was it wasn’t the little mare’s stallion. It was an old stallion’s smell and it all but forced Xavier to go round his family and draw them close. Without a word he led them at a quick trot away, not sure where the musk was coming from. Emerald grass washed under them, the short blades quivering in the breeze. A sea of green it was, swaying and rocking, and all the while remaining in one place. Gnats, grass hoppers, and other small insects leapt around to avoid being crushed by the giant creatures. The shrill drone of some bug cried out, and another answered. After a few minutes of hearing this, Xavier’s annoyance mounted and he ground his teeth at it.

In the distance he could see trees, but it was at least another 2 miles. With the rebel lands being so flat, it was possible to see farther than one would normally see. A sharp cry echoed in the blue sky and Xavier looked up. A hawk, gliding through the air on a set of mighty wings, looked down at the three horses. After hearing that, go on and on, Xavier grew even more annoyed and shook his head at the bird. He kept himself at an even trot though, not wanting to burn out Notus’s bulb too soon. He remained at this pace for the next hour before he finally slowed to a walk.

Xavier was pushing it, and he realized that. He looked at Notus, and then at Hestia. They were nearing the crick that winded like ribbons around the Rebel lands. It wasn’t deep, but it was swift moving, and the rocks were sharp in some places. “We’ll stop and rest for a few minutes,” the black horse said, suddenly realizing they hadn’t stopped yet. His gaze transferred from the water they were closing in on, to Hestia.

“It’s not much farther.” He said reassuringly. They came up on the creek fast, and Xavier stepped into the water, watchful for rocks that would cut his legs. He nuzzled into the water and sucked in the cool liquid, watching his feathers bleed into the stream. It was interesting to watch, but he had to look out for any threats. There wasn’t the taunting smell of predators in this general area, but still Xavier patrolled with his eyes.

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Words:557
Muse: Gettin there
Notes: I'm liking the Justify

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[fORTE]

It took Hestia, still lost in her rather self-centered thoughts, a moment to realize that Xavier had stopped, and her immediate assumption was that they had arrived. Her spirit soared and she looked around, ready to take in the view of her stunning new home…but apart from the dusty canyon she had already noticed and dismissed, there was nothing special or pretty about this place. She looked to Xavier, ready to question him, but his nostrils told his story and she too turned her nose to the air. She smelled the metallic scent of the dirt of the canyon; she smelled the cleanness of a stream running through it; she smelled the dry dying grass beneath her; and she smelled other horses.

She had caught but a whiff of those scents before Xavier turned away, and she knew it would be best to follow him, and she did so. “Who was that?” the mare asked, drawing alongside Xavier, oblivious to his irritated-ness. Her colt trailed her, recognizing his father’s bad mood and placing himself strategically on the other side of his mother.

[Kailolu]

“Someone else is here.” His curt tone matched his attitude. He flattened his ears and snaked his head down and up sharply. Just the thought of having to fight someone to keep his only mare made his blood boil, yet there was nothing to be angry at. The scent he had smelled was dull and aged, nothing recent, and it posed no true threat. Now if the smell grew stronger the closer they came to the valley, then Xavier would have a reason to be over protective. Precautions would be necessary at every hour, and would soon wear Xavier down to the point that if a stallion did truly come, that he’d be too worn out to fight him off. The thoughts churned in his head over and over and he just became irritated at himself.

He marched through the stream after drinking one last time, and felt a rock nick his leg. It stung for a moment, then the pain dulled. He waited on the other side, neck high, body tense. His brown eyes scanned everywhere, watching for any movement. His teeth snapped together in his mouth when he thought he saw something, but snorted loudly when he discovered it was just a hawk taking off.

[/size][/justify]

[fORTE]

Hestia's ears flicked back slightly at Xavier's suddenly curt tone, and she turned away from him and toward the stream, Notus following. "No duh, someone is here," she thought. "I asked who." But she did not voice these words for fear of making him more irritated than he already was. She drank long and deep from the stream, taking her time and paying no heed to Xavier's jumpiness; she was not worried about the presence of other stallions. The mare had confidence in her stallion, she was sure he could fend off any adversary with little effort. But this might have been that she had not been acquainted with many stallions before.

Notus didn't really notice his father's irritability either. He was still lost in his wandering thoughts even as both he and Hestia finished drinking at the stream and the trio set off again for that new place to live.