Rubio & Band

Rubo lead his small band of mares and two foals here to this priarie with tall grasses. His eyes looking out over the place before letting the mares and foals go and graze and play.

Donna the mother of the twins along with Monique and Ellie began to graze.

Lisel and Ru began to play.

Icefell & Others

Icefell had led her small herd to graze in the prairie today as well, taking advantage of the rich summer growth and a slightly overcast sky that kept temperatures and humidity from rising too high. The dappled gray mare moved idly through the tall vegetation, swishing her cream tail now and then to shoo away pesky flies, and taking time to monitor the land around for any dangers.

Her two sons, Talaus and Polemos, both slightly darker dapples than their mother, and were more interested in a bit of roughhousing rather than grazing. Polemos, distinguished by his black mane and tail, was slightly smaller and lesser in weight than his brother, despite being the elder of the two. He also couldn't match the spunk in his sibling, and found himself on the fleeing end of Talaus' latest charge.

Watching the two run about like a pair of colts was Lysismach. She shared the same black mane and tail as her twin brother, but the rest of her coat was such a pale gray as to appear white, save for her dark muzzle. Being more interested in food than goofing off, she mostly ignored the rambunctious pair and focused on finding the most tender grass blades to feed on.

Caught somewhere between wanting to romp and needing to fill her belly, Enyalius wandered further away from her family group. The daughter of Lysismach, she was the youngest in their nomadic herd, and with her red roan coat, she also stood out against the grays, blacks, and whites of the others. It was this young mare that first spotted the strangers grazing and playing not too far from where her family was foraging. Being the curious, spirited creature she was Enya raised her head and whinnied, then boldly began to trot towards Rubo.

Rubio & Band

Rubio grazed here and there but being the stallion of the group and having two three month old foals to watch he was more watching for danger then eatting. Then his ears twitched as he caught a whinny and his head turned toward the approaching mare. He had come from an area where they were a true band, the mare the leader stallion the protector and well it was strange to see a mare running toward him. Especially when he saw the small band. Though he only saw young colts and no stallion. His ears were on the mare as she approached.

Donna another paint like Rubio lifted her head and chewing the grass in her mouth she watched the mare warily. She made sure she was between the incomming mare and her two foals.

Ru & Lisel were playing still.

Monique the tallest of the group looked over at the other group chewing her food.

Icefell & Others

The two-year old continued her advance, even if she received no open invitation or show of friendliness from the others. By the time Icefell saw what her granddaughter was doing and called sharply for her to return, Enya would have none of it. She flicked her long tail, held her head up proudly, and continued towards Rubio in a light canter. Not much attention was paid to the foals or the paint mare that stood protectively between them and Enya; she was mostly interested in the stallion. As she got closer, she whinnied again, this time greeting him directly, "Hello. Good grazing, today?"

Polemos finally noticed the other group as well, after his mother called for Enyalius to return. The six-year old stopped his romping immediately, and when Talaus didn't stop along with him, he gave his younger brother a nip, "Not now! Look." Pole tossed his muzzle and directed it at Rubio.

Talaus put his ears back and raised a hoof, holding it uncertainly as he whispered back to his sibling, "He looks kind of big."

Seeing that her granddaughter might cause a commotion, Icefell started forward quickly after giving her two sons and daughter a look, commanding them to stay back. Unlike Enya, she didn't draw as close to the other herd, and especially kept her distance from Ru and Lisel. "I apologize if my granddaughter has caused any trouble. It's been a while since we last encountered another band of horses."

Rubio & Band

Rubio stood rather uncertain, was one of those younger stallions no older then six. Sure a six year old could lead a band but it was very rare that they'd stay in control if a more experianced stallion came along. Yes it is...He said as his eyes roamed around. His eyes then landed on most likely the eldest of the group came forward and kept her distance. ITs no problem, though where is your stallion? I'm sure he would not like any of you near me at least if he lives by the old waysHe spoke.

Donna kept an eye on the group. The older mare that approached Rubio definietly knew to keep her distance without an invitation so she relaxed a bit and resumed to grazing but her ears were on the two.

Monique began to groom donna and was watching the group from over her back.

Lisel finally stopped and noticed her mother's stance.Hey ru, lets go see what she thnks is a threatShe said and moved around her mother and stopped when she saw the other band.wow more horses! but no babiesShe said with a sigh.

Ru snorted and followed his twin.

Icefell & Others

Enyalius finally came to a stop, after putting herself within a few short yards of the lead stallion. With only her uncles in the herd, the young mare had never properly met an unrelated male before, and was taking full advantage of this surprise encounter by trying to flirt with Rubio. Whether it was working or whether she was just making him uneasy, Enya didn't back off. "So, do you have a territory around here, or are you nomadic like us?"

Icefell was thankful that this male was so understanding, because the last thing she wanted was a quarrel with this band. And though she was just as interested in the sights of a new stallion, she was mature enough not to start flirting with him so blatantly. She was far more concerned with ensuring that her own herd was safe, "We lost our stallion some time ago, and those two are my sons."

"That's an awful lot of mares." Talaus, meanwhile, was starting to take note of the other horses beside Rubio. Pole shook his head a little though, "Don't worry about them, look at that stallion; he's older than us. You know what that means?"

Rubio & Band

Rubio could tell she was flirting and well all he'd have to do is possibly chase off those two stallions nad he could claim all these mares as his easily. He had one ear on the younger mare and the other on the older.I seeHe saidAnd currently we are nomadic He knew it was quiet common for young females to flaunt around strange stallions and he was so tempted to take her. Well then, I suppose i'll be nice, I am rubio and your group is more then welcome to join up with usHe said calmly.

Monique kept grooming Donna. Ellie snorted and watched the two stallions out of one eye.

Lisel was about to approach the gorup when her mother nipped her and she snorted and the two foals made to nurse instead.

Icefell & Others

Icefell was fully aware of what could happen here, and knew she was taking a risk in approaching Rubio's herd like this. But she also knew that her small band was in need of a strong, experienced stallion to help defend her children from the valley's many predators, as well as a male that she wasn't related to, if she had any hopes of expanding their numbers. Fortunately for her, Rubio turned out to be more of a gentlemen, and his offer was taken with a gracious nod from the dapple mare. "My name is Icefell, lead mare of my herd. On my herd's behalf, we accept your offer." Her tense stance eased up and she gave her pale tail a gentle swish. "That is my granddaughter-"

"Enyalius." The red roan interrupted, introducing herself to Rubio, "But you can call me Enya." In the distance, her mother Lysis watched the interaction with a keen eye, ready to intervene if things went south. However, the more she watched, the more relaxed the conversation seemed to be, and she wasn't all too surprised when Icefell agreed to the merger of both herds.

Talaus blinked at his brother, giving him a questioning look. Polemos briefly laced back his ears and responded, "What I mean is, that big stallion might chase us off. We'd have to roam on our own."

"What?" The younger stallion raised his voice a little, "But why? We can share the mares! Besides, the more in our herd, the safer they are, right?-"

"Shh!" Polemos hissed, "Just keep your mouth shut, and act cool. We'll wait and see what he does."

Rubio

Rubio watched and waited. Good he thought cause he may of used normal snaking claiming methods if she had denied. GOod good, my lead mare is Donna the paint there with the twins, The one grooming her is Monique, The dappled is Ellie, The foals are Lisel and RuHe said calmly.

Donna lifted her head once again and sneezed as if in greeting. Her tail flicked out momentarily as her foals finished nursing and then proceeded to lay down and sleep.

Icefell & Others

Icefell looked across at the mares and the foals, passing her dark eyes quickly over each one. As a leader herself, she took particular interest in Donna, but was not willing to provoke any confrontations yet, especially without getting to know the other mares first. Only when the two herds were properly united would Icefell work to claim that title for herself. The horse swished her tail lightly and turned back to Rubio, "That is my daughter, Lysismach." A loud nicker was given to call Lysis forward, "Polemos there has the black mane; the other is Talaus."

Enyalius continued to show far more interest in Rubio than the other mares, "My grandma was talking about claiming land for us. Now that we have a stallion like yourself to help protect our group, I think having a patch of land to call our own would be nice." This time, Icefell did not try to stop her granddaughter or shoo her away from Rubio. Truly, she had been thinking a lot about claiming land, among other things, and was curious to hear the male's thoughts on this.

Rubio

Rubio ears flickered back and forth between the two while also keeping alert and on his other mares. Donna was only lead because she was the strongest in the group she more then likely would settle for second if anything. He nodded. He was unsure about allowing the two males to stay but for now he would.Then his ear twitched.a land sounds like a good ideaHe said calmly.

Icefell & Others

Icefell took charge now, after her daughter had broken the ice about claiming land, and Rubio sounded interest at the prospect. The dappled mare turned her body and directed her black muzzle to the north, "There's good land not far from here, at the foothills of those mountains. My band has been traveling along the fringes of it for several weeks now, and whoever use to own that land have not been present there for some time." After gazing in the direction of where the Sapphire Brook was nestled just sought of the Ochotona Mountains, Icefell turned her head back and let her dark gaze pass over Rubio and the others, to gauge their interest. "I can show you the way."

Rubio

Rubio listened intently. His tail lashing out at the flies.Alright then lets goHe said and gave the call to his other mares to come. Once all the mares were in front of him he began to follow them.

Icefell & Others

Seeing an opportunity to take charge and potentially secure her right as the lead mare without confrontation, Icefell placed herself in front of the others while Rubio called his own mares to gather for the journey. "The land isn't far from here." She announced, now addressing everyone, "Stay close, and keep an ear out for danger."

Lysismach and Enyalius fell in line behind Icefell, and with the other mares and the foals. Much, much further behind them, Polemos and Talaus began to follow the group, keeping their distance from Rubio, and making no move to get between him and the herd.