Early Dawn Wanderings \\ Pomme, Nadeem + 1 \\ Priv (Tall Grass Prairie)

by Pomme, (49 days ago)

The sun had just crested the hills far to the east, the nighttime chill finally starting to dissipate just mere hours after it had finally settled in. All was hushed, wind carrying the chill as best as it could far and wide. Powder-textured clouds choked the barely lightening sky. A blue tone settling over the partially wooded piece of the grassland.

The tall grasses folded with the wind's hurry, and the rich bay mare was out on her own this time. A massive dark shape cloaked in the early dawn's shadows. Her hooves plodded lazily along a game trail, sides brushing against what branches did reach in her way. Tiny beads of dewdrops clinging to the flowering grasses. Her muzzle dipped to lick at a few stray beads, eyes shifting to watch the horizon line. Ears shifting to catch any stray noises.

The large mare pushed out the dust from her nostrils with a violent snort and tested the air catching the drifting scents. Tangy-bitter, sweet grasses, dust still. All coming downwind from the south-west.

The distant baying of coyotes called from the north and the mare stilled, ears perked forwards with alertness.

~Nature Walk~

by Nadeem & Abhay, (48 days ago) @ Pomme

"Hear that?" A smile lit across Nadeem's face at the pitched wails of the coyotes in the distance, eager to share the sights and sounds of nature with the two citizens that had braved these early morning hours for the nature trek. "Coyotes. Their numbers have seen a rebound in the last few years, and if we're lucky, we might spot one on the trails today." He swiveled around in his saddle to say this, looking back to check on his two clients, and gauge whether or not they were enjoying themselves.

While his owner was enthusiastically dishing out nature facts, his black-coated steed was holding back a disgruntled snort. He didn't find coyotes nearly as fascinating. The old Marwari was more focused on the two mares that had been rented out to carry Jacks and Sammy, and it was to them that Abhay spoke, "No need to fear ladies, I have a lot of experience around canines. Most here in the Valley know not to mess with me...eee, what's that?!!"

Abhay's curved ears pitched forward and a sharp breath whistled through dark, flared nostrils. Being upwind of Pomme, and more than a little distracted by his chat with the females, the gelding hadn't noticed the chestnut mare as they were cresting a slight hill. Not until they'd begun to descend the other side did the notoriously flighty horse catch sight of her mane billowing slightly in the wind, which from the edge of his peripheral vision and overly active mind might as well have been a bear or a marauding pack of wolves.

I know you, you're a special one;

by Jacks & Sammy Holt, (46 days ago) @ Nadeem & Abhay

Jacks leaned forward in her saddle, simultaneously listening for the coyotes and watching to see if her son was listening for the coyotes. Their haunting wails were unlike anything she’d ever heard out of a nature documentary.

“That is so cool!” Her voice was bright, but her green eyes were fixed unwaveringly on her son’s back. “Do you hear them, Sammy?”

Sammy was looking a little less shrunken than usual, probably because Nadeem had taught them to sit upright in the saddle, and Sammy was nothing if not a rule-follower. He still hand his hands and feet in the exact right position, something that Jacks kept forgetting. Disappointingly, he was still donning his boring clothes (today, grey pants and an unmarked dark navy shirt) and was as quiet as ever, but there was something about him today which was a little different. He was looking around with a spark of his old curiosity, and when he wasn’t, he was focused on patting the little black-and-white cob he was riding. The cob was wicked cute with her long floppy hair and her feathery feet, and Sammy had brightened visibly when he’d seen her. Maybe this was what he needed? Time outdoors, with a pony?

“Yes, mom.” He twiddled with the cob’s mane. She didn’t seem to mind. “Thank you, sir,” he added to Nadeem, for what had to be the twentieth time on the trip so far. Every time Nadeem said anything, he got politely thanked.

Jackie’s mare was a leaner, taller chestnut with a white face and a somewhat more mischievous nature than Sammy’s placid cob. Jacks was no expert in horse body language, but she did notice that Nadeem’s horse and hers kept making noises and flicking their heads at each other. Nadeem’s horse would do this to Sammy’s one too, but Sammy’s little cob kept ignoring him. The chestnut mare, on the other hand, seemed to keep wanting to go and stand next to Nadeem’s horse, and Jacks would have to amateurishly manipulate the reins to try and keep her behind Sammy so she could watch him.

“So, what kind of prey would coyotes be interested in around here?” She asked Nadeem. “Are they pack or lone hunters?”

The woods would not bury

by Pomme, (46 days ago) @ Jacks & Sammy Holt

In the midst of her stroll, the mare paused, ears flicking towards the chattering of Man and their speaking mounts. She pushed herself uphill, hooves surprisingly quiet against the dried earth. Her nostrils flared, top lip curling up to memorize. The bay mare was a good 13 feet away at this point. Her tail swishing as she arched her cresty neck, ears pushed forward.She speaks in silence to the horses, what is your business here? Her hooves strike the ground, as she replies a shriek. Her nostrils puff out dust as she dances closer, ears swiveling between pinned and pricked. 9 feet away.

Her ears focused on the Man, a group of three. Unfamiliar but she vaguely recognizes the scent of the lead from the strange but excellent scratchers on her trees.

The wind died briefly, leaving the grass to slowly still. The sky had gotten just slightly brighter, more of a blue grey in tone though the land was still dark. The first peeps of songbirds began to ring throughout the prairie, and the baying dissipated slowly, running further into the distance.

When the wind resumed, the bay mare inched closer yet again.

~Nature Walk~

by Nadeem & Abhay, (44 days ago) @ Pomme

It was subtle, but even Nadeem noticed a slight spark of interest from Sammy, something that had been missing in the quiet, reserved boy at the start of their adventure. Opposite of this, the mother did appear to be actively enjoying the outing, even if Nadeem noted how her immediate attention tended to be more focused on her son, and occasionally the bald-faced mare that Abhay kept enticing to his side.

'He's very polite.' He'd had it in mind to tell Sammy he could drop the 'sir', but decided he'd wait to bring that up if the pair booked another outing. For now, the man focused on clicking his tongue and redirecting his steed's attention, and hopefully save Jacks from having to wrestle back her own mount again. "Great question! Coyotes typically hunt smaller game, like rodents, birds, and reptiles. Sometimes they'll take on some of our smaller deer species. They'll also eat a range of fruits, berries, and bugs-" Before he could go on with the kind of enthusiasm of someone who was truly passionate about the given topic, a sharp snort and abrupt stop from Abhay instantly redirected his attention.

A horse that had been hidden by the sloping terrain was now in front of them, with a shriek of noise and a hearty thump of a hoof driven to the ground with purpose. But it wasn't just any equine - this was the beautifully dappled bay he'd caught on his cams in the last few days, and one that he noted as a potential rival to local stallions and their small bands. The rich-toned bay looked powerful, being larger than the SunSet's lead, and more youthful than the Toklat's. And, by all accounts, bolder and more confident than the elusive stallion of the Prairie herd, who Nadeem had never seen in person, other than as a vague blur of movement in the distance. This stallion had zero qualms about asserting his presence and moving closer to them.

"Woah, woah, shant, Abhay. We're alright." In a quiet but audible voice, and a steadying pat of the hand against his gelding's neck, Nadeem spoke out as he worked to calm Abhay, and offer confident assurance to his clients. "We're just going to stay calm, and be ready to back up if he insists." Wide eyes were fixed on Pomme, looking to her shifting ears and her posture, gauging for any signs of blatant aggression that would decide his next move. Flattened ears were not good, but the way they perked up now and then suggested the other may be expressing some curiosity, too. At least, that's what Nadeem hoped.

Unlike his owner, Abhay didn't have to deal with such a language barrier. Scent told him what it would take Nadeem a few more moments and just the right angle to figure out - that this stunning bay was a mare, not a stallion. It was for that fact alone that Abhay hadn't already bolted or started backpeddaling into the other two at Pomme's brazen approach, though he did drop his head down and do a sort of side-shuffle, despite Nadeem's best efforts to keep him still, "Who-wha- me?" The words fumbled out, with air escaping in a pitched breath from widened, charcoal-black nares, "I.. I was just leading my herd for a morning walk." He blinked, dark eyes flashing to Pomme's.

Some see crazy where I see love;

by Jacks & Sammy Holt, (41 days ago) @ Nadeem & Abhay

Nadeem was such a nerd – in the cute, endearing way, not in the unsocialised basement-dweller way. Jacks couldn’t help but smile as he enthusiastically started listing the many things coyotes liked to eat, momentarily distracted from worrying about her son. Sammy was listening too while stroking his cob’s neck. It was impossible not to listen to someone deliver on a topic with such passion regardless of what the topic was. Nadeem cut off abruptly when his horse snorted. Not knowing enough about horse body language, Jacks missed the cue that something was off.

“I thought coyotes’ favourite food was road-runners?” She asked with an air of innocence, the note of play only slightly perceptible beneath a joke otherwise delivered in almost deadpan manner.

It was a joke which might have elicited a rare smile from her cartoon-loving son, but Sammy was either more observant or better in tune with the animals than his mother, and he wasn’t far behind Nadeem in realising what was going on. The two mares had also stopped, and Sammy’s cob had her ears pricked forward in the most alert expression she’d had all day. A rich, mahogany-brown house appeared over the crest of the hill, nostrils flared and tail swishing. Sammy’s jaw went slack. Nadeem tried to settle his horse and Jacks, who had finally cottoned onto what was going on when the wild horse appeared seemingly out of nowhere, gripped the reins tightly with white knuckles. Her attention went straight to her son, who was leaning forward a little in the saddle as though keen to be closer to the wild stallion, who in turn was inching closer to the trio.

The wild horse’s hoof struck the ground and he arched his neck, his ears flicking forward and back. Sammy’s cob dipped her head and shifted her weight between her hooves, while Jacks’ chestnut mare decided it was safer to stick as close to Abhay as possible. Against Jacks’ will, her mare snorted and danced as close as possible to Nadeem’s gelding, a couple of steps behind him but almost brushing flanks. Jacks tugged on the reins to no effect. Sammy, now behind the two adults, leaned sideways in his saddle to try and maintain his view of the wild horse.