Baldr

Stallion || Yearling || N/A || Mentions: Mares (ind.) Neela, Lorcan

The little yearling was clueless of what had just went down. Instead, the colt found himself distracted over by the dried up river bed, and he had been pawing at the dirt, creating himself a small divet in the dried up channel, and ended up rolling in and out of it. The dirt wasn't damp, but it could possibly cloak himself from the hot sun that was soon to come.

And all while, he held on tight onto the green grass, the green blade locked inbetween his squared teeth.

Snorting, Baldr blew through his nose, dust and specks of dirt coming out, and he laughed to himself for a short moment, finding it funny looking, and it even felt funny. As the colt stood up, shaking off his coat, watching the dry dust come off of him with joy, he could hear his name called.

"Baldr!"

It was his mother! Without hesitation, the colt jumped out from the bank and cantered toward his mother, he was a little curious as to why some of the mares had collected in one certain spot, but he would probably ask Neela later about it. He saw his mother along with Lorcan, and his ears perked forward, a bright smile on his face. As he cantered over with a kick in his pace, he slowed to an energetic trot, then an easy going walk. That was when he saw Lorcan's expression, and could sense something was not right. As the little yearling looked around, he saw that everyone was disrupted and upset. Why? He wondered, off away, he could see one of the mares, Biscotti and her yearling, Reima. But why were they all over there while everyone was here?

Walking up beside his dam, Baldr's ears flopped to the sides slightly, and he took a small few inches towards Lorcan, seeing that the colt was clearly upset. "Whath wrongth?" He asked, almost forgetting his mouth was full of grass, and it made him remember why he had been carrying it around. "Oth!" Placing the grass down, he nudged it towards Neela and Lorcan, then glanced up to his mother, "We found some green grass, and we wanted to give you some. Its not much, but its better than all this other stuff. Sorry I didn't bring it sooner, I got distracted." He smiled for a moment before resting his chin on his mothers shoulders, rubbing his lips back and forth as he groomed her shoulder slightly before flicking his eyes in Lorcans direction.

Lifting his head off of Neela's shoulders, the yearling turned his head to Lorcan. Baldr then took a small clump of the mouthful of grass and took a few inches towards Lorcan, and placed the clump by the colts hooves, and took a few steps back, looking at him, "Whats wrong? You seem upset and sad."

_{Astra ll 8 1/2 ll Herd Mare ll M: Atolos, Biscotti, Mares & Herd (ind)}

_{Astra trotted happily across the parched field, spotting the herd up ahead. She had gone in search of water, as she had told the herd earlier and had been gone for a few hours. Alas, her luck was waning and she had not found a single drop, the ground as parched as ever. She had wandered slowly among the fields and river beds surrounding where the herd had stopped for the night but had been unsuccessful.}

_{She eased into a canter, her bay coat rippling in the bright, drought bringing sun. As she slowed, she saw that something was wrong, she heard Atolos call Biscotti’s name in that cold and dark voice he had used since Sunna died. She spent a moment thinking of the late Lead Mare and felt immensely sorry for the Lead Stallion, so lonely, she thought.}

_{Astra watched cautiously from the meagre shade of a nearby tree and listened as Biscotti was told her punishment.}

_{She sighed, angry that the drought was getting to everyones heads, angry that some of the mares just wouldn’t be respectful to Atolos, angry that he was being cold, but knowing that he had every right to be after what happened to Sunna.}

_{As the ordeal ended she walked slowly towards the group, her tail flicking slightly as a fly bothered her. She approached carefully, aware that no one was in a great state of mind at that moment. She gave a sigh of relief as the group began to disperse. Tensions had been running high that day, and Biscotti’s stupid, stupid outburst had not helped things. A foal was taken last night, devastating the mares and shaking Astra to her roots. She knew what it was like to lose a foal, heartbreaking and weeks full of loneliness and a sense of seeing no point in living. But she had pulled through, she thought, now. She had pulled through well.}

_{She quietly folded her legs underneath her, bending down and lying with her legs tucked beneath her body. Then she rolled, sending dust flying and kicking up more with her outstretched legs. She rolled three times over before attempting to stand, and with a heave and a grunt she lifted her thin, worn, malnourished body upwards.}

Caszius

13 | Herd Stallion | Mentions: Everyone (ind) Yvaine (dir)

Caszius's moment with Yvaine was brief, ending a little too quickly when one of the mares came running over. Caszius automatically knew where the trouble was, lifting his gaze toward his daughter, who was surrounded by mares at this point. What did she do now? Caszius eyed Inessa as she explained the situation to Yvaine. I'm right here you know.. Caszius snorted, not expecting any less from Biscotti and Reima. If it was up to him, Reima would have a far better temperament, she just never wanted to be around him. But why? It's awesome being around Caszius. He wouldn't understand why his daughter wouldn't want to spend time with the laziest stallion in the herd.

Caszius swiveled his ears to Yvaine, her monotone voice stating that he should stay there. He undoubtedly agreed, but part of him felt as though he should've at least pulled Reima away from the drama. He watched as the two mares then left, heading in the direction of the group. With nothing better to do, he watched it all unfold. Hell, even Atolos decided to put himself in the mix. What exactly did Biscotti say? By the end of it, the mare seemed pretty pissed off, nudging her foal to go along with her, distancing themselves from the herd. Reima didn't seem like she was complaining, in fact, she was eerily quiet.

Caszius then looked over toward the pale stallion, his stature looked weary, to say the least. Ah, he better not try to ask him about the whole ordeal, then. He debated approaching Biscotti and Reima or Yvaine. Biscotti would probably tell him to fuck off, so the safer choice was Yvaine. But first, Caszius had his own business to deal with. He gave Yvaine the chance to take advantage of this spot, and duty called. So, it's time for him to get nice and nasty, like the dirty boy he is.

Caszius lowered his head to the ground, flaring his nostrils at the cool soil before buckling his knees and plopping down. He outstretched his neck on the ground, then turned onto his side. With very little effort, he rolled onto his back, unable to make the full turn since he didn't get enough speed going up. After a couple more times of this, Caszius picked up his front hooves, lifting his front end up. Now in a sitting position, Caszius decided that it was best to not continue getting up. Perhaps he would just sit here for a bit, allow the drama to catch up to his ears in a few more hours.

With a heavy sigh, he got up. As fun as that idea would've been, he had a daughter, she was just a yearling learning the ropes of life, so it was probably best to spread some of his wisdom to her, even if she avoided him like he was some kind of Reima-Repellant. Caszius snorted, shaking his head free of any loose dirt before beginning to walk toward where the group had previously been. They were all mostly dispersed, but he was managing to make a beeline to Yvaine. He picked up a trot, stretching out in every stride as to not be too choppy. As he passed by Lorcan and his many companions, he heard reminiscences of the conversation. He swiveled his ears to eavesdrop, slowing his gait just a tad to make it seem natural.

"Now look! Reima can end up without a mother, just like me. She'll be stuck with her father, just like me "

Now that was a little harsh... Reima wouldn't be stuck with him even if her life depended on it, she made sure of that. But for Lorcan to be aware of this, now that's just mean. But what kind of argument happened for Reima to end up without a mother? Did Atolos say something to Biscotti that'd threaten her existence? Caszius, now gaining a growing concern, picked up his pace once more. He had questions, and he was sure that Yvaine would answer them. Caszius gained a steady walk now, within range of Yvaine and the others.

Before he could speak, upon closer inspection, he could tell that Yvaine was tired of the whole ordeal. Caszius glanced toward the oak that Biscotti and Reima had resided by, then back toward the deputy before gaining a halt. Well, it doesn't look like the situation is dire, I can wait it out a bit, surely. He eyed Yvaine's somewhat frustrated look in her eyes, one she only gained when she was definitely annoyed. "Miss me already?" Caszius mused, trying to lighten the mood the best he could.

"Now I did say that you could roll in that spot, but I took the offer into my own hands since that little patch was looking quite lonely without this pristine body rolling in it," Caszius pointed his nose to the dried riverbed, which now had a deformed ditch that Caszius formed with his body. He looked back toward the blood bay mare, awaiting her monotone voice to bounce back at him.

Atlas

Stallion | 6 Years | Bachelor | Mentions: Herd (ind.)

God.

"How much longer-"

Atlas was now walking, his head slumped, his hooves dragging along the dirt. He'd been following the tracks for a decent time now. But, he had no clue as to how far the herd may be from him. "Fuck'in'aye," he snorted.

Without realizing it, the bachelor was wandering far too close to the dried riverbed. Atlas had moved one of his legs in front of the other, tripping over himself, he fell sideways, into the dried channel. Rolling and tumbling down, he grunted, and winced as his body managed to hit every hard patch of dirt and rock. Down he went into the deepest side of the channel.

Rolling to a stop on his side, Atlas snorted loudly, dirt and dust flying up away from his nostrils. "God damn it." He gritted his teeth, and rolled himself the other way, flopping over, his hooves colliding with one another, making a loud clap-like noise that echoed down the channel for only a few hundred feet. Resting his head in the dirt, his stomach heaving up and down, his heart beat pulsating, he stared at the opposite of the bank, and glared into nothing. "As if today couldn't get any wor- water?"

Taking a moment for him to realize, the bachelor soon noticed what was a mere 4 feet away from him. A small, muddied water, puddle. However.. it was drying up, and fast.

Quickly, with no hesitation, the stallion got up to his feet, jumping up as if he had a sudden burst of energy and scooted towards the hydrating puddle, his dried lips scowering the ground, searching for a damp, wet source. Quickly, he had found it, and began drinking whatever he could. It tasted disgusting, the muddy water, specks of dirt trickling down his throat, ached, and scratched, but he didn't pay any mind to it. It was water. Water. Who could seriously not drink it? It was probably the only source of water he had found in days, the herd ahead of him, if they had found any water there is no doubt about it that they would drank it all. Damn bastards.

Moments later, the precious water was gone. Half of it sitting down in his stomach, the rest either caked onto his muddy lips, evaporated or it sank through the dirt. Throwing his head up, he smacked his dirty lips together, small little clumps of caked dirt fell. The stallion sighed dramatically in relief. It wasn't much, but it was something, and it certainly gave him a sliver of hope that water was still out there.

Knowing there was no point in digging deeper, the bachelor walked back upside the bank, and once he reached the top, he shook himself out, dirt flinging in all directions. Atlas took a glance back, seeing the marks and uneven dirt he created as he took his fall, and groaned slightly to himself. His legs felt sore, but he couldn't let that get to him, he had to stay strong. He wasn't the only one out here, and he knew that. Glancing around, Atlas took a few deep breaths, and set off into a steady trot, and once more, he began following the hooftracks of the Valley herd. Atlas tried to ignore his aching muscles, but here and there, you could almost here him, repeatedly complaining, "ow. ow. ow."

"Valley herd, here I come."