The soft summer breeze of the night served as a cool relief from the blistering heat of day lingering only hours earlier. Normally, at this time of the day, the golden stallion currently wandering the meadow grass would be making his way home, but he was out more often because he had an important job ahead of him.
Not just trying to be the Taiga's ruler, but to try and help restore it. Right now, he felt like the only resident there, save for the forest animals that called the wild trees home, the predators that may have lingered to look for their next meal, and Aten's companion, Turul. The falcon proved to be good counsel based on what limited words could be shared between the two. They had a mutual understanding, almost needing no speech between them. Sure, certain words here and there were helpful, but more often than not, the stallion and bird of prey could tell what each other were thinking.
On this day, Turul's speech would take a heavy different turn. The falcon was soaring above the golden stallion, his eyes scanning the terrain below for, not only his next meal, but important news he could share with the golden king. So far, he hadn't seen anything of interest, save for a few mares clumped together in groups with their little ones at their side. Aten had said he was interested in finding horses to join Taiga, but he wished to give the mares with young their space until summer's end, when they would be old enough to be off their dam's milk.
Turul didn't quite understand at first, until Aten compared it to the falcon's mother raising it on worms and small forest creatures. So now, at least, the falcon could see why Aten wanted to give them space. That, and, how had Aten put it? Hell hath no fury like a protective mare. He had even used his own as an example, despite his fuzzy memories of her.
The calm early evening winds provided good draft for the falcon to glide through the sky on, hardly needing to expend any effort to keep in the air. Without any warning, though, there was a rapid shift, the wind so strong it nearly blew the falcon out of the sky. He struggled to regain his momentum for a minute, shaking his head and looking around to see what had just caused that.
At first, the sharp-eyed falcon hadn't seen anything, until, for a moment, he glimpsed two objects disappearing beneath the tree line. One did linger for a minute before following the other, but it was quick. Still, he had seen them, and felt the need to warn the golden king.
Sensing where he was, Turul circled back and easily spotted Aten's golden coat among the tall grass. He swooped down and flapped his wings to hover for a moment in front of the stallion, explaining, in his limited speech, rapid succession what had just happened.
Aten, meanwhile, went wide-eyed at seeing Turul's rapid descent, clearly worried for what could have happened to his friend. The stallion blew air from his nostrils and spoke in an easy voice, "Turul, my friend, calm down."
It didn't seem to do much for the falcon, who continued his flurry of limited speech. Aten snorted and stomped a front hoof, "You know I cannot understand you when you do that."
Another minute passed before Turul seemed to finally understand and slowed down enough that Aten could start to piece together what his friend was trying to tell him. He motioned with his head for the falcon to lead the way, the bird of prey taking flight again and heading where he had seen the two mysterious creatures.
Aten picked up a gallop and followed his friend, slowing only when Turul landed on a nearby tall rock that sat among the meadow grass. He motioned with a wing to a few yards away, and Aten's gaze followed, both surprised and intrigued by what he saw.
Grazing in front of him were two mares, one a brilliant bay in color, the other a sun bright champagne several shades lighter than the golden king. It was the other features though, that had him intrigued and surprised.
The bay mare wasn't as uniquely marked as the other, but she sported white speckles with a matching white ear, as well as white socks on her pasterns. She also supported large wings on her back, not like the feathered king Aten was used to seeing. Instead, they appeared more like the wings of the bats Aten sometimes spotted flying among Taiga's trees at night, more... leathery skinned, like ocean animals, was the best comparison the stallion had. They were obsidian in color, like the mare's mane and tail.
The other, the palomino, had much more to boot. In addition to her flaxen mane and tail, she also sported a pair of wings, more like some of the bugs that Aten sighted in the warmer seasons in the grassy areas of his home. They were yellow in color, darker than the mare's coat but lighter than Aten's. They appeared to have red markings on them, though from this distance, Aten couldn't discern a pattern. They were also thinly outlined, but Aten thought he glimpsed something sitting atop the mare's head too. Perhaps a pair of antlers, or a horn? He couldn't tell yet that what the mare sported wasn't the only insect feature she had.
Aten couldn't tell from this distance what the mares were grazing on either, not knowing only one was enjoying the grass. The stallion wanted to approach, being careful about the plethora of beautiful flowers and other grove amenities, but felt it was rude to intrude their peace and quiet. He took a step back, considering his options of what he wanted to do, and was surprised when he felt something sharp poke his loin.
The stallion skitted a few steps forward, twitching his back left leg and turning to give Turul a condescending glance. Gritting his teeth, the stallion angrily whispered, "What the hell was that for?"
The falcon tilted his head and flapped his wings, to which the stallion said, "Yes, I am fully aware. But as you can see, they are peaceful right now and I do not wish to intrude if they are waiting on another, or wish to be left alone."
Again a wing flap, and Aten rolled his eyes, "Of course I wouldn't know unless I asked, but that's the whole root of the problem."
The falcon seemed to roll it's eyes this time before he took to the sky again, turning to he was flying directly at the mares. Aten's eyes widened when he realized what the bird was planning before he mentally reached out to his friend.
"All right all right!"
The falcon banked to the left and circled back to land on the rock where he had been before, patiently waiting for Aten to follow through. The stallion drew in a breath before he began to walk forward and approach the mares, his golden coat glistening in the light of the early evening moon sky.
He silently cleared his throat before calling to the two mares, "Evening... ladies. I hope I'm not intruding this evening, but I wished to come and say hello after I saw you both here."
@[wrena] @[OLEANDAR]
Not just trying to be the Taiga's ruler, but to try and help restore it. Right now, he felt like the only resident there, save for the forest animals that called the wild trees home, the predators that may have lingered to look for their next meal, and Aten's companion, Turul. The falcon proved to be good counsel based on what limited words could be shared between the two. They had a mutual understanding, almost needing no speech between them. Sure, certain words here and there were helpful, but more often than not, the stallion and bird of prey could tell what each other were thinking.
On this day, Turul's speech would take a heavy different turn. The falcon was soaring above the golden stallion, his eyes scanning the terrain below for, not only his next meal, but important news he could share with the golden king. So far, he hadn't seen anything of interest, save for a few mares clumped together in groups with their little ones at their side. Aten had said he was interested in finding horses to join Taiga, but he wished to give the mares with young their space until summer's end, when they would be old enough to be off their dam's milk.
Turul didn't quite understand at first, until Aten compared it to the falcon's mother raising it on worms and small forest creatures. So now, at least, the falcon could see why Aten wanted to give them space. That, and, how had Aten put it? Hell hath no fury like a protective mare. He had even used his own as an example, despite his fuzzy memories of her.
The calm early evening winds provided good draft for the falcon to glide through the sky on, hardly needing to expend any effort to keep in the air. Without any warning, though, there was a rapid shift, the wind so strong it nearly blew the falcon out of the sky. He struggled to regain his momentum for a minute, shaking his head and looking around to see what had just caused that.
At first, the sharp-eyed falcon hadn't seen anything, until, for a moment, he glimpsed two objects disappearing beneath the tree line. One did linger for a minute before following the other, but it was quick. Still, he had seen them, and felt the need to warn the golden king.
Sensing where he was, Turul circled back and easily spotted Aten's golden coat among the tall grass. He swooped down and flapped his wings to hover for a moment in front of the stallion, explaining, in his limited speech, rapid succession what had just happened.
Aten, meanwhile, went wide-eyed at seeing Turul's rapid descent, clearly worried for what could have happened to his friend. The stallion blew air from his nostrils and spoke in an easy voice, "Turul, my friend, calm down."
It didn't seem to do much for the falcon, who continued his flurry of limited speech. Aten snorted and stomped a front hoof, "You know I cannot understand you when you do that."
Another minute passed before Turul seemed to finally understand and slowed down enough that Aten could start to piece together what his friend was trying to tell him. He motioned with his head for the falcon to lead the way, the bird of prey taking flight again and heading where he had seen the two mysterious creatures.
Aten picked up a gallop and followed his friend, slowing only when Turul landed on a nearby tall rock that sat among the meadow grass. He motioned with a wing to a few yards away, and Aten's gaze followed, both surprised and intrigued by what he saw.
Grazing in front of him were two mares, one a brilliant bay in color, the other a sun bright champagne several shades lighter than the golden king. It was the other features though, that had him intrigued and surprised.
The bay mare wasn't as uniquely marked as the other, but she sported white speckles with a matching white ear, as well as white socks on her pasterns. She also supported large wings on her back, not like the feathered king Aten was used to seeing. Instead, they appeared more like the wings of the bats Aten sometimes spotted flying among Taiga's trees at night, more... leathery skinned, like ocean animals, was the best comparison the stallion had. They were obsidian in color, like the mare's mane and tail.
The other, the palomino, had much more to boot. In addition to her flaxen mane and tail, she also sported a pair of wings, more like some of the bugs that Aten sighted in the warmer seasons in the grassy areas of his home. They were yellow in color, darker than the mare's coat but lighter than Aten's. They appeared to have red markings on them, though from this distance, Aten couldn't discern a pattern. They were also thinly outlined, but Aten thought he glimpsed something sitting atop the mare's head too. Perhaps a pair of antlers, or a horn? He couldn't tell yet that what the mare sported wasn't the only insect feature she had.
Aten couldn't tell from this distance what the mares were grazing on either, not knowing only one was enjoying the grass. The stallion wanted to approach, being careful about the plethora of beautiful flowers and other grove amenities, but felt it was rude to intrude their peace and quiet. He took a step back, considering his options of what he wanted to do, and was surprised when he felt something sharp poke his loin.
The stallion skitted a few steps forward, twitching his back left leg and turning to give Turul a condescending glance. Gritting his teeth, the stallion angrily whispered, "What the hell was that for?"
The falcon tilted his head and flapped his wings, to which the stallion said, "Yes, I am fully aware. But as you can see, they are peaceful right now and I do not wish to intrude if they are waiting on another, or wish to be left alone."
Again a wing flap, and Aten rolled his eyes, "Of course I wouldn't know unless I asked, but that's the whole root of the problem."
The falcon seemed to roll it's eyes this time before he took to the sky again, turning to he was flying directly at the mares. Aten's eyes widened when he realized what the bird was planning before he mentally reached out to his friend.
"All right all right!"
The falcon banked to the left and circled back to land on the rock where he had been before, patiently waiting for Aten to follow through. The stallion drew in a breath before he began to walk forward and approach the mares, his golden coat glistening in the light of the early evening moon sky.
He silently cleared his throat before calling to the two mares, "Evening... ladies. I hope I'm not intruding this evening, but I wished to come and say hello after I saw you both here."
@[wrena] @[OLEANDAR]