This was a stakeout. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. Sooner or later someone was going to be coming down off those mountains, down the craggy and rugged slopes and into his home. Just give them time.

It was happening a lot lately - too often for the hefty Swedish brute to draw any comfort from. More times than not, he was left surprised to stumble into a stranger roaming and grazing upon the lush grasses of the Dale, usually only happening upon them by chance. But there were times when he had only caught the lingering scents as evidence that a few unannounced strangers had been there without his prior knowledge. It irritated him to no end. Sure it could be taken as a good sign, that his harem was gaining attention and thus more members to his name. However it grated him that they would just waltz in like they owned the place (and they surely did not). Most appeared to be mares at least... not entirely harmless, but something he could handle; and the one stallion at least had sense enough to show respect and wait at the border... but if that had not been the case.... Rhaego's skin crawled with simply the thought of what would ensue.

These frustrations drove his determination now to not let this next trespasser escape unnoticed. They needed to learn that it was not always so wise to be crossing over into an unknown territory. And so the brawny stallion had sidled up rather sneakily into a small cluster of deciduous trees which sat back just a ways from the foot of the mountains upon a small rise. The leaves on these trees as well as many of the others in the land sported the rich warmth of autumn colors - various reds, golds, oranges, and browns of varying shades. Rhaego, colored in such similar hues, bided his time patiently beneath the afternoon shade.

He caught himself verging on a light doze a couple times as time passed, but then a glimpse of color and the distant scrambling of hooves against stone. The vivid red stood out sorely against the craggy mountainside, dull and devoid of such colors. Though Rhaego's eyes whipped sharply to land upon the rocky slope easily a few hundred yards away, for a moment he had trouble discerning the freckled and off-black body of the mare as she slid down one of the steeper parts of the cliff faces, a feat that Rhaego himself would have been hard-pressed to accomplish without injury or embarrassment.

Large, copper ears flick back at the thought as he watches the equine slide further and then leap for the softer ground as they neared the bottom. Was this horse crazy? This was the first that he'd saw any try this particular path down the mountain and he was oddly surprised that the black and red toned horse landed as well as they did, not gracefully really at all, but land they did and picked themselves right back up.

Hmpff. He snorted harshly, eyes narrowing upon the stranger steadily as (from a distance) he could see them surveying his land. But what would they decide to do? Inhaling a deep breath in preparation, Rhaego waited, muscles drawing tight. But much to his surprise, a lilting and feminine call drifted across the space between the mountains and the small grove of trees he stood beneath. Hesitating only for the briefest of moments, the draft stallion edged out of his hiding place into the afternoon sun. The warm rays against his hide drew a slight huff from him as he launched into a heavy, long-strided trot towards the mare through the dulling grasses. His ears laced flat but his dark and brooding eyes betrayed the interest he held in the mare. He does not immediately call to the unfamiliar tresspasser as the powerful strides close the distance between them but instead lets his eyes rove freely across the elegant figure of the fem, lingering upon her blood-red mane and even longer upon the unnatural protrusions behind her ears and the small skull dangling from one. It takes a moment for him to focus upon her eyes and when he does, his composure is steely. "Who are you to not respect my borders?" His hard tone made it dreadfully clear that he was not the least bit pleased. "That cliff won't be quite so easy to climb back up...." He began, taking a step forward.