The shrill and youthful whinny shattered the almost peaceful and relative calm that had settled over the Dale that day. The call likewise stole the full attention of the burly dun king's focus, pausing him for a brief moment midstride in his trek towards the narrow lake nestled in within the hills of the Dale. A narrowed expression contorted the brute's broad face, as he cast a hard glance over the rolling slopes of his home, copper-hued ears flicking alternately in momentary confusion. Why such a fuss? Rhaego's ears flattened, almost wanting to ignore the whinny and continue along his way to the lake for a drink to soothe his dry throat... but then again, this was his house and his rules - and he needed to know what all this was about.

He was not quite close enough to the lake yet to merit a quick trip to the water before turning to investigate, so it was decided quickly in his mind that the water would wait. With a heavy snort and a lashing flick of his ivory-streaked tail, the muscular stallion resumed his sauntering pace in a new direction back towards the treeline from where the whinny seemed to have originated. His ears were still partially pinned but flicked forward at brief and random intervals as he moved across the open ground at an almost lazy pace. There'd been nothing in the whinny to cause him to think something was terribly urgent... it had not been a call made in distress nor a warning of danger, and so Rhaego treated it as such. He did not hurry but neither did he drag his hooves through the summer grasses, in fact, it was almost a prowl that he adopted on his mission to locate the caller.

Strong rays of summer sunlight beat down upon his rich copper hide, warming his back and bringing a light sheen of sweat to his sides as his muscles worked to move him across the terra, up and over the gentle slopes and dipping into the valleys. He powered easily up one of the larger hillsides, muscles bulging and stretching beneath his scarred hide. He no longer favored the old injury in his hind flank quite as much now, especially during the summer months like now and so the stallion moved powerfully even at a walk. He raised his head haughtily as he crested the hill, dark mahogany eyes immediately seeking to scan the landscape before him. The forest was just in the distance - within sight but still a good piece away. Upon first glance, nothing looked out of the ordinary... and he had not heard another call yet.