Indira had gone to see her sister off without hesitation. The balance of the Desert had been upset but the loss of her parents and her brother. She was eager to take a break from the place, as if escaping the physical location could help her escape from the emotion brought on by it all, but to no one's surprise, Indira carried all her feelings with her. Adrift upon the wind is not where she needs to be right now. She needs to go home, to come to terms with all that has passed in the quiet of their familiar oasis.
Her coat is still wet with the sea when she happens upon a strange figure lingering on the horizon. Indira pauses to observe. It is then that a breath of dry desert air carries his scent to her. From his proud stance, and his established scent, it becomes immediately clear; he's claimed this land in their absence.
While Indira knows the world will keep turning regardless of what happens in her own world, she can't help but feel a rising anger. The young mare's ears lace back. She judges him from behind sharp eyes and wrinkled nostrils. How dare he claim the desert! Does he have no respect for those who have fallen here? This is a land for the remembered. For generations, her family has lived and even ruled here. They should not be so easily forgotten.
Indira takes a bold step forward but she is stopped by a gentle tug upon her tail.
"Mom." Her yearling son regards her with a sorry expression. "Don't." Tarek is just a yearling but he is almost as tall as his mother. He's all legs, an indication that he'll be tall. His foal fluff has long been replaced with a sleek, smoke-colored coat. He and his mother lock eyes, two very different gazes. While Indira's honey-brown eyes flicker with fire, Tarek's eyes are as deep and still as a clear night sky.
He is ever the voice of reason. With a deep breath, Indira collects her impulses. She forces her ears to relax forward and strides calmly towards the stranger. As she nears him, she greets him with a light nicker. Tarek hangs back respectfully. He stands at his mother's left flank, leveling an unreadable gaze with the strange stallion.
Her coat is still wet with the sea when she happens upon a strange figure lingering on the horizon. Indira pauses to observe. It is then that a breath of dry desert air carries his scent to her. From his proud stance, and his established scent, it becomes immediately clear; he's claimed this land in their absence.
While Indira knows the world will keep turning regardless of what happens in her own world, she can't help but feel a rising anger. The young mare's ears lace back. She judges him from behind sharp eyes and wrinkled nostrils. How dare he claim the desert! Does he have no respect for those who have fallen here? This is a land for the remembered. For generations, her family has lived and even ruled here. They should not be so easily forgotten.
Indira takes a bold step forward but she is stopped by a gentle tug upon her tail.
"Mom." Her yearling son regards her with a sorry expression. "Don't." Tarek is just a yearling but he is almost as tall as his mother. He's all legs, an indication that he'll be tall. His foal fluff has long been replaced with a sleek, smoke-colored coat. He and his mother lock eyes, two very different gazes. While Indira's honey-brown eyes flicker with fire, Tarek's eyes are as deep and still as a clear night sky.
He is ever the voice of reason. With a deep breath, Indira collects her impulses. She forces her ears to relax forward and strides calmly towards the stranger. As she nears him, she greets him with a light nicker. Tarek hangs back respectfully. He stands at his mother's left flank, leveling an unreadable gaze with the strange stallion.