One by one by one the mud-covered bachelor watched his brethren walk into the sea, then swim, then disappear. When the first had gone his intrigue had already climbed; for whatever reason he had developed a fascination with the spotted stallion. When the new boss followed he lifted his head a little higher, blinking as the dun disappeared from view. Then, the third was yet another of his brothers he felt pulled to and rather enjoyed the company of.
At that, he couldn’t keep himself away any longer.
The waters of the duckweed blanketed lagoon stirred around him as he began to walk, trudging through muck and mire along the bottoms. The numerous, tiny floating plants moved around him, breaking apart and forming back together as soon as he moved past. They began to thin as he grew closer to where the waters emptied out into the ocean, and as he transitioned from freshwater to saltwater, the cool waves began to wash the mud from his body wherever it crashed. More and more of his true coat was revealed as he began to travel further out, plunging into where he could no longer reach the ground and had to kick out with his legs to swim.
The waters grew choppy and the sky darkened ahead. The Lagoon bachelor did not turn himself around, but only struck at the water with more purpose, trying to swim even faster. It did not occur to him that coincidence and a curiosity similar to his own had brought all three of these bachelors here; he had assumed they all shared a common purpose and wanted to make sure he got to them before they did whatever they were going to do without him.
Instead the wind snapped at him, threw sand against him so he had to squint and hurry himself from the open shoreline and into the trees. His ears flicked backward and forward as he stepped into the shelter of vegetation, not sure if this was better or not. Yes, there was no sand whipping around to crust his nostrils or get into his eyes, but the howling and rustling sounds the wind made all the leaves and branches have was terrifying, especially because it seemed to be coming from everywhere. The painted grullo tossed his head and started forward, moving quickly in the wake of Garmr’s trail.
Careful, Isengrim. He might try to drag you back on purpose.
It was a miracle he’d managed to hear it over the wind, but his brother’s familiar voice drew the stallion's attention. He huffed, neck lifting high and pale nostrils flaring outward to desperately take in their smell - and the charge in the air; the storm ripping through - and turn himself toward them. He came upon Garmr first, but he could just make out the speckled stallion and the new boss beyond him, down on the rocks. The grullo tilted his bald-face, blue eyes staring curiously at Garmr.
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