I couldn't decide if standing still or walking was worse. On one hoof, I sweat less when I was standing still, but on the other hoof, I could feel the heat pressing in around me like a wet blanket, threatening to suffocate me with each inhale. Each breath I took was hot and muggy - hardly the refreshing air I was hoping for. Moving wasn't much better, although the heat relented slightly with a breeze across my back. It still felt like I was slogging through mud rather than air.

Either way, I was grateful to not have to wait long as one of the brothers showed up. I recognized him from being around the Lagoon, although I could not say that I had spoken to him directly. He'd come home smelling of different lands and strutting like a proud peacock more than once, which had only fanned my desire to raid on behalf of the Lagoon even hotter. He didn't seem to stand around moping like some of the others did, but seemed eager and bold and wild. "I did." My voice was firm as I answered him, and my head lifted as he drew near.

His size dwarfed mine, but I knew that what I lacked in physicality, I could more than makeup for in nimbleness. If there was one thing I had learned early on, it was how to make my escape from horses twice my size when I inevitably frustrated them to the point of lashing out. My penchant for annoying the herd hadn't been the only reason my sire had dumped me here, but it certainly hadn't helped either.

Of course, I didn't really intend to irritate this big black stallion, either, but I knew I should always be prepared. Pricking my ears forward, I peered toward him expectantly, my nostrils flared as I prepared to make my pitch. "You've been here a while, right? I want to do what you do. I want to go on raids and all that. I want to go with you next time." I lifted my head and allowed my shoulders to square, hoping that I looked a little more seasoned than my two years of life would otherwise imply.

Stallion - Young Adult - 15.2 - Brown Overo