SOLJOR stallion / six / 16.0 hh / gypsy vanner mutt / silver smoky black tobiano/ rules the bay / o melhor x tallynne

Soljor enjoyed the company of the girls, but he could sense the tension as more arrived. He smiled at Arachne. He hadn’t spoken with her since he’d brought her here. He should have checked in on her more often, but she was rounding clearly and he had found that giving pregnant mares space seemed to be effective. She was the first to arrive to his call and they greeted with the touch of noses.

“Yes, it does,” He said. “It honestly won’t warm up until half-way through spring. It’s a short summer, but trust me, it is something to behold. It’s like one day everything is dead and then the next everything is alive. Spring here is truly spectacular.” He would have to spend more time with Arachne later, they had some catching up to do.

Magnus was second to come to the clearing. Soljor listened to his report and nodded. Magnus had been doing very well lately, especially in the recent battle with the golden intruder. The painted king had been relying on the spotted boy a lot lately as he was still stiff and the upper slopes were no friend of his in this condition.

“Excellent work,” Soljor said. “And the caribou are still up there. Hopefully, things will be easier this season than last. Magnus, stand up here by me.” He invited the younger stallion to his side in a place of authority. He knew the girls already knew of the presence of his second, but it was good to actually see it. Besides, the kid had earned his place.

His eyes happened on Fly as she came next. Now, it seemed, came the dangerous time. His girls were not too social, it seemed, and he knew just how necessary it was for a herd of their size to have a lead mare. To have someone to help keep the girls together and sociable while he was protecting the borders. So far she was the only one who had put forth the desire. He was somewhat surprised that she had managed to get Cut up Angel to back her, but somehow he was pretty sure the arabian wasn’t in a fighting mood lately. Last time he had seen her, she had been practically the same size as her pregnancy with Harlequin. He nodded to Fly, who proceeded to address Arachne. They hadn’t met… but he was honestly not surprised.

He was pulled out of his inner musings by a bump on his nose. He smiled and reached down to nuzzle Luana.

“Good to see you too, Lu,” he said with a laugh. He pressed his nose against her neck.

“And what about me?” Stardust whined, popping up from the direction Magnus had arrived. She was late to the party it seemed. She didn’t like to be late. She reached up to greet her father, who also gave her a tap on the nose. “Hi, sis,” she reached out to give her sister a bump on the nose in greeting.

“And you, Stardust,” Soljor laughed. He pushed his daughters forward a bit. “Both of you, please go stand with the others.” Stardust pouted a bit. She looked at her sister.

“It’s just gonna be boring grown up talk,” Stardust blew her thick, black forelock out of her face. “Wanna go see if Harle’s around somewhere?”

“Please don’t go running off, you two,” Soljor warned. After all, some of the things to discuss would regard them. They were old enough now to participate in the herd. He spotted Acelynn near Arachne as the fillies wandered back to their mothers. He scanned once more. Cut up Angel, Harlequin, Sophia, and Mercury had not yet arrived. He wasn’t sure if any of them would come anyway. CUA was heavily pregnant it seemed; Sophia preferred her shadowy haunts; and Mercury was still dealing with the loss of Caliber.

However, a warm breath on his hip alerted him to another presence. Mercury remained at a distance, seeming almost to hide behind Soljor. He looked back at her and nodded. He wouldn’t call her forward. He looked back to the gathered group.

“We are still missing a few,” he observed. “But I suppose I should start anyway. Winter is on us. Last year was hard, for those of you who were here. It would seem that the wolf population has followed the caribou into the mountains, but Magnus has reported signs of cat tracks. We all need to be especially vigilant as there is a larger number this winter.” Last season it had just been four of them.

“This is the time that we must unite as a group,” He looked at the mares. “First would be for you to elect a lead mare from your ranks. Fly has put forth herself as a candidate. I have heard three of you respond yes to her request. If there are no objections or challenges, I will name her lead mare today.” He nodded to Magnus at his side. “Also, I hope by now you are all familiar with Magnus. I am proud to say that besides adding his vigilance to our borders, his assistance in chasing off an invading stallion was more than adequate in reason to keep him here. If I am not to be found, and there is a serious problem, bring it to Magnus’ attention. I trust he will take care of it appropriately.”

His eyes sought out his daughters. He wished Harlequin were here as well. He had decided to give Magnus one of the girls. Bonds with family were always stronger than merely bonds with strangers. He held back on that for the moment though, he would speak with the girl’s mothers first before announcing it to the entire herd. He also had to choose which girl would go with Magnus and which would go to Dogun.

“In other news, I have secured an alliance with Dogun of the Inlet,” Soljor said. “I hope this doesn’t come as a great surprise. Our neighbor and his second, a light chestnut male with four socks by the name of Grai, are also to be trusted unless proven otherwise. And finally… I do have some concerning news. I have shared it with a few of you, but I have seen strange tracks of an unknown predator in the northern region. The tracks seem to indicate a single, very large creature. I have not yet seen it, but its stride indicates it is far bigger than a wolf. This is why I hope that we will keep together this winter. There is strength in numbers.” And security. He looked about the group, wandering who would speak up and how they would all take the various news he had laid out there.

mare / eleven months / 15.3 hh wfg / mutt / black tobiano / the bay / soljor x fly stardust