M A G N U S
WINTER as a band stallion was not an easy task. Magnus had thought it was tough getting through winter on the crossing alone but finding himself responsible for others as well as himself made things even harder. He had thought it would be easier, that they would all rely on each other. Tinuvel is a harsh place however and with Soljor injured from a scuffle with an intruder, Magnus had to pick up the slack. Picking up some extra patrols in the furthest reaches of the bay and making sure the wolves didn’t stray back was exhausting work without the presence a snow leopard and some unidentified creature.
THE spotted boy had found himself engaging in multiple games of cat and mouse with the snow leopard. At first he had gone out of his way to avoid following the tracks when they remained far from the herd but not long after Soljor had called the meeting, he’d come upon the tracks getting a little too close for comfort. Being young and just a little reckless, he’d followed the tracks and lured the large cat over the mountain…or tried to at least. It had not been as simple a plan as he had convinced himself and keeping enough distance between them while still holding its attention was not an easy task. If got too close he would risk becoming the leopard’s dinner and if he got too far away, it would lose interest and move back towards the herd.
WHEN the bald faced boy eventually got exasperated with his slow progress, he turned to more dangerous pursuits. He had positioned himself on a ledge and proceeded to rain pebbles and rocks down on the cat. Suitably pissed off, it chased him up the mountainside. He could almost feel it’s hot breath on his heels by the time he broke into the herd of caribou and disappeared amongst them. When he turned, there was no cat to be seen. It was biding its time, but for who, he didn’t know.
SOON, he left the relatively safety that the wall of caribou provider and found shelter in the caves at the base of the mountain. He spent a few weeks in the area, checking to make sure the leopard had not begun the trek back to the bay. Two of the caribou were picked off by his leopard in this time and with supply still greatly outweighing demand, Magnus felt confident that the leopard would remain where it was.
HE began the journey back up the mountain, spending a few days on different ledges as he went to make sure he hadn’t earned the grudge of the cat. It seemed the leopard’s belly was bigger than its appetite for revenge and so Magnus could return, relieved that one of the worst threats to the herd had now been displaced. Now they could tackle the mystery predator.
GETTING a little too cocky, the gods decided to teach him a lesson when he was almost home. Half way down the bay side of the mountain, he began to feel the earth tremble below his hooves and before he could react, the snow and rocks below him fell away. He landed with a thump, on his right side a few meters below where he had been standing when the ledge gave way. Dazed, he’d barely had enough time to rise, let alone register the pain, before he was galloping down the mountain and away from the growing mass of snow that was thundering after him. He’d thought being chased by the leopard was scary…..an avalanche was ten times worse.
TRAILING off to the east, he managed to escape the snow’s clutches but found himself cut off from an easy path back to the bay. With the pain finally starting to sink in as he caught his breath, he realised he would need an easy path. The debris from the ledge had caught the worst of his fall and saved him from breaking limbs. The majority of his right side was badly bruised though and small cuts and scrapes littered his hide (the worst of those being a long gash on his right shoulder).
UNWILLING to spend too long on his own while injured, he began the slow and painful limp home. It took just over a week to navigate past the blockade as he had to avoid the more strenuous routes that caused sharp pains to grip his shoulder and white, searing light to cloud his vision. The second day, he had barely even managed a couple of miles before he gave up to rest.
FINALLY, as he limped stiffly back towards where the herd stood around grazing, the pain more of an irritating ache than searing now, he heard a strangled cry. He froze, ears shooting up vigilantly to pinpoint the direction. He recognised the voice, Elexzra. He’d looked for her before he’d left to patrol and lure the cat but she had proved elusive. He wasn’t sure if he’d just had trouble finding her or if she’d been deliberately avoiding him but benefiting from the presence of the herd nearby. It would not surprise him if that had been the case; she was no social butterfly.
ALTHOUGH the cry had been one of pain, he had to stop himself from going to investigate, realising that he knew what that cry was. He had heard it back in his family herd when the mares went away to give birth. While he had no idea what a mare might do if he approached while she was in the middle of labour, he knew he wasn’t supposed to. He wasn’t convinced he’d want to see all the blood and birthing fluids anyway. Pulling a brief disgusted look, he dropped his head down to root around under the snow for grass. He would go to Elexzra once she’d had a little more time to give birth and hopefully bond with the foal.
ONCE what he hoped was enough time had passed, he made the slow trek over to where the call had come from, following her scent when found the general area. When the spotted boy limped through the trees, he caught sight of her on the beach near the water. It didn’t strike him as the most efficient place to give birth but what did Magnus know about it?
HE nickered softly to her as he approached, blue eyes trailing over his daughter’s form. His daughter; the word sounded so strange in his head. He could feel the weight of responsibility heavy on his shoulders in that moment and at the same time he felt like he could fly. For a moment, he could even forget that Elexzra was probably about to finish the job that the avalanche had started and the leopard had wanted.
ONLY THE STRONG WILL SURVIVE |