Valentine had been busy with his herd this spring, welcoming many of his children into the world, but he had not been completely distracted. He had noticed that Asp’s scent had faded at the border of the Forest, where the river ran between the two territories, and when he occasionally saw a flash of movement the figures were unfamiliar. Someone new had moved in. Valentine would not pretend that he was sorry to see the Forest’s last leader go. Although Asp had done him no personal wrong, his meeting with the man had been tense and unpleasant and he had felt on edge living in such close proximity to him. He hoped that his new neighbour, whoever he was, would be less confrontational than the last. But in order to find out whether that were true, Valentine knew that he would have to meet this new stallion and introduce himself, and he had decided that today would be the day to do that. So he made his away across the river and towards the thick stand of trees that marked the area where the Forest began. He pushed his way through the branches and into the shadows, but went no further than a few metres into the territory. He did not know how territorial his new neighbour was yet, and while all of Valentine’s mares had given birth by now he knew that foaling season was still ongoing and the stallion who lived here might well be on high alert if he was expecting children of his own. And so, eager to announce his arrival rather than get caught sneaking around and risk offending anyone before he even got chance to meet them, he called out into the shadows. |