Gabbar
stallion . arabian . bay . 14.3hh . 6
He would let her rest if he could, but it is dangerous to wait after such an arduous swim. Better to press on now and maintain momentum to reach the oasis and quench their thirst than to linger by the saltwater. Gabbar keeps moving forward, certain Nereid is only a pace or two behind him.
The Arabian soldier hears a third set of hoofbeats too late, masked by the rush of water against the beach, and he turns to see a stocky red stallion bearing down on Nereid. The mare stumbles against the unexpected weight and cries out. The sound shocks his heart and he stands frozen for a moment so critical he is swamped with self-loathing for his lack of reflexes.
Gabbar has been away from home for too long. He has grown comfortable here in these lands where only the elements present a challenge, where each stallion he has encountered has backed away from his aggressive posturing with a passivity that encouraged him to relax his guard— what laughingstock he would be, what shame he feels now to think of how his herd would regard him for this lax in awareness of his surroundings. “Kurtçuk,” he spits, though the epithet is directed at himself.
He curses himself again for allowing so much distance between them. He had not realized Nereid had paused while he continued up the slope toward the interior of the Dunes, and now she is herded into the water by an intruder, a stranger, a future opponent Gabbar already relishes the idea of sinking his teeth and hooves into.
It is his name springing from her lips that prompts Gabbar to action. He pivots, muscles bunching as he digs his hooves into the sand and propels himself back toward the water. “Nereid!” he calls, as if hearing her name will anchor her hooves to the tideline and keep her in place long enough for him to make up for his grievous hesitation, as if the splash of the intruder’s challenge strike is not a warning but an invitation to fight here, now, on Gabbar’s beach, as if he will reach the tideline in time to stop the stallion from herding Nereid further into the waves and away from the place she was supposed to call home.
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