Gabbar
stallion . arabian . bay . 14.3hh . 6
Like sunrise sweeping over storm-wet sand, the mare gleams suddenly with light. It astounds the stallion to watch her expression open, her posture lift, and every part of her swell suddenly with vitality. Gabbar cannot help but grin in return. This is beauty, he thinks. This is the kind of inner fire that should light each horse. Not some lust for blood or vengeance, but this simple joy of belonging.
Her quick dance is utterly endearing, and Gabbar laughs along with her: big, hearty, booming in harmony with the delicate peal of her own amusement. He likes that there is no disdain tarnishing the silver ring of her laugh, no arrogance to twist the honest happiness that lights her whole being— not at all like the vain Arabians back home, or the self-assured strutting of the ‘Tekes. His grin quirks at one end as he amends his earlier thought: She is beauty.
The bay stallion tosses his head enthusiastically and whips his forelock away from his face, his smile still broad. “Excellent. Welcome, Avangeline, to the Dunes. You know your way around a climate such as this, yes?” he waits for what he suspects will be assent before continuing, “I’d like you to familiarize yourself with this territory as quickly as you are able. I’ll need your help keeping an eye on the borders of our home as the herd grows— and I’d like you to get to know everyone as they join us so they are familiar with you, as well as your comings and goings.”
Gabbar pauses with a small frown. “I intend to patrol with you but there will be times you are alone. You will have to trust your judgement, should you come across an outsider on our borders, as to whether or not they should be allowed to the oasis for drink. Can you do this?” he asks, serious but not stern. It takes effort but he pushes away his worry that his mother or her High Seer will come seeking him and encounter this sweet Akhal-Teke instead. Gabbar can do nothing to prevent the future, only prepare for it. Avangeline will help.
He gives a small start and laughs as it occurs to him he still has yet to introduce himself. “I am Gabbar, by the way. Been living for too long by myself,” he offers with an apologetic grin.
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