Areo Hotah moved with a decent pace along the border of the Inlet. Since the day his queen had fought the neighboring leader of the territory beside theirs he’d increased his patrol to the area, assuming any trouble would likely come from their influence. It was strange to have a queen who fought her own fight, but Areo Hotah knew it was not in his place to question her practices. He would do as he was directed; if he was told to fight, he would fight; if he was told to stand aside, he would stand aside. Nothing pleased Areo Hotah more than following the orders directed toward him by those who had been elected to lead. Without orders, he was nothing.
The thickly muscled shire made grooves in the ground with his wide hooves as he walked. His feathering fluttered about his white legs and he wondered, briefly, if it would be difficult to keep them from gathering snow in the winter. Though it was merely mid-autumn the weather was already far colder than he was accustom to and he suspected because of this, the climate seemed more drastic than it actually was. Surely by this season next year his body would adapt much better leaving him to think of things other than the chilling bite to the air.
A sharp scent of another mare hit his nose so abruptly, Areo Hotah stopped and pulled his neck up and back into his shoulders, snorting to expel it and then inhale again. His ear twitched and he turned his skull, seeking out the source of the scent. It was there he saw the mare and knew immediately who she was – Adelheid, his queen’s newest captive. Rather than speak, the sabino splashed grey simply stood as a formidable tower might, watching her and wondering if she were up to no good.
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