NYAZIK Nyazik stood amongst the rolling sand dunes, observing the other akhal-teke from a safe distance.
On that fateful day, some time ago now, she had allowed Valve to approach her because, at the time, she had wanted to be seen. The arrival of the two bachelor stallions had caused her to re-evaluate her situation, however, and she realised she could not be so lax with her own freedom and safety. She needed to be smarter.
The buckskin yearling had watched everyday life and events within the dunes carefully and bided her time. She’d witnessed one of those same bachelor stallions pass by with one of the mares she had observed from her vantage point above the oasis with Valve, and wondered if that mare had been taken forcibly or given willingly. Just as she had no reason to fight beside the dunes herd though, she had no reason to intervene – she only had reason to be thankful it was not her who had been plucked from Salem that day.
Nyazik would make no excuses for leaving either scene. She would not fight for a stranger, not unless she had something to gain from it – yet what advantage did a yearling have against one bachelor stallion, let alone two anyway? Nyazik was not about to risk her own freedom without knowing what, or who, she was risking it for. Nyazik might be proud, but she was not stupid. She was not a part of the dunes herd, and therefore could not expect to be protected by them – nor should they expect anything from her. Whether that would be subject to change has yet to be seen.
With little knowledge left to gain through observation alone, Nyazik made the decision to be visible once more. Instead of disappearing behind the crests of shifting dunes as the other mare turned from the ocean, Nyazik moved to the base of the dune the mare would soon be reaching the crest. While she waited, she watched the vultures circling in the distance, imagining that they might be waiting for one of those disrespectful bachelor stallions to drop dead. A girl can hope, right?
15.2HH BUCKSKIN AKHAL-TEKE FILLY
MASLAKHAT x KEYIK
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