Vita Nova stood solemnly underneath the faulty shelter of a lone palm tree, her head dangling low and lax in line with her knees. She sighed heavily, blinking back bored tears as the drizzle continued to dampened her back and barrel, and make her knotted mane feel heavy as it swelled with moisture. Much like her mother, the steely mare hated being wet. While the oasis provided some relief from the sun during the hottest months of the year on Salem, it hardly offered much cover from the onslaught of storms that occasionally drenched the airy landscape.
Nova would be hard pressed to say her life had improved as of late under Koray's rule in the nearly empty Desert. Her only saving grace was Evren, the cheery and intelligent little paint filly, whom Nova had been spending more and more time with. Much to her own surprise, Nova felt like they were becoming fast friends. But on the other hand, it wasn't like they had much choice. They lived in this vast place with only one another. And they were aligned in their efforts to avoid Koray when at all possible.
So as the morning wore on, and it became clear that the sun would not show it's face today, Nova grew antsy enough to seek out her counterpart. It was unlike Evren to ever be too far away. Nova yawned and chewed on nothing but air as she urged her stiff frame forward, taking lazy strides through the damp sand. She listened to the pitter-patter of the soft rain drops as they tickled her spine and came to rest among the pebbles of sand. Her nostrils flared every so often as she searched for Evren's scent, her blue eyes wide as she looked for her painted frame in the distance.
By the time she spied her, the filly was scaling a small dune and heading in the direction of Koray, who stood tense and still at the crest of the hill. Nova's ear lobes flicked back against her poll instinctively and she halted for just a moment, watching undetected, for now at least, as Evren approached her older brother. The conversation didn't last long before Nova snapped her head up high in fright as she watched what transpired next. Koray turned quickly in the sand and went after the filly, his lips parting as he grabbed at her topline and ripped her to the ground in one full swell.
Rage bubbled deep in the young mare's gut and she urged herself into a wild gallop, racing up the lose sand of the dune in an effort to get to Evren before Koray could harm her more than he already had. By the time Nova arrived at the scene, Evren was on all fours again and placed some distance between them. Koray seemed to have retreated back into himself. He seemed stunned by his own actions. The gray-splashed mare cantered past Evren and sped right for Koray, her petite head held low at her chest. She reared in a grand and foolish display just inches from where Koray had stood, squealing and flailing at random, two rows of yellowed teeth barred and snapping at him as she came down at all fours. Nova hardly knew what she was doing, but she let instinct be her driving force. She snorted in his face and swiveled quickly on her haunches so that her rump faced him now, eager to kick out with her hind legs if he so pursued her in the way he had his sister.
As Nova faced Evren now she looked at her wide eyes, searching the young filly's body for any signs of harm. As the scene began to calm she stood firmly in front of Evren, her dished head held high over her withers with pinned ears, and she pawed furiously at the sand under her feet.
4 | Mare | Evaline x Valentine | Smoky Back Splash | 15 hh | © Vinyl |
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