Koray
Since the day he had attacked his sister, something inside Koray had snapped.
He realized now that he had been too lax with the mares. He had looked the other way too many times when Vita Nova snuck out and Evren lied to his face to cover for her; he felt in his bones that if he was not more careful, he would soon lose them as his father had lost the rest of the herd. It was time to do something.
The stallion had been making an effort to be more alert and sensitive to the mares' movements the past few weeks, telling himself that if one of them disappeared without explanation that he wouldn't simply brush it off as before, that he would follow her and bring her back. The opportunity to do this came one day when Vita Nova wandered from the oasis, making for the direction of the beach. Koray watched her go with sharp green eyes, and began moving once she had slipped behind a dune.
He followed at a distance, careful to ensure he was not seen, and when they arrived on the crossing island he hurried into the trees lest she turned and saw him. Vita Nova led the way to the falls, and Koray watched from the shadows as she reached the water's edge and drank. The stallion was parched from his swim, but he resisted the urge to snatch a quick drink downstream and continued to watch her. When a strange stallion appeared, he knew it was time.
Though he could not hear their words over the rumble of the falls, the stranger's body language was clear enough: he was interested in Vita. Part of Koray wanted to remain in hiding and see how loyal Vita was - whether she would accept this stranger's advances or not - but the rest of him, the insecure side, could not wait. His blood roared in his ears as he emerged from his hiding place, ears flat and teeth bared. The strange stallion was tall, but Koray was stout and strong with the draft blood of his mother in his veins. He was not afraid to fight if need be.
"Get away from her," he demanded as he pushed his way between the two of them. "She is not yours to prey on." Without tearing his stare from the piebald stranger before him, Koray addressed Vita Nova in a low growl. "It's time for you to come home, Vita. You won't be sneaking out again."
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