Meadow

Rivaini

It was difficult for Rivaini to keep up with her new companion, who at first impressions was as mercurial as the sea. The spotted male had come all the way out here - putting himself at risk of harm - to warn her of the impending danger. But once he stood before her extending his aid, the stallion seemed prickly and terse to a degree that just didn't make sense to the silver bay. If he regretted his actions so much, why had the stranger come to begin with? She was a newcomer in this land and of no value to the stallion; he had neither reason nor obligation to protect her, especially at his own expense. Even her old family would have abandoned her to save their own skin - with the exception of Iscariot.

As she thought fleetingly her brother, the answer came to Rivaini in a flash of insight. For some, the instinct to protect was like the action of breathing - unconscious and undeniable. Bleeding heart, that's what my father called it, the mare thought to herself with sorrow as she remembered one of the arguments they'd had shortly before her departure. Father always said it would be the death of me... because when you help another to stand, it costs you your own strength. Of course, it hadn't mattered to Rivaini; couldn't have mattered, no matter what the cost of her actions may have been. Iscariot was her brother.

But would she have risked everything for the life of one she didn't even know?

As to that, the auburn mare did not have a sufficient answer. But she did know that she was not about to let her own foolishness be the cause of another's suffering. Poor manners though it may be, Rivaini did not waste precious moments (or breath) on a response - choosing instead to preserve her energy for action. Pale eyes glanced in the direction the brute had indicated, lips twisting downward at the scant cover that the trees offered. It was better than nothing - but only barely. There was no way either of them was going to weather the storm there... at least, not alone.

Rivaini expected that the spotted bay would be leading the way by the time her chilled limbs cooperated in taking a step - she felt like a filly again, in danger of her legs tangling and spilling her to the ground. But for some reason the colorful male just stood there as if he expected her to leave him and head meekly into the trees. Not a chance. If he wasn't planning to move, then Rivaini would just have to make him. Narrowing her sky-blue eyes, the mare built up a little more momentum and then drove her chest into his shoulder intentionally, pushing the stallion in the direction that he had indicated she should head. A well-placed nip on his neck likewise sought to incite some of that anger she'd glimpsed beneath his gruff-but-harmless exterior.

Then, with a sharp squeal, the pale-haired mare raced off towards the trees.

It was a stupid move, to be certain. The challenge was a bluff - intended to get the taller creature to chase her, and nothing more. But he didn't know it, and was of a size to easily overpower her if this turned into a physical fight. Breathless and heart beating in time with her hooves, she can only hope that she won't be caught before they're under cover.

mare / five / silver bay tobiano / andalusian mix / 15.3hh