Things had been changing in the Hills lately. For a long time, life was quiet. Peaceful. Free of interruptions. Mother was content to rule over her slice of Salem, and Bastien was content to spend his days exploring the land he might one day call his own. Horses joined their herd, and more siblings soon followed. Life was good. But then Joachim showed up, and everything seemed to turn on its head. Mother became more short-tempered than usual, more withdrawn. The trickle of new horses into their herd began to slow (but another sibling was on its way). He tried to ask her once about why she hated her first son so much, but had been met with anger and given no real answers.
He guessed whatever it was that made his mother hate Joachim so much must be bad, if she didn't talk about it. He didn't press her about it again after that, figuring he'd learn in due time about what'd really transpired between the two. But seeing his mother's hatred for Joachim up close tainted the colt, made him hate the stallion himself even though they'd never met. He knew very little information about Joachim, and what he did know wasn't good. He'd done something to hurt mother. He'd upset her by coming back into her life. He'd antagonized her time and time again, when all she wanted was peace.
And now he'd taken her son away. When Bastien learned that Joachim had claimed the Dunes and his freedom along with it, the dun colt is incensed. He put up a fuss to mother, insisted that he wouldn't go - that she couldn't make him. But he had to, she explained. If he didn't go, Joachim would just continue to make their lives hell. The spotted stallion had put enough stress on mother lately that Bastien didn't want to be the cause of more. So reluctantly, he went. Mother sent him off, of course, her goodbye more angry than sad. She was upset her son had been taken from her, and he was upset at being taken, too. But there was nothing either of them could do about it.
He set off early in the day, when the sun was still peeking above the horizon. The journey through the Desert and towards the Dunes wasn't a particularly remarkable one. The entire way there he thought of all the choice words he was going to say to Joachim to let him know just how displeased with this situation he was. It was nearly noon when he finally arrived at the border, stepping confidently over without a hint of hesitation.
He paused just inside the border, Joachim's scent permeating the air and making Bastien scrunch his nose in distaste. Compared to the Hills, this place was a graveyard. There were no cacti, no shrubs or trees, not even any rocks. Just sand as far as his eye could see. How the hell was anyone content calling this home?
A shrill, beckoning cry was let loose for the spotted king, but beyond that Bastien made no further effort to seek him out or otherwise make his presence known. If his brother wanted to see the prize he'd won and gloat about it (as Bastien suspected he would, he apparently had a very large ego), he'd have to make the effort to seek him out.
Luckily it didn't take long before his half-brother made an appearance. Bastien whipped his tail against his hindquarters to signal his displeasure, stomping a hoof and sending golden sand flying. "You must be really desperate to spite mother if you'd claim this trash heap as your own." He quipped insolently as Joachim got closer, not bothering to hide his own disdain - not only for the stallion in front of him, but for the situation as a whole.
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two years old. mixed breed. red dun roan
fifteen-one. fiero x marceline. played by pippa. |