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 Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2013 7:03 pm
 and 
Never in a million years had Arthur ever expected Aalun to come after him, but in all honesty he should have. She was headstrong and hardly one to shy away from a challenge, and he was if nothing else a challenge. And a huge challenge they had set up for themselves that night. One could wait a little longer, but the other...the founding of a herd was a far more daunting task and seemed to be more important in both their minds, and finding good dependable sorts seemed to be harder than it appeared."It's cool up here." Aalun said coming up next to Arthur. It had been her idea to strike out this way to start with. She didn't know why but the mountains seemed like as good a place as any to start looking, not only for others to join them, but as a place to settle as well.
Looking around with a practiced eye, she decided that while some of these hills would be easy to defend, she was not however a fan of the cool air that came off the mountains. "Should find somewhere to bed down soon." she said absently as she looked down towards a little stand of trees nestled between two hills. It didn't look all that far and would be easy for the two of them to secure.
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Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2013 7:16 pm
Telaar stood perched upon a rocky outcropping higher up the hillside, not much unlike the mountain goats she lived among. It was turning out to be a rather nice evening after such a long, un-eventful day. The breeze felt quite nice despite her thicker fur.
'Not many travelers today...' she thought, turning her attention down towards the trails of the valley and hills below. Was it really getting so late in the year already that no one would be coming through the mountains again except for those who could survive it? She frowned a it at the thought. It meant no others to lead and chase around for quite some time then. With a flick of her tail, she sighed and jumped down to the next rock, and the next, and so on, until she was back on flat ground.
The mare's ears pricked forward as she caught the voice of another on the wind. "Hello?"
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Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2013 7:50 pm
Arthur nodded in response to his mate's comments and looked around. "That stand of trees maybe?" he asked motioning with his head.
Aalun chuckled and smiled at him. "Just what I was thinking actually." she said bumping him playfully. "Should give us a break from all this wind and be defensible enough." she said starting to pick her way down the hill. Nice thing about her splayed hooves it did make traversing this terrain easier on her. She did feel bad for Arthur who seemed to slip on every loose rock.
"Sounds good to me." He said starting to pick his own way down the hill. He grumbled as he constantly had to watch his hooves with tiny rocks that were hiding just under the light coating of grass and was only half way down by the time Aalun was at the bottom. When he had managed to reach the bottom, he realized that Aalun was stock still.
"What's wrong?" he asked quietly.
"I thought I heard a voice." she said in hushed tones. She looked around and motioned towards a huge boulder left standing from some ancient glacier. "There, if it's trouble they'll think I'm alone and you can surprise them." she said before calling out. "Is someone there?"
Arthur nodded and moved to get behind the boulder. He did have a moment of concern about Aalun exposing herself like this to danger, but he pushed it aside. Danger was what they'd been raised to handle.
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Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2013 8:02 pm
"Hello?" Telaar called again when she got no answer, but continued to hear voices carried on the wind. There were at least two that she could determine, but it was entirely possible an entire family or herd was passing through. Several travelers did often pass through to get to the desert and badlands after all.
She waited a while longer and upon still receiving no answer, headed down the trail towards the voices. Telaar paused again when the original voice she heard returned to her. "Someone's here. How many are there?" She called back, rounding down the path quickly.
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Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2013 8:13 pm
Aalun listened quietly for a response. She almost felt foolish and called Arthur out when she finally heard someone. "Just me." she said letting the lie fly freely out of her mouth. Just because the voice sounded innocent hardly meant that they were.
She waited two heartbeats and slowly loosened up her neck swaying her head slightly from side to side, if whoever this voice was ended up being a threat, she'd be ready for them. She glanced back over her shoulder making sure Arthur was out of sight and then turned back to see the oddest looking mare she'd ever seen. Aalun didn't lower her guard though, noting the horns and spikes down the others neck. Just because she looked furry and sweet didnt' mean she was.
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Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2013 8:19 pm
The mare paused as she came around the corner upon the other. She looked her up and down, taking note of the horns that donned her own head. Real or not, she didn't care, that was enough to make note of a possible threat should the other jump her.
"Are you lost?" Telaar asked, stepping back slightly and keeping her eyes on the other. "Because it's getting late and others rarely come up these paths without foul intent." She said, giving her a look. "Also, are you alone? I heard another..."
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Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2013 8:32 pm
Aalun watched as the other mare took a step back. Seemed they were in a sort of stand off with neither knowing what to expect of the other. Aalun debated having Arthur continue to hide, but knew he would be unable to follow quietly if this mare decided to lead her off somewhere, and while formidably armed she didn't get an aggressive vibe from the mare.
"Arthur." She called out, then turned back to the other. "Yes, we noticed that there are many places around here that could easily conceal someone if they wished another harm. I assure you though that that is not our intention." she glanced over as Arthur came up beside her from his hiding spot. "And I apologize for the deception. We had no idea who you might be so my mate hid in case you were the one with foul play in mind."
Arthur nearly slipped on a loose rock as he came up next to Aalun and looked over the other mare himself. She certainly was something, but like Aalun he didn't pick up on anything that made him think she was an overt threat. He nodded in agreement with Aalun and then bowed his head slightly. "We are strangers here, so we do what we must to protect ourselves."
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Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2013 8:35 pm
"Fair enough. You're brave for coming this far into the hills to the base of the mountain. Especially this time of year and this late in the evening." She turned her attention towards Arthur, looking him up and down. He wasn't exactly the most graceful thing she'd seen. Granted she'd seen a lot like him that didn't walk well on the rough path. Telaar sighed and shook her head at him, turning her attention back to Aalun instead.
"You're not honestly thinking of traveling up this way come nightfall, are you? Because really...that's just crazy. Especially if he can't walk straight through here."
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Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2013 8:48 pm
Arthur colored slightly and gave the strange mare a look. "I do just fine." he said loudly. Of course she had to have those damned annoy splayed hooves like Aalun which made traversing this mess of a landscape so easy. Although on Aalun they were dainty and appealing, but she ignored his stumbles and kept the laughter to a minimum. This other one though seemed to be aiming to pour salt in his already wounded pride.
"And no, we're heading to that stand of trees just over that way." he said motioning. "I've got no desire to break my neck on this mess." he said kicking a rock.
Aalun sighed quietly. She understood Arthur's ire, he'd been watching her bounce up and down hills all day and she was sure he'd gotten tired of her "tactfully" checking for pebbles in her hooves while he got head starts on rougher hills, but it didn't warrant him getting angry with someone who could very well be an ally.
"Arthur..." she muttered quietly but meaningfully, she then bobbed her head to the other mare. "I'm sorry, it's just been a very long day for us. As for continuing on, no we didn't have any intention of crossing the mountain to the other side. We're...on a different sort of mission, you could say." she said.
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Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2013 8:54 pm
Telaar snorted at the stallion's response and dug her own hooves into the dirt path pointedly. She followed his motioning to look down at the grouping of trees and nodded. "Seems to be a popular resting spot. Wouldn't be surprised if someone else is there already, really." She gave a small laugh and tilted her head curiously at Aalun.
"A mission? What mission brings you to the mountains if not going to the badlands? These caves really won't be good on him if he has a hard time with the trails. Sure they're safe...sometimes...but probably not a good idea."
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Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2013 9:02 pm
"It's...fairly complicated. Do you mind if we start towards the trees while we explain? We'd like to be there before dark so we can secure the area. Even if there are others there, we won't be happy until we've checked the area ourselves." she said with a nod. "Old habits."
Arthur snorted, but nodded in agreement with Aalun. "You may be lucky enough to be heavily pelted but this wind is a little cutting for us." he said.
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Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2013 9:05 pm
Telaar nodded and waited for them to start for the trees before trotting after them. "How complicated can it be? You're either here to travel, or you're here for someone else as simple." She said, watching the trees and half-expecting something horrible to jump out of them.
"It's not like many others have any other reason to come up here. Shelter, quick travel...uhm...family maybe?" It really began to baffle her. If those weren't reasons to come up here what was?
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Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2013 9:19 pm
Aalun allowed Arthur to go before her in case he took a bad stumble. She'd hear about that later, but she'd rather wounded masculine pride, than a mate with a broken neck. She took a moment to compose her thoughts on the matter for why they were up here before starting up herself.
"Well it could be family related I suppose...but in an extended way." she said skirting a loose patch of grass. "You see, we're warriors, and we want to share our skills with others."
"But not anyone who would use these skills for ill. We both believe in a code of honor and would want to only share our abilities and knowledge with those who would work to uphold that code." Arthur said picking his way around a patch of shale, but otherwise doing fine for the moment.
"Just don't ask what made us pick this direction to look for those that might wish to join us." Aalun said with a laugh. "It was a whim." she said with a smile. "I suppose we should introduce ourselves as well. I'm Aalun, and this is my mate Arthur Flew."
Arthur grunted back at the pair as he continued to lead, and was more than happy when they finally reached the edge of the stand of trees and some relatively flat terrain.
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Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2013 9:24 pm
"Telaar." She gave them a small smile and dug her hooves back into the grassy ground around the trees to feel a bit more secure in her standing. "So you're...gathering a herd? For protection or just to share what you know?" She asked, tilting her head slightly.
"Though...I do know of herds that were gathered to be traders...and some to be entertainers...so I suppose it's not that outlandish. Just seems like most I encounter are purely close family. Blood related, you know?" Telaar watched them wander in and around the trees, falling silent for the time being.
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Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2013 9:44 pm
Arthur looked around cautiously before entering the trees and began looking around. "Either or." he said absently answering the question as he scented the area for anything dangerous. "Once we're trained and established I don't see why we couldn't hire out to those that need a little extra protection." he said before moving out of range of the mares.
"That's a pretty name." Aalun said before picking up where Arthur left off. "We know it may be considered a little unethical to allow complete strangers into our midst but Arthur and I are a little on the untraditional side anyway." she colored slightly and shuffled a hoof. "And just because their aren't little hooves of our own running about doesn't mean their won't be some day." she said, moving to check the perimeter of the trees.
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