Solo Peaceful, Easy Feeling (Work Solo)

[Ixyva]

Timestamp: Fall 17, 514 AV Location: With the Drykas Strider herds Time of Day: 17th Bell, Evening Syna was high in the sky, warming the tall grasses, as winds whipped easterly, making the rolling plains ripple with life given by the gods. Sniffing at the air, Ixyva could smell the saltiness of the distant coasts, moving through the herd that she was charged with protecting. Just as people did when in large groups, horses formed their own little social cliques. Meandering by a group of stallions, there was a chorus of lustful whinnies and snorts. They all knew that she wasn't just a Strider, but also a human. But no matter the species, males were males. And she knew the older mares that were breeding and bonded loved to gossip about the younger, unclaimed fillies, and her in particular. The stallions threw out several comments, some about her, others directed at her. "Ixyva has those nice haunches that really feel good when mounted." "I'd make her whinny real good." "Ixyva, when are you going to let me put a colt in you? You know I have the best legs in all of the herd." With a swish of her tail, she sauntered off, thankful that none came sniffing after her. She wasn't in the mood to be fighting off the bigger males today. Continuing toward the edge of the heard, she could hear Mara, a friend of hers, a four year old mare with a one year old colt, in a panic. She was dashing up and down the outer boundary of the herd, glancing in past the sea of bodies, calling out her son's name, Holdt, over and over. Ixyva trotted over to the upset mother, "Whoa whoa, Mara. Calm down. Holdt is missing?" Mara snorted, "Yes, I took my eyes off him for a tick, and he was gone! You know how he likes to run off, and after Shelby's daughter got taken a few days ago by those night lions..." Many of the mothers with young colts and fillies had been particularly stressed since the recent night lion attack. The nocturnal cats had managed to snag one of the fillies who wandered just a little too far from the rest of the herd. As large as the heard was, and even with as many eyes as they had, they couldn't see everything. Ixyva moved close and rubbed her face along Mara's, "We'll find him. You go check the grooms, you know he's always trying to get treats from them. Try and keep your panic down, we don't need the whole herd whipping into a frenzy. I'll go check by the river. We'll work our way back to each other." Mara gave an approving snort, and cantered off toward the grooms, closer to the traveling city proper. Several mare and fillies that had seen Mara's panic were beginning to whisper and gossip, making sure they had eyes on their own children. It wouldn't take too long for the entire herd to go on high alert, and there was nothing worse than a bunch of stressed and scared Striders. She had to find him soon, or this was just going to escalate. She set off at a trot weaving through the herd easterly, after find where Syna was setting, and moving in the opposite direction. She knew Holdt's markings for he looked just like his father. He was a dark chestnut with a blonde mane and one large white splotch on his face that really made him stick out. As she moved through the crowd, she kept peering between the many bodies, ears perked up listening for the obnoxious sounds he made when playing. He was a very loud, very energetic colt, and he had probably been lying in wait for his poor mother to drop her attention for just a moment before disappearing. Continuing along, she could see the small trees in the distance signalling the river being close. The edge of the herd stopped about a hundred yards from the bank, and as she moved closer, she thought she heard a frenzied whinny on the wind. She turned her head a bit, ears twisting to get a better listen. As the wind floated toward her, she definitely heard it that time, and was fairly certain it was the little annoying child. Breaking away from the rest of the herd, she started off at a cantor, before breaking into a full blown sprint. Her hooves dug into the soil, kicking up tufts of grass as she charged forward. Body lunging forward, drawing deep lungfuls of air through her nostrils, and exhaling it powerfully. It didn't take her long at all to cross the gap to the reach the trees, breathing a little faster, but not overly so. A shake of the head got her main out of her eyes, the distressed cries from the colt now quite clear. Dipping beneath the shade of the trees, she peered over the steep bank and saw the colt trying to climb up the near vertical soil. She snorted out a command, "Calm down Holdt, you're going to be okay. You worried your poor mother something awful." If the colt had been a couple seasons older, he'd have been large enough to easily jump his way out. Instead he just kept crying for his mother and failing to scale the embankment. Snorting a bit more sternly, she hopped down into the sandy soil. Moving behind the colt, she began nudging at his haunches, indicating for him to climb upwards. As he worked to get his footing, she gave him additional support, pushing him forward and upward, as his legs still scrambled to find confident purchase. When he finally got his front legs over the bank, with her help, was able to pull himself up to safety, but not before his hand leg caught her beneath the jaw. Snorting angrily, and in pain, she didn't say anything to the young one. When he moved away from the edge, she coiled her muscles, especially her haunches and jumped up and on to the bank. "Let's get you to Mara before the entire herd pani..." That was when she saw the three coyotes who had also heard Holdt's cries.