Obsidian

Obsidian grazed peacefully in one of the many meadows that made up the Territory of Valhalla, tail swishing lightly to brush away the flies that were just another part of living in the wild, and being a horse. Flies just seemed to flock to an equine, unless some kind of spray was misted over their coat, and she hadn?t had any of that stuff sprayed on her coat since she?d gotten loose and ended up leaving domestication behind. A blade of grass tickled her nose, and she snorted, rubbing her nose across the ground, while a hind leg stamped to remove a fly. ?Little pests.? Soft, feminine tones grumbled through a mouthful of grass, as another absentminded step took her muzzle to a new patch of ungrazed blades. Tail flicked across her hind legs, sweeping the flies away, before she raised her head, ears flicking, temples dancing as she chewed thoughtfully, gazing around the meadow. Other prey animals, used to the mare?s presence, grazed a ways off to her left. The hide on her shoulder twitched as a fly crawled over, seeking a place to bite. Her tail flicked forward, it?s length making reaching her shoulder easy. The satisfying sting of the hair lashing across her skin followed, and the tickling of fly feet stopped. And she didn?t hear a buzz afterward. Bullseye. One less pesky biting pest. Obsidian drew a long breath, shuddering on the exhaled sigh, before her head lowered for another mouthful. She?d felt amazing when she?d helped fight off that grey male with Corrie and Erani. So alive! It was different from training with Cormalin. That was merely fun. This? This was what she had been born for. What would he dam think of her. A warrior horse among wolves. But then again, hadn?t her sire?s breed come from breeds that had once carried human warriors into battles? An array of breeds that had been warriors themselves. She was a warhorse. It was in her blood after all.

'CAUSE THIS IS A WASTELAND, MY ONLY RETREAT.

Tiresias wasn't sure how he'd gotten so lost. He'd been wandering the West, exploring the different regions with no real attachments to any of them, and somehow ended up here. He hadn't met any wolves along the way, only unnaturally large herds of deer. It piqued his interest for an hour or so but the memory of the deer evaporated when he realized that he had no idea where he was. It was far from ideal to be lost in an unknown area that could easily be pack land. He could only hope that, if he had ended up on a pack's land, that they would let him go in one piece.



In the midst of all his thinking, he came upon an unfamiliar sight. Whatever stood before him was massive and dark as night. It had an elongated face with long hair coming from its neck and rump - what he figured to be its scruff and tail - and at the ends of its long muscular legs were hard-looking things, almost like stones. It looked to be eating grass and as it did so, he examined the long white scars on its dark fur. The scent was foreign. Certainly not anything he'd ever encountered.



Tiresias tucked his tail in-between his legs, crouching low to the ground as he scrunched his shoulders. His ears flattened to his skull tightly, as if he feared the creature would tear them off, and he tried to keep his heavy breathing quiet. Tiresias couldn't even bring himself to bare his teeth. He was too frightened of the beast before him. Maybe he could still get away. Involuntarily, a whine escaped him, a pitiful sound that most pups would make when weaned from their mother. His body trembled but he kept his gaze trained on the horse.

TAG: obsidian! . WORDS: 303 . NOTES: none.

Obsidian

Obsidian gave a long snort as another blade of grass gave a nostril a tickle. Just after the snort, she caught a rustle, and then a soft whimper. Her head lifted, ears pricked, blue eyes looking around through the curtain of thick forelock for the pup who?d whined. She?d been around all the pups in the pack, thus far, and this whimper didn?t sound familiar? Her eyes lit on a crouching form, and the tips of her ears nearly touched as she stared at the wolf with interest. She?d never seen this male before, but then again, every meeting the wolves there changed, some were constant, like Aislyn and Cormalin and Chrysanthe, and several others, but sometimes there were new members. Maybe he was new. She turned to face him, then dipped her head in a small bow. ?Hello, there. Are you new to Valhalla? My name is Obsidian.? Maybe he?d never seen a horse before, or maybe his last meeting with a horse hadn?t been a good one, and he was terrified of her kind. He certainly looked terrified. Tail flicking, she watched the male. He didn?t smell accepted, to be honest. None of the high ranking wolves scents were on him to show acceptance. A fly landed on her shoulder, and she twitched the skin there, shooing it away.

'CAUSE THIS IS A WASTELAND, MY ONLY RETREAT.

Suddenly, a strange sound rent the air, somewhat like what a wolf's sneeze would be like. It sounded threatening and when the thing turned its icy blue eyes on him, he knew he'd been caught. His whine had been so high-pitched that he was surprised that anything could hear him, but that thought passed quickly as he took in the sight of the mare head-on. Her head was easily the size of half of his body, alone it was enough to take him down. Tiresias met her eyes for a second, frozen in shock. The creature moved its head and his eyes grew wide as he pressed himself closer to the ground, wishing that it would just swallow him up.



Then it spoke. The voice sounded feminine with an accent that was hard to place. He was surprised to learn that it... she knew how to speak with wolves, not thinking for a moment that she was part of a pack. In fact, he was fearing that he might faint dead away. Or, at the very least, that his legs would give out on him.



He barely heard her words, although the fact that she had a name was vaguely intriguing. Obsidian, like the color of her heart! he thought wildly, unable to calm down. She flicked her tail idly and the movement sent him rolling onto his back. Exposing his white stomach to her, he said breathlessly, "I'm lost." His dark tail curled between his legs to cover his stomach as he watched her for any signs of aggression.



Tiresias hadn't been this frightened since the bear attack. Softly, he asked, "W-what are you?"

TAG: obsidian! . WORDS: 262 . NOTES: poor guy. lol.

Obsidian

Good heavens, this wolf was beyond terrified. And of her. What had she done? The next thing she knew, he was flat on his back, tail curled over his stomach. What had she done? ?A-are you? Are you alright?? His next words were so breathless, she had to mull it over before she figured out what the faint words had said. ?Ohh? I know the way to the borders.? The offer was hopeful, she hadn?t meant to scare him, wasn?t even sure how she had scared him so badly. His next words were a question, and the question helped clear some of her puzzlement. ??Oh! I?m a horse. My kind comes in all shapes and sizes and colors. And we don?t. Eat. Wolves. We eat grass. Grass only. Normally, wolves would be my predators, but this pack took me in.? Blue gaze watched him, hoping that would make him less scared. At least enough to walk. ?What?s your name?? She stood still, enduring the flies in hopes that her being still would help.

'CAUSE THIS IS A WASTELAND, MY ONLY RETREAT.

So, she was a horse? Strange creatures they were - quite capable of stomping the life out of a wolf if need be, but instead of being the hunters, they were the hunted. He was also pleased to know that she wasn't going to eat him either. The fact that she was part of a pack stunned him and the scent proved her statement, a scent he'd missed earlier. Perhaps she was okay. If other wolves tolerated her, he could too.



Obsidian asked his name and he replied, "Tiresias, miss." A few seconds passed as he rose to his feet, noticing that she was no longer moving. The horse appeared to bear him no ill-will and he was feeling guilty. Standing on all four paws, he turned his orange gaze to her. "Forgive my dramatics. Your kind is new to me and I've had a rather bad experience with a previously-unknown species. I've lost my manners," he said, his tail hung low out of shame. She wasn't quite as terrifying now that he knew that she wasn't going to strip the meat from his bones.



"Mind if I ask you a few questions about yourself before you show me out?" Tiresias asked, his ears perked forward. She was interesting and he was determined to learn more about her.

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