Spindly legs high stepped over the limp tussocks of grass. Acacia imagined that spring would be beautiful here, but the grasses seemed to be taking a break during what the rest of the world felt was winter. Still, some of them tasted good. The little mare was out on her own today. She was trying her hardest to explore and build up her confidence. On this long stretch of plain, she could at least see danger coming. Hopefully. There were less biting insects in the cooler months of the year and so the glimmering mare was enjoying her lunch unbothered by them. Still, her long tail swished as she slowly moved along to graze. Every few bites, she would lift her head and scan the horizon. One could never be too careful. She wasn't a large horse by any means, so predator attacks were dealt with by outrunning the ones that wanted to eat her. Thankfully, her slender stature and long legs made the charcoal and snow mare extremely fast. Blue eyes stared out over the plain, jaws working on a mouth full of sweet grass. When she swallowed, Acacia rolled her shoulders and shook out her black and grey mane. She started out at a quick walk, but soon moved into a trot, then a full out run, white tipped tail waving in the wind like a flag. With every ounce of speed in her, the little horse tore across the plain, giving herself some much needed exercise. Eventually she slowed, kicking up her heels in exhilaration. A happy little neigh pulled from her before she dropped into the grass on her side, rolling around on her back with hooves lashing about in the air. The grasses smelled so nice. She wouldn't mind smelling like them. Natural perfume. Rolling about, the mare's weight trampled down a rather large circle in the field. Back on her feet once more, Acacia snorted and took yet another look out over the horizon. "Speech"

Speech

Torin had never seen a horse before, once long ago his family had counted a horse among their friends but Torin had been born after that age and so he wasn't totally sure what he was looking at...

He'd been going out less and less, searching less and less far from Lirim's lands. The hope of finding his missing mate and child growing colder and colder as they died in his heart. But his grief was briefly stopped by the strange site before him, a large prey looking animal that was racing around and then flopped down and rolled in the grass...

Torin was too dumbstruck to do anything but stand and stare, some part of him felt like he could probably at least try and take the creature down but that part of him was being robbed and mugged in an alley by his dumbfoundedness.

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Having looked out over the distance, Acacia turned and her big, blue eyes locked upon the equally blue eyes of a rather large wolf staring at her. The mare started, flinching and springing back in surprise. Her heart thudded hard in her chest and tiny spots began to swim before her eyes. Oh no... A moment later, the small, slender mare was on the ground, unconscious. Her body thudded onto the grassy ground. Now, Acacia was used to this sort of thing. It had been happening for as far back as she could remember. Any time that she became overly stressed or was startled, her body pulled the plug. Game over. When she woke, she was always a bit sluggish at first. Honestly, the charcoal and white horse was the easiest prey that existed. Give her a fright. She falls down. A little bite to the neck. Goodbye Acacia. Dark lashes fluttered over slightly glassy eyes and the little mare raised her head from the earth. She couldn't really remember what happened with any sort of clarity, but she did remember a predator. If she was still alive... perhaps it wasn't planning to eat her after all? Not ready to find her feet yet, Acacia stayed on the ground, though she rolled upwards to lay on her side rather than prone on the ground. Nostrils flared softly and she caught the scent of wolf. She stilled, mismatched ears flicking forward as she turned her head slowly to look at the man still standing there. The whole ordeal had only taken a matter of minutes. "Speech"

Speech

The equine might have been used to these sorts of things but Torin certainly wasn't. He blinked as the creature toppled over with a thud that told him about the density of the unknown animal. The whole thing was so strange he'd frozen where he was, his mouth open a bit in a small gape... and he noticed the creature move, to him it appeared a bit more like flailing but it finally snapped him out of it. Some apex predator he was. He noticed the creature had lifted it's heard to peer at him...

Torin found his voice pulling from his lungs, even before he had a chance to question if the words he was about to say would even translate to the animal. "Hey uh- You alright over there?" He called out, his voice raised loud enough to cross the distance but without really yelling. He strained on his toes trying to get a better look at the downed stranger.

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Words of concern met mismatched ears and Acacia released a small groan at first. She'd banged up her shoulder pretty badly when she fell. Was there a rock beneath the grass? Jeez... The wolf had asked if she was okay, which was a surprise to the woman. The mare found her voice a moment later as she knocked the rest of the cobwebs from her mind. "I... think so." Planting her hooves, the charcoal and snow lady found her hooves, tail flicking to rid her of any clinging, grassy debris. Now that she was up and was looking at the wolf, Acacia felt embarrassed. "I'm sorry, I..." She trailed off, giving her head a gentle shake. "You startled me. I'm used to predators trying to eat me when they see me." He seemed okay though. He hadn't tried to eat her while she was down, thankfully. Clearing her throat, the slender lady gave her head a bow. "My name is Acacia." "Speech"

Speech

Okay so if Torin was being totally truthful he wasn't expecting to hear any coherent words from the animal, just mostly some kind of incomprehensible noise is anything at all so when he heard a voice, a little strange to his ears but clearly feminine and speaking a language he recognized he was taken aback, blinking quickly a few times and ears twitching as he tried to grapple with what he'd just experienced.

She got back up and even offered him an apology, which was frankly, absurd. She hadn't exactly done anything that needed apologizing as far as he was concerned. She spoke of usually being attacked by predators and he supposed that made some amount of sense. "Quite frankly I wasn't sure you'd be any good to eat." He said, a dark chuckle leaving his lips. He took a few tentative steps towards her, keeping a distance that he hoped would at least help her feel comfortable. "I'm Torin."

Torin cocked his head to the side, once more running his gaze over her. "I'm sorry if this is rude but I've never seen a creature quite like you before. I'm at a bit of a loss." Might as well be honest right?

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Acacia wasn't the slightest bit offended that he thought she might not be good to eat. She thought that she wouldn't be good to eat, so why would it be surprising that others thought the same? The dainty mare blinked her big blue eyes a few times, still pushing the fuzziness from her mind. The wolf stepped towards her and Acacia tensed, but she didn't bolt, nor did her heart begin to hammer again. He seemed friendly enough. He put her even more at ease when he gave his name. Generally, things that wanted to eat you didn't introduce themselves. His confusion and his statement brought Acacia even further out of her mental muddiness. The mare chuckled and gave her head a little shake, black and grey mane swaying. "That seems to be the trend here." Other creatures hadn't known what she was either. It explained the scarcity of her kind in this land. "I'm a horse. A mare, to be exact." Mismatched ears swiveled forward. "Is this your land? I know that wolves claim land where they put down roots, right?" The mare's tail swished languidly back and forth. "Horses are nomads, for the most part. We travel quite a bit."[b] Some horses claimed territories, but they were massive expanses of land. Nothing small like wolves seemed to claim. [b]"Speech"

Speech

Acacia tossed her head and Torin wondered again just what exactly she was, she had many of the mannerisms he'd seen in other similar prey animals and he wondered if she was maybe some sort of differently shaped deer. But his answer would come soon enough, she was a horse... something clicked in his mind. He'd never seen one obviously but he'd been told of times past when his family's packs had played host to a horse. That gave him a reason to peer a little closer, curious what exactly it was that had driven that one horse to stay among his family all those years ago.

Speaking of... "Not here no. I'm an alpha to a pack a little ways from here." He chuckled, amused by her own view on her species. "Many of us don't live in packs either, and historically within my own family one of our packs played host to a horse as a member as well." He paused for a moment. "That was years before I was even born though, it's wasn't particularly common even then."

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Torin gave an explanation of wolves that she appreciated. She enjoyed learning about the cultures of different species and the knowledge that he provided filled in some gaps. As he spoke, she found herself nodding in acceptance. It all made sense to her. The fact that he was an alpha made sense as well. He seemed the type to lead. Acacia gasped in wonder as the wolf said that his pack had hosted an equine much like herself at one point. "That's terribly fascinating." The slender woman tilted her head a bit. "Do you think a pack would take me in? Without eating me, that is." She shrugged lightly and scraped a hoof across the grassy earth. "I don't have many skills, but I would help in any way that I could." Really, the protection was what she was after. There were so many wolves in this place. There was barely a time when she didn't smell them. Always on the verge of getting eaten, Acacia imagined the level of safety she would feel if she was accepted among them. "Speech"

Speech

Some part of Torin was curious about learning more about horse life but for now he was more than happy to explain his own lifestyle. He saw her visibly perk at the notion of the horse that had once lived in his grandmother's pack and chuckled lightly as she quickly followed his explanation up with a question of her own. "I am certain there would be at least one." He could say that with confidence, he'd not turn away an eager recruit of any shape or size. "I'm also certain there are things you could offer that a wolf might not, anyone willing to put in the effort is a valuable member."

Torin paused for a moment considering. "If you're at all interested I could offer you a tour of my packlands, with my personal escort I can assure you no one would eat you." He chuckled again then quickly added. "I can understand if you're not keen on that right this moment however, I'm still very much a stranger and I'd be leading you quite literally into the wolves den. But the offer will stand for as long as I am alpha... If you're ever curious."

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