Death... Is a scary thing.

Dorcas~

I danced around the muddied marsh, my hooves making loud plunking and sucking noises as I lifted and pounded down my hooves. My tail acted as a banner in the wind. Suddenly without warning I took off, clamouring up the hill where the mud would dry into dirt in the sun. A strange scent travled up my nasal passages... "Eh.. nothing to worry about."I muttered to myself. I was sure whatever it was I could deal with it. Just by looking around you could tell that this marsh was no heaven; well maybe to me. Snakes and poisonous frogs lurked beneath the murky waters, and half of the time you would have to be extra careful where you stepped because of the tendancy of the sinking mud. I've watched horses go down and be sucked up before you could murmur "Missisippi!" It was interesting living here because it was usually uninhabited by other equines due to the treacherous settings and it was pleasantly peaceful. Since most horses want ot settle down, have foals and all of that horseshit that really didn't matter to me I could stay here. Most mare were like "Oh I better leave so my foal doesn't get sucked into the mud." I just laughed in their faces, if a foal was stupid enough to stumble in a mud pit then it was their time to go.

The soft sound of ruffling feathers could faintly be heard in the silent sky. Everything was dead quiet but the faint breeze that whistled over the huge black wings. The large black figure drifted silently downwards, finding a large clearing and circling a few times, before gracefully landing on the soft ground. His hooves sunk a half inch in the mud, as the ground was soft and mushy. He shook himself off, his then folded his huge wings close to his back. Stepping forward, the mud made small sucking noises as the hooves were lifted out of its grip, powerful muscles working under a shining black hide. As the warm sun hit the stallions pelt, it shimmered with hues of purple and beetle green, the light reflecting off of his dark feathers. Going to the one grazing spot he knew, he snorted in annoyance as he saw that another horse was already eating his grass.

Dorcas~

My ears gradually shifted down to my skull as the scent was received stronger and stronger. Not wasting a moment my head flew up swiftly, like a bullet from a gun. It was fast is all you need to know. My lips curled back into a nasty grimace, I lowered my head ever so slightly and stood my ground. He was a stud.. obviously but perhaps a bit more cocky and sure of himself. Well all that would dissappear after I was finished with him. He appeared annoyed, so just to add to his anger I lowered my head and grabbed a large mouthful of clover. I took my time while chewing; all the while glaring at him with a new hatred. After swallowing every last bit of clover stuck to my molars I screamed my challenge, loud enough to awaken the dead foals swallowed by the mud pits.

Amulet whickered softly, watching with curiosity as she deliberatly ate a mouthfull of lush clover. He stepped into the clearing, ears pricked upright, before lowering his head to the ground and ripping a mouthfull of the lush grass out, tearing and chewing it. He ruffled his wings slightly, letting them fold outwards, and raised his head as the stranger in the clearing whinnied harshly at him. Amulet gave her a smile, his ears twitching, flicking his tail a few times before lowering his head to graze once again.

Dorcas~

I was absolutley enraged by his reaction, my blood boiled and my nostrils flared as I tried to contain myself. I failed. From nowhere I flung myself at him, striking his wings mostly in the process; but I did get some nice head shots. After expressing my anger at him I was finally able to channel it. I walked over to his front end,unfazed by his height; it just made him more prone to tripping or breaking a leg. "What are you doing here?"I sneered, my eyes narrowing dangerously at the stud.

The stallion was surprised by the mare going crazy, lunging and kicking out with her legs, clipping his wings a few times before he dodged out of the way, getting a hard hoof to the head. He shook his head, trying to clear his vision, before stepping backwards, a pained, puzzled expression on his face. "What was that for!" He asked, offended. Snaking his neck out, he threatened to nip at her. "This is my home."

Dorcas~

"How dare you; coming onto my turf and claiming it as your home. I've lived here for the past five years and have never seen one of your kind." I snapped angrily. I flicked my tail to my flanks and back in aggrivation. " I dare you to bite.. go ahead; bite me and see what happens."I teased. I circled him twice,stopping at his side, "Now answer me truthfully, there are none of your kind here.. so why have you come?" I spat the words with sheer disgust as if they wer poison to my mouth. I stared at him, focused. I was tense and ready to fight if needed.

Amulet sighed heavilly, shaking his head and lowering his head to the grass. After ripping out a few mouthfulls, he raised it again, his long black forlock blowing gently between his upright, perked ears.
" I'm not going to bite you, mare. That's not who I am. I live here. That's all I need to say. After all, you shouldn't have a problem with anyone but you'reself." He said, tossing his head.

Dorcas~

My eyes glowed in anger at his reaction.. I couldn't believe this. How could he just stand there and let me torment him. I shook my head, clearing my thoughts of this fool stallion and took off. I slid to a stop on the muddied grass at the peak of the hill. There I was able to keep a watchful eye on this stud.. I just knew he had a had reason for being here and must have something up his sleeve. With a snort of utter disgust I dropped my head drop to the earth to graze on what little grass and clover remained.

Amulet breathed a sigh of exasperation as she left, finally able to be free to eat and rest from his journey. He laid down in the clover, snatching a few mouthfulls, before spreading his wings wide open and rolling happily in the soft green grass. After done, he shook himself off, then got to his feet, pawing the ground with an ebony hoof and nickering softly to himself.

Dorcas~

I raised my head ever so slightly, to glance at the stud. His wings were quite intruging(sp?) to me. My ears pricked forward a bit at the sight. With a sigh I went back to nibbling at the tender roots.

(Bleghh brain fart lol)

Amulet could sense that someone was watching him, that weird sense that someone was there, though you cant see him. He knew it was probably the mare, and snorted softly. He softly lie down in the grass, spreading his huge wings out wide to cool from his flight.

Dorcas~

With a heavy sigh I turned away from him so I could focus more on my grazing and not that ignorant fool stud. I stomped my hoof several times working to rid of the ever persistant flies. As I grazed my thoughts wandered a bit. * Why is he really here? Are other of his kind coming?* Along with many more questioning thoughts of the like.

Amulet struggled to his feet, exuasted, but not wanting to leave the mare the way he had did. He tossed his head into the air, and flared his nostrils, following her scent untill he reached her.
"Hello again. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you before."

Dorcas~

My dark tinted eyes gazed upon the stud, a bit uneasy. "You didn't startle me I could sense you coming from a mile away."I snapped; but I accepted his apology anyways.
The burning within me dimmed a bit and I took a deep breath. "So, what brings you this way."I murmured a bit less hostile sounding than earlier.

Amulet ruffled his feathers slightly, lowering his head. He looked up at the mare, and gave her a kind smile. "I figured that. I'm here to rest up." He said, his long mane blowing gently in the breeze, black hide and feathers shining in the bright sunlight.

Dorcas~

I bobbed my head listening to each and every single word that he spoke and processing it carefully. With a long sigh I finally spoke. "Well I'm happy that your here for the time being and excuse me.. I'm going to go take a nap."I snorted jogging off more towards the bushy area where it was still land but shady and had a few trees.

Amulet snorted, surprised. "I doubt that you like that I'm here. Believe me, you made that clear." He ruffled his wings carefully, a few stray ebony feathers fluttering to the ground. A small cut was bleeding on the underside of one, and he folded it back close to his back.

Dorcas~

His last retort drifted to my ears and I chuckled.. he was right; but now that I met him I didn't hate him as much. Beneath the shade of rather small weeping willow tree my knees buckled and with a yawn I allowed my frame to collapse to the earth. My ears flickered back and fourth a few times catching the sounds of crickets chirping and frogs peeping. With a small sigh I started to drift asleep.

Sighing, the stallion swished his long tail and lowered his head to graze. In these parts, it was seldom to find any grazing areas, as most of the plant life was poisonous. He knew this area well, and also knew the parts where green grass and clover grew. It was hard to live here, but at least there wasn't a million others around. To be truthful, this was the first day he had encountered any horse inside of these lands.

Dorcas~

Hours passed and I continued to sleep, the loud chirps of birds and the buzzing of the bees failing to awaken me from my slumber; my beauty sleep. Suddenly a cold chill upon my legs awoken me. My eyes fluttered open and with a yawn I realized that I had been in a cold sweat. My body shivered as I rose to my feet, what happened during my sleep to cause me to sweat so much I pondered. I later dismissed the thought and jogged back up towards the hill though I appeared a bit different; my coat was a bit darker, from the sweat.

Amulet dozed softly under the shade of a tall oak, the shadows of the leaves and limbs creating small shadows on his back. His long mane cascaded gently over his strong, thick neck, and the stallion lowered his head slightly. Hearing noise, his ears pricked, and he raised his head, looking for the source.

Dorcas~

I lowered my head to graze, making loud cruching and grinding sounds as I mashed the grass inbetween my maw. I lifted my head and decided to go for a small walk trying to take my mind off of how uncomfortable I was with the sweat. I passed a sleeping Amulet and made my way into the marsh.

Snorting quietly, Amulet lifted his head and blinked, his long forlock blowing into his eyes. Tossing it away, the wind picked up, sending a few green leaves fluttering to the earth, catching in his long black mane.

As I walked on and on the mush got deeper and deeper, my hooves making loud slurping noises as I did. I decided to head back before I got stuck and take a different route...