Don't Talk To Strange Men (Khasr)

[Natane Skytears]

7th Autumn, 512 A.V

“No” Natane murmured. She couldn't bring herself to look her father in the eye. The Drykas was sitting on the floor of the pavilion, her youngest cousin was braiding her hair. Like most Drykas, Natane favoured long hair. Her brown hair came to below her waist and her cousins favourite pass-time was braiding it. Though Natane preferred her hair in one simple braid rather then the elaborate knot work that most other Drykas prided themselves on.

“What?” her father asked. His arms were crossed and there was an unusually harsh tone in his voice, Natane noted all the battle scars that ran across his shoulders and forearms.

Natane looked up at her father “No” she shook her head just to make sure she got her point across. Her cousin tied off the braid and threw her tiny arms around Natane's shoulders, and said loud enough for her uncle to hear, “Natane stay here”

The little girls mother, a kind and caring women who had raised Natane, came over and took the child away from the older girl. “You are now of age, it is time you found a husband” he father continued. Natane had known this was coming, she had known for a while but the thought of marriage frightened her. Leaving the comforts of her pavilion she had grown up in, and moving to a completely new clan and having to start all over again.

“I will not marry a total stranger” Natane said, for the first time in years there was a distinct note of anger in her voice. She got up; Natane only just reached her fathers shoulders. “You can't make me”

“I understand your distrust of strangers” her father massaged his temples, “But this is not up to you”

“So I don't get a say in who I marry?”

“No” his voice rose, “Men stay and protect the clan, women marry to form alliances and keep the clan alive”

“I am not marrying a stranger” Natane said slowly so to make her point more easily understood. Her hands were clenched into tight fists and her brow was creased with frustration.

“You will marry whomever I choose!”

“No I won't!”

Father and daughter glared at each other in silence. Natane knew she would never be able to change her father's mind, she would be married off to someone and have to leave her clan. Leave her family and friends. Natane's father shook his head, “End of discussion”

Natane breathed out; she picked up her bridle and made her way towards the herds of her clan. Her father called after her, “Where are you going?”

“Out” she replied. Natane looked out at the herd, beautifully coloured Cyphrus Striders grazed peacefully on the dry grass. She spent a moment searching, then, spotting a black mare Natane whistled loudly. Niabi, her strider, whinnied and cantered over; the mare gently nudged Natane's shoulder with her soft nose. Without wasting any time, Natane put on the bridle and swung onto the mares back. She turned Niabi away from the city of tents, leaning down she muttered, “Let's get out of here” and she tapped the striders sides with her heels.

Niabi's hooves dug into the ground, her rump dropped and she took off. Natane leant forward stopping the wind from cutting into her face. She clutched the reins and closed her eyes, he can't make me do this! The steady pounding of Niabi's hooves eventually calmed Natane's nerves. She felt her heart beating in her chest, Natane sighed and opened her eyes. The grasslands flashed past them, the wind tugged at her clothes and hair, Natane glanced behind her, her clan was just a speck in the distance now.
Natane said loud enough for her mount to hear, “Go as fast as you can” Niabi snorted in reply and picked up her pace, the mare continued aimlessly through the almost barren grassland.

When their surroundings became unfamiliar Natane slowed Niabi to a trot then a walk. The mare shook her head in protest, she snorted and chomped at the bit. Natane soothed her mount by patting her flank.

Natane's anger and frustration was soon replaced by fear. This was the first time she had left the safety of the clan, she had only ever ventured away from her home under the careful supervision of the warriors; but there were no men out here to protect her, she was now at the mercy of the land.
The image of the dreaded glassbeaks and other grassland predators flashed through her mind, Natane bit her lip and looked around. She slid off Niabi's back and landed on the ground, the ground was hot from the mid-day sun and it burnt her bare feet. But that was the last thing on her mind. She wasn't ready to go home and if she went any further, she would be putting herself in even greater danger.

Feeling totally useless, Natane sat down and put her head in her hands.

[Colt]

Breathe. Don’t look at it, not directly. He stepped carefully sideways, keeping his gaze averted. The sagebrush was difficult to locate without actually looking, and so his pace was slow for safety. He could feet the heat from its body, arched claws slicing into the ground and beak agape in threat. Don’t look. Breathe. Tense. Spring. He dove under the bush, and the air was filled with a cacophonous squawking when his hands wrapped around the neck of a sage grouse. Its wings beat the air furiously, five beats pulling at the dust before a snap silenced its motion forever. He darted from the brush and fell into a lope; the dead grouse tucked under one arm. He wove through the foliage with ease, gait so graceful that it would seem that he was animal rather than human. It was unusual for him to hunt alone; the falconess that he had come to rely on so heavily seemed to be uneasy with their proximity to civilization, and so today he let her be He skidded to a halt as a flock of birds were startled into flight roughly a half-league away. He opened his mouth to taste the air, and the weak scent of horse hit him. Since Akaidras was in the other direction, he assumed that the scent meant another horse. Returning to his lope, the wild man angled towards the disturbance with a pace that was not quite a sprint, but not far from it. As he neared the brush began to thin into a weak layer of golden grass, and he instinctively slowed and lowered into a silky stalk. He made sure to keep his kill close to his chest as he slinked through the waving stalks, keeping to the shadows to avoid detection. The curtain came to an end, and he stayed in the undergrowth’s protective veil as he assessed what was outside. Another of his kind, but… different. He tilted his head. Female, his mind presented to him. Strange. He settled onto his haunches to observe, but his inertia was short-lived. Familiar hoofbeats approached from the south and he winced as Akaidras approached. He too had scented another horse, and the massive black bay strider was quite curious. Unlike his rider, the horse stood tall over the grass and pawed impatiently at the earth, surveying the girl and her strider with powerful interest. Ignoring his bonded partner crouching in the grass, the stallion danced forward, alternating between confidence and caution as he pranced warily around them in a half-circle, unwilling to come within ten strides but making no move to run.

[Natane Skytears]

Natane's head shot up at the sound of hooves. The bay strider emerged from the tangle of grass, the horse kept it's distance but was clearly intrigued by the girl and her mare. Natane stood, dusting herself off, she looked at the stallion and asked, “What are you doing out here?”

She glanced around her but was unable to find the stallions owner. Perhaps the strider had run away? That was unlikely. Natane studied the stallion more carefully; his dark bay coat shone in the sun, he was clearly being looked after, well fed, his eyes were bright and alert, taking in every detail of the rider and mare in front of him, deciding whether they were a threat or not.

Niabi snorted at the arrival of the rogue stallion. She was wary of him, having only ever been exposed to the familiar stallions of the Opal clan. Natane, too, was cautious of the strider. Stallions were big, strong and completely unpredictable.

“Where's your owner?” Natane asked though not expecting an answer.

[Colt]

Akaidras’s dancing began to inch forward ever so slowly, coming closer to the girl and horse. They didn’t seem to be particularly confrontational, and so he had no desire to charge as he would have otherwise. He shied when the girl spoke, but it was mere seconds before he forgot it and continued his inward spiral. He seemed much more interested in the mare than the girl, arching his neck in an attempt to look impressive and trying to sniff her without actually getting closer than ten feet. As Akaidras focused on the horse the man focused on the girl. Slinking sneakily through the waving gold, he slowly circled behind her in an attempt to make his way to the small boulder nearby. Even though her attention seemed to be garnered by the stallion he took extra care to watch where he stepped, doing his best to remain unnoticed.

[Natane Skytears]

She held tight to Niabi's reins as the mare stepped away from the stallion, Natane's strider gently nudged her shoulder. Then something caught her eye; movement in the tall golden grass. But it was only the faintest of movement, Natane would not have noticed if she had not already been on alert.

The girl narrowed her eyes. It was not the wind for there was barely a breeze. Keeping clear of the stallion, Natane edged closer to the grass. Without taking her eyes away from the place she had seen the movement, she picked up a small but heavy rock that lay on the ground by her bare feet and threw it into the grass.

[Colt]

The mare’s ears snapped towards the hunter and he tensed. When the horse did not look, he carefully continued his sneaking. However, when the girl looked over he froze where he was. He was well-versed in the art of shutting up, and the film of dirt that covered his skin would shield him from unwanted eyes with its speckling. If he stood perfectly still. Probably. The girl started to inch forward and Akaidras halted his prancing, attention fully focused on the girl. She was looking directly at his hiding place, little more than a thin veil of grass to separate them, and he dared not even twitch. She bent down carefully and picked something up from the ground. Still he did not move. The girl drew back an arm and threw something. He snarled in pain. Akaidras bellowed in fury. The stallion stood on his hind legs and struck at the air while the hunter’s hand went to the brand-new gash on his shoulder, and the two of them moved simultaneously. The hunter sprinted from the grass with a roar meant to surprise and frighten, baring his teeth and snapping a breath away from her but never actually touching. In the next instant he was gone, scampering for the boulders he had been trying to get to in the first place. Then, of course, there was the enraged strider charging for her from behind.

[Natane Skytears]

The moment the rock left her hand, Natane knew she had made the wrong move regretted it almost instantly. The stallion suddenly reared, clearly furious with her actions and she quickly backed away, her own strider's ears flattened and the mare snorted angrily. Then there came a terrifying roar as something large and oddly human shaped shot out of the grass stopping only inches away from Natane, the girl let out a frightened yelp and stumbled back.
Her foot caught on something and she fell, not noticing the grazes on her palms she scrambled to her feet but the creature had disappeared, Natane looked around frantically hoping she had only imaged it.

The sound of hooves pounded against the solid ground alerted her to the stallion's charge. She spun around to find the huge strider heading right for her. Her first thought was to run but having spent more time with the horses of her clan then the people she knew that that would only show her fear and cowardice. So she stayed, feet firmly planted to the hot earth.

Though it seemed Niabi had different plans, knowing only too well how pathetic and weak her rider was and that she would most likely be trampled by the angered stallion.
The strider placed herself between the charging horse and the girl; she leapt forward, biting at the stallion's face and neck and striking his chest with her hooves.

The angry whinnies and bellows snapped Natane out of whatever strange trance she had been under and she quickly darted behind the first thing available, a few large boulders situated only a few strides away from her.

[Colt]

The stallion wasn’t disappointed with the mare’s interception; indeed, he took to the fight just as readily. If he had been interested in her as a female, all courtesy vanished; here, now, she was nothing but an enemy. Akaidras was significantly larger, and so while the bite on his neck hurt quite a bit it might not have had the affect that it would have had on a smaller horse. But while his size was an advantage, there was another that eclipsed it. The spirit of a horse’s home could never be driven from it, and what it learned from birth could never be forgotten. And so no matter how large Akaidras or his enemy could have been, there was one advantage that he had over any other steed bred by the horseclans: he was wild. He had been raised wild, lived and run wild for his entire life. And if there was one thing a wild stallion knew how to do, it was how to fight. Akaidras reared back violently, causing Niabi’s bite to break skin and leave a bloody tear. The horse pulled one knee close to guard his chest and struck with the other. He would not soften any blows. As the horses descended into battle, the hunter arched his back as his as his attacker once again came far too close for his liking. But this time he had no desire to remain undetected. He screeched and bared his teeth, crouching low to protect his vitals and the shoulder that was bleeding profusely. He had no weapons, but he was a predator; battle did not require weapons. He curled his good arm into a claw and held it perpendicular to the girl; if she attacked him again she would find a feral beast fighting back.

[Natane Skytears]

Niabi knew of her inferior size and strength, there was no way she could compete with the stallion but he had threatened Natane. The Drykas girl had become like a foal to the strider, ever since losing her own three years earlier. She could take anything and everything the stallion had to offer.

No one threatened her baby.

Natane leapt back when the man, crouched and baring his teeth like a feral animal, snarled and raised his arm defensively. His tanned skin was scared, marks obviously made by vicious claws. The man's tangled unkempt hair had been hacked off at his shoulders. It was clear that he was Drykas but not one Natane recognised. From his stance, she figured this man had been living by himself for quite a while. She raised her hands and took a few steps away, not wanting to threaten the wild Drykas though she wondered what sort of threat an unskilled teenage girl would pose to a feral hunter. Natane noted the blood that ran from a wound to his shoulder, so this was the creature in the grass? He was probably the stallion's master too, which would explain the strider's sudden anger.

She was reminded of the two strider's and turned back around, keeping the wild Drykas in sight. Natane realised just how huge the stallion was, Niabi seemed so dainty and fragile compared to the size and bulky build of the bay strider. Yet, the mare fought just as hard as the stallion, biting and lashing out with her front hooves. Though if not for the dark colour of her fur, the tears and bruises on her body would have been obvious.
Natane crawled up onto the boulder and shouted so she could be heard above the fight, “Hey!... Hey!! Stop that!!” when there was no change in the animals behaviour she raised her voice, the authoritive tone distinct in her voice, “Hey!! ENOUGH!!”

Niabi leapt back and stared around at the girl. It was a rare occasion when Natane asserted her power over the mare, she was generally such a quiet docile kid but she refused to be ignored, even by horses. The mare glanced at the stallion and pulled her ears back.

Natane clapped her hands together, the sound rather startling, and frowned, “Niabi! Stop it!”

[Colt]

He swayed back and forth rhythmically, preparing for anything this woman might do. Well, prepared for anything except what she actually did. She stepped back slightly and raised her hands, palms facing towards him. Though they bore no meaning in Grassland Sign, the gesture was clear. Peace. His snarls subsided, but his tense posture remained. He tilted his head and eyes her distrustfully, edging sideways to escape the corner she had unwittingly backed him in to. She seemed no major threat now that she didn’t have a weapon flying towards him, and the sounds of the fighting horses were taking his attention. She seemed to have the exact same thought and a more proactive solution. He blinked as she scaled the boulder and stood over the grasses. He shied slightly when she shouted, startled by the sudden loud noise from such proximity, but his incredulity soon silenced it. He regarded her keenly as she bellowed at the striders, absorbing everything she said and storing the words away in his mind to sort through later. There was a pause in the bellowing and he turned. Her horse withdrew and eyed the rider, unsure if the battle was done. She returned her gaze to Akaidras and pinned her ears, eliciting another reprimand from the woman on the rock. But knowing that Akaidras was nowhere near satisfied, the man acted preemptively. He dashed once again, this time directly into the tension waiting to re-erupt, and as the stallion prepared for another charge his rider laced strong fingers through the base of his mane and swung neatly onto his back, halting his challenge. The horse pranced irritably in response. Riding together was not truly a pleasant experience for either of them, as they were both quite inept, but the signal of dominance was quite clear between them. The man would not stand for another confrontation, and begrudgingly the stallion settled into a sulking calm. The man kept his free hand on Akaidras’ shoulder, a constant reminder of his presence, and narrowed his eyes speculatively at both the mare and the girl bonded to her. Young, but an adult. Dressed in simple but well-made hidecovers. Would last a long time. Brown mane, knotted oddly. Not mane, hair. Not knotted, braided. The knowledge once again came unbidden to him, as it was often wont to do these days. The colors she wore pulled an odd feeling, one he couldn’t quite put a name to. What was it..? Diamond? No, she was a woman, not a diamond. So what..? Diamond Clan. She was of the Diamond Clan.