too close for comfort: WME role play

[stabbrielle]

We can start now.

[Caskett]

A high-pitched sound. Rustling, nearby. Forest's slow, sleep-drunk senses gathered themselves together and he opened his eyes, yawning and swishing his tail to chase away some optimistic flies. The trees around him were quiet, and though the morning light dappled their boughs, shadows still rested on the spaces between their roots. It was early, enough that only a few birds were singing and the warmth that filtered through the branches above his head didn't quite reach the clearing's leaf-covered floor. Forest launched his body into a standing position and shivered; even in spring, the mountains were cold.

To wake himself up, the batchelor stallion picked up a careful trot, being conscious to avoid the gnarled roots that rose and fell through the carpet of red leaves. As the exercise brought warmth to his bones, Forest increased his pace slightly. He was eager to reach the edge of the woods and catch up to the small group of Equids he had spotted a few days ago cresting a ridge. The band of his father and mother had recently moved on, towards the warmer valleys south of the mountains, and, as young stallions tend to do, he had decided it was time to stoke out on his own. A mate and herd were top priorities right now, his instincts pushing him onwards to achieve the goal.

Forest let out a huff, a cloud of breath forming in the chilled air before his nostrils. He stood at the edge of the woods: a cliff face, then a sheer drop descending hundreds of feet to a valley below. The view from the edge was beautiful; the forest on the other side stretched endlessly towards the horizon and a river flowed at the bottom of the canyon, its rushing and running sounds only barely reaching his ears through the hundreds of feet separating them. Light peaked over the tips of the trees at the horizon, the sun barely extending its first fingers of daylight. There was no sign of the family band he had spotted days ago, but it was still early in the morning. Catching up to them was key, but the day lay ahead, bright and promising. Forest resolved to search for water, then continue on his journey to catch the herd. As a final atempt to locate them, he let out a piercing whinnie, sides shaking with the sound as it reverberated of the sides of the canyon. Is anyone out there?-Out there... Out there...

[~Trompy]

A small whisp of wind creaked the wakening trees around him. A covey broke out of their hiding spots in a patch of taller grass beside a cliff. Charlie was a few feet off, picking at the grass for some tastier bits than the dead stuff that was left over winter. He raised his head to take in a deep breath of the chilled morning air, and he saw something move on the side of the valley nearest him. At the very top of the cliff there, and he watched it intently. Slowly munching on some dry grass while squinting his eyes to try and see what was so far away. Then he heard it; the call of a WME.

Is anyone out there?-Out there... Out there...

Charlie perked his ears and fluffed out his fur. Another WME? He hadn't seen another one of his kind since winter started, and he and his mate parted ways to search for a new homeland. Something in his gut told him to respond to the call, so he took a deep breath and neighed as loudly as he could. "Over here! I'm a friend!" Without even waiting for a reply he started trotting towards the other WME. Better meet him halfway he thought.

[flyteck]

Rocket tredded lightly through the fallen trees and stumps, alert for danger. He couldn't help but explore; he was curious by nature. He leapt lightly onto a particularly large stump and gazed across the clear-cut plains and into the grey city on the horizon. "Why would any creature want to live there?" He leapt down and headed forwards at a brisk trot. If these creatures intended to destroy the forest and take WMEs hostage, he certainly wasn't going to let them do it without having a little fun first.

Hana flicked her ears back and forth, listening for any sound of danger. Ladybird, a foal she had taken under her own care for a while now, was lying comfortably in a berry bush just behind her. With the threat of humans on the rise, she was on high alert for danger. Although Hana enjoys being rebellious and wild, she isn't and idiot. Humans are a major threat. After a quick loop around the small thicket she and Lady were resting in, Hana lay down, content that it was safe for the mean time.

Lady watched Hana make her rounds of the small thicket with a slightly curious expression. She knew about the humans, and was smart for her age. Lady, however, did not see the threat the humans posed. Any creature that destroys trees and lives in cold grey cities was clearly stupid, and could easily be outwitted. Chewing on a berry from the bush above her head, Lady pondered how any equid could be captured by these creatures. She also wondered why they didn't just escape and head out again. How hard could it be to escape from those cold cities? They were filled with even, straight terrain that was simple to navigate. Or at least that's what it looked like from the forest's edge. Lady yawned and covered her face with her tail, relaxing into an afternoon nap.

Mocha paced along her fence line, gazing out in to the hills. The humans had been cutting back in to the woods, and she had caught glimpses of wild WMEs. Wild WMEs. She'd been captive as long as she could remember. It was scary out there, and she wouldn't want it any other way. And yet Mocha was curious... what were those wild WMEs like? She put it out of her mind and headed over to her stall, lying down in the wood chip bedding. It was better here where she was safe, warm, dry, and well fed. Right?

[stabbrielle]

{ You can start her out domesticated. If I win the brown stallion like I hope to do, he will be a escaped domestic. }

[flyteck]

(alright, thanks! I'll edit it in now~)

[Caskett]

"Over here! I'm a friend!" The neigh echoed off the walls of the valley just as the previous had, mere seconds after Forest had sent out his call. Birds fluttered from their branches at the sound of it, piercing through the early morning fog like an arrow. The answering voice was male, but he obviously wasn't a lead stallion if he answered another stallion's call with friendship instead of challenge. Maybe he was young, even Forest's age. This was good. Maybe they could form a bachelor band together and find a water source. Then, if the other stallion was trustworthy, Forest could tell him about the family band he had been tracking. They could track it together and maybe steal a mare, or just join the band until a better opportunity presented itself. What good luck there had been another Equid so close by! Surely if they paired up it would only increase their chances of getting things done. Safety in numbers, as the equine code dictated, seemed to be just around the corner.

Forest resumed his brisk trot, although he stayed to the left of the woods this time, the cliff drop on his right, for a better chance at finding this other stallion. Leaves crinkled under his hooves, still wet with last night's dew. It would be no good for either of them if one managed to get lost in the trees and they ended up passing each other. All the woods looked so similar- Forest had been lost for days once, travelling in circles through the same patch of trees. Whoever he was, hopefully the stallion would make a good ally. But what if he already had allies? Or maybe he just wanted to see who was calling from the side of the cliff? Doubts crossed Forest's mind, but he dismissed them quickly. Better to reserve my judgement until I meet this guy myself, he thought. There was no sense in imagining the Equid when he would know soon enough what the options were.

Just as he was beginning to wonder if they had passed each other in the trees and been unaware, a black and white body slammed into Forest and sent him scrambling to regain his footing. Landing head over heels in a pile of wet leaves, he awkwardly stood and glanced around, to find the source of the collision. A big, dark bay-not black, as he has previously assumed- pinto WME with red and yellow markings and fierce qupping stood before him, not looking too injured, hopefully. The other Equid looked intelligent and strong, definitely a good ally to have. After he had confirmed every part of him still functioned properly, Forest shook out his coat, sending some leaves drifting away on the morning breeze, and offered a smile. [[Can WMEs smile?]] "Sorry, are you okay? I should have been paying more attention to where I was going. I'm Forest, by the way."

[flyteck]

Rocket reached the very edge of the treeline and paused. After here there was nothing but open fields and roads leading towards the city. There hadn't been trees here for a very long time. It wouldn't be safe to head on now.. better to wait. Rocket lay down and waited for nightfall, where he could explore without as much fear of being seen.

[~Trompy]

"Oh no, it's alright, I should have been watching where I was going! I was so excited that I was full out galloping! I'm Charlie. Boy is it wonderful to see another of my own kind!" He looked the other WME over and shivered at the sight of his now damp coat. Charlie took in a deep, admiring breath of the cold air as he looked over his dappled sabino coat; it was something Charlie had never seen before. He was used to seeing pintos like himself, solid colors and the occasional splashed white, but a sabino? Never. He had heard of them, but never seen one in person. ""Are you sure you're okay? I ran into you pretty hard, I love your coat, by the way." Charlie stated, with a small smile. He was afraid of being too intimidating, as some equids he had met in the past had thought of him. He's really a softie, but his bright colors on his smokey black base send some equids turning away. Like a red bug to a bird, it tells them to stay away. I wonder what he thinks of me so far...

[MapleNeko]

Gale snorted, his head coming up at the sound of equids calling to each other, man was this forest getting crowded. Blasted two-legs! why couldn't they leave him alone, first they chase him around with snake like thing, and then destroy the trees he loves so dearly. Just the other day they cut down his favorite tree to sleep in! pacing the edge of the tree line in frustration and depression, he spotted a dark brown mare running the line of her fence, others called these WME domestic what ever that meant. When he saw the mare go back into the giant round thing the domestic WME's slept in Gale lept back into the trees and started to run around, firstly to keep himself in shape, and secondly to sweat away his worries.