Race the Moon (Open)

[<3Kodi]

Sunlight danced beautifully over the waves lapping at white sand beaches, sparkling and singing their soft song to anyone that cared to listen. Luckily for Blue Moon, listening to this song didn't require standing perfectly still like some equines believed. Nope, Moon ran and he could still hear nature singing and whispering in his ears, echoing in the thunder of his hooves and the steady beat of his heart. The blue roan stallion galloped along the strip of powdery sand without a worry, midnight black mane and tail whipping out behind him and floating on the wind as his hooves kicked up a steady cloud of sand behind him. The sand deadened the thunder of his hooves but Blue Moon didn't mind. He was here for the simple thrill of a run, something he often enjoyed in many different places throughout Penori.

Galloping up along the shore, Blue Moon slowed his pace to a stand still, tucking his chin for a moment before tossing his ebony head and letting out a neigh. Balancing his weight back, Moon half-reared before letting all four hooves hit the ground again, swishing his ebony tail as he gazed out at the glittering ocean waves. With the low tide, the beach was more exposed to the light-hearted stag. Pawing at the sand, Blue Moon folded his legs and laid in the sand for a moment before rolling over and rolling in the powdered sugar sand, simply enjoying the peace and quiet of the beach. He loved to run but not even he could run forever and he felt hot from his run in the sun.

Rolling back onto his side, Blue Moon pushed himself up and cantered down the beach toward the waves of the low tide. Cantering into the waves, Blue Moon gave a soft nicker as the water rushed around his long black legs. Knowing the saltwater was bad for him, Moon dipped his head and dunked his muzzle into the water to cool his face but was careful not to drink any or breathe it in. Raising his head, Moon repeated his rolling around in the shallows before coming to rest on the beach, his long black legs in the water as the waves lapped at him. Moon's mane was splayed across the ivory sands like an ink spill, his flanks rising and falling in the slow steady rhythm of rest as he listened to the waves moving all around him though still on the alert for wolves more then equines.

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A surpressed giggle came from the other side of the shoreland. Starnile had been watching this stallion curiously. She tossed her beautiful snow-white head in a most flirtatious manner, trying to get the males attention. She knew what she was: stunning. Males usually couldn't resist her lovely looks and her buttery personality.

Starnile galloped most graciously to the stallion, her eyes literally dancing in the sunlight shafts. The waves slushed a beautiful jingle around them. Perfect. "My name is Starnile." she said smoothly. "What's yours?"

She didn't wait for his reply. "I see you showing off their," she snickered. "You are quite the stallion, aren't you?"

[<3Kodi]

It was the music-like giggling of a mare that roused Moon from his brief rest. Lifting his ebony head the stallion snorted softly when he caught sight of the ivory mare cantering across the beach toward him. Flicking his tail, Blue Moon rose to his full height of sixteen hands. Giving himself a shake, Moon shook away the sand from his blue coat and shuffled his hooves a bit as he studied the ivory mare. Swishing his silky ebony banner, Blue Moon tossed his head high and trotted toward the mare. Tucking his chin against his chest, Moon chuckled at her words, swerving his dark ears toward her and then tossing his head slightly. "Show off? Me?" he asked innocently, trotting in a circle around the mare.

Normally Blue Moon didn't particularly care for being a showoff but this time he decided it was time for a little fun and hopefully the mare would take it in good stride. He didn't chase mares particularly, simply enjoyed their company more then the company of another stallion. Blue Moon had always fancied mares more then other males ever since he'd been born. Yes he had chased his brothers but he had always heeded his mother's call above the call of any other. This mare looked like the perfect opposite of Black Magic but then again Black Magic had been a mustang and this mare was obviously of a more graceful breed then the hardy mustang herds Blue Moon had grown up with. Too short to be a thoroughbred like his father, Blue Moon assumed the mare was some sort of cross or a breed he was unfamiliar with but beautiful nonetheless.

Trotting a little ways away from the snowy female, Moon dropped his head low and pawed at the ground with one of his black hooves, casting a playful look to the mare, Starnile as she named herself. "My name is Blue Moon but feel free to call me Moon." He tossed his head high again to chase his forelock from his eyes. "What's a lovely lady like you doing out here alone?" Blue Moon liked to charm but so far it had gained him no ground in finding a mare suited for him, one that didn't need a herd to be content and didn't mind chasing the wind. For now he was simply testing his ground with this mare.

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"Ah," she said. "Blue Moon. Classy name." She nickered softly, knowing the stallion was moved by he looks. " I wander casually around these parts. I never seem to stay in one place. " she looked under her eyelashes at him, and then tossed her head high.

"And what is a handsome stallion doing out here with no mate? Surely someone of your looks should have a love, no?" She wanted to make sure if this male had a mate or not. If this became.... something more, she didn't want to become second fiddle to a Fae she didn't know.

[<3Kodi]

At the mare's words, Blue Moon let out a neigh of laughter and tossed his black head high making his ebony mane flare along his blue-toned neck. Still chuckling the male shook his head and looked at the ivory mare before prancing back toward her, black-stockinged hooves lifting high as he tucked his head slightly in a sort of showoff pose. "M'lady I'm afraid I've found no one untethered by either mate or herd to run with me" Moon answered her in his classiest tone, undertoned with light amusement and teasing. "I like to race with the wind and see the world around me, not roam in one land. Mares I meet ask for a herd to promise them safety and that is something I refuse to offer." Moon flung his head high as if shaking off the mere thought of ever running with a herd.

In a herd, there was responsibility and that was something Blue Moon loathed. His mother had been his responsability and he had failed Black Magic when she needed him most. During the wolf attack that had turned his world upside down, Moon had been abandoned by his own father and twin brothers. He refused to ever run with equines that would someday turn their backs on him and flee simply to save their own skins. Herds disgusted him in the way they wondered only in one land, confined by borders and chained by laws. Blue Moon had always disliked rules and obeyed only his mother. Now he obeyed no one and intended to stay that way.

"They say the way I live is reckless and someday it'll get me killed" Blue Moon confined to Starnile. "I say it'll only kill me if something catches me."

With a wink, the black and blue stallion cantered a little ways down the beach away from Starnile with his dark tail whipping out behind him like the standard of a once-proud army. Slowing his pace, Blue Moon wheeled to face Starnile again, a decent distance between the contrasting pair. Blue Moon reared onto his hind legs and boxed the air with his front limbs and let out a neigh, beckoning Starnile to follow him if she was undaunted by his way of life.

[ღE/m/i/l/yღ]

Starnile wasn't afraid, though. "Biting the wind," she tossed her tail. "I do a bit of that myself." She narrowed her eyes, and stomped her hoof, impatient. The only herd she had was Integrated, and she rarely was a part of them. She then focused on what Moon said about mares as mates.

"And I take care of myself fine, albeit it does get lonely sometimes." She moved closer to Moon, taking a daring move. She really did like him. She probably looked like a desperate mare in his eyes, though. Which made her angry at herself, for seeming like such a... helpless one?

[<3Kodi]

Blue Moon watched as Starnile drew closer, her ivory flanks clashing with his stormy coloring. Lowering his head a bit, Blue Moon shook his mane out for a moment before returning his deep onyx gaze to Starnile. The mare did look lonely though it had taken Blue Moon talking to her to see it. If he had seen her in passing perhaps on one of the meadows or just cantering through the woodlands he wouldn't have glanced twice at her because she seemed to be the type of mare that could take care of herself. Something about her seemed to speak of an inner strength that Blue Moon couldn't quite place but had to say he liked. Not many mares could be self-dependant without a herd and be content. But then again, Moon also knew that all horses grew lonely eventually including himself. He liked being around others, whether mares of simply young equines but it was just one of those things he needed every now and then.

Gazing at Starnile, Blue Moon couldn't help but tell she was feeling the need for a life-long companion. She was looking for a stallion to wander with but Moon was still weary. She was a dazzling mare with a catching personality but Blue Moon wasn't sure if it was just for him or if it was a game she played with other stallions. "Well Starnile, every horse gets lonely and their heart calls for another" Moon neighed eventually, brushing his black muzzle against her ivory one. "I don't look for others often but I find some and linger simply to know I'm not alone in the world. There is no shame in loneliness."

His words were soothing but he could feel himself growing restless. He wanted to gallop and move. Conversations were all well and good but he still felt the need for movement. Still, standing next to Starnile Blue Moon couldn't help but feel that wildness being somewhat soothed, not tamed but soothed.

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Starnile nodded; his wise words were very true. There was no shame in being a loner, in being a wanderer throughout your days. It truly made a horse experienced, able to show different talents and tactful battle techniques. Starnile had done some wandering herself. It made her stronger, smarter, and quicker. And, of course, she has been quite lonely.

"I am alone, too, Blue Moon." she said quietly, carefully.

[<3Kodi]

"It doesn't seem to suit a fine mare like you being out here alone" Blue Moon nickered, tossing his forelock aside to reveal the smudged white star on his brow. It truly was a surprise to find a mare like Starnile wandering around alone without a herd to protect her. She looked like a finely cut diamond, all alone among rugged granite, regardless of if it was her choice. Moon was suspicious of why she was alone but decided against trying to pry. If she was running from someone or simply wandering because she felt like a little adventure, it wasn't Blue Moon's place to pry or tell her she was wrong. Besides, he hated that kind of behavior when he heard it from older mares or even other stallions. It was enough to make one truly crazy. It was no one's business but his own why or if he wandered alone until the day he died so he didn't do unto others a thing he himself despised and frowned on.

Turning away from Starnile, Blue Moon walked lazily toward the rolling ocean waves. Neverminding the chill of the water, Moon waded into the waves until the white foam rolled around his knees. When the water rose his black tail streamed behind him, his dampened limbs darkening further as he trudged about in the shallow low tide waves. Looking over at Starnile with his dark black eyes, Moon swerved his ears. His eyes were sadder then before as his thoughts rolled back to Black Magic. "Sometimes alone is better Starnile but something tells me that's not the case with you."

His tone was light but his eyes sad. He had a reason to wander alone. Blue Moon refused to fail anyone else like he had failed Black Magic. He didn't want the responsibility of making sure someone else stayed alive when obviously he couldn't do it. Death was not something Moon was fond of so if he stayed away from others for the most part, their deaths were not his problem. Starnile didn't look like one to have such a dark past but one couldn't always tell. She might be some sort of assassin or rouge gone tame for all he knew. Everybody had dirty little secrets. Some were just better kept then others.

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Starnile wasn't sure what Moon was getting at. It seemed that he know so much about her, yet so little. "I have no one to care for anymore. My family is dead. My mate is dead. My life- it's all dead." her voice cracked on the last 'dead'. Her eyes started to water. She was crying. She never cried.

Embarrassed, she turned away from Blue Moon. She didn't want him to think that she was a weak sap of a horse. She wasn't. But she could give off the wrong message. "The only family I have is Namid of the Icy mountain." she said sulkily. "And she is dead, but alive in ghost form."

[<3Kodi]

Blue Moon's gaze grew more somber as Starnile spoke. It seemed death shadowed her as well and possibly the bitter tang of being abandoned by the world. As the mare's tears began to fall, Blue Moon looked away toward the ocean horizon. Not only to give her privacy but also because Blue Moon felt his own sorrows welling up in his belly and tainting his heart. Blowing out a noisy sigh, Moon tossed his head and waded back toward Starnile out of the waves toward the fae. Bumping his ebony muzzle against Starnile's white muzzle in a gesture of comfort. In all honesty he wasn't exactly sure how to react to hearing that ghosts existed but also that Starnile knew the ghost but Moon did know all too well what death was like and how much it shadowed whoever it chose and never seemed to go away.

Did he think Starnile weak for crying? No. She was stronger then he was because she did what he couldn't do. Blue Moon couldn't make himself cry, not even when he woke from nightmares of his mother's mangled body and the sounds of howling wolves.

"Starnile, death is a dark thing that will never leave you be but...it's not all there is" Blue Moon nickered softly. "Come, run with me and lets see if your sorrows can keep up."

He wasn't exactly the best at comfort but he was good a distracting someone from their sorrow. It was what he did for himself all the time so Blue Moon found it easy to do it for others. Moon ran from his sorrows all the time and only seldom did they catch up with him when the land grew dark and the wolves howled for the hunt. Maybe his tactic could help Starnile?

Wheeling away from the distressed mare, Moon reared back for a moment before lurching forward and galloping along the beach, not looking to see if she's going to follow. If she doesn't then he'll feel like a jerk for running off but she'll be just another set of hoofprints in the sand, easily erased. Sand flared out as Moon's hooves struck the ground, powerful legs carrying him along the ocean, swerving occasionally into the shallows bound for the nearby seacliffs.

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Starnile's playful, happy mood suddenly returned. before she knew it, she was rearing along and bucking and running. The sand flew in every direction. It made her happy, for some reason. Death was sad. But happiness always overcame that. She soon raced ahead of moon, into the twilight-bathed dunes. She stopped abruptly, staring at them with clear blue eyes. her thoughts wandered for a moment.

She wondered if she could walk up the precarious dunes. It seemed like it would be fun. She had seen Human children doing all the time. Why couldn't she? She took a step forward. Nothing moved. Then another step. And another. Eventually, she was half-way up the dune. She turned her head slightly, to Moon. "Look! I am the queen of the dune!" She tossed her head and flicked her tail. And then her hoof slipped.

Soon, she was slipping on the dangerous sand-hill. She squealed as she fell, spinning around once. When the sand finally seemed to hold her, she was on her back, legs up, covered in sand. Her mood suddenly turned from boastful to embarrased. And then she burst out in unstoppable laughter. Her belly hurt from so much laughing. Ah, it felt good to laugh with someone again.

[<3Kodi]

Blue Moon pulled back on his fleet speed, letting Starnile run beside him for a while then watching her as she pulled ahead. His onyx eyes sparkled happily, pleased that the mare seemed to leave her sorrowful troubles behind. Moon wasn't one for sulking and sadness, nor was he one for comfort but at least his form of comfort seemed alright with Starnile. Some horse were offended if he suggested they simply distract themselves from their troubles. They thought it disrespectful. Well, no one respected him so Blue Moon didn't make a habit of doing it, at least not around those that made bad first impressions. Starnile however, there was a lovable air about her that seemed to draw him in like a moth to a light. It was nice but at the same time a bit frightening since Blue Moon hadn't made any serious attachments since his mother's death.

The thought brought his pace slowing as they neared the higher sand dunes that laid out over the end of the beach. Soon he was walking lazily, head bobbing as he watched the ivory femme canter cautiously up one of the dunes and call out to him. Raising his head, Blue Moon laughed and pawed at the sand, preparing to gallop up after her. Before the blue roan could start off however, Starnile's hooves were slipping and sliding in the soft shifting sands. He watched in half horror, half amusement as the snowy mare tumbled down the dune she had "conquered". With a snort as the mare burst out laughing, Blue Moon cantered toward the place where she laid in the sand, hooves in the air on her back, mane and tail splayed out over the sand.

"I don't know Starnile" Moon mused as he pranced in a wide circle around the grounded mare. "Looks like you've been overthrown m'lady." His dark eyes sparkled with mirth as the stallion slowed his prance and came to stand at Starnile's side. Folding his long black stockingled legs, the stallion lowered himself to the sand beside her, swinging his starred head to look at her, his eyes bright.

[ღE/m/i/l/yღ]

A wicked sparkle came to Star's eyes. "Oh? Well, king Moon, your the one who'll be overthrown!" she stormed up and charged him playfully, her eyes watering from the sudden sea wind. She giggled happily, fainting and daunting him. This was fun! She hadn't been so active in, well years. Her mother had always taught her to be prompt and ladylike. Well screw that. That life was boring! This was definelty the life. I life she could live happily.

She was so caught up in her happy thoughts, she hadn't realized that she was hearing odd, foreign languages coming from behind the dune mountain. She stopped short, her heart racing. Somehow, the off language started to make sense.
"Did you hear that?"
"Duh!!! Horses!"
"Behind the Dune- They're they are!"

Star stared, and suddenly her heart raced. They had to get out of here. She began galloping, yelling "Moon! Come!" behind her back. Her hooves felt like that were made of sand, and her legs made of jelly...

[<3Kodi]

Blue Moon nickered indignantly and tossed his ebony head at Starnile's happy words. Overthrown hmm? Lurching forward, Moon freed his long legs from under his bulk and got up, rising to his full height which was formidable, at least sixteen hands. Lashing his long silky tail, Moon tossed his head again. "We'll see about that Starnile!" Blue Moon neighed, half rising into a rear but quickly dropping back to all fours. As the ivory fem danced around just out of his reach, Blue Moon grinned wickedly, making fake lunges at her and shaking his mane in a comical way. Every now and then he would prance a few paces toward her only to backtrack or swing to the right or left sending sand flying. His blue flanks were speckled with sand, his mane and tail flecked with the fine stuff but it didn't bother the young stallion one bit. Blue Moon had nothing against getting a little messy, so long as Starnile didn't mind.

It was the mare's sudden stiffness that drew his attention from their little game. His head raised, black ears flicking forward as strange words in strange voices carried toward them from over the dunes. Onyx eyes scanned the dunes wearily, his hooves suddenly still in the sand and his breathing coming as quietly as he could manage. Something was coming toward them but it wasn't wolves, Blue Moon was sure of that. What else was there? Badgers and foxes didn't stray from the forests and other equines didn't smell like these things or talk like them. It seemed...unnatural.

Starnile's sudden fright made Blue Moon toss his head and snort, taking a few steps back as the strange things appeared over the dunes. Letting out a frightened neigh the dark stallion reared onto his hind legs, boxing the air with his front hooves and tossing his head. Whatever they were, they frightened Starnile. Muscles flexing under his blue pelt, Blue Moon wheeled around, dropping back to all fours and took off in a thundering gallop. He wasn't going to stick around to find out what those things were and he didn't want to know in the first place. Blue Moon took off toward the meadows near the beach. Surely with two legs those things couldn't keep up with a galloping horse?