Just Us? (Metallic)

[<3Kodi]

Of all the places Blue Moon had seen since going on his own, this place had to be among the dreariest though the Black Hills were pretty close. The fog was dense, like the roan stag had walked into a wall of white. Swinging his head left, then right the mixblood stag found nothing but white except for roughly a four foot radius. Apart from that his vision was all but cut off. Tossing his black head to shoo his forelock from his eyes Moon snorted though not fearful he was feeling maybe just a little creeped out. He couldn't tell if anyone else was around, the fog was so dense but he'd come here, gotten lost and now he was in trouble. Pulling his front hoof out of a patch of particularly soggy ground, Moon shied a few inches to the left in hopes of finding a path of some sort through all this mushy nonsense.

"Well, this is just great" Moon muttered with a snort. "Oh well...might as well wing it, nothing else to do..."

Bracing himself, Moon set off at a canter through the squelchy ground in hopes of maybe finding the end of the foggy swamp. His black banner whipped out behind him as his hooves splashed through puddles or sank occasionally in the soft ground. A dead-looking tree loomed out of the thick mist not three feet in front of him. Moon let out a surprised neigh and swerved, barely avoiding hitting the dead plant though he slowed his pace to a trot. Maybe a dead tree was a sign he was coming to the end of the swamp?

Suddenly the ground was gone under Moon's hooves. He let out a screech of surprise. He had hit an embankment, a steep drop and was now falling. His hoves slipped on the damp grasses and he went down hard, his front left leg bending under his bulk, right front leg catching in a hole in the ground sending him sprawling onto his side as he slid down the steep hill. Moon came to a stop, at the bottom of the emabankment and let out a groan. The blue roan raised his head and looked around. His back was facing a pond of muddy looking water that he shied away from, trying to get up only to find his front right leg to be swelling, sprained or something.

"You have got to be kidding!" Moon neighed to himself, wincing as he tried to move the limb. Something splashed nearby. Moon looked around, his black harks coming up. Onyx eyes scanned the fog. "Who's out there?" Moon called, now uneasy that he couldn't run to escape if it was something or someone dangerous.

[Arctic Fang]

~`~Metallic~`~

The female walked and walked for days, in the total opposite direction in which she was freed. Her body ached and she had a slight limp, from walking but mostly due to the last beaten that she had received from the humans. Never again would she be in that situation but then again there 'was' part of her that was scared that she would be.

Metallic walked in a daze, thinking and pondering, until she finally snapped out of it and looked up. She knew that she had made a b-line away from the human lands but she had no idea just where she was now. All that she knew was that the land was foreign to her but at the same time it was rather lovely. Freedom... It's a wonderful thing.

The mare also found that she would encounter yet another dilemma. She was accustomed to having her food given to her which handicapped her as far as what to know in order to fend for herself. What would she do for food and water? A drink was what she really needed.

Metallic was to deep in her own thoughts to hear anything that was going on around her. Her odd colored eyes set upon a crevasse in the ground which collected some water. Eagerly she sipped of it until suddenly she was swept back to reality. Her conical ears twitched backward and then forward as her head jerked up, her eyes peering and squinting in the direction from which the noise came. Then she heard a voice. Her brows furrowed as her silver hoofs took a leery step toward the distraction. Softly her voice whispered, her voice crackled with fear. "Hello?"

[<3Kodi]

Black harks flicked. Moon turned his head to look behind him toward the pond which he had his back to. Someone was over there, just beyond his range of vision. Onyx eyes sought a weakness in the fog to maybe catch a glimpse of whoever was beyond it but he had no such luck. Blue Moon shifted, trying again to get his hooves under him while not jostling his sprained leg too much. It didn't work as well as he would have liked but after a moment of struggling the tall slender stallion was on his hooves again. He kept his front left leg off the ground, balancing on three black-stockinged legs.

Tossing his head, Blue Moon let out a loud nicker. "I know you're out there, where are you?" Moon called.

The voice that had answered him before had been equine because Moon had understood it and it hadn't carried the growl he associated with wolves. It was defiantly a relief because now that he was unable to run like he usually would, facing a wolf in some forsaken foggy swamp wasn't a good thing. Being with at least one other equine might not be so bad and besides, maybe they were interesting?

Carefully Moon started to limp around the pond, dark harks perked to catch any sounds. Something in the pond splashed and he hoped it was just a frog and not one of the bigger reptiles he'd heard stories about as a colt, the ones longer then a horse with long noses and lots of teeth. Putting a bit of distance between himself and the bank pond, Moon stopped and looked into the fog. He saw the shape of something, it looked vaugely like a horse.

"Hey! Do you know the way out of this place?" Moon asked, his onyx banner flicking behind him. His voice was friendly, or at least he hoped it was, he didn't want to scare off his only chance at getting out of this swamp.

[Arctic Fang]

~`~Metallic~`~

Metallic's ears twitched uncontrollably. Everything in her body told her that the voice was indeed that of a horse, a male one perhaps since it's tones were deeper then her own. She could only hope that her instincts were correct as slowly she ambled toward the sound, her orbs squinting with exertion as she did so.

She too found herself limping even more now but she knew that it was nothing serious, nothing that a little rest wouldn't cure. Silently she loomed out of the mist. Her body was revealed to the stallion like a vision in the night. Slowly the mist fell from her body like a soft blanket until her form was revealed. The sight of her might be a shock to anyone if they weren't accustomed to seeing a purple horse with a silver mane and tail. Metallic glistened ever more so as the mist kissed her pelt.

MD stepped forward, her head down in a sign of submission as her eyes remained upon the stallion. She may have been showing her humble spirit but the last thing that she wanted was to be unaware of an incoming attack, if it ever came. And so her odd orbs watched him. Immediately she noted that he was an impressive figure of a male horse. Truthfully she never saw anything so beautiful.

Even though her front right leg was hurt she still held the grace of a true queen, even though she was far from one. Softly she spoke, her voice sounding melodious, smooth, gentle and kind. "I'm not familiar with this area and so no I don't know how to get out of this place. Do you not live here?" Her tone was as a song and her stunning appearance like a dream. She was completely unaware of her unique color since she was accustomed to it. Now the male on the other hoof was unique in her eyes.

[<3Kodi]

I. Am. Delusional. That was all Blue Moon could really think as he watched the horse come out of the mist. She was purple. Blue Moon's black eyes blinked once, twice. The color didn't change. That wasn't all that was unusual. At first he thought her mane and tail were flaxen only to find that when she moved it rippled like liquid silver, her hooves glinting through the damp grass. Silver, actually silver, not blond and not white but silver. Moon flicked his black ears up at the sound of her voice and felt like he was frozen to the spot, almost hypnotized you could say. It took a moment for Moon to wrap his brain around the fact that he needed to answer the lady before she thought it was some sort of idiot.

Clearing his throat, Moon tossed his forelock out of his eyes revealing the smudged star on his black forehead. "No, I don't live here, don't really live anywhere. I was wandering around and got all turned around in the fog. My name is Blue Moon, who are you?"

Moon tried not to stare, really he did but he was only a stallion. It wasn't everyday someone saw a silver, gold and purple mare. Maybe she lived in the fog to keep others from seeing her? Maybe she was shy? Moon's onyx gaze met her own unusual eyes as best he could though he still felt surprise rippling through him. How could these colors come to be on a horse? She looked sporty, sturdy, possibly a Quarter Horse?

For his part Moon was much more light, long-legged and slender. Sixteen hands tall with a stormy blue coat. His legs were black to the knee like he'd stepped in ink while his mane and tail were unkempt ebony. The black from his legs carried to his face making his muzzle and head black with a small white star that looked like someone had blurred it. Moon didn't think of himself as handsome because he really didn't care but compared to this mare he felt like some mixed up crossbreed which, really he was, Thoroughbred and Mustang. Still, compared to her he felt quite humbled indeed.

[Arctic Fang]

~`~Metallic~`~

The femme stepped forward, her limp probably noticeable, but it still wasn't as bad as it could be. Softly she smiled at the stallion. She could see that by his expression he was a bit bewildered by her appearance. What she needed to do was to calm his nerves. "My name is Metallic Dream. It's good to meet you Blue Moon. I'm sorry if I startled you." Even more so the mare sauntered forward... cautiously.

Their proximity was declining as she yet again moved forward. Her voice was as smooth as honey was to the tongue. "Perhaps we could find out way out of here... together? I don't have a home either. I'm in search of one. I just stopped for a drink. I haven't eaten in days." For a horse not eating was rather dangerous but there was little that she could do since she wanted, nay needed, to put as much distance between her former owners and her.

Once close enough to be able to hear his breathing Metallic smiled again. He was an impressive male indeed. She felt rather short to his sixteen hands since she was only about fourteen hands. Still though she's a sturdy horse, slender but strong. MD would now wait for his response to her offer. It 'was' forward of her but they were in a pickle and had little option left unless they wished to separate.

[<3Kodi]

It took all the will Blue Moon had not to step back as the fae stepped forward. He wasn't anti-social or afraid of mares, he was just still surprised. She was after all the first purple horse he'd ever seen and that took a minute to get over much less get used to. Still, Moon didn't move but instead arched his neck slightly and let out a soft snort. "Why haven't you eaten? Sure the plants might be soggy but they're still food." Lowering his black head the stallion put his theory to the test, tasting the marsh grass for the first time himself, just in case he was wrong. Like he had suspected the grass was soggy, heavy with constant dew from the heavy fog but apart from that it tasted like most other grasses, a bit tougher but not the worst thing Moon had ever eaten.

Raising his head again, Moon lowered his cradled limb and put the hoof on the ground but didn't put any weight on it, choosing in stead to rest his weight on his three good legs. He had noticed the mare's limp which was a little surprising considering her alluring voice and astounding appearance, it was a wonder he remembered what color he was. Blue roan right?

Startled by the thought Moon chased it away and tried to keep his wits about him. He was starting to feel the familiar need to move but knew he couldn't because of his leg. He could limp but not run. Not trot, not canter, barely even walk. That was just sad and it was going to make him insane. "I don't travel with others often and at the moment I have no protection to offer and I can't...move very quickly right now." It was like someone was choking him before he could admit he couldn't run or walk or trot or canter. Oh it was shameful! "I think I might be stuck here for a little while." His ears flicked in a sheepish manner. "If you can get up the embankment back that way you might be able to find your way out the way I came in but I got disoriented so I don't know if my scent would lead you the right way."

[Arctic Fang]

~`~Metallic~`~

The mare ignored his comment about eating, fully aware herself of why she wasn't sure of what to eat. How was she to know if something was good to eat or not? Her eyes never seen her food in raw form since it was always handed to her, that is on the days that she wasn't forgotten about in her stall.

Metallic lowered her head. It was a blow to her heart when he bluntly turned her down, or at least that's the way that it appeared, sounded and felt to the mare. She must have looked the sight. Perhaps she's more odd then what she originally thought. MD nodded, still unaware that his leg was hurt, thinking that he was just making an excuse as to why he didn't want to accompany her, likely wanting to 'not' be seen with her.

Her vision cleared as she looked up at the embankment of which he spoke. Well, if anything, she could give it a shot. Her leg wasn't hurt that bad... right? She'd need a running start. Without another word to the stallion she darted toward the 'way-out'. Dream made it half way up the bank when her leg gave out. She ended up sliding down on her side, filling her fur with mud and cutting herself slightly from a jagged rock. The femme began to curse to herself, punishing herself for not being stronger. Abuse had a way of doing that to an animal.

The femme was defeated and worn out. She didn't bother getting up right away but instead she just laid her head down in the mud, breathing rather heavily as her eyes closed. It was imperative that she calm herself and so she envisioned in her mind a wide open meadow that was green and filled with wildflowers. Perhaps one day she could see such a place for rear instead of just in her dreams.

[<3Kodi]

Moon saw the hurt in her eyes and turned his head away so he wouldn't have to see it. How many mares had he done that to? Heck, he'd let down his own mother and since then he'd never been able to get it right, not with mares and defiantly not with stallions. Moon took a limping step out of her way to give Metallic Dream a better running start. If his leg wasn't sprained Moon was sure he could make the jump. Two hands taller then the fem didn't seem like a lot but if he remembered right horses with Metallic's type of build were best suited for long distance running or something like that. Between Blue Moon's enduring mustang blood and his fast thoroughbred blood, Moon showed more potential at being a jumper. Then again it was his own darn fault for falling down the embankment to begin with and spraining his leg in the first place.

Wincing at the thought, Blue Moon swung his head to watch and see if Metallic could make the jump. She started out well but the jump wasn't high enough. Seeing the impending doom, Moon again looked away knowing the sting of failure when you couldn't do something, much less with someone else watching. When he looked back, he found Metallic laying on her side much the way he had ended up when he'd fallen down. Slowly the stallion moved forward, limping heavily until he loomed over Metallic.

Dropping his head, Moon bumped his muzzle lightly against her neck. "Happened to me to" he said softly, feeling sympathetic. "Didn't sprain anything did you?"

Hopefully she'd gotten away better then he had. Glancing at the swollen leg, Moon winced and awkwardly lowered himself to the ground so he was laying next to the mare, though he ended up laying half on his side so he didn't have to bend his swollen leg.

[Arctic Fang]

~`~Metallic~`~

Indeed she was stuck. What would or could she do now? She would be damned if she was going to go back in the way that she came but perhaps there was a way around the swampy land.

It was moments that the mare stayed put. Really she had no plans of getting up. The bumping of his nose to her neck was what sort of woke her. She then eyed him with the eye that was a piercing crystal light blue. MD then sighed. "My leg was already hurt but I think that I just made it worse." Her head went back down with a soft thud.

Dream then looked back up at him. What he was saying brought the picture of what was happening into a better light. She glanced at his leg. It was swollen. Perhaps that was why he said that he wasn't going anyplace, at least not for a while. Inwardly she chastised herself for thinking the worse but still this male was so mysterious to her. She just couldn't figure him out. "Did you hurt your leg too?"

[<3Kodi]

The two eye colors took a bit of getting used to but it wasn't too bad. Now that he was a bit more used to Metallic he wasn't so astounded at her odd coloring. He had heard stories of some weird stallion that lived in the desert that looked like her so really he shouldn't feel surprised that such things could happen. Now Moon barely noticed her purple, gold and silver coloring, simply seeing her as another equine. He did pity her, glancing over at her wounded leg. He wondered how it happened but wasn't about to ask, it wasn't his business. Besides, the past was the past and something told her that leg was linked to whatever had her running headfirst into a marsh full of fog.

"I was walking up there and I didn't see the drop" Blue Moon admitted sheepishly. "I fell and my leg got twisted when it got stuck in a hole on the hill."

No story about fighting evil stallions, risking his life or even killing wolves. Just the simple and honest, though embarrassing, truth. Downed by a hill. Ingeniously stupid. Oh if his mother could see him now she wouldn't be able to stop laughing because it had happened once before when he'd been young before the wolves had taken away his life. Shaking away the thought, Blue Moon looked back over at Metallic Dream.

"So, since neither of us is going anywhere..." the phrase grated on his nerves, "I kinda can't help but wonder, what...what did your parents look like?"

Blue Moon didn't blush though he probably should have been. He was just curious, like a young colt. Though he was more used to her, Metallic Dream was still a bit of a marvel to him and he was curious. Moon wasn't one for beating around the bush unless something was really very wrong. Now however, he was just blunt curiosity and honestly waiting to see what could have possibly happened to make Metallic look like she did.

[Arctic Fang]

~`~Metallic~`~

The mare lifted her head. So he 'was' curious about her. She knew it! In truth 'she' had never seen a horse of her color before and so really anyone that saw her found that they needed to know about her. "My mother was normal color and so was my father, from what my mother said. I didn't know my father at all and I was taken from my mother shortly after I was weaned. They sold me for my odd colored pelt. Anyway... I've heard it said that my mother had some mysterious bloodline in her and it proved true when she threw me. So here I am." Metallic now sat up, curling her legs beneath her body, wincing a little, as she looked at the male, also with inquisitive eyes.

Slightly she stretched out her neck. She was beginning to ache from the fall but she was use to such a feeling, having been beaten so many times that she couldn't count them anymore. "Maybe if we soak your leg in the cold swamp water it would bring the swelling down." The femme wasn't totally ignorant. She observed when the other horses were receiving first aid attention and she took mental notes.

In the meantime the mud sealed over her side wound, lucky for her but her worry wasn't about her right now. Her conversation with the stallion caused her to be just as curious about him as he was her. "What about you Moon? Have you always been a wild horse?" It was an honest question, one that any half witted horse could make up. But it was more then that. MD really wanted to know more about this horse.

[<3Kodi]

Mysterious bloodline huh? Maybe he should make a note of the desert he'd heard tell about and see if whoever lived out there might be related to this oddly toned fem. Oh well. Putting it up on his list of places yet to wander, Blue Moon nodded his head in understanding. Mother Nature was an odd mistress and because of her oddities, odd things were born, things odder then a purple mare. Blue Moon had heard stories about strange horse-like animals living in the south that were black and white but not like paints or pintos but they had stripes and short bristly manes. Just the mental image was odd and when he compared it to Metallic Dream he had to say the striped horse was much odder.

Glancing over at the swamp water, Moon grimaced. "No, I think I'll keep my leg dry. They say there are things in that water that can eat a horse and snap a leg clean off. Maybe if we get out of this swamp alive I'll give it a try."

Moon added the last bit because he didn't want to offend her or make her think he didn't value her advice. He wasn't one to usually follow advice but....Metallic was an unusual mare and seemed to bring out the unusual in Blue Moon. Come to think of it this was probably the longest he'd ever gone laying down. At the thought the blue roan fidgeted but winced and stilled when pain shot through his twisted leg. From the feel of it he'd be staying still for a while longer.

Glancing over at the mare, Moon flicked his ears back against his head and then up, debating whether or not to tell her and exactly what to tell her. "I...used to be a herd horse" Moon admitted, looking out at the fog. "My parents were leaders of a herd and I spent hours chasing my older twin brothers but I got separated from them when a wolf pack attacked our herd, I was trying to help my mother but it didn't work and I never found the others and I figure I'm better off alone."

It wasn't the whole truth but it wasn't a total lie. He did have older twin brothers and he had tried to help his mother when the wolves attacked. He didn't tell Metallic that he'd been knocked out and come around to find himself alone and then found his mother mangled by wolves. No, she didn't need to know that. Moon never told anyone that. In his mind Moon kept it to himself because he didn't want to scare her. She was new to being wild, no need to scare the living daylights out of her when she was what, a few days into the wild? Really Blue Moon knew he was kidding himself. He didn't voice that part because...he didn't want to admit he had failed.

"Anyway, now I figure I'm too wild to bother with a herd. I like being able to go where I want when I want." Moon shrugged and gave his mane a little shake.

[Arctic Fang]

~`~Metallic~`~

MD wasn't sure if he was telling the truth about 'things' being in the water. She was drinking from there and nothing grabbed her. With the passing of time she'd learn more and more about this strange and wonderful land but if Moon says that there's things in there then she wouldn't question that. Next time she'd be more careful and keep an eye out.

The mare just couldn't believe her ears. His story was such a sad one, even if he didn't tell the whole truth it was still heart-breaking. Dream decided to not linger on his past then but she longed to tell him that belonging to a pack again wouldn't hurt him. It was a protection rather then being totally alone but she thought the better of saying such things to him. "I'm sorry to hear that but it would be nice to have a family. I was only with my mother for such a short time." Sadness filled her eyes. Perhaps one day she'd find her mother but for now she wasn't brave enough to go back to the humans and with her color she'd be spotted right away.

Metallic finally got up to her feet, but not without a certain amount of groaning, the blood from her wound still sealed by the mud. She stretched gently, careful to not pull any of her muscles, and then she tested her leg. It was just as she suspected. She actually sprained it slightly this time but it still wasn't as bad as Moon's. "I agree. For now I want my freedom to much to get involved with a herd but perhaps later I will become lonely since you don't travel with others to often." She grinned when saying this as she gave him a soft wink with her violet eye.

[<3Kodi]

Shifting carefully, Blue Moon staggered a bit ungracefully to all fours, standing once more at his full height though he kept his leg off the ground. He understood that Metallic would want to enjoy her freedom though he had half hoped she wouldn't grow tired of it. He didn't fancy the idea of staying with a herd again. When he was around more horses it made Moon feel caged and confined, held in by borders and lorded over by stags that believed themselves superior. One thing Blue Moon would not stand for was being looked down upon. He liked to do what he wanted, not have to wait for an order or sell his life to some pompous old stallion and his mate. Moon snorted softly at the idea though he couldn't help but think of his own parents. They hadn't been like that, not lordly and superior but then again he was bias, they had been his parents after all but Moon knew not all horses were the same as Metallic proved each time he looked at her.

Moving carefully the blue roan made his way toward the pond. He eyed the murky water wearily as he stood at the edge. It felt like he was being watched. Just as the young stallion was beginning to lower his head to drink, the water seemed to explode. Moon jerked back with a shiek of surprise as a large reptile reared out of the water, short front legs flailing and long jaws open with a sinister hiss.

Blue Moon reared onto his hind legs, kicking wildly at the giant lizard. It snapped it jaws at Moon's hooves as the stallion reared up again, boxing the air. His hoof came down on the animal's ugly nose making it shy back into the murky water. Moon limped hurriedly away from the water, herding Metallic along with him, his onyx eyes rimmed white in his fear. "I told you there was something in the water!" Moon nickered.