Delmar

[Ashleigh825]

DELMAR ____________________________________

AGE
5

GENDER
Male

PERSONALITY
Delmar is very logical in his thinking. As the leader of the Creekfall herd, he must make decisions based on the welfare of the entire herd rather than the welfare of specific individuals. This leads some to label him as cruel, but this is the assumption of an ignorant creature. Delmar cares a great deal about his herd and their survival, which is the reason for his detachment to individuals. He believes that it is dangerous for a leader to become too close to any one individual, because it will cloud said leader's judgement and lead him to place that individual's importance before the group's. As a leader, Delmar cannot afford this kind of persuasion. He made that mistake not so long ago when he fell in love with a young dapple grey beauty and the result had nearly destroyed his herd. Although he does his best to remain detached, logical and fair, he harbours a great deal of affection towards his young son, Calum, whom he was left with after his former love left. This kind of fatherly love frightens Delmar and he worries that Calum will one day cause the same kind of conflict in the herd his mother did through Delmar's love for him, so he tries to protect the herd by keeping even Calum at a distance. The fact that Calum looks a great deal like his mother makes it difficult for Delmar to allow himself to get too close to his son. Despite his insistence that it is in the past, the memories are still painful.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
Delmar is of a sturdy, tall build, measuring at 18 hands and possesses a great deal of muscle. He is of a handsome buckskin colouring with white stockings and a white blaze down his forehead that reaches to his muzzle. Like most other horses, especially wild horses, his coat grows thick and shaggy in the winter, then sheds to reveal a light, thin coat in the summer. His eyes are a dark brown and always appear cold and distant, though they have been known to soften on rare occasions, particularly around Calum. Due to his size and muscle along with unusual speed for his size, it's likely that Delmar has both Warmblood and Drafter ancestry.

HISTORY
Delmar was born into the Sandy Shores herd and was raised by his dam until the age of two, when the alpha male of the herd decided Delmar was a threat to his authority and drove him out of the herd, not wanting any more males to take away his mares and take control of the group.

Being still relatively young and inexperienced, Delmar was easily defeated and cast out of the herd. Following his natural instincts, Delmar wandered the various areas near the shores, going farther and farther away in search of a new herd with more mares to take for himself. At the age of three, he found a small group of mares with a relatively young alpha male. Having grown stronger being on his own for the past year, Delmar was able to insert himself into the herd and drive off the leader, assuming control of the mares and claiming the land he won them on as his herd's territory, the Creekfall. The herd itself also adopted the name Creekfall.

Over the next two years, Delmar's herd grew as he impregnated the females who gave birth to more foals and Delmar maintained his position as alpha male by driving out the male foals when they reached an age where they could challenge him. The herd did well for itself with Delmar as their leader. He was able to protect the mares from being stolen by other herds and drive off any challengers seeking to take the Creekfall herd for themselves.

In the spring of the second year of the Creekfall herd, Delmar and his herd ran into a young dapple grey mare fighting off a couple of wolves. Immediately smitten with her and thinking he could integrate her into his herd to expand it, he intervened and killed the wolves, rescuing her. The mare's name was Niamh and while she never fully agreed to being a part of the Creekfall herd, she traveled with them for many months. She was unlike any mare Delmar had ever known. Quiet, observant, wise. Her words were always carefully measured and never thrown about carelessly. She held wisdom beyond her years and Delmar quickly fell in love with her, making her his favoured mare.

It wasn't long before Niamh became pregnant by him and Delmar was pleased. Now that she was with foal, she would have more of an incentive to stay with him and his herd and become a part of it, but to his dismay, Niamh seemed to have no interest in herd life or motherhood. Try as he might, he couldn't tame her wild, solitary spirit. She would never truly belong to anyone. Niamh stayed with the Creekfall herd during her pregnancy for protection and gave birth to a healthy colt whom she named Calum. Niamh stayed with her son and Delmar just long enough to wean the foal before disappearing into the wild again, leaving Delmar and Calum with the herd.

Niamh's disappearance shattered Delmar and still haunts him to this day. He is plagued with the fear of having to drive Calum out of the herd when he's old enough to challenge him and the fact that he's afraid to do so and lose the last piece of Niamh he has unsettles him deeply, shaking his confidence as a leader.