In the jungle, the mighty jungle. {Caitlyn}

[Kate]

These new lands confused her, she had never seen a place like this before. She’d walked and walked until the grass disappeared from beneath her feet and it was replaced by dry sand. There was an entire sea of it beneath her feet, carrying on for miles and miles. And so she had to walk for miles and miles. For a little while she thought that she would be stuck in all of this sand forever and ever, she could see nothing over than this stupid sand. She wasn’t afraid though, not of a little bit of sand. She knew that there would be water at the end of it, or she hoped strongly.
She was not afraid of anything, but she was afraid of everyone. She’d passed a few snakes on her travels, watching them for a moment before continuing on. Snakes didn’t bother her, she never spooked. It even made her reminisce about her earlier games of foalhood, ‘chase the snake’ having been one of her favourites. She’d been scolded many a time for that, and now she felt herself to be sufficiently old enough that she was past that game. Besides, these snakes didn’t quite look like the harmless grass variety she’d grown up with.
Finally, in the distance she could see the grove. She had obviously taken the long route to this oasis but she supposed that she was all the more glad that she was there now. Finally the mare reached the oasis, reaching down to drink it. Her rich yellow coat seemed to fit in a little more here than the green meadows everywhere else. The palomino had never been comfortable with the lighter colours strips going over her back and neck, curling round her upper legs. Nor the black dorsal stripe going down her back. It was nothing like she’d seen on another horse, it made her feel alien and strange. Inanna had never been the kind to embrace her differences, and probably never would.
ooc;; It's short and it sucks, sorry. xD It'll get better.

[Caitlyn]

[bg=black][atrb=border,0,true] Adonis felt rather than heard the presence of someone else in his territory, the subtle vibrations of the land changing and pointing in the direction of his oasis. He snorted angrily. Who did this other stallion think he was, waltzing in on his clearly marked lands? You just didn’t do that, as any stallion with common sense knew very well. The brute sighed heavily, so much for peace and quiet. Adonis put on his game face and started cantering in the direction of the oasis. He had about a mile to go, a mile to think of ways to intimidate this newcomer. He was already big, and it was all muscle. That should be intimidating enough in and of itself, but Adonis had the skills to back up his brute strength that came with being as pure of an Andalusian as you could get in the wild. His hooves were deadly accurate and large to support his respectably tall sixteen hand frame. The thickness and health of his ample mane and tail along with the silky sheen of his coat should be good enough indicators that he was very well fed and not the least bit sick. If all that didn’t intimidate a young stallion, or at least make him think twice about going head to head with Adonis, he didn’t know what would. Satisfied with his mental rallying, Adonis picked up his somewhat collected and slow canter into a speedier one. Sand soared into the air behind him, along with his thick mane and tail. He was confident that he could take care of this little visitor and send him running back to where he came from in a hurry—maybe a little too confident. Sure, he’d had experience before, but he’d also been the son of the lead stallion and most were too scared of his father—with good reason—to actually give Adonis a fair and even fight. Just over the tops of the sand dunes that lay ahead of him, Adonis could make out the tips of the palm trees that marked the oasis. The stag flared his nostrils, attempting to detect any scent of the stalling challenging him. The scent confused him, it wasn’t very masculine… but perhaps that was just the sand in his nose. He kept on his steady pace, heavy breaths pushed out of his lungs as his heart pumped vital blood to his not yet sore muscles. He could keep going like this for days, but the sand seemed to sap his energy from him as efficiently as the heat. It was tiresome to lift your hoof out of the sand every time you stepped in it, but Adonis supposed it only made him stronger in the end. He was approaching the last sand dune that lay in the way of his view of the oasis. Just as he was about to cross over the lip the sight he saw stopped the steed in his tracks. It wasn’t a stallion at all—it was a mare. Adonis snorted in surprise. Why would a mare be all the way out here, especially all alone? He took a cautious step forward, ears pinned back in suspicion. This could be a distraction sent from a rival stallion. While he claimed the mare for himself, the other stallion could sneak in and attack him from behind. He had every right to be as cautious as he could. The scent of the mare drew him in, however, and he took another more confident step forwards, using his forward momentum and the downward slope of the sand dune to slide down it gracefully and—more importantly—silently. Adonis decided to approach the femme from behind, the direction he’d came in anyways. This vantage point allowed him to study her without her studying or knowing of Adonis as the sand muffled his hooves exceptionally. Her pelt was odd; he’d never seen one such as hers in his life. Sandy golden—he chuckled inwardly, that was ironic considering that she’d come to the desert—but with stripes marking her in the most interesting and seemingly random fashion. His ears pricked upwards slightly in intrigue. This was the second strange-coated mare he’d come across in these lands so far. Maybe this place was full of them. Maybe this was where the outcasts went to live. The steed sighed. Why had he come here then? Adonis was normal, definitely not an outcast. But he couldn’t help the nasty self-doubting thoughts about his own father kicking him out from creeping up on him. Maybe he was an outcast. Adonis was fast approaching the distant form of the mare and soon enough, he was just a few paces behind her. He debated for a while—should he say something? Should he wait for her to turn around? Adonis had never been the most patient stallion, so he decided on the former instead of the latter. He walked forwards a few more paces, careful to keep his footsteps as silent as he could. "Might I ask what you're doing here in my lands?" Adonis winced. That was harsh, way too harsh. He’d still been on edge from expecting a stallion here to overthrow him. An apology was required at this point, lest he offend the mare and chase her off. He didn’t have any mares in his herd yet and he was loath to scare one off that so willingly walked into his lands and that perhaps needed a home. He wasn’t exactly sure of what he was supposed to do as a lead stallion yet besides defend his lands, but he was pretty sure that mares were required as well. "Sorry, that came out wrong. My name's Adonis, pleased to meet you." He cocked a back hoof in an attempt to look relaxed and vulnerable and swiveled his ears so that while the full attention of his baby blue eyes were on the mare, one of his ears was constantly searching and listening for any type of ambush, any shift of the grains of sand that might indicate that this mare was a distraction to ambush him easier with. Adonis wasn’t about to be tricked that easily.

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[Kate]

These sands felt hostile to her. These lands felt hostile to her. It was beginning to feel more and more so as seconds ticked by. The sun beat down ferociously on her mostly golden coat. It pushed the heat in as much as it could and as deeply as possible. Sapping her strength a little more and lining her unique coat with a layer of sweat. The Oasis did not provide as much shelter as she would have liked for it to do, but really it just meant that she would have to adapt. She would have to get used to such heat if she was going to stay here. This fact was inescapable. Like one day she would die. It was not a fact that Inanna particularly liked but it was a fact all the same. Inevitable, inescapable. Much like the thought that she would have to live her life alone. No-one seemed to want to spend that much time with her it seemed and even if they did she was just too nervous about them disliking her to ever give such friendship a go.
Paranoia was even more deeply rooted within this mare’s mind than the heat had yet penetrated. No-one had ever said anything negative about her colouring; it seemed to be taboo to even bring it up. Yet she could feel their eyes watching it, trying to work out just why she looked the way that she looked. Even if they did ask, she could not tell them. What was there to tell? She had been born different from her siblings, standing apart from them in pretty much every way. She’d never have called herself beautiful or attractive, different and awkward were much more accurate words. Her mother had called her as such, but she was her mother and obligated to be one to love her filly. Even if no-one else did.
Inanna was not afraid of living her life alone. She may have been nervous around other horses and their judgemental eyes but that did not for one moment mean that she feared anything else. She was not afraid of that inevitable death, she was not afraid of this troublesome heat and she was not afraid of being the only one in this desert. Hopefully she was. Then she could have some peace from others and their eyes, watching her and wondering. Judging no doubt as if it were her fault that she possessed stripes where others did not. Maybe it was jealousy that they did not stand out quite so much, though if it were possible she would give her own stripes to them.
Deep within her thoughts, she did not even think to look for others around her. So when she finally heard a voice, she practically jumped out of her skin. She whirled around to look at the stallion, for the smallest of moments the whites of her eyes showed and she backed up a little. Her front feet pawing and prancing a little, a gentle tremor moving up her golden back. Nervous around horses at the best of times, harsh words and sudden appearances were never going to help her. She was quickly filled with fear, her ears flickering back.
She did not like to be snuck upon. She never had. She remembered some of the other games of the colts and fillies when she was still young. She remembered being snuck up upon then. Perhaps with no bad intentions, never expecting to have to talk with those other children, but it had scared her all the same. She had grown older and a little wiser, and much braver, but she still was not good with being surprised. She had gotten past the stage of rearing, squealing and running back to mother but she still was a little bit of an over-reactor.
”I- I was just passing through. I needed a drink that was all. Just a drink. I didn’t mean to trespass. I didn’t think that there was anyone else here. It’s a desert after all.
Her voice was barely above a whisper, a little harsh at the beginning while she got used to speaking once again. She’d managed to go some time without speaking. There had been no-one around to speak to. And that was a wonderful blessing. A time of peacefulness and happiness. She had always been happier on her own. She probably always would. There was little enjoyment to be found with them.
”Inanna.”
Her voice added shyly, wondering what exactly he was looking out for. She dared to peek around for a second, maybe she had missed something that he had not.
ooc;; AMG. Sorry for the delay. D: