A Little Foal in a Big World

Mythius stumbled again, tripping over his own feet. He wobbled a moment and fell forward on his chest, his rump hanging in the air, looking rather silly. He sniffed loudly, holding back tears as he struggled to get on his feet again, only after a large effort did he manage to do so. The land was so uneven, it made it hard for him to walk properly, as he was very unused to hilly and.
The poor little colt was barely older than 7 months, living on the plains that stretched beyond the mountain ranges here. The place was not without dangers, and it was those same dangers that brought him here. He never knew his father, and his mother had been claimed by a lion not yet three days ago. He was alone, and utterly defenseless.
Breaking out of the grass, tall enough to tickle his nose, he found himself beside a large lake, the information greeted with much enthusiasm. He dashed to the water, stumbling again once, and dipped his head to drink greedily from the clear water. Once his thirst was slaked, it hit him again how alone he was. He lay down in a tight ball, trying hard not to cry...
"Grown foals don't cry," he tried to convince himself, but his emerald green eyes shone with unshed tears.

Fanfare had been wondering around for days. She longed for a creek. She recognized this piece of land, she was so relieved. She galloped down to the lake, her parched throat aching. She drank and drank, until her thirst was fulfilled. She heard a slight neigh nearby. She lifted up her head. Looking more alert than she ever had before. She took a few steps towards the sound. "Sniffing?" She thought to herself. She saw a little figure in the grass. It was a foal! She immediately nudged the dear little foal, seeing if it was injured in any way. "My dear, are you lost?" She asked, horrified to see him by himself. She lay down beside him, nibbling at his barely grown forelock.

Mythius started slightly, not expecting anyone else to be around these parts. The land had looked deserted for a long time, and this mare to have come out of the grassland so suddenly made him twitch back in alarm.
"N-no," he replied, voice shaking with emotion. "I... I'm... alone," he had to choke out the words, his blue roan mother coming to stand in his mind's eye, calling to him, telling him to run, even as the massive lion crept up behind her, claws out, teeth bared...
He shook his head to rid it of the image, the tears flowing out from under his tightly shut eyelids.
"My mum is gone.." he admitted quietly.

Fanfare was appalled to hear that he was alone. "Dear one, how long have you been alone?" She nudged him gently, cleaning his mane of all the grass strands and leaves that had gotten caught.

He sniffed loudly again, trying to steady himself.
"Three... maybe four days? Just long enough to cross the mountains... I used to live on the other side, with my mum and strange... strange two-legged things. They were kind, but they were... gone that day. The four-legged thing that guarded us was killed first when he tried to stop the lion, which had been picking off my herd for the past few weeks..." He paused, shaking his head again. "Mum told me to run when the lion came again... I think... I think she died... protecting me," he choked, pressing his head against FanFare's leg as the tears brimmed over and rolled down his face. "Why would she leave me like that?? It's not fair!"

Fanfare was absolutely speechless. She had never had a foal before, but had always dreamed of having one. "Most mothers are that protective, they are willing to give their lives for the ones they love." Fanfare started to examine him more closely, seeing if he had any scrapes. "You're hurt! Come with me, you'd better wash that off, it can get painful when it is infected." She guided him to the small lake, splashing the water at him, pawing at it herself. She loved to do that.

Mythius shook the water off with a shiver. It was cold, and with how tired he was, he only wanted to sleep. He didn't like sleeping when he was cold. But... at least this mare was being kind to him. That was nice. It was about then he remembered his manners... and this mare couldn't be calling him 'hey, you!' all the time.
"Thank you for your kindness," he said, his voice starting to steady again. "My name's Mythius... but my mom called me Matti."

"Heya Mythius. My name is Fanfare, nobody has a short name for me," she nickered softly. "Goodness, you're shivering like anything. Here, you'd better get into the sun. You're lucky you're here, this is the best spot to sunbathe. Fanfare smoothed out a spot for him in the sun.

Matti shook himself again, throwing off drops of water that sparkled like tiny diamonds in the sunlight.
"Mom said not to stop moving when I was cold... said it was a sure-fire way to get... get.." he cut off with another sniff. He couldn't do anything anymore without thinking of his mother, and it hurt his heart with every fleeting memory he conjured up of her.
Dejectedly, he sat on the grass, his lower lip trembling as he held back his sobs. Life had been so unfair to him so early on. Even his coat was weird, an odd metallic blue-silver with points, dorsal strip and zebra stripes down his back in the same colour, only a few shades darker. He'd always hated how he looked, wishing he was more of the gorgeous blue roan his mother and, he'd been told anyways, father had been. Despite assurances that he, too, was a handsome little fellow, the other foals shied away from him... though of course, he didn't realise that they did so because they thought him so pretty. Other than one other, all the foals of his herd that year had been fillies.

Fanfare felt awful for the poor little colt. She did her best to change the subject. "Well, you look awfully tired, if you weren't tired, I'd encourage you to move around, but you really need some rest." She cleared a spot for both of them, she lay down leaving another clear spot for him, so he could stay warm by her body heat. Before she drifted off, she had to get a compliment off of her chest. "You're coat is amazing. I have not seen anything quite like it." She looked up and down his legs, his beautiful striped, roan color. She admired this immensely.

Snuffling a bit more, Matti shifted over to lay beside Fanfare, pressing close to her heated body. He still looked miserable, but maybe in sleep, he could escape the memories that plagued him.
"If you say so," he mumbled, voice already thick with sleep. His nose lowered to touch the ground, and soon after was snoring lightly, fast asleep.

Fanfare watched him softly, not creepily, but just gently. "The poor little guy... To imagine what he has been through..." Fanfare made sure he wasn't getting over heated. Very soon after, she fell asleep afterwards, laying her head lightly on his stomach. Still had all his baby fur.

Matti's ear twitched a few times, slowly coming back to the waking world. He could've sworn he heard something, and it brought him out of his surprisingly pleasent dreaming.
He heard it again; heavy hoof falls, close. His bright green eyes shot open, but he didn't move from his position. Night had fallen, and moonlight shone over the area, leeching it of colour, but it couldn't light the huge horse standing knee-deep in the lake.
The stallion, it had to be a stallion, was bigger than any horse Matti had ever seen, and blacker than the night that shrouded them. Even so, his mane and tail were bleached totally white, which would've been easy to see, even without the moonlight making everything pale.
Matti pressed against Fan Fare's side fearfully. Would this stallion be an issue? And with FanFare asleep, it wasn't likely they'd be able to run... man, what a spot they were in now!

Fanfare felt the small muzzle pressed against her side. She slowly opened her eyes, still half asleep. She could see the foal looked worried, therefore she got hold of herself immediately. She got up, shaking all of the wet grass off, well, most of it. She looked around, wondering what could be wrong. She lowered her head so she could be eye-level with the foal. She didn't speak to loudly either. "What is it?"

Matti struggled to his feet and went to hide behind FanFare, peeking around her towards the water. The stallion still stood there, and with the sound of Matti's hooves stirring up the turf, he turned to look towards them...

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Danzer had come this way looking for a watering hole, and he had come across this one mere minutes ago. He knew he wasn't alone, but in the darkness, he hadn't been able to see them.
Tiny hooves hammered the ground briefly, sounding panicked. The stallion smiled to himself, turning to look. So huge he was, it wasn't surprising that those who saw him first were moderately disturbed. He was, after all, larger than most other horses.
Quietly, he waded towards the shore and hauled himself out, shaking himself out to send small water droplets spinning into the air, glittering brilliantly before falling to the earth.
"Sorry for giving you a fright," he murmured, his voice clear in the silent night, despite the gentility and hushed tones. "I know I can be a little.. intimidating upon first glance."

Fanfare took a few steps back, not knowing who this stallion was and where he came from. "Where are you from?" She protected the foal with all her might as she said this, she flared her nostrils, not giving him any permission to pass through just yet.

Matti continued to cower behind FanFare, though he peered around her curiously. One couldn't be in the presence of suge a huge horse and not have to stare in wonder.

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"Far beyond these lands," Danzer replied, not coming any closer, noting the mare's hostility. "The place I come from is mostly covered with snow, almost all year 'round. However, I journeyed here to find a new way of life, different from struggling to survive in the cold." He shook his head, as if clearing unwanted images from it. "I'm Danzer by the way."

Fanfare was surprised he had come so far. She was aware it was only snowing in the far north, and we lay in the shallow south. Fanfare paused for a moment, thinking what she would say next, but not forgetting her duties to protect the foal. "Fanfare." The words mostly slipped out of her mouth, as if she were ashamed to expose her name to a complete stranger. "I'm from the far east, it's been heated over there, so I've come here for the cooler weather."

Danzer continued smiling gently, shifting slightly to stand comfortably. It was then he noted the foal peeking out from behind FanFare.
"Pleasure to meet you FanFare," he said politely, then leaned sideways slightly to get a better look at Matti. "And who's that handsome little fellow behind you?"

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Matti shied back again when Danzer noticed him, keeping quiet out of fear. While FanFare seemed to be warming up to him, until he knew it to be entirely safe, he'd be good and not venture too far... not again, anyways.

"This is Matti." Fanfare said shyly. She hoped it was okay for him if she introduced him. Fanfare continued to stand her ground. "Do you have any intention staying here for long?" Fanfare began to notice how devastatingly handsome he was. Fanfare was deeply taken aback. She examined him closely by looking at him from head to hoof.

"Well," he started, shifting again, posing himself entirely by accident in the perfect angle so that the moonlight reflected softly off his coat in all the right places to show off the thick bands of muscle that rippled beneath the silk. "This is a rather nice place. Seems a good a place as any to settle down again." He peered at the little silver grullo colt again. "No need to be afraid of me, Matti," he said softly, attempting to coax him out. "I'm harmless as a blade of grass."

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Matti took a step out from behind Fanfare, still looking decidedly nervous. His tail twitched repeatedly, but he still smiled... just a tad.

Fanfare couldn't believe how devastatingly handsome this stallion was. She had never seen one so magnificently built. She lowered her head so it wouldn't be obvious that she was admiring his shape. Fanfare nudged the little foal, hoping he wasn't too frightened. "I think he is harmless, no need to be scared little one." Fanfare raised her head after she spoke to Matti in a motherly way. She was out of the spell of not being able to take her eyes off the stallion for now.