+N o t h i n g+ Else {Matters}

[Swifthoof]

Coldheart's words rang in his ears as his gaze remained on Alasdi who seemed to be enjoying that he was prolonging the inevitable fight. I'll enjoy tearing his head off when he shuts up.. he thought, glaring at the said bay.

My, you Cimarron horses are a violent bunch

[/color]

The tiniest of smirks crawled along Graystorm's muzzle as he heard Alasdi, a tiny chuckle rumbling in his chest.

Oh, you have no idea.. he answered, his tone low and full of menace as he lowered his head and took a step toward Alasdi, ears pinned and teeth bared as he let out an angry snort. Even if he did want to tear into the bay, he knew that he couldn't leave Coldheart's side. It would be too dangerous. Not that she couldn't take care of herself, he knew she could. He learned that the hard way when he first tresspassed on Darksun lands so many seasons ago.

I know that you were one of the most loyal horses in our herd--this Cimarron horse must be very persuasive to make you switch allegiences so easily[/color]

The dapple gray dug his hooves into the ground, planting himself firmly to the earth so he couldn't launch himself at the bay and oh, how he wanted to. As Alasdi casted another look at him, Graystorm merely met his eyes, glaring but said nothing even as the flames of battle burned within his blue eyes. He would wait until Alasdi attacked and then he would show the bay just how violent the Cimarron could be. [/blockquote][/size]

[[R].ebel]

'I know that you were one of the most loyal horses in our herd--this Cimarron horse must be very persuasive to make you switch allegiences so easily'

Coldheart gritted her teeth, fighting back every urge to jump at that stallion. She wasn't moving and she wasn't going to say another word to prolong this. Either he fought now, or they would just be standing here for a long while. The small bay disregarded every word that stallion said, knowing the truth to it all.

[[esperanza]]

As the gapple gray stepped foreward with bared teeth, Alasdi let out a quiet chuckle. He tilted his head foreward, looked the other stallion in the eye, and whispered, "You wouldn't dare attack a lead stallion."

With an angry snort and a toss of his mane, he stepped back and swung his head around to glare at Coldheart. She had said nothing. Only the increasingly angry glint in her eyes showed that she had heard a word Alasdi had said.

"Well," he said, his calm menacing tone changed to an impatient snappy one, "what will you do now? Renounce your love for this stallion" --spitting out the word 'love' as if it burned his tongue-- "or be banished from my herd?"

[Swifthoof]

He could tell that Coldheart was getting tired of all this talking and standing around. Heck, he was too. It was all pointless anyway. What was going through the bay's head, he'd never know.

Ear's pricked to the stallion's chuckle and a small smile couldn't help but make it's way across the Graystorm's face as Alasdi tilted his head and met his eyes.

You wouldn't dare attack a lead stallion

At this, the dapple gray's smile slowly widened into a smirk as a challenge gleamed in his ice blue orbs. You want to bet? he answered, as his front hoof scraped the ground, keeping his eyes on the lead stallion.

Seeing Alasdi step back, Graystorm watched as the bay tossed his mane and turned his gaze to Coldheart who hadn't said anything.

Well, what will you do now? Renounce your love for this stallion or be banished from my herd?

[/color]

Hearing how Alasdi had said the word love like it was a bad taste in his mouth only made Graystorm all the more angrier. As far as he knew, Alasdi probably hadn't even felt anything close to what he felt for Coldheart. It made the stallion almost pity Alasdi. Almost. Turning an ear toward his love beside him, he continued to watch Alasdi, ready in case he decided to leap forward and attack. [/blockquote][/size]

[[R].ebel]

'Well, what will you do now? Renounce your love for this stallion or be banished from my herd?'

Torn. Torn between her two loves; a devoted and loyal mare of the Darksun, and her love for a Cimarron stallion. She loved them both; loved her homeland and loved that stallion, and to be asked which one to give up was like asking which life to kill. Coldheart could not help her devoted pride and heart for her homeland; many mustangs also experienced this with thier homeland, but she was having to chose. Graystorm or the Darksun herd. Her loved one, versus her homelands. Living without either seemed nearly impossible for Coldheart, not to mention, if she was banished from Darksun, what other herd would take her in? A betrayer and a hot head mare with a fighting spirit.

There was no answer, that was her answer. She could not give up either willingly. One might would say that Coldheart must not have really loved Graystorm if she was not willing to leave the Darksun, but that was surely not the case. Her heart was bound to her home, and if one could not accept that, they could not accept her. Coldheart couldn't stand it anymore. Hatred filled eyes boaring through the lead stallion, the smaller bay could no longer hold herself back. Without answering his question, Coldheart whinnied fiercly and lunged for the stallion, head low and ears pinned flat as teeth aimed to hit him where ever she could, although she hoped they would hit somewhere around his neck so Coldheart could rip the life right out of him. But the small bay mare was knowlegdable that the leader could easily have been prepared for an attack, so she knew her attack had to be careful.

[[esperanza]]

"You want to bet?"

Alasdi said nothing but smirked, a dare in his eyes. Think you're so tough? Does keeping the peace mean nothing to you? I will tear your relationship apart, just like I will to your pathetic herd. If only Graystorm would stop his threats and witty comebacks--psychotic as it sounds, Alasdi would have just loved to have the Cimarron horse make the first move.

Because that would be a valid excuse for war.

Out of the corner of his eyes he saw Coldheart prepare to lunge. Finally! He had been beginning to wonder if his words had had any affect on the mare. Her will was as solid as stone. A brief moment of regret flashed through his mind; she was the perfect Darksun horse. Too bad she had commited treachery.

He leaped to the side, letting her teeth rip into his shoulder. It was all he could do to keep from chuckling out loud. A war wound, and not vital! This was perfect; reason enough to turn all his herd against the Cimarron. Hoping some loyal horses were within ear shot, he threw his head back and let out a loud bugle before pawing the ground and turning to face the two other horses with a dangerous look in his eyes.

[Swifthoof]

The silence that followed Alasdi's question felt like years as he kept his eyes on the bay and his ears tuned to Coldheart beside him. Out of the corner of his eye, he could tell that Coldheart felt torn. Torn for her homeland and for him. But he knew that whatever she decided, he would always love her, herd differenced or not. It never did matter to him.

A fierce whinny from Coldheart made him whip his head around toward her and a split second later, she lunged at Alasdi. Snorting, he took a few steps back, head lowered as he watched her manage to rip into the bay's shoulder. Every cell in his body told him to help her and tear into the leader, but he stayed put. He knew that if he even placed a single scratch on Alasdi that war with the two herds would surely be the outcome and he couldn't let that happen.

Auds pricked to the loud bugle that came from the bay and he met the other's dangerous gaze with his own, raising his head in defiance as his teeth bared in a daring snarl, ears alert for any other Darksun members that would appear. From the looks of things, it looked like him and Coldheart would have to fight their way out. Although if it came to that, would she come back with him to the Cimarron?. The question lingered in his mind, but he pushed it away. He would deal with that when it came and refocused his attention to the bay in front of him, watching and waiting.

[/size]

[[R].ebel]

Blood... Alasdi's blood in her mouth. Such satisfaction, and yet a part of regret, too. Sliding to a stop off his side, keeping a close distance on him, Coldheart looked over her shoulder at him with an icy gaze, head held high and proud, no fear in her eyes. What was done was done, and now there was no turning back. Even as Alasdi called for others, Coldheart did not break her gaze or her posture, showing she was ready and willing for whatever he was planning.

The thunder of hooves rang through the forest as two black mustangs heeded the call of thier leader. One mustang was considerably lighter than the other, almost a grey in color, while the other was as pitch black as the night. The two brothers skidded to nearly a halt as the advanced to the edge of the lake, a few hundred feet from their leader and two others. Wheeling on their back hooves, the two horses seemed to move in unison as they churned up the dirt beneath thier hooves, galloping for thier leader. Both where stallions, one having just made his first step into the world of the stallions.

Thor & Thunder came up on the encounter with searching and ready eyes, the larger of the two, and the older, standing beside Alasdi, ears pinned and glaring at the cimarron stallion. He had no clue that Coldheart was a part of this. Thunder stood beside his brother with a rather unsure expression, looking at each horse as if wanting a direction to go to. Thor gave a slight nod in acknowledgment to his leader, certainly not wanting to be rude, one eye never leaving the gray stallion.

"You called, my leader. "

Coldheart did not phase at all in her posture, her unbreakable gaze focused on Alasdi. Now, all that happened at this very moment would shape her destiny and send her to where she was most needed, and either way she looked at it, Coldheart's heart would be broken.

[[esperanza]]

Alasdi's smirk widened as Thor and Thunder galloped into view. They were exactly the stallions he wanted to see.

"You called, my leader. "

The bay stallion nodded in acknowledgment, his black forelock falling into narrowed eyes. "Yes," he said, swinging around to glare at Coldheart. "I want that traitor off of this territory." He was trembling with rage now, not even trying to mask it. "Make sure the Cimarron horse doesn't run off," he added as an afterthought. And with that, he bolted at Coldheart. Instead of biting into her flesh, however, he wheeled around at the last moment and kicked his hindlegs up, hoping to land a hoof or two in her chest.

[Swifthoof]

Auds pricked to the sound of hoofs beating the earth, and the silver stallion flicked his eyes around for the source. At least now, he could let his anger at Alasdi out on the oncoming horse. Tossing his head, he soon spotted not one, but two horses coming their way, both pitch black although one seemed to be a bit lighter. A small snort escaped his nostrils as his muscles tensed, his teeth starting to bare as he turned and faced the two stallions, blue eyes narrowed. He would take them both on if he had to as long as he could taste some blood, it would be worth it.

Only they didn't stop until they stood beside the bay leader, one never taking his eyes off of him. Graystorm merely watched, his ears coming forward slightly to listen to what they had to say. His eyes then flicked to the smaller horse, who seemed unsure as though waiting for an order. Easy picking.. he thought as his hoof scraped the ground underneath him.

You called, my leader?

[/color]

Orbs flicked to the one who had spoken who was a bit larger than the other and obviously older. He guessed that the two were brothers, but if it ever came to a fight, and most likely it would, he would probably have to watch out for the larger stallion. Of course, Graystorm was almost as big as Thor and could take him on easily although his main attention was focused on the younger one who didn't need to require much of the dapple gray's energy as much as the bigger one did.

Yes, I want this traitor off of this territorry. Make sure the Cimarron horse doesn't run off.[/color]

A split second later, Alasdi lunged at Coldheart and it was then that Graystorm snapped. It was at that second that he didn't care about the war that was going to ensue if he attacked. With an ambitous horse such as Alasdi, war was bound to happen anyway. Rearing, he let out a scream of rage and bloodlust before he charged toward the bay, teeth aiming for shoulder as he was busy attacking with his back hooves toward the mare he loved. [/blockquote][/size]

[[R].ebel]

'Yes, I want that traitor off of this territory. Make sure the Cimarron horse doesn't run off'

Thor nearly didn't hear all of Alasdi's requests due to the sheer disbelief of the first one. Alasdi was speaking of Coldheart, such a loyal and devoted member of the Darksun; it took Thor but complete surprise and he was very tempted not to do such a task, as if it was all a test, but sure enough, Alasdi made an attack for Coldheart and Thor knew this was true. Coldheart was to be run off and he was to do the deed. With a snort, Thor prepared to charge the mare when the gray stallion took action. Quickly, as any devoted member to its leader would do, Thor charged between Alasdi and the Cimarron stallion, blocking the stallion's attack, while also aiming his own teeth for an attack on this intruder.

Thunder watched from one fight to the other, his eyes studying with an unsettling intensity. Unsettling for a Darksun, that is. He was studying both sides, trying to see the point of view of the others, and seeing a hazy future ahead of all of them. Thunder was snapped from his study when his brother's fierce neigh drew him into battle, the black stallion charged into battle, aiding his brother. Thunder charged for Graystorm, teeth aimed for the stallion's shoulder.

Coldheart's ears pinned flat to her head as Alasdi charged her, but she stood still, teeth bared threateningly, a clear warning for him to back off. Of course she knew he wouldn't listen and battle would no doubt break. As hooves came for her, Coldheart didn't dare try to dodge it, as if she had gone either left or right, the stallion's hooves would have surely hit her shoulder, dislodging it from socket or breaking bones. All she could do was take a step back, preventing the force of the blow from being so much. Still, both hooves landed into her chest, knocking the breath clear out of her. Gritting her teeth, Coldheart dug her hooves into the dirt, clearing the pain from her mind. Now, it was payback time. With a snort, Coldheart charged her leader, rearing as she neared his side and aiming her hooves for his back, murder in her eyes.

[[esperanza]]

Oh what satisfaction--to feel his hooves collide with her chest. He leaped foreward, brought his head up. Thor and Thunder were fighting with the gray stallion, and Alasdi cursed his rashness. Now they were all going to get bloodied, and he still didn't have a clear idea on how to work all this out in his favor. Well, he told himself, battles never go as planned. But he couldn't--

He looked back just in time to see Coldheart's hooves about to collide with his back. No time to think now! The bay stallion bolted foreward, but he wasn't fast enough; her hooves hit right above his tail and he stumbled foreward, gritting his teeth against the pain.

He couldn't let himself make any more rash decisions. Think, think this through. What's most important right now? Get Coldheart off the territory, let her be heartbroken. What to do with the stallion? Kill him? No, not yet--let him run back to Spirit, but not yet. If the gray stallion attacks? Let him attack, but don't let him win.

All this flashed through his head in mere seconds. Alasdi half-reared and wheeled around, his back hooves splashing in the shallow water at the edge of the lake. With an angry squeal he lunged foreward, trying to nip at her flank.

Horses don't do well without a herd, he knew, and it was worse to be driven away from one's homeland. It would crush her. Yes, Alasdi knew that what he was doing to her--driving her away--would hurt more than any physical wounds he could inflict on her. Still, he was the kind of horse that didn't mind adding insult to injury.

[Swifthoof]

A snort of frustration left his nostrils as Thor had blocked his attack making him skid to a quick stop, throwing up dust in his wake. He made to leap back in case the stallion decided to attack, but was a split second too late as he felt teeth tear into the side of his neck, just below his mane.

Squealing in anger, he reared and threw his front hooves down to aim for Thor's head but a searing pain in his shoulder made him drop back down. Flicking his eyes toward the source, he saw the younger one there, his teeth making an even bigger tear in already wounded shoulder that Coldheart had bit into earlier.

Grunting in pain, he leaped back as he thought of what to do. Already it didn't really seem good for the stallion with him being outnumbered. And even if he did try and take them out one by one, the other would surely help and give him more wounds. Narrowing his eyes, he lowered his head before he pawed the ground and charged at Thor, his incisors aiming for the black stallion's neck. Just when it seemed that he was about to make contact with the other, he soon skidded to a stop hoping that the dust that went up would cloud Thor's vision even for a moment. That was all that he needed as he soon whirled around and lunged for Thunder, teeth aiming for the younger horses neck.

[/size]

[[R].ebel]

The small bay mare had hit her target, though not where she wanted. Coldheart tailed him, charging after him with pure hatred to kill him. Anyone who knew Coldheart, knew she fought to the death; whether by who she fought, or her own life. The bay felt the brush of teeth on her flank, turning on her front legs to keep out of reach of his attack. Ears pinned, Coldheart allowed herself to look at Graystorm, who was having to fight 2 stallions. No, this simply would not do. Alasdi had split the two up, preventing them from fighting together. Now, defeat was for sure if they stayed, not to mention any Darksun members that could show up to help the fight. Ignoring the pride within her that screamed for her to fight, Coldheart bolted past Alasdi for the gray stallion, but as she went past, the small bay threw her hindquarters up in the air and thrust both hooves for her leader, aiming to slam him right in the head, although hitting him anywhere would be satisfying enough.

Thor's ears pinned as the stallion charged for him, Thunder following up to his name as his thundering hooves followed the gray stallion. As the stallion neared, Thor reared, aiming to knock the stallion off his feet, but his hooves hit nothing but earth as the stallion slid to a stop, throwing up a cloud of dust. Thor's ears pricked as he heard his younger brother whinny, followed by a thud. The sound of running hooves alerted him and as the dust cleared he saw Coldheart run past Graystorm, tossing her head for him to follow. Thunder lay on the ground, unharmed. The gray stallion's attack had just been missed as Coldheart came through the scene, forcing the black stallion to rear up in surprise, losing his balance and falling. Quickly, the younger brother stood to his feet, looking to Thor, who was looking to Alasdi for directions to follow or not.

Ignoring the pain of her heart breaking in her chest, Coldheart ran for the only area she could keep both of them safe; the Cimarron. She didn't know what Alasdi had planned, but she knew whatever it was it wasn't good and she wasn't going to risk Graystorm's life by fighting for her right to stay. The more she thought about it however, the more she realized even if she did win, the herd would drive her out, as they would only see it as mindless murder. Either way, Coldheart would lose her home. She doubted she would be safe in the Cimarron due to her past and who she was, but she knew Graystorm would be... for now. Until Alasdi would return. Alasdi knew her secret; knew their secret and it would be something to be cautious about. Unable to look back, Coldheart ran, a blank expression in her eyes, hiding the unrelentening hurt she felt.

[[esperanza]]

Alasdi stepped back just in the nick of time, as Coldheart's hind hooves flashed mere inches away from his face. If it startled him at all, he didn't show it.

He watched her run off with a smirk on his face, waiting for the dust to settle. Good. Now he just had the gray stallion to deal with, and he was outnumbered. He walked in between Graystorm and Coldheart's retreating figure, moving with an awkward limp because of the blow the bay mare had dealt him. He hadn't missed the way she had gestured for Graystorm to follow, and he was certain the other stallion hadn't missed it either, but still...

"So much for true love," he mocked.

She was running for Cimarron territory, he had noted, and sooner or later, he knew Graystorm would follow, even if they drove him off in the opposite direction. But if there was any way he could prolong that, he would. Not for too long, though. The sooner he ran back to Spirit, the better.