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 Posted: Sat Aug 18, 2007 4:28 pm
The mustang stallion's golden coat gleamed in the sun as he pranced past the corrals of the Sultan's mares and the other stallions, head high as he reminded them, once again, that it was his day to be out. His only, and none other. He tossed his head once at the whinnies of annoyance and veered off to the left, away from the corrals, and made his way out toward the oasis.
Every day, the Sultan would let one of the stallions out for half the day, and it all went in turns so that every once in a while, Zayn would be the one who got his freedom. As he trotted, he wondered why it was that the Sultan didn't simply let all the horses out, as most of the other owners did. But he couldn't complain, he lived a life of luxury, even though he was a mustang. It was a good thing that the Sultan could see the beauty in Mustangs as well as Arabians, for if not, Zayn's life would surely have been much different.
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Posted: Sat Aug 18, 2007 4:41 pm
The common Mustangs and Arabians, unlike those of the Sultan, were all let out into the yard at the same time; the breeds were kept seperated from one another though. The owners took this time to clean the empty stalls and provide fresh bedding while the horses conversed and mingled with friends and family. Although not as luxurious as the Sultans' yard, they were happy.
Kyung-soon, called Kyu by her close friends, was drinking from the waters of the oasis when neighs and whickers of her fellow mares rang out from a nearby fenced area. Glancing up at the noise, she noticed that all of them were staring a stallion that was making his way towards the oasis. Snorting in annoyance, she lowered her head and returned to her task at hand; water was more important that males at times.
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Posted: Sat Aug 18, 2007 4:49 pm
So he wouldn't have the oasis to himself today... That was alright with him, so long as it wasn't a horse he had met before and decided he didn't like. Zayn was like that, working mainly on snap judgements. He never bothered to take the time to reevaluate. What was the point? His judgement was fair enough, at any rate.
It was obvious that it was a mare at the oasis. Pah, mares. Zayn snorted and shook his head. He had gotten used to hearing them chatter all through the night, but it didn't mean he liked the chatter. At least, the Sultan's mares tended to talk on and on about the randomest things, and Zayn, corraled next door, did not enjoy hearing them squealing at the mention of dung beetles or the like.
He reached the oasis and skirted around the mare to find his own spot for drinking, shooting her a sideways glance. Who was she? He didn't recall ever meeting her before.
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Posted: Sat Aug 18, 2007 5:02 pm
Kyu barely flicked an ear at the males' approach; she didn't really care for the males that several of the humans handled, some were too wild for her tastes.
Lifting her head slightly, Kyu noticed the stallion skirt around her, like the commom mustang had a disease or something. Her ears pressed against her head at the attitude this being had...it irritated the blood bay to no end!
Despite this...she noticed how regally he moved towards the oasis, as though he was...maybe, was this stallion one of the Sultans' horses?
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Posted: Sat Aug 18, 2007 10:24 pm
In all honesty, Zayn was perhaps the most arrogant of the Sultan's horses. It seemed being owned by the ruler of Azale struck something in him that brough out his inner ego. Which, simply put, was rather overinflated. He nosed at the water, taking a draught before lifting his head to watch the mustang mare. She was definitely not one of the Sultan's horses.
He tossed his head, his ears pricked. She didn't seem to be enjoying his presence. Nonetheless, there was something about the way she looked angry that made him want to say high. Laughing inwardly, he called out, "Hello, there." He paused, wondering what to say. "You don't seem to be new around here. Looks like you're well used to the sand as well." He said finally with a chuckle. It was hard to get used to ploughing through all the sand, and he was sure he had put on much muscle since he had first arrived from walking through it all the time.
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Posted: Sun Aug 19, 2007 8:53 am
She gave a delicate chuckle at his greeting, amusement sparkling in her black-brown eyes. She too gave a gentle toss of her head before greeting this strange mustang. "Greetings to you as well." She gave him a pondering glance from across the oasis pond. "I am use to it...it's no hard to fight against the sands' grip when one has lived in it since the day they were born." Her ears then perked at the sight of the sweat that glittered on his golden hide, the way he looked so tired from that simple walk from where ever he had come. "I wonder though, what about you? Have you learned to resist the sands' grip?"
Kyu was a strong mare, built to withstand the heat and sand. Her stamina was high and so walking through the desert was no big deal for her. This stallion, on the otherhand, looked like the pampered type. He looked as though he had never been outside before.
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Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2007 5:29 am
Born in the desert? She didn't seem the type. He shook his head with a smile. "It's not so much resistance as... say, learning to go with it." He said with a shrug, pawing at the sand. It had changed the way he walked, sure, perhaps for the better for he had learned that it didn't help if he slogged through the sand without lifting his hooves. At one point, he had stepped so high with his hooves that the Sultan had insisted on using him and him only for special occasions. He had gotten over that, though, and the Sultan had understood that he had simply been going through a phase and let him off, reverting back to one of the finely bred Arabians that lurked near the tent.
"I wouldn't have labeled you to be the desert type, though." He said after a moment. She didn't look like a desert-bred mare. Granted, she was well-built and looked as if she had been made to walk on tough surfaces, but desert didn't immediately come to mind when he looked at her.
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Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2007 6:02 am
"It does take some learning to walk through the sand. Then again, most of us learn it when we are but tiny foals; both Arabian and Mustang both." She cast a side glance at the little ones scampering around as their parents kept a close eye on them. Many of them were about a few months old, and had stronger legs which made it easier to walk.
Snorting slightly, Kyu returned her attention back to the gold bay. She gave her ears a flick of surprise at his words. "Me? Not desert bred? Why would you say something like that?" The mare cocked her head slightly, waiting for his next words.
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Posted: Thu Aug 23, 2007 5:48 am
Zayn snorted. "Well, it's not as if all of the people in Azale like mustangs." He said, looking at her strangely. "The majority of the people don't think we're as good as their fancy Arabians. There aren't a lot of desert-bred mustangs around here." Of the Sultan's four current stallions that were up for stud (and thus the ones he spent the most time with) only Baha had been desert bred, from the finest lineage the Sultan could find. Solomon, Basir and himself had all been imports although Solomon had spent his foalhood in Azale as well. Of the four, Basir was the youngest and had spent the least time on the sands on Arabia, and there were times when Zayn still heard the young stallion complaining about all the sand.
Of course it hadn't gotten to the point where it was obvious to tell which mustangs had been bred in the desert. Natural selection simply hadn't quite kicked in yet, and those who had been born on the sands didn't yet have any distinctive differences about them. Yet. Give it a few more generations, and Zayn was sure there would be a difference.
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Posted: Thu Aug 23, 2007 6:05 am
Kyung-soon gave a soft laugh at his words; it seemed even the most sheltered horses knew the truth. "Ay, that would be true. However, there are some humans who accept us just as much as they accept the Arabians." At least, that's how it had been with her...A trade from a far-off land, Kyu had been a gift to her current human at Christmas time. While her human had accepted the blood bay with open arms, her Arabians had to take a bit more time to use to this strange breed they had never seen before. Now, after a few months of living with them, she had become good friends with a chesnut arabian called Syria.
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