The Search for the Missing Bestfriend. -private w brooke0518

[brooke0518]

Looking at her friend, Elara flicks her ears in gratitude, before stepping out of the lake. She had her eyes on Crusade, not turning her back to him. The biggest mistake that a horse could do, was turn their back to a predator or another of the same species. She knew that Crusade could be serious trouble, and she could just feel that trouble stirring inside of him. As they walk away, she flicks her ears, noticing that Brigadier had arrived, checking on them both. "I heard that you two were going over to the lake. Crusade didn't cause any problems, did he? You didn't let something happen, did you?" He asks, looking at Charger. He knew that Elara and Charger were best friends since they were young, but he was just a bit bigger than Charger, and he knew that Charger had a bit of a playful side. He wanted to be sure, that when push comes to shove, Charger would show that he wasn't all play.

[Abbster]

“Of course not” Charger promised. “I gave him a few warning snorts and I pawed the ground a few times” Charger said, as he looked back at Crusade. He glared at the stallion as they began to move away from the three horses. Charger began to relax a bit. “I’m telling you, that stallion knows how to get on my nerves more than any other horse” Charger said with a snort. “Especially after what he did to my sister” Charger added. Every horse in the herd knew that when Mystic was younger, Crusade had tried to take Mystic away from his parents. Of course, Chargers father didn’t let that happen. He and the lead stallion chased him away with a few good wounds to remember them by. Which by now had scared over.

[brooke0518]

Brigadier snorts a bit, before nodding, he glances over at Crusade, snorting a bit. "That guy really is full of himself. I notice that he goes to so many different herds, trying to steal mares. I don't know why he still tries. Most of the time, he fails. Only one time he was able to steal a mare. And that never lasted for longer than three days, before one of the stallions from that herd brought her back," He says. They all begin to leave the lake, heading back to the trail. "Well, I suppose it's better than trying to hurt foals. There was a stallion that my father told me about, who stole foals, and killed them. I think he said....that that stallion was named Pike. But it's good that he's gone now," Elara says.

[Abbster]

Charger listened to Brigadier as he talked, although he swished his tail behind him from time to time, looking back over at Crusade once more before he followed after his friends. "I think my mother told me about that stallion" Charger said. "Or wait, it may have been my father" He said, unsure all of a sudden. "I'll need to think about that" He joked, as they returned to the herd. Charger began to graze as his tail flicked every so often behind him. He was now alert for any signs of danger. Charger was always alert for predators, but now that Crusade had just crossed onto their land, he was even more alert now. "Let Crusade come" Charger said. "I'd like to see him try" A fire was burning in his eyes. He only ever got that fire in his eyes when some horse he really disliked threated his herd. Now, Crusade didn't really threaten his herd that time, but usually he did and Charger was sure that if he and Elara weren't standing there, he would've come right up to the herd.

[brooke0518]

Elara looks over at Charger, before flicking her tail at him. "Don't do anything stupid, Charger. I know that you're a lot bigger now, but he's still stronger and older than you. He has more life experience. Which means that he had fought a lot of stallions in his lifetime. If hurts you, it'll be detrimental. Leave him to Striker, or one of our fathers, they would know how to deal with him. Wait until Crusade is either too old to fight back or wait for a younger stallion to take his place, where you have more of a shot. Was there a mare in his herd, that caught your eye?" She asks, looking at her friend. There were times where she did tease him, to see if there was a mare that had shown to be irresistible to him.

[Abbster]

Charger tossed his mane. "Maybe one of them" He said, with a twinkle in his eyes, "But I won't try to take her from his herd like he tried to take my sister" Charger said, with a snort. "You may have seen her." He said. "She's a blue roan, although, I'm not sure what her name is" Charger said. "What do you think I should do?" He asked, as he could still see the beautiful blue roan mare with her herd near by. He watched her for a while longer and then when she caught his eye, Charger whipped his head back around to Elara, flattening his ears in pure embarrassment. "Uh..." he stuttered. "You can't tell my father I like a mare in another herd!" Charger said to Elara. "Please. If he finds out....you know what he'll do" Charger said, as he looked over at his father and then back over at Elara.

[brooke0518]

Looking back at the direction of the herd, Elara could see in the distance, the lean blue roan mare, who was currently drinking from the lake. "I think that she's new. She must've bee snagged for Crusade's herd recently. I can't say that I know who she is," She says. She understood Charger's plight. She might look like she was close to Brigadier, but the were just close friends. There was a roving stallion in the area, that had caught her eye. She had actually taken some time to get to know him, but she didn't leave the herd, since she didn't feel ready, nor was she sure that he was committed to that idea. Instead, they just would take time to talk, when she could slip away. "I don't know what you should do. It would be a huge risk to try and take her, just as much as it would be a risk to try and bring her back to the herd. Your secret is safe with us," She says, glancing at Brigadier. If he knew what was good for him, he wouldn't say anything.

[Abbster]

Charger sighed, but nodded. “I do want to find out her name” He said, as he looked back at the lean blue roan who was still drinking from the lake. Charger side. “You think I could just…sneak over there and…try and see if I can figure out her name?” Charger asked. He could see the look in his best friends eyes. Charger sighed. “Yea, I know it’s a stupid idea. But I REALLY want to figure out more about her, without actually talking to her.” Charger said. “Does that make sense?” He asked. “I want to sneak up on the herd, and try and listen in on their conversations to see if I can figure out this mares name” Charger said, with another sigh. “Elara, I know I haven’t actually met her, but when I look at her….I feel like I know everything about her” he said, with another sigh.

[brooke0518]

"Well, I suppose it depends on if it's worth taking a risk. Would you risk your place in the herd for her? I suppose that there is a chance that the two of you could start a herd of your own, but that all depends on if she returns your feelings. If she does, then you would be set. But if not, that would present a whole new set of complications, so you need to tread carefully," Elara says, once they were back with the herd. She wasn't sure what he would get out of that, but if this worked out, then she would probably never see her friend again. The only way he could pursue that mare and be safe, was to leave the herd, to start his own.

[Abbster]

Charger realized what Elara had said…was right. Was leaving the herd for some mare he didn’t know the best idea? If he chose to figure out who this mare was….and she liked him back…that would mean that he and Elara would be separated. Elara was Chargers best friend. Was he willing to sacrifice everything for a mare he didn’t even know? Charger thought about it as he grazed beside his best friend. Finally, he came up with his answer. No. “I thought about what you said” Charger said to Elara. “I thought about whether or not I was willing to leave the herd to be with a mare I’ve never met…to start a herd of my own” Charger said. “I’m not doing it” he said. “If I did it, it would mean getting separated from you. You’re my best friend, Elara” Charger said. “I don’t want our friendship to be ruined because of some mare in Crusades herd” he said. “I’m staying with you” he said.

[brooke0518]

Looking over at Charger, Elara snorts. "You shouldn't be using me as the reason to not pursue a mate, Charger. There will come a time, where we'll need to find mates of our own. We'll always be best friends, but you can't put a permanent pause on your life, because of our friendship. I have been seeing a stallion recently, who is not from our herd. Maybe within the next couple of years, I will probably go with him, to start a herd with him. He doesn't want to join our herd, so I have to respect him. There may come a time, where Striker expects horses to leave, mainly the males. He'll likely kick out a lot of colts and young stallions," She says.

[Abbster]

Charger sighed again. “I know” he said, as he looked back over at Crusades herd. “There still here” he whispered. “I think I’m going to do it” Charger said, suddenly now determined. He looked at Elara and he nuzzled her. “I’ll be back soon” he said as he trotted slowly to Crusades herd. Charger slowed when he got closer, and he found a few trees he could hide in. The blue roan mare once more caught his eye. She was alone, but Crusade was near by, his tail flicking back and forth. “Bluebell!” Crusade said. “Come on!” He said again. The blue roan, apparently named Bluebell, rose her head from where she drank her water. She looked over at Crusade. “Coming!” Bluebell said, turning and trotting away. “Bluebell” Charger whispered. “I love it” he said, eyes glowing as he turned and trotted back to Elara. “Ok. So. I figured out her name!” He said, his eyes still glowing. “Her name is Bluebell” Charger said. “She’s so pretty” Charger added. “Her mane, flows in the wind and her beautiful coat shimmers when the sun hits it” he said, sighing happily. “How do I get her to notice me?” He asked

[brooke0518]

Looking over at Charger, Elara flicks her ears. "Just be careful, alright? Crusade is not a horse to be messed with," She says. She begins to graze, keeping an eye on Charger. She could see that he seemed to be very enamored with the young mare who looked to be about their age. When Charger comes back, she raises her head, listening intently. "Bluebell? Well, she seems to be very loyal to the herd. I have no idea if she is nice or not. Don't go by looks alone. I don't really know how to get her to notice you. Maybe try catching her when she is alone. Maybe bring her something, like a wild apple, or some clover to eat. That's really all that you can do," She says. She had no idea how that would go, so Charger was taking an awfully big risk. But if he wanted to go for it, she would support him, provided that he was being safe, and did not endanger the herd.

[Abbster]

Charger nodded. “Ok. I can do that” he said. “I think the best thing for me to do is to try and talk to her when she’s alone, like you said” Charger said. “I don’t know how it’ll work without Crusade seeing me” Charger said “We both know how much he lives for his herd.” Charger said. “I guess I can only hope that Bluebell will grow to like me and decide to join us instead of staying with Crusade” Charger said. That had never happened before. A mare leaving another herd to be with a stallion? That seemed very unlikely and risky. Striker would most likely end up kicking Bluebell out of the herd if she joined it. Charger sighed bending his head to graze so he could think, but his thoughts were just filled with Bluebell. Charger flicked his tail across his back, and he sighed. “Why can’t I think of anything else but Bluebell?” Charger asked, snorting to himself.

[brooke0518]

"Like I said, Charger, just be careful. And know what you're risking. Not only would you be putting our herd at risk, but your place in the herd would likely be put at risk as well. I'm sure that Bluebell is a nice horse, but you have no idea if she would even like you. You don't even know if she already has a mate. If she does, then that stallion will not be happy, that you're attempting to pursue her. You're already lucky that she isn't Crusade's mate. And....more importantly, you can't force her to like you. Either she will, or she won't. You can't make her do anything. I don't know if you remember what happened years ago....a stallion stole Striker's daughter, Dandelion. She was pursued by a rogue stallion, and he wound up getting killed by Striker. Dandelion, of course, never was the same. She ran away from the herd, and hasn't been seen since," Elara says.