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 Posted: Sun Jun 03, 2007 10:53 am
It was rare that an Outrider could leave his post. On those special occasions, when his eyes could rest and his belly filled to his hearts content, it wasn't uncommon for a couple of the ranks to congregate together in a field near their posts. On this particular break, one of the lower ranked stags hadn't planned to meet any of his old Corps buddies, and so had only strayed a little way from his rocky outcropping of a post. He grazed lightly, moving about a pleasant meadow with little on his mind. The early summer grass had yet to see the dryest days, and was still moist enough to taste like it was the previous season. A few of spring's wild flowers still dotted the green, giving the area a very calming affect and appeal to the eye. It was the perfect spot to relax on a break.
Though he wasn't at his post, his senses were still as alert as ever. A scent drifted to him on the breeze. It wasn't threatening; merely the scent of a fellow stag. It was familiar enough that it couldn't be a rogue, too. Lifting his grey head to get a better view, he scanned the tree line for the Outrider he had nosed. He couldn't put a name or face to it just yet, but he wasn't too worried about it. He usually got along with all of his fellow herd stags, and a little company on break would be nice.
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Posted: Sun Jun 03, 2007 11:05 am
This felt very good.
The young bully of the calfs, the mommy's boy, the one who abused his cousin as a young one...was now an Outrider.
He hadn't even done any of his job yet, but you wouldn't have believed it at the sight of him.
His body was was covered with muscle from all the time he sparred with his younger cousin and trained with trees...infact using the trees showed how time had worn on his antlers.
Large and immensly sharp they stood proud as the large male looked over the meadow with a slightly disgusted look.
Everything was so peaceful...barely any fighting or sparring, infact it was only when Anlach came along was there ever any fights.
In the back of his mind, he wondered if he would claim any hinds at this years Anlach...and how many
It made the male chuckle, however he was vaulted from his thoughts as he walked out from the tree's and finally spotted the other stag...great...
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Posted: Sun Jun 03, 2007 11:13 am
Yet another stag was making his way onto the field, not all that far from Ronno and passing him by. The only one of the three to have formed a harem in the last Anlach, and was currently blessed with three calves of his own. As much as he wanted to see them grow each day, his duty was to the whole of the herd. He paid them visits occassionally but mostly caught glimpses of them from afar. He was especially proud of his one son.
The starry pelted stag, Brychan, continued into the field... eventually stopping some feet from the grey outrider. "Fine day" he remarked casually to the other after a nod of greeting. It was then that he lowered his own antlered head to start grazing. These breaks were few and far between, thus he didn't want to waste -too- much time in idle chit chat when it could be spent filling his belly.
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Posted: Sun Jun 03, 2007 11:32 am
The grey Outrider was more familiar with starry stag than the brown one. The impressive racks each of the bore told him where he stood in this group, due to his own set of antlers. They weren't as sharp as the youngest stag there, and they weren't as large as Brychan's. Respectfully, Sergie lowered his head some in their presence, and went back to grazing. After a few moments, he nodded to the starry male. "Indeed it is." He had been enjoying it before the pair had showed up, and he was sure he would still enjoy it. Even if chat wasn't the first thing on any of their minds, he figured he might as well start a casual conversation rolling in between chews.
"You're new to the ranks, aren't you?" His tone was gentle and not at all demeaning. The enthusiasm that coated the brown stag's stance and expression screamed his age. Sergie could easily remember his first season at his post; it wasn't even that long ago. He had been just as excited as this young male. A smirk came to his face as he remembered one of the Captains checking in on him all the time. It hadn't made him at all nervous until one of the does of the herd payed him a visit at his post. It was a bit unnatural, and he was sure a Captain wouldn't approve. Luckily, none had come around, and the doe had made her way back to the herd after a short chat.
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Posted: Sun Jun 03, 2007 11:44 am
The youngest stag here moved forward, just into his first set of Outrider tines he was already seething with jealousy at the sight of Brychan's huge antlers.
However, as he was adressed, the look vanished and he moved forward and lowered his head to nibble and eat the grasses as quickly as he could before rudely speaking with his mouth full.
"Mmf..Yeah! Mmf...mmff...I just became an Outrider..." He said, ears perked forward before he swallowed and let his tongue loll out before he watched the other two stags.
He had to say he respected the old geezers for protecting the herd and going through all the seasons of Anlachs.
"So who are you two? I've seen you around ofcourse I just don't know your names." He said, standing there with a rather undeserved sense of pride in the presence of these more experienced males.
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Posted: Sun Jun 03, 2007 11:51 am
Over confidant young stags were not something he wasn't accustomed to. Brychan had spoken to his fair share of them... and he use to be one himself after all. Blue eyes lifted as he quietly observed the exchange of words between Sergie and the newcomer.
Eventually Brychan lifted his head with a mouthful of grass, chewing on it thoughtfully as an ear turned forward. It wasn't until after he swallowed that he actually spoke. "Brychan" said he, offering his name at the query of the younger stag. He didn't mind or care if the other knew him or not. For some he stood out, and others.. he didn't. Fame wasn't exactly something he was looking to achieve. Although he seemed to gain a decent amount after challenging the Lord last Anlach. Despite the fact that he lost.
"What's yours?" Naturally he didn't keep up too well with all the younglings and Corps. But with the increased security around the herd he was seeing more of them along the ridge. Still, it had been quiet in recent months with little presence of wolves. It had served to put his mind more at ease, and hopefully Fell Lore's as well.
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Posted: Sun Jun 03, 2007 12:02 pm
Sergie smirked a little as the youngest of the trio talked with his mouth still full of grass. Yes, he had all the markers of a young Outrider. Corps bucks aren't that confident, and the pride that oozes from a stag becomes a little less flashy as the mature. Sure, all stags had a decent amount of pride, but none could rival that of the fresh-out-of-Corps youngsters. At least, none but the infamous Outrider who took his namesake from the personality trait.
"Sergie." The grey stag took another mouthful of grass. He was a little more familiar with some of the younger Outriders, though this one wasn't one of the ones he knew. It made a little sense for him to know at least some of them, though. After all, he was only their senior by a year or so. Absently, he wondered if this buck would claim a harem in the up comming Anlach. He didn't take one his first season; he hadn't even sparred for a hind. Sure, he had jousted for fun with a few old Corps buddies, but that had been the extent of it. This time around, though, he'd go after the most natural of Outrider responsibilities and pass on his genes to the next generation.
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Posted: Sun Jun 03, 2007 12:15 pm
Ronno watched the two, the dark bags under his eyes always made him look daunting and threatening, however he made no move to make it so there would be any fighting between these three.
Despite the fact he loved to fight and show off his strength, he didn't feel in the mood and would've rather spent the day eating.
As the stag with the large antlers adressed him, he swallowed another mouthful of grass and looked at him with his dark green eye's.
He then cleared his throat slightly as he lifted his large, sharp antlers.
"My name's Ronno." He said, once again quite proudly before he lowered his head once more and started to nibble the grass.
Beofre lifting his head just slightly.
"It's...nice to meet some other Outriders." However he said this with quite a sour tone as he ate.
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Posted: Sun Jun 03, 2007 12:32 pm
Mentally filing the name away, Brychan nodded absently to Ronno's self introduction. The more names he knew, the better. This young stag would be interesting to follow, to see how he develops and so forth. He looked quite promising after all.
"Its good to see a fine young stag as yourself, joining our ranks. I'm sure you'll serve the herd well." That being a compliment from Brychan, knowing that establishing friendly ties and trust between Outriders was essential when it came to everyone working together for the protection of the herd. He didn't miss the sour note in Ronno's voice, but he didn't say anything of it. Brychan merely lowered his head and continued to graze.
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Posted: Sun Jun 03, 2007 1:01 pm
"I agree. Such fresh strength is good for the Outriders." He nodded his agreement and let his muzzle drop back to the earth for another juicy mouthful. He chose to ignore the sour note in the young male's voice. Where Ronno might see... competition of some nature, Sergie only saw promise. If this buck could shed his pride a little, he had great potential to go far. He had quite an impressive rack for such a young Outrider, that was for certain. The grey stag wondered who had sired such strength, but couldn't recognize any particular traits. It didn't matter all that much, though, so he let it pass.
Wolfing down some more grass, Sergie enjoyed the silence that had blanketed the trio for a moment. Turning his head to Brychan and swallowing, he decided to pick back up small talk. He figured they might as well, since they were sharing the meadow now and were all of the Outrider ranks. "Are your little ones doing well, Brychan?" He knew well that the other stag had been successful with his harem in the last Anlach, and had spotted his calf a few days ago from his post.
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Posted: Sun Jun 03, 2007 1:23 pm
As the young stag ate his ears flattened back at the gray males words and he paused, he'd seen some new young one's briefly, but seeing them made the brief instinct of wanting his own always popped up.
He looked at the starry and gray pelted stags briefly, his features softening slightly as he spoke.
"I didn't know other stags than the Lord had a harem, how many do you two have?" His voice much less sour than the last time he spoke, ears perked forward as he listened intently.
He didn't know who his father was...and in a way he envied the young ones, they all had fathers they knew off and where Outriders.
He barely even knew his father existed till he noticed other calves and fawns had one.
...So who was his?
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Posted: Sun Jun 03, 2007 4:00 pm
Now this subject was something that Brychan was more than happy to talk about. Lifting his head once more, the stag practicly swelled with pride as he gave a nod in reply to Sergie's question. "They're all doing quite well from what I can tell. I visit when I have a spare moment. The two fawns are every bit as beautiful as their mothers, and the calf looks like he'll grow up to be strong and healthy."
As Ronno spoke up, Brychan turned his blue gaze towards him and noticed the slightly soft, melancholy look to him. "Any stag can build and defend a harem during Anlach" he explained to the youngster. "I have three hinds." He looked to Sergie, fairly certain that the grey stag hadn't built himself a harem the last year, but he wasn't certain.
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Posted: Mon Jun 04, 2007 3:43 pm
Sergie admired the pride that oozed from Brychan as he spoke of his harem. Three hinds was quite an accomplishment, considering the grey stag had none of his own to speak for. There was a hind he was interested in for this time around ... but that wasn't something he was too keen on bringing up in the company of other Outriders. Since he had yet to lay a claim on her, he didn't want to point out that she was currently unclaimed and free for the taking. Instead, he focused on Brychan. "I'm glad to hear they're doing fine. I'm sure your calf will make a fine Outrider some day." He smiled sincerely.
Turning an amazed gaze on Ronno, it took all of Sergie's training not to gawk. He didn't want to insult the youngster, but simply couldn't understand how the brown buck didn't know of the other harems. It had been a thorn in Sergie's hide all year that he didn't have any of his own youngsters to watch from his post. "I've yet to claim a hind, unfortunately. Last Anlach fell on my first season as an Outrider, and I decided to focus all of my energy on learning the ropes instead of gathering females." It had been a difficult choice to make, but he figured it was for the best. He felt that he had been made a more knowledged Outrider from the year he had put solely into his post, and now felt like he could jugle a harem and work more easily.
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Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2007 9:58 am
The young stag looked rather amazed himself...three hinds!?
Unlike the other two, he had no training and gawked slightly before shaking himself back to reality.
He then nibbled on the sweet summer shoots of grass.
"That's very impressive." He said softly, becoming much more at peace with being around the older males.
If this was what it was like to be an adult...he liked it and the thought of females made him silently smirk to himself.
Before he listened to the gray stag and blinked slightly at the look he had on his face.
Narrowing his eyes slightly before he placed a smile on his muzzle with great difficulty.
Screw spending the season training, he already knew the basics.
Look after brats, fend of wolves, kick rogues out and impress the ladies.
How hard could that be?
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Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2007 6:47 pm
Brychan gave Ronno a little smirk, appreciative of the compliment. Yes, he knew that three hinds as indeed an accomplishment. Other stags had more, but well... three wasn't something to scoff at either. The lord himself, only had two. Who knows, perhaps Brychan will add to the number in his harem this next Anlach. He would certainly try to anyway.
"I'm sure he will" Brychan said in agreement, nodding to Sergie's comment about his calf. The starry pelted stag was eager to see what kind of buck his son would grow into. One day, he would be a new Outrider, just like Ronno here. When that time came, Brychan would give him all of his wisdom in the form of advice and teachings.
"I'm sure this will be your lucky year" Brychan offered the grey stag in encouragement. After all.. Sergie was a handsome fellow, he had no doubt that he would win the hearts of a few hinds. Ronno was also quite the look himself, even if he was a bit over confident. Not all stags managed to get a harem in their first couple years as Outriders.
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