Samanayrs

Trance of the Sacred Reverie had discovered that occasionally, baby Samanayrs just wandered off on their own. Sometimes they got lost, or were separated from their songs by nature or larger creatures. It had been a pleasure to gently direct them back home; all of the songs she had encountered loved their foals, even if they were sometimes awkward or…strange.

It was a little unsettling, then, that she couldn’t figure out where this one belonged. He wasn’t like Fluff, the filly who had been entrusted to the graceful sa’grisayr by her flighty mother. Surely he had a family out there looking for him! Try as she might, however, Trance had been unable to track down the wary little sa’krien’s home.

After several days of frustration, dragging the poor, tired colt up one set of rocks and down another, Trance finally decided there was no helping it. If his family showed up, well, then at least he would be safe in someone’s care. Fluff was happy the ‘ordeal’ was over, as well, but truthfully…the filly just wanted to get ‘home’ and back to her regular nap schedule.

That was how the trio came to be residing on the edge of one of the small forest hotsprings, not far from the stream. The hotspring was the territory of Trance’s birth-song, Morning Flower, all of whom were content to let her flutter about ‘on her own’ within the safety of the song until she found a mate of her own. Their little pocket was a nice place. It had lots of cover from bigger creatures, but a good rock outcropping for flight practice…right over the waters of the spring, of course. There’d be no foals falling to their deaths on her watch.

There was a nest hidden in the brush, large enough for Trance and a few little ones to sleep warmly together. The first night they were home, the newcomer collapsed with exhaustion into the woven twigs and branches, and she had the opportunity to study him curiously. Little crimson antlers to go with his imposing eyes. Sharp, blood-red hooves. Such bright colors, sure to scare off a casual predator with a little work…and best of all, wings! Two pairs! It was easy to teach someone to fly when you loved it so much, yourself.

Uttering a happy little purr, the mare cuddled both foals against her soft warmth, letting them rest safely. They could start lessons and introductions when the poor little thing had slept himself out; breakfast was first on the list.

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Of course, as her mother had warned her, nothing was ever really that easy.

The colt didn’t wake in the morning, and as noon approached he was still asleep. Trance felt like it was safe enough to venture out and find breakfast; she and Fluff were starving, and he would be whenever he woke up. She didn’t go far. It was a simple little flight across the hotsprings to her favorite berry bush. A few quick snips of her beak and several sprigs fell to the ground. That would be plenty to feed her and two small Sams.

When she returned, however, there sat Fluff in the middle of the nest…but no colt. Alarmed, the nursemaid dropped her haul into the nest, letting the berries rain down around the filly as Trance landed. “Where is he?!” She demanded, poking Fluff with her beak, rolling her over as if the colt might be sleeping beneath her. “Did he run away? Was he frightened?”

“Mmmmno.” Fluff yawned the words, blinking at her nursemaid from where she’d been rolled upside down, feet-over-head. “He’s mean. He’s in there.”

The awkward position didn’t let her point, but Trance followed the filly’s gaze across their little area and into the shadows. Huddled under some overhanging leaves, the tightly-curled from of the new colt could be seen; a few shards of light glittered off of his ruby eyes. The sight summoned a wave of relief to wash over Trance. Frightened he might be, but at least he was safe.

Old, fragmented leaves whispered as the mare walked over, standing before the shadowed area and crouching down low. “It’s alright,” she murmured kindly. With her chest pressed to the ground, she could peer in at him, and even tentatively reach in a taloned paw. “You’re quite safe now. Please come out. I have brought you some breakfast; aren’t you hungry?”

She used her gentlest voice. Her words were slow and non-threatening. Even her talons, usually flexed out to grip objects or provide some traction in landings, were at rest. Therefore she was not prepared for her new charge to lunge forward and BITE her on the soft patch just above her primary claw!

“Ouch?!” She screeched, the loud sound startling him back into the shadows as she flinched away. In shock, the sa’grisayr stared at her injured claw. He’d even drawn blood! How vicious!

“W-well…we’ll wait for him to get hungry, then,” she told Fluff, trying to pull herself back together for the filly’s sake. She straightened up, turning her back on the shadows and neatly folding her wings. “He’s probably just afraid. Let’s have some- awwwwk?!”

Trance spun around fast, but not fast enough to prevent the loss of one of her brightly-colored tail feathers. Aghast, she trembled, still feeling the sharp pain of having one so brutally YANKED from her posterior. In the shadows, the colt wrapped himself around the feather, looking smugly satisfied. A bizarre crunching noise followed as he began to chew on the quill, gnawing on the very tip as if it tasted amazing.

This wasn’t going well.

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With a sneer, the little colt watched as the mare flew off again. Breakfast time had passed into lessons, apparently, with the much taller female chattering away at that poor filly. She was so noisy. The colt didn’t like that. He preferred silence and he’d left the snarling and hissing of his parents for that very reason. Trance was a new obstacle to escape, even if she was fluffy and warm.

Well, the night hadn’t been so bad. Her feathers were fun to chew on, not just for the way they crunched with such a strange, interesting texture. The real fun had been making her squawk. Trance had looked so surprised and hurt…what had she expected, after dragging him around all of the previous day? Stupid sa’grisayr.

With her gone, he crawled out of his shadowed overhang, snatching up the berries she’d left close by. Fluff didn’t mess with him. He’d snapped at her nose before Trance’s first arrival, and the lazy filly didn’t want to bite off more than she could chew. Wise of her. The colt had things to do. He wanted to leave this convenient nest, hunt, claim mares of his own, take over the hotsprings…all of them. That wasn’t going to happen if he sat around all day and played the obedient little foal. The first step was to get out of this place and strike off on his own.

The filly ignored him as he crept out of the overhanging branches. Blood red hooves scraped on the stones, hesitating only once or twice as he judged the distance before a jump. Rocks were perilous. Only stupid Samanayrs threw themselves wildly down such a rough slope. The colt wasn’t stupid. He considered himself to be vastly smarter than anyone else he’d ever met. Being clever, however, wasn’t the kind of teacher that experience was, and he never saw the darker patch of wet stone.

Until he went flying, feet skidding out from under him, little bright body tumbling into the rapids below.

The water was shockingly cold, not icy as he might have expected, but far chillier than the afternoon sunlight. The impact with the water forced the breath out of his lungs. For a second the colt was suspended, red eyes wide and shocked, before the current snatched him up and gleefully dragged him downstream. He couldn’t swim! Why on earth would HE need to swim, with such lovely wings (that he couldn’t even use yet)? The colt was vastly more angry than frightened, and lashed out at the arrogant water, fighting with everything he had.

Well, it was sort of effective. His chest was starting to hurt, but he’d discovered that he could move himself in the water as he fought. He needed to breathe, but he couldn’t breathe under water, so he kicked and flapped his wings in the direction of the sunlight. It worked?! How STUPID, did no one realize that the water was such an easy opponent? With a crow of victory- breathless and strangled- he broke the surface and gasped for air.

The water actually hadn’t taken him very far. He had time for a quick glance before he was tossed under again. He could still see the rocks he’d been traversing, and the path they had taken the day before that led up to Trance’s nest. As his foolish enemy attempted to get the best of him again, the colt growled, leaping upon it with all of his strength. Though his intended target had been the incoming wave, the actual result was more practical, and his hooves scrabbled against the bank of the stream.

Of course, the water couldn’t get him up there. Heaving his weight out of the stream, he collapsed on the mossy stones, panting for breath. “HA!” He bellowed down at the water as it tried to reach him in vain. Foolish enemy. He had won this battle, and the water had achieved nothing- not even a tuft of fur or a nick to his wings!

There was one problem, though. The colt felt as if he hadn’t eaten in a week…or slept. He was exhausted. This was a major setback. He couldn’t go cow the other Sams into submission if he was as limp as a newborn foal. For now, it seemed his best bet was to return to the nest, sleep more, and let the silly nursemaid feed him until his strength returned.

Grunting with the effort required, the colt hefted himself up, stubbornly attacking the rocks with the same determination he’d shown the waves. Each one fell beneath his hooves. Though it took much longer than he anticipated, he finally dragged himself back to his spot in the shadows, laying there and falling instantly asleep. There were a few berries left nearby, but he would attack them ferociously…later.

He didn’t even wake when Trance returned, and couldn’t hear the exasperation in her voice when she cried, “Why are you wet?!”