A snort left Rio's nostrils as she watched a couple of foals, one dapple grey and one flaxen liver chestnut, wrestle playfully amongst the lavender. She could remember when she was that young and playful although it was her father and mother that ended up being her playmates. She was older now, a fully grown adult, and foal-like play was far behind her. Instead there was a natural curiousity to explore the world around her. Of course she'd inherited that from her father and although she was happy with her herd and homeland, her life, a part of her longed to explore further then her homeland. Her heart belonged with her family however and Rio doubted she'd be brave enough to leave her family and those she loved to go further then the horizon.

A flick of her ears backwards picked up her father's whinny, a tilt of her head and then she turned her head to look over her shoulder at the proud buckskin dun stallion standing on the crest of a hill with a flaxen chestnut tobiano mare beside him. Rio whinnied back softly, warmth in her eyes as she looked upon her parents fondly. Unlike colts, who at two years old were kicked out of the herd to start their own herds, fillies were given the choice to remain in the herd they were born in or venture out to find a new herd. It hadn't been a choice for her - Rio's love and loyalty were with her parents, her grandmother, and her herd. Where they went she would follow. A series of sounds from her lips let her parents know she was just going down to the river not far from them before she turned her head to face forward again. She picked up a slow paced trot through the grass and lavender, her senses continously taking in the scenery around her.

Stories of her father's adventures and her mother's background made Rio cautious and wary, alert for the slightest hint that danger may be on its way. Whilst she wanted her own adventure the very thought of being captured, trapped, and having brute force used on you to make you obey was horrifying. She knew her father had been lucky. His strength, his power, his speed, his fiery spirit and intelligence had got him out of more scrapes then most herds would encounter let alone one horse. Whilst Rio knew she retained traits from both her parents she doubted she'd have the necessary traits to be able to go through what her father had and remain wild, free, and mentally intact as he had.

The sound of hoofbeats caused the palomino tobiano mare to halt abruptly. Rio lifted her head, nostrils flaring as she took in the scents around her. She could smell horses, more then one, and none were familiar. She could hear their hooves pounding the earth and the sound of something else. It sounded like what her father had described as two-legged chatter. It didn't sound like they were heading towards her herd but they were definitely heading in her direction whether they had seen her or not.

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Note
The real character sheets can be found on my wanted page, not here.

Credit to Wildmustangedits for lineart.