We're Not all Evil [ Grange and Io] {Private}

As Grange meandered, he caught sight of a mare he recognized vaguely as one of the Exiles. She was, he thought, what most stallions would consider pretty, although his interest in her looks went no further than how nicely her pale face complimented the colors of her coat. What he noticed, instead, was how bored and irritated she looked. The same expression graced her dark-lipped face as his, and that intrigued the stallion. Pricking his ears (what was left of them, after that mare had taken half of the left one), he began to make his way towards the slight mare.
"What are you doing here?" the stallion asked, trying to keep his tone authoritative but friendly. He didn't want to alienate this stranger (although the X scar across his face usually did that for him, without him speaking a word), but he also did not want her to believe that she was the dominant horse in this exchange.

The stallion had two choices; he could either continue to grill her about her intentions (which seemed boring and very unfun), or he could take a more friendly tack, and try actually talking to the mare as if she were anything more than a plaything, as most Bachelors saw mares. "I guess I can't fault you, since I'm doing the same," he said, with the tiniest of wry smiles forming on his lips. As the warm summer sun beat down on his back, he swished his tail, watching the mare to see how she would react; already it seemed that she mistrusted his Bachelorship, but he thought that perhaps he could win her over with his real personality even still. "I wouldn't head too far in that direction though," he said, pointing East-ish. "The Bachelor mares are over there, and you're liable to get caught if the other stallions see you." Yes, they'd take one look at her gorgeous coat and slim figure, and it would be all over for the Exile mare's freedom.

"Not down the path you're taking, if you want anyone to like you," the champagne horse replied, his pink muzzle twisting into a slight grin. He was teasing the mare now. "Did no one ever teach you manners?" he asked, pricking his ears towards her. Despite his dislike of conflict, Grange couldn't help but find the mare's aggression amusing. "But, who am I to say that, when I've forgotten mine. I'm Grange," he introduced himself, swishing a fly away from his flank with his stubby tail. "And you are?"

"You seem upset by something," the intuitive horse remarked, swishing his tail as he nonchalantly dipped his head down to tear up a mouthful of bright green summer grass. "And I would venture to say it's me," he added, his blue eyes looking up at her for affirmation as he rooted around, searching for the tastiest shoots. Already, this day was becoming more interesting, and the stallion was intrigued by Io the Exile. He wanted to know more.

"Almost none of them are what you'd call friendly," he said, with a wry smirk. Grange raised his head again suddenly, listening to some far off sound. When he was convinced that it was nothing a few seconds later, he turned his attention back to the pale-faced mare. "I, in fact, share very few qualities with my herdmates. I'm not big, I'm not intimidating, and I'm not dumb," he said, beginning to enjoy the conversation he was having with the strange exile mare. She seemed intuitive to him, and he liked that.

"One or two," he said, shrugging. "Most of the mares are all right, but there are very few stallions who seem interested in sharing my views on things." Even fewer that shared his interest in, to put it bluntly, other stallions, too, but he was fairly certain that wasn't what Io was asking, so he felt no need to bring it up. "And what about you? How many inquisitive adventurers are there in the Exile herd?" he asked, smiling at her slightly.