'Who in the hell....?' | Greer and Ryder

[ Ryder ]

His ears flattened at the mare's hostility. So she could speak. He listened to her words intently as tears made their way down her face. He shook his head, pointing with his nose up to his son and mate at the top of the hill. "See those two horses over there. One of them is my son, and the other is my mate. I wouldn't betray her for the world," he said, watching her for a moment before looking back at the mare. "Obviously something really bad has happened to you, and I'm not here to promise that everything will be alright. I just wanted to treat your wounds and make sure you didn't end up as dog food," he said in an even tone.

Ryder nodded in his mate's direction, letting her know that everything was alright. He knew that she would flip once she saw his bleeding neck, so he would have to make sure that this mare was gone before then. He'd hate to treat her only to have Effie hurt her even more. At the mare's sarcastic words, Ryder chuckled softly to himself. He remembered when he was young and would have acted quite similarly to this loner's actions. That was the point of being a loner after all. They wanted solitude, not company, and they certainly didn't want to be dragged somewhere against their will. "Well. She might think so sometimes, but we work it out," he said with a small smile, thinking of all the situations that they had made it through. It was quite the miracle that they had made it this far with all of the drama that Ryder and his family had brought to them. It had been a very bumpy ride to get this far, but their relationship was stronger than ever.

Ryder looked back at the mare in front of him. He had helped her, and he didn't even know her name. A smile crept onto his face. Why was he like this? Effie was always teasing him about being so nice. She had said that he would probably help a grassbeast if it were injured. While he might not help it back onto its feet, Ryder would definitely put an end to it if it was hurt bad enough that it would be better to just let it die. He followed the mare's gesture to his family as she spoke. With a small shrug, he gave her a half-smile. "About the war? Or just the Exile's situation in general? We thought for a long time about becoming loners, but after our son was born, we decided a herd would be safer for him to grow up in. If you mean the war, we'll fight on whatever side our herd chooses, but I have a feeling we'll be siding with Olde," he said with a snort. Vasska wasn't exactly been welcoming to the Exiles. He viewed them as a sickness that needed to be purged. Neither of the Exile's options looked very good, but it was important that they chose wisely.

Ryder knew how crazy it must have sounded for the Exiles to side with Olde. This was partly their fault anyways for sending them into exile in the first place. Ryder didn't necessarily agree with the idea, but he couldn't exactly just side with the Bachelors. That would be treason to go against the herd's decisions. He sighed quietly. He was getting too old for all of this.

"Sounds like a good place to hide. I've been there once, and I almost got lost. I'd do the same if I were a loner still," he said with a nod, thinking of the trip he and a small group of Exiles had made to Olde. If only they had stayed.

Ryder took a small step forward as the mare tried to reach for some grass. Before he could get to her though, she had collapsed onto the ground. He tried his hardest to hide a grin as the grullo horse rolled after the patch of grass she had been reaching for only to sigh of exhaustion a few moments later. "Need some help?" He offered with a flick of his tail.

At her question, he furrowed his brows in confusion. "I wasn't sure if you had gotten into an accident before, but I think one of the grassbeasts took it. If it helps, I don't think you look bad with a short tail," he said with a shrug of apology.  

Ryder nodded silently, allowing the mare to reach for the grass herself. He made sure to take a few glances at her bandages to make sure she didn't rip any of them. Ryder bent his head to eat some of the grass himself. That was pretty much all of the good this island was for: resources. There was plenty to go around even if the inhabitants weren't exactly every friendly. "So what's your name?" He asked the mare as she ate. He was curious to know a little bit more about her even if it was just what she called herself.

"Nice to meet you, Greer. My name is Ryder," he said with a dip of his head. He saw a bit of distrust in her icy eyes, but he would have probably felt the same way if some stranger had practically kidnapped him. The bandages on her sides were holding up nicely though, and he grinned at the good job he had done. Practice makes perfect he supposed though it was a bit sad to think that he was good at mending wounds after doing it so often. He was practically a doctor from all of the experience he had.