I woke while it was still dark, though the waxing moon shed silver light over the plains. Raneld was a silent shadow beside me. I rose to my hooves, a sudden anger flashing through me. No coherent thought came with it, there was no reason for it, it was simply pure emotion, blotting out everything else in my mind.
I reared with a wild, screaming cry, and slammed my hooves down on my hated enemy. But it seemed that Raneld had been awake as well, and my cry had given him enough warning to roll aside, so my hooves fell only on empty ground. He rose to his feet, teeth bared, and lashed out at me with his front hooves. I reared and belled out a challenge, but he answered it, dancing on his hind hooves. We sparred back and forth, in the way of stallions. He moved like a dancer in this form as m
