we built this city on broken glass

He had hardly anticipated those shots to come as quickly as they did and yet perhaps he was more the fool for believing they would attempt to rope more horses then they shot at. Those mares and foals that made up his 'herd' evidently not of value enough to spare their lives. At least, not the adults. Those foals, after all, would cease to run without their mothers. To take out the mares a distinctly easier task then attempting to rope them all or turn that herd as several more riders were so attempting to do. The echo of that first shot however so readily aw Frost veer to the right to avoid it. Nadya almost certainly its intended target. A lone rider among those horses a veritable moving target. His own form significantly larger than the mares around him and far easier to fire at in turn. That very veer sideways seeing several more shots explode into the snow he had only moments ago occupied. That very evasive action so unfortunately taking them further from the gate and yet- several mares had already sprung forward to lead that charge onward as Frost circled widely around in an effort to rejoin that group. That command for Nadya to stay low agianst his neck issued once more as his hooves dug at that snow again to send them near flying across it and back toward that gate he near desperately needed Nadya to reach.

That sudden collision of someone into his right side very near saw that heavy stallion tumble. Frost incapable of seeing just what or who attacked them in that moment. The scent and sound alone assuring him it was another rider. That horse lunging at his shoulder in an effort to either slow him down or stop him entirely. Frost's own ears flattened backward into that wealth of white mane. His teeth driving sideways to connect with the other stallions neck. That taste of blood all but spraying onto his tongue and yet it was enough to force that other horse to dodge sideways ever so slightly and afford Nadya an opening in turn to defend herself. His mate, somehow, managing to stay upon his back as she aimed another blow at the man. Frost lunging a second time in turn, this time in an attempt to seize the bridle of the other horse between his teeth. In the very least he could surely jerk the other creatures head down and impede its action and yet that gate was looming quickly. Nadya surely unable to fixate her power upon it will still attempting to fight that Hunter off. That thought that crossed his girlfriend's mind so barely having passed to his own to indicate her intentions- before she leapt.

Both Nadya and the other rider were sent careening into the snow. Those galloping horses behind, somehow, missing the pair as they tumbled and rolled. Frost's own form wheeling sideways now, his hind legs lashing out to collide solidly with that now riderless stallion to prevent it returning to its Master and taking up that fight agianst Nadya in turn. His own affinity for heat was aimed readily at the horse now. That lash of power aimed at the very brain of the animal. That seizure taking a mere second to induce as it tumbled to the ground, Frost leaping up and over that fallen creature in that effort to find Nadya once more. The heavy stallion more then content to collide with several more Hunters as he ran agianst that herd now. Another two so taken out by his lashings hooves as he passed. Frost so aiming to slow down each and every pursuer he could. A slice of pain readily ricocheted through the pack bond then. That Nadya had been shot so readily seeming to turn within his thoughts, his hooves sending him toward her location near instinctively and yet.....that bond continued to hum. Assuring him she was more then alive. Relief and aggression so seeming to combat within himself in that moment. Adrenaline clouding each of those emotions in turn. Frost so simply trying to reach Nadya now as several more shots were fired out and he caught sight of that panther tearing through the snow. Nadya aiming for the gate once more.

She would make it, surely. Frost near forced to trust in his mates ability to survive alone as his own gaze fell upon several mares separated from that herd and pursued by several Hunters in turn. That sweat that laced his figure was near chilling in the cold air and falling snow. The promise of rain lingering upon the horizon and yet he so hardly had time to consider the weather in that moment. His course changing once more to head towards those mares now. He hardly knew them and yet- he could hardly stand to leave them behind. His snowy figure so streaking across that earth once more a veritable target all the same that might yet district further attention away from Nadya and afford her that chance to reach the gates. The feeling over not one but two bullets so scraping his side was little more than a distant sting somewhere in the back off his thought. His teeth lunging for the first of those riders to lift the man from his horse entirely and toss him aside like a ragdoll. Those very mares making a break for that herd once more before his attention turned to the remaining Hunter. Frost afforded no chance to dodge that rope that fell about his own neck and yet.....this was a game he knew decidedly well. A game he had played so many times before. If the Hunter wished to hold onto him- then so be it.

His own form lunged forward again. That hunter taken directly out of the saddle with the force of that lunge to crash into the snow beneath. Frost simply content to keep running. That fool of a man hanging onto that rope all the same and yet to drag a single man was near effortless. That rope falling slack abruptly after several feet. Frost hardly having the time to attempt to gather it as his gaze found that gate once more. Nadya, it seemed, having managed to jam that mechanism with enough space for two at a time and yet how quickly those Hunters would reach the entrance without himself to at least attempt to defend it. That blackened form of Nadya was easy to spot now. Frost already moving towards her, that rope about his neck trailing behind when the sound of that shreiking foal seemed to draw both their attention at once. Frost, near isntinctively, aware that this was one of his own. Yet it was Nadya whom moved first in that moment. Commanding he go back to that herd that was attempting to get out of those gates. Frost wavering upon that very decsion for barely a moment before wheeling away from his mate and daughter despite that distinct desire to do otherwise. If they both stayed to help Freya no one at all might manage to pass through those gates, their efforts in vain. Yet....would he not have done the same for her own children?

The sound off his own hooves upon that snow was near akin to thunder. Frost racing to the head of that herd once more to guide them to that gate before wheeling to the side. That command to shift into pairs all but slammed into the minds off each and every one of them. The first pair managing to explode out of these doors and into the flats outside. Yet how readily those Hunters descended then. Frost's own affinity for heat expanded once more, lashing out at each and every Hunter being he could reach, several of them dropping where they stood and yet to divide his power so weakened its strength all the same. Several more of those Hunters merely inclined to feel a blistering burn. Enough to halt them perhaps, but hardly enough to stop them. Several more bullets collided with the snow in front of him, sending it up like a spray as Frost danced back upon his hind legs beside those gates to avoid that shower and further attempt to drive those mares through. Frost lashing out at several more of those men before a final glance was given across that space. That devastation to the right surely Nadya's work and yet he had little time to contemplate where Nadya had gone. Frost very near the last to wheel through those gates and into the chaos beyond. That herd having broken up in several directions. Several of them blindly charging in any direction.

Well. It was a distraction in the least. Those reinforcements sure to be coming. That still trailing rope had all but burned the skin off his neck, one of those bullets having managed to take more than skin, that blood running hotly down his leg and yet it so hardly impeded him enough now to prevent him keeping up that canter. His Mother, surely, had followed with the plan and taken out across the field alone. Where Nadya had gotten too however he hardly knew. That pack bond thrumming all the same. Yet that snow was falling thickly, heavily, his own vision already more obscured then normal. His white pelt in the very least allowing him to blend and all but disappear into that swirling white. They needed to get as far from here as possible. Frost heading towards that rock pile that had stored that pack saddle at. Logic alone so assuring him his mate was likely to head for it, wasn't she? Nadya was hardly a fool. Surely she would not attempt to brave any other directions on that field. Those singular horse tracks within the snow ahead were rapidly becoming covered and yet Frost slowed his own pace to a trot to follow after them. That rocky outcrop appearing near out of that mist and snow almost instantly. The near frozen figure seated on the young stallion beside it almost instantly recognizable.

"Naja."

Her name was uttered almost like a veritable prayer. How readily he could smell that blood and yet in that moment the very fact she was alive was so vastly more important. That shift overcame him readily in turn. Frost returned to that human form. The man near oblivious to that rope hanging across his shoulders as he reached upwards to help her down from that horse. His affinity for warmth enveloping her as readily as his arms did- careful of that wound though he strove to be. His lips finding her own in the very midst of that snow storm for that wholly heated kiss. They had little time to stop and yet...surely they could have just this moment.

"How does Cyprus sound? Its warm there this time of the year."

FrosT