One ear begins to flick backward at a muffled snap of some twig or vine in the trees behind him, but quickly abandons the movement as a cocophony of crinkling, fluttering, and flapping breaks out overhead. Both ears instantly flatten and his emerald eyes go wide, his body jerking into a defensive crouch, ready to spring off any direction but unsure which way to go until the threat is identified. He spins toward the original snapping sound just as the first dried leaves brush across his spine, skittering down his shoulders and over his hindquarters in a wave of imagined maliciousness.

Instinct reacts before logic and sends the black pitching forward onto his front legs, his hindend kicking up and out with a vicious force. His dropped head and neck curl to wind up for another buck, but the loud pop of his hips jerking so suddenly into action gives him painful pause. His head comes back up, eyes scanning wildly around him, finally catching sight of the brown, dried leaves falling harmlessly from his sides. He stills with a grunt, muscles quivering beneath the surge of adrenaline.

"What the fuck?" He snarls at his tiny, would-be attackers, stomping his hooves and sidestepping in lunges to dislodge the rest of their unsettling scratchiness from his back. Through all this his young companion has sat petrified and helpless, coiled as tight as possible in the folds of his scarf, nearly whiplashed from the violence of his bondeds reaction, but now he steels himself to peek out at whatever monstrosity is attacking them, confused (as seems to be his most common state) to find nothing nearby. As the stallion heaves in a few shaking breaths the serpent telescopes himself farther free of his wool confines, tongue flicking wildly to identify the danger.

Dead leaves are virtually scentless and immediately ruled out as environment instead of a potential threat. They also give off no telltale heat signature, so he passes them over without thought, pinpointing instead a mass of reds and oranges in the cool blues and blacks of the forest nearby - a body - a culprit? The stallion blinks, focusing on the area his companion points out to him with his own vision and immediately recognizes the fluff of yellow standing there, stuck out like a lightning bug in a field of moonlight despite the thick trunks obstructing part of her body. He might have recognized her even sooner from her citrus scent if he hadn't been so desperately trying to catch his breath.

"You!" He gasps, any remorse he'd harbored for kicking her in the ribs evaporating with the rising heat of anger. "You little son of a bitch!" Furious, he rushes forward, mouth agape and brandishing uneven, yellowing teeth.



"Alby talks" 'Strom talks'
OOC // @Larue Sure, he's mad now, but just wait until the itching starts. XD