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 Posted: Mon Feb 01, 2010 2:20 pm
Moments went by as the two-leggers grew silent, and Enzi all the more restless. It had been a long while since their last pilgramidge out into the wilderness, and though this had been the place of his birth he really didn't miss it. Too much. Most of the time. Well, he did get a longing every now and then, but his partner had always been good about letting him roam the plains unsupervised once in awhile, and mostly for weeks on end. It was quite relaxing.
"So... anything in particular you're looking for Billy-bob?"
"Hmm? Oh yessir-ee! Jus got meself a fine quarter stallion, an' ai'm lookin fer good stock ta pair 'im with. Heard meself a good bit 'a goss'p that a mustang mare makes fer good breeding."
"Ah! So you heard that too? I was a bit skeptical at first, but I'll admit the mustang does have some good qualties. Right Bronco?"
Enzi let out a whinny as the same hand that had slapped him earlier came down to pat his neck and shoulder. The mood between the two-leggers seemed to have lightened up a bit, which was good he supposed. He couldn't understand a lick about what they were saying, but the young stallion certainly understood their tones of voice.
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Posted: Mon Feb 01, 2010 2:49 pm
She had gotten several doezen yards into the forest before she halted to look around at her surroundings. It was the same dense crowding of woods and bushes that she'd traveled through many times before, with small animals in sight every once in awhile. No sign of anything that could be deemed 'scary' thus far, but she doubted she'd gone far enough in to convince Desmona that everything was alright for her to come in. Ack, there was just something about the chestnut mare that was both genuine and fake and it was throwing Spook for a loop. She figured the sooner she got done with this the better, and the sooner she could go back to... well, roaming the plains. Okay, she really needed to find something a bit more permanent, but she doubted that would happen over night.
Suddenly Spook tossed her head upwards, pricking her ears and turning her attention to what she could have sworn was a whinny. Were there other horses in the forest today or something? Obviously it wasn't a restricted area or anything, but she hardly ever met anyone else while traveling through the forest. Hmm, interesting. It had come from deeper in, and it really could have been something else, but Spook was almost certain the sound had been made by another horse. Unfortunatly, when she tried to scent the air to determine wheter or not she was right, too many other forest scents got in the way. She really couldn't decipher where anything was because it all blended together. Still, the flaxen-maned mare pressed forward, curiousity getting the best of her.
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Posted: Tue Feb 02, 2010 5:47 pm
What was that? Enzi quickly halted, ignoring the nudge of his rider's heels against his sides, and pricked his ears in the direction of the follage to his left. What a weird sound that had been. Rustling? No, no, it was something more than that, probably some sort of little creature gnawing on something hard. Or perhaps a stick broke somewhere near by. He wasn't quite sure, as he hadn't lived in the wilderness all his life, and the painted stallion was rather curious as to what it was. If it weren't for the insistant grumbling noises and bothersome kicks from his rider he probably would have wanted to investigate it further. As it was though, Enzi heeded to the pleads of his two-legger, although reluctantly as he snorted and shook his head, and began to move forward once more.
"Augh, finally. Sorry 'bout that Billy, he's still a bit green 'round the edges, doesn't mind his manners like he should."
"Ain't no probl'm Tate. Say how olde's the Bronc any'ow?"
"Him? Probably a little over two years."
"Heh-heh! Well no w'nda! Ye know it ain't saf- hol' up! What's dat?"
A sudden jerk of the reins and Enzi felt the bit pull back in his mouth, to which he stopped almost immediately. Damn bit, always liked to catch him off guard, and always liked to play games with him. Although something seemed to have riled the humans up again as their voices and tone grew sharper and hushed, something Enzi knew to accompany with interest and or excitement. Something was about to happen, he was sure of it.
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Posted: Tue Feb 02, 2010 6:11 pm
She couldn't even tell how close she was getting to the whinny-maker, but at least this way she was getting to check the forest out in more depth. Thus far, nothing scary to report. She was begining to suspect that something tramatic must have happened to Desmona for her to be so afraid of this place, something that she was probably keeping to herself. At least it explained why she would have needed to lie about it, after all it might have been embarrassing. Being afraid of the forest, that was such a silly thing to be worked up over.
Spook's thoughts continued on as she walked ever closer to the area the noise had been made, and unfortunately for her she wasn't giving it the attention she should have been. For as she rounded the trunk of a particularly large tree, and partially walked through some brush to a more exposed deer trail, she found herself almost crossing paths with... well something that sent a shock to her system. The first thing she saw were the two horses, one baggy looking chestnut, and a rather young painted stallion. They didn't hold her attention for long, because her yellow eyes were almost instantly drawn to the two humans that sat upon their backs. For a moment it was almost as if the world had stopped, and for one cold, chilling second, Spook thought her life had come to an end. Then instinct kicked in. Fight or flight?! Flight. With humans it was always flight. No ifs ands or buts about it, if you see a human you run until your legs litterally fall out from under you. And that's exactly what the chocolate mare did. No warning, no initial spook or fright, one moment she was standing their dumbfounded, the next she was hualing her a** out of there.
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Posted: Tue Feb 02, 2010 7:02 pm
Oh! Now it all made sense! Not only had it happened to him, but Enzi had been out on a couple of horse 'games' with his partner. Of course the painted stallion didn't realize the game was actually something very different to wild mustangs, and where as he conisdered it fun like a game of a tag, they didn't. Of course, to him, they always seemed like sore losers. That's why they were all grumpy when they got caught. That totally made sense to him, after all he hated to lose as well- OH! He had been so lost in his own excitement he hadn't felt his rider's frantic urgings to chase after the muscled mare. Woops. He'd fix that right away! And off Enzi went, spurring himself into a sprint and the chase was on!
"Wow-sir-ee-bob! Did ya see dat one? P'rfect! Tate, les' go get us a m'stang!"
"Sure thing, Billy!"
Man, he wasn't the slowest runner by far, but there was just something about this one that was hard to keep up with. Maybe it was because of the forest, and having to dodge all these trees, but he certainly wasn't going to be catching up with her anytime soon.
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Posted: Sat Feb 06, 2010 12:40 pm
Its not that Spook was fast, hell its not that she was even remotely as agile as the load-barring beasts hot on her trail, it was just the simple fact that instinct told her to move. Quickly, without reason, without hesitation, without thinking. Get away, it screamed and yowled like a wild creature, pulsating throughout her entire being. Spook did not fight it, did not even attempt the slightest resistance against her instinct. And because of that, she was able to at least keep ahead of her persuers, trusting in how her body moved around the trees and brush, not carring if some part of her got scraped along the way or a low-hanging branch happened to tangle itself into her mane and tail. They had always been a bit unruly anyway, and she didn't particularly care if a few clumps were pulled out or not in her flight away from the fiends that were no doubtedly right on her heels.
As Spook rushed her way through the forest, eyes locked on the opening ahead and the plains that spewed out afterwords, her mind went further into panic. Without the cover of the forest, would she be able to keep herself far enough ahead of the two-legged demons? And for how long? No time to think about it, just do it. The opening was coming up fast, she'd be in the plains within a few strides-
What was that?! Yips, growls, barks, all thrown into a frenzy all at once, confusing and spurring the chocolate mare forward with renewed faith. The scent of something musty in the air, the forest alive like wind chasing and nipping at her hooves and heels, new fear and new persuers closing in on her. Instinct. That's really all what drove Spook at this moment, get away, run away, stay away.
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Posted: Sat Feb 06, 2010 1:35 pm
Urgh, mavuvering through this forest would be much easier if he didn't have to carry his rider. A thought that didn't often pop into his head, but the more he thought about it the more 'losing the game' started to become a reality in his eyes. He didn't like losing, not one bit. Although as he ran after the mustang, he did happen to catch glimpses of her face and scent, and for some reason he was reminded of something he once knew. What was it? It just nagged at him, and gnawed its way into his thoughts. He should know this, why didn't he know this?
Something happened up ahead, suddenly, and he knew the sounds almost instantly. Wolves. He'd gotten too close for comfort with them before on the trips through the plains, and he couldn't say he liked them. Wait a minute... were they? They were chasing the mustang! Those two-bit bags of fleas were actually interrupting the game! Oh... oh, didn't they, um... eat... things? That wasn't good. A vein of fear ran through Enzi, caused him to hesitate and lose his stride, to the point he was merely cantering out of the woods and onto the open plain in persuet. The scene unfolding before him was bad, very very bad, but it seemed as though the mustang mare as going to out run the wolf pack, he wouldn't mind letting her get away if it meant saving her life-
"Raspuita!" Was that him? It just blurted out like... like, oh god it was his sister. Deep down he knew her, remembered her name, and it just came out. "RASPUITA!" Just like that. This was bad, very very bad. The young stallion wasn't sure what to do, fear gripped him and he froze in its grasp.
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Posted: Sat Feb 06, 2010 4:39 pm
Out in the open now, wide plains stretched out before her, and a pack of devils snapping at her heels. They hadn't gained on her yet though, neither had the two-leggers, which gave Spook the strength and will she needed to dig in further to her reserves. It gave her renewed hope, enough to where instinct could away partially to reason, and at the moment they were both urging her to run.
Then that word, that name, rang out over the plains like a hawk's piercing scream, and for only a moment Spook's stride faultered. However, in that moment it seemed as if the world came crashing down upon her... as if hell broke out and swallowed her down into its depths. It came fast, hard, sinking its teeth in like a pack of demonhounds. Running was no longer an option and her instinct knew that. Like before Spook trusted her instinct without question, something she had learned to do while living alone out in the plains. This time she had to fight if she was going to survive, and that's exactly what the flaxen-maned mare did. Her attention was now fully focused on the wolves who surrounded and slunk around her, rushing forward when ever they got the chance, and using their numbers to its fullest advantage. Spook however did not have numbers, did not have a 'pack' to rely on, just herself, and instinct told her that was enough. Anger, fear, fury and terror swelled inside, and Spook struck out at each and every oppertunity they presented her with.
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Posted: Sat Feb 06, 2010 5:06 pm
This was bad, bad, bad, bad, BAD! The young stallion, hardly a stallion at that, circled and pranced and stomped and pulled at the bit- completely ignoring the cues, tugs and nudges given to him by his rider. The two humans were yelling at each other now, but he hardly paid any attention to them. Heck, he hadn't seen Raspuita since his foalhood, but he knew it was her, he just knew it! And she was down there, with the wolves, fighting and being bit at. Geez! The air smelled of blood! The painted stallion's ears flattened to the sides of his skull, and though his heart sang out in sorrow and fear he could not order his body to move forward. He could not will himself to throw his rider and help her, no matter how much he wished he could, there was just something that held him back. The horror of the scene before him, the terrible sounds and smells of their battle, and that feeling of helplessness that welled up inside of him. Enzi had never felt so small in his life before, so insignificant in the world. He could do nothing to help his sister.
"Ga-darn it all! Dat was 'spose ta be ma mare!"
"What do you suppose we should do Billy?"
"Well, 'ell Tate. Can't r'ghtfully take 'er now can we? Bad luck on a bad mare. 'Les jus le've 'em ta it den, ain't no use waitin 'round."
"Yeah, bad luck to breed a mare like that. The foals never turn out right after something like this. Reckon' I should put her out of her misery?"
"Naw, wolves'll take 'are a dat."
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Posted: Sat Feb 06, 2010 5:37 pm
The concept of time was of little importance to the chocolate mare during her battle for survival, but to her moments felt like centuries of agonizing flares that stuck at her from all sides. She wasn't sure what ended it, or even if she was out of danger for certain, but the attacks stopped, and she watched as the creatures slunk their way back to the forest. They were like bloody shadows of death and pain, three or four devils of misery that took their fun and left when they discovered they weren't getting an easy meal. Spook despised them, hated them for what they were and what they had done. White rimmed yellow eyes glared at their reatreating forms, and despite how her being soared with fire and spirit her body trembled with weakness. And though her soul stood proudly on the battlefield of her victory, the chocolate mare swayed and ached, hardly the masterpiece of conquest. She was bloodied, in pain, and very exhausted over the whole ordeal.
She took a step forward and nearly tripped over the furry lump at her hooves, the body of one their monsterous bretheren that wouldn't be getting up again, and likely the reason they had decided to leave. She snorted in disgust towards it, baring her teeth in the bloody mess that had become her face and feeling the sting their strikes had left behind. To tell the truth, she didn't much feel like standing anymore, and though her head was dizzy and heavy, she did not want to collapse any where near those ragged heathens.
Unfortuantly her body had other ideas, the pain of taking too many steps with a body in as bad of a shape as hers was didn't take a liking to being moved around too much. So the mare halted, what remained of her hide shivered against the cold chill of the wind, and her head hung low to the ground. It'd feel good to lay down right about now...
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Posted: Sat Feb 06, 2010 6:14 pm
He felt his rider yanking on the reins and the bit, spurring him to turn around and just run away. Run like his mind was telling him to do, to get away from the wolves and the terror they brought. Still the stallion could not urge himself to so much as move a muscle... and then it just stopped. Ended. As if nothing had happened at all, except it had. The evidence was right there in front of him, barely standing and bleeding all over. "Raspuita!" he finally called out, willing himself to finally walk forward despite the obvious flarring temper in his human's voice over his disobiedance.
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Posted: Sat Feb 06, 2010 6:23 pm
That name again. The one she had left behind so long ago, the sheer sound of it tensed her muscles. Only a few mustangs had ever known her by that name. Craning her neck around the best she could she viewed the painted mustang with a human on its back, and although her vision was somewhat blurred and her nostrils choked with the scent of blood and fear, she could tell that this particular stallion was her brother. He had been a colt the last she'd seen him, but those memories and that familority did not save him from the viciousness she held inside her. He'd watched her go through that? Just stood there and watched while he carried a human of all creatures on his back? "Get away from me", she spat at him, flaring her nostrils in his direction as crimson dripped from her muzzle and across her eye. He'd made his decision... he choose a human over his own sister- how dare he use that name to address her.
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Posted: Sat Feb 06, 2010 6:45 pm
He was stunned at her reaction, but that look scared him most of all. Through the blood her face actually looked like something else, something far scarier than even the wolves had been. It shook him to his core, not only because his sister didn't want to talk to him, but he got the feeling that if she could she'd probably try to hurt him. The stallion wasn't certain what to make of it, but he finally allowed himself to be steered away from the scene, limply turning in the other direction at the sharp tug of the reins. What had he done?
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Posted: Sat Feb 06, 2010 7:05 pm
The chocolate mare watched as her younger brother walked away, a feeling of cold betrayal seethed inside of her. Is this the true side of a mustang? Back-stabbing beasts that were to spineless to lift a hoof even for their own sister? Perhaps it was just her anger that spurred her to such thoughts, but she couldn't be sure of that, and she definatly didn't care right now-
"You're pathetic." She'd seen the whole thing go down not too far away, and too be honest she was a little disappointed that Spook had even survived. "You can't even die properly", she scoffed.
Desmona. Some how she had forgotten all about the whinny liar, and the chestnut mare was doing very little to improve her mood at this point. "What are you talking about?" Despite how badly she hurt, Spook felt as though she had enough strength to take care of Desmona, and allowed that to seep into her demeanor and posture.
For whatever reason Des froze, not liking the look Spook was giving her, and the fight she was showing despite how terrible and ugly she was looking right now. "Well... I was sent here as a sacrifice to give my herd enough time to move out of the area-"
"So you used me instead. Swell." Did the world suddenly decide to go topsy-turvy today? Or was it screw-Spook day all around? Could horses really be this cruel to each other? "Get out of here before I decide to repay you for that." In truth, if she wasn't feeling like she was going to keel over this very second Spook probably wouldn't have settled for anything less than beating Desmona's face in. Luckily the chestnut mare got the hint.
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Posted: Sat Feb 06, 2010 7:11 pm
For the longest time Spook watched as the figure of the other mare retreated. Her body felt like hell warmed over, and that was definately an understatement. Something came to mind then, the same subject she had been thinking about earlier. The hell herd and those ghost stories Rowan told her. For some reason it made her smile to think about them. To think, she'd been worried about that all day when something like this was waiting in the wings. It was almost sad to think about it, and she almost laughed out loud because of it. She didn't; however, for she was having a very difficult time just staying up right. Wow... they'd really done a number on her, hadn't they? The mare was definately feeling tired, physically, mentally, and emotionall.
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