tryout for #600

[Arkinhallow]

errp #600

arrival profile getting out prompt 4

[Arkinhallow]

The wind whistled across the flat field, stirring up the dust. The mare closed her eyes, the dirt and leaves stinging her face as they were swept up. She let out a quiet whicker, voicing her discomfort. The other horses has already moved into the gully, away from the hot, harsh wind that stripped the hills of moisture. The mare's eyes locked onto a low gum tree a few metres away - a much more manageable distance than the steep decline into the gully, which she had not yet reached. Slowly, slowly, the tree came closer. She finally stepped into the shade. Bliss. The mare sank to the ground, the tough grass poking her extended stomach. Tired, she slipped into a doze, prepared to wait.

-

A high, squealing whinny echoed across the hills. The foal was here.

[Arkinhallow]

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show name: EH Red Devil
barn name: Red
gender: mare
age: 8 years
height: 18.0hh
discipline: remote search and rescue
halter: #c22410
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𝐄𝐇 𝐑𝐞𝐝 𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐥 | "𝐑𝐞𝐝 "
Red was born onto an animal hoarder's
property, among a band of semi-feral
horses left to fend for themselves in the
hills. Navigating the gullies and inclines
became second nature for her. Her form-
ative years were wild and devoid of
training or human interaction. It wasn't
until her owner caught a glimpse of the
striking red mare out on the range that
things took a turn for the worse. He was
obsessed with her colour and size - she
was tall and striking, despite the dirt
and the way her ribs showed through her
coat. Red didn't know it yet, but his gaze
meant her destruction.
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▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆
Red is already a vastly different horse
than from when she arrived at her new
home. Only a few years back she was an
aggressive mess, teeth bared and eyes
wide at all times. It took a lot of time
and patient, gentle interaction for her
fiery aggression to be tempered into asse-
rtiveness and confidence around people.
She still can't stand new people, and her
trust is hard won and hard to keep. But her
intelligence and strength of spirit have allo-
wed her to flourish in a way that she had
never before been able to. She still has fire
in her, and a willfulness against control that
will never really subside, but she's learnt to
trust in people and to put her sharp mind
to use, and that's more than anyone, esp-
ecially Red herself, could have hoped for.
───────────────────────

[Arkinhallow]

Red squealed, her eyes wide and white with fear. The sounds of the metal jangling, the strange thing wrapped around her head and pulling on her mouth, the stink of the man seated on her back was too much. She jerked her head one way and then the other, trying in vain to get away from the long leather bits dangling around her neck. The man snarled and Red almost choked as he pulled sharply on the leather, drawing her head in. The metal in her mouth dug into her lips painfully, and she folded to his force. He held her tight for a moment, then looked up to bark something to another man sitting on the fence. Red felt his grip loosen as he spoke, and didn't wait a moment to take advantage of his distraction.

Crack. She pulled her head forward and the leather snapped straight. Taken by surprise, the man fell forward, yelping. Red instantly brought her head up again, smashing her strong neck into the man as he fell over her. She heard a crunch and he went limp, then slipped forward out of the saddle. Red faintly heard the screeching of the man on the fence, but she felt as though all the blood had rushed to her head and she could barely see or hear. She reared, still focused on trying to get the contraption off her face. The reins flew freely, and the sight of them in the corner of her eye stirred her into a fearful frenzy. She panicked, the man on the ground forgotten, as the tack followed her, slapping and stinging her sides as she moved. The metal hanging from her barrel hit her stomach as she twisted and ran, trying to get away from the man, from the barriers that held her here, and most of all from whatever he had put on her. But the fence was high and strong, and not so easily escaped from. Red didn't know how long she ran, twisted, flailed. She only knew fear. Exhaustion was setting in. She stumbled, and fell awkwardly on her side. The dust rose around her as she hit the ground hard, metal and leather digging into her skin. She let out a pitiful whinny, her body spent. Sweat and foam coated her shaking muscles. She was in a red, dusty hell, and there was nowhere to go.

-

She had been confined. The dark little container Red had been forced into was barely big enough for her to turn around in. It was old and dusty and filled with spiders. She'd been watching one for a while as it spun its strange silk tapestry in a corner of the roof. There was little else to do but watch and wait, and wait some more. There was no food. She had nosed at a few strands of old straw on the ground earlier, but it was so flat and dusty she had a feeling it had been there for years. She snorted in frustration, and a cloud of dust flew off the wood beams that made up the wall in front of her. Now what? She'd been here for the better part of a day; the light was growing weak as the afternoon waned. She hadn't seen the man again today, so that was something at least. But she was tired and hungry, and there was nothing to do but watch spiders.

Just as she was considering whether it would be worth trying to kick down the door behind her, she heard the sound of a car pulling up nearby. The man's house was nearby, she knew, but in the time that she had been held near the house she'd rarely seen anyone else come by. The crunch of gravel. Another car. Soft voices, then silence, and then... the man, yelling. Red flared her nostrils, her heart beating quickly. What was going on out there? She couldn't see anything; there were no windows in the box. The man's voice drilled into her skull, and she flattened her ears, shifting around the box, looking for a way out though she knew she was totally stuck.

More raised voices. Another man, authoritative instead of aggressive, rising over her tormentor's voice. The slam of a car door. Conversation. Red heard people walking, some getting more distant, some footsteps coming closer. The door to the building she was in creaked open, and light spilled in, hurting her eyes. She blinked and squinted, trying to make out who was entering. It was not someone she recognised. They had a very different look to the man, and their face wasn't hard or angry. But she didn't understand what kindness looked like on a person, let alone pity or sadness. She couldn't understand the words the person spoke, either, but she knew they were not hard and sharp the way the man spoke. "Poor dear. We're getting you out, love. You're going to a better place." Red was still suspicious, her ears flat against her head, but the difference in the way this person looked and sounded had thrown her off. She was ever-so slightly-curious beyond her fear. That curiosity would be the start of her road to recovery.

[Arkinhallow]

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