First Touch
RP Owner: Val Waralic
Val felt guilty. Of course, she spent lots of time with Kai, but sometimes...she could tell that Kai wanted a companion of her own kind. So, one Sunday, she gave Kai the day off from training and loaded up the trailer to head over to the weekend auctions. It was early in the summer, when there would be an influx of wild neras culled from the larger herds. She knew Kai would be patient enough to deal with a wild neravontii, but she was also smart enough to keep herself out of trouble.
At the auction house (this one was nicer than the one she'd found Kai in), each nera was separated into individual runs. Some paced, some picked through their straw, some stood around with their heads down, and some loudly protested being there. Val walked the aisles, marking down a few mares (and one particularly pretty gelding) that interested her.
After looking for plenty of time, she moved to sit ringside, watching as the neravontii were one-by-one corralled into the auction ring. They were bid upon, some going to quite high prices, and then some cowboys on neravontii would move them back out of the ring once the auction was done. There were quite a few that caught Val's eye, but the pricetags quickly got out of her range.
After many of the promising neras had been purchased, the quality began to decline. Some of the neras were stubborn, refusing to move about the ring. Some were just plain and older. But as an old schoolmaster was herded out of the ring, there was an angry trumpet from just outside the ring and a dark neravontii mare cantered into the ring.
She had incredible suspension in her gait. She floated around the arena with shocking self-carriage and confidence. Kai was a great mover and she couldn't even touch this mare. The dark nera stopped and spun, throwing several bucks and screaming. She took a flying leap and scrambled to grab the top of the ring fencing. She fell to the ground and several gasps were heard from the auction participants.
Two cowboys rode in and the mare staggered to her feet, the arena sand flying. By now, the auctioneer had started asking for bids, but none had gone up. Even watching the beast lunge at the cowboys and bare her teeth, Val couldn't help but remember how she floated around the arena like a queen. Almost without thinking, she held her paddle up for a bid.
......
It hadn't been easy getting the massive black mare into the trailer. She'd tried to climb the shoot, tried to turn around, tried every trick in the book. Eventually, begrudgingly, she slammed her shoulders into the sides of the shoot and the trailer. One of the cowboys swore.
"That mare's like a hurricane," another said, patting his nera and wiping his brow. Val busied herself double-checking the trailer locks and hitches. Every few moments, the dark nera would slam the trailer with her hip or feet. Taking that as a sign to get on the road, Val loaded up and headed home.
......
When they got to the farm, Val shut the new neravontii in the barn. She'd rather let her get used to this area first. Plus, Kai could take shelter on Val's deck or in the trailer if she needed to. She couldn't rise the explosive newcomer injuring herself or Kai. She let the dark mare have an hour alone, then took her and Kai some dinner. She fed Kai by the house, and then entered the barn through the tack room. The mare turned on her almost immediately, but simply stood and looked. Val walked a little bit down the aisle, placed her dinner on the floor, and then backed away. The hungry mare pounced on the food with reckless abandon, proving that her standoffish attitude was, at least in part, a front.
After she'd eaten, she glowered at Val from across the aisle, as if wondering what she could possibly want from her. She paced around, ears pinned. Val began talking to her, telling her about herself and Kai, and her hopes for the future. She told the nera that the cowboys at the auction had been harsh with her, and apologized for it.
As she spoke, she turned so that she wasn't facing the nera. She heard the mare approach her slowly. She heard the huffs of breath, felt the looming beast over her. Suddenly, there was a rush of breath on her neck and she felt the velvety nose of the nera press against her cheek.
"On your terms, Tsunami."
by MustangKnight » Sat Mar 21, 2015 7:40 am 
