by AngryLittleGoat » Mon Dec 28, 2015 6:07 pm
So, I really liked Captain Obvious's idea of introducing his characters, and will be doing this myself! (I was a proofreader for him, since he is not a native English speaker.) As with the Captain, I am not going to be including this part in the word count.
I am sorry because this is going to take the most horrific of turns. You were warned. But the ending... should be good? I'm not that far in yet.
Owner Name: Taneem Mingoi
Female
Age: 26, since she can be
Profession: Second grade teacher.
Non-Hyrulian Gypsy horses: a Friesian named Aragorn and a Teke/QH mix named Tobi (Who do exist within the story.)
Owner Sibling: Harmony Mingoi
Female
Age: 12, since she can be
Profession: Student
Other horses: none.
Owner Friend: Rager
Male
Age: over 35
Profession: Professional LARPer, Minister, and Groundskeeper for the barn
Other horses: Humino, a Paint cross
Misc: Mixxi
Nanny Pygmy Goat
Prompt One: Your reaction on Christmas day when you see your special Gypsy from Santa.
Christmas morning, 2015, 0900 hours EST
Christmas morning, a morning like any other, spent driving to the barn in the early winter sunshine. Taneem and a groggy Harmony were on their way to care for Taneem's two horses, Aragorn and Tobi, before returning home to open presents.
"Horses first," Taneem reminded Harmony.
--
As they arrived, they noticed a crowd of vehicles at the barn, including the town's mobile equine vets. Several trailers were there, and several unfamiliar horses were there as well. As they got out, a familiar face ran over.
"Taneem!" Rager yelled.
"What happened?!" Taneem asked, parking and jumping out. "Are Tobi and Aragorn okay??"
"They're fine. Another stable burned down last night... almost all of the horses survived, but they had no place to go. They're checking out injuries and moving in as many as they can," Rager explained.
--
After asking how they could help, Harmony and Taneem went around filling buckets of feed, not just for Taneem's horses, but for those that had been cleared by the vets as well. After an hour, they were stopped by one of the vets.
"Taneem Mingoi, correct?" she asked. Taneem nodded. "We have a request. You see, one person passed last night in the fire, rescuing the horses..."
"That's terrible!" Taneem said, shocked.
"It's thanks to them that most of the horses we have survived, actually," explained the vet. "The problem is, their horse is one of the ones that's here. No one else has been able to take it in, but someone said you might be interested in another horse. No existing family could take it, as none of them has room for a horse."
"Can you introduce me?"
"I knew you'd be interested. Follow me."
--
The horse was a Palomino, with a spotted blanket, a large star, and two white feet. She seemed a unique cross of Tinker and Clydesdale, standing at maybe 17.0 hh. Her white was grey with ash, but after a good grooming she'd probably be a shiny, bright gold, just like Tobi. She seemed to be fairly nervous, though her surroundings certainly weren't helping at the moment. Taneem quietly approached her, and the mare backed away. Taneem knew it was going to take a long time to get her to warm up, after the previous night. However, something about the mare intrigued her.
--
"I'll take her," Taneem said quietly, taking the vet aside. "I'm aware she's going to be a huge commitment, but I've already got two, and one more is nothing to me. It's not like I can't afford it, and I've worked with hard cases many times before. I have ten or more dogs every day, of which six of every ten are hard cases; then there's Aragorn, taken in after his owner went missing in 2013; and it's not hard to remember Tobi was a rescue at one point as well."
"I'm glad," responded the vet. "You were the best hope we had for her."
"Best hope? I'm the only hope here..."
Dogs are the power that drives us all to return home each day, regardless of how much we hate the other people who may be there.
One fine day, in the middle of the night...
I own a goat.
"If I were to describe my love live with a video game title, it would be Half Life 3." (My friend's autographed ImprovUGA card.)
NO LONGER ACTIVE.