[canis,]

We recently got an urgent call from the local authorities. It seems that they were called in after a recent sighting of a very skinny, odd-looking horse left out in the freezing cold. Upon arriving at the scene, they discovered a huge Kleeare stable to be abandoned. The Kleeare were simply left, some in the pasture, some trapped in their stalls. And all extremely emaciated. We responded quickly, arriving at the stable and assessing the condition of each Kleeare. The sight shocked us, but we did not fret. We brought each one of the Kleeare back to our place, where they were evaluated by our veterinarian. Some cases were more extreme than others, but all of them had the chance to be saved. That's where you step in...

This Kleeare is an aggressive one. She has a nasty attitude, and refuses to let our rescuers touch her.

Username; Fuscontidox
Name; Eirawen
Gender; Mare
Coat Colour; Blue Taffy Max. Sabino
Genotype; Ee/aa/Crcr/RbRb/Frfr/StSt

Do not comment until Fuscontidox had posted their Challenge Tracker.

[Fuscontidox]

Kleeare Name; Eirawen [Air-uh-win]
Gender; Mare

#1; Here
#2; Here
#3; Here
#4; Here
#5; Here
#6; Here

[Fuscontidox]

I

First Meeting

According to the claims of those who went in and saved dozens of extremely emaciated Kleeare, it was hard to just look at their conditions, each one was the same, with a touch of it's own story lodged into their traumatized brains.

A reported mare that seemed to be nothing but skin and bones lunged and Bit, anyone who came near her stall, the victims of her attack were unable to tell what exactly caused her to do such a thing. The team as a whole had to rush in and tie her down not moments after sedating her with a very low dosed sleeping dart. They were able to bring her out in an exhausted state.

At first none of the people thought to look in the stalls of any of the Kleeare brought out, only wanting to get them to safety as quick as possible. But the curiosity of a young volunteer by the name of Gaia [Guy-uh] Denir [den-err] ended in a reveal of a disturbing sight within the violent mare's stall.

"I absolutely couldn't believe that someone would do something so horrendous," She said, "I mean I had noticed that the mare obviously had been a brood at some point, there are many key factors on her frame, but what caused me to want to further investigate was the fact that her teats were sagging as if recent. Just thinking about this is making me sick, and I am sorry if I cry. I completely understand now, the mare was protecting the body of her foal who appears to have died only days prior to our arrival. I don't in any way, shape, or form blame her for what she was doing, because she was doing it out of love and as a mother."

Gaia was so deeply touched with the mare, -as she said it hit close to home,- that she agreed to be the one who would care for and work with the traumatized Kleeare.

Gaia's first reaction to seeing the mare herself was shock, she was so thin, and her coat was filled with grime, covered in bald spots, you couldn't even see the glow of her bioluminescent markings. But she knew what color they were, the beautiful lime green that was imbedded into the irises of her lifeless eyes gave a clear notion of what to expect when the mare was given a thorough wash back home. The vet had said that she didn't have anything severe in her system that needed to be treated, however she would need a high protean and calcium diet because her mane and tail were almost completely gone from the root of her hair line. The vet gave Gaia some ointment for the open wounds, rashes, and bald spots that were consecutive cross the mare's body, along with some shots that would help keep the mare's immune system up since her emaciated condition brought back results that her white blood cells were dangerously low. The final orders given by the vet was for feeding, small portions were best to start with in order to help build her stomach back to it's proper size over time.

Gaia was certain that the mare wasn't going to warm up to her anytime soon, for all she knew, the trauma could run deeper then the scar of her lost foal. Had it not been for the sedative, they wouldn't have been able to get her anywhere safely.

When Gaia made it back to her stables, the Kleeare mare in her trailer had still yet to make a sound other than soft whickers. The vet had given the mare a smaller dose of the tranquilizer once more to keep her from harming herself on the journey, seeing as the last amount was wearing off and causing the mare to become more alert and afraid and had once again lunged at some of the helpers who were passing by.

She had called some of her staff a head of time, and let them know to keep the arena cleared, they all knew what was going on, and ere on high alert, especially with her aggressive behaviors.

When Gaia got out of the truck and headed for the doors of the trailer, she could hear the mare pacing inside, trying to make distress calls in her cringe worthy condition. As Gaia grabbed the handle, the mare went deathly silent, Gaia made soft clacking sounds with her tongue, a sign to warn the mare that she was there. Some of the Hands waited patiently on the side lines, ready for anything.

Gaia pulled the door open slowly, catching sight of the mare, she gave a nod to her fellow workers and slowly opened the door more, causing a subtle creek to reverberate over the metal walls and out the slits for windows. The ribs of the mare and all her other various showing bones were illuminated in the light, the caked mud and grime stinking jaggedly to her coat. Gaia opened the door until she was standing before the mare.

She whispered softly to the mare, offering treats of carrots and apple slices, the mare's ears ever so slowly drew back, and her head craned in a tall arch like a striking serpent. "Gaia look out!" In a matter of moments, one of the hands was rolling with Gaia on the ground and away from the mare who lunged out to attack Gaia. They were scraped and a little battered but over all they were okay.

Gaia watched as some of her her hands raced over the escaped mare, awestruck by the very sight of her emaciated form. "This will take a while..." Gaia commented under her breath and the crew had trouble racing after the mare who was surprisingly fast for being underfed and underworked for who knows how long.

And boy was she right

[Fuscontidox]

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II

Welcome Home

It took the entire crew a long time catching the excited mare, she seemed almost glad to be running free. For almost three hours, no one knew where she had taken off to, and after long searching, Gaia found her in one of the clearings located along one of their five trails. She was simply enjoying the glory of eating the God given grass growing green all around her. Despite her seeming joy, this frightened Gaia because she was given intstuction to not allow her to feed for too long in order to keep her stomach from bursting after a long while of going without food.

The mare laid down and seemed content to just be able to relax, she didn't shut her eyes or roll to her side, just propped herself on her front knees and looked about, after all she was found locked in a stall with her dead foal

Just the thought of that last part had Gaia's stomach lurching a little. And she couldn't help but have empathy for this mare before her.

Looking down at her side, she dismounted from her current horse and let them to rest while tied to a nearby branch, she grabbed up the lasso from the hook and tie on her saddle and walked carefully towards the mare. Laying the lasso at her own feet and watching the mare as she froze, looking towards Gaia, to see what she was doing she turned her head a little as to better see Gaia. Gaia dropped a few carrots at the mare's knees, waiting to see what reaction she would give, the mare jumped a little, and pinned her ears, sniffing the carrots abruptly before tipping at them and downing the first one slowly, her ears perked and he looked about for the next one, spotting it and taking up the treat faster than the first. When she had eaten all the carrots she stood up, her movements resembling that of a new born foal, she showered the ground for any she missed, finding nothing once more she started walking away towards the nearest source of water. Gaia took up some carrots in one hand and the lasso in her other. She made chirp sounds towards the mare, talking softly as she grew closer to the mare who abruptly stopped at the sounds Gaia was making, she drew her ears back and kept in a stance so that her hind quarters were aiming in Gaia's direction. Gaia seeing this, side stepped so that she wasn't in harms way. She tossed a carrot, catching the attention of the mare as it hit her side and landed at her front right hoof. She craned her neck in order to reach the treat below; taking this as an open opportunity, Gaia tossed the lasso as the mare dipped her head, catching it on her with the luck of the draw. The mare wasnt too happy about the lasso around her neck, however she didnt make a big deal until she finished her carrot, as odd as it was. As soon as that carrot was downed, she pinned her ears and pawed at the ground, making threatening gestures and snorts. But her threats were surprisingly bluffs, seeing as as soon as Gaia started walking, the mare walked also, she kept her mean girl look outward, but didnt to anything more than act.

Entering the barn with the mare in tow, Gaia wasnt sure about putting the mare in a stall, after all, she came from a rough past, and she didnt want to cause the mare anymore trauma, however the cloud setting in outside told her that there was no way she was going to put the mare in the pasture, she wasnt healthy enough for things of the sort.

Gaia asked some of the hands to grab the horses outside and bring them in in case it rained, she also remembered that she had left her horse tied to a tree, and he just so happened to be a special case who was terrified of loud noises, including thunder, if it started to storm, he wouldnt be too happy, she made sure to send someone for him.

Gaia wanted to test the reaction that the mare would give being put in a stall, however she wasn't so cruel as to put the poor creature back in a box isolated like she was. So she veered towards the half door stalls, allowing her plenty of space in order drape her head out and feel as though she wasn't trapped.

Finding the unclaimed half door stall she was looking for, she brought the mare closer, watching her movements carefully, as they grew closer the mare made no change in mood or behavior. Gaia proceeded to bring her into the stall, the fine sawdust under their feet kicked up a little, sifting as the mare made her way in. Gaia let herself out, watching the mare a little, she shut the door and waited, as the mare seemed to grow a little anxious, she paced around, leaned her head out, pulled back in and started pacing once more. Gaia finding this to be an average habit for many horses, let the Kleeare mare get used to her new home, leaving her with a couple of carrots in her grain tray.

[Fuscontidox]

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III

A Spoonful of Sugar

It hadnt been more than four days of the mare's stay and she was mildly settled into her new home, she hadnt lunged at any of the horses or people who past by, and she always ate her food expecting a carrot at the end, she would quench her thirst with the provided water bucket and her floor was often dirty from her pacing. She was taken out of her stall often, and left on the ties while someone went in the clean her stall, her personal halter wasnt in yet, so they had to grab an old one for her temporarily. She was given her first bath because she needed to be cleaned in order for her wounds to begin their healing process, though she often wasnt happy when ever someone got close to one of her bald spots or sores, they started a pattern with her cleaning, moving her her head to her hind legs, since she never kicked, only tried to bite, this way everyone helping would be cleared from her line of fire. When the dirt and grime was washed away, the mare's true coats was revealed, brilliant blue taffy broken with the spilling white of Sabino all across her body. The bioluminescent spots dappling her tail and beneath her eye. It was decided that her name would be "Eirawen" shortly after that first bath.

Twice a week called for a bath, along with those baths started to come medication, the shots to help Eirawen fight off any infection or disease was the easy part, she didnt seem to mind needles surprisingly enough. It was the healing ointment for her open wounds, bald spots, sores, and rashes that became the pain to get done; as soon as that jar was opened, the eye watering scent of mint and something bitter would cause Eirawen to go insane! Thrashing, and aiming to bite anyone who held the demonic jar. She had so many sores, it was hard for some of the hands to just look at them, let alone rub the ointment knowing how much it hurt.

But it had to be done in order to help keep out the infection that she would gain if it wasnt, Gaia herself felt heart broken all over again just helping to rub the ointment. She had been spending a lot of time with Eirawen, and it gave her relief to know that the time of Eirawen needing the treatment was ending soon, just a couple weeks more and she would be free from needing to have her sore's rubbed, in fact, she wouldnt have sores anymore by then. Some of the small patches were already starting to look normal, it left some scarring but thanks to the sabino, the white spots blended nicely into her coat.

[Fuscontidox]

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IV

Making Friends

Eirawen's time was often spent pacing, she really didn't prefer her stall and whenever someone came by, she immediately wondered to the bars before her door and make funny noises, trying to catch the attention of any on lookers. She was so bored, and Gaia couldn't do much for her because she wasn't quite healthy enough to do to more than walk, and the last time she took Eirawen on a walk, she kept quickening her steps until she was beginning to make a running attempt. Her frame was much healthier over the weeks, however she still had sores, moving too quickly or too often would reopen any that weren't healed yet and it would be a process all over again.Gaia wished there was more that she could do, but all she could attempt was to be around Gaia as often as possible and give her some company.

It was a misty morning, the trees were glossy with dew and dripping now and then, Gaia prepared the morning meal for the equine and set to checking on the weekly progress report from her head staff. It had been nearly a month and a half since Eirawen's arrival, and she had grown accustomed to the way things worked in the stables by this time. However she was lonely, and didn't trust any of the other horses, being the only Kleeare, the staff was unsure as to how she would react to others of her kind. Gaia and some of the staff also had another thing on their minds; the new litter of barn kittens, fresh and barely starting to venture from the hay loft where the resided with their mother. Eirawen hadn't ever had kittens, and her current barn cats had all been previously accustomed to respect horses and their strength. She was worried for their safety, and had considered taking them into her house until they were much older. However she knew that the method wouldn't help the situation any better and so she allowed the kittens to grow and try their way around the barn.

There was a total of four kittens, the mother was a solid orange tabby, but she gave birth to a wide variety of colors, an orange + white tabby, two black + white, and a little calico. Everyone had been excited to have the kittens around, and hands could be often found in the loft just to pet the little fur balls, even Gaia caught herself traveling up the ladder just to see them.

It was on a particular day, when the kittens were about seven weeks old, that Eirawen got an eerie feeling just entering the barn. She ignored it for a while, but it wasnt too long before she started searching for the source of her uneasy feeling. A loud mewing came from the loft, and finding it odd, she went up to observe, Gaia found the orange Momma Cat pacing around frantically, seeming to search with no prevail. The little kittens were scattered about, sleeping and playing, but counting them didnt add up; there was an absence of the little calico.

Gaia went frantic in her mind for a bit, scanning her eyes over every square inch to try and find that kitten, with no luck she left the hay loft and searched the barn ground floor.

"Here kitty, kitty" she whispered, scanning everything in her line of sight to find that kitten, she all but trashed the barn, it wasn't until she neared the oddly silent stall of Eirawen that she grew a sneaking suspicion. Coming closer, she looked in to find that Eirawen was standing still, the little kitten at her hooves, weaving about and playing. It mowed and pawed, and rubbed against Eirawen's ankles, but she didn't seem to mind, she bent down and took deep inhales and exhales, the kittens fur went historical, sticking up and smoothing down almost like static electricity. Gaia called out and got Eirawen's attention, holding out her hand for Eirawen to smell and nuzzle a bit. She stepped into the stall and reached to pick up the kitten, but Eirawen drew her ears back, and nodded her head in threatening gestures.

Gaia stepped back, realizing why Eirawen was doing this, the kitten was like her replacement for her foal, and it wasn't going to be anytime soon that Eirawen would recover from her horrible loss.

Gaia stepped away from the kitten, and held out a treat stored in her pocket, it was gladly taken as an apology and Eirawen went back to a calm state of mind.

[Fuscontidox]

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V

Exercise Routine

As the days grew on, Eirawen was looking much better than when she had first arrived into Gaia's care, it took a few weeks after her new "baby" was in her care for Eirawen to allow Gaia alone to touch him.

Yes! Him! a boy calico, though its rare to find one, there he was sitting all pretty and enjoying time around his second mother. The staff had soon decided to name him Otto, mainly because of the orange "O" on his left side. Where ever Eirawen went, Otto was sure to follow, and he had even figured out how to jump up onto the ledge of whatever wall Eirawen was closest to and sit himself on her back. She would walk around her stall with him on her rump, and people would stop by to video tape Otto rocking back and forth, and just going with the flow. Otto even enjoyed baths! He loved being washed and groomed and soaked in warm water so long as Eirawen was there too.

Other than moving her to and from her stall for baths, Eirawen really didnt go anywhere, and with Otto on her back -Literally- it was impossible to do anything more without putting Otto's life in harm's way. Everyone could tell how restless Eirawen was getting being in the confinement of her stall, she was always so glad when the pretty lavender harness was pulled out, the new one with the copper oval that said "Eirawen" she always perked up with the clanking of the iron buckles. She would be so excited, that she would often times forget that Otto was on her back, and he would almost fling off, he'd gotten better at timing, and was a much smarter cat than everyone thought a cat could be. But he was so troublesome when it came to what was best for Eirawen, worry would they not though, for someone made the genius idea of cat harnesses, Otto Hated them, and he wouldnt budge a foot for anyone, not even his precious companion. In order to please both parties -sorta- Otto would be on a leash and harness, carried by one of the hands that Eirawen trusted, and Gaia would take Eirawen out for some exercise.

Eirawen still had some sores/soft spots, and so she wasnt able to be saddle broken yet, let alone ridden, so the best thing as a step of training was to take out the lunge, and let her run in circles while the April rain pattered on the roof of the indoor arena. Otto sat idol, flopping his tail on the ground and kicking up dirt, watching Eirawen with narrowed eyes as she continued to run on the lunge line.

She enjoyed it so much, just being able to move a little more freely, she didnt care if she had to listen to commands, she just wanted to get out her energy! It took time for her to actually get a hold of what was being asked of her, but eventually she understood and would just go with it, her hoof beats mixing with the subtle sounds of the distant thunder and the rain on the metal roof, and the gentle clacking of the metal name plate on her new lavender halter.

[Fuscontidox]

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VI

Final Evaluation

The days became more calm and the rain had died down, soon Eirawen was allowed to go outside with her physical health having increased dramatically after months of rehabilitation. She enjoyed very much to be walked down the trails, yeas walked since she was not saddle broken and still was under training.

She was still quite attached to little Otto, however he did not like leaving the barn, and would only trot along next to her before stopping and watching her leave, he would wait there no matter where he stopped and wouldn't move until she returned. Sometimes we would have to have someone pick him up by force and return him to eat something since no one knew how long Eirawen walk want to linger while out and about.

it was a warm day, and Gaia was about to head for the trails with Eirawen that a truck pulled up, there was a trailer in the back, but the sound of its rattling as it made its way down the broken rocks and stone told Gaia that it was empty. She waited at the doors of the barn for the truck to stop and turn off, two men came from the vehicle, one being the doctor from the first day of the Kleeare rescue, from then Gaia knew that the other must be the man who was said to appear randomly sometime to check on the condition of the rescued Kleeare.

He was moderately well dressed, of course prepared for outdoors work, he approached Gaia and showed her his inspector license, stating his name and asking where he could find her. Smiling Gaia replied who she was, and they shook hands, she introduced Eirawen, and gave a brief back story to the condition of how Eirawen arrived, following up with the care she was given and a list of everything that she had been fed and all the medication she was required to take along with the ointments for her bald spots and sores.

The man took Eirawen's lead -with permission- and walked her in many circles, he had her respond to a few commands and returned her lead to Gaia. The doctor approached and gave her a thorough exam across her body and checked her vitals, he took a blood sample and the results came out healthy according to the traveling office he had going in the trailer.

The man thanked Gaia for her time, and complimented on her effort to caring for this mare and her trauma and troubles. He took out a little box as he began walking away, and the smell of peppermint clouded the air, in a matter of moment, Eirawen was tense, and she lunged for the man, but was quickly held back by Gaia and soothed. The man turned around with a inquisitive face, and Gaia returned it with a sheepish smile, explaining that Eirawen hated Peppermint with a burning passion after the strong scent of the ointment they had to use on her sores. He nodded and put away his mints, getting back in the truck with a farewell and leaving them to enjoy their trail walk.

Eirawen made a full physical recovery, however due to her time in the conditions she was in and the trauma it caused, she always will hate the smell of peppermint, and she is to be watched carefully in only the care of few not only with Otto, but if she was to ever have foals since she is extremely possessive.

[Fuscontidox]

(Bumping this for myself ^^)