[Medd]

For Merlin's Heir!


Username: Merlin's Heir
Coat color: Smoky black, pearl | Gray
Coat Pattern: Overo, splash | Appaloosa
One Must have: Long mane and tail
One Optional: Unusual/unique face marking

[Merlin's Heir]

Thanks! I can't wait to see him/her.

[Merlin's Heir]

Show Name: Redemption of the Dark
Barn Name: Ren
Halter Color: Same as his eyes, with pale silver buckles

I'll put up the writing later today.

[Merlin's Heir]

___I slowly opened my eyes and blinked sleepily. The faint jingling sound that had awoken me came to my ears again, but my half-asleep mind didn't pay any attention to it. I propped myself up on one elbow, yawning and rubbing my eyes. Another wave of exhaustion swept over me and back down to my pillow went my head.

___It's Christmas.

___The sudden realization sent me straight out of bed. I jammed my feet into my slippers and rushed to the window. I threw open the curtains and gazed out at the brilliant whiteness that had covered everything in the night. I bounced my heels up and down and grinned like a two-year-old who's just ripped open a present.

___A movement in the corner of my eye caught my attention. Something dark slipped just out of view, and I pressed my face up against the window to get a better look. No luck. I grabbed the cozy winter coat that hung on my bedpost and forced my arms into the sleeves while I made my way to the door. Impatience and curiosity got the better of me and I yanked the door open without bothering to put on my gloves or hat.

___The snow was piled up high on either side of the paved pathway that led from my house to the barn. But my mind was too focused on the rustling noises coming from around the corner to wonder who had shoveled the snow off of walkway for me. Zipping up my coat and throwing the hood over my head, I went to investigate. The sounds were coming from the side of the house, near the gate to the paddock. I had put all my horses back in the barn last night, so I knew it wasn't any of them. Even Nessa and Eden, my two troublemaking mares, couldn't get past the new bolts I'd put on the stall doors after their Thanksgiving fiasco.

___Crunch, crunch. The crisp new snow made the most delightful sound as I left the path and followed the still-green hedges that lined the sides of the house. Ten steps more to the answer. My curiosity was burning. Eight steps. Flaming. Six steps. Burning. Four steps. Forest fire. Two steps. Inferno. O-

___The horse came flying out, prevented from running me down only by a thick rope tying his halter to the fence. In my surprise, I slipped and fell into a snowdrift. I scrambled up to take a better look at the creature who had just tried to end me. The look in his eyes was practically hatred, but he didn't attempt to charge me again. Intelligent, I realized. He knew he couldn't reach me. He continued glaring at me all the same.

___In appearance, he was perfection itself. He was a dashing smoky black overo whose white markings looked like a string of hearts. He tossed his head, revealing a broken white circle around one violet eye. Another toss of the head and his long, dark forelock veiled it again. He had a very powerful look, and I sensed a hint of gracefulness in his action that was masked by his malice.

___I glanced behind me at the street. Who had left this enraged enigma here? Why? I turned back to the stallion and pushed the questions into the back of my head. I had more important things to worry about. Like getting this murderous mystery somewhere more secure. And helping him get past whatever was haunting him. I was going to save this fallen angel. Who cared if he'd tried to kill me at first sight? I'd fallen in love at first sight.

___It had been nearly two weeks since I'd found this beautiful, crazy horse out in the snow, and I'd made as little progress as if it had only been an hour. The stallion, for whom I hadn't yet found a suitable name, still glared at me from behind his thick forelock and pinned his ears back every time I so much as laid a hand on the gate to his paddock. His attitude towards my other horses proved that he didn't have a personal vendetta against me; he snapped and charged and bared his teeth at them, too. So I kept him isolated.

___As each day passed, I worried more and more. I loved this handsome psychopath of a horse, but if I couldn't get any closer to him, I couldn't keep him. It wouldn't be fair to either of us. He needed someone he could trust, and I needed to be able to call my mind my own again. With him around, I could hardly think about anything else. He was like a black hole.

___On January 7th, I was almost ready to give up. No progress, no ideas, no hope. I was standing on the fence, with my arms and chin resting on the highest bar. My Christmas conundrum was standing stock still in the snow in the far corner of the paddock, looking like a perfect statue.

___The bar on the fence vibrated beneath my hand, and the sound of a pair of boots stepping onto the fence alongside me came to my ears. I turned my head to see a my best friend, Kenneth. His gaze was directed at the stallion. Upon turning my gaze likewise toward the stallion, I saw that he had shifted his stance. His proud head was turned more in our direction, and his attention seemed to be focused entirely on the stranger who stood beside me.

___"Who's your new friend?" Kenneth asked, still locked in his staring contest with the horse.

___"A mystery," I replied. Kenneth turned his head and raised his eyebrows. "When I woke up on Christmas, he was tied to the fence right over there." I gestured to the aforementioned fence.

___"Another troubled horse?" Kenneth inquired.

___"What makes you think that?" I demanded.

___"You've earned quite the reputation, Aven," Kenneth grinned. "Everyone around here knows you'll take a crazy horse off their hands in an instant." I shook my head and smiled. "Admit it, you've got a soft spot for us troublemakers." I gave him a friendly nudge with my elbow and glanced at the stallion again. He was pacing back and forth in the snow, stopping to look at Kenneth and me every now and then.

___I sighed, wondering again if this horse could ever recover from whatever had caused him to distrust anyone and everyone. Kenneth heard my sigh and raised his eyebrows at me again. Typical Kenneth. "This horse..." I began. "I don't know if I can help him. The first time I saw him, he charged right at me. If it hadn't been for the rope on his halter, I'd have been trampled. He hates the other horses, too. He hates everyone, and I don't know why or how to fix it."

___Kenneth nodded slowly and turned his gaze back to the stallion, who did likewise. They stared silently at one another for a moment. It looked as if they were communicating somehow, despite their distance from one another. The both broke off and turned away in the same moment.

___"Maybe," Kenneth said, turning towards me again, "it isn't your problem to fix."

___"What do you mean?" I asked, my eyebrows drawing together in confusion. "Are you saying I should give up, send him somewhere else?"

___"No, no," Kenneth shook his head. "I'm saying that maybe he needs someone who understands him to help him out. You two simply don't have enough shared experience to really get one another." Kenneth began climbing down from the fence, and I followed suit. As he began unlatching the gate, I crossed my arms and gave him a look.

___"But you think you do?" I questioned. Kenneth lifted one corner of his mouth in a lopsided smile.

___"Let's find out." With that, my best friend opened the gate and went into the paddock that contained the most homicidal horse I'd ever met.

___"Ken!" I exclaimed. As could be easily predicted, I was both shocked and greatly concerned. I made a move to follow him, but Kenneth shut the gate behind him and shook his head.

___"I doubt you can help right now, Aven," he told me. Reluctantly, I backed away from the gate, clambering up onto the fence beside it to watch.

___Kenneth casually sauntered along towards the other side of the paddock. He appeared perfectly calm and unsuspecting, but I knew Kenneth was alert and ready for anything that might happen. My eye flicked towards the stallion. He looked more confused than anything else. He began agitatedly trotting back and forth along the fenceline, unsure of how to react to this human's strange behavior. Kenneth pretended to take no notice as he came nearer and nearer to my would-be killer.

___Kenneth halted about ten feet away from the fence. He stood still, his thumbs in his pockets, and started whistling. I couldn't hear him from this far away, but I knew Kenneth almost always whistled when working with a horse. The stallion had stopped when Kenneth had. His ears kept swiveling back and forth, as if he couldn't decide whether to hate this newcomer or listen to his shrill music. Kenneth suddenly but gently turned to face the horse, and some imperceptible communication passed between them again. The stallion took a hesitant step towards Kenneth, and Kenneth turned away and started walking back towards the gate. The stallion took another few steps after him, but Kenneth gave him a look over his shoulder and the stallion tossed his head and was back to cantering in the snow.

___When Kenneth returned, I didn't ask what he'd done or how he'd done it. I just asked him if he could come by again tomorrow, and he accepted the invitation readily. He returned the next day, and spent several hours in the paddock with the stallion while I tended to the rest of my horses. Again I invited Kenneth to come the next day, and again he accepted. The process was repeating for weeks and weeks. I never watched Kenneth's work with the stallion, knowing he preferred to be left alone. I only caught the occasional glimpse through the fence bars as I walked along the path. Usually I didn't see anything surprising ― Kenneth sitting in the snow or walking towards the stallion, the stallion hesitantly following Kenneth around, and so on.

___So, about seven weeks after January 7th, when I was walking from the house out to the barn, I was thoroughly shocked to see the stallion galloping by with Kenneth on his back. I ran over to the fence and climbed up. Nope, I hadn't been mistaken. Kenneth was riding my psycho stallion bareback in the snow. The stallion's ears were pricked forward, flicking back only to catch a word or a whistle from Kenneth, whose face was lit up with a look of intense joy I'd never seen before. The two slowed to a trot, and Kenneth, noticing me for the first time, waved cheerfully. I waved back, and Kenneth motioned for me to enter the paddock. I complied, though a bit apprehensively. Kenneth slipped down from the stallions back and walked over to me. The stallion followed without hesitation, completely trusting his human friend.

___"You've made quite a bit of progress," I commented with a smile. Kenneth just looked embarrassed and stroked the stallion's cheek. Then he took my hand and guided it towards the stallion's neck, continuing to stroke him reassuringly as he did so. He placed my hand on the stallion's neck, and the horse's only response was a slight shiver. The three of us stood there silently for a few moments. Kenneth's head was pressed against the stallion's cheek, and the stallion's chin rested on Kenneth's shoulder. I marveled at the bond between them. It had grown so quickly, yet they acted like they'd known each other forever.

___"What do you call your new friend?" I asked, breaking the silence.

___"Redemption of the Dark," Kenneth smiled. "I haven't thought of a good barn name, though." I pondered over it for a moment, then smiled back at the two boys.

___"How about Ren?" I suggested. "Like 'Ken,' but with an 'R' for 'Redemption.'" Kenneth smiled again and nodded.

___"Ren."

[shortstop]

Hello!
There has been a slight numbering problem which we are now working to fix ^^
The number of this HG should be #212.
Please make sure to also change this on the horse's stable page c:
Thank you so much <3

[Merlin's Heir]

Could I get a transparent version, without the bow, please?