Cthulhu's Short Story Thread

[Thelastsilhouette]

Heimdall's Evaluation:

Clouds rolled in, making the day cooler than expected when the day of evaluation came for Heimdall, the Kleeare Association wanted to check up on the progress the stallion had made while at Tipping Ranch. Sil was nervous because the stallion was still thinner than he should be and a bit wilder still too.
When the Association showed up Sil stood nervously beside Heimdall as they looked him over, checked his hooves before moving to his teeth, eyes and ears.
Heimdall wasn't sure about all the special attention but didn't shy away. They were done checking him over after only a few minutes of being studied. They wrote down some minor notes before looking to each other, nodding and giving Heimdall a clean bill of health for the care that Heimdall had obviously shown during the inspection.

[Thelastsilhouette]

Hooves thudded softly as Wolf paced back and forth along the fence line of his regular pasture, a heavy storm had forced all of the horses into the barn for a week as hail randomly appeared throughout to bash and batter anything left unprotected at Tipping Ranch. The ranch house and barns weathered the storm rather well though the sound of hail had caused a lot of the Tolters to wonder if someone was actually just slamming rocks against the roof or possibly someone was just taking a hammer to it.
After the black-gray clouds had finished dumping upon the ranch lands, the owner of Tipping Ranch had started to bring her horses out one by one to resume their normal routine around the place. The coyote dun was anxious though, the storm had left them all worried and confused on how the others had fared, Wolf had been put into the barn where most of the studs were kept separate from the mares so he had no clue how his mate, a sweet but prickly manchado mare named Mondschein had done without him.
The familiar sound of hooves on gravel brought the stallion to a halt as he watched Cassandra Evans coming out of the barn with a set of three horses from the mare barn. They were horses he knew well and he was glad to see they all looked the same as they normally did he couldn't help feeling disappointed that they were being put back out first.
The trio didn't seem to share his feelings though and eagerly nickered to him as they passed. The mare that Cassandra led was named Gypsy, she had earned some scars as a foal and had lost an eye as well but what she lacked in overall beauty she made up for in kindness. "Hey, Wolf. It's good to see you're well."
Wolf watched the three walking before reluctantly following after them to continue talking with them. "Hey, Gypsy. It's good to see you and your kin are doing well too. Do you possibly have any news about Mondschein?"
Gypsy laughed gently as she remembered a time where he had no deeper feelings towards the mares at Tipping Ranch because he claimed to adore them all. It was a pleasant change for sure as now he and Mondschein both seemed more content with life here and with each other.
"Mondschein is doing fine and besides that all there is to say is congratulations!"
Wolf came to a stop where the pasture fence ended, Gypsy's words left him more confused than relieved as he watched the three heading to their normal pasture as well. He rarely often talked to the quiet bay paint that was Gypsy's mate, Wolf was sure that the other stallion was not overly fond of him with his previous history of being so flirtatious. Most stallions disagreed with his past actions but there was not much Wolf could do to change their minds about him it had been quite a while since then, even the pair had changed, instead of a constant duo Gypsy had gone from being a lone mare to having her mate pastured with her whenever they weren't brought inside and added a foal that had grown into a fine young stallion as well. Their love had blossomed in ways that Wolf had hoped would for himself. Yet here he was, his mate nowhere around and his son gone to live with his uncle in South Korea.
What was different between them? The coyote dun wondered, resting his chin on topmost wooden railing of his pasture. He had loved Mondschein and had even changed his ways to make her his only one, she did the same for him yet their time was rarely together and their son..
Lost in sad spiral of thoughts, Wolf had not yet caught sight of Cassandra with the lovely Wolf Dun Manchado that was his Mondschein. Beside the mare stood a wobbly legged foal with light green eyes.
"Wolf? Are you alright?" Mondschein asked, worry evident

wip

[Thelastsilhouette]

Leaves crunched softly under foot and hoof as a rider led their mount out of the darkness of the warm barn that housed many of the horses at Tipping Ranch. Cassandra Evans shivered faintly, the sun had yet to make an appearance on this crisp fall day and she wished she had grabbed a thicker sweater to go riding today.
There wouldn’t be a chance to grab a warmer coat as the sound of hooves caught her and Rakshasa’s attention. The forever grinning stallion looked a fright but his gentle demeanor soon showed strangers his true personality. At one point in his life he had been known for being a monster, his sanity had grown close to snapping but just as he was about to break, he had been saved. Nowadays, there was no remnant of that part of him as he had been shown a better life and had grown to trust the horses and people he now had in his life.
Cassandra shook herself slightly to shake of the last couple shivers before giving the patient stallion a gentle pat along his neck. “I hope you’re ready for a long day of riding. I know it’s been a while but we’ll have plenty of fun today.”
The other rider and horse finally came into sight so that the girl could easily make them out. “Morning, Ryan. Khaos is looking pretty good, no fights with him lately?"
"I might be good with difficult horses but a sign of no fights with a guy this sensitive would mean something’s seriously wrong. He’s as difficult as he normally is but he’s learning patience slowly."
Rakshasa had been bred to have a few foals that inherited his ghastly grin markings along his face, Khaos being his most aggressive child born, he had been sent to a neighboring farm where a neighbor who worked with troubled horses willingly took him in to ease his anger issues.
As aggressive as Khaos was he was usually less so around his sire. It had always been that way and would probably always will be as Cassandra could never part with the children she had that were born from Rakshasa’s line. People thought they looked neat and unique but just as many thought they were more like black cats and should be treated as bad omens. If Khaos could show a calmer side though, it was more evident with Ryan, he might not be able to fully tame this particular stallion but he was able to manage him much easier than Cassandra ever could.
“Well, from what I hear, he’s doing a lot better thanks to you.” The girl couldn’t hide the relief in her voice as she had been at the end of her wits when Ryan had offered to assist with Khaos. As if to prove her wrong, the stallion let out a large huff before flattening his ears and lifting his head up high, the stallion’s front hooves lifted a couple inches from the ground before Rakshasa flattened his own ears and bared his teeth at his son. Khaos immediately calmed and lowered his head.
“I think the only one who really knows how to get Khaos to knock it off is his dad.” Ryan let out a chuckle as he brushed off the momentary loss of control while Cassandra frowned as she had remembered the many times she had struggled just to lunge the horse in a round pen without having the stallion show her his teeth. It saddened her as she had never in Khaos’ life done anything to cause such unnecessary anger towards her but it had present since birth and would probably always be part of his personality.
“At least I know there are two people who can keep him in check.”
The pair let the stallions give each other a proper greeting as they softly brushed their muzzles against one another’s before turning to focus on the dirt path that led out into the untamed wilderness that belonged to Tipping Ranch. The saddle was cold, Cassandra could feel it as easily as if she wasn’t wearing jeans at all, Ryan didn’t appear to be bothered with the same thoughts as he was wearing thicker clothes, he had come prepared for the cold.
Cassandra’s hands struggled to keep a steady grip on Rakshasa’s reins, she fumbled with them a few times before just looping them around the saddle horn. She knew she could trust her stallion to keep a steady pace on his own and would follow after Khaos without question. With the stallions quietly walking along Cassandra and Ryan could relax and take note of the forest around them, the pine trees were dark and eerie when night set in but as the sun was cresting the horizon the light turned the forest into a beautiful fairytale. With the sun came the chirping of birds and the rustle of rodents in the underbrush.
The four came to a stop where the trees cleared, Cassandra let out a long sigh as she stretched her arms up to the sky, the sunlight warming her as they stood in the middle of the clearing. Rakshasa seemed to enjoy the coming of the sun as he chose that very moment to give himself a vigorous shake.
Ryan chuckled as Cassandra quickly grabbed onto the saddle to keep herself from slipping not so gracefully to the ground. Khaos champed impatiently at the bit as he waited to to continue onward down the trail. “I think we’ve finally gotten past the warm up, you ready to see what these guys can do?”
Cassandra watched Ryan smirking at her and grinned right back as she picked up the reins that she had resting around the saddle horn. “Are you challenging me to a race?”
Ryan nodded before urging Khaos forward down the trail, the stallion side stepped a couple times before taking off. Cassandra urged Rakshasa to chase after them, laughing at the sight of Khaos crow hopping and doing his best to keep his sire from being left behind. “Looks like you might be up for winning in a race but Khaos isn’t.”
Rakshasa easily passed his son without so much as a backwards flick of his ear, only then did Khaos choose to pick up speed and gallop. “We’ll see about that!”

Word count: 1058

[Thelastsilhouette]

The soft sound of rain hitting the roof overhead was constant, as time passed, it could even be tuned out by the horses that nestled in their warm stalls. The storm had come upon them with a sudden and mighty pounding as rain had hammered every surface of Tipping Ranch. Time passed and the storm had lessened but the horses didn’t notice or care.
Amaretto rubbed her muzzle firmly in the dry straw that blanketed the stall she shared with her mother, Mondschein. It was her first rain and she had only gotten a whiff or two of the smell of wet earth when a person came in from outside to feed them and tidy up their stalls.
Mondschein let out a soft huff of air before settling down in the straw with her foal, causing the latter to lift her head before laying back down in the straw.
“Will the rain ever end, mama?” Amaretto asked, disappointment at being cooped up inside evident in her voice.
“Eventually, liebling.” The Wolf dun Manchado replied her voice filled with fatigue as she laid her head in the straw as well. “What can we do until then?” The young filly asked as she looked towards the ceiling, the sound of rain faint but still as consistent as before.
“Sleep.. “
Amaretto shifted into an upright position while watching her mother drift off. The filly tucked her front legs close to her body as she let out a pitiful sigh. The chestnut Manchado was tired of sleeping, she yearned to be outside where she could run and play.
What was a bored filly to do?

—

Mondschein awoke to the sound of a wooden door creaking, it was too close to be the barn door. The mare lay there a moment longer before she opened her eyes. Instantly she realized that her daughter was gone!
“Amaretto!” The mare let out a ferocious whinny as she scrambled to stand up. The creaking noise had been the stall door as it slowly swayed back and forth due to the breeze coming through the open barn door as well.
The mare stormed outside with all the fury of a raging mother intent on protecting their baby.
“Amaretto!”
The mare whinnied once more, her voice echoing across the fields.
A couple seconds passed as Mondschein frantically paced the area, looking for any sign of her foal. A hint of a chestnut coat could be seen as the filly loped past a small patch of trees in a pasture. Mondschein didn’t hesitate to push her way past the gate that hung open as well. There were more opened gates than she could ever recall being open before, none of their handlers had been so careless in all her time at Tipping Ranch.
As Amaretto grew near with mud splashed as far up on her body as her chin the mare spied the mastermind behind the filly’s escape.
“Volf... Did you do all of this?” The mare asked in a deceptively calm voice.
Mondschein’s mate and sire to Amaretto flicked his ears nervously, he knew well what it was like to be on the wrong end of an angry mare.
“No, not at all. She got out on her own, I thought it would be a good idea to get some fresh air, calm that energy a bit before bringing her back inside.”
Mondschein glanced at her daughter with a disbelieving look before flattening her ears to her head and approaching the coyote dun. “What is going to happen if you keep teaching her bad tricks?”
The mare asked, her voice growing even softer as her muzzle barely brushed against the stallion’s. “Stop showing her things, you’re not leaving me anything fun to teach her..”
“Wait, what? You’re not mad?”
Wolf practically shouted in surprise, he was expecting a much angrier response. Mondschein shook her head before looking disappointed. “Even if I get mad, you still do things that terrify me. Why would I try to make sense of that anymore?” The mare moved to stand close to their filly before nuzzling her mane gently.
“I vant to share the good things with Amaretto and you too.. It seems like you no longer care to ask me to come along.. Maybe our time together has run it’s course...”
Wolf opened his mouth to deny what the mare had said but he paused as he thought about it, when was the last time he tried to spend time like this with his mate? He could no longer recall.
Mondschein led their foal back into the mare barn but not before sparing one last sad look towards the stallion that stood in the same place she had left him in.
The stallion felt his breath catch in throat as he watched the mare he loved the most take their foal back inside the warm barn. What had become of them? Wolf shivered from the sudden rush of cold overtaking him, had it always been this cold? Or was it the dreadful feeling of a broken heart that made him feel this way?
The stallion could no longer tell as he slowly walked to the barn where the stallions and his own stall were tucked away in.
—

Mondschein tucked her filly into their stall before moving to lay in front of the door to prevent any further escapes. Amaretto looked thoughtful or was she just tired? The mare didn’t know but it hurt knowing that her filly could not listen to her but would listen to her sire although he barely spent time with either of them the last couple of months.
Wolf.. Mondschein’s heart ached in her chest as she laid her head in the straw of her stall once more. Was he a lost cause after all?

Word count: 944