[Rondell]

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Rank 3

Username; Rondell
Name; Broom
Grelifcent ID; #013
Grelifcent Band; #002
Gender; Mare
Height; 14.2 HH
Kindness Rating; 6
Tails; 2
Generation; First

Parents;
- Unknown
Breeding Slots;
- 0/5
Date of last Foal born;
- NA
Current Souls Captured;
- 11
Breeding Slot Reserves;
- NA
Pairings/Breedings;
- NA

Completed Tasks;
- 10
Total Points Collected;
- 10

[KathrynKat]

beautiful

[Rondell]

((Thanks Kat!))

Broom's Quest Log

Task 1 - Unloading;
Share a story in the unloading from the trailer
(Art or 50-100 Word Story)

As I stood by the main drive waiting for the Agency people to show up (they were nearly an hour late!), I allowed my mind to wander. And, unsurprisingly, I found myself thinking about this whole 'roundup' thing. After all, that's why I was out here waiting! NOT thinking about it would be like not thinking about that yellow hippo in plaid dungarees someone just described to you. You know, the one juggling and riding a unicycle back and forth across a wobbly bridge made made of rainbow Popsicle sticks..? Anyway, Meadowdale had a serious Grell problem. No sooner had The Agency rounded up one band than a second showed up to take its place. And it was from this second band that my little chicken chaser came!

Yes, chicken chaser. The mare had been captured while raiding someone's chicken coop. She'd actually been infamous in and around Meadowdale for her raids! This was one Grell that the town would be really happy to get rid of.

After what seemed like forever, the trailer finally pulled into my driveway. Its driver was skilled, and it only took him a moment to maneuver so that the trailer's gate lined up perfectly with the paddock's gate. As he got out of the truck and came around to the back, I expected him to be carrying a rope. You know, to unload the mare. Instead, he just opened both gates and gave the side of the trailer a solid thump. My mare came shooting out, and ignored us entirely as the Agency man packed up and made ready to leave. She seemed FAR more interested in dong laps of the Paddock.

Well... this was going to be interesting.

Task 2 - Taming;
Share a story in how you started taming, to be able to gain a bit of trust
(Art or 50-100 Word Story)

I left my new mare alone for a moment and vanished into the barn. When I came back, lugging a jolly ball, she was still doing laps. I suppose she was looking for a way out. I suppose she was thinking about trying to vault the fence.... But I didn't want that to happen. Hence the jolly ball! I was hoping she'd find it interesting enough to play with, so she'd burn off some nervous energy in a safe, constructive manner. Or, failing that, I was hoping it would distract her long enough to break her out of whatever mental loop she was stuck in right now.

Over the fence, the jolly ball went!

Initially, the mare wanted nothing to do with it. She gave it a wide birth, and kept right on running laps. But this was no ordinary Grellifcent. No, this was the infamous Chicken Chaser of Meadowdale! And her curiosity was insatiable! Thus, after a minute or so, the mare slowed down and wandered over to sniff cautiously at the toy. After another minute, she was nibbling at it. Then nudging it. Then knocking it hard enough to make it skid a few inches.

From there, it was history - my new mare accepted her new toy with great enthusiasm, and spent the rest of the day flinging it about. I don't care to relate how many times I had to fetch it and put it back into the paddock for her! But at least it kept her occupied, and helped her to settle in.

Task 3 - Introduce to a herd;
Introduce the Grelifcent to your/one of your herds.
(Art or 50-100 Word Story)

Thanks to her boundless energy and our nearly endless game of 'fetch the jolly ball', I'd discovered that my new mare could go through two jolly balls a month (A Grell's teeth are tough on those things!). I'd also found that she liked the banana scented ones the best. For whatever reason. And, even as I decided to buy stock in the company that made the things, I was glad I'd hit upon her obsession early on. Through the toy, we'd bonded. Yes, I'd gotten to know my rambunctious dirtball rather quickly! She'd only been living in my paddock for three weeks, and already she'd run over to greet me in the mornings... provided I was carrying a bright yellow jolly ball in my arms! Of course, her friendliness was also due to the fact that she was pretty familiar with people to begin with, even before I'd gotten her. She'd seen them all the time on her chicken raids! Going by the reports, some of the Meadowdale children had even found her shenanigans funny, and had been tossing her treats to keep her around. Thus - my mare wasn't as feral as she could have been.

At the beginning of the fourth week, I decided to end my mare's isolation and begin introducing her to one of my herds. Given her personality, I figured that Voltaire's herd would be my best bet. Never mind the fact that it was my smallest herd at present, consisting of only Voltaire and Dusty.

My mind made up, I slung a rope around the mare's neck and led her from the paddock to a field adjoining the one where Voltaire and his lone mare spent most of their time. This was so she could see them, smell them, and hear them for a while without having to actually share space with them. Yet. That would come later! Once everyone had had a chance to get used to everyone else.

As I turned my newest mare out into her new field, I had to smile. She was going to give poor Voltaire a run for his money!

Task 4 - Brush;
Gain the trust to be able to brush the Grelifcent.
(Art or 50-100 Word Story)

Remember what I said in my last entry about the mare and I bonding quickly thanks to her love of playing games and the fact she wasn't totally feral to begin with? Yeah, well, thanks to this, I was actually able to brush the crud out of her fur pretty early on. Not that it did much good at first! My new mare seemed to pick up dust and dirt almost as quickly as her eventual herd-mate Dustbowl, so my simple brushing just wasn't cutting it.

The very first time I took a brush to my mare's coat - or tried to - she shied away from me, twisting her head so that she could sniff at the thing in my hand. I decided that satisfying her curiosity would be the best way to go, so I just stood there, holding the brush out, letting her poke at it with her bony muzzle. Next thing I know though, she has the thing in her teeth and is trying to give it the jolly ball treatment! But the brush is not a jolly ball. And the mare learned this quite quickly. So, frustrated, she flicked her head and sent the unfortunate brush flying... all the way across the paddock and into her water bucket.

Girl has good aim.

The second time I took a brush to my mare's coat was about fifteen minutes later, after fetching the brush and drying it off as best as I could. When I approached her this time, she simply gave the my hand a good sniff and turned her attention back to worrying the salt lick I'd fastened to the the fence. Emboldened, I gave her shoulder a few careful strokes with the brush... and immediately found myself choking on the cloud of dust I'd raised. Unfortunately my outburst startled the mare, who abandoned the salt lick and trotted off to the far side of the field, leaving me to hack and cough all by myself.

This is why I decided to name my mare Broom - she has all the best properties of one.

Task 5 - Bathe;
Gain the trust to be able to bath the Grelifcent.
(Art or 50-100 Word Story)

Broom the dusty, icky, mucky, Grelifcent needed a bath. I'd known it from the moment she lunged out of the trailer, and the point had only been driven home by my several unsuccessful attempts to cut through the crud with a mere brush. Thankfully, after the first time, I'd learned to wrap a bandanna around my face so I didn't get asphyxiated by the cloud of dust such attempts always raised. So I wasn't as badly off as I could have been. But seriously - what had Broom gotten into back in Meadowdale? And why hadn't the Agency people tried to clean her off before shipping her over to me? Or... had they? Maybe... they'd been just as unsuccessful as I'd been.

That was a sobering thought....

A day or so after Broom had begun socializing with Voltaire and Dusty from opposite sides of the same fence, I once more roped my mare and, this time, I led her to the little 'bath stall' I'd set up right outside the main barn. After loosely looping her lead over the post intended for that very purpose, I picked up the hose by its business end and gave the knob on the spigot a half turn - just enough to make the water come out, but not enough to make it come out with any real force. Nevertheless, the sound of water through the pipe and water splashing unexpectedly onto the ground startled my mare. So I quickly turned the water OFF, and spent a moment calming her down. Once I'd succeeded, I tried again. I only gave the knob a quarter turn this time. It was barely enough to get a little dribble from the end of the hose, but the 'water through pipes' noise was quieter, as was the sound of water splashing onto the concrete floor, so when Broom started THIS time, I was able to calm her sufficiently without having to turn things off again. Still, I wasn't feeling confidant enough to turn the water up any higher. Thus Broom's first bath wasn't really a proper bath. It was more of a... wetting?

As I slowly moved the end of the hose over her body, speaking softly and using my (gloved) hand in lieu of a sponge, I watched her twitch nervously and roll her eyes with displeasure. So I called off our little adventure before it had even really begun. Broom went back to her field hardly any cleaner than when she'd left, and only slightly damp.

There was always tomorrow...

Task 6 - Fully Tamed;
Share a story in how you connected with the Grelifcent
(Art or 50-100 Word Story)

We kept working on the bath thing, and, gradually, slowly, bit by bit... we got there.

The first time I gave my mare a real, honest-to-goodness bath was nearly two weeks after our first misadventure with the hose, and as I watched all the muck slide away from her coat, I felt a warm and fuzzy sense of accomplishment fill my chest. She was truly beautiful under all that crud! And she felt comfortable enough around me now to not be afraid of the hose. That was its own reward. The smell of the shampoo no longer made her nervous. The sweat scraper, which I used to get all the excess water out of her coat once I was finished washing her, did not cause her to shy away. Yes - Broom had well and truly settled into life on my ranch/farm/thing! We now had a trust built on more than a game of 'toss the jolly ball'.

[Rondell]

Broom's Quest Log, Con.

Task 7 - Started Training;
Share a story on starting training. Getting used to a halter and leading.
(Art or 50-100 Word Story)

Up until now, if I needed to take Broom somewhere, I'd simply loop a rope around her neck and GO. Which, while functional, was a bit too 'old-west' for my tastes, not to mention inelegant and unsafe. Which is why I set about getting her used to a halter the minute I thought I could get away with it.

I started by hanging the thing on the fence of Broom's corral, just so she could get used to the look of it. Naturally - and unsurprisingly - she turned the halter into a toy pretty quickly. After all, that's what things hanging on the fence are FOR!

After getting a new halter to replace the one she'd ruined, I approached her cautiously and held the thing up for her to sniff. I knew good and well that it was nowhere as easy to train a fully grown equine to halter as it was to train a foal, so I had no plans to rush things. I was going to take it slowly - step by step - so as to not do lasting damage to Broom, myself, or our relationship. Happily enough, things seemed to be going fine so far. Broom cared not one wit about the halter's existence, and, instead, nudged my shoulder affectionately.

The next step was to see if I could get the thing onto her face. Cautiously, I touched the halter to the side of Broom's snout. She found the unexpected contact to be strange, and shied away somewhat, but calmed right down when I started using my other hand to scratch her shoulder.

Following a bit of that, I actually managed to slip the nose band over the end of Broom's muzzle. I took it off almost immediately, though, because she really didn't seem to like it, and I didn't want to stress her out.

On, off, on, off, on, off... so it went. Occasionally I had to calm the mare down by rubbing her neck or shoulders, and occasionally I let her loose to do a couple laps of the paddock. Then, when I felt she'd had enough, I let myself out through the gate, taking the halter with me. I'd try to get more than the noseband on properly later. But for now, I felt she'd earned a reward. Grinning widely, I reached down and picked up the brand new jolly ball that I'd hidden just outside the gate earlier in the day. The instant I did so, Broom spotted it, and came trotting over in a puff of dust, excitement radiating from her in waves. Over the fence, the jolly ball went. And the mare went off after it, kicking her heels up and braying loudly.

I'd heard that it was important to end your training sessions on a positive note. And I'm pretty sure I'd manged to do just that!

Task 8 - Ground Work;
Share a story on doing ground work with the Grelifcent.
(Art or 50-100 Word Story)

Having trained several alien horse-things in the past, I wasn't as green about saddle training as one may think. Thus, after successfully getting Broom used to her halter (it had taken about a week), and after getting her relatively used to walking at the end of a lead (two weeks more), I started laying the foundations for plopping a saddle onto her back. In a nutshell, this consisted of getting her used to my standing on a mounting block next to her, then my standing on a mounting block and gently leaning on her back. Next, I introduced a simple saddle pad... which she dumped more times than I could count. This mare really did not like the concept of having foreign objects on her back! From there, once she'd stopped caring about the saddle pad, I added more weight. mostly empty, half empty, and full bags of feed were ideal for this purpose - I could weigh them out and exactly match the weight of the saddle I'd be putting on her, then the weight of the saddle plus me. And I could increase the weight very gradually, over the course of several days. Or even weeks. If that's what it took, that's what it took!

Grelifcents may not be Neravontii, but their brains work in remarkably similar ways.

Task 9 - Train to Ride;
Share a story on doing training the Grelifcent for riding.
(Art or 50-100 Word Story)

A day or two after I finally managed to put a saddle on Broom - properly and without incident - I gathered up my courage and brought the mare to the arena for the final step. Today, I was going to ride her. Today, I'd finish her training. Ideally, this would be accomplished without my hitting the ground, because I felt much more nervous around a Grelifcent's hooves than I ever had around a Neravontii's 'hands', and the possibility of getting trampled weighed heavy on my mind. By this point though, I trusted Broom, and Broom - hopefully - trusted me. With this I reassured myself. If I did hit the ground, Broom most likely wouldn't trample me intentionally.

Taking a deep breath, I hopped onto the mounting block. Then I put both my hands on the seat of the saddle and pushed down, one last time. No reaction from the mare. She was used to this by now! In fact, she looked bored. She'd much rather be out in the field, romping with her herd-mates!

Not allowing myself any more time to think, I put my foot in the stirrup and swung myself into position on Broom's back.... At which point her ears went back and she began prancing nervously to the side, as if she'd suddenly developed a fear of the mounting block and was trying to get away from it! I knew she was already used to the weight, so that wasn't the thing bothering her. It was far more likely that my unexpected and explainable movement had set her off. I began to speak softly to her, calling her name and telling her what a good girl she was - the usual stuff one says to a nervous animal - while using the hand I wasn't hanging on to the saddle with to pat her shoulder.

It seemed to do the trick - after a moment, Broom began to calm down. I could tell by the tension in her muscles and the set of her ears that she still wasn't happy, per-say, but she'd ceased her nervous prancing and her tails were no longer lashing about excitedly. I continued speaking to her, letting her know where I was, though at this point I'd started to yammer about anything and everything I could think of. WHAT I was saying didn't matter so much as HOW I was saying it. Grelifcents don't speak English! I could have been outlining my doomsday plans, for all she cared, as long as I was doing it in a sweet and level voice.

After another minute or so, I decided to call it, and slipped down from my perch. This startled her anew. I had the presence of mind to grab her halter though, so she didn't get away from me, and once I'd calmed her down again I walked her around the arena a couple of times before undoing the gate and making a b-line for the barn. All things considered, it had gone pretty well - the final battle had been well and truly won! Not in in one dramatic move, no. But it had been won all the same! From this point on, it was just a matter of making our rides longer, and teaching her to respond to the reins. You know - the dust-up stuff! ;D

====================================================================


Companion Task - Companion Task Purchased
If you've completed every task, you may purchase this task.
You must complete it within 2 weeks, or the Companion will run away.
The permit will be taken away, and not refundable.
The Companion will be added, and you must write a story in taming the
Grelifcent's Companion.
Write a story of riding the Grelifcent, out to search for the Companion,
and gaining it's trust with the Grelifcent at your side.
This is why the Grelifcent must be Fully Tamed & Trained!
(Art of Grelifcent and Companion or 200-250 Word Story)

I had barely finished filing the final paperwork with The Agency when I got a phone call - apparently, my sweet little Chicken Chaser had had a partner-in-crime... who was still on the loose. Immediately, I got this mental image of another Grelifcent. A sibling. A parent. Maybe even one of Broom's foals or something. But as the guy on the other end of the line kept talking, it quickly became clear that he meant nothing of the sort. This partner-in-crime was, in fact, a ferret. Yes... a ferret. Somehow, at some point, somewhere along the line... my Grelifcent had befriended a ferret. And while Broom had been living out her days peaceably, said ferret had continued raiding chicken coops in Meadowdale. All efforts to capture it had failed. Thus, as a last resort,The Agency wanted to know if I'd be willing to take a shot at reuniting Grelifcent and ferret. If only for the sanity of Meadowdale's farmers.

Three days later, I found myself unloading Broom from her trailer on the outskirts of the little town. She seemed excited, as if she knew where she was and was happy to be back, and this energy showed itself in the way she kept restlessly shifting her weight from foot to foot. If she'd had flesh on her face, I bet her nostrils would have been flaring too! She was eager to be off. Obligingly, I saddled her as quickly as I could and untied her reins from the bars of the trailer - I didn't want the Agency people to have to round her up again! - then swung myself up into my seat.

It was time to find a ferret.

I let Broom have her head for the most part. I figured that she knew the territory better than I did, and, since her nose was better then mine, she'd be the one most able to track down her little friend. Once she got done re-visiting her old haunts, anyway. The mare seemed bound and determined to catch up on everything that had happened while she'd been away! We rambled aimlessly from farm to farm, yard to yard... we even ended up paying a visit to Meadowdale's premier pub, right in the center of town! I wasn't entirely displeased, though. It was a nice, bright, summer day - perfect weather for a ride. Plus, I got a kick out of seeing people's faces when I rode by on Broom. She remembered the town, yes... and the town remembered her! Aside from the people at the pub (they'd been super friendly, and one guy even came out with a bucket of beer for my mare - she'd apparently been a regular on Thursday nights, and they were happy to learn she was OK), the people of Meadowdale didn't give us the warmest welcome. Reactions ranged from surprise and confusion to outright hatred. I suppose that'll happen when you clap eyes on a problem you'd assumed was gone for good, and I couldn't help but return every hostile glare with a big 'ol grin. Maybe they would've been happier to see us if they'd known why we were here..?

The fourth (or maybe fifth, I'd lost count) farm we visited was on the far side of town, and looked no different from the others we'd seen. Something about Broom's manner was different though. She seemed less casual, more... businesslike, I suppose? And after skirting the perimeter of the farm, she made a b-line for what I supposed was the chicken coop. Instantly, I felt my nerves tighten. She wasn't going to try anything stupid, was she? I REALLY didn't want to have to compensate this farmer if my mare went and wrecked his coop with me along. That wouldn't be easy to explain, either! I grit my teeth, and prepared to steer Broom away from the small outbuilding. As it turned out, I needn't have bothered. When we were still a fair distance away, the mare let out a loud whinny and stopped in her tracks. This prompted quite the commotion from inside the chicken coop! I could hear chickens squawking and clucking uproariously, as if someone were in there chasing them about with a broom. A puff of feathers even blew out one of the windows! If I hadn't been so nervous, I would have laughed out loud.

Just as I began worrying that an angry farmer was going to come out of the house waving a shotgun at us, the commotion stopped. A second later, a dark shadow broke away from the coop and streaked across the ground toward us. Broom's ears went forward at once, and she tossed her head a couple of times with pleasure. I had to give the reins a pull to keep her from dashing forward to meet the streak halfway.

Enter: the ferret.

It didn't see me at first - it didn't small me at first; it only had eyes for Broom! It hadn't seen her in so long! Once it reached us the little creature ran happy circles around the mare's dancing feet, showing no fear at all and chattering loudly in what certainty seemed to be a celebratory fashion. For the second time that day, I felt like laughing. It was just such a comical sight! Then Broom lowered her head so that the tip of her snout was nearly brushing the ground, pulling the reins from my hands, and I felt the laughter die on my tongue. As if on cue, the little creature stopped its capering and hopped onto her bony muzzle. From there it made its way up her skull (I could hear its claws scrabbling as it fought to find purchase on the bare bone), between her ears, and, as the mare began to lift her head again, it navigated the tangle of her mane and headed for her back. It had clearly done this many times before! Unfortunately, this was about the point it discovered that Broom wasn't alone. It nearly ran headlong into me! Surprised, confused, and very angry at the unexpected confrontation, the ferret let out a loud series of chittering sounds and started backtracking. Once it reached the mare's head, it simply sat there between her ears and shrieked at me.

I was dumbfounded. The last thing I'd expected when I set out on this little jaunt was to be cursed out by a ferret, and I was unsure of how to precede. In order to regain the reins I'd have to lean forward, putting my face dangerously close to the ferret's teeth. Which I didn't want to do. It would either take the chance to bite me, or it would become scared, lose it's footing, and fall. Evil as the little animal appeared to be, I didn't want it to hurt itself! But I couldn't just SIT here all day, either. This commotion was beginning to stress out Broom - the agitation of her companion was contagious.

Slowly, smoothly, and without taking my eyes off the ferret, I went through the motions of dismounting. For a moment the creature's cries became louder. But as the distance between myself and it increased, it began to calm down. I was barely on the ground when it rushed forward again and took over the very spot I'd just abandoned, sinking its claws into the polished leather of the saddle and looking very satisfied with itself. I couldn't help but feel irritated with the thing. As I gathered up the reins and prepared to lead Broom back across town so we could go home, I even stuck my tongue out at it. Which is something I rarely do. Most people aren't even aware I have a tongue.

The ferret stayed in the saddle for the entirety of the trek back to the trailer. In fact, it seemed to be enjoying the ride as much as I had. It simply sat there, looking around with its bright red eyes (so similar to Broom's) and taking in the sights of Meadowdale. I bet it was even enjoying the breeze through its fur. Little pest! And if I thought we'd gotten some strange looks earlier... well, those had nothing on these - if anyone had seen me load Broom into her trailer, complete with saddle and attached ferret, their eyes likely would have popped from their head! I hated not taking the mare's saddle off BEFORE loading her, but I was worried that I'd loose the ferret if I made it move now, and there wasn't enough room in the trailer for me unsaddle Broom after locking them both in. If I waited until we got home though, the little beast would just take off and hide somewhere on my own farm, where it would doubtless bide its time, waiting to rejoin Broom until I'd gone. I'd just have to be sure and give the mare an extra good rubdown to make up for this little ordeal.

The metallic thud of the trailer latch as I slotted it into place was a satisfying sound.

Mission accomplished!