Username:♡Lady Lesednik♡
Name: Rojo
Age: 6
Prompt 1 & 2
949 Words
Reindeer weaved her way through the crowd, the smell of popcorn nagging at her to turn around and buy more. No, she already bought enough to feed a horse; quite literally! As she slipped out the exit and headed to the dirt patch where she left her trusty companion, she the hairs on the back of her neck pricked up, she knew she was be ing watched. There was no malice in the gaze, but Reindeer still felt unease rising in herself; she hated being watched. She picked up her pace a bit, unaware that her armload of unsalted popcorn had begun to leak, leaving a trail behind. As she neared the dirt patch she spotted her sweet little girl; Reyna. The multicolor chimera had her head dipped down, sniffing at the dirt and occasionally half-heartedly plucking at a weed. The mare's ears flicked and her head lifted, swiveling to look at her approaching human, beginning an approach of her own. Once contact had been made, Reindeer gently leaned her head against the mare's neck, aware of the curious sniffs that were targeted at the goods in her arms. She shifted a bit, dumping one of the bags on the ground, less bothered by the eyes still watching now that she had one of her horses with her, though still aware of the gaze tracking her every move. Reyna sniffed at the dirt again, this time happily snacking on the popcorn that had been spread out for her. Reindeer set the rest of the bags of popcorn down, turning her attention to Reyna's pack as she began to rummage through it for the large ziplock bags she brought. Reindeer heard a small rustling behind her, though quickly dismissed it as just a rabbit, her mission far more important. Once she had success in locating the ziplock bags, she turned back to the pile of popcorn bags only to be surprised by a visitor. A rather large one, in fact.
What she had dismissed as a rabbit was in fact one of the wild horses the carnival staff had been talking about; a beautiful bay roan. Reindeer recalled that the wild herd had been causing a bit of a ruckus and had been requested for removal, and quietly thanked Reyna for being the horse she'd brought today; several of her boys wouldn't have been as relaxed with an unknown horse encroaching on their space as this wild boy had. In contrast to her more territorial horses, Reyna was perfectly relaxed while she enjoyed her popcorn, one ear casually flicked in his direction, half paying attention. Reindeer took a seat in the dirt, briefly earning the stallion's attention at the change before he, too, went back to eating the unsalted popcorn. Reindeer fiddled with the ziplocks in her hands as she watched him, her mind racing as she determined the best way to get him into her trailer. She'd already determined he would be going home with her; this was fate. Her choice in horse companion for the day, the popcorn, Him. Any variation in what had happened and they wouldn't be here like this, right now. It was meant to be. All that was left was to win his love, and to coax him into the trailer. A half hour passed before the bay stallion got bored of the popcorn and curiously approached the sitting human, his head dipping down to investigate. Reindeer sat still as she was inspected, trying not to laugh when he accidentally inhaled her hair. Once his sniffing turned into curious nose pokes, Reindeer gently brought her hand up and softly stroked the side of his face. He jumped in his skin a bit, backing up, though upon realizing the touch hadn't hurt he came back for more, sniffing at her popcorn scented hands for a moment before they returned to his face, softly petting and giving soft scratches. He dipped his head into her touch, his eyes closing a bit as he basked in the attention, even beginning to doze a bit.
Sometime later, the sun began to dip and Reindeer knew it was time to go. During her time with him, they'd built enough of a bond she didn't feel like he needed to be trailered; she really didn't want to have to call Cake and ask him to bring one. Again. She knew in her heart she could get a halter and lead on him and get him to peacefully follow her home. Especially since it was Reyna. No stallion can run away from that cute girl. Reindeer gently patted the stallion's head, who she'd decided to name Rojo, and lifted herself to her feet. Rojo pulled himself from his half-asleep daze, watching as she stepped up to Reyna's pack and began rummaging through it, quickly finding the halters she sought. Reindeer made sure Roo was watching as she put the halter on Reyna; no muss no fuss. She took the end of Reyna's lead and tossed it up over her saddle, leaving her to stand peacefully while she tended to Rojo. He was a little hesitant as Reindeer approached his face with the odd thing, it was against everything he knew that kept him alive to let his head be 'trapped' in such a way, but after a moment; she didn't force it, she waited patiently, and Rojo allowed her to place it on and clip it, giving him a soft scritch. "Good boy, Rojo." She said softly, clipping his lead onto the halter. Reindeer climbed up into Reyna's saddle, giving a soft click as Rojo stepped up beside, unsure of what was happening, but willing to do it. "Let's go home."
Prompt 3
857 words
Upon getting home, Reindeer had not one muddy horse but two. During the ride back, the sky had decided to dump an ocean worth of rain on them, turning the dusty ground into a mucky nightmare. Even Reindeer, up on Reyna's back, was not safe from the splashes of mud. Thankfully no thunder or lightning, she wasn't sure how Rojo would've handled that. Reindeer led both horses through the barn, putting Mr. Mudman in a stall temporary to get acquainted with the other barn horses while she handled untacking Reyna. It only took a few minutes to get the saddlebag and saddle off, with a choir of horse chatter erupting in the barn the entire time. Reindeer tied Reyna up in the grooming station and strolled over to Rojo's new stall. Which was now also muddy. Reindeer gave a small sigh as she resigned herself to cleaning the stall, too. She clipped the lead on his halter and lead him to the grooming station, getting him all tied up as well. She set about cleaning Reyna first, again making sure that Rojo was watching. The process consisted of a wash, towel off, a brushing, and then a hoof cleaning. There was nothing really to report, it went as it always did with Reyna. Once Reyna was clean, Reindeer decided to hold her hostage a bit longer to keep Rojo company while he got groomed for the first time, knowing this would likely be an uneasy experience for him. She was unsure if the horse choir was helpful or not. Reindeer tested the water from the sprayer again, making sure it was warm before gently pointing it at Rojo's legs. He jumped a bit, dancing in place for a moment before settling back down, his ears swiveled. One on Reindeer, one towards the alley where the horse chatter was coming from. Once Reindeer had thoroughly re-soaked his fur and gotten off the largest chunks of mud, she began to scrub at him to get the grime off. Having been a wild boy with who knows how many years worth of filth in his fur, the water remained brown for quite some time. Once it began to run clear, she dried him off and began brushing him. His eyes fluttered a bit, clearly enjoying the curry comb. Reindeer started at his rump and by the time she reached his neck, she realized he'd fallen asleep. She stifled a soft laugh, giving him a soft pet before switching to do the other side. The rest of the brushing process, he remained peacefully asleep. Every time Reindeer glanced at Reyna, she also was resting peacefully. Reindeer patted Rojo's shoulder lightly, humming to him to wake him. Once he began to stir, Reindeer ran her hand down his leg, lifted his foot and began to clean the impacted mud and rocks. Rojo turned his head to look at her and what she was doing, but did not protest the lifting of his feet. Once all four had been done, he was clean. Reindeer fed him a sugar cube, as is tradition in her barn, and led him to a clean stall, next to Reyna's. Once they were both tucked neatly away, it was time to handle cleaning... everything else. Fun.
Several months later, Reindeer felt it was finally time for Rojo's first rider. He'd handled the whole saddle training process quite well, but Reinder had been busy and wanted to give him extra time to settle and adjust to such a dramatic life change. As Reindeer approached the arena, she was happy to find Rojo taking a nap while he waited for her. She chirped a greeting to him, earning a sleepy blink from the stallion as he watched her approach, saddle in her arms. Reindeer placed the saddle on him and began fastening it into place. Rojo shifted his weight a bit, turning to look at her as she did. He took a nibble at her sleeve, earning a soft headshake and chuckle from Reindeer, along with a lighthearted scolding. She took hold of his reins and patted his neck before climbing into the saddle. Rojo stared at her for a moment, obviously confused as to why she was now sitting on him, but not bothered, standing perfectly still as he both watched and waited for a direction. Reindeer rubbed his neck softly, praising him for a moment before giving a soft squeeze with her legs as she spoke, "Walk on." He did not understand her leg cue quite yet, but he knew the words and did as was requested, beginning to walk forward. He followed their usual path, doing lazy laps around the arena. After a few laps, Reindeer gave another squeeze and asked for a trot, to which Rojo responded promptly, enjoying the new speed. A few more laps and she bumped him up to a canter. After a couple hours of laps and obstacle work, Reindeer decided to call it a day with him, pleased with his progress. Reindeer stroked his face and promised him that they'd go on a trail ride soon. She could hardly wait herself.
