Oh, he's so hansome! <3
Username: Beewings
Equid's name: Aegidius ( [ai gih dee us] Roman for Shield )
Height: 14,2 hh
Age: 8
Gender: Stallion
Story:
I stood at the summit of the mountain that was still covered with snow, and looked out at the mountain range. I kept moving. I was being followed and they were coming on quickly, so I didn’t have time to rest. I trotted up the trail and looked behind me, I could hear dogs. I headed off the trail and cantered along. I took shelter in a heavily wooded area to see how close they were. I stood behind a tree, barely moving, watching for the sign of movement. I wasn’t going to lie; I was scared out of my wits! There was hardly a hunter that could even come close to me, as there were many that tried to capture me but none had worried me that would succeed. And I had enough escape routes to match each hunter. So seeing as I had humans chasing me often I lived alone in the mountains, not able to protect a herd and not wanting to try and put an equid in danger.
But exactly how these hunters had managed to follow me up some of my most dangerous escape routes amazed me. I had managed to evade them long enough to get a good distance away but they never seemed to stop. I lifted my head at the first sound of the dogs and bolted through the trees. I pumped my legs as I headed up a steep slope that would lead me into the dry part of the mountains. I just have to get them lost, I told myself, just long enough to get as far away as possible. But it seemed that they could follow me everywhere, up every rocky cliff and over every neck breaking overhang. I ran along the dry, dead grass and rocks jutting out of the ground. I could hear them at the base of the slope and the dogs were getting closer. I made it to a huge rock and climbed up it, and my legs and lungs burned but I kept climbing.
Once I reached the top I looked down the incline and the dogs has already reached the rock, and they swarmed around the entire rock as they tried to get to me but none of them could get up without cutting themselves on the boulder’s edges. So they just ran around stupidly and barked at me as the hunter rode up on their horses. I snorted and backed away from the edge, so they couldn’t get me with their ropes. All I cared about was resting so I balanced on three legs as I lifted up one at a time to loosen up for when I had to flee. The dogs had quieted but they still ran around to growl at me. I was curious what they were doing so I walked over to the edge just to see what they were doing, and I was met with a dog trying to pull it’s self up as it snapped at me. I had backed away just in time but I knew that it was time to move, so I half slid and half jumped down the back side and took off again. I made it a few strides before the barking started and the dogs caught up. I could feel their hot breath as they howled and snapped at my legs and tail. As I got to the top one grabbed hold of my black tipped tail so I gave that mutt a good punt that sent him back down the slope. I looked around for getaway options, but more of the dogs caught up and I had to deal with them. I kicked one and sent the other off with a bite and then had to throw one off my back.
Options, I need options! I thought as I fended the dogs off. There! I saw a treacherous looking path that was just down the other side. I took it, after escaping the dogs, and galloped down the trail as it swerved around and lead me into a new part of the mountain. As I turned around a rock I knew I had made a mistake. There wasn’t a single route that I could find that would lead me anywhere away from the humans, and not to mention the huge mountain ridge in front of me that was the steepest of it’s kind. I slid to a stop in front of it and sized it up. I could make it but I needed to rest first if I was going to get at least halfway up. But as I looked behind me I knew that there wasn’t a chance of that happening as two hunters rode around and blocked what could be my only exit. I paced along the ridge, looking for some way up and over to safety. I had almost found a path I could take when the dogs came around the corner. I could handle the humans but the dogs were built to attack. I jumped up the slope just as the dogs reached me. I scaled it, finding the footholds I needed, and left the hunters and dogs behind. When I glanced back I saw a hound had managed to follow me and its drooling jaws came closer and closer. I lost my focus and missed a foothold. I slid down the rock with the dog close by, but I wasn’t giving up. In a split second I had found myself a new route and once I caught myself I leapt up the rest until I was standing on top the ridge. I looked back, and the humans and dogs just stood to watch me as I disappeared down the other side. After I got a good distance away I trekked far into the mountains and stayed in a hidden valley to recuperate from that rough chase. ( 982 words )