[KathrynKat]

Rank 4


Username; PuddlebyOnTheMarsh
Name; Anne Bonny
Grelifcent ID; Roundup #003
Grelifcent Band; #01
Gender; Mare
Height; 15.2HH
Kindness Rating; 9 [Feral]
Tails; 3
Generation; First

Parents;
- Unknown
Breeding Slots;
- 0/10
Date of last Foal born;
- NA
Current Souls Captured;
- 25
Breeding Slot Reserves;
- NA
Pairings/Breedings;
-
Bred in Wild;
- [Stallion Unknown] = #008

Completed Tasks;
- 17
Total Points Collected;
- 17

[PuddlebyOnTheMarsh]

Quest Log

Task 1 - Unloading;
Share a story in the unloading from the trailer
(Art or 50-100 Word Story)
Having so easily made friends with my first feral Grel, I figured I was on a roll so I thought I'd contact the Agency and tell them to bring me another one. Going to their website, I scrolled through all the available options. The red and black trailer was quite snazzy with it's custom cover and all. Surely there were good things inside. Quickly filling out the form, I sent it off and received instant confirmation that I'd have a new Grel tomorrow.

I had barely finished breakfast and was ready to head out to make preparations when I heard the truck engine roar as the driver backed the trailer much too quickly up my drive and completely through the open paddock gate. I'd hardly started across the yard when the driver clambered out, leaving his door open. Going straight to disconnect the hitch he flinched when there was a sudden thump from trailer and he shot me a sidelong glance. As soon as he was finished he gave me a unconvincing grin, waved and departed in a spray of gravel.

I wasn't sure how long I had stood there when another thump woke me from my reverie. This girl had some attitude. I closed the gate and went to the rear of the trailer. Taking a deep breath, I quickly lowered the ramp before I could change my mind then stepped back quickly. Good thing too. I'd never seen an equine move that fast in reverse. As soon as she was clear she whirled around and faced me, legs splayed slightly, gold teeth gleaming in the sun....wait, what? Fear for my life was briefly overcome by surprise. Yep, she had two gold teeth. Then my self preservation kicked back in and I slowly retreated over the nearby fence to watch this muddy mystery get familiar with her new home.


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)
After slightly over a week of feeling those glowing red eyes follow me everywhere, I finally gave up on plan A. Silly me thought she would just get use to me if I spent enough time around my newest mare. Nope, she still pranced to the other side of the paddock each time I went around the fence to tidy up, glaring the whole time. Plan B was sort of the flip side, intentionally crowding her instead of giving her space. Picking up things inside and closest to her so she had to be the one to move away. It wasn't long before she got bored of acting like I was dangerous and just stayed put as I picked up twigs and other minor debris. Then came the day I brushed past her, lightly touching her shoulder. Her immediate reaction made me think I should just skip to plan Z, give up. My hat and not a few strands of my hair, suddenly parted company with my head and she gave me a solid shove. I made an in-elegant squeak, tripped over my own feet and sat down hard in the dust. Glancing upward, I see she was still holding my hat in her teeth, wickedly amused look in her eye. After a few head bobs she released the hat which flew toward me, bounced off my chest and landed in my lap. I obviously had a lot to learn about feral Grels. She was bored and I had been so worried about the 9 kindness rating that I'd practically pretended she didn't exist.


Task 3 - Introduce to a herd;
Introduce the Grelifcent to your/one of your herds.
(Art or 50-100 Word Story)
About three weeks later, after much careful work, I could slip a rope over Anne's head without risking life, limb and soul. At that point I lead her down the lane and out to the pasture where Hogan (8)and Nolly (10) resided. They were the highest kindness Grels I had and I kept them separated so there would be less friction in the ranks. In truth, Hogan wasn't all that hard to work with, I'd mainly put him with Nolly so she wouldn't be all alone. If things went well, I might just put Anne in with her and rescue Hogan. Then again, those two might be dangerous together, or kill each other. What on earth was I thinking when I acquired these two?


Task 4 - Brush;
Gain the trust to be able to brush the Grelifcent.
(Art or 50-100 Word Story)
Nolly hadn't wanted to part with Anne, but I was getting tired of not being able to see what color the mare was through her thick coating of dust and grime, so, seeing as we'd become more comfortable around each other as of late, I'd roped her and led her off to the barn. I could feel Nolly's malevolent stare burning into my back as we went.

Once we reached the barn, I loosely tied Nolly's lead to a convenient post and went to the tack room for a brush. When I came back, Anne hadn't moved. I wasn't sure if this were a good thing or a bad thing... she could've been planning something! She was really quite the prankster. Moving slowly and cautiously, I began by running a hand over her coat. Then, following the same track, I moved the brush over her coat, as lightly as possible. I followed this up with my hand again. By alternating like this, I hoped to distract Anne and keep her from getting too stressed.

It worked for a bit, but Anne soon became restless and began shifting about, occasionally stomping her feet. When I saw her ears go back, I decided I'd done enough for today and gave up. I hadn't gotten her 100% cleaned off, but better was better!


Task 5 - Bathe;
Gain the trust to be able to bath the Grelifcent.
(Art or 50-100 Word Story)
Anne's first bath was somewhat unconventional, but I've always been one to think outside the box, (the box being the barn, in this instance), and it WORKED, so I'm happy. See, I check the weather every morning so I can be prepared. And when I saw that the forecast called for heavy rains starting later in the afternoon... well... you can guess what happened! I got all of Anne's bath things together and set them by the barn door, then I went about business as usual. As the first drops began to fall, I stopped what I was doing and went to fetch the mare. She was used to rain, after all. Being a wild animal means that you often get stuck out in it. So as the rain picked up, we stood there - side by side in the downpour - with Anne looking only a wee bit dejected. Once I was sure we'd been well and truly soaked, I led her just inside the barn, carefully soaped her up, then led her back outside, where I proceed to brush the soapy animal down. Between the soap, the rain and the stiff-bristled brush, I finally managed to get the last of Meadowdale's dust out of Anne's fur. And she didn't care one iota!


Task 6 - Fully Tamed;
Share a story in how you connected with the Grelifcent
(Art or 50-100 Word Story)
I was beginning to think that the closest I would get to "Tamed" was going to have to be "Not Getting Killed" when one day something quite surprising happened. Anne had settled into pretty much ignoring me unless she was making a grab for my hat or giving me the occasional side long glance when she thought I wasn't watching. I was pushing a wheel barrow of straw across the paddock when the wheel stuck on a branch I had missed. The sudden stop caused a virtual train-wreck, straw, barrow, me and my hat going their separate directions. While I laid there feeling sorry for myself a huge shadow blotted out the sun, suddenly my hat dropped onto my chest and Anne gave me an amazingly friendly nudge. I guess if she was a person, she'd be the guy that slugged you on the shoulder once in a while as the only sign of affection.


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Task 7 - Started Training;
Share a story on starting training. Getting used to a halter
and leading.
(Art or 50-100 Word Story)
I put Anne back out in the paddock while I worked with her so that Hogan and, more importantly, NOLLY, wouldn't be getting in the way all the time. I also bought her a brand-new halter, customized just for her! Mostly because I didn't have any spares laying around.

I followed the steps laid out in my books as best as I could, improvising as necessary along the way. I held the halter up for her to sniff at, and I got it as close to her face as I could while patting her neck and reassuring her verbally. I felt a little silly doing it, and wasn't sure that the mare actually cared one way or another about my 'comforting banter' given her innate evilness, but I DID IT! And after a while, it seemed to pay off. Anne stopped shying away. This accomplished, I tackled the next hurdle - getting her comfortable to the nose band. Then I slipped her ears into place. Once she'd calmed down enough to let me do this several times without trouble, I did up all the buckles (loosely!) and that was that. Anne in a halter.


Task 8 - Ground Work;
Share a story on doing ground work with the Grelifcent.
(Art or 50-100 Word Story)
I gave her a week to get completely comfortable with the halter before trying the bridle. Every morning I put on the halter, led her around and rubbed her down. On the 8th day, I put on the bridle, led her around and rubbed her down. It was anti-climactic. So much so I was emboldened to start on the saddle the next day. During rub down, I had finished up with a towel. I started leaving it on her back then walking her another circuit of the paddock. Next, I replaced the towel with a loose saddle pad instead, no reaction. I wondered what had happened to my "kindness 9" Grel. I shouldn't have worried. She made her appearance when I entered, carrying the bareback pad, with it's straps aflap, and hung it on the fence. Anne charged straight at me, head down, ears back and, if she had lips, she would have had her teeth bared. I was on the far side of the fence before she reached me but it wasn't me she was after. The bareback pad was soon an assortment of so much scrap. As soon as it was no longer recognizable, the mare trotted to the fence near me and stopped. I barely realized she was holding a sizable chunk in her teeth before she dropped it on me, shook her head, made a noise and marched off. That was the closest to a horse laugh you could get without lips. At that point I gave up on any sort of padding.


Task 9 - Train to Ride;
Share a story on doing training the Grelifcent for riding.
(Art or 50-100 Word Story)
Once I realized she wouldn't tolerate anything resembling a saddle, it was nearly as easy as the bridle. A little leaning, increasing weight and one day, holding my breath, I slipped on from the fence. She walked forward a step or two, stopped and turned her head to look at me. I slipped off and gave her a good pet. After I removed the bridle, she grabbed my hat and trotted a few steps away, holding it high. I figured she had earned a little "keep the hat away from the human" game. In the following weeks, we worked our way up to riding all over the trails. Not before she found out if she launched herself forward when I wasn't paying attention, I'd stay put and do my best Wylie Coyote impression for a second before hitting the ground. I developed really good leg muscles and tried to never let go of the reins. High kindness Grels definitely kept you on your toes.

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If he/she is adult

Taming & Training
You must write 7 Extra Stories or art of Taming & Training.
You must to at least 3 and 4 of each. They won't count with the others listed above.
(Art or 50 Word Story)

Additional Taming 1/4 (goes between tasks 2 n 3)
After she'd stolen my hat and let me know she was tired of being ignored, I did my best to spend more time around her doing things other than chores. I still did chores, sure, but I also talked to her, and managed to conquer my fear enough to try and approach her a couple of times. If she ran off, I let her go. But slowly, she started to let me get closer and closer. Stealing my hat became a game, too! At which point I went to the library and looked up the best toys for horses. I came back with a couple of Jolly balls a 'ball feeder', which I promptly introduced to my frisky Grel with the hope that my hat would be spared. (though I did pick up a spare hat, just in case)

Additional Taming 2/4 (goes between tasks 3 n 4)
Over the past week or so, Anne and Nolly had become thick as thieves. Watching them, it was obvious that Nolly was the boss. What she said went, and if Anne didn't seem interested, Nolly would prance about and poke at the other mare until she gave in. At the same time though, Nolly was perfectly willing to grab a hold of one of Nolly's 'Jolly Tugs' and join in with the other mare's games. As long as it suited her purposes! Yes, I was beginning to think that introducing them had been a mistake. They REALLY seemed to feed off of each other's energy...

Additional Taming 3/4 (goes between tasks 4 n 5)
The second time I tried to brush Anne went better than the first, but I still wasn't able to make much of a dent. The third time though... that was the charm! I was able to get all but the worst of the mud off of her coat, and with a minimum of fuss from the mare. I attribute my success to the Likit I'd attached to a nearby stall door. She was trying her darnedest to pull the thing loose, and so wasn't paying much attention to ME. Sometimes a Grell's mischievous/destructive/stubborn tendencies can be useful.

Additional Taming 4/4 (goes between tasks 5 n 6)
Anne's first REAL bath didn't go as well as her makeshift one had gone, no siree! She didn't like the hose one bit! Even with the water pressure turned down as low as I could get it without actually turning it off, she was restless and uneasy. I suppose it was the sound of the water as it hissed through the pipes? But even after I moved her farther away from the spigot she wasn't happy. She kicked over my bucket, stomped on my sponge, and tried more than once to nip me. When she nabbed my hat again, I sighed loudly and decided to try again later... with my hat safely in the closet at home. I'm not sure why I wore it in the first place! I suppose it was because she hadn't really gone after it since she'd moved in with Nolly and Hogan. I'd forgotten about the risk!

Additional Training 1/3 (goes between tasks 6 n 7)
Before I started trying to just shove a halter on Anne, I went back to the library and checked out a couple of books on horse training. I'd never done this before, you know, and while Grels aren't horses, they at least used to be horses, at some point, so the books would give me a solid base to work with. I also did some online research while I was at it, and found a couple of good you-tube videos that seemed to sync up perfectly with the process being described in the books I'd chosen. Thus armed, I found that my knees weren't knocking together as loudly as before when I thought about the monumental challenge that lay before me.

Additional Training 2/3 (goes between tasks 7 n 8)
Teaching Anne the ropes of leading - so to speak - was another beast altogether. The books I had all talked about how one taught a foal to respond properly. They all assumed that no one would be trying to train a fully grown, stubborn, soul-stealing, adult equine! Thus I wasn't really sure how go about things. Just tugging on the rope didn't seem to be doing a thing. Anne planted her hooves firmly on the ground and refused to budge. If I continued to tug, she got irritated with me. Her ears went back and the teeth came out! Anne was NOT afraid to let me know when she was irritated! In the end, I resorted to a slightly modified version of what the books laid out. I say 'slightly modified' because I ended up enlisting the help of a friend too.
Little by little, we got there.

Additional Training 3/3 (goes after task 9)
For our first ride together outside the safety of the arena, I decided to keep it simple and simply led Anne out to one of the back fields where I currently wasn't keeping any Grels. I ran her up hills and down hills, around trees, and I skirted the fence line. In fact, we did a circuit of the entire field and then some! Unfortunately, I can't say that the ride was flawless. Anne was excited to be out of the arena and kept wanting to break out into a gallop. She also wasn't responding 100% to her rein cues yet. But I didn't get bucked off, and we generally went where I wanted to go, so I'm calling it a victory.

[PuddlebyOnTheMarsh]

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!

Will start this Monday or Tuesday.
I had occasionally noticed Anne seemed to be distracted by birds, especially the larger ones. At first I thought she was just startled but she seemed to watch them curiously until she got a good look then lost interest. One day I saw her staring up in the sky at a tiny speck. It slowly resolved it's self into a hawk or falcon. Man she had some good vision.

Going through my mail a few days later, it all became clear. I'd heard some rumors of Grels that had "pets" or something. Kind of like thoroughbreds and their barn mates. The note said there was a large bird of some kind hanging out at the camp where Anne had been captured and transported. It was taking a random dive at anyone that came near and had managed to claw a few. The worst was when it pulled a clump of hair out of a fellow that was chasing it with a broom. Someone had proposed drastic measures when one of the Meadowdale locals mentioned they had seen it flying with the Grels, especially one fitting the description of my bonnie Anne. Great, now they wanted me to bring Anne back and see if she would take the pest with her. All I needed. Still, I thought she might be a bit happier if she had an old friend so I loaded her and her tack into the trailer.

When we finally arrived, the trailer having acquired a few new dents from it's occupant, I let the mare out and got her ready. Once I was mounted I headed toward a small wooded area behind the encampment. Seems I hadn't even needed to bother. I heard a scream in my ear and something landed behind me. As I fought the urge to slip off and run, Anne twisted her head around and sniffed, nose to beak, with a huge bird. At first I thought it was some kind of woodpecker, because it had a red head, but I scratched that idea. The beak was all wrong and so was that predatory gleam in it's eye. Long story short, I loaded Anne back up and we drove back. The eagle alternated between flying over us and landing on the back of the trailer to visit with his long lost friend.