Now You See Me...Now You Don't

[Dusty's Girl]

Recovery, it was never easy. Especially when the injury involved your whole leg and side. But for the red roan painted mare, she tossed it aside and kept going. Rosemont would surely be close by or his young daughter that was sent for her care. But this mare was as wild as the day was long and could hardly stand it when she had to speak. Of course, she had never really used language before in her life. Her body and her actions did the speaking more than anything.

Her time of year had passed with a fleeting glance, the fall equinox. Another solstice that she could enjoy. Four of them in one year, times when she could be herself and run wild and free. Solstice was a lone mare, something that was becoming rare anymore. Not that she was a rogue or that she was untamed or anything bad, she just had had enough of that stallion, Brught, and could not take much any more. Of course if a stallion did woo her, it would have to be with sweet words and sweet actions.

She stood near the water, her muzzle drenched in it as she drank deeply, gathing in the liquid nourishment. There were other horses nearby, but she paid them no mind as she continued to gulp down the water. The pain in her leg was but a mere throb as she made her mind forget what she was feeling. There would be more pain later, she was sure of that one.

[Dusty's Girl]

Slowly, he strode into the terra. He had been speaking with a lovely silvery mare, but his actions could not always be accounted for at times. Maybe he was just taking a break, hoping that his silvery companion that he was speaking to would follow him, or maybe he was just stretching tired and sore legs. Whatever the reason, the buckskin stallion sauntered slowly towards the injured mare. Instantly he recognized her as the Wild One from the Far Herds. She had never spoken much, as she had come from a herd that seldom used words. So he sent a call in her direction, hoping that she would not flee from his presence. He, of course, was nothing like his brother.

[Dusty's Girl]

Solstice let her head raise towards the sky, the memories of her past haunting her this night. Rosemont and his daughter had done little to chase them away on this once in a lifetime week. She was away from Brught, her future already a bit brighter, but without her family, she could do nothing.

For this wild mare held a secret close to her strongly beating heart. She was once a mare in captivity. Not born and bred, but taken from the wild at a young age and sent to adoption. From there she was sent to live with a family that raised and trained her to excel in the show arena. Oh how she loved it. Of course she missed the wild, but the little girl of the family was something special as well. She would come and play with Solstice, lovingly petting her hide and caressing her muzzle. But then tragedy. The little girl was torn from the realm of the living and Solstice's family could not afford to keep the mare anymore. But instead of letting her be sold to any number of horrible owners, the mare was released into the wild, reclaiming what she was orginally.

She lowered her head towards her wounds. Never in her life had she been this injured before. But the blood had hardened and scabs were rapidly forming. Not all of it was deep, just where the rocks had pierced her flesh. She snorted softly and lowered her head even further, falling into a deep depression.