Stinging Nettle

[Black Magic]

Name: Stinging Nettle
Age: 8
Breed: Appaloosa
Height: 15.1 hands high
Colour: Bay
Eye Colour: Hazel
Gender: Mare
Markings: Four even white socks and a blanket.
History: It was summer. A beautiful bay Appaloosa mare lowered her head to graze, taking small steps towards better grass as she efficiently snapped off the longer stems with her teeth. Her ears flicked back and forth as she listened for her herd’s stallion or lead mare’s whinny of warning. Through wolves, cougars, wind and rain: with her herd, she was safe. Slowly, she let her ears droop, having confidence in the lead mare. She relaxed for several long, peaceful moments. Then it came: the scream of a cougar, and a shriek from the lead mare, cut off very quickly. Within a matter of seconds, the lead mare was dead. The stallion tried to gather the herd together for protection, but the smell of blood was in the air, and each horse or pony was wildly running around. The cougar screamed again, and this time the appaloosa had had it. She reared, her eyes rolling, and then landed, thundering across the field and out of sight.

It was possibly fifteen minutes of hard galloping before she realized that she’d left her herd - and her herd’s protection - forever. The panic came back, clawing at her chest with claws like that of a wolf’s. She breathed hard, trying to stay calm. After such a tiresome run, she was very thirsty. So naturally, when she sighted a sparkling river, she slowly walked towards it, all of her senses alert for danger. Tentatively, she dipped her head and drank long and loud. The head emerged, her whiskers dripping with river water. She allowed her eyes to follow the river’s path into the distance, and though it could hide untold dangers, she smelled other horses. Maybe there was a herd there - maybe she could find a new home! Her energy renewed, the appaloosa cantered unhesitatingly into the unknown, to find the place they call Sunshine River.