These Old Bones (Open)

[bullseye]

Maple kicked out to her side, narrowly missing Jack's shoulder. It was a warning shot, a little reminder for the lad to mind his manners.

Their discussion with the two dark mustangs three days past, Maple found herself just as lost as she'd been upon arrival in this place. Every now and again, they bumped into another horse or two. Most were pretty faces with no brains backing 'em, in typical horse fashion. One of the agitating creatures gave the two donkeys the name of the place: Sunshine River. Downright useless, to Maple's way of thinking. According to the last horse they'd run across, this was the way to the entrance—and exit—of Sunshine River. There was no other way in or out, the horse had said.

What bothered Maple about Jack's attitude wasn't his curiosity or friendliness. It was... It was... Well, truth be told, she envied him his youthfulness. She'd been that energetic once. Where had those days gone?


<<<>>>


Flapjack knew Maple meant him no harm. Bites and kicks were an equine's way—especially between the elderly jenny and himself. He felt bad for bumping into his older counterpart. In fact, he hadn't done it on purpose, but accepted his punishment silently. A warning kick was nothing.

The gray john pitied Maple a bit, though he'd never tell her as much. Her age had made this journey very hard for her. Over the past few days, they'd run, walked, scrambled, tripped, trotted, and stumbled over every terrain imaginable. Even Jack's muscles ached from the strain they'd been put under—he couldn't imagine Maple's pain.

The sneaking suspicion that they'd lost the charges once and for all kept creeping up on Jack when he let his guard down. He always tamped down the thought as it seeped into his conscious mind, but there was no denying, it had merit. They were in a strange land, full of strange animals, looking for their cows and home. At this point, their chances of survival were minimal—how likely were they to get all they sought after?

Jack perked up as he cleared the most recent copse of trees and spotted a big pond of clear water. Ignoring the watering hole's other occupants, the gray donkey strode by Maple's side to the edge of the water.

[bullseye]

Thirst sated, Jack looked up from the watering hole. A few horses of various shapes and sizes stood at random intervals around the edge of the water. He took in the details of each equine, one at a time. Despite age, color, height, and weight, they all had one thing in common: a certain wild look to their eyes. There was no denying, many of the horses obviously came from a land of humans, but they'd all adapted to the lifestyle of their ancestors with apparent ease.

Flapjack had never considered himself domesticated; he and Maple were self-sustaining back on the ranch. No matter the time of year, nor the conditions of the land, he and Maple had only had each other and the charges—and now, only the former applied. What were they going to do without the bovines? Would they ever get home, he wondered?

<<<>>>

Maple eased herself further into the watering hole, allowing the cool water to wash above her hot, achy joints. Closing her eyes, the jenny uttered a relieved sigh and basked in the relief the temperature of the water brought about. She knew Jack looked to her to solve the problem of the lost charges and find their way home, but even she was starting to doubt her ability to do so. Following the river back out of the land seemed their final chance, but from there, she didn't quite know where to go. How did they even get here to begin with?

Large ears flicking to and fro, the roan donkey kept track of her surroundings without feeling the need to open her eyes. The mare and foal to the north remained at the edge of the water. The five horse band to the south retreated into the forest. That lone stallion watching the mare to the west remained stationary. And little Jack, bless his heart, waded into the water after her. As her little, grey friend nuzzled at her side, the older donkey forced her weary eyelids apart and met his soft, brown gaze. A feeling of fondness overcame her as Jack's ears perked up and he whuffled at her gently. At least she had the lad to keep her going.

[Saz]

Ka-thump. Ka-thump. Ka-thump.

Their hooves had long become a mind-numbing background noise to the trio of equines. All differing in height and age, but similar in colour and stature, showing their relation through combined movement and the similarity of attitude. The eldest of the group was an ageing mare, solidly built and grullo in colour but with bright splashes of white covering her bodice at odd angles, though she was oldest, her daughters were either already taller than her, or quickly catching up. The second in the group was the tallest but not by much, with a pure white face and four matching stockings and a coat that was only a few shades darker than rust. She was of a similar stature to her mother, sturdy, stocky and steady-footed. The youngest was the yearling within their midst, she was heavier set than her companions with a thicker mane and tail to accompany the growing feathers around her large hooves, showing that she took after her father more than her mother. She was the same colour as her mother, but more heavily splashed with white, giving her a patchwork mane and tail to show her gypsy heritage even more.

The trio had travelled since Storm was but two months old, this had been when her sire and her mother's captor, had disappeared overnight, taking most of the herd with him. River had seized her chance and ushered her daughters out of the land they'd been captive in and out into the wilderness that was sunshine river. They had stopped over the past year in various different territories but never truly lingered in one place, they had been travelling from the white meadows for just over a week as they came into the clearing that held the watering hole. River stopped, her daughters mere inches behind her, heads high and ears pricked as they inhaled in unison, scenting for any danger and counting each equine as her eyes scanned across the watering hole. Deeming it safe, River snorted once and relaxed slightly, a signal for her daughters to lead the way to the water's edge.

Storm scrambled past her mother, loping energetically to the water's edge and wading into the cool liquid until it lapped at her shoulders, she slurped at the crystal water and closed her eyes in bliss as it soothed her parched throat and aching muscles. Mystery was only a little way from her sister, moving into the water until she was knee-deep before she lowered herself and lay in the shallows, sighing as the water cooled her and washed away the sweat caused by the combination of summer heat and the distance they travelled. Their mother, River, slowly and stiffly moved to the water's edge, sipping at the water and allowing it to refresh and invigorate her dehydrated form as she gazed at the other equines that inhabited the watering hole. Her gaze snapped to the other two within the water itself at the sign of movement and her eyes narrowed as she examined the strangers. They weren't horses, that was for certain, in fact she had never seen such a creature here... except once, when she was very young. A mule perhaps? Even as she examined them she came to the conclusion that mules tended to be more horse than... donkey! That was it! They must be donkeys! She had never met one in the flesh, but she had certainly heard about them, they had a reputation for being stubborn and quick witted but she was surprised to see them out in the wild like this, from what she had heard, most of them were in captivity or 'owned' by humans.

Aware that she had been staring, she averted her gaze from the duo and focused instead on her daughters, glancing from Mystery's dozing form to Storm's youthful one as she moved closer so she could roll in the shallows. "Rest, Storm. There will be plenty of time to play when you've slept." River gently reminded her youngest, stepping into the cool water to gently lip Storm's forelock out of the yearling's eyes. "Awwwwh! But moooooom!" She whined, ducking her head away from her mother's muzzle and instead moving deeper into the water and out of her mother's reach. The grullo mare flattened her ears and grumbled at the yearling's antics, "Storm, will you stop messing around." She snapped at her daughter, moving swiftly into the water and causing the filly to squeal and lunge away from her mother, accidentally bumping into Flapjack in the process. The filly immediately flinched away from the donkey, back-pedalling until there was a decent gap between them before staring in shock at the two equines as though they had magically appeared there.

River glowered at her daughter and gave her a sharp nip on the shoulder in punishment, "Storm, say sorry to the gentleman. And next time watch where you're going." She growled, eyes narrowed as she met her daughter's shocked gaze. The yearling ducked her head apologetically and glanced back toward the jack, "I'm sorry, I didn't see you there. I wasn't paying attention..." She mumbled, looking suitably sheepish. "Good, now go have a rest on the bank, I think you've had enough fun for the moment." River requested, nudging the yearling toward her sister who was sleepily watching them. "Okay mama..." came the dutiful reply and she slunk off to curl up next to Mystery. With her daughters safely on the bank and dozing, River glanced back toward the jenny and the jack and bowed her head in slight greeting. "I apologise for my daughter's brash behaviour, she is still at that age where they pay little attention to their surroundings and instead focus upon messing around." The older mare shook her head in mild amusement before glancing back to the strangers. "Oh, where are my manners, My name is River, my daughters are Storm and Mystery, who might you be?" She asked pleasantly, eyes trained on the two donkeys but one ear was tuned into her daughters location.