Free to Run; ... open

[Bella]

A light gray silhouette stood at the top of a hill, her head held high. A wind blew past, whipping the light gray mare's mane from side to side. Dark chocolate eyes blinked and then looked around, calculatingly. Then she let out a soft winny as if she had been waiting for something and that something had come, and leapt forward running down the hill at full speed.

Up above her, the shriek of an eagle cut through air, high and shrill. The eagle flapped it's large brown wings and fly faster. It looked as if the two were racing, which indeed they were. The light gray mare sped forward, her hooves hammering into the ground. Her neck strained forward and she pressed herself to her limits, racing as fast as she could. The eagle above sped up too, straining to pull ahead. Both were head to head.

But then just as quickly as it had started it was over. The light gray mare was forced to trot to a stop as a sharp drop loomed up ahead. The eagle sored on and then looped back, screeching mockingly. The light gray mare snorted and turned her back, trotting away.

Bella smiled slightly. Yes, that encounter would have been rather random for any other horse, but being a loner, Bella tended to befriend other animals outside of her own kind. Some found it strange, but Bella thought it was perfectly natural. Why not race an eagle? It was exhilarating and fun. It wasn't liked she talked to them. That would be strange.

The light gray Arabian looked up at the sky. It was near mid-day, the sun was high in the sky. It was warm and not unpleasant. Bella smiled and trotted toward a small grove of trees and then ducked her head down to graze.

Character: Bella
Muse: 35%
Word Count: 452
Other: sorry, the posts a bit skimpy but I'm rushing cause I have to go

[pooz; so starstrukk]

The lush grass swayed silently back in forth. There she lay, hidden under the shadows. Her golden coat dulled out. Her barrel stuck out, large and round. She nickered out, a wicked smile plastered across her charcoal lips. Darker ears swung forward, gorgeous amber eyes struck into his soul. She whinnied out, musical notes filled the air. Her eyes fluttered, digging deep into him. He couldn't resist her sweet aroma.

The brute walked forward, blinded by everything but the mare. She lay there, under the trees, intimidating him. That wasn't fair, she had the power, the beauty to do so. It just wasn't fair. Sandy ears flickered forward, bicolored eyes focused on one thing: her. She was only looking at him and he went forth. Everything about her drew him closer. There wasn't any other choice but to go after her.

She pulled him in, keeping him on a short leash. He lay right next to her now, nibbling on her dark mane. Her head was tucked in, but angled, to see him. A small grunt escaped her parted lips. She lipped at his whited out face, he just watched, his heart racing. He always felt this way around her. It was like she was alarm. Once her scent was in the air, or he saw her, his heart would leap and thump and go wild. He loved it.

But then it all changed. The sky grew dark, everything was dark. He looked around, everything appeared dead. His eyes darted back to the mare, who was crying. She didn't look the same, she looked so fragile, so dead. Pink tinted lips stretched out to her black ones, and she broke. Poof. That was it. One small touch and bam, she was gone. He stared where she once lay, stunned.His eyes welled up with tears, ears swung back. She was just there, and now she's gone. He tucked his head in, tears falling one by one. It couldn't be. It just couldn't be!

An eagle screamed above him, his eyes shot wide open. The brute was laying in the middle of a field unknown to him, crying. How pitiful. He steadily pushed his creamy legs out, raising up onto his bod. It was so quiet, so still. Everything was so boring. He yawned, glancing around. Tears still sat in his cold eyes. He tried to blink them away, that only made more. So it was final, this was not something he could escape. It would haunt his every day. How stupid of him to try and run!

He should have stayed behind, in his beloved land. But what was a home without mares. He had none, after all. They all had left on that fateful, stormy night. At least he could now announce to the public that karma is a bitch and will come bite you in the ass. His auds twittered to and fro, taking in the unfamiliar sounds. The eagle continued to fly over head, calling out every now and then. He lifted his head, screaming back.

"Just shut up." he muttered, ears nearly flat on his neck, hidden beneath the thick mane. "Such a sweet, adorable colt!" they whinnied, "Oh he'll be a gentleman!" Stupid. Asses. Thats what they were, thinking he'd be a perfect stud. Yeah the hell right. He was a bitch and that was all there was to it. There were only two that he truly cared for. The only two he loved. They were his life, his everything. He'd do anything to get them both back.

The sun seemed to have shot across the sky as it was mid day a minute ago and now it was a sunset. He dryly shook his pelt, the thick hair barely bounced atop his neck. His orbs were only half open. He wasn't tired, just dead. Almost. The mass drifted across the barren lands, shadows cast over everything in sight. Off in the distance was the beautiful sunset, pinks, blues, purples and oranges smeared through the sky.

The eagle was gone now. He hadn't noticed when he left, but there were no more screams, no wing flaps. Peace at last. A silent sigh escaped his sandy pelt, faint rings leaked from his parted maw. It was so nice out, perfect spring weather for equine. He no longer needed his winter coat, which was nearly gone now. Plus, his heavy build added up to keep him warm. It was just overall great. If only..

He stopped dead. "No." he murmured, closing his eyes and arching his neck. The thought crept from his brain and ran away, hopefully never to come back. The sun was almost gone now, oh how time flew. It was a lovely thing, days seemed to go by much quicker. That meant less pain. He smiled at the though, that was a rare thing. His smile quickly left, leaving him with a frown. There was nothing that seemed to cheer him up anymore.

As he continued to walk forward, his steps getting shorter and slower as he went. One two, one two. Each peach hoof went forward. One two, one two. He mused at this, counting in his head, bobbing up and down ever so slightly. How easily he could amuse himself. His eyes danced, glancing around, hidden smirk, another glance, another smirk. He seriously needed to get a life, find something to do.

And finally something caught his eye. A ghost danced near the edge of some trees, grazing, tearing the sweet sod from the ground. The stallion stopped, watching the shadow just eat. Now this was sad, what could possibly be interesting about watching a horse eat? Not even he knew what was going through his head. He flicked his black banner, just standing there. It was painful to think about, being so boring.

But there was that horse, eating. A faint scent caught his attention, this was most certainly a mare. He thought about ways to approach her, a cheesy pick up line. No. A shy nicker. No. Screaming could work, but that might end badly. He wasn't just going to walk up and say "hello." No, he'd say something sexy, like "bonjour." Yeah, mares like the foreign studs. He shook his head, no way.

So he stood there, not knowing what to do. He wanted to continue his walk, but he wanted to say hello. Maybe this was a solution to all his problems: he just needed a mare to take his mind off of things. That could work, no? Only one way to find out. He walked towards the ghost-like vixen, lowering his splashed white crown to graze, like it was an every day thing to randomly chow down next to a complete stranger. Yes, totally cool.

He lifted his head, staring into her chocolate eyes. Deep, velvet lyrics poured from his maw. "Hello, you seemed lonely so I pulled up. It seems rather dead over here." He glanced around, then back to the fea. He felt totally out of place, this wasn't right. He raised his head back up to it's natural position. "You know what, I don't feel right bothering you. I'll be on my way." With a flick of his charcoal banner, he turned and slowly sulked forward.

The sun was completely gone by now, the moon taking its place in the starry sky. Maybe she would be kind, and notice, and speak up. He didn't want to leave alone. He knew no one. He actually wanted a friend, not a lover, not a sex toy, but a friend. His heart beat steadily, ears tilted to the side, eyes drowsy. Maybe, just maybe. He hoped.

Word Count: 1,302
Muse: Beautiful <3
Status: Complete
Comment: Sorry I took so long!! And I have to admit, I've never gone over one thousand words before, you don't know how proud I am!! Though, I think the ending is a little junky. :c

[Bella]

The sun slowly began to sink below the horizon. The air became cooler, reminding the young mare of the cold winter that had only passed, countable only by days. Bella was a lone mare; she didn’t belong to any herd and never had. There were many reasons for this, numerous ones, all ones that had to do with the past, the past that she didn’t like to think about for fear of the horrid memories, memories that haunted her still, even after a year.

Most mares contented themselves easily, joining herds or being recruited, giving birth to foals. That wasn’t a life that Bella had ever had. She had been born free of any laws, of any restrictions, but of constant fear for her safety. This had its upsides, she could do what ever she wanted, whenever she wanted, but it also meant that she had to fend for herself. She was at constant threat of predators; wolves, mountain, cats, and so much more. While she could fight these horse-eating monsters while she was awake, she could never sleep soundly for fear of being snuck up on when her guard was down.

But she had managed. She was 3 years old now. It had been 2 years since her mother had died. Only a year since….. No! She didn’t want to delve into those memories. They haunted her! Tortured her! The sight of the dead foal before her, its lifeless eyes looking blankly up at her, was so horrid, it made a tremor of terror sweep through her.

Attempting to divert her attention, she studied the grass before her and then forced her mind to focus on her race only hours ago with the eagle. Her eyes flickered closed and she concentrated on that thought alone; her muscles straining forward, the wind pushing against her face, tugging and whipping her mane from side to side, her tail streaming out behind her, the smell of the fresh grass below her pounding hooves. It worked. Her body slowly relaxed and she returned to grazing.

It was then that she noticed just how late it was becoming. The sun was very near to vanishing from view, the sky was bathed in blues, violets, magenta, and scarlet. The silver moon was already out. Her dark eyes angled upward, and she lifted her head, looking up at the darkening sky. She should probably find a place to stay the night. Her gaze wandered around. But she still had time, so she lowered her head to continue to graze.

It was then that she realized that she wasn’t alone anymore. Another horse was slowly making it’s way toward her. She didn’t look up, but rather breathed in, trying to discern whether the horse was male or female. She snorted uncomfortably when she detected that the horse was a stallion. But she didn’t move, nor did she lift her head.

A breeze swept past, caressing her sides and sweeping her mane up only to drift back down to lay against her neck just as it had before. She tried to keep her body relaxed, but it was hard when the only thing she could think about was the foal’s dead gaze. Her foal’s dead face. Her tail flicked agitatedly, but she still said nothing.

The stallion came up to her, grazing along beside her. It took all of Bella’s self control not to flinch away. “Hello, you seemed lonely so I pulled up. It seems rather dead over here,” he said, rather calmly. The stag then raised his head back up to it's natural position. "You know what, I don't feel right bothering you. I'll be on my way." And then, just as easy as that, he turned to leave. But it looked more like sulking. Bella lifted her head, watching him walk away. She blinked, rather surprised. Was that all? No flashy pick-up line? No evil scheming?

This automatically made her suspicious. Was he toying with her? No. He seemed to be generally sad. Her head tilted to the side, her long, soft, light gray mane brushing against her neck. “Wait a moment,” she said, taking a hesitant step forward. She glanced for side to side and then smiled slightly. She walked forward, still somewhat hesitant, but her confidence grew with each step. “I’m Bella,” she added, her voice a bit shy as she walked up to the new comer.

Her guard was still up. The light gray mare had been through far too much to so easily drop her guard and trust an equine she didn’t know. But her stance and tone was friendly enough. At the very beginning she had suspected that he was like all the other studs, that all he wanted was a “sex toy” or a “lover.” Neither of which she was interested in being. Well, that wasn’t all together true. She just didn’t want to be “forced” into anything. If she happened to fall for someone, which she never had, then perhaps she might reconsider. But she wasn’t about to stand for some random guy coming up to her and trying to do something to her. She was ready to run if this guy tried to so much as move toward her too quickly for her liking.

That was one thing she was very good at, running. And she knew these fields very well; far better then this stag hopefully did if it came to a race. But this horse wasn’t giving off any intentions of harming her. And if he was, he was sure a very good actor. Bella smiled, trying her best to be friendly. Who knew? Perhaps she would find a friend in this horse.

Character: Bella
Muse: 60%
Word Count: 1016
Other: n/a