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Posted on August 31, 2015 at 05:23:55 AM by Calvin
| It was with a strange sense of pilgrimage that Calvin found himself near the castle. He had thought about stopping in at the kennels, maybe he wanted to see Luke and the dog he had helped rescue again. As he drew nearer, though, he began telling himself the truth. He needed to visit the horses of Shaman. The question 'why' gave Calvin no peace as he surveyed the stalls, heavy with the scent of dust and horse with the sweet smell of hay interlaced. Even stronger was the hay in the fields growing fresh. Those scents meant less to Calvin now than he would have thought. Idly the young man stuck his hands in his pockets as if he might offend showing up empty-handed. He needn't have bothered. The only one in the stable was a groom, tending to a lame bay busy calling since her herd was absent. Calvin said nothing as he walked through, although the groom gave Peets a hard stare as she travelled along behind Calvin like an Arabian shadow of his horsey soul.
Calvin offered a friendly smile, but he wasn't here to chit-chat. At least not with fairies. As the sojourn led Calvin out to the many fields he was too preoccupied to notice anything amiss. Then the horses began to run, eyes rolling in their heads and for a moment instinct grabbed him by the throat and Calvin jerked back, wings swirling out behind him in the tight sweep of a cape, the translucent brownsih black of a beetle's wings and immature at that. His face might have taken on a palor, but most onlookers couldn't tell staring at green skin. Then his human instincts took over and Calvin reached for Peets. She anticipated him and although she clearly wanted to follow her instincts to run with the herd, she went past him and he swung up to the summer black mare's back easily, racing after a red blur which caught Calvin's eye, threatening the herd. Peets nimbly leapt the fence and Calvin was impressed he stayed on. He was less impressed when he realized how foolish he was. Calvin didn't only not have a weapon, but he had never used one. As a horse size and reach was one's greatest advantage. Maybe he could stall until Birch or some other guard he didn't know came to the rescue... As plans went, that was all he had. Closer to the stranger Calvin tried to reach for the man, but Peets wouldn't go close enough, snorting and swerving so that Calvin had to grab her mane to stay on, the heel that had almost swung over her back digging into her flank for a moment. These days Peets didn't usually allow fear to overwhelm her so. She bolted towards the scattering horses, her dark coat becoming marred by sweat. When he insisted, renforcing it with a mental, "Whoah! We need to cut this guy off, she reluctantly turned and danced in place to block the stranger's path. She had done her part, but Calvin found he didn't know what he had to say. Those people that took things, nevermind horses, he had never thought to meet one and the shock would have shown in his face. His mouth felt too dry to speak, but he forced words made of ash through his lips. "Stop! Y-you pirate!" Calvin shouted. He tried to project confidence, but he couldn't be more than sixteen or seventeen and his voice was an unnusually beautiful treble. |
Replies:
- Fly between, blue and green. - By J'tan September 9, 2015 at 03:41:46 AM
- the grass is always greener - By Calvin November 4, 2015 at 06:38:08 AM
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