i will hear their every story, take hold of my own dream..

The sun was warm on her back as she walked around the glistening loch, the light breeze that drifted out over the waters ruffling her dark mane. How long had she been walking? She couldn’t quite remember, but on such a day as this it wasn’t too important. Across the water she spotted a herd, the largest horse standing out amongst them she immediately recognized as her father. How long had it been since she had seen them? She picked up her pace, if she could only circle around and see him again! She carried on for some time before she checked how far she had left to go, a frown creasing her facial features as the group was still the same distance from her on the opposite shore. She could hear them calling to each other, milling about in the sunlit meadow.

Her pace quickened. Run! the voice in the back of her mind cried. She had to get there, had to just round the corner and she would be in their midst. She glanced up again and found she was no nearer than before. Clouds had started to roll in overhead darkening her surroundings. Run! Head down she beat forward, sweat beginning to glisten in her dark coat. Somehow the group now looked farther away than before. Run! The one place she needed to be. The one place she couldn’t get.

RUN!

Her eyes snapped open, adjusting to her dark surroundings. It was either very early or very late depending on your philosophical views. Light was just beginning to prick at the horizon, accompanied by the light of the moon it cast the world into a variety of dark grays and blues. Her body was on high alert, petite ears swiveling in every direction as she inhaled deeply. Emerald eyes widened to show their whites as she finally realized what her body had been trying to tell her subconsciously. The one scent she had picked up other than the standard smells of fauna and smaller creatures set every hair on her body on end. Wolves.

She nickered quietly to no one but herself in nervousness, her light hooves dancing slightly in the dew-wet grasses. There weren’t many others, if any, in the falls this time of night. Usually she enjoyed the solitude but at this moment it was her greatest enemy. If the canine beasts were in the area it was, no doubt, for only one reason, one she didn’t want to dwell on for too long. This winter had been particularly long and harsh, typically the very number of equines on the Islands was enough to keep them at bay but hunger could drive them to brazen acts. She attempted to stay as quiet as possible, inhaling deeply in case the scent became stronger all while her eyes searched relentlessly for some beam of moonlight caught in silver gray fur or those deadly reflective eyes.

Minutes expanded in to what seemed like hours as an eerie hush washed over the area, as if the world itself were holding its breath waiting for something to happen. The snap of a dry twig broke it all and seemed to send everything in to hyper focus. She spun lightly, finding the mangy shape in the darkness. It was a wolf, battered, scarred, and eerily thin. No doubt this had been a hard winter on all the lands inhabitants but she had no empathy for the carnivores. A low growl rumbled in its throat as the painted girl steeled herself to deal with this issue head on, one lone wolf was something she could deal with. Suddenly something to the side caught her eye, an odd twinkling that hadn’t been there before. She spared only a moment to glance over and by pure luck noticed the moonlight glancing off the hungry eyes of not one but two more of the creatures who had no doubt been hoping to sneak up on her flanks. Her mind raced, the hard wired instincts of fight or flight grappling in her head and she hadn’t much time to choose. She backed up slowly, her feet colliding with the scrub and brush on the ground from the surrounding trees, what had recently provided her shelter now hindered any ability she may have to fight back.

RUN!

Finally she reared up on to her strong hind legs, kicking out fiercely with the front two as she released an almost feral cry in an attempt to at least dismay their advances. As she began her decent she rotated with near ballerina-like grace landing heavily on the frozen ground, hooves scrambling for one world-stopping second before finding purchase and she raced in the opposite direction. The Peak was the first things that came to mind, there were sure to be a solid group of mares there whose presence, if nothing else, should discourage further pursuit. She couldn’t spare a look behind her as she leapt between the sparse trees and shrubs and on toward the border lands, but she knew they followed her; their high pitched yips and barks marking their chase. Putting her head down she pushed herself harder, as if life now mirrored the dream she had been having only a few moments ago. She needed open space if she couldn’t make it to other horses in time that was her best bet.

Breath streamed like a fog from her nose as she ran, her emerald eyes rolling with panic as she heard the wolves closing in. Nature was cruel to make them so similar to her own physical abilities while also enabling them with dagger-like teeth and claws. Finally she broke the tree line in to the large plateau she believed to be the base of the Peak, a marsh like area with sparse grasses but nothing blocking her sightline. She could tell she was slowing, her body protesting from the sprint that had led her here so quickly but she attempted to push on. Occasionally she sent up a splash of icy water here or there as she trampled through the area with haphazard foolishness, but there was no time for common sense as her instincts went in to overdrive.

A searing pain ripped through her hind right foot causing a shrill strangled cry to escape her lips. Teeth sank in to soft flesh and sinew as one of the wolves had finally managed to catch up. She was able to dislodge it only by tearing her own leg from its mouth and kicking back again swiftly. There was a collision to soft flesh and the satisfying crunch of bone, but there was no time to dwell on such a small victory. She whirled around as best she could, warm blood running down her hocks and onto the cold ground. The wolf she had connected with struggled on the ground, her blow seeming to have connected with its face as the other two caught up.

They stood now not more than fifteen feet apart, carnivore staring down herbivore. Arito’s ears pinned to her skull, her mouth chewing as harsh angry sounds carried out across the open space, ringing as the world around them continued to brighten without a second thought. Her light hooves pawed the air as best as her throbbing rear leg would allow, threatening them with the only tools she had. Her only hope was that they did not call her bluff or that someone else might hear her and come to assist. This was the Peak after all, weren’t those women dedicated to helping others of the same sex? she thought as she stood veritably in the middle of the Lagoon.

female // connemara mix // fifteen.one // seven // black tobiano [[Ee/aa/nT]] // riley
be as strong as the seas are stormy and proud as an eagle's scream