dA refused to let me post this for some reason. Stupid tech. So this is temporary. Maybe.


I cold feel their hat seething into Itury. I didn't know why Zen was so against horses. Itury, though, was clearly ignoring them as we walked. Once she had her mind set on something, there was no changing it. I could tell that much.

******

We soon came to the group of wild horses and I looked around in awe. There had to be at least twenty of them, but there wre probably more. Blacks, whites, coppers, golds, grays, young, old... They were grace in motion as I watched some of them run. How had I been afraid of them at home? Now thinking over it, it didn't make sense.

A large gray stallion galloped over, snorting and shaking his head. He ground his hoof into the ground, anger apparent in his eyes. Clearly, he didn't want us there. He whinnied at Itury as she stepped forward. I blinked as she talked to the horse in his language. Okay, Valacia just reached a whole new level of strange. I'd never heard of anybody being able to talk to animals like that.

The stallion wals also clearly shocked, but he shook his head, stomping his hoff. Itury stomped her foot and shook her head as wel. She narrowed her eyes as she glared at him and raised her fist. Clearly, she was threatening him. She looked at me. “Luna. Why exactly did you want to come here?”

“Well...” I blinked and looked at the groud, blushing a bit. “I... had a gut feeling that we had to visit here for some reason...”

Itury turned back to the horse and continued the conversation, clearly refusing to leave her ground. The stallion reared up and I felt the blood drain from my face. That's why I'd been afraid of horses. It had been one that had broken my arm when I was twelve. I felt my arm twinge a bit at the memory, wincing. The stallion looked at me and bowed his head. How strange. He wikered sotly and stepped aside.

Itury looked at e. “This is weird,” she muttered to me. “He refuses to let us pass, then sees you and says we're welcome into the herd. I've never heard of any stallion purposely letting human s into his her before.”

I nodded. Most of the horses at home had been mares and there had been one stallion. The only people he relly let past were the tamnes. Horses were trusting, but hihgly suspicious of outsiders. The staillion laid his ears back and nodded to me. I hesitantly took a step forward as I wallked around. The horses all stopped, staring at me. It was the weirdest thing I had experienced yet.

They all laid their ears back and bowed their heads to me. This was beginning to creep me out. What in the world were they doing? All excpet one was bowing its head to me, I noticed. I t was a bay mare with strange blue eyes. I noticed almost all of them had brown eyes. The only one that hd blue was her. She also had a white sock and several white splotches on her shiny coat. The staillion walked over to her and neighed furiously at her, but she just turned her head up. Animals were so much like humans sometimes. It was odd.

The stillion trotted over and whinnied. Even though I couldn't understand him I could tell it was an apology for her behavoir. I nodded and patted his neck, trying to convey that it was okay. He lipped at my ear and I patted his neck again. It was so easy to be with horses at least wild ones. One would think they would be skiddish and run away. But these ones weren't.

I walked to the mare and held my hand out, smiling. She flipped her ears at me, turning her head. I looked into the depths of her blue eyes and smiled. She showed kindness and caring, but disbelief toward me. Her aura spoke of pain from humans. I saw some scars along her hide and knew she had once been horribly mistreated. “Don't worry. Nobody will harm you now,” I whispered, not sure why.

I don't know why I was so intent on getting her to trust me; it was just an overwhelming desire to do so. She flipped her ears at me again, grinding her hoof into the ground as she shook her head, snortng. I inched toward her and her eyes were full of fear. “I'm human, but I don't know their ways. I grew up among the Yultri. I don't understand why humans are cruel. I love animals; I'd never hurt them.” She flipped her one ear toward me, but continued to look away.

I continued to inch forward until I was just a few feet from her. She was pawing at the ground, her ears flipping more. She clearly wanted to bolt, but something was holding her there. Something was holding me there as well. I really wanted to leave her alone so she could be left alone, but there was just some strong urging to get her to trust me.

I gently put my hand on the mare's neck and her eyes were wide in terror. She clearly didn't trust me because of my whole human blood, but I was a Yultri at heart. I didn't know what to think of humans in the few days I had been with them. But they were a bizarre lot to say the least. And they could be cruel at the same time. I gently patted the mare's neck as she continued to flip her ears at me. I hated the fact humans would stoop to the level of beating an animal for some reaon.

“I won't hurt you,” I murmured again, resting mh head on her neck. I could feel the warmth from her neck and it was comforting. I felt her neck bend and she lipped at my shoulder. It was my bad shoulder, so I winced a bit and she wikered softly. It felt like she was apologising to me in place of the horse that had broken my arm. I felt a twinge and winced. She softly wickered again and pressed her head into my good shoulder. I could tell she was stil afraid of me, but something was overriding it and making her comfort me.