rescue a Stolen Spirit? [epona]

She followed after the man that had caught her, and bred her too, to one of his horses, an ugly brute she thought. Where were they going and why was one as well blooded as her being used as a… pack horse? It didn't seem right. Through the trees they continued on, she knew that the human was taking her somewhere, though she knew not where that was going to be this time.

She knew she was heavily pregnant too, which was going to be an issue. She could only hope that she would have the at first unwanted foal in the wild, not in captivity. It would be something the man could us against her when she misbehaved, if it were born in his presence. All she knew was that where she was going, was where the wild horses ran.

For once she seemed eager to do what the man, though she hated him so much, wanted of her.

They stopped for lunch and she spoke to the tame gelding that the man rode. “He seems pleased with himself.”

“He should be, many of the wild horses would love to have you in their herds. Not that any of them are going to get you, Flammetänzer,” replied the bay horse. “There's a grey stallion called Cadifor, and a stallion called Walker that our owner seems convinced that won't be able to resist you. That's why he doesn't want you getting hurt.”

“What are they like?”

“I can't tell you. I have not met those two.”




It was clear a few hours later that she was relieved to get into the paddock she was sent into, though at the sight of the horrid bearing reign, and hobbles, she reared up, trying to evade them. Unfortunately, it didn't work, she was tied to the fence and the rope between the bit aroudn her neck and the fence was not long enough to let her rear up at all.

The man easily fixed the hobbles onto her, and the bearing rein. He did not bother untying her from the fence either, and she foudn herseflf gazing longingly at the grass beneath her, wanting to eat it, and yet being unable to move. She'd been tied in a fashion that made her unable to move an inch, not even her tail. She didn't understand this cruelty, and slowly her strength seemed to wane.

Slowly the moon seemed to rise and the sun fell, and still she was not freed from where she stood.

She knew the stallions would come, she could see them in the trees, including what she thought to be the ghostly body of a creamy one as well. A closer look in that direction was not possible though, she couldn't move enough. There was so much that she wanted, and so much that she would have been had she never been recaught by the men.

A smoky grey horse appeared though, when her 'owner' happened to have 'supposedly' gone to sleep, and she watched with tired eyes as he came closer to her. So this was Cadifor, the one that the other tame horse had spoken of. Before she got a chance to reply though, the gelding threw up his head and whinnied, loud and clearly.

A shout came from the hut and she knew before it happened that the door swung open with a bang as the man rushed out of there. She whinnied in alarm, knowing that he was coming because she was talking to one of the horses that he wanted to catch.

“Get out of here!” she exclaimed. “Flammetänzer is my name.” She heard the man's footfalls rushing towards her, though not for him, but for his horse. The gelding seemed more than willing for the chase, he was one of the best at night time. “No!” she shrieked, worried that they would catch him as the gelding jumped out of his part of the yard, the man on his back.

“Really? I doubt it,” replied the other horse, knowing that now that a chase began, it would end only when he tired himself. Not something that happened very easily, and didn't he know it at the moment? This horse called Cadifor was a fool if he thought to win against him.

The gelding galloped after him, knowing his job of course. It would take time before Cadifor got the beautiful mare that his owner owned. “You think you can outmatch me, one who has known this territory all my life? Think again!” roared the gelding. Soon though he felt his owner turn him away from the chase though, and he knew he had to obey.

Quickly, through the dawn, he cantered back towards where she was. He snorted though as his owner released him into the corral.

“We'll get that silver grey next time boy,” the man said, looking at his mare. This time, he moved to tie her up while she was sleeping, for she was at the moment, knowing that there was no chance he was going to let her go any time soon. He worked all that day, making the area she was in like a cage, not giving any room for her to move at all. There was one tiny window he left, where her head was, no door or anything, so that no one could get her out without causing quite a noise.

The roof there was also, and it was so low that she would not be able to rear without hitting her head, for it was only three inches above her head at the moment. The whole thing seemed formed around her sleeping silouete.


When she woke up, she tried to raise her head, only to snort in pain as something sharp pricked her ear, hurting her. She found herself muzzled and ropes lashed her hooves to each other, annoying her greatly. A tiny window near her eye level, extremely close to the ground, too low for Cadifor to help her this time. She couldn't speak anyway, thanks to the ugly hard muzzle concealing the ropes tied around her mouth to keep her silent.

She stayed silent, as she heard the wild one coming again. He had returned for her, and she had known he would. “I doubt they thought you would be this persistant, Cadifor,” she said. She was getting weaker now, she hadn't been fed in several days. Sighing though she was glad to be able to talk. Her nose nudged his, telling him where exactly she was now. “Though he seems to be all too eager to keep me his, that man,” she added. “In case you missed me telling you, my name is Flammetänzer.”

Some thought she was worthy of that name, but it had not always been so. “Once I was wild, but that was almost a year ago now, and only for a few short months, before that man caught me.”

“Something tells me there is going to be bad weather tomorrow night, perhaps then, at last you'll be able to.” She knew when things like this were to happen, though most didn't realise what it was all about at the moment. Some thought she was simply being foolish at the time, when she was never wrong about the weather.

“At least I know one thing, not all humans are bad towards us. Only some of the people who have owned me have treated me badly.”

"I beleive I would rather be wild than be stuck for the rest of my life with the human who is supposed to be looking after me now. The one who was a kinder person towards me actually let me go into the wild last time, instead of the other option which was putting me to rest. "

She sighed, remembering him. "That's one human I might never forget, though I only wish to get away from the one who currently owns me. I'm meant to be a trap, for you and for someone else called Walker. That's why he came running out at you last night, he wants to catch you, and Walker."

"I know he won't, I know he has no chance when it come to a chase between yourself and him, Cadifor." She smiled at him, though he'd barely see it. If it was a thing she missed, it was the joys of freedom. She could tell though that the sun was rising. "You should go, before that idiot wakes again, and the man comes out. The sun rises." She sighed.

It was going to be a long day for her, and would the thoughts she had about the weather come true? She hoped they would.

The day got brighter, but there were clouds in the sky, heavy and thick with the promise of a snow storm again. It was a relief for her when the man took her into the horse paddock, as the first snowflakes floated down that morning. They wouldonly have to wait till the air was thick with snow for her to escape, the man would not be able to track them in the snow storm.

“Let's just get out of here, before that idiot finds something amiss in here. For the moment, he does not seem interested in anything other than trying to keep himself warm.” She smiled as he appeared. “Surprising as it may seem, he was the one who told me about you while we were still.. travelling here.” She chuckled lightly. Then she turned and eyed the fence. It was not too high for her and that was certainly a relief for her.

She backed away from Cadifor, turning to line up with the fence. Then she shot forwards at a quick canter, and leapt. She seemed to soar over gracefully. “You coming?” she called eagerly.

END THREAD