Unbridled Love - Private rp with Brooke0518

[tenebria]

(this is a private rp between Tenebria and Brooke 0518. if that is not you, do not post, although you are more than welcome to read!)

A ruined show mare escapes from a horse meat trailer, and runs into the wild to seek a new life. She barely survives the trials the wilderness throws at her, then meets a stallion who shows her how to survive. They become close friends... closer than close. Until she gets captured once again, and whisked from his life. He searches for her, no matter how long, or how far he must travel from his homeland. He will find her. He has to.

Characters:
Burning Ember - Mare - 4 1/2 yrs 
Tempest - Stallion - 5 yrs

[tenebria]

Ember's head shot up as a banging sound echoed in the empty cold barn. Her eyes flashed with fire before dulling slightly as she moved far back, shuffling her hooves in the old almost non existent shavings, and only stopping as her rump bumped against the empty water bucket. The Man was back. Fear jumped into her heart. What would come today? More pain? Would he force her to get in the rusty trailer and ride into another arena only to fail with pain? A sharp eyed tall lithe man walked up to her stall, standing outside with an angry scowl, arms crossed. "Weel mare, yer leeg's lookin mighty fine t'day, but i'spose one more day outside caint hurt any" he said, moving forwards and picking up a dusty old mud crusted halter from the rack. "Ceem on now, none o that caterwhaulin ageen leek last teeme, or i'll be forced to feetch mah wheep. Ya want that ya lazy geed fer nothin lug?" he questioned with a warning sneer, unlatching her stall. The bay mare pressed herself further against the back, ears pinned as she raised her head high, trying to keep herself away from him. The past few days had been a nightmare of bad food, if any, and even less water, and being driven from the only shelter she had out into the dusty "pasture" on which only a few blades of grass dared attempt to grow. "I'm warneen ye mare, ye don wanna push me t'day" the man spat, suddenly lashing out with the lead rope and whipping it hard against her hindquarters. Surprised, she jerked her head up further, rearing with a half hearted anger, eyes rolling with fear and confusion. Why? Why? Was all she could think to herself as the lead rope whipped against her once shining coat again, and again.

[brooke0518]

Standing at the edge of the woods, staring out into the open meadow, Tempest closes his eyes, letting the cool breeze pass over his coat, pulling through the hair of his mane and tail. Another beautiful day....which meant that it was time to go for a run. He was pushing his luck a bit these days......walking a bit too close to humans. He knew that when it came to mustangs, humans always were trying to catch horses like him. Just the other day, he had watched a young mare, Thorn, manage to outrun them. It always put him on edge, whenever the stinking reek of humans permeated the land. It was a smell that lingered even long after the humans had left. He knew that he felt a great deal of pity, for the horses, who were forced to carry those wretched things on their backs, their eyes always dull of life. Some of them had almost become deranged, doing everything that their humans asked, without question. But that would never be him......he would never submit to a human of any kind. Shaking his head, tossing his mane, Tempest rises up on his hind legs, a shrill, loud neigh passes from his throat, before he charges down the hillside, a billowing cloud of dust and dead grass was thrown up into the air, as he ran.

[tenebria]

"GIT DOWN MARE!" The man yelled at her, the rope striking her face. Ember winced back and fell to the ground for the third time, her leg shaking slightly as she landed heavily, then dropped her head. It was no use to fight him, she wasn't strong enough. "Ye deemin hearse, i'll be glead to git rid of ye" the man growled as he roughly attatched the halter, then yanked the rope. She resisted for a moment out of habit and fear, then gave in again. At least outside she was under the open sky, and could breath clean air. But that breath was taunting to her... for it bore scents of horses far beyond where she was penned up, and scents of green forests and rushing crystal rivers. Her head dropped as she walked quietly after the man, emerging out of the barn into the small pen out back, her once proud form sagged from hunger. Reaching the pen, the man undid her lead rope, leaving the hated halter on, and then quickly shut the gate. He had learned from experience not take that halter off, last time it had taken him almost two hours to catch her, despite the small size of the pen. For a moment he paused, squinting as he watched her. She didn't move, she just stood still, head dropped, staring at the dusty ground. Suddenly the man snorted. "Yeer a skeeny beast, I s'pose I sheould feed ye somethin ter make ye a beet betteer lookin fer the aucteen" he said reluctantly, disappearing into the barn. But Ember didn't care. It would just be moldy hay. As soon as he was out of sight she moved from the fence, getting to the other side as fast as she could, still limping slightly from her last show. Reaching the wooden fence line, she pressed against it, letting the rough weather beaten wood keep her mind from wandering as it often did now, back to dreamy golden days of the past. With a sigh she lifted her head, resting it on the fence post and gazing off over the dusty landscape, the sun at her back as she waited. A few moments later the man reappeared, dumping the expected moldy hay over the fence line before retreating to his house. A moment later, the cough of an engine and the sputtering of his old truck told her he was leaving. Not that it made a difference. She was stuck anyway. If she had been just a month younger perhaps she could have jumped the fence... but her leg was too far gone to even attempt such a feat now, and she knew it.

[brooke0518]

Tearing through the vegetation, Tempest lets his tail lash from side to side, smacking away unpleasant bugs, as he felt the tall grasses brush against his sides. He could hear every sound, smell everything. Something about this valley just filled him with joy. He had been born in this very valley, five years ago, and was now making a living on his own. He had tried, as most male horses did in their young lives, to live in a bachelor group. it had worked for him for a year, before he ultimately decided to strike it out on his own. He couldn't understand why some horses refused this way of life. He had seen some horses, just standing....almost mindlessly in their pastures, just eating. It felt like a waste. Sure he wouldn't mind eating and standing around. But some of those pastures were barely big enough to run at full sprint. When he reaches a series of hills, he comes to a stop, gazing at the land below. Everything seemed peaceful. He could see a ranch in the far distance, but he had never ventured too close. He had only been by that spot....only one time in his life. It was truly a pitiful place....a place of a horse's worst nightmare. it was old and run down, and it smelled horrible. He had seen some of the food that had been thrown out at that place, and it looked and smelled as terrible as the building that it had come out of. He had never seen any horses there, and he hoped that there were no horses living in that horrible place. Trotting along the ridge, he looks over at that ranch, watching as a dingy, smelly, noisy metal beast drives away. He didn't know what it was called, but humans used them, and they smelled horrid, like rust and fire, and other indescribable smells. He couldn't see any movement from where he was, so he would probably stop and graze, before moving on.

[tenebria]

Ember sighed into the wind as he brushed past her face, closing her eyes slightly as she felt it shift her mane. A taste of freedom... a taste of the clean earth. A taste of a life better. Suddenly the wind grew stronger... and brought with it the near scent... of mustang. Her eyes shot open, a spark of flame lightning in her once fiery eyes, her ears pricking the slightest as she searched the horizon. She had smelled horses from a distance, but hardly this close. Her eyes traveled the horizon, passing swiftly over it, then pausing and going back. There. There! A dark figure, it's head bent to the prairie grass. Grass. She lifted her head, moving along the fence line quietly with a slight limp, her rearing from earlier having set her leg back quite a few days in healing. Reaching the edge of the fence, she leaned against it again, her eyes trained on that dark figure, alone on the hill. That figure... it bespoke a life she couldn't hardly imagine any longer. A life she didn't have the liberty to imagine. So carefree, so independent. The flame in her eyes flickered again as she was reminded, not all horses submitted to the humans command. Not all.

[brooke0518]

Pausing at the top of the hill, Tempest's gaze shifts around, taking in the sight of the old, rundown ranch. Before he turns, ready to disappear back over the hill, and into the trees....his gaze stops on what appeared to be a round, gated paddock. Inside....he could see a horse....looking at him, ears pricked, mane blowing in the wind. It smelled like a mare, but the more he looked, the more his brow furrowed. Even from this distance, she looks small, for her height. Flicking his ears a bit, he starts to trot down the hill, not taking his eyes off of her. The pen was small and confined yet was low enough to jump over. Why wasn't she? Was she another horse that was so bound to humans, that she wouldn't leave? Stopping close by, but not too close, he blinks, rather alarmed by how emaciated she looked. Her coat was dull, lacking any shine, he could see her ribs, her head was low, eyes dull, and she seemed to be favoring her other legs, one of her hind legs seemingly leaning away from the ground, like it was injured. He keeps his gaze on hers, wondering if she would talk at all, or if she was too broken down to speak.

[tenebria]

Ember watched with almost a blank unbelief as the horse seemed to look around, then face her direction, and then suddenly move towards her. She could only stare. Was it truly coming to see her? Did it even notice her? Was it even real? Was she so desperate for company, for any good change, that she could start to imagine things? But the closer the stallion got, the more she could tell he was no figment. His dark and light coat was shining in the sun, muscles rippling strongly underneath. Suddenly she realized how close he was, and took a slightly nervous step back. She may not be able to jump the fence... but she was not so naive as to not realize that he could fully well jump in and back out again if he wished. Her movement caused her to almost fall, and she winced as her right front leg sent an ache of pain through her. She must have damaged it worse than she had thought! Worry flashed through her. She knew the man wanted her to look better... although she didn't know why. Would he be angry when he returned? Would he whip her... again? Her worries came, shadowing her eyes as she drooped her head, her mind not just unsettled from the thought of the man, but also from the lack of nourishment. A sudden feeling of someone's gaze on her made her lift her head slightly, her forelock shifting over her eyes, her nostrils flaring just the slightest. The stallion had to have seen her, he was so still... just staring. Should she speak? She was unsure, but as another breeze slipped by, shifting her mane, it brought the scent of the stallion, of the wilds he had traveled through. And she felt an inexplicable urge to acknowledge his existence. "Who..." she broke off with a cough, not having spoken to anyone in months, her speech also made worse by the lack of water over the past few days.

[brooke0518]

Stopping in front of the paddock, Tempest takes a moment to observe the young mare. She looked weak......almost sickly. She really looked like she was in poor condition. Was this how humans treated horses that were in their care? First, they strip them of their ability to run in the wild, break them down to ride them, and then this? It was despicable. Walking closer, he hands his head a bit over the fence, so that he could look at her. "My name is Tempest. Who are you? What has happened to you?" He asks. She clearly looked too weak to get out on her own. Her coat was dull, but he had a feeling, that she would look a lot better, once she had a good meal. Looking around her space, he could see the pile of hay in the center. His nose wrinkles at the sight and smell of the hay. It looked dull, deprived of water, and he could tell that it was old and moldy. This sort of thing was not good for a horse to eat. "What has happened to your food? Don't your humans feed you better?" He asks. He looks around, searching for the large, metal beast. If that human came back, then he would have to leave. But this young horse was stuck here, with no physical strength or vigor to get out. She didn't look like she would survive another day. Her weight just made her look like she would blow over, off of her hooves, if a strong wind passed over this ranch. Keeping his head over the fence, to look at her, Tempest keeps his ears on alert, in case that human came back, as he was not about to let himself get caught by humans.

[tenebria]

Ember's eyes widened as the mustang reacted to her words, walking all the way up to the fence. She stumbled back another step, wheezing slightly, staring as he put his head over the fence to speak with her, his strong voice firm as he questioned her. She could only stare for a few moments, then realized he had asked her a question. He had SPOKEN to her! Another horse! A flame flickered in her eyes, but she did not move forward, keeping her distance from born in wariness. Coughing again slightly, she attempted to answer his questions. "I.. I am Bur.." she paused. She had not been called by her stable name in so long. "I am Ember" she said, managing to speak almost firmly before coughing again. "I am lame, therefore I am of no use to the humans" she said. Long story short really. "It is always like..." she coughed "Like that here" she finished, glancing at the dried up bits of moldy hay. She turned at his words, letting out a coughing snort "He has only been my human for two weeks, not that the last was better" she said, her voice quieting as she let out another wheeze, her entire body shaking at this. The effort of talking after so long without true nourishment and water... was exhausting. Then suddenly she lifted her head again, staring at him with a wide almost panicked look "You should not stay, he will return" she said, wheezing again as she turned her gaze to the road the truck had disappeared down. She may be desperate, but she knew she would never wish this life on anyone else. No one.

[brooke0518]

Flattening his ears against his head, as he looked in the direction of the road, Tempest removes his head from over the fence. "I will be right back," He says, letting out a snort, as he starts to trot over to a small group of trees. Unfortunately, there was nothing that he could do about water. He just wasn't built to handle that. But he could bring her something, something that would probably taste better than anything that she was eating. Being out here, there were various types of plants and trees, including good fruit. So far, he hadn't seen anything, other than wild animals, come to these trees. When he reaches them, he rears up, taking a take, plump, juicy apple off of one of the low-lying branches. With the fruit in his teeth, he canters back to the paddock, making sure that his teeth didn't pierce the delicate skin and flesh of the fruit. Once he was back, he stops in front of the paddock, hanging his head over it again, to offer the fruit to Ember. He wasn't about to drop it into the mud, since this place didn't look like it had been cleaned. He flicks his ears, since his mouth was full, to let her know, that this was for her. he couldn't get her out of this place, but maybe he could give her the strength that she needed, to be able to get out on her own, provided that was what she wanted. He really wasn't sure if being with humans was an even desirable outcome for her.

[tenebria]

Ember blinked as the stallion turned and trotted away, then sighed. What had she expected? That a strange stallion would wish to help her? of course he said he would be back... but how many times had she heard that? Countless. Hanging her head, she turned and moved slowly towards the pile of old hay. At least it was nourishment, even if it was a sick kind of nourishment. She began to listlessly nibble it, when the sound of hoofbeats caught her ears and she turned again, a look of utter surprise and exhausted confusion on her face. He was back? Why? She tilted her head slightly, then realized he had something shiny in his mouth. She limped forwards cautiously, stopping a few feet away. Why did that thing look familiar? She narrowed her eyes, stretching her neck out to sniff, then suddenly an old memory flashed into her mind. "Atta Girl Burning Ember, that's the way we do it! Our shining star, you're going to take us far!" a hand stretched out, a shining delicacy in reach.... an Apple. She blinked, bringing herself back to the present, and trying not to look shaken by the memory. So long ago it felt... so long. She looked to the stallion, meeting his eyes. He seemed to be motioning for her to take it. She took another limping step forward, tentatively reaching out and sinking her teeth into the skin, getting a hold on the fruit. The moment the juices hit her mouth, she began salivating, her eyes almost closing at the sweet juice. Oh... how good liquid was to her dry tongue. As soon as the stallion let go, she dropped her head, devouring the apple in almost a single bite, the delicious crunch of the flesh of the fruit engraving in her mind, the sweet taste reminding her that eating good food was not a figment of her imagination, it had existed once. Good, delicious food, that she had enjoyed and welcome eating. She sighed as the fruit was all too soon gone, the taste lingering in her mouth as she slowly opened her eyes, raising her head to the stallion. "Th..thank you" she said, her voice trembling with broken emotion. 

[brooke0518]

Tempest snorts a bit in amusement, his gaze softening a little bit. It was clear that this young mare had experienced the flavor of a good apple before. But whatever had happened, to get her here.....was a compete mystery to him. Perhaps it would do some good, to bring her some apples more often. "You're welcome. Would you like another?" He asks. He could probably help her get her strength back. Any animal should never be deprived of good food, being forced to eat such garbage food, that apparently humans were known for. Leaning down, he starts to rip away some vibrant bunches of grass, before letting them drop into the paddock. "Eat those. That's better than.....whatever that is. You'll need to eat this fast, since it has been removed from the ground," He says, letting his tail lash back and forth. He still had to figure out why a human, who was supposed to take care of this horse, could falter so horribly. No animal should ever look like this. He had seen things like this before. There had been humans here, last year, who had caught and taken horses, who lived here, away from their land. They were rounded up and put into metal beasts, never to be seen again. The thought of what could happen to those horses.....really made him angry. They all belonged here, all horses. They were here first. Not those humans.

[tenebria]

Ember's stomach was beginning to growl ravenously, the taste of good food reminding it that eating was something she was supposed to do. At the stallions words she gave a slight nod "If..if you can" she said quietly, then limped forwards in surprise as he threw some long green shoots of grass into the pen. REAL grass. She bent her head to them, almost inhaling the sweet vegetation, hardly even taking the time to chew before swallowing, letting out another sigh at the taste of something truly nourishing. Lifting her head she dipped it shakingly to Tempest. "Th..Thank you for helping" she said quietly, her amber eyes flickering with a forgotten light. Someone cared. How long had it been since anyone cared?

[brooke0518]

Seeing Ember nod at him, albeit, weakly, Tempest nods back, before straightening up. "You're welcome. I will be right back," He says, before trotting back in the direction of the trees. No horse should have to live like this, being deprived of the very food that brought them life. It was unfortunate that he could only bring back food, one apple at a time, but he could try and bring more to this young horse. She was living quite the pitiful existence, having to put up with a human, who couldn't even be bothered to do the bare minimum for her. When he reaches the trees, he notices that there was a branch, that held several apples, pending a bit too far down, because of the weight of the fruit. Rearing up and using his front legs, he manages to snap the already fragile branch. It seemed that this branch had three apples on it. Still not a lot, but better than one. Taking the branch between his teeth, he canters back to the paddock, with his precious cargo. Reaching the paddock again, he holds the branch over the fence, for her to take.