A Stable Romance {Ravenbelle}

[Shelby]

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How did he end up like this? One minute he was galloping around, scouting the vast landscape of the plains that he and his herd resided in, in search of any impending danger or doom. Nothing, or at least as far as he could have seen at that point. Nothing but wild flowers sprouting from the ground, tall grass swaying in the breeze, more food for them to graze upon. Birds chirping back into the expanses of the trees that stood to the left of the plains, some of them broken down and wilting while other looked to be thriving with life. Back behind him he had even been able to hear the noises of his herd. The neighs, the whinnies, the snorting and stomping. Normalcy. What he was used to.

But then, suddenly in that next second, or rather it seemed like second to him when in reality it had been minutes, many of them... He was being forcefully dragged and pushed into some contraption that he had never seen before. The metal clanging sound echoed in his ears as his hooves stomped against the foreign material, his ears pinned back from the noise. It hurt. What was this? Every noise seemed louder, every breath he took seemed heavier so much so that they could be heard.

And then the yelling, oh the yelling of those... Beast, those humans! With their whips and their words, their ropes and their hands they fought against this stallion despite how he fought with all of his might. Kicking and biting at anything that had come near him as the humans had rounded him in the beginning, their stares cold, nervous. But there was one man in particular who had stared him down, had stood right in front of him as the ropes had been thrown around his body. "Don't let him escape." Is what he had said at first.

He hurt, the stinging in his legs, the stinging of his back, his neck... Those whips and ropes hurt, but that wasn't about to stop him. Not now. He couldn't leave his herd, but he also couldn't have them here. At least, he figured, he had gotten these people away from where he last saw his herd. And it only cost one of those ropes finding its way around his neck to get him to stop running.

Malachi tried his best to back up, his hooves digging into the ground after he would rear and kick. It was almost satisfying when he felt the pressure of his legs hitting against something, or someone rather. But relentlessly the fight wavered on.

"Get him in there!"

A particularly loud neigh escaped from his mouth as he felt the lashing of something against his legs, the whip again. He stumbled a bit, but apparently it have given the men, five of them, enough momentum to get him into the trailer, however Malachi's rising anxiety seemed to only heighten as he found himself completely into the contraption. No. He couldn't let this happen to him. But what could he do?

Again he reared, however it seemed to be more of a mistake than anything on his part, seeing as he had only gotten a few inches from the floor before the top of his head hit the top of the trailer. Damn thing. The men that stood in front of him skirted to the sides, avoiding the bites that Malachi tried to give only to have his head snapped back from one of the ropes that were around him. They tied him up, tried to keep him in place, and as soon as they were out of his view, Malachi not able to turn his head around given the inability to do so in his predicament, something clicked, made a loud noise, and then another loud noise came, and then the light that came into the trailer dimmed a bit, the only source of light coming from the window that stood at head lever to him, bars placed in front of it.

He grunted, tried to thrash his head back, but nothing. Tried to kick his back legs to free himself, yet when he found his hooves come into contact with something hard he stopped. It hurt, and the loud noise that came from it didn't help either.

A chuckle could be heard as it rounded the side of the trailer, that man, that man who had stared him down before, looked right back at Malachi. The man grinned, his hand tapping the side of the trailer. "Oh, you are going to be worth something, stallion. You better be anyway, given the trouble you are." The smirk fell then, his lips curving down before he turned and walked away. "Lets go!" And then a few moments later his trap jolted and started moving, Malachi almost having lost his balance. Where was he going? What was happening?

 

[Ravenbelle]

"Woa--Ah! Lizeya!" A short blonde pulled an orange feeding bucket off of her head with a pouty glare at the nickering horse at fault before stomping away with bits of feed in her hair. She's only lucky the bucket was empty. Stablehands are so hilarious sometimes! Don't those girls ever realize that when a horse knows it's going to be put out into the paddock, it should not be kept waiting?

There is a certain mare at Blueridge Equestrian and Riding Center that knows exactly what time she is to be let out of her stall and when she wanted to get out and run, she would make sure it was done. Some people never learn...
Either way, Lizeya gets her way and she never lets anyone forget it. Turning away from the entry gate she had come in from, the beautiful mare took a deep breath and smiled at the well stomped sand she had to stretch her legs with. She has no problem taking advantage of it. Lizeya tossed her head and wasted no time between standstill and canter, starting right along the perimeter of the fence. Her lead was perfect, her strides even and none of her legs were even the slightest bit lame. She was pretty much a perfect show horse and she knew it. So why not flaunt it? Strong legs set a flying pace along the limited expanse beneath her hooves, relishing the feel of the wind in her mane before making a sharp turn at the far end of the paddock to gallop back toward the fence. She neighed at her friend Syndara in the paddock across from hers. She was an older mare with a white coat and wise eyes. Syndara smiled and shook her head at Lizeya.

""You can be a real filly sometimes, Liz..."

"I know!" She nickered and turned around again, laughing to herself as she sprinted about, sure she only had this much energy because James was going to arrive soon. He always comes in the middle of the week around afternoon and she knew he would come and play with her today. Stomping around with no shortage of breath, Lizeya rounded on the tire in the side of the fence. It might not have been meant to be her toy, but that's what it became. The mare pawed it away from the fence post, into her paddock and bit at it a few times before tossing it into the middle of her paddock where it plopped in the dirt. Time to have some fun. She had to do something to keep herself occupied while her playmates aren't around. she kicked the lifeless tire a few times, sniffed at it and determined it was safe. So she stood up on her hind legs a little and slammed down on the far end of the circle, only for the inside to slap her knees so she'd buckle forward and land in the dirt. After the initial shock, Lizeya just went with it. She did it to herself, might as well enjoy it. The mare laughed and rolled into the motion so she could lie in the sand and get herself dirty. Then James would stay longer to give her a bath!

"Hey troublemaker."

Lizeya's ears flicked up and she turned her head int he dirt to spot the human she loved. She knew his voice anywhere. She must have been too caught up to hear him jump over the fence. her blue eyes lit up and she rolled over onto her stomach deliberately so he could see how dirty she was.

James shook his head at her. "You know this isn't yours, don't you?" He picked up the tire she had been toying with and tossed it outside the fence again, this time out of her reach. Lizeya snorted and stood up, walking tall and proud as she approached her owner with an indignant look and intimidating posture. He didn't back up. He didn't move until they were nearly chest to chest. Lizeya huffed menacingly. James smirked and poked her muzzle. His horse neighed with a playful smile and the game was on. The mare nipped at his shirt "tag you're it!" and then trotted away, just out of his reach when he tried to tag her back.

"I'll catch you one of these days, Liz. Just you wait." He pointed.
"Yeah you wish!"

Just as she was going to prance circle around him, her ears flicked away, pointing toward the road leading to Blueridge. She could hear strange noises, but couldn't quite figure out the banging and whining. Must be a weird, messed up car or--
Lizeya squealed and snapped back to reality when Jameson slipped her custom-made halter over her ears and clipped it shut swiftly. "Gotcha."

"Hey no fair! I was distracted!" She pouted with a haughty look in her eyes, lowering her head with her ears back as he led her out, back toward the stables to get tacked up for practice. She wondered if there was another show coming up. But she wasn't really that focused. Her sensitive ears kept picking up on the weird noises and she stayed close to Jameson's side, making him look at her strangely. Normally, she'd be very perky or mischievous before tacking up. Staying so close that their shoulders touched was out of the ordinary.
"You okay, girl?" James whispered, watching her closely as they walked closer to the road that made the noises get louder and scarier. There were horse noises there too, coming closer and closer yet until James heard them and the truck pulled in with a dented trailer. A new horse? A new, crazy horse? Man she hates Greenies. They're always so clueless.

"Oh." James bit his lip for a moment before putting Lizeya's lead over her neck, allowing her to graze nearby while he went to go check out the insane new arrival. The male in the trailer sounded real large and by the look of the trailer, very powerful. Lizeya wandered closer and nibbled at the grass only to keep from being put inside her stall just yet. She had to stay close to protect James just in case, but not too close as to get in the way.

"Hey, is there a new arrival today?" James yelled to the driver over the din of the rebellious clanging. James didn't look to happy about this. So naturally, Lizeya narrowed her eyes and kept a close watch, making sure she was ready to step in if necessary.

 

[Shelby]

Eventually there had been a point when Malachi figured that there was no point to his reckless acts of trying to escape. Nothing was working, nothing was going to work as long as he was trapped in this place, and he would only be using up energy he would surely need in a short while. So, he decided to conserve his energy. Did it bother him? Oh, yes it did. To be trapped like this, to be contained in something where he could hardly move, hardly had any space for him. If he raised and tried to rear, his head would get yanked back down, or he'd be much to close to the roof of this thing. If he kicked back, his legs would only come into contact with the hard metal gate behind him, and it hurt. Couldn't move his head, couldn't hardly move his body.

Already he was beginning to miss the wide open area of his plains. Already was he missing the familiarity of his herd. Their sounds, their smells, their looks. The little ones... He hoped they were alright, hope that none of them had gotten into the cross fire of any of this. As far as he could tell, they hadn't. But he had warned them previously to get away, to run and go somewhere else. It was too dangerous. Yet he also told them that he would be right back, that they had nothing to worry about. And he still wasn't back. Were they worried about him? Did they wonder what happened?

An overwhelming sense of sadness crept into the stallion, his ears still pinned back as he continued to stare blankly out the window that was provided for him. At least they hadn't closed that, however maybe he would have liked it better if they had. At least then he wouldn't have been able to see the outside world. At least then he wouldn't be teased, knowing that he was stuck in here rather than out there running around. He had tried biting at the bars at one point, only to find that even his bite could do nothing to free him, yet it had only served to irritate him all the more. How could he have let this happen to himself?

When the truck and trailer had finally made it up the path to Blueridge, that was when the smells and sounds really begun to bother Malachi. Horses. Horses and humans here. It was confusing, yes, but through his still angered mind there was a bit of curiosity peeking through him. His ears perked, and when they all finally stopped, his body swaying find side to side with the momentum, he snorted, sniffed, and then recoiled. Oh yes, definitely horses, however their sent was off. Disgusting. Mingled with the humans, mingled with... Something else that he couldn't identify, but nevertheless he didn't like it! But that was when he started getting mobile again.

His feet stomped on the floor, creating more noise that was necessary, and he tried to jerk his head back again, always coming up with the same result; nothing different happening. Let me out, let me out...

The back doors opened shortly after he listened to the few muffled words of the humans, however no one came close to him yet. Just observed, looked at the damage he had done to the trailer, as well as to one of the people who had gone on this little excursion to try and catch him. Quickly they had gotten him away, figuring that it would be best to send him to the clinic. That kick to the ribs looked painful.

"Yeah. Matt thought it'd be a good idea to get this guy. I don't know why, seeing as this horse is crazy..." The man who answered James said, shaking his head as he sighed. "But you know how Matt is."

Stepping out of the truck, Matthew, or Matt for short, closed the door to the truck behind him as he rounded the side of the trailer, coming around to the back along with everyone else. He folded his arms over his chest before looking at the stable hands who had helped him, narrowing his eyes and furrowing his brows before he motioned with a shoulder over to the stallion. "Well, get him out." They all seemed to hesitate, one of them even daring to open his mouth as if he was about to speak, but after a moment he had decided against it. The sight made Matt give a little huff before as he started watching the boys stumbled about, trying to figure out a way to get this horse out of the trailer without getting hurt, or at least with minimal damage being done.

One of them had grabbed an old halter and stepped into the trailer, hesitant as he unlocked the gate to the little area Malachi had been stationed in. He seemed still though, way too still for the man's comfort. Grunting, he walked over to the horse, happy that he was still tied, but he soon realized that that didn't break the fight from this stallion. "Just stay still," he prodded as he tried to get the halter around the stallions head, Malachi only jerking his head back as far as he could, trying to back up to get away. His butt smashed against one of the walls of the trailer, and that was when he realized that there was no was of getting out of this. Not unless he let them take him out. Hey, now there was a thought.

He calmed down considerably, and even let the guy put the halter on his head and unstrapping the ropes that had tied him down before. Sure, it hadn't necessarily an easy feat, given the fact that just out of natural instinct he tried to get away, but at least it was around his face. Oh, how uncomfortable this thing was! Constricting, not really but it was to Malachi, and just overall not a good feeling, when the lead rope started to pull him forward he walked a bit, stopped, tried to fight, but then would walk again. The process went on for about a good fifteen minutes before he finally found himself back outside.

The stallion was definitely a sight, that much most of the people who looked at him could tell. Behind all the dirt and mud and the overall dirtiness that covered him was a strong, fit horse. Full of fight and full of will. And that will and fight started to show instantly as he was taken out, when he was given more room.

Rearing up, he tried to stomp down on one of the people as they tried to drag him along, but he missed. He bucked, he kicked, neighed and snorted loudly as his eyes were wild and wide. His feet stomped on the ground as he tried to spin and turn, even against the rope that tried to pull him in one direction. At that point more than one person had grabbed onto the lead rope to try and get him to move. Malachi kept his head high, tried to charge at the men, but they were smart enough, luckily, to move out of the way yet still hold on. But then he felt a sting on his butt, hard, a whipping sound cutting through the air. A loud wine came from Malachi then as he whipped his head around to look at who had done that. It was that man, the one who just seemed to stare him down, like he was doing now.

"Get him into the breaking paddock. No sense in putting him with any of the other horses yet," Matt said, rolling his shoulders. The stable hands nodded their heads before they started to try and pull him towards the slightly isolated area.

 

[Ravenbelle]

The first thing she noticed when the truck stopped was the men that supported one of their comrades, who had apparently been pretty injured by trying to control the horse in the trailer. Lizeya didn't know the humans very well because she never bothers with the names of those she doesn't interact with often, but she'd seen them around the barn often and felt a twinge of anger at the foolish and captive horse in the trailer who had hurt one of the men who work here. She kept focused on James though, who was very curious about the horse being held in the beat up trailer. Lizeya couldn't truly admit she wasn't curious too, but she resisted the urge to wander over there. Too many people, not enough room. As long as James doesn't end up in a hazardous situation, she'd be fine, though her ears stayed up and pointed in that direction.

James had seen the damage one of the stable hands had taken while wrangling the beat into the trailer with wide eyes, only to turn back to the driver who had luckily taken the time to answer him. James cursed under his breath with bitter eyes and said, "Yeah, unfortunately.." Before he could continue, or ask about where they had obtained the horse (maybe an auction?), the aforementioned Matthew called an order to pull the animal from its cage.

Lizeya grew nervous and kept pawing at the ground every so often, eyes up toward the action, head down toward the grass. But there was no action. Only suspense. It took a solid 15 minutes for the freak of a male to leave the trailer he seemed to have hated so much and throughout the whole thing, Lizeya wanted so badly to just watch over James' shoulder. Every time she thought the horse would finally exit, he'd retreat again! She could only hear a bang here or there once in awhile and that certainly wasn't enough of a hint to quell her anxiety. This horse is dangerous and she's just glad her owner had nothing to do with this before now. He has less of a risk of getting hurt now. Unless he does something stupid.

Once the stablehands had finally led him out of the trailer, Lizeya gasped. Was she sensing this correctly? This huge, black creature with the white star is...a stallion? The mare gulped and stepped closer, out of the shade of some trees without even realizing it. Whoever this rebellious spirit was, he was being dumb. Why does he have to fit all of the stereotypes? Watching him try so hard to get free of the biting ropes that bound him, Lizeya shook her head. This powerful horse was wasting his energy and time by trying to escape. Why? Because he has no logic, only a desire to run, to dominate and to survive. Oh and not to mention the stereotype about how much they love themselves. She frowned, then winced and flinched at the crack of the whip. Lizeya didn't even have to look to know it was Matt. He was the only one who ever actually makes the whip connect with skin. She's never felt it, but if the stallion whined at the pain, Lizeya certainly didn't want to know that pain.

Which is of course, why Jameson stepped forward. While the stablehands kept trying to bring the freak to the breaking paddock, James stomped over to Matt and crossed his arms angrily. "You brought a stallion to Blueridge? And you felt it necessary to whip him? Are you insane? That beast is not controllable here. We don't have the resources to keep a stallion here. Does he even have vaccinations? " James argued fearlessly. None of the other men here would say that to Matt's face and that's why Liz stepped a little closer, directly in the new horse's line of sight while she kept an eye on her owner.
The horse let out another loud peal of anger and Liz couldn't listen to the conversation by the back of the truck anymore. The other horses in the nearby stalls are getting ansty. Stupid stallion.

Liz turned a cold, blue eye to the fearsome male, unashamed to glare fiercely when their eyes met. "Shut up, already. You're not going to get anywhere by screaming like a little colt and wasting your time trying to get out of here. It's not as if they're not going to kill you...unless you kill them. Idiot."
The mare rolled her eyes and looked at him like he was the dumbest creature she'd ever seen. He is terribly green, even if he's not young. Immature enough that if Lizeya continued speaking to him, she'd feel like she was talking to a yearling. He needs to get over himself, and she didn't want to deal with him any more than she'd be required to.

 

[Shelby]

These people weren't giving him any leverage or any inkling of a thought that he was going to be able to escape. That thought bothered Malachi greatly, yet it couldn't help but spur him on even more. If he was able to escape, if he was able to get away from these humans, then he could just leave. Just leave and be free and find a way back to the plains where his herd, hopefully, safely resided. Sure, it would be tough, him even trying to find his way back given how he didn't have a clue as to where he was, but nevertheless he was determined to find them again. When there was a will there was a way, and he was going to find that way with the will he had. Or, at least, that's what the stallion had convinced himself. But a lot of him wanting to get back to the herd was because of his pride. Him wanting to be the full protector of his mares, him being the leader of them all. If those secondary stallions so much as did anything to them, or to his herd... He should have gotten rid of them sooner.

Matt turned to look at James as he started to speak, furrowing his brows before huffing and shaking his head towards the man. Always the caring one, and always the one who had to try and make everything 'right'. "I felt is necessary to whip him because if I don't no one else will, and since no one else will he'll get out of control. You have to be able to control these creatures in order for them to respect and listen to you, especially a stallion like him." He finally dropped his arms from their folded position across his chest and turned to look back at the trailer, taking a look inside only to grimace and frown at the damage that had been done. Damn stallion; this trailer was expensive. He grumbled under his breath before jerking back and slamming the doors to the trailer shut, a loud clang coming from it afterwards, before he locked them. One of the stablehands would end up cleaning it at some point throughout the rest of the day, so at least that would be taken care of.

Finally, though, he turned back to look at James, now catching note of the anger or worry that persisted through the man. "But whether we can keep him here or not, which I can assure you we can," not necessarily, or probably to full capacity, but he wasn't about to admit that, "is none of your concern, nor even the stallion himself. So keep yourself out of this and continue on with what you do." He could have answered all of James questions, yes, but was he going to? No. He felt as if he didn't have to. And because he didn't have the necessary excuses to use on him, yet, like he did with so many things. Nevertheless, he still believed that James had no business in any of this, so why go with it further. The fact that the two of them just never got along had a lot to do with that as well. He made a shooing motion with his hand towards James before he turned and walked off, heading in the direction to where they were, finally, getting the stallion.

Still he fought against the men, but with his earlier attempts to get away, back at the plains as well as getting him in and out of the trailer, was beginning to take a toll on Malachi's energy, as well as his strength. His pants were coming out heavier, his muscles in his legs were beginning to get a little sore from his uncontrollable antics. Why couldn't they just let him go? He snorted, grunted, but his ears flicked back when someone, not a human, started to speak, but it had only become apparent to him as his eyes caught the piercing blue eyes of a mare.

For a second he stopped, a bit transfixed by the sight, however he was broken from his revere at her words stung through his mind. Narrowing his eyes, he jerked his head back in time to only have it jerked right back from the humans. "But I'm not going to get anywhere either if I don't do anything." How dare she speak to him like that! He snorted again, his mind wrapped around the mare all too much as well as what she spoke to realize that he was getting closer and closer to the paddock that they were trying to put him in. "And there is no way I am going to ju-" They yanked on him to continue moving towards the paddock, their yells apparent in his mind though he cared not for much of what they said.

Eventually they did get him there though, into the enclosed place that gave Malachi more room to roam then that trailer had, however he was still captured nonetheless. There was only one other person in the place with him, the others having stayed back to close and lock the gate of the paddock before anything else could happen. Quickly, though, before Malachi could do anything the man unsnapped the lead rope from the clasp on the halter, causing Malachi to raise up as soon as he noticed that. More noises came from him before he started to charge at the man who had quickly gotten his bearings together to try and climb up the fence to jump it, to which he was able to, however it didn't stop the little bite he had received on his leg from the stallion.

So now alone with those humans watching him from the outside, he started running around in circles of the fence frantically . Was there a way to get out of this?

 

[Ravenbelle]

As much as she looked down on the fearsome creature held captive by the human males, Lizeya did admire his endurance. He was very powerful, so the only reason the humans ever have the upper hand is because of strength in numbers. She again wondered where he came from. He certainly didn't look like one who was used to the cushy life of domestication. But there was no way he was wild, right? Maybe he came from a rescue? Hm..doesn't seem like Matt would rescue anyone, much less a stallion.


James was on the same page as his horse and he glared up at Matt for he was a few inches taller, not that it deterred him. The older man's response only served to make Jameson angrier. Matt clearly doesn't understand any sort of method of gaining respect that doesn't involve fear or pain. While James only wanted what was best for the horses, and therefore, best for the stables. Matt, who doesn't deserve his place on the staff, bends and breaks the horses to his own will, manipulating them worse than when he wants something from a higher-up. Jameson glared into Matt's icy cerulean eyes, but he only broke away to slam the door of the trailer, which made James flinch and Lizeya jump, stomping backwards into the dirt before the newest addition to Bluridge stables replied to her insults, a bit foolishly.


Liz had to hold back a laugh when the male perked up to look at her, but the humans yanked him back down. Continuing to waste his energy on fighting a pointless battle, the stallion refused her advice and got stuffed in the breaking paddock anyway. Now way out of that unless someone wants him out. Liz grew only slightly concerned when one of the men had to jump the fence to avoid the crazy horse. Poor guy, a victim of a horse's ignorance and stupidity...there's only so much one can do. Why was he so agressive anyway?
As much as she looked down on the fearsome creature held captive by the human males, Lizeya did admire his endurance. He was very powerful, so the only reason the humans ever have the upper hand is because of strength in numbers. She again wondered where he came from. He certainly didn't look like one who was used to the cushy life of domestication. But there was no way he was wild, right? Maybe he came from a rescue? Hm..doesn't seem like Matt would rescue anyone, much less a stallion.

James was on the same page as his horse and he glared up at Matt for he was a few inches taller, not that it deterred him. The older man's response only served to make Jameson angrier. Matt clearly doesn't understand any sort of method of gaining respect that doesn't involve fear or pain. While James only wanted what was best for the horses, and therefore, best for the stables. Matt, who doesn't deserve his place on the staff, bends and breaks the horses to his own will, manipulating them worse than when he wants something from a higher-up. Jameson glared into Matt's icy cerulean eyes, but he only broke away to slam the door of the trailer, which made James flinch and Lizeya jump, stomping backwards into the dirt before the newest addition to Bluridge stables replied to her insults, a bit foolishly.

Liz had to hold back a laugh when the male perked up to look at her, but the humans yanked him back down. Continuing to waste his energy on fighting a pointless battle, the stallion refused her advice and got stuffed in the breaking paddock anyway. No way out of that unless someone wants him out. Liz grew only slightly concerned when one of the men had to jump the fence to avoid the crazy horse. Poor guy, a victim of a horse's ignorance and stupidity...there's only so much one can do. Why was he so aggressive anyway? Letting his long limbs jut into the air when he kicked at his struggling captors, avoiding the cage. Lizeya sighed. He'd get used to it. Maybe even come to see it as a home rather than a prisoner's cell.
If not, there's no telling what Matt would do to break him. Both males are too proud and stubborn to find a partnership. How much trouble would the pair stir up? Unless her owner clues her in. Lizeya wandered yet closer, listening to the conversation between her rider and his enemy.

James' lips were shut tight, holding back his biting words and clenching his fists to keep from instigating violence. Just once, Liz wanted to see them duke it out, but she doubted Jameson would allow it. He has to do the right thing all the time. And that's why she loves him. He's so good to her. But he is not to be trifled with when provoked. Being dismissed by an older staff member because it 'wasn't his concern', really ticked him off and Lizeya narrowed her eyes at Matt, pawing at the ground with her ears pinned back. That guy just makes her so mad!
And James did not miss the fact that Matthew had not answered all of his questions, all of which had answers that were concerning to him. How would this stallion affect the mares? Lizeya in particular. What if he distracted her from training? James doubted that Liz could be charmed by such a stallion, but anything was possible. Horses are unpredictable. Training a stallion takes a lot of time and effort and attention to the horse! Would he receive all of that? Does the mustang even have a name? James had to cross his arms tight and grit his teeth to keep from smashing Matt's gun-imitating fingers right off of his hand. He would have a talk with the owner sometime soon.

Spotting a concerned mare in his peripheral vision, Jameson smiled a little and relaxed his stance. Tension is easily sensed by these sort of intelligent creatures, so he opted for a trail ride today. Rehearsing for the next competition could wait. Today has introduced too hectic an element to her life and the stables. Lizeyah deserved a break, anyway. James approached his horse with an outstretched hand and caressed her cheek, then scratched at her forehead. "Don't worry, Zeya. Everything will be just fine." She lowered her head for him and stepped a bit closer, reassured by his touch and his soft tone that things aren't that bad yet. And with that, horse and rider walked off toward the barn, near the tack room with her lead rope in his right hand before he attached her to the cross ties. One would think that after so long, she could just stand for him without the need for restraints, but she does have her days with a tendency to walk off in the middle of his attempts to tighten her girth. Therefore, he clips her in and heads to the room with all of the leather. The horses were talking amongst themselves until one of the mares, Ginger, was brave enough to speak up and ask Lizeya directly about what had happened.

"Lizzie! Where did that stallion come from? Do you know why they brought him in?"

"I don't know everything. You know Matt and James hardy ever reveal anything important." She huffed, standing still and obedient while James began to groom her before continuing. Everyone was listening even though it wasn't obvious. "All I got was that he was brought in a trailer he beat up from the inside out and then they took him to the breaking paddock. That should be entertaining. Matt just said that James had no business asking valid questions. Either way, I wouldn't go looking at him all googly eyed. He already hates this place and me. I'm not surprised but I still have a lot of questions as well.."

 

[Shelby]

When Matt turned to look and see if James was still standing back to watch him, he only saw the retreating back of the man as well as the mare that trailed along side him. Good; he didn't ask any more questions, and he didn't expect any more answers. Sure, he knew that the man was upset, however that was nothing that he couldn't deal with, or rather something that wasn't very important to Matt. Let James have his little fit and care for his own horses. Matt was going to do the same with his.

He turned back around with his arms folded right back over his chest and continued his way over to the breaking paddock, happy to see that the stable hands were actually able to get the stallion in there with no injuries. Well, actually he noticed one of them walking with a little bit of a limp, but it didn't seem to be too bad. If he wasn't laying on the ground, writhing in pain from a kick to the ribs or a kick any where, then he would be fine. His eyes narrowed as he stood right by the fenced in area that the mustang resided in, the stallion currently still running circles, stopping instantly only to turn back the other way and then to repeat the process on the other side. His eyes were frantic, his nostrils flaring, his chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath while all at the same time trying to still find a way to free himself. The sight made Matt smirk. This chaotic creature better be worth all the trouble.

A 'friend' of his, or rather just someone that he knew who had a lot of money, was the one who really wanted the mustang but refused to put it in his own stables with him being fresh from the plains in the wild. He wanted the mustang to be a relatively tamed stallion, one that he could control to an extent. He had gave Matt the proposition that he capture that horse, that specific one, and was able to train him and calm him down, then he would get a hefty price. Why the man wanted the stallion for a specific purpose? He wasn't exactly sure, however he wasn't about to question it either. Money was money, and the price he was showed was enough for him to do this, despite all the factors that went into this that could get him either fired or worse. Sure, it had taken him a little bit of thinking before hand, but eventually he did agree on the job. Now his only way was to tame this creature and then send him off before anyone was any the wiser of the fact that he had taken him from the wild.

He figured, now, that he had at least a bit of an excuse. As he was driving out of his way to pick up few supplies for the stables, as per request from the owner, he caught wind of an auction, one that he had never heard of and decided to just head over there. Well, long story short, mostly because he hadn't come up with any mundane details, he found out that the stallion had never been gelded, obviously, and because of that he was an unruly horse that the owner couldn't handle. He acted wild accordingly, was taken from his herd at a young age, but now that he was older there was no way they would want to release him back into the wild. He just didn't trust people, was an aggressive horse, but with enough work and training he would probably be a good one. And what better place to get this stallion the help that he needed and deserved? Yeah, Matt figured that was a good card to play; the 'this horse deserves another chance at life' card. It worked a lot.

At least he thought that that would be a good enough excuse. If anything, he could probably make something else up as well. Shouldn't be too hard, right? Auctions were often a source of trouble, sometimes, so why not use that as an excuse either?

"Make sure no one comes near this horse," he finally spoke to the stable hands who had helped him, all of them turning their head to look in his direction. "Let every one know that. We don't want to bring unnecessary attention to him after all. It might stress him out more." He sneered, turning to look back at the stallion who had now turned to look at him, the both of them glaring at one another it seemed. This stallion was stubborn, and the look in his eyes was enough to show that.

Malachi caught eyes with the man and his ears instantly pinned to the back of his head. Why he had this overwhelming sense of anger towards this man unlike the other men that surrounded the paddock? Malachi wasn't sure, however he couldn't help but hate the man. Grunting, he charged towards the gate, hoping to intimate the man, but skidded to a stop when he got closer. Nothing. The man didn't even flinch. "Let's leave him be for now," Matt said before he turned his back to the stallion. "We'll work on him more later tonight." There was no way he was going to be able to work with the stallion during regular hours of this place. But right now he had a class to teach, and the stable hands needed to get back to work. And then a few minutes later, they were gone.

When they left Malachi continued pawing at the dirt, going this way and that, still trying to see if there was a way out. Nothing. Why couldn't he get out?! And then this thing, this thing they kept on his face... It smelled like humans, and the stench was much too close to him for his liking. Shaking his head side to side, up and down, trying to get the thing off. He even rubbed his face against the fence to try and get it off, but it wasn't moving. Eventually he gave up on it, gave up on trying to escape for the time being. He was tired, and he needed to stop and think. He thought back to what that Mare had said, something about just stopping and letting them do what they wanted with him. That they wouldn't kill or hurt him, or something like that. He couldn't exactly remember, but he still figured that he could just disregard the things she had said. Her mind was too plagued with what the humans had told her to understand the full extent that they were trapped, all of them.

He could hear faint and scattered conversations from humans as well as other horses, mares and geldings alike. It irritated him, mostly because he knew they were speaking of him.


Another mare, Millie, that stood in the stables with Lizeyah and a few other mares flickered her ears as she listened to the conversation. "You don't think they brought him here to breed him with any of us, or any other mares here... Do you?" What other reason would they bring a stallion to this place though? Breeding rights and trying to get better foals. But in all honesty, why would they bring a mustang?

 

[Ravenbelle]

The chatter of the other horses faded momentarily into background noise for Lizeya as she was the only one able to partially watch what was going on by the breaking paddock. It hadn't been used for its intended purpose in a long time, but she was sure the beast would restore it to a ragged place with hoofprints everywhere and cribbing marks all over the place. She had only seen it like that once, when a bratty filly had come in from another stable. She was pretty green back then but when she left, the paddock was given new wood, at least for the tops of the fences, this time to keep in a more hostile creature. And now it has a new captive. As much as Lizeya would like to believe that Matt has good intentions for the dark horse, James' opinion of him very much influenced her own and she was worried about what he could be up to. As annoying as the stallion would be, it's not as if he came here intentionally to disturb the peace. She couldn't see clearly enough from where she was standing what Matt's expression looked like, but his posture was that of a proud and confident man who did not plan on losing dominance over anyone in his path. Or at least that's what she got from him, what with his crossed arms and strong stance.

Lizeya huffed, shaking her head slightly at the way the newcomer sprinted about as if that would do anything. Both males were at a stalemate until Matt says otherwise. It was clear when they stared at each other, neither willing to back down. And then Matt wandered off, with that proud way of walking that made her pin her ears back a little. When the familiar weight of James' western saddle was placed upon her back, Lizeya's wall eyes widened and she looked back at him curiously. She thought they were working on a new show routine today. Hm. Must have been mistaken. There is going to be a new show soon though right? She needs something to focus on in order to keep busy and not concern herself with the newbie. He was only temporary around here anyway, she hoped.

"Yes, we were going to work on something new today, but we haven't really taken a nice joyride in awhile so I figured, why not now?" James smiled, patting her neck before turning to grab her custom-made bridle. Liz immediately perked up and kept still so the saddle wouldn't slide down her back. She actually wanted to be tacked up quickly now. As she was about to brag to the others about getting to go an a trail ride in the middle of Fall, she caught Millie's question with her ears pointed at the mare with the flaxen mane.
She frowned, concerned for a moment, for it was a possibility. Her eyes glanced briefly back at the stallion pawing at the dirt in his small paddock irritably until Jaxon, one of the bay geldings with a white blaze popped his head out of his stall with a mouthful of alfalfa.
"Calm down, everypony." He chuckled to himself as the mares gave him various expressions of annoyance. Jaxon never takes anything seriously. "Matt isn't a breeder." He paused. "Right?" He's also not very observant.

Liz rolled her blue eyes. "No. He's not. But I'm willing to bet he would try if he could get something good out of it." The other mares looked worried, especially Millie. Liz sighed and let her calm eyes give them solace if they needed it. "But he can't have this maniac breed with us willy-nilly either. I'm sure we would have heard about it if he was brought here for anything other than training. He would need permission from our humans. We'll be fine." The others seemed to relax a little as Lizzie seemed to brush it off easily, but a nervous feeling in her stomach lingered. James wouldn't let her get pregnant if she was unwilling, but she wouldn't put it past Matt to try, especially with some of the more complacent horse people who board their companions here. At that point, James had already adjusted her girth and had an easy time with the bridle for once.
"Thanks, girl." James smiled as he fastened the pieces of it. She let her worries go when he swung up to his spot, where he belonged. Zeya started forward, and gave a parting smile around her bit to the horses in their stalls before turning toward the lane between the various paddocks.

He head lowered a bit when she saw she'd have to walk right past the breaking paddock up front. James tensed up slightly and it set her on edge just the slightest bit. Without him, she would be brazen and bold as usual, but she values his safety over any pride or reputation to uphold around some new stallion. She kept her distance on her way past, keeping her wary eyes trained on his powerful form, ready for anything. He was unpredictable for now. Which means that around humans, he's dangerous. And nothing dangerous would ever harm her James if Lizeya could help it.

 

[Shelby]

"Be that as it may, we still have no idea why he is even here," Millie said, Lizeya's words having calmed her down just the slightest bit, but it still did nothing to console her too much. "Generally there is always some type of warning when they bring in a newbie, but for that stallion? Nothing." Perhaps it would just be best to let it be, however. She shook her head a bit at the thought before the rest of the horses in the stables started conversing with one another as Lizaya left.


Despite the fact that Malachi had told himself to not get too worked up while he was here for the time being, he couldn't help it. There was still a sense of desperation running through him, his mind always circling back to his heard, circling back to the fact that he needed to get out of this place. There wasn't enough space in this little trap they kept him in for him to do much. For him to roam free and spread his legs. There were no horses around him for him to mingle with, not that he probably would with the horses that resided in this place, but still he knew that there were others in the area. Their scents, no matter how mixed with the humans they were, was still there. Their voices mostly faint but otherwise still there as well. It was nothing put a tease. To keep him in this solitude when he was not used to it, when he was not used to being by his lonesome.

Sure, there were times when he found moments of peace back in his home land. Moments when he could be by himself and just think, however those moments were normally fleeting and normally short. He liked knowing that he was needed, he liked the company of others, but most of all he just liked the fact that he was able to bring them a source of protection and defense. He was not meant to be completely alone, and he had convinced himself of that.

It was unnerving, causing him to be jittery as he noticed that a few humans were taking various horses out of the shelters that they were kept in, things strapped onto their backs, things strapped to their faces, put into their mouths some of them... What was going on. Why were they allowing these humans to control them like they were? Why were they allowing them to get on their backs without fighting back? It seemed like an uncomfortable experience, however it seemed that these horses didn't seem to mind. Malachi's ears flickered at the thought before they pinned back, his nostrils beginning to flare again as he grunted and snorted to himself, his tail swishing back and forth heavily as he started moving once again. He stomped around more so now, showing more of his discomfort and just overall attitude towards this situation. He didn't like it. No, he hated it.

His eyes traveled over towards a human that started to make his way towards the fenced in area he was kept in, his ears seeming to lye flat against his head now. Malachi recognized the man as one of the ones who helped get him here, but he held something in his hand as he gave Malachi what seemed like a concerned look. Again the stallion grunted, pawing at the dirt as the man stepped closer before he stretched his arm out and latched the bucket type thing he held in his hands. What was it...?

Curiosity got the best of Malachi, but he waited until the man stepped back and left before he cautiously took a step towards the thing. He smelled the contents inside the little feed container, snorting before he threw his head back and turned to look away from it. Oats and other various pellets sat in the container, but it only smelt bad to Malachi, and he hated it. So, he did what he did best; tried to get rid of it. He pushed his nose against the container, moving from side to side before he pushed his nose against the bottom of it, throwing his head up and then sending the contents out of the container and sprawling onto the ground. He did it until the container had fallen to the ground as well.

An almost sort of triumph seemed to swell through him at the sight, but it was at that moment, too, that he looked up to see someone else coming towards him. Narrowing his eyes as he looked up, he noticed it was the mare he had seen before, the one who had spoken to him. He flicked his ears back, grunting when he saw the human on her back. Nevertheless, he still didn't look away. He pawed back at the ground again, making other various noises before he started stomping his way back around the paddock, going in the circle.

 

[Ravenbelle]

Without a chance to reply to Mille's last point, her words lodged in the mare's mind. Lizeya was even more curious now about where he'd come from. It couldn't have been anywhere but an auction right? Why is it that no one spoke of a stallion on his way here? If anyone knew, there would be whispers of it all over the place. Liz would have known all she could about this new horse, but instead, it was kept so secret that not even James knew of him. And now the questions only grow, one on top of another without an answer. She hates it when she cannot sate her curiosity. It always gets the best of her even though all she wants to do is enjoy her rare trail ride today.

It would only really begin once she walked past the paddocks and to the trails fields beyond, but on her way past the most recently inhabited, she smelled the sweet aroma of oats in feed. Lizeya flicked her ears up and followed the clanking of the bucket to the source. Zeya huffed. He's wasting perfectly good feed! Making bits of his face filthy with it, the new stallion flung the bucket until all of its contents lay wasted in the dirt. Who does that? he has to know it's food. So why is he being so childish? Doesn't he know he won't get another one? Surely he was hungry. Stallions always are, from what she's heard of them.

She was tempted to say something snappy again on her way past, but she was conflicted. She wouldn't get answers if she didn't, but she was still wary about what he could do. If he was going to waste his food, why should she care? It's not as if she knew anything of his background. Maybe he didn't know. Surely BlueRidge is nicer than where he used to be.He gave her a dirty look before beginning to circle again and she sighed. "It was food in case you didn't know. I would advise against starving yourself around here." She stuck her nose in the air and picked up a trot even when James hadn't asked for it.

"Woah!" He laughed and picked up the reigns, squeezing his legs to hug her sides.

She got past the breaking paddock in seconds and gave him a mischievous look in her large blue eyes before cantering into the woods. She knew the trails by heart despite having little time to wander through them during show seasons. Her hooves stomped through the dirt with a rhythmic cadence that James immediately acclimated to. "Don't you want to relax awhile, crazy girl?"

"Nope!"
was her clear reply as the wind blew by her ears and her worries flew far behind her. Her highlighted tail lifted with her joy as the sunlight streamed in through leaves and flashed past her, shining on the clean patches of her coat every so often. She could hear a babbling brook nearby and soon reached it, drawing nearer and nearer to the secret spot that belonged only to James and Lizeya. No one ever really goes this was on trail rides, so the big field with the tall grass that usually reached her canon bone goes unnoticed by the usual passerby on horseback. Lizeya was fearless however and she cleared past the brush and galloped into the wide open space, neighing excitedly as she really stretched her legs. She was a fast horse. In fact, James' father had once recommended he started racing her, but he consulted with her and it was agreed showing was her game. Now though, no one would be able to tell.
"Woohoo!" "Woohooo!"

 

[Shelby]

((Gah, this is kind of a lame post. Sorry about that, but I didn't really know what to do. XD))

Malachi only stopped and paused when he heard that mare's voice again, perking his ears as he turned his head to look in her direction. Again the sight of the human on her back irked him, however her words seemed to irk him even more. Again with her speaking to him as if he was lesser than her. He rolled his eyes at the thought before narrowing them. Yeah right. But that was besides the point. How could that, those... Things on the ground, be food? It smelled too sweet, smelled too off to him. Then again, it's not like much smelled right around here to him, however he just didn't trust it.

"You honestly expect me to believe that this is food?" He huffed out, despite the fact that the mare had already stuck her nose in the air and trotted off. He snorted before lowering his head and nose back towards the ground, sniffing at the oats to take in the scent again. Nope, this definitely couldn't be food, or at least not food that he would ever eat. Not even if they tried to force him to eat it, though he would love to see them try. A nice bite here and there to those people, then maybe they'd finally let him go. No, that seemed doubtful, or at least with that other man there. He seemed adamant on keeping him here no matter what, but what for? What was his purpose in being in this place? Maybe if he actually did starve himself it would work. Didn't sound like a very good plan in his mind, but if something worked then it worked.

The others around here didn't seem to take too kindly to him, not that he expected them to, however the way they acted... It was as if he was the odd one out! But how could they all think that way? He wanted to be free, where he was supposed to be, but from what he had seen around this place, how these mares and geldings just took to these humans as if it was nothing, none of them wanted to be. What kind of horses were they? Maybe it was the 'food' that made the horses here act the way they were.

Time continued to tick on, yet as the time passed Malachi only found himself growing more and more irritated with things. People would walk past his trap, giving him fleeting glances while whispering words to one another. Horses in the distance looked his way, snickering about and mumbling to themselves. He almost felt like he was here purely for their entertainment, or at least for their wonderment. Again he was beginning to find himself restless, however with the fact that every time someone would so much as look at him he would stomp around and try to make a point, he had finally worn himself down. With his eyes beginning to grow heavy, his head resting against a part of the fence as he still continued to keep a sharp eye on things, he couldn't deny the fact that he just wanted to fall asleep, as well as eat a little. The man who had given him the feed before had come back around to pick up the bucket, muttering something along the lines of 'wasteful stallion' or something or other. Malachi hadn't necessarily been paying attention to what the man had been saying. He had even caught a glimpse of the 'head man', as Malachi had dubbed him in his own mind, not that long ago, however the man only have him one glance, and it hadn't a very amused one either. But Malachi would stare right back with his ears pinned back, his hooves itching to start pawing at the dirt but he willed himself unable to do so.

He breathed heavily as he picked his head up and started walking along the perimeter of the fenced in area slowly, too fed up with staying in one spot for too long.

 

[Ravenbelle]

After awhile horsing around, both Lizeya and James grew hungry and a bit tired. It would be feeding time soon and so the pair began to head back to the stables. This time, Liz decided to walk back. The trail was beautiful today and she didn't want this ride to end. She rarely goes out on trail rides this far, so she definitely appreciates them. Step by step, Liz let her eyes wander and followed the path back home, listening to the birds and the breeze ad James' steady breathing and occasional humming. She loved how their relationship didn't require many words. It was just ope and understanding, even though they were different species. It's like they just get each other. Like they're soulmates...in a friendship sort of way. They look out for and love each other.

When Zeya made it back to the lane between the paddocks James spoke up again, as if their unspoken comfort was broken by the noises of the stables approaching. "You know, I think I'm going to bring someone special the next time I come back to the stables, Liz. I really hope you like her." His words were soft, like he was tentative about telling her. It was understandable, considering the last mate he had brought to the stables. Her name was Barbara. Lizeya didn't like her. She hadn't done anything wrong, but sometimes, she just get bad vibes. Even if the woman hadn't done anything, Lizeya didn't like her. So she decided to step on her feet of whip her with her tail and nip at her. It was a pretty hilarious day and a few weeks later, Barbara was old news. One could say Liz is a pretty good judge of human character. Though she was curious about this new girl. If she was anything like Charlotte, James' sister, Liz would most likely take a liking to her. After causing a little mischief to test the girl first. James deserves only the best after all.

"Try not to give her a hard time, okay?" James asked. Liz snorted a swift laugh and tossed her head. The woman would have to go through a tiny trial to make sure she's worthy enough to take portions of James' time and attention away from Lizeya. The horse had been his friend since she was a year old and no unworthy weirdo was going to hurt him or even waste his time on her watch.

"Seriously!' he playfully shoved her by the crest so she turned her head to nip at his leg before trotting forward.

"Woah!" He exclaimed before catching himself with the horn of the saddle just as they started walking past the new stallion's training paddock. neither horse nor rider paid him any mind. They were having fun together like they were supposed to. The sun was going down soon and as soon as her tack is off, Liz will be ready for dinner! Yum! They were just walking past the fence with the angry black horse when James reached forward and sweetly patted and scratched her neck. She visibly enjoyed the feeling.

"Thank you for today. Love ya, goofball. And don't you forget it."
Lizeya felt warm and happy at that. "Love you, too."