Fingey

1 day before the mudslide…It was such a lovely day for Shanina, and she had such lovely company. Finally, she was getting attention in ample amounts from this handsome stranger she had come to know as Glow. He was charming and he didn’t hold back his compliments and physical contact. Many times, while they walked along the desert stopping at the grassy patches the stallion often brushed against her before offering herbs she needed to gather for Major. In her many was the lavender he gifted her and nibbled into her mane, the beautiful and vibrant flower bouncing against the flesh of her neck as she trotted along. “So, tell me more about this ‘moon blessed mare’ You mentioned, gorgeous.” Glow was adept in winning mares over, and it was easy to find this beautiful mare’s weakness. Her lead clearly held her heart and soul, but he could still have her affections for a night if he played his cards right. He listened intently as they walked along the grass-patched desert, absent-mindedly

The dark roan had decided to turn around and head back to her herd. The sun was becoming merciless with its unforgiving heat, but then the downpour of sweet, cool rain started. The rain was a welcome during the sun’s reigning hours for the dark colored mare. And now, her surroundings were starting to look familiar, even though she accidentally wandered from her straight path on her return and was now north from her home cave. The rain was coming down heavy as the sandy terrain gave way to patches of grass now soaked to their roots. She was exhausted. The walk to get back here was another two days and she just wanted to get home and sleep, but fate had other plans it seems. There was a loud crack that rang out before a roar that started off faint grew louder and louder until finally Gale looked up. Before her was a behemoth wave of mountain dirt, rock, and now sand that was storming her way. Her legs shook and her face wound burned. She glanced to her side but knew there was no way

The sun was rising seemingly much slower than it had ever in Gale’s 13 years. Her ears were flat against her head as they'd had been for the past two days. The words she had exchanged with her herd mates playing over and over again as she walked herself to exhaustion. Truly she didn’t know what hurt worse, the claw marks down her face, the unforgiving heat, or the way her heart was tightening in her chest? She knew on an instinctual level that this was normal. It was normal for horses to flock together and stick together. But it wasn’t normal for her, and everything her mother had taught, bit, and stomped into her was ringing in her ears.“We cause pain and misery wherever we go. You should be a selfless Shade and stay alone. That’s what is meant for our kind.”“You caused this death! Why are you so selfish?! Where did I go wrong? How did my child turn out to be such a cruel Shade?”Gale roughly shook her head, her long mane and sweat flicking out as she did so, heaving out a sigh. She

The Sun was just now setting and oddly enough, the black roan mare wasn’t holding up inside her cave with her newly acquired tag along. No, the two mares and the wild bay stallion were lounging by the rivers south of the Desta mountains. Their new spot was all thanks to the stallion whom Gale was glaring at. He had wandered the day before to find a spot that wouldn’t burn the mares to be in during the daylight hours. So, the trio spent their day being lazy enjoying the cooler breeze the winds crossing the rivers provided. Gale was standing with her eyes closed underneath a tree, enjoying the dwindling sunny rays and cool breeze that made today possible. She wouldn’t say it out loud when the pesky tag along was near, but he did good. Her and Shanina didn't need to be constantly on alert while out in the open and were bothered by nothing the entire day. This was something Gale had never had in her 13 years. Shanina was lying beside the blue roan mare, head tucked so her cheek was

After the Hyena attack, Shanina’s herd was adamant that The Nightingale was the cause for such an attack and refused to share space with the dark mare despite Shanina’s favor for her. So, after realizing the herd would never accept the dark roan, Shanina left with her. It had been a good month since the two mares paired up and both their wounds were healing nicely. Currently the sun was slowly rising in the sky, and the pair were making their way through the sandy dunes to the cave they both now called home. Shanina thought she’d hate being enclosed in the cold cave during the daytime. It was way different than sticking to the nice shade of a tree with its close quarters and endless darkness. She had expected The Nightingale to force her to live the same sleep schedule as her, forever away from the sun. But this past month was full of surprises, specifically the surprise that Gale didn’t hate the sun, but yearned for it in the same ways Shanina longed for moon’s light. So, when they

It had been a few days since their first encounter and the terror had faded and so had the pain in her legs. The plants The Nightingale had put on her had fallen off and now the skin around her wounds felt tight, but they hadn't become infected, and the bleeding stopped much sooner than it should have. When she returned from her night adventure and told the other mares what had happened, they frantically told her to take the plants off of her wounds and to soak in the river. But Shanina refused, stating she feared that the cursed mare would curse her if she took them off.After that the mares were wary of her, but wouldn’t dare outright shun her, not with how radiantly she shined in the sun. A day or two after her return the mares went back to normal, giving her the best of the grass and raining down compliments about her coat. This outright worshipping used to feel meaningful. It used to feel right, but after she got scolded by the dark mare, it felt rather empty. Were these

The sun was setting, its rays slowly fading out when two dark figures made their way out of the cave. The mare’s walking was slower than it once was, even as she tried to make haste. For Gale her mother’s age and waning strength made it easy for her to pass by walking at a calm pace, eyes scanning the dark tiny valley before her ears perked forward when she spotted something hidden in the brush and hurried her pace to it. She bent her head to take hold of the green pointed leaves and pulled the aloe vera up by the root.The mare watched her now 2-year-old daughter, the moonlight highlighting the silvery scar from the last time the youngster had actually been underneath the sun’s deceiving warmth. She had given the foal that scar that laid on her shoulder. It took a good 3-4 months for the filly to walk normally once more, but in that time the mare had ample opportunity to teach the troublesome filly how to hunt for herbs and how to use them to heal injuries and illnesses. The filly was