LUCIO 7225 | LEVEL 1 | CHILDHOOD

Lucio was a young foal, knees still wobbly before he had warmed them up for the day. But his pride and his strength were plentiful, and he played often with the other ballators his age, sneaking up on them in the tall meadow grass when they initiated games of hide and seek. It was one of those days, the sun beating down brightly to burn off the icy dew droplets, when Lucio awoke to his friends calling his name. He clipped over happily, shaking the cold from his bones as he woke up. Lucio followed them as they continued over to the lake, splashing into it.
Chilly water splashed around his hooves, wetting the hair around them, but he quickly warmed up when the three of them began to kick the water up, playing at who they could splash the most. One of Lucio’s friends, a chestnut stallion, nickered a laugh as he got Lucio right between the eyes with an arc of water, which made the larger foal sit down in surprise. “Hey!” he neighed. “No fair!” Lucio left the water, shaking himself clear from it. His friend followed, and they plopped down in the soft grass, worn out from their game earlier.
The rest of the friend group followed soon after, and the group of foals laid in the grass for a while, sun drying them. Lucio’s eyes were closed when he heard another pair of hoofbeats approached. He rolled over and pricked his ears when the hooves stopped in front of his eyes. Lucio slowly stood and came eye-to-eye with one of the biggest foals in the group. The older filly’s dark coat shone in the sunlight, sparkling off of the edges of wispy hairs that stuck out. She stamped a hoof, blank eyes pointed in the direction of Lucio’s group. “Out,” she growled in a low baritone.
The foals huddled closely into each other, piling into a small group. Swishing his flaxen tail, Lucio stepped towards Blood Baroness, tilting his head up slightly to look towards her. “No.” he said firmly, planting his hooves to the ground. Her nostrils flared above him, anger filling her lungs, and she took a step forward, petite but powerful form standing strong, blocking out the bright sun that had started the day of play for the group of foals.
Blood Baroness pawed the ground and huffed, and muscled her way towards Lucio, bumping chests with him. “I may not be able to see, but I’ll still shove all of you out of my way, unless you move, now.” Lucio stood his ground, and angled his neck, making himself look bigger. Then he turned his head, meeting eyes with his friends.
“You guys go home. I’ll handle this.” Blood Baroness tilted her head down, and her eerie eyes spooked Lucio, but he kept himself still and silent, hoping not to fight as his friends quietly walked away, wary of what was about to go down. It was Baroness who threw the first blow, knocking her head into Lucio, causing him to stumble back. He steadied himself and watched as Baroness pricked her ears, listening for Lucio as he lunged forward, biting her sharply. “You can stop,” he urged, dancing around her as she turned in a circle, following his voice. “We don’t have to fight.”
“Yes, we do,” Blood Baroness said, and she charged at him. Lucio was knocked aside by her shoulder, and she stood over him, raising a hoof to slam down on his chest. He rolled out from underneath, and panted, exhaustion filling his body. However, something else was there too. Excitement, and pride at his skill. His blood fanned with the thought of fighting, and Baroness called out, teeth bared. “Where are you, where did you go!”
Lucio stood, and flicked his tail angrily, stance strong. “I’m right here.” his voice was quiet, but the older filly heard him, and ran at him again. He sidestepped, and kicked out a hoof, catching her flank and causing her to fall. Now Lucio towered over Blood Baroness, chest heaving, eyes wild with fighting spirit. “Stop fighting.” he wasn’t scared anymore, and the filly on the ground below him snapped upwards, trying to bite at him. “Go away, and don’t bother us again. I will fight harder next time.” He stood back to let Baroness rise from the ground, and when she did, she bared her teeth at him and walked away, pride wounded.
Lucio sighed in relief and let his body relax, turning to submerge himself in the pool again. The cool water felt like a blessing on his aching muscles, and as he cooled down from the spat, he smiled. The fight had awoken something in him, something he liked. His spirit, fanned and fueled by the flames of battle, sparked. Lucio knew what he was going to do from now on.