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Description
I love this pretty new girl and Dusty sure is fun to put into uncomfortable situations lol. This is such a sloppy drawing but I’m proud of myself for getting it done. Sometimes it feels I can’t get anything done. Though I have to say that drawing and writing is really helping me cope as I try to get off my antidepressant that was only causing more issues. The withdrawal side effects are just as awful though. :/

Also, I cannot draw humans to save my life. Ack! But I figure that the only way to get better at them, is to draw them. So no more shying away from it because it makes me frustrated!

Unfortunately for you people, you’re going to be seeing a lot more icky humans while I practice. Yay!

HAPRG is doing wonders for me, so here is some more art!

(Non-excessive profanity below)
Story:
Dusty was not planning on getting another horse and he was definitely not planning on seeing his mother ever again. But somehow, both unraveled themselves for him. First, he saw an endurance race in Norway and entered on Fen, his little silver stallion. Then, he made the mistake of calling his grandmother, who lived in Sweden, and asking if she would like to get a tea or coffee while he was only a couple hours away. He had kept in pretty good contact with his grandparents, even if he never saw or talked to his parents anymore. His grandmother was a busy, active, and strong willed women; a force to be reckoned with. She was often off to other places, traveling and seeing the world, even though she was well in her eighties. So when Dusty called her, he wasn’t all that surprised to be told that she was in France, not Sweden. Oh well, he wasn’t bothered.

Then, on the day Dusty was traveling with Fen to Norway, his phone rang. He was sitting in the airport, arranging travel for his stallion for when they got there, when a Sweden number popped up on his phone. A little baffled, he answered. A women’s voice responded on the other end of the line, “Demetrios? Baby, it’s your mother...” Instantly, Dusty could feel the blood rush from his face. He damn near hung up, but was frozen in place. He heard her speak again, “Your grandmother said you would be in town soon. I haven’t seen you in forever. Would you please come meet me somewhere?”
No, nope, absolutely not, Dusty thought. But into the phone he said, “Since when are you in Sweden again?”
There was a short pause, then, “Just a couple months ago. The US was getting too difficult for me. I don’t do well with fast paced, you know that about me.”
I don’t know anything about you, he said in his head. Then to the phone, a lie, “Well I won’t have time to go to Sweden anymore. I made plans already.”
“Oh,” his mom said.
It was just a single sound, but Dusty could feel the weight of it, it pulled him down, it felt like it might sink him, just like she had always done. But now he was stronger, so he pushed up against it and said, “Sorry.” though it didn’t sound very sorry, and he hung up. His legs were shaking when he got up and he almost missed his flight.

He had just put the short exchange out of his mind by the time he checked into a hotel in Norway and set his phone beside him, waiting for a call from the airport to announce Fen’s arrival. He wasn’t too far from the start of the endurance race, but far enough away that he wasn’t near the chaos of the other shows happening, as well as the festival going on. He wasn’t in a celebratory mood anymore. It was at this time that the same Sweden number popped up on his caller ID. He denied the call but it rang again a minute later. He picked it up this time, his voice ice cold, “Stop calling me.”
“Demetrios, it’s your mother, I ju-“
“I know who it is, stop calling me!”
“But I-“
“No, I don’t want to meet up with you, I don’t want to talk to you, just please stop calling me.”
“I have a horse for you, an endurance horse” She said quickly, getting her words in before he could hang up.
“Not interested,” he said, and hung up anyway.

Not even an hour later, he got a call from Stephan, who owned and ran the stable Dusty was currently at.
“Hey, Dusty,” he said. “Bit of a major problem.”
“Problem?”
“Yep, I just got a call from the airport and I guess they had an issue with the plane that was transporting Fen, and long story short, I’m driving to the airport now to pick him up. I don’t think he will get to you in time for the race. I’m sorry.”
“Ah, fuck.” Dusty said, “Thank you for picking him up. I definitely owe you. I’ll go scratch my class and I’ll be back pretty soon.”
“Sorry, man,” Stephan said again and then hung up.

Dusty was just about to scratch his class when he thought about the call from his mother. No way, he thought to himself, he did not want to owe her anything. But then he cursed aloud and dialed her number.
“Okay,” he said. “Tell me about this horse.”
“My boyfriend trains horses. He has a lot of good endurance horses and your grandmother said that’s what you did. Arvid is very generous. He said I could give you this one mare. He said she has a lot of potential but he doesn’t get along with her. She’s yours if you want her. I can bring her to Storylien, we can meet there. Can you meet me there? In four hours?” There was a pause, then, “please?”
Dusty sighed, and in his head he could picture himself being pulled under the dark waters that his mother seemed best at drowning him in. “Yeah, I will be there.”

Dusty got a picnic table at a little blue dinner and waited anxiously. A small tan trailer pulled into the parking area and his mom jumped out of the driver’s seat. She looked so familiar, same golden hair, blue eyes, small stature, that Dusty immediately felt uneasy. But she also looked entirely different from the last time he had seen her, a sobbing mess outside of an Arizona court room after she had been deemed an unfit mom and lost all custody over him. Now she looked put together as she pulled the trailer door down and backed out a pretty black dun mare. Dusty stood up and approached them, catching his mom’s attention when he was about halfway to her. She gave a huge smile and walked towards him with her arms open, the mare being pulled along behind her. “Demetrios, my sweet boy!” She said, bursting into tears. But as she got close, Dusty took a step back, folding his arms over his chest, “It’s Dusty now.”
“Oh! Of course,” she said, but it was obvious that she was hurt. She sniffed up some tears and Dusty took a small step back. At the end of the lead rope, the mare had a sudden shift in behavior. Her calm and curious demeanor from when she stepped out of the trailer was now replaced by an uneasiness. Her ears were swiveling and her eyes had gone wide enough to see the whites. She tossed her head in the air a few times, adding a flare of her nostrils.
“Oh my,” Dusty’s mom said, tightening up on the rope, which had an instant affect. She lifted her front legs off the ground, pulling back against the pressure.
“Whoa,” Dusty said, stepping up to take the rope from her hands. His mom took a step back and Dusty let the rope grow a little slack. He watched her carefully, noticing the tightness in her body, the rigid, jumpy motion of her head. But even so, all he could think was how powerful she seemed. Just looking at her made his own tenseness fade. He was in awe of her sensitive power, forgetting momentarily about his mother standing beside him. With each calm breath that Dusty took, the mare came down a notch. Finally, she lowered her head, licking her lips and sighing. “You’re a pretty intense gal, huh?” He asked her, stroking her sweaty neck and rubbing softly behind her ears, working the sweat into a foam.
“Arvid said she was too weak, mentally, for real endurance but she’s pretty fit.” His mother said, then continued, “I’m sorry. I know you need a real competitor right now, but this is all he would let me take and I just wanted to see you.”
“She’s not an endurance horse?” Dusty asked, feeling his own tenseness return. “You said you had an endurance horse.”
“She is! Just not yet. But you can train her!”
Dusty shoved the rope back into her hands, “I should have known it was a lie. Everything out of your mouth is a lie.”
“Demetrios, please!” His mom begged, again in tears, and she pulled on his sleeve in desperation. She dropped to her knees, causing such a scene that people were staring now.
“It’s Dusty,” he responded, but now his voice was softer, his face took on a look of someone too defeated to fight. He brushed her hands off his sleeve and said, “get up, mom. Stop begging, stop crying. Get up.”
She did, then reached out to touch the horse, who quivered as if she had just been struck, “I named her Storsylen, after that mountain. Do you remember? We hiked beside it when we came back here. You were like ten, and then,” she gave a little smile, “then you were obsessed with it. You said you were going to climb to the top of it. Remember?”
He did remember, though he hadn’t thought of it in a long time. It was part of a time he preferred not to remember. “Okay,” he sighed. “Let me load her into my trailer and then we can sit down for a quick bite. But then, I don’t want you to contact me again.”
“Okay,” She said sadly. “Thank you.”

Description
I love this pretty new girl and Dusty sure is fun to put into uncomfortable situations lol. This is such a sloppy drawing but I’m proud of myself for getting it done. Sometimes it feels I can’t get anything done. Though I have to say that drawing and writing is really helping me cope as I try to get off my antidepressant that was only causing more issues. The withdrawal side effects are just as awful though. :/

Also, I cannot draw humans to save my life. Ack! But I figure that the only way to get better at them, is to draw them. So no more shying away from it because it makes me frustrated!

Unfortunately for you people, you’re going to be seeing a lot more icky humans while I practice. Yay!

HAPRG is doing wonders for me, so here is some more art!

(Non-excessive profanity below)
Story:
Dusty was not planning on getting another horse and he was definitely not planning on seeing his mother ever again. But somehow, both unraveled themselves for him. First, he saw an endurance race in Norway and entered on Fen, his little silver stallion. Then, he made the mistake of calling his grandmother, who lived in Sweden, and asking if she would like to get a tea or coffee while he was only a couple hours away. He had kept in pretty good contact with his grandparents, even if he never saw or talked to his parents anymore. His grandmother was a busy, active, and strong willed women; a force to be reckoned with. She was often off to other places, traveling and seeing the world, even though she was well in her eighties. So when Dusty called her, he wasn’t all that surprised to be told that she was in France, not Sweden. Oh well, he wasn’t bothered.

Then, on the day Dusty was traveling with Fen to Norway, his phone rang. He was sitting in the airport, arranging travel for his stallion for when they got there, when a Sweden number popped up on his phone. A little baffled, he answered. A women’s voice responded on the other end of the line, “Demetrios? Baby, it’s your mother...” Instantly, Dusty could feel the blood rush from his face. He damn near hung up, but was frozen in place. He heard her speak again, “Your grandmother said you would be in town soon. I haven’t seen you in forever. Would you please come meet me somewhere?”
No, nope, absolutely not, Dusty thought. But into the phone he said, “Since when are you in Sweden again?”
There was a short pause, then, “Just a couple months ago. The US was getting too difficult for me. I don’t do well with fast paced, you know that about me.”
I don’t know anything about you, he said in his head. Then to the phone, a lie, “Well I won’t have time to go to Sweden anymore. I made plans already.”
“Oh,” his mom said.
It was just a single sound, but Dusty could feel the weight of it, it pulled him down, it felt like it might sink him, just like she had always done. But now he was stronger, so he pushed up against it and said, “Sorry.” though it didn’t sound very sorry, and he hung up. His legs were shaking when he got up and he almost missed his flight.

He had just put the short exchange out of his mind by the time he checked into a hotel in Norway and set his phone beside him, waiting for a call from the airport to announce Fen’s arrival. He wasn’t too far from the start of the endurance race, but far enough away that he wasn’t near the chaos of the other shows happening, as well as the festival going on. He wasn’t in a celebratory mood anymore. It was at this time that the same Sweden number popped up on his caller ID. He denied the call but it rang again a minute later. He picked it up this time, his voice ice cold, “Stop calling me.”
“Demetrios, it’s your mother, I ju-“
“I know who it is, stop calling me!”
“But I-“
“No, I don’t want to meet up with you, I don’t want to talk to you, just please stop calling me.”
“I have a horse for you, an endurance horse” She said quickly, getting her words in before he could hang up.
“Not interested,” he said, and hung up anyway.

Not even an hour later, he got a call from Stephan, who owned and ran the stable Dusty was currently at.
“Hey, Dusty,” he said. “Bit of a major problem.”
“Problem?”
“Yep, I just got a call from the airport and I guess they had an issue with the plane that was transporting Fen, and long story short, I’m driving to the airport now to pick him up. I don’t think he will get to you in time for the race. I’m sorry.”
“Ah, fuck.” Dusty said, “Thank you for picking him up. I definitely owe you. I’ll go scratch my class and I’ll be back pretty soon.”
“Sorry, man,” Stephan said again and then hung up.

Dusty was just about to scratch his class when he thought about the call from his mother. No way, he thought to himself, he did not want to owe her anything. But then he cursed aloud and dialed her number.
“Okay,” he said. “Tell me about this horse.”
“My boyfriend trains horses. He has a lot of good endurance horses and your grandmother said that’s what you did. Arvid is very generous. He said I could give you this one mare. He said she has a lot of potential but he doesn’t get along with her. She’s yours if you want her. I can bring her to Storylien, we can meet there. Can you meet me there? In four hours?” There was a pause, then, “please?”
Dusty sighed, and in his head he could picture himself being pulled under the dark waters that his mother seemed best at drowning him in. “Yeah, I will be there.”

Dusty got a picnic table at a little blue dinner and waited anxiously. A small tan trailer pulled into the parking area and his mom jumped out of the driver’s seat. She looked so familiar, same golden hair, blue eyes, small stature, that Dusty immediately felt uneasy. But she also looked entirely different from the last time he had seen her, a sobbing mess outside of an Arizona court room after she had been deemed an unfit mom and lost all custody over him. Now she looked put together as she pulled the trailer door down and backed out a pretty black dun mare. Dusty stood up and approached them, catching his mom’s attention when he was about halfway to her. She gave a huge smile and walked towards him with her arms open, the mare being pulled along behind her. “Demetrios, my sweet boy!” She said, bursting into tears. But as she got close, Dusty took a step back, folding his arms over his chest, “It’s Dusty now.”
“Oh! Of course,” she said, but it was obvious that she was hurt. She sniffed up some tears and Dusty took a small step back. At the end of the lead rope, the mare had a sudden shift in behavior. Her calm and curious demeanor from when she stepped out of the trailer was now replaced by an uneasiness. Her ears were swiveling and her eyes had gone wide enough to see the whites. She tossed her head in the air a few times, adding a flare of her nostrils.
“Oh my,” Dusty’s mom said, tightening up on the rope, which had an instant affect. She lifted her front legs off the ground, pulling back against the pressure.
“Whoa,” Dusty said, stepping up to take the rope from her hands. His mom took a step back and Dusty let the rope grow a little slack. He watched her carefully, noticing the tightness in her body, the rigid, jumpy motion of her head. But even so, all he could think was how powerful she seemed. Just looking at her made his own tenseness fade. He was in awe of her sensitive power, forgetting momentarily about his mother standing beside him. With each calm breath that Dusty took, the mare came down a notch. Finally, she lowered her head, licking her lips and sighing. “You’re a pretty intense gal, huh?” He asked her, stroking her sweaty neck and rubbing softly behind her ears, working the sweat into a foam.
“Arvid said she was too weak, mentally, for real endurance but she’s pretty fit.” His mother said, then continued, “I’m sorry. I know you need a real competitor right now, but this is all he would let me take and I just wanted to see you.”
“She’s not an endurance horse?” Dusty asked, feeling his own tenseness return. “You said you had an endurance horse.”
“She is! Just not yet. But you can train her!”
Dusty shoved the rope back into her hands, “I should have known it was a lie. Everything out of your mouth is a lie.”
“Demetrios, please!” His mom begged, again in tears, and she pulled on his sleeve in desperation. She dropped to her knees, causing such a scene that people were staring now.
“It’s Dusty,” he responded, but now his voice was softer, his face took on a look of someone too defeated to fight. He brushed her hands off his sleeve and said, “get up, mom. Stop begging, stop crying. Get up.”
She did, then reached out to touch the horse, who quivered as if she had just been struck, “I named her Storsylen, after that mountain. Do you remember? We hiked beside it when we came back here. You were like ten, and then,” she gave a little smile, “then you were obsessed with it. You said you were going to climb to the top of it. Remember?”
He did remember, though he hadn’t thought of it in a long time. It was part of a time he preferred not to remember. “Okay,” he sighed. “Let me load her into my trailer and then we can sit down for a quick bite. But then, I don’t want you to contact me again.”
“Okay,” She said sadly. “Thank you.”