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Description

Don’t Poke The Bear

    The seasonal transition from fall to winter had been a bipolar one to say the least. Mother nature simply would not make up her mind, the daily temperatures and weather conditions swung drastically and with little warning. The snows came early in the year, but were just as quickly washed away with heavy, chilling rains. The slopes of the mountains quickly became icy and less than hospitable for the horses, so Ajax took his herd down to the thick forests of the lower hills.

    It was always a gamble for Ajax to bring his large, colourful family to the more populated areas of the valley. The herd had grown so large that it was impossible to go anywhere without leaving a trace or sign of their presence in the area. Opportunistic bachelors, rival band stallions, and humans were all threats to the herd, so the lead stallion and his lieutenant were working overtime to keep them guarded.

    So far, despite the crazy weather, the herd was doing alright. The choice to move into the forest turned out to be a wise one as the snow had become hardened by the rains, creating layers of ice that made digging for food very taxing. With multiple pregnant mares and foals to feed, resources were being stretched thin. Still, when a black pintaloosa mare approached the herd looking for refuge Ajax did not turn her away. He just couldn’t, it didn’t feel right to.

    The mare introduced herself as Lynn, and she seemed a bit standoffish and wary, but Ajax was sure she’d relax once she got more comfortable with them. As she moved off to greet her new herd members, Ajax noticed Estraya motioning for him to come over. He did so, already having an inkling of what she wanted to talk about. To his surprise, she was not chiding him about taking in another horse to their already large herd, instead, what she wanted to talk about his lieutenant and eldest son, Finn.

    At the moment, Finn was getting ready to go scouting for better grazing areas. It was something that had become a daily task for the young stallion given the needs of the herd. Estraya explained that she had noticed the tall, thoroughbred mare, Fancy, accompanying Finn on his recent scouting trips. Really, Ajax wasn’t surprised by this information, in fact, he had long ago sensed that the pair of youngsters had discovered that same spark he himself had found with Myrtle. If the two were spending alone time together, then perhaps he would be a grandsire by next year. The thought brought a big, goofy grin to the stallion’s face and caused his lead mare to roll her eyes at him. Many lead stallions would be unhappy to find out that their lieutenant was messing around with their mares, but not Ajax; All he could think about was seeing the adorable babies that might come of it.

    The weather finally seemed to settle as winter took over the valley following Lynn’s addition to the herd. It snowed lightly for a few days, but even after that the clouds hung in the sky creating a mirrored blanket of white overhead. It was chilly, but not terribly cold, though that was likely to change in the coming weeks. For now though, the herd was sheltered and able to relax in the muted light of day in a clearing. While most of the horses were busy digging through the hard layers of snow and ice for food, one stood off alone staring into the forests.

    The black pintaloosa mare’s ears perked forward as she noticed an unfamiliar mare lingering near the treeline, the stranger watching the herd but not making herself known just yet. It was eerily similar to her own introduction to this herd, and she wondered if the young mare had followed her to them. It had only been a week since she herself had finally stepped out of those same trees and introduced herself to the herd hoping to find a home among them. Mae watched as the red roan paint timidly stepped out and approached the large, scarred, red dun stallion that led this herd. It was apparent that Ajax had already noticed the mare but had been acting casual and waiting for her to make the first move so as not to scare her off.

    Mae and Ajax weren’t the only ones watching the stranger’s approach. The red pintaloosa mare, Estraya, had also been observing the mare while she hesitated at the edge of the trees. The large, stern-looking, lead mare had just been contemplating going over there when the roan mare finally stepped out. Now, seeing Ajax reaching out to greet the young mare, their noses brushing politely, Estraya felt she needed to make her presence known as well. As she walked closer to the scene, Estraya noticed that the other recent addition to the herd had taken an interest in the newcomer as well.

    Although the black pintaloosa mare had introduced herself to the herd as Lynn, Estraya got the sense that the name was still foreign to the dark mare’s tongue. While Estraya was not against horses giving themselves new names when they started over in a new herd, it often meant that they were hiding from something or someone. If that was the case, Estraya needed to know if it was something that could put the herd in danger. Alas, it was too soon for those sorts of inquiries. Lynn was still trying to settle in and find her place in the herd, so her guard was up and too many personal questions would only make her more distant.

    “I guess you weren’t the only one looking for a new herd” Estraya said in passing as she walked by the black pintaloosa, the latter pausing as the larger mare crossed her path. Estraya tried to gauge Lynn's reaction from the corner of her eye, attempting to get a read on the closed off mare. Estraya saw Lynn’s eyes narrow slightly as the mare cast a suspicious look at her, and it seemed as though Lynn was searching for a deeper meaning to her words. “Perhaps you should come say hello as well, seeing as you’re new here too.” Estraya offered, trying to reduce some of the building tension.

    Lynn had a good idea of what Estraya was up to. Hell, it was something she’d done as well when trying to suss out the character of others back in Sota’s herd. “You talk like that mare has already joined the herd. Are you sure it's wise to add even more horses?” Lynn questioned. If this had been Sota’s herd, she would have raised a fuss about taking on even more horses. This winter was shaping up to be a rough one, adding another mouth to feed didn’t seem like a wise plan. Though, the more she thought about it, the more Lynn realized that Sota would have done exactly the same as Ajax. In fact, he had done the same thing on a few occasions. Lynn sighed internally, realizing for the first time the similarities between her new lead stallion and Sota. Of course I would feel attracted to someone so similar, she thought to herself.

    Estraya snorted softly, blowing out a frosty cloud of breath before replying, “That’s because Ajax will accept her in, no matter the hardships it may bring later on. He never has been able to turn away someone in need.” She smiled softly, looking at Ajax as she heard his jovial laughter. She’d never met a horse with a bigger heart than Ajax. She recalled their early days together and the spats they’d occasionally get into, back then she used to chide him for following his heart instead of his brain. Sure, it had occasionally led them into trouble, heck Ajax had only found her because he was trying to help Damon find his family and ended up captured, but he always seemed to get them out of it alright. He’d proven time and time again that he was a capable leader, and Estraya learnt to trust his judgement.

    Lynn shook her head, snorting in exacerbation, “He sounds just like Sota. They look tough but really they’re big softies.” She realized what she’d let slip a few seconds too late, cursing mildly under her breath.

    Estraya gave her a look, echoing the name she’d heard and asking, “Sota? I’m guessing he was your previous lead?”

    Lynn sighed, tail snapping side to side in irritation at her slip up. “Yes. He got captured and the herd scattered.” She admitted after a moment, looking away from the red pintaloosa.

    Estraya’s face softened at the admission. “I’m sorry to hear that.” She said shortly, seeing that the mare did not want to speak any further on it. Estraya watched as Lynn walked off towards the rest of the herd and decided that it was best to leave her be. Just as Estraya turned back towards the newcomer, she heard an all too familiar call starting up that caused her to release an exasperated sigh, Here we go again.

    “Jinx? Where are you?”

    “I don’t think we should do that, Jinx.” Merlin said wisely. “Last time we snuck off into the woods we nearly got killed by a stallion.” He snorted at her, shaking his red and white coat out to cover up a shudder. He still remembers how terrifying it was when the shadow of that huge stallion fell over them. Though he wouldn’t admit it, he’d nearly wet himself.

    “But we didn’t die! Besides, if we hadn’t gone on that adventure we wouldn’t have found Trissa and she probably would have died in that hole.” Jinx nipped her brother on the shoulder, earning a squeal from him.

    “Hey!” Merlin snorted and kicked out at her, but she dodged easily. “We got lucky! Had that stallion been a mean one he -”

    “Stop being such a baby!” Jinx shouted. “If you want to be like dad someday, you’d better stop being such a scaredy cat! What are you gonna do if some big scary stallion tries to steal your herd? Are you just gonna cry and run away?” Jinx sneered. “Come on, you need to prove that you’re not afraid of anything by going into the forest without babysitters” The filly commanded, dropping her head to almost snake her brother.

    “No way! Go on your own!” The red dun colt squealed as he dodged out of the way before she could nip him again. “Why would I do anything with you when you’re so mean?!” He shouted as he took off towards his mom. The dark sabino filly could be quite the bully when she didn’t get her way. He’d rather play with Xia or Hailey than deal with Jinx when she got like this.

    “Crybaby!” Jinx shouted at the colt’s disappearing form as he darted around the grazing mares. A few glanced at her before turning their attention back to digging for something edible. The stubborn yearling pawed the snow up in agitation. Things had been so boring lately, she needed to do something fun or else she’d go crazy. It was made even worse with the way her mother had been hovering around her lately. As it was, it had taken five minutes of convincing and promising her mother that she wouldn’t run off before the overprotective mare would even let her out of her sight.

    A small commotion caught the filly’s attention, and she noticed that her father was talking to a stranger. Estraya was also heading that way. Actually, when Jinx looked around, it seemed like many of the horses were distracted by the newcomer’s arrival. A smirk spread across the filly’s pink muzzle as she realized that this was the perfect opportunity to slip away unnoticed. Jinx took one last look at the herd, spying her mother starting to look around for her, before she quietly slunk into the nearby trees.

    Once safely hidden among the trees, Jinx giggled quietly. Finally, she could have some fun! The yearling gave a cheerful little buck, kicking up snow as she trotted through the forest. She stopped often to check out tracks and peek in tree hollows, accidentally waking up a squirrel who chittered at her angrily.

    After wandering for a few minutes, Jinx was already starting to lose interest. This wasn’t as exciting without others being in on it. Perhaps she should have been nicer to her brother to convince him to come. Or maybe she could have got Xia to come along. Hailey probably wouldn’t though, she was no fun at all.

    As Jinx continued to walk through the forest, she came upon a tree growing in a strange way. She grinned eagerly, moving closer to inspect it. It was then that she noticed large footprints in the snow around the tree, and when she moved to the other side of the tree’s base she saw that the trail led into a hollow in an earthen mound.

    “Now that’s what I’m talking about!” Jinx smirked, glad her little expedition was paying off. She crept closer to the hole, trying to peek in without getting too close, but all she could see was blackness. Though, at this proximity she caught a whiff of something she hadn’t smelled before. The dirty, musky, greasy smell made the filly wrinkle her nose and shake her head, but she wouldn’t be so easily dissuaded. With careful steps, she crept closer to the hole, head outstretched as she tried to get a look at what lay within.

"Well hello, I didn't see you standing over there!" Ajax called out as he saw the young mare finally approaching. She smiled, and he smiled warmly back at her, greeting her properly, "My name is Ajax, who might you be dear?"

    “It’s nice to meet you, Ajax. My name is Rosemary.” The young mare greeted shyly, looking a little nervous as she greeted the large, scarred stallion. A quick glance at the many horses that were in this herd told her that she had not gone unnoticed. It made her a little leery, but she took a deep breath to calm her nerves. It had taken her days to work up the nerve to come out, she wasn’t going to make a fool out of herself by turning tail now.

    “That’s a beautiful name, it suits you well.” Ajax said charmingly. He grinned at her surprised look, finding her shyness cute. “Do you mind if I call you Rose?” He asked.

    “A-ah, yes, of course! Everyone calls me Rose.” She stuttered slightly before regaining her composure.

    Ajax smiled warmly, “Well, Rose, what brings you here?” He was almost certain that she was looking for a herd, but he felt it might scare her to ask so bluntly.

    “Well… I hope you won’t think less of me but I’ve been following your herd for a while. I… I only just worked up the courage to come forward today. I know you already have a large herd, but I saw that you let another mare join you so I was hopeful that you might accept me in as well. J-just for the winter!” Rose explained in a rush of words that left her a little breathless after. The last part had been added on after, in case he didn’t want to have more mares to worry about after his obviously pregnant mares had their foals.

    The young mare’s words had all come so fast that it took Ajax a moment to comprehend them all. He couldn’t help but release a hearty laugh, Rose’s unnecessary worries reminding him of Myrtle’s way of fretting. Ajax gave the young red roan paint mare a bright smile as he said, “You are welcome to stay with us for however long you wish!”

    Relief washed over Rose’s face, her body visibly releasing the tension she had built up. For months since she left her birth herd she had been wandering mostly alone, looking for a herd, but she hadn’t found one willing to take on another horse. Sure, there had been more than willing stallions, but they were too pushy about their offers and it frightened her. Now, with this herd, she could be safe from those types and get to be part of a family. She hoped. They certainly seemed nice enough. “Oh gosh, really? I’d greatly appreciate that. You see… it’s my first winter alone after leaving -”

    AAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!

    Rose’s words were suddenly drowned out as a blood curdling scream shattered the peaceful din. It was the scream of a horse, a horse that was frightened and in pain. The scream was cut off by an even more awful sound, a sound that made many of the horses squeal and whiny in fear as they fled the forest the sounds echoed forth from.

    ROOAAARRRRRR!!!

Stallion: Ajax (#82)
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In response to: Jinx sneaks off and finds a cave... I wonder what could be inside it (Cave)

Art features(5):
Ajax (#82) , Sybill , Jinx , Rosemary , Lynn(Mae)
Story features(13):
Myrtle , Estraya , Finn , Sybill , Robin , Hailey , Jinx , Merlin , Xia , Trissa , Fancy , Lynn(Mae) , Rosemary , Damon, Sota (#42)
Word Count: 2821

Aging: Jinx, Merlin, Hailey, Xia all 2/3

Items Used: Peanutwood

Companion Animals:
Caring – Theodore the Cat
Helping – Pudge the Cat
Healing – Monster the Cat

Members That Own Outside Horses: Sota (#42) (DunnHorse , #42), Damon (Aniblue24 , #127-2)

Rolls: Normal

Other notes:
Pregnancy Protection: Robin, Myrtle, Deidra, Estraya (Finn), Naomi, Galena, Mona, Fancy, Tinkerbell, Lynn, Rosemary, Juniper.

Artist Notes:
I'm so excited for this little comic series , I've been planning it for so long! I finally get to introduce some of very exciting characters! I will warn you, this is gonna get scary/mildly gory so if you are sensitive I'd recommend not looking at the next two pages.

Art (c) DaSassy

Description

Don’t Poke The Bear

    The seasonal transition from fall to winter had been a bipolar one to say the least. Mother nature simply would not make up her mind, the daily temperatures and weather conditions swung drastically and with little warning. The snows came early in the year, but were just as quickly washed away with heavy, chilling rains. The slopes of the mountains quickly became icy and less than hospitable for the horses, so Ajax took his herd down to the thick forests of the lower hills.

    It was always a gamble for Ajax to bring his large, colourful family to the more populated areas of the valley. The herd had grown so large that it was impossible to go anywhere without leaving a trace or sign of their presence in the area. Opportunistic bachelors, rival band stallions, and humans were all threats to the herd, so the lead stallion and his lieutenant were working overtime to keep them guarded.

    So far, despite the crazy weather, the herd was doing alright. The choice to move into the forest turned out to be a wise one as the snow had become hardened by the rains, creating layers of ice that made digging for food very taxing. With multiple pregnant mares and foals to feed, resources were being stretched thin. Still, when a black pintaloosa mare approached the herd looking for refuge Ajax did not turn her away. He just couldn’t, it didn’t feel right to.

    The mare introduced herself as Lynn, and she seemed a bit standoffish and wary, but Ajax was sure she’d relax once she got more comfortable with them. As she moved off to greet her new herd members, Ajax noticed Estraya motioning for him to come over. He did so, already having an inkling of what she wanted to talk about. To his surprise, she was not chiding him about taking in another horse to their already large herd, instead, what she wanted to talk about his lieutenant and eldest son, Finn.

    At the moment, Finn was getting ready to go scouting for better grazing areas. It was something that had become a daily task for the young stallion given the needs of the herd. Estraya explained that she had noticed the tall, thoroughbred mare, Fancy, accompanying Finn on his recent scouting trips. Really, Ajax wasn’t surprised by this information, in fact, he had long ago sensed that the pair of youngsters had discovered that same spark he himself had found with Myrtle. If the two were spending alone time together, then perhaps he would be a grandsire by next year. The thought brought a big, goofy grin to the stallion’s face and caused his lead mare to roll her eyes at him. Many lead stallions would be unhappy to find out that their lieutenant was messing around with their mares, but not Ajax; All he could think about was seeing the adorable babies that might come of it.

    The weather finally seemed to settle as winter took over the valley following Lynn’s addition to the herd. It snowed lightly for a few days, but even after that the clouds hung in the sky creating a mirrored blanket of white overhead. It was chilly, but not terribly cold, though that was likely to change in the coming weeks. For now though, the herd was sheltered and able to relax in the muted light of day in a clearing. While most of the horses were busy digging through the hard layers of snow and ice for food, one stood off alone staring into the forests.

    The black pintaloosa mare’s ears perked forward as she noticed an unfamiliar mare lingering near the treeline, the stranger watching the herd but not making herself known just yet. It was eerily similar to her own introduction to this herd, and she wondered if the young mare had followed her to them. It had only been a week since she herself had finally stepped out of those same trees and introduced herself to the herd hoping to find a home among them. Mae watched as the red roan paint timidly stepped out and approached the large, scarred, red dun stallion that led this herd. It was apparent that Ajax had already noticed the mare but had been acting casual and waiting for her to make the first move so as not to scare her off.

    Mae and Ajax weren’t the only ones watching the stranger’s approach. The red pintaloosa mare, Estraya, had also been observing the mare while she hesitated at the edge of the trees. The large, stern-looking, lead mare had just been contemplating going over there when the roan mare finally stepped out. Now, seeing Ajax reaching out to greet the young mare, their noses brushing politely, Estraya felt she needed to make her presence known as well. As she walked closer to the scene, Estraya noticed that the other recent addition to the herd had taken an interest in the newcomer as well.

    Although the black pintaloosa mare had introduced herself to the herd as Lynn, Estraya got the sense that the name was still foreign to the dark mare’s tongue. While Estraya was not against horses giving themselves new names when they started over in a new herd, it often meant that they were hiding from something or someone. If that was the case, Estraya needed to know if it was something that could put the herd in danger. Alas, it was too soon for those sorts of inquiries. Lynn was still trying to settle in and find her place in the herd, so her guard was up and too many personal questions would only make her more distant.

    “I guess you weren’t the only one looking for a new herd” Estraya said in passing as she walked by the black pintaloosa, the latter pausing as the larger mare crossed her path. Estraya tried to gauge Lynn's reaction from the corner of her eye, attempting to get a read on the closed off mare. Estraya saw Lynn’s eyes narrow slightly as the mare cast a suspicious look at her, and it seemed as though Lynn was searching for a deeper meaning to her words. “Perhaps you should come say hello as well, seeing as you’re new here too.” Estraya offered, trying to reduce some of the building tension.

    Lynn had a good idea of what Estraya was up to. Hell, it was something she’d done as well when trying to suss out the character of others back in Sota’s herd. “You talk like that mare has already joined the herd. Are you sure it's wise to add even more horses?” Lynn questioned. If this had been Sota’s herd, she would have raised a fuss about taking on even more horses. This winter was shaping up to be a rough one, adding another mouth to feed didn’t seem like a wise plan. Though, the more she thought about it, the more Lynn realized that Sota would have done exactly the same as Ajax. In fact, he had done the same thing on a few occasions. Lynn sighed internally, realizing for the first time the similarities between her new lead stallion and Sota. Of course I would feel attracted to someone so similar, she thought to herself.

    Estraya snorted softly, blowing out a frosty cloud of breath before replying, “That’s because Ajax will accept her in, no matter the hardships it may bring later on. He never has been able to turn away someone in need.” She smiled softly, looking at Ajax as she heard his jovial laughter. She’d never met a horse with a bigger heart than Ajax. She recalled their early days together and the spats they’d occasionally get into, back then she used to chide him for following his heart instead of his brain. Sure, it had occasionally led them into trouble, heck Ajax had only found her because he was trying to help Damon find his family and ended up captured, but he always seemed to get them out of it alright. He’d proven time and time again that he was a capable leader, and Estraya learnt to trust his judgement.

    Lynn shook her head, snorting in exacerbation, “He sounds just like Sota. They look tough but really they’re big softies.” She realized what she’d let slip a few seconds too late, cursing mildly under her breath.

    Estraya gave her a look, echoing the name she’d heard and asking, “Sota? I’m guessing he was your previous lead?”

    Lynn sighed, tail snapping side to side in irritation at her slip up. “Yes. He got captured and the herd scattered.” She admitted after a moment, looking away from the red pintaloosa.

    Estraya’s face softened at the admission. “I’m sorry to hear that.” She said shortly, seeing that the mare did not want to speak any further on it. Estraya watched as Lynn walked off towards the rest of the herd and decided that it was best to leave her be. Just as Estraya turned back towards the newcomer, she heard an all too familiar call starting up that caused her to release an exasperated sigh, Here we go again.

    “Jinx? Where are you?”

    “I don’t think we should do that, Jinx.” Merlin said wisely. “Last time we snuck off into the woods we nearly got killed by a stallion.” He snorted at her, shaking his red and white coat out to cover up a shudder. He still remembers how terrifying it was when the shadow of that huge stallion fell over them. Though he wouldn’t admit it, he’d nearly wet himself.

    “But we didn’t die! Besides, if we hadn’t gone on that adventure we wouldn’t have found Trissa and she probably would have died in that hole.” Jinx nipped her brother on the shoulder, earning a squeal from him.

    “Hey!” Merlin snorted and kicked out at her, but she dodged easily. “We got lucky! Had that stallion been a mean one he -”

    “Stop being such a baby!” Jinx shouted. “If you want to be like dad someday, you’d better stop being such a scaredy cat! What are you gonna do if some big scary stallion tries to steal your herd? Are you just gonna cry and run away?” Jinx sneered. “Come on, you need to prove that you’re not afraid of anything by going into the forest without babysitters” The filly commanded, dropping her head to almost snake her brother.

    “No way! Go on your own!” The red dun colt squealed as he dodged out of the way before she could nip him again. “Why would I do anything with you when you’re so mean?!” He shouted as he took off towards his mom. The dark sabino filly could be quite the bully when she didn’t get her way. He’d rather play with Xia or Hailey than deal with Jinx when she got like this.

    “Crybaby!” Jinx shouted at the colt’s disappearing form as he darted around the grazing mares. A few glanced at her before turning their attention back to digging for something edible. The stubborn yearling pawed the snow up in agitation. Things had been so boring lately, she needed to do something fun or else she’d go crazy. It was made even worse with the way her mother had been hovering around her lately. As it was, it had taken five minutes of convincing and promising her mother that she wouldn’t run off before the overprotective mare would even let her out of her sight.

    A small commotion caught the filly’s attention, and she noticed that her father was talking to a stranger. Estraya was also heading that way. Actually, when Jinx looked around, it seemed like many of the horses were distracted by the newcomer’s arrival. A smirk spread across the filly’s pink muzzle as she realized that this was the perfect opportunity to slip away unnoticed. Jinx took one last look at the herd, spying her mother starting to look around for her, before she quietly slunk into the nearby trees.

    Once safely hidden among the trees, Jinx giggled quietly. Finally, she could have some fun! The yearling gave a cheerful little buck, kicking up snow as she trotted through the forest. She stopped often to check out tracks and peek in tree hollows, accidentally waking up a squirrel who chittered at her angrily.

    After wandering for a few minutes, Jinx was already starting to lose interest. This wasn’t as exciting without others being in on it. Perhaps she should have been nicer to her brother to convince him to come. Or maybe she could have got Xia to come along. Hailey probably wouldn’t though, she was no fun at all.

    As Jinx continued to walk through the forest, she came upon a tree growing in a strange way. She grinned eagerly, moving closer to inspect it. It was then that she noticed large footprints in the snow around the tree, and when she moved to the other side of the tree’s base she saw that the trail led into a hollow in an earthen mound.

    “Now that’s what I’m talking about!” Jinx smirked, glad her little expedition was paying off. She crept closer to the hole, trying to peek in without getting too close, but all she could see was blackness. Though, at this proximity she caught a whiff of something she hadn’t smelled before. The dirty, musky, greasy smell made the filly wrinkle her nose and shake her head, but she wouldn’t be so easily dissuaded. With careful steps, she crept closer to the hole, head outstretched as she tried to get a look at what lay within.

"Well hello, I didn't see you standing over there!" Ajax called out as he saw the young mare finally approaching. She smiled, and he smiled warmly back at her, greeting her properly, "My name is Ajax, who might you be dear?"

    “It’s nice to meet you, Ajax. My name is Rosemary.” The young mare greeted shyly, looking a little nervous as she greeted the large, scarred stallion. A quick glance at the many horses that were in this herd told her that she had not gone unnoticed. It made her a little leery, but she took a deep breath to calm her nerves. It had taken her days to work up the nerve to come out, she wasn’t going to make a fool out of herself by turning tail now.

    “That’s a beautiful name, it suits you well.” Ajax said charmingly. He grinned at her surprised look, finding her shyness cute. “Do you mind if I call you Rose?” He asked.

    “A-ah, yes, of course! Everyone calls me Rose.” She stuttered slightly before regaining her composure.

    Ajax smiled warmly, “Well, Rose, what brings you here?” He was almost certain that she was looking for a herd, but he felt it might scare her to ask so bluntly.

    “Well… I hope you won’t think less of me but I’ve been following your herd for a while. I… I only just worked up the courage to come forward today. I know you already have a large herd, but I saw that you let another mare join you so I was hopeful that you might accept me in as well. J-just for the winter!” Rose explained in a rush of words that left her a little breathless after. The last part had been added on after, in case he didn’t want to have more mares to worry about after his obviously pregnant mares had their foals.

    The young mare’s words had all come so fast that it took Ajax a moment to comprehend them all. He couldn’t help but release a hearty laugh, Rose’s unnecessary worries reminding him of Myrtle’s way of fretting. Ajax gave the young red roan paint mare a bright smile as he said, “You are welcome to stay with us for however long you wish!”

    Relief washed over Rose’s face, her body visibly releasing the tension she had built up. For months since she left her birth herd she had been wandering mostly alone, looking for a herd, but she hadn’t found one willing to take on another horse. Sure, there had been more than willing stallions, but they were too pushy about their offers and it frightened her. Now, with this herd, she could be safe from those types and get to be part of a family. She hoped. They certainly seemed nice enough. “Oh gosh, really? I’d greatly appreciate that. You see… it’s my first winter alone after leaving -”

    AAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!

    Rose’s words were suddenly drowned out as a blood curdling scream shattered the peaceful din. It was the scream of a horse, a horse that was frightened and in pain. The scream was cut off by an even more awful sound, a sound that made many of the horses squeal and whiny in fear as they fled the forest the sounds echoed forth from.

    ROOAAARRRRRR!!!

Stallion: Ajax (#82)
|<< Previous | Next >>|

In response to: Jinx sneaks off and finds a cave... I wonder what could be inside it (Cave)

Art features(5):
Ajax (#82) , Sybill , Jinx , Rosemary , Lynn(Mae)
Story features(13):
Myrtle , Estraya , Finn , Sybill , Robin , Hailey , Jinx , Merlin , Xia , Trissa , Fancy , Lynn(Mae) , Rosemary , Damon, Sota (#42)
Word Count: 2821

Aging: Jinx, Merlin, Hailey, Xia all 2/3

Items Used: Peanutwood

Companion Animals:
Caring – Theodore the Cat
Helping – Pudge the Cat
Healing – Monster the Cat

Members That Own Outside Horses: Sota (#42) (DunnHorse , #42), Damon (Aniblue24 , #127-2)

Rolls: Normal

Other notes:
Pregnancy Protection: Robin, Myrtle, Deidra, Estraya (Finn), Naomi, Galena, Mona, Fancy, Tinkerbell, Lynn, Rosemary, Juniper.

Artist Notes:
I'm so excited for this little comic series , I've been planning it for so long! I finally get to introduce some of very exciting characters! I will warn you, this is gonna get scary/mildly gory so if you are sensitive I'd recommend not looking at the next two pages.

Art (c) DaSassy