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Previous: Stranger
Next: A Sight to be Seen

Oh God what was I supposed to do now? How did he know my name? What if he was dead? Panic surged through me as I felt a sense of hysteria rising from within. Bracing myself for the worst I lowered my head to his. He was breathing. Oh thank God. I let out my breath I didn’t know I had been holding when suddenly I was looking into his eyes. Conditioned to respond fearfully to pretty much every startling sensation I jerked my head up and scrambled back. My heart pounded as the stallion rose to his feet, a confused expression plastered on his face. He probably hadn’t even known what it had been that knocked him out.”Wow what was –“ “Branch”, I lied, immediately cutting him off. I didn’t need him to know what I was able to do. ”It fell right on your head”, I clarified when I saw him giving me a look like he didn’t believe me. It was quiet for a short moment and I deliberated whether or not I could just walk away. But I needed to know how this guy knew me. No matter how I looked at him I didn’t believe I’d ever seen him before. “Okay well that was weird”, he said with a crooked grin and his eyes trying to find mine. I immediately looked down at the ground when he did. “It’s been a really long time since I last saw you. I didn’t recognize you there for a moment”, he said to me apparently under the impression that I knew exactly who he was. I stayed quiet not knowing how to tell him that I had no clue who he was supposed to be. I could practically feel his eyes on me, probably wondering if I was sick. Or maybe he was wondering if I was slow. It really could be either. “You don’t recognize me, do you?” he asked after more silence, raising an eyebrow as he spoke. “No, sorry”, I shook my head. “Shame on you, I used to visit your herd when I was younger”, he told me with a carefree chuckle. He used to visit my herd? My mind immediately started to panic wondering if he knew my situation from then. What if he asked questions? Though he didn’t really seem like someone who knew what was going on at the time. Or he was just really insensitive. But still I didn’t know who he was. Then again during my time at the herd the last thing on my mind were visitors. I had my step father to worry about. I shook my head again. He dipped his head a little and shook it as well. “Well my name is Lucky Strike but Strike will do just fine”, he said and as suspected his name didn’t ring a bell. I was starting to wonder why he even remembered my name. Or bothered to come and talk to me. Obviously he hadn’t known me well, we certainly hadn’t been friends. Then I realized I was probably supposed to respond again. How did one respond to this though? “Strike”, I repeated at a lack of anything better to say. He raised an eyebrow again making me think that wasn’t the way I was supposed to respond then. “Well I can’t say I’m honestly surprised that you don’t know me anymore”, he said with a sigh, “I never really talked to you and when I did try to talk to you, you’d always say you had to go.” A vague image of a young colt appeared in my mind. Someone who constantly tried to make contact with me even though my step father wouldn’t allow it. “My mom told me not to play with you. Which of course made me that much more interested in you”, he continued the sides of his lips curled up. What do you know I actually did kind of remember this guy. I just had no clue how that little amount of contact would make him come over and talk to me now. Especially since I indeed always tried to get away from him as soon as possible. If my step father would see me playing or even talking to another foal there’d be hell to pay. “You know I always wondered why my mom was so bent on me not hanging out with you.” My ears fell back. “Why were you always so skittish back then? You always seemed scared”, he questioned curiously tilting his head to the side. My heartbeat rose and I narrowed my eyes. This was exactly the reason I couldn’t talk to others. Because I couldn’t talk about this. I couldn’t tell him that at the time I couldn’t play with him because my stepfather used to rape me. Nor did I want to tell him. That part of my life was over and I was not about to revisit all those terrible memories just because this guy happened to stumble onto me today. “I have to go”, I said evenly trying not to sound upset. “What? But I just got to see you again!” his voice rose and he seemed to be unhappy about me leaving. I honestly couldn’t imagine why. Oh God he wasn’t hoping on staying with me, was he? He was a walking reminder of all those years of abuse and being controlled. I didn’t want to deal with that. “I was hoping we could travel together for a while. Unless you’ve got somewhere to be?” his voice quieted down again but it had a certain desperate feeling to it. “I don’t have somewhere to be… but I”, I didn’t know how to finish that sentence. I couldn’t just outright tell him that the very thought of traveling with him made me taste bile. “Come on then just for a while. It’ll be fun!” Fun? The very definition of the word eluded me. It probably sounds pathetic but I never had fun in my life. I searched my brain for good reasons I wouldn’t want to travel with him but I couldn’t find any that not included the truth that I did not want him to know. “Uhm…” He looked at me expectantly. “Sure I guess?” I regretted the words as soon as they left my mouth. But I just couldn’t say no without a reason. “Great! I mean travelling is fun and all but I’ve got to admit I was getting a little lonely”, he told me with a smile as if he wanted me to keep it a secret. Not like I had anyone to tell. Well he’d probably figure out really soon that travelling with me would be painfully awkward and quiet and that he would be better off alone. So if I could just avoid the topic of why I never talked to him until he realized that it could be possible. “Okay so I was actually on my way to this place my friends told me to go and see. It’s supposed to be pretty amazing”, a big smile was plastered on his face now. He seemed to be happy. Well that wasn’t too bad. We could just go to that place and part ways there. “It’s only a few days travel”, he added and crushed my hopes. A few days? I wasn’t sure if I would be able to keep up this charade for that long. No scratch that. I was absolutely positive that I wouldn’t be able to keep up this charade for that long. “Well come on then, we’re losing daylight”, he grinned and took the lead. Going against better judgment I followed him. Maybe I could sneak away later…

To be continued...

Okay so I thought this part wasn't that far from the last one but it's almost been 5 months! Time goes by waaayyy too fast!
Buuutt after an awfully long time you finally get to see the stranger from the last part! Although I really don't like how he looks here nor Shimi :c Anatomy fails all over the place and odd and forced expressions... Not my greatest work I confess. But the background made it look a little more decent at least.
So drawing them was no fun but I am really glad to be done with this part! The next part will already be the tenth part of Shimi's story And I really hope it won't take me another 5 months to finish that one

But about the story. Well Shimi is socially awkward and unexperienced whilst Strike is actually a very social guy as you might have guessed already. Shimi sees him as a walking reminder of his horrible past and a possible trigger for his PTSD whilst Strike only sees him as an old aquantice he's happy to spend some time with again. And yeahhh let's just wait and see how this all develops c;

Enjoy you lovely people! <3

Shimi, Strike & art: Me Paardjee
Pose Reference Shimi: GE Arab bay turning side view by Chunga-Stock
Pose Reference Strike: 371 - Ranger by absurdus

Description
Previous: Stranger
Next: A Sight to be Seen

Oh God what was I supposed to do now? How did he know my name? What if he was dead? Panic surged through me as I felt a sense of hysteria rising from within. Bracing myself for the worst I lowered my head to his. He was breathing. Oh thank God. I let out my breath I didn’t know I had been holding when suddenly I was looking into his eyes. Conditioned to respond fearfully to pretty much every startling sensation I jerked my head up and scrambled back. My heart pounded as the stallion rose to his feet, a confused expression plastered on his face. He probably hadn’t even known what it had been that knocked him out.”Wow what was –“ “Branch”, I lied, immediately cutting him off. I didn’t need him to know what I was able to do. ”It fell right on your head”, I clarified when I saw him giving me a look like he didn’t believe me. It was quiet for a short moment and I deliberated whether or not I could just walk away. But I needed to know how this guy knew me. No matter how I looked at him I didn’t believe I’d ever seen him before. “Okay well that was weird”, he said with a crooked grin and his eyes trying to find mine. I immediately looked down at the ground when he did. “It’s been a really long time since I last saw you. I didn’t recognize you there for a moment”, he said to me apparently under the impression that I knew exactly who he was. I stayed quiet not knowing how to tell him that I had no clue who he was supposed to be. I could practically feel his eyes on me, probably wondering if I was sick. Or maybe he was wondering if I was slow. It really could be either. “You don’t recognize me, do you?” he asked after more silence, raising an eyebrow as he spoke. “No, sorry”, I shook my head. “Shame on you, I used to visit your herd when I was younger”, he told me with a carefree chuckle. He used to visit my herd? My mind immediately started to panic wondering if he knew my situation from then. What if he asked questions? Though he didn’t really seem like someone who knew what was going on at the time. Or he was just really insensitive. But still I didn’t know who he was. Then again during my time at the herd the last thing on my mind were visitors. I had my step father to worry about. I shook my head again. He dipped his head a little and shook it as well. “Well my name is Lucky Strike but Strike will do just fine”, he said and as suspected his name didn’t ring a bell. I was starting to wonder why he even remembered my name. Or bothered to come and talk to me. Obviously he hadn’t known me well, we certainly hadn’t been friends. Then I realized I was probably supposed to respond again. How did one respond to this though? “Strike”, I repeated at a lack of anything better to say. He raised an eyebrow again making me think that wasn’t the way I was supposed to respond then. “Well I can’t say I’m honestly surprised that you don’t know me anymore”, he said with a sigh, “I never really talked to you and when I did try to talk to you, you’d always say you had to go.” A vague image of a young colt appeared in my mind. Someone who constantly tried to make contact with me even though my step father wouldn’t allow it. “My mom told me not to play with you. Which of course made me that much more interested in you”, he continued the sides of his lips curled up. What do you know I actually did kind of remember this guy. I just had no clue how that little amount of contact would make him come over and talk to me now. Especially since I indeed always tried to get away from him as soon as possible. If my step father would see me playing or even talking to another foal there’d be hell to pay. “You know I always wondered why my mom was so bent on me not hanging out with you.” My ears fell back. “Why were you always so skittish back then? You always seemed scared”, he questioned curiously tilting his head to the side. My heartbeat rose and I narrowed my eyes. This was exactly the reason I couldn’t talk to others. Because I couldn’t talk about this. I couldn’t tell him that at the time I couldn’t play with him because my stepfather used to rape me. Nor did I want to tell him. That part of my life was over and I was not about to revisit all those terrible memories just because this guy happened to stumble onto me today. “I have to go”, I said evenly trying not to sound upset. “What? But I just got to see you again!” his voice rose and he seemed to be unhappy about me leaving. I honestly couldn’t imagine why. Oh God he wasn’t hoping on staying with me, was he? He was a walking reminder of all those years of abuse and being controlled. I didn’t want to deal with that. “I was hoping we could travel together for a while. Unless you’ve got somewhere to be?” his voice quieted down again but it had a certain desperate feeling to it. “I don’t have somewhere to be… but I”, I didn’t know how to finish that sentence. I couldn’t just outright tell him that the very thought of traveling with him made me taste bile. “Come on then just for a while. It’ll be fun!” Fun? The very definition of the word eluded me. It probably sounds pathetic but I never had fun in my life. I searched my brain for good reasons I wouldn’t want to travel with him but I couldn’t find any that not included the truth that I did not want him to know. “Uhm…” He looked at me expectantly. “Sure I guess?” I regretted the words as soon as they left my mouth. But I just couldn’t say no without a reason. “Great! I mean travelling is fun and all but I’ve got to admit I was getting a little lonely”, he told me with a smile as if he wanted me to keep it a secret. Not like I had anyone to tell. Well he’d probably figure out really soon that travelling with me would be painfully awkward and quiet and that he would be better off alone. So if I could just avoid the topic of why I never talked to him until he realized that it could be possible. “Okay so I was actually on my way to this place my friends told me to go and see. It’s supposed to be pretty amazing”, a big smile was plastered on his face now. He seemed to be happy. Well that wasn’t too bad. We could just go to that place and part ways there. “It’s only a few days travel”, he added and crushed my hopes. A few days? I wasn’t sure if I would be able to keep up this charade for that long. No scratch that. I was absolutely positive that I wouldn’t be able to keep up this charade for that long. “Well come on then, we’re losing daylight”, he grinned and took the lead. Going against better judgment I followed him. Maybe I could sneak away later…

To be continued...

Okay so I thought this part wasn't that far from the last one but it's almost been 5 months! Time goes by waaayyy too fast!
Buuutt after an awfully long time you finally get to see the stranger from the last part! Although I really don't like how he looks here nor Shimi :c Anatomy fails all over the place and odd and forced expressions... Not my greatest work I confess. But the background made it look a little more decent at least.
So drawing them was no fun but I am really glad to be done with this part! The next part will already be the tenth part of Shimi's story And I really hope it won't take me another 5 months to finish that one

But about the story. Well Shimi is socially awkward and unexperienced whilst Strike is actually a very social guy as you might have guessed already. Shimi sees him as a walking reminder of his horrible past and a possible trigger for his PTSD whilst Strike only sees him as an old aquantice he's happy to spend some time with again. And yeahhh let's just wait and see how this all develops c;

Enjoy you lovely people! <3

Shimi, Strike & art: Me Paardjee
Pose Reference Shimi: GE Arab bay turning side view by Chunga-Stock
Pose Reference Strike: 371 - Ranger by absurdus