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Previous: The Lightning Strike
Next: I Don't Want Your Help

If I were to say that I didn't know why I was still following Strike I'd be lying. I knew the reason behind my actions all too well. It was just that they made me feel like even more of a terrible person which is why I wanted to make myself believe I didn't know. To tell myself I just couldn't say no to him. It wasn't like that wasn't entirely untrue but I also knew that if I really didn't want to I would be gone already. No the reason why I was staying around was horribly selfish. Ever since I met Strike and have spent my days with him I've had no flashbacks and I've managed to sleep quite well. My insomnia has gotten a lot better and I haven't woken up screaming from my nightmares either. I still had them but somehow knowing that I wasn't alone made me not scream myself awake. So the reason for me staying with him wasn't because he, for whatever reason, wanted me to. It was because he kept the flashbacks and insomnia away. I was basically using him and he had no idea. He had no idea who I was or what I'd done and now I had even more reason not to tell him.

"You ready to go?" he called and I snapped out of my thoughts. His face was as bright as ever, a wide smile plastered across his face most of the time. I wondered how he managed to be this happy all the time. His life must have been a collection of one happy memory after the other. He was the complete opposite of me and since the past few days I've come to appreciate that about him. Things seemed less dark when he was around. At first all of his energy and positivity annoyed me, made me feel even worse about myself. But spend enough time with someone like that and you'll start to get used to it. Want it even. Even though I hadn't changed, life was simply easier with him around. He took my mind of off all the bad things. Didn't give me the time to reminisce about the past and get stuck there. Wore me out enough during the day that sleep came to me at a rate it had never come before. I guess you could call it dependence. I depended on him to keep my PTSD away and numb the pain I usually felt. Again I felt a flicker of guilt thinking about just how awful I was being.

"Where are we going this time?" I asked as I walked over towards him, still keeping my distance. Ever since our near death experience with the lightning strike, talking to him went a little better. Though I would be lying if I said that I found talking to him easy now. "Same place as before that freak thunderstorm", he told me as we both looked back at the small cave we'd hid in for the night. "You know those friends I told you about, Shiki and Jack? They went on an exploration journey last year and ever since hearing their stories I've been wanting to see those places for myself", he said and stretched out his body after the time they'd spent confined in the small space. I hadn't really been paying attention to where we were last night as we'd ran for our lives looking for shelter. But now that it was morning and the thunderstorm already becoming a more distant memory I could see we were in a forest. Light shone down through the leafy roof of the threes and birds chirped their morning songs. If I'd still been on my own I might have stayed here for a few days. The remote location seemed hardly travelled so it would be a nice and quiet hiding place. However I wasn't alone anymore and Strike was already on the move. "We should find some water and then be on our way", he suggested and I wondered belatedly why he hadn't joined his two friends on their journey. Not that I knew the slightest thing about friendship but it seemed odd to me that he wouldn't go with them. Instead of asking him about it I simply nodded my head and followed.

As usual Strike did all the talking as we walked. He led the way and the conversation. I only responded when the topic didn't relate to me. As a matter of fact I realized Strike hardly knew a thing about me with me answering basically no questions that concerned me. I had learned a lot about Strike though, whether I wanted to or not. Even when I didn't respond he would still talk most of the time, telling his stories about the places he'd seen and the things he'd done. I knew that he came from a small herd. I knew about his friends Shiki and Jack. I knew that he'd once been dared by them jump in a nearly frozen lake. How he'd regretted it as soon as he'd hit the water. And those were just a few things I knew. I sometimes caught myself wondering what would happen if I told him what happened to me. If he knew my dad left us when I was young and how my mom had fallen into depression. If he knew my stepdad used to rape me and threaten me. If he knew I killed him. I quickly shoved the thoughts from my mind again, they didn't help with the guilt. My stepdad suddenly appeared before me then and I stopped in my tracks. His menacing smile that I'd seen so often spread out across his face. And even though I shouldn't be so small anymore the stallion still towered over me as if I was still a child. My heart started to pound as I broke out in cold sweat. The stallion moved towards me, the lust in his eyes clear as day -

"Shimi?", Strike called out my name and my stepdad shattered and disappeared. I blinked as I saw Strike a little further away looking back over his shoulder. It had only been a flashback. Calm down, I told myself. Act natural. Strike can't know about this stuff. "Coming", I murmured as I forced myself to move again, to act like nothing happened. I could only hope he wouldn't see my sweat or hear my heartbeat. As I caught up with him again I could already feel myself calm down. That was the first flashback I'd had since I started travelling with Strike. And the first ever that had just disappeared like that. "Daydreaming?" he grinned as he started walking again. It seemed like he hadn't noticed that I had been distressed, which was good. "Something like that", I replied bleakly, pushing all thoughts about my stepdad in the vault in my mind. We arrived at a small lake not long after that where we could eat and drink. Strike was a little more quiet than usual, maybe because his mouth was full most of the time we were there. His apatite was immense. I ate just barely enough to survive but it seemed like he ate as if he feared he might never have another meal in his life. It was actually kind of amusing to see a lean stallion like him shovel those amounts of food inside him. When he caught me looking at him he smiled, sticking out a particularly long strand of grass through his teeth. Weird guy. All thoughts about the flashback from earlier had disappeared as Strike took my mind off it.

After we had our energy replenished we set off towards our destination. It was a long trip there, we took several breaks on our way and galloped other parts to make up for the lost time. Never galloping for too long as I still had the stamina of a 90 year old. Although I had to say it was slowly starting to improve. We came across fields of flowers, grand lakes and unique rock formations. I usually didn't pay a whole lot of mind to my surroundings. My mind had almost always been occupied by far more depressing things. But with Strike pointing out where to look or his excited voice when he saw something pretty made me more aware of where I actually was. I found myself enjoying looking at the scenery and listening to Strike's commentary. As we made our way over the land the hours passed by. When we were nearing our destination it was already early evening. The flat land had started to give way for a small mountain we were now climbing. Strike had been rather secretive about where we were going but given this new path it was starting to get a little clearer. I supposed it would be another view since we were climbing rather high. As we pressed on I could hear a rumbling sound in the distance. I almost started, thinking it was thunder again but the sound was constant. I perked my ears curiously trying to make out what kind of sound it was but I couldn't figure it out. Strike saw my face and he grinned at me. He obviously knew what it was then. The foliage grew thicker as we reached the top of the mountain. We had to push through the leaves and branches now and I could hardly see anything except for the green. When I was just about done with all the branches poking me in the face we reached the end. Rocks had replaced the grassy floor and only a few trees and bushes spread out in the remaining open space of the clearing. We'd reached the top and the sound from before was louder than ever. Curiously I followed the noise to the edge of the cliff and my eyes widened when I reached it. Rivers at the top of the mountains spilled over the edges falling down into a large lake in the middle of them. I'd never seen anything like this before and it was absolutely glorious. The roaring of the water clattering down the cliffs and the wind that whipped up from below was invigorating. I stuck my head over the edge and could feel the power below me.

Strike joined me at the edge, the wind twirling his hair upwards. I looked at him, a wide smile was spread across his face, and then back to the scene before me. I wondered if it had a name but somehow felt stupid to ask him such a thing again. "You like it?" he asked me after a while of silence. He kind of had to call out his words for them to be heard over the raging water. "It's amazing", I said in reply. "It's hard to imagine that this even a very big waterfall", he said with his eyes directed forward. Waterfall? I supposed that was a simple enough word to describe what was happening in front of us. "There are bigger ones?" I asked, curious now. "Way bigger", Strike nodded with a grin. "We could go search for those if you want", he smiled and it left me with a strange feeling. "Don't you have to go home to your herd?" I asked him. It wasn't as if I wanted him to leave anymore. Instead I kind of feared what would happen if I were on my own again. But judging from his stories he had a lot of friends in his herd and I couldn't quite understand why he'd left on his own. Strike's smile had faltered at my question. "There are still more things that I want to see", was his answer and he turned away from the edge. "Don't you miss your friends?" I pressed on, wanting to figure it out. "They'll still be there when I get back", he answered, his voice was rather flat for his doing. "Why didn't you go with your friends when they went?" I finally asked the question that I'd had when he brought it up this morning. "I had other things going on at that time. Just leave it Shimi", his voice was now devoid of all kindness. His expression was unreadable as I searched for his eyes. I wasn't very good with expressions but over the past few days I'd gotten to known Strike's. This was an expression I didn't know on him. He seemed almost pained. "Why don't you want to go home?" the question escaped my lips as soon as the thought had formed in my head. I didn't really want to meddle in his life. Only I knew how much of a hypocrite I was being trying to get him to answer a personal question when I had told him nothing about myself. "I said leave it!" he snapped at me and I cringed back at the harshness of his words. Immediately his expression changed again as he saw the look on my face. His ears flopped to the side as he took a step towards me. "I'm sorry", his voice was quiet. "I just don't want to talk about it. I went on this journey to have some fun and that's exactly what I'm going to do", he told me. Although his voice was kind again and he sported a small smile he made it very clear that he wasn't going to share his reasons with me. That was fair. I was sure that whatever his reason for not wanting to go home couldn't possibly come close to the horrible things I was keeping from him. There was that guilt again, eating at my heart.

Strike shook his head with determination and looked up at me. "Enough of that, let's get to the real reason why we're here", he said, his voice upbeat again. It took me a second to adjust to his change of mood again and then another second to realize what he was saying. "The real reason? Isn't it the view?" I was confused, what else could there be here to do? "Well cliff diving of course", his voice was both matter of factly and excited. His eyes shone brightly in anticipation and by my guess madness. "You plan to jump off this cliff?" I already knew Strike could be a little reckless but this seemed to exceed all his other ideas up until now. "Shiki and Jack did it too. It's perfectly safe. The cliff isn't that high and the lake below is very deep" he explained as if it wasn't an excessively dangerous idea. "You're crazy", was what I said in reply which made him laugh. "Come on it'll be fun!" he grinned from ear to ear now. "You expect me to do it too?" my voice rose in disbelief. There was no way I was going to voluntarily jump down from there. "But it would take so long for me to get back up here again after I jump", he reasoned, a childlike whine in his voice. I hadn't thought about that. I'd be left on my own here and he'd be way down there. I peered over the edge again, a shudder going down my spine. Was that from fear or from anticipation? "No way", I said before I could even start to consider it. "I'll leave you up here", he laughed, obviously joking although I could see the flash of hesitation in his eyes as he said it. He probably wondered how much I would mind him leaving me. I hadn't exactly been an enthusiastic travelling partner. "I promise you it's safe. And I promise you'll like it as well", he was trying to persuade me and I hated to admit it was working. I looked over the edge again, following the waterfall with my eyes. There were no rocks coming up out of the lake, nothing to crash into except for water. "And both Shiki and Jack survived this?" I asked hesitantly. Immediately a victorious grin spread across Strike's face. "Yes they both lived to tell the tale", he chuckled and my mind was going back on forth on the decision to jump. On the one had he'd been right about swimming being fun. I had taken a chance on him teaching me then and I hadn't regretted it for a second. "Okay", I said with a small nod of my head, my heart already pounding at the idea I was actually going to do this.

Strike's whole face lit up as he got his way. "Okay I'll go first then. If you change your mind and don't follow me after five minutes I'll climb back up here", at the thought I could still back out I relaxed slightly. I'd see how well Strike would fare and then decide for myself. "Ahh I'm a little nervous", he said with laughter in his voice as he leaned over the edge. I could feel my stomach tighten at the sight of it. "Be sure to jump as far in as possible. The cliff is hollow but don't take any changes", he instructed me as he backed off from the edge. When he was a few yards away he stopped and took a deep breath. He gave me one last look, he really did seem a little scared, or maybe that was just the adrenaline. Then he took off in a gallop towards the edge pushing his hind legs against it as he reached the end and propelled himself into the air. "Geronimooooo!" he screamed as he fell. My eyes were glued on his shrinking body until he hit the water. A big spray of water splashed up and then nothing. Where was he? I panicked when I didn't see him anywhere. Then a little further away from the splash I saw his head pop up from the surface. Thank God he was alive. "That was so fun!" he screamed at the top of his lungs and even then I could still barely make it out over the roar of the waterfall. My breathing was shallow at the scare he gave me and at the thought it was now my turn. I waited until Strike had swam a little further away so I couldn't land on him. I backed towards the same spot Strike had stood and gathered my nerves. I was actually going to do this. My heart slammed in my chest and I had goosebumps all over my skin. Then with determination I bolted off, my hooves clattering against the rocky underground. I almost stopped right at the edge, instinct screaming at me not to jump off cliffs, but I forced myself to jump instead. For a moment I was weightless caught in the momentum of the jump and then I was falling. I shrieked as I went down and I hit the water far too soon. The blow of the surface almost knocked the breath out of me and I sank deep underwater. My ears popped at the pressure and once the momentum was over I started to swim upwards again. I burst out of the water loudly taking in breaths of air. Strike cheered in the distance and he swam over to me. "You did it!" he smiled at me and once I'd gathered enough air into my lungs again I smiled back at him. "That was so fun!" I surprised myself at my words and how loud they were. "I told you!" Strike grinned at me. "I kind of wish I could do it again", I said with a small laugh, my body feeling all jittery. "I didn't know you were such an adrenaline junkie", he joked and I laughed. It probably was the adrenaline making me feel this was but I was too elated to care. I had done something I would have never done on my own and I had loved it. And I had Strike to thank for that. He really was starting to become a big influence on my life. Before I could think too much about what that meant Strike splashed me in the face before laughing out loud and swimming away from me. And so with the adrenaline pulsing through our veins we swam until evening came. Strike had been right again. This was a lot of fun.

To be continued...

Woo another Shimi part!

So the help me with Shimi's story contest was a huge failure xD But it did actually push me to think about it myself some more and than I wrote this huge part. Over 3000 words again 0.o It's a little bit all over the place but then again so are Shimi's emotions so it kind of fits.

Shimi is feeling really conflicted about spending his days with Strike. At first he could fool himself into thinking that he didn't know why he was still with him or just blaim Strike. Now he knows exactly why he sticks around. He's using Strike to help keep his PTSD at bay. When he was still on his own he was plaguaged almost daily with horrible flashbacks and terrfying nightmares. Now that he's with Strike he noticed that this happens a lot less. After two years of this torture he can't help but find an escape in this newfound calm. It's not like he's cured or anything though. It's still there and it's not the last he's herd of it.
We also find out that Strike has a secret on his own. Why doesn't he want to go home? Well you'll find out if you keep reading the story c;
And we end with some cliff diving and bonding Mind you that Shimi still doesn't quite see Strike as a friend, just someone he sticks around so that he isn't crippled by his past. But spend enough time with someone you know... He does feel super guilty about it though. All the more reason why he's conflicted. And he's super scared of Strike finding out about his past and what he'd done.

Very well than that's all I have to say about the story! The drawing took me very long. I CANNOT ROCK Ugh I don't know how people draw stone or rocks but I struggle with those greatly. The waterfall also looks kind of unfinished? But I didn't know what else to make of it. I do really like how both Shimi and Strike turned out though They were originally a lot bigger but I made them smaller because otherwise the background had to be even larger I might upload their original drawing to my scraps.

I really hope you guys still enjoy Shimi's story, I would love to hear what you think of it!

Shimi, Strike & Art: Me Paardjee
Pose Reference Shimi: Bay Andalusian Stallion 3 by wildbrumby
Pose Reference: Strike: Hey by Jello88

Description

Previous: The Lightning Strike
Next: I Don't Want Your Help

If I were to say that I didn't know why I was still following Strike I'd be lying. I knew the reason behind my actions all too well. It was just that they made me feel like even more of a terrible person which is why I wanted to make myself believe I didn't know. To tell myself I just couldn't say no to him. It wasn't like that wasn't entirely untrue but I also knew that if I really didn't want to I would be gone already. No the reason why I was staying around was horribly selfish. Ever since I met Strike and have spent my days with him I've had no flashbacks and I've managed to sleep quite well. My insomnia has gotten a lot better and I haven't woken up screaming from my nightmares either. I still had them but somehow knowing that I wasn't alone made me not scream myself awake. So the reason for me staying with him wasn't because he, for whatever reason, wanted me to. It was because he kept the flashbacks and insomnia away. I was basically using him and he had no idea. He had no idea who I was or what I'd done and now I had even more reason not to tell him.

"You ready to go?" he called and I snapped out of my thoughts. His face was as bright as ever, a wide smile plastered across his face most of the time. I wondered how he managed to be this happy all the time. His life must have been a collection of one happy memory after the other. He was the complete opposite of me and since the past few days I've come to appreciate that about him. Things seemed less dark when he was around. At first all of his energy and positivity annoyed me, made me feel even worse about myself. But spend enough time with someone like that and you'll start to get used to it. Want it even. Even though I hadn't changed, life was simply easier with him around. He took my mind of off all the bad things. Didn't give me the time to reminisce about the past and get stuck there. Wore me out enough during the day that sleep came to me at a rate it had never come before. I guess you could call it dependence. I depended on him to keep my PTSD away and numb the pain I usually felt. Again I felt a flicker of guilt thinking about just how awful I was being.

"Where are we going this time?" I asked as I walked over towards him, still keeping my distance. Ever since our near death experience with the lightning strike, talking to him went a little better. Though I would be lying if I said that I found talking to him easy now. "Same place as before that freak thunderstorm", he told me as we both looked back at the small cave we'd hid in for the night. "You know those friends I told you about, Shiki and Jack? They went on an exploration journey last year and ever since hearing their stories I've been wanting to see those places for myself", he said and stretched out his body after the time they'd spent confined in the small space. I hadn't really been paying attention to where we were last night as we'd ran for our lives looking for shelter. But now that it was morning and the thunderstorm already becoming a more distant memory I could see we were in a forest. Light shone down through the leafy roof of the threes and birds chirped their morning songs. If I'd still been on my own I might have stayed here for a few days. The remote location seemed hardly travelled so it would be a nice and quiet hiding place. However I wasn't alone anymore and Strike was already on the move. "We should find some water and then be on our way", he suggested and I wondered belatedly why he hadn't joined his two friends on their journey. Not that I knew the slightest thing about friendship but it seemed odd to me that he wouldn't go with them. Instead of asking him about it I simply nodded my head and followed.

As usual Strike did all the talking as we walked. He led the way and the conversation. I only responded when the topic didn't relate to me. As a matter of fact I realized Strike hardly knew a thing about me with me answering basically no questions that concerned me. I had learned a lot about Strike though, whether I wanted to or not. Even when I didn't respond he would still talk most of the time, telling his stories about the places he'd seen and the things he'd done. I knew that he came from a small herd. I knew about his friends Shiki and Jack. I knew that he'd once been dared by them jump in a nearly frozen lake. How he'd regretted it as soon as he'd hit the water. And those were just a few things I knew. I sometimes caught myself wondering what would happen if I told him what happened to me. If he knew my dad left us when I was young and how my mom had fallen into depression. If he knew my stepdad used to rape me and threaten me. If he knew I killed him. I quickly shoved the thoughts from my mind again, they didn't help with the guilt. My stepdad suddenly appeared before me then and I stopped in my tracks. His menacing smile that I'd seen so often spread out across his face. And even though I shouldn't be so small anymore the stallion still towered over me as if I was still a child. My heart started to pound as I broke out in cold sweat. The stallion moved towards me, the lust in his eyes clear as day -

"Shimi?", Strike called out my name and my stepdad shattered and disappeared. I blinked as I saw Strike a little further away looking back over his shoulder. It had only been a flashback. Calm down, I told myself. Act natural. Strike can't know about this stuff. "Coming", I murmured as I forced myself to move again, to act like nothing happened. I could only hope he wouldn't see my sweat or hear my heartbeat. As I caught up with him again I could already feel myself calm down. That was the first flashback I'd had since I started travelling with Strike. And the first ever that had just disappeared like that. "Daydreaming?" he grinned as he started walking again. It seemed like he hadn't noticed that I had been distressed, which was good. "Something like that", I replied bleakly, pushing all thoughts about my stepdad in the vault in my mind. We arrived at a small lake not long after that where we could eat and drink. Strike was a little more quiet than usual, maybe because his mouth was full most of the time we were there. His apatite was immense. I ate just barely enough to survive but it seemed like he ate as if he feared he might never have another meal in his life. It was actually kind of amusing to see a lean stallion like him shovel those amounts of food inside him. When he caught me looking at him he smiled, sticking out a particularly long strand of grass through his teeth. Weird guy. All thoughts about the flashback from earlier had disappeared as Strike took my mind off it.

After we had our energy replenished we set off towards our destination. It was a long trip there, we took several breaks on our way and galloped other parts to make up for the lost time. Never galloping for too long as I still had the stamina of a 90 year old. Although I had to say it was slowly starting to improve. We came across fields of flowers, grand lakes and unique rock formations. I usually didn't pay a whole lot of mind to my surroundings. My mind had almost always been occupied by far more depressing things. But with Strike pointing out where to look or his excited voice when he saw something pretty made me more aware of where I actually was. I found myself enjoying looking at the scenery and listening to Strike's commentary. As we made our way over the land the hours passed by. When we were nearing our destination it was already early evening. The flat land had started to give way for a small mountain we were now climbing. Strike had been rather secretive about where we were going but given this new path it was starting to get a little clearer. I supposed it would be another view since we were climbing rather high. As we pressed on I could hear a rumbling sound in the distance. I almost started, thinking it was thunder again but the sound was constant. I perked my ears curiously trying to make out what kind of sound it was but I couldn't figure it out. Strike saw my face and he grinned at me. He obviously knew what it was then. The foliage grew thicker as we reached the top of the mountain. We had to push through the leaves and branches now and I could hardly see anything except for the green. When I was just about done with all the branches poking me in the face we reached the end. Rocks had replaced the grassy floor and only a few trees and bushes spread out in the remaining open space of the clearing. We'd reached the top and the sound from before was louder than ever. Curiously I followed the noise to the edge of the cliff and my eyes widened when I reached it. Rivers at the top of the mountains spilled over the edges falling down into a large lake in the middle of them. I'd never seen anything like this before and it was absolutely glorious. The roaring of the water clattering down the cliffs and the wind that whipped up from below was invigorating. I stuck my head over the edge and could feel the power below me.

Strike joined me at the edge, the wind twirling his hair upwards. I looked at him, a wide smile was spread across his face, and then back to the scene before me. I wondered if it had a name but somehow felt stupid to ask him such a thing again. "You like it?" he asked me after a while of silence. He kind of had to call out his words for them to be heard over the raging water. "It's amazing", I said in reply. "It's hard to imagine that this even a very big waterfall", he said with his eyes directed forward. Waterfall? I supposed that was a simple enough word to describe what was happening in front of us. "There are bigger ones?" I asked, curious now. "Way bigger", Strike nodded with a grin. "We could go search for those if you want", he smiled and it left me with a strange feeling. "Don't you have to go home to your herd?" I asked him. It wasn't as if I wanted him to leave anymore. Instead I kind of feared what would happen if I were on my own again. But judging from his stories he had a lot of friends in his herd and I couldn't quite understand why he'd left on his own. Strike's smile had faltered at my question. "There are still more things that I want to see", was his answer and he turned away from the edge. "Don't you miss your friends?" I pressed on, wanting to figure it out. "They'll still be there when I get back", he answered, his voice was rather flat for his doing. "Why didn't you go with your friends when they went?" I finally asked the question that I'd had when he brought it up this morning. "I had other things going on at that time. Just leave it Shimi", his voice was now devoid of all kindness. His expression was unreadable as I searched for his eyes. I wasn't very good with expressions but over the past few days I'd gotten to known Strike's. This was an expression I didn't know on him. He seemed almost pained. "Why don't you want to go home?" the question escaped my lips as soon as the thought had formed in my head. I didn't really want to meddle in his life. Only I knew how much of a hypocrite I was being trying to get him to answer a personal question when I had told him nothing about myself. "I said leave it!" he snapped at me and I cringed back at the harshness of his words. Immediately his expression changed again as he saw the look on my face. His ears flopped to the side as he took a step towards me. "I'm sorry", his voice was quiet. "I just don't want to talk about it. I went on this journey to have some fun and that's exactly what I'm going to do", he told me. Although his voice was kind again and he sported a small smile he made it very clear that he wasn't going to share his reasons with me. That was fair. I was sure that whatever his reason for not wanting to go home couldn't possibly come close to the horrible things I was keeping from him. There was that guilt again, eating at my heart.

Strike shook his head with determination and looked up at me. "Enough of that, let's get to the real reason why we're here", he said, his voice upbeat again. It took me a second to adjust to his change of mood again and then another second to realize what he was saying. "The real reason? Isn't it the view?" I was confused, what else could there be here to do? "Well cliff diving of course", his voice was both matter of factly and excited. His eyes shone brightly in anticipation and by my guess madness. "You plan to jump off this cliff?" I already knew Strike could be a little reckless but this seemed to exceed all his other ideas up until now. "Shiki and Jack did it too. It's perfectly safe. The cliff isn't that high and the lake below is very deep" he explained as if it wasn't an excessively dangerous idea. "You're crazy", was what I said in reply which made him laugh. "Come on it'll be fun!" he grinned from ear to ear now. "You expect me to do it too?" my voice rose in disbelief. There was no way I was going to voluntarily jump down from there. "But it would take so long for me to get back up here again after I jump", he reasoned, a childlike whine in his voice. I hadn't thought about that. I'd be left on my own here and he'd be way down there. I peered over the edge again, a shudder going down my spine. Was that from fear or from anticipation? "No way", I said before I could even start to consider it. "I'll leave you up here", he laughed, obviously joking although I could see the flash of hesitation in his eyes as he said it. He probably wondered how much I would mind him leaving me. I hadn't exactly been an enthusiastic travelling partner. "I promise you it's safe. And I promise you'll like it as well", he was trying to persuade me and I hated to admit it was working. I looked over the edge again, following the waterfall with my eyes. There were no rocks coming up out of the lake, nothing to crash into except for water. "And both Shiki and Jack survived this?" I asked hesitantly. Immediately a victorious grin spread across Strike's face. "Yes they both lived to tell the tale", he chuckled and my mind was going back on forth on the decision to jump. On the one had he'd been right about swimming being fun. I had taken a chance on him teaching me then and I hadn't regretted it for a second. "Okay", I said with a small nod of my head, my heart already pounding at the idea I was actually going to do this.

Strike's whole face lit up as he got his way. "Okay I'll go first then. If you change your mind and don't follow me after five minutes I'll climb back up here", at the thought I could still back out I relaxed slightly. I'd see how well Strike would fare and then decide for myself. "Ahh I'm a little nervous", he said with laughter in his voice as he leaned over the edge. I could feel my stomach tighten at the sight of it. "Be sure to jump as far in as possible. The cliff is hollow but don't take any changes", he instructed me as he backed off from the edge. When he was a few yards away he stopped and took a deep breath. He gave me one last look, he really did seem a little scared, or maybe that was just the adrenaline. Then he took off in a gallop towards the edge pushing his hind legs against it as he reached the end and propelled himself into the air. "Geronimooooo!" he screamed as he fell. My eyes were glued on his shrinking body until he hit the water. A big spray of water splashed up and then nothing. Where was he? I panicked when I didn't see him anywhere. Then a little further away from the splash I saw his head pop up from the surface. Thank God he was alive. "That was so fun!" he screamed at the top of his lungs and even then I could still barely make it out over the roar of the waterfall. My breathing was shallow at the scare he gave me and at the thought it was now my turn. I waited until Strike had swam a little further away so I couldn't land on him. I backed towards the same spot Strike had stood and gathered my nerves. I was actually going to do this. My heart slammed in my chest and I had goosebumps all over my skin. Then with determination I bolted off, my hooves clattering against the rocky underground. I almost stopped right at the edge, instinct screaming at me not to jump off cliffs, but I forced myself to jump instead. For a moment I was weightless caught in the momentum of the jump and then I was falling. I shrieked as I went down and I hit the water far too soon. The blow of the surface almost knocked the breath out of me and I sank deep underwater. My ears popped at the pressure and once the momentum was over I started to swim upwards again. I burst out of the water loudly taking in breaths of air. Strike cheered in the distance and he swam over to me. "You did it!" he smiled at me and once I'd gathered enough air into my lungs again I smiled back at him. "That was so fun!" I surprised myself at my words and how loud they were. "I told you!" Strike grinned at me. "I kind of wish I could do it again", I said with a small laugh, my body feeling all jittery. "I didn't know you were such an adrenaline junkie", he joked and I laughed. It probably was the adrenaline making me feel this was but I was too elated to care. I had done something I would have never done on my own and I had loved it. And I had Strike to thank for that. He really was starting to become a big influence on my life. Before I could think too much about what that meant Strike splashed me in the face before laughing out loud and swimming away from me. And so with the adrenaline pulsing through our veins we swam until evening came. Strike had been right again. This was a lot of fun.

To be continued...

Woo another Shimi part!

So the help me with Shimi's story contest was a huge failure xD But it did actually push me to think about it myself some more and than I wrote this huge part. Over 3000 words again 0.o It's a little bit all over the place but then again so are Shimi's emotions so it kind of fits.

Shimi is feeling really conflicted about spending his days with Strike. At first he could fool himself into thinking that he didn't know why he was still with him or just blaim Strike. Now he knows exactly why he sticks around. He's using Strike to help keep his PTSD at bay. When he was still on his own he was plaguaged almost daily with horrible flashbacks and terrfying nightmares. Now that he's with Strike he noticed that this happens a lot less. After two years of this torture he can't help but find an escape in this newfound calm. It's not like he's cured or anything though. It's still there and it's not the last he's herd of it.
We also find out that Strike has a secret on his own. Why doesn't he want to go home? Well you'll find out if you keep reading the story c;
And we end with some cliff diving and bonding Mind you that Shimi still doesn't quite see Strike as a friend, just someone he sticks around so that he isn't crippled by his past. But spend enough time with someone you know... He does feel super guilty about it though. All the more reason why he's conflicted. And he's super scared of Strike finding out about his past and what he'd done.

Very well than that's all I have to say about the story! The drawing took me very long. I CANNOT ROCK Ugh I don't know how people draw stone or rocks but I struggle with those greatly. The waterfall also looks kind of unfinished? But I didn't know what else to make of it. I do really like how both Shimi and Strike turned out though They were originally a lot bigger but I made them smaller because otherwise the background had to be even larger I might upload their original drawing to my scraps.

I really hope you guys still enjoy Shimi's story, I would love to hear what you think of it!

Shimi, Strike & Art: Me Paardjee
Pose Reference Shimi: Bay Andalusian Stallion 3 by wildbrumby
Pose Reference: Strike: Hey by Jello88