Desperation [For Falcon]

[Forte!]

It was a miracle that Roulette had even lived through the winter, as weak as he was. He was a yearling now, but his washboard ribs did not advertise that fact. It had been a long time since his mother and he were forced into the wrangler's camp out of desperation for food and survival. But now, his hoofsteps retraced the old path, and behind him his mother, Serenity, followed, her ears alert to any sound. Roulette had gotten the worst of the, being so young, and she was in slightly better shape, albeit thin. Their winter coats were tangled and matter, twined with burrs and leaves that wouldn't fall out to reveal their silky sheen until the weather got warmer. Hopefully, that would be soon. Already the snow had melted down near the wrangler's camp, and here the green grass enticed Roulette and his mother away from the safety of the woodland and the open prairie, which would blossom a bit later. Roulette made his way to the green swiftly and dropped his head, hungrily tearing at the green grass, welcome nourishment. Ren stayed where she was, tense and alert as always, ready to guard her son from danger.

When Roulette had eaten his fill, unmolested, he rose his head again and looked around, snorting with surprise. He recognized this place! His memory of the strange human with her silly hat was dull, but still there. His nostrils flared as he caught the scent of humans on the air, and looked at his mother questioningly. "Is this the place where those humans tried to catch us?" He remembered wanting to go with them so badly, to see what they had to teach him. Ren nodded slightly, silent. Roulette knew that his mother did not think of the humans as highly as he did, and he knew why, too. He, too, had seen horses dragged away by the humans. But he, rather than fearing them, wondered why they did it. He had seen how their horses obeyed them, the good ones, at least. And he knew that there had to be a reason for that, too. Why would they let the humans ride them around, if not for a reason?

"We should go now," Serenity cautioned, from the edge of the clearing, but Roulette shook his head. "Naw, mom, I wanna see if there are any humans here." Flicking his tail, he set off towards where the scent of human was the strongest, towards dustier ground and the corrals and little stone circles where campfires had once stood. Ren followed, at a distance, knowing that she could not change her son's mind about this sort of thing any more.

[FalconX]

Roxanne

The slender girl through the saddle over the mare's back, petting her neck afterward. She leaned down grabbing the girth and tightening it, making sure to tap her stomach just in case Wings didn't want to cooperate today. Like usual, the mare exhaled, Roxy grinned, and tightened the girth again, so that it was snug and the saddle wouldn't fall off when she was out riding. "Silly girl" She said to the mare affectionately. The mare twisted her head to look at her owner, nickering in a beseeching tone that clearly was begging for a carrot that she knew Roxy had in her pocket. "Not yet" She responded with a grin on her lips. Walking to the mare's head, she put on the bridle, making sure it went on correctly. With a satisfied nod, she led the mare out of the barn, into the fresh air. Spring was finally coming, the cold weather and dead plants were finally going to leave. And for that fact, Roxy decided it was a good day to go up to the Camp, just to see if there was any wild horses around.

She stuck her foot in the stirrup and swung into the saddle with practiced ease. A gentle breeze `flew over the pair, lightly playing with both Roxy's coffee colored hair and the black mane of the Akhal-Teke mare. With a gentle nudge, the mare set off at a trot, just trying to warm up the muscles before going on at a brisker pace. Roxy's eyes scanned the land, the white snow was melting, and what was left of it was trampled down by those that had already passed this way. The sun was shining, melting away the remains of the frosty season, and Roxy could barely contain her join at that. Wings gave a playful buck, as if she was a frolicking filly. Roxy laughed a loud at the mare's antics, she supposed Spring Fever got to all of them. When they had been out for awhile, she urged Wings faster, into a steady paced gallop. Roxy sat easily in the saddle's seat, rocking along with the mare's rhythm.

Roxy grinned as she trotted into the camp on the back of her racer. She gave the mare's neck a friendly pat. A smile flitted across her lips, but then disappeared as quickly as it had come. She pulled her mount to a stop and froze when she spotted two horses on the edge of the camp. As her eyes scanned them, a memory came crashing back. She had almost caught this two horses before. She grimaced as she saw that their condition had not improved. If only she had been able to help them before this. Well, she wasn't going to continue to let this happen. She had to do something. She reached for her rope carefully, wishing that she would be able to do this in a better less frightening way. But she knew that was rare and hardly ever happened. She remembered that the foal had loved her hat and that she would have been able to have got them before but someone had roped them. Shaking her head, she put the rope back. She would have to do this another way. Slowly, cautiously, she dismounted Wings. She dropped the reins, sure that the mare would follow her ground-tying training. With determination she walked towards the to, very slowly, not wanting them to spook. She crouched low, remembering this is what she had done last time. And they had not been as frightened.

[Forte!]

They heard the hoof beats long before Wings arrived, and Serenity lifted her head warily, watching her son out of the corner of her eye. Roulette's nose was also to the wind, but the other horse was on the wrong side of it, and he couldn't pick it up. His ears twitched as the steady beat of galloping became louder and louder, every muscle in the bodies of both horses was quivering with anticipation. The hoof beats slowed, and soon Roulette could see the form of a mare and of the human on her back. They didn't see the pair of wild horses, who had become as silent as the dust, and Serenity was glad for that. She did not trust humans, although she vaguely remembered how much she had wanted to go with that one... And then the rope... which had bloodied her knees and sent her to the ground... She took a step back, harks lowering at the memory and pelt shaking. The scars were long gone, now, but the fear was still there. Fear for Roulette more than herself, for her son was her only reason for hanging onto what little life she had left. That flame seemed always on the edge of simply flickering out.

"Ma, look, it's that human!" Roulette said suddenly, dancing a little and breaking the silence. Ren snorted her disbelief, and, reverie broken, looked over towards the now dismounted human. Surprise flitted across her features briefly. It WAS that human, the one who had tried to be kind and gentle and tried to help them instead of hurt them. Ren had never known humans to return more than once to these lands, and the sight of Roxy was a surprise to her. She had brought along a horse this time, too, another mare of the same breed, who seemed much docile and used to humans. It was Wings who held Roulette's attention now, and he was eying her with a keen interest. Suddenly, his lips parted and he whinnied, a high, keening, questioning note that shook his sides along his thin ribs. He trotted a little in place, very much confused as to why the horse was standing still instead of running to join them or graze or be free. Ren had always said that tame horses were captives, and Roulette had seen Roxy simply walk away from the mare, and the mare was now not trying to escape. Why not?

Ren watched the human warily, appeased by her lowered posture but still nervous. Humans had powers far beyond those of the horse, she knew that. She had seen many a horse injured or killed in the struggle for supremacy. But this human seemed to have no malice, no intent to hurt, or even break, them. She seemed, in fact, to want to help them. Being herdless was hard for a horse, and Ren sensed that Roxy knew that they had been through hard times. Nay, perhaps she understood those hard times. Ren snorted quietly, a 'huff-huff', through her nostrils, and did not run from her approach. Her curiosity had been touched, and she wondered what the human intended to do. After all, she had left her rope behind, on the mare. Wings was still carrying the burden that her human had entrusted her with, so Ren knew that Roxy must be an okay master at least. Any horse under a bad master would rather run than ground-tie any day. Unless fear held them rooted, but desperation seemed to overcome all fear. Even Ren's fear of humans.

[FalconX]

Roxanne

Roxy was as still as she could possibly be. The subtle rise and fall of her chest and the slow blink of her eyes proved that she was indeed alive, and not a statue. Her brown eyes were filled with kindness, along with a spark of excitement and determination. A light breeze caught a single brown curl, blowing it back ever so slightly. Her gaze locked on them, studying them and trying to determine the best way to go about capturing them. She didn't want to traumatize them, but how else could she do it. Brown eyes continued to watch them, and she easily saw their need for food. Would they be willing to come to her if she gave them food? She didn't believe it was likely, but everything and anything was better than staying in this position. Her legs were already starting to complain. She shifted ever so slightly, putting her body weight on the other leg. A low crunch sounded as the pressure was applied to her other boot, the ground beneath giving ever so slightly.

The girl counted it as a good thing that the two hadn't up and run already. It may have been her imagination but she swore she saw a look of recognition in their eyes. A whinny cut through the air, coming directly from the colt. His attention was obviously on Wings. The mare gave a soft nicker in reply, a soft somewhat reassuring sounding note. Wings tossed her head, and watched the two equines from under her ebony forelock. Roxy watched the interaction with interests. She had thought that the two other horses would have felt threatened by Wings' presence, but it appeared to comfort them, if only a little. A low clucking sound came from Roxy's mouth, and she called her mare over in a soft voice. Wings' ears perked at the sound of her owner's voice. With a quiet snort, she plodded over at a slow walk. Stopping so that she was standing by Roxy's side.

With slow, precise movements she pulled an apple out of her jacket pocket. Hoping the food would entice them, and Wings would offer some reason for them to trust her. She wasn't sure if any of this would work. But she was determined to give it a try, to catch them without using force and a rope. Most wranglers would laugh at her attempt, but she had to. A sadness entered her eyes as she looked at them. Their mangy coats, and obvious poor health. She had to remove them from this life, wild and free wasn't always meant for every horse. Roxy stood, careful to make her movements not jerky, and not sudden. Holding the apple out, towards them. Wings reached out, sniffing the apple, and went to take a bite, with a grin she allowed her mare a small bite, before moving it slightly out of reach.