Gotta help me [O U T],,

[vegas]

SHUT UP AND PUT YOUR MONEY WHERE YOUR MOUTH IS
that's what you get for waking up in V E G A S

,, The place smelled unfamilier. Two year old shoved his muzzle upward, as if the sky wasn't as high as it played up to be. Snort rang loud and clear in the dead silence. It was evident the area he was in was empty, and he was alone. He was clean for a mustang. His pink-skinned body was pure white, but patches of mud caked his shoulders, barrel, neck, and even his cheeks. On the top of his rump was a chestnut spot. So yes, he was a paint. But the splotch of color was the only marking that interrupted his flawless white, patternless body. His left, ice blue eye was nearly white, and glazed over. One look said the young colt was blind. His right eyes wasn't nearly as bad, but, that was because he was only three quarters of the way blind in that eye. White mane bounced carelessly on his neck. And with a swish of his dull, dusty tail, the colt moved forward.

,, Surprise flashed across the colts face when cold splashed onto his forelegs and a few droplets splattered his chest. His head was flung in the air, mane a flurry of snow, and he reared. Still growing forelegs struck toward the stormy sky. Lightning streaked, and thunder rolled. Somehow, the strip of light ventured into the colt's line of vision, and panic raced through his veins. The the blind paint, the blind, two year old paint bolted.

,, Water continued to drench Vegas as he galloped about knee deep into the rushing stream. A stone slashed the tender skin under his hoof, ripping it open, leaving red to pour into the clear water as the colt whinnied his panic and pain, and crashed down into the creek. When he clattered to his hooves, soaked and trembling, Vegas stood with a gashed shoulder, and a torn frog. In a quick effort, the white and chestnut paint stumbled from the creek bed and onto dry land, limping all the way.

GET UP AND SHAKE THE GLITTER OFF YOUR CLOTHES NOW
thats what you get for waking up in V E G A S

[tbugbrown]

SUMMER DOUGHERTY

Thunder rolled menacingly in the distance, lightning flashing in Summer's blue eyes as she nervously clenched the reins leading her chestnut mare back to her distantly parked trailer. "Damn weatherman!" she hissed quietly to herself, worried about how quickly she could get back to the safety of her truck. Not only was the threatening storm making her nervous, but Solo, her mare, was growing more and more antsy as the nasty weather became apparently to the equine. "Sssh, its gunna be okay, girl," she whispered, leaning forward to mutter the assuring words into the chestnut's ear. The horse grunted in return as the pair continued to bounce along through the wide field. Though the taller they were only increased their chances of being hit in the vast environment, Summer couldn't beat the conditions on foot. Her mare's long leg's were her only hope of getting there quickly, even if it did heighten their troubles.

Sprinkles began to fall upon the girl's head as she pushed her companion forward, only making her want to be home even more. But as she pranced along briskly, her gaze caught sight of four-legged creature. A horse, white and bleeding. Though her mind was set on moving along, her heart ached for the colt, and as she neared the pitiful thing, she drew her mare to a stop. She quickly slung her leg over the mare's side, removing her feet from the stirrups as she hopped to the ground. "Stay, Solo," she directed the frisky Arabian, only being able to wish that she would stay put. The mare seemed to comprehend the message, though she danced skittishly in her place. Turning away from her horse, she cautiously made her way over to the frightened, pale horse. She now noticed his foot was bleeding as well, also taking note of a small paint spot on his rump. She smiled weakly, whistling quietly to gain the animal's attention. "Hey sweetie," she cooed, "Look at you... Poor fella." She took a few more slow steps closer, all before pausing. He could flee, or he could stay. He was obviously feral, and she didn't want to end up getting herself killed by the wild beast. She stood still, calming standing before the equine, waiting for a response.

[vegas]

,, The voice rang clear in his white ears. He froze, pink nostrils flaring red now. His barrel heaved with the effort it took to take in the gulps of air he needed to function. He arched his boa constrictor of a neck tightly, muscles bunched, tight, ready to spring him forward, whether the path ahead was open or not. His shoulder twitched, injured foreleg having the weight shifted off of it to the uninjured limb, in an feeble attempt to release as much pain as possible. When the crooning voice called out to him again, he flinched, body shivering in both fear and pain.

,, He heard the footsteps halt meer yards from him. Was the colt smart? Yes. But was he blinded mentally, as the moment? Yes. The paint turned toward the comforting voice, pivoting on the good limb, useless eyes blinking toward the girl. He could smell her now. Hesitation was evident as the colt stared aimlessly ahead of himself, not directly at Summer, not directly at anything. He breathed in her scent, before edging forward, toward where he thought she was. His ears pricked nervously in her direction, haunches still locked into the poisiton in which he was ready to launch away. When one step sent a jolt like a bullet up his right front leg, he halted immediately, lifting his head taller abruptly. When the hurt subsided, he stretched his muzzle toward the girl, taking in her scent as he did so.

[tbugbrown]

SUMMER DOUGHERTY

Summer stood in front of the ghostly equine with grave care, making sure not to get too close as the poor colt didn't seemed to be very scared and in a great deal of pain. And even as thunder rolled in her eardrums, warning her to leave, she remained on the spot, holding her breath as the young horse stepped closer. Yet, he froze after a few steps toward her, as if in pain from his injuries. Sighing, Summer knew that the horse would be a mess to handle, and she had no idea how she was intended to ever do anything with him. He had no hopes of loading the trailer, especially if he were to be accompanied by her mare. But, she didn't have the heart to leave him out in an oncoming storm in such a state. He would die if infection got to that wound, not to mention the troubles caused by the bleeding as well. She would get help for him somehow, someway.

Summer grimaced weakly as she continued to think, her eyes glazed with concern for the bloodied animal as he managed to stretch his head in her direction. "That's it boy... I won't hurt 'ya... It's alright..." She went on sweetly, keeping her voice at a soothing volume in order to keep him from spooking. She took a few slow paces nearer to the paint, stretching her hand out to let him further investigate her scent. "See? I'm nothing to be afraid off big fella..." she chirped, her outstretched arm keeping the only distance between her and the wild creature.

[vegas]

,, A light drizzle began to dampen the developing two year old mustang. This did not startle him for an unknown reason. A good one at that. His ears pinned to his poll, in an attempt to block water from getting into his ears, but his mane focus was on the unfamilier, helpful, and comforting smell ahead of him. She wasn't another horse, though she had the vague smell of one on her. One Vegas could smell very faintly. When it spoke again, he hesitated, ears flicking forward slightly, as if understanding her was feesable.

,, The paint felt her prescense, as well as heard her footfalls grow and travel closer to him. He stretched his muzzle out further at the same time. His velvety lips bumped her hand, and he jerked back, head high, but his hooves remained painfully in place, there were shattering few moments as the colt debated whther running was smart, or if running would be useless. For around three precious, breakable minutes, the colt slowly reached out one more time, blowing hot air on her skin. His breath trembled slightly when he nosed her hand with a heaving sigh, muscles relaxing... Kind of.

[tbugbrown]

SUMMER DOUGHERTY

Giving a quick, concerned glance toward the sky, Summer frowned as the raindrops began to fall a bit harder than before. Oh, what was she supposed to do? Leave this dazed horse out in the rain with his injuries? Or was there more that she could do for the colt? Surely he wouldn't allow her to lead him anywhere closer to safety; after all, he was a wild animal no matter how much Summer wished otherwise. It'd be a miracle to even slip some sort of rope around his neck. It was a split situation, her head going one direction and her heart another. The poor thing could possibly die if not treated to, but how would she ever get him to treatment? With a gruff sigh, the blonde shut her blue eyes for a moment, trying to think the matter in her hands through thoroughly. But, a fuzzy touch to her hand made her eyes grow wide once more in alert. There the colt stood, his muzzle resting gently under the soft touch of her hand. Summer smiled, her pleasure in seeing the equine cooperate exceeding her other woes.

"See? I'm harmless..." she breathed in a quiet voice, "Now wait there, bud." Slowly, she withdrew her hand from his warm nose, backing up a few steps before turning around cautiously. With continuous glances back at the colt, she went back to her mare, who was still standing in her spot, dark eyes watching carefully as if she were inspecting the situation. The mare released a snort of displeasure and impatience, her dislike of her surroundings apparent though she managed to obey her owner with decency. "S'alright, Solo. Bare with me," she told her chestnut in a hushed voice, working her way into a saddle bag on the Arabian. Her gaze scanned over the contents briskly, all before snatching up a lead rope she had stored in it. As well as some apple slices she'd bagged for Solo. Bribery never hurt. Swinging around on her heels, she walked through the rain back to the youthful equine, a growling thunder looming in the distance as she did so. She quickened her pace just a tad, whistling lightly to regain his attention. "Back," she said in a kind tone, removing one of the apples from the bag all before holding it up to the paint's nose, waiting to see what his reaction would be. "Eat this. It's good."

[vegas]

,, Her words came again, the little white stud colt stood a rather sturdy thirteen three hands, or somewhere around that. He'd probably mature a good fourteen one or two hands, muscle wise, he'd fill out alot more. The colt deeply resembled a quarter horse, with shorter, firmer legs, and small, hardy hooves. His head was refined, and had a vague dish in his forehead, making him appear as if he had Arabian lineage, yet he didn't. His chest would broaden with age. His shoulders were lower, sloping smoothly. His barrel appeared malnouirshed, and it probably was. His haunches were stronger than some horses. Than most horses. He bobbed his head as he felt her touch leave him alone. A worried nicker vibrated from his vocal cords and he tossed his head higher as his comfort object left him alone.

,, It was moments before Summer was back, but it seemed like hours to the lonely, blind colt. He trembled now, as the drops grew bigger and fell harder and faster. The colt had a problem with growing extra hair, meaning he stayed sleek all year roung, but cold and rain presented a problem, as he chilled easily. The cold fruit was pressed to his lips. He pondered the thing, taking a thoughtful lick of the tart, edible object. Oh! It was good! He took it from her hand speedily, so she had no choice to steal it away from him, chewing contently until the fruit had dissolved into his stomach.

[tbugbrown]

SUMMER DOUGHERTY

Summer's grin widened as the shivering colt accepted her offer. Ah, so he wasn't too frightened of her. In fact, he seemed to be quite welcoming of her company. Perhaps the young horse had some hope of becoming tame someday? Though, she'd begun to notice how glazed the creature's eyes remained, and how he seemed a bit unsure in everything he did. There seemed to be something peculiar about his cloudy stare, as if he weren't ever truly looking in any direction. This worried Summer briefly, only meaning more troubles down the road. But for now, she settled that he was suitable for capture. Light guilt fretted within her at the thought of taking the horse's freedom from him, though she knew he would only suffer if left in his state out here. Summer quickly abandoned her last feelings of uncertainty. She had to get the colt to some sort of medical attention, and that she was positive of now. Giving a nervous glance at the raining sky, and then over to her mare, she knew her rescue mission would had to be carried out as soon as possible.

Summer slowly moved her hand from where it rested below his muzzle, fiddling with the lead rope slung over her arm. She made a loop of it, all before presenting the object to him. "Here boy, take a whiff of this," she breathed gently to her pale companion. She wanted him to at least get comfortable with the strange object before doing anything with him, as she had to keep reminding herself that this gentle equine was in fact wild even with his docile demeanor. She gently stroked the rope against the stallion's cheek, allowing him to familiarize himself with it a bit better. And after a brief moment of doing so, she began to move the rope over his head, making her movements gentle and her grip loose to allow quick retreat in case he would protest. She prayed he would accept her actions as help rather than threat, though she kept her guard high.

[vegas]

,, The object was held up to his delicate muzzle. It had a musty smell. Old, maybe? The young stalion stretched his muzzle, brushing the smooth, nylon texture. Curousity brought him to nip the thing, but he pulled back when it was lifted away. Thats when it brushed against his cheek. He jerked away from it, spinning away from her, his eyes blinked wildly, even though they couldn't see. For moments he stood facing to the left of her before he returned to face her directly. His muscles trembled, and his fatigued, injured leg shook with pain and panic.

,, Moments after he had calmed slightly, the object was lifted up. It brushed his cheek again, yet he stood. it touched his jaw and he trembled slightly harder. It progressed over his head, and moved into his range of vision. The little that he had. And thats when he saw the rope. And it wasn't his fault it resembled so closely a snake in the stormy darkness. He shook his head violently with a panicked whinny and rocked back on his haunches in an attempt to tear away from it before it could take hold of him. He lifted his white torso as high as his thirteen two hands allowed him, hooves striking aimlessly, as if they could attack the snake. As if the colt could kill to unanimated rope. As if the colt was strong enough to do it.

[tbugbrown]

SUMMER DOUGHERTY

Panic ripped through Summer's mind as the colt became startled by the rope. As he let out a whinny of distress, she immediately released the leadrope. Instincts told her that much. The thin object hadn't yet made it over the stallions ears, which sent it tumbling to the ground as he shook and rattled his head. But Summer wasn't interested in retrieving it. She was too busy cowering as the wild animal lifted from the earth, his hooves flying up into the air, lashing out blindly. Fearfully throwing her arms up over her head, the blonde girl watched the young horse through the gaps in her arms, barely being able to scurry back a few steps before he landed. Summer held her breath as several moments passed. She had just put herself into a near death situation and was frankly left scared stiff, but a bit of her sense beckoned to her. She was obviously going to fast for him; that was why he'd reacted violently. He had the right to be so terrified of what she was trying to do. She sighed, closing her eyes to think for a brief second to think of what to do for the injured creature. The rain was pattering down upon her head, and thunder still rolled in the dark sky.

"S-Sorry buddy," she murmured gently, doing her best to soothe the equine, "I'm didn't mean to scare you... Come on now, I won't hurt you." Summer approached him with great care, taking light steps and moving slowly. With an outstretched arm, she brushed her hand against his pale muzzle, stroking his nose with long pets. She couldn't spook him like that again, because next time her head could be in the trajectory of his defensive kicking.