I can sleep when I'm dead [ pailer ]

[luci]

some like beautiful, perfect, and pretty
I see the good in the bad and the ugly

It was with relative disregard that the young mare traveled. She'd left her homeland behind months ago, and hadn't stopped travelling since. Of course, she took breaks to explore the more interesting places she found. None, however, had managed to hold her interest for very long. So she simply kept going, just as she was now. Paying no mind to whether or not these lands were occupied or owned. Whether she were trespassing or interrupting. It didn't much matter to her either way. Besides, if someone did come stop her, at least it would be a chance to encounter another living creature. 

In her travels company had been sparse, and as someone who considered herself a bit of a social butterfly, it was very much a drag. She wasn't content to just skulk around in the shadows all day like her brother. She needed interaction, stimulation, excitement. Sloane had always thought that travelling, seeing the world, would be exciting and fulfilling. It hadn't been. Maybe she just hadn't gone to the right places. Or maybe it was just that her own company had grown ever so stagnant and loneliness ate away at her just as badly as the never-ending boredom did.

With those things in mind, she kind of hoped she was trespassing brazenly on some vast kingdom of many individuals. Whether they would accost her or welcome her, it wouldn't matter - she just needed something to happen already. The young mare heaved a heavy - perhaps overly dramatic - sigh and gave her horned head a half hearted toss. Maybe that was just being too optimistic. She wasn't sure where exactly one place ended and another began, but she'd left the mountains that morning and now found herself wandering aimlessly through forests, spotted and intercepted with brief openings of grassland. 

She could hear the water running nearby, somewhere close, but bothered not to actually track it down. Not right now, anyway. For now she would simply continue her rather aimless wandering on dry land. Maybe this was what purgatory was.

I need the volume one louder than ten,
put the pedal to the floor, needle into the red

[pailerification]

A large beast flaunted waywardly through the forest. He was a chestnut coloured gelding laced in leather, a green saddle pad, and green polo leg wraps; one of which had come loose and dangled half unraveled from a hind leg. He traveled with his white striped head held high, nose pointed to the sky, and pushed through the branches in a moose-like fashion. His knees lifted extravagantly high and footfalls placed mistakenly nearly each stride. He tripped and stumbled, swayed and rocked, bouncing off tree trunks while energetically snorting and snuffing along. The irons dangling from the saddle sides ricocheted off the trunks against his shoulders, ribs, and flanks. Often times getting caught which caused his body to jolt to one side. The force tangled his legs further each time and nearly fell down.

The bumbling brute was far too tall and graceful in appearance to be such a floppy mess. He was not used to this freedom. He was accustomed to being pulled around by his nose by a tiny feisty creature that carried a whippy stick. Or, this same creature would put a very hard and cold bar into his mouth and direct him from on top of his back. He could barely function without this guidance.

A chest strap rubbed at his fur as he vigorously moved forward. It burnt a bald patch beneath and eventually exposed a liquid bloody substance that melded into his foam-lathered body. He had certainly worked up a sweat. This caused the tiniest inkling of instinct to spark up inside of his senseless noggin. His ears perked to the sound of water and he began to stumble in that direction. The closer he got, the more he chomped at the bit in his mouth and tossed his head. His pace became bouncy in excitement and anticipation. The motions became so extreme that the looped reins flew over his crown. A front hoof caught the solid leather rope and in turn jerked his mug violently toward the earth. The chain of effect shifted his weight off balance and sent him careening through the forest in a graceless attempt to stay upright. Eventually the reins became looped behind one leg and significantly restricted his range of movement.

In a sudden burst, the chestnut colored tornado of frustration and panic whorled about the trees. He reared and thrashed, grunted and snorted, combatively floundering about. By the time he regained any sense, he realized he had an audience of one. He gasped for air through his nostrils. His front legs planted themselves but were splayed far apart like the stance of a fresh born colt. His hind legs were tangled in the loose polo and he was immobilized out of exhaustion and sheer physical restriction. His eyes lolled about to look at the grey mare. “Um.. Hey-Hi..Ahem..Hello.” He attempted to say nonchalantly while his voice fluctuated between high and low tones with a slightly feminine tinge between labored breaths. He attempted a goofy smile even though his mouth hung open at the lowest corner as blood and foam dripped from his chin.

[luci]

I got a demon in my soul and a voice in my head,
It's saying go, go, go! I can sleep when I'm dead

Whether this was truly purgatory or not was a question that would have to be further thought on another time. For now, an interruption came. One that was started with the sounds of something crashing through the underbrush. The grey mare halted, hoisting her large, horned head high. Her ears swiveled sharply forward in interest. Breath was held sharply in her deep chest. What was it? What could it be? The possibilities were endless and ever so exciting. Pale, pink eyes remained fixated ahead, toward the brush where she could hear something still rampaging through.

It could have been an angry bear for all she cared at this point. Whatever it was, it was more exciting than endless nothingness. So she would stand her ground, for really, there was no other option. The anticipation might have killed her, but she didn't have to wait much longer. From the trees crashed another equine. A flurry of movement, of struggle. Sloane couldn't tell exactly with what. Amid the thrashing she caught brief hints of something green on him, straps of some sort and a glint of what looked metallic. It was all going on too quickly for get a good look at all of it, though, so she simply stood still. Entranced.

What the hell? After several seconds of contentedly and curiously watching him flail he finally stopped. The flustered male peered at her from his uncomfortable looking position and she met his gaze without faltering. “Um.. Hey-Hi..Ahem..Hello.” he stammered, and she was surprisingly quiet for a moment. An unusual thing of Sloane to be sure, but it took her a few seconds to gain her composure. Her roman nosed head was given a slight, curious, tilt as she watched him. A lopsided grin twitched at her striped lips before the mare replied. "Hello."

She took a deep breath, her heartbeat slowing from its' brief frenzy. What was all of that? Her gaze traced over the binding straps that kept him rather incapacitated. She'd never seen anything like it, and she wasn't sure what to make of it. Whatever it was, she had to know. Maybe she could help him, she certainly didn't think he'd reject the offer, at any rate. With her decision made she ventured toward him, reaching out her pierced nose and bumping it to his sweaty neck without hesitation, paying no mind to whether or not he might be opposed to random strangers touching him while he was so restricted.

Her attention then turned to the thing strapped around his back, the mid-day sun glinting off the metal piece that swayed at his sides. She reached to touch it, giving a short snort when the metal of her septum ring clanked against the metal of the stirrup. "What is this?" She inquired, glancing back at him and giving her head a shake. As her thickly braided mane settled back against her neck her grin widened. "What kind of weird shit are you into, buddy?" A short but amused laugh followed her own question.

Maybe this wasn't the best time for humor, he did seem to be in a bit of a bind here. But then, she had never been too good at gauging those things. Whatever, it wasn't like he was in much position to complain about whatever help he had found. Regardless to how he might have reacted or what he might have said, she had made her decisions already and was going to act on them. The mare reached forward, bumping her lips to his cheek without care and tugging at the ones on his head lightly at first before biting the one that looped behind his ears and pulling at it.

There's a sonic revelation bringing me to my knees,
and there's a man down below who needs my sympathy

[pailerification]

The steed, who was tall but not taller than his new found savior, stood relatively still besides the slight growing and fading quiver of exhilaration with this adventure. He twitched at her first touch, more out of shock of the spark that fluttered through him when she did so than fright. “Uh-uh-um..” He stuttered some more, trying to get some wit about him.

The clinking sound between her nose and the iron made him jump and he twisted his sights a bit to try to get a better view of what was happening. Blood had been rushing to his head and he began to sway as though he’d collapse. Her words shook him out of the dizzy spell. “I am not into anything!” He snorted, appalled that she suggest that he awoke that morning to get himself into this attire. “Ist de menschen. Zis is their thing!” Awkward bits of accent decorated parts of his speech as the German word for, ‘humans,’ made it’s appearance. Little did the gelding know, most of this wilderness would have no clue what humans were as much as he would be shocked to find this horse had horns jutting out her forehead and two more wrapping around her cheeks. This would not be noticed yet, as he was in quite the jam and far distracted from his senses.

“Do help a fellow out?” He suggested. It was clear he did not find any humor in her previous statement and urged toward the most important matter at hand. She was already in attempts. “Ouch! Hey!” He stated, twitching away from her lips at his cheek. She reached for the correct area to remove the bridle but the bumbling oaf began trying to help. “Yes that’s it,” He remarked and leaned into her. His front legs shifted a miniscule amount but his hinds attempted to actually take steps. He had to rear up a half stance to keep from falling against her and in a series of extremely uncouth stumbles along with the words: “Oh—oops—uh oh…sorry lady…” The two were suddenly joined with the nose band of the bridle ripped loose from his nose yet still attached to the bridle and now tangled around the long horn that graced the mare’s face.

“Uh..” The chestnut gelding uttered bashfully. His head was lifted as far as the reins caught round his foreleg would allow. The two were currently stuck staring each other down through one eye each. Not realizing exactly how strange it was that this other horse had horns, he simply stared at her with his ears perked and an embarrassed vibe emanating from his very core. “Here if we both pull our heads away at the same tim—” He started his mission before even thinking, jolting his head away from hers with all of his might. The extent of force ended briefly and caused his head to slingshot back into hers, his cheek colliding with the boney creation protruding from her head. He swayed in one circular motion for a moment before his legs finally gave out. Thud! He hit the ground. SNAP! The noseband snapped off of the bridle. Whumpf! His lungs released any air that was within. A gash on the side of his head began to usher droplets of blood forth into the world. “Arrrghh..” The Hanoverian horse grumbled as a headache set in. He shook himself and blinked his eyes rapidly. Instinct told him to rise and stretched his polo wrapped legs outwards to start trying to heave himself back up to his feet. The back legs were still tangled and one of the front wraps had now come loose as well. Disaster was the only clause that decorated this guy’s future.

[luci]

I ride the lightning, roll with the thunder
I'm going down, down, down with my sisters and brothers

“I am not into anything!” It was the first actually constructed sentence he'd spoken. How upset he seemed with the accusation was found only to be amusing, and not taken as any sort of sign to back off. Before she had a chance to articulate a response to that he'd belted out something else she didn't understand. “Ist de menschen. Zis is their thing!” So he was crazy. Well, at least that was cleared up. The young mare gave an amused snort, flashing him a cheeky grin and quirking a brow. "Hey man, no judgement here. You do you." At least he hadn't been too offended by her blatant fucking with him, next urging her to continue on her rescue. Though, even if he had been particularly offended it wasn't like she would have just left him alone anyway.

No, she had been seeking out something to do for far too long, and she wouldn't sacrifice her freedom from boredom so quickly. “Ouch! Hey!” His complaints were ignored as she continued to try to fumble with the leather strapping despite his complaints and flinching. Maybe she might have been successful. Maybe, if he hadn't started stumbling around and flailing like an idiot. Before she had much time to evaluate what he was doing he'd thudded against her, thrashing and struggling.

Sloane jerked her head up, leaning her weight back on her haunches and taking a half step back only to find herself bound. There was no give, only a pressure holding her heads forwards. She leaned back with a gradual pressure, pink eyes narrowing slightly. “Here if we both pull our heads away at the same tim—” His words weren't even finished and she knew this was a bad idea. She was a bit of an expert on that front, after all. "uHH," she'd started, but was given no chance to finish saying anything. As soon as he started to pull she closed her eyes and clenched her jaw, bracing herself. Whether it snapped and released them or went somehow further awry, she knew something was about to happen. The pressure on her thick, curved horn increased and then suddenly vanished, just in time for her to crack open one eye and then promptly close it again as he smashed into the side of her head.

"fUCK" She pulled away from the impact just as he fell toward the ground. The mare nearly gave herself whiplash when the leather snapped and the pressure was suddenly gone, stumbling back but managing to catch herself before she bit the dirt like he had. The young mare gave a vaguely indignant huff, giving her thick head a shake before peering down at him. It was lucky that the larger set of her horns were exceptionally thick and sturdy, if he'd managed to snap one off she might have found herself with no choice but to gut him with the remaining ones.

Her momentary frustration was let go about as quickly as it had come. She gave a quiet sigh before looking down at the heap of tangled limbs and leather. "You know, I know I said no judgement and all.." she trailed off, lowering her nose toward his shoulder and the straps there with a quiet huff. "But maybe you should consider other hobbies, man." Her gaze trailed to the long piece that had tangled around his legs. Maybe she needed to get that out of the way first, before he killed himself and her in his chaotic thrashing.

She reached toward it, pausing before acting this time and granting him a sideways glance and a bit of a warning, her pierced ears tipping back. "Maybe try to just stay still this time." With the hopes that this time he'd just stay still she grabbed the rein in her mouth. It wasn't as thick as some of the other straps of leather, so this seemed simple enough. She started with a steady pull, and then a sudden jerk, maintaining pressure until it snapped.

I fell in love with their darkest parts,
stand on the side of the wild at heart

[pailerification]

The lump of tack and fur felt a variety of negative emotions building up within him. He kept trying to bundle them together and set them aside. He kept trying to focus on the lady that had so graciously chosen to help him. He tried with all his might, but he could not help allowing the frustration of containment to get the best of him. A fierce snort pushed through his nostrils in replacement of an offensive remark that had otherwise crossed his mind in reply to the mare’s humor sided words.

The stallion’s body began to quiver. He tried to retain the aggression that scraped and clawed at the interior walls of his skull. The humans were constantly trying to collect him, control him; force him to fit their perfect shape of ideal body form. Even in freedom of them he was still restrained by their contraptions.

The grey creature urged for him to stay still at a time where he most wanted to start hurling himself about the forest in an uncalculated mess of destruction that sought to free his self of the bondage. He used that fantasy to distract from the state he was in. The more intent he was on staying still, the more his entire body began to quake with anger and anticipation. It was as if he could only do the opposite of what the smarter horse suggested. He drifted so far away mentally that he could only faintly feel and hear the reins being wittily taken apart to free up his forelegs.

It was the metal in his mouth colliding with his teeth that caused him to snap back to reality. A chestnut eyelid peeked open to find he could move his forelegs freely. “Oh danke, danke schöne faire Dame!” He cried out in a most awkwardly flamboyant tone. He started trying to leap to his hooves, which brought him to the discovery that his hind lower legs were bound by the green fleece wrap. The moment of bliss fluttered from his face and an expression of sheer horror took over. He now stood with his front hooves firmly planted, but only one back hoof was on the earth. The other was tangled against it and instinctively twitching and half kicking, dying to be free to aid in balance. His hind end began to sway and her words about finding new hobbies echoed in his mind.. He wasn’t sure if that joke made him feel a bit more light hearted about the situation or if it infuriated him further.. He flashed a hopeless expression at her, as if to say, “I don’t think I’ll be able to control my next actions..” His quivering body sent tense vibrations into the atmosphere feeling like a time bomb ticking away..