Reuse Reanimate Recycle

Gwen and Cass stood regarding their horses for a long moment. The demonkin and the fae didn’t really get along, but fate seemed to have decided that at least for the moment they were going to have to play nice.

“Okay, but why….?” Gwen regarded the three horses out in the pasture. Or was it two horses and an undead horse? She really wasn’t certain at this point and wasn’t sure she wanted to know. All of both their herds were happy and healthy, so where the other one came from was beyond her. 

“I’m going to be blaming your horse for this.” Cass’s voice practically purred in annoyance, the demonkin’s yellow eyes clearly showing her displeasure. 

“Mine?” Gwen shot Cass a look. “Oh, absolutely not. I’m more than willing to accept that this is the doing of both our horses, but I won’t be putting the blame solely on Butterfly. That’s just unreasonable.” 

“Well, for all Reaper’s ominous name, he’s hardly the type.” Cass started walking out into the field and towards the horses and the reanimated horse. 

Gwen took a breath, knowing that arguing wasn’t really going to be productive. Ms. Sinclair had a knack for getting under her skin, and the demonkin knew it. 

As they approached the two living horses and the reanimated one, the situation somehow became even less clear. 

Butterfly was sniffing around the horse curiously, the Nordanner’s green markings standing out against the dark of the night. Given her dark black coat, it almost gave her the appearance of two floating butterfly wings. 

Reaper was harder to see. The patchwork Loshenka was a mix of chestnut plum and sooty black plum which left them all but invisible in the dark of the night. In many ways he seemed more like a shadow of a horse than a horse.

Both the Loshenka and the Nordanner turned to their respective riders, their looks suggesting they were just as confused by the presence of the undead horse as anyone. 

“Seems it’s not either of their doing.” Cass patted Reaper’s dark nose and brushed their hand along the patchwork of the stallion’s neck. 

“No, it would seem not. Unless they both suddenly got very good at acting.” Gwen ran a hand through Butterfly’s black mane before running a hand along the orange dun stripe on the mare’s back. 

The undead horse tipped its head, sniffing at the newcomers. It was well constructed and its movements almost natural. There was just a small stiffness to it that set off an uncanny feeling. Its eyes were dark and bright, sparkling with the magic that was keeping it animated. 

Reaper circled around Cass, putting the demonkin between him and the odd horse. He didn’t exactly seem afraid, but it was clear the stallion didn’t care for the undead horse being in the field. Likely because of the flies the creature seemed to be attracting. 

Butterfly moved back, her dark tail swishing. It was certainly a far less dramatic movement than the one being made by the unnaturally long and curly tail Reaper had, but there was an audible whoosh to it. 

Gwen moved a little closer to the reanimated horse. There were a handful of stitches on it, and a few magic runes she could see, but otherwise it looked almost natural. Well, maybe that was an exaggeration, but it wasn’t the worst reanimated creature she’d seen. 

Cass rested a hand on her sword, patting Reaper’s side gently with her free one. “Well, wherever it came from it can’t stay here. I wouldn’t mind a reanimated horse if I knew where it came from and what magic was being used to sustain it, but an unknown undead horse is simply out of the question. Ms. Seren, you tend to take in strays. How about you take it back to your stables?” 

Butterfly lodged an immediate objection, the Nordanner stopping her hooves in protest. Gwen moved closer to the mare and patted her neck. “I do take in strays and I won’t let it roam the roads unsupervised for a number of reasons. However I’m not sure housing it with the rest of my herd is viable. Butterfly objects and I think a few of my others might as well. You've got more room here.” 

“Ms. Seren, as I said, unknown magic is a dealbreaker.” Cass watched as Reaper moved to circle around the undead horse again, sniffing at the creature. This time the stallion didn’t pull away. Instead, it nickered at Butterfly as if something was interesting. 

Butterfly looked at Gwen and then moved to join Reaper, the two huffing and then finally offering the reanimated horse a tentative touching of the noses. 

The reanimated horse seemed pleased by this. It had been largely still for most of the encounter, not even breathing. Mind you, an undead horse probably didn’t need to breathe. Though what had changed to make the two other horses unafraid of it neither Gwen nor Cassandra was sure. 

The Nordanner and the Loshenka exchanged one more look before tossing their heads and running off into the field, the undead horse following them. It wasn’t quite as graceful at first, but it seemed like moving reawakened some lingering muscle memories and its movements soon smoothed out. 

As the trio circled around Gwen gave a resigned sigh. “Well, I guess I’ll take it. Worst case I’ll make a separate pasture for it and Butterfly to graze in… Do undead horses even graze?” Gwen looked at Cass curiously. She might not like the demonkin, but she could at least make an effort to be polite. 

Cass shrugged. “I’ve no idea, but doubtful. I’d assume it doesn’t eat nor require much care beyond maybe shelter during the rains. If it even needs that. You’d have to ask a necromancer the specifics.” 

“Well, at least I know a few of those…” Gwen sighed. Someone was going to yell at her for this, she just knew it. Taking in a random undead horse would probably qualify as reckless. 

The clouds pulled back to reveal an almost full moon, the sudden light casting the three horses in a pale white wash. Butterfly and her dark coat and green butterfly wings, Reaper and his still mottled black and nearly black coat, and the undead creature who seemed to be perhaps a greenish shade of black. 

“At least it's not wasteful.” Cass gestured out to the field. “Reanimating a horse isn’t the worst option I’ve seen.” 

“Something like that, I suppose. I think I heard a saying once from a necromancer I know…. Reuse, reanimate, recycle… or something like that.” Gwen shrugged, deciding it was safe enough to let Butterfly run with Reaper and the reanimated one for the moment. 

“That sounds about right for those I’ve met as well.” Cass whistled, the signal clearly recalling Reaper as the stallion raced back to her without much hesitation. “I don’t want the undead one in my barn, but there’s a small shelter in the far field that it can be put in. You’ll be leaving with it in the morning, yes?” 

“I suppose so.” Gwen had seriously been considering leaving that night, but knowing precisely nothing about the undead horse did mean that staying somewhere safe was a little more practical.

Butterfly and the undead horse seemed curious at Reaper’s sudden departure and came wandering over. The Nordanner butted against Gwen’s shoulder affectionately, her green nose soft to the touch. The undead horse decided to follow suit to a slightly more aggressive bump, though it didn’t seem intentional. Gwen patted both of their noses. In for a penny, in for a pound. 

“I’ll get them settled then and leave in the morning.” Gwen gave Cass a small nod of thanks.

“Good. See to it you do.” Cass turned, Reaper following her obediently. The Loshenka did give the two other horses a brief glance over his shoulder but made no move to rejoin them. 

“Right, so I’m going to need a name for you I guess.” Gwen started walking, hoping the undead horse would get the hint. She hadn’t exactly come prepared for this scenario so she didn’t have even a rope with her. 

The reanimated horse didn’t quite seem to know what to do, but once Butterfly moved so did it. 

“Well, waste not want not….” She gave the reanimated horse a sideways glance. It wasn’t bad looking, just reanimated. “I guess…”