Headless Horseman Hunt

“Why?” Gwen regarded the pitch black horse in front of her, the rider a menacing figure in black with a glowing jack-o-lantern tucked under his arm. Uiscefhuaraithe seemed to share a similar opinion on the matter, the blueberry Loshenka’s dark blue tail swishing in irritation. 

“Gwen…?” Adrian came walking up alongside her leading Butterfly. The Nordanner eyed the headless horseman skeptically, stomping their hooves. The dark of the coat was nearly lost in the shadows, though the green wing pattern still stood out. 

“Now is the time of the hunt!” The horseman’s voice boomed out, their black stallion rearing as the rider’s cape flared out dramatically against the full moon. 

Uiscefhuaraithe and Butterfly both backed away, pulling at their leads at the sudden loud sound. Neither of them spooked easily, but a headless horseman was a new scenario that neither of them were quite ready for. 

“And if we don’t want to hunt?” Adrian kept a firm grip on Butterfly, his free hand dropping to his sword. 

Gwen sighed, resting a hand on Uiscefhuaraithe’s white sabino marking. “You really don’t want to do this. Can we please just go about our nights?” 

The jack-o-lantern head swung towards the group, burning triangle eyes watching them. Or at least they figured it was watching them. “Now is the time for the hunt!” The words were repeated in the same booming voice. 

Uiscefhuaraithe snorted and tossed her head, blue eyes taking in the figure carefully even as she moved further away. 

“Well, what do you think?” Adrian looked at Gwen, running a hand along Butterfly’s orange streak. “Do we hunt or do we ignore it? It’s not like it’s exactly threatening us or anyone else yet.” 

Gwen looked at the headless horseman and then back to Adrian. “I think we hunt. That way we can at least run interference if it does decide to try and hunt something it shouldn’t.” 

Adrian shrugged and mounted Butterfly, the Nordanner seeming uncertain about the horseman but definitely interested in the prospect of a hunt. The mare danced, being unfamiliar with Adrian as a rider, but the two adjusted easily enough.

Gwen swung up onto Uiscefhuaraithe’s back, the Loshenka giving the fae a look that suggested the horse found this to be anything but a good idea. 

“Now we hunt!” The horseman boomed, the fire in the jack-o-lantern burning even brighter for a moment as the headless figure took off on his midnight black horse. 

Gwen and Adrian nudged Uiscefhuaraithe and Butterfly into motion almost simultaneously. The blueberry Loshenka and the butterfly Nordanner both raced to keep pace with the almost unnaturally fast horse of the Headless Horseman. 

The woods grew darker as they raced after the figure. Uiscefhuaraithe nearly missed a fallen log, the obstacle coming out of nowhere as the path turned. Butterfly, having seen the Loshenka nearly stumble, managed to take the jump easily enough. 

The Headless Horseman didn’t seem to care, and neither Adrian nor Gwen could figure out exactly what the individual was hunting. There was no one around, no sign of anyone around, and the path they were on led further into the woods. At this point the most likely game was deer or boar, and those odds were diminishing given the pace they were traveling at. Even if a game animal had been around they’d have just run right by it. Particularly in the nearly unnatural dark of the woods. 

Another bend in the woods and Gwen pulled Uiscefhuaraithe to a halt as the Horseman came to an abrupt stop. Butterfly and Adrian nearly crashed into them, the sharp stop just after the bend making all but a blind halt. 

A hunting horn sounded from seemingly nowhere, the low sound echoing in the woods. 

Gwen and Adrian looked at each other almost as Uiscefhuaraithe and Butterfly exchanged a concerned glance. The two horses didn’t see anything more to hunt than the rider did and yet that was very clearly the signal something had been marked. 

At the sound of the horn, the Headless Horseman took off yet again. This time down a narrow deer trail that was barely visible. At this point Adrian and Gwen were guiding their mares by the flickering light of the jack-o-lantern that served as the headless horseman’s head. 

The path grew narrower forcing Uiscefhuaraithe and Butterfly to slow as branches and bramble began to grow thicker. Gwen and Adrian didn’t urge them on even as the Horseman’s light grew further away. There was still no sign of prey, no animal or person in sight besides them. They’d have sworn they were the prey save the fact the Horseman had barely glanced their way at any point. Plus, they were following him and not him chasing them. The entire thing just felt strange. 

The deer trail suddenly opened into a clearing, the moon above alarmingly bright after the dark of the woods. The Headless Horseman was in the middle of the clearing, jack-o-lantern under his arm. The horse reared, Uiscefhuaraithe and Butterfly following suit much to Adrian and Gwen’s surprise. 

The Headless Horseman charged towards a nearby tree, the black hooves of his horse sending dirt and leaves flying. Uiscefhuaraithe and Butterfly refused to move as a cold wind swept through the clearing, and the Headless Horseman was just gone. Vanished as abruptly as they’d appeared. 

Gwen and Adrian both looked at each other as they patted at the neck of the respective mare they were riding. Uiscefhuaraithe kept trying to turn for home and take off. Butterfly seemed more interested in racing towards where the Headless Horseman had vanished. 

“Any idea what we were hunting?” Adrian backed Butterfly away from where the Headless Horseman had vanished. The Nordanner gave a huff of irritation but obeyed. 

“Nope. We were moving too fast for me to see anything and I’m not seeing anything now.” Gwen kept Uiscefhuaraithe steady, the Loshenka clearly just done with whatever had just happened. 

“I guess we can just chalk it up to the veil being thin right now and the tendency of strange things to happen in this area. It’s hardly the worst option and the apparition didn’t hurt anyone.” Adrian didn’t seem satisfied with that answer, letting Butterfly prance as the mare tried to move. 

“Didn’t hurt anyone this time. I’ll keep an eye on it and see what happens. Warn people away from the area until we know what's happening.” Gwen turned Uiscefhuaraithe back towards home. “Do we want to just hunt tonight anyway? It’s a pretty night for it.” 

Adrian shrugged and turned Butterfly, the mare clearly glad to be moving. “I don’t see why not. It’s not as if we’re likely to get any more answers right now, and I don’t think the Headless Horseman was interested in answering questions.” 

Gwen chuckled and together they all took off for an actual hunt. Whatever hunt the Headless Horseman had been so enthusiastic about had been remarkably unsatisfying.