[Phase 2] Discovery

All was quiet at The Wolf’s Den. 

Pebble had her fluffy ears pricked for any sound and her eyes searched for any movement. It was terribly quiet — too quiet. The bleak night sky was dusty, with a few creeping clouds crawling across the sky, the slit of the moon betraying no predator tonight. The slate mare could not get a wink of sleep, her muscles tense as every crack of a stick or creak of a door spooked her. Her nostrils filled with an ugly, musky scent, one that she knew all too well: Wolves.

An anxious nicker escaped her. She looked to the right out of her small stable lean-to to see that the large herd surrounding this place were neither alert nor calm. It was as if they were waiting for something, something they had all seen before. Pebble could not shake the feeling that she was being watched, or worse, that she was being stalked. The fur on her back crawled as she began to pace around her little stall, stopping every few steps to perk up her ears and scout out the town. But she saw nothing.

The herd acted like zombies. Like wolves themselves. Pebble realized that the town always smelt of wolves and cougars and an amalgamation of other unidentifiable creatures, but now, it was the herd that smelt of animals. As if they were not entirely horses, but something stranger.

Suddenly, she heard something approaching — it crept towards her quietly, causing her to rear up and kick out at her stall door before she heard a familiar bark. It was smooth and deep, if not a little hoarser than yestermorn, perhaps a little on edge, but still calm and sympathetic. At once, she turned her head to him, her eyes adjusting to see his brown-striped fur and dark eyes. He seemed different tonight, but she sensed no malice from him, and as two quadrupedal friends of his approached, she was surprisingly… not surprised. Something about this wereman’s presence made the predators before her seem like friend, not foe. Then, she recognized the smell of these two animals, deep beneath their carnal scent — the veterinarian and farrier she had shooed away that evening. She took a look around and realized they were not the only ones around — this Arlo had a whole pack behind him. They stared at him expectantly, and for a moment, Pebble thought she might’ve been gobbled up right then, right there. But no one moved.

The herd moved in alongside the pack, like moths to a flame, each drawn to their own light. Though as beastly as they were, each animal seemed to recognize the horse that approached them, greeting them in their respective ways with nuzzles, playful nips, growls, and paws. As they settled, Arlo Beau unlocked the hinge to her stall, slowly opening the aged fence, and moving aside to let her leave. But Pebble did not dare move out of her little box. 

“Safe,” she heard an older mare whisper. “Safe man. Safe creatures.”

Without realizing it, a blue roan blanket appaloosa had craned her neck into Pebble’s stall, her amber eyes calm and motherly. With her reassurance, Pebble bowed her head, slowly coming out of the stall to meet Arlo. She gave him a sniff before gently placing her muzzle on his ragged fingers, allowing him to trail up her face and toward her ears. She pinned them – although she had placed trust in him at this moment, she still had boundaries she was unwilling to compromise. Understandingly, Arlo pulled his hand away, and it seemed like the hyena-man was grateful for the opportunity to pet her. Something in Pebble clicked — this half man, half animal had something in him that was innately trustworthy. Instead of the tentative anxiety she felt before, she now felt curious about him, following him around as he led his pack — and subsequently the herd — into the dark forest.

—

Arlo Beau, internally, was ecstatic. Regardless of what issues a horse had or how difficult a state they came to him in, it was always such a stunning moment whenever they take a hoof outside of their comfort zone. For Pebble and her apprehension to trust any person getting too close to her, especially her head, her opening up to him in such a special way made the aardwolf hopeful. With Pebble behind him, curious to see his next move, he led his family into the woods, where they ran and played the night away. Pebble was often just a bystander in their antics, but on occasion, she would participate as long as other animals respected her personal space. And it was. Despite her issues, Arlo noticed she was very adept at communicating her discomfort and giving lots of warnings before defaulting to more extreme means — something Arlo internally noted for later.

He waited until the afternoon the next day to visit Pebble again. Arlo let her stay outside of the stable that night to help her bond with the herd, since they don’t stable the horses anyways, letting them roam around their acres of field and forest freely. They always came back, and the herd would teach Pebble this, as each horse was bonded with a specific town person. He was excited to see who Pebble bonded to.

He saw the overo mare resting beside Midnight, an older, experienced mare who could have attitude but was still respectful of others. More often than not he would see her with newcomers, and it seemed to bring the newer horses peace to have a friend that knew what they were doing. Arlo barked at the two horses, and both of them lifted their heads, Midnight trotting over as the young Pebble sat up from her resting position. She seemed tired, but not exhausted — a good thing if he were to introduce her to vets and farriers. Along with Midnight at her side, he hoped today that he could make progress, especially as she seemed to trust easier than most. Arlo offered a little treat to both of them, and both mares took it with greed.

He untied a halter he had hooked to his tail, shaking the fluff out and stretching his tailbone to release the strain he put on it. It was a thin, worn down, dirty rope halter, and instantly, Pebble looked uneasy. 

“I promise that I won’t do anything to hurt you,” he cooed. Beside her, he saw Midnight step closer to Pebble, nibbling on her neck and grooming her fur to offer comfort. Although still anxious, this seemed to relax Pebble, and Arlo was able to slip the rope halter loose over her face. He did not dare tighten it yet.

Over the next few days, this process continued until she finally allowed him to secure the halter, eventually leading her around with Midnight still hanging around. One cooler afternoon, he tied her on a broken, rotting fence post, and introduced her to Billy — the vet — without any garbs or tools. It was important to let them get to know each other and build up trust as well before they started on anything else. Billy was able to pat her down and check over some of her old scars, which seemed to heal roughly, but otherwise, she seemed healthy if not a little underweight. After the werecst vet left came Louise, a werecoy herself, and a very capable, gentle farrier with tears of experience under her belt. Like Billy and Arlo, she had a coat of fur all around her body, her frame round and plump and short. 

Pebble would need shoes, but it would be such a dramatic experience that Louise did not want to attempt it yet. Instead, she preferred maintenance of Pebble’s hooves, and each day, she would come around to simply pick up the mare’s feet and get her used to different movements and positions Louise would put her in during different procedures. Billy, too, came around to supervise this, keeping her calm and loving on her. Interestingly enough, Pebble seemed to take quite the interest in Louise, which the werecoy seemed to absolutely love.

As spring came to a gentle end and roughly two weeks had gone by since Pebble’s arrival, the trio — that is, Arlo, Louise, and Billy — were watching as Pebble began to play and interact more with the herd. Midnight, while still hanging close to Pebble, gave her space and allowed her to grow socially.

“So?” Louise prompted, looking at Arlo with her bright eyes.

“So?” Arlo echoed, meeting her gaze.

“Do you think we could show her tomorrow? I want to keep her feet protected,” she noted. Billy nodded in approval.

“I think she’s ready,” the vet said. “She seems like she’s really calmed down.”

“Yeah,” Arlo agreed, thinking for a moment. “I think we can try. But let’s take it slow. I don’t want to scare her.”

The other two nodded in agreement, returning to silence for a moment. Eventually they dispersed to return to their respective duties, but each creature was proud of how far they had come so far, and Arlo was especially excited — yet anxious — to see how the next day would go.