Cinnamon and Foal

Adrian dismounted Damask Disguise, brushing his pure white hair back and securing it into a leather tie as the rain cascaded down his face. He was glad he’d left his heavier armor inside. As it was his simple blue tunic and shirt were soaked through and his tan breeches were at least two shades darker from the water. 

Damask seemed more annoyed by the rain than anything. The dominant white, slate stallion shook the water off of himself, or tried to. His coat looked a bit like someone had dumped a bucket of grey paint over him and then streaked it down his side. Somehow, the water running down him added to the effect. The stallion’s yellow eyes turned to him in annoyance, stomping their front hooves into the mud with enough force to get spatters of dirt on both of them. 

“We came out because there was a loud crash and trouble, so don’t give me that.” Adrian patted the horse’s slate and white neck before making sure the saddle and tack was secure. The stallion had the tendency to inhale before someone put a saddle on him, so the elf had learned to always double check. It was a good habit to have anyway. 

One of Applewood’s workers came running by, stopping just short of hitting the pair and blinking rain out of her face. “The fence at the back of the pasture got broken. We’re missing a couple of mares and foals. If you two can help, it’d be appreciated.” 

Adrian nodded and swung up into the saddle of the tall loshenka, the stallion's grey and white tail swishing in a mix of annoyance and anticipation. He was always at his best when there was work, and locating missing horses was work the slate stallion could get behind. 

The pasture was good sized and full of people already moving to fix the fence and locate the missing horses. 

“That way! Towards the woods! We think one of the pairs went that way!” One of the workers called over the storm. The rumbles of thunder and the flashes of lightning making it hard to determine who exactly was speaking to him. 

Adrian nodded in the direction of the speaker and set Damask off towards the woods at a steady pace. The field was muddy and the trails into the woods were covered in sticks and debris from the first major gust of the storm. Fortunately, Damask was sure-footed and unlikely to spook even with the sounds of the storm and the strange shadows cast by strikes of lightning. 

Sticks and downed branches made parts of the trail unpassable, forcing Adrian and Damask to chance moving further into the woods. Tracking was already near impossible given the amount of rain and low visibility. Tracks or signs of passage would have been washed away almost immediately, or buried or obscured beneath the blowing debris. 

Damask backed quickly away as a branch from one of the nearby trees came crashing down into the trail in front of them. Adrian kept his seat easily, redirecting the stallion onto what appeared to be a well traveled deer trail. The intent was to stay on it just long enough to avoid the downed branch now blocking the trail. If the weather was better he probably would have just backed up the stallion and jumped it, but at this point the mud was deep enough he didn’t want to chance it if there was an alternative. 

As they rounded the deer trail and back up towards the main path, the faint sound of a horse’s neigh could be heard over the rain and wind. Adrian pulled Damask to a halt and listened as the stallion tossed his head in displeasure, his yellow eyes watching the woods and the storm cautiously. 

The sound came again, along with what could only be a frantic cry from a foal. It seemed to be coming from further up the trail, though the rain was coming down fast enough even through the canopy to see anything clearly. 

Adrian brought Damask up onto the trail and headed towards the sound. It didn’t take long to locate the source of the sound, the mare and foal trapped between two fallen trees and a tangle of branches.

A flash of light revealed the mare the clearest, her hazelnut coat with splashed white legs and a white snowcap. The whites of her eyes were clearly visible as she tried to find a way out of the confounding maze of branches. 

A second flash of lightning revealed her foal just a bit behind her. Where she couldn’t fit through the branches, the foal could. Though it wasn’t willing to leave her side. It was a pretty thing from what Adrian could tell. A kind of darker hazelnut with a tuxedo marking and white spots in its sooty coat.

Adrian dismounted and looped Damask’s reins through one of the thicker tree branches. “Stay here.” He told the stallion as the elf started to pick his way through the branches and towards the two horses trapped in the middle. 

The ground was soft under his feet, the mud complicating anything at this point. He undid the rope at his waist and carefully approached the mare. He couldn’t see a clean way out yet, but he didn’t want her trying to jump or bolt into the bramble and thick branches. That she hadn’t yet was surprising, though it may have been because her foal was nearby and unable to make the jump itself. Whatever the reason, Adrian was grateful.

Damask danced on the other side of the downed trees, calling to the mare and foal. The white of his coat would have been caked in mud if not for the continuing rain. As it was, there were just little splashes that held on stubbornly as the stallion grew increasingly frustrated with the situation. He wasn’t afraid. His ears were pinned back flat to his head as he surveyed the trees, Adrian, the mare and foal, and the storm. 

A bright flash of lightning startled the foal, sending it dancing back into the thicker branches of the larger tree. Their darker hazelnut coat would have been lost in the dark and the leaves of the tree, many already turning orange and brown as autumn rapidly approached. In the dark, the white tuxedo marking and snowflake pattern really stood out.

Cinnamon let out a loud cry as her foal moved further away, attempting to get to it in the thicker branches but being unable to follow as there simply wasn’t enough space. 

“Easy, easy now.” Adrian managed to back Cinnamon away, giving him room to slip into the thicker branches and help the foal back into the small clearing. They needed to find a way out, and fast or one or both horses stood a good chance at getting hurt. 

Damask gave another annoyed huff and pulled against his reins where they were secured to the tree, moving the smaller tree once again. Not far, and not really enough to make a difference, but enough to be noticeable. 

Adrian looped the lead ropes over Cinnamon and the foal before looking at Damask. If the stallion was able to move the tree even a little, then the two of them working together might be able to manage just enough to get an opening for the hazelnut mare and her sooty foal to get through. 

He managed to secure the pair to one of the thicker branches on the bigger tree, tying them tightly enough there wasn’t much risk of them getting tangled in the branches of the smaller tree he was hoping to move. 

He found his way to the trunk and looked over at Damask Design, the stallion’s yellow eyes watching him with barely concealed annoyance as the stallion flattened his ears again and stomped at the mud. 

“Okay, let's see how that training has paid off. I know you’re not a cart horse, but we’ve got to move this tree.” Adrian dug his feet into the mud as best he could, hoping he’d be able to get enough traction to really make things work. 

“Pull!” Adrian yelled. It was a command they’d been working on for a few months, and Damask was usually cooperative, albeit grudgingly. 

The white and slate stallion turned and pulled as best he could in the mud and rain. The reins weren’t the best option but Adrian hadn’t brought out any additional rope or harnesses for this, so they had to make do as best they could. 

Adrian felt his feet slipping in the mud and he readjusted his footing, pushing against the tree as Damask pulled. The tree had only just begun moving when Damask’s reins snapped and the stallion bolted forward a few paces as the tension eased suddenly. To the stallion’s credit it was only a few paces, at which point he turned around and regarded Adrian with a look that suggested this was all the elf’s fault. 

“Yes, I know.” Adrian managed to work his way out of the tangle of branches to reclaim what was left of Damask’s reins. Fortunately, they broke in a position that left enough length to still be more or less usable. Just not for attempting to pull a tree. 

“Well, guess we’re going to have to improvise.” Adrian looped the reins as best he could onto a tree branch and worked his way back to the increasingly upset mare and foal. “Cinnamon, you better not let that foal of yours bolt,” he said as he undid the tie from the foal. Even though it was more likely the foal would be able to slip through any opening first, he was hoping it would be less likely to bolt if Cinnamon was still tied. 

Adrian took the rope and rigged an improvised harness for Damask, the stallion snorting and nearly knocking Adrian over as he leaned into the elf. “Yes, I know you don’t like this. I’m sorry and I’ll owe you treats after. Lots of them.” 

This didn’t really seem to appease the stallion, but Damask did set in to pull the tree as much as the muddy ground would allow. Adrian dipped back through the branches and pushed, managing to get enough traction to provide some assistance. 

Little by little the smaller of the two trees began to move, the branches creaking audible even over the wind and rain. 

As an opening began to appear, Adrian kept glancing back to make sure the sooty nutmeg foal stayed by its mother. Cinnamon, for her part, seemed worn out. The mare now just standing there in the rain and watching, her head low. 

Finally, the tree gave just enough to allow a narrow opening for Adrian to lead Cinnamon through. 

Cinnamon seemed to realize there was an opening and let out a whinny, pulling against her rope in an effort to get to the space. Adrian just barely managed to catch her before she tangled herself in the branches, her long tail already dangerously close to being snarled. 

"Easy. Easy, girl.” Adrian murmured as he undid the rope, keeping himself between the foal and the opening. Fortunately, the foal still seemed more interested in keeping close to their mother than bolting through the narrow path. Not that Adrian could blame them, the wind and the rain still made the opening look far more dangerous than it was. 

Adrian undid her tie and led her towards the opening, keeping a close eye on the foal. It followed closely, but its wide eyes made him nervous. Finally he stopped and looped Cinnamon’s tie back over one of the branches, positioning her to hopefully block the foal from getting out. 

Adrian undid the rope from Damask and loosely secured the stallion to the tree before taking the rope and rigging a lead for the foal. It wasn’t his best work, but it should hold long enough for them to get out of the woods and back to Applewood. 

The elf then snagged Cinnamon and the foal and led them out of the narrow passage between the two downed trees. The mare balked once as the branches were twisted by the wind, blocking the path for a moment as leaves obscured the ground. Fortunately she didn’t try to pull away or run, which would have been unfortunate given the terrain. The foal followed, still scared but clinging close to Cinnamon. 

Once they were back on the trail Adrian untied Damask and mounted, keeping a firm hand on the two leadropes. It would be a stretch to say the trail back to Applewood was easy, as they once again had to dodge off the trail several times to avoid larger pieces of debris, but Demask’s steady if somewhat annoyed presence seemed to ease the other two at least a little. 

Applewood’s fences and the barn were a welcome sight as Adrian handed the pair off to a relieved stablehand and led Damask back into the stallion's stable. Cinnamon and the foal would be well looked after, and Damask certainly deserved a good brushing, some extra food, and a good day's break.