Eagle walked slowly beside Eclipse with an emotionless expression plastered across his face. Eclipse always knew that after a long day of travelling with their group, he would be grumpy. Grumpy, but very wise.
Eagle turned tiredly to look at his ally, a wise but opinionated look radiated in his eyes.
"It's open land here. Predators are a threat, and we haven't got the protection of the other horses with us. It'll be a case of fight or flight for us if we get snagged." He said sharply. "It's your choice if you want to rest, but, personally, I would like to keep going to avoid any confrontation."
Eclipse; who had been travelling with him, tried to keep her exhausted eyes open, but the lids couldn't help but droop, almost so they were closed. She yawned and then shook her head. "It's not that I wan't to stop, Eagle, but I'm just so tired. I don't know if I'll be able to keep this up much longer."
Her voice, along with her feelings too-sounded exhausted. She knew what she meant when she was tired, and so did Eagle. He gave a heavy sigh and nudged her under the shade of a single oak tree, which they happened to luckily stumble upon in the last minute.
It was odd that over such a large scale of land, no trees but this one, were sighted. Eagle didn't even bother to think anymore about his theory. He stood, resting, flicking his tail every now and then to rid the annoying flies from his body.
Maybe no more than a couple of minutes, Eclipse had drifted off to sleep, resting herself comfortably on the base of the tree. She gave an odd twitch now and then as she dreamt.
Eagle; being the stallion, found it his duty to watch over his friend while she slept, even though he was in danger of falling asleep too. Something about this place didn't seem right. Not the unfriendly environment, but something IN the environment. It was a feeling of dread, and terror. Something which he couldn't quite shake from his drifting senses.
Just as he was about to close his eyes from fatigue, Eagle pricked his ears to the sound of a loud crash. He looked up, and to his dread, there was a truly massive black big-cat crawling down the tree.
Lucky for them, the tree was big too, and the cat was still high up, but Eagle, knowing how smart big-cats can be, didn't take any chances. He reared up and neighed as loud as he could, stamping the ground next to Eclipse to wake her up.
After a couple of long, long minutes, she stirred; but the cat was too close.
Eagle snorted. "RUN!" He ordered as he stood protectively infront of her, looking back at his friend desperately. Eclipse just stood there, shocked. "I-I can't." She stammered. Eagle closed his eyes, knowing that the impending doom was soon to come. "GO NOW! DON'T LOOK BACK! GO!"
Eclipse choked up in fear, she tried, bless her, but she couldn't bring herself to move. Her eyes were fixed on the approaching big-cat.
Eagle saw no way to escape now, he had to fight. But with Eclipse not moving, he saw no way than to force her. Instead of being gentle, he slammed into her hard, shaking her out of her reverie.
Eclipse suddenly felt herself flying forwards. She turned, but Eagle wouldn't let her stay. She murmered the words "Be careful." Before she took off towards the mountains.
...
Eagle beared his teeth at the big-cat, pinning his ears flat on his skull. He had to warn it off before it got any closer. He was always taught to be vicious in fights, especially with bigger predators. Show no signs of backing down.
The big-cat roared menacingly, then launched an attack. It leapt into the air,unsheathing it's big claws, but Eagle smirked, and let out a flash of blind bucks, catching the cat off guard. It was sent skidding backwards.
However with Eagle's harsh blows, it did not give in. The hunger burned in it's eyes, showing a very clear sign that it was not going to be disposed of easily.
Eagle was tired, but he didn't let that get in the way of the fight, he forced his head to be held high, and to keep his eyes alert. What dawned on his mind was protecting his friend, and, if necessary, killing this big-cat. He used this mentality to fuel him.
The big-cat saw an opportunity to strike again, but this time, Eagle wasn't so lucky with his defence. The cat jumped up high onto one of the tree's lower-hanging branches, and then levered itself into the air with a huge kick. As it had intended, the cat landed squarely onto Eagle's rump, digging it's claws painfully into his skin.
Eagle screamed in pain, running at the tree then swinging his rear end round, in hope to throw the cat off his back and painfully into the tree, but it stayed firmly on his back, despite Eagle's efforts.
He jumped into the air and gave an almighty buck, thrashing his body from side to side. It caused him a great deal of pain. Each movement seemed to make the claws of the big-cat sink in deeper, but he carried on with gritted teeth. Eagle then jumped again, but suddenly dropped to the floor. He rolled over quickly, distracting the predator from it's grip. It let go as it was crushed on the floor. Eagle then span around and struck the ground hard, right next to it's body as if to smash it's ribs in. This hostile movement scared it to death, and it limped away.
...
Eagle winced as he started walking away from the fighting area. His rump had been badly hurt, with multiple lacerations running across his flanks and legs. Even his back had been caught. However, he ignored the pain and searched for Eclipse, who was soon found pacing up and down on a river bank. Her face was sickeningly worried. As soon as she looked up and saw her wounded friend, she ran to him and gave him a large embrace, being careful not to hurt him.
"I'm so glad you protected me. Thankyou." She said, her voice sounded strong with gratitude.
"It's nothing. Stallion's should protect mares no matter what. It's an instinct we're born with. Let's get out of here before a swarm of wasps or something come for us." He gave an absent-minded remark, and laughed quietly to himself.
They were the lucky ones, after all.
Name: Eclipse
Age: 6
Gender: Female/Mare
Breed: Hannoverian X Other
Personality: Although very courageous and headstrong, Eclipse beholds a shy and timid frontier behind the foolhardy edge of her outside self. She, unlike any other equine, can hunt using just her body and absolutely NOTHING else, which is a very rare gift indeed. Of course, her good friend, Eagle, also shares this treasured trait; and it is believed that God only blessed so many with the ability to hunt with nothing but natural ability. No fangs, poison, weapons or adaptation.
Revisiting the cocky display of Eclipse's personality; she will fight for what she believes in despite all odds. Her close friend, Eagle, sticks close; and, due to their strong friendship, they know each other like brother and sister. Eagle always finds himself in trouble with his sister-like companion, but they have too strong a bond to break apart. Eclipse is very smart, but will stay hidden in the shadows to avoid the attention being brought to her. If you like, think of her as an undercover agent. They let nothing out to the unknown.
History: W.I.P
Mood: She feels a sense of achievement, for finding a stubborn friend like Eagle, and also being surrounded by a good group of friends that make up the mighty Freefaller's. She's also thankful about having a good leader like Sparky.
Current Living Status: With The Freefaller's
Other: Always sticks close to Eagle and rarely ventures off to explore without him.
Age: 6
Gender: Female/Mare
Breed: Hannoverian X Other
Personality: Although very courageous and headstrong, Eclipse beholds a shy and timid frontier behind the foolhardy edge of her outside self. She, unlike any other equine, can hunt using just her body and absolutely NOTHING else, which is a very rare gift indeed. Of course, her good friend, Eagle, also shares this treasured trait; and it is believed that God only blessed so many with the ability to hunt with nothing but natural ability. No fangs, poison, weapons or adaptation.
Revisiting the cocky display of Eclipse's personality; she will fight for what she believes in despite all odds. Her close friend, Eagle, sticks close; and, due to their strong friendship, they know each other like brother and sister. Eagle always finds himself in trouble with his sister-like companion, but they have too strong a bond to break apart. Eclipse is very smart, but will stay hidden in the shadows to avoid the attention being brought to her. If you like, think of her as an undercover agent. They let nothing out to the unknown.
History: W.I.P
Mood: She feels a sense of achievement, for finding a stubborn friend like Eagle, and also being surrounded by a good group of friends that make up the mighty Freefaller's. She's also thankful about having a good leader like Sparky.
Current Living Status: With The Freefaller's
Other: Always sticks close to Eagle and rarely ventures off to explore without him.