...Her horse moaned as his powerful cousin pranced down the street. Their two sires were cousin species of the Northern unicorns. His sire was the bullish kind, heavily muscled and built to work, hardy against the flaying winds that screamed through the mountain passes. They were captured and used to sire the cold blood draft horses in the village.
The horse moaned again in fear, his skin shivering and twitching under her hand. His stunted face butted against her shoulder, large eyes rolling back into his head. She spoke softly to him and rubbed the bony knob on his head as the lordling passed.
She could not blame her dray for quailing at the sight of the lordling's steed. It was obvious his sire belonged to the deadlier of the two species. They were vicious creatures, with fangs and sharpened cloven feet, which made them seem more lupine than equine. They hunted the mountain sheep, the elk, other unicorns and even humans when they had the chance. Their tiny feet allowed them to scale sheer cliff walls and their bodies could stand such impacts from jumping off such cliffs.
The steed seemed to have inherited its height from its dam, but its spindly legs, skeletal face and sharp teeth gave it away from what it truly was. It fought against the reins, shaking its head back and forth, but the lordling would only pull back at the reins with a snap to discourage such insubordination. Eventually, blood mixed with the froth at the corner of the horse's mouth and she knew the bit was cutting its mouth.
The steed trembled as its master urged it on down the street and she could see people shrinking to the side to avoid the mad monstrosity and its cruel rider.
What strange and terrible people these lordlings were.
(I'm not really sure what inspired this.)
No comments:
Post a Comment