Post by dacora on Jul 9, 2014 4:36:52 GMT 10
Carlton
The sun shone brightly on the fleabitten grey's back. He had been travelling since the sun had awoken, heading north. Carlton's large hooves made easy work of the pastures he cantered through. The stalks of the soft grass barely made it to his fetlocks, the heavy feathers surrounding his lower leg collecting the tiny flowers that grew in amongst their green cousins. The great beast loved the freedom these large clearings gave him, allowing him to use all his strength to propell him forward, eating up the ground. He only paused breifly to drink from the shallow river that cut cross the emerald expance. The clay of the river stained his feathers and the clear water wet his mane as he drank, so that, as he lifted his noble head, the droplets flew across his back and neck.
The ivory shire horse had to slow to a trot as he entered the woods that framed the open prairies. His strides were long and his head and back curved, bringing his powerful quarters underneath him. The sweet scent of maple was intoxicating and Carlton raised his head some, nostrils flaring as he inhaled deeply, swelling his chest and barrel. The stallion's ghostly form was quickly swallowed by the shadows of the ancient oak and maple trees that increased in both size and decrepidness. Their branches created a dense web, leaves spread in an attempt to claim the sun's life giving rays. In doing so they blocked the golden light from reaching the ivory creature below their bows. A breeze managed to navigate its way through them, making them creek and groan in response, leaves whispering conspiratively to one another.
A raven flew across his vision to land lightly on a fallen tree. The log was small and rotten, barely meeting Carlton's knees but that wouldn't mean it wouldn't be fun to jump. Flicking his head up, mane falling onto both sides of his well muscled neck, he picked up his pace. He cantered two strides before launching his pale bulk into the air. The moment of suspension brought a gleam to his brown eyes and he landed heavily on his forlegs before taking of again. The force of the landing rippled up his thick legs and through his hard chest muscles. Carlton tossed his head a few times, breath whistling through his roman nose. His trot slowed to a walk as he spotted the light begin to brighten between the bodies of the gnarled trees.
Carlton shook himself fully as he stepped out into the clearing, absentmindedly sweeping away the flies that had landed on his quarters. The clearing was perfectly fringed by sweet smelling maple trees, their leaves and the midday sun casting a golden glow over the fresh grass that grew within the open space. The stallion lingered on the edge, both afraid to disturb the beautiful scene and also admiring it. Gingerly, he stepped out, large hooves crushing the young grass. Despite this, the shoots shot right back up after he moved on. The smells reminded him of his previous homeand the thought kept had a laugh rumble through his deep chest. Ears swivelling around for any sign of movement, Carlton lowered his head and began to crop the short grass. The light of the hidden meadow cast golden shaped across his priorly ivory coat, warming the broad back of the lonely wanderer.
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