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Volt-Draws — Code Red
#digitalart #horse #horses #harpg
Published: 2019-06-24 21:40:31 +0000 UTC; Views: 1972; Favourites: 22; Downloads: 0
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Description
No your eyes aren't playing tricks on you. XD I finally got to draw Charger! You'll be seeing some more of this team a bit later. As for now, I've got to get some other things out the way. Like saying how fun it was to draw WATUR! 
Story
Please ignore any and every mistake you find. XD I had an idea of the background for these two but never got down to writing it and structuring it till now. Because I was rushing to make the deadline and dealing with life, I didn't have a lot of time to refine it. I gave it my best shot. 
Sky couldn't believe the progress she and her 7 year old gelding Charger had made since the day she adopted him. Charger, due to poor handling with the bit, was left with painful sores in his mouth by his previous owner. Sky cared for him and nursed him back to health. After a few months he was healthy enough to work and train. Sky was able to train out a few bad habits however, always found tacking up to be the most difficult part because of the experience he had with the bit. After what he went through Sky could hardly blame him. After looking at her options she decided to try riding bit-less. He responded very well to training afterwards so she decided to continue with it. When Charger completed his conditioning with flying colors she knew he was ready to be entered into his first race. Days after registering she was painfully reminded of an incomplete part of his training when he repeatedly ignored her aids after spooking and ran off with her. Hindered by her social anxiety Sky decided to try and tackle the problem at hand on her own instead of asking for help from her horsemen neighbors. The day was here for them to leave for their first endurance race together. Sky had made excellent progress but was unable to cure him of some few dangerous behaviors. He didn't display it as often as he used to but still performed them from time to time despite the work Sky put in. All she can do now is hope it won't rear it's ugly head here especially in an endurance race with this type of weather. 'I hope it doesn't thunder' Sky wordily thought to herself knowing it would trigger him to spook. As she tacked up her horse she kept an eye on his body language looking for certain indications on the mood he was going to be in. Sky grabbed the saddle and placed it on his back. Suddenly the horse snapped his head upwards. Turning his large neck around, he adjusted his head and glared at her letting out a deep breath. She was abruptly snapped out of her daydream when she locked eye contact with the horse. 'What is it?' she wondered to herself confused about what he was doing. With a shake of the head he turned and walked away to drink his water. Grabbing the polo wraps from off of the ground, she walked towards the horse. As Sky proceeded to tack up, she couldn't help but wonder what the motive for that glare was. 'Did I drop his saddle on him too harshly?... I coudn't tell I wasn't even paying attention just then... Maybe I placed it down normally and he responded like that because he's feeling on edge. He's always been a bit uncomfortable because of weather like this...' She paused for a second and smiled to herself as she continued to tack up her horse 'He's probably just picking up my anxiety. I'm worrying enough for the both of us. I just need to calm down. I've done this an hundred times before. I'm just doing this with a different horse is all.'
A few minutes passed and Sky found herself at the start of the race. Her horse felt nice and sound underneath her. He didn't even seem to notice the weather at all, on the other hand she couldn't get her mind off of it. Taking a look at the sky and the now present fog she was growing worried. She had never done any training with him in such unpredictable weather and didn't know how he would react. Looking to relive some tension, Sky remembered the news forecast she had seen before they left for the start and gave her horse a heads up on the weather. "Okay Charger, the weatherman said no thunder today, just a lot of fog and a chance for rain. Fog like mist only, foggier. You already know rain! Let's hope we don't get caught in the middle of it. I'm really not in the mood to get soaked."
After the start of the race they set off at a slow trot through the fog, conserving energy for the rest of the course. A few minutes in, rain begin to fall on Sky's skin. Looking up at the dark and roaming rain clouds over head made her thankful they were near the forest section of the race. Knowing it would provide some sort of shelter as they went on their way. When they entered into the forest Sky was made aware that she had forgotten to bring a flashlight. Visibility became little to none with the sunlight being blocked by the dense canopy of the overhead trees. 'This really sucks! I can't see any markers on the trees in this lighting. What should I do?... Okay Sky, best thing to do is to follow close to the other teams.' She said to herself. She directed her gaze down the dim and fogged path for a single silhouette of a team. After minutes of looking Sky found that she and her partner were alone. She and Charger rode on, struggling to stay on the barely visible course. Sky looked directly in front of them and to her dismay they came up on a three way fork. Sky tried one last time to spot a rider but the sight of the others had disappeared completely. Even the sight of their flashlights had become lost in the thick mist.
Not in the mood to get hopelessly lost Sky knew she couldn't go on. Intending to wait for help she instructed Charger to stop in front of the fork. While they waited Sky questioned herself 'How did I forget to bring my flashlight? I remember taking it with me to Charger's stall and then?... I must have forgotten to take it while I was worrying over the weather! Can't believe it! I was so worried over nothing I ended up creating an actual problem.' “Sorry Charge, I'm always scolding you for ruining our ride but I ended up doing the same thing...Guess I'm a real hypocrite aren't I boy?” She said to her horse before lowering her head and closing her eyes in disappointment. She really wanted to see all their hard work and training pay off and she singlehandedly ruined it over something so small. It would probably be months before she could find another opportunity like this. Charger feeling a little bored and bit tired with sulking decided to mosey off. Charger wanted to pursue something that has been on his mind since they arrived at this fork. ‘This is one of the absolutely worst things that could h-‘ she paused. ‘What was that? are we... moving?’ Sky asked herself as she opened her eyes. She was more then shocked to see the fork they were standing at the head of disappearing behind them as they trotted away. "No Charger, stop! You're gonna get us lost!" Sky barked pulling back on the reins and applying aids that he simply ignored. Her worst fear was now in progress. One of those bad habits decided to show up at one of the worst times. 'He's ignoring me so he must have gotten spooked.' She thought to herself. Looking at his body language closer she knew it couldn't be that. She had ridden many spooked horses but this was not the same. Curious as to what his motives were Sky loosened the reins and let him lead. Shortly they came to the end of the forest as the trail they were on winded down hill. Sky could see some white trees off in the distance as the dense setting of the forest began to clear away.
The horse continued down the trail stretching his head out forward a as he went. Charger slew down when they came the field with white-ish pink trees. The smell of apples lead him to an apple orchid. Looking around Sky spotted a trail marker on the tree letting her know that her four legged pathfinder found a way to bring them back on course. "Good boy Charge, you found the course!" She praised, patting his neck as they walked further into the field. At this time fog begin to clear. The extra visibility revealed a large apple ripe for the picking ahead of them. Without the restraints of a bit Charger's mouth begin to open wider and wider as they got closer. Sky noticed a split in the path and saw a trail marker on the tree to their right. Tugging the reins in that direction she peeled his head away from the apple he was about to dig into. "Sorry, boy no time for snacks we, have to catch up to the others! If we pick up the pace a little we can probably catch them before they reach the forest." She lightly taped his belly with her heels indicating she wanted him to go speed up. As soon as he felt this he started throwing a fit. "Stop bucking silly. That apple isn't important okay? Get your head back in the game." She scolded as she tugged on the reins to get him back on track. He let out a big Puff before finally listening. She couldn't help but feel the puff was directed to her.
They picked up their pace from a trot to a breif canter. Catching up to the others as they went through forest section of the course. Around this time a little bit of the sun could now be seen through the dark and brooding rain clouds. The sky had finally finished it's temper tantrum and the rain ceased to fall. "Finally, it stopped! I was getting tired of being a soggy potato." Sky laughed. She carefully looked around for the next section, Making sure to keep an eye out for markers as well. Sky squinted, darting her brown eyes to and fro over the unfamiliar terrain. Her eyes caught what seemed to be red tape on a tree. It was a trail marker, following it with her gaze she saw a bending river ahead. "You serious?!" She blurted, the sight of the river meant remaining drenched for the rest of the course. "Alright boy let's slow down a bit, we're going to go for a little swim." Arriving at the river's edge she slowed her mount to a walk. Sky sought for a shallow crossing, looking carefully as they went in. When finding one she guided her horse through the rocks before entering. Charger listened to his rider's commands right up to that point. Sky looked over to her left and pulled the reins. To her surprise they were going in a different direction. Ignoring his rider's commands he hung a slight right. "Charger where are you go-" She paused realizing what was about to happen. To their right was the deeper end of the river. Suddenly she started pulling on the reins desperately to try and stop him. "Charger! Don't even think about it!" she warned with a firm voice. Charger planted his front right hoof in the water and began forward through the deep end of the river. The water rose from his hocks to his chest when it finally reached her ankles. She could feel her socks getting wet from the opening in her zipper. "EWW! Ugh, this pay back for making you leave that apple isn't it?" She asked, leaning over to look at him. He snorted in response as he continued to wade through the cool water. "Okay, Sheesh! I'll give you two whole apples when we get home. You happy?" After she said this Charger finally began obey her aids. Shifting directions towards the shallow end of the water after all that time. "Meanie" She blurted as they approached the nearing shore.
Knowing they were near the end of the race, Sky instructed Charger to pick up a canter as soon as they emerged from the river. As they dashed away from the water's edge Sky looked around at the course off in the distance to her left. 'That was quite a wild ride. I had so much fun, and I learned a little more about my horse today. Maybe I shouldn't be so focused on making him a bombproof horse. Nobody-or horse is perfect. After all one of those habits was pretty useful back there.' She thought after spotting the forest and orchid in the distance they were in earlier. 'I'll try to give him a little more lead next time I need a hand with directions. This is a team effort after all and he seems to know what he's doing.' She said trying to ignore her uncomfortably soggy socks. Turning her head back towards Charger. "You can be a real pain sometimes but you sure know how to use your senses." Sky said, patting his neck before looking straight ahead as they rode on to finish the course.
Word count 1,500+
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Comments: 5
Wow this is such a wonderful drawing and the background is amazing!
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Aww, thank you for your kind words! It means a lot! <3
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