feel so close

[Deleted]

c l o s e d   t h r e a d
_____


scrappy and johnny

ryatt
maila
auric
drake

[Johnny]

the taste in maila's mouth perfectly matched her sour expression. the past few days
spent on the coast left a uniform coating of salt on the pale palomino, including her
tongue. she bitterly longed for the sweet taste of strawberries as she took step after
labored step, moving through deep dry sand. she had promised ryatt that they could
search for their mother everywhere, but she was tired of the facade she upheld for her
little brother. she knew ataxia had left of her own will. but as annoyed as she got with
him and the lie she lived for his sake, she was unwilling to break his blissful ignorance.
still, it'd been an undeniably long morning, and now she was taking some needed space.

twenty feet behind her plodded auric. his steps were heavy, and he walked in the froth
near the water so as not to expend so much effort walking through loose, dry sand. the
feathers on his heels were caked and stinging, but he had yet to utter a complaint. he
too was tired, but he knew he was the backbone for maila's relationship with ryatt. auric
kept his large ears splayed, one up ahead, trained on maila, and the other behind him,
fixed just as firmly on the young paint stallion. he hoped ryatt wasn't offended by maila.

"i like the beach, don't you, ryatt?" the clyde mix' words were upbeat as usual. he spoke
in a rich tenor, which carried well over the sound of the surf and gulls. he did not hear
maila's higher pitch stating her disagreement in mumbled tones. secretly, the honey-hued
mare was grateful for her bay friend. he'd carried her through the difficult life she struggled
with every day and knew she'd be far worse off without him. although she knew they had
not heard her sarcastic comment, she was wracked by guilt at her sour words and stopped,
twisting her neck to watch the boys as they caught up to her as the surf hissed across sand.

"i just stepped on a jellyfish," auric said, blinking down at a mess of gelatinous goop in the
sand. he paused and spoke again, "are you guys hungry? i definitely am..."

maila thought of the salt grass she so disliked and shook her head. "no, but i am thirsty."
auric nodded unassumingly and looked to ryatt. "i bet there's a stream up ahead. ryatt?" as
auric's words dissolved into the ocean air, maila looked her brother over from behind an
expressionless mask. she did her best not to focus on the apparent roush in him, the chestnut
patches on his creamy hide. she knows he's nothing like the bastard that left them, but
sometimes it's hard. he never knew roush. she wouldn't ruin his self esteem by mentioning it.

"we've been walking all day. let's find some water and take a break," auric suggested. maila
nodded, jaw set and expression grim. she thought about strawberries again as she turned back
and pressed on. as she took a step forward, movement caught her ruddy brown eyes and she
snapped her head to the right. her vision landed on the form of a stranger, apparently drinking
in the ocean breeze with relish. she felt safe with auric at her side, but wasn't feeling particularly
social. of course, though the bay probably could read this on her with ease, he did not act on it
and instead called to the figure.

"excuse me, do you know where we can find some fresh water?"

[scrappy]

Just as you'd expect, the two year old colt skipped gaily through the waves enjoying every moment of the trio's trek across the coastline. Despite his young mind being under constant stress from the worry of his kidnapped mum, the lightly painted boy could still have fun. Pasty limbs crashed into the surf with each bound creating a small spray around him. Auric's words soon found Ryatt's lobes despite the roar of the sea and a shrill whinny of approval exited his lips in response. The beach was indeed amazing. The beach let him feel like a baby again; gave him the feeling that despite it all, everything would be alright.

Over the months, Ryatt had grown fond of Auric. Out of all of his sister's motley crew of friends she's had, Auric was the only one that cared anything for the two of them. He was also the only one that could soothe Maila when she got in her bitter moods; which gave him severe brownie points in Ryatt's book because, being the little brother, he ended up at the brunt of much of his sister's anger. Not that she ever physically hurt him, but her words could cut deep enough on their own. Ryatt loved Maila though. He didn't know it, but he loved her harder than he loved their mother.


What's a jellyfish?


His little boy-growing up voice was high pitched but beginning to deepen, so it always sounded odd. The colt stopped beside Auric, looking infinitely small beside the russet draft, and peered down at the interesting mass of gelatin on the shore. A timid hoof was stretched out to give it a poke but was quickly retracted as the surf rose and nearly rushed the jellyfish at Ryatt. Luckily the weight of Auric's large iron kept the thing in place. This did not, however, keep the young boy from running away like a silly girl up to higher grounds. Once he realized how dumb he must have looked, Ryatt snapped around and took on a threatening stance; muscles flexing and voice forced an octave lower.


I'm glad you squished the stupid thing.


Getting back to where his family stood, Ryatt let out a mucous filled snort and stomped the sand beside the marine creature. He gave his locks a shake and looked up at Maila and Auric only slightly ashamed of his ridiculous actions. But they had moved on, and with their talk of water Ryatt's tongue began to beg for unsalted moisture. Pale blue eyes reminiscent of Ataxia settled on Auric's tender yet large face,


I'll find the stream!


With that he was gone, as if the bay man had a lit a fire under a rocket. Ryatt stretched his sinew laced body out across the sandy surface and climbed the dunes with ease. Sand spilled down the slope with each step the brute took and as he reached the top of one particularly tall crest, Auric's voice filled Ryatt's lobes.His blanched cranium snapped around to see the other stag not so far off from them. Instinct told Ryatt to get off the dune and back to his sister's side so that's what he did. Except, the way down the hill was much more difficult than up and he was much more frantic this time. Within six way too fast steps, Ryatt's legs got tangled and his face met the sand. Soon his rump crashed into the dune as well and the colt began a full tumble to the shore.

[scrappy]

Like the predator he was, Drake had been watching them. His abyssal orbs soaked in the situation, sizing up the males in the
group and drinking in the curves of the creme damsel. Those that had the misfortune of crossing paths with the Friesian brute
either carried scars from the encounter or did not survive at all. Drake was no clean cut chap. In the dank corridors of his mind
lurked nasty, unspeakably cruel intentions. To make matters worse, the onyx beast stood nearly 17 hands tall and was ripped
in muscle. Drake often had his way, no matter the odds against him.

At this moment the odds seemed rather in his favor. It had been over a week since Drake had found a lady to cover, and the
instant his gaze fell upon Maila his groin began to ache. The only thing standing between he and the petite femme was a lanky
draft stud and an awkward colt. Watching as the young paint boy tumbled from a dune, he felt his confidence rise ever more.
A low chuckle escaped Drake's filthy maw as he began to close the gap between them. A regal gait accompanied the dark
heathen, skull carried tall and knees touching the sky with each step. He stalked close enough to the sea's edge that many shells
snapped and shattered beneath his wide irons, emitting a sound that was somehow ominous. Soon he was upon them, his inky
silhouette blocking out the sun and obscuring what had been a pretty day at the beach. That sick smile still held tight Drake's velvet
lips as he offered the group his first option.

"Salutations I am Drake, allow me the pleasure of showing you a good time miss, or we shall all have a very bad time. Aside from
me of course,"

The cackle that followed was spine tingling. Drake's stance appeared lazy and nonthreatening however he was as alert as a lioness.
Thick sinew flexed against his jet black hide that glimmered in the sunlight. What's worse, he is even beautiful.


d r a k e





photo by LarissaAllen @ deviantart.com

[Johnny]

              A U R I C              &&            m a i l a                        


before the friesian even spoke, auric found himself on edge. he could sense the danger hanging, taut, in the air.
his gut tightened and a scowl spread across his face. he instinctively stepped slightly in front of maila, who had
taken a moment to ensure that ryatt was behind the both of them. it was clear to auric, whose mind calculated
rapidly, that he was outmuscled. still, he found himself clinging to memories of the childhood he shared with
maila, all the scraps that had left him impressed with the tenacity of the palomino girl. he'd seen her become
a whirlwind of flying hooves and snapping jaws, dipping and spinning and using speed rather than strength to
claim the upper hand. but it wasn't her ability to fight that had him concerned, it was not knowing how she would
react to the situation. she had a habit of catching him off-guard at crucial moments, her judgment escaping his
ability to predict her behavior at the most dire of times. thus, he cast a nervous glance her way, waiting for her.

even maila wasn't sure how she would react. her oppositional side indeed flared up, but she couldn't help the rush of
attraction she felt toward the frightening, beautiful beast. the apparent danger sent chills through her, and the lack of
control was thrilling in ways foreign to her past experiences. deciding to follow her gut, she sidled past auric, ears laid
back despite the flirtatious smile playing about her lips. tilting her head back to look up at drake, she flicked her tail.

"aren't you a charmer." her eyes bore into his intensely, as if trying to pass him a note that her two companions would
not see. she and the boys were all young, and though she believed auric might hold up stamina-wise in a battle with
the large friesian, she had no way of comparing the amount of experience the two stallions had. it seemed to the pale
girl that this stranger had collected his fair share of wins. and there was always the matter of her attraction to him, the
way her heart took to racing when she looked at his face and considered his suggestions. her spine tingled, she spoke.

"what exactly are you proposing?" she'd insist later, if they made it out alive, that she was simply using her feminine
charms to handle the situation the best way she knew how, but it would be a lie and odds were that auric would be able
to tell. already, the lanky draft cross was standing silently, shocked by the reaction of his best friend. he cast a glance
toward ryatt, hoping that the boy would remain quiet and not try to be a savior or feign threat. it was possible, auric
knew, that ryatt would believe his sister's friend was capable of beating down the black-coated hellion, but he himself
knew better. he did not retreat, holding his ground, but could hear the rush of his pulse in his tufted ears, the twist
of fear inside his ribcage. he could only look on nervously as maila passed under the friesian's nose, swishing her tail
and curving her neck so as to look at him suggestively, smiling coldly with her rump pointed somewhat in his direction.
much to the dismay of her childhood best friend, maila was flirting with danger, reckless and unpredictable. auric would
roll his eyes if he weren't busy plotting to shove ryatt out of the way and throw down with a brute who'd likely flatten him.

[scrappy]

To be honest, Drake was half surprised by the immediate positive response he received from the bleached palomino.
 By the look of her and her company she seemed the rough and tumble tomboy type, not the girl the would quickly spread
her legs for him. And yet there she was, dangerously close to his swelling chest and wet chops. Her actions obviously
bothered the pair of males she had left the protection of, and Drake ate it up.

Ryatt was beside himself with a growing rage. Anger was something the young patched colt had yet to experience fully.
Sure he had been miffed at Maila before, yes he had uttered choice words after ripping his leg open on a thorn, but
 actual boiling anger was entirely new to Ryatt. The silly part was, he wasn't even angry at the big, black, imposing beast.
He knew this man called Drake meant them all harm should they come between he and his sister, and he could sense
 the sinister nature seething from the Friesian. His rage however, was directed at his crooning sister. How could she
want to be near such a vile creature? Why would she willingly throw herself at this heathen whilst Auric stood by
ready to defend her to the end. Ryatt's mind swam with questions and violent emotions, stirring a storm within the boy.
 Ears were flattened as he took a few steps closer to his draft companion.

Drake, being affixed on the petite shrew bending before him, didn't notice her younger brother's state of mind. His inky
eyes were glued to Maila as his banner began to flick in a cat like manner. "Nothing more than a check off for your
 bucket list, dollface." The response came forth with immense swagger, "Doesn't every girl want to have sex on the beach?"
 Drake extended his stout nape to graze his teeth across the damsel's spine. Before he could reach the base of her tail, however,
a cracking voice pierced the Friesian's lobes.

"Get away from him you dumb girl!" Ryatt's aging tenor rose and fell like the sea. The boy could handle no more of
 this disgusting flirting. His heart raced as he stomped the shore with a threatening fore iron. "Can you not see he wants
 to hurt you!" Ryatt's emotions were flying from one side of the spectrum to the other. For a moment he was pleading with
Maila but in the next he was commanding her. Drake was now laughing at him, his cackle further upsetting Ryatt.
 Desperate, the colt turned to Auric, his crystalline orbs showing white. "Help me."