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"Horse Tales"Written By: Kaeru Shisho Disclaimer: I don't own any part of Gundam Wing
or its characters, nor do I make any monetary profit off this story. Rating: NC 17 Warnings: Yaoi, Very AU, so very AU it's AD, another
dimension. The GW boys are horses. My apologies. Please heed the warning. Pairings: 1x2, 3x4, 6x5 Summary: A few lucky stallion purebreds are given a second chance at the Horse Haven Sanc-tuary. A/N: In defense of my writing this extreme version
of a GW story… Waterlily and Snowdragon made me do it, heh, heh… " Horse Tales" Chapter Two-Three's a Crowd (o) Duo POV It was amazing all that grass, food for as far as a horse could see. I'd watched my stable mate's muscles rippling in the sunshine and the longest legs I'd ever seen carrying his rider, Doctor J, about through the grass without me. He looked happy and I wanted to be there, too. I couldn't contain my envy, letting go with a whinny of frustration so loud he heard and answered back a short, "Ha!" I was tired of being treated like an invalid, confined to the little corral, going around and around. I was fine! I was nearly back to one hundred percent. Stomping my hooves and snorting and calling more did the trick. Howard came to my rescue. He opened the gate to the pasture to let me walk through-at last. Five step and I was free as a bird. No saddle. No rider. Just me and the sun and wind and endless eats! I took off running around in the sun, heh, heh... When I heard a neigh calling me, I noticed Heero again standing rider-less. The humans clustered along the fence to watch us, more than I knew. Who could care about them when I felt so good and had a new playmate? I nipped at Heero's ass until he chased me. Oh, I didn't do him any harm, but he was so vain about getting a mark. "Did you cut me? I see blood! You drew blood! I could scar!" I'd just laugh my horsey laugh and then he'd get mad and take off after me. Now, I knew he was fast. I'd watched him out in the far pasture with a rider. Wings. He flew as if he had wings he was that fast and light on his feet. I wasn't a plow horse, but I knew I couldn't outrun him, if he was trying, so I had to be quick and outmaneuver him. When I did that he'd get frustrated and kick. It was better'n being bored. We were still pals no matter what. There was a cluster of trees where we'd end up in the shade, side by side. Sometimes I'd rest my neck over his, my mane feathered out over his back. He didn't say anything, but I know he loved my mane doing that. His mane was such a mess. I'd observed the groom working so hard to get all the hair pulled to one side. He'd glue it down with something smelly or braid it into stupid-looking little bundles along his neck, and for that one day it would be perfect, even, and to the one side. Once we'd had a run outside, it would flip-flop, parting this way and that from the top of his head to his shoulders. Rakishly handsome for such a proper horse. I was admiring his contours when he let out a whinny. Never one to over-talk a situation, that meant he was disturbed. "What'sup?" I turned my head to get a look at what distant object attracted him, thinking coyote or snake or mountain lion, animals he'd warned me about but I'd never seen. "I'm taking a closer look," he said as warning before taking off like lightening. I trotted down from the pasture rise at a more leisurely pace, into the corral, or arena, as Heero called it. "What kind of trailer is that?" It was large and painted with wild pictures in brilliant colors. "Barton and Bloom Circus," Heero read. "Circus?" I'd heard the word but it never meant squat to me. I concentrated on the colors until I could pick out pictures of people, I think, weird looking people, and animals, including a horse. So, a circus made use of horses. "Human leisure attraction," Heero explained. "Oh-" Before I could make my brilliant and astute observation known, though, he had me squeezed up against the farthermost side of the farthermost fence as far from the action as possible. "Hey, buddy!" He butted and pushed some more. "Hey! Cut it out! If you push any harder I'll have to pass through the fence." He paid me no heed. His attention was fully on the new horse being backed down the ramp to the ground. "Lemme see!" Squish, squish. At which point it occurred to me that he'd herded me like a mare. Time to assert my own stallion will on him! I pushed and shoved and nipped so he jumped back, giving me the break I needed. I lunged forward, covered the width of the corral in a few strides, and charged into the fence. "Hi!" I called out to the newcomer. There came a shout from Howard. Party pooper. (o) Howard POV The third call had really surprised me. The circus was downsizing and their dozens of showy Appaloosas had been sold at auction, except the last, least trained one. I didn't even bother to listen to the why; they wouldn't have told me the truth anyway. I'd have to see him for myself to tell if he were lame or mean or just plain stupid. Coming from the circus he'd at least be attractive and that is why I told them to drive him up. "Send in the clowns!" I said. It was a joke. The handlers from the circus had a hard time getting get him down the ramp and out of trailer, which told me he hadn't been trained well or with much patience or kindness. His ears flattened to his head and I could see the white of one eye, the other completely covered by a shaggy forelock of caramel-colored hair. Duo whinnied from the stable runaround, demanding to be let out and see the male whose scent had been carried along by the wind. I could see Heero like a shadow at his back and Duo pushing into the fence. "Duo, no!" He backed off in a huff, but in the meantime, the circus folks took off leaving me with the angry horse, called Triton. Happily, the new horse seemed amused by Duo's dancing about and relaxed now that his circus trainer had gone. It was, in fact, like magic. With the handler gone, he calmed down. Now he was quiet and very shy. I gave him a good look over. Very attractive spotted appaloosa with an unusual chestnut strawberry roan coloring. Aside from the long forelock, the rest of his mane was neatly braided into a row of "knobs" banded in bright green with fluffy tufts. My silent horse tensed when Doctor S joined us. Maybe it was the prosthetic nose that concerned the animal? The man was a ballistic weapon engineer, turned wild horse philanthropist, like the others. "What's bothering Duo?" he asked "Him? Nothing, just curious about this newcomer. He's a bit on the mischievous side, that little Morgan. Did you know he's figured out the latches on the stalls? Lets himself and Heero out in the morning! Well, now, I'm sure you're here to hear about our circus discard?" "Beautiful coloring." "According to the file they left with me, Triton here is full of tricks, skilled ones." I couldn't wait to try them out. "I'll just get these noisy bells off his tail-" "And the crazy hair ties." The Doc wasn't a fussy man when it came to embellishments, but he had a soft spot for spots. Har, har... "Yes, those, too, but I'll let the groom tend to them." As I'd hoped, Doctor S took a shine to him. Patting his neck and offering a handful of apple slices helped distract the horse while I removed the bells. Triton took a tentative bite from one then stood back to chew and look around. "Triton?" Doctor S snorted pretty much like a horse. "Nonsense! Trowa is your name. Far more manly. He's not a giant fork!" He must have been thinking of a trident. Apparently, Trowa wasn't a horse either. He could move like smoke. He'd joined Duo and Heero on the other side of the fence when our backs were turned. I considered replacing those bells just to keep track of him. And then adding to my consternation, Duo started making such a racket I had second thoughts about disturbing his and Heero's odd friendship. It occurred to me putting so many stallions together might not be wise. (o) Duo POV "It's a polka-dotted horse! Orange and white spots!" "Shut up, Duo!" "I'll bet you've never seen a spotted horse either! In all my life... wow he's amazing! "Don't make personal remarks." "Well, you're just no fun. Here he comes! Hey, gorgeous! You gonna to live here?" "I think so." "Super!" I could not get over his spots. "You look like one of those carousel horses, you know, the ones on merry-go-rounds," I told the newbie. "In a good way, I mean. All dolled up." "Duo, shut the grass-chute up." Heero never minced words, but he had no reason to get crude or bossy. "It's all right," Spot said. "Humans have weird taste when it comes to entertainment." I waited a moment to let the new horse clarify a bit of what he meant, but, instead, he just gazed all around and drawled, "Nice place." "Grrr-eat place," I assured him, totally ignoring Heero's warning snorts. "Endless food, top of the line housing and staff, and not a speck of work to do. Paradise." Spot nodded. "Sounds perfect to me. I've had enough of demanding work." "I'm Duo, by the way. And this is Heero." "Tri-no, I'm Trowa now." "Number three," Heero told him. "He means your stall number. Don't pay him no never mind. I was... well, how about that? I can't remember what my name was before I came here. Oh, well, I'm Duo now." "He's number two. I'm number one. Heero. I always have been. Welcome, Trowa." They made a big deal of touching noses. So formal. "Bet you're tired of the trailer, huh?" I asked him. "I don't remember much of my ride, but it might feel good to stretch your legs?" "A run sounds good. Water, too." "Gotcha. C'mon, 'Ro, show'im your stuff." "What stuff do you mean?" Snort. "How you're a runner? And where the trough is. C'mon, show'im your cute ass." "Duo!" "When you're the fastest, that's the view the rest us of get, heh, heh." I leaned in to give him a nip on said ass and he tried to kick me in the head. Good thing I was quick witted enough to move. Spot trotted just out of my reach. "Lead on," he said to Heero. I thought he was rather graciously letting 'Ro be the leader. And away we raced around the pasture, stopping for a visit at the watering hole, and then again for a dash-about, taking turns at chasing tails. I learned Spot was super sure-footed and that he could out-maneuver me with some tricky hop steps. "Not fair! My tail's the longest. I gotta get a whole body length out in front to avoid you." "Not my fault." Spot wouldn't give ground. Stubborn as Heero that way. He was fully ready to enjoy the advantages and un-matched performance of my fly-swatting tail, though, and I became the dark meat in a polka-dot-n-bay sandwich. So we stood and sunned ourselves, facing into the breeze, Spot making happy nickering noises. "It's so much quieter than the circus. No zoo penned nearby. No crowds." "Nope." The flies buzzed. Yep, Spot seemed a decent sort. Grasses swished shhhhhhhhhhh. I nearly jumped out of my skin when Spot tossed his head and reared up on his hind legs. "For cryin' out loud! Geez Loooeeeze!" Heero went to full alert status, legs apart, nostrils flaring, and demanding, "What is it? Do you smell danger?" "Other horses." "Where?" I couldn't see a thing or smell them, but then I had two stallions on either side of me, stinking up the place. "Over the hill. Far away." This he said in a dreamy, soft voice. I was afraid our newest bro was a bit daft. Too much larking about in the circus. It was a sad thing to happen to such a hot-spotted stud like him. I kept my eyes on the horizon, just in case a herd of ponies appeared. I'd seen what looked like shimmering pools of water one minute, which turned out to be just rock and bare ground later. Why not wild horses? Because, I reminded myself, shaking the sense back into my head, I wasn't going to let myself go nuts, too. The stables needed one cool-headed, right-thinker with solid horse-sense, and I could see how it was me who'd be tasked with that burden. I was tough enough to shoulder the responsibility and not stumble under the onerous weight or complain. Well, I might grumble, but not much. "Maybe we oughta get outta the sun," I suggested. Heero agreed. And for an instant I thought he was thinking along my lines, but then he noted. "Howard's whistling for us." So he was. We lumbered back to the stable, dragging our feet like old men. Not that I wasn't eager for our routine hose down. Not that I wasn't looking forward to a good meal inside. But for a little bit there I was thinking maybe there were other horses running free in the tall grass and just how exciting it would be to find them. But that was just my thinking. My other two stable mates were just lazy bums. The stable grunt kid came out and turned the hose on Heero first. He adored the water spray. I liked it too but that bossy stallion would have monopolized it all day if the humans would have let him. I took my turn, turning around on cue so the human wouldn't have to move. I had great people skills, or so I'd thought, but I had nothing on Spot when it came to show-off displays and tricks. I should have been prepared for something; after all, out in the field he'd done the rearing up thing to which he'd added a hop and twirl, now that I replayed the scene in my head. Not at all necessary and enormously flashy. When the boy stood ready with the hose, circus-horse crouched down on one knee! "What the hell are you doing?" I had to ask. "Bowing." "B-?" I clammed up when I saw the humans react to him. Howard made a big deal over it, forcing handfuls of apple slices on him, murmuring sweet nothings... I stole off to my stall on my own, noting that Howard had tacked up some more wood over the "03" stall, which was probably Spot's name. Yep. 'Ro on one side and Spot on my other. "Duke Due Diligence" on one side and "Lord Flaunt it All" on the other. Weren't there any other normal horses? Was I to be the lone ranger, the keeper of the standard, the average run-of-the-mill horse out here? Yes. Yes, Duo, ole boy, you were. Someone had to watch out for the other two. And that someone was me. (o) The next morning looked to be a good one. Bright sunny day, breeze pushing the grass around in waves... "Rise and shine!" I called to Heero. "I am up. I never sleep. You know that!" "And a good morning to you, too, sweetheart." I unlocked Heero's stall and proceeded to open Spot's with a cheery "Hi!" Heero nosed the door open and strode outside into the exercise ring. "It's barely dawn, Duo. And about to rain." "That's why we're going out now, before it gets nasty." "Bit sensitive to the elements, aren't you?" came the soft-toned voice of the newcomer. "I'm a city colt. And if you had a tail as long as mine, you'd think twice before letting it drag about in the mud, too." "That's fair." Spot trotted to the fence where he could stare out across the rolling hills and pastureland. "The wild horses live out there," he observed. "When the wind blows this way I smell them and hear them." So, to humor the poor clown, we took turns calling to them, but they never answered. He believed in them, though. "Must be nice, being free like that." "It could be." I'd give him that much, but I wasn't so sure. I liked my creature comforts, now that I had some, and didn't cherish the thought of giving them up any time soon. "Mebbe." Next thing I knew, Spot had a head over the fence chewing and letting out satisfied little sighs. "Hey! Whatcher find there to eat? Flowers?" "Roses. Sweet and insubstantial," Heero said. I turned to glare at Heero. "You can eat those? You never told me those were edible and you know I like treats!" "Delicacies, but a properly trained horse never despoils the Lady's garden." "Lady's garden...? You are so full of it. Move over. Lemme taste some of those." I took a mouthful of pink froth and chewed. Nice. "So they feed ya roses in the circus, then?" "Not purposely. Sometimes our harnesses would have flower decorations. Sometimes people threw flowers at us at the end of the show. I suppose those were treats." I decided to go for the greens as well, and got a mouthful of prickles and thorns, hidden on the stems. "Aaaah!" "Mind the stems." Spot was so droll it hurt. (o) Heero's POV At the first flash of lightening, I herded us toward the stable. "Not so soon," Duo whined. If he'd only obey, he'd make a superb stable mate. But, no. His hooves scraped the ground, carving out excuses in the dirt, and even Trowa hemmed-and-hawed, but I allowed no disagreement and stood firm. "I've seen and heard worse explosive displays." And although I couldn't imagine what those might have been like, I didn't doubt Trowa's word. Nothing they said or did changed my resolve to escape the dangers of lightening. To be the leader I couldn't back down. I had to prove myself worthy of their respect. Duo put up the biggest fuss, as expected. He asserted his stallion-ness at the stupidest times. Once the thunder rumbled and the lightening cracked overhead, he tore inside his stall without further complaint; although, he had to comment. "It's time to go in anyway," Duo said, giving in as I knew he would. "It's true," Trowa agreed, and then he, too, followed directions. Then the rain drenched everything and Duo was most appreciative of the advance notification and sorry for his earlier dissention. Idiot. He came over to my stall and gave me a nice back rub with his muzzle. Trowa must not have been hungry either, because he too strolled over and stood just outside my stall. "I smell ozone. I'd smell that after the explosions in the circus. Humans put on shows with terrible loud sounds, but it seemed to interest them." He tried to explain what a light show looked liked and how hiding tricks would involve smoke and loud "bangs" to distract the audience, while clowns did mundane things. I couldn't see the purpose in it, or the fun. All I saw was the danger. "Fires could start, which would be horrible, but there was a lot of retardant around and men who were prepared to use it," Trowa said. "Fires are awful! There's nothing worse!" "Hey, 'Ro, you're tensing all up again, and I just gotcha relaxed. Whoa, you're shakin' buddy. What's the matter?" It took a considerable amount of cajoling on both their parts to get me to finally unload my burden. "Lightening is fire in the sky, and what it touches goes up in flame." "It's light. but fire? You sure 'bout that?" Duo questioned, always questioning. "Yes!" The venom in my tone scared Duo enough to make him rear backwards into the stall wall. "Yes," I said in a softer tone. "I'm very sure. I saw it strike at trees which then burst into towering torches. I smelled the smoke and new the barn was on fire and kicked an opening in the wall. I called to the other horses, one an old pony, to follow me out. I-I didn't look back. The sky was black and then more lightening, the roaring of flames, the shrieks. I ran to the house to get the humans to help, but it too was on fire. I kicked in a window and the Lady Relena was there. She climbed out and we rode off to safety." Trowa and Duo let me tell the story without interrupting. Then Trowa asked, "The other horses?" I just shook my head. I could have used a word or two in order to move on, and Duo provided it. "You really were a hero, just like your name. You saved your rider. That was something." "I wonder. I've never seen her since." "She'll find you," Trowa said, though I don't know how he'd know such a thing. "Humans keep in touch and talk to each other even when they aren't in the same room. She'll find you some day." "I hope she doesn't," Duo said with a vehemence I didn't understand. What had my Lady ever done to him? "She'd come and take you away! She'd take you back and I don't want that to happen. I don't want to lose my best friend. Not again." That about took my breath away. I was his best friend? I needed to re-think how I felt toward him. I certainly hadn't felt lonely since his arrival, and he was attractive and handy to have around at times. He was staring at me and so was Trowa with a curious look in his eyes. They were expecting me to say something meaningful. "None of us can undo the decisions of humans." That was vague enough, I thought. "That's not reassuring at all. You're not very good at making me feel better." I couldn't get any more out of Duo as he moped. But Trowa seemed game to try. "In the circus we performed in a ring, like the arena outside, with people in seats stacked up the sides of the tent nearly to the top. There was an act where a human would set fire to a giant hoop hanging in the air. The audience "ooh'ed and ahh'ed" and it was hard not to stare at it. My job was to go around and around the ring at a constant pace in a particular, even gait." "Sounds boring-" "-With a leopard on my back." "What's a leopard?" Duo asked, engaged in the story and done moping. "A cat." Duo snorted. "Like I said, bor-ing." "A cat the size of a month-old horse." "No shit!" I was impressed, too. "I had to time my pace perfectly. The leopard was trained to jump through the ring of fire, pass through, and land on my back." "Proving cats are stupid animals. No horse would do that." I was certain I wouldn't. "Not me!" Duo was less an idiot than I gave him credit for. A great deal less, and he had very luxurious and useful mane and tail hair. "It was hell to practice," this paired with his low-key manner came out very funny. And in his own way, Trowa made me forget the potential horror of the storm outside and give me something else to talk about. I could hear the rain running down the gutters to be collected in underground cisterns for fire control. Clever humans. I had read and memorized the rules posted everywhere for the human caretakers to follow, and they seemed thorough. All reassuring. I was number one. I must be vigilant at all times, but for the time being I could share that responsibility with my stable mates. I even shared my stories with them. "Where I lived before there were cats, but normal sized ones, and one day-" I felt safe with my companions. I felt comfortable in my home. I felt happy in my head and not a little confused. Duo was responsible for that. I was the leader and yet he could manipulate me to do things like giving him back rubs. He didn't obey my commands immediately. He smelled delicious. I wanted him. He gave me lots to muse over all night. Horse Notes: Appaloosas are very versatile having great endurance and excellent dispositions. Although they can be stubborn, most Appaloosas are extremely intelligent and have trustworthy willing temperaments. Some physical characteristics that are shared by most Appaloosas are a short mane and tail. Most appaloosas also have strong sturdy legs and hooves, and are generally very sure-footed. Appaloosas are generally very gentle and are suitable for every level of rider.
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