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[CV] Collab | Spring Event — Description

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Collab with UncannyCat
I lined and shaded the horses, and then added the back/foreground!
They colored in our horse characters!
We then BOTH wrote stories for our side!

[Spring Event ] - UncannyCat
“I’m sure you’ve seen some of the other herds around the area. Perhaps if you spread the word about my work, we might be able to recruit others to help us end this terrible winter,”
Note: This is an opportunity to collab or mention another herd. Collabs will count for two entries, mentions will count for one.
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[ UncannyCat ]
Amphitrite didn’t slow down until they were over a mile from the place they had left the pale stallion to the mercy of the bear, not so much as looking back at the sounds of the fight as the bear had crashed unnoticed into the stallion’s side. Leia didn’t know how long she had been running, but when they stopped Leia was panting, struggling to draw breaths in the cold air, her skin warm and sweaty while her lungs felt like they were closing up.

Around them the forest was white and cold, the tall, thin pines that surrounded them coated with snow all the way up their trunks where the wind had plastered it to their bark. Their branches were full of it too, clumping between the trunk and even the thinnest of them, and those that still had leaves were weighted down by it. The trees seemed dragged down, as if at any moment the thick snow might come loose and shower the unbroken white blanket that covered the ground, or bring the entire branch down with it.

They shifted to a trot, then unsteadily slowed to a walk in a little clearing between the trees, and Leia didn’t know if this had been intended or if it was just the best place Amphitrite had found for now. The older mare turned to look at her, taking in Leia’s lighter frame and heaving sides as she lowered her head to drag in air. Amphitrite was an older mare, but still sleek and lightfooted, and there was something in her step that made Leia sure she would hold her own in a fight. Her coat was a mix of grey and white, although Leia couldn’t determine her markings aside from the spots of blanket appaloosa on her flanks.

“You’re bleeding.” It wasn’t a question.

Leia looked back to her flanks to find the sweat on her coat mixed with hot blood, cooled and starting to freeze where it had flowed down her flanks. She was too tired to object as Amphitrite approached her and sniffed the wound, her nostrils flaring at the scent of blood. Behind them Leia spotted flecks of blood in the snow and winced, knowing that it could lead either the bear or the pursuing stallion right to them.

“Stay standing,” Amphitrite instructed, as if Leia was a long legged, wandering foal and not a strange adult mare she’d encountered within the last hour. So saying, she rooted around in her mane for a moment before withdrawing a fernroot from one of the witch’s knots across the top. Setting it on top of Leia’s back, she began to clean the wound. Despite the pain, Leia didn’t protest, as she was too tired to do it herself and she was abruptly grateful for this strange mare. She reminded her a bit of her mother.

Once the blood was cleared away and the wound was clean, Amphitrite took the fernroots and applied them to the wound, then leaned back with a critical frown. “I wish I had something better than fernroot, but it stores best and I’m not likely to find something else in this weather. It isn’t the best herb for this, but it’s flexible and it will do.”

Her chest no longer aching, Leia looked back to see the wound, the sting of the cleaning fading to numbness. It was mostly hidden by the herbs, but the three jagged marks from the bear’s claws were unmistakable. She realized that it must have happened when she first kicked the bear, and she’d been running wounded all this time. No wonder the bear had been so worked up - it could smell her blood. There was no other explanation, for there was no other time the bear had been close enough to strike her except when she kicked it. Leia remembered the little foal and wondered if she was all right. If the bear could do this much damage to an adult horse, a foal like that didn’t stand a chance.

“You said you were with Iefan?” Leia asked, trying to organize her scattered thoughts.

Amphitrite looked up from examining the wound as if startled by someone else being there. She looked at Leia for a moment, then grinned, her tail swishing. “Well, I wouldn’t say ‘with’ although I certainly wouldn’t pass up a chance. I’m familiar with the herds of the area and have some medicinal knowledge, so he asked me to help him find some things. Not the easiest when everything is covered in snow, but I’ve been managing. And you?”
“He asked me to ‘dispatch’ a bear,” Leia said, and Amphitrite searched her face for a moment before snorting, amused.
“Yes, that sounds like him. Next time tell him to get a stallion to do it, they’re bigger and a nice bachelor can deal with an injury better than a mare. We have things to do,” Amphitrite shook her head. “I’m looking for a herd that lives a little to the south of us. They usually have a good stock of herbs for the winter and I wanted to borrow some. Perhaps you’ve seen them? Or heard them, at least. They always have a lot of foals.”
Leia wasn’t sure if she should be flattered or insulted that Amphitrite didn’t think she should be handling a bear - she was right, Leia had no idea how to fight a bear (or most other things), but that didn’t mean Leia was about to admit that. “No, sorry. I was closer to the human buildings before… this.” (By which she meant the bear, and the injury, and the weird stallion lurking in the shadows where no shadows existed.)

For her part, Amphitrite seemed unphased by all of this. “Would you like to come along? I still need to find them, but you can stay with them if you like, their stallion is the nice sort. He’ll let you leave, but will make you feel guilty about it. And I can keep an eye on that wound for you, bears carry all sorts of infection.”
While Leia really did need to get back, her leg was starting to hurt and she wasn’t in any condition to go wandering around the forest by herself. “Yeah, I’ll go with you. Can’t hurt.”

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[ Completeperfection ]
It’d been a week or so now, since the cream-tinged mare had found herself separated from her beloved herdmates. She hadn’t really been keeping track of the time, nor the days, though. No, because Liz was much too focused on simply surviving. This cold, these returning Winter temperatures, they were a cause for great concern! Hadn’t Spring already made its long-awaited arrival? Hadn’t these frosts already begun to fade? Why then.. were more of these frozen flakes now falling down from the heavens? Liz’ dark lips were pressed together firmly as she cast her curious stare skyward, just in time to observe an enormous eagle float by above the forest’s canopy. Oh how she wished she could just soar high above the valley like so. T’was then that her body was reminded of its current position though, standing in the ever-deepening snow. The cold seemed to suddenly eat at her bones, causing the mare’s body to shudder as an intense chill rode down her backside.
“I have to get warm,” Liz encouraged herself quietly. The mare’s ears were collected into a backwards tilt as feelings of anxiety rushed in. Instead of moving forwards, as those words of encouragement were meant to prompt her into doing, Liz fell victim to more mind-bound conversation. Where was that handsome, stripey stallion now? Hmm? Where was he now that Liz needed him? Would he have some sweet, persuasive things to say here in THIS moment too? Liz quietly scolded herself, releasing a hot snort onto the air. The warm carbon formed a visible cloud as it rushed into the cold atmosphere. It wasn’t the stallion’s fault that these snows had appeared and obscured their vision, leading to their separation. But.. what of their foal? Liz’ gaze turned to her growing side, her brows furrowing. “I can do this,” she whispered again, this time ready to take action.

T’was then that Liz straightened her posture, her shoulders tossed into a backwards roll as that doe-like neck stretched heavenward. Her brows furrowed further, a look of determination consuming her feminine-influenced facial before a single step was made. Those dark legs sunk knee deep into the frozen slush underfoot. It was startling, but Liz overcame her fears by adding more ‘umf’ to her second step. She’d conquer the snows with stubborn stomps, her nostrils flared with carbon pumping out of them. Like a well-built machine she’d chug onwards, stomp after determined stomp until she finally escaped the deep snows!
When the mare’s hooves met with a well-worn path, Liz finally claimed a moment to pause and regulate her breathing. Her heart was beating rapidly now, its rhythmed beat banging inside her head; however, that didn’t keep her gaze from noticing other hoofprints upon the ground. Two sets of prints, in fact! The buckskin lass couldn’t help but feel hopeful, even after (through closer inspection) she had noticed a trail of blood alongside said prints. Wonderful! Not only was the weather a concern, but now, Liz was made to consider what may have drawn blood from her equine kin! A decision was made in seconds. The roan-wrapped mare would obey her social instincts and follow the path of these hoofprints. Perhaps she’d find whom they belonged to, and she could (at least) put to rest these feelings of loneliness and overwhelming anxiety. It beat traveling in the opposite direction, risking coming face to face with whatever blood-thristy dangers the other horses had fled from. Right? Right. With a deep breath filling her lungs, Liz started off after the pair of strangers.
With her nose hovering inches above the Earth’s surface, taking in the smell of spilled blood, the mare found herself wishing good fortune to these other horses she was tracking down. She wished them well and recovered from whatever wounds they had suffered. She hoped them calm and friendly too, and open to adopting Liz into their company. It was the least that this buckskin mare could hope for after all; and in this moment, it was the only thing she could think to crave. Their welcoming company. She needed it; or at least, her instincts led her to believe this.
The longer Liz carried herself forward down this path, the colder her surroundings began to feel. At one point, the mare’s brown eyes had begun to wander again, her confidence fading. That’s when she had spotted a small animal skull at the base of a nearby tree. Had the poor animal been claimed by this unforgiving cold? Had it suffered alone? T’was as though all hope faded in that moment. Those intense feelings of anxiety returned full force, crashing into her chest like physical, wind-drawn waves. It felt as though Liz’ ribcage was beginning to constrict her other organs. Tears had begun rushing to fill her eyes. Her breath quickened again.

“Is anyone out there?!” she cried, calling out, against every thought that screamed it was a bad idea. Perhaps the hoofprint makers would return her call though. Perhaps they could find one another, band together, and face this weather together. It was worth the shot. It was worth it!
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Stallion ID: #169 Blaze
In response to: E-Eagle, E-Animal Skull
Art features: Liz
Story features: Liz
Word Count: 854

Pregnancy: Liz P(2/3), P(3/3)
Healing: Liz i(1/2), i(2/2)

Items Used: P.Wood
Companion Animals: Squeak - Flying Squirrel - HP
Collab: Yes, with UncannyCat

Rolls: Normal

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Stallion ID: Flare #151
In response to: Spring Event
Art features: Amphitrite
Story features: Amphitrite
Word Count: 1,052

Items Used: Peanutwood x1
Companion Animals: Nursing (Ghost)
Bachelor Herd: No
Collab: Yes - Blaze #169 with Completeperfection and Albion #151-2 with UncannyCat

Rolls: Feather

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Stallion ID: Albion #151-2
In response to: Spring Event
Art features: Leia
Story features: Leia
Word Count: 1,052

Healing: Leia 1/3

Bachelor Herd: No
Collab: Yes - Blaze #169 with Completeperfection and Flare #151 with UncannyCat

Rolls: Items