With a sharp tug Lovino pulled the cloth sack over one shoulder, squinting in the dimming light as the sun set behind the forest. He glared at the gently waving trees with his one good eye, the other one had swollen shut where he had been struck by his father, and his resolve wavered slightly. Of all of the places in the near vicinity, this forest in particular was the most dangerous. Especially in the dark, the boy reminded himself as the light faded fast below the horizon and the brunette reluctantly began to move towards the woods' edge.
After only a second of hesitation more, Lovino stepped over the not-so-subtle transition from his villa into the wilderness, the change of scenery jarring. Already surrounded by the lingering shade of dusk, the brunette nervously trudged through the ankle deep underbrush, his body aching from the injuries he had sustained.
It hadn't been more than a half an hour ago that he let the horse escape, only as long as it had taken his father to yell at him and him to pack enough supplies to not die in the wilderness, and the throbbing pain was still fresh. Grumbling about his situation, the boy begrudgingly continued on through the forest, deeper and deeper into a place he knew almost nothing about.
The day soon faded into eerie blackness, the moon in turn rising high to light the brunette's way. After hours of walking through the thick brush, the boy was worn down and if his body had hurt before, now he understood true agony. In a faintly illuminated clearing, Lovino was coaxed into leaving the shadows as the allure of fresh water overcame the fear of being eaten, a small stream going through the area and between some weathered rocks.
With a groan Lovino practically fell onto a nearby rock, letting his bag fall heavily at his side as though it weighed three tons rather than three pounds. His stomach growled angrily and his face and side didn't seem to be feeling any better either. Leaning forward he cupped his hands in the stream, moving slowly to keep his balance and avoid falling in.
As he brought the glittering puddle of water in his hands to his lips to drink, a noise from the brush behind stopped him short.
Miraculously, Lovino managed to avoid throwing the water all over the place and running like hell, which he nearly did on pure instinct, and instead he carefully spread his fingers and lets the cool water seep from his hands and trickle quietly into the grass and brush.
Stiffly, the brunette turned to look behind him, his heart pounding in his ears and his breathing shallow. Finally peering into the darkness around him, Lovino saw what it was that had emerged from the forest, and he was pissed.
There, rope still about ankle, stood the black mare that had just entered the clearing, unwary and incautious as she approached the stream with the same intentions as the boy who now watched her had had only moments before. She bent her graceful neck once she stood before the stream and began to drink deeply, not even noticing the boy that gaped at her only a few feet away.
Lovino was silent and still as he watched the mare, awe at the sight only being overcome by a slight annoyance that the beast had run off in the first place. Very slowly, he tried to reach for the sack that he had used to bring a rope and food in, feeling blindly about the grass to his side for a few seconds before catching hold of what he was looking for.
Quietly he dragged the bag up next to his side, reaching in to retrieve a long rope from within. For a few minutes he only watched the exhausted mare drink, the rope clutched nervously in shaking, sweaty hands. You can't fuck this up, Lovino, he reminded himself as he tried to stand up as carefully as possible.
Too bad for the boy that this wasn't slow enough and just as he got to his feet the mare jerked her head up, dark brown eyes alert and scared. Spotting the boy the horse seemed to actually glare in annoyance before snorting huffily and turning to gallop back the way she had come.
Lovino, who knew he couldn't afford to let the mare escape him again, bolted after her in the hopes that she would meet an obstacle that would slow her long enough for him to subdue her sufficiently enough to return to the villa. Dodging between trees, the boy struggled to keep sight of the dark creature in the pale light of the moon, only the sound of her hooves providing definite assurance that she was still ahead of him.
After countless minutes of running, Lovino had to slow and catch his breath, the mare slipping off into the dark and the sound of her gallop fading a few minutes after the image of her rump. Dropping to his knees and wheezing, the boy held his sides and glared after the now long gone form of the mare, cursing himself under his breath. Once he was able to breath steadily, he stood and dusted his clothes, turning to hopefully return the way he came so that he could retrieve his bag.
But it was far too late for that and Lovino quickly learned this when he realized that he was lost with only a rope, an aching body and an aching head. By now he had trekked further into the trees in search of water and his supplies, but was met only with unfamiliar surroundings and the rising sun. He had been either running or walking the entire night, save for the minute he managed to sit at the stream, and he was so worn out that he couldn't go any further.
This time literally falling to the ground, Lovino laid down in the course underbrush among skittering spiders and beetles, not even caring of how dangerous and stupid it was to sleep in the open in the middle of the forest.
He closed his eyes in bliss, purely grateful to not have to move anymore and he was soon asleep right there, though this didn't last long.
Not even an hour later Lovino was roused from sleep by a sound approaching him. Cracking an eye open groggily, the boy was surprised and amazed to find that he had been nearly covered by falling leaves while he was sleeping, the brown and gold foliage raining down steadily from the trees above and onto the brunette.
About to stand up the boy was stopped when the sound of the approach that had woken him up in the first place continued and intensified as it came closer. Lying still on the ground, Lovino moved his eyes rather than his entire head, to look all around the area.
He was shocked speechless to see a large, black horse approaching from the trees and toward him. This must be my lucky day! The boy thought as he tensed his body for a surprise attack.
Once the horse was at the point where another step forward would have landed on Lovino, the brunette sprang from the leaves, the rope he had been running with last night close enough by that he had it ready when he was out of the cover. In surprise, the beast reared up and whinnied at him in dismay, its eyes widening as he threw a rope over its neck and pulled it tight.
"Ha! You bastard, thought you would run away from me, eh? I showed you!" The boy gloated as he held tightly to the rope that now ensnared the duke's mare. Or, at least what he had thought was the duke's mare. Glaring triumphantly at the black horse, Lovino suddenly realized that this mare was no mare at all. A matter of fact, this wasn't even a horse!
Defiantly the large, black stallion leered irritably at the brunette boy, it's emerald green eyes shimmering intelligently. Lovino would have been captivated by such eyes had he not been distracted by the long, pearlescent horn that spiraled from the stallion's forehead into a dangerous point.
"What the hell?! You're a fuckin UNICORN!"
Oh Lovino ~ So, now that you've had a lovely jog through the forest, how about catching a gigantic and dangerous mythical equine, hmm? X3
Thanks so much to Sere-San and my sister for pestering me into writing this so fast :D You guys are so *cough*irritating*cough* great~
Thanks to anyone who reads this, please review and tell me what you think! And also a big thank you to my first 4 followers and faves :D *hugs* You guys are great!
