The beautiful midsummer weather did nothing at all to lift her spirits. Soon the outskirts of Kirkwall came into view. The large buildings along the main road marked the spot where they would say goodbye to the emissary.
Solstice had declared that he would rather take the main road home. It was faster than crossing the meadows south of the city and that way he could make it home within the day. He would just have to canter or gallop until he left the city limits again; that would cut the amount of time he could be spotted by dog packs. In any case, he was fast enough to outrun them.
When they finally reached the first of the large one-storey structures, he bade his two escorts stop. He turned around and addressed Buidhe in a formal voice, just as she had taught him was important.
“I thank you and your tribe for the hospitality I enjoyed and will report this and the good outcome to my leader. Buidhe, please translate this for Ruadh.” He bowed a little to her and her brother respectively. She related it to Ruadh who of course already knew what he would hear from her.
This was it then. If only she had time to discuss all the implications with Solstice. If only she had not been so stupid in the first place.
She realized the others were waiting for her to conclude the formalities. Ruadh had an impatient and irritated expression on his face while Solstice had his head cocked and a questioning look in his eyes. “[My apologies,]” she muttered. She was just about to bow when she registered movement somewhere downslope to the west.
Instinctively she snapped her head around.
Ruadh groaned. “[What in Teacher's name is it this time? Can we not just be done with this and go home?]”
“[Down there. It is...,]” she squinted, “[It is a pony.]”
“[So what?]”
Solstice had turned around as well. “Yeah, could be one of ours. I'll go meet up with him or her.” He frowned. “Wait... that doesn't look good.”
She saw the pony sink to its knees and then fall over.
“HEY THERE! YOU OKAY?” her companion cried out.
It tried to rise again at the call but fell over once more. A moment later she was in a fast canter before she even registered what she was doing. So was Solstice and, a length and a curse behind, her brother.
She gasped when she saw the small, stocky pony close up. It resembled Dawn in many ways, but the pale yellow coat was full of dirt and blood. The hooves were chipped and the bright orange mane and tail a was a matted mess full of thorny twigs and more dirt. And the wounds. This pony should be dead already.
“Sun and moon! Buidhe! We need to get her up there! Tell Ruadh to stop being a damn jerk and help!”
Turning away from the whimpering little mare she addressed her brother in an angry voice. “[Will you now stop complaining and help!? There is clean water up there. We only have to get her to her hooves again and support her!]”
“[She is as good as dead already! Why would you want to make her suffer even more? Just stay with her until she fades away! Why not once listen to me instead of your messenger?!]”
“[Because he gives the better advice! Now help us or I swear you will regret it!]”
“[Fine! Have it your way then!]” he snarled, giving in.
Supported between two larger horses, the wounded pony was indeed able to walk. Slow, wobbly, but able to do it, much to her amazement.
“Just a little more! You're safe now girl!” Solstice was encouraging the pony from a little left and behind her. “We'll-” His hoofsteps came to an abrupt halt.
Whatever it was it would have to wait. “Solstice! Do not delay! Lead us!” He had to come to the front and look for obstacles on the ground. They should not force the little mare to use more strength than absolutely necessary.
When he spoke again, seemingly oblivious to her command, his voice was wavering. As if in awe. “Buidhe! She... She has a mark!”
“Yes! Bite marks!” she shot back. “Stare flank later!” She knew she was being unfair, but of all things to concentrate on right then!
“What?!” he spluttered but rallied immediately. “Sorry! Coming.”
Beside the main building was a pond with crystal clear water that welled up close by. They waded into it, the pony still between them. The mare cried out when the cold water washed over her injuries for the first time but soon seemed to relax a little. At least she ceased crying and started drinking greedily instead until they stopped her.
The pond had turned a brownish reddish colour around them when they finally deemed her clean enough. She now at least had a slight chance of not being killed by her wounds starting to rot. They helped her out of the water and over to the arched metal gate where Solstice had disappeared.
He had busied himself with cleaning a spot on the floor. The entrance room of the largest building right behind the gate was full of stands with faded, crumbling pictures. There were glass cases along the walls and behind a long counter, containing glasses, cups and dishes of blackened metal and leather-bound flasks.
Paintings hung on the walls, the surfaces cracked and the frames distorted. In front of the desk lay what looked like a small book, colourful cards sticking out of it. Their was a strange smell in the air that mixed with dust and the odour of rotting timber.
Judging by the amount of dirt hanging in it, Solstice had used his tail to sweep a part of the old wooden floor. She made him support the mare while she herself lay down on the floor. “[Make her head rest on my legs. Then go and clean yourselves up!]”
Only minutes later, the smaller stallion was also lying beside the stranger and murmuring comforting words into her ears. It seemed to help as she relaxed a little and her breathing went from wheezing to drawing quick breaths interspersed with small gasps.
Then she opened her huge, bloodshot eyes again. She coughed and forced out “Need... stairs somewhere here... down.”
Solstice was on his hooves in an instant and began checking along the walls, kicking away assorted debris to get a look at the floor beneath. “[Ruadh! Help me!]”
[“She will die anyway. These wounds will not heal. Dog bites this big are poison.]” Ruadh was looking on with an irritated frown, standing at the far wall.
“Little one. What is of need?” She asked while keeping her forehooves under the injured pony's head as to cause her as little additional discomfort as possible.
“Bottles...,” a painful cough made her grimace before she added “Metal shelves... many bottles.”
“Found it!” Solstice called out, “Over here under all this rubbish!” He turned to her brother. “[Help...clear!]”
Ruadh just scoffed. “[No point.]”
“[Get... tribe flank... move!]”
“[Ruadh! Do what he says!]” she interjected before her brother could answer, ignoring the general insult.
The two stallions began to pull away large pieces of the first floor that had fallen down into the room, brittle with dry rot. Ruadh was cursing the foul taste while Solstice seemed to have no problem whatsoever with it. The dirt that immediately covered his legs also did not appear to bother him. His words about restoring buildings came to her mind.
The noise of thrown about boards and timber and the splintering of smaller parts of masonry, kicked away hard enough to smash against the stone walls, made the small mare try to look up. It only took a careful nuzzle and a little downward pressure to make her lie down again.
“Thank you... whatever... whoever you are.” She clenched her eyes shut.
“I am Buidhe. Your name is?”
“Brenda.”
“Brenda, what is in bottles?” she inquired. To keep on talking to her was the only way she could think of how to keep the other one conscious. Whatever she was on about, it seemed important and they did not know what to do.
“Whisky.”
She blinked. “What?”
There was a weak laugh, followed by a cough that made her wince. “A... a horse... wouldn't know... sorry.” She took a long and shaky breath. “Alcohol. Disinfect.”
“What do you mean?”
“Kill... kill bacteria.”
She was beginning to feel very stupid. “...what?”
There was a long pause that made her begin to worry again. “Make sure... wounds don't go bad. Can use Whisky. Horses sturdier than... than humans,” she swallowed heavily, “I hope.”
“Humans?” this was getting mystifying. Before the small pony could answer though, there was a loud noise from the other side of the room.
“Ah shit!” There was a skidding sound, together with the clatter and crunching of small bits of wood and masonry and metal. “Ow. Think I found it,” came Solstice's muffled voice. “Damn, it's dark down here.” Clank. “OW! Found the metal shelves alright.” More muffled cursing. “Feels like lots of stuff here.” He sneezed, several times. “Hey! Got it!”
After a series of slow and careful hoofsteps, Solstice's head emerged from the hole in the floor. He was holding a short but somewhat wide glass bottle between his teeth. The remnants of something black with letters on clung to one side.
He came over and held it in front of the wounded pony's eyes. “Yish ish o-ell?”
“That's it! Thank god... it's still here.” The initial smile on her lips died as fast as it had emerged. “Must pour over wounds.” He nodded and began to try and open it. “Wait!” An unsettling look of dread was creeping into her eyes. “Must...,” her voice wavered, “Must rub it in! Es.... especially the,” she took a shaky breath, “The deep ones.”
“What is it Brenda?” she asked. “Will it not help you?”
“It's gonna hurt dammit!” She snapped, then coughed again and gasped for air. “Fucking more than now!” The mare had begun to smell of fear, making her own ears splay back. “Get... Get another bottle! That one alone's not gonna cut it!” Brenda forced out quickly before the next cough.
When Solstice returned with the second bottle, he set about to open it but soon had to give up. “I can't get the damn thing open! Buidhe, you have to help me. Hold it so I can pull that top off!”
She nodded but all of a sudden felt nervous. “[How should I do that? Your hooves are better at this.]”
“Well, just bite down on the neck so I can get some some leverage. I'll keep my hooves on it as well.”
With only the slightest bit of hesitation she did as instructed and laid Brenda's head down with great care. She moved over to lie down opposite of Solstice, the bottom of the bottle between her hooves. He in turn put his own hooves on top of hers.
When they both bit down on the bottle she felt his breath on her cheek and swallowed a little nervously. Then he grunted and began to twist the top back and forth, gnawing through the material holding it in place.
When he turned it to the right the third time he pressed his muzzle against her own. She clenched her eyes shut when she felt a little lopsided grin on his lips despite the circumstances. A moment later the top came off with a resounding fump.
A strange smell filled the air that bit into her nostrils and made her eyes water. She released her hold. “[What on earth is that?!]”
“No idea. Pretty intense. [Ruadh! Two bottle!]”
She did not dare look up when her brother came over and put the other bottle between her and the little stallion with a disdainful snort.
A minute later they were done. “Alright Brenda, ready when you are.”
The pony nodded and clenched her eyes shut. She noticed how her muscles went taut. Solstice held the bottle over one of the smaller cuts on her flank and poured a little bit of the light amber liquid over it.
The effect was immediate. The pony gave a sharp gasp and jolted, almost knocking the bottle out of his hooves. “SHIT! Oh god! Stop! Oh god dammit stop!” She lay her head back down and whimpered a little.
“Uhm... you sure about this? There's a lot of cuts on that side. And those bites on the other side, and those, uhm, wounds on your chest,” he said with a lot of doubt in his voice.
“Better than to die of blood poisoning you... you stupid...you stupid quadruped!”
“Hey! I'm trying to help you!”
“Sorry... sorry...,” she bit out with tears in her eyes. “I know... it's just... that's going to hurt so fucking much!” She took a deep and shaky breath and continued in a small and fearful voice, “Guess that's...,” she gulped, “That's where you do like in those stupid old westerns. Hold the hero down, light the gunpowder and all that.”
Her voice was beginning to teeter on the hysterical. “Look! I'm starring in my own stupid trippy fantasy-action film! Get the fuck on with it!! And don't you fucking stop!!!” her shout petered out and she began to cry.
She looked down at the crying mare and up again at Solstice who was looking extremely uncomfortable. “You do... 'Whisky'. And rub in,” she said, avoiding eye contact, “[I am strongest. I hold down hindlegs and Ruadh forelegs. Ruadh! No I do not care if you are too weak for this! So you are not? Then come here before I make you!]”
They got on with it.
The room filled with the stench of sweat and blood dissolved in smoky alcohol.
Never in her life had she heard any creature scream like this.
She was shaken. She realized she was trembling a little with exhaustion. And crying. Looking up, she found that the stallions were not faring any better. At one point she had started sobbing while holding the ludicrously strong pony down with all her might.
Ruadh had been yelling at the mare to stop fighting and screaming and at Solstice to work faster and at herself to pull herself together. And also because he had to use every ounce of strength he possessed. Now he was staring blankly into the air before him, wet streaks under his eyes.
Solstice had gone completely quiet in the process, with a blank look on his face and working as fast as possible with jerky yet somehow still accurate movements. He was lying on the floor with his hooves over his eyes and sobbing.
Brenda was utterly drenched in sweat and was wheezing in quiet gasps and trembling all over.
It took them more than half an hour to collect themselves enough to talk more or less normally to each other again. They avoided looking at each other though. She looked up when she heard a quiet groan from their patient and bent down her head to try and make out if she was actually trying to say something.
The little mare had hardly any of her voice left after the ordeal, but she still managed to croak out “Please... some for me.”
She blinked. “Solstice?” She pointed at the almost empty second bottle. “She wants... that?”
“Just... a little... please,” the battered pony rasped.
“Uhm... looks like it?” he said while slowly scratching his mane with a still shaky hoof. “She's the one who knows the stuff.” He hesitated. “Ah well, if it's good...,” he swallowed, “Good on the outside, maybe it's also good on the inside?”
Before she could react, her companion had gingerly picked up the bottle, held it close to the other pony's muzzle and tipped it very carefully. A thin trickle of 'whisky' splashed onto her lips and into her mouth. He jumped back as not to be hit by the sudden jerk that she expected as well.
A second later Brenda gasped, then coughed violently, tears flooding her eyes once more as the hacking movement put a lot of strain on all her injuries.
She jumped forward to snatch the bottle away from Solstice so he would not go on to hurt the poor thing even more in his stupidity. Before she could do so however, the mare spoke again. She noticed that the intensely pained expression from seconds ago had been replaced by the slightest of smiles.
“More...,” the voice emerged as barely more than a whisper, yet its dry, rasping quality had diminished considerably. That made no sense at all.
“[Solstice, that is not a good idea I think!]”
“What? She's the one who asks for it. She knows what she's doing, she's got a mark,” he stated matter of factly.”
“[What has that got to do with anything?!]” she inquired, deeply irritated, and shook her head at the stallion's behaviour. Was that girl his new chieftain?! She stomped a hoof and glared at her brother when she heard him snicker.
Completely ignoring her, Solstice was already pouring more of the amber fluid into the mare's mouth when she looked back. It was enough that some of it trickled out the other side again, yet to her surprise and extreme relief the pony did not cough this time, but swallowed after a few seconds, followed by a little sigh.
She put the hoof she had intended to smack Solstice with down again.
The stranger's face relaxed in what could only be called an expression of bliss. Moments later the pony's head dropped the last half inch to the ground and her body went entirely still, except for the slow and steady breathing of the deep sleep of utter exhaustion.
When she looked up from the finally and mercifully unconscious mare and turned her head towards Solstice, the words she had intended to say died on her lips. He was sniffing the bottle with an entirely too curious expression to her liking. “Solstice! What are you doing?!”
“Hey, this stuff actually smells real nice when you don't mix it with all kinds of dirt and nasties first. Like... kinda like heather actually. Really sweet heather.” He took another sniff. “And grain! And like a baking fire!”
He sniffed again. “You think they figured out a way to make heather and peat palatable? What? Don't look at me like that. That'd be seriously great!”
“[You want to drink this? After what it did to her? It burned her and knocked her out! Drink it?!]” she exclaimed incredulously and commanded “I will not have you do this!”
She stared at Solstice in disbelief when he took the bottle between his teeth anyway and tilted his head backwards. A second later he coughed violently but still managed to catch it before it would have shattered on the floor. “Wow.”
“[Did you tell him no? Your little pony does not seem to listen to you,]” came the sarcastic comment from the back wall. Ruadh seemed to have recovered enough to be back to his usual self.
“[He is not 'my little pony',]” she replied tersely while turning to face her brother. She really did not need this right now. Not after what she just had been through. Especially not from her obnoxious sibling, even if it just might be his way of trying to cope with what he had just been part of.
“[Oh?]” He grinned smugly. “[Is he your stallion then, dearest sister? Did you perform a special offer with short notice? You sure seemed flustered when he nuzzled you.]”
She felt her ears splay back against her head when he snickered again, grinding her teeth as to not bare them at her own kin. She did not say a word. She just glared at him. She could not find a fitting retort, apart from a blatant lie that she would surely choke on.
Finally she broke eye contact and her hard gaze came to rest somewhere above his right shoulder. A second later his pleased expression turned into one of nervousness and she could almost hear him swallow.
“[You did not,]” he stated flatly.
Solstice was having something of a coughing fit in the background, accompanied by the faint sound of glass clinking on wood. She dimly registered him slinking away a moment later. She continued to stare at the point of the wall behind Ruadh, but in the end she could not help but to finally bare her teeth.
“[You did.]” Her brother looked stunned.
Why now? Why on earth now? Why like this? “[This does not concern you!]” she bit out, barely keeping her voice under control.
Ruadh was suddenly highly agitated, a mix of disbelief, concern and anger on his features. His voice was still hoarse. “[What?! You must be aware of what this means for you! For all of us! When uncle receives word-]”
“[You would not dare!]”
“[And lie to uncle because of your stupidity?!]” he shouted back. “[Have you lost your mind?! Did his ridiculous colours do something to your head?! Since when does my sister do her thinking with her lifted tail?!]”
She gaped at him for a few seconds before the fuse reached the keg.
“[HOW DARE YOU?! A FINE BROTHER YOU ARE!]” There was only so much her frayed nerves could take anymore today. “[GO RUT A EWE RUADH!!!]”
Blood boiling and chest heaving, she began to advance on him with slow hoofsteps that sent small tremors through the floorboards. He simultaneously looked furious, shocked and intimidated, his tail between his legs where it was trying to swish all on its own.
Never before had she yelled at him like this. Or with words like these. He began to back up, looking ready to bolt but having nowhere to run. “[Sister! This is... How can you-]”
Solstice chose that moment to emerge from the staircase he had disappeared into again when she was having the stand-off with Ruadh, cautiously looking over the edge to gauge the situation.
She stopped up sharply and glared at him. “[And where did you run off to?! This is about you! You will be part of this!]”
He was holding another bottle in his mouth but hurriedly set it down, looking abashed. “Uhm... you two sounded kinda busy, so I thought, uhm... might as well, ah, like, heh …?”
“[Just look at him sister! How-]”
Spittle flew from her mouth. “[BE QUIET! BOTH OF YOU!]” She clenched her eyes shut, reared up and slammed her hooves down on the floor. Both Solstice and Ruadh flinched away and even the unconscious pony stirred for a moment when the floor reverberated under the impact.
“[You!]” she pointed a shaking hoof at her companion. “[Do not make me regret my choice! My choice that I will stand by!]” She glowered at him until he gulped, looked away and shrank down the stairs again.
“[And you,]” she said to Ruadh in a suddenly very cold voice, “[You will stay here and help my mate watch over that pony over there while I go and get help in Stromness.]”
“My mate?” an incredulous whisper came from Solstice's hiding place.
“[You cannot just order me to do something!]” Ruadh blurted out in disbelief, “[We are of the same standing! This pony is not our concern! I will return home now!]” He made for the exit, but she blocked his way.
“[I can give you orders. I still am the chieftain's scout.]” She took a step towards him. “[Here I can order you around as much as I please, dearest brother. Outside our lands I outrank you!]”
She took a deep breath and growled “[You. Stay. Here,]” before adding in a more normal voice, “[And maybe our chieftain will not receive word of your insults and your ignorance.]” Another step brought her forehead to forehead with him. “[Depends.]”
“Ooohh... that had to hurt,” the staircase commented with an audible grin. She pointedly ignored it.
Rarely had she been so relieved to step out into the cool air of a summer night. Insufferable. Both of them. There was a task to perform and if she was the only one capable of doing so, she would do it alone. All on her own. As she was wont to do.
She leaned heavily against the wall and tried to collect herself. From here on out it was uncharted territory and having a nervous breakdown would not be helpful right then. All she needed to do right then was to take slow, deep breaths and calm down.
For a minute or so it was quiet back in the distillery. Then Solstice's muffled voice carried out to her. “[Try drink?]” Quiet. “[Is good! Warm! Sweet! Smoke!]”
A pause.“[I do not need to try this poison. Leave me be.]” Her brother, sounding both sullen and angry.
Solstice spoke again in a mocking tone. “Heh, yeah, sure. [You fear? Filly drink.]”
She could almost hear her brother's ears splay back.
“[Watch your tongue! Were you not my sister's...,]” Ruadh was clearly trying to keep a hold on himself.
“[Mate,]” Solstice helpfully supplied in a smooth voice.
“[Then I would make you eat dust this very moment!!!]”
A snerk. “[Coward.]”
A snarl. “[Give me this. I will have more of this foul liquid than you could ever hope to take!]”
A chuckle. “[Is on!]”
She took a deep breath. Then another one. Then she cursed the two of them, her life and the world in general and galloped off towards Stromness, as fast as she deemed safe and doable for herself in the late evening twilight and her current state of mind.
In other words, she flew west.
6623961 I've been giving this a lot of thought now but so far have failed to come up with anything. If you have any ideas regarding it, let me know ;)
Btw., Icelands, by their nature, usually roam a lot farther than most larger breeds. Harsh conditions, sparse food, etc.
The Buidhe-Solstice relationship is obviously implied to have some pretty big consequences, but I'm not sure I'm getting what they are yet. Would they end up tying their two tribes together into one, maybe? In Buidhe's tribe's eyes at least, even if Solstice's side doesn't think that way.
Brenda's dealing pretty well with a rotten situation. Despite Buidhe's flippant comment, the respect she's already getting from Solstice for having a mark combined with her human knowledge probably does make her a good candidate for Chief.
I really liked the reactions of the three to treating Brenda's wounds. With only her word for it that they were doing any good, it must have just seemed kind of horrific to them...
Solstice and Ruadh ending up in a drinking contest was pretty funny. Ruadh might want to watch out though - I'm pretty sure normal horses don't have a human's ability to get sick to deal with ingesting too much of a poison. If he drinks too much it might kill him instead of just making him sick...
Buidhe, for all her hesitancy, totally wears the pants in their relationship. But the moment where Ruadh forced her hoof was hilarious though. I still love Ruadh and Buidhe's dynamics, caught not just between siblings but also positions. Reflects what's up with Dawn/Sol/Moor/Moon in a way too. Just... better I loved Sol's catty remarks from the staircase though. Ruadh and Sol are already settling into an awesome dynamic. Poor Buidhe is forced to be the only sane mare.
(one day I'll stop spelling her name as Bruidhe on the first try...)
Sol is adorable at times though. Looking at the world with a foal like wonder. Sniffing at branding bottles.... I laughed way too hard after the horrific Whiskey treatment and it's aftermaths. Alcohol from the outside. Burns cuts like hellfire. Burns your throat. And also knocks ponies out cold.... seriously Sol, why would you want to drink that?
Brenda is already making waves. As I expected, her having a mark is a big deal in Sol's eyes, would will make it really interesting if/when they get her back. What I really loved is that she's already spreading bad habits. Just a few hours in the future and already stallions are having drinking competitions to show who has the bigger chest.
Another point for this disjointed comment; I really like the background events happening. Those little moments that remind you that yes, there are others in the room doing their own thing.
And back to an earlier point in the chapter, as Doppler points out, it was nice for you to point out the after-effects of their crude medical treatment. They would have never done anything like this before, and it was not pretty in the least.
Also... I couldn't help it...
Scaffolding. *nods*
6629843 I actually had all the implications of their relationship in this chapter. I took it out again during editing though, as it would have turned into a major exposition dump which I promised to stop doing; at least I felt as if it would have broken the flow. It's all worked out and I promise to reveal it all in the very near future since I'm beginning to tie up the different story strands.
And it's true, real horses can't throw up. So hopefully he won't commit suicide by single malt.
6630025
I don't mean to make it sound like a complaint that I haven't figured it out. A story written with the assumption built in but not spelled out, like you've done here, makes it more interesting to try to work it out before it's revealed!
6630127
Don't worry, I most assuredly didn't read it like one.
Are you sure Brenda isn't a disguised minotaur? Because even those would pass out from that amount of pain.
Seriously, the girl is tough as nails. I like it.
That level of cultural clash while they were sober... I'm scared to imagine how friendly they might get when they are drunk.
6629614
Oh, ideas I have!
As I see it, what you got there is pretty common situation in animal behaviour. Normally, such things either sublimate into similar activity, or lead to serious aggression issues. Nothing stops them from having both, of course. In this case it's also complicated by their sudden uplifting and converting the instincts into traditions.
They can sublimate this desire into a set of extremely complex and exhausting traditions, so they get the workout and the stimulation their bodies command them to have, yet can avoid migrating into the ocean (probably, with some even migrating into the ocean due to being unable to cope with the stress). It can also incorporate their inevitably increased aggression - it can be a competition. Since they convert their instincts into traditions, it might be the most natural outcome. That, or a constant war with every other tribe for the roaming grounds (but that would've been known to Stromness ponies).
But there's also another option, displacement activity (that can also be made into tradition). In this case you can go as wild as you like, since displacement activity is often in no way connected to the one it displaces. Of course, it can also include the aggression vent into the resulting set of traditions. And incorporate the scouts in some interesting way.
6629966 This chapter was so far the most satisfying to write. Ruadh is another one of those characters that suddenly show personality; originally he was only intended as annoying dude preventing Buidhe from sorting things out with Sol. Now I really like him... well, as a character to write :b
"Because it smells nice! Uhm... and because I can. Unlike that sissy over there. Heh. What? Buidhe's not around. Me drinking Highland Park is entirely your fault anyway. Slainte Mhath!"
I spent a lot of time editing in little details and it was great fun. Somehow it just worked and I'm really happy it also worked for those reading it. And Brenda... well ;)
"I'll never live that one down, will I? At least I don't have wings."
6630349
She's an Alicorn. Their society isn't advanced enough yet to introduce the Mino-Mafia.
I haven't written anything about Sol and Ruadh yet. I'm looking forward to it. When Buidhe's not around...
And woah! That's a lot of material; I like it. I hope I'll be able to work something of it into the remaining chapters. No promises, but thanks a lot!
6630555
Actually, the ones who would establish what would become the Labyrinth are gathering and organizing themselves at about that time in Moscow.
Holy crap yeah, we use the disinfectants we do for good reason. Ethanol is hardly the most pleasant choice.
In other news, It took me this long to get to reading these later chapters. Some kind of sin perhaps, but dang does it improve. I wish the earlier chapters had read as well as this one did. I got confused about speaker identity during the unattributed sections at the end, but other than that it was smooth sailing the whole time. Good work.
Not very many of the LPoE writers have tried to build an actually new world like you have-- masterful good work.
Is it OK to feed beer to my horse?
http://practicalhorsemanmag.com/article/feed-beer-horse-16487
Q: An Irish racehorse trainer once told me that it’s traditional to feed a horse Guinness® beer after he wins a competition. Is there any nutritional benefit—or danger—to doing this? Can horses get drunk? How much beer can I give my horse? Should I reduce his grain meal to compensate for the extra calories?
Sarah Ralston, VMD, PhD, Dipl. ACVN
A: Many horses love the taste of beer, possibly because it consists of ingredients such as barley and hops, which resemble the grains in horse feeds. The alcoholic content is not a concern, as horses do not get drunk easily, if at all. Their livers process alcohol extremely rapidly because they naturally produce large amounts of alcohol dehydrogenase. This is an enzyme that breaks down the products of fermentation, which occurs in the horse’s large intestine during normal digestion. It quickly converts all forms of alcohol to carbohydrates to be used for energy.
A 12-ounce serving of beer can range from 55 calories for some “lite” beers to 250 for the heavier ales. (My husband’s horse, RU Sir Galahad, prefers Samuel Adams® Lager, which is 160 calories per bottle. He was once offered Coors Light® and spit it out.) The average 1,200-pound horse requires a total caloric intake of about 17,000 calories per day just for maintenance. One pound of standard grain mix provides more than 2,000 calories—so there is no need to cut back on your horse’s regular feed if you give him a bottle of beer after a ride. He will burn up the extra calories easily.
The amounts of carbohydrates and water in a single bottle or can of beer also are negligible in view of a horse’s total needs. However, beer does provide some minerals, niacin, B vitamins (B1, B3 and B6), folate and flavonoids, all of which horses need. So there may be minor nutritional benefits (although a good-quality feeding program already provides these nutrients in adequate amounts). Another potential benefit may result if you mix beer into your horse’s water, especially when dehydration is a concern, as when traveling. If he loves the taste of beer, adding a bit to his water may encourage him to drink more.
To my knowledge, beer will not cause a positive drug test in horses, but you might want to double-check with your sport’s governing organization before offering your horse a beer before a competition. Beware, too, that other competitors who see you feeding your horse beer before a class might complain, even though there is no evidence at all it would in any way alter performance.
A safe method to give your horse a beer is to pour it into a bucket.
Otherwise, I see no danger in feeding your horse a beer, especially after a nice ride. Although it adds a very small amount of calories relative to a horse’s overall intake, I would not give an overweight horse a steady diet of beer. But one or two beers a week will definitely do no harm.
My brother once scraped his leg on a twig. It was a pretty deep scrabe and bleded like hell. I was drunk (so was he) and I knew that the wound had to be disenfected so I took my hanky and drenched it in Whisky.
He screamed
A lot and loud
At 1 in morning
Good times
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