Rage .+. Rave .+. Hunter

She had just sent a text message telling Dimitri to meet her here. Her bright blue eyes were alive and bright, and for once they were not wary and distant. She ignored everything around her except the two horses that were in the small round pen before her.

The first was a tall black gelding with a very defined head and a limp in his right shoulder. It would heal in time, but she knew a vet would have to be out to see him. He was extremely skinny, and his black coat was dull and lack luster. His white blaze was hardly noticeable, but he had potential for him to be a good horse. She knew he was unbroke, but that didn't bother her.

Rage, his half sister, stood in a 'corner' of the pen, her blue eyes showing not fear but the same hostile wariness that were in Hunter's own eyes usually. A burn mark was upon her stomach, and a few other scars littered her body but other then that the solid black female was virtually unscathed. She had the same lack luster coat and she was skin and bones but she to had the potential to be beautiful as well.

The two horses were nothing special in breeding, one being half morgan half quarter horse, the other being half morgan and half arabian. Their stature was not arrogant, not slouched and lazy. They were.... Magnificent. At least, to Hunter they were. To the normal passerby they looked like soon to be dog food but Hunter could.... See. She could see the beauty lying just beneath the surface and she wanted to show her new friend what she had just gotten for herself.

Dimitri Volkov; Red October

Dimitri had his own champion to show to Hunter. He had gotten the message and was on his way.

His racehorse, an Arabian by the name of Red October, was in the pen next to the one in which Hunter's horses were. The muscular chestnut stallion seemed rather calm, raising his head only momentarily to glance at Rage and Rave. He seemed to simply be enjoying the weather.

Soon enough, there was a familiar voice from the gate. "Dobriy den', Krasniy." Dimitri said, almost musically. He often affectionately called his racehorse Krasniy - the Russian word for Red. He patted Red on the neck, causing Pasha, the gyrfalcon on Dimitri's shoulder, to flap his wings to keep balance.

Once he had greeted Red October, he leapt over the fence and stood next to Hunter. He had grown rather close to her. His green eyes, which were normally dull and distant, seemed to light up around Hunter. "Hello, Hunter. Those are beautiful horses. Are they yours?" He could see that the horses appeared rather scrawny, but he always looked past the bad and saw the good. These horses were great animals, no matter what had happened to them.

.hunter.

Her bright blue eyes turned to him as the sixteen year old seemed to radiate joy and energy. Yeah. A Guy was on his way to the slaughter house with them, but I couldn't let them take the two away, you know? Look at Rage, with her pretty blue eyes and her legs. Gah! They're enough to drool over. She would be a beautiful dressage horse, and Rave? I've seen him move. Even right now with his bad leg he flows and he holds himself with pride. Her eyes went back to the two horses and a kind of sadness drifted into her eyes. No one deserves that kind of treatment. She whispered softly to him. Her own past was pretty dark and shady, down a path that she never wanted to think about, but she wanted to make someone elses life better. She had to do something goood. Just once. then she knew for certain that she was not a bad person as everyone seemed to think she was.

Dimitri Volkov

best you can do is to fake it

Dimitri cringed at the thought of the slaughterhouse. It filled him with memories of his past. Memories of his psychopathic, cannibalistic father. He had that scars from his childhood caused by his father, the most obvious of which was a knife slash across his face. He could just hear the screams now, and he tried to push them away, but the screaming never stopped. His grip tightened on the railing for a moment before he finally managed to get the screams out of his mind. "That was a good thing you did, Hunter." His voice seemed slightly shaky now, but he seemed to try to hide it. "Rage and Rave didn't deserve that fate. You gave them a second chance." He leaned against the railing now, appearing distant once again. The thoughts of Damian, his father, flooded into his mind. Damian had killed Dimitri's mother and countless others, an would have killed Dimitri if he had gotten the chance. What really bothered him was that Damian had found his way to Atroe City. Dimitri would do anything he could to protect Hunter from that creature.

Red October trotted to the edge of the corral, nudging Dimitri when he suddenly seemed anxious.

Hunter

Why do I always fail?

At the sight of the red stallion she jumped slightly. He was gorgeous, and his sudden appearance had startled her. Again another stab of sadness. Dimitri's horse was so lovely and hers were... Don't think about it. They'll be beautiful soon to and then you can prove everyone wrong about you and them. A sad smile flitted across her lips as she lifted a hand to the red stallion. Marishka... Such a beauty. She never knew where Marishka came from, but she had heard it years ago and now it was stuck with her.

Rave snorted at the other stallion came closer. Rage... He whispered to his wary half sister. He was the less dominant of the two, never certain what to do and whose side to take. The only reason he hadn't gone to see Hunter was the fact that Rage stood here all alone and he couldn't just leave her again. Not after.... A stab of guilt went through the stallion as he though of the fire that had left scars all across Rage's tender stomach. Rage, I think we're going to be- Her words were quick and sharp, and even in anger she had a beautiful voice. If you say ok, Rave, I swear to god I will kill you. We are not ok. We won't ever be ok. If horses could cry, tears would be streaming down her face but with the inability, the little mare just looked incredibly sad, and incredibly angry. Rave paused for a moment before he began walking slowly towards Hunter and Dimitri. Rage's words hit him like a ton of bricks however, and his movements stopped. Traitor. She hissed at him. Was he wrong? Should he not trust the young girl with the same sad angry eyes as Rage? Should he not trust the girl who had saved them from The Man?

Dimitri

Dimitri seemed to think Rage and Rave were just as lovely as Red October. They may be skinny and skittish, but that didn't change his view of them. They were perfect in his eyes. He smiled faintly when Hunter reached out to Red.

Red October pushed his nose into Hunter's hand. A friend of Dimitri was a friend of Red.

Dimitri watched the horses carefully, but never made a move to reach out to them. He didn't want to appear threatening, so he simply stood there so the horses could investigate him when they were ready. While he stood there, though, he spoke in a soft voice, "Uspokoysia, krasota. Vy bezopasnogo seychas." 'Calm down, beauty. You're safe now.' He quickly switched from anxiety to contentedness when he was around the horses. He found peace with them.

Panther and Faraday, twin sons of Red October, were in a small pasture near the group while their mother grazed nearby. Panther was the more timid one, but he was also more calm and caring than his brother. "Hello, Miss Rage and Mister Rave." The colt said, picking up their names from their conversation. "Forgive me for being nosy, but has something frightened you?"

.hunter.

Hunter's eyes were on Red before they drifted over to Panther and Faraday. A soft smile crossed her lips. They're beautiful, Dimitri. Her eyes slid back to her own two horses and a look of determination came into her eyes. Her slim body fit through the narrow slats easy, somewhat of a scary thought as they were about five maybe six inches apart. She was slender, and getting thinner daily, an old habit of hers. She stood up slowly, her eyes on Rave. Come here, mon ami. Her voice was soft as she spoke to the leggy stallion, and his ears were perked towards her. Rave.... Hissed Rage as she watched her brother move towards Hunter. The mare became agitated, her long legs pawing the ground forcefully as she glared at the three. Then the two sons of Red spoke, and she half reared. I fear no one. She hissed again, half charging at the fence. Hunters eyes danced briefly towards the black mare with her angry blue eyes, but then they turned back to Rave. His one blue eye one brown were on hers and he came forth another step stretching his neck out to her. He blew gently in her face, then backed up a couple of steps. Not to much at one time.

Rage charged, an old habit of hers, but stopped within a foot of Hunter. She reared, her lean body showing off every bone but still the power in her black body was stunning. Hunter did not move, her eyes continuing to watch the mare but she seemed disintrested in the little mare, not showing any agression or anger towards her. Rage needed time. More time then the little stud, but she would get it.

Dimitri

Dimitri glanced at the colts before looking at Hunter. "The bay one is Panther, and the chestnut one is Faraday." He stated, walking toward the colts and stroking their necks. "I don't know if I can keep both of them, so if you'd like one, you can take your pick." He then turned his attention back to the nervous horses. "Rage..." He started calmly, "Ty v bezopasnosti." 'You're safe.'

Panther watched Rage curiously. He had never seen a horse act in such a way. "Well, these humans won't hurt you They're nice. Dimitri gives me sugar and carrots sometimes. Do you want sugar and carrots? I'm sure the humans will give you some." The colt said, walking closer to the pen in which Rage and Rave were held.

Red October decided he'd stay out of this. He wanted to help the frightened horses, but he figured he'd probably end up making everything worse.

.hunter.

Hunter's eyes never drifted from Rage and she lifted a hand to the aggravated mare. Hush, mon petite fille. I won't let them come back. She murmered softly. The mare snorted before leaping sideways and out of reach. She ended up back in her corner, her blue eyes wary and her breath heaving as if she had just run a marathon.

During the commotion, Rave had jumped out of the way but he soon came back up and was within arms reach of Hunter. Rage, I don't think they're all that bad. he said, trying to placate his half sister like the other horses were doing. He stretched his neck out to Hunter inhaling her scent of sweet lilacs and summer breezes. He could smell something in her pocket and he took a step closer, until his muzzle touched the pocket where he could smell mints hiding. He nickered softly, and lightly bumped the girls hip before taking a step back to see if she'd retalite with a whip. When she reached into her pocket, the stud pinned his ears back ready to defend himself and his sister but instead she took out one of the mints and held it out to Rave. He reached forth and took it, bobbing his head. See Rage? Not that bad. He said through the mint.

I would like that, Dimitri. Murmered Hunter as she watched Rave calmly.

Dimitri; Red October; Panther; Faraday; Damian

Dimitri watched Rage calmly, making no move whatsoever. At least, until he reached into his pocket and pulled out a cube of sugar that he had saved for Red. But Rage seemed to need it more. He set the cube on the grass in the corral and stepped back. It was clear that if Rage came, she would be rewarded with a treat.

Dimitri smiled faintly at Hunter. "You can choose whichever one you like." He offered, nodding to the colts.

After a few minutes, Red's nostrils flared and his ears pinned flat against his skull. He reared slightly, feeling very uncomfortable. "Dimitri, he's back! He's found you! Run! RUN!" The stallion neighed frantically. It frustrated him that the humans couldn't understand what he was saying. Pasha squawked and took flight, circling above the group.

Panther and Faraday looked at each other. They didn't really know what their father was talking about, but apparently it was something to be afraid of.

Dimitri put his hand on Red's face. "Calm down, Red. Nothing's going to hurt you." He felt the strange feeling that he was lying to his horse, as he wasn't so sure that they were safe right now. And then there was a loud bang. Pasha fell from the sky, a gunshot wound in his wing. The gyrfalcon tried to fly away but failed.

Damian stepped out from behind the stable, a rifle in his hands. "Your bird die! Everybody die!" The man shouted, obviously not a native speaker of English. "You have new friend, son? Where you find her?" He grinned evilly. "No time for chat. Time for you to die. You die like Liliya!" He laughed maniacally. It was very clear now that he was mentally unstable. It was also clear that he was Dimitri's father.

Dimitri clenched his hands into fists. "Don't say my mother's name! She'd still be alive if it weren't for you!" He shouted, pulling off his jacket and wrapping Pasha up. He set the wounded bird down next to the fencepost before looking at Hunter. "This man is very dangerous. Don't make eye contact with him." That was all he said before he walked toward Damian. "Ia uzhe umer odin raz, otets." 'I've already died once, father.'

Hunter

Her eyes were on the two colts trying to decide which to take when Red paniced. She flinched a bit when the gun went off, and an age old fear buried so deep into her bones that was never to go away consumed her. Her hand clenched into Rave's mane, and the stallion jerked sideways almost taking her with him but she let go, standing in the center of the corral.

At the sound of the gunshot, Rage took off around the small enclosure, circling and circling... She came so close to Hunter that if the girl had reached out her hand she could have touched the black mare. The young girl shut her eyes and took a deep breath, trying her hardest to block out everything. Damien, Dimitri... The screams of a long ago night. The images of blood on her hands as she stared into lifeless eyes. Dimitri... Her voice was a cross between a whimper and a whisper. Her normally tought girl attitude was shattered right now and she looked.... Vulnerable. Scared. Innocent. She looked like a sixteen year old girl should with her pale blue eyes and her hands clenched into shaking fists.

Dimitri

Dimitri could hear the horses galloping around behind him, but he kept his eyes in front of him. He was feeling pure rage now. Nothing but rage. If his father wanted to get to Hunter, he'd have to kill his own son first.

"You take me on, son? You die then!" Damian laughed maniacally, taking a moment to aim the sniper rifle at Dimitri's chest. But before he could even get the scope focused, Dimitri was on top of the stable, motioning for Hunter to be quiet and careful.

"Where are you, Dimitri?! Come out! Fight! Fight!" Damian shouted, looking around for his son. "Look away, Hunter." Dimitri whispered, leaping down at Damian as the blast of the rifle sounded. Dimitri stood up, revealing Damian apparently lifeless with a knife in his chest.

Dimitri staggered back toward Hunter, but fell to his knees half-way there. Blood seeped from his chest. He gazed up at his friend, his vision cloudy. "He got me, Hunter. He...he's won."

.hunter.

The sight of blood on her friend spurred the young girl into action. No... She whispered softly. As he hit his knees, Hunter was beside him already rupping the bottom of her shirt. She took the strip of fabric and pressed it to the wound, knowing that it would never fit around his frame and held it there firmly. You will NOT die on me, Dimitri. She whispered softly. She looked frantically about, trying to find someone, anyone, who could help them but no one was near by. Hunter pressed a gentle kiss to Dimitri's lips. Wait here. Not like he could do much else. Hunter took off, her limbs vaulting her over the fence that was erected between the stable and the parking lot and she skidded in front of the first car she came to. It was a large ford pick up, but at this point she was beyond caring. The owner had left it unlocked and immediatly the girl set to work boosting the truck. She drove through the gates and got as close to the pen where Dimitri still was, and began dragging him towards the truck carefully. He outweighed her, but with adrenaline pumping through her veins, anything was posisble. Carefully she lifted him inside, laying him out across the back seat and shut the door behind him before jumping up front and taking off as fast as she dared, heading towards the hospital.