Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Equinity ❯ Chapter 19 ( Chapter 19 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Duo gives his diagnosis on the neglected horse, whilst Heero tries to persuade him to take the animal home. Quatre tracks down the owner with the intent of prosecuting.

Anime/Manga: Gundam Wing Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Hentai / Drama | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 01.30.2005 | Pages: 9 | Words: 10.3K | Visits: 1.3K | Status: Completed

Disclaimer: I don't own the G boys, I just borrow them from time to time and return them a whole lot happier, ne?

Rating: NC 17

Warnings: Sap, angst, yaoi, Lemon, AU, OOC

Pairing: 2x1

Summary: Heero is a successful up and coming Showjumping rider with his promising new horse Zero. A fall at a show renders the animal injured and it is up to Duo Maxwell the new vet to treat the horse.

Dedication: To Klingonpoodle who gave me the plot bunny for this fic. *huggles* This one's for you hun!

Many thanks to my beta Yami_Tai.

Archive: http://gundam-wing-diaries.150m.com

http://sweetlysour.net.

http://adultfanfiction.net

http://www.theforsakenwk.com

http://www.templeofthegoddess.com/files/gwyaoi.html

Notes: All the information on showjumping, horses, etc is taken from my own knowledge of the sport having been a competitor and now judge for many years and is written from an Australian perspective. The rules and regulations are courtesy of the E.F.A Handbook. (Equestrian Federation of Australia) Should you have any questions just e-mail me.

Many thanks to Yami_tai for the title! *hugs*

" Equinity "

October 2004 ShenLong

Chapter 19

Heero couldn't take his eyes off the horse, or rather what he assumed was a horse. Never in all his life had he seen anything like this. With a jerk he realized that the other three were climbing through the fence and crossing the paddock. Heero hastened to catch up with them.

"Fucking hell!" growled Duo.

"What sort of a bastard would do this to an animal?" asked Heero.

"You get all sorts," replied Quatre. "Most times it's a case of they just don't know any better."

"Or sometimes they simply can't be bothered," snarled Trowa under his breath. "You should see some of the animals I've had through the shelter; it's enough to make your blood boil."

"Trowa usually takes the animals on behalf of the R.S.P.C.A. and nurses them back to health along with my assistance and financial support from the Association," explained Duo.

"Aa." Now the reason for the other man's presence became clearer to Heero.

"Although, looking at the creature from here I don't think Trowa will be able to look after this one, might be better to put it down. Did you bring your humane killer with you, Duo?" Quatre asked as the four men paused about twenty feet from the horse which hadn't moved.

"Yes, yes, I did; although I was hoping not to have to use it," replied Duo softly.

"Wait here," said Quatre and he began to approach the horse by himself. He didn't want the animal to become frightened by too many strangers approaching at once. He carefully walked closer, a halter and lead rope in one hand, apple in the other and talking in a soothing tone. The closer he got the more sickened he became. The horse turned its head and blinked through a blood shot, fly infested eye but made no attempt to move. "Easy there, I'm not going to hurt you." Either the horse trusted him or it was too weak to move away. Quatre thought it was probably more the latter. He stood quietly beside the neck and carefully eased his hands forward slipping the halter over the head and securing the buckle. He offered the animal the apple but the horse just looked pathetically at it as if it didn't know what to do with it.

Seeing that Quatre had the horse haltered, the remaining three moved closer. The horse completely ignored them, showing no interest whatsoever. Quatre gently stroked the soft nose and spoke in a low tone. "Duo, do you think you can do a preliminary check and tell me what you think?"

"Sure I can." Duo dropped his bag to the dirt and opened it up to remove his stethoscope and began his examination of the horse.

Heero stood slightly to one side and looked the animal over. It was a mare, roughly fifteen two, Heero estimated and coal black save a white sock on the near hind and a small, white crescent shape on her forehead. The coat was dull and standing up in tufts here and there, Heero knew it would be coarse to the touch, not soft like Zero's. But it was the overall appearance of the mare that drove the knife into Heero's heart. She was nothing more than a bag of bones, a walking skeleton. The hide was drawn tight over jutting hip bones, he could clearly see and count all the ribs and if he needed a reminder on the bones of the horse he could see and label almost every single one on the mare in her skeletal state. How the hell could anyone let an animal get into such an emaciated state? Heero had to turn away, the tears were blurring his vision. A hand rested on his shoulder and he looked up into the green eyes of Trowa.

"How…?"

"Some people simply don't understand the care involved in keeping a horse. They think they can pop it in a paddock and it will survive on the grass alone," said Trowa softly.

"But..."

"I know, when you have animals of your own it's hard to comprehend that there are people out there in the world that can do such a thing."

Heero nodded dumbly. If anyone would know about pain and suffering in an animal it would be Trowa, after all, with his shelter he most likely saw a lot of it. His attention was drawn back to Duo who had completed his exam and was about to give his diagnosis.

Duo gently ran his hands over the mare, feeling the bumps of the bones against the flesh of the hide. He couldn't find any injuries, so cruelty in that way could be ruled out. He checked the heart rate and despite the poor condition of the mare the heart was beating strongly. He checked respiratory rate, the pupils and opened the mouth to check the horse's teeth. After taking her temperature, Duo concluded his exam by going over her feet. All the time he worked the mare never moved, she showed no interest at all.

Running a hand through his hair, Duo draped the stethoscope around his neck and looked at the three expectant faces. "I can't find any evidence of physical abuse, the heart rate, breathing rate and temperature are all normal. She's extremely malnourished and has a touch of laminitis [1] in her off fore. It looks like just a case of starvation and..." Duo paused and pinched the skin of the neck, watching intently as the skin dropped back to its normal position. "... dehydration."

"How bad is the starvation? Any chance she could recover if given proper feeding and care?" asked Quatre.

"She could, but I'll bet she has a belly full of worms and her teeth need rasping as well. She's pretty far gone and I'd say her chances of surviving are roughly thirty percent."

While Duo was explaining his findings, Heero took a closer look at the mare. He looked beyond the skinny body, seeing the animal in his mind's eye if she were fattened up. He studied the angle of the shoulders, the basic, overall conformation, which given her skeletal state was easy to do, and saw what she could be, what she possibly had been. "How old do you think she is, Duo?"

Duo turned to face Heero, noting the intense look in those blue eyes. "Judging by her teeth I'd say anywhere between ten and thirteen. There's no brand that I can determine so it's pretty much a guess."

"You know, underneath all that skin and bones there's a damn nice horse," Heero stated as he cocked his head and continued to study the mare. "It would be nice to see it given the chance to come out."

"What are you thinking, Heero?" asked Duo as he turned more fully to study his boyfriend.

"Well, given the time I've spent around horses, I've picked up a lot over the years and now I can generally tend to be able to pick out a good one from a bad one; conformation, temperament and breeding wise. All I'm saying is that this mare, despite her current condition is nicely put together and would make a good brood mare; maybe even a nice riding horse. Look at the slope of her shoulders, the curve to her hocks. She's short in the back and has a nice length of rein."

"Whoa! You lost me a couple of shoulder blades ago," chuckled Quatre.

Heero gave the Inspector a sheepish grin. "Sorry, I forget that most people don't share my obsession with horses."

"Just how much experience have you had with horses, Heero?" Trowa asked politely. "I've spent some time with them and know the basics but what you're talking about has gone completely over my head."

"You saw the big gray in the paddock at my place?" said Duo, turning to face the pair. Quatre and Trowa nodded. "Well, that's Heero's horse. I've been treating it since it took a bad fall roughly three, three and a half months ago at the Salsbury Agricultural show. Heero's a damn good rider and certainly knows his horses."

Heero suitably blushed and looked at the sand. "I've been with horses for most of my life, learning to ride when I was about four. It's my ambition to represent my country in Showjumping in International competition."

Trowa gave a low whistle. "Nice goal."

"And he will succeed too," smiled Duo and gave Heero a warm look.

"If he's got you as a back up then there's every possibility that he will," smiled Quatre. The blonde Inspector had sensed there was something more than simple friendship between the two but didn't say anything, that was Duo's business and Quatre didn't stick his nose in where it wasn't wanted. Besides, from what he could tell so far, Heero seemed a nice guy, genuine and caring, he would be good for Duo. It was time Duo had someone in his life and discovered the joys of a partner and relationship. He'd been lonely himself until he'd met Trowa.

Heero was rapidly changing colors from pink to red; he hated being the center of attention and tried to change the subject, fishing for information. "So, what will happen to the mare now?"

"Now we have to take some pictures for evidence, try to find a water trough and then go door knocking," replied Quatre.

"Door knocking?" asked Heero.

"Yeah. I have to try and find out if anyone around here knows who the horse belongs to, or who owns the paddock. The photos will be used in court to prosecute the owner; also they will be our ticket to getting this animal either put down or out of here..."

"You can't put her down!" Heero said a little more forcefully than he'd intended. "Sorry, I didn't mean to yell but you can't just shoot her."

"Heero, I don't like putting animals down anymore than you do, but sometimes it's necessary to end the animals suffering or if there is no hope of a recovery. In this case it's Duo's call. If he thinks that the horse is beyond help then the kindest thing to do would be to end it now for her."

Heero turned his gaze along with Trowa and Quatre to Duo. Duo felt the weight of the eyes and the decision that was his alone to make. Did he simply take out the humane killer and end the mare's life of hell now? Or should he give her a chance? There were no guarantees that she would pull through, she was pretty far gone already. He caught Heero's pleading stare from the corner of his eye and felt his heart skip a couple of beats.

"Duo?"

Duo turned to face Quatre.

"What do you think?"

"She could pull through with the right care and treatment, although it would be a long road before she would be back to anything resembling normal." Duo turned to look at Trowa. "I'm guessing at least three months before she starts to look half way decent and probably six months before she would be 'normal'."

"What does the R.S.P.C.A. do with the animals it rescues once they're fit and healthy again?" asked Heero.

"Usually we find them new homes with people we can trust. They don't go just anywhere. The people that apply to take an animal are carefully screened first and then once the animal is placed, we check up on its welfare on a regular basis," replied Quatre.

"Aa. Duo? Could I have a word with you for a moment, please?" Heero motioned for his boyfriend to follow him to one side where they could talk in confidence.

"Are you thinking what I think you're thinking, Heero?" asked Duo with an amused smile on his face.

"Look, Duo. I know that ultimately it's your call in regards to this horse but before you make that decision please, hear what I have to say."

"Okay, fire away, Heero." Duo had a pretty good idea of what Heero intended to say but he was curious as to just what the other man proposed.

"Please try to believe me when I say that I've looked beyond the skeleton of this horse, seen the lines and the possibilities. She's a nice mare, Duo. I believe that with the right care and treatment she will survive. She's got the conformation there to be a really nice riding horse; as for the temperament, hard to tell at this stage but I'd say she's sweet tempered based on what I've seen so far. Even in her starved state if she perceived us to be a threat or she had a nasty streak in her she would have shown it, of that I'm certain. Look, put simply, I'd like to give her a chance. I know it's your property, Duo, and you're already refusing any agistment money for Zero, but with the money I'm earning on the side for free lancing I can afford to pay for her..."

"Heero..."

"I'd pay you agistment costs..."

"Heero..."

"You wouldn't have to do anything other than any vet treatment she would need..."

"Heero..."

"And I'd pay you for that, I wouldn't expect you to treat her for nothing..."

"Heero!'

"Hai?"

"I think she deserves a chance too."

"You do?"

"Yes, I do. It's the old saying, Heero; 'where there's life, there's hope' or I think it's something along those... oooof." Duo's words were cut short as Heero grabbed him and hugged the living daylights out of him.

"Arigato, Duo." Heero swooped in and kissed Duo senseless.

"Ahem. Errr... Sorry to interrupt you two but we still have a horse to deal with here," came Trowa's amused voice.

"Oh, fuck!" groaned Heero. "Duo, I'm so sorry for kissing you like that in front of your friends. Oh, shit, what the hell are they going to think?"

"Heero, it's okay," replied Duo.

"But I don't want you to be ridiculed or abused because of what I just did." Heero hung his head with guilt. They had decided to keep their relationship confidential, mainly because of society's sometimes negative attitude towards same sex couples. They didn't need the complications of being ostracized or ridiculed, not to mention the damage it could do to both their careers.

"Heero, look at me," Duo commanded softly.

Heero turned his guilt ridden eyes to look at his boyfriend.

Duo gently cupped Heero's face in his hands. "It's fine, Heero. Trowa and Quatre, they won't mind at all, in fact they understand perfectly."

"You mean?"

"Yup. Quatre and Trowa have been a couple for quite some time now, and they're in a similar situation to us, so believe me when I say that they won't mind and they won't tell anyone either." Duo gave the messy haired man a smile and quick kiss in return. "Now, let's see what Quatre has to say about this as ultimately it is his decision as to where the horse goes if we're not putting her down."

"I told you they were a couple," Quatre smirked to Trowa. "I could sense it and I'm rarely wrong."

"Okay, so you were right. I had my own idea that they might have been so don't look so smug," replied Trowa with a grin.

"I'd say Heero must be a good kisser if Duo's face is anything to go by," snickered the blonde.

"Looks like it," replied Trowa as he watched the pair in amusement. "This isn't getting us anywhere though and this horse needs attention as soon as possible." Trowa proceeded to call out to the other two and moments later the pair returned.

"Quatre, Heero has a proposal in regards to the horse. I'd like you to hear it and see what you think. Before he does though, just for the record I think the horse should be given a chance."

"Okay, Duo. You're the vet and would know so I'll take your advice into consideration. Now, Heero, what is this proposition?"

Heero patiently explained to Quatre what he would like to do with the horse, emphasizing that he thought the horse could make a full recovery and be a nice riding animal at the end of it all. With his speech done, Heero lowered his eyes and waited for Quatre to make his decision.

"Do you think Heero would be able to take care of her, Duo? I mean this isn't a five minute job we're talking about here," asked Quatre.

"You haven't seen how he dotes on Zero, Quatre. " Duo rolled his eyes. "That horse is so spoiled."

"No, he isn't," returned Heero.

"Yes, he is," replied Duo. "Honestly, he's a carrot eating machine. You have no idea how many carrots that animal can put away, Quat. Oh, and if he doesn't get his daily amount, he sulks."

"He what?" asked Trowa as he turned his questioning eyes to Duo.

"He sulks. Goes and stands in the corner and doesn't want anything to do with you until he gets his quota of carrots," Duo said with a grin.

"He's very intelligent and simply wants his reward for being a good boy," huffed Heero in defense of his horse.

Quatre couldn't help but laugh.

"Only teasing you, Heero," smiled Duo and then turned back to Quatre. "Seriously though, Heero would look after her, he's devoted to Zero and does everything he can to make sure that horse is comfortable. This mare would have an excellent home with him."

"Us."

"Pardon?" Duo turned around at Heero's soft word.

"Us. She would have a good home with us, Duo. That's the main reason I'd like to have her. I think she would make an excellent riding horse for you, Duo; once she's fit and well again."

"But, Heero. I don't ride well enough to have a horse."

"If I remember correctly you did say you would love to learn again and go for rides. I'd love to have company when I go out on rides or even just exercising in the paddock, it's always more fun when there's two of you."

"Okay, you two, end of round one," chuckled Quatre. "I trust your judgment, Duo, and if you think that Heero would be an appropriate owner for this animal then I will take your word for it. Besides, whether she's at Trowa's or your place she's still going to need veterinary care to a point and it would be easier if she was at your surgery. If that's okay with you?"

"Fine with me," replied Duo as he still tried to figure out just how the hell he'd been roped into this.

"Before I can legally hand her over though we have to find the current owner so we can start legal proceedings against them for the state of neglect." Quatre turned to face Heero. "This will all need to go through the court system first, once that's been completed then the R.S.P.C.A. will become the official owners of her and then we will go through the necessary paperwork and channels to have that ownership transferred to you, Heero. Does that sound okay?"

"That's fine with me," replied Heero with a smile. He took Duo's hand in his and squeezed it gently. Duo gave a squeeze back.

"Right. Now to get cracking. Firstly I will contact headquarters and let them know that we are taking the animal into R.S.P.C.A. custody pending charges for neglect. Whilst I'm doing that could you three take pictures of the mare and the paddock for me for evidence please?"

"Sure," replied Duo.

"I'll go scout around and see if I can find a water trough,' said Trowa softly and handed Duo the camera that Quatre had passed to him.

"Okay then. Let's get a move on." Quatre went to make his call; Trowa began to scour the paddock fence line for any signs of a water trough whilst Duo took pictures of the horse and surrounding paddock. Heero took the lead rope from Quatre and introduced himself to the mare.

Gently Heero's fingers brushed the flies away from the mare's eyes. He stroked her face, rubbed gently between her eyes and pulled softly on her ears; all the time he kept up a low soothing monologue. "It's going to be all right now, girl. You won't go hungry again, I'll make sure of that. You'll have a nice, warm, comfortable stable to sleep in, a big grassy paddock to graze in to your heart's content and fresh water all the time. You'll get to meet Zero as well and I'm sure the pair of you will become good friends..."

Duo smiled to himself as he took the photos, Heero really was just too adorable when faced with an animal in distress. Duo knew he cared about animals but to see Heero with a horse... The man truly did love the equine race.

***

Once all the preliminaries relating to the horse had been completed, the group set about the task of trying to find out who owned the animal. They started by knocking on the doors of the few houses that were nearby. The R.S.P.C.A. had contacted the local police, and a paper allowing the association to take possession and remove the horse was being drawn up. Once the paper was in Quatre's hands then they could take the mare from the paddock and place her at Duo's. Until then, their hands were tied and so they spent the time looking for the owner's name. The police were also trying to trace the paddock owner on the off chance that it was the same person, but it would take a while.

After making inquiries at four houses they finally got a lead. The woman there said she recalled seeing a vehicle at the paddock on a regular basis, however, she hadn't seen it for some time. But she did know who owned the paddock and gave them the name. Armed with that information, Quatre contacted the police again who ran the name through the data base and came up with three possible matches for the name Kinsford. They gave Quatre the recorded contact 'phone numbers and addresses and Quatre had the task of calling each of the numbers to see if they owned the paddock and / or the horse.

The stopped at a small shop to grab a bite to eat whilst Quatre made the calls, the afternoon was wearing on and it was now three o'clock. Duo knew that he and Heero would need to head back soon as there was Zero to be taken care of and dinner to think about. Duo looked up as Quatre approached. "Any luck?" he asked as he bit into the sandwich he'd bought.

"As a matter of fact, yes. The second one I called was the owner of the paddock. He doesn't know the horse, said that he'd been asked about nine months ago if he would be interested in renting out the paddock. He did but hasn't bothered to check on the state of the land or anything else since. He say's the guy that rented it pays the amount monthly and hasn't been late with a payment so he's got no reason to check up."

"So, who is the owner then?" asked Trowa.

"Some guy by the name of Muldoon. I've got an address for him and it's local so once you lot have finished eating we can take a ride around there and have a chat. Oh, I'll stop off and pick up the paperwork from the police station on the way. I don't suppose you got me anything?" Quatre gave a look to the three that were busily feeding their faces.

"Would I leave you to go hungry?" said Trowa.

"Well..."

Trowa tossed the blonde a sandwich. "Roast beef with mustard and salad on wholemeal," he said as he took another bite of his own tuna roll.

"Ahhh... You spoil me," replied Quatre as he gave Trowa a warm smile.

They quickly finished their belated lunch and piled back into the car, heading first to the police station and then to the residence of a Mr. Muldoon.

***

The house was small, the neglected garden ran wild with weeds and over grown shrubs. Heero tripped over a broken paving stone that he couldn't see due to the state of the garden. Duo caught his elbow and steadied his boyfriend.

"Easy, Heero. I know you're eager to get this horse but that's no way to make things go faster."

Heero shook his head but was careful to watch where he walked. Yes, he was eager to get the horse; he just wanted to have the mare out of that paddock and safely at Duo's as soon as possible. Trowa had found a water trough, right in the far corner of the paddock but it was filthy. Algae grew rampant in it, the sides and bottom thick with sludge and slime. Obviously it hadn't been cleaned out in quite some time.

Quatre took a deep breath and knocked on the door, the other three stood back a little, not wanting to appear threatening in any way. Quatre's crisp, blue uniform suited the smaller Inspector, Trowa wore jeans and a polo shirt with the name 'Barton Animal Refuge' embroidered on it, whilst Duo and Heero were dressed in shirts and jeans.

"Can I help you?" It was the voice of an older woman.

"I hope so. My name is Quatre Winner and I'm an inspector for the R.S.P.C.A. I wish to speak with a Mr. Muldoon, please."

"I'm afraid Mr. Muldoon isn't really up to seeing visitors at the moment."

"I apologize for the intrusion, but it is imperative that I speak with him in regards to a horse that he owns. Don't worry, the other three will wait in the car, it's just myself that needs to speak with him," Quatre said quietly.

"I really don't know..."

"Madam, I know this is probably not a convenient time but I have to speak with Mr. Muldoon now, it's a matter of some urgency."

The woman appeared to hesitate but then opened the door. "Okay, just you," she said. "Mr. Muldoon isn't well and I fear for his health."

Quatre turned to the other three. "You guys wait in the car, I'll be back out shortly," and with that, Quatre disappeared into the house.

The other three went back to the car to speculate on what was happening inside the house.

Ten minutes later, Quatre was walking back to the car, a thoughtful expression on his face. As soon as he climbed in he was bombarded with questions from the other three.

"What happened?"

"Did he admit to neglecting the horse?"

"What the hell was his excuse for not feeding the mare?"

"Did you give him the notice?"

Quatre put his hands up in the air. "Hold on everyone. Let's get on the road and I'll fill you in as we go back to Duo's." Quatre started the car and began to drive.

"Our Mr. Muldoon is about eighty six and in failing health," began Quatre. "It seems that he bought the horse for his granddaughter to ride. He only pays for the paddock which incidentally is deducted from his bank account every month. He said that his granddaughter's family were going to look after the animal's needs, feeding, shoeing and so on. He kept on saying how much he enjoyed going down there and watching her ride the horse..."

"But no one's been near that paddock for at least six weeks!" exclaimed Heero.

"I know," said Quatre quietly. "The old guy is getting a little senile. The woman, Mrs. Pritchard lives next door and comes in each day to look after him, she's a retired nurse. She said his memory is leaving him and he gets things mixed up all the time. She'd heard him talk about a horse and his granddaughter a few times but didn't know he'd actually bought a horse or that anything of what he was saying had any merit to it. She thought it was just some ramblings from an old man's mind stuck in the past."

"So it sounds like there isn't much the law can do then," said Trowa.

"Not really," sighed Quatre. "I did try to explain to him the seriousness of the situation, the fact that the horse was on the verge of starving to death but he either didn't understand, or doesn't comprehend. I did tell him that we were taking the animal but again he continued to waffle on about his granddaughter and how well she was riding and competing, bringing home ribbons and trophies. I'd say the best that we can do is take it to court where the charges for neglect will be dismissed on the grounds of the old man's senility but he will be prevented from owning any sort of animal in future."

The three were silent as they digested Quatre's words. In one way it sucked that charges couldn't or wouldn't be pressed but then this was a senile elderly man they were dealing with so it was pretty much a catch 22 situation. At least they had the comforting thought that the mare would be out of that situation now.

"Heero?"

Heero jerked out of his musings as he heard Duo call his name. "Sorry, I was miles away."

"So I noticed. What I said was, can we use your horse float to pick the mare up in? It would be quicker and easier than Quatre having to go back to HQ and get the association's one when yours is sitting at home and the surgery isn't far from the paddock."

"Of course," replied Heero. "The sooner we can get the mare out of there the better."

"Thanks. You hear that, Quatre?"

"Yes, Duo, I heard. Thanks, Heero." Quatre continued to drive to Duo's and pulled up around the back of the surgery where Heero's horse float stood.

Duo jumped out and guided Quatre back to the tow hitch and then with Heero's assistance they hooked the float up to the land cruiser.

"I'm just going to grab a hay net and some feed, just in case she's difficult to get in," said Heero as he disappeared in the direction of the feed shed.

Half an hour later they were back at the paddock, armed with food, halter, lead rope and a tail rope should they need it to persuade the mare to walk into the float. They needn't have worried. The mare was too weak to put up too much resistance. Heero haltered her and slowly led her across the paddock to the waiting float, Quatre, Trowa and Duo walked on either side, helping to support the mare as she took slow, shaky steps. It took a while but eventually they made it to the gate and Heero opened it. He led the horse through and to the ramp where the mare hesitated.

"Come on, girl. I promise we're taking you to a better place, a better life," said Heero as he fed her a handful of oats from the bucket Duo passed him. Heero stood at the top of the tailgate as the mare sniffed at his hand and then almost took his fingers off as she greedily ate the oats. "Steady on," chuckled Heero, not in the least put out that he'd almost lost a finger. "There's more inside."

The mare sniffed the tailgate, catching the scent of another horse. Tentatively she stepped onto it, first one hoof and then another. She paused again, mistrusting the dark opening. She'd been locked in that paddock for as long as she could remember, occasionally someone would throw over a bit of hay but that was it. The days of good food were but a hazy memory to her now. The paddock had been well covered with grass at the beginning but as the food stopped coming so she'd been forced to rely on the grass to ease the empty feeling in her stomach. When the grass ran out she ate the weeds and then the foliage on the trees that she could reach, even though she didn't care much for the slightly bitter taste.

She sniffed again. What was to say that this was going to be any different? Then her nostrils caught the scent of something long forgotten. Oats. Greedily she grabbed for them, her muzzle working over the hand of the human that held her and scoffed them down. She hesitated again but the soft words and gentle caresses from the man that held her soothed her troubled mind. She decided to trust this human and began to walk forward again. It was an effort, all her strength was nearly gone but as she entered the horse float so the smell of sweet hay hit her nostrils and she almost bowled the human over in her eagerness to get to the source of the food.

"Heero!? You okay?" yelled Duo as he watched the mare suddenly charge forward.

"I'm fine," came a muffled reply. "Or at least I will be if I can just get out of this damn haynet."

Trowa laughed and slipped the safety chain behind the mare's quarters whilst Duo went to help his boyfriend. Quatre assisted Trowa in raising the tail gate and soon they were on their way back to Duo's with one horse busily demolishing the haynet in the float.

~ * ~

tbc...

[1] Laminitis (sometimes also called Founder or Fever of the Feet.): This is a disease of the hoof, the sensitive laminae inside the hard outer wall of the hoof can become inflamed for a variety of different reasons and causes. It is treatable but painful to the horse in most cases. Ever had a splinter underneath a fingernail? If you have then you have some idea of how painful laminitis can be for a horse as it's a similar thing.

Note: For those that aren't sure the initials R.S.P.C.A. stand for Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.