Ghouls and Graves

Cassandra stood outside the cemetery confused as to why the cremello horse inside didn’t seem afraid of the ghouls that were rising up from the graves around it. In the dark she couldn’t tell much else about the creature beyond the color. Their light coat standing out in what little moonlight crept through the cloud cover. 

As she wasn’t about to let the horse be harmed, Cassandra started making her way slowly through the graves, striking out with her sword at any ghoul that drew too close or tried to grab her ankle as they rose from the ground. Fortunately the ghouls were slow and shambling, making it possible for her to slip through largely unhindered by their numbers. 

As she approached the pale colored horse a few things became apparent. There was an odd, darker marking along their front legs and chest, one that traveled all the way up to their shoulders. That, and the horse was clearly a loshenka. The long, rich, nearly white tale swished back and forth in nervousness. Clearly the horse was aware something was happening, but it wasn’t lashing out at the ghouls moving ever closer to it. 

The horse turned as one of the ghouls rose up from a grave under the creature's feet, moving to get away from the grasping and decayed hand crawling from the ground. The mare, Cassandra could now tell, snorted in irritation and frustration as it backed into another grasping ghoul, this one almost all the way from the grave and starting to shamble. Though a well placed kick stopped any motion from the newly risen graveyard ghoul. 

“Well done, girl,” Cassandra said as she drew closer to the oddly marked cremello mare. She figured the beautiful horse had to be around sixteen hands high, and they were certainly a striking figure. 

The mare’s head turned towards Cassandra, but before the mare could really look at her, another ghoul climbed from their grave and tried to grab the loshenka’s lush tail. The ghoul was met with a swift kick and an angry whinny as the light coated mare struck it with perfect precision. 

Cassandra struck down a few more ghouls with her sword, nearly to the mare now. The marking on their coat was distinct, almost as if a darker brown color had created a rift in the mare’s coat. Striking didn’t even begin to cover it really, though Cassandra didn’t have much time to take it in. There were too many ghouls clamoring out of the grave at the moment, their low moans echoing in the night. 

Fortunately, the mare in front of her remained as calm as ever. She truly seemed unphased by the sight in front of her. Even for someone like Cassandra, the sight of hundreds of ghouls climbing out of graves was rather unsettling, but clearly the horse didn’t share the sentiment. Instead the rift marked, cremello mare struck out again as a ghoul got too close. Their pale tail practically glowed even in the pale moonlight. 

Cassandra finally got close enough to the mare to touch them, though for the moment she kept her distance. The mare seemed inclined to kick anything that got too close. Though given the situation, she couldn’t fault the horse for that. 

“Hey, girl. Hey… can I touch you? What do you say we both look at getting out of here?” Cassandra said, loudly enough to be heard but hopefully not loudly enough to startle the horse. 

The mare kicked on more ghoul clear of the area and then turned her face to Cassandra. There was a rift mark similar to that on the mare’s side that ran partially over the horse’s eye, and the eye itself was a milky blue color. It was then that it struck Cassandra that the horse couldn’t see. The mare was blind, and yet so very precise in their kicks. 

“Well, aren’t you a beautiful creature?” Cassandra reached out slowly towards the mare, the ghouls nearest them still currently stuck in their grave. It wouldn’t be for long, but at least for the moment they had a chance to get to meet each other safely enough. 

The mare sniffed Cassandra’s hand, their milky blue eyes watching her as if she could see. They nuzzled her gently and then turned their attention back to the cemetery, their ears flicking as they listened to the moaning ghouls digging up from the dirt. 

“If you’ll let me ride you, I think we can both get out of here. Leave these graves to the ghouls. What do you say?” Cassandra moved closer to the mare. 

The mare’s ears flicked backwards as she listened and then her tail swished, something in her stance relaxing at the idea of getting out of the mass of decaying undead. 

Taking the action as agreement, Cassandra managed to use one of the nearby graves as a mounting block and swung onto the horse’s back. 

The cremello mare wasted no time in taking off, the cremello horse with their striking rift marking following Cassandra’s directions as they navigated the ghouls and the graves at a brisk speed. The horse clearly knew their stuff as they easily followed Cass’s signals for jumping a series of gravestones that were ultimately the easier path between the ghouls that were slowly swarming their location. The faster movement certainly attracted them, but they were too slow to catch the pair. 

The soft turned earth of the recently disturbed graves posed a little problem as the mare stumbled, nearly sending Cassandra flying, though they quickly found their footing again and Cassandra managed to keep her seat. 

As they were passing one of the graves, Cassandra caught the name on it and almost smiled. Justice seemed an oddly fitting name for the horse she was on. No, that wasn’t quite dignified enough, Cassandra mused as the pair trampled a ghoul just risen from the grave. Lady Justice. That seemed far more fitting for such a dignified and calm lady. 

As they crossed the gates of the graveyard, Cassandra slid off Lady Justice’s back without really waiting for the mare to do more than slow down. She kicked shut the gate, trapping the ghouls amongst the graves, and turned to find the horse watching her with their pale, sightless eyes. 

“Well,” Cassandra murmured as she stroked the mare’s soft nose and offered them whatever treat she found in her pocket. “What do you think? Want to come home with me?” 

Lady Justice’s tail flicked and they barely looked towards the sound of the ghouls now moaning and pressing against the locked gate of the graveyard. Instead, she turned away and glanced back towards Cassandra as if demanding to know what the holdup was. 

Cassandra chuckled and managed to mount the striking mare. She glanced back once at the ghouls, and then nudged Lady Justice onto the road and towards Thorn Rose Stables.