Gyp-sea

Splashing

The surge and pull of the waves was hypnotic. A constant sound of bliss. The darkness enclosed the pebbly beach, even the seagulls were at rest. A bright star from above shone with a careful glow, lighting up the shadows. What seemed to be a puddle was on the beach, yet it wasn't effected by the tide. The glistening water ran around the shape, but didn't spread. In a sense it was a solid liquid. 

A small stone was thrown up by the waves, and landed square on the puddle. It didn't sink.

The puddle shook.

The water separated from itself, falling into locks of mane and tail, a sturdy flank with a neat, muscular frame. A chunky rear rose up, agile legs glimmering in the starlight, and was still. The flanks heaved, and the beautiful face cautiously stretched out. Quivering nostrils took in a deep breath. The horse shook its head, a pale white pebble stuck between its eyes, and snorted. Where was he? More importantly; who was he. The sound of a noise rung in his delicate ears. It was broken and confusing, come back come back to me, but he could hear a tune. He neighed, trying to block it out, remember always come back, he threw his head up in frustration. 

Struggling along the uneven shore, the young, confused horse tried to escape the deafening whisper of a voice he didn't know. He trumpeted as loud as he could, a threatening sound, but it was useless, ride on the waves wild and free, nothing prevailed. In utter desperation, the horse reared up, thrashing about, trying to hit what was not there; then a true sense of foreboding came over the horse, a fear that made his eyes roll and his nostrils flare. He backed up in horror, feeling something that wasn't there on his forehead. He neighed a shrill, desperate call, then he blacked out. Come back come back come back come ba-

Forgive me.

Bang.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Bax! Bax stop! Oh stop you BRUTE!"

The girl ran down the beach, sliding the steep banks to save time.
"Baxter! Come here!" She yelled desperately, rummaging in her bag for something, ANYTHING! 

"Baxter! Come here, boy! I've got something for you!"

At last, something sparked the interest of the animal. Baxter turned, his nose quivering, smelling the food. In a leap and a prance, he was by the side of his owner, gobbling the sweet smelling treat. The girl giggled at his greediness.

"Oh, Bax! What'd I do without your daily shenanigans! Or should i say shenani-goats!"

Baxter let out a short bleat as if he got the joke. His long beard quivered with his chewing motion, and his stumpy tail wagged in bliss. The girl tweaked his ear, then pushed her thick, black hair out of her eyes.

"Come on, you idiot, lets get back" She spoke to the goat, love overriding her annoyance. She strode up the beach, her flower-patterned shirt and dirty, denim overalls earning some confused and judging looks from early morning dog walkers... Or maybe it was the white goat trotting at her side. 

She didn't care. She was Analetta Draper, daughter of a Romani family that had been traveling for 20 generations. She was proud of her heritage, and couldn't imaging not living on the road, visiting weird and wonderful places all the time. She glanced down at Baxter, her billy goat, one of the few animals they owned. There was the she goats, of course, and in spring there were often 3 or 4 kids, all of them Baxter's! They didn't stay long though, unless Lala thought one would improve breeding or the quality of food. Lala, Analetta smiled, her mother who loved her more than anything. If only she shared her love of animals... Oh well.

Then, of course, came their hounds! the Draper family owned 2 greyhounds, Dart and Arrow. Dart was a light brindle and Arrow a dark grey with a pale underbelly. If they were in a forest location, or anywhere else with hare or rabbit, Dart and Arrow between them would often pull down a meal. Along with those two, there was Dale, the ancient Dalmatian, who had once run behind the wagon, but now tended to curl up in it instead. He was 11 going on 12, but still wasn't fully slowed down. Analetta loved the dogs, but they weren't the average house dogs, they were hunters. Dale less now, but even he knew the hugging wasn't normal for a dog of his breeding.

Luckily enough, though, there was one animal, other than Bax, who loved cuddles- an that was Teasel, the mare that pulled the Draper's van. She was a pied gypsy vanner, with a placid temperament and kind eyes. Analetta had grown up around the old mare, stroking her long, thick mane, platting her forelock and having supervised bareback rides. She owed a lot to that mare. Even though her black and white patchwork coat was wearing grey in places, the mare had a strong mind and an even stronger heart. Analetta loved her.

Baxter butted her leg, and Analetta jumped back into her present mind. They rounded the crest of the hill that looked down into their camp. She breathed in a breath of sea air mingled with wood smoke. Closing her eyes, she let her mind wander... What new adventures would this site bring...

"ANALETTA! STOP DAYDREAMING AND FEED YOUR GOATS. NOWWW!"

Ah well; back to the real world.

(Note: Wow over 900 words o.O)