1.4: End of the line

And with this image ZS Zdrasti Adrenaline reaches the esteemed rank Shendik, which is the highest rank in the Zlesdin community  Talk about great timing, lol.

...You guys totally thought I was gonna fry Andrzej next, though, didn't ya?  Well, SURPRISE, it's actually time for Kaisa and Zdrasti to eat dirt for once. Tasty.
It was actually a little painful for me to draw this. Kaisa and Zdrasti have been my dear favourite team since day one in HARPG, so this is... well, obviously I have mixed feelings about this :'>  BUT my storyline continues, and who am I to resistttt?

Zdrasti DOES indeed have a head, btw. Just try to picture it bent away from the viewer, eeee.

Previously: Epistaxis






Story:
There wasn't even a single bird singing. 
Kaisa squinted her pale blue eyes at the heavy, grey expanse of sky above scanning for any sign of movement. Not even a single bird in flight either. What a sorry excuse for a spring day, she reflected as she turned her bike into the tree-lined driveway of Zdarloch Stables. She passed the mailbox which proudly bore the inscription:
   "A. Nordgren
    A. Śleszyński
    Stald Zdarloch",
or rather, that is what it was supposed to say, because a closer inspection revealed a few missing letters. Kaisa halted her bike and searched the area - she found three letters in the grass at the foot of the box: one A and two L's in worn gold. She stuffed the letters in her pocket with the intention of bringing them to Azaria who was responsible for fixing such things. A minor detail for certain, although certain postal workers had a habit of being rather persnickety about such things. As Kaisa parked her bike at the usual spot next to the garage building the old saluki/borzoi/whatever mix dog, Dido, lifted her head and regarded the intruder with the kind of cool suspicion that any halfway-decent watch dog displays. The dog recognized Kaisa, however, and sank her head back down to rest it on her front paws. Kaisa might be a friend, but that did not mean Dido was in any way compelled to actually get off her old butt and greet the visitor. 
Lazy old thing, Kaisa thought with some amusement as she headed towards the stable building. 
She passed Andrzej on her way to Zdrasti's stall and greeted him with a curt 'Hey Andy' but did not stop to talk. She was not in the mood for talking today, and besides Andrzej was preoccupied with the saddling of Sagadir and probably had not even noticed her.
Zdrasti was more observant in that respect - the dark bay mare nickered softly as an expression of friendly recognition at the sight of her human, and it put a hint of a smile on Kaisa's otherwise tight face. One great thing about horses was how most communication was non-verbal. No words were needed. Sure, some of the other folks at Zdarloch used simple verbal commands in their communications, and each horse had a preferred language - Hilas, for instance, was used to commands in Danish, while Sagadir had a clear preference for Polish - no doubt this was a reflection of whomever handled these horses the most. Zdrasti rarely needed words - with her a discreet gesture was usually sufficient, and that was a welcome trait on a day like this when talking was not something Kaisa was really interested in.
Her mind wandered as she prepared the horse for today's training. She had a lot on her mind - first of all she wondered about Raphael and his progress in this year's White December that would take him through Russia's toughest terrain, and she hoped he was faring well. Her mind also went to Connor and the accident that would most likely put an end to his riding career, and to Andrzej whom Phuong had gossipped 'looked a bit worse for wear'. To be quite honest Kaisa had not noticed that, but Phuong remained much more keen in the art of perceiving fellow humans, as opposed to Kaisa whose skill of perceptiveness was practically non-existent. So, arguably, Phuong had to be correct about this matter. 
Then came the obligatory concerns for the upcoming finals - in particular about a 50-page assignment she would have to finish within the month and which would 'influence her future career considerably!' as her father had so eloquently put it. He was so prickly about school matters, and while she realized the concern was well-meant it also sickened her at times.

Kaisa opted for outdoor training today. A brisk ride through the forest and across the fields, spiced with some fast-jumping, would be sure to clean her mind, she thought. She waved at Andrzej who was schooling Sagadir in the outdoor arena and set a course for the forest. Despite the fact that it was supposed to be spring, it was a cold and overcast day. Nothing about this day was crisp, pretty or clean; the colours themselves seemed desaturated. Above her head the clouds loomed heavy and threatened to turn to rain, but she paid it little heed. She needed this breath of fresh air desperately.
She put her in-ears in and cranked up the music on her phone. Adrenaline was the best remedy for days like this.
She spurred Zdrasti into a canter and took the leap over a fallen tree in one smooth stride. Onwards she splashed through the narrow paths between the trees and the horse underneath her burst forward in a spray of mud and water. The thick, brown paste of mud clung to the hooves of the mare, only to be splashed on trees and bushes. It would be one living hell to clean the mare afterwards, but that was a concern for later. 
Faster the trees streamed past Kaisa's head as Zdrasti gradually began to pick up speed. The three-beat rhythm of hooves were just about synced with the music blazing through Kaisa's ears as she broke out of the wood and into a more open terrain. In the distance the trees stood starkly against the grey-white sky like X-rays of their summer selves; strangely forlorn to look at at this time where other plants were beginning to show their spring colours. It was nicer, out here in the open. Less closed, less dense than inside the forest, and the sky felt higher, lighter, bigger. A light rain started falling and Kaisa found it strangely refreshing, as if it washed away her worries. Another obstacle came into view: a large brush that could easily be taken at a gallop, so Kaisa once again spurred Zdrasti onwards. 
What Kaisa did not know, however, was that despite the sun's efforts at burning through the overcast and turning the ground to mud, there were patches where the ground was still frozen to ice beneath its top layer. The muddy patch behind the large brush had been covered by shadow the entire morning, and only recently had the sun begun to thaw its upper crust. 
Zdrasti took the jump in one huge leap, but as Kaisa braced for landing she realized the speed had been too great, and that Zdrasti had no way of gaining footing. Bravely the mare tried anyway - the sharp snap from her front leg as it made impact with the ground was sickening, but still forward the horse moved with the momentum of the jump. The next step drove her head down further into the mud; hind legs kicking wildly as forward turned to down. With grim realization Kaisa noticed that the mare disappeared from under her, and she was sent tumbling through the muck like a empty can picked up by the wind. What must have been only a few seconds felt like hours until the momentum finally subsided and all was still.
Kaisa realized with odd clarity that her in-ears must have been ripped from her ears some way back, because she suddenly heard the faint, but unmistakable chirping of a singing bird somewhere above.

To be continued...
Next: Accidents happen






Kaisa and Zdrasti reside with meee 8D
Mud texture from cgtextures
Tree brushes: Beyond the Mist