1.5: Accidents happen

Oh boy oh boy, this storyline is really turning into a regular soap opera, isn't it?
Today we offer a rare and exclusive look at the INSIDE of Zdarloch Stables. It was... horrible to make; regular nightmare stuff for certain. I have this preeeetty accurate image of the place in my head, but I'm having a real hard time replicating itttt. Also, I'm gonna admit it right away that I shamelessly traced over the layout of this: s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/o…  image because perspective is dang hard guys, dang hard... :'D
...I just generally fail at indoor settings, lol.
Also, ANATOMY IS OPTIONAL, RIGHT?

ANYWAY. The drama continues and how baaadly did Kaisa and Zdrasti actually suffer since last time? But hey they're both up and walking so it can't be THAT bad, right? RIGHT?? :'D  

Previously:  End of the line




Story:

Eventually the blood stopped running. It took approximately 15 minutes and made the sink look like a murder scene, but it stopped. Andrzej sighed and lifted his gaze from the sink to the mirror to inspect he damage, and almost immediately his mind leapt back to that one time in his teens where he had been dealt a punch to the nose by one of his buddies during a night out in town. He could not recall what the argument had been about, although he reckoned that the punch had been well-deserved. Part of him wanted to smile at the absurdity of that memory, but he felt sick and dizzy and - surprised as he was to admit it- almost like on the verge of tears. It was an autonomic response to the act of excessive sniffling, he knew, but it still impacted his mood negatively. 
He began the extensive work of cleaning the partially congealed and cracked blood from off his face and hands. The encrusted scabs clung stubbornly to his facial hair and around the edges of his nails but eventually released their grip and flushed down the drain in the shape of pink water. Only now did Andrzej notice a large purple-blue bruise near his elbow. You would think you would be able to remember what might have caused a bruise of this type, but nothing sprang readily to mind and thus he waved it off as a minor display of clumsiness of his part. He had probably bumped it during the saddling of Sagadir - accidents do happen, after all; although you do not always notice them right away.
By the time Andrzej was done cleaning the blood from his face, his shirt was, of course, beyond salvation. It proudly bore quite the masterwork of death and destruction upon its front as if he had been shot in the heart. In fact, the macabre sight almost resembled a bloody tie, he thought to himself. Well, you don't need to be well to be well-dressed...
...Speaking of well-dressed, Sagadir was still tacked up back at the grooming stall where he had hastily been parked before Andrzej had rushed off to halt the advance of blood emerging from his nose. The shirt would have to wait - by now Sagadir was probably impatient and attempting to chew through the reins for lack of better things to do, and so Andrzej returned to the grooming stall to rid the horse of its tack. He did it with a pang of guilt since the poor animal had barely started any actual work today before the untimely interruption and was no doubt still brimming with energy. Energy was one thing Andrzej lacked entirely, however - perhaps he could convince Kaisa to take Sagadir out for a spin when she returned from her ride with Zdrasti later.
He did not need to wait long for Kaisa to return to the stables. He heard the sound of hooves against cobblestones as he lead Sagadir back to his stall, but they were odd, irregular sounds, as if they belonged to a three-legged horse. The possible implications of this knowledge hit Andrzej like the aforementioned punch.
Fuck!
Kaisa and Zdrasti turned up in the doorway; muddy, wet and one looking more miserable than the other. 
,,You hold it right there, Kaisa-"

By the time it took Andrzej to drop Sagadir off in his stall and rush back, Phuong had shown up as well and was speaking with Kaisa in a hushed voice, her eyebrows drawn tight across her nosebridge in an expression of genuine concern for her friend. Kaisa stood shivering slightly, head dipped towards the ground and clutching Zdrasti's reins in one hand. 
,,Kaisa, are you okay?" Andrzej asked, admittedly a rather redundant phrase. 
,,Yeah, I'm fine --"
,,You sure? You're bleeding from the head..."  
,,It's just a scrape, Andy."
He gave her the vaguest of smiles, almost apologetically, and nodded slowly. He wondered for a second why Phuong squinted her eyes so questioningly at him until he remembered about the large bloody stain on his shirt. He would have to save that explanation for later.
,,Alright then," he continued. ,,...So what happened?"
Kaisa swallowed and turned her gaze to Zdrasti on her right. The Zlesdin mare was partially splashed with mud and water, in particular on her front, and she held herself in a manner similar to Kaisa's with her head looming low. Andrzej took note of how the horse carefully avoiding placing too much weight upon her left front leg.
,,We had a... well, we fell. She simply disappeared under me after a jump." Kaisa's voice was meek but strewn with urgency. ,,I'm not sure how bad it is, but her left front leg--"
,,Isn't looking promising, no. Will it bear weight?"
Kaisa shrugged.
,,Well, we walked all the way back here. Wasn't easy, but we managed."
,,I'll look into it." he took Zdrasti's reins and stroked the mare across the neck before turning his attention to Kaisa again. ,,I was about to suggest you seek out Annie and let her clean that wound, but she isn't home yet. Phuong would--?"
Phuong read his mind before he finished the sentence.
,,I'll get the medical kit."
And the two girls made their way towards the tack room.
Andrzej led Zdrasti to the grooming stall. The mare limped next to him; tight-lipped and with her ears back, and Andrzej did not like the look of it at all. Whatever the circumstances, the fall must have been a bad one - Zdrasti was not a horse prone to falling. Then again, accidents happen.
Accidents happen.

To be continued... ~

Next: Reckless


jhdfjhsf I realize this is pretty poorly written but I'm having myself one of those diddly-delightful days where the words just aren't flowing and I have to look up even the most basic words because I forgot them in English, lol 8D






Characters reside with meee
Featured horses: ZS Sagadir and ZS Zdrasti Adrenaline
Wood textures: From cgtextures (stall fronts) + Wood Planks  (ceiling)