You Cracked the Firecracker {Open!} [Human needed!?] (G)

Claire stood perched on the wooden fence, her small feet balanced on the second rail from the top and her tiny hands flailing in the air above her, looking out across her papa's little farm. It was a warm spring day she was allowed outside since the snow had finally melted. The sunshine danced through her ruby red hair and tickled her pale skin, stroking her freckled cheek and lighting up her emerald eyes. She giggled as the breeze tugged at her hair and threatened to knock her off the fence. Like any six year old, Claire was full of curiosity and mischief. She was real good at sneaking off on her own and getting into trouble, often getting mixed up with the neighbor kids and starting fights. Unlike her sister, she was far from a girly girl. She took pride in being called a tom boy by all the other kids.

As the young girl was preparing to jump down from the fence, something in the distance caught her eye. It was a massive object that came sliding down hill from the forest and landed below the hill her farm was perched on. "Papa! Did ya see that?!" she cried as she pointed her stubby finger across the meadow. Her papa just ignored her and continued cleaning the tractor. Claire rolled her eyes and climbed over the top rail, jumping down on the opposite side and landed smoothly on her bare feet. Once her toes struck the moist grass, she was off like a bullet, running at top speed across the meadow towards the hill. When she came to a stop and peered down at the bottom, she gasped and her little hands flew up to her mouth. "Oh!" she exclaimed and and started down the side of the hill slowly.

She neared the mare with caution, keeping her eyes on the massive beast the entire time she approached her. A smile began to form on her pink lips until she noticed the mare's hind leg. "Oh no..." she whispered as she tried to get a better look at her ankle from the distance she stood at. Claire didn't want to wake her up and spook her, but she desperately wanted to help her. She still had a halter on so someone must own her, but Claire didn't want to think that. Her papa never let them have horses on the farm and they were her favorite animal. Maybe he would let her keep her!

Claire dared to get as close as a few feet and sat down. She crossed her legs and placed her chin in her hands, prepared to wait until the mare woke up..

Claire was just beginning to doze when a gentle rustling sound that reminded her of the breeze playing with the leaves brought her back to reality. She opened her eyes and they landed right on the wounded mare who was struggling to gather her sense and her surroundings. She scooted back a little as the mare flailed around, trying to untangle her legs and stand up. "Shh horsie.." she whispered with her hand out stretched to touch her mug that was a few inches from her face. The mare didnt respond the way she wanted, instead she backed away.

The little girl huffed and swatted her hair away from her eyes, trying to shoo it towards the back of head so she could see better. "Its okay pretty girl.." she tried again, her small voice carrying on the gentle wind that swirled around them. She slowly got to her feet once the mare was able to stand realize how big the mare was compared to her. With her little hand out in front of her again, Claire inched forward hoping to gain the mare's trust so that she could touch her.

Finx stared at the girl with wild eyes, but she stopped backing away. She flicked her tail in all directions, her ears rotating in a pattern. She bobbed her head a few more times, then lowered her neck, stretching it out toward the human. Slowly she inhaled her scent, the rotten smell of human products and leaves, and then removed her head from the childs reach.

She stood there, staring for a moment, but when the girl reached out to touch her again, she brought her velvety muzzle towards the girls small hand, resting it there gently. Finx inhaled deeply, her sides heaving, as she flicked her tail and closed her eyes. This was the first time she'd ever let a human willingly touch her, she only did this because she felt this girl might be different.

Claire stood statue still as she held her hand out for the mare to sniff. She caught herself holding her breath as she waited. The mare lowered her massive head and extended it out towards her, gifting her with the opportunity to touch her velvety mug. The mare pulled back just as quickly as she had come forth, pulling an exasperated grunt from the little child, a sigh of disappointment.

But the mare was coming back! Claire stood still again, her palm face up awaiting the touch of her fuzzy muzzle,and this time she delivered. Claire gasped softly in surprise, her little emerald eyes lighting up with delight and curiosity. "Oh.." she said quietly, feeling the mare's whiskers tickle her palm. "Good girl.." she cooed as she began to inch her hand along her nose, moving it up along the bridge of her white face.

Finx let out and exasperated sigh, tipping her injured leg on her toe, flicking her tail acrosst her spotted rump. Her ears laid back, listening to Claire's breathing. Her hazel eyes opened as she felt her small hand move up her face, and she lifted her head up a little higher, then moved it back down once she relaxed again.

Her head then shot up when she heard the sound of crunching leaves, only to see that a small squirrel had just jumped from the canopy of a nearby tree and landed on the ground, skittering across the dried leaves to the next tall tree. The mare watched, lifting her head to the sky until the rodent was no longer visible. She then returned her attention to Claire and bobbed her head a few times before she settled down and stared at her, blinking. Her lips vibrated with a gentle nicker, and she stepped closer to the girl, raising her muzzle to snuffle at her head and neck, her whiskers tockling the girls skin.

Claire didnt make any sudden movements, she was afraid she might spook her. So, keeping mostly still, she just used her hand and worked it all over the mare's face, touching her tender spots and gently running her fingers along the outline of her facial marking. She took a step back when the mare flung her head up and searched for the creature behind her. "Its just a silly squirrel.." she said with a childish giggle and resumed touching her cheeks when she dropped her head again.

The child laughed as the mare brought her nose into the crevise of her neck and blew softly into her hair. She shook away her tangled locks and patted her fuzzy nose. "Hey!" she squealed. Gathering up a small amount of courage, Claire inched closer to the side of her head and pressed her forehead to the mare's cheek, feeling the warmth of her skin on her's. She pulled away a second to finger her halter. She ran her index finger of the silver name plate than ran across the strap over her cheek and whispered, "Finx." She blinked a few times and smiled, "Is your name Finx?"she asked the mare, running her hand slowly along her broad neck and gazing into her hazel eye.

Finx kept her eyes closed, allowing the girl to touch her face. She opened them, though, when she felt a slight tugging of her halter. She looked at Claire, her ears flattening for a millisecond, before she softened her face again and somply flicked her tail. Her eyes were closed until she heard a familiar name come from Claire's mouth. 'Finx.'

The mare's eyes opened, her ears perked up. She turned her head look at the girl, bobbing her head a couple of times, before lipping at her hair a few times, then returning to her docile, half asleep position. She adjusted her weight on her feet, keeping her injured foot mostly or completely off of the ground. She flicked her knotted tail, then licked her lips. She lowered her head, stretching her neck to the ground as she searched for something edible. She found some grass that seemed about just right and had a few nibbles, but it quickly turned sour in her mouth, and she lifted her head, running her pink tongue along velvet lips.

Claire continued to stroke Finx's neck as she stood along her side. She watched the mare drop her head to nibble on the grass and wondered if she was hungry. "How long as it been since you had a real meal, Finx?" she asked her softly, looking to see the mare's ears twitch to catch her little voice. Claire's finger got caught in the mare's long mane and she tried to get her finger loose. "Jeez..." she grumbled as she gazed at her tangled mane. "This is a mess!" She tried to undo some knots but failed. She looked back at her tail and found it in the same condition.

Finx shifted her weight and Claire noticed how she was favoring her back leg. "Oh right!" she growled, slapping her forehead. "Your leg has an ouchie." She stroked her face a moment, telling her she just wanted to look at her wound and she would be careful. She ran her little hand along the side of her body, momentarily stopping to pick a piece of dried mud. She knelt down by her back legs, keeping a hand on her body at all times so she wouldn't spook. "Ouch.." she said as she looked at the nasty cut. It looked like she had caught her ankle in a trap and tore it free. Claire's sparkling eyes flashed hatred as she thought about her brother. He was always trying to catch wild animals in his stupid traps and this time, he might have ruined a perfectly good horse.

Finx nickered softly to Claire, tapping her velvety mug on the little girls waist as she moved toward her rump. Finx moved sideways a little, whipping her tail around, but eventually calmed down, dropping her head. She looked toward the girl as she examined her wound, and her leg twitched as she leaned a bit closer to it. She swiveled her body around, slowly growing uncomfortable with the fact that she couldnt really see Claire.

She looked at the girl, but slowly her interest grew weaker, and she popped her head up as she heard the start of a tractor engine. The mare's throat rumbled as she let out a whinny, and took a few steps forward towards the noise, but she didnt go too far on her injured foot. She flicked her ears back and snorted, bobbing her head toward the faint sight of a tractor being moved into a garage.

Claire felt bad for making Finx uncomfortable and stood up, brushing her hands off on her pants. She walked the few feet ahead that the mare had moved and sighed, touching her barrel with one hand. "Thats my pa." she told the mare, lifting a hand to her face to shield her eyes from the setting sun. "Our tractor has been acting up lately.." she said sadly, thinking about how upset her father was when he couldnt finish the western field. An idea popped into her head then.

She moved to the front of Finx and took either side of her face in her little hands and pressed her forehead to hers. "I need to take care of your leg, but pa can't find you.." she told her softly, kissing her soft mug with tender lips. She drew back and stroked her cheek, "Stay here pretty girl, dont follow me please. I will only be gone a minute, can you do that?" she talked to her like she could understand.