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Description
Who's ready for angst?!

Featuring: Lylyndir (Sheik) and abosz007 's Freddy.

_____

Handsome had stopped eating.

It had been sudden, like someone flicking a switch, one day he’d been making progress in strides and the next it was as if all their collective hard work had been for nothing. He’d been near unresponsive, accepting only cuddles from Sheik and only drinking water. Over the next week, he’d lost the weight he’d painstakingly earned.

Then the discomfort started; constantly licking and nibbling his flanks although Sheik couldn’t find anything that could be irritating his skin, kicking at his belly and lying down. He wasn’t passing stool either, although for how little he’d consumed that week, Sheik wasn’t surprised.

Eventually he’d started rolling in his stall, even breaching himself a couple of times, the first time Sheik had been on hand and used a lead rope wrapped around the stallions legs to roll him back over, however the second occurrence took place in the middle of the night, around an hour after the night check, and by the time Sheik found him the stallion was lying down on bloodied bedding, his left hind hock having been cut open by his own flailing hooves as he’d tried to right himself. Now Handsome barely even tried to stand.

Sheik had been meeting with Freddie every other day at this point, knowing that Handsome had to start eating again or they’d be in serious danger but when his injury happened things became somewhat more dire. Freddie came out immediately and both assessed and worked to heal what was a rather nasty gash to his hock, the cut bleeding profusely suggesting a cut vein, dramatic and serious but ultimately not immediately life threatening. Coupled with Handsome’s weakened state, however, meant that the lost blood was now a serious danger.

Freddie also had other news, worse news still. Handsome had colic. His depression had led to him both fasting and for the most part immobile, two common causes of colic. This was not news Sheik needed. Freddie may have been a vet and a sorcerer but there was only so much magic that could be safely used; they’d been trying to keep Handsome alive long enough for him to physically recover, if they overused it he could become dependant and simply him returning to Scotland, or leaving wherever Freddie was located, would set him right back to the start.

Effectively, they were not just back at Step One, they were reduced to Minus-Step-Three.

The elf could’ve cried. They’d come so far, they were doing so well… he didn’t want to lose Handsome now. They’d already lost Zach and truly… Sheik missed him. He kept hearing his smug laugh or hesitating to open brush bags, opening doors standing to the side, turning the volume of devices down before turning them on or smelling his shower gel before he used it, all habits formed from years of living with a prankster. Zach had said he wanted to leave so he didn’t bother anyone anymore but all he’d done is left a ghost to haunt them. Selfish, selfish Zacharie, right down to his departure. He should’ve said something.

He should have said something.

Sheik wasn’t sure who it was that should’ve done the talking.

Description
Who's ready for angst?!

Featuring: Lylyndir (Sheik) and abosz007 's Freddy.

_____

Handsome had stopped eating.

It had been sudden, like someone flicking a switch, one day he’d been making progress in strides and the next it was as if all their collective hard work had been for nothing. He’d been near unresponsive, accepting only cuddles from Sheik and only drinking water. Over the next week, he’d lost the weight he’d painstakingly earned.

Then the discomfort started; constantly licking and nibbling his flanks although Sheik couldn’t find anything that could be irritating his skin, kicking at his belly and lying down. He wasn’t passing stool either, although for how little he’d consumed that week, Sheik wasn’t surprised.

Eventually he’d started rolling in his stall, even breaching himself a couple of times, the first time Sheik had been on hand and used a lead rope wrapped around the stallions legs to roll him back over, however the second occurrence took place in the middle of the night, around an hour after the night check, and by the time Sheik found him the stallion was lying down on bloodied bedding, his left hind hock having been cut open by his own flailing hooves as he’d tried to right himself. Now Handsome barely even tried to stand.

Sheik had been meeting with Freddie every other day at this point, knowing that Handsome had to start eating again or they’d be in serious danger but when his injury happened things became somewhat more dire. Freddie came out immediately and both assessed and worked to heal what was a rather nasty gash to his hock, the cut bleeding profusely suggesting a cut vein, dramatic and serious but ultimately not immediately life threatening. Coupled with Handsome’s weakened state, however, meant that the lost blood was now a serious danger.

Freddie also had other news, worse news still. Handsome had colic. His depression had led to him both fasting and for the most part immobile, two common causes of colic. This was not news Sheik needed. Freddie may have been a vet and a sorcerer but there was only so much magic that could be safely used; they’d been trying to keep Handsome alive long enough for him to physically recover, if they overused it he could become dependant and simply him returning to Scotland, or leaving wherever Freddie was located, would set him right back to the start.

Effectively, they were not just back at Step One, they were reduced to Minus-Step-Three.

The elf could’ve cried. They’d come so far, they were doing so well… he didn’t want to lose Handsome now. They’d already lost Zach and truly… Sheik missed him. He kept hearing his smug laugh or hesitating to open brush bags, opening doors standing to the side, turning the volume of devices down before turning them on or smelling his shower gel before he used it, all habits formed from years of living with a prankster. Zach had said he wanted to leave so he didn’t bother anyone anymore but all he’d done is left a ghost to haunt them. Selfish, selfish Zacharie, right down to his departure. He should’ve said something.

He should have said something.

Sheik wasn’t sure who it was that should’ve done the talking.