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Description

Camp Nightmare - Japan

Trial Three : Mounted Archery

TUA The Boogiemare "Oogie" | ~10-12 year-old Classic Traaker Mare

Ridden by Maya Alvarez (~26-28 y/o)

CHAPTER 7 | Camp Nightmare - Japan
Part 5. A Matter Of Trust

In which Oogie's sudden good mood helps Maya feel more confident riding her, though archery is really not her thing.

Featuring Esther Hotofer with OWC Goldenrod ( Oakwood-Creek)

and Rick Soldi with Love In A Mist ( Az-Dreamy)

<<< PART 4 --- Interlude > --- Next Chapter >>>

Story (918 words) :

Early June | Year 1

This was it, the time had come for the very last trial marking the nearing end of Camp Nightmare. It was quite the adventure that Maya and Oogie had tackled together, and the progress that the young rider had made with her temperamental mare exceeded all expectations. Oogie was now more willing to work with her rider instead of against her, and the presence of other horses around her didn’t seem to bother her as much as before. But nothing they had accomplished so far could compare to what they were about to experience in this last trial.

Mounted archery was not a discipline that Maya particularly enjoyed, as she quickly found out while training with her friends Rick and Esther. For one thing, she had never tried archery before and was therefore not really good at it, but doing so while on top of a fast moving horse felt more than uncomfortable for the young woman, especially when said horse had an unpredictable bad temper. So unsurprisingly, Maya felt a bit nervous as she made her way to her mare’s stall on the morning of the trial. What was surprising though was Oogie’s attitude when she noticed her rider approaching, with her ears forward and a spark of curiosity in her eyes. She looked to be in such a good mood that Maya swore if horses could smile, Oogie would have the brightest grin on her face right now.

“Um, who are you and what have you done with my horse ?” Maya joked as she started to groom her.

It was certainly a pleasant and welcome change, and just as Maya was about to seriously wonder if Oogie had actually been replaced by an angelic twin, her doubts were immediately put to rest when she tightened the saddle’s girth, causing the mare to flip her ears backwards and stomp her foot.

“Nope, still the same old Oogie” the young rider couldn’t help but smile at her mare’s antics.

Once the preparation was all done, the pair joined the rest of their team in the multi-purpose square near the edge of the Camp’s property. Rick and his mare Misty were already there, waiting for them.

“Have you finally tamed your wild horse ?” Rick teased as he noticed Oogie’s changed attitude.

“I honestly have no idea where this good mood is coming from but you will not hear me complaining !” Maya answered with a bright smile “Have I missed anything ?”

“No, we were just about to start. And actually, I think you’ve drawn the short straw on this one” he winked.

“That’s a joke right ?” she immediately deflated.

“Hey Maya !” Esther suddenly approached riding her stallion “We were just waiting for you, you’re going first !”

Rod didn’t miss a bit to flirt with Oogie, as all three riders had noticed this happening regularly whenever the two Traakers were near each other, but Maya didn’t pay attention to her mare’s playful response to the stallion’s advances.

“So it’s not a joke, awesome…” she sighed.

“Hey don’t worry, just remember what we did in practice and you’ll do just fine” Esther reassured her.

“And I’m sure Oogie’s weird mood will help too” Rick added with a smile.

“Thanks guys, wish me luck !” Maya cued her mare to move towards the track.

“Good luck !” her two friends said in unison.

As she was walking her mare away from the two other horses, Maya noticed that Oogie was still eyeing her stallion friend, so she prompted her to focus on the track ahead while half-expecting the mare to protest, but again she complied without a fuss. Her rider didn’t have the time to question this however, because it was now time to start the trial.

With bow and arrow ready, the pair started cantering down the archery track. As soon as she let go of the reins, Maya expected Oogie to start stepping side to side to escape control like she had done previously during practice, but to her pleasant surprise the mare stayed perfectly centered between her legs with a steady canter and her ears facing forward in concentration. Now that she didn’t have to worry about controlling her horse, the young woman focused on the task at hand, readying her arrow to aim at the first target. She not only completely missed, but also nearly lost her bow when she reached for a new arrow from the quiver on the side of her saddle. Taking the time to steady herself in her seat, she missed the second one as well, but managed to focus enough to hit the bottom of the following ones. Or maybe that was just luck, but either way in the end more targets were hit than missed.

When they reached the end of the track, Maya didn’t even have to grab the reins back to ask Oogie to slow down, as the mare smoothly transitioned back to a peaceful walk. She turned her head to look at her rider, the same spark of curiosity and maybe even pride in her eyes as earlier this morning. With a wide grin on her face, Maya hugged the neck of her mare and petted her as much as she could. She had never shown that level of affection towards Oogie, and this was not only refreshing but also heart-warming to be able to interact in such a way with her. Burying her face in the mare’s blond mane, Maya let out a small whisper.

“I could get used to this”

Look at our Queen Oogie smiling ! Guess anything's possible right haha

NEW STYLE \o/ (again ^^')

Took a bit of the style I was experimenting with Noveria ( here and here) and tried to apply it here, I think it works really well ! Cell shading might be the way to go for me because of how I usually struggle so much when shading my black mares... Though I still can't draw a human to save my life (sorry Maya T-T)

EDIT : STORY ADDED !

Reference used (kinda traced)

Description

Camp Nightmare - Japan

Trial Three : Mounted Archery

TUA The Boogiemare "Oogie" | ~10-12 year-old Classic Traaker Mare

Ridden by Maya Alvarez (~26-28 y/o)

CHAPTER 7 | Camp Nightmare - Japan
Part 5. A Matter Of Trust

In which Oogie's sudden good mood helps Maya feel more confident riding her, though archery is really not her thing.

Featuring Esther Hotofer with OWC Goldenrod ( Oakwood-Creek)

and Rick Soldi with Love In A Mist ( Az-Dreamy)

<<< PART 4 --- Interlude > --- Next Chapter >>>

Story (918 words) :

Early June | Year 1

This was it, the time had come for the very last trial marking the nearing end of Camp Nightmare. It was quite the adventure that Maya and Oogie had tackled together, and the progress that the young rider had made with her temperamental mare exceeded all expectations. Oogie was now more willing to work with her rider instead of against her, and the presence of other horses around her didn’t seem to bother her as much as before. But nothing they had accomplished so far could compare to what they were about to experience in this last trial.

Mounted archery was not a discipline that Maya particularly enjoyed, as she quickly found out while training with her friends Rick and Esther. For one thing, she had never tried archery before and was therefore not really good at it, but doing so while on top of a fast moving horse felt more than uncomfortable for the young woman, especially when said horse had an unpredictable bad temper. So unsurprisingly, Maya felt a bit nervous as she made her way to her mare’s stall on the morning of the trial. What was surprising though was Oogie’s attitude when she noticed her rider approaching, with her ears forward and a spark of curiosity in her eyes. She looked to be in such a good mood that Maya swore if horses could smile, Oogie would have the brightest grin on her face right now.

“Um, who are you and what have you done with my horse ?” Maya joked as she started to groom her.

It was certainly a pleasant and welcome change, and just as Maya was about to seriously wonder if Oogie had actually been replaced by an angelic twin, her doubts were immediately put to rest when she tightened the saddle’s girth, causing the mare to flip her ears backwards and stomp her foot.

“Nope, still the same old Oogie” the young rider couldn’t help but smile at her mare’s antics.

Once the preparation was all done, the pair joined the rest of their team in the multi-purpose square near the edge of the Camp’s property. Rick and his mare Misty were already there, waiting for them.

“Have you finally tamed your wild horse ?” Rick teased as he noticed Oogie’s changed attitude.

“I honestly have no idea where this good mood is coming from but you will not hear me complaining !” Maya answered with a bright smile “Have I missed anything ?”

“No, we were just about to start. And actually, I think you’ve drawn the short straw on this one” he winked.

“That’s a joke right ?” she immediately deflated.

“Hey Maya !” Esther suddenly approached riding her stallion “We were just waiting for you, you’re going first !”

Rod didn’t miss a bit to flirt with Oogie, as all three riders had noticed this happening regularly whenever the two Traakers were near each other, but Maya didn’t pay attention to her mare’s playful response to the stallion’s advances.

“So it’s not a joke, awesome…” she sighed.

“Hey don’t worry, just remember what we did in practice and you’ll do just fine” Esther reassured her.

“And I’m sure Oogie’s weird mood will help too” Rick added with a smile.

“Thanks guys, wish me luck !” Maya cued her mare to move towards the track.

“Good luck !” her two friends said in unison.

As she was walking her mare away from the two other horses, Maya noticed that Oogie was still eyeing her stallion friend, so she prompted her to focus on the track ahead while half-expecting the mare to protest, but again she complied without a fuss. Her rider didn’t have the time to question this however, because it was now time to start the trial.

With bow and arrow ready, the pair started cantering down the archery track. As soon as she let go of the reins, Maya expected Oogie to start stepping side to side to escape control like she had done previously during practice, but to her pleasant surprise the mare stayed perfectly centered between her legs with a steady canter and her ears facing forward in concentration. Now that she didn’t have to worry about controlling her horse, the young woman focused on the task at hand, readying her arrow to aim at the first target. She not only completely missed, but also nearly lost her bow when she reached for a new arrow from the quiver on the side of her saddle. Taking the time to steady herself in her seat, she missed the second one as well, but managed to focus enough to hit the bottom of the following ones. Or maybe that was just luck, but either way in the end more targets were hit than missed.

When they reached the end of the track, Maya didn’t even have to grab the reins back to ask Oogie to slow down, as the mare smoothly transitioned back to a peaceful walk. She turned her head to look at her rider, the same spark of curiosity and maybe even pride in her eyes as earlier this morning. With a wide grin on her face, Maya hugged the neck of her mare and petted her as much as she could. She had never shown that level of affection towards Oogie, and this was not only refreshing but also heart-warming to be able to interact in such a way with her. Burying her face in the mare’s blond mane, Maya let out a small whisper.

“I could get used to this”

Look at our Queen Oogie smiling ! Guess anything's possible right haha

NEW STYLE \o/ (again ^^')

Took a bit of the style I was experimenting with Noveria ( here and here) and tried to apply it here, I think it works really well ! Cell shading might be the way to go for me because of how I usually struggle so much when shading my black mares... Though I still can't draw a human to save my life (sorry Maya T-T)

EDIT : STORY ADDED !

Reference used (kinda traced)