[html]
Jackson himself could hardly understand what the horses were doing down here in the stables, either. The youth had it in his mind that there were two categories of non-canine creatures to be found—bigger, stronger predators to be avoided, like an angry grizzly, or prey animals to hunt and sacrifice to the gods. But judging from the way the other Anathema members treated the equines, they didn’t seem to fit into either of his neat little categories. The others befriended them, raised them, and did not kill them. The boy could not quite wrap his head around why.
The creature before him seemed intent on remaining frustratingly silent. The youth was nearly ready to give up and head on outside when suddenly a voice was heard behind him. He turned his head to see an unfamiliar man standing a short distance behind him. He turned back to the horse to find himself suddenly face to face with it, the stallion having lowered his head for a closer look at the boy. The hybrid nearly leapt in surprise. “Jeez!” he cried, scuttling backwards quickly. The stallion seemed to lose interest in him now that he’d moved away, turning to trot over to one of the other horses, much to Jackson’s relief.
The monochrome youth turned and moved to stand beside the stranger, blue eyes regarding the idle horses warily. He shook his head, moving his gaze up toward the stranger. One of many unfamiliar faces within the ranks of Anathema to the boy who spent much of his time simply in the company of his father and sister. “They’re weird,” he commented solemnly. “I don’t get why we keep them, here or outside.” Maybe his older, dark-furred pack mate had more knowledge regarding the purpose of keeping the creatures at all, however confused at their presence in the caves he may be.