Frederic

The beginning of a character introduction for Frederic (the title character for my newest story).  I'm currently working on Rasha's journey to Frederic, but I wanted to get down some ideas for his introduction.  This is still a very rough sketch for him, and most of it inspired by one of the horses I work with at school.

   The horse was fire in the flesh.  His coat soaked in the sunlight and it rippled over his muscles like silk.  He tossed his mane proudly, flattened his ears and charged her.
   Rasha rolled out of the pen and watched between the planks of wood as the horse tossed his head and ran around the ring.  He was full of spirit and was by far the most gorgeous horse she had ever seen in her entire life.
   She smiled and climbed back through the planks of wood.  The horse watched her from the other side of the ring, his ears still flat against his head in anger.
   "You're not as tough as you think you are," Rasha told him.  The horse's ears snapped forward and he looked at her.  She laughed, "Yeah, that's what I thought."  She took the rope from her belt and let it run through her fingers, smoothly looping it into a neat coil in her left hand.  "Come here beautiful."
   She could feel the eyes of all the hostlers on her, but she kept her eyes on the horse, looking away whenever they made eye contact.  Rasha moved towards him, keeping on her toes and watching every muscle, trying to predict what his next would be.
   The horse charged, his ears flattened again.  Rasha threw the rope over his ears and looped it over his nose.  The horse stopped in his tracks and turned to charge her again.  But Rasha grabbed the rope over his face and twisted it.  He stopped.
   Keeping one hand on the rope around his face, she threw the free end over his neck and tied it under his chin.  She pushed away hid open mouth and jumped lightly onto his back.  He leapt forward, Rasha kept her hands firm and her legs light on his body and soon he had calmed.  She turned him to the gate, "Open it," she told the man standing there.  His trot was swift and smooth out of the city and as soon as they were in the open fields Rasha released her hold on him and they set upon the land, racing the wind.