18 Stallion and Peacock

Two men sat at the side of the road. They looked shabby, but were laughing at each other's jokes. One man was very handsome with his black shiny hair and emerald green eyes, but skinny build and he had a crooked nose, like it had been broken before. The other one was muscular and had ash gray hair abd a long, squashed face, looking like he had run into a wall. His big hands just broke a dried piece of bread in half.

"Not much left, eh?", said the skinny one.

"Nope. We gotta get something tomorrow", replied the other one. He crumched his loaf, then sighed. His stomach grumbled.

"Screw this", he said, and stood up. "Come on, Zach, I'm hungry." His companion grumbled something and rose.

"But I'm not gonna walk to the next village, Bep", he said. Bep sighed.

"Fine." He took off his shirt, cloak and trousers and gave them to Zach. He shivered in the chilly air, then lowered down. As soon as his hands touched the ground, fur grew on his body. His limbs stretched and grew thicker, his back broaded and his neck expanded. His fingers and toes merged into hooves, and a thick tail sprouted. He was a horse.

Bep shivered, then stretched. He lowered his back and Zach, who had stuffed Bep's clothes into his backpack, climbed onto him.

"Okay. Let's go", he said and grabbed a bit mane. Bep trodded down the road, snorting.

They arrived at a village at nightfall. Zach slid down from Bep's muscular back.

"The usual?", he asked. Bep nodded, which looked quite funny with his big head. Zach reached into his backpack and pulled out a little bottle filled with red liquid. He opened it carefully and poured a bit onto Bep's left front leg.

"Well, be careful", he said. He then ran into the village, yelling. Soon a little crowd had gathered.

"Please! A doctor! My horse is badly injured, and he is the pride of his race! Please!" A man said he was a doctor, and agreed to lookat Bep. They hurried to him. Bep stood on three legs, one raised slightly. He neighed and rolled his eyes madly.

"Shh, it's alright, big one", the man said. "I can help you. It's alright." Bep rose onto his hind legs and then collapsed onto the ground. He tried to stand up, but his leg would always give in. Zach talked calmingly to him. Finally, the villager was able to get close to Bep.

"He really is a pretty stallion", he said. "But I assume you have the money to pay me?", he asked Zach.

"Well", he said excusingly, "business has been running bad lately, you see...?"

"What? You expect me to help you for free?", the villager yelled. The crowd supported him. They argued with Zach, until a little boy said: "The horse is gone." Zach turned. Bep was gone.

"My stallion!", he screamed. "My horse!" The crowd looked around, but could not see Bep. No one noticed the new man among them with ash gray hair. Zach ran around, yelled and accused the villagers of abducting his horse. They said he had run away in pain and would probably die in a few days. Zach collapsed and looked into the fields. The crowd slowly disbanded. They went back. The only one left was Bep. He looked around quickly.

"Do it. No one's looking", he said. Zach quickly stripped down his clothes and transformed. His arms grew long and his neck stretched; a sharp beak sprouted from his face. Blueish black feathers covered him. Zach quickly brushed his wings smooth, then flapped them and took off. Bep turned and went down the road.

As soon as the village was no longer visible, Zach landed and transformed back. Bep handed him clothes.

"How much?", he asked, pulling his shirt over the head.

"Two silvers, fourteen bronces and two apples. Not bad." He smirked and threw a red apple to Zach. "You always get good loot, peacock."

"Just because you are the best fake injured horse I know", he grinned back and bit into his apple.