Since the beginning of time, it's been common for soldiers to take home 'trophies' from nations they are at war with. Sometimes it's the reason they go to war in the first place. However, in modern times, that practice is now frowned upon and there are military rules to prevent such behavior. However, that only applies to stolen property, not items that have been fairly bought or living things that have been rescued. Usually these living things are stray cats or dogs, on rare occasion an orphaned child. An Arabian mare is completely unheard of.
And yet, Privates Roger Stevenson and Dan Shore managed to bring home an Arabian mare after their tour in Iraq. Of course, there were plenty of people who were skeptical about the horse being acquired legally. But there was no paperwork to prove or disprove their 'theft', so it pretty much boiled down to rumors. Roger's family owned a horse farm, so they were able to keep the mare. However, the apparent controversy of their ownership kept nagging at the pair and no reputable Arabian breeder in the States would accept their mare since they had no papers for her lineage. Eventually, it became too much and they decided to move to Animalia were people would be less questioning of their integrity.
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One of Miles's first assignments as a new member of Animalia Ambassadoria is to interview these three newcomers. Mostly it was to interview the mare about whether she was rescued or stolen. After all, there was no questioning of the truth if it came straight from the horse's mouth, pardon the phrase.
The trio was staying at an apartment that Miles was given directions to. Miles knocked on the door and waited for it to open. As it started opening, he said, "Pardon me, but I was sent here from- WHOA!" That last remark was well-stated by the sight of the uplifted mare answering the door. She was certainly beautiful by Animalian standards, with a coat and mane as black as night. And her voluptuous body really stood out in the belly dancer-themed lingerie she had been wearing.
"WHOA? I never heard of them," said the mare.
"Leila, don't answer the door like that!" snapped a voice. An Arabian stallion, more modestly dressed in a white shirt and jeans came to the door and pushed the mare aside. "Sorry about that. Leila's still picking up the niceties of modesty."
"Uh...sure," said Miles. That image is going to be burned into his mind for probably the rest of his life. Did he still had his camera phone on?
"So you're the kid who's giving us an interview?" asked the stallion.
"Uh...just letting you tell your side of the story," said Miles.
"Ok, fine," said the stallion before letting him in, "Hey, Dan, that junior reporter's here."
"From the webshow?" called another voice, "Thought that was ending."
"Well, it's just that the founding members are leaving for college and they need new people to work on it," said Miles.
Another stallion walked in, similar to the first, but wearing cargo pants. "There's always a demand for new blood," said Dan.
"So, you wanna hear it? How we find Leila? Did we steal her?" asked Roger.
"I'm assume you found her another way," said Miles.
"We found her in the desert," said Dan. Miles gave him a flat look. "Yeah, I know, that's how every reacts, but we did. But during a patrol in the desert, we found her, looking lost and half-dehydrated."
"And you didn't try to find the farm she came from?" asked Miles.
"It's not like she was wearing a collar," said Roger, "Anyways, the Arabs only keep horses for racing and they're not likely to let her wander out in the desert."
"Could she have been a feral horse?" asked Miles.
"No, had the markings of being used with bridle and saddle," said Roger.
"Thing is, that particular part of Iraq had been hit by a lot of terrorists," said Dan, "The kind who take extreme measures to anyone they perceived weren't with them."
"Ok, well, Leila, can you tell us what happened?" asked Miles.
Leila, who was wearing a dressing gown now, looked uncertain. "I don't remember clearly," said Leila, "But I did have a simpler mind back then. All I know was there was noise, which I now know was gunfire. I kicked open my stable door and ran as far as I could."
"So you could you find your way back?" asked Miles.
"I didn't want to go back," said Leila, "Whatever happened, I knew it was bad. And I doubt it would have gotten better. Besides, Roger and Dan have been so kind to me. Racehorses don't have it as easy as you think."
"Ok, so why would everyone be doubting your story?" asked Miles.
"Because someone failed to file a proper report of it," said Roger with annoyance.
"You're never going to let me forget that, are you?" asked Dan.
"No, no I'm not," said Roger.
"You could have filed it yourself," retorted Dan.
"You were the one who offered. 'Roger, you're the one who has to transport her back. Let me take care of the boring paperwork.' I should have known better. You never were good at handing in papers," snapped Roger.
"Uh, I think I have enough to start with," interjected Miles, "Just one last thing: what is your, er, relationships with Leila?"
Roger and Dan glanced at Leila before Dan said, "Once she's settled into Animalian life, we can let her decide which one of us she wants."
"But how could I choose between you two?" asked Leila.
"I'm sure you'll make the right choice," said Roger, "It's not like there aren't other single mares."
"Well, this should make for an interesting story," said Miles as he headed for the door, "I hate to run, but I need to be heading back."
"Thanks for coming," said Leila.
"One more thing, how did you get her to the States?" asked Miles.
"That's a story for another time," said Roger.