STOMP!
A horse’s hoof slammed into the ground just inches from my face. I felt my tail go stiff with fear, my whiskers spread out, the fur all across my back stood on end. I was cowardly for but a moment, believing it was the end as dirt was splashed across my chest and legs. But then it lifted up … and up … and up. And the horse stepped over me, stomping noisily and dangerously down that same unpaved road.
I rushed back towards the grass before facing a similar encounter with it’s hind legs, and no I didn’t care about staying upright during my frantic fleeing. Four legs just made rushing to safety that much faster.
STOMP! The tan furred horse just kept walking. I looked up to see it’s black tail flicking the air to deter flies, I could see it’s brown leather saddle, I could see … it’s rider! Now was my chance!
“H-Hey! Heeello up there!” I called out from the thin but tall grass as the pair passed by. They didn’t respond, but it’s not like I should expect him too. Er, him? Yeah that rider looked human. The horse was clearly male, but from my angle that was a detail I would not have preferred to focus on. I crawled … walked? Ran? Yeah, lets go with ran. It’s so hard to tell with this new body.
I ran after them squeaking and hollering, but the constant stomping and clattering of a horse’s four hooves proved too much noise for a mouse to overcome. I started leaping into the air, waving my front paws around, screaming at the top of my lungs, nothing seemed to work. The fact I could barely hear myself over that horse probably had something to do with it.
And by the gods, that horse was fast! Barely even trotting, I was exhausting myself trying to keep up with it while simultaneously attempting to draw attention. Made worse by the fact I was failing at both. Something had to give, so I stayed my breath and silently raced after the two. I’d learned long ago that humans are silent fighters, when it comes to matters of life and death we instinctively avoid speaking. The logic is that one should not waste breath when their life is in danger, so all air, all energy is instead focused on the task at hand.
I wasn’t sure if mice had the same instinct, probably did considering they were almost always quiet, but it was a great relief to my lungs when I stopped shouting. My tiny little mouse feet slapped the road as I sped forward, my head was so low I could feel my whiskers tickling through the loose dirt. But there was no way I could keep up with even a slow horse indefinitely. What if I stopped trying?
I was on a well used road, it’s certainly plausible to wait for the next traveler to come along. Hopefully either someone on foot, or at least paying more attention to the … “wildlife”
Then of course, I could just fallow the road to wherever this man is going. What if it leads to a city? Or some small town surrounded by farmland? If I could find a city it would be easy to figure out where that spell-caster sent me. But then, this traveler was on a horse. So what if his destination was some distance away? If the nearest city was days away by horse, it might take me weeks, or even months to reach it on my own. And that is under the assumption I survive the wildlife. Woods can be dangerous enough at night when your six feet tall wielding a longsword. But two inches tall, sporting a tail, and unarmed?
Wolves alone would be impossible to fight. And as a mouse I’d be at risk for other things like cats … or owls … or … snakes maybe. By the gods, there are a lot of animals that eat mice. Was I really willing to risk a long, arduous journey through unknown territory with such a curse?
My legs started to grow tired, but I could muscle through for a while longer. If I could manage the jump, I might be able to catch a ride with this fellow. Doing so might even draw his attention. But was it worth the effort? Or the risk? If I got stepped on there would be no survival.
I looked up to see the horse flicking it’s tail back and forwarth, then drop down … decisions. Decisions.
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