A preview for an upcoming story in honor of Year of the Horse, featuring a woman getting a special tattoo. Enjoy this sneak peek!
Aria stepped back and sighed, drooping her shoulders. “Okay… gotta find that middle ground. Not too far, not too close.”She prepared to strike at the next target but stopped. From behind her, she could hear something. Something clomping through the sand with heavy steps. Something that was coming up from behind her.“Hello!” A moment after, a friendly, hearty voice called to her, “Looks like you're up to something interesting here.”The tan woman turned, seeing who approached. It was no one she could've expected. It was a horse.It was a fairly tall, large, muscular, anthro unicorn to be precise. This unicorn had several head heights on her while being shredded, looking like he worked out every day for years. His fur was a darker shade of pink, his mane and tail an even darker shade than that. His mane was puffy, pulled into a thick man bun. He had an equally puffy beard.He had a peculiar, familiar aura around him Aria couldn't quite pin down. Though, she was more surprised by the fact she hadn't sensed such a large beast of a man approaching until he was right there.“Ah yeah…” Aria decided to answer him. “Just getting some training in.”“Looks like some specialized training…” The unicorn adjusted his glasses, giving her a pleasant smile, “But I'm being rude here. My name is Berry Swellony. Just a stallion taking a stroll on the beach this very nice day.”Must've walked pretty far for a stroll. Aria's little training setup was very far down the shore, away from any places tourists or beachgoers hung out. Plus, given the time of year, it was pretty cool out, so not the best time for a walk either. Good for her to keep her focus though.Aria couldn't help but find the pink unicorn a touch suspicious. Despite his size, she was pretty confident she could take him if he meant trouble at least.“Oh!” Berry looked excited. “Do you know what day it is? It's Chinese New Year! It's officially Year of the Horse today! Cool, right?”“…sure?” Aria was definitely finding the horse stranger. Where did this sudden detour come from? Why did he think she cared? She didn't pay attention to the Chinese Zodiac. Was he bragging that it was “his” year, because he was a horse or something? Were all equines this odd or was it just him?“Well, I think it's important!” Berry smiled. “Ya know, I have this thing where I happen to be drawn to people looking to party and celebrate, especially on important days and even if they don't know it yet! On this very special day, I think our meeting wasn't a coincidence!"It's probably just him that's weird. Aria cleared her throat. “Listen, it was nice meeting you, but I really need to get back to my private training. If you could just continue walk-”“Of course!” Berry said, thankfully not seeming offended, “But, before I go, how about a little something-something to celebrate the day?” He reached into his gym shorts and pulled out a small, sleek piece of paper.Aria looked. It was actually a press-on tattoo of a horse silhouette. In particular, it was an unicorn one.It was certainly a weird thing to hand out, but she took it anyway. It was probably best to humor the odd guy to a certain degree, if only to hurry him along.“Enjoy and good luck with your training!” Berry gave her a polite nod and walked on by. He carefully stepped over the destroyed dummies and targets, eventually getting by and heading down the beach.Once he was a good distance away, Aria stared at the tattoo she was given. She pouted her lips, thinking it over.…oh, why not? She stabbed the sword into the sand and peeled the top layer of the tattoo off. It didn't look dangerous, and she sensed nothing abnormal about it.She pressed the sticky side against the front of her right leg, right above the knee but below her short gym shorts. She took her water bottle and dripped some water onto it. She pressed tightly and held the paper in place for a little bit. After a minute, she pulled the paper back. The tattoo was now stuck to her skin.She smiled slightly. All things considered it wasn't a bad tattoo. She did like big, strong horses (sans the weirdo ones), so it did work for her.Aria stood up straight and stretched. Okay, back to it then! She reached for her sword.However, she stopped. Something pulsed and throbbed.Aria gasped, sweat forming on her brow as heat began to rise within her. Her skin tingled, goosebumps rising across it. What… what is… She huffed. Something was happening, something that her body found to be very thrilling.