See Ya Later, Sucker! // Tempranillo #2

Crash!

The barrel of rum tumbled down to the floor as a young red roan gelding kicked at it, his back white foot making a surprisingly solid impact. A puddle of deep red spilled over the wooden deck, seeping through the planks and dripping down onto the slightly torn and yellowed map of the office below. Though he was small, he could sure pack a punch, and Old John hated this. A lot.

Tempranillo had been persistently running circles around the old man’s men until they had been worn dry from his teasing, and as soon as they showed signs of growing weary, he rushed past them and leapt onto the ship. It had rocked under the impact of his landing, ever so subtly (for he was only small) but it was enough of a thud to alert the men inside the lower deck that a perpetrator had appeared. He thundered about over the top, nuzzling and stomping at various chests and boxes, shoving his nose into every nook and cranny and crevice he could find. No part of this ship would go un-searched, and this was his mission!

A great curiosity was wormed deep inside of this Cob, and until he had successfully uncovered every secret of his little world (the beach that surrounded the local town he had lived by throughout his life, that is), he would never stop looking. The best news is that almost every day there’s a new ship to look in - some are smaller than others, and occasionally he falls as a heap into the water, trudging out miserably to try again, but the bigger ones are always fun.

In this ship, there was a constantly sour smell, but it was also sweet. How peculiar!

His dappled roan coat shimmered in the light as he sniffed at the puddle he had created from the barrel. It smelt faintly of the little purple fruits he has once tried, but sharper and more difficult to pinpoint. How did it get in there? Why? Is it something the humans drink? Maybe he could drink it, too. It’s probably really nice, and such a pretty colour, it’s almost definitely going to be a fast favourite!

He sniffed at it once more before lapping at it quietly, snorting and sneezing almost immediately. Yuck! That tastes awful. Its scent is completely misleading, that’s not how drinks should work at all! They should be tasteful, not too bland but not too strong—

'Hey!'

Oh, no! The golden bell in his mane has given him away - he's been found!

‘Hey! You there! Get back here! Ol’ John’s gonna kill me if he sees the mess you’ve made, beast!’ A man yelled, and off Tempranillo went, trotting down the ramp and cantering away into the harbour, carefully weaving between bystanders and fishermen with surprisingly direct ease.

See ya later, sucker!