Contest Entry for

Yay, I actually made an entry for Liz's Bacabello contest! We had to design a mate and foal for her Bacabella, Akhalaia. I promised myself I would enter, and gosh darn it, I did! I apologize sincerely if any of their markings/colours are similar to other entries, but I swear I had this finished last Sunday, and Liz can vouch for that! I had to put off uploading it until I finished their ref pages. So any similarities are merely a coincidence.

Hope you like it, Liz!! It was so much fun designing these two. And if they don't win, I fully intend on developing them more, because I love 'em!

Thanks for looking, everyone!

Image © =boribaby (Michelle Walker '09)
Bacabello breed © =silverglass19
Stavros ref page: [link]
Mykelti ref page: [link]


<sub>Name: Stavros (Stah-vros)

Gender: Stallion

Age: 55

Identification: Liver Chestnut Slate Bacabello

Markings: Symmetrical on both sides, except for circular marking on right foreleg

Tattoos: Signed on his left hind leg

Adornments: Stavros wears two silver hoop earrings in his left ear

Abilities: Telekinesis

Personality: Stavros is strong-willed and gentle, but insecure about his powers. He would rather find a peaceful solution to a problem, instead of using force.

Backstory: Like his father, Stavros was born with telekinetic abilities. However, his telekinesis was dormant and didn't manifest until several years later, when he accidentally used his power against another member of his herd with near-fatal results. He then left the herd in self-imposed exile, vowing not to return until he gained complete control over his ability. Shortly after, he met Akhalaia, and with her help managed to master his telekinesis.

Sweat prickled uncomfortably on Stavros' dark coat as he dropped his head, filling his lungs with cool, cleansing air. Gods, but exercising an ability was hard! He hadn't moved a step, yet he felt like he'd run five furlongs – and all he had to show for it was a scattering of pebbles he'd managed to summon to him. With a snort, he kicked one away from himself. It had been two months since he'd left the herd and even with daily practice he seemed to be getting nowhere. His father had made using telekinesis look so easy...

And, if he admitted it to himself, he was desperately lonely. He'd grown up surrounded by others, interacting with others, and to have no one but himself, no one to support him, no one even to talk to, was wearing his spirit down. But he couldn't – wouldn't, he reminded himself harshly – go back to the herd until he was certain that his ability wouldn't hurt anyone else. If only it had manifested when he was younger! Foals had an innate control over their abilities. He had to learn, step by gruelling step.

“Enough!” he growled aloud, suddenly annoyed at his own self-pitying attitude. He lifted his head and shook his forelock out of his eyes, casting about for another pebble. The only way to bring an end to his solitude was to work hard; moping wasn't going to help.

A round stone caught his eye, slightly larger than the ones he'd been summoning. Maybe something more challenging would help lift the funk he'd drifted into. He steadied his breathing, stretched out his nose and “reached”...

Power surged in him, rising to his call, and the stone shimmied, lifted ever so slightly...then flew at him as though slung, too fast for him to duck away, and struck him between the eyes. He recoiled with an embarrassing, coltish squeal of pain, feeling wetness trickle down his nose.

“Are you alright?”

The soft voice made him flinch and whirl toward the source of the sound. He froze when he saw a beautiful bay Bacabella standing a short distance away, her bright cobalt markings radiant in the sunlight drifting down through the leafy branches above them. There was concern on her lovely face, although even from that distance he could see a trace of good-natured humour in warm brown eyes.

He shifted a little, flustered and terribly aware of the blood still creeping down his nose. “Just a scratch,” he managed at last.

“Would you mind if I take a look at it?” she asked gently, already stepping toward him, and his attention caught on the pretty jade braces on her forelegs. Before he realised it, she was standing in front of him, peering at the cut on his forehead. “Well,” she announced after a few seconds, while he fidgeted restlessly, “it's a little more than a scratch, but...”

A soft nose touched the wound, bringing a glow of warmth, and when it receded the pain had gone. He blinked, startled. She was a healer!

“You'll live,” she said, smiling coyly at him, and he felt the melancholy lift from his heart at the sight. “My name is Akhalaia,” she offered shyly.

He answered the smile with one of his own. “I'm Stavros.”

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Name: Mykelti (Mi-kell-tee)

Gender: Colt

Age: Yearling

Identification: Dark Bay Cobalt Bacabello

Markings: Symetrical shoulder markings on both sides, one blue sock on right hind leg leg (circular pattern on the inside), rectangular bar markings on left leg

Tattoos: Signed (Tattoo will appear on right hip when he's of age)

Adornments: Currently unadorned

Abilities: Flora Healing

Backstory: Mykelti inherited his mother's healing ability, albeit with an unusual variation. He was conceived and born during a time when a blight had befallen the woodland where his parents lived, killing swathes of plantlife. Perhaps in response to Nature's urgent cry for help, he was gifted with the rare ability to heal plants.

Personality: Feisty and adventurous with a gentle understanding of nature, this little colt is a natural leader.</sub>