Information

Marseille
Legacy Name: Marseille

The Common Experiment #1983

Age: 12 years, 8 months, 1 week

Born: July 9th, 2013

Adopted: 12 years, 3 months ago

Adopted: December 18th, 2013

Statistics

• Level: 15
   
• Strength: 38
   
• Defense: 39
   
• Speed: 11
   
• Health: 37
   
• HP: 22/37
   
• Intelligence: 11
   
• Books Read: 11
• Food Eaten: 0
• Job: Surfboard Rental Clerk

“Come one, come all, to the main event! Be the first to ride the new carousel!” A man in a brightly-colored suit stood beside the platform, beckoning to any who came near. “How about you, ma'am? Tired from shopping at the market stalls? Rest your feet on the chariot! Care to sit astride the back of the mighty lion, young sir? Come young, come old, come all to the carousel!” Children chattered and laughed all around, and one by one they climbed up onto the platform and wandered about, until they found an animal to their liking, and their parents lifted them onto its back. A little girl stared at a handsome white horse whose neck was arched high and proud, legs raised in a high-stepping trot. It wore livery of red and golden trim shining brilliantly in the sunlight. The man in the suit said, “That's a fine choice, miss! The best of the best! Pure-bred from Arabian lines, that one. A real winner at the races. You won't be disappointed!”

The girl looked beseechingly at a tired, smiling man, who lifted her and said, “Hold on tight, sweetheart.” This is what the old carousel horse remembers--- the first time it felt a child upon its back, and felt the gears of the ride begin to move. It rose, then fell and rose again. The organ played a cheery tune as they spun, slowly at first but then a little faster, and the girl hugged its neck with her arms. They went once around, twice; the girl waved at her father as she passed. Then, leaning close, she whispered into the ear of the horse, “Faster!”

A curious thing happened: the horse felt a breeze stir its mane, its ears bending back to catch the sound of its rider's voice. She giggled as it pranced, round and round. “Jump over the fence!” she said, and the horse felt its hindquarters bunching, muscles rippling beneath its shimmering white hide. They flew, over the fence and down the path, the girl screaming with glee. They were faster than the wind, lighter than air. They were magic.

And then the ride slowed, and the music stopped. The girl slid off the horse's back and patted his flank before running into the arms of her father, talking excitedly as he smiled his tired smile.

The next time, it was a boy, and he rode the carousel horse out bravely to do battle against knights and monsters. After that, another girl, almost too young to sit astride its wide back; for her it trotted slow and careful through a field filled with daisies. When the fair was over, the animals were still and silent again, only bits of painted wood affixed to the machinery. But among them there was a new excitement, for they knew that they could be so much more.

The carousel saw another day at the fair, and another; and when the fair was over they went to a different one. Each time, children lined up for a turn on the ride, whispering and bickering and laughing together. The horse was a favorite, and children ran to claim him as the gate was opened for them, but soon enough there was a child on every back and the music started again. The carousel horse grew to love the fairs and the carnivals, the smell of roast food and the din of people as they perused the attractions and hawked their stalls. It loved the children most of all, for when they rode the carousel their imaginations wove a spell with the music and the motion that made the horse into a thing of magic and life, and it was able to make them smile and laugh, if only for a few minutes.

As time went on, however, new rides made their debuts: boats that rocked back and forth, trains on tracks that looped and twisted into the sky, great mechanical curiosities that spun their passengers every-which-way as they screamed. Stalls of crafts turned into rows of carnival games, and the man in the suit that once beckoned passers-by disappeared.

The children disappeared too, slowly. More and more animals were left without riders, until sometimes there were only one or two children when the music began. The horse was fortunate, for it was beautiful and well-loved and the years had been kind to it. More often than not, it was the one carrying their only passenger. The animals without riders moved through the dreams of days gone by, and though their backs were bare they were content. But the fairs and carnivals came less and less; the carousel's paint faded; its music missed notes when it played. One day the carousel was laid to rest in a lot filled with cars, and no one had come for it since. No one interested in taking it to a carnival, anyway.

The cars around the carousel changed, some dismantled, some rusted to almost nothing. Teenagers and shabbily-dressed men came and went. Some were cruel to the carousel, smashing mirrors or even stealing a creature from its pole. Other animals were worn away by weather and time, or by rot. The lion, the bear and the elephant remained, worn and washed-out, but their eyes were dull and lifeless, for they had forgotten.

But the horse remembers. The horse can still hear the music, lively and complete as it should be; can feel the wind lift its mane and the earth fly away beneath its hooves, if it tries. Standing vigil over the old lot, handsome despite its chips and scratches and paint bleached white by the sun, something lively and a little magical still twinkles in its eyes. The old carousel horse waits patiently, for it knows one day the children will return, and when they do, it will carry them on its back as the music plays and run through the places of their dreams, just as it had always done.

Pet Treasure

Lumimare

Bonnie

Destrier

Colt

Pet Friends