It was unlike me to get swayed into making decisions I didn't want to.

And yet, here I was.

To think it all started with one fateful trip...

***

I had just finished a concert after a movie filming and I was dead tired. Weeks had passed and I had nearly worked myself into the ground.

Which was exactly why I needed a break.

Well, I didn't. I was "advised" one.

"What am I even supposed to do?" I wondered out loud.

Zhihao paced for a moment in front of me before he paused. "Hey, how do you feel about going to a race?" he asked as the idea popped into his head.

Zhihao had been my closest friend and manager since I split from EXO. He had worked on carefully screening every offer that came my way, only letting me partake in the best. I tended to trust him with everything, and I would usually trust him with my life.

In this case though...

I shrugged. "Depends on what kind of race it is," I said.

"I did get an invitation to a horse race that's going to take place tomorrow," he said. "What say you come with?"

I furrowed my eyebrow. "Horse racing?" I asked. "I...I'm not sure..."

"You should come along," he urged. "It could be fun."

"Yeah..." I hesitantly said. "Fun..."

***

And that was how I had found myself attending a horse race when I had absolutely no interest in them.

Zhihao, though, was animatedly chatting with the other spectators and using words I'd never even heard of, like "AE" and "shadow roll." He went around the stands of the massive stadium, talking to the other patrons while I wordlessly followed behind. 

He seemed to be well known, which was strange since I wasn't aware of this part of him. I did know he watched horse racing religiously, but never thought it could be to this extent.

As we moved through the stands, I felt the stares of people on my back. Maybe they were talking about my orange-blond hair, or about my girlish features, but I did feel the familiar feeling of knowing when people were watching me. I doubted they recognized me, since most of them were of the older crowd; In the twenty minutes it took us to walk to the other side of the stadium, I had barely spotted five people around my own age.

"Where are we going anyway, Zhihao?" I asked.

"To see the horses," he happily said. "I guarantee you'll like it better than watching the race."

I nodded slightly. "I guess petting the horses seems like fun."

He grinned. "I know you, Han. You'll be in love before we know it."

I hoped he was right.

We moved to the farthest corner of the stands where a small staircase lead down to the grounds. As we descended the stairs, I spotted the starting line and the compartments where the horses would be held. Already, there were people walking around, leading horses decked with equipment around. Further back to the side lay the stables, where more horses were kept.

Zhihao led me towards the stables, pausing once in a while to greet the owners and jockeys. While he did so, I took a moment to properly look at the horses.

They came in all sorts of colors and patterns, but what struck me most was their gait. They were slim, tall and athletic creatures, holding their heads high. They were different from the normal horses he'd see in parks, or even the ones used by farmers for heavy duty pulling. They were sleek and slender, sporting shiny coats.

"Done admiring the horses?" Zhihao asked, breaking me out of my trance.

"Huh?" I absentmindedly asked.

He chuckled. "Come on, let's go meet the horses at the stables," he said, grabbing the sleeve of my shirt and dragging me along.

However, before we could reach the stables, a commotion made us stop in our tracks. 

We looked around to find the source of the trouble that was even spooking some of the other horses, and our eyes landed on a horse going nuts and the few people attempting to placate it.

The horse was a dark, chocolaty brown all over, with a lighter brown tinting its muzzle. It had one of the most magnificent dark manes I had seen, flying around as it jumped and moved in a frenzy. Its brown eyes frantically looked around at the people attempting to calm it down. A dark black covered its legs and faded into the brown of its coat. 

"What's going on?" Zhihao asked someone close to us, gesturing towards the horse.

"Oh, that?" the person asked. "That's Lilith."

"Isn't Lilith the name of a demon in the Bible..." I wondered.

The person grinned. "You got that right," he said. "Her previous owner named her that because he hoped she'd be a beast on the course. Too bad she took it literally."

"What do you mean?" Zhihao inquired.

"Don't you know?" the person questioned. "That horse was responsible for killing her past owner, and she's been a force of unstoppable rage ever since then."

I could feel my eyes widening. "K-killed?"

The person nodded. "Poor thing too, she's a champion in her own right, but it was a miracle she was even allowed to participate in this race." He sighed. "Such a shame, such a beauty with so much potential."

He went on his merry way and left the two of us staring at the mare.

Lilith.

The very name sent shivers down my spine, and there was something in her eyes that seemed to shake me to my core. I stared into the dark abyss and realized one simple thing.

I didn't want to make this creature an enemy.

Zhihao pursed his lips. "So that's the horse I've been hearing about..." he muttered.

"What?" I asked.

"Oh nothing," he shrugged it off. "Just...there'd been word going around that a horse had killed its owner."

"You heard about it?" I questioned.

"In short, yes," he said. He then sighed and pulled me along. "We don't want to hang around here," he told me. "That horse is dangerous. Come on, I'll introduce you to this lovely palomino gelding I met the other day. You'll surely fall in love with him."

As he dragged me away, I couldn't help but stare at the horse that had now somewhat calmed down. Before I was pulled into the stables, I could've sworn that she turned her head and looked at me, keeping her gaze on me until I could no longer see her.

***

I gave a final bow to the people on the set and walked into my dressing room. Giving a simple nod to Zhihao, I sat down in the chair with a huge sigh as the makeup artist began removing my makeup.

"What's with the big sigh?" Zhihao asked, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.

"What big sigh?" I asked.

"The one you gave just before sitting down."

"What do you mean? I didn't give anything."

Zhihao sighed. "What's on your mind, Han?" he asked.

"Nothing's on my mind," I defensively said.

"Are you forgetting who you're talking to?" he asked. "I know something's bothering you. Out with it!"

I stayed silent for a moment before talking again. "About Lilith..."

"Lilith?" he cut in. "You mean that horse we saw the other day?"

"Uh...yeah. About that...I..."

"Why are you worried about a horse?" Zhihao cut me off. "I can understand a cat or dog, but a horse?" 

I felt something prickling in me. "Are you going to let me finish?" I asked.

"Oh yeah, go ahead."

I took a deep breath. "What happened to that horse?" I asked.

He shrugged. "I'm not too sure about the entire story," he admitted, "but I'll tell you what I know."

I turned my chair around to face him, sitting forward eagerly. 

"That mare has one hell of a pedigree, and was even more of a beast on the racecourse. She also did a lot of dressage. She was a rising competitor, a rising champion, and would have one hell of a life if she'd continued. Even at her early stages, she was getting offers for breeding and competing in various shows."

"What happened?" I asked.

"Well, she was on a ride with her owner, and I guess something happened. She freaked out and couldn't be calmed down, and she ended up rolling onto her back." I sucked in a breath at the image. "Once she got up though, her owner was lying on the ground, dead."

He quickly shook the mental images out of his head before continuing with his story. "Since then, she's become unruly and untamed, and she won't allow anyone close to her. She gets aggressive, very aggressive. The stable's had trouble finding her a new owner because absolutely no one can get close to her."

I paused for a moment. "What'll happen to her?" I finally asked.

"Huh?"

"What'll happen to her if she doesn't find a new owner?" 

"I-I'm not sure," he admitted. "All I know is, a horse with that kind of behavioral issues and without an owner can have a very bad ending." 

Silence fell upon the both of us as we were absorbed in our thoughts. However, our thoughts went in completely opposite directions.

***

That weekend, I had a recording so I was packed. However, the next weekend was an off for both me and Zhihao, so he took me to a ranch on the edge of the city with massive fields around it. 

"Why are we here anyway?" I asked him as we walked through the main entrance.

"You remember that palomino horse you met the other day?" he asked.

"Uh...yeah, I do." 

"He's been brought here for a short while before he has to go back. I thought we could spend time with him before he leaves."

I nodded. I remembered that horse very well, a happy-go-lucky and friendly guy. Certainly a stark contrast to another horse I remembered...

We politely greeted the owner of the ranch as well as the owner of the horse who led us over to the stables where we came across the familiar golden horse, who immediately perked up on seeing us and came over, putting his head out of his stall to greet us. 

"Looks like he's happy to see you," his owner commented as the horse pushed his nose against my cheek. 

I chuckled. "Yeah, I'm happy to see you too," I told him, petting his nose. 

Zhihao went over to have a conversation with the horse's owner as I continued to pet him. But when I turned my head, I caught the sight of a field behind the stables.

And in the field I spotted her.

She was standing near the fence, looking inquisitively over at us, her dark mane and tail slowly blowing in the wind. 

Lilith.

I immediately stepped away from the horse I was petting. It was like something had taken over my body, but I found myself moving towards the pasture housing the brown equine. 

She stood silently, her eyes trained on mine, tail nonchalantly swishing around. Her eyes followed me as I drew near to her position, not so much moving a muscle. However, when I came close to her and reached out my hand to pet her, she gave a snort before drawing back, running a little before slowing down to a trot, away from the fence, and me.

"I had no idea that mare was here." I suddenly registered Zhihao at my side, looking thoughtfully towards the brown mare.

"When did you get here?" I asked him.

"Been here the whole time," he said. "You just never noticed, since you were so love-struck with that horse," he gestured towards Lilith.

"I see you're interested in that bay mare," the ranch owner commented, making me jump as I also hadn't noticed his presence on my other side. "Interesting, I thought you'd like the palomino gelding more."

I had absolutely no idea what to say.

"He saw her when we visited a race," Zhihao explained. "It's probably just curiosity."

"That's a shame," the ranch owner said. "I was hoping someone would take even the slightest bit of interest in her."

"Is it that bad?" I murmured.

The ranch owner nodded. "If someone as famous as you would have taken an interest in her, I was hoping you'd use your contacts to refer us to someone who'd like to buy her." He sighed. "The state she's in, people are refusing to sponsor her, or us, until we get her out. Even if we could move her, she has no place to go, since every place refuses to take her in. The only place that does offer to take her in..." he shuddered at the thought.

He looked up to the horse, who had retreated to standing under a tree in her pasture that was away from the fence but close enough that she could still see all of us. "She has such potential too. Not a cheap one, she isn't. And to add to that, amazing skill in racing and dressage, who wouldn't want to take her in? But her fate may be sealed if we don't find some hope for her soon..."

Silence fell over as the ranch owner's final words hung solemnly in the air. I turned back to looking at the horse, and even though she was a ways away from me, she still seemed to be looking at me.

"I'll do it," I said in a low voice.

"Huh?" was the simultaneous response from both the ranch owner and Zhihao.

"I'll buy her," I clarified, not taking my eyes off her.

"You'll do what?" Zhihao's mouth hung open. 

"All I have to do is pay for her maintenance, right? I can afford it. She also has a home right here, so we don't need to buy any other properties or such. She can stay here, and I can visit her during weekends to relax," I rationalized the decision.

"Lu Han, are you out of your mind?" Zhihao asked. "What on earth are you on about?"

"I don't need to ride her, do I?" I asked the ranch owner, completely ignoring Zhihao.

He shook his head. "No, no, that's not necessary," he said. "If she is rehabilitated, we can probably get her a jockey."

"Good, problem solved," I stated. "What do I need to do in order to buy that horse?"

I ignored Zhihao's sounds of protest behind me and focused on the ranch owner, who held his chin thoughtfully. "Well, we usually have a very complex procedure for horse owners, but since we're desperate for a good owner for Lilith, I can relax some of the procedures as long as we get certain assurances in return."

"What do I need to do?" I asked.

"If you'll wait for a while, I'll take out the necessary documents. You'll need to fill out some paperwork," the ranch owner told me. I nodded and he left, going inside the main building when Zhihao pulled me aside.

"Are you crazy?" he hissed. "What do you think you're doing?"

I remained silent, just looking at him. I hoped that he could see that no matter what he said, I wasn't going to change my mind. He then sighed.

"Well, I hope you know what you're doing then," he said.

He cast a look at the mare that was trotting around the pasture. 

"Are you sure about this?" he asked.

I nodded. "I am," I replied.

He raised an eyebrow, which I ignored. Instead, I fixed my gaze on the mare, whose brown eyes fell on me.

"Just be careful," he said, defeated. "She didn't get the name of Lilith for no reason."

***

A/N: So this is a small three-shot I'm writing during my exams to keep me from going insane. In this one, I challenged myself to write from a first person perspective, which I felt would be best with the thing I'm most comfortable writing; human-animal friendships. And I love horses, so...

Yeah, hope you guys enjoy this small story. It's the only thing going to be up during exam time. I'll get back to Leader of the Pack once exams are over.

Glossary:

•  AE- Eligible, used to refer to the horses eligible for horse racing

•  Shadow roll- a piece of cloth placed over a horse's eyes during a race to prevent him from getting jumped and to only see the track ahead of him

•  jockey- a horse rider, not always the horse owner

•  palomino- a horse color characterized by a cream/golden coat and a pale or white mane and tail

•  bay- a horse color characterized by a brown coat and black points (legs, mane and tail)

•  mare- a female horse over five years of age

•  gelding- a male horse that has been sterilized

•  pedigree- the lineage of the horse

•  dressage- a equestrian sporting event where horses strut their stuff

So yeah, this one's going to have a lot of horse terms, so look forward to it.