A series of one-shots about different characters being protective.

Chapter 1- Protective Raven

The wind was whipping through her hair and his mane as they rode at full speed across the empty hills. It had been almost a full week since Raven and Zoe had last seen each other. It was the end of September and school had started a couple of weeks ago, cutting down bonding time for the two. This was the first Saturday that Zoe had had for a while that wasn't swamped with her getting used to the English school system and catching up on homework, so she decided to take full advantage of the sunny day and spend the time away with her horse. Raven was naturally excited to see her.

It had been several hours since they had left the ranch and the two were currently resting on a grassy hill somewhere in the middle of nowhere, watching the sun lower in the distance. The sky was turning a gorgeous cotton candy pink, mixed with fiery orange, and lavender purple. Zoe sighed in happiness. It was the first time in a long while that she had felt so calm and even Raven seemed to be enjoying the time out.

As the sun sank even lower, Zoe stood up from where she was laying in the grass. They needed to get going if they were going to make it back home before dark. With a few quick and practiced movements, Raven was ready and she was getting ready to mount him. With a foot in the stirrup and one on the ground she paused and turned back to her spot. Silly her, she almost forgot her riding helmet. Somehow. Zoe stepped away from Raven and bent down to pick up the hat when she jumped backwards, a startled sound escaping her.

Behind her Raven startled as well and began pawing the ground with his hoof. Zoe ignored him in favor of the giant snake that sat wrapped around her helmet, almost completely concealed by it. It was a pale colored creature with a black diamond pattern on it. The snake hissed and rose up facing the girl. Distantly in her mind, Zoe recalled that the snake facing her was called an adder and was the only venomous snake in Britain and the surrounding areas. She didn't think it was native to that area or that island though, but naturally her luck proved her wrong. Raven began to whinny in panic. Zoe backed away slowly, trying not to make any sudden movements. The adder hissed again before suddenly striking.

Zoe gasped and tripped backwards, only able to watch as the dangerous creature attacked her. She didn't even have enough time to protect herself. Turns out she didn't have to. By the time Zoe had realized that the snake hadn't bitten her, she also realized that the snake was facing a different opponent now. Raven was whinnying as he began to stomp the ground, getting closer to the snake each time, and causing Zoe to subconsciously move backward in order to avoid being stomped on. She could only watch in horror as her best friend defended her from something much smaller than Raven himself, but so much more deadly. In a daze, she watched as a dance began between the horse and the snake, one trying to strike the other with deadly fangs and speedy accuracy and the other stomping with large hooves and heavy determination to protect another. In the end, the hooves won.

Eternity seemed to pass before Zoe realized that Raven had just stomped a snake to death and was now waiting in twitchy silence, huffing and puffing from nerves. Quickly she grabbed her riding helmet, trying not to look at the scene in front of her, and practically jumped on Raven's back. The two took off like rockets. By the time they had arrived back at the stables, it was after dark and Raven was still twitchy. Zoe bent down to his ear as she dismounted.

"Thank you, Raven." she whispered.