HORSE

CW: Body Horror

At first, it appears that one is gazing upon a simple horse, and yet this creature is never, has never, and will never be a horse.
If you are lucky, you will simply live your life thinking that what you saw was a horse. If you are not lucky, there is little chance that you will live to tell the tale. For these creatures may bear resemblance to what you believe is a horse. That belief is what they want.
For these are not Horses. They are HORSE.

Horrors
Opposing
Realistic
Societal
Expectations

They are Demons. When one stares for too long, or approaches a HORSE, they will find blood pouring from the eyes of the creature, slowly and yet in vast amounts. It is not the creature's own blood, for the eyes of the creature are not connected to any vessels inside its body.
The HORSE will then unhinge its jaw, revealing a row of sharp fangs and a long tongue that can extend as far as a mile. It saliva is acidic and there is a belief that from its mouth, a hand may sometimes reach out. There are even those that say it is not just one hand, but two, three, or five. Never four.
No HORSE will allow anyone to ride on its back. If one attempts to do so, the tongue of the HORSE will wrap around the rider, keeping them in place as they are slowly absorbed into the body of the HORSE.
A HORSE is not a pet, and should never be treated as anything but hostile.

Mobility

HORSE can run at top speeds over 200 miles per hour, not requiring any build up of momentum. It can go from stillness to its top speed faster than the eye can perceive, running in straight lines. It can only turn in 45 or 90 degree angles, but it does so in rigid jumps from one direction to another.

Demonic Creatures

HORSE is an eldritch creature from The Void, born from the imagination of the Lord of Demons, the All Consuming Darkness, Chernobog.
Therefore, HORSE is a creature that has the properties that all Demonic creatures have. It originates in the vast nothingness and therefore thrive in the darkness.
HORSE is also part of the Divine Trifecta, meaning that it is particularly strong against all things holy. In a fight against an angel, a HORSE would have the upper hand.
What this also means is that Devils and other such things from Hell are the greatest counter to it. For Demons are the unimaginable, while Devils are those who forgo understanding in favor of simply assigning meaning to the meaningless and the unfathomable.

When jumping vertically, forward, or backwards it can leap over buildings at heights of 30 feet or 30 feet in either direction.

The Tail

The tail of the HORSE has a hair-like texture, but is actually a bundle of parasites which clump and feed off of HORSE. If touched by anyone, these parasites will attach to their bodies and begin sucking mana from them. After enough time, they will take over the body.
A HORSE does not get taken over because the place the parasites connect to, the tail area, is a zone that is detached from the rest of the body and has no connecting nerve endings. Instead, it is an endless buffet for the parasites to eat mana from.

Behavior

HORSE do not generally approach unprovoked. If one is not noticed by a HORSE, they will be spared. However, the moment that it notices any living being, it feels a threat and begins making its way towards them. Next, it moves slowly towards its target. While it can move fast, it does not unless it has to. Only if its target flees will it move at its top speed.
It reaches its tongue out. The tongue cannot be dodged, and one knows not what happens afterwards. The HORSE will drag the target, wrapped in its tongue, back towards it and there is nothing stopping them from entering the gaping maw of the HORSE.
It eats because it is hungry. That is the theory that many believe. Yet it never appears to fill its stomach. Many have wondered if it ever can, and if so, how many hundreds, thousands, or millions it would take.

Habitat

HORSE comes from The Void. It only appears on Totania at night, when the darkness seeps in, to roam the vast plains. It can appear anywhere, on any continent, in any settlement. The only thing it avoids is light, particularly light made by flames. Flames are its weakness, the only way to counteract its tongue. Few are fast enough to know this.