The thunder rolled across the hills like a herd of racing horses, over head lightning chased us across the rain soaked ground and the wind blow the trees nearly flat upon the land. Trouble trembled beneath my legs, the crazed storm shaking his reserve and caused his gait to be uneven and difficult to hold. I reached forward and stroked his neck as he paced about the trees, shying at anything that moved. This alien world was strange to both of us and in the confusion of the storm we had gotten lost in the dense green forests of La Push, Washington.

"Easy my brother, it's alright we'll be home soon. You'll see…Hawkeye will be waiting for us. She'll greet us when we get back, and the colts will be all up in a fuss over the storm. They see how brave and strong you are, walking in like it was sunny out. Then I'll brush you until your coat is dry and shinning while the moon break through the clouds and cast its soft glow across the Montana sky." I whispered in his ear, as they twitched about listening for the predators we both knew lurched in these wild hills. I tried to steady the trembling hand that lay on his golden neck, but I was so cold I couldn't tell if it was shaking because I was afraid or just that wet from the rain. I looked around and tried to see anything that looked familiar but it was so dark, the rain poured off my cowboy hat in asheet and every damn tree was covered in so much green they all looked the same. Our trail, which I had planned on using to find our way back was long gone, washed away by the water.

Cursing allowed I gripped a fist full of Trouble's black mane as he lurched sideways spooking at something I couldn't see. I nearly slide from his slick back and cursed myself for not putting a saddle on his back, no I was only going for a short ride…stupid….stupid! At this rate I'll end up flat on my back, with a heavy sigh I dismount and lead him under a thick grouping of pine trees, hoping the storm would blow away as quickly as it had come. It would be easier to find our way back to my Aunt Sue's house when it stopped pouring, then I would find the moron of a weather man who had promised me clear skies. I smile to myself as I imaged creative ways to kill the weather man, once I had found him. Hanging him upside down by his ugly neck ties and slowly lowering him into a tank of ice water was at the top of my list as I shivered against the cold wind. Trouble shock violently behind me, I rubbed his side hoping the friction would warm my hands and dry him a bit. The pine trees provided a surprising amount of protection from the rain but none for the howling wind. I looked up and wished I could see the sky so I could know what the storm had in store for us.

Lightning flashed, illuminating our surrounding for just a moment. Trees, so thick you couldn't see three feet in front of you in this unyielding darkness, "I think we've done it again Trouble." I told him pondering on the glumness of our situation. We had been riding for three hours before the storm had blown in, that's roughly twelve miles; we broke off the trail about eleven miles in to follow that stream…so worse case we're one mile from the trail we rode in on. The trail was southwest of the stream and we headed back northeast until we lost the stream in the darkness, we defiantly didn't cross the stream but could we have missed the trail? I'd cantered Trouble trying to beat the storm back to the trail we could have easily missed the fallen tree I'd used as a marker and crossed over the trail without knowing it.

So do gamble on the fact that we passed over the trail and head back southwest hoping to stumble across it or do we keep heading northeast praying it's there? We couldn't have drifted to far off course but if the trail bends just right we might never find it…no our safest bet would be to find the stream and follow it back up the mountain a while, I know we never turned up the mountain side, we'll find the stream… even if we don't find the trail the stream has to come out somewhere and that way we'll have fresh water when we need it. We could last a few days without food; if anything was going to kill us it'll be hypothermia…damn this rain was cold. It was frink'n June and I was freezing, god damn this place was messed up. Nothing should be able to grow in such a cold, wet place yet I was in the densest forest I'd ever seen. It was beautiful but incredibly dangerous; perhaps that's why I felt so at home in these woods even I could hide in them. I wasn't even really concerned with getting back, if I was back home in Montana I'd be frantic, trying to get back before…no one would ever find us up here. No copters would spot us, no search party would stumble upon us if we went deeper in to the mountains. We could live forever up here and never see another human being again. A tempting thought, a promise upon the wind but Trouble wouldn't be happy, Hawkeye would miss us actually the Frisian mare would probably kill us both if she ever found out. Her retaliation alone was cause to get home quickly, knowing her she was already planning her pay back for being left behind. Trouble seeming to sense my thoughts sighed in agreement, I chuckled and patted him.

The half Arabian buckskin was my dream horse, from the first moment I'd seen him I knew he was going to be mine. Hawkeye looked murderous when I walked into the barn with a yearling Trouble trailing behind me. My Uncle Phillip had been happier with my choice in horse breeds this time, "At least he has some quarter horse in him, he'll have a brain then." He'd said matter-of-factly, I quickly reminded him that my old Arabian mare had been twice the cow horse that any of his quarter horses where. He rolled his eyes and walked away while I laughed. That had been five years ago now and about a thousand miles away, a life time away…a world away. Tears burned behind my eyes as my Uncle drifted in my mind, but I quickly rubbed them away. He left you, Aurora…he abandoned you do not cry over him, don't you dare.

I smacked both my cheeks in an effort not to cry over a man who didn't love me anymore. "Stop it." I scolded myself allowed and rocked back on my heels ripping my hat from my head and clenching it tightly. "You will not cry, damn it! Not over him." I whispered, "Not over that rotten bastard."

I looked up at the sky and saw the rain had slowed to a drizzle, pulled my hat back on and pulled Trouble out from under the trees. The moon gave off enough light for me to see the ground in front of my feet but not to see far enough ahead of us to tell which way we were going, but I didn't care I just needed to walk. Trouble followed behind me as we tripped and stumbled our way up the mountain side. An hour later I fell face first into the stream, annoyed I scrambled out and screamed every curse I'd ever heard at God and anyone else ruining my day and life. Feeling a bit better we continued even as the rain once again began to pour and our bodies became colder and colder. When I spotted that down tree I felt like crying, four hours later and a lot wetter we walked into the barn. I quickly wrapped Trouble in a cooler, shed my soaking cloths, and wrapped myself in an old blanket. I checked on Hawkeye who was fast asleep in her stall, she'd give me hell in the morning. She was the most vindictive thing and just keeps getting worse the older she gets. With a sigh I headed for the Clearwater house, dreading the reception I was about to receive.

"Aurora! Aurora! Where are you?" My Aunt Sue called from the porch sounding rather annoyed. After my little disappearing act last week, she'd grounded me which was a new one. Normally I'd be forced into some sort of physical labor or swatted upside the head for being stupid enough to get lost. I think I preferred fixing thirty miles of fence to being trapped in a house for a week. I crawled across the roof of the house and peered over the ledge.

"Yes Aunt Sue?" My Aunt Sue was a nice woman, even tempered and quick on her feet. Her hair was black with grey streaks, her face was pleasant and eyes a warm brown but at this moment her pleasant face was mirrored with a very unpleasant frown.

Sue screamed so loud it scared me; she placed a hand over her chest and sent me a glare that would have killed a lesser soul. I slunk back to my hiding place on the roof top trying to soak up what little sun light was available and stretched myself out on the blanket I'd laid out. My skin was becoming seriously vitamin D deprived; I got more sun light during the Montana winters then in this place.

"What apart about being grounded are you not getting?" She demanded this was my third escape inside seven hours, the first time I'd been in the barn and the second time Leah had spotted Hawkeye and me before we even got half way out the barn. Leah was my older cousin who looked more like her died father then her mother who she got her rotten personality from I couldn't say. Her younger brother Seth looked a lot like his mother and had her strong personality, but unlike a lot of men in the Reservation his black hair was chopped short and was very heavily muscled for a boy his age.

I pondered on that thought for a moment before the boy himself came swinging up on the roof top, wearing his usually smile. "Hey Seth."

"Hey, how'd you get up here?" He asked as he settled in beside me on the towel I'd spread out on the roof top.

"Same way you did and technology I didn't leave the house." I pointed out so his mother couldn't add any more time to my imprisonment and he laughed.

"You haven't been grounded before have you?" He asked with a smirk, his dark eyes dancing with amusement, damn little smart ass. I shot him a glare out of the corner of my eye but couldn't stop my lips from curling in a smile. "Well let me give you some advice, pissing off my mom is not the way to get out early on good behavior."

I propped myself up on an elbow and looked down at him; the little bastard was enjoying this. "What partial would be pissing her off?" I had a pretty good idea that it involved being in the barn, try to escape on horseback and laying on the roof of the house where every good ways to piss Sue off. With an exasperated I rose from the blanket from under a smirking Seth Clearwater and walked to the ledge of the roof, tossed down the blanket and stepped after it. Once again startling my pour Aunt so badly when I suddenly fell from the sky in front of the kitchen window she dropped the pan she'd been holding.

I chewed my lower lip and waved sheepishly while Seth rolled with laughter on the roof to. She looked far from pleased with me, really far from pleased. "Sorry Aunt Sue." I called and quickly gathered my blanket, slipped past her to the laundry room which was now my bed room and flopped down upon the air bed. She was probably regretting ever allowing me to live with them; perhaps Sarah was right perhaps I am nothing more than a waste of space and time.