The crickets chirped as I moved silently through the tall grass. I raised my head high, my nostrils flaring as I took in the scent around me. My ears pricked, I listened attentively to the surrounding noises. I flinched at the sound of a gun exploding and immediately froze in place. I hovered close to cloud, taking comfort in the stallion's presence.
The Lakota warriors, Cloud, Blossom and I had taken cover in the brush alongside the wooden fortress. We had waited for three days, greatly anticipating any signs of Little Creek's condition.
After the gunshot, I heard crashing and a great commotion. The chaotic drumming of a stampede of horses echoed across the desert and to my ears. I reared slightly, my ears pricked happily, scenting my beloved rider. Black Stone took hold of the vine strapped to my jaw and settled me down. I raised my painted head and flared my nostrils, becoming jumpier and jumpier by the second.
Everything fell silent, and I could feel the tension crackling in the air. Like an arrow shooting out of its bow, the door to the great wooden fortress burst open and horses flooded out. Bays, browns, and chestnuts-all solid neutral colors- galloped alongside each other. In the middle of them, a handsome dun mustang stallion thundered on, each stride more and more powerful. His eyes flashed with an intense ferocity. My Little Creek held onto the stallion's neck. I held back a squeal of delight, for I knew I shouldn't make a noise until Little Creek called me to.
A familiar sound of an owl calling touched my ears. Little Creek had called for me. I immediately leaped forward, galloping towards him and the handsome buckskin. The stallion's eyes widened as he saw me. He was different from the other horses, which had split up. Unlike them, his mane looked as if it had been halfway cut, and his tail was still long. He lacked the 'US' brand on his rump that the others displayed. I smiled softly at the mustang as I met his stride beside him. Little Creek jumped onto my back from the running horse and I felt the change in posture. I skidded to a stop in front of the stallion. Cloud and Blossom stopped beside him, and their riders threw ropes around the stallion's neck. His head immediately dropped and his eyes darkened. I gave him a small smile and held my head high, watching him. He snorted.
As we made our journey to the camp, the stallion said nothing. I just walked alongside him, pretending not to be interested. But the truth was… I wanted very badly to know who he was and where he had come from. I wanted his story. Besides… he was very good looking.
He was very quiet and held his head low as we made our way into the wooden round pen. Little Creek slid off of my back slowly and approached the stallion carefully. The crickets chirped in the night as the stars twinkled. I watched them intensely. Little Creek held his hands up, moving to take off the horse's bridle.
"Steady…Steady. I'm not gonna hurt you." Little Creek murmured as the stallion moved away cautiously. Little Creek moved his hands up and slipped the leather bridle off of the mustang's face. "Nice and easy."
The stallion's wild and fearsome look faded a little that night. It seemed as if he realized not all humans were bad. I wondered what had happened in that wooden fortress...
As the mustang fell asleep, Little Creek placed fresh apples in a pile next to him and opened the gate. I trotted briskly out of the pen, and it closed behind me. I stopped and smiled at the sight of the stallion's rhythmical breathing. I dipped my head and closed my eyes as I lost myself in the world of sleep.
The sun greeted the earth and sent the moon away as morning came. I grazed the springy grass next to the round pen. I knew the stallion was there; I had heard him stand up. However, I chose to act as if I could care less if he was there.
I looked up at the sound of his nickering. I stared at him for a moment, trying to hide my smile, and lowered my head to graze again. Growing desperate, he pawed the ground and whinnied loudly, trying to get my attention. Raising my head, I pricked my ears toward him. At that moment, Little Creek whistled from behind me, and I turned to look at him. Facing the stallion again, I nickered. He stared at me and nodded slowly, looking like he wanted me to come. I turned and pranced towards Little Creek, laughing inside as I heard the stallion's bewildered snort. Little Creek stroked my face and then ran away from me. I darted after him, chasing him this way and that. Eventually he fell to the ground, and I galloped to his side. Worried, I touched his face with my muzzle. He jumped at me and I darted away from him. Little Creek said his goodbye and left me. I snuck a glance at the stallion and then pranced away, my tail held high.
Cloud nickered softly as I pranced past him, my tail held high. "Hey, there, beautiful."
I stopped suddenly, slipping out of my dream world. I looked at him, a puzzled look on my face. "What…?"
Cloud mirrored my look and leaned forward, nibbling on my withers. Realization hit me. Cloud… he had feelings for me. I shied away, ashamed. I felt that I was falling for the buckskin stallion.
The grey stallion's face fell. He looked embarrassed. "Rain…?"
"I'm sorry, Cloud. I'm just…having an off day." I reassured him, my blue eyes flashing with the guilt of my lies.
The stallion's face immediately lit up. "Oh, okay. Well, do you want to go for a walk?" He tilted his head to the side, motioning towards the riverbank.
Thoughts flashed in my head. After making up my mind, I reached out and touched Cloud's muzzle with my own. "That'd be great." I whinnied.
So Cloud and I walked. As we did, I pushed away the thoughts of the wild buckskin stallion we had left in the round pen and focused on the grey stallion I was with.
Suddenly, I heard a bang and an angry, threatening neigh. I jerked my head up, my ears pricked, to see the mustang staring angrily at my Little Creek. Enraged, I thundered over to face the stallion and screamed at him, snorting. My ears lay flat against my head as I stared him down. Nobody messed with my boy, not even if you were a gorgeous wild stallion.
With a startled look, he stared at me. His face then hardened and he rolled his eyes and turned away, his ears pinned back. "Mares," he mumbled.
Later that afternoon, Little Creek tied a rope around my neck and led me to the pen. He looped it over the stallion's muscular neck as well. Sneaking a glance at him, I smirked at his expression. He had a look that clearly said, 'You people are idiots.' His ears were slightly pinned back and he refused to look at me for the longest time. Finally, his curiosity got the best of him and he turned to look at Little Creek, but he showed no emotion.
Finishing the tie, Little Creek looked at me, "Okay, Rain, let's see if you can teach this mustang some manners."
I whinnied amusingly and turned to look at the stallion, He immediately shifted his eyes away and snorted, refusing to show any sign of affection. I rolled my eyes and watched my boy. Little Creek opened the gate, and the look on the stallion's face was a look I'd never forget.
His eyes immediately lit up, and he darted forward, neighing, calling to someone. At that moment, I didn't know who or what. But now I understand; it was his herd. The buckskin horse launched himself forward and galloped out towards the wide-open stretch towards what he knew to be home. Whinnying, I galloped after him, matching him stride for stride. On and on we ran, past the camp, past the apple tree, and to the edge of my home.
My mind jolted as I realized this crazy horse would run me all the way back to his home. I dug my hooves in and hit a stop, causing him to fly backwards. He glared at me and stared at the rope, his deep brown eyes tracing it from himself to me. I neighed stubbornly at him.
"Come…ON!" He snorted. It was the first words he had spoken to me.
"Absolutely NOT." I snorted back, digging in harder. He rolled his eyes at me and turned, dragging me along with him. An idea popped into my head as I sat down, staring at him, my blue eyes flashing. He turned and stared at me with a look of disbelief. He tried again to drag me with him, snorting and stomping up the dust, unsuccessfully, of course. When he stopped, I stood.
I walked slowly around the stallion, the rope following me around him. My soft flaxen mane fluttered and my tail swished against his shoulder as his eyes carefully followed my movements. I gazed into his eyes, smiling softly. The mustang seemed to relax, watching me. After walking a circle around him, I jerked forward, ripping him off of his feet and onto his back. The horse stared at me, his jaw open, as I stood over him and blinked. Rolling to his feet, he regained his balance at watched me.
"Come on," I jerked my head slightly towards camp. At first I thought he'd refuse, but he proved me wrong.
"Oh… Fine," He snorted, a grin playing at his muzzle as he followed me towards home.
As I showed him my world, he seemed mesmerized by it. The children ran and played with their dogs as the older women cooked and watched over them. I kept an eye on him, pretending to show no interest in him. However… my heart leapt every time his eyes caught mine. He lifted his head and nickered as he saw Cloud, Blossom, and Flower. Cloud's rider painted a blue circle around his eye, and the stallion nickered to me and dipped his head. I laughed as we kept walking. The stallion didn't seem to know what to think of it.
Later that day, Little Creek tried to paint the mustang. I giggled as the stallion spilled the paint-all over my boy. He seemed to be softening up.
As the sun began to fall, a little girl approached the stallion. "Horsey," She giggled. The stallion lowered his head to her height, and she laughed, grabbing his nostrils. The mustang shook his head and snorted, jerking back. The little girl fell to the ground and began to cry. I bumped his shoulder with my muzzle and after glancing at me he nuzzled her. She smiled as he lifted her above the ground and gently let her down again. "Bye Bye horsey." She murmured.
As the sun sunk back to the earth, we walked under the apple tree. My mane flowed softly in the breeze as I lifted my head to gaze longingly at an apple just out of my reach. Brushing off the want, I lowered my head to graze again. The stallion leaped up and snatched it out of the tree, nickering at me. My heart swelled as my eyes flashed. I had finally fell for him. However, I refused to show it. Nodding at him, I lowered my head to graze again. He lowered his head to mine and nickered softly, staring into my eyes. Together, we looked up, and I took a bite of the apple.
Gazing at him, I murmured, "What is your name?"
He looked at me and dipped his head, his black forelock falling into his face."Rain, my name is Spirit."
Alrighty, guys! There's chapter 2! And I'm planning on writing way more than this, and also going past the movie and onto their future life. Thanks!