Chapter 10

Hot-Bloods

"There's so much to be said and done
It's impossible not to be overcome"

Spirit's return calmed down the agitated herd members especially the worried Esperanza, who instantly with great relief came forward to nuzzle her son, but he turned away from her touch and made his way up at the small hill from where he watched over his herd. Esperanza observed her son's sadness as he silently trailed up the rise and felt her heart drop. Something was bothering him. She snapped her head back to see Rain, who had her eyes glued on Spirit as well. By her confused facial expressions, it was evident that neither did she know the reason of the young stallion's distress. The wise lead mare could not figure out what exactly happened between them, but she became determined to find out the truth. If Rain had indeed broken her son's heart, she would pay for it. Nobody messes with her son...certainly not some proud, young mare. Despite these thoughts, the palomino was wise enough to know that something else was the matter and that Rain was probably not to blame.

Once the atmosphere started to lighten up again upon the return of Spirit, and as the previous tenseness and anxiety faded away from the horses, Esperanza cautiously moved towards the distant Rain, who kept gazing at the young stallion. He in turn neither looked or paid any attention to her. In fact, he had his back turned to her. Rain couldn't understand it. What had caused her beloved Spirit to fly off in such anger and then become so increasingly devastated? The absurd he had spoken to her baffled her on many levels. "You've become possessed by that guardian angel." How could he suggest such a ridiculous thing? Why had he lashed out? How could she fix this?

Rain's emotional, high-strung thoughts had been interrupted when Esperanza nickered at her gently and softly.

"I want to apologize for..." She paused, searching for the right way to express her remorseful feelings. "...I've been unfair to you, Rain. I'm sorry for misunderstanding your intentions."

"No, I'm the one who should apologize." The young paint answered shyly, amazed at Esperanza's behaviour towards her. Way to restore her previously downcast spirits! Why should the lead mare apologize when it was she who had lost her temper? Yet Esperanza had demonstrated her caring personality and that she was at least trying to understand what troubled Rain. Maybe she could tell her the whole truth about Misty? However, doubtful feelings and thoughts instantly settled in the young mare again and she decided against it. At least not in that moment.

"We both said things we didn't mean-" Began Esperanza calmly but before she could continue any further, she was cut off by Rain.

"I meant every word." The young mare admitted, her chin confidently raised. "I was honest. But the manner with which I chose to convey them was shameful. I should have remained composed but I just... burst. I'm sorry." She lowered her head, her eyes glistening in remorse.

Esperanza watched her in silence for a minute or two. Her ears perked forward and she brushed her nose against Rain in a motherly fashion. "I want to help you. Please, Rain, tell me, what happened? Why is my son so upset?"

"I'm not sure." Rain nickered in regret, but nevertheless was surprised at how kindly Esperanza treated her. "There was a stallion I saw in the deep forest, I think he was the one who saved me. I wanted to get closer but he suddenly vanished. Then Spirit galloped in no time and got mad, saying the most bizarre things ever." Rain explained, still very confused as to why the young Mustang would react in such a way.

"Rain!" Gasped Esperanza in puzzlement. "Have you lost your mind? Why would you get so close to a strange stallion? No wonder Spirit's angry."

"What did I do wrong?" Rain questioned, her eyes blinking, the innocence of her youthfulness highlighted. "I only wanted to thank him for saving me, but Spirit took it the wrong way."

"Of course he did." Neighed Esperanza meaningfully, realizing that Rain was still so very new to their different way of life. "You see, no mare is allowed to trail away from their band stallion's sight, especially to go off and see another stallion. And if they do, that means they no longer wish to remain with the herd and choose to follow another stallion."

Rain's sparkling blue eyes grew rounder, realization hitting her all at once. That's why Spirit was so upset with her! He thought she was abandoning him for someone else. How foolish and how false!

"You might've had generous thoughts, but it's actually quite dangerous to wander away from the protection of the herd like that." Esperanza continued explaining as would a true, experienced lead mare. "Most stallions see that as an opportunity to steal mares and expand their herds. We must always be careful, especially you...your colorful coat makes you easy to spot."

"I'm so brainless." Muttered Rain, shaking her head and snorting in frustration. She was incredibly irritated at her own silly action. How could she not think before doing something so risky?

"That's alright." Esperanza assured sweetly. "Now you know and you'll learn to be more cautious next time."

"Oh, I must speak with Spirit and explain everything!" Eagerly exclaimed the desperate, young mare as she swung round to gallop off to where he was stationed at.

But before she could make her way towards the lead stallion, Esperanza stopped her quickly. "No, wait." She nickered calmly. "Let him cool off first."

"If I don't explain now, he'll hate me forever!" Rain neighed distraught, her nostrils flaring in anxiousness.

"Spirit will never hate you." Esperanza said soothingly. "Trust me on this, Rain. Just wait for a while."

Despite the wise lead mare's warnings, the young mare's antsy and restless soul could not settle down. She needed to talk to him. She must explain herself! Without paying heed to Esperanza, Rain took action and snapped into a quick trot, making her way up the hill where Spirit stood.

The young stallion was facing the other direction when Rain came up to him suddenly. Spirit jerked his head, at first surprised to see her come to him so quickly, and then the memories of what had passed just half an hour ago rushed back into his mind. Spirit's brown eyes hardened, ignoring the young mare before him, he continued watching the rest of the herd, keeping his gaze away from her.

Knowing exactly what kind of thoughts were racing inside her beloved, Rain began gently. "Spirit, I know you're upset but allow me to-"

"I'm busy Rain." The stallion interrupted with a snort. "I don't have time for this."

"Please, just let me-"

"I said I don't have time for this." Repeated the lead stallion, his tone was harsh and cold. This time, he looked at her with his blazing eyes and Rain felt so incredibly intimidated, that she couldn't meet his gaze and therefore stared down at the ground for a second.

Spirit said nothing, he awaited for her to get the hint and leave him in peace. However, it seemed like the pretty paint was not giving up that easily.

With a deep breath, Rain lifted her blue eyes once more and faced him. "But if you could just let me talk-"

"Which part of 'I don't have time for this' don't you understand?" Spirit snapped, unable to hide his evident anger and disappointment at her. "You've been avoiding me for almost a week and now all of a sudden you wish to talk? Well, there's nothing to talk about! Go find that stallion, maybe he'll listen."

Spirit's unforgiving tone, agitated and harsh words spiked the young mare deeply. It had been an incredibly stressful, conflicting and hard past few days and now to have her beloved Spirit saying all these hurtful things to her was way too much to bear. A big lump came up her throat, her blue eyes filled up with hot tears, powerless to stop her overflowing emotions, Rain burst. "Well maybe I will! At least he might have the decency to hear me out!"

"Oh, good!" Spirit cried in bitterness, enraged at the fact that Rain had not denied his sarcastic suggestion. "While you're at it, do consider the idea of offspring with him this Spring!"

"Oh, that's your job!" Screamed Rain, overcome with fury. She couldn't believe Spirit right now. Was he serious? The nerve! "I wouldn't dream of taking that glory from you and Misty - she's waiting quite desperately by the way!"

"Oh yeah? Well, perhaps I should call her!"

"Perhaps you should!"

"Fine!"

Overwhelmed with boiling rage and deep ache in her heart, Rain stomped up the ground and kicking up her heels, galloped away from Spirit's presence. The stallion was left to fume alone and he too struck the ground with his foreleg in anguish. Only when they had left each other did they both realize how incredibly immature their behaviour was. Spirit was filled with even more self-reproach, guilt and sorrow. How could he wound his beloved like that? Poor Rain! Had he lost his mind? Why would he say such hurtful things to her when she had come to seek him out? What if she wanted to explain herself? What had gotten into him? Maybe, that mysterious stallion that had saved Rain deserved her all along? Altogether Spirit felt like he had failed not only himself but Rain and Little Creek as well. And that thought alone, inflicted an enormous pain on him. A tiny tear, barely visible, spilled from his brown eye, rolling down his cheek as he silently watched it drop on the ground.

Rain too felt extremely horrible for bursting out on Spirit like that. How could she say such disgraceful things to her dear Spirit? How?! She came to an abrupt halt at the edge of the Cimarron homeland and began to sob bitterly. She was so ashamed of herself. Why couldn't she just heed the sage warning of Esperanza? Instead, she had thrown a foal-like tantrum and no doubt the entire herd had at least caught a glimpse of it. But that wasn't what bothered her that much. The only thing in her mind was that she had deeply wounded Spirit. Her Spirit...why? How could she?

Esperanza had seen and heard the whole thing. This was exactly what she had feared. The two young, hot-blooded, passionate and emotionally tempermental horses butting heads. She huffed with a slight shake of her head. Looks like it was now up to her to fix all this mess. Obviously both Spirit and Rain were in great pain and heartache...this wasn't good for anyone. Certainly not for them, or her, and even the herd.

The beautiful blood-bay horse, who as of late had been known as The Lone Stallion throughout the wild prairies had remained with his uncle's small band in order to heal his leg. Azogar, in his true Azogar-fashion, irresponsibly left the herd on that same day and went gallivanting about, placing all his trust in his nephew. As if he really trusted him...Flint's firstborn snorted, feeling completely annoyed. Wasn't he the one who at first refused to let him stay with his herd? The grulla was just using him to his advantage as always. When push came to shove, Azogar was the most self-absorbed horse around their lands. He couldn't care less about his brother's offspring. And while the young stallion watched after his uncle's pregnant mares as if they were his very own family, he couldn't help wonder where on earth Azogar had wandered off to.

The three mares felt very comfortable and safe in the Lone Stallion's presence. He was still injured, but his boldness, clever mind and strong aura was enough to put the pregnant mares at full ease. In fact, they've never been that relaxed with Azogar as they were with his nephew now. The young son of Flint was beginning to feel that the more time they spent together, the more the three mares fancied him, especially the two frosty white ones. The red roan mare appeared to be way more attached to Azogar than the other two had ever been. He hoped their new-found infatuation wouldn't last long and that they wouldn't cause trouble for him. After all, he had absolutely no desire to seek fights with his uncle over the mares he didn't even like as much.

The weather had been warmer and much nicer, enabling the herd to quietly graze under the glowing sunshine. The fresh green grass continued to grow, but mixture of slight snow and mud still covered some of the ground. The young stallion tried his best to eat well and exercise his leg-muscles. He needed to get better fast and then go find that enchanting paint filly he had saved. Her graceful image had stayed in his mind after all these days and he couldn't stop thinking and dreaming about her ever since.

Presently, the three mares were leisurely walking about and from time to time, nibbled on the grass while the Lone Stallion stood nearby, keeping a watchful eye on them. He hoped Azogar would return soon and relieve him of this duty. After all, if another stallion or a predator came upon them, he might've not been able to fight them off. His leg was still not fully healed yet. Azogar should've known better! Where had he gone?

Suddenly, he felt someone's presence in the distance, and lifting up his strong neck, the noble young stallion detected a strange scent of a ...mare? He looked around and nickered to alert the three pregnant mares. They threw up their heads and flicked their tails. The red roan mare, who seemed to be the leader out of the three, cautiously moved towards him.

"Is something wrong?" She asked, tentatively flicking her ears back and forth.

"We're being observed." Answered the young blood-bay.

The two frosty white mares flocked behind the red roan lead mare in fear and suspicion, while the Lone Stallion scanned their surroundings. There, in the distance, through the tall, misty shadows of trees, stood a young, dark colored mare, very still and very quiet. Satisfied that his nostrils scented no other individual amongst them, the stallion tilted his head in surprise. Why was she there all alone? Didn't she belong to some herd? He decided to call her gently, but she simply stood and stared.

He nickered to her again, softly inviting her to join them.

She remained still for few more seconds and then slowly began to emerge from her hideout and towards him. The stallion stepped forward to meet her and extended his nose to her in a greeting. Now that he had seen her close up, she was certainly very beautiful - dapple black coat with golden and silver mane in the sunshine and a bank of gold-lit snow behind her. A fine example of a female equine. Yet the Lone Stallion could only think of but one mare in all the prairies, the alluring paint newcomer. The one he could not forget even if he tried.

"Don't be afraid, I won't hurt you." He told her once noticing that the she was trembling in fright and nervousness.

"I did not mean to intrude on your herd, I'm only..." She began timidly. "I'm just...looking for someone."

"No need to worry." He nickered calmly. "You're safe, I won't harm you." He had a sweet, gentle, charming smile animating his features. Knowing that it was hard for mares to trust strange stallions, he tried to be courteous. "Tell me, young mare, what do they call you?"

"I'm called Nova, after the brightest star in the sky."

Her name did her justice that was sure. "Why are you alone, Nova?" It was one thing when he drifted in solitude but when a filly did it? He couldn't help that unsettling feeling he had whenever he thought about her wandering all alone. No mare in this land, especially one so lovely would come without a testastrone-filled stalker. "Where's your guardian?"

"I've left my family band in search of a certain... stallion." She finished hesitantly, looking at the three mares huddled behind the blood-bay horse. She realized that this wasn't the band she was looking for. "I see, I've made a mistake. His herd is not so small." She muttered to herself but the Lone Stallion had heard her. Only after she said that, did she realize how foolish she'd been to think out loud. What if this stallion took offence to her words and lashed out on her? Although, at the moment, he seemed very pleasant and kind. But then another fear set in her...what if he would want to keep her in his herd and not allow her to leave? He was very handsome, no doubt...but she must leave! She must continue her tireless journey and search for the one she truly longed for.

The Lone Stallion cocked his head to the side curiously. He was about to ask her who was that certain stallion she was looking for when a familiar neigh of Azogar rang in his ears. At last, he was returning! Upon hearing the voice of another horse, Nova jumped in fright, almost bumping into the young blood-bay's shoulder. "It's alright," He soothed her gently. "That's Azogar, the lead stallion of this small herd." Why would he take offense to the fact that the band was small? It was the truth. And a good thing too, he couldn't imagine Azogar looking after a bigger herd.

"Azogar? Flint's brother?" She asked, recognizing the beautiful horse, known for his handsome silver bearing.

"Yes, it is he." Confirmed the blood-bay stallion brightly, quite surprised to hear that she knew him. "Are you two acquainted?"

"No, my sire talks greatly of his older brother, and naturally I heard about him as well."

"My father." Remarked the young horse with a proud smile.

"You're the son of Flint?"

Before the Lone Stallion could confirm, they were interrupted by the arrival of Azogar, who was pale and looked as if he had been spooked by the devil himself. Once his eyes settled on the strange new mare however, his previous anxiety and miserable failure to challenge Spirit for the pretty paint quickly faded away. He assumed a confident and proud air that was fit for a handsome stallion.

"Why nephew!" He exclaimed in excitement. "I don't know what to say. Not only did you keep my band safe but also took care to expand it. I'll never let you go, even if that leg heals!" As he said this to the young horse with a laugh, he then began trotting in circles, trying to show-off his outstanding looks in front of the new, young mare.

The Lone Stallion couldn't help but roll his eyes. What else was new? Entitled Azogar thought that the world revolved around him as usual. Nevertheless, he found the whole thing quite amusing.

"Oh, no I-" Began the young mare slowly, sensing that this Azogar was nothing like the calm son of the respectable Flint, who had been admired by her sire.

"Who are you, my pretty one?" The grulla stallion cut her off, as he neared to touch her nose but she repulsed him, shocking him greatly with her action.

"Where did you get her?" He turned to the young blood-bay. "She's feisty...playing hard to get, are we?" He chuckled, suddenly enjoying her spiritedness.

"Actually, there's been a mistake." The Lone Stallion began to explain cautiously, not wanting to say something that might irritate him. "You see, she was just passing through."

"I'm Nova the first born filly of the stallion of the Southern lands, Raven." The young mare introduced herself with poise and grace.

Ah, so she was that mare Flint had suggested for him earlier. He had been so carried away with the bewitching paint newcomer that couldn't think about anyone else. But now that Azogar had seen her beauty, he decided that she must belong to him. Certainly her silver dappled black coat would be a beautiful contrast to his smokey grulla pelt.

"Welcome to my herd, Nova." Azogar winked with a flirty little smirk. "I had heard a lot about you."

"Thank you for the invite, but I'm afraid I must decline your generous offer." She nickered cautiously with polite bow and slowly began to step away from the group.

"Wait, where are you going?" Azogar quickly chased after her, already under her spell. "Pretty, young mare like you, should not wander alone. I can't let you leave. That would be so ungentlemanly."

"You are too kind but I'll be alright." The mare was already growing increasingly uncomfortable with his persistence.

"No, you won't be." He insisted and placed himself in front of her. "My independent nephew here also prefers to roam alone but that proved unsafe even for a stallion like him. Isn't that so?" He raised his brows questionably at the Lone Stallion.

Something told the young blood-bay that if he didn't help his desperate uncle add this mare to his herd with tactfulness, his pride would soon get the best of him and he'd cause a scene. Besides, if Azogar hurt the mare, Raven would not be pleased to hear that his filly had been mistreated by the very horse he always disliked.

"Nova, forgive me," He began gently as he walked forward to where she stood, ready to leave. "Why don't you remain here for the night? In the morning, you can continue your-"

"Not only for the night!" Rudely interrupted Azogar. "Since you came into my dominion Nova, you belong to me now." He stated firmly and meaningfully, frustrating his nephew who was only trying to soothe down the tense situation which he had created.

"But you don't understand, I don't wish - what are you doing?" Before the young mare could protest, the hot-blooded stallion began aggressively snaking her back to his three mares. Nova snapped at him in rage and tried to kick but in the end, realized that it was no use to fight against him. She couldn't stand a chance and so, she had no other choice but to comply.

It was her fault! She should've never showed or neared herself to this herd. They weren't the ones she was looking for. But she guessed it served her right for making such an unwise decision. She sighed, longingly gazing at the mountain hills in the distance. Her heart only pined for one stallion throughout the West...just one. The most glorious and legendary of them all - Spirit the Stallion of the Cimarron, the son of the noble Strider.