Okay, I watched one of the best movies ever a few days ago. It's called Man from Snowy River, and this chapter is going to borrow shamelessly from that movie. It's freaking awesome. If you like horse movies, watch it. Older movie, like 80s, but it's set in the 1800s. It's very cool. Okay, okay, I know! Stop talking and type, right? Right.
Roxas woke up to a sound like thunder. Sitting up with a yawn, he looked out the window and saw a large herd of horses thundering across the far meadow. He smiled briefly, finding the antics of the younger colts amusing. Axel woke up soon after, stretching and yawning like a cat.
After they had gotten dressed, they walked through the dewy grass towards the house, hands stuffed deeply into jeans pockets. When Diablo began rearing and letting out stallion whistles, they both paused and smiled at one another. The black stallion painted a pretty picture, plunging in front of the red rising sun, the early morning breeze plucking playfully at his long mane and tail.
Aya greeted them with a cheerful smile and a plate of pancakes. "Did you boys sleep well?" They nodded, mouths full of the fluffy pancakes. Demyx beckoned them over to the table and they sat near their friend, the dining room slowly filling with chatter as others streamed into the pleasantly warm room, the smell of syrup and butter heavy in the air. When Marluxia and Larxene walked in, yawning, everyone paused and lifted a hand in greeting before returning to their conversations.
"Hey, Aya," began Marluxia, taking a seat and pulling Larxene's chair for her, "Is there any particular reason why Diablo is acting so stirred up?"
The brunette frowned briefly and tossed her ponytail over her shoulder. "I don't know for sure, but I'll bet it has something to do with the rouge herd out in the far meadows."
Axel looked up in surprise, swallowing hastily. "There's a rouge herd?" he asked. "No one ever told me about it."
Aya shook her head. "Well, we never thought it was that important. It's a herd led by Diablo's brother."
"Flare's uncle?" asked Sora, his bright blue eyes wide with curiosity.
Aya nodded, then hesitated. "There's a story that goes with this whole thing, but…it's long, and some of the details have faded in time."
Demyx swallowed his mouthful of pancakes, looking eager. "A story? Like a story-story, or a myth-story? Would it be good song material? Will you tell us?" Zexion rolled his eyes and stuffed a crispy piece of bacon into his boyfriend's mouth, effectively shutting him up long enough for their adoptive mother to continue speaking and get a word in edgewise.
"A myth-story, probably, and yes," she said, her blue eyes dancing. "Now, this story is from about twenty years ago…"
"There was a woman that used to live here, a beautiful and kind woman who came from the mountains. There are legends upon legends about people from the Mountain. She was a wild woman, though. She never wanted anything to do with conventional women's role in society."
Axel and Roxas exchanged a wry look, grins slowly spreading over their faces. A quick glance around the table showed the others had picked up on the resemblance as well.
"But even in spite of, or perhaps because of, a man fell in love with her. He was a strange man, but he had a good heart. To show her his love, he bought a young black colt and named it Dyante. He raised the colt himself and trained it to perfection. When he brought the gift to the woman, she was so pleased with the young colt that she asked to ride it that very day. Of course, the colt was only two by that time, but he was kind and gentle. The man helped her on and she rode around the yard a few times, beaming in pleasure."
Everyone was now glued to the story, coffee going cold and pancakes absorbing all the syrup as Aya spoke.
"Suddenly, a thunderhead came down from the mountains. A bolt of lightning struck a tree near the colt and he spooked, taking off across the fields. The man…he tried to catch and calm the horse, but by the time he caught up to the colt, it was too late. The colt had panicked and thrown the woman. She was dead when the man reached her side. The man blamed the colt for the death of the woman he had loved, and let him run wild. Since that day, he has never seen a horse without longing for his love and without hatred of Dyante, the Wild Stallion from the Mountain."
Demyx blinked. "Oh my God," he whispered. Everyone looked at him, but he was zoned out, his eyes slightly glazed as he stared the wall across the table. "Vexen," he murmured.
There was a jolt in Roxas's stomach as he realized what Demyx was saying. "No way," he said immediately. "He'd have to be forever old!"
Larxene spoke up softly. "Vexen is about forty-five. That would make him around twenty-five when this happened. I…don't believe it."
Aya shook her head slowly. "You're right. I didn't think Vexen was capable of love."
"Maybe he isn't now," said Demyx softly, "But everyone can love at one point in time. Everything, everyone. Love is…love is like blood. You need it, and if you lose it, you feel like you want to die."
Axel stood up, his chair scraping the wooden floor of the dining room. His boots thumped slowly over to the window where he leaned with one should against the frame, one leg crossed over the other. "Well," he said, crossing his arms and inclining his head slightly, "That Dyante just ran off with about half our herd."
Aya vaulted to her feet and looked out the window. Just barely visible on the horizon was a group of small dark dots that looked a lot like horses. Just as they all spilled over the rim into the mountain valley, one dot resurfaced and stood on the rim, facing the ranch. He stood there for three full seconds, as though daring them to come and fetch his spoils of victory before wheeling and galloping after his herd.
"Shit," she said vehemently, her fingers white against the sill of the window. "Just shit." She turned from the window, her eyes calm and calculating as she met the eyes of all in the room. "Today, boys," she said, "Today…we ride. We ride long, we ride hard, and we bring back that herd. And I want that stallion with them. He's going to keep doing this unless we bring him in." She sighed and ran a hand over her face. "For a twenty-something year old horse, he's sure doing well for himself."
Sephiroth got to his feet, and let his lips quirk in a brief smirk. "All those who ride with us, I suggest you get some protection. That stallion is taking them into the depths of the Mountain." They all nodded and dispersed, heading to their bunkhouses.
When Axel and Roxas reached theirs, Axel rummaged around beneath his bed for a few minutes before pulling out two black leather dusters. One was small than the other, and he passed that one to Roxas. "Here," the redhead said, pulling his own on. "It'll keep you from getting ripped up." Roxas nodded gratefully, the first flutters of nervousness beginning to stir in his stomach. Axel looked up from lacing up black leather half-chaps and arched one eyebrow before abandoning his project to hug Roxas tightly. Roxas gripped Axel's coat and inhaled his scent of spice and leather, fresh air and horses, syrup and coffee.
"Roxas," Axel murmured softly, "if it gets dangerous, I want you to go back. You're a good rider, but I'm better." Roxas nodded; he knew Axel was only telling the truth. "Rouge horses don't think like tamed ones. They're dangerous, and now that they're on the run, they're even more so." He paused, then lifted Roxas's chin to look into his eyes. "I love you," he murmured honestly, "and I don't want to lose you."
Roxas nodded and pressed a brief kiss to Axel's lips. "I know. I don't want to lose you either. Once was too much for one lifetime."
"Imagine the next life, then." Axel smiled and tugged on gloves the leather duster swirling around his legs as he walked out the door, head high and mouth set. Roxas followed, thinking how Axel looked like a hero, stepping from the shadows into the light. He shook his head at his own imagination, his boots sending up puffs of dust, the northwestern sun having already baked the dew from the dirt.
He saddled swiftly, taking a moment just to check Selena's forehead, seeing that the edges of the wound weren't even red, and there was no heat from the area. The mare sensed his hesitation and nickered softly, nudging him and tossing her head in Flare's direction. Roxas smiled. "Alright, girl. We'll go, just to keep them safe, huh?"
He mounted and rode into the barnyard, everyone gathered there in silence. Xigbar had a rifle resting on his shoulder, his one eye looking faintly eager. Marluxia and Larxene were standing on the porch, hands grasped gently. Aya swung herself into the saddle, saying to the two teens staying behind, "If…when Reno comes back, let him know what's going on. Tell him if we're not back by nightfall, come up to the mountain with you two." They nodded solemnly and raised a hand in farewell.
Cid was gnawing on his toothpick, stocky Ratchet standing calmly, his rusted coat almost blending into the dirt. Demyx and Maelstrom were fidgeting slightly, the barely noticeable shift of seat in the saddle or hooves in the dirt. Zexion and Mirage both looked slightly troubled, and it was with a nervous spike of amusement that Roxas noticed that Mirage's forelock fell over the opposite eye as Zexion's bangs. Axel and Flare were snorted and sighing, eager to get on the hunt. Selena edged closer to Flare, making the black stallion turn his head to breathe on her.
The silence was broken by Xigbar, his swearing echoing in the empty yard. "That little fucker…Vexen's sent out goonies!"
Aya turned in Diablo's saddle, her eyes narrowing at the sight of a dozen or so mounted horsemen, cantering over the plains towards the Mountain. She swore softly and raised a hand in the air, twirled it once and pointed to the Mountain, the horseman's sign for "Move Out!"
She dug her heels into Diablo's flanks, the black sire of Flare leaping forward into a ground-eating lope. The other horses streamed out of the yard behind him, hooves churning up the dust and forcing Marluxia and Larxene to cover their eyes and mouths. All Roxas could hear was the thundering of hooves, the beating of his heart. The two sounds seemed to merge together as they raced along the plains, the pine-treed Mountain looming closer and closer.
The group broke through a copse of tree, catching glimpses of the rouge herd, the stallion wheeling and dodging among the trees. Vexen's hired help were hard on their heels, all grim and ragged-looking. Axel glanced back when he heard a yelp, seeing one of the men trying to drag Zexion off of his mare. He paused, briefly checking Flare, but Demyx was far ahead of him. The blonde rode up behind the man solidly thumped him in the back of the head, helping Zexion back into the saddle. Axel nodded and took off again.
Flare was soon far ahead of the others, as Aya and Diablo were stalling as many riders as they could. The riders had rifles and weren't aiming at people. They were gunning down horses like they were rabbits, and Axel cringed to see so many of their horses slain so callously.
One rider had a better horse than his fellows and he managed to catch up with Axel, yanking Flare's bridle off in a desperate attempt to stop him. Flare just shook his head as Axel dropped the reins, spitting his bit out and leaving the man with a bridle but no horse.
Guiding Flare with only his knees, Axel grinned in relief as he broke to the top and saw the last of the horses just through a brief clearing. He urged Flare forward, only noticing the steep, nearly vertical drop after Flare's front hooves had broken through the small ledge, sending the two of the down the slope while the black stallion watched from the ridge.
I am so dreadfully sorry this took so long! I'll update more often, but oh my gods, the amount of homework we've had is INSANE! Sorry, sorry, sorry. I'll get the next chapter up soon, I promise!