Chapter 29
Bolder
"As the seasons change... remember how I used to be."
At first, the silver grulla stallion Azogar, had been extremely horrified when he came upon his lands and discovered that his three mares and the little foals were missing from their usual grazing place. But his terror quickly transformed into anger when he realized what had happened to them. He had found his brother's, Flint's, spoor as well as the mares' hoofmarks on the ground. Despite his foolish nature, he knew immediately that it was his older half-brother that had taken the small band and without further thought, he raced towards Flint's herd in fury, ready to give him peace of his mind.
It was getting dark, and the wind came again, the thunder sounded closer, rolling among rocks, echoing off the heavy clouds. Azogar traveled alone in the empty valley, his nostrils were flared in outrage. His agitation seemed to be growing and growing, his frenzy doubled. First that cocky Spirit had dared to defeat him - the most beautiful horse in the West - then that insolent nephew of his had nerves to fight with him for that young mare, and now his overbearing half-brother, Flint had stolen his herd. He was losing it! His moments of fury, however, made him go faster and faster, panting upwards on a track that grew very faint - but still held the hoof marks. The faster he went, more his strength seemed to rise. Then down he plunged through the thick timber, and went trotting down the track, slipping and sliding when it got wet. He trotted into a clear valley with a small creek in it, and this, in turn, ran into a larger valley and a larger stream. Azogar stood, head thrown up, looking around.
Rain started to fall hard but for the first time in his life, Azogar took no notice of the weather that usually made him anxious. He did not even care that he was a lone horse on the prairie without anyone by his side. Perhaps if it were another day, he would have been very wary, but for the moment, he could not care any less. He walked to the edge of the river, found a crossing place, and splashed through. There were many hoof marks in the mud and at the edge of the river, which had been washing away as the rain constantly poured.
The storm got severe as well as stronger yet there was no fear in Azogar, only pure determination. It seemed like challenge with Spirit and Bolder had made him more resilient and mature. Almost in no time, without too much effort, he came upon his half brother's lands. Azogar stopped, trying to squint in the pouring rain, spotting with difficulty Flint's beautiful herd that had taken cover in tall pine trees. He could not see the brown stallion himself. He did not need to, for just as swiftly as he had come upon the herd, so had Flint come upon him.
"What on earth are you doing here?" Flint nickered from behind him, making Azogar jump violently. He certainly was not expecting anyone creeping up to him like that.
"You have the audacity to ask me that?!" The younger brother spat in rage, almost ready to attack, but he figured that it would be better to remain composed. Flint was not exactly weak when it came to putting up a fight. He was incredibly agile and a worthy opponent to any stallion that came to challenge him. "My own brother has turned against me! You thief!"
"Oh, so you've noticed." Flint began with a slight smirk. "I must admit, I'm impressed that you found us. Considering your careless behaviors lately, I thought you had completely abandoned your herd."
"And that's your excuse for stealing them?!" Screamed Azogar in rage, unable to control his temper.
"I did not steal them, you dimwit!" Flint exclaimed, finally losing his cool at Azogar's imprudent nature. "I secured them for you! A rogue stallion would've claimed them if I had not warded him off. You still foolishly continue to believe that nothing will ever befall you, don't you?" Lectured Flint in his olderly brother fashion. "Why did you desert your newborn foals and your loyal mares? Instead of protecting them as a responsible lead stallion, you went gallivanting about to chase some human-raised filly that does not even belong to you!"
Azogar simply snorted in disdain, but could not find a suitable response. What could he possibly say? Flint was absolutely right. He had made a complete fool of himself in front of Spirit, Nova, Bolder, the entire herd of Cimarron and now it appeared that he had put his own family in real danger. If it weren't for Flint, they would've been stolen for good.
"So you got thrashed, didn't you?" The sire of Bolder asked knowingly.
"It does not matter." The grullo horse mumbled, his pride hurting. "Who needs that colt's mares, anyway?" He lifted his head, still demonstrating his arrogance.
"What a shame." Remarked the brown stallion with a small sigh. "If only you had listened to my counsel when I first told you to stay away from the Cimarron herd. You would have certainly avoided such a miserable defeat." His eyes studied the large bruises on Azogar's body. It was clear just how terribly he had lost.
Huffing in annoyance, the grullo horse tried to look around for his three mares and foals in the large herd. "I've come for my band. Thank you for looking out for them in my absence. But we must get back home."
The brown stallion blinked in shock as the rain continued to pour and drench the two horses. "In vain I struggle to beat some sense into your dumb head, you still continue to tempt fate. You have learned nothing from your previous mistakes. How can you go home now?...in such a weather? Don't you realize that it's safer to stay here, where there is shelter?" Flint neighed in disbelief.
"You know what, dear brother," Began Azogar, muttering angrily through his teeth. "Instead of prying your nose in my affairs, busy yourself with your foolish son."
"My son?" Flint lifted his eyebrows. "In case you haven't noticed, I've got six colts and seven fillies." He flaunted proudly, his eyes shifting towards his beautiful family that was shielded in the huge trees. "And they are all in my herd, safe and sound."
"I'm talking about your firstborn."
Confusion was written plainly on the face of the wise brown horse. "My firstborn...Bolder?" It had been a while since he had given any thought to his independent young son.
"Whatever his name is... " Azogar snorted with a swish of his tail, clearly agitated. "If you want to control someone else's life, why not your son's? He has been a disgrace to the stallion's name ever since he chose to roam in solitude and acquired a calling of a Lone Stallion from all the creatures of the wild. Not only is he struggling to form a band, but he is also a treacherous manipulator!"
"What are you talking about?"
"Let's just say that his obsession with Spirit's new mare has clouded his judgement completely." Azogar spat, throwing daggers with his unforgiving stare. He was so outraged with the way he had been treated by both Flint and his son as well as Spirit. All three of them had some nerves! "You told me yourself to stay away from the newcomer beauty and yet close your eyes on the fact that your son himself has been chasing her around and is STILL chasing her at this moment. I gave up when I realized that crazy filly was not worth it, and left them both."
"I don't understand..." Flint muttered, trying hard to analyze the words his half-brother had spoken to him. "Bolder would never attempt on doing anything fool-"
"Oh please! " Scoffed Azogar with a mocking snort. "He has become everything you told him not to be. He is a disgrace and an abomination to your breed. So instead of nosing around my business, take care of your own son, who clearly needs some guidance."
To say that Flint was displeased with the revelation he had received would be an understatement. He was downright furious as well as shocked. He knew Bolder to be smart and clever. He had been hoping that by now he would have gathered a herd of his own. Flint hadn't been too thrilled when he first heard that his firstborn son had become a lone bachelor. He had always taught him to stick with the herds, after all, safety for the Mustangs lay in numbers. And even though, Bolder had ignored this wise advice, Flint somehow hoped that his son had enough brains to not entangle himself with another stallion for a mare. Of course, it was their way of life to challenge and battle each other for the females - how else would they form their own bands? But messing with a stallion like Spirit was incredibly foolish. Flint had become extremely cautious when it came to the son of Strider. Although young, that stallion had done things that were otherwordly for the rest of the horses...fighting him would definitely be a huge risk. But then again, neither was his son, Bolder, an incompetent fool like Azogar. Perhaps, if anyone could stand up to the spirited stallion it might as well be his bold son.
Flint had seen something different in Bolder since the first day he was born. He had come to the world incredibly weak and fragile, no one thought he'd make it. At one point, Flint had refused to name him, for he believed that his firstborn son would not be able to last a month. Even though, his beautiful mate constantly told him that their foal would turn out just fine, Flint had a hard time believing that such a small, weak, tiny little colt would be able to survive his first winter. He had been born so early, his muscles were undeveloped, he barely ate, he was scared of everything. Flint had mentally prepared himself to not get too attached to the foal, for he believed he was going to lose him without a doubt.
But it seemed like as the weeks passed, the colt was still holding up. Still fragile, still shy...but still alive.
After a month, however, one morning, when Flint first laid eyes on his firstborn he could not recognize him...he was different, he had become stronger, his legs were longer, his appetite was healthy, his coat rippled in the sun with a dark red sheen, and no longer did he see a frail foal in front of him. The pale little puny son of his, had transformed into a bright, beautiful and healthy colt.
He had become so much more bolder.
And that's exactly what Flint had named him...Bolder.
After that, the colt grew up learning all the wisdoms of the wild from his sire and dam. He was the perfect son...always following his parents' guidance and even defended his family band along side his father when the situation called for it. Flint was incredibly proud of him. In Bolder shone the beauty and wits of his magnificent dam and intelligence and strength of his clever sire. He had become the pride of his herd and most importantly, the pride of his father, Flint.
He was still so young...no older than four and yet their was a calm, different boldness about him that made him stand out in all the herds. He did not recklessly seek adventurous troubles to prove himself. Despite his bravery, Bolder was cautious, quiet, withdrawn and yes, even mysterious. There were times that neither Flint nor his mate knew what was going on in their son's head.
And even though, Flint didn't want to let his pride and joy go so soon, he knew that Bolder needed to form his own band. Any filly would be lucky to have him as their lead stallion. Therefore Flint had expected him to quickly settle down. A young stallion with his beauty, wits and strength would be able to form a band in no time. So you could imagine Flint's surprise when he first heard that his bold son was called the Lone Stallion for choosing the life of solitude. He had been worried...very worried. No horse should roam alone.
He knew Bolder to be not only handsome but smart as well, unlike Azogar who was all looks but no brains. He couldn't understand why his firstborn had made such a questionable decision to wander as a lone bachelor. But perhaps now, this revelation he had heard from Azogar would finally put him at ease. Bolder was at last fighting to form his own band and had daringly decided to steal Spirit's young mare. It was incredibly bold of him to attempt this, but Flint knew he could do it. If anyone could challenge the golden son of Esperanza, it could only be his own blood-bay son.
After a minute of reflection, Flint was the first to speak up. "I don't see a problem in this...my son is growing up and needs a harem of his own."
Azogar narrowed his eyes angrily. "Oh, so when HE tries to steal the pretty newcomer you're alright with it, but when I wanted to do it, you were against it? How is that fair?"
"There is a difference." The brown stallion answered calmly. "You already have a herd with foals and must not lose it for just one filly, but Bolder does not have anything. Therefore, he risks losing nothing. And let's be honest," he added with a teasing smirk. "You couldn't fight Spirit even if your life depended on it, while my bold son can certainly hold his own against anyone...even a stallion like the son of Strider."
Azogar was raging at his degrading words, but perhaps once in his life, he had chosen to pull himself together, remain level-headed and instead of arguing, settled on a rather wise warning.
"Beware, brother, obsession leads to destruction. And I fear your precious son is traveling on that rode."
