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Chapter 37

Time-Out

"I've come too far to quit
Step back I'm goin' in"

– Legends Are Made by Sam Tinnesz

The morning sun glittered and shimmered the golden pelt of a young stallion dancing on the hill like a glancing breaker, like a storm rearing in the sky. In his ears, the wind, that wanderer and spy, sang of the magic of all that was free, untamed and so wild. As the glistening stallion soared across the vast territory of Cimarron, his dark, tousled mane netted the rays of the sun. Galloping in the ruggedness of the wild, his muscles brushed to a shine rippling down his calves to embrace the ground beneath the ironed hooves shaking it up, tormenting its calm, whipping up tremors that know no chains and travel far. The cool breeze of an early morning refreshingly blew in his face, as though urging him to go faster and faster.

Running...

There was nothing unusual about this. Anyone that was familiar with the golden horse, knew that he was exceedingly exceptional at it. He was like the son of the wind itself, gliding and flying over the ranges with an ease. But to the stallion of the Cimarron, it was what comforted him when his heart was shattered, what soothed him when his mind was filled with racing emotions and what helped him celebrate whenever he was feeling joyous. Galloping freely across the untamed land was his solace, encouragement and outlet, all at once.

The Eagle friend of the stallion was accompanying him for a while, but then as though realizing that the son of Esperanza required solitude, flew high up above and left him in his contemplations. Everything remained the same for the golden-dun until he spotted from the corner of his eye, another horse catching up to him. Spirit shortened his stride once he recognized that the galloping horse was none other than his crazy mare, Misty.

Slowing down to a jog, Spirit waited for the black mare to tell him what was bothering her. Perhaps, there was a problem in the herd and she had run up to inform him of it? Another part of him doubted it. His herd was safe. Bolder couldn't be trusted and Azogar was an idiot, but Cloud and Flint were noble stallions who were more than reliable in such circumstances. And besides, it was a peaceful morning, Spirit would've noticed if something wasn't right. His confusion doubled when he realized that Misty wasn't planning on telling him anything at all, but simply jogged right beside him in silence.

What the hell? What did she want with him now? Why couldn't he just catch a break from the Shrew of the West?

"Uhh...what are you doing?" Spirit asked at last, uncertainty plainly written on his countenance.

"What does it look like?" Misty said as she matched her pace with his. "Running."

"I'm not blind, I can see that."

"Oh, I need to get in shape after carrying our foal for so many months." Misty explained, as if it was the most natural and obvious thing ever, and shrugged with a snort. When she saw Spirit breaking into a fast canter, she imitated his movements to stay close to him. "So I thought why not exercise? Don't worry about Dusty. I fed him already and his grand-dam is more than happy to watch over him for me. Isn't Esperanza just great?" She grinned.

"That's fine, but why are you following me?"

"Well, I thought it'd be nice if we did cute little couple things together." Misty nickered cheerfully, loping after Spirit with a swish of her flowing tail. "Like stretching our legs together, mutual grooming sessions, grazing at the same time and– oh! oh! Summer's coming, so we could go for a swim!" She prattled with an excited shriek.

Spirit almost stumbled on the dirt path when he heard the mare's terrifying words, and halted to a sudden freeze. She can't be serious!

"W-what the...?"

"Now I know, we were never one of those couples that are all lovey-dovey like birds of a feather." Misty quickly went on to continue. "But I think it's something new and we should give it a try? Yeah, it's cliche and downright ridiculous but–"

"What are you talking about? We were never a couple." Spirit rasped, looking incredibly distraught at the mere idea of it.

"Okay, 'friends'...sure, whatever makes you sleep at night, but I think we should–"

"Yeah, I don't think so, Misty." Spirit shook his head firmly. "I really don't think so." He didn't know what exactly was brewing in her insane mind, but it was safe to say that he did not like it one bit.

The black mare frowned in disappointment. "You don't like my suggestions?"

"No, they're great...except, there's one tiny issue: We are NOT a couple!"

Misty rolled her eyes with a mocking scoff. She had expected to hear from him something within those lines. "Am I in your herd?" She asked.

"Yeah..."

"Were we together...you know, intimately?" Misty stared with a haughty expression.

"Unfortunately."

"Do we share a foal together?"

Spirit understood where she was headed with all this nonsense talk. "Yes..."

"Do you happen to be my band stallion?"

Yup! He had guessed it correctly. "Yes." Spirit sighed.

"Thank you!"

"I get what you're saying–" The stallion cleared his throat, puffing out air from his strong chest.

"I mean if you don't like the lovey-dovey crap, we can go back to being 'friends'." Misty cut in with a flirty smirk, prancing around him with a flutter of her lashes. "I don't mind at all." She winked seductively.

"...or you could simply stay the hell–" Spirit opened his mouth to talk, but Misty flicked her tail at him to hush him out.

"Shh. Let your body do the talking." Misty drawled, leaning in and stretched her nose to nuzzle him, yet Spirit snapped, rebuffing her advances.

"Get the hell away from me, you freak-show!" He bared his teeth.

Misty jerked backwards with an amused smile and snorted. "That's not very nice." She smirked.

Spirit took a deep breath, trying to rationalize the odd behaviour of the mare as well as keep his fiery temper under control. "Listen, Misty, I don't know what you're–"

Misty however, as though spotting something or someone in the distance, jumped closer to Spirit, looking quite startled. "Oh goodness! Quick! Pretend you're talking to me!"

"I AM talking to you!"

The black mare had presently become extremely anxious, which further confused the already confused Spirit. "You know what? Forget that, and press your body against mine!" Misty nervously pulled him towards her.

"What the hell?!" Spirit jolted back in abhorrence. "What is wrong with you?!"

"Ahh, shit!" Misty spat angrily, glancing over her shoulder once more. "Now you're late and you missed it!"

"Missed what?"

"It's fine, we'll try again, I guess." The black mare muttered to herself.

"Try what?"

Misty assumed a confident posture and tossed her forelock from her eyes, smirking with a coquettish wink. "I'll see you later, hot-shot. We'll do it correctly next time." And with that, she spun round and trotted from his presence.

"Do WHAT?!"

Spirit's confusion sky-rocketed and he shuddered in disgust. Ugh, what a gross morning! You could sure count on Misty for successfully ruining someone's day.

Spirit returned to the main base of the Cimarron land shortly after Misty. He was still very confused and excessively irritated at the black mare's unprecedent, odd behaviour. Did she come up with a new way to annoy him? By playing these stupid guessing games? She was asking for trouble and was once again, getting on his final nerves! Perhaps, it was the foal heat? Or perhaps...Misty really wanted to start from the beginning? After all, they did share a foal together. Cute little Dusty deserved proper parental love and environment. Maybe, now was the time to let go of old grudges and bitterness... Should he give their relationship another chance? He wondered to himself as he neared the herd. His head was lowered and he dragged his legs, shuffling forward rather slowly. What he did not expect to see in that second was a tall, dark shadow of a burly horse. Spirit jolted once he lifted his head and found himself looking at the grim sire of Nova.

"Did I startle you, the son of Strider?" Raven spoke, half smile of amusement tainting his lips.

Spirit shook his head, suddenly acquiring a different air of self-assurance and postured to him in full confidence. Startled? Never! It took a lot of effort to frighten him. "I don't scare easy."

Only after Spirit blurted out that cocky remark, did he realize that this would paint him in a much more negative light. Judging by the older stallion's raised eyebrow, he could clearly tell that Raven was unimpressed. He figured the black horse wasn't too enthusiastic about him, considering their history of misunderstandings and mishaps, one of which was quite fresh in Raven's mind no doubt. Cursing under his breath, Spirit tried to fix his lapse. "What I meant is-"

"You aren't easily intimidated by others. I get it." Knowingly stated the sire of Nova. "I don't have a problem with youthful cocky attitude. As long as you ain't all bark and no bite like Azogar." He regarded Spirit for a second and smiled proudly. "...from what I've heard, you aren't, so that's good."

Spirit found himself pleasantly surprised at the older stallion's words, but then he remembered the embarrassing night and averted his eyes from him in awkwardness. "Speaking of Azogar, what he said about your daughter and I -"

"Father, you're still here?" The girlish nicker of Nova interrupted Spirit. She joined the two stallions, slightly taken aback at the sight of them interacting. "I thought you left." She pressed her nose against her sire's neck, nuzzling him affectionately.

"I was just about leaving when I ran into your mate." Raven replied, nuzzling his daughter back.

"Oh, father, we're not-" Nova attempted to explain, but was cut off by Raven, whose eyes were bright with delightful approval.

"Look, I don't care what that foolish Azogar blithered. I'm certain he spoke out of jealousy. I'm actually looking forward for grand-foals from my favourite daughter." He grinned and pulled his filly in an embrace.

"Uhh...What?" Spirit and Nova both gasped, their eyes bulged so wide that they were just about to burst right out of their heads.

"G-grand-foals?" Spirit repeated, swallowing hard. Okay, now he was scared. As if his own mother and Cloud weren't enough, Raven too had decided to hop on his back with that 'offspring' obsession? Oh, the horror!

"Yes!" Happily confirmed the excited stallion. "I know you have a colt and congratulations for that, but I really can't wait for my own grand-foals. I don't have a single one yet, and it would be wonderful if my sweet Nova became a mother." He finished, beaming from head to toe.

A high-pitched squeak of nervousness escaped from Nova, while Spirit let out a forced laugh. "Right... that's... just great." He almost choked on his own saliva. Was it only him, or did it suddenly get very humid? He was sweating and it wasn't because of his mad gallop earlier.

"Well, I won't take much of your time. I must return to my own herd." Raven continued speaking with optimistic light-heartedness. "I'll leave you to it, my little love birds." He smirked with a mischievous wink. "Get busy!" He playfully pushed the stiffened Spirit and started laughing.

Spirit laughed as well, but mainly because he was desperate to conceal how uncomfortable he actually felt. "Haha, funny!" He anxiously glanced at Nova, who looked stunned enough to faint.

"Isn't that funny, Nova?" He nudged her, hissing through his teeth and snapped the mortified filly out of her frozen state.

"Y-yes, SO funny!" She agreed immediately, her voice cracking. She was doing a horrible job at pretending and to hide her nervousness, she settled on giggling in an extremely awkward fashion.

"Alright then, I'll see you both soon." Raven smiled in satisfaction, as he broke into a breezy lope. "And hopefully, you'll surprise me with good news on my next visit!" He added loudly and increased his speed.

All Spirit and Nova could do was nod, smile and laugh awkwardly in response. Once Raven was far enough to not be able to over-hear their words, the young mare turned to the stallion. "Please, tell me you're fake laughing too."

"Oh, the tears are real."

It was a dazzling, warm mid-day of late spring, birds were chirping, children were playing and once again, the peaceful camp was full of bustling activity. The new season brought out new changes and the Lakota people were preparing for their new routines. They would resume their hunting parties, sun dance celebrations, and visitations of different tribes. The warriors were preparing to make alliances with neighbouring tribe members to strengthen their villages against the army of blue-coats, also known as the US cavalry. Among the four-legged companions of the humans, certain young mother and her little son were grazing under the lovely shade of apple trees. Well...to be precise, it was the mare that grazed, while her tiny colt zoomed around her energetically, throwing up his little kicks and bucked joyously. Rain raised her head from the grass and giggled at her hyper foal's antics. Would he ever learn to settle down? He was so playful. The colt nickered in a baby voice, prancing toward his dam and hid himself under her long legs. Rain snorted, rolling her eyes, powerless to hide her amusement. He only relaxed when he was hungry.

The young mother's focus lay entirely on her suckling son until she sensed another horse approaching them. Glancing up, she noticed cremello coloured mare, quite advanced in years, greeting her with a polite nod. "Rain, I presume?" She spoke, once they extended their noses to one another.

"Yes and you must be Lady." Rain smiled courteously despite being taken by surprise with her unexpected visitor.

"Silver Moon just told me about you." The white mare commenced, her pink nostrils fluttered as the dark circles around her eyes gave out her age and experience. "I am not usually known to love spending time with tribal horses." There was a certain amount of disdain as well as contempt upon uttering the word 'tribal'. It was quite evident that this Lady was not impressed with her new life and clearly viewed herself as far more superior in breeding than the rest of the village horses. After all, her bloodlines traced back to the glorious Akhal-Tekes, while these tribal horses were related to the inbred mustangs – poor excuses for her kind. In spite of her scorn, there wasn't much she could do. The 'hostile' Indians had stolen her from the pale-faces and she needed to get used to her new environment.

"However, after learning that your grandmother is none other than Bonita, I felt inclined to offer you my services. You have no idea how relieved I am to hear that at least one horse in this godforsaken wasteland has some what of a good breeding in them."

Rain forced an uncomfortable smile on her face, not sure whether to take Lady's words as a compliment or an insult. "You knew my grand-dam?"

"I was acquainted with her, yes. Her owner boarded her at my master's stables for a week or so." Continued Lady in a supercilious manner that was very in character for a snob like her. "She was a nice filly from what I remember. A perfect mix of Andalusian breeds and Arabs. As a two year old, she was incredibly well-behaved. Even her movements were that of a dressage horse. It's a pity she ended up among the wild inbreds, she would've made a fine performance horse...but I digress."

Yet again, Rain wondered if she should be offended at her articulation, or honoured that a picky mare like Lady chose to come to her herself.

"I believe you and your colt, as the descendants of Bonita, are worth my valuable time. So I am willing to do whatever I can to educate you in perfect discipline as well as proper behaviour."

A bright grin of relief spread across the young mare's lips. "Oh, that is so very kind of you. I truly appreciate it."

"Before we get to it, however, you must remember my number one rule." Cautioned Lady in a serious tone, piercing Rain with her cool eyes. "You have to follow all of my guidance in efficient detail. Otherwise, it will only prove to be a futile experiment. Do you understand, my dear?"

"Yes, absolutely." Rain nodded eagerly, more than willing to heed the older, wiser mare and become experienced in motherhood.

"Now from what I gathered, your colt..." She glanced at the youngster who was happily drinking his milk. "... has a wild streak and you're afraid that it may transform into a greater nuisance once he reaches maturity."

"Yes, you see...he's a Medicine Hat horse. The village relies on him for good luck." Explained Rain, staring down at her innocent darling, who was completely oblivious of the high expectations that he had to live up to. "He's supposed to be a symbol of the tribe's strength. The leading war stallion."

"I sense a 'but' coming." Lady interposed knowingly.

"But...I fear his developing wild personality may hinder him from the great destiny of a war horse. He is my first foal and I'm so inexperienced as a dam. I can't help thinking that I may not be able to educate him properly." Rain admitted sheepishly.

"I must ask, who is his sire? Is he in the camp by any chance?" Lady questioned, her eyes wandering towards the tribal stallions.

"Oh, uh...no. He lives in the wild." Rain replied quietly.

"Hmph...that could pose as a problem."

"Really?" Rain frowned, pouting in disappointment.

"Well, yes...think about it. Your colt doesn't just have your traits, he also most likely inherited his sire's wildness. Not to worry though, we can fix that. It will require discipline, time and patience. As a mother of twenty offspring, there is nothing I cannot handle." Assured the elder mare in full confidence and smiled proudly as she mused about her many accomplishments.

"That's so relieving to hear." Rain sighed, as though a heavy weight had been lifted from her back. "I'm sure Spirit won't mind either–"

"Spirit?"

"That's his father."

"Oh, no dear. No." Lady firmly shook her head. "In order to succeed, you must cut ties with that wild, inbred stud of yours."

"What?" Rain's stomach dropped for a split second.

"He's going to mess up the whole program."

"Are you saying that he can't visit his son?" Rain questioned, her voice laced with shock and sadness.

"Why? So that he can come and confuse the poor colt with his different mindset and vulgar way of life? Is that what you want? For your unfortunate colt to become conflicted?"

Rain's heart sank at that thought as she regarded her sweet, innocent foal. "No, of course not." She knew more than anyone what it was like to be torn between two worlds. And the mere idea of her adorable, tiny colt struggling with those same, conflicted sentiments as she, was just too unbearable. But what about Spirit? He would be utterly devastated if she forbid him to see his own son. Oh, why was she thrown in such a turmoil?

"No, uh...I don't know if...I can be so cruel to Spirit." Rain spoke shakily, liquid water filling her eyes. "He loves his son so much and–"

"He'll survive just fine. Trust me." Lady guaranteed. "I'm positive that vulgar has plenty of other mares and foals lining up. He couldn't care less about–"

"But he loves–"

"What?" Huffed the cremello mare. "Let me guess, he assured you that you are his favourite, who holds all his heart and he'll always love you and your colt more than anyone else?" She derided, her expressions conveying nothing but pity towards the young mother.

Rain lowered her blue pools. "Well..." Small lump caught in her throat, and she was unable to find a suitable response.

"Oh honey, that's just something stallions like him say to get you to stand for them."

"Not Spirit." Whispered Rain as the tiny tear rolled down her cheek.

"The decision is up to you in the end." Lady shrugged, sounding uninterested in the young mare's troubles. "But I would advise you to think about what's best for your son."

And with that, the cremello left the conflicted paint alone in her reflections. Rain watched her go and gazed back at her colt sorrowfully. The little darling had finished suckling and was presently rubbing his small muzzle against his dam's flank. Lowering her head gently to the tiny creature, Rain nuzzled him with kisses. Ultimately, the frustrated dam came to a shattering conclusion that Lady was right. Every mother's number one priority would always be the well-being of their child, no matter what it cost them. No matter what.

Back in the untamed ranges of the Cimarron homeland, Spirit was glad to find Cloud, Flint and Azogar detached from their individual bands, and conversing amongst themselves, what looked to be a heated dialogue. Perfect! They were together and Spirit wouldn't have to spend half of his time gathering them from their herds and calling another meeting. As soon as they spotted the young stallion joining their midst, the discussion instantly ceased as they stared at Spirit with an uncomfortable silence.

Spirit was surprised at their sudden awkwardness, yet he settled on ignoring it for a while. First and foremost, they needed to resolve a very important matter, which happened to be a total disaster the night before. "My noble stallions, let's be honest...our attempt yesterday was a complete failure."

"Not just a failure, Spirit." Corrected Cloud. "It was a calamity!"

"Right." The young stallion agreed with an embarrassed nod. "Luckily, my mother is a wonderful diplomat and I'm sure you'll be happy to know that Raven left in great spirits." Of course, his 'great spirits' were resulted by frightening both Spirit and Nova with the offspring talk, but hey! At least, he was no longer pissed. Spirit thought to himself quietly. "Now we must concentrate on the cursed bear." He spoke up.

"Yeah...about that." Cloud commenced hesitantly and glance at the solemn Flint. "You see..." He coughed, clearing his throat. "We have decided to find a solution to that problem for ourselves."

"Yes, I know. Which is why I was thinking we should forget about the nonsense ghost belief and–"

"Without you, Spirit." Azogar blurted, while Flint and Cloud exchanged an uneasy look.

"What?"

"Last night's incident was caused by your and Bolder's incompetence." Cloud said, trying to come off as delicate as possible. "We went along with it because we trust you, but it proved to be nothing but a wild goose chase as Azogar had predicted. Therefore, Flint and I have determined to take this situation upon ourselves."

"You're dumping me? Is that it?" Spirit gasped, his ears lay flat against his skull.

"No, son of Strider. Of course not." Flint interfered tactfully. "We simply think it'll be better if you stay behind with our herds and leave this affair to us. We are more or less older and experienced than you. And by 'we', I mean Cloud, Raven and I."

"Excuse me?!" Azogar gasped insulted.

"Oh shut up, brother."

"Yes, Bolder cannot guard all four bands on his own. He's injured." Cloud added in agreement, hoping their decision made sense to Spirit. "We trust you can look after our families while we figure out how to get rid of that cursed bear."

"Wait, Raven's in on it too?" Spirit asked stunned. "This is ridiculous! Yeah, I made one mistake, but you can't blame everything on me and Bolder. You're all responsible for that humiliating occurrence just as much as Bolder and I."

"Spirit, please...do not argue with us. I know you mean well and you want to help, it's just that..." Cloud started reluctantly. "...I don't know if you have noticed, but you always cause so much havoc with your crazy ideas. Now it might've worked for you when you were captured by the two-leggeds, however, we're dealing with a different circumstance here. Recklessness won't get us far...we need wisdom of the wild."

"Do you even have a solid plan?" Spirit demanded angrily.

"Yes and no...Raven's going to round up other experienced lead stallions, so that we can–"

"What?! You're gonna stir up panic that way!" Spirit protested. "If the word about the cursed bear spreads, it'll only cause uproar."

"Our plan is still in development." Flint chimed calmly. "We'll have a good understanding of the solution in few days. Please, do your part, son of Strider and focus on protecting the herds. You and my son will have to stay back if the three of us are unexpectedly forced to leave."

"Think of it as a 'time-out'..." Cloud interjected with a faint smile. "You've done enough already, take a breather. Just relax and concentrate on your new foal. Leave this job to the big boys, Spirit."

Spirit glared at the three stallions for a second or two, before forcing out syllables. "You're making a mistake...but fine, have it your way." He spun round and plodded over to the herds.

Time-out?...

As if he were a little colt in desperate need of scolding and punishment. What an awful day this turned out to be! First Misty ruined his morning, then Raven with his idiotic offspring talk and now these three? Spirit grumbled silently, pounding his legs and swishing his jet-black tail to shoo away the pesky flies. Exhaling heavily, he regarded his herd for a moment, then took a look at the bands of Flint, Azogar and Cloud and sighing, walked up to the Cimarron hill to watch over them as he was tasked to do. His brown eyes shifted towards the black mare and the dark colt. Upon the sight of his son, he couldn't retain a smile from his face. Perhaps, he could go down to them and spend time with little Dusty? But that meant that he would have to endure Misty's intolerable presence too. "Oh well, comes with a territory." He was about to move from his spot when he heard the call of his eagle companion.

"Oh-uh...Spirit is silent... do I sense another crazy plan formulating?" He jested and friskily circled around the sullen stallion.

"No, I'm taking time-out apperantly." Spirit rolled his eyes.

"That's not gonna stop you and we both know it." The Eagle grabbed his forelock and playfully pulled on it with his claws.

"You know...I think it might just." The stallion snorted. "I could use a little break from constant action. My son needs me." He threw up his head to the Eagle with an acknowledging whinny.

"That's exactly why I'm not buying the timeout." Winked the bird in a mischievous manner and soared away.

Spirit shook his head, his eyes following the majestic creature flap his large wings and vanishing high up in the clouds. Sometimes, he wished he were an eagle.

"Can you spare a minute?"

Spirit turned only to find Bolder limping towards him with painful effort. Ugh, great! The agitating loner was here to add to his miserable day. What a wonderful way to finish off the catastrophic hour.

"What do you want?" He growled at him.

"I'm assuming my sire and Cloud already informed you about–"

"About putting us in a time-out like bunch of foals? Yes!" Spirit gritted his teeth. "I can't believe I trusted your ghost story. This is all your fault." He spat, throwing daggers with his eyes.

Upon the mention of the phantom, Bolder's skin pricked and involuntarily he trembled. The memory of the night's black stallion appearing in front of everyone, yet making himself visible only to him, made the young blood-bay shiver with unexplainable sensation of fear. Either he was really seeing supernatural elements or he was losing his damn mind. Both case scenarios frightened him.

"Listen, their plan is far more insane than what I had to offer."

"How so?" Spirit grunted coldly.

"They intend to gather strong band stallions and attack the bear."

"I thought Azogar was too afraid to kill the cursed predator."

"Like I said, they're gathering other band stallions. My uncle may not fight, but I know Cloud and my father most definitely will." Bolder glanced at his hooves, pausing for a second. "And that's what I'm worried about. If we won't stop them, they'll die."

"What for? I'm sure cohorts of many stallions can take down one grizzly."

"He has the curse of the mad wolf." Bolder persisted, his voice rising, his tone meaningful. "They may be able to kill him in the end, but there will be slaughter. At least one of the stallions is bound to get hurt. And you shouldn't rely on that herb to heal them. As much as I'm grateful to Misty, that plant only worked because the bear did not bite me. The venom wasn't in my blood."

"What are you talking about? You have bite marks all over you." Spirit scoffed.

"Yeah, that's from the stallion, Shaytan...the man's horse."

Spirit furrowed his brows, confusion washing over him. "You were attacked by a cursed bear, yet not bitten? How's that possible?"

"Until now, I thought he had bitten me, only last night I remembered that when he wanted to sink his teeth into me...what's the point?" Bolder sighed and stopped, suddenly changing his mind. "You don't believe me anyways."

"The ghost saved you. Is that what you were trying to say?" Spirit groaned, too irritated to even roll his eyes at him.

"Never mind." Bolder muttered under his breath. "All I'm saying is that if one of them gets bitten, the whole point of killing the cursed bear will be lost, considering another animal will become dangerous. I really don't want to see my father being put down."

"Why are you telling me all this?"

"Because you were the only one that trusted me about the ghost."

Spirit stared at the blood-bay stallion in silence, the wheels in his head began to turn. "You're right. We don't want to spread the curse...their plan will only result into more infected creatures."

"They're depending on the healing powers of that herb. What they don't understand is that I wasn't saved by some plant... I was saved by an unearthly force. I know you don't believe me either, but at least you're willing to listen." Bolder confessed.

There was a small interval as Spirit carefully took the Lone Stallion's desperate words into consideration. Truth be told, no one had ever heard of a cure for the mad wolf's curse and even if the Touch of the Teardrop was an effective healing plant, it just seemed too unlikely that it could save the inflicted animals from the deadly curse. The fact that Bolder did not display any kind of aggression after being attacked by the predator also served as a testament that his blood hadn't been poisoned. But how then was he saved? Did the ghost really exist? Spirit head's was already starting to hurt from all these confusing questions and no logical answers.

He released an exhale from his lungs and looked at Bolder. "The grizzly needs to die without contaminating anyone else." He said this and started to trot off. If he was to come up with a successful plan, he required to be left on his own for a while. As a new father and responsible band stallion, there was no way he could step aside and allow Cloud, Flint, Azogar and whoever, foolishly endanger their lives as well as their herds. He couldn't quit now...not ever.

"Where are you going?" The reclusive stallion called after him.

"To think!" Neighed Spirit his response. "Time's up for time-out."

Question of the day: (I know most of you are more than willing to answer this one) Team Spirit or Team Bolder?