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Chapter 78

A Dark Silhouette

" "Look up at the stars son" my father was saying

"Now go wish upon one then spend your life waiting"

The Northern Lights could hear me whispering
Hunter Orion are you listening?
The rings of Saturn circle endlessly
And I'm still waiting"

– The Seven Sisters by Celldweller

Among the clan of Oglala, the Nation of the Lakota Sioux, being appointed as a "Shirt Wearer" was one the most honourable ranks a tribe member could achieve. These were a small group of distinguished community leaders who looked after the welfare of their people and made decisions about hunting grounds, campsites, and most importantly, war. Receiving this title was no easy accomplishment and every young man aspired to fall into this grace someday, but only few were gifted with the special, symbolic "Shirt". Whoever obtained this honour, was to act as counselors and officials to higher-ranking members of the tribal council. Their opinion and viewpoint concerning their society, was greatly cherished, considered and at most times, heeded.

At the moment, the encampment of the Renegades was filled with anticipation. Young warriors had been called and nominated for this great position, now each one waited to see who among them would be blessed with this high honour. It was a custom for the admission ceremony to last from early morning to nightfall. Chief Gall, Sitting Bull and Red Cloud prayed to the Creator and sang the songs of praise of their recent success. The tribal elders and shamans joined in, placing the sacred Shirts on display. Each Shirt Wearer would be gifted with a painted shirt fringed with hair. Colourations represented the force of specific deities who were in charge of human destiny. For the Oglala Lakota, the green symbolized the Earth spirit Maka, and yellow the Rock spirit Inyan, the primeval Creator.

It was a tradition for the older, more experienced leaders to handcraft the shirts for each Shirt Wearer. The pattern bands of quillwork and beadwork represented the life accomplishments of the new shirt bearer. Perhaps, one of the most outstanding features of these one-of a-kind shirts was the hair lock fringed on the sleeves. In other words, because of the sheer power and symbol of authority these clothes showcased, they were also called as "Leader Shirts."

Knowing this deep meaning behind the honour that was being dangled right in front of their eyes, the young warriors held their breath with nervousness as they patiently listened to the wise words of their revered leaders and waited. They could either announce several Shirt Wearers or just a sole one until the rest proved their worth. Who could it be? For now, the Renegade party possessed Chief Gall and Sitting Bull as their Shirt Bearing warlords, but who would be the lucky warrior to join these courageous legends?

The hours elapsed incredibly slowly for Little Creek. Not only was he ecstatic with excitement, but somewhere deep within his core, he felt funny. He had a strange sensation gripping at his muscles as his eyes constantly shifted to the young woman sitting next to one of the respected warriors of the tribe – No Water. The woman glanced at his direction several times with an unreadable expression, yet it was impossible to deny sadness that seemed to lace her dark brown eyes. For an outsider, this was nothing, but for someone as intuitive as the stallion of the Cimarron, it was easy to deduce that Little Creek and this young woman knew each other before. Spirit observed his human friend from the distance, trying not to drift far off from his playful sons, but he couldn't overcome his curiosity at the unusual customs of the two-leggeds. The whole occurrence was all too fascinating. Besides, he knew that Little Creek was just about to be granted a respectable title in the tribe, thanks to their teamwork in saving the convicted warriors, and he wanted to witness his special moment. It was clear that this meant a whole lot to the young Lakota brave and being his good friend, Spirit felt it was his duty to support him, even from the distance.

Around evening, once the ritualistic songs, poems, and dances were over, Sitting Bull at last brought up the importance of fearlessness in the face of death and how a certain young warrior amongst them had demonstrated courage, loyalty and bravery all on his own.

"He never gave up." Spoke the warlord, his voice vibrating with pride and admiration. "The situation was dire, unpredictable and frightening, but with a heart of a Mustang stallion, he fought off six bluecoats single-handedly. He had an otherworldly influence over a wild, spirited animal, who aided him with cunning precision. Moreover, a scared vision of the Tatanka Ska has come to him several times, indicating his personal and spiritual growth. We have a true , resilient warrior in our midst." Sitting Bull looked straight at the Lakota brave, addressing him enthusiastically. "Little Creek, from this day onward, may you be known as Tasunke Witko – Crazy Horse – the new "Shirt Wearer" of our great People of the Seven Council Fires."

Upon this announcement, the crowd erupted into cheerful cries as Little Creek gratefully walked up to the tribal elders and warlords to receive the "Shirt" which demonstrated this honourable appointment. He had tiny tears hidden behind his lids as he accepted the gift from Red Cloud and bowed. Never in a million years could he predict such a drastic change in his life. The moment he stepped up for his people, spoken against the U.S. Colonel's 'treaty' proposal and joined the rebels, his life-course had changed in a full swing. But even in that very second, he couldn't stop his brown pools from wandering over to his four-legged kindred soul, who was gazing at him from the meadows with an intelligent, understanding expression. To Little Creek, it looked as though he was smiling at him...he truly was.

How special and beautiful was his wild friend. How many humans possessed privilege of earning the friendship of a great, sentient being like this horse? Little Creek felt so lucky. It was he, the untamed golden Mustang, who had taught him to never give up. If he had come this far, it was all because of his wild-hearted, valiant friend.

"Thank you, Spirit" He mouthed softly, his heart full of joy. "Thank you, my friend."

The sunset lights were already fading around peaks of Grand Teton, and clouds were burning red and gold over the invisible valleys. The crows were laughing out their last laugh at the dying day. Night would come soon out of those mysterious clefts where the darkness already lay, and the two young horses must hurry if they were to find Azul before the twilight had faded completely. Bolder would have no problem dragging the journey for a day more if it weren't for Nova. Her presence set him off with an uneasy sensation and all he wanted to do was to find Azul and the small herd of mares as soon as possible, challenge that rogue and make sure Nova and the fillies were out of danger zone. He wished to get it over with swiftly, so that no harm could come to his loved one. But it seemed as though locating the whereabouts of the half-brother of Misty was not going to be an easy mission. As a lone stallion, Bolder was familiar with secluded spaces around their territory more than anyone. He had some idea where a first-time band stallion, who especially, had obtained mares with brutal force, would hide. The mountains were a great shelter, they generally provided isolation, particularly in the colder months when there was snow, concealing the refuge seekers with its white powdery curtain. Thankfully, it was still a little early for a snowfall, but the weather in the mountains was always unprecedented. Bolder mentally prepared himself for anything, secretly hoping that everything would go smoothly as far as Nova and the fillies were concerned. He didn't care about himself. He would somehow take on Azul.

As twilight fell – the pale, moonlight in which the beautiful pair of horses became one with their world – Bolder and Nova went quietly down off the steep hill, westwards to a ridge that lay between the silver-flowing creek, which must run into the cleft that looked so deep and dark at sunset and at dawning. In the thick timber of the ridge, they found a mustang track, and from what it appeared, the spoor was fresh. Their journey was mostly silent and calculated, Nova couldn't help noticing a different quality in Bolder which was never present in Spirit. Bolder moved like a calm, flowing river when traveling, while Spirit raced like the whirlwind, and even when he walked, it was as though a wind was passing through. She liked how comfortable she was with Bolder, no matter where they were headed or what they seemed to do. With Spirit, she had always pressured herself to be perfect, naively wishing that it would make the stallion fall for her. What an utter fool she had been!

High above the chasm, two eagles planed. None were Spirit's wise companion, but their elegance and fluidity was hard to ignore. Bolder felt fairly sure that they could see them, which fuelled his courage from the presence of the lords of the air, and he went on with greater confidence than before.

Presently they were on the soft, damp grass and paused to take in their surroundings. Bolder went to get a drink from the creek, inviting Nova to go with him and she agreed. Suddenly the blood-bay stallion's hair pricked up on end. There on the soft, moist earth was a hoofmark! He sniffed at it, and he stared and stared. It was almost the exact shape of Nova's near forefoot, and Nova was behind him and had been behind him all the time, also this spoor was at least an hour old. He examined the ground all around, but could not see another track. Everywhere else, except just at the creek, there was springy grass in which a horse made no track. They both moved silently up and down the little glade.

It was Nova who found the chestnut hair from a mane on a horizontal branch of a small tree. "Could that be Charm?" wondered Bolder. And just then he found another hoofmark, also a near forefoot, and it was broader and stronger – definitely a stallion's. Nova analyzed it too. "We had better be careful. That is the print of a stallion older and heavier than you, though perhaps not as fast. I fear, it may be Azul."

Raven's daughter had not yet finished uttering her words, when a high, clanking ring sounded in the ears of each horse. The noise was unheard of! Blood drained from both of their faces at this alien bell-ringing. Was it a strange bird making a call neither one of them had heard before? Was it a sound of some menacing predator? What was it?

"What in the devil's name is that?" Bolder muttered, protectively nudging the young mare behind him. "That can't be Azul, can it?" He glanced at Nova, overwhelmed with confusion.

The fear of the unknown can urge any creature to make unthinkable mistakes, yet what Nova was about to do was not a product of fear. "I don't think it is, but let's go and see."

"Nova, no! Wait!"

But the young mare had already galloped off in full speed, making it impossible for Bolder to stop and reflect about their sudden, reckless decision. Well, looks like he wasn't the only one influenced by Spirit.

Just then a shaft of sunlight pierced the opening of the forest from where the unearthly ringing sounded and touched the far end of the glade. Bolder stumbled, he was so certain he saw, in that shaft of light, a shadow. The two horse eased their gallop into a trot and hesitated to go into this glade, just edged around it, always in cover. Squinting their eyes, their nostrils suddenly flared and low and behold, in the middle of the open space, surrounded by woods was a stag. He was struggling fiercely in the centre, his left hind-leg was caught by a rope, which was then fastened on a branch of a small tree. Bolder and Nova's eyes widened when they realized what was making the odd noise. There was a metal object attached to the rope and every time the buck moved his snared leg, it produced the loud ringing sound.

Without further hesitation, Nova made to help the poor creature, but Bolder swiftly grabbed her mane, pulling her back towards him.

"It's a hunter's trap. He's doomed, there's nothing we can do."

"There's still time." Nova argued, horrified at what her mate had said to her. "We can't abandon him. We have to help him somehow."

"It's too dangerous." The stallion insisted. "We have four mares to rescue, remember?"

"Please, Bolder...my father told me what hunters do to deer once they catch them." Nova pleaded, tears welling up in her starlight eyes. "It's even more horrifying than what they do to us."

The young stallion dropped his head, realizing that it would indeed be very cruel to leave the unfortunate animal to such a nightmarish fate. As a Lone Stallion, he often remained in the woodland areas, spending his time in observing the creatures who inhabited that environment. He often ran into doe and their young, but seeing a stag was a rarity. With a seasonal changes of autumn and the approach of winter, Bolder knew that the male deer species were more common around this time of the year because of their rut season.

Panicky twitching of the stag escalated and the two horses rushed to his aid right away. "Don't worry, we'll help you." Nova assured, startling him even more.

"We mean you no harm." Bolder added as the buck stared at them with fearful eyes. "We see you're in trouble and would like to help you... if that's alright."

The stag seemed dumbstruck to hear these comforting words from the equine species. "You are...horses." He mumbled. "Why would you help me?" The way he asked that question made both Bolder and Nova feel for him. It was as though he didn't count himself worthy of any attention. Nova's gaze darted towards the scratched up body of the creature. It appeared like he had recently been in a fight. She knew it was normal for stags around the Autumn to challenge one another for mates, just like stallions did in the Springtime, but there was still so much sorrow in this creature's eyes...and loneliness. It was like he had no one to look out for him and his pessimism was paying a toll on him. His antlers were of medium size, indicating his young age. This was probably his first year of independence and already he had fallen into trap. His orbs were of deep dark green colour...it was unlike any eyes Nova had seen before and she found herself mesmerized by staring into them.

"Yes, we are." Answered Bolder. "But why should that matter?"

The stag scowled at the young stallion's response and rolled his eyes. It was obvious that he was quite arrogant and thought a great deal about himself. "Fine whatever, hurry then!"

"Try not to move your leg." Nova cautioned with gentleness. "There must be some reason why that object is sounding such an alarm."

"It's to alert the humans." Bolder concluded dreadingly, while Nova tried to quickly unfastened the rope with her teeth. The struggling buck stayed as still as he could master and before he knew it, the rope was sliding off his leg and he was once again free. He stared at the two horses in shock, not understanding why they would risk their lives to help his own kind. "Thanks, you two. I...no one has done anything like this for me before." He admitted quietly.

"Don't thank me..." Bolder corrected. "...thank Nova, it was her idea." The mare blushed at the way the stallion smiled at her and shrugged it off.

"We both wanted to help you."

The previous arrogant air of the young stag vanished as his features softened. "Thank you, Nova and thank you..." He regarded the stallion with a questionable look.

"Bolder."

He dipped his head, bowing his elegant antlers at them. "Yes, Bolder...thank you both." The stag seemed way more humble now.

Before he would spring deep into the forest, Nova called him. "What is your name, stranger?"

The young stag seemed hesitant to reply as he glanced from Nova to Bolder, debating whether to trust these extra-friendly mustangs. Indeed he was used to being all on his own because in truth, he had this entitled attitude about him that no deer found amusing, especially the does. "It's...Ronno." He finally gave in.

"It was pleasure to meet you, Ronno." Nova beamed like the North Star itself.

The young buck smiled at her and disappeared into the woods.

As soon as he had gone, Bolder and Nova continued their mission. They went on up the stream, pushing even more quietly through bushes till they came to another, far bigger, open glade. Here they could see some tracks of horses. A small creek came in from one side. Bolder decided to go up that a little way. This creek was clear all the way up. They had to climb quite sharply onto a broad shelf, and there, at the top end, they could see bones lying. The two young horses went nervously forward.

"I do not like this place," muttered Nova. "A horse has died here." Trembling a little, they still continued to walk forward to look more closely, their feet brushing through the crunching autumn leaves. The night's sky was clear and the moon was almost full and the air was cold, giving off ominous aura around their surroundings. They could sense with every prick of hair on their body that they were close to Azul's hideout, but it was dark and they had travelled for long. First, they both needed to regain their strength and rest for a while.

Knowing this, both Bolder and Nova attempted to sleep, but they were very restless, for the wind would not let them be still. All night long there was the sound of it wailing between the narrow rocks. All night long Bolder stirred and stirred, even listening through sleep for that neigh to be borne into the nearby canyon. Nova could not close her eyes either, Bolder's energy was rather too contagious. The young stallion knew that provided he did not have Nova with him, he was not really afraid of the brutish Azul. Important thing was for Nova to safely lead the fillies away from them and then, he could take it from there without a problem.

The wind raged over the mountains through the darkness, and when the first glimmer of dawn broke, wildly travelling clouds covered the sky. Bolder was ready to go…because he knew he must.

"Are you ready?" He asked Nova, giving her a sweet nuzzle on the neck.

"Born ready." The filly grinned.

The two horses crossed the stream where the darkness of night still seemed to lie. They leaped lightly from shelf to shelf as if they were moths flying up the cliff and getting smaller, smaller and smaller. Mingling with the windracked clouds, the pair vanished over the edge. The forest on the high plateau strained in the tearing wind, leaves glittering, streaming, straining, flying. Bolder was glad to be among the trees, though, because he had felt as if he would be blown off the cliff. Here at least the trees would stop him and Nova from being lifted bodily. They went trotting quietly along, in and out between the trees, not really knowing what awaited them, but being certain that they must try to help. Bolder thought that, if Azul and the mares were still on the high plateau, it was likely they had gone down the side of it as much out of the wind as possible, so he encouraged Nova to edge off the top along with him, but, even as he did so, a movement far ahead caught his eye – a flash of white, a silver tail.

"One of Cloud's daughters." He whispered to Nova, who nodded with her heart pounding. They were so close now. They were there, both horses had become sure of it. The fillies seemed to be racing round and round through the trees and playing in the wind! Suddenly it was almost all Nova could do to stop herself galloping to join them. With every pulse throbbing with excitement, both horses slid behind one tree and then another, getting closer and closer to where the young mares played. Then there was a flash of white dashing towards him. Bolder froze, ushering Nova behind him, as there was no scrub in which to hide. The wind picked up his mane and tossed it, blew out his glorious tail like a pennant. He was seen! Anyway what use was there in trying to hide? He drew himself rearing up, and, for the first time in his life, was conscious of his beauty and his strength. The white-and-silver filly, one of daughters of Cloud, propped to a standstill and stared. For a second Bolder saw her and a flash of a sooty chestnut filly – must be Scarlet's daughter, Charm – but with a scream of rage the navy stallion leapt in front of the mares, preventing them to leave, but then he, too, stood silent in amazement at the sight of the blood-bay stallion. Then he came swiftly, threateningly forward.

The devil seized Bolder! He leapt to one side, he dodged round the trees. He leapt behind Azul. For one wild instant his nose touched the soft nose of Nova as he assured her that all would be well, and then he swung away before the stallion's striking hoof could touch him. He galloped and dodged, propped and swung. He even dared a glancing blow at the heavy navy shoulder. He galloped again, swung round quite close to the fillies, who had huddled together, then away again with a kick of his heels that met the hide of the menacing stallion.

Nova knew that Bolder was trying all he could to distract the mean-spirited horse so that she could swiftly swoop in, round up the mares and run off with them. Gulping, she took a deep breath and nickered ever-so softly to the young mares, who were all watching the arising fight between the two determined stallions. "We must get out of here, quick!" She urgently cantered towards them and attempted to herd them together, circling around them. "Come, come!"

"We want to stay and watch the handsome blood-bay defeat him." One of the daughters of Cloud answered, looking impressed as she watched Bolder.

Nova was overcome with impatience. "He won't be able to defeat him if we don't get out of here." She insisted, striking her hoof deep in the ground and authoritatively, as would a lead mare, pressured the mares till they began to move off. "Come, Charm! Your mother sent us here. She is worried!" As soon as the young filly heard that, she snapped into a gallop and followed after Nova. The daughters of Cloud also went along with her, for they soon realized that it was their stallion Raven's daughter herself who had come to their rescue. Faith returned to each one of them as they darted after their lead mare.

Cold, cold, the wind tore at the small group of fillies. The trees, the branches, the leaves lashed and streamed in the wind, yet Nova kept on, leading them away from Azul. Her heart, however, remained back with Bolder as she prayed for his safety. The wind's voice filled the air, and yet there was the emptiness of no other sound. Silently the young horses flowed through the trees, on, on, hither and thither. The weather had changed for the worse and Nova's heart was skipping like no other. Galloping as fast as she could, she successfully led the four mares out of Azul's temporary home. At the moment, they were all hurrying into the cover of the trees, but an opening of the glade was far too tempting to resist and Nova chose to take that route. But it didn't take her long to realize what a mistake that had been. Straight ahead, she could make out strange figures rushing towards them. With great horror, she came to a conclusion that a hunter's dogs were barking and aggressively charging their way, probably mad that they had failed to find a stag. The mares became white with fear, but Nova couldn't afford to dwell on it for long, no matter how terrifying this situation looked. She simply couldn't lose herself to blind panic. Swinging round, she directed the small, paralyzed herd and snapped them to gallop backwards. "No one panic! Follow me!" She encouraged them, even though she had no idea which path to take to escape their new predators.

Just then, like a guardian angel sent from above, a familiar young buck bounded out of the woodlands as he called her with gravity. "I know the way, Nova! Come with me! Come!"

Without a second thought, Nova raced after him, making sure that all four of the mares were following her as well. Ronno led the female party into a dense forest, which caused Charm and Cloud's daughters to hesitate a little bit. Neither one of them were used to it, having spent most of their lives in the open plains. "Don't fear, let's go." Nova reassured them. The dogs were still hot on their trail and she looked back just in time to see a dark silhouette take an equine form in front of the forest entrance and then the aggressive barking died down, instead a yelping noise of pain was heard. She wasn't certain about what had happened for she quickly turned her attention back on following after Ronno and keeping all the mares safe. But it wouldn't be a far-stretch to assume that they were no longer being chased. Perhaps, Bolder had come to their defence?

She had been wrong.

It had not been her stallion.

In the meantime, Bolder and Azul had reared up, meeting one another chest on, both of their force so great that they nearly knocked over each other. Suddenly there were flailing hooves all around the blood-bay, teeth ripped at him and hail started to come lashing down. Round as southern tornados the two stallions spun, rearing, struggling, squealing. Bolder felt that he would never get his breath again, for not only was he fighting his opponent but he was also galloping onward, leading him as far away as possible from Nova and the mares. He gasped and choked when the teeth of Azul almost took out a chunk from his rump. The navy stallion was blind with anger as he struck at him once more, but Bolder whirled round and went for the attack, tearing skin from his shoulder. Azul let out a chilling scream and clasped his teeth on the blood-bay's withers, all the while ramming him with his body. Bolder was toppled on the hard ground, Azul beat and struck the side of his shoulder. Even though his right foreleg and shoulder were hurting him constantly, Bolder managed to dodge and strike as he flew up again – to keep himself out of range and yet spring in and bite – and all the time the wind pushed and shoved the two horses, and the hail and rain beat down. An unusually sharp blast nearly knocked Bolder over as he reared. His hind legs trembled as he steadied himself. Then he had to drop onto all four legs if he wished to remain upright. In a moment the wind was taking them, twisting them, driving them, throwing them towards the edge and the cliffs and screes, down the side of the high plateau.

The blood-bay caught a glimpse of the dark navy shape of retreating Azul crashing among scrub and bushes at the very edge, and only just stopping himself from being blown over. An even stronger blast of wind tore at them. Now the fight was against the wind, to get across it, and get away from the cliff. Bolder was becoming very lame, but he tried his best to hurry to Nova, who was without doubt waiting for him. He forced himself into a gallop, but the bitter cold weather of wind and sleet made it difficult to see where the mares might've gone. At last, exhausted, and so lame that he could barely go down the cliff with safety, he spotted a figure of a black horse calling him.

"This way. Into the forest. Into the forest."

Before Bolder could blink, the strange horse vanished from view and instead, he was met with Nova's sweet embrace as she rushed out of the greenwood trees to greet him.

"Oh, thank goodness! You are alright." She touched her lips against his, brushing against his cheek. "I thought those dogs hurt you."

"What dogs?" The stallion was confused as he glanced at the four mares huddled together behind Nova.

The daughter of Sirius knitted her eyebrows. "You mean to tell me, you didn't scare off the hunter's dogs just now to get them to stop chasing us?"

"No, I only returned from fighting with Azul." Bolder said surprised.

Nova was perplexed as she wondered what she had seen right before entering the forest. Who had saved her? Judging by the look that Bolder gave her, she decided that he may know more than what he claimed.

"Was it a dark silhouette of a horse?" Bolder questioned.

"Yes."

"I suggest you spent a night in the forest until those hunters go away." Ronno spoke up suddenly as he emerged from the cover of the trees, causing Bolder to gape at him with wide eyes.

"What is he doing here?" He turned to Nova in shock.

"Ronno saved us."

The young stag smirked, waving it away mindlessly. "No big deal. I'm just returning the favour."

"Thanks, Ronno." Smiled Bolder, his eyes transfixed on the beautiful filly of Raven instead. If it hadn't been for her, none of this would be possible. Would he even succeed in helping these four mares without her? He doubted it. She had become his rock, his strength, his true partner. They made a perfect team and he thought he couldn't love her more like he loved her in that very second. The more time he spent knowing her, the harder he fell for her. She had become his North Star on which he used to make a wish when he was just a little colt.

I always wanted to create a crossover between Spirit and Bambi. I thought the misunderstood character of Ronno deserved a bit of a redemption arc. As for Little Creek, yes he is our historical Crazy Horse. This idea was born when I read somewhere that the producers of SSOTC were inspired by Crazy Horse and Geronimo when writing Little Creek's character. And since the Colonel is General Custer, it was only appropriate to turn Little Creek into Crazy Horse.

IMPORTANT NOTICE:

"This Is Where We Belong ll - SPIRIT of the WEST" will be on a hiatus until the month of April. There are still important events that must take place to reach the climax of this story before the big wrap-up. I hate rushing and I want to give these characters and my readers a satisfying, well-deserved conclusion, which requires more time on my part and patience on your part, dear readers. Thank you so much to everyone who supported me throughout this fun journey and left encouraging reviews. This is the longest story I have ever written! I am very lucky to have such loyal readers and I cherish each and every one of your constructive comments. Thank you all so much and I hope to see you in April!

Side-note: Don't worry, I will still be here. Those of you who may be interested in my writing, I will be posting a brand new story about a very tragic and gut-wrenching movie which centres around the most intelligent animals in the whole world. I finally feel confident enough in my writing skills to pay a respectful tribute to one of my favourite movies that left a lasting effect on me since I was a tiny girl. If you haven't seen "Orca: The Killer Whale", I strongly recommend you check it out.

Till Spring, mi amigos!