Chapter 6

Mischievous Mare

Once we approached the Lakota Village, I smiled to myself overlooking my homeland once again. I was so grateful and relieved that everything turned out alright and my guardian was unharmed. But we had failed to bring the important supplies to our tribe, and that was quite an embarrassment. Instead of helping the village, we had brought this new stallion to care for now. I heard him snort in frustration and I glanced back at him, little annoyed. It was obvious that he wasn't really excited about being here with us...so why couldn't he just hit the rode and leave? Unless...I stared up at my owner in surprise. What if he wanted to replace me with someone stronger and better? Without doubt, this mustang was gorgeous. He had a wonderful yellow coat with black points and dorsal stripe on his back. He looked majestic. And he was a stallion! With time, he'd make an excellent war horse. All of the brave warriors rode courageous stallions. I knew that Little Creek wanted to fight for his tribe and be an admired warrior like his father, but I never thought that he'd actually want to replace me. My dark thoughts suddenly vanished again when Little Creek wrapped his arms around me and whispered. "My girl. My one and only."

I smiled in triumph. No! He would never leave me and neither would I ever leave him. And this proud mustang would NOT come between us.

As we made our way to the wooden round pen, Little Creek parted from his human friends and I bid goodnight to both Great Conquest and Dawn. Once they retired to their own compounds, Little Creek led me and the mustang in the round pen, and slid off my back. He moved towards the stallion carefully, who stood in the corner with his head lowered. The crickets chirped in the night as the stars twinkled beautifully. Little Creek held his hands up, moving to take off the horse's bridle. I remained motionless and continued watching the scene unfold before me in slight curiosity.

"Steady...Steady. I'm not gonna hurt you." Little Creek murmured in his gentle voice, reminding me of the first time we had met. He had used the same sweet and soft tone. The stallion however, moved away from him cautiously. Little Creek gently reached forward and slipped the leather bride of the mustang's face. "Nice and easy."

The stallion nodded his head thankfully, quite glad that the uncomfortable equipment was finally off his mouth and face. I looked at him in surprise, sort of understanding that he was not very used to our ways. And he especially didn't trust humans. The mustang's brown eyes suddenly settled on me and I immediately glanced away, not wanting to be caught staring. Little Creek placed the bridle over the fence of the pen, and I looked back again only to find the stallion's eyes again on me. His genuine, warm gaze made me soften at him.

The mustang's wild and fearsome look had faded that night. It seemed as if he realized that not all humans were that bad. I began to wonder what exactly happened to these two in that fortress...

As the mustang fell asleep, Little Creek placed fresh apples in a pile next to him and opened the gate. I trotted briskly out of the pen, and it closed behind me. I stopped and smiled at Little Creek, who scratched my nose affectionately and left for his tent. I gazed back at the stallion, who was fast asleep, obviously tired and overwhelmed with the day's events. His rhythmical breathing was so relaxing. Who was he? Why was he so mysterious? And why did he catch my attention?

I dipped my head and closed my blue eyes as I lost myself in the world of sleep. But even in dreams for some reason, this stallion made an appearance. Mostly, I dreamt how he tried to steal Little Creek from me. But there was also something else. His warm gaze, the way he looked at me...why couldn't I just get him out of my head and dreams?!

At last the morning came and I awoke, pulling myself up from the ground and making my way towards other tribe ponies.

"Good morning Rain!" Dawn greeted me with a cheerful neigh, as I joined her and other group of mares.

"Good morning." I returned with a smile mingling with the tribe horses.

"What's going on? Did you find out who that stallion is?" She asked me curiously, her head tilting towards the round pen where the mysterious mustang was confined in.

Other mares also nickered, curiosity rising in their eyes.

"No, not yet." I made a short reply, as the rest of the horses approached, most of them were war stallions. They scented the newcomer in the distance, their nostrils flaring in defense.

"Rain, who's that stallion anyway? Why was he with your owner?" Great Conquest demanded, his body was all tensed up.

"Little Creek will handle it." I said calmly. "He is the one who brought him here."

"Do you think he's trouble?" Asked a black mare with a worried nicker.

"I don't know." I replied in honesty. "But I trust my owner and know that he would never endanger any of us. The stallion looks like a wild mustang, who is not used to humans. That's all." As I said it, my eyes shifted towards Great Conquest, who seemed to ease up a little bit.

Soon enough, our human companions arrived to spend some quality time with us and to start a new working day. I left to search for Little Creek for he wasn't there among them. In no time, I found my friend conversing with the chief of the tribe. Their conversation was again very serious and important, I knew that they were discussing the failed mission. I decided to give them space and went away to graze. All the grass was so lush and extra delicious today. I happily feasted, not paying much attention to anything around me. Few days ago, I had been so stressed and worried for my Little Creek, that I couldn't even bring myself to look at food. I was so glad that things were better now. I finally began to loosen up again and be at ease. In the distance, I heard someone calling for me. It was a soft nicker...But I didn't care to know who it was. It definitely wasn't Little Creek, so why should I care about anyone else? I was busy! They could wait.

Suddenly, a very loud and obnoxious squeal startled me. I looked up and saw the wild mustang stallion, pawing the ground desperately in his round pen. Wait...was he calling for me? His eyes were all wide, his whines grew louder, as he tried to gain my attention. I lowered my head again, not giving a single thought to him. Obviously, my indifferent action frustrated him even more. So this time, he neighed proudly, prancing around to show off his fancy moves. Ugh, typical stallion behavior! I had seen other studs displaying a similar attitude many times. He wasn't the only one. If this was his way of impressing me...well, he had another thing coming! I rolled my eyes and chose to act as if I could care less if he was there.

"Pretty one, come over here!" He called, not daring to give up. It was obvious that he was always used to getting his way. I raised my head, my ears pricked towards him. He thought he was charming. Poor thing! Yes, he was handsome. But that just wasn't enough to tempt me.

At that moment, Little Creek's sharp whistle reached my ears from behind me, and I instantly looked back. There he was, my owner...standing tall and proud. Facing the stallion again, I nickered, my eyes sparkling with mischief. I wanted to torment him some more. So I decided to give him the illusion of falling for his charms. The stallion nodded at me slowly, his eyes lighting up with excitement, foolishly believing that I'd go to him. Almost immediately, I turned and pranced towards Little Creek, laughing inside as I heard stallion's bewildered snort.

Little Creek greeted me with sweet words and stroked my face. I playfully nipped at his long braids, he however ran away from me. I darted after him, chasing him this way and that, both of us resembling bunch of lovestruck yearlings. Eventually, my two-legged buddy fell to the ground. I quickly galloped up to his side. Worried, I touched his face with my muzzle. He jumped with a laugh and I raced away again. Haha, he was pretending to be sick! Our playfulness continued for a while and the wild mustang watched us completely dumbfounded. Afterwards, both Little Creek and I went for a trail ride. As I was heading out, I secretly snuck a glance at the handsome stallion, who kept staring at us with an utmost shock and...disgust? I wasn't quite sure what his feelings were, but he was definitely not accustomed to being rejected and chosen over a two-legged. Well, that was me... full of mischief, sass and surprises.

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