Chapter 25

Torn Two Ways

Spirit's hardened features became softer, his fiery eyes were now slightly downcast. He searched my face, forcing a small smile on his muzzle. "Oh Rain," he muttered breathlessly, pressing his forehead against mine. "I will never forgive myself if you get hurt because of me." He finished, gazing intently in my blue eyes. His expressions were of someone with great determination and concern.

I knew he was used to being a confident leader and a protector of others, but I loved him and I wanted him to be safe. So by all means, if I were again forced in a similar situation I would gladly do it all over again. "I can say the exact same thing about you." I responded, slight grin animated my countenance.

Spirit snorted, clearly not approving what I had just said to him. "Rain, I'm serious. I mean it, alright?" He nickered lovingly, despite the seriousness of his tone. "Never again."

I chewed on my lip nervously, understanding where my brave stallion was coming from and yet there was this part of me that didn't quite agree with him. I didn't say anything, averting my gaze, I lowered my neck to scratch the itch from my forleg.

"Promise?" Spirit tilted his head gently, waiting patiently for my response.

Sassy little smile appeared on my face, as I let my neck stretch out to him, my muzzle barley touching his. "Look at you, already asking me to keep promises." I laughed, but Spirit snorted with bewildered expression.

"Meaning?" He asked, swishing his long tail, clearly irritated.

"Meaning that I'll protect my loved ones at any cost... promise or no promise." I expelled another soft laugh, my eyes sparkling with mischief as I met his deep gaze.

Spirit stared at me in silence and shock.

"You'll be the end of me, Rain." The stallion remarked finally with a shake of his head, realizing that it was useless to argue with me. "You're so irritatingly stubborn and yet so enchanting" Spirit gasped, tossing his forlock over his eyes like a young colt.

"I should've stayed away from your spell." He finished with a smirk and chucked slightly, when he noticed me rolling my eyes at that.

Nickering with delight, Spirit gently caressed my muzzle with his own, purring softly in his throat. For a long moment he held me there, his tenderness never failing to melt my heart. And in that very second I wished this to never ever seize. I realized that despite our many differences in life, we were also so much alike. It was quite fascinating how much in common I happened to have with this wild stallion.

Spirit unbearably broke our lips' embrace and closed his eyes, slowly reaching for my cheek, and hid his expressive eyes under my long, flaxen mane. "You and I, come from very different worlds, pretty mare."He started with a raspy tone, as if reading my own thoughts. "But my greatest wish is for us to always remain together." He whispered, his voice kind of heavy with overflowing emotion.

"No one will separate us." I assured, sweetly brushing his neck with my muzzle.

I'll admit, I was taken aback when he spoke these words to me, after all, I was beginning to think that Spirit wanted to remain here in my homeland. Little Creek and I would take a wonderful care of him. Maybe he just needed some time to adjust to this place? I was positive that by Spring, he'd be in love with my home.

With a great sigh, the handsome Mustang lifted his head upright again, striding towards the Lakota camp. "Let's get you back to your human before he starts looking for us." Spirit said to me, as we began walking forward.

"Or before everyone else start speculating that you ran me all the way to your wild herd." I commented with a giggle and Spirit couldn't help but laugh at that.

"Yeah, obviously those who say that know nothing about your extreme stubbornness." He winked, playfully pulling my forlock.

"Oh, as if you're a model of obedience." I sassed back, a teasing little smirk appearing on my face.

"Compared to you, I sure am." He chuckled, quickening his pace as we both trotted on.

Well, can't argue at that...I was really headstrong when it came to certain situations especially, if it involved my human and my homeland.

The days continued to pass peaceably, the colorful leaves fell, the warm temperatures changed into cool breezy ones, the air was often crispy and I knew that Winter was no longer far away. The humans kept hunting and supplying their food for the season. The lush, green grass had become brown (almost like a dirt) and dry so now we, horses, had to switch to hay. It was good and all, but never as delicious as the fresh pasture grass.

Spirit and I were inseparable. The more time we spent with each other, the more deeply we fell for one another. From playful conversations, to fun-loving folicking, to things that I wasn't suppose to do...but did it anyway with him. The list goes on and on, we did everything together. I showed him the secrets, the tricks, and the hidden nooks and crannies that only I knew about.

To tell you the truth, I was never sure what my Little Creek thought of our mutual fondness to one another. Did he know about us? Could he tell just how close we were? Was it obvious? Spirit wasn't afraid to hide his feelings and emotions...he was so open, it was ridiculous. Whenever I would walk by his corral, he'd openly and shamelessly flirt with me as if we were alone. It was cute but risky!

Even then, I never really got if my human understood how serious my relationship with the Mustang was.

On a different note, my wild stallion was growing milder towards Little Creek, which made my heart happy and so full of joy. No longer was he acting up aggressively, or charging at him in fury. In fact, Spirit was slowly beginning to enjoy his company. Of course, he still didn't allow him on his back, but now Little Creek was allowed to stroke his neck and Spirit playfully tested his patience at times. It was so amusing to watch the two. I was confident that Spirit would soon accept this way of life and settle down here.

One day as my stallion was released back to his pen for the evening, Little Creek and I were calmly making our way back to the camp.

No matter what, me and my boy always stuck by each other. Our undeniable connection and deep bond meant everything to me. He showered me with sweet words as always, brushing and petting me affectionately. On our way we were met up by Long Knife, who was mounted on his war stallion, the one and only Great Conquest. Now Long Knife was one of those extremely proud and full of himself humans. He was older than my boy and far more experienced warrior and on top of that, he owned a war stallion. So of course, he was smug about his achievements but despite their differences, Little Creek always found a common ground with him. They were still good friends.

"There you two are!" Exclaimed Long Knife, looking down at us from his stallion.

Little Creek raised an eyebrow at him and then glanced back at me.

I met Great Conquest's honey-colored gaze little shyly and turned back to my human, who was standing next to me, questionably staring at his friend.

"What is it?" Asked my human with his usual soft tone. "Just got back from the hunt?"

"Yes indeed." Quickly responded Long Knife and dismounted Great Conquest. "Look I really want to talk to you about our horses." He said as he put the reins over the grey stallion's neck.

My ears perked forward in curiosity and I gave Great Conquest a side-eye, he in turn snorted with a small shake of his head. It was obvious that he had no idea what his owner wanted to talk about.

"I'm listening." Little Creek spoke simply.

"Well, do you remember when I said I wanted couple of foals sired by this magnificent creature?" Long Knife started, giving a nice pet to the stallion. Almost immediately both Great Conquest and I froze, and heat rushed to my cheeks. I was slowly realizing where this conversation was heading.

"Yes, of course. He'll sire a beautiful offspring." Little Creek joined in with a smile.

"I have no doubts about that." Long Knife grinned confidently. "However in order to produce quality offspring we'll need a quality mare." He smirked, his eyes settling on me.

I felt so uncomfortable in that very second and I couldn't help but notice how awkward the grey stallion himself had become. I glanced at Little Creek who remained quiet in this exchange.

"Your mare is perfectly striking. So what do you say? Want to help the lovers do their thing next Spring?" Long Knife continued, grinning from head to toe.

Ugh, I wanted to just turn away and gallop as far from this situation as possible. I've never felt so uncomfortably agonized in a while. I could barley lock eyes with Great Conquest.

Again, there was silence as all of us awaited for my human's response. After what seemed like hours, Little Creek finally spoke up. "My mare is fond of a different stallion."

I jerked my head up in surprise...I definitely was not waiting for such a reply from my human. From the corner of my eye, I noticed how Great Conquest's expressions darkened and fell.

"Ah, so the rumors are true then. She and that wild Mustang are a pair." Long Knife concluded with an understanding nod.

"Yes, as the matter of fact they're very smitten." Little Creek confirmed, shocking me greatly.

So he knew all this time?

WOW!

"Well, looks like she really did tame that wild stallion. Although, I still think she and Great Conquest would've made beautiful foals." Long Knife laughed slightly, slight disappointment written all over his face.

"I'm not going to force anything on Rain, she's free to choose her own mate." My boy stated in determination, and was ready to end the conversation.

"So are we going to have dun paints next Summer?" Long Knife teased, earning an eye-roll from Great Conquest who looked extremely fed up with this conversation.

"Only time will tell." Muttered Little Creek and winked at me as we left their presence.

"Your two-legged is smarter than I thought." Spirit nickered in surprise the next day, when I had told him what happened. He and I were strolling about the territory, enjoying each other's company on a chilly Autumn afternoon.

I smirked at that, trying to hide the amused little smile on my muzzle. But Spirit noticed it anyway and raised his eyebrows.

"What?" He asked, curious to find out what I was thinking about.

"Nothing." I shook my head with a giggle. "It's funny how you don't give him enough credit."

Spirit playfully rolled his eyes at that. "Fine, maybe I was a little wrong but-"

"But what?" I threw in, laughing at how defensive he was.

Spirit stopped as his eyes focused on me, his gaze was lit with brilliant glow. He blinked in fascination. "You...take my breath away." He spoke softly at last, making me blush in surprise at his sudden sweetness.

Reaching out, I rubbed my cheek against his, as his muzzle moved towards mine. His thick, masculine neck pulled me in an embrace and we remained there, exchanging our body heat. Due to cold weather and season's changes, our Winter coats were beginning to grow again.

We slowly broke away, and a mischievous smile spread across my features while my blue eyes sparkled naughtily. "You know," I started with a sultry slur. "Why don't we go do something else now?" I suggested slowly, teasing grin appearing on my lips and leaned forward expectantly.

Spirit swallowed hard, surprised at my confident and forward gesture. He blinked, not knowing what to make of my flirty little behavior. His eyes trailed from my face to my flank and just then, before he'd get any ugentlemanly ideas, I swiftly smacked him with my tail.

"I meant going for a run, you stud!"

The previous eased up stallion now quickly jerked his head up due to the unexpected tail flick, snorting loudly he stared at me in puzzlement.

"Why you little tease!" He exclaimed. "I'll get you one of these days!" He laughed, slightly annoyed at how easily he kept falling for my pesky little tricks and pranks.

"I'd like to see you try." I giggled with a girlish little nicker and began loping forward.

In matter of seconds, we were both running towards the open fields in full speed. We galloped, leaped up and down joyfully, skipped in the meadows like couple of yearlings, circled one another with lovestruck nickers. Spirit playfully bucked and reared, showing off his extremely good looks and I gracefully, with dainty movements danced around him, my blue eyes fluttering seductively. It would've been so much more fun if we weren't tied to the mutual neck rope. We'd chase each other and play more freely. But of course, this was just as amazing. We resembled deers of the forest as we jumped and pranced so happily. Generally, our own kind weren't so affectionate and lovesick around this time of the year. Everyone knew spring and summer were the seasons of romance an love making. And yet despite the fall and winter without doubt approaching the country, spring was raging on in the hearts of Spirit and me.

We stopped our lovers display when we trotted up to a large hill that overlooked the entire settlement of the village. Spirit and I sighed as the wind blew past our long manes. It was such a beautiful sight, the sun was slowly setting, sending a striking reddish gleam over the lands. The tall mountains in the distance looked absolutely magnificent. We both stood there, taking in all the wonderful scenery in contentment.

Just then, we both heard a high pitched squeal - a cry of an eagle to be exact. Spirit's eyes lit up in excitement as he recognized his old friend. The eagle called out to my stallion from a far, circling the mountains, flapping his elegant wings. Instantly Spirit replied with an eager neigh, briefly telling him of his journey and how well he was doing in the village. The eagle looked disappointed in him, and something changed in my stallion, the sadness was evident on his handsome features. He hung his head low, his bright eyes fell as he watched his friend fly away and leave him once again.

When the eagle was gone and out of sight, I nickered softly to Spirit concerned.

"Are you alright?"

Spirit managed to rip his eyes from the direction where his friend was mere seconds ago, and turned back to me. "Yeah, I'm fine." He lied, forcing a small smile on his face.

I wasn't buying it. It was obvious that the unexpected visit from his old friend had reminded my stallion of his freedom and his wild herd. I didn't want him to go but at the same time, I wanted him to be happy. We began calmly walking back to the Lakota camp, Spirit lagged behind me a bit, not saying anything. I realized that he was conflicted and torn.

"It's okay to miss your old life." I spoke up gently, hating this sudden silence between us.

Spirit stopped, as I turned to face him. His brown pools were now warmly fixed on me.

"You can talk to me." I assured, my tone comforting and soft.

Spirit took a deep breath, his gaze was filled with sorrow and his thoughts were troublesome. "I not only miss it, Rain...I crave it. It's my homeland. I belong there." He explained honestly, making part of my heart sink in sadness at this.

So much for wanting him to get used to this life.

He caught my blue eyes and continued. "But I don't want to go without you. I can't stand the thought of not being with you."

"Then what do you suggest we do?" I asked uneasily, my stomach dropping. "I want you to be happy."

Spirit nuzzled me affectionately, rubbing his muzzle against my nose. "I'm happy when I'm with you." He whispered sweetly, making my heart soar again.

"This might sound crazy," Spirit whinned gently. "but what if you come with me?"

My eyes grew wide at that suggestion and I gasped in surprise. "Spirit, you know that I can't." I whispered quietly.

"Why not?"

"Because I belong here. This is my home and I can't just abandon my Little Creek."

Spirit rolled his eyes at my last sentence. "Of course not." He scoffed sarcastically.

"What's that suppose to mean?" I snapped in irritation.

"He's a two-legged, Rain. You belong with your own kind." Spirit insisted, his powerful legs, striking the ground in frustration.

"I can't believe you're saying that." I responded, clearly not expecting this conversation to take such a turn. "What you're suggesting is an absurd. I won't ever leave him." I argued stubbornly.

"What about us? Why is your scrawny human always our shadow?!" Spirit burst furiously. "Why do we always have to listen to him? It'll be only matter of time until he starts attending our mating and begins planning foals. I refuse to be his little pet! I'm a lead stallion of my band and I want you to come with me and become my mate, instead you'd rather be with him than me!" This was a much needed outlet on Spirit's behalf, he was conflicted and just utterly torn but I got quite angry at him.

"H-how dare you?" I muttered, grimacing from the emotional pain he was causing me. "You have no rights to demand such things from me! He is my only family, this is my home! Why are you making me choose?!" I cried, tears beginning to build up in my blue eyes.

Realizing that he had messed up, Spirit immediately regretted hurting me like that with his sharp words. "Rain, no." He begged gently "Please don't be upset. I'm sorry. I'm an idiot." He nuzzled me again, his expressions tender and guilt-ridden. "Let's forget about this whole thing, alright?"

He didn't want to lose me no matter what. Even if we didn't agree and had completely different, conflicting goals from one another, Spirit still wanted to cherish our relationship and bond. And I didn't want to lose him either. But I how could we forget this? I started to realize that this was only the beginning of our complications. We would have many more arguments and disagreements. Both of us were stubborn and devoted to our homelands, forcing each other to accept one way of life or the other was unfair.

Either way, one of us would have to give up our homeland in the end.

My heart sank in devastation as I understood that sooner or later, I'd be forced to choose between Spirit and Little Creek. I couldn't bear the thought of never being with my stallion...I had fallen utterly and hopelessly in love with him. But how could I ever leave my caring human?...my loyalty always belonged to him.

So thus, I found myself torn two ways.