Roxas glanced around warily before lowering his head wearily, cropping half-heartedly at the browning grass.

Being in the wilderness, he was finding, had very serious drawbacks. The Baron's pasture had been nice, with shady trees and a little pool as well as plenty of puddles for mud rolling. Good hay to supplement the grass and a bit of grain as well. Now he had only grass and the summer heat was oppressive. Finding water was a problem although fortunately, he could smell it from fairly far away. Unfortunately he was jittery as hell. Every instinct he had was telling him he was in danger. Sleeping was a struggle and Roxas had mostly given up. He'd figured out that it was because horses were herd animals and he had no herdmates. As much as his human mind wanted to, it couldn't overcome his instincts. That proved to be his saving grace, though, when the puma nearly got him.

Roxas' human mind had been wandering when he walked under the tree. His horse mind had suddenly panicked and lunged forward when a strange, pungent odor reached him. Roxas had been jolted back to the present just in time to feel a brush of wind and hear a snarl as the cat pounced just a moment too late. His human mind quickly assessed his chances and agreed with the horse that flight was the best option… the only option really, since his panicked bolt had already started. The cat chased him and Roxas pushed himself mercilessly, sensing the cat far too close behind him. But finally he pulled away and after a few more crushing minutes, came to a stop.

That was too close. Too close. Spent adrenaline left a sour taste in his mouth and Roxas found that he was trembling. He'd hardly ever been this frightened, but he'd never been this helpless before. His only defense as a horse was to run away. And what kind of defense was that? I need to find other horses. A herd meant safety, safety in numbers. But a wild herd or a domestic one?

Roxas faced the question reluctantly. Both options had drawbacks. If he tried to find wild horses, he'd be safer for the short term. He was young and strong, predators would target older or sicker horses before him. There would be no risk of being gelded. On the other hand, polymorph spells didn't last forever. When it finally wore off he'd be left in the middle of the wilderness, butt naked and surrounded by a bunch of wild horses. Roxas was a resourceful assassin but he wasn't a hunter and even if he was, hunters didn't go around completely naked. He wasn't sure how long the spell would last either. Magic was not, well, magic. You got what you put in and to make a spell permanent usually required some sort of a matrix to hold a self-sustaining resource pool. The matrix was usually an item, like a ring, amulet or sword. If the wizard had dropped an amulet on him the spell might be the type that lasted decades, but he hadn't, so Roxas gave it a year at the most. A few months at the earliest, and most likely it would wear off somewhere in between. So maybe six months which would put him in the middle of winter. Resourceful or not, Roxas gave himself a very poor chance of survival if that happened while he was in a wild herd.

That left a domestic herd. The obvious drawback was that the humans around might want to take his balls off. He was a pretty color and had good conformation, but he was short for a stallion. Maybe someone would be breeding ponies…? Of course, that opened up a completely different problem. If anyone let him keep his balls it would be to use them. Roxas shuddered a bit at the thought of breeding with a mare. He didn't even like women, but would he have any choice if he was presented with a mare in heat? Would the instincts take over? Or even worse, what if they didn't? No one would want to keep him a stallion if he refused to breed. And would there be foals? The thought was fascinating and disgusting. Roxas didn't know enough about polymorphs to be sure either way. And would they want to ride him?

Roxas sighed to himself and finally made a decision. He had to find a domestic herd. It was the only way he could be safe in this defenseless body. Lifting his head, he concentrated on seeking out water. He was very thirsty now.

Finding a herd could wait a bit.

Roxas pricked his ears at a faint sound. Had that been a whinny?

Finding a domestic herd hadn't been easy. Roxas' knowledge of geography was good, but without the aid of a loadstone or a map he was a bit out to sea. He'd finally just used the sun and concentrated on going north, out of the Steel Vale. The Vale didn't have many big horse breeders but their northern neighbors, the unaligned Free Lands, specialized in horse breeding and herding. There wasn't much else to do there. Roxas was a bit hazy on how it worked, but the big hills of the Steel Vale grew into a mountain range on the eastern edge of the Free Lands. Those mountains blocked the winds that carried moisture, resulting in a cold desert in the worst spots and scrub brush in the rest. It was vast though, and plenty of small rivers ran down from the mountain, fed by glacial runoff. With the huge ranges they could still manage large numbers of cattle and horses.

For the past week, he'd been on those open ranges. They were beautiful, full of flowing prairie grasses and prickly, vicious cactuses. Roxas knew those cacti though and had devised a clever way of breaking them open with the tips of his hooves. The liquid inside wasn't much but he'd managed to free himself from the desperate need to find water. The sunsets and sunrises were glorious, full of burnished reds and vibrant pinks. The beauty of the land tempted him to stay but he the calls of coyotes and the deeper howls of wolves reminded him that he needed a herd. So he kept moving.

Now he thought he'd heard something. It might have been a horse but he wasn't sure. Roxas pricked his ears and speeded his pace. The promise of safety beckoned him on and when he spotted telltale smoke his trot turned into a canter. Roxas felt a great relief as he crested a ridge and saw hundreds of horses.

Well, not that many. Roxas paused for a moment, trying to take an accurate count before he joined them. He finally decided there was somewhere between fifty and a hundred horses in this herd, being driven by a handful of men and dogs. Although they dogs weren't actually going near the horses. They were fanned out around the herd and Roxas thought they were meant to protect from a daring wolf or coyote attack. There were some weanlings in the herd that might be tempting for a wolf to snatch.

He joined the herd easily. The dogs ignored him except to get out of the way and the horses ignored him as well. The men herding the horses were on the lookout for strays, not newcomers and didn't register him either. Roxas knew that wouldn't last but he'd take it for now. He was feeling a bit tense now. Someone would notice he was a stallion sooner or later. Roxas tried to see if any of the other horses in the herd were stallions and only managed to spot one, a very tall, jet black creature with a flowing mane and feathers. He looked like a fairy tale horse and Roxas idly wondered how much he'd cost. He'd never have bought a horse like that. Too flashy and expensive, but many nobles would certainly like one.

The sun was directly overhead and Roxas was feeling thirsty when the herd ground to a halt. Roxas was puzzled at first then perked his ears as he saw the men hard at work at a pile of rocks. Was that a concealed well? The water poured into a natural stone basin quickly confirmed his suspicions. The horses crowded around but the slow refilling of the water ensured none of them drank too quickly. Roxas quickly joined the group around the water source and snapped at a gelding that tried to crowd him. He knew a bit more about how horses worked now and was determined not to be relegated to the bottom of the status pole this time. Roxas took a deep drink of the cold, clean water and lifted his head to find one of the men staring at him. Almost a boy, he had short cropped brown hair and plenty of dirt on his face.

"Hey Rosco! Where'd we get the pally?" Roxas was briefly confused before he realized the boy was referring to his color. An older man who bore a family resemblance walked over and Roxas tensed. He'd find out soon if he had to make a quick escape.

"Dunno. That's strange." The man pushed back his hat and scratched a scalp that was beginning to go bald. "I thought we only had that big draft mare pally. That's a gelding."

"No dad, I think that's a stallion." The boy corrected and the man grunted, trying to get a better look through the crush of horses. Roxas sighed to himself and cocked his hip, deliberately confirming the information. "Should we geld him dad?"

"On the march? Not a chance!" The man spat to the side and Roxas felt a great relief. "He might bleed too much. Let's get him to the Busy Solitude ranch first." Roxas blinked slowly at that. Busy Solitude? What kind of a name was that? "If they want to geld him they can do it. Even if they don't pay much, he's free anyway." That gave Roxas another worry. But at least his balls were safe for the moment.

The next week involved a lot of walking. The men set a slow but steady pace that the herd could match easily, even with weanlings and older mares. They stopped to drink anytime there was water, which was at least once a day, often more. There were plenty of streams but Roxas was certain that the waters were seasonal. They made him think of desert arroyos, streams that would be dry as a bone come summer.

Roxas could tell they were reaching their destination by the way the men picked up the pace. He could also smell fresh water, a lot of water, and the other horses were more than willing to go faster for the promised moisture. They went over a hill and Roxas whined softly as he saw a large ranch spread out on a hill, overlooking a swiftly moving river. Roxas had seen far more impressive rivers in his time but for this dry land the river was strong. It didn't look seasonal in the least and right now it was raised with what Roxas thought was floodwater. Bushes and trees were submerged and he could see why the houses had been placed on the hill. Flooding was probably an issue as it was.

Roxas lost track of what was happening as they were herded towards a strange copper pipe. It was leaking water and when a man spun a wheel, water gushed out, filling another carved stone depression similar to the first rest stop. Once he'd drunk his fill, Roxas tried to watch and understand what he was seeing.

Some of it was very clear. The flashy stallion was the first thing inspected by the barn owner and a young man with bright red hair. Roxas was astonished by the brilliant color and casually sidled closer, trying to catch the conversation.

"-looks good boss." The redhead was saying as he ran his hands over the stallion's legs and picked up his feet. The horse was behaving very well for him, to Roxas mild surprise. "Healthy and sane. I'd like to see him move but I think we have our new herd stallion."

"Well, get up there and move him then." Roxas eyed the ranch owner thoughtfully. He was a tall, burly man with short brown hair. He sounded impatient. The redhead looked up from his work and grinned.

"Why don't you move him Terra?" That was clearly just a bit of banter though, nothing serious as the man immediately started saddling and bridling the black. He swung up easily onto the stallion and Roxas admired the way his mane flowed in the wind as the man rode him. He really did look like a fairy tale horse… "What do you think boss?"

"Good movement." Was Terra's opinion. "Really good muscle on him. He'll be good for our war horse mares." Roxas thought that was true. He didn't know much about horses but he'd seen middle and heavy cavalry before and that stallion was a horse any knight would kill to have.

"We have a second stallion." The seller started as the redhead slid off the horses' back. That immediately got the attention of both men. "He just showed up."

"Just showed up? He decided to walk in and join the mare party?" The redhead seemed to find that funny and Roxas put back his ears in irritation. "Smart boy. Where is this wonder?" Terra seemed more annoyed than anything and Roxas had to suppress a surge of unease as the seller pointed him out. The redhead cautiously approached him and Roxas got his first good look at the man. He was tall, very tall, slender but muscular. His eyes were bright green and his skin was surprisingly pale for someone who had to work in the sun all day. Roxas blinked as he noticed the tattoos on his cheeks. They were like little teardrops and added an exotic edge to an already attractive package. "What kind of training does he have?" The redhead asked and Roxas flared his nostrils as he held out a hand. He was holding something, something that smelled good.

"Dunno. He wouldn't let us catch him." The seller admitted and Terra winced slightly before calling out.

"Be careful Axel." He warned and Roxas filed that name away. The redhead – Axel – nodded without looking away. Roxas stepped closer and nuzzled his hand, scooping up what turned out to be a peppermint. He'd never liked mint as a human but as a horse it was bliss. He crunched the hard candy thoughtfully, then leaned into Axel's scratches. The redhead knew just what spots itched the most.

"He seems very tame." Axel observed and Roxas wanted to laugh. There were many people who would disagree. "Let's see if he'll give me a hoof." With that direction it was easy. "Good horse."

Oh, you can touch me anytime. Roxas thought, half-lustfully, as Axel examined him thoroughly. Fortunately his horse body was completely uninterested or things could have gotten embarrassing in a hurry. Then he pricked his ears as he felt a slight touch of magic. What is that? He'd always had a good sense for magic in use. It had been valuable as an assassin and if he'd been born in a slightly higher class, might have gotten Roxas an apprenticeship. It only took him a moment to realize it was coming from the redhead. For a moment he felt a wild hope but it faded as soon as it came. The feeling was too weak to be anything more than a talent. Some people had wild talents, he'd been told, ways they could focus their internal energy. It usually meant they'd make excellent wizards but most of them never got any training. Without that, it was only a knack. Did Axel have a knack for horses? It seemed likely.

"He's in good health." Axel said as he stepped back, glancing at Terra with a slightly confused expression. "But there's something odd about him. He feels… very bright." Roxas sighed at the understatement and Terra shrugged.

"I could have told you that, with that head of his. Never seen a forehead that broad. It almost looks deformed." Was his opinion and Roxas laid back his ears again. Deformed? "Plenty of room for brains in there. Do you think he'll be rideable?" Terra sounded dubious and Roxas felt confused. Why was being smart a problem? Axel laughed.

"Never ride a horse smarter than you are? I'm willing to make the attempt." They both seemed to have forgotten the seller and the redhead smiled as he gave Roxas another good scratch. "He seems to have a good nature. And I think we should keep him a stallion for now. He could do as a sire for nomad horses, or maybe a pony sire."

"We already have a good one. But maybe." Terra grumbled and Roxas felt a moment of joy. He wouldn't have to run away again! For now at least. "We'll breed him to a few, see what the foals are like. How much do you want for him?" They fell back to haggling with the seller, who suddenly wanted a decent price for Roxas. Roxas submitted to being haltered and led out to another pasture. There was still a stud chain but the person leading him was a small girl, so Roxas thought it was only a sensible precaution. As he was let into the pasture Roxas felt a surge of relief. If they were going to breed him to a couple of mares, he'd have plenty of time for the spell to wear off. His nuts were safe.

That was all that was important at the moment.