A/N: Howdy y'all. I'm really enjoying writing this fic, so chapters'll probably come in pretty quick. See, I have a horse, an Arab, and whenever I get to write about horses, it's awesome. Combine that with being able to write about my G-boys, and I'm one happy little Effexxor. I've been trying to get in the most historical accuracy, and that means getting the language they used right. sigh It's been hard though. I had to use terms like 'spic' and 'chink', and that kinda stunk. I have mexican and chinese friends and those are mean. But... it's historical accuracy. I also had to use the term 'Indian' instead of Native American, and that's another accuracy. So... wince Sorry guys.

Also, I'd like to explain the names of the guys' horses, because I'm kinda proud of myself.

Zechs has Goose and Ep. Goose from TallGeese and Ep from Epyon.

Heero has Win and Zilch. Wing as in Wing and Zilch as in Zero.

Wufei's mules are Shenlong and Altron. Original, huh?

Duo has Diablo and Cynthia. Why Cynthia? Because it sounds like Scythe. :D

The cattle mingled together without a problem. They were all such herd animals that the pandemonium of seeing so many new faces was calming rather than scary. The males were all gelded so testosterone was keeping them from getting protective over the cows, and the cows got along with each other with practiced ease.

They all looked good, Zechs noticed. Their coats were gleaming and they were fat and alert. Herefords had been introduced to the common cattle of the range and it had done nothing but good for the animals. Big size and a more placid nature came from the Herefords, but they still retained the good sense and the toughness from the original bovines. Made driving easier, that was for sure. But it would be even easier and get them more pay if they made sure only the healthy ones left on the drive. He'd have Heero check them, he knew more about cattle than Zechs ever would.

Two of the new hands had their gear for the chuck wagon piled neatly towards the edge of the valley. Only one of the hands was standing by the luggage, a lean kid with a long braid that had to be a hassle on the trip. A black and white paint was tied to a tree next to a saddle mule, both built for sprinting, but they'd have enough endurance to last the trip. Zechs trotted over flanked by Heero and followed by the wagon. When he reached the hand he slid off of Ep and tipped his hat before holding out a hand, "Zechs Marquise. I'm the cowboss for the drive. The fellow behind me is Heero. He won't talk much, but if something should happen to the cattle he's the man to go to, he understands them. And the cook's name is Wufei Chang, he'll show you where to put your luggage."

The brunette shook his hand and gave him an impish grin which would make any mother protective of her daughter wince. The kid looked like the type to talk fish right into the frying pan. "Howdy. Name's Duo Maxwell. I've only been on two drives, but I've been a trickrider since I was eight, so I should be at least competent. My buddy's Trowa's bringing the guide."

Zechs took off Ep's bridle and hobbled him to let him get some grazing in and motioned Duo over to help him and Wufei with taking the mules out of the wagon shafts. "How are they going to do on this cattle drive?"

Duo's hands flew over the buckles of the harness with practiced eased, and he spoke casually, "They're the best you could wish for. Trowa was in the same wild west show that I trick rode in, and he's about as steady and smart as you can get. Can shoot the cigarette right outta your mouth too." Duo grinned toothily at Zechs, "I'm serious. He hates smokin', so if you do it around you it won't stay in your mouth for long."

Wufei snorted at that, but Zechs ignored him. "How're his mounts? Am I going to need to find him new ones?"

"He's got good 'uns, don't worry. Got a trick pony in the show just like I did 'cept his is for shooting off of, and he bought the draft cross he used for vaulting. That's some fancy thing he did for the show and the horse has to have endurance. They're strong," Duo turned to Wufei, "And Heavy's trained to harness, so if one of your mules turns lame you got a back up."

Zechs butted in, like a dog on a bone and determined to get the information he wanted. "What about the other one?"

Duo led Shenlong out of the wagon shaft and hobbled him. He ran a hand appreciatively over the dark chestnut and slipped a sugar cube out of his pocket. His reward was an excited snuffle, and the mule quickly snapped it up. "Quatre has a heart of gold and rides like he was born there."

He was too hesitant. Zechs' guard was heightened. "Why haven't you three been hired yet? It's so late in the season that you should be on a drive already."

"Trowa's mestizo. Even though he can ride and shoot like nobody's business nobody wants to hire him because he's part Mexican. He ain't even all that dark, but it's enough that folks can tell. And he's all I got since the show disbanded, so I'm sticking with him. And Quatre… he kinda has a past." None of the other hands said anything, so Duo continued.

"The Lakota people found a burnt shanty. There was a French trapper turned farmer who lived there with his family and four children. They found all of the family, but the fourth child, a four year old, was the only survivor. He was taken in by them and raised as their own. They decided that he should see the world his parents came from when he came of age. But there's more. Any of you know what berdache is?"

Zechs and Heero shook their heads. Wufei seemed to have some idea, but he kept quiet. So Duo continued. "Berdache is the term the French have given to someone who is what the Indians call a 'Two Spirit' person. Normally people are born with one soul. Either a man's, or a woman's. A berdache has both. They're typically a man with a woman's taste in… partners. They wear woman's clothing, marry a man and do a woman's work. They also have a lot of magic because of who they are, and Quatre happens to have very strong medicine. He's a nice guy, and he really isn't all that keen on the whole 'dress as a woman' thing, but he does like men. It's not like he's gonna jump anybody though, and he can ride like he was born there."

Heero summed it up for Zechs and Wufei, "He's gay."

Duo blinked. It had taken Zechs two years to get used to Heero's blunt way of speaking, and even now it threw him off. He pitied the extroverted trick rider; for someone who found talking so easily, Heero was almost certainly going to be an enigma to him for a while. "Yeah. That's it."

Wufei shrugged ambivalently, and after Heero saw that he grabbed a lock of Zechs' hair and gave it a little jerk. "That makes it easier for us, don't it?"

Zechs scowled at him, but quickly turned to Duo and reassured him, "I don't care, just as long as they do their part. Ideally we'd have three more people but this was all Treize could get, so we're going to have to just do this."

Everyone relaxed and Zechs was left feeling proud as a peacock. He shot a look over to Heero who nodded his head and the tension sitting in his gut abated. The rancher was picky with people, and if he thought Zechs spoke well, than he must have spoke well. That wasn't to say that he was going to forgive Heero letting loose with his earlier comment, but he might be able to win back the brownie points he'd lost a little quicker than usual.

Work still needed to get done and Wufei had mentioned earlier that he wanted to stop into Sterling and buy perishables. The new hands hadn't yet arrived, but if they were going to avoid nightfall, they needed to go soon.

He wasn't the best rider Zechs had seen. He sat too stiffly to be excellent. A good rider moved with their horse like they were glued there, but they also had to have some give to their back and hands. But even more important you had to be able to deal with the imperfections of your horse.

Horses weren't machines. They had their good days and their bad days, and anyone who tried to expect perfection from a horse failed. Frankly, it was a part of their charm to Zechs and made them seem more real and impressive. But Wufei wasn't the type who 'lost' easily. It had been his drive to except nothing less than perfect which had gotten him where he was, but it was also that drive that made him a better cook than a hand.

For the trip to Sterling Zechs put Wufei on Goose, the closest thing he had to perfection. Zechs roped off Goose, shot off of him, he'd ridden bareback, ridden double on him and ridden in blizzard and painful drought. He wouldn't trust Ep as far he could throw him, but he had trusted Goose with his life several times and still lived to tell about it. Zechs had told Wufei about how good Goose was, but he stayed wary and didn't let his guard down for a moment.

But Wufei's specialty wasn't riding and it was unfair to criticize him, particularily when Wufei was so good at driving. Driving a team of horses were hard enough, but mules were worse, and Wufei's had utter trust in him. They would go through and over anything for him at the touch of the rein.

Zechs liked him. He was smart and had a dry sense of humor. So the trip wasn't a bad one. Zechs was able to ride Win, Heero's mare, and she had a marvelously smooth trot. The pack horse they were using, Duo's mule Cynthia, was no trouble either so they were free to relax.

At least Zechs had been relaxing till Wufei decided to strike up a conversation. He eased Goose's reins to let it lay slack and asked casually, "How'd you meet Heero?"

"In the winter season I'll buy some unrideable horses for cheap at auction then resell them in spring trained to saddle. I needed pastureland and a place to stay, and Heero needed extra income. I've been keeping my horses in pasture there for two winters now."

He sure didn't stay because of how nice Heero's shanty was either. Like most the settlers in the area Heero lined his walls with tar paper to try to keep out the wind. The paper kept the little cracks in the wood from leaking the cold in, but it did nothing against the larger ones. It was a one room house, a bed in one corner and a stove kitty corner from that. Heat just didn't stay in the house.

The barn was better in regards to heat, so going in there to check on the animals was always a treat. The only problem was leaving the barn. The distance between the barn and the shack was easily 25 feet, and in the middle of a Colorado snow storm that was a hundred miles. Heero had collapsed in the snow on his way home one day, and Zechs' memories were still vividly clear of how terrified he was as they lay in the bed, bare skin to bare skin. He was sure that Heero would be dead the next morning but he still held him desperately close underneath all the blankets they had.

The next morning when he'd woken up, the pink in Heero's cheeks had been the sweetest moment he could remember.

Wufei didn't talk again and neither did Zechs. They found Sterling in good time. The town was growing slowly but surely as more and more people began to settle the West. There was one road that ran thorugh the town and that was a small dusty one. The houses and shops were slatboard residences, out of their element in the rugged forest.

They hitched their horses up to the post and entered the general store. Wufei went straight to the supplies, while Zechs walked over to the owner behind the counter. He removed his hat and said pleasantly, "Howdy. I'm taking 500 head to Omaha, and I was wondering if you'd gotten any news on the trail."

The man beamed at him, "Can't say I've heard anything bad. It's been a good year for pastureland and the reds ain't been acting up any, so yer gonna have any easy time about it." The store owner looked over at Wufei and motioned to him, dropping his voice, "You know, I could find you another cook."

"And I would I want to do that?" he asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Well, he's a chink. Can't trust them, you know. They're like the spicks, comin' up here were they aren't wanted."

Zechs glared at him and his voice was cold, "Wufei works hard. He owns his own wagon and owns his own team. He drives better than anyone I've met. He isn't lazy, and he isn't a thief. I thank you for the offer, but I don't need it."

Wufei chose that moment to bring up the goods, setting them down onto the counter. "Heero'd asked for me to some liminent, and there's a good brand here. Also got some cheap cotton in case somebody needs bandages or a new neckerchief. I figured that since you and Duo have such long hair that I'd get shampoo for you two." He looked up at Zechs, "That okay?"

He nodded and said gruffly, "Buy them. It's your call."

Wufei packed up Cynthia and they headed back to camp, making it back just as twilight descended. Zechs had barely dismounted when a slander blonde man came up to him and confidently held his hand out, "I'm Quatre, your guide for this trip. It's a pleasure to meet you."