Hi readers!
I have to say I am very sorry for not putting up my next chapter as soon as I have aught to but in my defense, I have been working on other stories and been busy riding my own horses! lol so without further ado... I don't own Spirit, or any Spirit characters, just my Oc's and this story plot.

Thanks for checking back!

Esperanza was grazing in the sunlight watching the foals nearest her play in the slight breeze from the corner of her eye. She wished she could have the energy those two colts exhibited. Lately her strength had seemed to drain right out of her like water pouring from a water fall. Her eyes got tired faster, and the firmness in her legs gave out quicker after a short period of trotting. There was no doubt she stressed in watching for danger and also constantly moving the herd from one part of the valley to the next. But these precautions were necessary. All was well and she lifted her head to chew thoughtfully, glad that her herd was still safe all these days even after Spirit's capture. How her heart ached to see her son again... What dangers was he facing this very moment? Was he even still alive? Esperanza shuttered, forcing herself not to think those thoughts. He was fine; he had to be. Making herself calm, the lead mare looked over her herd one more time before suddenly noticing something. Breeze was not amidst the grazing group of mares... how strange.

She'd seen the young mare wander off towards the bushes in the distance quite a while ago, but she had not been paying enough attention to notice how long it had been since then. Suddenly curious and slightly worried, the palomino decided she would lope over to the bushy area Breeze had last been seen and look around. It could be that the mare had simply dozed off in the shade and was only sleeping peacefully. As Esperanza arrived into the shaded protection of the woodsy area, she realized that she could not smell any sign of the mare being near by. Her ears swivaled about, listening intently for any sound, but could hear none. This was aweful. Esperanza suddenly felt her gut dip in guilt. What had happened to the young mare? Where had she gone? Had she lost faith in her lead mare and decided to leave? Or had some amount of danger befallen her and she was gone forever now? The palamino was unsure but there was little she could do anyway. She had an entire herd needing her and she could not go running off. With a low sigh, Esperanza turned back to the grazing bunch of mares. The wind was blowing with a slight biting chill. Winter was coming...

Meanwhile:

Breeze was instantly struck with terror at the menacing shadows that stretched beyond the canyon corner. She had never before seen a two-legged and the sound of their voices sent shivers down her spine. They were lumbering closer! She willed her legs to move but they would not. Eyes wide, nostrils flared and puffing, ears strained forward and shaking all over, Breeze watched the pair of shadows grow larger and larger until finally they rounded the corner. The first thought that struck Breeze's mind was how UGLY these creatures were! They waddled forward, wearing strange smelling things all over them, large flat coverings rested on their heads. One was small and squatty, and the other one was tall and skinny; the smaller one having a large piece of wood extending from it's leg, instead of a matching foot. The taller one was carrying something large over his back. As soon as they looked up and saw the unfamiliar horse among their calvary the smaller one said,
"Aye, I don' remember bringin' at won along," and pointed directly towards the beautiful young mare.
"I don' member doin so either," responded the taller gangly one.
"Say, sheeze sure a perty thing," stated the smaller one, "Ya thank she's one uh 'ose Murstang howses?"
"Tis possible Jim," nodded the tall two-legged.

They had stopped dead in their tracks at seeing her, and Breeze was still not moving. She was scared, but upon having seen them, the other horses and half breeds tied up and nickered all friendly nickers the two stranger's way. At the other horses' calm and tender reaction to these two-leggeds approach Breeze grew confused and considerably curious. These two creatures were so different from anything she'd seen or heard before, she found herself interested. Breeze just remained staring at them, looking from one or the other. Meanwhile, the mule behind her had decided a patch of sprouting weeds looked tasty and had now walked to stand right in her escape route, munching away on the dried weeds. Whether the mule had done it on purpose or not Breeze didn't know but she was irritated none the less. She felt more safe to be curious if there was an exit for her to get away should things go bad. But her mouth still was dry and her body tired from the heat. She could not resist the need for water.
"I reckon she looks perty dern tuckered out," stated the small man with a wooden leg, known as Jim, as he took a cautious step forward.
"Yeah, hurt too, see the blood Jim?" the tallest one remarked, pointing. As he pointed Jim had gone to the water hole and taken off the flabby thing on his head to dip it in the water. Being mighty careful he turned back to the mare and hobbled forward.

Breeze's eyes went wide again, as one of the two leggeds began approaching her. She backed away instantly, her reflexes kicking in and her puffing got harder. Fear raced through her heart and she was sure that danger was closing in and there was no where for her to run. She was trapped in this canyon, surrounded by strangers! Then, just as things couldn't have gotten worse, the man suddenly dropped carefully, with much labor, to one knee and set the flabby, cupped thing on the floor several feet in front of her. She could smell and hear the water sloshing around in the flabby piece of hard material the two-legged had worn on its head. After setting the mini-water trough off, the squatty creature, got back up with a grunt and waddled backwards away from her, leaving it free on the ground. Breeze hesitated. What if this was some sort of trap? What if the moment her head was down drinking they attacked? She couldn't trust these two and as thirsty as she was, she was also stubborn when it came to possible danger. She kept her head up and her stance still.

"Think she's down-right skep-ical of us Jim," the tall man said. Jim nodded.
"Better turn round so she don feel crowded," he suggested, turning back to the pack horses and mules who looked at their owners expectantly. They began fastening and unfastening flabs of what smelled like to Breeze dead animals, which was a very unpleasant smell indeed, but they had not approached her any closer and in fact, they were now turned away, busy doing something or another, and paying her no attention. The water in the hat had become still and unmoving, still waiting in the sagged old hat to be touched. Somewhat satisfied that the two beasts covered in dead animal skin were far enough away and paying her no mind, Breeze took a deep breath. She took one tentative step forward, followed by another, then another. The hat was right below her now, and so, carefully, she lowered her head to the welcoming coolness of the water. Her lips plunged in, the cold liquid soothing her muzzle and then her throat as she began sucking it down in much needed relief. She was so thankful for the water now surging to her belly that she didn't even pay attention to when the two-leggeds had looked over with smiles on their faces. Maybe those two weren't so bad after all...

Hehe, okay how'd that go? Interested for the next chapter? It will be coming much sooner than it took me to get this one up. Enjoy your day yall and leave a comment!

Prieview: Breeze still isn't sure about these strange two-leggeds but they are giving her her space, and making her feel welcome among their ragtag herd. In fact, she begins to feel so comfortable with the herd that she doesn't want them to go when it's time for them to move on. Desperate to remain in a group, Breeze follows, but will more trouble await her?