Spirit: stallion of the Lakota
Chapter two - Lakota Homelands
Rain woke me up. It was very unusual. Her body was ice cold and felt hard, her throat made strange soft neighing noises. I woke her up "Rain, Rain, wake up please wake up." Her eyelids started to lift themselves up but couldn't manage properly. A tear ran down her cheek slowly. "Rain." She tried to stand up so I did too and she ran. I stood there, I was confused. I ran after her catching her up. Rain stopped at the river. "Rain, what's wrong." She looked into my eyes. Mine were full of worry, concern and even pain from the thought of Rain running from me, hers were filled with pain, longing like she wanted something that I couldn't give her. I wanted to give her everything that she wanted, well most things. I walked up to her and placed my head over the back of neck. "What's wrong?" Rain started crying, when she cried it was someone was stabbing me in the heart with a dagger, it hurt.
"I miss them Spirit, I thought that I would be fine, it's been bugging me for days now and I can't handle my longing to be home, with Little Creek, with Cloud with Lakota people." Her voice overwhelmed by tears. "But I don't know the way and I don't want to leave you, I'm a mess." Rain was upsetting me. I dried her eyes and we walked back to the herd. I had a plan but she didn't know. I walked up to Strider.
"How do you feel about watching the herd while I go away for a few days." My family looked at me especially Esperanza but I only had eyes for my father.
"Where are you going?" His question easy but a heavy sack of betrayal fell on me at that moment. I looked still confident as I looked into his eyes.
"I'm showing Rain where her homelands are, she's homesick." My family stare at me in shock but Strider shows no emotion.
"You are meant to be here bonding with us helping the final piece of our family puzzle come together; you can't just run off with her when you feel like it. I am your father and I want you here" His eyes said it all I was making him angry now but he was making me angry, he was my dad but he didn't know me anyway Rain was my family also and I had to get one strong family bond together before the rest would work out.
"Rain is my family and might soon be yours so I believe fixing family problems one by one." I was pleased at my confidence. "Bye I'll see you later." I called back smiling as I ran up to Rain. "Let's go."
"Are you sure that this is okay with?" she enquires when we start running.
"It's okay with me baby as long as you're in it to." I say smiling that flirty smile that makes her laugh. I love it when she laughs, it's cute.
"What's up with your language, you never call me baby?" she asks an eyebrow up in concern.
"I felt like seeing what it felt like to say." I say continuing to run. We ran until we got hungry, after that for another two days all we stopped for was food, rest and water. Finally we reach the Lakota Village. We stand up there for a while. Rain's face was so happy that her smile covered up her face, she neighed but nobody heard her, she was too quiet and she knew it. Rain looked at me, I stood up on my two hind legs and neighed as loudly as I could, and slamming my front legs on the ground in case they hadn't heard me. Everybody looked at us. Little Creek and Cloud came into view; they looked at us and smiled. I looked to where Rain was standing but she had already started running to them, I followed galloping down but slowed down so I didn't slam into them.
"Rain, The-Spirit-that-could-not-be-broken." Little Creek said, smiling at us, he was happy.
"It's just Spirit by the way." I say to him even though he can't hear me. Rain laughed. Cloud looked at me, happy somehow even I stole his girl even though she wasn't his.
"Rain, how bout we catch up on life. Is that okay." He says looking at Rain but aiming the last question at me. I raised an eyebrow, confused, why was he asking me?
"Yeah, sure. Why ask me." I ask politely even though I didn't want to be.
"Oh. It was just in case." He says a bit to quickly for my liking. Cloud turns "Are you coming." Rain looks at me before running after Cloud. It was just me. Great but now at least I get time to think. I used to think a lot when rain was with her friends but strider interrupted that yesterday. I didn't notice Little Creek sneak up behind me or even climb on my back; it wasn't until he ruffled my hair that I noticed him. I jumped up but he jumped off and we spend a good while just chasing each other.
"Well Stallion." He starts lying down; after he's comfy I lay down beside placing my head over his lap. We fell asleep after some time, I never did find out what he was going to say. Something was playing with my hair, flicking it, ruffling it. My eyelids slowly start to move and then suddenly open. There stood my girl before me, I looked at her, and she continued to ruffle my hair until we hear Little Creek wake up. We looked at him until he opened his eyes.
"Well you two better come along to the camp fire." He says getting up and climbing on Rain's back. Rain and I race to the camp fire but I win, I usually win races. Little Creek climbed down and sat on the end of a log. Rain goes over to lie beside him; I walk over and lie beside her. She had been to campfires before, fire frightened me though but I wasn't going to let her know that.
"I have to talk to you afterwards." I say, making her turn her to me. She stared into my eyes. A few horses went by.
"Why don't you tell me just now because the camp fire doesn't start for another 5 minutes," Her eyes playing with me, Cloud walks by as she says this but he doesn't stop.
"In private." I add after he's gone. Her expression changed rapidly.
"This should be fun hearing what you have to say." Rain looked back at the camp fire but I was still looking at her. She could sense it. "Why don't you watch the fire, the shows about to start." I panicked then. Show, fire but I still did as I was told. I couldn't believe how much power she had over me and how weak and vulnerable I became when I was with her. A man walked up to the fire and started making it dance, one of my eyebrows raised itself up, Rain looked back at me and smiled. I nuzzled into her soft, patchy, painted coat. It went by quicker than I thought but me and Rain waited until everyone had left before she got up. I followed her down to the apple tree.
"So, you asked me to talk to you in private, so what are you going to tell me?" Her eyes staring contently into my eyes.
"I've been thinking." I loved seeing her solve puzzles and sometimes even getting irritated at me for not giving it away easily.
"Last time you that to me you tricked me into thinking that it was something good but it never happened." Rain said.
"No I assure you that this will happen." I closed my eyes and took a breath, the same beautiful mare stood there. "You want to be a mother don't you?" I simple yet effective question, way to go Spirit I thought inside.
"Yes but not any mother to any stallions foal, the mother to our foal." She said looking at me before looking at the ground.
"I don't really know how to put this but, are you ready?" I ask, she should get what I mean.
"What do you mean." Or maybe not. She was totally confused, I could tell.
"Are you ready to be a mother?"
"You're kidding me; we've been over this a thousand times. You always say no."
"Well I'm saying yes. You won your argument." I say finally hoping that my point got across. It did. Her mouth dropped open wide; she couldn't talk like I had taken the words straight from her mouth. She hugged me so hard. It was round about midnight when we finally got to bed. She was excited, happy, content, too many things. That night we fell asleep straight away, we were both exhausted.
11 months later – still in the Lakota Village.
I was woken by rain, her breathing had slowed, I was anxious to get help but I didn't want to leave her alone, I stayed with her. She was in pain but she smiled at me.
"Don't smile Rain, you're in pain you can't smile when you're in pain." I was panicking.
"Calm down Spirit." She said, she was pushing something out. Cautiously I went round to her hind. I looked and half of a body was lying on the ground, it looked like rain. A foal appeared but it wasn't looking at me. I walked back round to face her.
"You've given birth honey." I say but I look at her, she was still in pain but she smiled at me, "It looks like you." I add in. Rain neighs softly, painfully. I walk back round to see the same happens again but this one looks like me but with a lighter coat and white spots with a white mark down her face. Rain had given birth to twins. I was staring at them. She got up and stood beside me, they looked up at us. I had to smile, they were cute. Behind me I heard hoof beats on the ground. Rain and I turn round to see Strider and Esperanza behind us.
"Spirit, I thought that you were only going to be away for a few days but look 11months later and you're still here." His eyes were staring at me, his eyebrows pushed together. "Esperanza and I were worried." The foals stood up and Rain went over to them, they were looking for milk. Esperanza was looking at the ground though and Strider was looking at me, still walking closer.
"It's not your place to worry about me." My eyebrows pushed together creating a stern look.
"I'm your father, it is my place." His anger was building up; so far I was pushing all the right buttons.
"You don't know me." I say no anger showing in my voice. Esperanza looked up at me, in shock from what I just said, Rain looked up too.
"I don't know you that well, but I do know you a bit. You are coming home with us just now." I had pushed the right button again; more anger was appearing slowly but surely.
"What are you talking about, I am home!" I added a bit more tone to it to help it seem more real. Rain looked up at me, she had not expected that but my mother looked up too It was nothing near what she had expected.
"Home to your family Spirit." Strider still convinced that he was going to win this argument.
"My family is here Strider." I say forcing me to step back to my mother.
"Come on honey. Let's go." He said, the anger sliding away. I watched them walk away until I couldn't see them anymore. I turned to Rain. I smiled and then she smiled back.
Chapter three is to be uploaded soon!