Chapter 5: The Journey Begins
More characters that I do not own will appear in the story. Credit goes to both the original owners and Bovine Beauty.
A span of two days had passed since Harmony Hawktail was allowed to stay over at Brandon Wishford's horse farm. The collie farm boy introduced the hawk deputy everything that he had to showcase. The horses, the people helping out the lonely collie, some of the crops and flowers he had grown himself, reminding him of his mother, and of course, what he does to train for rodeos. Over that two day visit, Brandon got permission from Harmony so he can attempt to ride her horse, Windstorm, just like a bucking bronco, or a bull perhaps. He rode Windstorm three times in different rodeo riding styles, the last and wildest one was the bull riding style, where the cowboy held onto the rope with one hand and raised his free hand up in the air. Of course, Brandon didn't like going near REAL bulls due to his fears, but he was currently okay with horses.
It would soon be morning on the third day, as Harmony had gotten herself ready to head out. She and Brandon have a conversation that went back and forth before the departure to Cow Town.
"Good morning, Harmony. You ready to head out soon?" Brandon asked Harmony politely.
"I'm more than ready Brandon, ready to start the day and be on my way." Harmony replied, confident on her mission to find Baron Buzzard, her dearest and oldest childhood friend. She was not aware that Baron was the former outlaw titled Boot Hill Buzzard. None of them really knew…
Brandon smiled, knowing Harmony was ready as usual. "Okay. We should probably get my horses fed, and then we let 'em out to roam for the day. Nothin' too challenging there."
"You're right, I mustn't forget that Windstorm needs her meal first before we leave together."
"Yep. After you feed her, make sure she's saddled up and ready to go." Brandon would go over to find the bag of oats near the barn, which would be inside a shed just next door.
"I'll make sure of that." Harmony tended to Windstorm where she had stood next to Ryder, where both horses were awake enough to start the day. Ryder was Brandon's big trusty stallion who helped the collie on his errands and adventures. Since Brandon had completely moved on from Brisket's passing, he had relied on Ryder the same way he did for his first horse.
"Here's your breakfast, everyone!" Brandon sounded so cheerful to the horses as he fed them one at a time. Glad he wasn't the only one doing this alone.
At that same time, Harmony's horse, Windstorm, wakes up and notices Brandon coming her way. She gave her rider a good greeting as Brandon showed up to say hi.
"Howdy girl. Man, I can't believe you're both headed out to see an old friend like Baron." He looked at Windstorm who gave him a friendly nuzzle against his head and allowed him to scratch her ear. "Heh heh, good girl. Hopefully when you come back, I can't wait for our next bucking rematch together, Windstorm!" Yes, the cowboy was eager for another round of rodeo practice with Windstorm.
"That's right, and call me crazy, but sometimes I start having these odd sort o' dreams where I see Baron calling out, begging me to save him, like he's in some kind of trouble." Harmony told Brandon this specifically. Was this the first or second time…?
"Hm? How can you tell this, Harmony?"
Harmony just simply shrugs her shoulders. She does answer Brandon's question, telling him more about the dreams. "I can't be sure if it's just me regarding my troubled feelings, or if it's some kind of vision of bad things happening. I know that sounds crazy, but several nights ago, I was in some kind of dark pit as I saw Baron crying for help, reaching out for my hand. But when I try to save him, these horrible skeleton hands drag him back and these red eyes glow out, telling me that I can't save him."
"Aw geez... it sorta reminds me of how my parents had... had tried to cry for help. I couldn't save them either, but… what was in the past can't be undone, no matter how hard we wish it was just a dream."
"I haven't forgotten how it feels to lose someone you love. Baron lost his father to a game of poker gone wrong, and his mother...might still be alive in federal prison for all I know. And my pa died after helping to drive the corruption out of Avian City when it got out of hand." Harmony had shook her head and tried her best to not think about the pain of loss. It would completely make her unfocused on her mission.
"Well, if you want, we can go together and seek justice for our folks who've died. I'd be more happy to help and tag along with you, Harmony."
"But what about your home? I mean who would look after it if you came along? I mean it's not that I don't want you around, but there is no telling what we'll find over at Cow Town, and I wouldn't want to drag you into any kind of dangerous trouble." Yes, the journey would be clearly dangerous for the very first time for a farm boy like Brandon. After all, this wasn't his average day at the rodeo. It would be outside and across the mesa, getting involved in who knows what may happen to whoever dares to journey the mesa by themselves.
"Yeah... I guess I'll stay here," Poor Brandon lets out a sigh. He did yearn for adventure too, but this was Harmony's personal mission to take care of… for now. "Maybe I might as well go around town to see if anyone's available to help out here. Prolly a few friends…"
"It's not that I don't appreciate all you've done for me, but this will be my first time in Cow Town, one o' the last places I haven't searched through yet, and there's no tellin' if word about me being a dangerous hawk might have reached there. I mean I hope it hasn't."
Brandon pats Harmony on the back, wanting her to be okay regardless of the situation. "Then I wish you good luck. Hope that everything will be alright."
"If all goes well, I'll be sure to write to you. With all the evidence I gathered, and the newspaper sheets collected, that buzzard in the photo has to be Baron. I have to know if it's really him. I might have failed him the first time he got taken from me, but I promised myself it won't happen again." Overtime, Harmony collected enough evidence that could lead her back to her old friend.
"It won't," Brandon would mount up on Ryder, volunteering to lead Harmony and Windstorm out gentlemanly. "You mind if I walk you guys out? Just to make sure you're both safe to go?" His horse snorted while he waited for the cowgirl to mount on her own mare.
"Lead the way. Me and Windstorm will be right behind." Harmony got on Windstorm's saddle, grabbing her reins gently. It was great to know that the cowboy was going to once again stay close to his new allies. He made sure that there won't be any trouble a brewin' for them afterwards. (Notice how those two sentences reference the previous chapter! Lol)
"Okay then. Hup!" Brandon spurs Ryder to canter to the exit alongside Harmony and Windstorm. Windstorm follows behind Brandon riding Ryder obediently to where they haven't forgotten the location of the town exit. It wasn't hard to reach as they got there. There weren't any outlaws who tracked down Harmony, thank goodness… Moving on, once they had arrived, Brandon then had Ryder rear up, as a positive smile grew on his face. "Go get 'em, Harmony! Go! Yeeeehaw!"
Harmony waves her hat in the distance to Brandon as she rides away to her personal journey. "I'll see ya'll soon enough. Let's ride Windstorm! Next stop, Cow Town!" The mare neighs and rears, galloping off into the distance until all Brandon saw was a blur… then, nothing more.
Some time a little later, Brandon was taking care of the farm, tending to the horses and watching them over... He knows that all those animals were like family to him, but he felt like he was still alone… The ranch hands living here and helping the lonely collie out didn't even remind him of the fact that he would be okay for now. Even if they were friends of his, Brandon still felt depressed about being here without his parents. He felt guilty deep down, wishing that he was there to save them earlier…
"Aw darn... Momma, Pa…" He sat down outside a stall, sniffling, "I wish you guys were here…" He imagined his parents sitting next to him, comforting their pup like they had done before. But, this was only in Brandon's imagination, and they had disappeared after he stopped thinking about them in order to try and carry on. Brandon, would instead later develop his own mission separate from Harmony's search for Baron. A mission to conquer his loneliness. A mission to conquer his fears. A mission… to be a hero that the town, and maybe the whole Mesa would need in their darkest hour…
End of Chapter 5
Coming Soon, Chapter 6: Suspicions, Suspicions…?
Author's Notes: There are currently no notes about this chapter for now. It is currently a build up to the next one I will probably write soon. Stay tuned for the next chapter when it's up and ready.
