Hey, it's ya girl! Back with chapter 4!

Now, there's something I want to say before we get into this. I am fully aware that "Indian" is an outdated and inaccurate term to describe Native Americans. They are not Indian, they are not from India, end of discussion. However, that was the common terminology used in the 19th century, so it will be used in this story, and even then, I promise to use it sparingly. I am dead serious, the last thing I want to do it offend anybody.

So with that out of the way, I hope you all enjoy!

In a place where the most exciting things to happen is getting bitten by a rattler or being injured by an accidental misfire, getting to see a wild horse that had beaten the stablemaster to a pulp being broken in must have felt to the soldiers like all of their Christmases coming at once. They abandoned their regular duties and gathered around the corral like moths to a flame, eager to have something, anything, break the grating monotony of their day to day lives.

Penny still wanted to watch the fireworks, already having a pretty good idea of what that mustang was capable of, so after she brought Murphy to the infirmary she decided to hang back at the stables with the horses. She was a bit far away, but she didn't want to be so close to the soldiers, plus she still had a pretty clear view of the carnage that would no doubt unfold.

"I give them five minutes," she chuckled to the horses penned up in the stables behind her, "Five minutes of these idiots getting bucked off that mustang's back before they give up. What do y'all think?" Blue whinnied his support, because of course he did, sweet thing. Chauncey, Ulysses, and Buckley all burred derisively. "Yeah, maybe you guys are right. More like five seconds."

They had somehow managed to get the wild stallion into the starting pen. They saddled him up and fitted with reins, though not without a struggle (she was surprised no one ended up getting their fingers bitten off). Soon, one of the men, Nelson, volunteered to be the mustang's first rider, and was mounted onto the saddle. He seemed a little nervous, but mostly excited to be the one to break such a magnificent horse.

Biggest mistake he'd ever make.

Penny grinned knowingly, 'Give them hell, mustang.'

And give them hell he did. The very second the starting pen was unlatched, the stallion burst through the gate like a stick of dynamite, jumping and bucking as if the ground was made of hot coal, with poor Nelson being dragged along for the ride. He stopped abruptly, making his rider's head smack right up against the back of his newly trimmed mane. As if knowing it was almost over, the horse began to rapidly spin in a circle, Nelson barely holding on for dear life, before one last powerful kick launched the man into the air. He landed painfully on his back while the mustang looked down at his handiwork in triumph.

Penny glanced over to Jonah, who was watching the entire spectacle from the other side of the corral. He looked, much to her delight. About time someone put him down a peg.

As Nelson was taken away, another man, Wright, decided to throw his hat in the ring. The horse seemed oddly calm as he was mounted, which must have given Wright a glimmer of confidence, but then the animal gave him a look that made the man seem like he was now regretting every decision he had ever made. The stallion was quick to prove him right, taking even less time to buck the man off his back than Nelson. Satisfied, the horse began to trot away, but it seemed that Wright wasn't taking his defeat very well.

"Lousy heap of horse flesh!" he yelled indignantly. The stallion abruptly stopped and turned his head to look back at him, fire in his big brown eyes. Well now, that just made him mad.

In an instant the stallion sprinted in Wright's direction as the man scrambled to save his hide, only just managing to make it over the fence before he could be trampled to death. At the sight of yet another vanquished foe, the mustang burred victoriously.

Penny smiled as the horses behind her whinnied and neighed in support of their fellow equine, the sight of these men utterly failing to break the mustang warmed her vindictive little heart. One fierce glare from Jonah, however, intimidated the cheering horses into silence. She rolled her eyes at her cousin. Whatever, he was just upset that a mustang was making fools out of his regiment. Said mustang, meanwhile, looked like he was on top of the world, confidently trotting back to the starter pen, allowing the gate to be closed behind him as he awaited his next victim.

The next man on the chopping black turned out to be Fletcher, Penny recognized him with a grimace, armed with a riding crop and nasty sneer. He mounted the stallion, ready to claim the glory of finally breaking the stubborn beast, but not even three seconds out of the pen saw the man soaring through the air, thanks to a particularly impressive jump. Fletcher ended crashing right into another man sitting on the fence, sending them both tumbling to the ground in a tangled heap of limbs and aching muscles.

Penny struggled to hold in her laughter as she witnessed the mustang throw off one soldier after another. A thing of beauty, truly.

"Agh!"

Oh, there went Davenport.

"Christ in heaven!"

Off goes Oakley.

"Momma!"

Wow, Culpeper could really fly!

After the last rider was flung right over the corral's fence and damn near broke his neck, no one else dared approach. Seeing that he had won for a second time, the mustang charged at the gathered audience, scaring one man enough for him to fall into a water trough. But even then, he wasn't done yet. His eyes landed right on Jonah, and he sprinted over to the Colonel with lightning speed, looking like he wanted to kill him. But, if there was one thing Penny had learned about her cousin, it was that he was fearless, so even when the stallion got right in his face and caused the other two men behind him to flee, Jonah stayed perfectly still, simply meeting the horses' glare with one of his own.

The two of them spent the next few moments staring each other down before Jonah barked, "Sergeant!"

"Yes, sir!" Adams was at his superior's side in an instant.

"Tie this horse to the post," Jonah commanded, not even sparing a glance towards his second-in-command, "No food or water. Three days."

Wait, what?

As the men followed orders and restrained the mustang, Penny felt a righteous anger build in her chest, and she marched across the other side of the fort to confront her cousin. When Jonah noticed her coming, he gave her a sly grin.

"Enjoy the show, Penelope?"

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Jonah?" she hissed, placing her hands on her hips, "You can't put a horse out in this godforsaken heat, with no food or water, for three fucking days!"

"I can, and I will. And I believe I told you to watch your language."

She ignored the jab at her foul mouth, and continued, "So, what? None of your men were good enough to ride that horse, so that means he deserves to starve?"

"Once again, Penelope, you fail to see the bigger picture. This is nothing more than a means to an end," he turned to face her with his cold, methodical gaze, "Once its body and mind have been sufficiently worn down, it will be much easier to break. It's as simple as that." He explained, once again talking to her like an unruly child.

"Oh, sure. You end up with a dead horse tied to a post, but you proved a point, and that's what really matters, right?"

"May I remind you, Penelope, that I have been taming and breaking horses for the United States Army since before you even saw your fifth birthday. I would think having that much experience should logically prove I have a better grasp of how to deal with a wild horse than you do, wouldn't you agree?"

Penny grit her teeth, her fists curled so tightly she could feel her fingernails dig into the skin of her palm. In that moment, the fact that they shared even a drop of the same blood made her want to vomit. Some days, she could barely comprehend that this was the same man that had saved her that awful night three years earlier.

Taking her silence as an end to the conversation, he turned to leave, "Good, then." He mounted Granite, "Report back to the stables. With Murphy out of commission, I imagine you have quite a bit of work to do."

She glowered at him as he rode off without another word, fighting off the urge to spit in his direction. She turned her head towards the mustang, watching it struggle fruitlessly against his restraints, having been bound by the muzzle to a lone wooden post inside the corral.

As she trudged back to the stables, her heart broke for the poor creature once again.

The sun had long since set, and anyone who wasn't on night watch had gone to sleep. Penny supposed she ought to be asleep as well, but she had something important she needed to do before she could let herself turn in.

When she was sure that no one would see her, she sneaked out of her little shack, holding a flask full of water, a bowl, a long stick, a small bundle of hay, and half of a dried apple. She had been saving the apple for herself as a little treat, but right now, she knew someone who needed it much more than she did.

She made sure to move quickly and quietly to avoid being seen, constantly scanning her surroundings as her eyes adjusted to the darkness of the night. Soon, she was nearing her destination; the corral, within which housed the starving, dehydrated, and exhausted mustang. To the surprise of no one, he still hadn't stopped struggling against the ropes that bond him to the post, though the lack of food, water, and spending hours under the scorching sun had certainly worn him down, just as Jonah had said.

She willed away all thoughts of her cousin from her mind, lest her blood begin to boil.

Focusing her attention on the animal before her, she made sure to approach slowly and carefully; the last thing she wanted was to spook him and wake up the entire fort, again. Eventually, the mustang took notice of her presence, his head lifting and locking eyes with her. Immediately put off by the sight of her, the horse began to huff irritably and stomp his hoof to the ground aggressively. His message was loud and clear; stay away. Unfortunately for him, Penny couldn't do that, not yet.

"Shh, shh, it's okay," she shushed, keeping the volume of her voice as low as possible, "I'm not gonna hurt you, baby. I just want to help, it's okay…"

At first, her voice didn't seem to calm him down at all. He glared at her like he wanted to barrel her over if it meant he could escape, looking equal parts angry and terrified. She didn't blame the mustang at all, of course. Given that the events of the day had likely been his first real interaction with humans, it made perfect sense that he would be wary of one getting so close to him in the dead of night. Still, she maintained eye contact and didn't attempt to get any closer, and after roughly a minute, the mustang seemed to settle down. He didn't completely let his guard down, naturally, but he now regarded her with aggressive wariness rather than outright hostility. Progress.

"See? Everything's alright. Now," she got on her knees and set the bowl down on the ground, "We're gonna have to make this quick, okay? Anyone catches us, and we're both in for a whole heap of trouble."

She unscrewed the cap on the flask and filled the bowl with water. She then placed the apple on the ground and, using the stick, carefully pushed both the food and the bowl of water underneath the fence and towards the horse. Upon seeing the desperately needed food and water being offered to him, he basically forgot about Penny's presence entirely, scarfing down the apple and hay in seconds and drinking deeply from the bowl to wash it down.

After the mustang was done, she used the stick to pull the now empty bowl back over to her, as to not leave behind any evidence that she had defied Jonah's strict orders. "Is that better?" she asked, smiling sadly, "I'm sorry. I know this isn't enough, but it's all I can afford to give right now."

To her relief, her actions must have gotten the mustang to realize that she wasn't a threat to him, at least not at the moment, as now he just seemed to be confused by her, as if trying to suss her out. He clearly still didn't like or trust her, but hey, it was something.

"… I heard some of the men talking earlier," Penny continued speaking, "They said that a group of wranglers found you out in the wild and sold you to the outpost. You were captured and… taken away from your home. God, I…"

She looked away and drew a ragged breath, forcing herself to keep it together. "… I'm so sorry. You shouldn't be here. I'd set you free myself if I could, but they're already watching me like hawks. I just thought I could help you however I can, but… I should go…" She decided, picking up the bowl and stick, "I don't want to bother you any more than I already have. Try to get some rest, and I'll see what I can scrounge up tomorrow." The mustang continued to look at her like a puzzle he was trying to solve, tilting his head to the side and burring.

If she wasn't trying to stop herself from falling to pieces, she would have found that adorable.

Before she left, she met the stallion's gaze one more time, "I just want to say that I get it. I mean, I'm not a horse or anything, but being taken away from your home and your life… I know exactly how that feels." Having said her piece, she turned and walked away from the corral, wiping away a lone tear that escaped down her face.

She was being ridiculous. Logically, she knew that she was probably just projecting her own feelings onto the mustang, but god damn it, it still made her feel better to think that there was someone else here who knew how she felt. Who knew what it was like to watch your life as you know it come to an end, and be completely helpless to stop it.

The following day saw Penny in the stables, like usual, hard at work doing whatever had to be done. Jonah had been right about her increased workload with Murphy gone, much to her chagrin. To make matters even worse, since the corral was, by design, in direct view of the stables, she had a front row seat to witness the mustang's suffering. And by God, was he suffering.

What little food and water she had given him the night before was doing him little good now, clearly so exhausted that he wasn't even visibly struggling against the post anymore. All he could do was rest his head against the piece of wood he was tied to, looking for all the world that he might not even make it the full three days. Her stomach turned at the sight. How the hell did Jonah sleep at night, knowing what he was doing to this poor creature?

And speak of the devil, Penny saw the Colonel himself emerge from a nearby cabin with a canteen in hand, as if it was just any other day. Hell, it was just any other day for him, thinking about it. At first, Jonah merely stood on the porch and surveyed the fort. As everything appeared to be in order, he drank from his canteen, taking several deep gulps as his adam's apple bobbed up and down his throat… right in front of the mustang.

Penny saw the poor animal eyeing the droplets of water that ran down Jonah's throat and chin, smacking his lips in clear longing. He before he finally noticed that the mustang was looking at him, he poured some water into his palm and rubbed it into the back of his neck to cool down. He met the stallion's gaze and smirked -fucking smirked- at him, as if taking pleasure seeing the untamable beast suffer.

Oh, this would not stand.

Refusing to watch anymore, Penny threw her pitchfork to the ground and turned to address the horses behind her. "I'll be right back." Was all she said before marching straight across the fort, this time not caring who saw her. Jonah noticed her approach, his grin not wavering as she soon found herself standing before her cousin.

"What can I do for you, Penelope?" he asked as though nothing was wrong, unfazed by her burning glare.

She pointed her finger in the mustang's direction, "If that horse dies, it'll be your fault."

"And as I've told you before, it won't come to that," he dismissed her, "All it takes is the right motivation, and then it will submit. They all do, in the end."

"Motivation? That's a load of shit, Jonah. You saw with your own eyes how strong that mustang's will is. We both know that he would rather die than be broken." She heatedly asserted.

"Animals aren't people, Penelope. They're not capable of truly wanting anything."

"Spoken like someone who's never spent any real time with animals. They have just as much personality and pride as us."

Jonah sighed. "If that's what you choose to believe, then go right ahead. But let me tell you this," he leaned towards her, as if telling her a secret, "One doesn't get to where I am now without learning that with enough time, patience, and discipline, even the most stubborn of wills can be broken. I've seen far too many who ended up meeting their end due to their refusal to let go of their pride." His gaze was cold and severe. "You would do well to remember that, lest you fall victim to yours."

Penny said nothing in response, even though she honestly wanted to laugh. What a damn hypocrite he was. He thought her pride would be her downfall, as if he wasn't already completely ruled by his own? But hey, maybe he was right. If that was what fate really had in store for her, then she was fine with that. Her pride was just about all she had left.

They stood there for several tense moments, neither of them wavering or backing down. In the end, it would not be either of them that broke the silence, but Sergeant Adams, calling out from beyond the front gates.

"We caught a hostile!"

Surprised, Penny turned her head to look at the scene unfolding, as did Jonah, and even the mustang looked curious. Being dragged through the front gates by Adams and Buchanan was a dark-skinned man with long black hair tied into two low ponytails, wearing a pair of buckskin pants but no shirt, leaving his upper body bare. As they crossed the threshold into the outpost, he fought to break free from his captor's grasp, but his efforts were futile, not that that was stopping him.

He was an Indian, she realized. Jonah spoke of the hostile natives that lived in the wilds of the frontier often -never anything good, mind you- but she had never actually seen one of them herself until now. As he was brought closer into the centre of the fort, allowing her to get a better look at him, she found what struck her the most was just how young he was. He honestly couldn't be much older than her, which made her wonder what on earth he was doing all by himself at a military outpost in the middle of nowhere.

"Bring him back this way!" Adams barked, he and Buchanan hauling the young man right in the cousin's line of sight. Penny was quick to get out of the way, backing away as to not get caught in the crossfire. She still wanted to see what was going to happen, however, so she didn't go all the way back to the stables. Instead, she stopped at the corral near where the mustang was tied, though not close enough to make the horse upset.

By contrast, Jonah stayed right where he was, even looking amused as his men roughly threw the young man at his feet.

"Well, what do we have here?" he inquired with a knowing smirk, while his men snickered maliciously at the young native man. It made Penny sick, seeing how much they were clearly enjoying the Indian's misery.

"We caught him by the supply wagons, sir." Adams informed his superior officer after which Buchanan grabbed the back of the young man's head, wrenching his head upwards for Jonah to get a good look at his face, the young man's sharp groan of pain only seeming to amuse the soldiers further.

Christ, Buchanan sure did love pulling people's hair. Penny felt bad for the man's wife.

"Ah, a Lakota," The Colonel identified, "Not as tell as the Cheyenne, not as fine-featured as the Crow." The young man glared at him like he was the root of all evil, though as usual, Jonah was unfazed. "Take him away, gentlemen. Show him our best."

Adams and Buchanan hoisted the young man to his feet and spun his around, leading him away from Jonah. "Corporal, take him to the stockades." Adams told Buchanan, before their Colonel spoke again.

"Not the stockades," Jonah turned his gaze towards Penny and the mustang, "The post. No food or water."

Penny's mouth fell open in shock at Jonah's needless cruelty, and before she could even begin to voice her protest at his treatment of the young man, her cousin interrupted her with a curt nod before casually walking back into his cabin without another word, leaving her standing by the corral without so much as a goodbye.

With their Colonel's orders, Adams and Buchanan began hauling the young man over to the corral. As they got closer, the young man turned his head towards Penny and the stallion, and despite his predicament, his brown eyes lit up with curiosity.

She blinked at him owlishly, slightly taken aback. Was he looking at the horse… or at her?

Unfortunately for the young man, Buchanan quickly noticed that his attention was elsewhere. "What are you looking at, boy?" he sneered before painfully smacking him in the back of the head. Penny flinched at the sight. Good lord, all he'd done was look away; there had been no need to hurt him. Then again, this was Buchanan. He never needed much of an excuse to hurt those he saw as below him.

The young man was forced to the ground a few feet away from Penny and the mustang. They tied him to a lone post sticking out of the ground, tightly binding his hands behind his back with rope. Buchanan laughed one more time and walked away, off to do whatever else that sadistic bastard did with his time. Sergeant Adams, before he also took his leave, addressed Penny directly, as if just realizing that she was there.

"Get back to the stables, Penelope. There's work to be done."

Normally, she would have thrown a sarcastic quip his was at the very least, but decided against it, already thrown for a loop by how strange this day had turned out to be, and made her way back to the stables where Blue and the other stallions were waiting for her. Still, she felt herself unable to contain her curiosity, turned back to the corral. She found herself locking eyes with the Indian, who just so happened to have been staring right back at her. Feeling flustered all of a sudden, she quickly averted his gaze, and resolved to simply get back to work.

Well, she thought to herself as she picked up a brush, at least she now knew for certain. He had definitely been looking at her.

Little Creek had officially made his debut, and Penny doesn't really know what to make of him, lol. That's okay, though, they haven't really even met at this point, and there's a whole fic for them to get to know each other~!

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed chapter 4, and I'll see you again in chapter 5!