“Stay AWAY!” Aleta yelled between her teeth as she delivered a strong kick to the stallion following her. Her hooves hit his chest directly and the other mustang stumbled back. Once Aleta was sure that the grey stallion was too out of breath to follow, she reared high in the air, taunting him, then leapt off, digging into the soft dirt as she ran. Grinning to herself, the buckskin pinto mare didn’t give the other horse a second thought. Ever since she had left her father Spirit’s herd, it seemed like every other day was like that. Who thought that that many bachelor colts could be running around?!
Only a few short months ago, she had been a part of her parent’s herd. A freak flash flood had separated her from her family, but she had already been thinking about leaving anyway. Before getting lost, she had planned to leave with her brother and friends, but being on her own seemed to be working out better then she planned. Rozene, her younger sister, was too young to leave the herd and Aleta had nearly been connected by the hip to her brother Tauri. Tauri could be a bit over protective at times, but after all, he was her brother. Paint and Plattoe on the other hand, were her best friends. They could’ve made their own little herd! But besides a little loneliness, traveling alone seemed to suit Aleta well. With her father’s spirit, her mother’s level head and both of their speed, she didn’t have a thing to worry about.
After her encounter with the grey stallion, Aleta took a victory gallop. She was only a 3-year-old. She’d have plenty of time to look for a stallion when she wanted one. For now, it was fun enough to make them feel slow and dim-witted. In the middle of her day-dream, her hooves hit rock instead of grass and the loud clopping noise made her snap out of it. Then realizing where she was, she barely stopped in time just as she came to the edge of a canyon, sending a spray of rocks down the red-striped canyon walls. Eyes wide and heart racing, Aleta took in the new landscape.
“What is this place?”
There were no green fields in sight. Just endless red rock with little puffs of sparse dry grass. It was barren. But Aleta loved it. She’d never seen something so beautiful in her life. She scanned around and when she spotted a little ledge leading down, she pranced right over to it.
By the time Aleta had found a steady, widening trail, the sun had started to set, making the day’s heat drop to freezing temperatures. In her first year, Aleta had been a late foal and the cold had been hard on her. Now that she was older and stronger, she enjoyed it. Aleta travelled down further until she was on the floor of the canyon, where a river had cut its way through the rock. The heat had made her thirsty. She dipped her face in the water almost up to her eyes. Nothing seemed so refreshing! Something clacked on the rock behind her, and Aleta froze for a second, nose still underneath the water. Quiet followed, so the mare brushed it off. Still, it felt as if someone was watching her... Aleta stepped lightly away from the water, shaking her mane and galloped a few steps. Why didn’t any other horses live here? This new place was wonderful!
Another loud crack followed, making Aleta freeze. That one had almost sounded intentional.
“Maybe it’s time to sleep” Aleta mumbled to herself. “Or just go away from here”
Aleta hurried away, nervously glancing over her shoulder ever few steps. She didn’t stop until she had found a little crevice in the wall just big enough for her to fit into. Then she settled down and drifted off into an uneasy sleep.
The next morning, a familiar noise woke Aleta up. Aleta’s blue eyes flickered open and she sighed to herself. It was the sound of another horse. A stallion.
“Hey girrrrrly!! I can smell ya from a mile away! I know you’re around here somewhere!”
Aleta rolled her eyes. The smarter they thought they were, the dumber they ended up being. Aleta peeked out around the corner and the sleek, black-brown stallion was yelling in the opposite direction. Aleta smirked to herself. This would probably be the easiest horse to get rid of yet!
The golden mare came out of her hiding place, loosening herself up for a good run, then turned to face the lone stallion.
“Girrrllll-”
“I’m right here”
The stallion looked over his shoulder and grinned. “I knew you were hiding around here”
“Of course you did” Aleta snorted. “You all do” she added under her breath.
“Well come on over here”
Aleta snorted and trotted off in the opposite direction. As expected, the stallion charged. Aleta sprang forward, bursting into a full-out gallop. Running through the canyon was much funner then on flat ground even though it was a bit more slippery. She dodged around a tall rock, over a gap and up a new trail. The stallion stayed right on her tail. He must have been born in the canyon. Aleta was fast, but she had no clue where she was running. And that was about to catch up with her.
Aleta whipped around a corner and found herself in a blocked off canyon. But that didn’t surprise her nearly as much as what she saw in the canyon. Above her was a second stallion, redder then the rock walls and marked with scars.
“Are you stupid?!”
Aleta found herself speechless.
“No, really! Did ya really think yer just the fastest lil’ twit out here?!”
Aleta furrowed her brow but before she could say anything back, the first stallion tore around the corner, chuckling to himself when he saw how Aleta was trapped. He didn’t even see the other stallion.
“Got yourself trapped, do ya?”
“Oy! I thought you’d already learned ta keep outta here?”
The dark brown stallion’s eyes jumped to the red one. Not giving him another second, the red stallion leapt right off of his high-up perch and thundered after the first stallion. Aleta scrambled out of the way, running after to watch the fight but when she turned the corner, the red stallion had disappeared. In the distance, the brown stallion was still running for his life. Aleta searched around but she was the only horse left in the area.
“Where’d you go...?” she mumbled to herself.
No one answered her, but Aleta was still confused. After a little thinking, she shook her head. She’d worry about the whole ordeal later. She needed to learn her surroundings so nothing like that happened again.
Nearly a week later, Aleta had gotten much more confident. In her little section of the canyon, she learned the trails that led in and out of the canyon and which ones would lead her to the top of the rocks or all the way down to the river. Despite exploring and learning all the spots, she still hadn’t seen any signs of the red stallion. She did, however, spot the two-leggeds that her parents had often talked about. She wasn’t afraid of them... but the ones she saw looked like they were out for something. So far though, she’d had no trouble avoiding them. But they did seem like they came closer and closer to her hiding spots every time. The sleek mustang that had chased her before already had a brush with them, but they showed no interest in him. Her curiosity had started to get the better of her. So far, she’d managed to keep away. She doubted they’d try to get her anyway.
* * *
Aleta bent down to graze from the few sparse patches of grass that grew by the river. Off in the distance, she heard the whistles from the two-leggeds but they hadn’t come as far as the river yet, so she didn’t worry.
Something snorted to her right. Aleta lazily lifted her head. She hadn’t seen any other horses in a while so she wasn’t afraid. A mare could mean a friend and if it was a stallion... well, she hadn’t had a good run in a while! Her blue eyes scanned the rocks then stopped and widened. There was the red stallion!
“Long time no see, ay?”
Aleta didn’t know what to say. After their first meeting, she’d thought up a whole list of clever comebacks but now she couldn’t think of any of them.
“Well... it’s been a long time... unless I, uh, didn’t want to see you”
The red stallion shook his head, tsking his tongue. “Not at our brightest today, are we?”
Aleta snorted and pinned her ears back. “Well at least I don’t hide all day!”
“I don’t hide” the stallion said with an almost evil grin. “Ya just can’t see me! Betchya can see them though” he added, motioning behind her. Aleta glanced over her shoulder. The two-leggeds had their horses galloping full-speed right at her. She whipped back around but the stallion was gone.
“Doesn’t matter” Aleta fretted. “I needed exercise anyway”
The mare took off, flashing through rock structures and into a trail the she knew led her into the middle of the canyon. The two-leggeds stayed right on her tail. Apparently, they knew the canyon too. It didn’t matter though, as long as she didn’t get cornered, she could tire them out. Suddenly, another horse with a two-legged aboard jumped out from another trail and cruised right alongside Aleta, forcing her into a brand new trail that she hadn’t explored much before.
Aleta pinned her ears back and picked up her speed, surging ahead of the other horse. The red rock sped by so fast, it was just one big blur. The trail veered up sharply and Aleta had to jump up the rock to keep up her speed. She leapt on the flat rock but as soon as the first horse came up after her, the red stallion flew out of nowhere and hit the horse with such force, the two-legged was knocked right off and onto the ground. The horse he hit scrambled to his feet and galloped off, spooking the other horses.
“It’s Irish!”
“Rope ‘em or something!”
With surprising speed, Irish charged right down into the chaos, bucking and kicking and biting whatever he could reach. The horses forgot about their riders and took off, completely ignoring the two-leggeds commands.
The stallion, presumably Irish, turned right around and trotted over to the human he had knocked unconscious and sniffed him, ignoring Aleta completely. He stomped a hoof and cursed under his breath. Apparently that wasn’t the human he was looking for. Aleta took her eyes off Irish for just a second. What she stood on would’ve been a dead end. Nearly every side dropped off and dropped all the way to the bottom of the canyon. If she wasn’t caught, she could’ve been pushed right off the edge and killed. Irish saved her!
“Why?”
Irish looked up. “What’ya mean ‘why’?”
“Why did you save me? Was it because I’m the only mare around here?”
“Psh, git over y’self” Irish snapped. “The whole canyon dudn’t revolve aroun’ you ya know!”
Aleta furrowed her brow and watched as Irish examined the human.
“Is he-”
“Dead? I dunno. But don’t wanna risk it” he replied, pushing the human dangerously close to the edge.
“You can’t just do that!” Aleta squealed. “He didn’t do anything to you!”
“And how would you know?!” Irish shot back heatedly. Aleta shrugged and looked at the ground. Irish sighed loudly. “An’ this is why I don’t have a herd” he muttered, trotting away.
Aleta glanced at the human and hurried after Irish. “Hey wait up!”
“What’ya want?!”
“Well we just met! And you did sorta save me! I’m Aleta!”
Irish studied the mare, eyes squinted. “That’s great ta know now please excuse me while I continue on with my life”
Irish started off again but Aleta persisted.
“We could be a herd”
“No. I don’t do herds”
“Then why did you save me?”
“Let’s git this straight” Irish snapped, whipping around. “I. Did not. Save ya. You were just bait that I used ta git those two-leggeds up here! I gotta score ta settle and having a herd’ll mess it up! So please, go away now. I don’ need ya anymore”
“Please, I need help getting to know this place! You could teach me! You obviously know this canyon better then anyone else”
“I’m notta teacher neither” Irish answered simply. “Go away”
“But-”
Irish took off, having had it with Aleta but the mare took off after him. Irish was fast, but Aleta was fast too.
“What is wrong with ya?! I saw ya running away from the others, now why don’t ya just do that for me?”
Aleta didn’t answer. She just kept her eyes on Irish and stayed right behind him.
“Yer crazy” Irish neighed. “But I’ve lost crazies before and you’ll be jus’ as easy”
Irish slowed down so that Aleta matched strides with him.
“I thought the point was to lose me” Aleta smirked.
“Oh but it was” Irish smirked right on back, suddenly rising as he climbed up a narrow trail. Aleta stared after him in shock, and glancing in front of her just in time to slide down a sharp drop and stop so fast, she was sitting. Once the dust cleared, she searched around, finally spotting Irish directly above her on a higher trail.
“Guess ya were right” Irish grinned. “I do know this canyon better ‘n anyone”
He turned around to leave, swishing his tail triumphantly.
“Please Irish!” Aleta pleaded. “How about we make a deal!”
“What could ya possibly offer me?”
“Help...maybe..?” Aleta answered, voice trailing off. “Maybe I could help you get the two-legged you were looking for?”
“Ya woudn’ last a day!” Irish snorted. “They’re more dangerous then ya think. Where do’ya think I got all the scars from?!”
“Well then you can’t lose. If I get caught or killed, I’m off your back. If you help me out, I’ll eventually leave you alone and you get your two-legged”
Irish considered it, rolling his eyes as he thought it over. “Fine” he finally answered. “But I’m leavin’ ya if ya can’ keep up”
Aleta smiled gratefully and retraced her steps carefully until she found the trail Irish had run up. Irish impatiently waited, swishing his tail irritably.
“Took ya long enough” he snapped when she finally reached him. Aleta frowned but didn’t reply.
“Why do you talk funny?” she asked as he led her off.
“Why do ya look so funny?” Irish asked in return. “I wasn’t gonna ask outta common courtesy but since we’re throwin’ questions around...”
Aleta shut her mouth.
“My adopted mum talked the same way... I dunno”
Aleta nodded.
“How-?”
“I’m not in the mood for answerin’ questions, especially stupid ones”
“What’s considered a stupid questio-?”
“Jus’ stop talkin’ til we get back, okay?”
Aleta kept herself quiet and didn’t say a word until they arrived in Irish’s “home”. No wonder Aleta couldn’t find him... the tangled trails and secret paths led into a small area guarded by four high walls. It was a good hiding place.
“How long have you lived here?” Aleta asked casually, studying the little area. Irish glared at Aleta who quickly added, “I didn’t ask any other questions and I’m assuming they is where we’re staying”
“‘Bout three years” he answered simply, leaning up against the wall and starting to doze off.
“Alone?”
“Ohhh yer never alone out here”
“Well I’ve only seen one other living thing besides you and it was that other stallion”
“Ya don’ need ta worry about Sandstone” Irish chuckled. “I kicked ‘em around enough ta keep ‘em away. It’s the things ya can’t see that ya need ta worry about”
Aleta opened her mouth to say ‘like what?’ but then she finally recognized a few of the scars stretched across Irish’s back, neck and shoulders.
“You got attacked by a cougar?” Aleta asked breathlessly.
“Killed it too” Irish snorted without opening his eyes. Aleta stared in awe. Her father had once fought a cougar before... but he didn’t kill it. “And they’re not the only thing either”
Aleta gulped but tried to nod off too.
“Rise ‘n shine!”
Aleta jumped and Irish laughed to himself. “Lil’ skittish taday, are we?”
Aleta brushed off her humiliation and followed Irish as he stepped out into the canyon. “So what do I have to do?”
“He won’t be back taday. He never comes back the day after I get one of his two-leggeds” Irish said confidently. “But I might as well show ya were they’ll be comin’ from”
“Who’s he?”
“Flick” Irish answered in a weird tone. “Nothin’ worse in this canyon then him”
“What’s so bad about him?”
“He gave me jus’ about every scar on my body besides the cougar ones” Irish said pleasantly and picking up a quick trot as they came to the top of the canyons.
“Ohh” Aleta said quietly, following him.
The pair eventually came to a stop at the very end of the canyon that overlooked vast dessert flatlands. In the distance there was a ranch. It was probably huge but from where Aleta stood, the distance made it look small.
“That’s where ‘e comes from”
They stood in silence, Aleta unsure what to say and Irish staring at the ranch intensely.
“So what do we do when we find him?”
“Kill ‘em”
Irish was right. Flick didn’t return to the canyon the next day or the day after.
“It’s probably ‘cus they’re lookin’ for the rider I knocked off” Irish explained. “Or they’re buryin’ him!”
Aleta didn’t like the thought of killing a two-legged. But her part of the bargain definitely paid off. Irish had not only taught her many of the private trails only he used, but he’d taught her a few fighting tricks too (most of which he’d physically pulled on her whenever he found her to be too annoying). But since they’d made the agreement, they both began to get along better. Aleta proved that she could keep up but that didn’t stop Irish from attempting to get rid of her every now and then. Nearly a week after they became their own little herd, Sandstone came back again.
“Irish!”
Aleta and Irish had been dozing in the shade when Sandstone’s voice echoed to them. Irish grinned and trotted out into the open. A few feet down in the bottom of the canyon was the sleek, shiny brown stallion, fiery eyes searching the rock for Irish.
“Whachya up ta now?”
“I want a rematch!” Sandstone yelled back furiously. Aleta, recognizing Sandstones voice, came up alongside Irish to see what the trouble was about. Sandstone’s eyes leapt to the buckskin pinto mare and took up a new light.
“How about I fight you for her!”
Aleta snorted. Irish wouldn’t put her on the line like that.
“Ya can have ‘er” Irish snorted. Altea glared at Irish. “But how ‘bout we fight over it just ta make things interestin’? I beat yer daddy and ya plenty a’ times and I’ll do it again”
Without waiting another moment, Irish charged down the rocky trail, gaining speed with each stride until he was barreling towards the thinner horse. Aleta thought he’d stop but Irish hit the other horse head-on.
Sandstone was taken off-guard as well. The brown mustang stumbled back, attempting to gain his footing only to have Irish drive his front hooves right into his enemy, sending him crashing to the ground. As quick as it started, the fight was done. Sandstone stayed puffing on the ground and Irish stood over him intimidatingly, waiting for the dust to settle. Aleta waited tensely. It didn’t look like Irish was going to do anything else, but he’d kept surprising her since they’d met. She didn’t like Sandstone but she didn’t want him dead.
“Seems ta get easier n’ easier” Irish grinned proudly. Sandstone stayed laying on his side, eyes burning into Irish.
“Just get it over with” he growled.
Irish grinned more. “I don’ kill unless I got a good reason too” he chuckled darkly, trotting away. “Stupidity isn’t good enough ta waste ya” he added lightly over his shoulder.
Aleta breathed a sigh of relief and Irish trotted past her. Aleta followed after, laughing nervously. “For a second there I actually thought you were gonna... you know”
“How’d ya manage ta survive out here so long?” Irish exclaimed. “It’s like ya never saw somethin’ kill somethin’ else before”
“Well my dad did a good job of protecting the herd. So no... not really. And he never killed anyone he fought with either. He was better then that”
“Oh that dudn’t make me ‘bad’ does it?” Irish said sarcastically over his shoulder. “Cus’ I don’t want ta be on yer bad side”
Aleta made a face behind his back.
“And I don’t have a herd ta protect neither”
As the days got colder, Aleta felt as if she almost knew the canyon as well as Irish. And still, Flick hadn’t returned.
“What does that mean?” Aleta asked.
“I dunno” Irish answered quietly. For the first time in his life, he couldn’t predict what was going to happen. But he had gotten used to Aleta’s questions and even Aleta herself. He’d never admit it to her but he even liked her a bit. Aleta on the other hand, was already past just liking Irish. But she’d never tell him that either. He’d probably kick her out of the canyon if he knew, but Aleta seemed to be doing a good job of hiding it.
Irish led them to the edge of the canyon that over looked the prairie and the ranch. Small wisps of smoke from each of the little houses on the ranch rose up, but otherwise, there was barely any movement. Just horses lazily swishing their tails in their corrals.
Irish snorted angrily and stomped a foot.
“They’re not doin’ anything!”
Aleta frowned sympathetically. She didn’t feel like being bait anyway, but she felt bad for Irish.
Irish whirled around and took off, bucking out his anger and Aleta grudgingly followed. She prayed that he didn’t run into anyone else, especially Sandstone. He’d be dead if Irish decided to redirect all his anger at the other stallion. Aleta stayed a short distance behind Irish but gave him room to throw his feet around, not really paying attention until she noticed that Irish stood still, frozen in place. Aleta hesitated, not sure if Irish would start kicking, but the red stallion stood alert, nostrils flared.
“Wha-?”
“Shhh”
Aleta tried sniffing the air but nothing stood out. After all, she had smelled different, strange scents in the canyon every day since she’d arrived. It was hard to pick out an unusual one.
“Get moving” Irish muttered suddenly, darting away with his head low. Aleta followed quickly behind him, heart racing.
“What is it?” Aleta whispered urgently.
“A cougar” Irish shot back.
“I didn’t smell anything”
“It’s downwind. Which means it’s either old ‘r experienced. Which also means I’d probably survive but ya definitely wouldn’t”
Aleta raised a brow, half impressed but half surprised that Irish cared about her. Irish seemed to pick up on the same thing just as the words came out of his mouth.
“And that would be a waste of the time I spent training my bait”
Irish’s ears swiveled around and the only time he lifted his head was the check up the walls of the canyon to see if there was anything above them. Aleta stuck her head up in the air, nervously checking all around her.
Irish noticed and growled, “If ya keep yer head up like that, it’s gonna-”
Something hit Aleta’s side, knocking the breath right out of her as she hit the ground. As quick as she could, she scrambled to her feet, still trying to catch her breath. Then she went rigid with fear. The furry, tawny thing in front of her had to be a cougar. It’s piercing yellow eyes seemed to almost pin her hooves to the ground.
For a fleeting second, Aleta’s eyes darted to Irish.
“Don’t even look at me” Irish uttered, making Aleta’s heart race. Was he really going to make her deal with this on her own?! “Cus’ the second that ya do, you’ll be dead before ya know it” he added in a softer tone.
The cougar growled but didn’t make a move, as if it was surprised that Aleta hadn’t tried to run away. It completely ignored Irish but seemed to toy with Aleta, having fun as it sensed Aleta’s fear.
“Listen ta me carefully” Irish started. “When I get this thing’s attention, ya roll right onta yer back, tuck yer head between yer front legs an’ kick all four legs. Got it?”
“Wha-?”
“Do ya trust me?”
Aleta hesitated, afraid to look away from the cougar.
“Well jus’ pretend that ya trust me, okay? Now ready?”
Aleta nodded unsurely, heart racing even faster. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Irish lunge and the cougar’s yellow eyes whipped away from Aleta.
Aleta closed her eyes tightly and dropped to the ground, doing as Irish had said. She heard the cougar yowl, hissing and spitting and after a while, the sounds of hooves and the cougar’s noises drifting away.
Aleta opened an eye and stopped thrashing her feet. The cougar was gone but so was Irish. Slowly, the pinto mare rose to her feet, looking around. They were both gone.
Aleta spent the rest of the day searching around for Irish. She was covered in the cougar’s scent and it felt like she had been kicked in the ribs by another horse, making it impossible to travel far or catch Irish’s scent. The only traces of the smell she did find of Irish was mixed with the cougar’s smell. So when Aleta ran out of energy and hope, she trudged back to Irish’s hiding place.
Without Irish in it, the little box canyon seemed lonely and cold. And very, very quiet. Aleta sighed to herself, silently hoping that Irish was tough enough to get out of whatever she had gotten him into. But there was no way the cougar or anyone else could find her... so Aleta drifted off into a light sleep.
As soon as her eyes had closed, they were open again. The canyon was draped in an eerie blue light from the moon and everything was dark, so it had obviously been longer then that...
Aleta perked her ears. Something woke her up from sleeping. She looked above her, just in case the cougar had magically found the hideaway and was about to jump down from somewhere. But steady hoofbeats from a walking horse started to echo into the hideaway and Aleta held her breath.
“Well that was one tough cat” Irish chirped as he entered, soaking wet. “He won’t be comin’ back fer a while!”
Aleta jumped forward and nuzzled Irish, unable to stop herself. Then realizing how awkward that was, she stepped back.
“Sorry” she mumbled, clearing her throat. “I, uh... didn’t think you were coming back”
Irish seemed a bit caught off-guard but he didn’t look angry. He just shook off, spraying Aleta with water.
“Well I’m goin’ fer a run” Irish announced. “I’m freezing an’ standing around isn’t doin’ me any good. Wanna join?”
Aleta looked up and nodded. She wasn’t tired anymore.
The pair galloped, half because they chased away a huge cougar, half because Irish started to shiver. Irish seemed to be in a trance as he galloped but Aleta was eager. She hated just running. She wanted to race! And now that she actually knew the canyon, she bet she could even beat Irish.
With a smirk on her face, Aleta slowed her gallop until she was a good distance behind Irish. As soon as Irish noticed she wasn’t there anymore, he glanced around only to see Aleta fly right past him.
As Aleta had hoped, Irish chased right after her. Aleta pinned her ears back and forced her legs to move faster. The wind rushed through her mane and made her warm and cold at the same time. She loved it! Irish was still managing to stay close behind her, so Aleta decided to take some detours.
She dodged up and down different paths, never slowing her speed until she rushed down a steep path that led to another small section of the canyon, a bit bigger then Irish’s hideout. But here, the river bent over the rocks, making little streams and a spray of water.
Wide eyed, Aleta slowed to a walk. She’d never seen anything like it before. And suddenly, she didn’t feel like running anymore.
A few moments later, Irish caught up with her. Aleta gave him a quick glance, then looked back at the water as it fell down from the rocks.
“It’s a water fall... at least, that’s what humans call it”
Aleta didn’t answer at first. She didn’t want to look away.
“You’ve been here before?”
“Of course I have. There’s no place in this canyon I don’t know about”
Aleta finally took her eyes away to look at Irish. He had a strange look on his face. Well Aleta knew the look... but seeing it on Irish’s face was strange. When he walked up alongside her, she knew he wouldn’t care if she rested her head on his shoulder anymore.
The next two weeks were wonderful to Aleta. There was almost no noticeable difference between the pair except Irish usually waited for her more often and Aleta wasn’t as intimidated whenever he threatened to leave her. She knew he wouldn’t anymore.
But near the end of those two weeks, Aleta could feel herself slowing down. She grew frustrated whenever she would try to chase Irish and got tired early and ended up going back to rest at the hideaway. Also at the end of those two weeks, Irish finally figured out what was wrong with Aleta. And what he had done was putting more then one life at stake. Realizing the danger he had put Aleta in, the red stallion knew there was only one option left.
“Aleta”
The pinto mare opened her eyes. Irish was staring down at her. His face was unreadable. Aleta brushed it off and gave him a warm smile as she struggled to pull herself up. She went to nuzzle Irish but the stallion stepped back. Aleta frowned.
“What’s wrong? Is Flick back? Or a cougar?”
Irish shook his head. “You have ta leave”
Aleta furrowed her brow. “But you’re my-”
“And that’s why ya have ta leave”
“What about helping you catch Flick? He could be back any day!”
“Yer pregnant”
Aleta blinked, not sure what to say. She was surprised but her heart fluttered. A smile started to spread across her face.
“How’d you-?”
“Flick bred mares. I know what a pregnant horse looks like. Now ya have ta leave”
“But we’re going to have a foal! Aren’t you happy?!”
“I don’t think ya heard me” Irish said darkly, anger starting to build up in his voice. “I said. Git. Out. Of. My. Canyon”
Aleta backed off a few steps but paused.
“Git otta here!” Irish snapped, lunging at the poor mare. Aleta ran to entrance to the hideaway then turned around, blue eyes now filled with sadness.
“They already saw us. They’ll catch ya and Flick’ll have no problem torturing ya and the foal too”
Aleta lowered her head and tail and started off. Maybe he was right...
Aleta trudged slowly toward the trail she knew would lead out of the canyon. She would have tried to run away, but she was already exhausted just from walking and a bad night sleep. After a long time of walking, Aleta could see the trail that led out of the canyon. Then she heard the last thing she wanted to hear. Two-legged whistles.
Gritting her teeth, Aleta could barely keep up a gallop. The trail was in her sight and despite being worn out, she was fast. But the two-legged’s horses were faster. One horse skid to a stop at the base of the trail, blocking her path and making Aleta spin around and run in the other direction.
She tried to gallop as fast as she could, but the two-leggeds stayed right on her tail. Suddenly, some thin, snakelike thing sailed over her head and around her neck. Then it tightened quickly and Aleta was jerked to a stop.
To tired to put up a fight, Aleta stood quietly and tried to catch her breath.
“This her?” One of the two-leggeds asked.
“Yep. She’s in foal too. We should catch him no problem now. Once we’re through with him, we could probably train the foal and mare. Bet it’ll be a fast ‘un too”
Aleta’s jerked her head up. They were talking about Irish! And they were going to use her as bait!
The two-leggeds led Aleta up to the top of the canyon on one of the most dangerous trails Irish had told Aleta about, then tied her to the rock and left her there. The last thing Aleta heard from the humans as they left was, “If the shot doesn’t get him, the fall will”
Aleta attempted over and over again to pull away but the rope wouldn’t give. She struggled and every once in a while would try to tear the rope with her teeth. In between breaks, she would stare down over the edge of the canyon. If the fall or shot didn’t hurt Irish, he’d definitely drown in the rapidly flowing river. She’d never seen this part of the river herself but the way that Irish had talked about it, it had to be the most dangerous part of the canyon.
“Maybe he won’t come” she said to herself even though she knew that wasn’t true.
The sun set and without the protection of Irish’s hideout, it was bitterly cold. The darker it got, the more Aleta shivered and the thirstier she got. Hunger was starting to get at her even though she had already eaten all the small bits of dry grass and bitter shrub in her reach.
“I thought I told ya to git out”
Aleta scanned around her but she couldn’t spot Irish. In the dark, his red coat seemed to be a part of the canyon.
“Flick’s here!” Aleta explained quickly, trying to talk as fast as she could. “They caught me and tied me up! Get out of here before they catch you too!”
From where ever he was, Irish sighed. “I knew this was gonna happen”
Irish came out from where ever he was, muttering under his breath.
“What are you doing?!” Aleta hissed.
“Coulda told ya this was gonna happen” he repeated. “This is what happens when ya git a herd ‘r a mare ‘r somethin’ else. Somehow, this is gonna end bad for me because ya were too slow”
In a quick motion, Irish had the rope in his mouth and after some tugging and chewing, the line broke.
“Now git out. Before they catch ya again”
Aleta didn’t need a second warning and took off at a steady, quiet canter, carefully headed for canyon trails she knew the humans didn’t know about. But before she could get too far, there was a loud commotion behind her. She didn’t turn around until Irish’s shouts were mixed in with the two-legged’s angry yells.
The two-leggeds were trying to trip him so the one holding a gun could shoot, but Irish wouldn’t stop moving.
“Hold him still so I can get a clean shot!”
Aleta took a few running steps toward the fight, but Irish’s blazing eyes caught her immediately, making her stop.
“GO!”
Aleta nodded worriedly, adrenaline pulsing through her and making her escape easier. When she was far enough away, she climbed to the trail highest up to get a good view of the fight.
Irish was still struggling and the two-legged in charge, presumably Flick, was still trying to get a good shot at the stallion. Irish reared high, careful to keep the two-leggeds from tripping him. He inched dangerously close to the edge and the two-leggeds had trouble trying to maneuver around to not go over the edge themselves.
In frustration, Flick holstered the gun and grabbed a rope himself. As soon as Flick’s rope sailed over Irish’s head, it seemed as if Irish became possessed. He threw himself against the humans ropes, knocking into a few horses in one lunge and even managing to knock a two-legged of his horse. Flick shouted something but Irish went crazy, twisting the ropes and spooking the other horses into a confused chaos. It seemed that only Flick had a good hold on Irish’s rope. And it seemed that was exactly what Irish wanted.
Flick attempted to make a desperate grab at his gun and just as he got a handle on it, Irish jumped toward the edge, yanking Flick right out of his horse’s saddle. Flick’s hand was tangled in the ropes and he couldn’t let go.
Flick aimed the gun at Irish one last time. One loud shot rang out, making Aleta jump even though she was safely far away. Both Irish and Flick went over the edge. The sounds of rocks clattering barely made noise above the roaring of the river. Then there was silence. The other two-leggeds froze, staring over the edge. Aleta did the same, ears perked and eyes wide. Any second, Irish would climb back up. Any second.
After several minutes, he still hadn’t. Aleta let a out a desperate whinny, making some of the two-leggeds look her way.
Irish couldn’t be gone. The two-leggeds clearly realized Flick was gone. They started to leave the canyon at a slow, sad walk. Aleta lowered her head. She should do the same.
Suddenly, a triumphant neigh echoed, making Aleta whip around.
Irish neighed louder, rearing up and thrashing his front legs. Aleta neighed happily in return, half-rearing as a sort of bittersweet goodbye.
Irish took off at a dead gallop, ropes still trailing behind him as his moonlit shadow disappeared into the canyon.
Aleta smiled sadly. It killed her to leave the canyon and Irish... but maybe she’d find something better out of the red-striped maze...
Taking a deep breath, the oldest daughter of Spirit and Rain started her trip out of the canyon, hoping to find something to fill the new empty feeling swelling inside her.
Spirit and Rain (c) DreamWorks
Aleta, Irish (and unnamed ocs) (c) me
Tauri (c) Raven of the Shadows
Paint and Plattoe (c) Artemis
Rozene (c) MishaN