The wild, wild West (Arthur Morgan x f!reader)

CHAPTER 19 - Cattail Pond

Attention people, there's some NSFW stuff ahead. Watch out for that.

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Smiths hooves clanked against the metal bars of the railway. The sun hung above our heads like a pale yellow disk and reflected of the iron. The thunderstorm from yesterday seemed to have cooled off the scorching heat from yesterday, it was warm, but not overly so.

Arthurs mare trotted right behind us. His face looked a lot calmer than I felt and he even sloped back in the saddle and steered with one hand. I glanced sideways over the railing into the abyss that ended in Flat Iron Lake somewhere deep below. Hell, if you couldn't keep your horse in check up here, you'd be dead. I was nervous about Smith, although I hid it pretty well so I wouldn't upset him. But the way he took off and tried to buck me off yesterday wouldn't leave my mind completely. It left a sliver of unease.

Another thing that left me paranoid was the fact that we rode on an actual damn railway bridge. Sure, Arthur had been right about the fact that we couldn't go any other way, because otherwise, we would have to cross the river and Smith would surely refuse that, but a stupidly narrow bridge with the chance of getting run over by a train didn't seem like the smartest alternative either. The train had passed fifteen minutes ago and it wouldn't be back in a while, still I felt unnerved at the bare thought of another one coming through. There wasn't enough space to turn the horses around and the idea of falling of the sides made my stomach churn. And what if Smith starts acting up? My mind was spinning in circles, aiming to drive me insane.

The distant end of the bridge drew closer with every passing minute. Ten meters left. Five. Finally we left the bridge behind us.

I let out a silent sigh and patted Smiths neck. „You did good, boy. Good job." Arthurs mare trotted up to us and we rode silently side by side. The train came an hour later and passed by us, loud and smelling like oil and metal. The horses tried to escape sideways with wide and fearful eyes. Smith almost took off and I fought once more to keep him under control. Then it was over and left us in a cloud of sandy dust. Coughing and rubbing sand out of our eyes, we continued.

We arrived at Cattail Pond three hours later. Our journey had started at about 1 pm, now it was late afternoon. The sun hoovered over the horizon, casting a golden glow on the water, the dark pines and the grass. I scanned the landscape curiously. I had never been here before.

Smith ripped me out of my observations when he performed a full stop in front of the small stream that crossed the path. Arthurs mare had crossed it without any issue, now I took a deep breath and mubled a few calming words while I pressed my legs against the stallions belly so he wouldn't turn sideways. For a few moments, he struggled with the decision, then he leaped unnecessary high over the water.

I let out an amused huff and patted his neck. „Ain't you a brave one, Smithy."

Although we had crossed the oh-so-dangerous water, he didn't relax. His ear still looked like they were fixed flat to his neck and his muscles felt stiff under my hand.

„Arthur?", I called out, my voice being a little sharper than I intended to. „There's somethin' off."

As if on cue, a low growl sounded from the tree line and spooked Arthurs mare. He reached for his riffle immediately with one hand remaining on the reigns. I tightened the grip on mine as well and drew the Cattleman, even thought I knew that it wouldn't do much against a wolf or cougar.

„We need to get off the horses!"

Arthur nodded. „Get over to the clear area and tie them to a tree, I'll cover your back."