Gentle Soul - Brumby Story

Chapter 4

GINGER

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Snow and the rest of the small herd had stayed in the forest for a while. I stayed a bit away from Snow now, not that I hated him but I didn't want to get too close to him if I was going to make him so sad when he left. I really wasn't worth the drama.

I saw Bucky had lifted his head and was flaring his nostrils and looking around. 

I watched him with my ears pricked. He turned and moved through the forest and out of sight.

My curiosity got the better of me and I followed after him keeping light on my hooves so he couldn't hear me. 

He went down a track that from my view looked like horses had used it before. 

It soon let out to a human path with the gravel leading down the mountain, I moved to behind a big bush nearby instead so Bucky couldn't see me. 

I knew he was curious about humans but I didn't know he really would travel to human places such as a path made by them. I wanted to go out and confront him but I also wanted to see where he was going.

He went down the path, his hooves clicking on the ground and he made no attempt to quiet his hoof-steps.

 If he kept going like that he'd attract humans.

I followed the road but didn't step on it, I made sure my hooves landed in patches of grass to hide my hoof-steps and my head stayed low so it didn't poke out of the bushes and alerted the unsuspecting colt.

The land was sloping down and the trees were beginning to thin out and soon a small shack with two horse pens and a horse shelter lay before us. The human path lead to it.

Bucky stopped, he looked a bit more nervous. 

In the pen closest to the house there was an old bay mare and a small black donkey. On the front porch of the house there was a human and a smaller human seeming to gawk at Bucky.

What was Bucky doing?

I watched as the two humans, the taller one seemed more confident, he wore something on his head. The little human was less confident, he had a little brown blanket of hair on his head that was quite short.

The little human intrigued me slightly.

He didn't seem like a threat, like his bigger companion, who definitely could catch brumbies like me or Bucky for that matter. 

I lifted my head so I could get a better view, they held out stuff in their hand and Bucky sniffed and began eating something. 

What were they feeding him? Poison?

I shuffled uncomfortable with the situation. I needed to go out there and scare them off, but what would Bucky do?

I stayed put, once they returned to their home I'd confront Bucky. 

The smaller human ran back to the hut. I pricked my ears, Bucky seemed to be getting a bit uncomfortable too. The larger human put his hand on Bucky's shoulder and guided him down the road closer to the house. 

I followed as slow and carefully as I could.

The smaller human ran out of the house holding a long tangled rope thing and the two humans slid it over Bucky's muzzle. Somehow Bucky let them, not without a few pull backs of course.

I flattened my ears against my head angry that Bucky would let them do such a thing.

They lead him into the far pen and he went in willingly. No way could he jump over the fence that was up to his chest high. Snow might be able, I doubted Bucky would though.

They took off the part they had used to lead him into the pen and walked back into the house.

I didn't wait any longer and dashed to the pen. "Bucky! What are you doing!" I murmured angrily not wanting to be heard by the humans. 

"Ginger? What- why?" Bucky seemed to shuffle shamefully at being caught red-hooved.

"You just let humans do this to you?" I hissed under my breath.

"I-" he stammered.

I frowned at him. "Their going to make you work your entire life under a saddle, and they might sell you or kill you or- or- who knows?"

"You don't understand," Bucky told me his ears flicking in slight annoyance. "The kind man and his son that live here needed a new working horse. I don't want to be wild anymore. What's the point of it all, you eat, fight and I don't think I'll ever have a foal. I want to help instead."

I was stumped, that actually made sense, I wouldn't have to run from brumby hunters, I wouldn't have to worry about being plain or fast. I wouldn't need to worry about Snow leaving me for a herd of his own.

I dug my hooves into the ground, "Bucky, your trapped now, you can't get out, what am I going to tell Snow?"

He looked down embarrassed.

I saw the two humans rush out of the house, the little one shouted and pointed and the older one began to approach.

My heart pounded in my chest and I spun around quicker than I thought was possible for me and sprinted into the forest. 

My legs were sore by the time I reached the herd, Snow and the others looked up a bit worried. 

"Where's Bucky?" Copper asks. 

I stood there, my chest heaving and my head low from my run, now I had to break the news to everyone. Today just couldn't get better.

"Bucky's chosen his side."

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