The Shifters Heart(not continued)

Chapter 3

The neighing of my herd wakes me. I jump up, expecting danger, but see them all doing a sort of horse laugh. I tilt my head, slightly confused. I decide to shrug it off.

I announce to eat a small bit before we start heading back. It would be a long journey and I didn't want any of them collapsing on me. I fill my stomach, as much as it would hold in the morning.

I don't tend to eat in the morning because I have to protect the herd, but today I do eat because I know it's gonna be a long journey.

I stomp my hoof, grinding the last tasty pieces of grass between my molars, savoring the taste. My tail sways, waiting for the rest to finish. While I wait, I gaze up at the clouds, my nostrils flaring. The heavy dense air suggest rain. The rumbling in the distance tells me that we are getting a big storm.

A few rain drops splatter on my nose, then I know it's time to move. One of us will most likely get hurt up here where we are the tallest things. I neigh, then begin our journey down, even though my herd mates want to keep grazing a while longer.

I snort, telling them we don't want to be caught in the storm on the way down. I start jogging down the rocky slop, careful not to slip on the mossy rocks.

It was very difficult, considering I had hooves, not fingers. I start to slide, but I ignore it. I wait on the hill, waiting for them to slide down past me. They do with excitement. It felt like a giant slip n slide.

The foals go down, then I continue down behind them all. I neigh for them to go faster, the Lightning lighting up the sky like a bunch of strobe lights and the thunder sounding like cannons.

The blue sky is covered with a deadly gray cloud cover. This leaves my heart racing. I had never been one for storms, the thunder tended to hurt my ears. I make it down the slope, right as lightning strikes the top of the valley.

I neigh, telling them to follow me to our storm spot. I turn on my heels and start to race there, wanting them to be safe no matter what. I stop by the mouth of the cave, waiting for them to flood in.

My chest is moving so fast, I doubt that my heart has any time to process the blood pumping through it. I stand at the mouth of the cave, ready to keep any predators out if they try to get in.

A few cat shifters try to get in, but I fend them off, earning a few scratches. Huge puddles start to form, making me worry about flooding. If it floods, they could be trapped in the cave and I would have put them in a watery grave.

I neigh, and we move out into the storm. I look around, hair whipping my eyes and rain stinging my face like a thousand bees. My coat was soaked, washing away the mans blood from earlier and my blood. I snort, frantically trying to find safety for my herd. I see a small hill next to the bottom of the valley walls. The water was surrounding out ankles, quickly climbing.

I turn and neigh to my herd, telling them about the safety. I look again and see that it will fit all of us and if the flooding gets high enough, we can climb the valley.

I realize that the lightning stopped showing its wrath and decided to let the rain wash away the stuff it burned to a crisp. I trot, hearing my herd behind me. I dig my hooves into the soft soil, the struggle to get up because of the soft ground and the strong wind and blinding rains.

I close my eyes against it and push myself forward, wanting my herd to be in safety. I hear them surpass me, and I know they made it. I push myself up once again and look around.

The valley bottom had a thin layer of water, but it was growing fast. A little too fast. I turn to my herd and do a head count, careful to count everyone again.

Everyone was accounted for, making me relieved. I neigh, saying we are gonna have to climb the valley. I wait for them to start climbing, but all they do is tremble in complete and utter fear. I snort, catching their attention.

I start barking, well snorting, orders. I tell them to climb and they do. I follow behind them, not used to the mud beneath my hooves. I slip, but am caught by a hand against my back side. I whip my head around and spot the cat shifter that attacked my herd.

I look at him in surprise then continue climbing. I hear him climbing next to me and I nudge him to get on me. He happily obliges, but he gets my coat covered in mud.

I push the last length, and he jumps off. His arms rest on his knees and he is breathing heavily.

"Man I'm tired. That was a hard climb."
His voice is swept away by the hard wind. On the climb up, the rain had turned to a slight drizzle. I give him a look, saying

Your tired? You rode me up that beast of a hill.

He chuckles, seeing my expression. I snort and proceed to shake the mud off my coat, with the help of the wind. I'm busy itching my leg with my teeth when I feel a hand on my neck.

My head flys up and hits his nose, then I jump back. I'm not used to being touched, since I am a wild horse. Which is probably why that since he's naked, it doesn't bother me.

I'm technically naked, though I have fur covering me. In human form I would be naked. The wind dies down a considerable amount, so I turn and look at the valley.

It was completely flooded. My home was destroyed.