Mustang Dreams (COMPLETED)

Chapter Twenty Two

        "Clay, go left! No, no, wait. Go right! Try getting him towards the gate!" Misty shouted at her boyfriend from across the pasture. Casper had somehow escaped from his stall in the barn, winding up in the small, open turn out pasture beside the barn. Misty's family always left the gate to that pasture open since they don't graze it often due to the smallness of size. In this instance, their decision to leave the gate opened was actually beneficial. If Casper didn't have access to the small corral, he would have gotten out into one of the much bigger pastures, making it impossible to catch him on foot.

        "Babe, I'm tryin'!" Clay shouted back at Misty as he lifted his arm in Casper's direction, getting him to turn towards Misty and away from him. This was a game to Casper: green grass to munch on, only two people out trying to catch him, not to mention the freedom of being lose. Casper was enjoying himself with no plans to be caught any time soon.

        The sky above them cracked as the dark storm clouds began to open up, dropping down rain drops, ever so slowly. As the drops began to descend faster, falling in larger quantities, Clay took his eyes off of Casper, looking up at the sky. "Great, just great." He mumbled, upset that there was one more thing to add to his already bad day. "Come on, Casper, let's go. Back in the barn." Clay practically growled, taking a step closer to the gray grulla anxiously trotting around the green pasture. "Mist, can you at least try to get him over here, please?" Clay asked of his girlfriend, his voice rising in frustration. 

         Misty chuckled as the rain fell harder and faster. With each drop, she smiled as it tapped a beat on her cowboy hat. Glancing up, a few rain drops fell onto her face, making her face cold where the drops once were. The whole situation was amusing to Misty; in the past, storms had always put her in a bad mood for some reason, but today, she was enjoying the rain. Clay, on the other hand, was the one who was getting upset by the sudden onset of rain. 

         "Misty!" Clay shouted, drawing her attention from the sky, back to the situation at hand. When she looked at Clay, he said in a frustrated voice, "I really need you to pay attention, and help me get Casper back inside, please." It was taking everything in him to stay calm, knowing there was no reason to yell at his girlfriend. 

       "Sure, I'm sorry." Misty said in a calm voice, looking forward to getting the chance to sit down and talk to Clay about his bad day. Slowly making her way forward, Misty cooed to her horse, getting him to turn to her. Finally, after almost a half hour of Casper's game of tag, he finally obeyed Misty, giving into the temptation of the treat she held in her hand. "Good boy." Misty praised, slipping the lead rope over his neck, sliding the halter on over his nose. Just as she was about to clip the halter together, a loud crack of thunder shook the ground, catching everyone, including Casper, off gaurd. Casper spooked slightly, although he is a mustang who grew up outside and was used to the storms. With an anxious snort, Casper began backing up from Misty. Taken aback by her horse's action, Misty's boots failed to catch traction on the now muddy ground. "Babe, please take him." Misty called over to Clay who was already jogging across the grass to aid Misty. Just as Clay was about to take the lead rope, Casper bolted, dragging Misty with him. Misty refused to let go of the lead until she was certain Clay had a hold of it. When he shouted at her to let go, Misty freed her hand, and her body stopped sliding across the muddy ground. Picking herself up off the ground, Misty looked over at Clay. He had gotten Casper to calm down and was walking him into the barn. 

        Clay had barely gotten Casper back in to his stall before he was running back out into the pasture to make sure Misty was alright. "Mist, you okay?" He called over, walking towards her. 

         "Yeah, I'm fine." Misty said honestly, bending down to pick up her hat off the muddy ground. It had fallen on it's crown which had made it into a bucket for the rain to fill it. Picking it up, Misty tipped it over, pouring the water out of it before settling it back on her head. By this time, Clay was beside her. "Let's get out of this rain." Misty said with a smile, having to slightly raise her voice over the loudness of the now pouring rain.