Ghost Horse-Spirit Stallion of the Cimarron

Chapter 7- Braid

(The picture above is of Eagle, but it is NOT mine, I am not taking credit for it, I got it off DeviantART and it is made by agra19 I think that was her/his name)

"Wake up! Oh for the last time, Desert, get up! We have a long road ahead of us, and if you want to get there within 2 years, we better move now." Eagle nickered. The sky was slate gray, with a tint of a glow towards the East, which told the young horses of the early time. Desert's eyelids flickered open.

"Eagle? Where am I? And...  Oh! Oh we need to go now!" Desert leapt up and stumbled, gulping down some water and snatching an apple as she stepped around and over the rest of the sleeping band.

"Ugh, that's what I've been saying for the last 10 minutes!" the pale colt exclaimed in a hiss-whisper.

"What are minutes?" she asked, scrunching up her nose. Eagle rolled his soft brown eyes and snorted. "What?!" the filly squealed.

"Sometimes I forget how dumb herd animals are." he sighed, shaking his growing mane and striding out through the dense trees, weaving expertly and dodging holes as if he knew exactly where they were. However, Desert remained at the rear, stumbling and tripping over the dips and roots, snorting and squealing as yet again, her hooves as came flying away from the ground. "Try not to fall over quite so much either; it slows us down."

"Hey! You're used to this horrible land! I'm used to smoother terrain, thank you very much!" She snapped back, keeping her head down and picking her way slowly around the small track, seeming still fresh, as the forest appeared so deserted. Eagle snorted shortly, waiting for the filly every now and then.

~

The sun was at it's peak, shining brightly down on the young animals, burning their backs and necks, glimmering with sweat. They'd been walking and stopping continuously, including snack breaks, and 'My hooves hurt' breaks which both took about fifteen minutes, adding on to their time. The band were exaggerating; it only took Eagle about 3 weeks traveling to get to the Cimarron. Sure, the weather wasn't ideal, but it seemed the best they had. Another field of trees appeared on the horizon, seeming only black shapes flaunting about where the sky touched land.

"Is that it?" Desert gasped, glancing up at Eagle, who looked slightly worn out himself.

The colt shook his head, suddenly looking as if he had all the energy. "No, it's over the next mountain."

"Mountain?! You're kidding. Right?" she stopped and puffed out her chest, arching her showered neck.

"Nope." he replied briefly, striding confidently past tufts of grass, dry and crusty beneath their hooves, and on to the trees ahead, and distant mountain that seemed a mile high.

"Isn't there a quicker way? Maybe around the mountain?" Desert asked hopefully. Eagle thought for a moment, tilting his head and focusing on the ground before lifting his gaze yet again to the horizon.

"Not a quicker way, but a safer way I guess. On the mountain there'll be multiple cougars and wild stallions ready to smash our bones to pieces. There'll be bears in the meadows, don't forget. Grizzly and black, both if them. They'll have our heads if we're not careful."

"Then why don't we take the other way?! Around the mountain, no bears, cougars or wild stallions, no dangerous heights; right?"

"Well there is the animals, and even some cliffs, but it's much less frightening, believe me. Plus, there's vultures up there. Those ugly birds..." Eagle growled at the thought of them, glancing up at the nearing mountain and its lush meadows along the side, sloping steeply up to a point.

"Yep, definitely around the mountain." Desert shivered and cowered, shrinking her head to the ground. "Or we could just turn and go back to your little band, my herd can wait after all." she whispered, flicking her ears to and fro.

"Just keep close beside me and you'll be fine." he rolled his eyes again just as a heavy gust of wind blew in their faces. This was when Desert noticed a braid under Eagle's mane, secured tightly with some sort of darker hair and a shimmering blue feather, long and soft, fading from different shades to white at the tip.

"Well what's that?" the filly asked, stepping closer and singling out the strong braid from the rest of his thick mane.

"What's what? Oh, nothing. My, er, mother made it." he replied quickly, picking up the pace.

"Horses can't plait, silly. Stop, I want to have a closer look! Pleeease?" she begged, grinning before skipping closer, nudging it out. "Tell me what it is truthfully." Desert added agreed a moment of admiration. Both continued to walk forward, ambling gracefully as possible through the low-hanging leaves.

"Can't remember."

"Liar!"

"What! I can't, can we go off the subject please?" Desert thought carefully and hung her head slightly. Her ear pricked suddenly as Eagle stopped abruptly, his nostrils flaring, standing square with alert eyes and ears. "Get back." Eagle snorted seriously, his eyes remaining wide. Everything was still.

Still...

BANG!  A loud gun shot fired through the air near them, just before a heavy thud of a deer in the trees near them. It's recently murdered body could be seen from the shadows. Any moment now, the killer could burst through and shoot them both too. "Run!" He hissed, breaking into a full gallop, streaking away. Desert struggled after him, racing blindly through the dust. A shout came from behind them, then immense pain shot through Desert's hind leg, but she managed to limp after Eagle into cover, hidden inside an unseen rock wall. The shooter ran past, holding his gun by his side, finger on the trigger.

"You're hurt..." Eagle murmured softly after a minute, his eyes focused on her bleeding leg. Desert lay on the cool ground, panting with her muzzle propped up by another rock, creating a hoarse breathing sound.

"No, I'm fine." Desert replied in a strained voice, attempting to stand but gasping in pain. Eagle stared for a minute at the dripping blood before standing up and striding out. His form disappeared between bushes and leaves, hidden in the shadows. "Hey! Don't leave me!" Desert whinnied sharply, narrowing her eyes against the sun. He returned with several different colored berries, two different leaves, and some kind of water. The white colt knelt beside her ankle and lay the half of the berries on the leaf, covering it with the other and crushing it carefully so it would fall out. He slowly removed the top leaf and lowering the berry poultice on her wound, wrapping it with difficulty and leaving it oozing into her leg. "What are you doing?" Desert asked nervously. The poultice felt soothing, yet stung slightly as it mixed with her blood.

"Helping you." Eagle replied bluntly, taking the remaining berries and nosing them towards Desert's muzzle. "Eat these. All at once." he watched as she gulped them down, gagging at the sour taste. She sighed in relief as the pain slipped away, leaning back. Suddenly, the sky flashed brightly, and that's when the two realized it was dark from the swelling purple storm clouds above them.