The hours passed felt like moments as Eagle soaked up every last bit of Desert, for he knew he would have to leave her again before dawn. The herd would be questioning where he had been all day, off the radar without telling a soul. "I will return to you my love. We'll figure this out, but there isn't enough hours in the night. Tomorrow at dusk, I'll meet you back here." Eagle nickered gently, a full aching taking over his heart. Desert nuzzled him. "I promise. I'll be here." she whispered in return. They touched noses delicately, frozen in that moment for what seemed an eternity, before she melted away into the shadows and a series of gentle beating hooves from the rest of her herd as they returned to their two leggeds. Eagle sighed. He watched her disappear, hoping for a look over the shoulder that never came. So he too, turned on his heels and began a steady gallop back to his own herd, glancing up at the still dark sky. The sun would soon break through the darkness and cast an eery glow of yellows, pinks and greys across the land. He had to be back before that happened. At the break of dawn, Spirit would awake and keep a watchful eye on his herd over the next hour or so, incase of morning cougar prowls, or signs of danger.
After roughly an hour of cantering and galloping across the partially uneven ground, Eagle reached the lake in which they had first left Desert all those months ago. He stopped briefly for a drink and to soothe his aching feet in the cool, rippling water. As if on cue, the sun broke above the horizon, peeking slyly over the hills. Deep breath. The tall, shimmering grey stallion stepped graciously through the lake, drifting to the other side right as Spirit trotted over the hill to the water.
He immediately spotted Eagle's white coat, standing out against the comparingly dull colours of the land. "Eagle! Where on Earth have you been?! You've been M.I.A for the past 24 hours! We were starting to get worried, some of us were preparing to start looking for you today." Spirit whinnied, a mixture of panic, anger, confusion and relief in his voice at the return of Eagle. "I'm so sorry, Spirit, I-" he began, searching his brain for an excuse as to where he had been whilst away with Desert and her new crowd for the whole of yesterday. "I thought I saw two leggeds. Nasty ones. The ones from your stories all those years ago. I decided to follow them, but I didn't want to panic or upset anyone until I was sure. They turned out to be travellers, I believe, lost their way." he spat out in a hurry as the idea came to his head.
"Ahhh yes, I remember those days. Although that got me into quite a bit of trouble if you remember the stories correct. Next time alert me and I'll come with you. For now I am still the protector of this herd." the golden leader replied, calmer this time. Relief washed over Eagle as his lie appeared to fly under the radar. Together, they returned to the herd and walked the edges of the territory. With no sleep since the night before and hours of galloping on his hooves, Eagle was struggling to hold up his own head; but he had to make it look convincing that nothing was out of the ordinary. So he powered on, and followed Spirit back to the other horses once the golden sun was properly arisen.
———
Leaving Eagle again was one of the hardest things Desert had had to do in a long time. Surrounded by her new family, they walked steadily back to the teepees and large fence pens of their home. She hadn't thought about leaving the two leggeds since they helped her in the first place, and how she was raring to get back out in the open and return to her parents, and the love of her life. But she didn't feel that way anymore, and hadn't in a long time.
"Desert? What's wrong?" Amber nickered, bringing over a lump of hay to share. She was munching contently with a blue handprint on her flank, and a lock of human hair weaved into her own. She belonged here. Truly belonged. Suddenly, for the first time in ages, Desert felt alone. Stuck between two worlds. "What? Oh, uh, yeah I'm fine; why wouldn't I be?" she replied, faking a bouncy tone to her voice and snatching up some of the hay that had fallen to the ground. Thoughts clouded her vision. She barely even noticed when Little Creek came up to greet her in his usual way. She couldn't understand his words but his intentions were always clear. He rubbed her forehead and stroked her back, soothing the mare's troubled thoughts almost as if he knew she was feeling off. Desert sighed and leaned into his hand, trying to ease the battle in her mind of whether to stay in her new life, or rejoin her true family, the ones she had been missing for so many moons. This would be no simple decision. "Maybe seeing Eagle again tomorrow will help me decide..." the mare mumbled to herself, not paying attention to who was around her. "Decide what? Eagle?" Amber lifted her head from the hay, suddenly intrigued. "Oh, no it doesn't matter, I'm just thinking out loud. Old problems." Desert quickly replied, turning away from her friend with a painful look in her eye. "Hey, I'll catch you later okay?" She whinnied over her shoulder before loping gently over the brow of the hill back into the trees, autumn leaves cushioning the ground like a carpet. This place reminded her of home. Home. She wasn't even sure where home was anymore.
—-Heyy, I found this chapter in my drafts from a while ago, I've only just found the login to this app again sorry! It might not be as good because I can't quite remember how the story goes but I'll try! :) x
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A Fresh Breath~ Ghost Horse 2
Fanfiction-The sequel to my other book Ghost Horse- Discovering Desert is alive, Eagle sets his mind on bringing her home, not expecting to reconnect with his roots of running with the lone horses and living where they rest. However, finding Desert is one pe...
