To Tame the Wild: a Red Dead Redemption fan fiction

Chapter 4 - Join Up

The lunge line and halter felt awkward in his hands. What the fuck am I doing? His brow creased, and he frowned deeply. This is stupid. He looked up at the woman who had placed both objects into his hands.

She cocked an eyebrow and folded her arms across her chest. "Well?"

"I'm not doin' this."

"You'll do as you're told, boy. Now get in there and work with him."

"This is ridiculous, lady. The chances of me," he paused to taste the foreign words on his tongue, "joining up with that horse is just¾"

"Stop fucking around and get in the round pen, Marston." She uncrossed her arms and put her hands on her hips. "Now!"

"I..."

"Yes?" she asked impatiently, shifting her weight from foot to foot.

"I...don't have a clue what I'm doing, miss. I've never broken a horse like this. Pa just always showed me the way he knew."

"You mean the cruel, sadistic way of tying up the horse's legs with rope and yanking them out from underneath them so you can pin him down long enough to forcibly strap on a saddle and bridle and ride him till he bucks himself nearly to death?"

He nodded, wincing inwardly at her viciously accurate description. "I guess."

"We're not "breaking" these horses, Mister Marston, let me make that very clear to you. What I'm teaching you to do is different. Rather than forcing the horse into submission through torture and cruelty, you gain his trust and friendship through unification. You become his herd-mate, leader, and, most importantly, his friend."

"Well, yeah, I understand that, but..." He ran a hand over his face, flustered. "But I don't have a goddamned clue as to what I'm doing here. I don't know the first thing about joining up."

"That's why I'm here. I'll talk you through it, Jack."

"And if I screw it up? It's not like I've got a hell of a lot of experience."

"Oh, for fuck's sake!" She sighed heavily and bowed her head, bringing up her right hand to pinch the bridge of her nose with her index finger and thumb. She took a moment to recollect herself before asking calmly, "Do you want me to demonstrate for you, princess?"

"Yes."

"Fine, then. Get the stallion out of the round pen. I'll drive the filly in there and show you how it's done."

Within ten minutes, they had driven the stallion out and replaced him with the filly in his stead. Once driven into the pen, the pinto loped about, frightened and looking for a way out. The woman let the mustang run about for a minute to let her become aware of her surroundings. During that time, Jack noticed a crowd of ranch hands had begun to gather around the pen; all eyes were fixed on the feisty horsewoman as she entered the pen with the lunge line and halter in hand.

Jack leaned his elbows on the top board of the round pen. He caught himself admiring her, especially when she took off her duster. Her long waterfall of dark-brown hair flowed and swayed lazily behind her back as a light breeze began to blow.

He was surprised when she walked up to him and held out her duster over-top the fence. "Hold this for me and keep a sharp eye while I join up with Féileacán. You're gonna be doing the same thing with Sundance here in a while, so pay attention and don't doze off."

He nodded and draped her duster over his shoulder.

She squared her shoulders and looked the mustang in the eyes as she turned and faced the filly. The filly looked back as she paced the fence across from her. Suddenly, she threw the end of the lunge line at the rump of the filly. The mustang shied away, kicking wildly at it. The woman gathered it up and lashed the line again, making the horse lope around the round pen. She intently watched the horse's head, urging her on with the line whenever she slowed her gait. Both females kept their focus on the other.