Free As The Wind (A Yogscast Fanfic)

Chapter 3 ~ The Rolling Storm

The scene of the slim red haired girl riding definitely on the wild horse's back replayed itself constantly in Luna's questioning mind. How was it that she had come to be on this stallion? Luna had been observing them for the whole afternoon, but not once seen any signs of a girl amongst the herd.  Luna began to scrunch her brow, already tinged with mist as a light fog rolled in around them. Shaking away from her thoughts, she finished her remaining few scraps of meat and stood, heading towards the running river, with Runo close on her heels. She cupped her hands and lowered them into the fast flowing river, allowing the tingling ice-cold liquid to completely submerge her otherwise warm peach skin. Luna brought the clasped hands to her mouth, carrying a handful of water, before dropping to her knees to slurp the hydrating moisture from its source. With one slightly damp hand, Luna ran it along the crest of her head, gradually grasping all of her long thick hair, thus allowing her to take a fulfilling drink without soaking her lengthy hair. As her lips touched the water, Luna's eyes pooped open from the shock of the temperature. It was getting colder. She sat up straight, sniffing the air. Turning to Runo, she saw he was thinking the same. The snow was coming, and boy was it coming fast.

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Sorrel sat on her haunches, picking the remaining roots and shoots from below the extremely useful tree. Somehow, she had managed to collect a grand total of 33 different roots, just that morning! This really was a helpful tree! Gently pulling out the small piece of worn paper from her pocket, she noted it down as a good point to bring the herd back to next fall. Her black jeans were incredibly worn, with tears and rips in places from the herd's quick getaway. Letting her arms fall limp at her sides, Sorrel's magenta jumper sleeves swinging gently. There was no doubting the fact it had more room inside than Sorrel could take up, but that just made the fabric layer even cosier to snuggle up in during the winter. Her mind drifted to the winter, and all the preparations that still had to be made.

She shook her head, gently making her way towards the tree- each step tinged with frustration and worry. She stealthily climbed the old oak, each step faintly marking the old braking bark. Sorrel's red hair caught on a twig around a quarter of the way up, snagging a few hairs from her head, but she barley noticed. When the young adult at last reached the top, she attempted surveying the scene below and around her. Unfortunately, a mass of foliage defiantly blocked her line of sight. Accepting the risks, she began standing up, nearly falling. Peering below her Sorrel could see a good length of tree between her and the floor. Letting a large gulping sound escape from her lips, her attention snapped back to what was in front of her. All around the tree the herd grazed, savouring as much of the flavour as their mouth's dared before the white-out came, laying a think layer of snow over their main source of food. This would mean a lot of scraping about with their hooves in order to find any grass worth eating- as well as a lot of travelling.

Sorrel's mind was drifting again so she took a sharp breath inwards. Her eyes finally focused on the horizon. Somehow, her eyesight was sharper than it was expected to be, especially at long distances. Glancing carefully over her left shoulder- Sorrel spotted a cave in the tall wall of rock that was the mountain. Making note to check that out once she had retreated from her vantage point, Sorrel continued to survey the world around her. Nothing was particularly jumping out at the girl as abnormal, until she fully turned around and looked straight into the eyes of the horizon. The storm clouds that lingered just a miles shook her core. Last time they had a storm with clouds that matched these in appearance, they had lost three of the foals in less than half an hour. Her eyes moistened, and her pulse rose dramatically. Now was the time to act, before it was too late.

Sorrel swung her seemingly heavy body down the tree, leaping deftly from branch to branch before her bare feet connected with the moist grass, at a sprint already. She ran past Opal whinnying to the head stallion, Kado. His head shot up and immediately the rest of the herd moved closer together, out of instinct. She quickly communicated silently to him, using her gaze to stare at the clouds and her body language to show how uncomfortable she was in staying out in the open, where they were most vulnerable. She gently trotted over to the cave-like structure, surveying it thoroughly, before deeming it both large enough and safe enough to harbour the horses while the storm passed. Opal was first to head into the cave, his trust in Sorrel so great he was willing to risk his life in order to please her. She nickered her thanks, before a shrill whinny rang out behind them. Shortly afterwards, all 14 horses of the herd had crammed into the now filled cave. The foals were cleverly positioned at the back of the cave, protecting them thoroughly. Sorrel had insisted on being just outside the cave, tucked away into the hollow of a tree, so as to be able to warn the herd of an immediate danger without giving their position away. Although there was a storm, the threat of wolves and humans was an ever impending worry in her mind.