Spirit, Riding Free: Lucky and Her Adventurous and Mysterious Cousin Sasha

Chapter Nine

Sasha had eaten breakfast and gotten out early to have a fun ride on Destiny and with Crow by their side. Sasha had gotten dressed in a blue shirt with a yellow trim with her supplies (including her lunch) in her satchel and went towards the barn, humming a bit as she went the to the barn to feed the horses at the Prescott barn and Mr. Granger's barn.
Everything is peaceful and has a nice temperature in Miradero as she headed towards her family's barn. She chuckled when she remembered the time when Snips and Señor Carrots had wandered into the inn two weeks ago and caused a crazy game of chaos in there, which had sent Sasha and her horses into a fit of laughter.
She glanced up at the sky, enjoying the peace and quiet that is usually brought by the early morning. The rising sun had lit the surrounding mountains on shimmery, warm golden fire. A bit of white mist hung close to the ground, due from last night's rain. A peregrine falcon flew overhead, and a dog barked in the distance. A couple of sparrows were singing from the nearby rooftops. A orange cat was grooming from one of the top of the rooftops and has an hungry eye on one of the sparrows or chickens below in the chicken coop. Since it was early in the morning, the ranch hands were each waking up in their bunkhouse, ready to have their breakfasts. From inside came the sounds of utensils and lowered, slightly drowsy voices as they started waking up. Mr. Granger's horses were in their corrals for today, ready for today's new sales. In Mr. Granger's barn, the owned horses and donkey were still asleep as well as the mischievous and curious red and white-blazed colt, Governor.
Sasha smiled and ran towards Mr. Granger's barn, feeling energetic as ever in the morning. She silently opened the barn door and found the sleeping horses there. There was Spirit, Chica Linda, Boomerang, Junipero, Señor Carrots, and three unclaimed red or brown Appaloosa horses. Destiny and Crow had both woken up and had both looked at Sasha with what seemed to be welcoming smiles. Sasha smiled and nodded to them as a silent hello. She had a small smile in adoration when she saw Spirit sleeping with Governor next to his side in his stall. Sasha thought that those two must be related due to their similar adventurous and unbreakable spirits and the similar markings that they both have.
"That's very adorable," whispered Sasha with a small smile.
Sasha had silently poured oats and water into all the buckets for the horses' breakfasts without waking any of the horses or the donkey up by accident. When she was done, Destiny and Crow had finished their breakfasts and were both ready to get some exercise.
"Okay, let's go." Sasha had opened the doors of her horses' stalls and the two of them both walked out. Sasha put the same rope around their necks and put Destiny's bridle on the mare's face. Sasha led the two horses out of the barn, but they all froze when Boomerang had sneezed and had almost woke up. Sasha and the horses both relaxed as Boomerang goes back to sleep again. Sasha had bit her tongue from laughing. Boomerang can snore!? Don't hear that everyday.
Sasha sighed in relief as they finally as she felt the fresh and cool morning air, away from the sleeping horses in their stalls. Sasha smiled as Destiny and Crow both stepped out of the barn. She mounted Destiny's back and her hands clung onto the reins.
"We have go somewhere," whispered Sasha.
"Sasha?" whispered a new voice. The voice came from the father of Bianca and Mary Pat. He had the similar looks as his twin daughters. He was riding his saddled and bridled brown stallion. "What are you doing here so early in the morning? Do your folks know that you are out here?"
Sasha soon remembered Lucky's family, the PALs, and their friends. They'll be really worried about her and the grownups will probably ground her for a week, a while longer before she could find Crow's rightful owner.
"No," Sasha said with a slight shake from her head. "But I guess I could wait for a while."
Sasha tied the two horses to the fence outside of the barn and made them stay there as she do her chores. In the barn, she silently pushed the new hay bales next to the walls, putting the new feed and barrels an inch away from the hay bales, cleaned the riding equipment, washed the apples and carrots before putting it in the buckets, tying up some straws of hay with rubber bands, carefully dumping the used hay and droppings from all of the stalls into a wheelbarrow with a long shovel, she silently replaced the old hay with fresh and new hay in all of the stalls without waking up any of the horses, and she had cleaned the whole entire barn, the way Mr. Granger likes it. She had put the old hay and horse (and donkey) droppings into a empty barrel and put it outside.
When Sasha was done, she had washed her hands with a bar of soap and walked towards her horses' corral. She leaned against the corral fence and got out a red apple from her brown, leather lunch bag. She took a juicy bite from the red delicious apple and continued to have her snack.
As she watched as the peaceful town became active and started get to work. Sasha smiled and gave a small wave as a good morning to Mr. Granger as he went to check out the barn. He came back out from the barn and looked at Sasha with astonishment, who simply shrugged humbly and gave him a innocent smile. The horse wrangler shook his head in amazement and gave Sasha an amused smile. She watched him as he walked away to check on the new horses in the ramada.
She closed her eyes slightly after she was done eating her apple and tossed her apple core to the two horses. She felt the gentle wind gently blow through her hair and the scent of fresh country air had came to her nose.
"Sasha!" Lucky's voice and Spirit's neigh had snapped out of Sasha's peace, making her opened her eyes and looked at her cousin and her cousin's stallion with confusion.
"Lucky, what's wrong?" asked Sasha, concerned.
"A friend of mine had lost his horse eight weeks ago, between Miradero and the Badlands. The stallion was unknowingly herded with Mr. Granger's herd of horses," Lucky said quickly. "Did you happen to see the horse within the herd?"
"I need a specific description of this mystery stallion, his personality, and his name," said Sasha with a gentle, teasing smile.
Lucky looked a little sheepish, but she gave Sasha a look. "Well, this horse is brown with symbolic patterns shaved into his coat. He is kind, adventurous, intelligent, loyal, brave, and has a similar wild spirit like Spirit and Governor. His name is Crow."
Sasha silently caught Crow's hopeful and overjoyed brown eyes, he was standing between Destiny and Junipero, hidden from Lucky and Spirit's sight. Sasha decided to meet the PALs' mysterious friend and Crow's owner. Crow knows them and trusts them, but Sasha wants to meet the mystery owner of Crow.
"Meet me and Destiny at the top of Paintbrush Canyon after school with Crow's owner," said Sasha with a sidelong, mysterious look with a bit of her shimmery golden hair over her left eye. "Then I might be able to help you PALs and Crow's owner."
"Um, okay." Lucky sounded a little unsure about Sasha's mysterious request. Spirit helped Lucky up onto his back and looked at Sasha with a confused expression before they both headed towards the schoolhouse.
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Riding Destiny, Sasha felt powerful, unstoppable, absolutely in control — a perfect combination of horse and human.
They were all heading towards the eastern cliff that overlooked Miradero and its surrounding landscape. Destiny and Crow both raced over the water at the speed of sound, cooling the air around them so that Sasha didn't feel the heat. On foot, she never would have felt so brave. On horseback, she could wait to charge to the top of the mountain.
Destiny and Crow both led Sasha to the top of the ledge of the eastern cliff. Sasha couldn't quite process what she was looking at. Golden and amber mountains flew past them, with clouds floating around their middles like fluffy pelts. In a massive valley between two of the largest peaks, forests and fields rose out of the valley.
They shot toward the mountain like any wild horse. The air grew wild and untamed. The side was riddled with rocks and small shrubs, spiked with jagged ridges.
They soon came to a steady stop at the top and highest eastern cliff. Sasha and horses both stood together, Destiny brushed against Crow's shoulder. Crow looked at Destiny with an awestruck expression, Destiny exchanged a breath with Crow. The brown horse looked even more excited, but they returned facing the sky. The beauty of the sunrise took Sasha's breath away as they watched the morning sky together on the mountain. Miradero is such a beautiful place in Sasha's eyes. She could feel the chilly air enter her chest, making her feel more free than before. A bit of her hair went in front of her left eye as her hair blew in the gentle wind.
Sasha dismounted Destiny and started to check Crow's newly healed left ankle with a gentle stroke from her hand. It was the last day of the recovery from the injury. Crow is now at full health and strength to return to his rightful owner.
She remounted Destiny and got out her lunch bag. She gave two apples both to Destiny and Crow, they both ate their apples eagerly and returned looking at Miradero and its surrounding lands below them. Sasha felt her stomach growl, so she had got out her lunch and started to eat her peanut butter sandwich for lunch. Sasha soon heard a faint ringing bell from the schoolhouse from below, she sighed softly with relief. Lucky, Pru, Abigail, and their mystery friend will come now.
She soon heard a couple of cantering hooves coming towards her and Destiny's direction. Sasha and Destiny both looked up and stepped away from the ledge, and allowed Crow hide on their other side, wanting to surprise his owner. Sasha understood that.
They watched as Lucky and a passenger sat up and Spirit had slowed down to a stop. Pru and Abigail pulled on the reins for Chica Linda and Boomerang to stop on either side of Lucky and Spirit. Sasha thought of them as the famous three musketeers.
She waited patiently as the PALs and their mystery friend had all dismounted their horses.
Their mystery friend is a truly a suspecting sight that Sasha had been waiting for.
The mystery friend was a Native Tuckapaw teenage boy. He was pretty handsome and was slender, but he seemed to be slightly muscular. He seemed to be around sixteen years old, like Sasha. He has long brown hair which was tied in twin tails with red ribbons. He also has light caramel tan skin. He also has warm and deep brown eyes. He was wearing a white country shirt, a pair of brown breechcloth, brown moccasins, and one or two Native American bracelets and armbands on each arm.
"Hello, my name is Sasha." said Sasha, she stole a glance at the PALs and gave them a gentle smile.
"Hau, my name is Mixtli," the Tuckapaw said to her, his voice is soft and kind.
She felt her face heat up and her heart beat against her chest. She looked into Mixtli's warm eyes. He seemed to be kind, brave, loyal, intelligent, and adventurous. She didn't know what the warm tingly feeling in her chest or the electric feeling in her skin was, but she silently hoped her mother's instincts would guide her.
"I have heard that you had found my stallion," Mixtli said, meeting Sasha's eyes.
"I have to buy him, so I could help him with his injury and find his rightful owner," explained Sasha with a smile. "His name is Crow, isn't it?" Mixtli and the PALs all looked surprised at Sasha's simple explanation and knew what to call Crow.
She gave a secret wink to Crow and took the rope off from Crow's neck. Crow reared and neighed excitedly before he cantered past them and towards Mixtli.
"Crow!" Mixtli jumped in place as Crow cantered around him before coming to a quick stop in front of Mixtli. Mixtli flung his arms around Crow's neck and joyful tears seemed to be running from his eyes. Sasha almost became teary eyed when she saw the reunion between the boy and his horse. Their reunion reminded Sasha of herself and Wind. As if sensing Sasha's familiar grief, Destiny nuzzled Sasha's leg and hands. Sasha smiled and gave Destiny a gentle squeeze around the mare's neck.
Sasha sat up as well as Destiny and they both looked at Mixtli and Crow's reunion, smiling. She kept her hands on Destiny's neck.
"Thank you Sasha." Mixtli and Crow both looked at Sasha and Destiny with a look of gratitude. "You are truly a Horse Protector."
"You are most welcome," said Sasha with a slight bow from her head. "I have another name, you must learn to know by that name. I have came across your people and one of the Lakota Tribes. That, by knowing me here a little, you will know me better by that name."
Destiny walked around the others, Sasha nodded to the PALs, Mixtli, and their horses. Sasha squeezed Destiny's sides and let out a loud clicking sound, they soon galloped away from them and towards Miradero.