Book Of Book Ideas

Call Me Ferox - Chapter 2: Dawn of Spring

Call Me Ferox Chapter 2: Dawn Of Spring

The next day the sun streamed down into the hidden clearing, Ferox woke up when Sophos woke up. Ferox nickered and trotted in circles around his adopted dam, Sophos snorted and started scraping the snow away.

Sophos raised her head as Ferox finished nursing and trotted away, Ferox reared and pigrooted in the morning sun. Sophos looked at the cream colt, “come here young one,” she said.

Ferox approached the mare at quick canter before skidding to a stop, “look around this clearing.” Ferox’s eyes traced around the clearing before his gaze returned to Sophos’s steady stare. “The hoof prints you have made would be easy to trace. You must learnt to leave no mark,” Sophos said, Ferox shook his head not entirely understanding.

Sophos sighed and nudged the foal with her nose, “oh go and play just try to be lighter on your feet!”

With a toss of his head Ferox continued his cavorting around, before he dropped to the ground and slept in the afternoon.

Day after day passed and the snow slowly melted, Ferox and Sophos didn’t venture any further down the Ramshead, but only went partway down to get a drink from the small streams of water from the melted snow.

By the time all the snow had left their small clearing Sophos was anxious to move and go somewhere else with more grass. Ferox had grown stronger as the days had passed, although he was still small for his age. He was quick on his feet and was quite happy to cavort around his adopted mother for hours on end.

Sophos left the clearing the tension from being cooped up for so long was slowly fading, Ferox trailed behind her. Quiet but filled with a silent fire, the pair made their way down Ramshead. Sophos continued at a slow pace every so often stopping and grazing. Ferox on the other hand looked at everything in silent wonder, every step he took he tried to remember. Ferox sniffed at the soft snow grass underneath and snatched a bite of the grass. Slowly munching on the grass Ferox decided he preferred his mother’s milk.

Sophos stopped at the start of a creek and lifted her head as if deciding where to go, “come will go down to the cascades, there will be good grass although we will not stay there for long, young one.”

Ferox raised his head as his eyes dulled before brightening again, “Sophos! My name, my name is Ferox! I remember it!”

“Indeed,” Sophos said bobbing her head, the young foal hadn’t remember his name at the start but Sophos had said it would come to him in due time, and it did. “Come this creek will lead to Crackenback River and then we can head to the cascades.”

Sophos lead the way, this time going at a slow canter which Ferox easily kept pace with. Every couple of strides Ferox would stop and look around before speeding off after Sophos. The mare and foal soon heard the screams of stallions, Ferox didn’t stop but he trembled keeping right next to Sophos. Sophos stopped just out of sight and looked at the stallions fighting, one was a pale grey and the other was a chestnut.

Above the screaming stallions, neighs could be heard and as night properly fell the grey stallion pulled back. The chestnut stallion neighed one last time before turning and trotted to his herd where his mares were waiting. “The chestnut stallion is Yarraman,” Sophos said turning to her foal who was still trembling in fear and partially excitement at seeing other horses. “The other stallion, the grey one was the Brolga, he’s not in his prime yet. But when he is he’ll probably defeat Yarraman and become king of the High Country.”

Ferox nodded and Sophos lead him away through the snow gums before coming to a small pasture of grass. Sophos and Ferox often left the meadow going off to explore the country around them. Sophos often surveyed the herd and pointed out small miniscule details to Ferox which would later become important.

Sophos taught Ferox the ways of the bush, how to hide his hoof prints and how to track other horses. Sophos showed him how he could make an educated guess on what the weather would be and which animal call was whose. The whole time Ferox became faster and quicker, while he became stronger it was evident he wouldn’t be a strong horse.

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This chapter is unfinished as I ran out of ideas and lost intrest in the story. The main bit of the plot just follows Ferox as he struggles through life and gets chased by man, learns of his twin brother and the ways of the wild.

Blurb:

Ferox is twin to Thowra, and he happens to be the weak twin but Ferox is not one to be defeated easily. Abandonded at birth but taken in by another mare, Ferox show's his warlike spirit and just how wild he truly is, just like his latin name meaning wild, warlike, courages, spirited, etc. But can Ferox out race man forever? Or will he like many before him have a girth around his belly and a bit in his mouth?

A stunning tale of a wild horse who goes from weak foal to a stallion of speed and wit. Follow Ferox's journey as he outraces man and struggles through problems of the wild.