Untamable

Chapter Eight Fight Not Flight

I turn and Storm is trembling and backing away from me. But I hold steady,"Storm we have to break the rope or I can't battle with all my strength." My brown eyes flashing in excitement and danger, "When it goes to attack you, I attack and when it tries to attack me you attack got it?"
"Uh sure." He neighs his dark eyes round with terror.
"There is a sharp boulder over there hurry." I neigh trotting over to it as the sun set leaving the sky streaks with orange and pink.

We reach the rock and both pull at opposite sides and the rope snaps. I turn and give a long challenging whinny. A low growl answers me. Storm jumpers and I look at him,"Hey, they won't hurt us we just have to work together."
"I've never fought without Owl's Call fighting with me." He says, his voice still shaking, but not as bad.
"Owl's Call? Do you mean Wild Face?" I ask looking at him again, but my eyes snapping back to the undergrowth that vibrated as a wolf moved out. She was various shades of brown with deadly amber eyes. She growls again and steps closer.

I huff and pin my soft yellow ears back, lifting my lips exposing my teeth. Storm stomps at the ground showing off his strength. Which is greater than mine, however I am much faster and more experienced. The bush moves again and a pure white wolf with one blue eye one brown eye comes out. This one must be her mate because he licks her shoulder before standing beside her. Storm's visible fear is gone and he snorts looking fierce and dangerous. The bushes move again and this time my heart drops, three young wolves appear. We are vastly out numbered, usually I would have more herdmates by my side. One wolf is black with dark eyes, the second is red and small with amber eyes, the third is grey with cold light eyes.

The first brown wolf lunges forward at Storm and he backs up, she nips his front leg. I bite her back, but the small red one is running for my legs. She knows they are valuable. She doesn't know that they are the most dangerous part to approach. I kick her before she can hit her mark. She yelps as blood flows from her muzzle. She runs back into the bushes tail between her legs. I look over and Storm is battling with both of the parents the white male is holding up his front left paw. But I have my own worries both of the other wolves are coming for me, one jumps on my back and the other lunges for my neck. I back up as the grey one on my back bites my shoulder and rear up falling slowly on my back. Crushing him. He lets out a yelp and moves no more. Maybe dead. The black one looks horror struck, the parents see too and run for me seeking vengeance. The mother goes for my hind leg the father my front I leap up and they run past me. I land with a crash my brown socked legs free of injury.

Storm is at my side and he attacks the brown female, I charge at the white male. The black pup by his brother's side. I grab the wolf by the shoulder in my teeth and throw him to the ground. I rear up as he is dazed on the ground, he looks up at me his un matching eyes wide with terror. My hooves slam down on the ground by his head. A warning shot. He barks for retreat and the grey wolf is carried away. He is breathing, but seriously injured.

I walk slowly to Storm and he looks at my torn shoulder and I look at his bleeding knee and scratched cheek. We watch the wolves go. The whole battle took about a minute, but it felt like half an hour with all the energy and focus it took. Both breathing heavily I turn to him and pant,"Fight may produce injury, but if we don't fight wolves or mountain lions will come back for our foals. They watch us and learn when we guard them least." I neigh thinking of how Saber and I fought off our first mountain lion together and now he is serving pale faces that imprisoned us and took us from our home.
"We should get back to camp that shoulder wound looks pretty bad." He neighs not commenting on attacking. I guess the memories are flashing before his eyes. I can see them as we walk back, his head low and eyes clouded.

"You fought well." I say trying to break him from his memories.
"For a tame horse." He replies dully eyes, still cloudy.
I nudge him and he looks at me his eyes focusing a bit more,"You didn't grow up fighting for everything and one, who knows. If we had switched places I might never had had the guts to stand and fight."
"Oh yes you would have, you're different. Like I said before. I've never met any horse with your fight." He says and steps closer.
I am acutely aware of his presence, his breath nearly freezing in the cooling air. It is almost White Fall, I've been away from the herd for almost a whole season. I think dully, but strangely it doesn't hurt as bad as it did when I was not with Storm. "I am going to be Chief of our herd when I go back so I must stay a fighter."
"I'm sure you will." He says in a warm voice more like his normal self.