the wranglers packed up camp around dawn, piling the packs onto a pair of droopy horses, who accepted the bundle with a little grunt.
the wranglers swung onto their horses, securing the lasso on the polished brown saddle horns of each saddle. their level-headed quarter horses paced while the riders fixed the stirrups and reins, leaving the pack horses with an annoyed man, who had fallen and injured himself. he wouldn't be going on the search today. the hurt man poked the dwindling fire with a stick, muttering as the packhorses grazed on the dry grass.
the wranglers set out a few minutes later, walking into the distance. all fourteen held the reins of their mount in on hand, a tawny rope coiled around the other. they scanned the horizon with dark eyes from under dark cowboy hats, chewing tobacco. one man, a self proclaimed leader, shouted, and pointed west. "O'er there boys!" each man turned excitedly, spitting out their tobacco. on the horizon, a herd of horses. (Bachelor herd starts)
the leader kicked his horse, spurring the chestnut quarter into a heavy action, the other wranglers close behind.
a stocky bay lifted his head, watching the suspicious people quietly.
the leader, by the name of Rich, ground his teeth and stared back. his chestnut mare squirmed in anticipation of what was to come, for it wasn't her first time on the plains. no, she had once been wild, running from the very man who sat atop her tired back and pulled upon her scarred lips. now, she was facing and condemning her own kind. and she wanted it. if she wasn't allowed to be free, why should they? this envy and regret was what fielded every horse behind her. every back, and dapple and bay behind her wanted the same thing, to inflict that same sorrow upon these carefree horses and had been inflicted upon them when they were left behind to face the rope and fear and strange creatures sitting atop their fellow captives.
the chestnut mare had the same mind set as the man atop her, and this couldn't bode well for that bachelor herd before her.
Rich could feel the energy and hidden power within how mount stirring, and he pulled back briefly, staying her. Rich lifted a gloved hand, and his wing-man, Jeremiah(RPed by OneRepublic) came forward. "Jeremiah. Take seven of the guys and lead them through that pass. (To Hidalgo) "I'll take these."
the chestnut mare gave a cold glance to the black stallion underneath Jeremiah, giving him a grunt before returning her iron gaze upon the herd of now alert horses.
the bay from earlier (Calm Apocalypse) shifted and flared his aged nostrils. Something wasn't right. These weren't sight seers, they weren't moving on. He relaxed when seven split off and headed for the mountain pass. He, foolishly put his head down and ate once more.
Rich spurred his mare, and she set forward, jittering with the urge to go, go and inflict misery on those horses. a sharp scent hit her nostrils as she and Rich's party neared the band. Stallions. the chestnut smiled. a mare, charging for stallions. the thought pleased her. but then, she remembered. I'm no longer in the wild world, I'm a captive of this man, and the way it was is not the way it is. she quickened her pace as another lance of pain delivered through the spur cut into her side, she flicked her ears back, telling Rich she was all ears.
Rich smiled, patted the chest it's neck and gave a sharp whistle. he and his party sped forward, tearing up the ground beneath the quarter mile racers.