Changes

[[R].ebel]

Duke snorted, pawing the ground angrily as rough ropes pulled around his neck. A moment of freedom had been brought down by the humans who wanted to keep him locked away. All he wanted was his freedom. The tall wooden walls of the fort held him from his freedom and the small box they forced him to stay in just kept him further away from it. With every muscle in his body, Duke reared up, ripping the ropes out of the humans hands, only to feel more be thrown onto him. He neighed out in fear and anger, longing to be free.

I'm not supposed to be scared of anything, but I don't know where I am
I wish that I could move but I'm exhausted and nobody understands (how I feel)
I'm trying hard to breathe now but there's no air in my lungs
There's no one here to talk to and the pain inside is making me numb

I try to hold this Under control
They can't help me 'Cause no one knows

Duke couldn't take it anymore. He had to fight them, kill them if necessary. Why couldn't they just give him his freedom. With an angry snort, Duke kicked back at one of the men sending him to the ground, groaning in agony. He reared above another one, aiming his hooves for the two-leggeds head and failing to hit his target. He tried to run but other two-leggeds on fellow horses held him back. Duke could go no where but back to the stall.

I'm feeling weak and weary walking through this world alone
Everything you say, every word of it, cuts me to the bone
I've got something to say, but now I've got no where to turn
It feels like I've been buried underneath all the weight of the world

I try to hold this Under control
They can't help me 'Cause no one knows

His eyes searched frantically for a way out. Everything was moving too fast. He couldn't grasp it all and fight them all. Too much racked his mind. Duke just wanted to be free and find his son. That was all he wanted. With a final desperate attempt of freedom, Duke leaped over a man, dragging a couple out of thier horses' saddles and sending them to the ground but alas it was not enough. With more than twenty two leggeds pulling at him, he was forced back, away from the gates to his freedom.

Now I'm going through changes, changes
God, I feel so frustrated lately
When I get suffocated, save me
Now I'm going through changes, changes

He pulled against them but felt thier straining stop. Duke looked back to see they had tied him off to a post. The ropes around his neck were pulled tightly to his hide, nearly choking him. It seemed that a few of the two-leggeds wanted to put a rope of some sort around his head but Duke lashed out at them with angry teeth and would not let them near. They let him be...for the moment.

I'm blind and shakin'
Bound and breaking
I hope I make it through all these changes

With a tired sigh, Duke let his head drop. His body shook with anger, fear and shear exhaustion. He felt he could barely stand and feared falling at any moment. Duke forced himself to walk to the post he was tied to and leaned his neck against it, closing his eyes. The mid-day sun shown brightly down on him, burning into his ebony coat. Exhausted, he rested as best he could, unable to find sleep.

Now I'm going through changes, changes
God, I feel so frustrated lately
When I get suffocated, save me
Now I'm falling apart, now I feel it

But I'm going through changes, changes
God, I feel so frustrated lately
When I get suffocated, I hate this
But I'm going through changes, changes

[[esperanza]]

{{OOC//*Is pretending there is two posts*}}

In this farewell

Depression doesn't come in a day. It slowly creeps up on you, and you don't even realize it until it hits you one night when you can't sleep. That had just happened to one white stallion. He had been stubborn, not admitting it to himself. But last night, there seemed to be an unnatural chill in the air, and he was unable to sleep. And today, he was facing the consequences.

He had been slowly adjusting to life with the humans, but he still usually put up a fight when they were grabbing his halter, leading him along like some kind of pet. But today, he was too tired to put up a fight. He followed the two-leg into the pen, head down, in a dejected mood.

Shannon Owens, the soldier who had decided to train the usually wild and unruly stallion, frowned as he tied the mustang to the post. "Hey, hey it'll be ok," he whispered, concerned for the horses's health. Perhaps he was sick? "I'm busy today, but I thought you might enjoy being out a little bit." Shannon was usually strict with his horses, but seeing a mustang's broken spirit would get to almost any man.

The mustang glared at the man's back as he left. 'Sure,' he thought sarcastically. 'I'd really enjoy being tied up out here in this desert, with strange horses, and--' His train of thought ended abruptly as the scent of another horse finally registered. The stallion jerked his head up, his dusty, ivory-colored mane flopping limply on his neck.

The other horse was a strong, fiery looking pitch black stallion. He was resting at the moment, but judging by the extra dust that still lingered in the air, the white stallion guessed that he hadn't gone without a fight. The ivory hued horse snorted rather loudly before turning his dark brown eyes back down to the desert earth.

There's no blood

[[R].ebel]

A snort entered Duke's ears, which immeadiately pricked to the sound. He raised his head to look at a white stallion standing tied to a post. Duke's burning, angered eyes would show no other emotion even though he could tell this stallion was in the same predicament as he.

With a grunt, Duke reared on his back legs and slammed his hooves against the post, trying to break it but the post was as thick as a tree and would not bend under his weight. Repeatedly, he slammed his hooves into the post, hoping it would give way but knowing it was useless.

Duke dropped to his hooves, breathing heavily to catch his breath. He sighed and lay his neck against the post once more. The ropes ate at his neck, making it feel raw and cut. He could feel them cutting into his skin.

The black stallion looked to the white stallion, wondering what his story was to be in such a place. Though he didn't know the stallion, he figured it wouldn't hurt to talk.

"You, uh...you live here?"

[[esperanza]]

There's no alibi

The sound of hooves slamming against wood caught the white stallion's attention. He watched as the other horse tried to break the post, rolling his eyes. It was useless.

"Idiot," he muttered under his breath. He knew he had tried that tactic several times before, and he still tried, but putting others down seemed to help him face his own failure.

'You, uh...you live here?' The ebony stallion finally asked. Noting his tentative tone, the white stallion studied him for a moment, his dark eyes full of mockery, though he couldn't quite conceal the pain and heartache that that one simple question brought.

"N-no," he said after a while, bringing his head up in a vain attempt to appear cool and collected. "I do not live here," he continued, trying to sound more convincing.

'Cause I've drawn regret

[[R].ebel]

Idiot

Duke's eyes suddenly blazed with anger at the stallions words. It had taken him a moment to realize that murmer of words was directed to him and now the stallions' answer to his question held tension. Duke didn't like it. What had he done?

With an angry snort, he reared up and slammed his hooves into the ground, sending chunks of hard dirt over the ground. "I don't know what your problem is but I won't stand for it!" He reared back, the ropes straining on his neck, the fibers begining to snap.

"He's breaking loose!"

A two legged voice entered his head: one of familiarity. The guy who had captured him: Trent Whitney... Duke hated that man over all others. Duke turned facing Nombre while still on his hind legs, the ropes straining to hold him back. When it came down to it, Duke was just upset he had been captured but this white stallion pushed him over the edge with one little word.

[[esperanza]]

From the truth

The white stallion jumped back, more than startled at the other horse's sudden actions. Nombre watched him rearing, and saw the ropes about to snap. He stood still, but his eyes betrayed his fear.

Then humans started running at them. "He's breaking loose!" one of the two-legs yelled. "Whitney! Wha's that?" Shannon Owens ran into the area, shock on his face as he saw the ebony stallion rearing and kicking. "Whoa...someone get a rope!"

The ivory hued horse glanced around in an unsure manner. Then he threw back his head and let out a fierce whinny, rearing in an attempt to snap the rope that kept him bound.

Of a thousand lies

[[R].ebel]

Trent grabbed the nearest rope he could find and ran to his horse. “Stupid horse! Calm yourself!” He threw the lasso over Duke’s neck and tried to pull him to the ground but Duke’s strength was no match for the sole man. A whip clung to his belt and he quickly grabbed it with one hand while the other held the rope tightly. Trent raised it and began slashing it across Duke’s back and side. “Get down!”

Duke’s anger to Nombre was suddenly forgotten as he realized the ropes were breaking. The stinging pain of the whip did not faze him. His burning eyes flashed to Nombre, who caught the sight of fear in the opposite stallion’s eyes. Duke respected that but at the moment, he could not worry about the stallion. Freedom was near. Unleashing all his anger that he had for Trent, the ebony stallion rushed the energy to his strength and prepared to make a daring attempt at freedom. Coiling back on his haunches, Duke rushed upwards, the slack rope tightening then breaking under Duke’s weight. Duke dropped to his front hooves and reared again, turning to face Trent who still had a hand on the rope around Duke’s neck. He slammed his hooves in the ground and took off in a fast gallop, bringing Trent to the ground and losing grip of the rope. Duke turned and was quickly by Nombre’s side, baring his teeth at the other men, who were readying their ropes.

“You respect me, friend. I like that in a mustang. Now, I’ll keep them off you as long as possible and see if you can’t break free.”

With an angry snort, Duke ran into the group of Calvary men, bucking, rearing and kicking, sending a few men to the ground. He kept his head low and out of reach of their ropes. If it weren’t for his ears laid back and teeth bared, it would have seemed he was playing with the men but far from it. This was war in his eyes. Trent ran to the group, a limp obvious in his left leg. He threw a rope for the stallion like the others were doing but Duke kept evading them. Duke glanced to Nombre to see if he had succeeded in breaking free and then called out to him:

“Come on, stallion! I don’t have all day!”

[silverhoof]

Iridescent tossed her head nervously at the ruckus going on in the corral, beautiful black eyes glittering. Her owner, Edward Levi came running up, half-leaping into the saddle. "C'mon darlin'. Let's see if we can't get that stallion under control." His large, rough hands were soothing on her neck. This two-legged, she had found, was kind. He never used the whip, and he had a soft hand. He always gave her a carrot, an apple, or oats after a ride, and always said, 'That's my girl.' when he dismounted.

The mare surged forwards, multi-coloured mane flowing back. That was another thing about Edward that she liked. He had bought her from the army from his own pocket so that her beautiful mane and tail would not be cut, and she was unbranded. He had mumbled into her ear after his discussion with the colonel, 'It's worth every penny to see a pretty girl like you staying nice and pretty.' and ran his hand through her mane.

Her brown and white body twisted in front of the gate and she headed straight for the ebony stallion. She felt one of his flailing hooves clip her side and immediately knew that a simple, 'stop' would not work. "WAIT! Don't try to escape now! They have guns. They'll shoot you. If you wait until evening, when they're switching posts and screwing with the gates, I can get you out!"
She prayed her words would work, because as wonderful as Edward was, there was her brother's owner who was the polar opposite. She could see them from the corner of her eye.

-*-

Redemption wheeled in the chaos, trying to dislodge his rider as the whip was thrashed across his side. His brown-gold coat was marred by the U.S. brand on his left forequarter. His teeth showed up yellow-white against his dark brown muzzle, black eyes wild with hatred.
He gave in when he was whipped a second time, being driven to the fort gates. He watched his sister try to calm Duke. He doubted it would work, even if it was true.

It would still be a week. Still be like an eternity to a wild stallion.
He bucked his head as John tightened the rein, snorting angrily.

The two-legged's arm brushed his neck, and he wheeled, knocking the shotgun a few yards away.

[[esperanza]]

So let mercy come

Nombre was filled with confusion and fear as more two-legs and humans ran around. He was getting lost in the chaos, and he pulled at the rope more, only wanting to get out of the dreadful fort. His eyes were so wide that you could see the white rimming them.

The ivory stallion fought against the rope fiercely, letting out a harsh whinny. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the strings slowly starting to fray. He reared and bucked, kicking up more dust into the desert air.

"Whoa!" the human ran at him, grabbing for his halter, but he was tossed aside in the rush of flailing hooves. Shannon lay on the ground moaning.

Breathing heavily, Nombre stopped to breathe. He was blind to the humans and deaf to the noise--the only thing he took conscious note of was the black stallion trying to escape, and two other horses he did not recognize. Another stallion was trying to throw his rider. As the white mustang turned to look at his own branded hindquarter and clipped tail, he realized that any chance of escape was futile.

Heaving a sigh, he looked down at the unsettled sand, waiting out the disorder.

And wash away

[[R].ebel]

Duke stopped his rage as he heard a voice enter his ears. He stood in the middle of a ring of men, all stopped when Duke stopped. They dared not move. Duke's blazing eyes looked to Nombre, seeing him stopped. How can I wait any longer? I must find my son.

Duke was about to protest but decided against it. He didn't know how to get out anyway, he was just gonna wing it. The black stallion snorted as the dust began to settle and stood up straighter, allowing his head to hang slightly.

Trent seemed nervous to approach Duke but it was soon clouded by anger. He snatched up a halter and moved to Duke with an angry stride but as he got closer, he cautiously slipped the halter over him. Duke's burning eyes watched him the whole time. Finally the halter was on and Trent smiled, muttering "Stupid mustang."

Duke snorted and slammed his head into Trent, knocking him on the ground but he did not flee. Trent stood up fast as men began to laugh at him. "Shut up! Come on." He grabbed Duke's lead line and began to lead him to the stalls.

The ebony stallion looked back to the three horses. "I hope you know what your doing! I want to be out of here by tonight!!!"

[silverhoof]

Guilt flooded through Iridescent at the black stallion's blind trust in her words. She hadn't lied exactly, but even so... it would be at least a week before they would be able to get him out.
Her black eyes watched as he was led into his stall, and her owner turned her towards the stables as well. He dismounted, leading her by her rein to the stall next to Duke's.
Yeah.
Just her luck.
She gazed at Edward's weather-roughened face as he took off her bridle and saddle. "There you go, girl." He slipped her halter over her face, and put her into her stall. He gave her a carrot, which she munched on happily. The man turned to Duke, and offered him one as well. "You're a beautiful guy, aren't you? Just wanting freedom, I'll bet." He tossed the stallion a sorrowful smile. "I'm sorry. Maybe one day you'll get out of here, just like that buckskin did." Referring to Spirit, obviously.
Iridescent watched her owner and Duke carefully, making sure that Duke didn't try anything to hurt the only nice guy here.

-*-

Redemption was led roughly to his stall by his owner, his tack being torn off carelessly. He earned a nice smack with the whip afterwards. The big stallion's step faltered and he let out an angry scream. His owner shoved past Edward roughly.

[[esperanza]]

What I've done

Shannon got up, dusting himself off, and grabbing the white stallion's halter. The mustang followed, head and tail low, and was put into his stall.

"Ya've had enough excatitement for one day, eh?" the human said as he patted his head before turning away. Nombre glared at his back as he left.

Swinging his head to look around, he discovered that he was in a stall near Duke's and the other two horses he had seen today.

"Ya know it's hopeless, right?"

I'll face myself

[[R].ebel]

Duke walked calmly in his stall and Trent took off his halter. As Trent turned to leave, Duke pawed the ground and snorted, sending him running out of the stall and slamming the door shut. Duke nodded his head in a show of "don't mess with me" attitude but it was soon gone behind emotionless eyes.

The black stallion let his head hang so his neck was leavel to his back. He watched as the mare whom had told him she knew a way to escape was lead to her stall with a kind gentle hand of a man. Duke's emotionless eyes stared at the man as he offered a carrot but Duke was not hungry and turned his head towards the back of the stall.

"Ya know it's hopeless, right?"

Duke looked back to see Nombre talking to him and stood to face him. His eyes looked into that of the white stallion. Duke could tell that his own eyes were now readable, showing hardship and pain this white stallion hadn't known. He spoke words that came from his heart...a simple blank sentence that said everything.

"Hope is the only thing that keeps me going...without it, I would have killed myself by now."

[[esperanza]]

To cross out

Nombre stared back into the black stallion's eyes. He felt convinced that all the pain evident in his eyes were reflected in his own. For a minute, the white mustang was silent, locked within the other's gaze.

"Hope is the only thing that keeps me going...without it, I would have killed myself by now."

The white stallion lowered his head, staring at the sawdust-covered stall floor. "I gave up on hope a while back," he said, almost as if to himself. After all, what point was there? The faith in his herd was broken, just like his spirit. What kept this stranger going?

'He'll give up after about three days in this hell,' Nombre thought, but he knew he was wrong. This other stallion couldn't possibly relate to his situation, but he still probably had his hardships--and he didn't give up. Nombre had to secretly admire him.

The ivory stallion brought his head back up to look back at the equine in the stall next to him.

"The name's Nombre."

What I've become

[[R].ebel]

Duke
"Killing him...is the reason...I exist!"


"I gave up on hope a while back"

Duke's emotion did not change at the stallion's words. The white stallion seemed lost in the thoughts of his mind and his head was hung low as if he had been broken. Duke's own mind faded out of the fort, his eyes staring off into space thinking of a past....

"The name's Nombre."

The black stallion was pulled out of his past and looked to the stallion but at first the stallion's words didn't register. They seemed foreign to him. Finally, he realized the stallion had told him his name. Duke nodded in greeting to Nombre.

"I am Duke, a rogue and I plan to stay a rogue."

Determination filled his eyes as Duke turned to face out of his stall. He could see the large gates from whence he came in and knew that had to be the way out but the mare beside him hadn't yet told him how. Duke's eyes stared closely at the gate and he suddenly took on a new look as thoughts burned in his head.

Duke's eyes suddenly blazed with a burning fire of hate. Every muscle in his body went tense, his teeth gritted in his mouth. His legs began to shake in anger and he snorted, almost ready to explode.

Killing him is the reason I exist....
Killing him is the reason I exist....
Killing him...is the reason...I exist!

"Killing him....is the reason...I exist...."

Duke spoke through clenched teeth, taking on an almost evil form. He knew the first thing he had to do when he got out of this place. Duke looked to the mare, his eyes still burning with hate.

"Get me out of here..."

[/color]