Part 1: Bright Star of the West

Chapter 10–The Herd

(Early spring)

I was grazing next to Clear Sky one morning, enjoying his company and the new grass, swishing my tail to send flies on their way. Sturdy Oak and Rolling Thunder were standing with Moonbeam, whose sides were swollen from her foal. I had the sense that she would give birth very soon.

"I'm supposed to have foals with all of the available females, right?"

I looked up with a grass-blade hanging from my mouth. "Where did this question come from?"

"I was just wondering. Only one or two pairs mated in the village."

"Oh, I see. Well, you should be focusing on finding more females. With Moonbeam here, you have two adult females. Rolling Thunder and Sturdy Oak will be ready in a year or two, and Moonbeam's foal–provided that it's a filly–after that. Then Moonbeam herself will be ready again."

"That's a lot, though."

"Yes, but what happens when the four of us can no longer have foals? You can't mate with your own daughters, can you?"

"Oh, no. . . you're right."

"Exactly, and that's why that black stallion was so brutal. Not only does his large band represent his status, it is his breeding stock he's protecting."

"Oh."

"At this point, go with your instinct."

"Mm," he offered in agreement.

Moonbeam walked past and nudged my shoulder. I nickered encouragingly and watched her leave.

"Where is she going?"

"She's going to give birth, Clear Sky. Mares go off on their own a little ways when this happens." I could just see her as she lay down in the grass. The others edged closer to keep an eye out for danger. "Maybe the other horses in the village were kept away from the mare when she was due," I thought.

"Have you had a foal before, Star?" he asked quietly.

"'Beg pardon?" said I.

"Have you had a foal?"

I looked away from him. "Yes, but it did not live. . . it was dead at birth."

He touched my muzzle apologetically. "Forgive me. I didn't mean to upset you."

"Don't worry, I'm all right. It's common among new mothers. Why did you want to know?"

"Well, I was going to ask if. . . well, if I. . . ." His voice trailed off as my heart pounded in my ears, my skin tingling, and my body trembling with excitement. I couldn't contain myself!

"Are you asking if I want to be your first mate in the herd?"

"Well. . . yes. . .yes I am."

"I'd love to!" I exclaimed, allowing my hooves to dance across the ground. He whinnied in relief and sidle swiftly, mimicking me. Then we stopped, looked at each other, and linked necks, taking in each other's scents, and rubbing heads. Words were not needed to describe this moment.

I glanced at Sturdy Oak and the others, and they were still watching over Moonbeam. They all had one ear turned toward us and smiled on their faces. Had they heard us?

It didn't matter, for our focus returned to the palomino a few yards away. During a quiet moment, I padded over to check on her. She assured me that she was all right, and I took my leave. I stopped a small distance ahead from the band, so I could see her more easily. They moved forward and stood with me.

The morning wore on, and we sensed nothing amiss. Moonbeam's labor continued smoothly, and we finally heard her shallow breaths from our position. We picked up our heads in anticipation, our ears stiffly swiveling to and fro. Now that the delivery was nearly over, she was at her most vulnerable state.

A small shriek of pain came from the mare, and then nothing. She lay there, catching her breath, making no movement.

Rolling Thunder sidles closer to me. "Is it over?"

"I think so. Give it some time." She nodded. "Please let the foal live," I thought.

She shifted onto her side and looked behind herself, smiling warmly. The foal had lived!

"Can you see it?" Rolling Thunder asked aloud.

Lighting leaned forward, straining to spot the foal. "I see it! It's all brown."

Clear Sky nuzzled my shoulder, and carefully walked forward. We followed him, forcing ourselves not to rush to Moonbeam's side. She was licking the foal dry when we arrived.

"I'm naming her 'Nava'," she said without looking at us.

"She's beautiful, Moonbeam," said I.

"Congratulations," Sturdy Oak added.

"She has your eyes," Rolling Thunder added further.

Nava gazed up at up curiously. I nickered deep in my throat as a greeting, and received a high-pitched whinny from her.

We stood around them, grazing, while still giving them their space. Our band was growing, and as Clear Sky grew more comfortable with himself, we would be able to win more battles and gain the trust of many more mares. We, his "inner circle", would help him in any way we could. . . which goes double for me.

The End (of part one)

To be continued in "Part 2: Clear Sky", and concluded in "Part 4: Separated"

(A/N: Did ya' like it?)

Characters

* (Indicates a character who not named in the movie, and is therefore not my own; he/she does appear more than once in the stories.)

** (Indicates my original character/s; he/she does appear more than once in the stories.)

Lakota Life Part 1: Bright Star of the West

**Calm Waters and **Brook–Star's older sister and niece, respectively. The former is chestnut with a darker mane, tail, and legs; the latter is palomino.

*Sierra and *Rain–Mother and daughter, we meet the former at the end of Kathleen Duey's book, Bonita, and the letter at the end of Sierra (also by Kathleen Duey). Sierra is sorrel with white splotches on her face, body, and legs; (we all know what Rain looks like).

*Storm–Sierra's mate and Rain's father. We meet him in Sierra. He is a black-and-white pinto.

**Dusk and **Soaring Eagle–Mother and son, the former is the mount of **Chief Loud Fox, and the latter is the mount of one of the village's warriors. Dusk is a black-and-white paint, and Soaring Eagle is a brown-and-white pinto.

*Bright Star of the West–The sorrel mare we see when Spirit escapes from the fort. She has yellow dots on her left shoulder, two feathers in her mane, and is ridden by *Swift Deer (the man wearing a loincloth in the aforementioned scene). She is later re-named Starry Night by Clear Sky.

*Graceful Maiden–The grey mare-I'm assuming it's a mare-we see when Spirit leaves the fort. She has three black horseshoes on her left shoulder, and is ridden by *Silent Wind (the man wearing a feather in his hair and long deerskin pants in the aforementioned scene).

*Clear Sky–The grey stallion we see when Spirit and Rain tour the village. He wears blue paint around his right eye and a feather in his mane, and is ridden by **Half Moon.

**Moonbeam and **Nava–Members of Star's and Clear Sky's herd, Moonbeam left her stallion during the winter in favor of our heroes' band, and gave birth to her daughter that spring. The former is palomino, and the latter is brown.

**Sturdy Oak–A member of Star's and Clear Sky's herd, she was found sheltered under oak trees after being expelled from her herd. She is light grey.

**Rolling Thunder and **Lightning–Members of Star's and Clear Sky's herd, they left after their mother urged them to leave their overbearing stallion. The former is a grey paint, and the latter is sorrel with a white stripe and sock on his left leg.