on the road again...

Dixie-May Jackson · 08-23-2011, 07:06 PM

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I'm so sorry that this is so freaking stupidly long. It had to be done. x.x / 2,101 words

The mountains were so beautiful this time of year, the end of summer when the nights were just starting to get more of a chill and there was sometimes a frosting of icy dew on the grass upon waking. That wetness would cling to the plants and rocks dotting the huge mountain peaks, causing a brilliant light show whenever the sun was out. In Dixie’s eyes, there was nothing so pretty…except for the sight of the wild horses running through the grass. That was something she would never forget and hoped to see again many, many times.

Wayne wasn’t so sure about traveling through the mountains so far, wondering if the horses could take the pressure. Of course, his worries were unfounded as the beasts seemed to love the higher elevation and being out in the wild. Dixie would just laugh at him, telling him over and over again that there was nothing to be worried about. Their travels were taking them deeper and deeper into the mountain’s, back the northern way in which they had originally come from. Riding throughout the Nova Scotian territory had been wonderful so far, but she wanted to explore more, see what else she could find.

The terrain was steadily getting rockier and harder to navigate, to the point now that Wayne had to get off of Gypsy and simply let the mare follow along without his extra weight shifting her balance. After a while Dixie had to do the same with Duke. He snorted and dropped his head down low, watching the ground for a while as if studying the rocky foot paths. Their new horse, an appaloosa mare, walked a few feet behind Gypsy, with a rope connecting the two together. Wayne had rightfully named the large mare Queen, because of her regal way of holding herself and walking. Whenever met with a new challenge, the mare would arch and curve her neck, bring her hooves up in a high step, and whinny at the foe. It was quite a sight to see.

Dixie climbed up on some rocks, ignoring Wayne’s huffs of protest. He always hated it when his tiny companion put herself in danger for no reason. He could have easily climbed up onto those pointy rocks, but no, she had to prove something and scare him half to death with her little stunts. Perhaps he was controlling about certain things, but he just could not think about her getting hurt, it freaked him out too much. When she climbed down, he grabbed her tail and tugged on it just enough to hurt a little, chuckling when she yelped and smacked him. Grinning still, he lolled his tongue from the side of his mouth and shot a wink in her direction before turning and taking the reins for both Gypsy and Duke, starting the walk down the trail again.

There is somethin’ down there; a big cave maybe…looks like some of those old machines from before our time as well. Let’s go have a look. She smiled up at Wayne and started walking, picking her way down the ragged hills quickly as he followed along at a slower pace with the horses. A few times he called out for her to slow down, but of course she ignored his warnings and just kept going. Near the bottom her foot caught on a dark rock sticking up from the ground and she went down face first. The girl yelped loudly and got up onto her hands and knees immediately, holding her face. Her nose was bloodied from scraping on the ground and she knew her skin would be sore and tender for a while.

Wayne ran down quickly, leaving the horses to make their own way. He scooped Dixie up in his arms and placed her on a boulder, pulling her hands away from her face and giving her fur a short inspection. Growling in frustration, he hugged her close and nuzzled his face into her soft stomach, angry that she had put herself in danger once again. After a few moments of hugging, he pulled back and glared at her, growling again to reprimand her behavior. She sighed and licked his face, right in between his eyes, and then slid down off the rock. I’m sorry, Wayne. I’ll try to be more careful, promise. She walked away from him with her head down, tail tucked between her legs and ears pinned flat, feeling emotional shame and physical pain.

After the little incident, Wayne turned his eyes to the things scattered around the mouth of the “cave”, as Dixie called it. The girl was already touching and picking things up, inspecting them and wondering what kinds of things they could be used for. Dixie! Look at this! The excitement was clear in the large male’s voice as he ran over to a hunk of rotting wood. The girl followed him and looked it over, taking a few moments for her to finally realize what it was. Oh! You think we can fix it!? We’d be able to carry so much more! Her little body was practically vibrating with energy, the fall and pain forgotten for the moment. Wayne nodded slowly and walked around the dilapidated wagon, trailing his hands over certain parts.

After a few minutes, he grinned and grabbed a hold of the piece that would connect a horse or cow to the entire structure. Leaning his weight back against his, he gave a sharp tug and slowly pulled it a few feet. Loose and rotten pieces began to shift and fall off, and by the time he had pulled it fifteen feet, the sides were gone and a few chunks of the flooring was as well. Overall though, it seemed to be in good working condition. The wheels weren’t in need of much repair, which was wonderful and a big relief for the two. Dixie, being the smaller one, once again ignored Wayne’s protests, and climbed up onto the wagon slowly. She moved around on it, cautiously stepping on bad looking parts and testing the wood to make sure it was stable. Hey…I think some of these parts are metal, so they will be fine. It’s just the really rotten wood that needs to be replaced. She shrugged and sat down in the seat at the front, grinning when it bore her weight easily without even making a creaking noise.

Wayne nodded and whistled lowly to the horses, jaw dropping slightly in surprise when they all obeyed and came directly towards them. Even the appaloosa, Queen came trotting over, not that she’d have been able to stop, being connected to Gypsy still. The big male smiled and untied Queen, reattaching her rope to Duke’s saddle. After taking the saddle and bags from Gypsy, he draped a soft skin over her back and led her over to the wagon and slowly brought the connector down over her shoulders. The mare snorted a bit and shifted uneasily, but stayed put. Dixie leaned down and rubbed her hands over her back, trying to soothe the mare’s nerves. It seemed to be working, and Wayne had an easy time fashioning a new belt like strap to go around the horse’s neck and withers, holding the wagon to her without cutting off her air supply.

He untied the reins, effectively splitting them into dual sections and then fetched a rope to extend the line. Handing the ends to Dixie, she sat back in the seat up on the wagon and clicked softly, flicking the make-shift long reins. Gypsy started moving easily, walking forward and pulling the wagon without a problem. A few more small pieces fell off, but nothing that couldn’t be fixed with time and some good tools. Dixie pulled on the reins and Gypsy came to a stop, dropping her head down to nibble on some grass. The other horses were doing the same a few yards away. The girl went to the packs that Wayne had removed from the large mare and took out a thick, large skin, draping it over the hole riddled bed of the wagon. There…you think some of the packs will be able to stay on now? Her arms strained as she lifted the heavier things up onto the back, setting them up with the heaviest at the edges so the lighter things wouldn’t go tumbling off.

It wasn’t as if they had so many things, and there were only two bags and a saddle resting on the back of the wagon. The wooden construction wasn’t very big, but they could definitely fit a lot more on it when it was fixed up. As it was, Wayne figured the thing could take a few more pounds. ”Look around, try to find anything else useful.” He grinned at his companion and went back to searching, happy about their discovery and what they could do with the wagon. He ventured a few feet into the mine shaft and began to sneeze, the smell was horribly musky and smoky, and it was hard to see anything. The male stripped his cut off jeans away and folded them up, placing his hat on top and then shifted into lupus form. He was a rather odd looking specimen in this form, large and thick furred like a wolf, but with a stockier, more muscular build like a Labrador.

It was much easier to move around in this form, and he quickly found a few things to take back out into the light, grabbing them in between his teeth and carrying them out one at a time. Dixie came over to see what it all was, bringing her own find. Sorting them out, they figured that there was a rusted saw the length of the girl’s forearm, a few hammers of different sizes, two files that would be good for caring for the animal’s hooves. It was a decent haul, especially when added up with the wagon. The things were placed safely and Dixie got up onto the wagon again. Wayne dressed himself and mounted Duke, shaking his head when the stallion tossed his head at the doubled weight. He was used to the small female riding him, not the monster of a man. He’d be okay though, he was a strong boy and after they got out of the hilly terrain, the horses could take turns pulling the wagon.

They rode on for about two hours, the sun was now high up in the sky. Anywhere else it would be boiling hot, but up in the Halcyon range, the weather was chilled and perfect. There was even some snow in the shady parts! The sharp hills and rocky terrain was starting to even out again and become soft ground, so Dixie and Wayne decided to pull up and take a break. The girl hopped down from the wagon and took the connector off of Gypsy’s shoulders, rubbing the area for a while before letting the mare walk away. Wayne allowed Duke and Queen to go graze and roll around in the deep grass as well, pulling out his flask and taking a deep gulp of water as he walked to Dixie. ”Do you smell that? There is a pack nearby, I think; northeast of us by a few miles. We need to be careful, okay?” She nodded and took a few sips of water as well before inhaling and drawing in the scent of multiple strange canines. It wasn’t surprising that there was a pack up in the mountains, as the territory was so full of life and rich life giving resources.

The girl yawned and stretched a bit, striding over to some large boulders that sat half out of the ground near the wagon. Climbing up on top of one, she stretched her body out and soaked up the warmth of the sun, closing her eyes for a short rest. She knew they’d have to start moving again soon, as the scent of a pack was making Wayne nervous and fidgety. The male really was not fond of the unknown, and he hated the fact that he couldn’t properly keep Dixie safe if he didn’t know what kind of creatures lived here and if they were friendly to strangers or not. Sighing in frustration, he fixed his hat and sat down, resting his back on the boulder. A strip of grass was pulled and placed between his lips, the little teeth in between his k-9’s nibbling at it in an attempt to stem his nerves.

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