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Authors: Liss Thomas
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thought the fur might have been long haired yak but it might be rude to ask. Charlie and Atian looked up and smiled as she neared the pen.
“So, what’s the big surprise,” she asked, as she reached the empty corral.
“Your next challenge is in dragon territory. You’ll need a cabayo to make the trip,” Atian said.
“Cabayo?” Missy asked. Charlie let out a high-pitched whistle and several large c a bayo ran to the fencing. Jumping back in alarm and amazement, Missy gawked at the size of the creatures before her. She would have liked to call them horses but they dwarfed even a sixteen hand Clydesdale. Their sturdy legs resembled an elephant’s legs, not spindly and narrow like an ordinary horse, yet their movements were swift as a tho r oughbred.
“It’s ok, Missy, they’re quite tame,” Charlie assured her. Missy hedged forward and glanced up at the closest cabayo. Reaching out, she stroked the animal’s leg and marveled at how silky the long black hair felt. Missy smiled up at the beast. Cha r lie jumped the fence and mounted one of the cabas. It respon d ed and ha n dled just like a horse.
“They are easy to ride and very fast,” Charlie said, as he kicked the caba’s hinds and it began to gallop with incredible speed. They rounded the corral then trotted back to the fence. Atian climbed over and took the reins from Charlie as he di s mounted.
A screech echoed from the nearby barn, followed by se v eral shouts of panic. They all turned toward the barn and saw several others of the Bullclan running for cover. Behind them, a small cabayo snorted and bucked his way through the door.
“I thought we got rid of that runt!” Atian bellowed as he ran to help rein in the animal.
“Stay here!” Charlie yelled to Missy as he followed his f a ther. The other cabas bolted, giving the enraged caba a wide berth. Atian corralled the other animals, getting them out of the way, while Charlie helped contain the little beast. Missy knew at first glance that this was the right sized c a bayo for her, but how could she control the little terror? The animal’s temper would be a challenge. He snorted and raged around the pen, knocking over the bulls and biting anything that came near. Charlie co r nered it once but a swift kick landed him on the ground. He lay there stunned and muddy as Atian ran after the still out of co n trol animal. Missy hopped the fence and ran over to Cha r lie.
“Are you ok?” she asked, stifling a chuckle.
“Great,” Charlie said between clinched teeth. “He’s been this way since birth. He was the last of an unusually large litter. His mother had four young before she died, he being the smal l est. Other nursing cabas adopted three of the orphans, but he was so small he couldn’t reach the milk source. We fed him by hand for many months, hoping he would grow with the right care. After weaning him, we set him out to pasture again to see if one of the other cabas would adopt him. They ran him off and would have nothing to do with him. We set up a sep a rate corral for him, thinking perhaps he could be used for young bulls to ride and gain experience before riding the larger c a bas. We couldn’t break or tame him. Father wanted to get rid of him from the start. I always thought he would change.” Charlie sighed, sitting up slowly brushing his arms to dislodge some of the mud. Missy helped as best she could.
The whispered words in her head stopped her mov e ments. Curiosity overrode the unnerving alarm as she listened intently to locate the source. She looked around the corral, e y ing each of the Bullclan within hearing distance, not them. She looked for Atian who ran behind the small cabayo as it came closer. Her eyes fell on the rampaging animal, and she heard another whispered exclamation. She didn’t hear words, but Missy heard or felt his emotions. He felt irritated, upset, di s heartened.
“Charlie, can you hear him?” she asked, as she stood up facing the approaching a n
“So, what’s the big surprise,” she asked, as she reached the empty corral.
“Your next challenge is in dragon territory. You’ll need a cabayo to make the trip,” Atian said.
“Cabayo?” Missy asked. Charlie let out a high-pitched whistle and several large c a bayo ran to the fencing. Jumping back in alarm and amazement, Missy gawked at the size of the creatures before her. She would have liked to call them horses but they dwarfed even a sixteen hand Clydesdale. Their sturdy legs resembled an elephant’s legs, not spindly and narrow like an ordinary horse, yet their movements were swift as a tho r oughbred.
“It’s ok, Missy, they’re quite tame,” Charlie assured her. Missy hedged forward and glanced up at the closest cabayo. Reaching out, she stroked the animal’s leg and marveled at how silky the long black hair felt. Missy smiled up at the beast. Cha r lie jumped the fence and mounted one of the cabas. It respon d ed and ha n dled just like a horse.
“They are easy to ride and very fast,” Charlie said, as he kicked the caba’s hinds and it began to gallop with incredible speed. They rounded the corral then trotted back to the fence. Atian climbed over and took the reins from Charlie as he di s mounted.
A screech echoed from the nearby barn, followed by se v eral shouts of panic. They all turned toward the barn and saw several others of the Bullclan running for cover. Behind them, a small cabayo snorted and bucked his way through the door.
“I thought we got rid of that runt!” Atian bellowed as he ran to help rein in the animal.
“Stay here!” Charlie yelled to Missy as he followed his f a ther. The other cabas bolted, giving the enraged caba a wide berth. Atian corralled the other animals, getting them out of the way, while Charlie helped contain the little beast. Missy knew at first glance that this was the right sized c a bayo for her, but how could she control the little terror? The animal’s temper would be a challenge. He snorted and raged around the pen, knocking over the bulls and biting anything that came near. Charlie co r nered it once but a swift kick landed him on the ground. He lay there stunned and muddy as Atian ran after the still out of co n trol animal. Missy hopped the fence and ran over to Cha r lie.
“Are you ok?” she asked, stifling a chuckle.
“Great,” Charlie said between clinched teeth. “He’s been this way since birth. He was the last of an unusually large litter. His mother had four young before she died, he being the smal l est. Other nursing cabas adopted three of the orphans, but he was so small he couldn’t reach the milk source. We fed him by hand for many months, hoping he would grow with the right care. After weaning him, we set him out to pasture again to see if one of the other cabas would adopt him. They ran him off and would have nothing to do with him. We set up a sep a rate corral for him, thinking perhaps he could be used for young bulls to ride and gain experience before riding the larger c a bas. We couldn’t break or tame him. Father wanted to get rid of him from the start. I always thought he would change.” Charlie sighed, sitting up slowly brushing his arms to dislodge some of the mud. Missy helped as best she could.
The whispered words in her head stopped her mov e ments. Curiosity overrode the unnerving alarm as she listened intently to locate the source. She looked around the corral, e y ing each of the Bullclan within hearing distance, not them. She looked for Atian who ran behind the small cabayo as it came closer. Her eyes fell on the rampaging animal, and she heard another whispered exclamation. She didn’t hear words, but Missy heard or felt his emotions. He felt irritated, upset, di s heartened.
“Charlie, can you hear him?” she asked, as she stood up facing the approaching a n
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