Where was he? Engel had woken up in the middle of a gigantic field that stretched for miles in each direction, all grass except for the occasional spindly tree. He stood on shaky legs, using most of his strength to kee[ himself standing. The stallion began to get upset. Why was he so weak? And why was he sore all over. He remembered being lifted by a giant metal bird, held by a giant net. He watched from above as his home burned. He remembered fighting the net, struggling against it, to no avail. He also remembered the metal creature lowering, and dropping him. Yes. That must have been why he'd been knocked out. He looked down, and noticed he was standing on the net that had brought him. He neighed in fury as he dug at the thing with his sharp hooves. He soon realized that attacking this thing would get him nowhere, would tell him nothing. He sighed, and walked slowly to a yummy smelling patch of green grass, and began lipping at it as he noticed he was starving.

Micah had been walking along a line of trees that separated a small town from an enormous grassland when he thought he heard a horse. He had heard that some horses may roam the huge meadows, but he had learned not to get his hopes up. He was about to keep walking, but something kept him from continuing his travels to another town. He finally just started walking in the direction he thought he had heard the noise. He barely held back a shocked gasp when he spotted a grey stallion grazing in the field.

Engel ceased grazing, and lifted his head. He'd thought he smelled something strange, but he wasn't sure. He snorted, and gazed around the field, before taking a few shaky steps in the direction of the woods. He stared hard at the trees, mind swirling as he tryed computing what could be out there. A decision was made that there was nothing there, and grazing was continued. His thoughts retuned to those of his journey to this place. He remembered, as the net was lifting from the earth, seeing strange beings that ran around on two legs, movements similar to that of a chicken. He remembered hearing voices in a strange language briefly before being lifted into the sky. He became alert to his surroundings once more as a rabbit hopped by him, startling him slightly.

Micah froze as the horse looked around and sighed in relief when he wasn't spotted. He didn't want to frighten the horse away. He watched as the horse moved towards the woods and frowned when he saw how shaky the horse was. He had been around horses all of his life and could tell if something was wrong with one from a long distance away. He set his large duffle bag near a tree and moved slowly and quietly out into the field in the direction of the horse. He spotted something not far from the horse and recognized a net. What is a net doing there? he thought, confused.

Engel's head snapped up, as he thought he heard footsteps. Ears swiveled, and more steps were taken toward the trees. Yes! There was something there! He couldn't figure out what it was, and ne noticed it was coming toward him. He was afraid of course, but there was no bravery without fear. Stallion stepped closer to the creature, and a low grunt was given. Perhaps the thing would respond. His thoughts were uddenly interupted, when he tried going faster, and he's legs could no longer support him. He collapsed, and lay there for a moment, stunned. He'd seemed ok before, so why had he fallen? He struggled back into a standing position, and this time, he didn't bother moving. He just stood there breathing heavily, a frightened look in his eye.

Micah froze as the horse saw him and started moving towards him. He heard the horse grunt and clicked his tounge in response. His eyes widened when he saw the stallion collapse. It only confirmed his thoughts about something being wrong with the horse. He sighed in relief when the horse got back up. He started moving towards it again, moving a little faster but being careful not to make any sudden movements.

Engel watched the creature warily as it neared him. He was at a loss to what he should do. He knew he couldn't run, or attack, but he could always hobble away quickly. But, the thing had made a sound, on he was certain he'd heard before. he looked down at one of the wing markings on his shoulder, and noticed it had brightened a bit. Weird. He looked back to the human, and ears pricked forward. Maybe he was a friend. [Fail :/]

Micah stopped a few feet from the stallion. He clicked his tounge again and held out his hands, trying to appear non-threatening. "Easy big guy. I'm here to help. You don't seem to be movin' around like you should." he told the horse quietly. "Are you going to cooperate? I promise I won't hurt you if you don't hurt me." He looked at the horse's shoulder, avoiding eye contact and noticed the strange wing marking. "An odd one aren't you?" he murmured under his breath.

Engel cocked his head slightly, and then turned it another way. This odd animal seemed to be harmless enough. He took a few steps toward the boy, and grunted. He ventured a bit closer, and a nicker was gien. He was now interested in him. What was he/ Where did he come from? He looked like one of those chicken-like things that had put him in that net. he looked back at him, and squinted. He refocised on the human, and stretched his neck out a bit. He wasn't sure if he should get any closer.

Micah smiled slightly as the horse moved closer. "That's a good boy. I'm not that bad am I? I'm not goin' to hurt ya I just want to find out what's got ya so shaky." he talked softly, never meeting the horse's eyes.

Engel looked back at the boy, and then back at the net, and reapeated this more than once. His held a pleading gaze, as if he were asking to be taken away from this evil place. He walked up to the human, head turned slightly to get a better view of him. He snorted, and reached out with his muzzle again. He wanted desperately to be removed from the "dump" sight. Maybe this place was causing the dizzyness, and jelly legs.

Micah reached forward and gently rubbed the stallion's muzzle. He had seen how the horse had looked at the net and then at him. "Come on big guy. I'm sure ya want to get out of this place. I'm not even sure I want to know why there's a huge net." he said quietly. He turned around and walked slowly towards the trees, moving slow enough that the stallion could follow beside him if he wanted.

Engel nodded his head, and walked as quickly as he could after the human. He snorted, and came up besde him, grateful to be "rescued". He followed alongside the boy, head occasionaly turnred toward him so Engel could nose him gently.

Micah chuckled softly each time the touched him. He carefully moved his hand to scratch under the stallion's mane as they walked. "You sure are handsome aren't ya? I've been lookin' for a horse like you for a long time now, but no worries. I'm not about to tie you to a post with a rope and wait for you to break your own neck like some of those idiots I've worked for. Some people really shouldn't work with horses. I'm not about to try to tame ya if that's not what ya want, but you can tag along for as long as you want." he told the horse, glad to finally talk to something that could at least part-way understand him. He knew horses were a lot smarter then what people cave them credit for.

Engel soaked up the attention, his bottom lip hanging as they walked. He listened to the human carefully, and slipped into thought. He'd heard of these posts, and evil creatures called "cowboys" that tried to get them do do things, whether they were willing or not. He snorted, and gave a grunt. He'd like to see a cowboy for himself. He wanted to see how they acted, how the treated their horses. He wanted to know of his family's and this boy's story were true. He looked at the human, and his eyes were calm, but held a hint of wonder.

Micah grinned at the horse, glad that it wasn't frightened of him. "Maybe if ya let me I can train ya to barrel race, or maybe teach ya calf roping. Having a good horse I can trust will make the jobs I do a lot easier and I've always wanted to compete in competitions." he mused. "If we work together I bet we can make ya the best all around horse in the state. I bet you can make all of those purebred ponies look like chumps instead of champs." he said, smiling. He stopped once they reached the shade of the trees and sat down under the tree where he had left his duffle bag. "We can rest here for now. I don't want to push ya to much until I know what's goin' on." he told him as he rummaged through his bag. He pulled out an apple from a box and laid it on the ground for the horse to eat before pulling out one for himself.

Engel continued listening, and he was beginning to enjoy the human's company. He rolled some of the unfamiliar words and phrases over in his mind. What was barrel racing? Did they race barrels? What was a barrel? What was competing? shorter version of Competition? He wondered what kinds of these "shows" the ponies were in. He snorted, and continued pondering these things. he'd kept walking, until he noticed the boy wasn't next to him. He looked back, and saw that he was sitting under a tree. He then noticed something small, shiny, and red. An apple! he didn't need to think that one over. He walked back, and slowly lowered himself to the ground. He munched on the apple, and watched the boy closely. He noticed that his legs weren't feeling as weak. Maybe all he needed was some rest.

Rome smiled as he watched the horse eating the apple, taking a bite of his own. "So what do ya think? Want to be partners?" he asked the horse not really expecting an answer. He leaned back against the tree trunk and sighed, pushing his hat up a little. The old stetson cowboy hat had been his father's and it was still a little big on him. "This has been the best day of my life." he said grinning happily.

Engel stood, and stepped closer to the human, and returned to the laying position. He stuck his muzzle in the boy's face, and blew, as a sign of friendship. He liked him, and would probably end up following him everywhere, much like a lost puppy. He had nowhere else to go, and he had no idea if his family was still alive. And so, this boy would become just that. His family. (AAAAWWWWWWW!!!!!)

Micah smiled as the horse laid down next to him and chuckled as he recognized the sign of friendship. He reached up and scratched behind the stallion's ears. He'd been looking for a friend ever since his parents died and he had been thrown into one foster home after another, and now he finally found one. He sat the rest of his apple on the ground for the horse. "We'll leave in a little while. There's a stable not far from here that I'll be working at tomorrow and I'd rather find a place a little closer before we set up camp for the night." he told him.

Engel soaked up the attention, head set in his friend's lap. When he set the apple down, Engel more than willingly finished the apple, then proceeding to smear it's juice all over his face and shirt. He gave a whinny, as if laughing, then listened as he spoke. He'd begun to understand the language, as if the human were also a horse. He noticed his marking was glowing, but it was dull, and so it was barely noticable. He gazed at iit for a minute, before getiing back to nuzzling the boy, getting even more apple juice on him.

Micah laughed and pushed the stallion's head away from him playfully. He tried to wipe off the front of his shirt, but only ended up making it worse. "Silly old horse." he laughed, shaking his head. "If you have so much energy why don't we get going so we can set up camp." he told the horse as he zipped up his bag and stood up, a grin on his face.

Engel whinnied, as if laughing, before he stood. His legs weren't as weak feeling as before. Maybe he'd been in shock or something before. He walked in a circle, then back to the boy. He nickered, and grabbed his hat gently between his teeth. He then just stood there with a silly look plastered on his face, the hat dangling from his mouth.

Micah laughed and snatched his father's old hat from the horse. "You aren't going to make my life easy are you?" he asked grinning. He suddenly froze as he lifted his bag up on his shoulder. "I just realized something. I don't even know your name." he mused.

Engel thought for a moment, then pointed at his wing marking with his muzzle. He looked back up at the boy, then back at the marking, hoping he'd get the idea. No doubt it would take the human a few tries to guess. He snorted, and hen looked at the clouds, then back at the marking, which, strangely enough, e had on his other side too.