Cheveyo rolled his eyes and shook his head. He moved away from the fence and was surprised that he felt comfortable with Nathan on his back. Normally his instincts would have screamed at him to throw off any weight on his back. He looked back at the boy on his back and whinnied. He wanted to see where Nathan lived.

He laughed. "I live at a stables, in a spare stall. I think I prefer where you live." He laughed, and then stopped, confused. He knew that Cheveyo was wondering that. But how?

Cheveyo shook his head, thinking of all of the dangers where he lived that could kill a human, everything from the cold winters to cougars and bears. He looked from the woods to one of the roads that led away from the town. He looked towards the road and made up his mind. He whinnied and tossed his head in the direction of the road, he wanted to see the boy's home. He looked over his shoulder and noticed Nathan's confused expression. He nickered softly, wondering what was wrong.

He laughed. "Oh its nothing. I don't care how we understand each other, I'm just glad we do. Alright if you really want to see it. But there's bunch of people living there. We can go through the woods and onto the trails, its less busy."

Cheveyo tilted his head, wondering why other humans couldn't understand horses when Nathan understand him and he understood the boy. He looked over to the woods and nodded. He trotted into the trees and stopped, waiting for Nathan to tell him where to go.

"East." He pointed.

Cheveyo nodded and headed in the direction Nathan pointed. He troted through the trees, occasionaly jumping a few fallen logs. He found a small deer trail that went in the direction he was heading and followed.

"Hmmm. Its should be soon." He said, patting Cheveyos shoulder. Soon there was a clearing, with a dirt trail down it. "That trail." He said.

(Aight I changed my mind he doesn't live in a spare stall in the barns he works at.)

Cheveyo nodded and started at a trot down the trail, but changed his speed and began to gallop down the dirt trail. He streched his neck out and raced over the open ground, his black mane and tail streaming out behind him, enjoying his freedom.

('kay.)

Nathan smiled, enjoying it just as much as Cheveyo was. He leaned forward, gripping a couple of locks of black mane, grinning.

Cheveyo felt Nathan lean forward, he whinnied and started to run faster. He raced along the trail and came to a sudden stop when he saw a fence ahead of them.

"That's the barn I work at." He dismounted. "We have to follow a deer path. You'll barely fit without me riding you." He led the way a little deeper, until they got to the tunnel of the deer path. He walked in, following the twists and turns.

Cheveyo nodded and started to follow Nathan. Where most horses would have paniced in such a tight space and would have refused to follow without a rope, Cheveyo followed, his trust in the boy overiding his fears. He walked behind Nathan, snorting in aggitation when branches scratched his sides.

"Sorry boy. Not much further." Soon it opened, becoming a dirt trail winding through pine trees, and the occasional juniper bush. "Not too far now."

Cheveyo whinnied softly when they were out of the tunnel and nudged Nathan's shoulder. He looked from the boy to his back, offering to let the boy ride.

He smiled, and hopped up onto Cheveyos back.

Cheveyo waited until Nathan was completely on his back before he started to trot down the dirt trail. He nickered, asking Nathan where to go.

He glanced around. "Up ahead the trail splits, left or straight. Go left."

Cheveyo nodded and surged forward, galloping down the trial. He swerved left when the trail split and continued to race along the trail.

The woods opened up to a clearing. The first thing you saw was the wall. Only a little over 3 ft, and made of old stone blocks, in some places it had fallen apart, or already been repaired. There was no gate, so he directed Cheveyo through the gap where it was supposed to be. There were two buildings; a barn and a farmhouse. The barn was weathered, but in one piece. The thatched roof had been repaired, the doors had been replaced by handmade oak doors, wit iron handles made of horseshoes,and a whole wall of bad blocks were replaced by hardy, cream-colored stone. The other blocks were piled around the walls, which went a little into the forest, creating four paddocks, with no gates, and the very low walls. The farmhouse was nothing but a few bricks and a frame. It obviously wasn't created as well as the barn. Nathan slid off of Cheveyos back. "Its not much, but I'm fixing it up."

Cheveyo looked around and nodded. He began to walk around and snorted when he nearly tripped over a broken block. He walked towards the barn and sniffed the air for other horses.

"No one else. Just me." He said, opening the large doors and flicking a light switch. The inside wasn't bad- one of the first stalls was open, the wall knocked out. It was a kitchen. Two were altered, one next to the kitchen, one opposite the kitchen. They were full walls, with doors. A bedroom, and a bathroom/storage/laundry. There was another wall after the second pair of stalls, splitting the barn in half, four stalls for Nathans living, and four on the other side, just because. "Tada!" He said.

Cheveyo cautiously entered the barn and looked around. He walked past each stall not really understanding what was in them. He stopped in the middle of the barn and listened. Everything was quiet, except for the occasional sound of a bird or mouse. He snorted and walked up to Nathan, wondering if the boy felt lonely on his own like this. He nudged Nathan's hand gently.

"Sometimes. But I'm always busy, fixing things. And then there's birds that roost in the farmhouse, sometimes I go over and feed them. There's a deer herd that live around here. If I work early mornings on the paddock walls, they come and graze and say hi to me. And my brother and sister visit sometimes. Oh, and all sorts of swans, ducks and geese live in the river around here. But none of them stay. But I survive, I go out and visit you wild horses. And I go into town for all my supplies. Its bearable. But I've been thinking about getting a few cats, there've been mice getting in my cereal." He stroked Cheveyos nose, smiling at his new friend.

Cheveyo pressed his nose against Nathan's cheek, he had felt alone without a herd but now he had the boy. His ears flicked back and he swung his head around to look outside of the barn when he heard a noise out by the trail he had followed earlier. He snorted and walked to the entrance of the barn, looking for the source of the sound. He stopped in his tracks when a familiar black mare stepped out from the trees by the path. She wore an old halter with a broken lead rope dragging on the ground. The white markings on her face were nearly hidden by the mud that covered her body and her long black mane and tail were matted with burrs and twigs. He snorted in surprise when he saw the long scars that covered her thin body and he was shocked he even recognized her. He let out a questioning whinny and the mare looked up, her dull eyes flashing with happiness. Cheveyo reared up and tossed his head before racing towards the skinny, black mare, neighing in delight. He circled her when he reached her side then nuzzled her neck affectionately.