He laughed, and offered another apple, hanging the rope on a branch of a nearby tree. "Okay boy, wanna play?"

Cheveyo snatched the apple out of the boy's hand and ate it. He reared up slightly and tossed his head. He pawed at the ground and whinnied.

He laughed, dodging away playfully.

Cheveyo chased the boy, whinnying happily. He hadn't played like this since he was a young colt.

He laughed, sprinting across the meadow but knowing he'd catch him easily.

Cheveyo raced ahead of the boy and started running laps around the meadow. His muscles were tight under his buckskin coat, his black mane and tail streaming out behind him. His strides were long and graceful, his neck arched and his ears pointing forward.

He laughed and stopped, sitting with his elbows on his knees and panting.

Cheveyo slowly stopped running. He troted towards the boy and stopped beside him. He streched his neck down and nudged the boy's shoulder. He lifted his head and his ears turned back and forth, his nostrils flaring. When he couldn't find anything that he considered a threat he let his knees buckle and slowly laid down on his side, letting out a long sigh. He streched his neck out and rested his black muzzle on the boy's shoulder.

He laughed, and lay back, resting his head on Cheveyos shoulder, and closing his eyes, smiling in the sunlight.

Cheveyo relaxed and kept watch over the boy. He realized that he had already accepted the boy as a friend and he trusted the boy not to cause him any harm. He rested his large head on the boy's shoulder, his ears turning to catch any strange sounds.

He stroked the stallions nose, relaxing.

Cheveyo snorted softly and lifted his head. He looked around the meadow again and his eyes stopped on the rope hanging from the tree. He wondered what all it was used for. The only things he knew about ropes where from the stories that talked about horses being dragged away or beaten with them. He looked down at the boy and then back to the rope. He wondered why such a gentle human carried a retched rope.

He blinked his eyes open, watching Cheveyo look at the rope. "Its used for a lot of thing. I can use it to fasten things together, or something to help guide someone, to help tow things. It isn't all for evilness. It isn't all to use on animals either. Don't worry boy."

Cheveyo snorted and nudged the boy away from his shoulder. He stood up and shook himself off. He walked over to the rope and pulled it off the branch. He troted back over to the boy and dropped it in his lap. He looked around and a distant sound caught his attention. It was the sound of hoofbeats. He thought that it could have been a small herd of wild horses, but the sound of metal on stone told him that the horses that were heading in their direction had horseshoes. He snorted nervously and shoved the boy with his head. He tried to get the boy to stand up at the same time three horse wranglers burst into the meadow, their ropes swinging. Cheveyo stood in front of the boy and tried to protect him. He reared up as one of the ropes was tossed over his head, his eyes rolling in panic.

"No!" He yelled, leaping up onto Cheveyo's back to pull the rope off over his head, his rope in a coil on his shoulder. "Go, go." He urged Cheveyo, pulling the ropes off him as they were tossed on.

Cheveyo barely noticed the boy on his back, as soon as the ropes were off his neck he lurched forward. He raced into the trees. He easily lost the wranglers as he picked up speed. He leaped over a fallen tree and splashed through a small creek. He waited until he couldn't hear the wranglers' horses before he finaly started to slow down. His legs shook with adrenaline and fear as he came to a stop. He snorted and shook his large head.

Nathan crouched over Cheveyos back while he ran, panting himself as if it were he who had run. He moved perfectly with the stallion, as if one. Now he sat, shaking slightly."That was close."

Cheveyo turned his head to look at the boy on his back. Nathan's weight didn't bother him and he was comforted by the boy's presence. His ears flicked back in fear when he heard the wranglers' horses crashing through the trees. He nudged the boy's leg with his nose. The stallion didn't know where he was and he didn't know any safe places to hide. He knew if they kept running around he would get tired and the wranglers would catch them. He needed Nathan's help to get both of them out of trouble.

In a second he had loosely tied a ring of rope around the base of Cheveyos neck. He gently tugged the rope on the left side of his withers, eyes searching for escape routes.

Cheveyo stepped to his left and snorted nervously. He didn't like the feeling of the rope, but he trusted Nathan. He tossed his head and pawed the ground when he spotted a break in the trees. He raced forward and plunged through the brush. He found an old deer path and followed it. He stopped in his tracks when he stepped out of the trees and stood facing large fields and an old dirt road.

His eyes with recognition. "Oh I know where we are, boy!" He gently directed him towards the road. There was an old, broken farmhouse and barn, and an overgrown orchard. "We can hide."

Cheveyo galloped along the road when he heard the wranglers getting closer. He noticed the old barn had a door open and troted towards it. The barn looked like it could collapse. He stopped outside the door and snorted nervously. He tossed his head and backed up a few steps when a pigeon flew out of the barn, his ears flicked back.

He slipped off Cheveyos back, looking around desperately. Then he stepped forward, peering into the barn, and taking a step in.

Cheveyo nickered nervously as Nathan stepped into the barn. He spun around as he heard a noise farther up the road. His ears flicked back as the wranglers' horses broke free of the woods and stopped, the wranglers searching the fields. He froze with fear.

"Quick boy." He whispered, tapping his nose. They could hide behind old hay bales.