A Simple Act of Kindness

I eased my horse down the slope and into the river, rushing fast between his legs. He didn't seem to mind tho. I looked around for signs of the Cheyenne passing through, quickly locating where they enter and exit the river. I kicked Spirit that way, feeling his muscles bunch to climb the incline as we entered the tall trees again. The trees stretched on for miles, opening to small clearing and then closing once again. It was getting late and I still hadn't found them. I sighed and pulled Spirit to a stop. The trees whispered softly in the breeze, in the distance I could hear the bugle of Elk calling to each each other close to the mountain. My horse lifted his head into the breeze and I did the same, tasting the wildness of Montana. I loved it here, the cool air, the mountains, the woods, all of it. Finally on my career path and fresh out of collage, it was my job to connect with these people. The sky was an array of pink and orange as the sun began to set, shadows creeping closer.

I nudged Spirit forward again as I heard another horse roar, which wasn't good. I kicked him to go a little faster, he listened and blazed through the darkening forest as fire flies began to lift from the grass. The teenagers were testing my tracking abilities and had gotten ahead of me.

I loved this tribe, the last group of natives that still lived this way in Montana. The chief allowed me in with kindness and corrected his language that was beginning to feel normal to my tongue when we spoke. The village was beautiful nestled near a lake below the mountain. I wished I was there now to take pictures of it in the setting sun, I had to be miles from it now.

I came to a sharp rock cropping after a few minutes. I looked down the canyon to see where they had got to the bottom and took it faster than I should have, but my horse was no weakling. Rocks sputtered down on the braves as I reached the bottom. They were crowded around something, something growling and snapping. A big white horse roared in anger. Unless you were around horses, that sound would scare you.

"What is it?" I asked. Aponi motioned me forward, I stepped down from my saddle and walked to her side.

"Wolf. Big one, He attacked Kangee after the animal fell down the rocks." she replied in her tongue. I looked from the boy who had a long gash in his arm to the snarling injured white animal. Sparkling green eyes met mine in hesitation. The animals aggression lessened for a few moments.

"Doesn't look like a timber wolf..." I commented. Could an arctic wolf make it here? But by his size, this was no arctic wolf. I walked around the animal, its eyes fallowing me and growling lowly. "Its a male."

"I'll kill it." Ohanko Said, pulling out his small knife. The animal bared its teeth at the boy whose name meant reckless. I shook my head, the animal just had a broken leg. I looked for the right boy for what I wanted.

"Taima." Thunder, the chiefs son. He nodded and smirked at me. I blushed slightly. The chief made it clear to the men that I was to be left alone. Taima didn't listen however, I was unsure about how well he would play the role of chief. He grabbed the animals muzzle letting out a whoop. He pulled a strip of leather and tied the canines mouth shut. I made quick note of the animals other injuries.

"He was battling moose. Got thrown down the rocks by a bull." Ohanko claimed. I raised an eyebrow, he didn't like me much, the reason being that his older brother, Kangee AND Taima liked me. His head was bald on one side due to some unfortunate accident when he was younger.

"Plural?" They looked at me in confusion as I realized I had spoken English, or at least a word they didn't know. "How many moose?"

"Bull, cow, and calf." Aponi pointed to the animals still standing on the ridge. I gasped slightly. They all could have been killed. Taima lifted the wolf, struggling, onto my horse, knowing I wanted to heal him. It was Taima's weakness also. A weakness for animals. Kangee whooped at the moose above us, but there was no way I would allow them to tackle the bull without warriors.

"Pause." I held my hand up. Aponi copied my motion and spelled it out for the boys.

"Stay...put." She whispered. I smiled. Aponi was my favorite of the young girls, or more my favorite student. She knew 60% of the English language. I motioned again and she caught my words. "Her responsibility to take us home." She clarified. I nodded. Ohanko scoffed but was silenced by his older brother and Taima's cold looks. I pulled myself back into the saddle as they swung onto the horses. Aponi bounded onto Kangees roan horses hind end. I pulled the reins while they directed their horses by the mane and feet. Watching their horsemanship was something incredible. When I turned in my research it was a topic that was always attached. We climbed the rock face, keeping sharp eyes on the moose. They seemed to be at ease with us for the time being. With the cover of trees; I began to relax. The sun had set and it was almost too dark to see. If another of the small tribes were in the territory they didn't show. We crossed the river like I had before and now were climbing part of the mountain.

"What do we name him?" Taima asked. I shrugged, hoping to discourage any other conversation with him. He had a bride that he would marry at the end of the summer. Sinopa was very pretty, younger than Taima, but brave. And she didn't like me.

"Alo." Aponi said. Her brown eyes caught mine and I smiled sweetly. Alo was a good name for the wolf. I looked over my shoulder at him, laying defeated over my horses hindquarters. He moved his green eyes to me and grunted. I touched his back gently which made his hackles raise.

"Welcome to the valley Alo."