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"Horse Tales"Written By: Kaeru Shisho Disclaimer: I don't own any part of Gundam Wing
or its characters, nor do I make any monetary profit off this story. Rating: NC 17 Warnings: Yaoi, Very AU, so very AU it's AD, another
dimension. The GW boys are horses. My apologies. Please heed the warning. Pairings: 1x2, 3x4, 6x5 Summary: A few lucky stallion purebreds are given a second chance at the Horse Haven Sanc-tuary. A/N: In defense of my writing this extreme version
of a GW story… Waterlily and Snowdragon made me do it, heh, heh… " Horse Tales" Chapter Eighteen- Keep Your Friends Close and Your Enemies Closer (o) Heero's POV "Cougars? Where?" Trowa sniffed the air, his neck stretched long and high. "Not close. Not any more. They passed this way." "Understood. Stay alert, everyone." "Roger!" Duo called out. I didn't understand the significance of the name, but it meant concurrence. He'd told me it did before. It was my duty to trail the others, on the lookout for trouble. Wufei and Zechs led the way, mindful of dangerous holes, snakes, or snagging wires, and Quatre and Trowa fell in between, ever watchful and listening for signs of danger. Duo walked with Quatre, or sometimes he chose to join me. I liked when he chose to walk with me. But he didn't today. I never knew how difficult it was to balance the role of leader with that of lover and friend. I wasn't doing a particularly good job of either, or any of the roles. For proof, I had only to look at the horse who'd stolen my heart. Duo hadn't spoken to me or touched me intimately all morning. And I know he didn't know how much it hurt me. I know Quatre was wrong and I was right; he loved me like a brother. And that was it. That was all it probably would ever be and I'd messed up, tried to push him, and now- My foul-ups didn't stop there. I'd had an argument with Quatre over how to proceed with the Mustangs, and, in reaction, Trowa had become more introverted than ever. Even Wufei, with whom I thought I shared a mutual admiration, seemed confrontational from the outset, obviously his reaction to my equivocation when dealing with Duo. I needed to set things straight with my love, and soon. Only the newest of the band, Zechs, acted the same toward me as the day before. He dropped back and let Wufei trot ahead so that he and I could discuss the Mustang band and their pecking order. This visit to the wild herd was just a preliminary run to see if the band would take me in and hide me. I valued Quatre's tactful approach, but I wasn't sure it would impress the likes of the lead mare and the alpha stallion. And then Zechs made an unusual suggestion worth deliberation. I didn't think Duo would like it. No, that wasn't exactly right. I was sure he'd wouldn't like it. "I'll consider that, Zechs. If Quatre's plea doesn't work, yours will be our fall back." "As long as you see it as only temporary," he insisted. "I have no ulterior motives." "No? You have strong leadership qualities, why not test mine?" "Too much work," he said with a toothy grimace, the one that spooked Duo so badly. "I'm a lazy ass of a horse when you get down to it." "Thanks for the insight, and the honesty. You didn't have to let me in on your plan." "I'm not completely dishonorable, as I've been recently reminded, but more than that, I'd like to live up to someone else's expectations of me." Wufei? He wanted to impress Wufei. Taking over my herd would impress Wufei. Would giving it up the moment I returned impress him as much? Doubtful. And if I didn't return, the herd would be stable with a leader already in place. Would the others thank us? Duo might prefer the opportunity to step up to the job, young as he was. Unlikely, but he should have the opportunity. I should warn him about what Zechs' might do. "Don't tell the others, though," Zechs cautioned me. "We want them to react naturally." Especially Duo, I filled in. "Tell him later." You know who. "I shall. I promise." Duo made fast work of the locks and jumped the electric fence beautifully. They all cleared the jump. All that practice had served us well. This threat of a big cat attack could ruin our outing. I would not allow us to risk a life for a chance at my taking refuge with the Mustangs to avoid being taken away by Miss Relena. Never. My life was not that important under any circumstances, but I'd promised Duo not to leave him. I meant to keep that promise. "We keep going." No turning back. I hoped I chosen well and wasn't leading our band into a bloodbath. No one wanted to be backing the wrong horse when it came to survival. I heard the shrill whinny of the lookout and knew our arrival wouldn't be a secret to the band of wild horses. "No sneaking up on these bastards," Duo said after answering the other horse with an earsplitting neigh of his own. As before we were encircled by the curious mares, the leader, Une, moving to face off with me. "You must be looking for trouble coming back here!" she called out. "Looking? We found you," Duo replied before I could greet her. Then Trowa bumped me and I tore my attention off Une and Duo to learn what the next problem would be. "Hill top," he said, indicating the direction with his nose. "Stands out, doesn't he?" "I see." The Alpha stallion with his fine, arched neck and powerful shoulders paraded back and forth, putting on a show. "You're dealing with me!" The lead mare whinnied, which rallied the other mares, smothering us with their closeness. "He's not a Mustang like the others," Quatre pointed out needlessly. We all knew that the first time we saw him, and fought him. "In fact, half of them look to be war refugees." "No-" Zechs interrupted me, taking Duo's place at my side. "Keen observation. No, he's a Hanoverian war horse of illustrious, excellent ancestry." How could Zechs know that, unless he knew him very well? I shot Zechs a sharp look, demanding to know. "You're on familiar terms with him?" Wufei, standing on his far side, coughed himself into a fit of some sort. "I served under him in the military; er, that is, I reported to him. I thought he had died." "Is this going to be a problem?" I needed to know. Wufei wheezed. "No, I'm fine." "I meant-" But Zechs knew I'd been asking about his past relationship. It might even be too late to leave. I didn't need more problems. We'd agreed to stick together, not let the mares drag everyone off, leaving one or two vulnerable to attack by the lead animals. Quatre and Trowa were to distract the mares. Duo, Wufei, and Zechs were to stick with me. I was already committed to my course of action. I couldn't manage a traitorous Zechs, plus Une and Treize all at the same time. Unless we turned tail and left immediately, it was too late to change horses in the middle of the stream. Zechs shook his mane. "I don't know." He turned his attention to Wufei. The two carried on a whispered conversation I wanted to be privy to. A disturbance with the mares cut our exchange short. As planned, Quatre had begun distributing the ribbons to a few of the mares, Trowa assisting, passing a few at a time. Good. I hoped that would work. But where had Duo gone off to? Then I spotted him in the thick of things. Duo's voice carried clearly over the snorting and whinnies of the gathering horses. "-Why am I not surprised?" * "Just because I'm small, doesn't mean I can't have as many as the next horse! And the name's Hilde, in case you forgot." The generous mouthful of ribbons made her look silly and sound sillier. "Forget a bigmouth like you? Heh!" Duo stood with legs wide apart, doing what I considered to be a good job of talking around his mouthful of roses. Trowa stepped in to help separate them and let Quatre free up a few more strands. "Don't get your backs up! Unless you're blind as bats, you can see if you take a mouthful, that there's not enough to go around!" A tug of war ensued. "Let go!" Duo growled. "You got one wound around your neck. It could strangle you if you pull any harder!" Hilde stomped her hooves. "I'm prepared to die at any time!"* Duo kicked her sides. "You damn idiot!"* He must have made contact, because she let out a whinny and dropped all the ribbons, "I thought you'd say that!"* More sounds of a shoving contest. Rough and tumble among friends was one thing, but these feral horses were unknowns. We'd come away injured before. I was the only one allowed to leave bite marks on my Duo! "Get away from him!" The little mare jumped at my tone of voice, although I think Duo just snorted at me in an annoyed way, as much as to tell me he could handle her fine without my help. What did he expect me to do? I would not just let him get beat up, but if I asserted myself on his behalf, he resented it! What was a lead horse supposed to do? "Stop fussing and take one so the rest of us can have a chance!" said one mare, chastising the little dark one. That sounded like one level-headed piece of advice, coming from one of the wild horses, so I looked around and found the source, sidling up alongside Wufei. He kept trying to shadow Zechs, whose attention seemed riveted to the horse on the hill. "My name's Sally." Wufei attempted to ignore her completely, but she seemed determined to reel him in. "Mind telling me a little about that handsome white stud you brought in?"* "W-who?" Zechs obviously, I answered silently. Wufei possibly figured it out on his own, since he next snapped, "It is no business of yours." Trowa bumped into me and I could see he was getting out of the way of a mare advancing on him. "Well, hello. You're cute, and I'm not just saying that!*" Trowa wheezed something about being a "goner" and danced the other way, trampling ribbons underfoot, and nearly Quatre with them, but the mare pursued him. She seemed persistent! "You remember me, don't you? Catherine? We met before." "Ah, no." "You didn't even think about us horses you left behind?"* Trowa looked about wide-eyed and ready to run at my word. I felt sorry for him, but he should have known better than to engage in any conversation with these cagey females. I meant to point out how well Quatre was handling the mares, in spite of looking so out of place with that soft coloring of his and sparkling with ribbons. In the morning light, Duo's name for him, "Sunshine", wasn't as fitting as Trowa's, "Beautiful." "See how Quatre's just demonstrating the ribbons and not-" I began to say "and not getting into trouble this time," but caught myself. The light-colored mare buffeted Quatre with her tail. Anyone could see how far more attractive he was than she. And she was trying to start trouble for him. So far he'd avoided any real contact. "She's the crowbait that kicked up a row and bit him before. Name of... Dopey- or something like that," Trowa said, and took off to protect his lover. "Dopey" suddenly reared up, crying, "Hurry up and start a war!"* "I-I don't want a war, miss," the beautiful yellow horse declared. "We're not here to start one. I'll only fight to help the others and only if I have no other choice!"* "Remember my name, you fool; it's Dorothy (not Dopey?). You say you fight for the good of others... but have they done anything for you?"* "I'm not fighting because I want something in return."* I had heard enough. We were making no headway befriending the band. "Quatre, give up. Let's go." "Oh, no! There's hardly any chance of success. B-but it's better than doing nothing!"* "But-" A painful jolt ran through my leg, and I turned back my attention to the lead mare. She raised a ragged hoof, preparing to strike out at me again. I looked down at my own, recently manicured and polished ones. The difference was marked and that distinction alone could be excuse enough for her to be bitter and angry. "You lied," she said, menacingly. "You've come back bringing another fighter with you to challenge our Alpha stallion." And there I was, defending my position again. I was better at offense. "You haven't given us a chance to explain why we've come." I cast about for Quatre. I wanted the lead mare to listen to his diplomatic explanation, not my frank one. He was far more empathic than I. "I need to hide-" Instead, Zechs pushed his agenda. Not the order of events I wanted to happen! "Let me introduce myself. I'm Zechs-" He bore right into her personal space. "I'm Lady Une. I've already chosen my mate!" "As is your due, my Lady. My apologies for any misunderstanding here today. May I clarify my position? I'm really not interested in accumulating mares. We come here on other business. I'd like to speak to... him. We are old...friends." All eyes rose to watch the Alpha charging down the hill toward us. Was he favoring one leg the slightest amount, I wondered? A rock trapped in the soft part of a foot could be painful, and these horses had no grooms or farriers at hand to provide them relief. "You know our Alpha? You only just arrived! Open up, Zechs. You're hiding far too many s-secrets-s."* Une actually hissed the last word then whipped around to address her mares. "Prepare to run these trespassers off our territory!" "Here, this is what the streamers I brought are for!" Quatre said, deftly turning the attention onto himself. In a heartbeat, he'd turned the mood around. All eyes were on him as he put on an act with very pretty dancing, ribbons snapping in the air, mane and tail flying about. Trowa joined him doing his more athletic stunts. The mares looked awed then delighted. Amazingly, they began to fling their ribbons in the air, imitating the two stallions. Hilde got it into her head to run with hers, the ribbons fluttering, which drew a following. I'd never seen anything like it. Une hadn't either, I guessed, by the way her mouth just hung open in wonder, or trepidation. Her mares appeared just as out of her control as my stallions. Not that all mine were out of control. Duo, remarkably, chose to follow directions and not only join me, but glue himself to my side. "Showtime," he said with an exciting edge to his tone. "Yes." Well put, my love. I noticed his empty mouth. He'd lost the roses. I guessed that the mares had eaten them all. Too bad. With only the two Mustang leaders to contend with, we'd have a possible opening, a chance to talk them into harboring me-safely. From the start, when Quatre had first laid out his idea, the drawback to the plan had been assuring my safety. Alone, without some guarantee, I couldn't keep them from killing me. Quatre felt Une and the stallion leader would keep their promises as a code of honor. I was totally relying on his special horse sense. Something Duo had said came to mind now and made me feel better. "Horse sense is the thing a horse has which keeps it from betting on people." ( ~W.C. Fields, actually) Trowa had noted that there is just as much empathy as ever, but the horses have most of it. At least, Quatre did. I'd hoped for something more tangible, and now I also wished Quatre could be in two places at once; I wasn't confident in my oral skills. The Alpha stallion arrived in a cloud of dust, and marched right past me with a fractional nod, completely ignoring Wufei and Duo. But not Zechs. He acted as if he recognized him, which he probably did since Zechs appeared to know him. Zechs called out to the other stallion. "Treize!" "Milliardo-" Who? Zechs winced. "That name... please don't,"* he muttered in response. "What is the matter? A dark shadow seems to follow us where ever we go."* "I'm called Zechs now. A short, less elaborate appellation, more fitting for what I've become." "Zechs. Less flamboyant, yes, for, shall we say, a warrior of leisure?" Duo stuck his nose in my ear, which under different circumstances would have been the start of something nice, but now out of reflex drew back, stopping only when he whispered. "See the gash on Treize's leg? Keeps it turned away all the time. Run-in with a cat, maybe?" I hadn't noticed the cut, but I had noted the faint limp. "Tell Trowa. Get him over here. Maybe we have another bargaining chip." But Trowa was already in transit, Quatre trailing him and a couple of ribbons clinging to his tightly braided mane. The mares remained occupied with the rest of the toys. Duo joined the pair, lips moving. Straining to hear didn't help; I couldn't catch what Duo was saying over Zechs' voice. "Warrior of leisure. You could call me that. It suits you, too. Out here. Far from the fray and no longer a human tool." I thought Treize was about to negate that, but he shifted the weight on his feet and nodded silently instead. Zechs touched noses with the older stallion. "You once said that there was nothing more beautiful than a warrior with no distractions. One could say he is the closest thing to God."* When he shook his entire head, ruffling his attractive mane, I swore he winked. If his intention were to appear flirtatious, it worked. "Unless you wish to grant me my death and place me on the direct path to the Almighty Horse Lord?" "Begging for compliments, are we? You are looking very beautiful, old friend. And you know... I would never kill the one person who understood me."* "I thought I did, but," Zechs whipped his tail about, and not just to disperse annoying flies, and looked into the distance. He couldn't hide all his agitation. "The last I saw you was in battle. I thought you'd died. And now, here you are." Wufei was doing a poor job of hiding his feelings. He was literally shaking. Whether with fear or anger, I couldn't tell, probably both. I saw how he clearly adored Zechs, and yet he hadn't had time to learn much about him. I didn't think he was a vampire, but I could feel the darkness in his voice, the suggestion of violence and pain wrapped in shadows, which Duo might interpret his own way. And if I could feel the raw passion in the meeting of these two old war companions, Wufei probably felt much, much more. No wonder Wufei looked distressed. "Keep your head clear," I warned him. "Things are rarely what they seem and there's a purpose behind his madness." I hoped. Wufei set his mouth in a grim line and relaxed his stance a hair. Better. "The same could be said of you," the Alpha said. "Mine is a story fraught with sorrow, and not much of it can I recall anymore. I believe many shell-shocked horses from the wars have been collected and given refuge on this land. Ours is not the only group banded together. But, what brings you here? You weren't with this merry group of stallions when they visited us before." "A fortunate purchase." Zechs displayed his luxurious tail again, using it to swat at a few irritating flies. He appeared calm and unconcerned, whether he was or not. "Fortunate? That sounds as if you're contented with your current life." The Alpha stallion tossed back the curl of forelock which persisted in falling into his eyes. "Are you?" "I have the opportunity to find peace of mind." He said, all the while moving further from Wufei and pressing into my side. I stepped back, giving Zechs, the larger horse, room to move, a thoughtful gesture on my part. I didn't have to do it. He should have deferred space to me. Then he said. "I was hoping to convince the lead horse to accept Heero into the herd for... personal reasons." No! I wanted Quatre to negotiate the trade. Me - in return for medical aid! "Not just his reasons," Quatre put in. He sounded a little desperate to me, but I was happy to hear his voice regain negotiations. Now I noticed how Zechs had purposely distanced himself from Wufei, wedging himself in tightly next to me and driving me forward away from Duo. It should have been a clue. I should have expected him to take over and use his plan before Quatre had had a chance to try talking. Wufei hadn't budged. He hadn't even blinked an eye after Zechs' "personal reasons" comment. Then the corner of his lips curled upwards, just the tiniest amount. I shouldn't really have expected Wufei to be surprised at this turn of events. He and Zechs had probably planned the takeover. Mock takeover. In theory. This would be a temporary arrangement. That had been the plan Zechs had suggested to me. Meanwhile, Treize was evaluating me, looking me over head to foot. "Heero-" A rustling took place behind me and I caught a glimpse of Trowa transferring the intact roses to Duo. They must have hidden them away for safe-keeping. Good job. "So, Treize? These are for you. From us. Kinda a gift. No hard feelings from the last visit, you know?" "Roses? I haven't tasted... munch... roses in ages. Thank you." I recognized a predatory gleam and nearly lashed out at the Alpha stallion. Duo was mine! "And such a delicious delivery pony." Treize's eyes darkened, raking Duo over from tip to tail, lingering near the tail. Duo snorted at the bigger stallion. "I'm not a pony! I'm all horse!" "I'm sure you are." His eyes flashed with interest. "I know a Morgan by his proud carriage, graceful neck, and distinctive head with such wonderfully expressive eyes. Deep bodied and compact, and with those enticing, strongly muscled quarters." "Those quarters are off limits!" Duo countered. "No rumpus rompous with me, your honor!" For the first time, I liked hearing him say that, because he wasn't saying it to me. And I loved his picture of defiance, feet apart, knees locked, head up. "Correct," I said, wanting to very much to kick in the leader's face, but restraining myself. That wouldn't help our shaky alliance. Still, I couldn't help the flare of my nostrils and arch of my neck. I needed to protect my Duo! "I see, Milliar-, pardon me, I meant to stop calling you that and use your new name, Zechs. You want the leader out of the way and reap all the benefits, like this charming stallion, a dark horse in all contexts. I can see you want the little spitfire for yourself, you cagy devil you." No! Definitely no sharing Duo! "Watch your back, though, the little golden stallion doesn't look any too pleased to share you." I didn't turn to see what Wufei was doing. I was counting on him to leash in his temper and keep his mouth shut. "No fighting with the Alpha, no matter how much he baits you," had been my orders. Would he obey? Duo drew back all the attention his way, though. "Hey!" Duo cried out. "I'm not a bargaining chip!" "He's not," I said. "We haven't even concluded our trade negotiations," Treize smoothly reminded me. "So far, it appears to be one sided, with you at the advantage. And for all I know, letting you in my herd sets a dangerous precedence. You could be a Trojan Horse and attempt to destroy our band from within." "He's not Trojan!" Duo said defiantly. "He's from Sanc and he's not gonna hurt nothin' of yours if you leave him be." I didn't like the sound of those destructive Trojan horses either, and wanted to comment on my own behalf, when Une cleared her throat. In a very low voice she told Treize, "I can see how you can use Heero to run out some troublesome rising stars and then dispose of him later." I didn't like that train of thought. Nor did Duo. Nor did Quatre, who piped up with, "We can offer you medical services! At least we can bring supplies." "Without skilled humans to apply them, those potions are of no use to us," Une said with a hostile lip curl. "In that case, we can rid you of the cougar problem." That was Trowa speaking for the first time. "It would make taking Heero into hiding more to your liking, wouldn't it?" "You certainly know my tastes: roses, lovely horses, and, yes, fewer big cats around make the trade far more palatable." Treize wouldn't take that offer at face value, I knew, though, so I wasn't surprised to hear him say, "That's a tall order to carry out, the killing of cats. How is it that you think you can do it?" "I know cats, worked with bigger ones than these in the circus. They have weaknesses you can take advantage of, if you can fight your instinct to flee." "I leave the details to you then, and the danger." "Then you'll hide me?" "Hide you? I don't know if I can. You don't look like a horse who has had to endure the hardships of surviving in the wild." "We'll take care of disguising him. We know how!" Quatre said with a touch of excitement. I felt some of that thrill of victory, too. It seemed we had succeeded, even if the plan had taken a different direction for a time. "How clever you all are! Zechs, you'll have your work cut out for you managing that band of sharp stallions. Very well, I agree to take this fine stallion, Heero, and allow him concealment within our band. Consider this a gesture of civility towards Milliardo," Treize said the old name pointedly, I guessed. "Remember this for the future; a war with no civility only gives rise to massacre."* Is that so? Are wars with civility more amiable and pleasant than those where bad manners rule? "What a load of crap," I heard Duo mutter beneath his breath. "That one's seen one too many battles and has gone bonkers." I grunted in agreement. How can a war be civil? "We wish no hostilities in the future," Zechs assured him. "We will return very soon to leave Heero in proper disguise in your custody." "And to deal with the big cats." Treize wasn't going to let us forget that. And our meeting was over. We'd been gone too long from our own pasture as it was. We didn't need to worry the humans and have them step up security before he'd concluded our plan. We were, hopefully, just out of earshot of the wild horses when Duo exploded. I never knew what to expect of him. He tended to defy logic, as I saw it. "I told you! I TOLD you to watch out, but did anybody listen? Did anybody do anything but me? Noooooooo! The vampire is taking over the herd. Got that? And you, Heero, fearless leader, soon to be in abstentia- Quatre told me that's the term for it- just LET HIM DO IT!" "Oh, Lord of all Horses, I thought he'd let that vampire thing run its course," Wufei griped. "You shut up!" I snapped in Wufei's direction. "Duo, I didn't let him. I didn't know what he was up to until he just before he did it." And just as the whinny left my lips, out of the corner of my eye I caught a glance of Zechs tossing his tail in the golden, affronted-looking face. I wasn't sure that the promise of hair to chomp would sufficiently distract his snippy stall friend, but there he was, leading Wufei away. One less horse to interfere. Duo's snort brought my attention fully back to him. "Yeah, sure. You never seem know what's really in his head. But I do." "It's only temporary," Quatre said, weakly, mind you. I could see Trowa nudging him away. "C'mon, Beautiful, let's skedaddle." Duo snorted again and tossed his mane. "You ain't convincing me, Sunshine. How do we know that Relena person's gonna give up on finding 'Ro any time soon? Heero might be hiding out for...a-" I think he was casting about for Trowa to supply a likely number, but he and Quatre were too far away. "Well... a long time. I know I'm not taking orders from him. Not a vampire. I'll fight him to the death first, which would make me one of them. You want that to happen? Duo, God of Death! Sucking the life outta all my friends! Creature of the night! Consorting with...with... cats and bats and rats and..." He was all worked up now. "Duo, enough." I wanted to take this to his stall and talk him out of his rage. "No 'Duoing' me this time! I'm pissed big time...at Zechs and especially at you for letting it happen. Doesn't anyone listen to me and all my warnings?" I noticed all the other horses had now parted, leaving a circle of calm around the tornado of chaos. My snorting mad, hot as hell, little center of chaos. As appealing as he appeared to me, it was all one-sided. I could tell things were not looking good for Duo and me parting on good terms. * Direct quotes or slight paraphrasing from the original series. Horse Notes: Avoiding inbreeding. Occasionally, a two or three year old will still be with their band, but generally the stallion will discourage a young male who is coming of age from consorting with the band. Young females may be driven off by their mothers, or they simply may choose to leave when they come into estrous. They may select or be selected by another stallion who will breed with her and guard her vigilantly from rivals. By encouraging their offspring to leave the band, wild horses avoid inbreeding. Most wild horses are more genetically diverse than any domestic horse breeds. As a result they are better able to deal with changing environments and can resist extreme drought or cold better than domestic breeds.
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