Running Free

Chp 7

I woke up the next morning to soft knocking on my door, my dreams falling away immediately as my mind thought of the worst possible scenarios.
"Yes....?" I called out tentatively, ready to leap out the window.
"It's Raven. Dad wants you down for breakfast, said he's got something to tell us." Raven spoke softly through the door.
"Alright, I'll be down in a minute."
Raven hummed in response and trotted down the stairs while I got dressed in a magenta shirt that had a horse on it and leggings.

We're gonna have to work on this later.
On what?
Your style

I rolled my eyes and huffed in annoyance at Star before heading downstairs and finding the two boys at the table, which had several different types of food on it.
"So, what did you wanna talk about dad?" Raven asked, shoving a berry in his mouth.
"I'm going to be putting Juliet in school with you Raven, she'll start tomorrow and I'm going to have you help her with anything she might need. Also, I've made a decision on the foal in the round pen."

My heart dropped for a moment, immediately concluding if Solaris couldn't stay I wouldn't either.
I took my seat and stared at the food in front of me as Raven gave his dad a questioning look.

"We can keep him, as long as y'all take care of him."
"I will." I immediately responded, nodding my head. He gave me a smile and a nod before we continued eating quietly.

As soon as I finished the last bite I ran outside to see Solaris and tell him the good news.
He whinnied as soon as he noticed me and began prancing around excitedly, all that he has of a tail in the air.
I giggled and slipped in, wrapping my arms around the giddy colts neck.
"I missed you too. But I have good news! I get to hang out with you all day."

I played with him for hours after letting him out of the round pen, rolling around in the grass and chasing him until Ray called in for lunch. I left him to graze while I went in and sat at the table, where I was given a plate with a bunch of vegetables.
"Would you like ranch with that?" He asked, looking at me curiously with the door to something open.
I simply shook my head and ate quietly, my thoughts wandering back to my dam.

Do you think she misses me?
Of course, she's our dam. There's no way in a meadow she doesn't miss us

He nodded and shut the door before going to his chair and taking a bite of his lunch -which Star then explained to be something called a grilled cheese sandwich. I hurried to finish my food before putting my plate in the sink and excusing myself to play with Solaris for the rest of the day, my body itching to run around like I used to.

Solaris nudged my shoulder as I stepped onto the dirt and I gave him a smile.
"Juliet, in an hour we're going to leave to pick Raven up and get you everything you need for school alright?" Ray called from the kitchen window, maybe the both of us jump slightly.
"Ok!" I called back, unsure.
When he didn't say anything else, I took of at a sprint towards a large fenced field, Solaris following close on my heels as he let out an excited, high-pitched whinny.

I laughed and shoved the gate open, the few grazing horses looking up at his with curious looks before returning to their lunch. I made a sharp U-turn to shut the gate behind Sol before taking off and hiding behind one of the older mares.
Her coat was a beautiful yellow, even for a palomino, and she nickered softly in amusement as I went around and under her to get away from my colt.

"Human children." She snorted, shaking her head lightly.
"I'm not human." I paused my game as I blinked at her face.
"Oh my!" She shied away from me in surprise, causing Solaris to bolt in panic.
"I'm a horse shifter. My name is Stargazer, but the humans call me Juliet." I smiled and stroked her neck to calm her heart. Poor girl, she didn't need to have a heart attack.

"Strange." She muttered in response, eyeing me curiously.
"I'm Scotch. The oldest horse here. That stallion over there is Flame, or rather Flame of the Sun, he's a Quarter Horse. that mare to his left is his mate Popcorn, she's a lovely little Australian Pony. Very sweet. And the rest of the herd is hiding away doing whatever you foals do these days."
She tossed her head lightly in the direction of a bright red stallion and a light grey mare a little ways away.

"How many horses are here?" I questioned, shaking my head at Sol as he came walking back slowly.
"Twenty-four. Well, not technically twenty-six counting you and your foal. But that's not including the foals Popcorn and a few other mates are carrying."
"Wow. That's about how many horses were in my herd when I was born- I think."
"I was in a herd with over fifty horses."
"Wait you were wild!?"
"Yes dear. I had the best times with my dam and sire. When I got taken my dam followed the humans as much as she could before she had to fall back from exhaustion."
"Oh no. I'm so sorry." I frowned, petting her and Solaris simultaneously.

"Juliet!" Ray called from the house, interrupting whatever it is  Scotch was going to say.
"We'll pick this up another time Star. You should get going. I'll look after your foal."
I smiled gratefully.
"Thank you."
I got up and trotted to where Ray sat waiting in the loud machine if seen him go in when he left earlier that morning.
"Are you ready?" He asked softly as I slid onto the old seats and shut the door. I gave him a silent nod before he reached over me and pulled something that came away from the wall and put it into the seat.
He gave me a warm smile and then the machine took off down the dirt road while I stared at the grass and trees as they flew by.

A/N so this is more of a filler since I felt really bad about leaving it high and dry..... I was super passionate about writing this because I didn't really like a lot of the horse shifter stories I've found on Wattpad so I'm really hoping it's ok.
I promise I'm already working on the next chapter, and I hope it'll make up for the lack of updating here.
Shout out to @Storm_Star2321 for noticing me to update Running Free, I appreciate it so much and I hope this filler will hold you over for a day or two -if that, it just depends on distractions- for the next chapter. Thank you!