The sight of the scattered herd immediately put the Halovian to steely focus. He listened to Colt’s instructions, nodding once, eyes already tracking the clusters. The groups near the water and the open meadow would be easier, he knew; the ones half-hidden among the trees and snarled in tangleweeds would take patience and care. Nova moved first, headstrong and reaady, and Marcus reined Taco aside.
“I’ll take the ones in the trees,” Marcus called, glancing toward Colt and whoever might pair with him before turning Taco in that direction. The paint seemed to understand the shift in intent, her ears swiveling forward, body gathering powerfully as she angled off at a controlled walk for the first time on the drive.
They approached wide and slow, giving the cattle space to register them without feeling cornered. Cicadas buzzed like a living curtain of sound, and the cows there were half-shadowed in the trees, trying to escape the blazing sun of Longheat. Marcus kept Taco on a shallow arc, careful not to drive straight in. Pressure, Colt had said. Not panic. He remembered gathering the luxere and leading them through the Hollow Forest, and tried to use those same tactics. Taco moved with restrained eagerness, stepping laterally when he asked, holding the line he needed her to hold.
2. Tree cows, tangleweeds
“I’ll take the ones in the trees,” Marcus called, glancing toward Colt and whoever might pair with him before turning Taco in that direction. The paint seemed to understand the shift in intent, her ears swiveling forward, body gathering powerfully as she angled off at a controlled walk for the first time on the drive.
They approached wide and slow, giving the cattle space to register them without feeling cornered. Cicadas buzzed like a living curtain of sound, and the cows there were half-shadowed in the trees, trying to escape the blazing sun of Longheat. Marcus kept Taco on a shallow arc, careful not to drive straight in. Pressure, Colt had said. Not panic. He remembered gathering the luxere and leading them through the Hollow Forest, and tried to use those same tactics. Taco moved with restrained eagerness, stepping laterally when he asked, holding the line he needed her to hold.
2. Tree cows, tangleweeds
marcus
a song for a scribbled out name
