Chapter Text
Cricket checked the speed on the truck again out of habit, even though he knew he was going only a few miles per hour over the speed limit. The trailer they were towing creaked and rattled with every small bump in the highway, and he hoped Stuffy was still calm. They’d transported him before, but this was one of the longest drives he’d ever been on, and horses didn’t always take kindly to changes in routine.
The radio was blasting the melodious sounds of John Denver in the cab, and somehow Siggy was still soundly asleep next to him in the passenger seat. Nakani and Motthew were somewhere behind them in the Bronco. They’d all been on the road for several hours already, having left Dolomus in the early morning hours.
They were all on this journey for him. For his dream. And he wasn’t going to let them down.
Cricket had grown up on his family’s ranch in Dolomus. He’d been around horses and cattle for as long as he could remember. One of his first memories was of his sister, Damsen, fitting an oversized cowboy hat on his head and taking him to meet her horse. On the far side of the pasture stood a tan horse with a black mane and tail. Black tips on her ears and on her legs. Lily was a beautiful dun mare who walked right up to Damsen when she and Cricket opened the gate. He’d toddled along next to her, gripping her hand tightly, afraid of all the giant creatures.
“Nothing to be afraid of, Cricket,” Damsen said softly as the horse walked up to them. She reached her hand out and patted the mare’s neck. “Lily’s just happy to see us.”
Cricket cautiously moved out from behind his sister. The horse looked so big compared to him. As he took half a step forward, Lily lowered her head. Cricket stretched out his hand, and the mare put her muzzle in his palm. It was the softest thing Cricket ever felt. He gently rubbed her muzzle for a second.
“I think I like her,” he said. Then put his hand in his pocket.
Damsen places a halter on Lily and led her out of the arena. “We always walk to one side of those,” she instructed. “Usually the left. But mostly we don’t walk in front of or behind them when we’re holding a lead rope.”
Cricket nodded and noted the instruction. As they made their way back to the barn with Lily, Cricket saw a young dark brown colt with black markings that matched Lily’s.
“Who’s that?” he asked pointing to the baby horse. “It’s my size!”
Damsen smiled. “That’s Lily’s son. He’s too little to be trained just yet, but yes, he is your size right now.”
“What’s his name?”
Damsen shrugged. “He doesn’t have one yet.” She paused and glanced at her excited little brother. “Why don’t you give him one?”
Cricket thought for a minute. He needed a good name. “I think we should name him Stuffy.”
Damsen let out a light laugh. “Stuffy it is.”
That day she’d instilled a sense of awe and gratefulness in him that they got to lead this life and care for these animals. He’d worked hard on the ranch ever since to make her proud. When fences needed mending, he’d volunteer. If the horses needed grooming, he jumped at the chance. Whatever needed doing, he was the one ready to do it.
And Stuffy became his first horse. Damsen and Cricket trained him together. Cricket and Stuffy became a bonded pair. They say if you’re lucky you get find a horse that shares your soul. They call it a heart horse.
Now he was taking that love and pouring it into his dream of making it big on the professional rodeo circuit. He was done with the small, local events. They were taking this show on the road! Cricket and Stuffy against the world!
It wasn’t too long after that first introduction to cowboy life that he’d met Nakani. She was the daughter of their most senior ranch hand and they’d ruled the roost together. If you saw one, you’d inevitably see the other following right along after. They got in trouble together, learned the value of hard work together, and fell in love with the care and keeping of the horses and livestock together.
So much so that as soon as she was eligible, Nakani had taken all the courses for her Vet Tech degree. She was smart enough to go full veterinarian, but she preferred traveling and being there to treat the animals the second something happened rather than sitting in an office waiting to be called.
Somewhere along the way, Motthew had shown up. He and Nakani were an on again, off again item and Cricket never knew which it was. Motthew was smarter than the both of them. He wasn’t much of a ranch hand but he was good with the bureaucratic details that Cricket and Nakani couldn’t be bothered with. Cricket had asked him along as his manager and operations man, and Motthew was already proving his worth. He’d negotiated hotel room rates, politely bullying the poor clerks to get the prices the larger operations got on the circuit and even got them coveted horse stalls at a couple of the stops that folks as low as they were on the totem pole could normally not procure.
The last piece of their puzzle was Siggy. Sigismund Olafsson was a relatively highly regarded rodeo clown on the amateur circuits that Cricket had come up in. They’d met a few years ago and hit it off instantly.
Mayhem bucked and kicked as Cricket did his best to hold onto the horse. It’d been three seconds but felt so much longer. The buckskin bronco was one of the toughest bareback horses Cricket had ridden so far in his career. Nothing to hold onto but a small leather handle attached to a strap around the horse’s chest. His legs gripped onto the horses sides. The cheering crowd faded around him as he focused on the task at hand. Around the fifth second, his legs came loose and his hand followed shortly after. He flew off the horse and slammed to the ground. All sound rushed back to him at the impact. The horse’s hooves moved towards him and he made an attempt to cover his face.
Out of nowhere one of the rodeo clowns jumped in front of Mayhem. The horse shifted its attention to a clown who ran in the opposite direction. The back hooves barely missed Cricket. Directly after he leapt up and ran to the fence. Swiftly he climbed up and sat on top as he’d done so many times before. The same rodeo clown ran back across the arena in an attempt to lead Mayhem to the exit chute. Just before he reached the spot where Cricket sat, his foot got stuck in the sand and he faceplanted on the ground. With Mayhem not far behind, Cricket jumped down and pulled the clown to his feet. The pair scrambled up the fence barely in the knick of time. Some of the wranglers rode in and herded the horse into the chute.
“Well that was a close one, huh?” Cricket said as watched the horse leave the arena.
The clown nodded. “Yet not the closest I’ve had,” he replied and held out a hand. “Siggy.”
“Cricket.” Cricket shook his hand. “We better get clear before the next rider.” He climbed down the backside of the fence to the outside of the arena.
Siggy followed. “Thanks for the assist.” His feet hit the ground. “Hopefully, I have better luck with the bulls.”
Cricket raised an eyebrow. “That’s right. Y’all usually only work bullriding, right?”
“And entertainment, but we jump in with the other rough stock events if needed.” Siggy shrugged and let out a low chuckle. “You may have to take the job though after saving me when it’s my job to save you.”
Cricket laughed. “Well you saved me first, so I guess we’re even.”
Siggy nodded. “True…Well, I’ve got to get back to my barrel. Happy to buy you a drink at The Spill later?”
“Look forward to it.” Cricket turned and walked back to his trailer to prepare for his next event.
Now, Siggy had gotten hired on at the amateur traveling circuit and was tagging along with Cricket and his team. This was a way for them both to earn their way in with the professionals.
The tinny ping of the walkie talkie in Siggy’s hand broke Cricket out of his reminiscing and Nakani’s voice broke through the static, “Think it’s about time to stop for a bathroom break and some snacks, Froggy? There’s a Shell station about five miles up the highway with an attached fast food joint and good reviews on their bathroom facilities.”
Shaking his head at the use of his childhood nickname, Cricket grabbed the walkie talkie out of Siggy’s grasp and responded, “You’re the navigator Nakani, what you say, goes.” As soon as he let go of the talk button she directed him to the gas station and he heard Motthew in the background, admonishing them for their weakness in already needing to stop and demanding they be on the road again within ten minutes.
Having pulled into the back of the lot, Cricket shook Siggy awake and got out to stretch his legs. Nakani was already skipping over to the trailer to check on Stuffy. Motthew was checking the time and shouting for everyone to do their business quickly. Siggy was laughing and promising to hurry as he took on the burden of snack purchasing for both vehicles.
Cricket was acutely aware, as he stood in the sun and watched his friends scurry about, that this was a risky endeavor for all of them. But there wasn’t anyone else in the world he’d rather embark on this journey with. He stood tall, nodded to himself, and went to find the toilets.