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Tisha came down, seeing Marco waiting for her, and leaned up to give him a kiss. "Ready, Marco? Brute might give you a run for your money on riding him this way. I'll show you how to do it with Snowflake, though with how in-tune she and I are, it's not a very good show the way it would be with a horse that doesn't really know me. But it will give you an idea of what to do and Brute will tell you his way what NOT to do."

He laughed and nodded, "That's why I'm wearing the helmet...making sure that if Brute throws me or something I don't ruin everyone's day by getting knocked on the head." He grinned and hefted his crossbow. Black Elk came into the kitchen, "Want me to stick around here while you two have your riding lesson and hunting? Or should I come with you?"

Tisha grinned at her friend. "You can join us. I really need to learn how to recognize the wild vegetables, which you can show me how to spot. And you're a good hunter. The more we get now and smoke for later, the less often we have to run out to get meat. But when we head to the watering hole, you head back here to prep the meat." She wanted to get past her revulsion of touch by anyone but Marco, especially when it was something innocent like passing plates to be dried or helping each other cook. But she wasn't really sure how to get past it. Or how long it might take.

Black Elk nodded and smiled, then chuckled, "Alright Tisha, no problem." Marco smiled as he listened to the two of them and said, "Let's get going then, shall we? We have all afternoon to ride, hunt and then visit this watering hole you told me about." He headed out of the house and onto the porch, then headed for the barn, knowing they were following. He too wanted to help her get past her fear of touch, but he figured they would deal with that when they could figure out how to. He also wondered just what would go on at that watering hole later, if he would have to stay back while she got in, which he would be willing to do if she asked.

The moment Trisha got on the porch, she let out a loud whistle, not quite as ear-piercing as the one the day before, and Snowflake let out a loud whinny from the stable. They hadn't let the horses out, since they planned on riding today. Leaving the porch behind, they headed towards the barn and inside, Snowflake was tossing her head, eager to get out of her stall. She stroked the mare's nose, then let out the other horses that they weren't going to need today. Going to Snowflake and Brute, she let them out into a different corral than the others, then gave another whistle, letting Snowflake know that they were going out Lakota fashion. Brute, meanwhile, looked at Marco, wondering if this male was going to try to ride him the way Tisha was going to ride Snowflake. "First, Marco, let him get your scent, and take in his scent." She leaned down to breathe into Snowflake's nose, the two reinforcing the bond they already shared.

Marco walked over to the side of the corral while she got the horses out, then he went inside of it as the horses waited for them to proceed. Black Elk went into the barn on his own and got out one of the other horses. He pulled it out and mounted, then rode it around the bar and outside so that he was ready when they were. Marco nodded to her instructions and walked slowly up to Brute, holding out his hand first, and then coming closer, inhaling deeply of the horses' scent, and letting his own go out to the horse itself.

Tisha watched and nodded, then gripped Snowflake's mane tightly enough to swing herself up, while loosely enough not to hurt Snowflake. She swung up, her body close to Snowflake's neck as she mounted, then sat upright. "Okay, Marco, when you feel that he's ready to accept you, grip some of his mane in your paw, not hard enough to pull the hairs out, but hard enough to make sure you don't slip from his side as you swing your leg over his back. Keep your body low to his neck, then sit upright."

Marco nodded, though he was still standing beside Brute's head and letting the horse smell him. The two of them had to build up a trust and bond or this wouldn't work. Marco was confident though, not worried or nervous, which went a long way. He gripped a bit of Brute's mane like she had said, and after a moment, lifted himself up onto the horse's back. He slid up easily, then slowly sat upright and paused, before smiling, "Ok, I'm up."

"Good. Now, you just want to get him to move, just let your legs squeeze lightly. Do not kick, as I've seen so many trying to do to horses before. Here, watch me," Tisha said, her legs just tightening slightly, and Snowflake moving into a walk. Her knee moved just a little and Snowflake turned towards the knee, following the subtle directions she was giving the white mare. Tucking her ass under her, Tisha sat back a little, but her upper body didn't move other than that one sign, which signaled to Snowflake to stop. "You try. Not too hard or he'll take off into a faster pace than you want."

Marco sat still on Brute's back while he watched Tisha. He knew that this was a good thing to learn, but watching her do it made him feel like an amature. He licked his lips, wondering if he would ever actually be able to do it like her, but he told himself that he had to try at least. He gently pressed his heels into Brute's sides. The horse laid his ears back a moment, then flicked them forward and began to slowly walk, his tail flicking side to side. Marco let him walk a few paces, and then pressed his knee into Brute's right side gently, and he turned, though faster than Marco had anticipated. He gritted his teeth and slowly sat back, trying to stop him.

Tisha watched Marco carefully, then shook her head lightly as Brute stopped. "You don't need to use your heel, Marco. That's why Brute's ears went back. Just use your calves to get him to move. Watch me again, and this time, I'm going to give Snowflake the signal for a faster pace than a walk. You just need a slight pressure change." She gave the signal to Snowflake, who went into a walk, and then seemingly without any further signal into a trot, which Tisha moved fluidly with and then into a canter. Tisha looked like an upright extension of Snowflake, her body moving with ease until she sat back again, bringing Snowflake to a halt right next to Brute. "Try again, Marco."

Marco nodded his head and smiled, "Alright, let me try again..." He sucked in a breath and calmed his nerves, then again pushed his legs into Brute. This time he used his calves and the horse moved easily forward, then, as he applied one knee lightly, he turned in that direction, then the other way. At last Marco brought him around and pulled him up next to Snowflake. "Better?" He asked with a grin.

Tisha grinned and leaned over, brushing her lips against his. "You did great that time, Marco. Now to practice what you learned outside the ring. Remember, you want Brute to know you trust him. I could send Snowflake over the corral fencing, but right now, there is no need to. One of the best things about Lakota trained mounts is their loyalty to their riders. Brute knew when we showed up without... without Daddy... that something had happened, and he was willing to give you a chance. You just repaid that to him by sharing your scent with him and riding him in the Lakota way, giving him a chance to show you how well he was trained. He won't throw you, just like Snowflake won't throw me. And if someone tried to hurt you, he would come to your aid, just as Snowflake did yesterday, when I lost it."

Marco was amazed about how deep this level of trust and the bond between horse and rider could go. He nodded solemnly, smiling then and looking down at Brute, below him. He gently patted the horse's side and neck, and then said, "Alright, so that was lesson one...now we take this outside the corral and see how it goes?" he asked, running a hand through the fur at the side and back of his neck. He liked riding, or was growing to like it more and more as he did more of it.

"Yep," she grinned. "We gotta get some hunting in, and it's actually easier and faster to hunt without saddling up. All we need is some rope, which I'm gonna grab from the barn. But for now," she swung down from Snowflake and walked to the corral, pulling out the two planks that were the gate to the corral. Snowflake jumped the angled wood as she left the corral, getting a little excited about showing off her skills.

Brute seemed like he wanted to follow the mare, so Marco let him, urging him to follow her with a gentle nudge, and the horse moved toward it, then, when he got there, he stepped over the fence easily, before neighing and tossing his head a bit. Marco chuckled, but didn't dismount, waiting for Tisha to return with the rope they needed. He still had his crossbow with him, he had slung it on his back when he had gone out to work with Brute.

Tisha grabbed short hanks of rope, long enough to string up rabbits by their hind legs on either end and set the rope over the horses' withers. She also had a coiled rope which she passed over to Black Elk. That rope was in case they found a deer, but most likely, the meat would be smaller creatures. "We should look into getting a pair or two of grazing herd type creatures for up here. Raise our own meat. I just don't know where we'd find someone who raises them," she said as she mounted Snowflake again, grinning at how close Brute was to her mare. The two horses made a striking picture together.

Black Elk nodded, "It's something to think about for sure... Perhaps we can find out if any of the tribe knows anyone, when they come up." He moved over to mount his own horse, and Marco smiled over at Tisha as she mounted Snowflake. "Ready to go?" he said, grinning. When he got the affirmative, he let her lead the way, and he came up right next to her, riding side by side so that she could help him if he had any trouble with Brute, though he didn't anticipate it. Brute and Snowflake were, well, one might say mated, and they seemed to have a connection as well.

Tisha led them off the main area and into the woods, letting Snowflake pick up the pace a little, the white mare now stretching her legs in a trot. Tisha moved with ease on top of the mare, her body shifting in time with Snowflake's hooves meeting the ground. Looking over at Marco, she grinned. "Just let the pace Brute sets dictate your body movements. You don't want to go against the natural movement of him." She could feel the tension building in Snowflake, as the mare wanted to really stretch out her legs, but she held the mare back for the moment.

Marco let Brute move as he would, keeping up with Snowflake, and he concentrated in rolling his body through the same motions so that he didn't bump into the horse's back too hard. It was like, after a moment, he just melted into the horses back, becoming one with the animal and moving like he had always been there. It was a very reassuring and interesting feeling to say the least. "I think I get what you mean, this feels so much better..."

Tisha smiled and nodded, spotting the first hare over Marco's shoulder. Bringing her arm around, she sent a bolt over his shoulder and into the hare, and she hopped off Snowflake as she got a piece of rope from the mare's withers. Grabbing the hindlegs of the hare, she looked over her shoulder. "Keep your eye out for another hare to tie on the other end of this rope, Marco. Usually in the woods, when you find one, you find a den of them."

Meanwhile, Black Elk had also dismounted, and called both of them over. "Take a look at this," he said, pointing to a small grouping of plants that were standing upright. "These here are wild cucumber and these on this side are wild onion. Both of them will be good. But I want to show you something else. See these over here? With the ivy looking leaves? This is another type of wild cucumber, but it's poisonous. Don't eat that kind."

Marco nodded and paused Brute in his tracks, then gently dismounted and stood in the middle of the path for a moment. He smirked then, and did something that neither of the others could. He knelt to the ground and sniffed, then, at a crouch, moved forward into the woods. He disappeared into a clump of bushes, and a moment later the 'Swish-THUMP' of a crossbow being fired was heard, and he emerged with another one, holding it up to them as he came back out of the woods, and over to where Black Elk was pointing out the vegetables they could eat.

Tisha grinned at Marco as he emerged with the rabbit, thinking he had an advantage over her in the hunting department. She tied his rabbit to the other end of the rope her rabbit was on, and draped the dead hares over Black Elk's horse's withers, since the Lakota warrior would be heading back to the house before Tisha or Marco. But the moment Black Elk pointed out the wild vegetables and started gathering some, she paid attention. "So in any fashion, ivy looking leaves are bad?"

Marco was also interested in the vegetables that Black Elk was pointing out. He would be glad to learn what the Indian was teaching as well, feeling that it was good information for surviving out here now that one couldn't simply run to the store to get what they needed. He licked his lips and listened, while Black Elk went on, "Generally they are, such as poison ivy, poison oak, stuff like that... Just don't eat plants with ivy leaves and you'll be fine."

"Ivy looking leaves are definitely in my head as a mental don't touch, don't eat plant," Tisha said with a slight giggle. She spotted some clumps of white flowers and pointed to them. "Are those good to eat, or not?" The flowers formed in small circular clumps, and the leaves seemed to have a slightly silverish tinge to them, as well as a slightly 'hairy' texture to the stems.

Black Elk smiled at her, nodding. "Good eye, Tisha. Those are wild carrots. The leaves look similar to a poisonous plant, but the difference between the two is the stem. See how the stem here is hairy?" He moved over, pulling one clump from the ground so they could see better.

Marco nodded and grinned, "We should just make Black Elk the official wild veggie gatherer." He grinned and shook his head, then went back to Brute and readied his crossbow for another shot when he needed to take one. They already had to rabbits, and he was hoping they might get at least a few more, or maybe a deer if they were lucky.

Tisha chuckled and shook her head. "Nah, Selina will be the official gatherer, since she knows this stuff as well as Black Elk. Besides, in the tribe, the men don't gather the food stuffs, the women do. The men hunt the bigger game and protect the village from other tribes. But until the others get here, we can always use the lessons from Black Elk to help us learn these things. Especially if there are any medical benefits to them. Though for the most part on that, I think we may have to ask the Shaman or the wisewoman of the tribe. They'd know the benefits of the plants in that fashion better." She watched as Black Elk gathered up more of the carrots, cucumbers and onions and put them into his pouch for use in the kitchen later.

Marco laughed and nodded, "I figured that he wouldn't do it... if you can get the kitty to stick around long enough I don't see why she couldn't be the gatherer, I guess we'll leave it up to the tribe when they get here though." He licked his lips and stroked Brute on the side of the neck, then walked back over to Black Elk and Tisha, "Anything else here? Or do we move on to see what else we can find for hunting?"

Tisha smiled up at Marco and kissed him lightly before going to Snowflake and swinging up on the mare's back. "I say we go find some more meat. We can always look for more wild vegetables and edibles when we get more hares or something bigger."

Black Elk nodded, mounting his own horse and they waited for Marco to mount Brute before they set off again. The Lakota warrior took the lead, his eyes following a trail that Tisha couldn't see for the life of her.

Marco hopped up on Brute and the three of them rode on. The path became thin and hard to make out, but they kept following the indian down the hidden paths of the forest until they found themselves on a hill overlooking the valley. Black Elk fanned his hand out over it and smiled, "I always loved coming up to this spot to look out over the valley.... but what's more, there's a stream coming up that feeds the watering hole down there... the deer and other animals like to come up here and drink."

Tisha tossed her head back and laughed, forgetting, in that moment, all the sorrows and trials she'd been through in the last few days. Her hand reached out and she took Marco's paw in her hand. "And here I thought he just came up here to survey the land like he was the king of the world! I remember one day looking up and seeing him up here, thinking no one could see him. Theron was already mooning over Brielle, so it was either last year or the year before." She shook her head. "And my cousin was no better! I swear, the two of them better have their heads screwed on right this year!!"

Marco took her hand as she grabbed his and he squeezed her fingers, then laughed as she told him about remembering watching Black Elk up on the hill. The Indian laughed with them and shook his head. "Well, when I marry and Father steps down, I'll be the chief of the Lakota, so in a way it will be my land." He grinned and laughed again, shaking his head and sending his hair flipping about. "As for your cousin and Theron...I can tell you he's as madly in love with her as ever, and I could see he wanted to beg Father to marry them at the stables, but knew he had to wait until they got up here."

Tisha nodded, having heard Black Elk's vision of the future many times before in the past, and she grinned. "I truly hope you find the right woman for you, Black Elk. You've been like a twin brother to me, more than anything else." Her eyes held the warmth he was used to seeing in them again, then she focused on a noise she heard. Her head swung around and she looked towards the stream that ran down to the watering hole. "What was that?"