Trail Ready {Forte}

[FalconX]

Roxanne

The door emitted a loud thud as Roxy slammed it shut, well she didn't exactly slam it, more like shut it, loudly? Reaching up with one hand she smoothed her hair down and then put her cowboy hat on. Smiling as she remembered how she had got the hat. Normally she hated shopping, but she had enjoyed it the day she had went in to buy a new hat. Though, she didn't have time to dwell on those things, she was wasting enough time as it was. Her new employee, Illiana (Ana), was allowing Roxy to borrow her horse, Impulse. The black arab mare was gorgeous, shiny pelt, black and tinted blue like a raven. Though, like most all other arabians, she was spirited and proud. Roxy was a pretty good horsewoman and she had ridden a lot of arabians, so she was pretty sure she could handle Impulse. She felt almost giddy with excitement, she hadn't been on a trail ride in months. Plus, she was going to be riding with Rory. Corny right? He was a good friend, who she liked (more than she knows) and got along with really well. She had run into him not long ago when she was shopping for her hat, and they had agreed to go on a trail ride later on. So, the day had finally come and she had woken up early, thrown on a faded brown shirt and dark denim jeans and put on her new cowboy hat. Definitely feeling ready to hit the trail...

With long confident strides she walked over to the barn, hearing a stamp from inside and a short neigh. Roxy smiled, Impulse had already heard her coming, or smelled her, either way... In a slow jog she entered the barn and smooched softly to the arabian mare. "Hey girl" She called toward her softly. Grabbing a lead rope she walked over to the stall, opening the door without a noise. Clipping the lead rope to the mares halter she led her out, and then cross tied her. With a brush she quickly went over the mare's already shining black pelt. Talking to her softly all the while as she did it. After a couple of minutes she stepped back and examined her work, nodding in satisfaction at the results. With practiced movements she put the tack on and then removed the halter. With a calm grip on the reins she put one boot in the stirrup, hopped once, and swung into the saddle with ease. "Come on" She said with a firm voice, though still gentle. Putting gentle pressure on the mare's sides she urged her into a walk. It didn't take long to get to the place where her and Rory had arranged to meet. All she had to do now was wait. Her gaze flitted around the area and she felt quite at ease. The light twitter of birds like music to her ears.

[Forte!]

[/b] Rory gave her a look over the saddle, ignoring her latter statement and instead managing to look sincerely thankful as he slipped the bridle over Romance's head. The mare snorted, pressing her face into his shoulder as Grace rolled her eyes and stepped away. Rory led the mare into the isle, still grinning at Grace over his shoulder, and mounted up from the ground before she could change her mind. Grace gave a long sigh, not expecting him to say anything more, and leaned against the stall door. "I suppose I can't stop your little crush, huh?" Rory stuck out his tongue at her over his shoulder, shifting as Romance danced slightly at his sudden change of weight. The debate over his supposed 'crush' on Roxy had been a bitter one, but Rory had finally ended it by bidding an Alford's plea. He wouldn't admit that she was right, but he also refused to dispute it.

"Alright, gorgeous, let's go have some fun," he said, with a grin back on his sister, squeezing Romance gently into a trot. He was sitting easily on her broad back, and she rose her head as she realized where they were going. Romance liked the trails much better than she liked the ring, but she didn't get to go very often. Grace was into jumping too deeply to mess around at the trails, and beside, she (gasp!) might meet other people there. The trails were a short jaunt across the fields from his ranch, and they picked up and easy lope towards the place where the two out branching forks of trail met, where Rory and Roxy had agreed to meet. Roman was feeling a lot better about being ridden by Rory instead of Grace now, and enjoying the feel of grass under her heels. She was responding well, though she was a bit hard-mouthed compared to Falcon, and Rory felt really good on her as they pulled up to a trot, turning around at the trail. He was early - of course - and trying to control the jitters that ran in his stomach (he attributed this to riding on the trail for some reason, trying to deny the real reason). he laid back until his head met Romance's rump, causing the mare to dance a bit before settling, him looking up at the thin layer of clouds that painted the sky.[/size][/ul]

[FalconX]

Roxanne

The gentle swish of the wind could be heard easily in Roxy's ears and it stirred her coffee colored hair. With one hand she reached down and patted the mare softly on her ebony neck. Smiling to herself as she looked around. The trees that surrounded her climbed so high she felt like she could almost lose sight of them, they were apparently very old. The scuttling of something in the bushes made the mare shy to the side, though Roxy could tell the mare was just bored, and not scared at all. "Silly Impulse" She murmured softly. She hadn't ever ridden Impulse before, so she wasn't really sure what to expect. Not that she was nervous, well maybe a little. Her back was almost ruler straight, however, she managed to look perfectly relaxed and at home in the english saddle. Roxy could ride both english and western, and most people asked her which one she liked more. Honestly, she didn't have a favorite. She loved both the same. They each had their perks and their downsides, everything did. Chocolate brown eyes widened as she realized that she wasn't at the right place. She was still new here and got lost occasionally. She would've slapped her forehead in annoyance, but she didn't want to spook Impulse. Sighing so softly that it sounded like the soft breeze, she clucked the mare into a trot. "I'm hopeless aren't I?" She asked the mare. Horses, she had learned, were wonderful listeners.

The mare had been going at a steady trot for a couple minutes, and still was quite energized. She seemed to be excited by being on the trail and in the middle of nature. The quietness, however, was getting to Roxy. She loved nature, but she also liked to talk. Which is what she did, to the horse. "Now we just gotta find Rory, right girl?" She rattled on and on about practically nothing. Just trying to break the silence that was slightly irritating her. Finally she settled down and allowed the area to engulf her in the silence. She still managed to keep a smile on her face, and look excited. Because she was, she could hardly wait to get to the right place, where they were supposed to meet. Finally she spotted another equine ahead of them. Still to far away to fully see if there was a rider on its back. So far, she didn't see the form of a rider sticking up on its back. A wild horse? She grew slightly excited but managed to calm herself, she didn't want to excite her mount. Finally they were not very far away and she saw that it was Rory, practically lying down. "Hey" She called to him, with laughter ringing clearly in her voice.

[Forte!]

[/b] he called, urging the mare into a walk as he came to meet her. The butterflies in his gut were hardly placated, in fact they began to sting like bees, and he shoved them out of his mind as they came up to her. Romance was looking slightly alarmed at Impulse, but calmed down as Rory patter her neck and leaned across her neck, murmuring in her ear softly. The ear flicked back to listen to him, and Romance picked up her neck, looking rather proud as he sat back, rubbing her neck with the tips of his fingers. She picked up a tense trot, hardly moving, it was so collected, as if a brainwave had passed between them. Rory didn't even bother to rein her back, riding the springy half-trot at a steady post, enabled by the English saddle to do so. The hat stubbornly inched so that it was cocked on his head again, making him look rather goofy as he rode the strange gait up to her.

"Hey, Roxy, how're you doing?" he said, rather lamely, pulling to a stop beside her and telling Romance that she was not to touch the Arabian. The mare snorted and relaxed her head slightly, looking bored. Rory eyed Impulse up and down. "Gorgeous! You never told me about her... She's not yours is she?" he asked, eying the mare. Without anything else to talk about, he had turned to the safest subject off all: horses. "This is Romance, but the way. My sister's horse." He wondered briefly if Roxy had thought he would ride Falcon, but dismissed it. She knew how green the Arabian mare was, and as much as Rory loved her, he would not trust her out in the open. The call of home might still be too strong. He didn't particularly want to get dragged off into the wild at the moment, especially not when he was enjoying his ride with Roxy. He thought back to his arguments with Grace, to his Alford's plea. Was he really the lovesick puppy she thought he was? No. he assured himself, rather lamely, he had only refused to argue because, well, he wanted to annoy her. Yeah, that was it. The excuse sounded lame even to himself, and he tried to shove it as far from his mind as humanly possible. This was only partially successful, however.[/size][/ul]

[FalconX]

Roxanne

As he sat up, her grin widened. She let go of one rein and gave a short wave, before grabbing the rein again. Roxy didn't fully trust Impulse yet, and really didn't feel like being made to look like a fool. As she heard his enthusiastic hello, she felt like she might burst. Why? Well, to tell the truth she had no idea. Of well, it wasn't like it was of pressing importance. So she let it go. As they started moving toward Roxy and Impulse, she felt the mare dance underneath her. Uttering low and hopeful nickers to the other mare. She seemed to be begging to do something. With a calm pat on the neck of the ebony mare, she settled down slightly. Roxy wasn't sure who was more calmed by that pat on the neck, her or the horse. She really couldn't say why she was feeling nervous. Really, she felt like she was about to go onto a stage and do something in front of hundreds of people. Though, it was quite obvious she was going to do no such thing. Yet the familiar flip-flopping of her stomach was almost the exact same feeling as stage fright. She smiled as he rode towards her with his hat sitting at an awkward angle on his head. She eased the mare into a walk and allowed Rory's mount to come to her faster, than Impulse's walk would get them to Rory and his horse.

"I'm great, thanks." She responded with slight hesitation. She felt like she had just forgotten her lines in a play. She beamed as Rory commented on the mare. It was such a safe topic, horses that is. "Naw, she belongs to a girl working on my ranch. Just allowed me to borrow her." She nodded as she spoke, as if underlining the words as she said them. Glancing at the mare that Rory was riding she lifted and eyebrow and then glanced back at him. "She your sister's?" She asked curiously. Roxy didn't know of anyone else staying at Rory's ranch, so being his sister's horse was a safe assumption. Of course, Rory hadn't known about Illiana now working at Coal to Fire Acres. Not that it was some big secret or anything, she just hadn't cared to advertise that someone was now working there. The ranch was huge, all the help she could get, she wanted. As she looked at him she caught her stomach fluttering. In all the things explainable, this was not one of them. "Uh, you ready to go?" She asked him with a bit of a stutter in her words. Though instead of really waiting for an answer she urger Impulse into a walk in a different direction down the trail.

[Forte!]

[/b] he said with a grin, looking at Impulse again as she spoke. "I didn't know you had someone working for you. Shows how out of the mainstream I am, I suppose," he said with a chuckle. It's not like he would ever know about a hiring anyway. That was gossip for the big barns, the head honchos. That was the stuff his sister knew, not him. He looked at Impulse again, seeing the gorgeous Arabian frame. She was a beautiful mare, although nothing else compared to Falcon in Rory's mind. He supposed he would always be like that, probably with every horse he ever owned. That wasn't necessarily that bad, either. He loved his horses, and he hoped that they loved him back for it. He came out of this reverie when Roxy spoke again. "Yeah, she is. Sort of a prize show jumper to her, you might say. A bit ridiculous, in my opinion." He gave her a grin. Of course, he planned to start turning Falcon out with Romance eventually. It was obvious which mare would dominate, and it would do the Hano some good to not have the pasture all to herself. When she spoke again he grinned broadly. Of course he was ready to go, but he didn't speak, only followed, trotting a few strides to catch up before settling back down to a walk, enjoying this time with her.

"So, what's been going on with your boy Tango?" he asked, obviously curious. He had heard the way she spoke of the cremello stallion, and wanted to know pretty much everything about him. Lusitanos were such a powerful breed, with lovely frames and strides. Although Rory adored the concave Arabian profile, he loved the nose of the Roman breeds, with it's slightly convex look that made the horses seem even more regal and powerful. They tended to be intelligent, as well, if a bit obstinate.[/size][/ul]

[FalconX]

Roxanne

She grinned at his words, but rolled her eyes at the same time. With one hand she patted the black arabian mare's neck, though her gaze was on Rory and his horse. She shrugged as she listened to his comment about her getting and employee. "It wasn't big news, no one was talking about it" She smiled as she said it. Most small towns for known for their gossip, it was a little toned down here though. Of which, she was very thankful. She absolutely hated gossip, and considered it a terrible thing for anyone to do. It was often misunderstood, changed, and misinformed. Basically, it was unreliable and could very often hurt other people. "Cool" She answered his words with a grin. Personally, she enjoyed racing more. However, she did know how to jump, and it was fun. Flying through the air on the back of a horse, no other feeling like it. Well, maybe running at high speed on the back of a horse, both made you feel like you were flying, just in different ways.

She smirked and shook her head slightly at his comment. Why was it ridiculous? Perhaps because she was treated better than other horses? Well, Roxy would probably never know. Unless Rory told her of course. Then again, though they talked, he wasn't likely to explain what he said. Which was fine by her. She didn't tell him everything either. Not that she purposely tried to hide something from him. Or that she was keeping a deep, dark secret, it was just information that she didn't particularly want to share. One, by the name of Ava, another by the name of Spike. Spike, being a horse. She had received him when she was younger and he had just been a foal... Two months before they even found out they had to leave the ranch... he had been hit by a car. The idiot driver had been drunk, and had swerved from the road and crashed through a pasture fence. The thought still brought tears to her eyes but she refused to let them show. Stubbornly avoiding any conversation that she didn't want to discuss.

As she turned her horse around and started walking in the new direction, she heard him ask Romance to start trotting, to catch up. In a matter of moments, the hanoverian mare was walking beside Impulse's black frame. The leisure pace was peaceful, and the weather was perfect for a trail ride. Though the sun was out, and apparently not feeling very peaceful. Though, they escaped its heated wrath because of the trees they were riding under. The leaves blocking the sun made a weird pattern on the floor, and Roxy studied it for a moment before looking back up between her mount's ears. Since the horses were only walking, and they didn't seem to be jumpy in the least, she turned her head so she could see Rory as he talked.

Listening without comment until he finished his question. "I haven't gotten to spend much time training him, not as I would've liked, anyway. However, he thinks the lunge line is some kind of torture device." She shook her head and laughed slightly at the memory. The stallion had seemed quite offended when she had made him keep going. Even when he wanted to stop, though not from being tired or overworked. "How's Falcon doing?" She asked him about the arabian mare easily. Horses were a safe and natural topic for them. It was just simpler and easier to talk about. Roxy herself, had been down this trail before. It was really cool, it led to this lake and the area surrounding it looked like heaven. Well, not literally. However, the place was really nice.

[Forte!]

[/b] he said, with a grin and a shrug back at her, "it's that word gets around fast with those who want to dominate. Which is not me." Okay, that was not exactly true. He did want to win. But he wanted it to be earned, to be brought up from the dirt. He wanted to train until his legs shook with the effort of standing. And, more than anything, he wanted to achieve that perfect balance. He wanted to speak and be spoken to, to bridge the gap in communication between man and beast. It might be a high dream, but in his experience (and personal motto), if you shoot for the moon, you at least land among the stars. And perhaps it was just crazy enough to work. "Cool, but not so much for this girl anymore, perhaps," he said, stroking Romance's neck lovingly. "She had a good chance, but it was ruined by her previous owners. Underneath her lovely, sweet exterior is a mare still pining for lost youth." Two years. Two years they had worked with Romance, and she had improved as much as she ever improved. It was not enough for Grace that the mare would never compete at high levels of jumping. It was inconceivable that her work should not produce a champion. But life is not a fairy tale, things do not always work exactly as planned.

Rory looked up through the dappled shade, grinning widely in the blessing that the sun bestowed on his face. Romance, bemused by his peaceful nature, simply shook her head and let out a soft snort, ears swiveling around in a way that was never together. The separate antennae finally settles, one back towards Rory, the other forwards, but only for an instant before swinging around again. Rory, watching them, was overcome by a surge of love for the mare, and leaned forward, face and mane aligned in a halo of light that cut through the trees at and angle. Horse and human stared out together, eyes roughly aligned at the same point, the unbeaten trail ahead. The spell only lasted for a moment, but it was the sweetest of moments, one of those rare ones when Rory made peace with the world and his horse. Peace did not come easy to his restless mind, that quiet descending of a blanket around his ears that blocked out the motion he had come to so expect of the world, the turmoil always on the edge of breaking out.

He listened, sitting up now with a lopsided grin on his face, to her with the utmost of joy. "We never spend enough time with our horses, of course. We are horse crazy. It is inevitable that we should want to spend every waking moment with our horses," he spoke the truth easily. Of course he wanted to be with Falcon day and night and the areas in between. But there was far too much work to be done around the ranch still, and he hadn't quite got to mowing the race track yet... That would be a joy. But at least it wasn't summer. He couldn't have dealt with it then. He could deal with the heat, he had been born in Texas, after all, but only for so long. And only with a certain amount of patience before he managed to injure himself or something equally perilous. "Falcon is... impatient with me, again. She was tired of the quarantine barn, but she has her shots and coggins done. Oh, she's eligible for Arabian registry." Almost 99% Arabian, which is hard to find even in most registered showhorses, he added silently.[/size][/ul]

[FalconX]

Roxanne

If Roxy hadn't been on a horse and talking to Rory, she was sure she would've fallen asleep. It was just that kind of day, warm and inviting. Plus the sun had probably warmed the grass too. Leaning slightly in her saddle she glanced at the ground. Righting herself in the saddle again, she glanced over at Rory. Though he seemed to be content just to listen to her ramble. Of course, she really hadn't talked that much. Just a sentence or two. However, he was being silent and it made her feel like she was taking up all the conversation. She knew it wasn't true, but it felt like it at times. She wondered about that for a brief moment and then her mind turned to Tango. She wondered if he would do better at jumping or running. He hadn't shown a particular liking to either one. Though, she was sure he would be able to compete. However, you never really know. Some horses will compete and have the talent to do so, and some don't. It's just the way it works. All horses were worth something, they all were living things, and deserved the best care they could receive. That was her standing on that topic.

"I'm not into gossip, or whatever nice word they like to use to cover up the fact that it's wrong." She shrugged and rolled her eyes at her own statement. People always found 'nicer' or 'better' terms, to try and make it seem, perhaps even to convince themselves, that what they were doing isn't wrong. Of course, if they felt the need to do that, it probably was wrong. Gossip, definitely was. Though she wasn't going to elaborate that in words. It would just sound like a major rant, and she would risk completely boring Rory. She didn't exactly want to talk about it either. Roxy merely smiled and nodded at his words. Though the smile was quickly wiped from her face when she heard his words. Even a small gasp left her parted lips, "You're kidding.." It really wasn't a question. She just couldn't imagine someone doing that to a horse. It was... horrific. "I can't believe someone would do that to a horse" She muttered her thoughts out loud. Though, she hadn't really meant to. "How long has your sister had her?" Again, her unescapable curiosity came forward. She would've rolled her eyes, however, Impulse chose that moment to say she wanted to control where she went. The black arab mare shook her head, in an attempt to get her head. Roxy's grip on the reigns tightened and she pulled more of it in, just to get better control. When the mare tried to step forward without permission, Roxy told her to move backward. She did things like this for several minutes. Just trying to get the mare to know that she wasn't in charge. When Impulse dropped her head and blew through her lips, then she allowed her to walk forward, quickly catching back up with Rory and Romance.

Just like the mare, Roxy sighed also. Though more in relaxation, not giving up to authority. Though most believed she had been a wonderful child, doing as she was told. She hadn't liked authority very much. With one hand she reached down and patted the mare on the neck. Those couple of minutes had caused the mare's hide to have a light sheen of sweat. Though, Impulse still had plenty of energy to spare. She was full of it, never seeming to be without it. Roxy smiled and murmured softly to the mare, trying to get her to calm down a bit. Once they got farther up, they would be able to let their horses canter a ways. Just now though, there wasn't enough even ground to do so. She really, did not want to risk any horse, from reckless riding. Honestly, she could say, that she would never do anything incredibly stupid on a horse. She won't make any promises off a horse though. Stupid things happen to use all. Kind of unavoidable.

"Yeah, we just can't live without them" She agreed with a laugh, though she really was serious. She couldn't imagine a life without horses. In her book, it wasn't a life at all. One could definitely apply the word 'obsessed' to her feelings about horses. She loved them with all her heart and felt confident nothing could change that. "She's still impatient? Gee, like someone else we all know and love." She shot him a teasing glance and then continued to listen. Her eyes widened as she heard him talk about her being able to be registered. "You're kidding?" She was really saying that a lot lately. Of course, she meant it as a question this time. "I can't believe you captured a wild horse, that can be registered for pure bred shows..." Her voice trailed off and her wide eyes showed her amazement and slight disbelief, it was like a dream. Kind of hazy and had that feeling like, this isn't real, you're gonna wake up any moment.

[Forte!]

[/b] he said with a half-grin, "I won't lie, in Texas riding was a pretty competitive business if you looked hard enough to find the competition." That was true. People always thought of Texas as a place for rodeos and lazy Western pleasure riding. That may have been the case at some point, but it was no longer. From the introduction of the Rainbow and the Sam Houston, thoroughbred breeding had flourished in the area to the point where they were literally overflowing with not-quite-racehorses. Showjumping and dressage stables had come up near the larger cities, in some cases even out in the country. Horsepeople who had ridden the range only years before turned into competitors who would spend hours grooming their beautifully bred horses. "She couldn't either, when she first saw this poor girl standing in the kill pen at an auction," he said, with a frown tugging at the corners of his mouth. He had been horrified by Romance's story, too, when he had first heard it. The mare had such a great chance, too, with her breeding she could have done well in showjumping any day. But she wasn't quite good enough for whoever owned her, and she went to that sad, dirty breeding barn. "We've had her for two years now, and spent a ton of money on getting her legs fixed," he said with a slight horrified laugh, "but, every penny was worth it for this girl. Wasn't it, Romance?" The mare shook her mane, but didn't seem to even notice that he was talking about her. Rory watched Impulse for a moment, seeing how she wanted to choose her direction. Romance was like that, in the ring. But she seemed fine out on the trail.

Rory looked off toward the trail ahead, his hand light on the bit as he guided Romance around the turn. She loosened up a bit now, her head not quite so much over the bit, her strides a bit longer. She had decided that she actually liked being out on the trail, and because of it had stopped acting like and uptight show horse like she was. She was responding well, though with her relaxation also came a bit of laziness. This mare, unlike Falcon, was quite happy to stop and rest at any point rather than work. Plus, this walk was boring her to no end. She was an intelligent mare, one who liked to be challenged, and there was no challenge in this boring pace. So, to compensate, she was being slightly stubborn, making Rory give stronger cues to keep her moving and to turn her. This was annoying him, but he understood the feeling, and so he went right along with the game, giving her stronger cues with leg and weight. She wouldn't dare disobey him when he gave it to her that way, and after a few minutes she stopped fighting him with a resigned sigh.

"You've got that right," he said with a grin, looking up from Romance's ears. Horses had probably saved his life, and he knew it. They had brought him back when he had been down, had been his very reason for being for a long time. Of course, he did not feel that they were now. He had come to love life for what it was, not what it did to you. He laughed when she spoke again, knowing fully well that he was impatient to his last breath. "Okay, okay," he said, "so maybe I want to let her run, too." He realized with a slight shock how true this was. He wanted, with his whole heart, to let Falcon just tear up the turf, wanted to fly along with her in one breathtaking moment. He wanted to stop holding her back, as he felt he had been doing. At that moment, he silently resolved to get Falcon out to train as soon as he had clipped the track. And now he had a good reason to do it. "Yeah, I guess I'm just lucky," he said with a bemused grin, "trust me, I'm no less amazed at this point than you are. I have no idea what's going on in the wild at the moment, but I certainly found one of the few true wild Arabians that ever existed in the states." he laughed, knowing that there had never been any truly wild Arabs except in Arabia. But, somehow he had found one.[/size][/ul]

[FalconX]

Roxanne

Impulse was now settled down, keeping pace with Romance at a slow walk, until Romance decided to go faster, as Roxy saw the misbehavior, she kept Impulse in check. She muttered something under her breath and kept a steady grip on the reigns, though she wasn't really holding them tightly at all. Roxy, who was practically bouncing with excitement, tried to settle Impulse back into her walk. She did want to run and she wished that they were already at the area where they could let the horses have some fun. Not that she really wanted to speed this ride along, she liked to hang out with Rory, however, she knew the horses were getting slightly bored with the infuriating slow pace. They just had to wait, no amount of fun was big enough to put them at such a risk. Risky indeed, that was what it would be to go any faster than a slow trot. With a pat on the black mare's sleek neck, Roxy bent forward, whispering promises in her ear, which tilted backward to catch her words. A small smile tugged at the corner of her lips and she gave the mare one last pat, before erecting herself in the saddle once again.

Roxy bit her bottom lip and chuckled softly. "And, I never accused you" She responded with a smile. Pointing a finger at him she tried to look serious. "Defending yourself just makes ya look guilty" After she had finished teasing him again she noticed that Impulse had slowed, moving at a sluggish pace, with a few soft clucks the pace was picked up again. The arab mare now held her head higher, looking forward eagerly. Her small black ears swiveled almost every way, catching the noises of the forest surrounding the trails. As Roxy watched the mare she also listened, Rory seemed to be thinking, so she wasn't missing any words. The sound of birds and other wild animals came to her ears. A larger form seemed to be going through the area, several noisy squawks were let out by some of the birds that seemed to be offended by the other animal. She heard the quiet rustling of the small animals, squirrels and such like that. Confirming her suspicion, she saw a small brown squirrel dart out across the trail, covering it with rapid movement, then disappear back into the wooded areas. After listening to Rory's comment, and being ripped away from her own thoughts, she gave a comment of her own. "I'd love to meet your sister, she sounds great" For one minute her mind almost considered not even saying those words at all. She honestly had no idea how Rory would take them. The last thing she wanted to do was make him uncomfortable. His sister, Grace?, just seemed to be nice and Roxy thought that maybe they would get alone with each other. She could use all the friends she could make. You could never have to many, that's what Roxy believed anyway. "What was wrong with her legs? I mean, I know that leg injuries for horses are more severe..." Her voice trailed off after her question and comment. Usually leg wounds were harder to heal and in affect more costly. She was just curious, as always. It was her stereo typical, if you will. She smiled slightly as he talked to the mare. So many people considered her weird because she talked to her animals. At least in this town she knew one person who wouldn't make fun of her... It hadn't really been a big problem, but it had nagged at her every so often.

When Romance tried to defy Rory again, Roxy smothered a chuckle. "I think they're getting a little restless." For a moment she studied their surroundings, in just a few brief minutes they would be in a position where they could let the mares run like they wanted. In a few minutes... Just those few minutes could seem like torture, like an eternity. Of course, she knew that she was just being overly impatient, she couldn't help it. Sometimes she just got like this, it was totally unavoidable.

Her teasing grin remained on her face as he responded. She rolled her eyes as he 'confessed' that he wanted to let his mare, Falcon, run. "Well that was obvious, try and tell me something I don't know?" Over a period of time, most people got irritated with her constant joking and teasing. It just made people mad for some reason that she couldn't figure out. Hey, it was their problem if they didn't like her personality, she couldn't help it and she couldn't exactly do anything about it. "You guess you're lucky? Rory, if you don't know luck when you see it, well, there's just no hope for you." She smirked and then turned her whole head towards him. A huge grin claiming her face, brown eyes sparkled like mad as she noticed their surroundings. "Ready to run?" She asked him eagerly. Though, she didn't wait for a reply. She clapped her legs around Impulse's barrel and they were off! Well, at a trot anyway. She let the mare stay in a trot for a while and then urged her into a canter. Leaning forward and putting her face beside the mares ebony neck.

[Forte!]

[/b] said Rory, looking out at the shafts of sunlight cutting through the trees. "Not too hot." He didn't mind the heat - or the cold, for that matter. He had adjusted to two extremes in his life, and hadn't ever been particularly bothered in the first place. Rory was predisposed to be tough, not exactly muscular, but an avid fan of exercise and with a sense of endurance that was, perhaps, due to his obstinate nature. He sat back slightly, thinking, looking on the verge of speaking. The song of a particularly bold sparrow floated across the air from a nearby bush. Finches chattered from tree to tree, chasing each other In a gaiety that Rory himself felt at the moment. "Hey, thanks for coming out here with me," he said with a grin, eyes glittering with sincerity in a sudden shaft of sun, "without you I'd have absolutely no reason to be doing anything except stripping stalls," He laughed quietly to himself. Most of the barn had been done now, but there was a lot to do now with training Falcon and cleaning Romance and her's stalls. There was always a lot to do around the barn, actually.

He laughed and rubbed the back of his head under his hat sheepishly at her next comment. "Ah, I suppose I'm just burying myself, then," he leaned forward to pat Romance's neck, speaking softly to the mare. He always talked to horses, and always had. From being a little kid standing at the head of some old mare to standing awed behind the fence at some raging mustang. And, as always, his words meant nothing in particular, spoken in a strange mix of English and what German he knew. He wasn't nearly fluent - fresh out of school and out of practice he had forgotten a lot, but he still remembered enough. This was the closest to singing he would ever come, this crooning near-whisper that meant nothing to the average human. He stopped talking soon enough, but one of Romance's ears was cocked toward him now, listening for those little noises. She had relaxed considerably, and was now quite happily collected underneath him. He nodded as she spoke again. "Yeah, she wants to meet you, too," he admitted. Ever since Rory had told her about the trail ride, Grace had been dying to meet this little 'crush' of his. "Romance was having some issues with her pastern, probably from standing so long tied in a stall and not being worked enough. One day we tried to work her at the trot, and it got stuck and wouldn't come back. Surgery was the only option," there was a frown tracing the corners of his mouth now, his brow creased with worry at the memory, "of course, she's fine now. You'd hardly know by looking at her." Romance shook her mane and looked forward, one ear still back, listening as he talked.

"You think?" he asked with a chuckle, "she keeps asking me if it's time to get moving yet. Strange for her, usually she doesn't like to go for anyone except Grace," Romance was a valuable school horse because of this - she wouldn't budge unless the rider's cues were impeccable. She seemed to calm down out on the trail, though, and was actually asking if she could go faster. She tossed her head impatiently, mane flying, when he sat back and told her that she couldn't go - yet. With the persistence of a filly, she continued asking, each time eking a little laugh out of him, until he leaned forward and stroked her neck, whispering softly in his cupped ear. She tossed her head again, perhaps conceding to him, but did stop asking him to trot. She lowered her head with a sigh, tail flicking back and forth, hitting at invisible flies. The mare was outright bored, and she was showing it, slowing to a sluggish pace, eyes half-closed, before Rory clucked sharply and gave her a nudge to keep her going. She lifted her head with an exasperated snort, but picked up the pace, catching up to Impulse.

A light blush spread across his nose as she spoke. "Was it really that obvious? Even I didn't know," his brain knew itself better than he knew it. Oh well, he could live with that as long as he figured it out in the end. "Okay, fine. I'll get her to run, it's what we both want, anyway... apparently," a huge, lopsided grin was plastered on his face as he saw the trail open up ahead, and Romance snorted impatiently. "Okay... okay... maybe I'm a little bit more than lucky," he conceded, as Romance tossed her head against the bit, fighting for her head. 'Not yet' his weight said, the reins said, squeezing barely with his hands. His fingers twined absently in her mane, feeling the texture of horsehair beneath the tips of his fingers, massaging the skin lightly. "One step ahead of you!" he said with a laugh, as she asked the question he had been waiting for. The reins loosened a bit as he asked for a canter, bending the mare inward and placing a leg behind the girth. she picked it up, flying down to catch up to Impulse, him rocking back and forth to the da-da-DAH of her three-beat rhythm.

"Woo-hoo!" he cried in jubilee, hair flying under the edge of his hat along with Romance's mane. He was grinning broadly, eyes gleaming as he guided Romance softly around the large bend in this great open space. The mare's head rocked back and forth in time with his hips, his hands the only still part of his body, poised down on her neck, but not pressing there, the strands of mane flying to and fro about his fingers. Their rhythm was dead on for the barest of instants, man and horse melded together like one being, but it broke apart the next. That balance, so fleeting, was hard to attain, and when it happened it was over in the barest of instants. Rory grinned and leaned forward, egging the mare on as his seat left the saddle, crouching forward over Romance's neck, keeping pace with impulse, his head close enough to catch some of the flying strands of mane. His hands were forward on the mare's neck now, but still there was no weight there, his heels, toes, and calves supported him, balanced him, along with the momentum of Romance's long stride.[/size][/ul]

[FalconX]

Roxanne

Roxy turned her head and a small smile lifted the corner of her lips as her brown eyes scanned to area. "Yeah" She agreed with a satisfied sigh escaping her mouth. "The kind of day it would be stupid to stay inside" She added with a larger smile claiming the features of her face. A faint breeze blew through the trees and barely ruffled her curly coffee brown hair. Because of those trees, it allowed them to ride in peace without being tormented by the merciless sun. Though, even without the trees, it wasn't very hot at all. Like Rory had said, it was really nice. Not exactly perfect, because nothing ever is, but so close, there didn't seem to be a distinction. Rory's voice snapped her out of her thoughts, his words seemed to make her relax more. She just had so much fun around him, feeling like she could easily be exactly who she really was. Not that she had ever had a problem doing that before, but she never second guessed herself when she was around him. Her smile widened into a full blow grin, and her brown eyes glanced over at him. "Hey, it's me who needs to thank you. I loving owning and running my ranch and all, but a break is always nice." Her smile softened at her words but she still managed to keep it firmly in place.

Brown eyes rolled at his comment. "Just suppose?" She asked him sweetly with an innocent smile on her face. Though, it was clear to see the mischievous glimmer in her brown eyes. Mere moments later her innocent smile was wiped away by a smirk that only tilted the right corner of her mouth. She leaned forward ever so slightly, stroking the mare's neck as she looked around. Shifting back into the correct position in the saddle, giving a wing of her hair an irritated look. She really, really, I emphasize again, really, hated her curly hair. It was so darn annoying. With a quick movement she tossed her head like a restless horse, trying to get her hair removed from her eyes. When she successfully achieved her goal, she refocused her attention, in time to catch Rory's words. Her scowl disappeared and a smile replaced it. "Cool" She murmured softly, and the wind chose that moment to blow slightly harder, almost muffling her one word response. With amusement sparkling in her brown eyes she spoke "You almost make it sound like you don't want her to meet me. What, are you ashamed of her cowgirl friend?" She teased him with laughter ringing clearly in her voice. Almost unconsciously she sucked in a breath as he descried what the mare had to have gone through. She shook her head and then glanced at the mare. "Yeah, just looking at her, it's practically impossible to tell..." Her voice trailed off slightly and her gaze moved to her own mount.

"Hey" She piped in, "Maybe she's finally loosening up and having some fun." She grinned and patted Impulse's sleek hide in an absent-minded way. Wasn't Rory the one who always thought that the mare shouldn't have to only compete and work but also relax and have fun? She was pretty sure, she was correct in that thought. There's always room for error though. Brown eyes glanced down at the ebony mare, she smiled. For the first time in riding this mare, ever, it was going fairly well. Still, Impulse tried to test her limits and see how much she could get away with. Which, she shouldn't be allowed to do. Oh well, she really wasn't getting away with anything, plus, Roxy had no intention of letting her. A faint smile crossed her face and her gaze moved from Rory and Romance, to up ahead. Despite coming here to enjoy themselves, she couldn't exactly risk getting dumped because of not paying attention. Imagine the humiliation that could bring. Which was exactly why she was determined, to not let it happen, at all.

A wicked grin covered her lips and a low chuckled came from her mouth. Her brown gaze quickly caught the pink tinted blush that was appearing on Rory's face. As he spoke, she did her best to suppress more laughter. Lifting one hand she put the index and thumb slightly apart from each other, holding them only possible a cm or two. "Maybe only a little?" She responded with a soft and somewhat breathy chuckle. At his statement, she gave a small nod. Obviously, but now, he just needed to tame her so he could give her what she wanted. However, that could take quite some time. Or not, she really wasn't sure when it came to Rory and the bay arabian mare. It was a strange relationship to say the least. Which really was saying the least possible. She had yet to capture any horses, which saddened her, however, she knew that it just took time. Of which, she had in abounding amounts. Patience, oh why did everything come back to that one word? Without realizing it a small sigh came from her parted lips.

The sliding muscles were easily felt from Roxy's position on Impulse's back, as they swept into a gallop. The gait was simple and refreshing, making her feel extremely comfortable. A huge grin threatened to split her face in two as she heard Rory's yell, joining in with one of her own. The sound of the yells seemed to bounce around, before finally fading away into nothing. Her gaze focused ahead of them, between the black ears of the horse she was riding. With a small frown she realized that they had to stop galloping. Without meaning to they had arrived at the lake, though it was never the intention. It might be fun, she had always loved to ride horses in around near water. An experience like no other, was to be astride a horse as it swam. With a small tug of the reins she drew the black mare to a slow trot. Glancing at Rory with a smile still on her face. "There really isn't a stretch long enough to thoroughly enjoy galloping," She stated with a grin.