Just Ride (Open)

[Sonya Williams]

Blake Monroe

With classes being over for the day, Blake couldn't wait to get back in the saddle. Despite just having gotten out of his jumping class, Blake wasn't quite ready to dismount. With permission from the teacher, Blake had kept his trusty Thoroughbred, Kentucky Rain, tacked up and ready to go until the bell rang. The sound was distant due to the distance between school buildings, where the bells were, and the stables where equestrian classes took place. Still, when the bell rang, Blake led Tucker out of his stall into the flow of students trickling out of the barn heading for the dorms and rec room. Classes only lasted until two thirty so there was still plenty of time to ride before the seven o'clock curfew.

"Come on Tuck, I don't know about you but I need to stretch my legs" Blake said to the star-faced bay.

Snorting, Tucker bobbed his head, dancing slightly as Blake led him into the open stable yard. Putting his foot in the stirrup, Blake swung himself up onto the Thoroughbred's tall back. He loved the height, grace, pent up power and elegance of Thoroughbreds as a breed. He planned to ride as a jockey someday even though most people said that wasn't much of a profession. It suited Blake just fine considering his tendency to fight and compete with anything that so much as looked at him wrong. His mother used to compare him to an angry young Thoroughbred colt, all riled up and ready to fight. It was half endearing and half true.

Buying Kentucky Rain from a closing race stable had been one of Blake's best decisions ever though. The stallion had been beat up and angry, tired of racing and tired of people. Now he was Blake's dream horse, if not a bit rough around the edges.

Giving Tucker a sharp tap with his heel, Blake barely kept from whooping as the bay took off. Leaning forward, Blake used the reins to guide Tucker toward one of the trailheads not far from behind the barn. The beat of Tucker's galloping hooves was like music to Blake's ears, mimicing is fluttering heartbeat. Unlike his former owners, Blake had managed to coax out Kentucky Rain's former love to run, the love bred into him through generations of perfection. Now the bay might as well run like the wind.

The trail wound back away from the school into the Kentucky hills, pockets of open meadows and clusters of trees in full bloom with spring, sunlight warm on his neck, Blake was sure everything was right in the world. He let Tucker run until the stallion began to slow as they neared the Foxtrot Creek. Bringing Tucker to a halt, Blake patted the Thoroughbred's neck and swung out of the saddle. Grabbing the reins he led Tucker carefully to the creek so the stallion could drink while he looked both ways along the creek. He was sure had just caught the sound of another set of hooves or was he just hearing things?

[Luke Peters]

Luke Peters !

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i'm a cowboy, on a steel horse i ride[/right]

Luke was bored.
Well, had been, might have been the operative terminology, since technically he had been bored for a little over twenty minutes now. He’d sat in class, switching between idly doodling and obsessively tracking the clock’s arm, counting the seconds until this would be over. It’s not that he didn’t like school; it’s just that on beautiful days like this, he’d rather be out riding. Actually, that didn’t sound bad at all. Yeah, he’d take V out after the bell rang. He smiled to himself, and continued to watch the clock’s hands as they slowly slid by. However, after about two minutes of uninterrupted eye contact with the face, Luke felt extremely aggravated. Was it broken or something? Because it must be physically impossible that time was moving that slow. He exhaled shortly, and crossed his arms. Maybe if he looked away the minutes would tick by faster. Managing to yank his face from that of the clock, he continued his doodling as the teacher’s words wove idly through his ears. Good thing he already was well-versed in the material and didn’t need to listen, otherwise he would be thoroughly screwed by the time finals rolled around. And he was a senior; didn’t that mean he had a right to blow off certain subjects?

When the bell finally rang – which felt more like an eternity than ten minutes – Luke was the first to rush out, his backpack half-heartedly slung over his shoulder. Focused, he let nothing get in the way of his mechanical path to the barn. His eyes flitted warily about, attempting to locate any acquaintances so that he could avoid them. Okay, a little rude, but he didn’t feel like chit-chatting right now – he had a date with V, and he would let nothing get in the way of that. After all, he had been looking forwards to it (sure, for only twenty minutes, but that was a long time to easily-bored Luke.)
Throwing on a casual smile, he slowed his walk as he neared the barn, savoring the scent as the smell of hay and horse drifted into his awaiting nostrils. What a great release. Sighing contentedly, he honed in on V’s stall and commanded his feet to take him there. Upon reaching his final destination, Luke dropped his backpack, and peeked over the door’s indent, immediately smiling at the sight of his horse.

Vanity Fair had her back turned to him, but even her rear-end looked good. Rays of light which streaked in from various points accentuated her light dapples and reflected off her skin. Idly her tail swished, and she took a step back, adjusting her leg. Her sculpted head was lowered to the ground, and by default Luke assumed that she was scavenging the floor for anything edible. She was quite the pig. “Mighty fine day for a ride, ain’t it, V?” Luke’s thick country drawl broke the silence between them, and instantly her skull rose, ears on point. Slowly, she turned to face him, her gentle brown eyes welcoming. With a gentle snort – more of an exhale than anything – she craned her neck to brush her lips on his outstretched hand, most likely expecting a treat. Luke shrugged. “Sorry hun, ate m’carrot at lunch.” As if in response to his question, V turned her back on him again. He chuckled. “C’mon V, don’t be like that.” This made him laugh even more, since he realized they must sound like an old married couple. Leave it to Luke to marry his horse.

Hands on his hips, Luke shook his head in mock-outrage.
“Fine then,” no response from V. “I guess no ride…” He raised his eyebrows and ran his tongue along the back of his teeth. As if on cue, V turned slightly to look at him, and then resumed her original position. “I’ll go get the stuff,” Luke mumbled, trotting off, beaten by a creature who couldn’t speak. He loved the little games they played – they were cute.
Ten minutes later, everything was in order. Luke decided that bareback was the way to go, so he spent most of his time brushing V down, putting care into each stroke. He loved his horse more than most people love their pets; to him, V was more of a family member than a ‘pet.’ After his grooming session was finished, he put on her bridle and led her into the yard. Mounting, he adjusted himself upon her back, and gave her neck an itch. “Are we off, then?” Easily, he urged her into a walk, turning her towards the trails, and the pair began their idle romp.

Luke let V have her head once they were deeper into the ride. Although he knew that she was an amazingly well-behaved horse, he always took precaution around the barn. Out here in the mini wilderness, he could let his guard down a little, since other horses were usually scarce. Speaking of relaxing, the creek was coming up. Although it was spring, the sun still warmed him just a little too much for his comfort level. They had not been riding for very long though, so Luke figured he’d allow V to stretch her legs a little before they stopped for a drink. Urging her on, Luke soon found himself flying – hanging on to V’s mane for a little extra grip as she cavorted around the trees. He restrained himself for whooping, although he easily could have. Being atop a running horse must be one of the best feelings in the world!

As soon as froth started to form at her mouth, Luke reined V in to a gentle canter, and then a light trot. He could tell that she was raring to go, but like the well-trained horse that she was, she withheld her own desires. Luke stroked her neck, wiping off the thin layer of sweat that had formed. Now they could stop, right? The creek would feel wonderful after all that running, and as they neared it, Luke made that clear to V. In fact, his talking was probably why he didn’t notice the other male with his horse. Luke went as far as dismounting and unbridling V, (who wouldn’t run off even if you told her to,) before he realized there was another of his sex quite near to him. Now, Luke was very easy-going and likeable, but he was a little lacking on guy friends. He felt at a loss because of this, and so that’s probably what spurred him to make a distinct effort to go say hi. With a grin, he walked over to where the other boy stood, stopping a few feet in front of him. Adjusting V’s bridle on his shoulder, he kept a wary eye on her position, and the other on the male.
“Howdy,” he drawled, his southern roots already shining through. “S’a beautiful day for a ride, huh?” His smile widened upon noticing his horse. Obviously he’d seen it before, but up close it just seemed more real. He could use male friends, especially those who would go on trail rides with him. There weren’t many guys who thought of that as their idea of a good time.
“Lovely horse you’ve got, what is he—er, she?” With a nonchalant smile, he stuck his hands in his pockets and savored the afternoon.
What a wonderful day!

ooc // hey, wow, sorry about the length & the quality! i'm a little lacking in muse, even though it may not seem like it. great post, by the way(:

[Sonya Williams]

Blake watched as another rider pranced over the rise, horse moving at an easy trot. Noticing the company next to him, Tucker raised his slender-muzzled head to watch the mare approach. Keeping a hold on his stallion's reins, Blake subconsciously shifted his weight so he stood in a subtly defensive position between the new rider and Tucker. It wasn't something he did because he hated everybody but Blake, well, he was a troublemaker and as such he tended to attract trouble. He'd been in fights since he'd been in elementary school which was why his mom had sent him to Firefly Fields for his high school education. Personally Blake thought it was a waste of money but at least he had Tucker and really he hadn't gotten into any fights. Yet. Hopefully the first guy to come within a few yards of him wouldn't be his first fight that year.

Tucker peered at the other rider over his owner's shoulder, ignoring the tension. His dark eyes were fixed on the mare, tail swishing contentedly as he let out a whinny of greeting. Bobbing his head and jingling the reins, Tucker lowered his head again to drink from the creek. As far as he was concerned company was fine, even if it made his rider act a little funny. A competitive horse after years of being in racing, Kentucky Rain was just not up for a fight today. He just wanted to move around and stretch his impressively long racehorse legs and get a nice drink from the creek.

Watching the guy dismount, Blake couldn't miss the southern drawl in the guy's greeting. Who the heck said 'howdy' in any other state than Texas? Biting his tongue on that one, Blake nodded a bit stiffly. He wasn't an instant truster and was known to be very guarded about the company he kept. A strict protector but protector of few. That was how he was.

At least the guy wasn't dumb enough to call Tucker a racetrack nag or something. Some guys had broken noses because of comments like that from his hometown. It had become common knowledge back home that no one insulted Tucker just because he had been forced into retirement because of injury. He may not have won the Kentucky Durbey but he was a champ to his rider.

"Thanks. It's a he by the way" Blake said, not quite sure what to make of this guy. He looked friendly but looks could be deceiving.

Ignoring his owner's tension, Tucker sidestepped Blake and leaned toward Vee with a snort, reaching toward her and snuffling softly. Blake cast a sideways glare at his stallion. Darn hormonal horses.

"Hey now boy, she ain't your type" Blake said, giving Tucker a pat on the neck.

Tucker snorted and shook his mane, obviously disagreeing.

[Luke Peters]

Luke wiggled his fingers in his pockets, and craved nothing more to be barefoot on the creek’s bank. It seemed as if this guy would be a little hard to warm up, but Luke had no intention of giving up – he was a friendly sort of guy, and just because some friends took a little longer to make didn’t mean he was going to be picky. Heck, he’d take any friends he could get! He offered him a smile, and then – oh, duh! Where had been his manners? With a slightly nervous laugh, Luke withdrew his hand from the safety of his pocket, and offered it to the boy.
“Sorry for the lack of introduction, m’name’s Luke. This thing,” he whipped his head around, quickly jamming his thumb back when he found V, “that would be Vanity Fair, but you can just call her Vee for short.” Luke delivered an affectionate pat to her neck before turning back to offer his hand to the male. This was about the time he noticed that the guy’s horse seemed to be attracted to his own. He chuckled about this, but kept otherwise silent to watch V’s response. She wasn’t always the most… loving towards others of her race, and especially those not of her sex. With a sharp snort from behind him, he watched peripherally as she wandered a bit to his side and lowered her head to graze. His eyes then followed the boy’s horse as he sent both bodily and audible signs to show his interest. Hey, Luke didn’t blame him, V was a pretty attractive horse.
“Seems like they like each other…” Well, maybe not so much on V’s part, but she’d warm up to him.
Or, so he hoped.

While standing at attention near the boy, Luke examined his mount. He didn’t know how he had missed the gender before, for he looked so masculine. Maybe it was just because he was flirting with V, but it seemed nearly impossible that he had questioned his sex before. He made sure that when he next mentioned the boy’s horse, he made a point to enunciate his gender.
“He’s really gorgeous. Thoroughbred, right? They’re really extraordinary horses. Do you race?”
Luke resisted temptation to reach over and give him a stroke, but he felt he may be entering the guy’s comfort zone and surpassing his level of, well, comfort. The last thing he wanted to do was be a bother, and so he stayed quiet for a little while. That is, until the male made the comment about their horses. Luke couldn’t help but grin and shrug. Even if the comment hadn’t been meant for his ears, he felt a need to reply.
“Well, you never know.”
Then he shut up. No need to talk this guy to death, then he wouldn’t be a very… lively friend.

[Sonya Williams]

After a moment's hesitation, Blake accepted the other guy's hand ad shook just once before withdrawing. Still making sure his stallion behaved himself, Blake eyed the other guy's horse. Vanity Fair huh? The mare looked like one of the fancy English breeds that rich folk rode but would probably make a decent work horse if she had to. There was good muscle structure, decent height, nice overall shape to the body though he didn't know the specifics for the breed. Still, it looked unusual to see a breed like that in a western saddle and bridle but, whatever. Mentally shrugging, Blake leaned against a nearby tree and folded his arms over his chest as Luke commented on Tucker.

"Name's Blake, this is Tucker, Kentucky Rain back when he wore silks. Used to be a racer til they decided he wasn't worth the money to stable."

Blake had two possible career choices in mind. He would either race as a jockey until he killed himself doing it or he would open up a retirement farm for ex-racers. If he had his way, Blake was sure he could do both. The big problem was that neither of his parents supported his little plans for the future. They didn't want him to race even though the sport wasn't as corrupt as it had been a long time ago. It wasn't that bad, especially if he got horses like Tucker to ride.

Tuck could be arrogant and mean, competitive and grumpy but he was also a good horse if you gave him the chance. He'd almost been put down before Blake had put in a bid for him. Blake had never regretted it. Tuck had never thrown him, bucked him, rolled him, bitten him or kicked him. It was like the horse knew on some level that Blake was the reason he was alive.

"And yeah, I race. Plan to anyway. Always had a thing for Thoroughbreds. They can be real high-end and prissy or downright mean but they're good horses if you know how to appeal to their better nature."

Blake shrugged, patting Tucker's neck.

Tucker snorted and stepped toward Luke. The horse let out a deep nicker and pushed at Luke's chest with his nose. Behind him, Blake smirked. Tucker liked to rough up people, it was like a dominance challenge or something. The second time Tucker pushed it was a bit harder. Blake raised an eyebrow, curious as to what would happen.

[Luke Peters]

Luke could not lie that he was relieved when Blake accepted his hand. He didn’t want to be embarrassed by having this guy turn down his greeting, but he had a bad itch on the back of his neck which he knew would sprout into a momentous problem unless he gave it some attention. His previously engaged hand flew to his nape a few seconds after Blake released it – didn’t want to seem too spastic – and he turned his attention to Tucker as Blake spoke. A thoroughbred, he’d been correct. And one who used to race too. Pretty dang impressive. Even though V had had her share of blue ribbons, (mostly all from dressage, and before he’d come to own her) you couldn’t get much better than a real life racehorse. Luke would have considered becoming a jockey if his height hadn’t decided his fate for him. At six two, and weighing in at one sixty three, he couldn’t have been more ill-suited to race. But really, any career involving horses was good enough for him. Given his way, Luke probably would end up as a stable bum, jobless, living out of a tack box in his horse’s stall.

Upon hearing Tucker’s brief story, Luke shook his head and shoved his hands in his pockets. Itch being cured, he had no reason to leave his hand behind his neck.
“That’s real sad. You’re a nice guy to save ‘im then.” Luke offered a smile. He’d done a program before where he’d fostered greyhounds, but had stopped due to his lack of income. Unfortunately, he couldn’t take care of horses and dogs at the same time. He really needed a job.

Luke quit thinking to listen to Blake. He didn’t feel the need to respond to everything he said, and so after Blake had stopped explaining thoroughbreds to him, Luke just nodded. No need to become a talkative ass. He averted his gaze to where V was grazing, her tail flicking occasionally to rid her haunches of pests. He was glad to see she was remaining dormant for the time being, as opposed to causing trouble. Yeah right, V never caused trouble! Well, she could get a little curious, which didn’t always bode well for skittish horses (or people for that matter.) But Luke was proud of her for staying so still, not that he expected her to run away or anything. For the most part, V was an exceptionally good horse.
Luke turned back just in time to be prodded with Tucker’s nose.
Not really expecting that, he staggered backwards a pace or two before catching himself. One of his old horses used to play that trick on him all the time, head-butting him until he either fell or ran out of the way. It was a cute little way to get attention, that was for sure, and it definitely brought back memories from his past. Laughing lightly, since he had released a rather loud, “oof,” Luke sidestepped before Tucker had the chance to recoil. He held out his hand stiffly, allowing Blake’s horse to give him a whiff, and the opportunity to receive a pet. Later on, if he did stop, Luke would present Tucker with the sugar lump which was hiding in his back pocket, but he would not reward this testing behavior. Although it was cute in some ways, he didn’t want to encourage it.

It seemed at this point V became bored with her munching and decided to find something more interesting to do. Still chewing her last bit of grass, she picked up her head and ambled over to behind Luke’s shoulder. V stuck out her sculpted head and flared her nostrils in way of giving the situation a sniff. Her ears lazily twisted on their stalks as she picked up any near-by sounds. It didn’t seem like she was going anywhere fast. This both made Luke happy and nervous. Of course he loved his horse, but the fact that there was an eager stallion just a couple feet away made him jumpy. Oh well, nothing he could do about it now. In precaution, he planted a hand on her neck and gave her a small pat. V was smart; she would know what to do in the event of an emergency, if there happened to be one.
In unison, Luke exhaled and V snorted, awaiting to see where the afternoon would lead.

[Sonya Williams]

"Tuck back off, your not going to the gate, you don't need to be a big guy" Blake said finally, reaching forward and snagging the Thoroughbred's reins.

Giving them a gentle tug, he got Tucker to back up a step so he couldn't keep being a doofus. Blake didn't need the whole academy thinking his stallion was nothing but bad manners and horrible habits. Enough people already thought that about him as it was. Actually, most people thought about the same thing for both Blake and his mount. They both had bad tempers, anti-social tendencies, got hotheaded and were way too competitive. Tucker would fight in the pasture and Blake would fight whoever wherever and however many.

"Well, come on boy, if you're getting pushy you're getting bored."

Putting his boot in the stirrup, Blake swung himself onto the tall stallion's back. Tucker snorted expectantly and danced a little but Blake kept him steady. What was also noticeable was Blake's stirrups were drawn up higher than usual for a guy of his age so his knees were slightly bent. His racing saddle had a busted strap that needed fixing so, Blake was improvising and it sort of worked. The posture wasn't quite right and if he was riding Tucker with a racing saddle he'd need to be boosted into the saddle despite his decent height since the stirrups were so odd.

Letting Tucker pace in a quick circle, Blake adjusted his hold on the reins and looked toward the trail which continued across the creek. They would have to ride through it which wasn't too bad. For a horse it wasn't any higher than knee height when it flooded and right now it wasn't flooded. The flow was slow so it was pretty easy as long as a horse didn't turn an ankle or slip. Most people led their horses through the creek but Blake knew Tuck had pretty good footing.

Looking down at Luke, Blake nodded to the rest of the trail. "You going to keep riding?" Blake asked.

He wasn't hoping for a race but if the other guy was going to keep riding the trail then it was whatever. Tuck just needed to get moving so he could focus on "work" rather than flirting with pretty mares.

[Luke Peters]

It looked as if the sugar cube would remain un-eaten in his pocket.
Well, unless V would stop trying to nibble at it through his pants. Luke tried not to laugh or flinch as V lipped at his back pocket, attempting without success to devour the sweet lump, jeans and all. He tried to push her away, but she kept on coming back, almost like a honing missile. So really, although he would have loved to give it to Tucker as a peace offering, he had no choice but to let V have it. Yeah, Luke spoiled his horse silly, but he was okay with it. Nothing he could really do about it now, the damage was done. Once your horse started effectively searching out treats and managing to get them in one way or another, you were whipped. Luke was just that. With a mock grimace, he shoved his hand from his front pocket to his back to grasp the small white cube. Behind his back, he offered it up to V, who instantly took it from his fingers. “Greedy.” Luke mumbled from behind his teeth. In reality, he couldn’t have been happier to reward his horse – for what, exactly, was unknown – but he didn’t want to come off as an over-indulging owner.

Luke watched as Blake mounted. He had to admit that he was a tad disappointed that Blake seemed to be jetting off so soon, but he realized that what Blake said about Tucker was the truth. Antsy horses were no fun to deal with, and although Luke hadn’t owned one in quite some time, he knew all about their behavior. Following the pair with his eyes, Luke decided he should probably make better use of his time than just standing around. Turning to face V, he slipped the bridle which had been easily slung about his shoulder back on to her head. She snorted irritably, but allowed this ritual to take place with little problem. Luke made sure to reward her with pats after he’d finished tightening everything.
Spoiled or not, he always made sure to reward good behavior.

It was coincidental that Blake’s question about riding happened to reach Luke’s ears when he was just about to mount V. Luke turned to face him with a grin. Throwing himself easily onto V’s back, he adjusted the reins as well as his seat. “Yeah, I’ma keep going. You too? D’ya wanna partner?”
Silently, he smacked himself for how stupid this must have sounded – he had to get rid of his habit for shortening words! – but still kept a smile upon his face. It would be nice to have a riding partner, yeah? That is, as long as their horses weren’t too flirty.