Take A Back Road -Open-

[Memphis]

Rae



Hooves thundering over the ground, the dusty brown gelding galloped down the forest path. His rider clutched to his reins tightly, a smile on her face. The rider pulled back on the horse's reins to slow him down. Legs eventually slowing to a walk, the gelding tossed his head and let out a loud whinny.

"You wanna go again, don't you?" the rider said as she patted the horse's neck.

As if in response, the horse tossed his head again. The rider smiled and squeezed the horse's sides. The gelding's feet began to pound against the ground again as his pace quickened up to a gallop.

She closed her eyes for a few seconds, letting the wind whip her dark brown hair behind her head. She opened up her bright blue eyes again and watched as the trees and wildlife whipped by. A sharp jerk to the left sent the horse down a different branch of the path, traveling deeper into the woods.

_{Notes: Open to anyone who wants a wild trail riding buddy
Outfit: Click
Words: 192
Credit: karkat vantas of Caution 2.0}

[elsewere]

Moving down the path, traveled so many times before, the black stallion named Kaho'olawe easily glided over the earth with a certain elegance that, even under saddle, was unique and beautiful. The hitched cremello pranced along after the horse and rider with strength... rather full of himself with his black halter that had his name, Ni'ihau, printed in white script along the nose band. Using a roping saddle on this particular day Andy sat comfortably while watching the forest tree pass by. The sun above bore through the pine needles on his brown skin, reminding him of his home ranch in Hawai'i. There they had no pine trees, or western forests, but they had the same sun and winds. He thought that even the horses missed there home sometimes.

A tug on the saddle brought Kaho to a halt and his head to turn with ears up to look back down the path with his brother. The cremello's ears were pricked forward listening very intently. A moment later and the faint noise of hoof beats got Andy's attention as well, his head turned to gaze down the beaten path. The sound told him that the horse was coming in fast and he watched intently with his brown orbs. It was quite unusual to see another person on the path. His legs tensed and Kaho resumed walking pulling the ever so curious Ni'i along. The stallion were well behaved and knew to listen to their 'mom'. A few steps later without realizing it a blur passed by. It was large and brown, the horse he knew it to be. "Damn that's a fast horse." Andy whispered to himself quietly.

Both horses crowns were raised in a little shock, he didn't think they were expecting that arrival so quickly just as he. Collecting themselves, the three boys stayed put and wondered if the rider was to return from around a bank in the trail. Moments later Andy asked the stallion for some general movement of the canter sorts and both stallions started off in the direction of the rider.

[Memphis]

Rae



Rae laughed as she looked over at the horses and their rider. They must think I'm crazy. she thought as she slowed Quince down. The dusty brown stallion let out a loud whinny to the other horses.

"Quince, you're such a weird horse." Rae said as she turned around. She set him off at a trot to meet up with the other rider.

When she reached them, she pulled back on Quince's reins gently and stopped him.

"Hey. I couldn't help but notice that I had passed by you and your horses while I was riding." she said to the other rider. She leaned back in Quince's saddle, readjusting her baseball cap on her head. Rae wanted to make sure that it hadn't fallen off during the wild ride.

She gave him a smile and greeted him, "I'm Rae, by the way. And this is my horse, Quince." Rae looked at him with her blue eyes. "And you are..." she coaxed.

Notes: None
Outfit: Click
Words: 187
Credit: karkat vantas of Caution 2.0

[elsewere]

She came back as Andy predicted and this time instead of flying by she actually stopped to say hello. The horse she rode was brown and a stallion or gelding he could not tell. He glanced up at her went she introduced herself and her horse. Nice names, he thought. Shrugging forward to losen the lead rope wrapped around the saddle horn he responded. "I'm Andy." After speaking he swung his leg around the back of the saddle to sit sideways to face her. The black horse he was riding snorted at his use as a chair and flicked his ears back.

Out of the corner of his eye he could see the cremello brute trying to reach a tiny blade of grass off the side of the path by bending down on to his knees and stretching his neck and tongue out. Andy looked at him then back to the girl. "And these two grumpy butts are," he pointed to the horse he was riding then the other "Kaho'olawe and Ni'ihau." He smiled at her, keeping his cool while the horse he raised, practically his child, acted like a complete idiot in front of him.

[Memphis]

Rae



Rae laughed at him calling his horses 'grumpy butts.' "I've never heard someone refer to their horses as grumpy butts before." she laughed. And those are so interesting names. I wonder where they originated from... she thought.

Quince reached down his head to scratch his nose against his foot, pulling Rae forward with him. Rae held onto her hat and loosened up on the reins. "Why do you always do that when I'm talking with people?" she said, half to the horse as she scratched his neck.

"I'm new around here. Just arrived about a day ago." she explained to him. "How long have you been out here?" Rae didn't have a problem with being friendly and chatting with Andy. He seemed nice.

Notes: None
Outfit: Click
Words: 145
Credit: karkat vantas of Caution 2.0

[elsewere]

He smiled when she laughed and slightly laughed with her, he guessed it was kinda funny. The posture of his side saddle was very poor at the moment and when her horse scratched his foot and he thought that the horse was complaining for Kaho, about his posture. A smile pranced across his face unintentionally. Horses just knew, sometimes. "Maybe he doesn't what to stand still, we can walk and talk I guess." Andy sat back and swung his leg up and around Kaho's neck to place his other foot in the stirrup. Using his free hand he gestured down the path.

When she asked how long he'd been out here it kinda reminded him of why he was here. Which was no reason at all, but he decided to stay for a score to see how everything is. Ummm... about two weeks or so, I never pay attention." He really didn't to stuff like that, the days just seemed to go on and on and on. Smiling again at his own ignorance he applied pressure to Kaho and started moving forward, taking Ni'i along with him. Making a teasingly mocking face at Rae, he turned around in his saddle and leaned forward so his head was about the stallions black tail with his arms hanging over the sides. At this point he was around the bend in the path and pushed his two horses into the side path tree cover. Yelling out, "Ya comin'?

[Memphis]

Rae



Rae smiled and called back, "Right behind ya!" She squeezed Quince's sides, easing the horse into a trot. Rae held onto the saddle horn with one hand and the reins with another.

Quince trotted along the path until they caught up with Andy and his horses. Rae pulled back on the reins so Quince would slow into a walk beside Kaho'olawe. She looked at Andy and said, "So two weeks, huh? Sounds like you're fairly new here, then." she said as she sat back in the saddle, bracing herself with one arm behind her on the very back of the saddle.

She looked up at the canopy of tree branches above them. "It's so nice out here. I couldn't resist going for a ride." Rae explained with a smile.

Notes: None
Outfit: Click
Words: 140
Credit: karkat vantas of Caution 2.0

[elsewere]

Andy heard the horse coming up from behind and got the approval from Ni'i that they were coming when his velvet ears flicked back to listen. Andy smiled in a rather charming way when Rae pulled up to walk beside him and his horses. The cremello, Ni'i, started to walk right behind Quince just because he was a trouble maker. Andy glanced over, saw him, then moved his hand out to the side and said in a rather stern voice,"Back." Ni'i didn't hesitate to move back to the path he was originally on, behind Kaho.

Sitting up then slouching back down, he moved around ,with his tongue sticking out like an idiot, a little to get comfortable in the large black roping saddle again. He turned his head to look at Rae when she said he was pretty new. He just laughed with a huff, "I suppose so..." He didn't exactly like to think of time, coming up or passed away. He frowned slightly, and looked out on the oncoming oath with his soft brown eyes.

When Rae mentioned the weather he looked up through the trees to see the blue sky and a few splotches of white here and there. He smiled forgetting of his thoughts of time. He liked Rae, she seemed nice. "Nore could I and the horses were getting restless inside the barn," he sighed a little to pat Kaho's neck "they miss the ability to go outside whenever they want, like back in Hawai'i. Andy looked up the path and realized that they were coming up to a clearing with a river. He reached up and pointed at the water then looked in to Rae's eyes. "Can we stop there for a second, I think they want a drink."

[Memphis]

Rae



"So, you're from Hawaii then? Cool!" she said, adjusting her position. "That's way better than living in a small town in Iowa your whole life."

Rae smiled and nodded. "Of course we can." she answered. Quince tossed his head and tried to trot off toward the river. Rae pulled back on his reins sharply and then let up on them.

"We'll get there soon, buddy." she murmured to the horse, running a hand through the gelding's dark mane.

As they approached the river, Rae dismounted and led Quince over. Quince let out a snort before putting his lips to the water and taking long swigs of the cool liquid.

Rae took off her boots and put her feet into the cold water. "Oh my gosh! That feels so good." she breathed as the water cooled off her hot feet.

Notes: Sorry about how long it takes for me to post. I'm super busy with softball. We just won the state championship and now we're going to nationals!!!!
Outfit: Click
Words: 143
Credit: karkat vantas of Caution 2.0