Runaway [open]

[femalefred]

Ella was feeling a little guilty about this now. She was just tired at the moment, and she'd spent barely any time with Duke in the past few week. She had a couple of days with no lessons at the barn, and it was spring break so none of her cello kids had lessons this week. And because of this, she'd tacked up her horse, packed a bag with a waterproof sheet for the gelding if it rained, a small light tent, sleeping bag and the other essentials for camping - plus some food for the dog, who still really needed a proper name - and gone.

They were about an hour away from the stable now. She'd seen fresh hoof prints on the green, blue and yellow trails, and red seemed like the most sensible option. The young woman wanted to get away from it all, get away from a place where people seemed to think she cared if they ate chips and treated her as though she was going to spoil all their fun just because she was all of five years older than them. Get away from responsibility and get away from the fact that her brother's marriage was falling apart. That had really upset her. She knew it was why Rob had been visiting, but he'd been married to Kath for four years. They'd been dating since they were in college, and not only that but Kath was pregnant. Even thinking about it made Ella angry, and her body tensed, staring with a sort of quiet rage up the track. How could he be so bloody stupid?

Duke, of course, sensed the change in his rider. Beneath her, he began shifting, prancing uneasily and twitching his ears back and forth in a desperate need for reassurance. It took a moment for Ella to realise why the young gelding was suddenly so nervous, and she sighed massively when she did. The dog was in front of her, lying across the pommel of the saddle, and even she, previously asleep, had twitched a little, and was looking slightly disquieted.

"Sorry, beasts. I'll cheer up soon, I promise."[/size]

[spyder]

The massive white mass of the grey, almost white, andalusian stallion grew stiff and tense as he sensed another presence. Not wild animals or birds, domesticated horse and rider, along with something else. Brendon felt the horse tense up and patted the horses thick neck, attempting to calm him, Easy boy... easy. Nzak pinned his ears back as the boy's whp like voice cooed to him. The equines legs moved gracefully as he danced down the path of the trail. Brendon sensed the feeling of not being alone anymore and knew what was causing Nzak the trouble of wanting to prance and worry. Calm it you duck... the horses mouth was lathered in white foamy drool from chomping at the bit contnuously, not faltering for anything except to toss his head up, stop altogether, and listen. His nostrils flared wide as the horses ears were erect, waiting. Brendon applied pressure with his legs and the horse moved into a high stepping trot. The rider and horse both waited to see or hear sign of the other beings anxxiousloy awaiting to be caught in the act of riding, Brendon sighed mentally as he hated others seeing him ride. Yeah he was advanced, but... still.

[femalefred]

Duke's ears flicked forward, suddenly. He was still dancing around a little under the saddle, though the return of his rider's attention to him, rather than her own thoughts, had caused him to stop skittering about across the path. His head, which he'd been carrying a little lower since all of the work he and Ella had been doing, shot up to even higher than its normal position, his nostrils flaring and a sharp whinny coming, from the vibrations his rider felt through the saddle, from somewhere inside his gut rather than his throat.

"Oi, Prince Charming. Cool it," the young woman said, frowning a little.

The gelding had stopped now, and the greyhound had rolled over and was staring up at the track ahead, apparently also aware of whoever Duke was calling to. It took a firm nudge in the sides for the young gelding to carry on, his pace increased this time and his head still high, excited by the prospect of another horse to socialise with. He even broke into a trot, and Ella shrugged, letting him bounce happily down the trail, the dog whimpering unhappily for a moment as she bounced against the hard pommel of the saddle before shifting so that she was now draped across the dapple's neck. She just hoped whoever they were bouncing towards wanted the company of an excitable five year old.