;; just a F O O L [open]

[rivalos]

IF YOU THINK YOU CAN CHANGE
THE WORLD

[/I][/COLOR]

[/FONT]

ROMAN EVANGELINE HARRIS[/FONT][/CENTER]

The adventurous young woman was eager to get moving in the Addison area, hoping there was at least something decent to do around these parts. The five foot three inch slender young woman dropped with a well balanced thud from the cab of her four door GMC truck, the black of it contrasting beautifully with her stunning dark hair and bright green eyes; unlike the truck, though, Roman wasn't coated in a thin layer of dust nor did she weight at least a ton. She seemed delicate next to the massive dually vehicle, but she handled it and the four horse trailer she tugged along behind it like a pro. Fortunately for her he beast was a diesel, saving her some on repairs and fuel costs. Then again, with the income she had at such a young age, she needn't bat an eye at how much gas it took to get from Nevada to Texas with a thousand pound horse on top of it. Fortunately for the attractive young woman it was still early in Addison, Texas, and the sun was just starting to creep up over the tree line of a nearby forest. She sighed happily, looking around at her barn of choice. She still had on her travel wear, a classic pair of short overalls, one side unclipped to reveal the fitted cotton shirt that clung to an obviously bright red Victoria's Secre number. Her luxurious locks were still done up from the exhibition she'd done the night before, pretty and half curled, pulled up into a half do and complimented with a very mild amount of eye makeup she hadn't managed to scrub off yet.

At the sound of hooves coming from the huge dressing room endowed Sundowner she sighed and smiled again, "Yes, Nero, my love, in due time." she said before climbing back up into the dually and tugging it into the trailer area. A small ocean of trailers were parked here, making her massive one seem not so impressive, but she didn't much care. After parking it safely, she darted to the back and undid the latch, twirling a cotton lead around playfully as if bored while she waited for the rare champagne colored sport horse stallion to back his own way out of the trailer. Getting the hell out of the way was her motto when it came to horses; she had too much fun going crazy on their backs. Might as well not give them the advantage of getting her on the ground. The Friesian hybrid soon cleared down the ramp excitedly and she snapped the lead sharply onto the steel loop which hung from the bottom of his black nylon padded halter, matching black travel boots being lifted high into the air as he pranced along the side of his substantially smaller handler. Roman laughed, patting him on his pristine neck before letting him circle eagerly around her for a moment. When he was calm, she walked her Nike-clad self into the alley of the massive barn, smiling as a few surprised horses whickered at the newcomer. He of course whinnyed wildly back but settled into the crossties as she began to strip his leg boots off, then the padding from the top of his head. Soon his travel sheet came off and he stood contently with only his padded halter. Hands were placed on her slender hips and she only shook her head at him. "Terribly handsome you are." she murmured affectionately to him. Unclipping the ties after a good groom and the sun was beginning to cast light into the barn, she led him quickly to his personal and already set up stall for the afternoon to rest. The trails screamed to be explored, and she wanted to see what kind of fallen trees were out there waiting for her.

She sighed, impatient and eager, and then settled her arms on the stallion's stall door to watch him dig happily into the hay left for him. She hadn't realized how tired she was, and at the moment her big lashes began to flutter and she leaned heavily against the stallion's door, inadvertently jutting her rear end into the alleyway and resting her head on her arm. One leg was cocked like a horse's would, and exhaustion from an all-night drive threatened to take over.[/SIZE][/BLOCKQUOTE]

[strawbk]

"Everybody wants some presto magic, magic, magic..."

Ben took a sip of something far too girly to be named out of the cardboard Starbucks mug and leaned his head back against the headrest, one hand on the wheel as he headed towards Crossfire Farms. The upbeat song was doing a pretty good job at perking him up, but clearly his dog didn't seem to agree. The black and tan pit bull was curled up on the passenger seat, muzzle buried in her front paws as she tried to catch a few more winks. Apparently she believed that waking up was something that should happen long after the sun had risen. The sky was a pale grey and the world still had that colourless, dreamlike feel of early morning. The eastern skyline was stained peachy and pink with the rising sun as Ben pulled into the parking lot for the impressive barn. He headed past the client parking, which was empty for the most part, except for a few stablehands' cars, and pulled around to the side entrance, backing up to the doorway.

He shut off the engine of his ute pickup with a shudder and hopped out, slamming the door and consequently shutting the pit bull inside. The idea seemed to settle just fine with her, and she grunted, clambering over the gearshift and curling up in the warm space Ben had left on the driver's seat.

The Aussie headed around to the back of his adapted truck and opened it up. Should be pretty simple, he just had to check up on the horse he'd seen a couple days back, maybe get some corrective shoes on if he'd healed up enough. He downed the last of his coffee and set the cup down in the bed of the truck, making a mental note to chuck it out later, and slipped his leather chaps on quickly. He headed into the barn and ran into one of the grooms almost immediately. "Would you mind fetchin' Ashes for me?"

[/color] The Aussie asked cheerfully, eager to see the good-natured bay again.

As the groom scurried off, he looked about the spacious barn, admiring it for the umpteenth time. Benny peeked into the nearest stall, watching a petite red mare pick at her morning haynet, and then glanced up again quickly as a girl led a brown stallion into a stall further down the aisle. Ben watched her rest against the big horse's stall, and then grinned as she leaned her head against the stallion's door, apparently exhausted. "Still too early for you as well?"[/color] He called jovially. Rise and shine, sweetheart.[/size][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[rivalos]

anywhere you go
anyone you meet
remember that your eyes
can be your enemies



hold me down,
sweet and low little girl,
hold me down,
and i will carry you h o m e

R O M A N

[/I]
[/font][/center]

Roman's green eyes flickered awake for the briefest of moments as her champagne boy placed his muzzle affectionately upon the ear of his keeper and she couldn't help but smile to herself, murmuring little nothings to him in response. He snorted, blowing a light mist of hay-scented moisture across the side of her pale cheek in response, eliciting a quiet laugh from the woman's throat before she sighed, letting her other leg relax while her eyes closed again. The sport horse finished chewing up what alfalfa was between his teeth and settled to rest like his keeper, hind end slacking sideways as a back hoof was rested at the tip, his noble neck dropping and ears lopping sideways along with drooping eyelids and a relaxed lip as he began to doze himself. The two of them shared a special bond, and Roman knew she'd keep him until the day he died. He trusted her, she trusted him. She knew she would have to get moving, meet the rental out front within the next hour to take her to her new townhome a meager fifteen minutes away, but she hadn't the energy to get going just yet. She'd driven the majority of the night to avoid traffic; she was exhausted.

With her limber body swaying ever so slightly as her consciousness threatened to slip in and out, she kept starting just a little to keep herself up. Nero ignored her jumps, used to the female's scent and the way she moved; he slumbered on in his standing position. Distantly she took in the sound of hoof beats but tuned them out, but Nero's head lifted ever so slightly to watch the equine being pulled from a stall. Sighing again, she was just thinking she ought to get moving when a voice called suddenly out to her, shattering the quiet stillness that had been around them. Her eyes opened and she lifted her pretty head, half-back dark hair pushed aside as she looked down the aisle towards the man who'd spoken. Her expression was tired, but she grinned at him anyway before letting out a chuckle and scraping the concrete with the toe of her sneaker. "More like too late for me." she called back, her slender hands still grasping the stall door in front of her. She gave Nero one last look before pushing away, walking in the direction of the man who could only be a farrier. He must be waiting for the bay horse to get to him.

She got closer, he was cute. And fit; he would have to be to work as a farrier. Her green eyes were bright, dark lashes fluttering as she looked up at the astonishingly much taller man as she got closer to him. She offered a hand to shake, still smiling curiously at him. "Roman Harris, me and Nero only just got here. Quite a drive from Arizona if I do say so myself." she said light heartedly, her voice bright and velveteen. "You are?" she asked happily, glad to already be making a contact. At least she knew there were farriers around here and that they at least had nice attitudes. And nice asses. She turned to see the bay coming closer, his steps fluid and eager towards the workman and herself. She stepped aside a bit, giving the groom some space to hook him into the cross ties nearby. She tugged her short overalls down subconsciously from the front, not bothering to re-latch the unhooked right strap and chose to let it stay dangling. It was comfortable, let a breeze get in between her fitted white shirt and the thicker jean material of the outfit. Made her feel like a kid, but obviously she didn't much care. "Handsome," she murmured, looking the horse over idly while the groom lined him up.[/size]

when that day comes
look into my eyes
no one's giving up quite yet
we've got too much to lose

[/size][/blockquote][/center]

[strawbk]

Falling asleep on your feet wasn't really the greatest way to start the day, Ben knew that much. The girl down the aisle lifted her head and turned her face towards him, offering him a grin. Instantly, he knew he'd get along with her. Funny what a smile can do, huh? "More like too late for me." Ohhh, well that made everything acceptable. Falling asleep on your feet was a pretty decent way to end one's day. The brown-haired girl was approaching, but Ben was distracted by the groom he'd spoken to previously, who had entered the barn and was leading the tall, lean Ashes towards him. The bay horse's ears were tipped backwards with contentment, and he licked his lips as though he'd either just been woken, or just finished breakfast. Ben liked the overgrown, easygoing gelding, who always made his job easy.

"Roman Harris..." The girl's words snapped his attention back to her, and he held his hand out to shake hers firmly. "Ben King."

[/color] He withdrew his hand and stood on his tiptoes to get a glimpse of the horse in the stall she'd been leaning against. He couldn't see much, just a tan coloured rump and withers. "Good lookin' guy."[/color] He drawled, knowing a compliment to your horse was just as good as a compliment to yourself. The boy's eyebrows raised, looking impressed when she explained she'd driven all night from Arizona. Now, Ben didn't have the most fantastic grasp of American geography yet, but enough that he knew Arizona was pretty damn far away. If he remembered the map he'd looked at of the Addison area the other night, Arizona was in fact a state or two away.

Naturally, he was about to ask her what the reason for such a big move was, but the groom had fastened Ashes into the crossties and waved goodbye. "When you're done with him, you can pop him into any of the free stalls in this aisle. We're cleaning his out right now anyway."[/color] Benny nodded to the groom in thanks and stepped up to the tall bay, holding his hand out. "Mornin' big guy, how's it going?"[/color] He grinned, fishing a couple biscuit-type cookies out of a hip pocket for the friendly horse. He looked back over to the petite girl and flashed another smile. "Yep, this is Ashes. He's got pretty awful feet, and managed to throw a shoe the other day."[/color] Running his rough hands down the horse's right foreleg, he leaned his weight against the bulky shoulder of the gelding, who obediently offered his hoof.

Ben looked up at her as he began to unwrap the dressed hoof. "Excuse me for my cruddy geography, but that's a pretty long way, isn't it? What brought you all the way here?"[/color] He took a quick look at the hoof, which had a couple sizable chunks missing from the wall, and set to work using a hoof adhesive to fill in the missing chunks and support the frog. It'd be a quick job today, even quicker with the gelding's laid back, compliant attitude. "Got family here or something?"[/color]

Hey, who was Ben to talk? He'd only been in Addison for about a month, and his twang of an accent from down under immediately gave him away. Idly, he wondered if she had a place set up for the night. Arriving in town early in the morning from hundreds of miles away typically wasn't a good idea unless you already had a bed for the night planned out. [/size][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[rivalos]

anywhere you go
anyone you meet
remember that your eyes
can be your enemies



hold me down,
sweet and low little girl,
hold me down,
and i will carry you h o m e

R O M A N

[/I]
[/font][/center]

He was obviously distracted by the approaching gelding, something that Roman didn’t mind in the least. If she were going to hire a farrier she’d want him focused on her horse instead of a random woman walking towards him. As they shook hands it was much more obvious now that she was close to him that he wasn’t originally from Texas, much less from the United States. An attractive Australian accent met her ears and she smiled proudly when he commented on her horse. ”Thanks!” she said cheerfully, up on her toes for a moment to watch the gelding approach and get tied up. She liked the manner Ben took with him, the gentleness and confidence that resonated from him was reassuring. He had a natural touch, a good thing to have if one wanted to work with horses. He moved forward to start up on his feet and the gelding obliged more than willingly to Ben’s touch. ”Ah, shoe throwing. Never fun.” she said in response, bending ever so slightly to watch him unwrap the horse’s hoof. Suddenly he looked back, obviously not about to ignore her even though he was working. He must be pretty comfortable with the horse then.

She listened, a half smile playing across her lips as she listened. Roman was naturally a happy go lucky kind of girl and always seemed to have a smile on her face, even if she was completely exhausted. ”Yes sir it is pretty far. A solid sixteen plus hour drive. We stopped in Santa Rosa, though, to rest all yesterday and then picked it up again last night.” she said for whatever reason explaining her trip out. ”No family here, I was born in San Antonio though. Really just the nice barn brings me in.” she said truthfully. It was far from most of the major spots she usually showed or explored, but this was the nicest equine setup closest to her home in San Antonio. Besides, her agent and clients were more than willing to pay for any expenses it took to get her where they wanted her. Having the job definitely kept perks close at hand, but it meant she tended to be flying somewhere at least five times in a year depending on demand. The economy had brought around a drop in business, but there were still always young scientists wanting to trek the rainforest in hopes of finding some new species they could name after themselves. Whatever.

She refocused, realizing her tiredness had her brain wandering. ”How about you? What brings you all the way from Down Unda?” she asked with well-meant humor. She smiled wider, her slender hands placed in her large hip pockets as she watched him work on Ashes’ hoof. He had skilled hands, and it seemed to be going pretty quickly. She wondered idly what his rates were. Nero would need a trim within the next two weeks along with a fresh set of aluminum shoes. ”Or, been here long? I guess I should ask.” she said with a light roll of the eyes. People could live in a new place for years and never lose their accents. What did she know?[/size]

when that day comes
look into my eyes
no one's giving up quite yet
we've got too much to lose

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lyrics property of augustana
comments: how long joo been in countreh?! ah em tired?! yush.[/i][/blockquote][/center]

[strawbk]

{bahahaha, can you tell I know absolutely nothing about being a farrier irl? x3}

"Thanks!" Ben grinned at the girl's enthusiasm, even more impressive considering she'd been up all night. She was cute, she was happy, she was outgoing. The easy way she managed to get along with a complete stranger like himself reminded him of, well, himself. Vaguely, he was aware of her bending over to check out what he was doing, and was more than happy to have her watch. "This stuff's great,"

[/color] he began to explain what he was doing, just because she seemed curious. "It hardens really quickly and is super strong, I just use it to patch cracks usually, but in this guy's case we have to build him an artificial foot, pretty much. He's lost so many chunks from the hoof wall and just has really bad hoof quality, so he'd lose a lot more without the shoes."[/color]

When he was done molding the Equilox to the gentle gelding's hoof, he quickly wrapped it in plastic film to help it set, and allowed the horse to place his hoof back on the floor of the aisle to rest his weight on it as the putty set. Straightening up, he gave the patient horse's shoulder a pat and met Roman's eyes, paying attention as she talked about her drive. San Antonio. He had no idea where that was, but gathered from the way she spoke about it that it was nearby. Or nearer, at least, than Arizona.

"It is a nice setup."[/color] He conceded, admiring the bright, airy barn yet again. That horse of hers would be treated like a prince here, he knew that much. When Roman asked about himself, and why he was here, he offered her a huge grin. Aw, down under. He missed it. "Nahh, only been here a month 'n a bit. You know, the usual story. Figured it'd be good to do a bit of livin' elsewhere for a change, see some new things."[/color] Yeah, that sugar-coated version of the truth sounded much better than letting this lovely young lady in on the fact that he may have made some bad life choices and that now there was maybe a gang or two that didn't fancy seeing his face again. Hey, he had a foreign gentlemanly image to keep up.

Ben rested his arm across Ashes' withers, taking in Roman's appearance again. She looked a little tired and rumpled, true, but the bright eagerness in her eyes was refreshing, and she seemed ready for anything. He coverall shorts were childish, true, but with her figure, she could have pulled anything off. Besides, they seemed to match her personality: they just sort of announced that she didn't mind what anybody thought of her, that she was going to have a good time regardless. Spunky. He liked it. "So you got a job and a house all set up here already, or were you planning on winging it?"[/color] He grinned, raising his eyebrows. She seemed like the sort who could take a little joshing, which was always reassuring. Ben hated the feeling of tiptoeing around others lest they get upset over something trivial.

Crouching down again next to the bay's foreleg, he rapped the putty with the handle of his hammer. It sounded sturdy and hardened, so he set to work unwrapping the plastic film. A horseshoe, that'd he'd already shaped the day before, rested in his toolbox, and he grabbed it now, holding the gelding's hoof between his knees and hammering in six nails to hold it in place. Ashes lifted his head with surprise as Ben first began noisily hammering the iron nails into place, but he relaxed quickly and Ben was done in another minute. He let the horse have his hoof back and stroked his neck. "You're a superstar, big guy."[/color] He praised the gelding, sending him into the nearest empty stall and latching the door.

Quickly, he gathered up all of the equipment he'd used into his toolbox, glancing at Roman again. He wasn't in a rush this morning, perhaps she wasn't either. "You wouldn't mind introducing me to that horse of yours, would you?"[/color][/size][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[rivalos]

anywhere you go
anyone you meet
remember that your eyes
can be your enemies



hold me down,
sweet and low little girl,
hold me down,
and i will carry you h o m e

R O M A N

[/I]
[/font][/center]

Ben seemed to catch on to the fact that she was watching him pretty closely and proceeded to explain what he was doing. She gave a small smile as she concentrated on what he was saying, observing quietly as he proceeded to wrap the gelding’s hoof up to let it set. She figured it wouldn’t take too long considering it was made for equines and the species never seemed content to stay still for too terribly long, so when he stood up to give the gelding a pat she figured they wouldn’t be standing chatting for a lengthy amount of time. ”Gotcha.” she murmured, eying him appreciatively for taking the initiative to tell her what he was doing. He agreed that the place was quite a setup and she followed along with his eyes to trace the area surrounding them for a moment. Spacious and open enough for the horses to be comfortable, but secure and solid enough for them to live in close quarters for extended periods of time. The aisle was spotless, the doors closed, and the entire structure remarkably cobweb free. If there was one thing a spider loved it was a barn, and considering she hadn’t seen a fly or spider anywhere since putting Nero away she figured they must have some serious pest control going on.

The consistent exhaustion-induced wavering her brain seemed to be doing was brought back to focus on Ben as his intoxicating foreign accent crossed into her ears again. She turned back to him, listening politely about his coming from Australia. ”Yep, I know what you mean.” she said in agreement, nodding absently as he relaxed against the relaxed horse. She watched him watching her and didn’t mind it in the least. She was really quite comfortable with him thus far, but then again she was comfortable with almost everyone until they gave her reason not to be. She smiled idly at him, her nose scrunching ever so slightly in a way that suggested she’d been doing it that way since she was an infant. They stood quietly and she again didn’t mind in the least and settled to lean on one leg with hands still in her pockets, head turned slightly to the side to size him up, too. Kind of funny, actually, the two of them not even bothering to hide that they were checking one another out. Sizing each other up. He proceeded as if they’d never stopped talking and she fell right back into step with him. She enjoyed this Australian, he was really quite like her it seemed. Laid back, obviously outgoing and friendly, but still he wanted to size her up and keep his distance. Exactly something she would do.

”Oh you bet I do.” she said with a grin, laughing at his ‘winging it’ comment. ”I fully plan on working the corner just outside. Figure the hay barn would be a good spot to camp in between clients.” she said with a nod, turning to point jovially at the signpost marking the entrance to Crossfire Farms. She made her expression more serious as if she were giving it legitimate thought, narrowing her eyes and poking a lip out ever so slightly as if her mind were really working over it. Then, she couldn’t help but laugh at herself and pushed her dark hair from her shoulder after so much movement had brought it to the front. ”Just kidding.” she laughed, doubting he’d taken her seriously in the first place. ”I’ve got a job and a place, yeah.” she said, still liking the fact that he could joke around about it. He’d started unwrapping Ashes’ hoof just before her joking began so she craned about to watch the plastic be unwrapped and the horse’s shoe be nailed securely to the now solid walls of his hoof. ”Nice.” she said, appreciating his work. He tossed the gelding into a stall and she stood waiting, watching him move in silence before he walked back over to her.

She couldn’t help but grin playfully as he requested to meet her horse, ”Sure!” she replied, waving him over as she took the lead towards Nero’s stall. She glanced over her shoulder wryly, figuring to encourage him to follow. Upon reaching the stall door, Nero’s ears pricked forward and he whickered in greeting, taking a few steps towards her and reaching his muzzle out to sniff daintily at her outstretched hand. He was truly a handsome thing to behold; his conformation was remarkably impeccable and color even more uncommon. He is a solid dark champagne Friesian Sport Horse, bred of a Friesian and Saddlebred to form the impeccable movements of a stunning warmblood. ”This is Nero.” she said affectionately, her tired eyes looking brightly up at the man as he neared. She didn’t know if he knew of the legendary Friesian Nero, but that had been this stallion’s namesake. She smiled tiredly, struggling for a moment to keep her focus. She looked away from Ben, her gaze falling affectionately on her stallion once again. A slight pain shot from the middle back of her head and down her neck causing her to reflexively reach up to rub behind her hair, pressing firmly into the nape of her neck and grimacing. As quickly as it had come, it disappeared and the discomfort left her face to refocus on the subject at hand. It was subconscious as she was used to feeling it every blue moon or so, but more when she was overly tired or strained, so she likely would not even realized she’d made a face, much less kept her hand lingering against the back of her neck.[/size]

when that day comes
look into my eyes
no one's giving up quite yet
we've got too much to lose

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lyrics property of augustana
comments: good god it's an essay. my bad! and i'm not a farrier either, so i reckon he sounds plenty pro-ish to me :][/i][/blockquote][/center]

[strawbk]

Roman was funny. Ben laughed openly as she joked around about claiming the corner outside of the barn. Grinning, he wiped his hands on his leather chaps, watching as she made a show of considering the idea seriously. When she complimented his work on the gelding's hoof, he cast another glance at Ashes, feeling a small glow of pride swell within him. It was nice to know his work went appreciated by more people than just the horses. Although, to be fair, not all horses appreciated what he did. In fact, a few really resented it. Those were the kind that made his days long, hard, and tiring.

Quickly though, he'd turned his blue-green eyes back to her, a wrinkle forming in between his eyebrows as he furrowed them with interest. "Yeah? What do you do, outta curiosity?"

[/color] Addison was such a pokey little town, most peoples' occupations were predictable and tame. As a farrier, he knew his line of work wasn't madly interesting to most, but he enjoyed it, and liked knowing he made a difference. Cases like Ashes' were his favourite, when he was able to form a friendship with the horse and their owner.

"Sure!" Roman's eager response got him moving again, and he followed her over to the pale horse's stall, peeking in at the resting animal. Smiling when the friendly stallion made his way over to his mistress, Ben held out his hand for the horse to get acquainted with him, although he probably just smelled of putty and iron nails. "He's a looker for sure. What's that colour called?"[/color] Nero was, well, brown, but not it certainly wasn't a common shade. Ben didn't tend to get caught up with technical terms for things, he was more about function. But like he'd always heard said down under: there was no bad colour for a good horse.

Touching the horse's velvety muzzle with his first two fingers, he ran his eyes over the horse for him. Now, Ben was no expert, but the stallion appeared to be in fantastic condition, his thin summer coat showing off his athletic body and sturdy build. No wonder Roman was so proud of her horse; anybody would be, to own an animal like him. "Hey Nero, had a good roadtrip?"[/color] He said, bending to look into the horse's eyes as though expecting an answer. Smiling, he patted the horse's sleek neck.

"I just bought my first horse the other day."[/color] Ben confided, still not convinced his impulse decision to buy the rough gelding from Mexico had been a good idea. His expression was slightly more serious now, and he cast a sidelong glance at Roman quickly before resting his eyes on the stallion again. "He's meant to get here later this afternoon, but I'm not too sure how that's gonna go."[/color] His horse-to-be hadn't seemed flighty, or aggressive, or troublesome, but then again, Ben didn't even know him yet. All he'd seen in the dusty roundpen on the border town was a one-eyed, fed up horse that wasn't too happy with anything.

Quite suddenly, he was aware of the girl wincing next to him, and he turned his head to catch sight of her pained expression. As she lifted her hand to rub the back of her neck, he furrowed his brow again, this time with concern. "You all right?"[/color][/size][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[rivalos]

anywhere you go
anyone you meet
remember that your eyes
can be your enemies



hold me down,
sweet and low little girl,
hold me down,
and i will carry you h o m e

R O M A N

[/I]
[/font][/center]

Roman wasn’t all that surprised when he asked what her line of work was, and as they walked over to Nero’s stall she answered idly, ”I’m a professional tour guide, lame as it sounds.” she said, not minding whether he wanted to get into it or not. It wasn’t something you heard about often, and it paid her remarkably well for the title she was given. She didn’t really know if there was another term to sum up what she did, but scaling mountains, cave diving, oceanic exploring and jungle crossing were so widely set apart it was really the only title she could give. She enjoyed her job and every moment of it; she could do what she loved wherever she wanted, but she would be at the whim of whoever wanted to do what next. She could get a call tomorrow morning and be on a flight the same afternoon depending on what kind of notice a client might give. The ones who didn’t plan it far in advance were typically the reckless or nasty-tempered ones who didn’t much fancy a one hundred thirty pound pretty tomboy telling them what to do. One had tried to get a little frisky in the confines of a cave, but a well-placed boot to the face was enough to get him under control. There went her mind, wandering again.

She was much more keen to talk about Nero, and Ben’s comments only brought a bigger smile to her lightly freckled face. ”He’s champagne.” she said informatively, ”It’s a genetic happening when the red, or chestnut or sorrel, gene is diluted.” Feeling suddenly like a dork, she shook her head and chuckled. ”It’s like a dirty version of sorrel I guess.” She let her voice trail off as he spoke to the stud who took quite nicely to the calm natured farrier. She smiled (for the zillionth time) at the brown colored stud and about this moment her head pain had come about. She heard his words, but for the moments she was distracted it was almost blurry for her. Pulling her out of her distraction, he asked if she was alright. Her head turned to look at him, a slightly confused expression on her face as she hadn’t really realized she’d reacted visibly to it; was she that used to it? Did it happen that often? ”Um,” she said, her brow furrowing as she thought about it for a moment, ”Yeah, yeah I’m good it’s just a tension headache. I’m sure I just need sleep.” she said, waving her hand to blow it off and continue talking.

His first horse, huh? That was always exciting. He sounded a bit unsure about the whole thing, but that was always understandable when it came down to it. It was always an exciting and terrifying time to go about getting your first horse. ”Well congrats on a first horse, that’s exciting! There’s nothing like taking care of your own rather than anyone else’s. I’m sure he’ll get here alright, the first few days are always a little rocky while they’re settling in. Nero’s just so good about it because he’s used to it. He can get restless if he sits still too long.” she said jokingly. She intended to keep Nero here for awhile. Her savings were so much she could retire now in her early twenties and be set for her lifetime, but that wasn’t something she was interested in. Still, that didn’t mean Nero had to suffer for it. She wanted to sit still for awhile herself. ”When your guy gets in and I’m awake, I’d love to come out and give you a hand if you’d like.” she offered in a friendly manner. She’d never had a friend before, not one she could keep, but she couldn’t really pass up someone who seemed like she would mesh really well with. Through his new horse could be a way to form a solid friendship. If she hadn’t started one already.

She looked at him brightly despite the way her eyelids felt like sand running across her eyes, giving a small smile to let him think about it. ”I’ll leave you my number.” she said idly, looking back to Nero and subconsciously rubbing her neck for another moment before letting her hands drop back to the stall door.[/size]

when that day comes
look into my eyes
no one's giving up quite yet
we've got too much to lose

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lyrics property of augustana
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[strawbk]

"Tour guide? Nahhh, that's not lame at all. You must get to see some pretty fantastic places."

[/color] His eyebrows were raised with curiousity. He'd have loved to hear more about what she did, but as always, the conversation switched to horses, which sat just fine with him. Now, Ben was no genetics whiz, all he knew were the basics that he'd been taught in high school. "Ohhh, all right then."[/color] Kind of like 'blue' in dogs. Although, that was a dilution of black. Benny cast another sideways glance at Roman. So how'd a girl his age wind up with a gorgeous horse, a sweet job, and brains to boot?

She was distracting him again though with that pained look on her face. Quickly, she assured him she was simply tired. She'd have to be goddamn tired to get a headache like that. A brief, niggling sensation of concern tugged at his mind, but she was chatting again, congratulating him on his horse. "Thanks!"[/color] Grinning, he stroked the sport horse's silky neck once more, admiring his glossy coat. "I hope he settles in soon. He just doesn't seem to act like a normal horse."[/color] The gelding was a weird one. One eyed and indifferent to everything, the horse hadn't seemed to care about anyone or anything when Ben had laid eyes on him down in Mexico.

Admiring the young woman for her perky recovery from the headache, he nodded in appreciation, turning to face her and flashing her a smile. "That'd be great, actually. I might need a hand with him."[/color] Not an extra body to help him control the horse, it had seemed like the bay was bombproof and far too lazy to make a run for the hills, but Ben wasn't sure how to approach the problem of a lazy, uncaring, unmotivated horse. He'd convinced himself already that he'd be able to work with the gelding, to get through to him. Ben hadn't even stopped to think that maybe there was nothing to get through to.

When Roman yawned again, he finally took pity on the poor, exhausted girl. Who was he to keep her here, nattering on about her horse? He'd best be waking Jinx up anyway and getting her started on their morning walk together. "Well, I'll let you catch up on your sleep then. It was great meeting you, I'll give you a ring later?"[/color] With a cheerful wave at the young brunette, Ben gathered up his toolbox, flashed a final smile, and headed out of the side door to his truck.

{Fahhh, I know she didn't give him her number yet but LET'S PRETEND because then they can meet up on another thread. =3 Or something.}[/size][/blockquote][/blockquote]