i've lost my sense of right and wrong -- RIVAL

[jeremy]

i apologize even though i know it's lies,

- - - - - - - - - -

Trail riding was not one of his favorite things. Considering the cross country courses were pretty much trails, it was something that he tried to avoid at all cause. Bringing back the memories that he didn't treasure, it was something that brought back the pain. Though over the years it had began to numb, especially lately it was on a slow decline. For some moments at least, there were times were he sat there alone and realized that it never would go away. Something he would cope with an had gotten over a long time ago.

Running his fingers through his hair as he walked in to the barn, a heavy sigh slipped through his lips. He had agreed with Roman after their dinner date to go trail riding to prove to her that Sterling definitely exactly what he had explained the mare to be and was not going to kill her. But what was this? Was she considering it another date? Devin wasn't quite sure himself, and though he was a bit curious, it wasn't one of his biggest concerns. People weren't his thing, but honestly he didn't mind the girl. She was pretty, and she was decent enough to be near that he didn't want to constantly throw a knife at her. Overall, Devin considered that decent.

Deciding what horse to take out on the trail ride wasn't a hard decision needless to say. Dash was always good out there, but was hardly ever ridden. His stallion was a complete asshole usually, let alone outside of the ring- and he wasn't in the mood to deal with him today. That narrowed it down to his little bay mare, as sweet as can be unlike her sire and other siblings. When he walked up to her stall, she nickered at him in greeting like always. Without even giving her a pat he slid on her halter and brought her out to the cross-ties. Shivering and complaining inwardly about the weather, he zipped up his jacket all the way up.

He really hated the cold weather.

Giving the mare a quick brush over, he didn't notice any cuts or anything unusual as always. He wasn't all that surprised that Roman wasn't here yet. He didn't even know what time it was, to be honest. They had agreed to meet at the barn around noon, and Devin was just assuming it was some time around noon. Wrapping the mares legs in a set of navy blue polo wraps, he threw the matching saddle pad over her back with a half pad on top. Sliding a running martingale around her neck, he tossed the saddle up on her back and did up the girth loosely for now. Giving her shoulder a pat, he looked out in to the barn aisle at the sound of feet against the concrete.

There she was.

He raised his brow at her for a moment before returning to tacking up the mare. "For a moment I thought you weren't coming," he said simply. But then again he couldn't get that lucky, and it looks like he definitely was going on a trail ride.

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- - - - - - - - - -

RESERVED FOR-- Rival and Roman <3
WORD COUNT-- 550// complete
NOTES-- OH DEVIN. so silly. sorry this took so long!
CREDITS -- images/text banners etc all copyright to their respectful owners. C:

[/blockquote][/color]

[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 didn't like being late. In fact, she typically prided herself on being early to every job she ever worked in order to prepare properly. It wasn't something people usually expected from a woman with such a laid back personality but, then again, most of them didn't know a damn thing about her past or anything she'd been through. She came across as quite bubbly, extremely friendly, and overpoweringly carefree and compassionate. However, she was very particular about being prepared and having a clear idea of what should go on. This morning, nothing went on quite as she had planned. Typically an early riser, she'd woken up at almost eleven o'clock. She'd never had need for an alarm before, but it seemed her recent bouts of illness and rendered her body's internal clock out-of-sync. The ridiculous amount of traffic she encountered on the way to the barn on top of an eleven thirty train taking about fifteen minutes just to get through an intersection had her quite annoyed.

As soon as she hit the barn's lot, however, and she had the path clear in front of her, she sighed with relief and walked confidently in. Riding boots and breeches already donned along with a black thermal vest and long sleeves, she'd only have to worry about getting the gray tacked and ready to go. As she walked quickly through the barn aisle, she pulled soft curls up into a messy ponytail and smiled brightly at the sight of Devin. Obviously he didn't reciprocate the gesture, but she didn't mind in the least and so continued to grin like a fool, eyes bright with eagerness at the thought of their going out for a ride together. She had half thought he wouldn't agree to head out or even see her again, but was thrilled to find that he was willing. "Oh ye of little faith." she said brightly to him, eyes narrowing just slightly to suggest she might be offended, but as usual her smile betrayed her.

She reached the gray's stall and, murmuring quietly, slipped her halter on and led her out for a quick groom. Considering Roman had had the mare out the day before to get a feel for her, she was quite reasonably clean since spending the night in her stall. Roman placed a schooling saddle on, a simple all purpose she kept as a spare, and strapped the mare up with support boots. One never knew when a jumping opportunity could come about. Finishing up the tack job, she glanced over at Devin breathlessly in the next cross ties; she'd managed it all in about ten minutes and would surely have a laugh if he still hadn't wrapped up with his mare. It was at this time she noticed his mount; a small bay mare she'd not seen before, but the look in her eyes suggested she had a lovely temperament. "Who's this?" she asked, reaching out tentatively to let the mare sniff her fingers and then proceeded to stroke her neck.

She looked at him before he could answer, her own expression softened just a little, "Good to see you by the way, I was worried you weren't going to come." she said sheepishly, hoping to poke a little fun at his mannerisms. She'd practically forced him into going on a date, so she felt it said a lot about him that he was even willing to meet her again. But then, he would have to see her from time to time in the barn anyway so he might as well not make it awkward. He could want to ride with her not because he liked her, but because he was just trying to be polite. That possibility made it all the more enticing for her to try getting to know him.[/size]

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

----------

lyrics property of augustana
comments: no worries at all!! take ya time! been sick as a nutter myself, so no worries![/i][/blockquote][/center]

[jeremy]

i apologize even though i know it's lies,

- - - - - - - - - -

He just shrugged at her comment on him having little faith. Leaning against the wall off the cross ties as she tacked up, he waited for her patiently, not wanting to put the bridle on yet. Faith was something he didn't believe in and never had. There was one moment where he had prayed for some sort of faith in humanity, that there really had been such thing as God- just to save that god damn mare from the pain and misery of death. Part of his wish had been granted that day- the pain and misery had been taken away from her, but death had been the way to do so. A shudder ran down his spine at the thought of it. Shaking his head to himself, he looked over at the little bay mare who watched him with curious brown eyes. She was a pretty little thing, with a good attitude about everything.

Most would love to have a horse like her to cherish and adore. He liked riding her enough, but that part of him that had tried to love and feel compassion had died years ago. There was so much that needed to be repaired but he didn't care enough to try, he didn't know well enough to try and how to learn how to feel all over again. Glancing over at Roman as he approached, his expression remained blank as she patted the mare. Immediately her ears came forward, loving the attention from someone. "Haunted Mirror," he said simply. "Mirro for short. I don't quite understand how she came out to be so sweet. Every one of her siblings and her parents are probably the worst things to deal with. Then there's her, it's odd," he mused. Raising his brow at Roman at her comment that he wasn't going to come.

"Well, I said I did, didn't I?" He said, that was all he really could say. That was one thing he stayed true to his word, if he said that he was going to do something- he did it, no matter how badly he didn't want to go. He wasn't all that keen on the idea of a trail ride, but of course in his slightly less than sober state he had agreed to go out. Or maybe he had even suggested it- he couldn't quite remember that. Either way, trail rides were just not his thing. Sighing to himself, he reached over and grabbed the figure eight bridle off of the hook. Unclipping the cross ties, he slid the reins over her neck and took her halter off. Mirro put her head down quietly, not putting up a fuss at all to be bridled. Standing perfectly quiet and square as Devin clipped up the nose band and throat latch.

Doing up the clip for his helmet, he let the mare stand there without him holding her. He had learned his lesson on always wearing a helmet the day he lost that mare, even though he believed he could stick anything well enough. The bay mare reached her head around and bumped him in the arm almost as if to say, "are we going now?" Glancing over at Roman, he tightened his girth a couple holes. "You ready?"

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- - - - - - - - - -

RESERVED FOR-- Rival and Roman <3
WORD COUNT-- 554// complete
NOTES-- IM ON A ROLL NOW. Feel better m'dear! <33
CREDITS -- images/text banners etc all copyright to their respectful owners. C:

[/blockquote][/color]

[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]

The bay mare responded immediately, ears pricking and eyes bright at the aspect of getting attention. Roman smiled in response, rubbing the mare’s neck happily at the prospect of making a new equine friend. ”She’s lovely.” she said softly more to the mare than to Devin, keeping a hand on her neck and reaching the other up to scratch her cheek simultaneously. A lovely name, though Roman couldn’t see much haunted about the mare. Then again, most horses nowadays were named after bloodlines, and it was likely the mare’s misbehaving sire had the words somewhere in his own name. As she rubbed, Devin responded quite simply and it made an impression on her. So his words were dependable; that was what he was saying subtly without saying it outright. She respected that and only smiled thoughtfully at him, stepping away from his mare with a final pat and back to her own dark gray. She still wasn’t sure if she’d keep the mare’s original name, and had taken to simply calling her Gray (as lacking as it was in creativity) while she pondered it in the meantime. New starts meant new names, but she thought she’d get to know Devin a little more before she decided on it. Maybe find out more about the mare’s past. Paperwork let Roman see the names of her ancestors, but names and accomplishments were two different things.

Devin strapped up his helmet and Roman did the same, but pulled a slender rope halter out of her box to leave attached to the mare’s head and strapped a spare lead tightly to her belt so it wouldn’t flap around. Roman hadn’t had much chance to explore the wooded territory around here and, if she happened across some caves (as unlikely as it was in Texas’s flat landscape) or sinkholes, she’d need something to tie her mare up with. She didn’t bother explaining this to Devin and instead silently placed the mare’s schooling bridle over it comfortably, taking care not to create any unwanted pressure on the mare’s head. Gray was getting used to this as Roman had done it yesterday as well, and paid little mind to it. ”Ready as I’ll ever be.” she said cheerily, taking the mare’s reins and heading out hopefully with Devin and Mirror close in tow.

She stayed silent for the walk over, choosing instead to eye her mare’s gait and expression, intending to pick up on any lameness or discomfort and finding none by the time she stopped near a mounting block to tighten her girth again, not surprised to find that the mare had been blowing her gut out. Gray licked her lips and sighed, and Roman mounted up lightly and moved the mare away so Devin would be able to pull the bay up and get on just as quickly. Roman patted the mare’s neck, adjusting her seat and fiddling with the reins to get into a comfortable position before leading the pair off into the trails. She stayed quiet, closing her eyes and taking in the brisk and clean smell of winter when Gray’s hooves began to crunch on fallen leaves. Her eyes opened and she twisted around in the saddle, looking back to Devin with a grin on her face. ”Well get up here, no need to be shy.” she said with a wry expression before facing forward again. ”Do you have a trail preference? I haven’t been through here before, but I’m happy to go any way you’d like.” she said conversationally, taking in the mostly barren trees and the way they arched over the wide path in front of them. This would be a stunning place in the warmer months, shaded and likely crowded with people aiming for the same thing. She’d wait until they got a little further in to start forcing him to speak; he wasn’t the talky type, so she would be sure he couldn’t get away before she started in on him.[/size]

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

----------

lyrics property of augustana
comments: mehhh didn’t really know what to do this time around, but i wanted to get them out xD hope you don’t mind! xD[/i][/blockquote][/center]

[jeremy]

i apologize even though i know it's lies,

- - - - - - - - - -

Devin simply nodded at her comment about the mare being lovely. Of course she was, bred to perfection without a single flaw in her conformation. The only reason why he had gotten such a good deal on her as a young horse was because they assumed she'd share the rotten personality that almost all of her relatives had. He was just waiting for it to shine through one day and catch him by surprise. Needless to say he wouldn't be happy at all when that happened (or if it ever did). Looking over at her as she slid a rope halter over the horses head, he simply just raised his brow. What was she? A backwoods horsemen? The whole rope halter thing made him think she was some natural horsemanship freak or someone who had intentions of being there for hours and tying up her horse to a tree. Devin had no intentions of being out in the woods and in the trails for a long period of time, and would not feel bad if he decided to turn around at one point because she was beginning to irritate him by wanting to go out longer. "What are you, some natural horsemanship guru? A back country horsemen?" He finally said, breaking the comfortable silence that had fallen over them, for the first time he didn't mind breaking it.

He lead our the bay mare behind the gray, his eyes narrowed at the mare at the memory of his parents. He hated those assholes, and he had no intentions on seeing them in a long time (possibly never again, but he couldn't get that lucky). The grey mare was almost identical to her sister, minus the color and height- but personality was just too a tee. Sighing to himself, he threw the reins over Mirro's head easily and waited for Roman to swing on from the mounting block. Leading her up, she stood without moving a single muscle as he swung on and adjusted his stirrups. Swinging his left leg foreword, he leaned down and tightened his girth up a couple holes. Sitting in the worn leather, he just closed his leg on the mares side, touching her faintly with his spur and moving in motion with the horses familiar long stride. She tried to sneak closer to the gray mare, keeping his reins long and on the buckle he just checked her back a bit so they weren't running up her ass. He couldn't see her liking that. But as Roman twisted around and told him to get up beside her, he didn't smile back, but simply made the mare walk faster to catch up to the pair in front of him. The two horses fell side by side, the gray mare slightly taller than the bay.

"I've only gone a little ways then turned around. I haven't actually gone all that far," he said, accent clear as he spoke. Brown eyes looked up ahead and scanned the trails, trying to figure out which trail would take them where. Right now he wished he knew what the shortest trail would have been. Looking toward the left trail, he decided just to go that way. Little did he know that the trail lead to the facilities cross country course. "Left at the first trail?" He said, gesturing to the trail a good distance away. Patting the mares shoulder lightly as she bravely walked forward, he sat just a bit taller in the saddle and waited for Roman to answer his suggestion.

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- - - - - - - - - -

RESERVED FOR-- Rival and Roman <3
WORD COUNT-- 600// complete
NOTES-- oh devin. xD
CREDITS -- images/text banners etc all copyright to their respectful owners. C:

[/blockquote][/color]

[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 rolled her hazel eyes and chose not to acknowledge Devin for his question about her being a natural horse freak. She simply continued, wondering good naturedly how she could possibly put up with such a whiny man for so long. Even if he didn't open his mouth much, he was painfully sour about nearly everything she could tell thus far. He didn't like the restaurant's service, had a negative attitude about the food, didn't want a mare who was perfectly suitable for most people, and seemed to think that going on a trail was like needle in his alphabet soup. Well, she supposed it was because she actually had to put effort into getting his attention; she didn't have to do that with other men she'd met.

"Well aren't you just a regular adventurer." she said with a smile. He only goes a little ways and turns around? What fun was that? She angled the mare to the left, leaving her reins long so they could relax and kept her mouth shut for a few more minutes before glancing at Devin and debating on what subject to broach. She didn't know much about him still besides having lots of horses, a thing for fast cars and the like, as well as a bitterness for anything that moved. "I put a halter on in case I want to get off." she said with a shrug, idly running a slender hand down the mare's neck. "So where are you from Devin? And what do you do when you aren't avoiding trails or trying to ignore people?" she asked earnestly, running a hand through the dark wavy hair she hadn't bothered to put up. Sure, she ought to wear a helmet, but she wasn't dead yet and that was really all she needed to know.

Around them the greenery was slowly beginning to burst forth with new life, the winter still chilly but spring well on its way. The quiet thud of the horses' hooves and the brisk air only improved on her mood, so while she waited for Devin to get over his potential offense at the question her eyes closed and she leaned into the step of her gray mare, enjoying the sway and the feel of the relaxing walk. There was nothing like a good trail ride to help a person relax. By the way she kept turning her head and her ears kept twitching it was obvious she hadn't been on the trail much with Devin, but Roman had really expected that. She seemed pretty level headed about it all, though, so the brunette wasn't the least bit worried about giving her loose rein and closing her own eyes.[/size]

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

----------

lyrics property of augustana
comments: n/a [/i][/blockquote][/center]

[jeremy]

i apologize even though i know it's lies,

- - - - - - - - - -

He laughed slightly under his breath at her comment about him being an adventurer. There had once been a point there he had spend every single day with his horses out on the trails, conditioning them to try and get them as fit as he could for events. Being worried about them getting ring sour, almost all of his training had been out in the back country of the property and the trails. There had been miles of open acreage at his parents farm, along with trails and many different cross country jumps. But now, trail riding was definitely not on his agenda of things that were important. Glancing over at her as she commented on her halter, he just shrugged his shoulders. To each to their own, apparently- Devin couldn't really see any reason toward why she'd want to get off. Maybe that was just him though.

Roman didn't say anything about the trail, but seemed to agree as the two veered off down to the left. Mirro was happy to be out for once, with her tiny ears pricked right forward on her head. Every stride was much longer than usual, bouncing with enthusiasm. He was ready for her to spin and spook at any moment, although it was more of a characteristic of his stallion, he couldn't see why she wouldn't do the same if it came down to it. Patting her neck to reassure her that she was behaving, he glanced over at Roman at her asking where he was from. He paused for a moment, before staring off ahead in the trail. "I thought the accent would have given it away," he said lightly. "But England until about a year and a half ago. That's when I moved here," Devin explained, his tone lacking some of the usual chill and bitterness.

He felt Mirro tense up and lift her head higher as they continued on, there wasn't anything that he could see to give her a legitimate reason to spook. Shortening his reins and closing his leg, he made her step up underneath herself more. Keeping her mind busy as he bent her left and right using his leg. She calmed back down quite quickly, letting Devin lengthen the reins slightly. He kept a soft feel on the corners of her lips, he glanced over at Roman. "Depends what mood I'm in, I guess. I don't know," he said simply.

"And what about you?" He asked. "Where are you from and what do you like to do? Well, other than go adventuring." Devin knew that much from their dinner date and the trail ride- she was one that liked to be outdoors always doing something. Apparently she was one who liked cross country too, but that was something he wasn't one hundred percent sure on. The trail began to slowly widen and clear on to an open field. A frown spread across his expression at the open course of solid fences that went across it. "You have got to be kidding me," he mumbled to himself, staring at the cross country course for a moment. "Wonderful."

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- - - - - - - - - -

RESERVED FOR-- Rival and Roman <3
WORD COUNT-- 531// complete
NOTES-- LOL watch him have a melt down. nahh. he wouldn't. look at him being all socialz and almost friendly o:
CREDITS -- images/text banners etc all copyright to their respectful owners. C:

[/blockquote][/color]

[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]

Devin pretty comfortably responded to her, even finding it a little humorous that she had to ask. Admittedly she'd been hoping for a little more detail such as where in England and what brought him here, but he was sticking to the vague details it seemed. She couldn't blame him she supposed; after all, they didn't really know one another very well and he had been practically forced into interacting with her in the first place. He had to like it to some extent, though, since he could refuse any time he wanted. She had ridden the mare in her own time and enjoyed her quite a bit, not to mention had her own vet look her over as well as Devin's. There wasn't a damn thing wrong with her; Devin just didn't like her apparently.

He seemed sincere in saying he didn't know what he did other than what she'd seen so far, and she found it a bit disconcerting. Like herself, he evidently didn't have many friends. You would think she would have more, but the way she always moved around made it near impossible to form relationships of any kind. Roman found odd comfort in knowing he was really as antisocial as he seemed; they truly had something in common now aside from the free horse he'd given her. "Well I'll keep that in mind." she said with a small smile before answering his questions. "I'm originally from Texas, San Antonio actually, but have moved around according to jobs most of my life. Adventuring is pretty much the only thing I do." she said, realizing how exciting it might sound but knowing full well it was about as empty as the next profession sometimes. She loved her job and was the best at what she did (hence the ungodly amount of money she possessed) but when it came to people she didn't get very far. "I guess I like to read and stuff like that. Movies. Spend time with my horse. Or horses, rather." she said with a chuckle in regards to the pretty mare she now rode. "Nero and I were living just outside the Grand Canyon for awhile before I decided to move to Addison actually." she said conversationally, nodding as if to encourage him to believe that it was, indeed, the truth.

Looking over at him, though, the look on his face was one she hadn't seen before. Following his gaze, she realized the trail had opened up into an elaborate and fantastic looking cross country course. A grin tugged at the corners of her mouth and her heart jumped in excitement at finding such a thing. She'd known there was one around here but hadn't gone out to find it just yet. The jumps varied quite a bit from smaller ones for training to massive drops and corner brush jumps. There were a few enormous logs here and there with various dips before or after them and the smaller jumps were far less intimidating. She would have to start Grey on those before she took the mare to the more difficult ones; Devin hadn't exactly been the most diligent at exercising the mare. Roman would have to work her up to those degrees of difficulty.

For a moment, her reins gathered subconsciously and her mind whirred at what she could do now, but her thoughts went immediately back to Devin. He didn't like cross country, in fact he seemed to hate it from the look on his face, and their horses hadn't even been warmed up anyway. They'd simply been walking for fifteen or twenty minutes. She breathed a sigh then loosened the mare's reins, glancing at Devin to see if he was hyperventilating or anything. She prodded him with her voice, offering another grin. "Don't worry I won't traumatize you just yet." she said in good nature, "I think this girl needs more training before I get too wild with her. Not to mention we haven't even warmed them up yet. I would be asking for an injury if I took her over anything now." she said, figuring there was no way in hell Devin would let them get warmed up and come back here again. She wondered why he was so against it, but didn't feel their relationship was far enough along to broach the subject. Hoping to soothe his tension, she aimed her horse around the field, keeping to the edges of the course in order to get a good look without giving him a panic attack.[/size]

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

----------

lyrics property of augustana
comments: -pats roman- so thoughtful! sorry for your wait, eh? -.-[/i][/blockquote][/center]

[--MARIAH]

i apologize even though i know it's lies,

- - - - - - - - - -

Staring at the jumps set in front of him, he felt a familiar wear of pain run down his spine. Biting on the inside of his cheek, he glanced over at the grey mare beside him. That hit too close to home, the stunning image of her sister. Sighing to himself he looked away from the mare. The cross country course and everything, he just shook his head. He focused back on the sound of her voice, noticing that he had zoned out and heard it as background noise. Brown eyes looked over at her for a moment, resting on hand on his thigh as the little bay mare walked along. Her comment about traumatizing him was supposed to be a joke, and he knew that. He couldn't bring himself to even comment on it. He didn't want to have to explain that, silently walking on to the open cross country course, the trail continued on the other side.

Looking over his shoulder at her as his comment about the mare needing more training. Laughing lightly under his breath, he shook his head at her. “I wouldn't say training. Perhaps conditioning, but she's pretty much as broke as they come. Half pass, flying changes, any sort of lateral movement you can name I can almost guarantee she can do it.” He was slightly relieved that they had an excuse not to jump them, not that Mirro in any condition would make a good cross country horse. The tiny mare was a spooky jumper at the best of times, and the logs probably would not be something that would make her happy. “She's trained to be a world class eventer, so I would really hope that she wouldn't need more training.”

He smiled at her slightly, raising his brow before continuing on. “She's brave. She jumps everything in front of her. Or at least she should, I can't see her stopping though, not that I've truly ridden her enough to know.” As they walked around the end of the field, he noticed the familiar jump that caused the end of his eventing career. Well, not the exact one, but one built quite similarly. Devin leaned forward and stroked the mares neck as she stepped back at the sight of one on the fences. Closing his leg and making her walk by it, he just shook his head. “This one on the other hand doesn't.”

Slowing her walk down and allowing Roman to walk up beside him once more as they made their way in to the trail. Devin hesitated before asking, “so. You event obviously? How long have you been riding?”

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- - - - - - - - - -

RESERVED FOR-- Rival and Roman <3
WORD COUNT----- // complete
NOTES-- sorry for the wait. i was having compooter problems for awhile ><
CREDITS -- images/text banners etc all copyright to their respectful owners. C:

[/blockquote][/color]

[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]

Devin laughed quietly and Roman smiled in response, watching as his mare became nervous and he pushed her past the jumps before she could get to skippy about it all. His words were reassuring as far as the pretty gray mare went, especially since Roman hadn't really gotten to know her yet. Conditioning, then, was what Gray needed, not so much training. The dark haired woman nodded, her brows raised as she was pretty impressed with the mare's abilities and it only served to raise her expectations. She would go far with this mare. And to think she hadn't wanted another horse, now it was just luck that this mare had been put right under her nose. She listened respectively, interested more in the fact that he knew so much about the mare and sounded almost proud of her abilities, and yet didn't want to keep or ride her for himself. Admittedly he'd said what the mare was capable of really wasn't his cup of tea, so she figured asking him the same question over and over wouldn't get her much further with him than she already was.

"Well that's good to know," she said in response to Gray's training, patting the mare appreciatively as Devin slowed Mirro's walk and they angled more and slipped casually back onto the wooded trail. Moving on with horses rather than what she did outside of them, he asked how long she'd been riding. Happy to find that he was taking more of an interest in initiating conversation and finding out about her, she smiled thoughtfully and pondered it. She could remember all that, back when she'd first started when her parents had been around. She'd started at fourteen, almost fifteen, shortly before she'd gotten lost caving and through the woods, the very bittersweet event that would gain her national recognition for her resourcefulness and bold nature. They'd named the circuit after her, something she'd earned, but it had been hard to take explorers back through it again. Shaking her head slightly to refocus on the present, she turned to look at him and answer his question.

"Well I started when I was almost fifteen, my mom got me into lessons and it was all downhill from there." she said with a laugh, her hand raised in a shrug before falling back to her thigh and leaving only one hand on the reins. Gray seemed pretty comfortable and content with the way they were going, so it only served to make Roman more relaxed than she already was. "I used to swim and hike and all that fun stuff, but horses were like a whole other world for me. All the mountains I couldn't climb and obstacles I couldn't clear they opened up for me. Not to mention the wonders it did for my mind." she said with a joking laugh, thinking more along the lines of being at peace. Horses were there for her when she needed them most. "If you can't tell I've evidently got a ton of energy, and being with horses seems to keep me calm. Level-headed. You know?" she asked him only somewhat rhetorically, wondering how he'd feel about her being as honest with him and whether or not he'd let himself feel as unprotected by admitting the same or something like it.

Aiming to keep conversation flowing while not making it awkward for him, she let the silence settle for just a moment before continuing. "Anyway, I've been riding for awhile. I got Nero when he was just a yearling - a present from my uneducated father," she said with a sincere laugh, thinking about it. Roman's riding instructor had almost had a heart attack upon finding that her young inexperienced student was the new owner of a Friesian Sport Horse stallion; it had taken a lot of time and quick reactions to manage the colt and also keep herself on her toes, but they'd gotten it. "And the two of us have been together ever since. It's been a long road for Nero and me, but we're here. And that's really all that matters." she said with a small smile, sincerity the only thing in her tone. She eyed Devin curiously, wondering what he'd make of this sappy unprofessional talk. Given their remote location at the moment, though, she figured he wouldn't mind much. She hoped he wouldn't. She liked being around him whether the interactions were forced or not.[/size]

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

[/i]

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lyrics property of augustana
comments: -hums miranda lambert- [/font][/blockquote][/center]

[jeremy]

i apologize even though i know it's lies,

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Devin silently wondered to himself what it would have been like if his parents had never had their breeding farm, throwing him on a horse since before he could walk without any real instruction. Pretty much leaving him to figure everything else out on his own until they realized that there was potential there, something that made them extremely happy. Before he knew it the lessons started, and he couldn't remember a time where he hadn't been riding. If he hadn't been forced in to it, he doubted that he would actually have gotten in to the sport at all. Even just if his parents had never pushed so hard, maybe, just maybe things would be different. Another sigh slipped through his lips, glancing over at her as she continued on about horses keeping her calm and level headed. He wouldn't quite know what it was like to feel that way, it was something that he had known for so long and had been in his life that it didn't have that effect. Maybe, just maybe if it had been something that hadn't been so forced upon him, he would have felt the same way at one point.

Maybe, it was unlikely, but it was still a possibility.

“Nero?”

[/b] He said, glancing over at her. It took him a moment to connect, “that's your other horse.. right?” He couldn't quite remember if it was or not, from the conversations they had had he knew the name has come up at least once. As she continued on, he just nodded and listened on. Nero was most definitely her other horse. A small pang of jealous wrapped around him for a moment at the comment of a long road- she meant it in a good way, he knew that. But she didn't know how lucky she was having all that time with him, not losing him to a foolish mistake. “The long roads are always the ones that end up being the best in the end,” he finally said, steering Mirro off back in to the trails. The little bay mare walked along contently, ears pricked forward on a lighter contact now. Turning around to look over at Roman, he raised his brow and continued on. “Embrace it. You never know when you'll lose him. One day shit can happen and before you know it, they're gone.”

It wasn't the nicest way to put it, but it was the only way he knew how too.

Changing the topic back to what they had been talking about earlier, he glanced over at her once more. “Was your mom in to horses at all? Since she got you in to lessons... like, did she have her own? Evidently your dad wasn't, from what you've told me.” The feeling of unease slowly slipped away from him, talking came a bit easier. There was still a part of him that didn't quite let go, but the other, and apparently stronger part of him allowed the conversation to continue on.
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RESERVED FOR-- Rival and Roman <3
WORD COUNT-- ---// complete
NOTES-- omg im so sorry this took so long and is so shitty
CREDITS -- images/text banners etc all copyright to their respectful owners. C:

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[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

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Devin interjected a question, confusion on his face for only a moment before he realized and asked. Perhaps she should have clarified before rambling off about him being her companion in life. She nodded as he asked, a quiet ‘mhm’ being emitted to confirm that Nero was in fact her other horse. By the slight bewilderment in his expression, though, she could see that he, in fact, didn’t quite know what she was talking about in terms of that kind of partnership. Perhaps he was the kind who was in it for business and less for pleasure. She couldn’t imagine it being that way herself; upbringing had a lot to do with it, though. She chattered on and he listened, quite nicely she thought, and surprisingly interested in what she had to say.

When she spoke of the long road, though, a mild touch of bitterness entered his tone. She looked closely at him for once, taking in the way he looked quite pointedly at her as if to ensure his point was coming across. A touch of concern entered her mind and she wondered what he must have had happen in his life. Would that be why he seemed so cold and why he didn’t seem to want to make human contact? She wondered about it, but looked away from his piercing gaze under the pressure of it. He was preaching to the choir on that account, and it was something that didn’t go away in her life. She knew full well what it was to experience such loss. She remembered the day well as a teenager. She’d been in California when it happened, at a national swim meet in fact. She was on the road to the Olympics when she got the call. The organization footed the bill, the airlines happy to ship her home on the next flight in. There was nothing that could replace losing them, and nothing that could describe her feelings. She mostly remembered being numb after a few hours, and hardly remembered the funeral and media coverage as well as the barrage of donations, scholarships, and flowers that coated their home for months.

She looked at her hands, then at the trees around them. She ought to have better control now after so many years. She was glad when he changed the subject back to horses and her parents’ relevance to them; she smiled softly at him, glad to talk about them. ”My mom loved horses.” she said with a bigger reminiscent grin. ”She could have been at the Olympic level if she’d wanted, but she liked the trails and the connection too much. Plus I turned up.” she laughed, thinking about her mother fondly. ”My dad,” she laughed, eyes sparkling with humor as she cast her gaze to Devin, ”He was always just along for the ride. He and my mother had the worst case of puppy love for as long as I can remember and it never diminished. He adored my mother and when he saw I had her passion he wanted to get something that would mean a lot to both of us. My mom about had a heart attack along with my trainer, but she knew he didn’t mean harm. Besides, she could tell Nero was a keeper; she helped me get him to a point where I could handle him myself, but he was already pretty well trained for a youngster anyway.” she said happily, glad for once she’d mastered the ability to keep the sorrow and the tears from her voice and eyes when she talked about them.

She wasn’t sure if he’d catch on to the past tense in which she spoke, but she didn’t want to make the outing a solemn one; not to mention she didn’t want to make it awkward for him. She didn’t need to be told to appreciate what she had; far from it, she’d had it ripped away all at once and had no want for it to happen again. But, just because she didn’t want something to happen didn’t mean it wouldn’t.

”Tell me about your parents then.” she said eagerly, wondering how his own had been. Perhaps they’d led him into the horse world like her own mother had; maybe they were dead, too. Not a nice thing to think, but having lost hers she couldn’t help the morbid curiosity that came naturally now.[/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: no worries man!! [/i][/blockquote][/center]