;; you be KILLIN' EM ;; OPEN

[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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The dark haired woman powered around the arena astride her new mare, a steel gray Warmblood she'd acquired by chance from an intriguing man she couldn't quite seem to get out of her head. The mare had been free, but was proving to be worth far more than nothing to Roman's standards. She was extremely light in her hands with a powerhouse of muscle beneath a massive yet elegant frame that made her perfect for the courses Roman found so exciting. The mare was far different from Nero, her Sport Horse stallion, and Roman was enjoying discovering the mare for herself. She was wildly underworked making her somewhat excitable yet far from dangerous. She simply had spunk and needed to be reminded about collection and the fact that they were simply sticking to ground work today. Roman wanted to get a few flat lessons in before she moved to the jumping; she didn't want to strain the mare when she hadn't been doing a damn thing for so long.

At the moment the freckle faced woman was wearing a thick and waterproof black vest, bright pink long sleeved undershirt, her full seat tan breeches and riding boots that kept her feet hardly warm enough. The gray mare was collected beautifully beneath her, neck naturally carried at a rounded position after having evidently done it for so long before and legs lifting elegantly out of the sand to drive her forward with ease. The two of them cantered boldly around the area, Roman's face pink with the cold and excitement at working her horse while the mare's nostrils flared with steam like a train's engine before being eased into a working trot. Roman sat it easily, still grinning as the mare let out a big but single buck at the slowing of pace and eagerness at being worked. Roman laughed, riding it effortlessly and even giving the mare her head so she could stretch out and ease into a long walk.

They slowed, the two of them, and Roman's gloved right hand was reached forward to rub the mare affectionately; in response the mare tipped an ear in and ducked her head towards the inner ring in effort of pushing into the touch. Roman sat up and looked around, taking in the sight of people walking their horses, working them like herself with relative ease (a buck or head toss here and there because of the weather) along with the horses turned out nearby who either nibbled hay with little interest in horses outside, or watched closely as every new horse passed by their gate. Roman sighed; she hadn't talked with Ben lately and found herself missing the company of untouchable Devin, and so had had no one to talk with lately. Maybe someone would come around before she got too melancholy and decided to hack her still unnamed mare out alone.[/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: OPENAH![/i][/blockquote][/center]

[brantley]

well i'm starting to fall in love
• A N D I T ' S G E T T I N G T O O M U C H •
BANNER BANNER BANNER BANNER BANNER
• it's not often that i slip up •
and it's just my luck !

Sitting astride a buckskin Quarter Horse, a messy haired man whistled softly a tune as he made his way towards the outdoor arena. The weather was a little cold as he twirled the rope he held in one hand. His other was placed on the horn of his roping saddle. His spurs made the all too familiar clanging noise as his horse trotted forward at a brisk pace. With this hand holding the rope, he reached up to his head and positioned his black cowboy hat securely in its place. He intended to get some serious work done today. He hadn't had a chance to rope since he'd arrived at Crossfire Farms, and his horse hadn't been ridden either. The two and a half year old colt was definitely ready to go. Brantley could tell he was going to be a handful today. He didn't blame him though, it was his fault that the horse hadn't got out. He dropped the reigns momentarily and patted his horse's neck. Technically still in training, Shooter wasn't the most well behaved horse yet. He was a smooth mover, but he still had a long way to go. Brantley had just recently got him to slow up with slack in the reigns. The colt would drop his head for him and gather himself up much like a western pleasure horse. Granted, he had his moments of bad tendencies, but that was to be expected. After all, he'd only been riding him for a few months now.

Twelve Guage, or Shooter, was a 15.2 hh buckskin Quarter Horse that Brantley's grandparents had given him as a going away present. Although Brantley had been there at Shooter's birth and practically raised him, he hadn't been expecting his grandparents to send the horse with him when he moved. He was pleasantly suprised at their generosity and willingly accepted the gift. The pair had come a long way, but there was always room for improvement. On this particular day, Brantley intended on swinging the rope from his back a little bit to get him used to it. After all, Brantley was an expert at roping and Shooter would eventually be his roping horse. The colt couldn't be afraid of a little loop. The young male opened the arena gate and entered cautiously, careful not to scare any other horses already occupying the ring. He noticed a few riders- a girl on a palomino, an older guy on a Thoroughbred, and lastly a young woman on a gray Warmblood. The horse was beautiful, and Brantley couldn't help but watch the pair for a brief moment. He was jolted back to reality when Shooter began to paw the ground anxiously. "Easy, bud." He loosed his grip on the reigns and asked the colt for a trot. Shooter shot forward, jolting Brantley's body backwards. He quickly regained his seat and posted to the rough trot of the stocky Quarter Horse. He made a few laps around the arena and asked for a lope.

The young colt bounded forward, keeping a pretty rythmic pace. His hooves churned up the thick arena dirt as he strode forward, eating up a suprising amount of ground for his short legs. Brantley lowered his hand towards his neck and urged him onward with his leg cues. The buckskin's newly developed muscles were evident as they rode around the arena. Brantley was extra careful not to disturb any of the other riders as they circled around. He slid his horse to a stop in the center of the arena and dismounted before they were completed halted, much like one would do when shootdogging. He patted the colt's neck affectionately and uncoiled his rope. Brantley fixed the rope and slowly approached the young, unpredictable horse. He reached the rope out towards Shooter's legs and watched as the colt eyed him warily, letting out a snort. "Easy, bud. This rope ain't gonna hurt you." He used his free hand to rub his neck as he worked the rope all over his body.

Brantley was pleasantly suprised at the reaction he was getting out of his horse. Shooter had yet to freak out which was definitely a good thing, considering he usually went crazy over the slightest thing. The young horse was a firecracker on the ground. When on his back, he was almost an angel with the occasional slip up. As soon as Brantley got off, however, things changed. The dirty blonde wiped a drop of sweat off his chiseled face before beginning to swing his rope slowly above his head. He cursed under his breath when the colt decided that was too much. He did a half rear and turned on his haunches before Brantley could grab the reigns that were looped over his head. Shooter took off accross the arena as Brantley quickly shouted to the other riders, "LOOSE HORSE." He ran after the colt angrily and breathed a sigh of relief when Shooter stopped in his tracks at the rail.

tag ! rival + roman ! word count ! 840 ! outfit ! click ! credit ! justlikefalling @ caution 2.0 ! lyrics ! just my luck , MCFLY ! notes ! ramblyyy, but i had muse for him xD careful, he can be a douche !

[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]

Gray stretched her neck down low, licking her lips happily despite the full cheek training snaffle in her mouth and taking more interest in her surroundings than Roman was; in fact, the mare caught sight of the buckskin colt and its rider long before Roman had. She watched the buckskin lope quite happily around like she herself liked to do, a little bothered by the rope the cowboy whizzed a little here and there, but level headed enough to know there was little danger from the pair. Roman didn't notice them, though, until the young horse powered past with plenty of space to be considered safe, so watched as the rider slowly eased him into a more collected frame. She'd always respected Western riders for what they could get their horses to do with so little tack while English ones seemed to need double bridles and a jacked up headset. Granted, English riders could get their horses that way, but Westerners always seemed so much more relaxed in her opinion. Happier horses. That was all which was written across the colt's face anyway.

Roman decided to linger, letting Gray stretch her legs and enjoy a good walk so that she could watch the colt's training. It was obvious that he was working to be a roping horse (if the ropes didn't give that away the dark haired woman didn't know what would), so she watched with interest. The young horse seemed to be doing quite well (even though she didn't know a damn thing about roping), so when he hit the dirt to swing the rope slowly about the colt she wasn't surprised to see it look somewhat unsure but calm with it. Roman at that moment had quite a wave of dizziness and ended up with both hands braced against Gray's neck, closing her eyes and shaking her head and ending up giving Gray complete control. As one could predict, the mare immediately swung off the rail and angled inward towards the pair.

With her eyes closed and balance quite unstable, you can imagine her surprise to hear a bellow of LOOSE HORSE! and her mare spooking to the side as the youngster took off for the fence. Roman's eyes shot open despite her unsteadiness and angled Gray around to face the galloping colt. Gray watched with surprise before Roman prodded her into a jog after the youngster, a hand still attached to Gray's mane given that she seemed to be seeing double. As they neared the colt, though, he seemed to settle and came to a halt at the fence line and Roman's vision went back to normal, the wave of dizziness leaving as quickly as it had come. She hadn't taken enough medicine for that cold she supposed. Gray whickered quite happily to the buckskin and distracted him while Roman lifted the reins from over his head and angled both horses towards the owner. Less experienced riders stood terrified in every corner, making Roman's eyes roll as she led the colt back to its owner.

"He's damn handsome, isn't he? I always did love a man who could strike emotion into the hearts of millions." she said as she approached, handing the reins down to the man and grinning at her dramatic joke. It was true, the colt was stunning and had caught everyone's attention, but she could imagine the man's embarrassment. His horse could have done serious damage to himself and others in the arena; so she thought she'd lighten it up. "I think he did pretty good for a youngster." she said supportively, ignoring the looks other riders gave them as they continued around. She stretched a slender hand down to him, an ever-present smile across her lips as she did so. "Roman Harris. This is Unnamed, but I call her Gray until I figure her out." she said, hoping to lighten the moment rather than make it worse.[/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: oh throw it at her, she's the queen of douchebags!! as in, she makes their hearts melt she's too happy to be bothered xD she likes douchebaggery! they're a challenge :][/i][/blockquote][/center]

[brantley]

well i'm starting to fall in love
• A N D I T ' S G E T T I N G T O O M U C H •

• it's not often that i slip up •
and it's just my luck !

A sigh of relief escaped from Brantley's lips as the girl on the Warmblood grabbed his horse's reigns and brought him over. He nodded in her direction as a thank you and held the leather reign in his hand tightly. He eyed Shooter, checking for any visible signs of injury. Thankfully, the horse had enough sense to stop at the fence and not try to go over it, or worse, through it. He definitely wasn't a stupid horse, that was for sure. Sometimes he thought he was a little too smart for his own good. Brantley heard the girl's words but didn't reply right away. He was too lost in thought about what could have happened if Shooter hadn't stopped so quickly. He looked around and noticed that the other riders in the arena had retreated to the very far end away from them. As a matter of fact, they were starting to leave which shocked him. One loose horse and they're bolting? Were they really that inexperienced? He rubbed Shooter's legs down thoroughly and concluded that the colt was fine. Only then did he direct his attention to the girl who had brought him his horse. "Thanks." It wasn't exactly the most grateful response, but she really didn't do much. He could have just as easily got him.

Brantley studied his horse after her words about him being handsome. At first, he assumed she was talking about him, but eventually he realized she was referring to his horse. Typical Brantley to assume the attention was on him. He nodded casually and spoke fluidly, "Yeah, he's a good boy. Still in training, obviously. The loop spooked him a little." His words were emotionless and dry as he turned back around to face Shooter. He was not the most friendly person, and even he knew it. Brantley found it extremely difficult to be nice to someone he didn't know. He eyed her hand as she extended it to him in a greeting. "Roman Harris. This is Unnamed, but I call her Gray until I figure her out." He ignored her hand and mounted Shooter in one swift movement. Once settled, he spoke, "Brantley Samuels. This is Twelve Guage, or Shooter." He knew he seemed like a total jerk at the moment, but when did he not? After the brief introduction, he rode the colt towards the roping dummy that was placed a few feet away from them.

Shooter was perfectly fine with the dummies. Brantley had stuck a few in his pasture with him when he was younger, so he was accustomed to the steer shaped objects. The colt was a little jump after his escapade, but Brantley intended on throwing the rope from his back. It was do or die. Brantley definitely knew how to stay on a bucking horse, so he wasn't too worried about it. He readied his rope and rubbed it on Shooter's neck, raising it over the horse's head to get him used to having it there. After about five minutes of this, he began to slowly swing it over his head. The colt's ears pricked as it swooshed by his head. His feet danced beneath him as Brantley began to swing it a little faster. The cowboy threw his loop at the dummy and hooked both horns with great ease. Shooter shot backwards with the sudden bang and let out a cow kick behind him. Brantley dropped the rope and turned a tight circle with the horse. He collected him up and Shooter settled within minutes.

tag ! rival + roman ! word count ! 840 ! outfit ! click ! credit ! justlikefalling @ caution 2.0 ! lyrics ! just my luck , MCFLY ! notes ! ramblyyy, but i had muse for him xD careful, he can be a douche !

[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 guy was rightfully distracted, obviously caught off guard by the sight of people leaving the arena. She watched them incredulously herself, amazed as well at their trepidation over being the arena with the youngster. It wasn't like he was crazed, obviously he was just excited and inexperienced. Having fun. The man had to catch up on what she was saying, evidently, and responded rather coolly in regards to the compliments about his horse. What, had he thought they were about him? Well, she hadn't actually said they weren't, simply implied it. No matter! With an extended hand she waited, but was mildly surprised when he turned away and ignored her gesture completely. She scoffed, letting her hand drop and instead rubbing Gray who didn't even pick up on the man's rudeness.

"Shooter, huh?" she said with a chuckle, patting her horse as if to share a joke about it. He was out of earshot, though, and already swinging his horse around as if nothing had happened. She would have thought that Brantley would have gone back to the issue that had given him problems in the first place, but to each his own she supposed. She pivoted to watch, Gray following suit and standing quite comfortably with one hind leg cocked to observe as well. When he whizzed the rope in the air Gray promptly tossed her head, snorting a bit and pricking her ears to try and figure out what the point of it was. Roman patted her, letting the mare take a few steps back to stay comfortable while grinning at the expression on the colt's face. Obviously work wasn't something he was aiming to take seriously today. She chuckled, leaning forward to cross her arms across Gray's neck and wondering what kind of look Devin would be giving Brantley at the moment. The thought made her grin even wider, but Roman was no stranger to on-edge men. A lot of them had good hearts, they just weren't used to someone making them show it.

Shooter soon jumped back, letting out a good buck to let his owner know just how interested he was in roping a fake cow. Roman grinned again, withholding her laughter at Brantley's consternation. The colt was quite excited, but Brantley seemed to have him under control just fine as he reined the colt in and twirled him about to refocus him. "Want to take a walk around with us?" she called when the colt was calm, "Seems like he ought to calm his jets since his latest adventure." she said with a shrug and an inviting expression. "We can stay in the arena if you'd like, wouldn't want to spook the schoolies, eh?" she said with a sincere laugh, her eyes glancing to the smaller arenas the other riders seemed to have vacated to. Running a hand through her wavy hair she pressed the curls out of her face and watched him expectantly, picking up Gray's slack and turning her in a wide circle. "Besides, I think Gray likes him." she said, gesturing to the rapt attention the warmblood mare seemed to be having trained on the two year old. She wasn't in heat Roman knew, but any horse kept cooped up and away from others is always bound to be overly curious when it came to other horses.[/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: classic! :][/i][/blockquote][/center]

[brantley]

well i'm starting to fall in love
• A N D I T ' S G E T T I N G T O O M U C H •

• it's not often that i slip up •
and it's just my luck !

Brantely could tell that the woman was watching him and Shooter as they worked. Usually he was all about the attention, but he was in a foul mood today. It might have been the fact that his horse was being a little trouble maker, but he wasn't sure. His usual unpleasant attitude was even worse that normal. He pitied the girl for choosing this day to interact with him, but he figured if she didn't want to deal with it then she could just as easily leave. After Shooter had settled from his little bucking episode, Brantley watched as the girl laughed at them and called out, asking if they wanted to walk around with her and her gray horse. "Looks like he ought to calm his jets since his latest adventure. We can stay in the arena if you'd like, wouldn't want to spook the schoolies, eh?"

[/b] This actually got a little laugh out of him as he bounced his legs softly on Shooter's sides, picking him up slightly. The colt succumbed to the pressure and dropped his head, finally decided to calm down for his owner. Brantley smiled lightly and scratched the horse's neck. He glanced up and noticed that the other riders had vacated the arena that him and the girl now occupied all by themselves. He patted Shooter's neck and said, "Well, Bud, it looks like we scared 'em off." He glanced back up at Roman and nodded his head curtly. "Might as well. He deserves a break now." It wasn't exactly the nicest reply, but it was a start. At least now he was acknowledging her presence.

Brantely put some slack in his extra long split leather reigns and kicked his feet out of the stirrups. He always did this when he was cooling his horses down. It was his way of letting them know that they were done working and that they could relax. Shooter dropped his head and flicked his tail back and forth lazily. His eyes drooped as Brantley pressed his legs against him and directed him towards the other horse and rider. The colt's ears pricked when they came closer and he raised his head slightly. He eyed the mare cautiously, and when he decided that she was okay, he nickered soflty. "Well I guess Shooter likes her, too." He offered a slight smile and dropped his reigns altogether as they began walking. Shooter was excellent with only leg pressure, so Brantley rarely even used his hands. He placed them inside his warm pockets and turned slightly in the saddle to face Roman. "So, Roman, I wasn't the friendliest back there..I was frustrated, but let's start over." He grinned and stuck out his hand as they walked along. "Well, hello there, ma'am. I'm Brantley. It's very nice to meet you."

Now that he had his horse under control, he figured he could at least try and get out of this horrible mood by turning on the charm. Roman seemed like the kind of girl who could stop a tool from a mile away, so he was curious to see how she would react to him. It would definitely be interesting. Usually women practically worshipped Brantley, but she seemed different.

tag ! rival + roman ! word count ! 840 ! outfit ! click ! credit ! justlikefalling @ caution 2.0 ! lyrics ! just my luck , MCFLY ! notes ! ramblyyy, but i had muse for him xD careful, he can be a douche !

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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

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

It was quite fortunate for Brantley that Roman wasn't an easily offended person else she more than likely would have huffed off like the other riders. Quite the contrary, she enjoyed the less reachable men for the entertainment and good conversation they tended to lend. Or rather, lack thereof at times when she didn't want to talk. She watched his expression closely, an eager smirk on her face as he obviously couldn't help but chuckle at her remark, a polite remark indeed considering how rude he'd acted before. She smiled triumphantly when he kicked out his boots, relaxing and immediately having the same effect on the young stallion. The colt's head lowered and expression softened, glad for the time he could take to unwind.

His response was somewhat curt when he finally acknolwedged out loud the willingness to rest, but Roman didn't blame him really. He had to save face after all, every man had to think the woman wasn't always right in order to keep their pride intact. The pretty brunette could appreciate that and enjoyed seeing it play out every time. The young horse was surprisingly responsive with only leg pressure, something that took years for some Dressage trainers to obtain but minutes for some Western riders to do. It just took the right touch she thought, or the right training. Perhaps a happy mix of both. The stallion touched noses with her mare and she grinned, laughing at the whuffling and nickering noises Gray made as he did so. A flirt, apparently, was what she had taken in. "All works out then I suppose." she murmured with amusement at the antics of both horses.

Slightly more surprising was the attitude Brantley took on. He was warmer now that she'd withstood his initial icyness, so with her head tipped just slightly to the side she grinned at him, then reached quite happily for his extended hand. "Well it's fantastic to meet you as well good sir, no offense taken. Frustration comes with training youngsters I think, it's required in fact. If we didn't have problems we'd never learn from them, right?" she said with another laugh, releasing the dark colored mare's reins at length, but keeping them latched in one hand that rested upon her neck. She liked the mare, but was still getting to know her and wasn't sure what lengths at which she could trust the warmblood just yet.

The two of them angled easily towards the rail, both horses having relaxed considerably with far less distractions in the arena and so little being demanded of them. Instead, Gray could concentrate on how she could possibly manage to keep the 'no work' exercise going, the colt could concentrate on whatever it was colts concentrate on. Roman sighed happily, taking in the scenery with a much brighter outlook. She'd been caught up thinking about Devin and what to do with herself and instead ended up making an acquaintance. She hadn't made a friend since Ben, and she hadn't even see him in ages. "So, Brantley, how long you been here in Addison? I can tell you haven't made many friends around here just yet." she said in good humor, turning her lightly freckled face to grin at him to show that she was just kidding around. "Besides me of course." she said with a shrug, attempting to convey mock modesty about it before giggling again. That was the thing with Roman; there was always something to smile about in her world, especially since she'd come up from so much worse. From the weeks she spent nearly dying in the wilderness to actually losing her parents to tragedy, there was always worse in the world and things could always get better.[/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: woulda had this up yesterday but i ended up SICK AS A DOG!!! -slaps fever in the face-[/i][/blockquote][/center]