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Post by Xarae on Feb 24, 2008 0:56:45 GMT
Summer lingered by the paddock, watching Rolo and Enfilade duke it out. There were daily fights as Cosmo would be going into heat soon, and Rolo liked to think he had a chance. The girl rolled her eyes, leaning against the railing by the mare, who took in the males with the same dull, bored eyes as her owner. In a way, the young woman and her horse were quite alike, though both too stubborn to see it and agree with each other.
She sighed and slid her hand through the wind wooden slats, running her hand down the mare's back. Cosmo flicked her ears boredly, and Summer smiled. At least the mare wasn't nipping at her anymore, that was certainly progress. The noon sun was high in the sky, and she felt like giving the horses a break today. Cosmo would be too high strung to ride and Rolo and Enfilade were both engrossed in themselves. It was better to watch than try to wrangle them inside to tack up.
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Post by Tiggs on Feb 24, 2008 1:09:05 GMT
It took a good portion of the day to ride to Cascade Hut, so it was past midday by the time Jason and Marie made it to the wooden building. He saw the girl from last night watching a pair of stallions playing at fighting. He walked Marie up to a post near the front of the hut and tied her reins up, giving her enough slack that she could reach the nearby trough.
Putting his hands in his pockets, he went round the side of the building. He winked at the girl and crossed his arms over the fence, resting his elbows on the wood. "G'day Sheila. These the blokes? Which one's the daddy-to-be?" It was quite commendable that the pair weren't trying to kill each other. Stallions usually tended to be quite vicious at this time of the year especially when there was a mare around.
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Post by Xarae on Feb 24, 2008 1:19:15 GMT
Summer rolled her eyes. "Yes'm. Enfilade," Here she gestured at the larger bay, "Already showed Rolo," Here she paused again to gesture at the black and white paint, "What for, but s'not like it's gonna do much. Enfilade's already got it all tied up - Rolo here is a gelding," She said easily, not quite surprise that he was showing up again. Rolo whinnied loudly and kicked out at Enfilade, who neatly dodged and placed a well aimed nip at the younger male's shoulder.
"I'm gonna have to move Rolo soon. Enfilade and Cosmo here need some time alone, y'know?" Summer winked in an over pronounced manner at Jason, hopping off the wood slat. "Anyhow, what's yer name, mate?"
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Post by Tiggs on Feb 24, 2008 1:36:08 GMT
Jason pulled a face at the mention of the younger male being a gelding. "Poor guy." He eyed up the bay, nodding appreciatively. "Pity Marie's getting on, he'd make some good foals out of her." He turned away from the horses, resting his back on the fence. "Why did you castrate the young'en? He's a beaut." He glanced over his shoulder at the roan, holding back a wistful sigh. It was almost enough to make him wish he was a spoilt princess. Almost.
"Jason." He answered her question, crossing his arms over his chest. He raised his scar-marked eyebrow, looking her up and down. "Aren't you a little young to be up here? Where's daddy and his credit card?"
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Post by Xarae on Feb 24, 2008 1:51:54 GMT
"Didn't choose to geld the poor babe, he bought him after the fact. 'Parently he was too troppo as a stallion." Summer yawned lazily, glaring at Jason from beneath her lashes. "Awright, Jazzo. If you're so worried about a lil Sheila like myself, mayhap you'd like to wrangle Enfilade away from Rolo so I can snag him?" She raised an eyebrow in question. Summer wasn't remotely rich in the least. She was on scholarship at college and, as far as she knew, her parents were still paying off the shipping costs of Enfilade, Rolo, and Cosmo.
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Post by Tiggs on Feb 24, 2008 2:05:06 GMT
"Hmmf." Jason huffed, looking a little smug. "Alright." He walked past her, smirking a little. He took a coil of rope from Marie's saddle and returned, stepping up to the fence. Making sure the fence wouldn't get in the way of his swing, he set up the lasso and began to twirl it. With a quick judge of distance, he neatly swung the loop over the painted gelding's head and tightened the rope around the upper part of his neck. Being a tame horse, he pulled gently assuming he'd pay attention to the command and respond by moving into the tension.
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Post by Xarae on Feb 24, 2008 2:08:38 GMT
The fence wasn't very high - four feet at the most. Summer was constantly telling the other men and women at Cascade that they needed to make it higher, but they ignored her. So when Jason tugged on the rope, she wasn't surprise at Rolo's reaction. Usually she could channel his high strung energy level into a master pole bender, but he'd rubbed him the wrong way. Rolo squealed loudly, kicking up his heels and stampeding at the fence. Right before careening into it, he reared up, spun sharply to the left, and continued at a breakneck gallop in this direction. "An' that's why he's a champ pole bender!" She finished, bowing grandly. Her lopsided cowboy hat toppled to the ground. Summer laughed dryly, picked it up and twirling it on her index finger.
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Post by Tiggs on Feb 24, 2008 2:19:19 GMT
Jason was surprised to say the least. Without the pommel of Marie's saddle to brace the rope around, it was his hands that took the full friction of the rope being dragged out of his grasp by the highly strung paint horse. Swearing loudly, Jason had no choice but to drop the rope. Ordinarily he'd never let go, knowing a rope could cause a horse serious trouble should it become caught on something. At least Rolo was in a confined space and he hoped the trailing end wouldn't spook the other two.
Gritting his teeth, he grumbled and scowled at the girl. "Could've warned me, Sheila!" His hands had identical red welts across the palms, bleeding a little near the base of his thumb.
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Post by Xarae on Feb 24, 2008 2:24:06 GMT
"Hey, mate, you wanted to avago," She said, still laughing wildly. Summer subsided to giggles, striding over and taking him by the elbow, dragging him away from the perimeter of the fence as Rolo rushed back, kicking out with his back legs at the wooden slats. The middle one split in half, part of the wood dropping down with a thud. Summer winced slightly, knowing she'd be accountable for the damage. "I'd stay back, Jazzo boy. He doesn't seem to fancy you, but I'd say the ole bloke has good taste," She smirked and swatted him on the shoulder before taking his palm in her hand, flipping it over to examine the damage. "Awww. Kiss n' make it better?" She teased. Summer realized she still hadn't given him her name, but she decided she'd keep it this way for as long as possible.
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Post by Tiggs on Feb 24, 2008 2:30:45 GMT
Jason eyed the crazed horse suspiciously. No wonder he'd been castrated, he would have been deadly with the raging hormones of a real stallion. Jason willingly let the girl tug him away, holding his hands gingerly away from everything. "A kiss eh? Well if you're offerin'." He grinned, but made no move to take her up on the offer. "I could do with some doctoring, after we get that rope off the crazed twit." He huffed, looking a little chagrined. He was good at roping, but showing off always ended badly.
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