A Lucky Find

[Illu]

She was calling him stupid? Pah, this mare obviously knew nothing. ”I’d like to see you try and pull off a half pass and pirouette transition. In case it’s not immediately obvious, that does require a right side more than half a brain, unlike running in a straight line all day like you.” he growled, then made another failed attempt at the knot. ”Cursed lack of fingers!”

[Tiggs]

Most of his words were beyond Marie, though she expected she wouldn't much care if she did know them. "A straight line? I was following you. You're the one who was running in straight lines and didn't even think to get into the trees before you got roped. And stopping? Getting roped again? What did you even expect to achieve by that?" She snorted and dropped her head to graze while the creamy stallion puzzled over the ropes. She knew very well that she was a good stock horse, and the fact she had chased down a horse with legs almost double the length of hers was a testament to that.

[Tex]

Alison was riding Jesse, her only horse, along the creek that ran from the place she had just signed up to live in. Her blonde hair fell out of his hair band in irritating little strands, tickling her nose but too small to brush away without using her hands. She sneezed, making a couple of kangaroos, only just arrived back in the high country, raise their heads and look at her intently for a few seconds before bouncing off into thicker bushland. Alison stroked Jesse, who had jumped nervously at the sneeze, and urged her further along the creek's bank.
The water was cold, from melting snow that made the creek swell into almost a flood. This could be dangerous, so Alison directed Jesse away from the freezing creek and into a clearing. A brown mare, saddled and bridled, stood right there, not tied up to anything. The young rider watched her for a minute, puzzled, then noticed a creamy stallion tied up between two trees. Alison shook her head in exasperation. The silly thing appeared to be attempting to hang itself.
She dismounted from her bay mare, and lead the horse to a run-off from the stream, so her horse could drink its fill. The owner of the mare should show up soon enough.

[Illu]

Damon snorted in irritation at Maire, and then started eyeing the ropes again for a new plan. Rats could chew through ropes, so could horses? Or would that just look stupid? ”Well excuse for never being chased around the country before.” he huffed, then stepped to right to look at the knot from another angle. Oh, hang on! ”Hey!” she said suddenly, turning to look at Marie again. ”Whereabouts is the station you come from?” he asked. Maybe someone would recognise him there, Jason could get prosecuted as a horse-thief and sent to Prison, then he could go back home to his warm barn with a triumphant tale to tell of his kidnapping.

Just then he heard someone else comming down the creek and felt himself suddenly hopeful, only to find yet another poor person wandering down the creek. Drat. So much for a late rescue.

[Tiggs]

Marie huffed. "My station? You city horses sure do speak strangely. My hut is just up the hill, idiot, you were practically grazing in the corral already. When Jason gets back--" She turned as another rider on her mare came into view. Lifting her head, the bay whinnied a greeting. Jason would hear it and know that another human was here. Sure enough, she heard the hut's door squeak open and bang shut as Jason made his way back down through the trees toward her.

Jason had gathered up some ropes, and was about the double check the corral before he returned to Marie. At his mare's greeting call, however, he left the hut and jogged back down. He knew they weren't too much of a threat, or Marie would have sounded more nervous. As he reached Marie, he gave her a pat and some oats from his pocket while he looked up to see the girl riding her horse. He grinned widely as he spent a moment to appreciate her blond hair and cute round face. "Its a bit early in the season, isn't it?" He spotted her roping equipment and his grin widened. "Fancy helping me out? This big bloke was just munching his way along the creek - wasn't hard to catch - I figure he's worth something somewhere... I'm Jason by the way."

[Tex]

Alison was watching the horses' conversation with interest, not understanding but enjoying the way the brown mare argued without cringing or backing down from the bigger stallion. Jesse was fascinated, and called out a greeting to both horses. She didn't really like the creamy, but liked to be polite.
Someone was walking towards them. Alison climbed back to her feet to wave and grin back. He seemed like a decent guy; he hadn't left his horse for too long.
"Yeah, it's early, but all the better. No stupid amateur wranglers barreling around and frightening off the horses. I'm Alison, by the way."
She gave her horse a final pat, then strode forwards to see the stallion he had roped at a shorter distance.
"Sure, I'll help. What do you need me to do?"

[Illu]

Damon stayed quiet again as Jason got back, watching him with an evil eye. Stupid pathetic morons trying to corner him like this. What was this the mare had said? The man owned a corral? How blatantly pitiful if he couldn’t even afford something better. It probably didn’t have walls or a roof or anything like the ones back home, probably just a bit of fence in a circle made of unpainted, unpolished and un-sanded wood starting to splinter. Maybe he could jump it?

While Jason was busy chatting up the newcomer, Damon tried to sidle over to him as discreetly as possible. Then, once in striking distance, made a dart at him to try and bite him in the arm as hard as possible, but ended up being pulled up short with an awful jolt by the rope. Fighting the urge to swear out loud, he instead took an angry lap in a circle as far as his restraints let him, and then came up a stop in front of Alison, ears back and teeth bared to try and warn her off.

[Tiggs]

Jason smiled. "How do you know I'm no amateur?" He laughed. "Well the original plan was to use lots of rope and gradually tie him to different trees on the way up, but with two stock horses, I think we'll be able to drag him as far as the corral." He dropped most of the ropes out of the way at the bottom of a tree. "I'll just rope him again so we have some spare lines - I don't wanna be untying him from the trees just yet." He stepped back as the giant animal lunged. "I'm half tempted to let him go, but y'know.. keep your enemies closer."

Shaking his head, Jason threw out another rope, again to catch the creamy's neck. Any ideas of keeping the animal were chased away by the thing's vicious temperament. What would it be good for anyway? A pack horse? It certainly couldn't run, and it lacked any kind of instinct and intelligence.

[Tex]

Alison strode to her horse and untied its restrains, before leading it over to stand beside Jason's mare. She hadn't actually roped a wild horse before, but had been on enough hunts to know how it worked.
The young rider climbed back onto Jesse, and glanced around the clearing, frowning as she noticed a flicker of movement. But no, it disappeared again. Nothing was there.
"You're no amateur. Most amateurs would have tied that horse to a weak tree stump, and left it all day long so they could eat and rest in their homes. You, on the other hand, appear to be handling him quite well."

OOC- not sure what to do ^^

[Illu]

Drag him? Urgh! Okay, so he could easily tow along one mare, two was a different matter. Maybe if he just lay down? Ew, wait, that would get dirt through his coat and he didn’t want to risk this fool not knowing when to use a hose. Did he even have a hose? Oh God. Maybe he could do something while those two flirted. No, wait, then they tried to move him. No, wait... argh, he was out of ideas.

Just when he was about to look over at Jason to see what he was up to, bang, more ropes. Damon gave an annoyed huff as the third one wrapped itself around his neck then took off, trotting worriedly around in a circle again in an accidental collected pace. How could he have come to this?