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[stand_unshaken]

 

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post-train breach \o/

[dog_eat_dog]

[That breach was, perhaps surprisingly, not so bad, in Tess's books. More cramped than average, and the family arrangement was a little twisted up, but it was familiar territory just the same. Almost felt normal, skirting guards and work details and hearing about how futile it would be to escape.

For other people, maybe not so much. They might value their freedom a bit too much for something like that.]

If you wanna beeline for the Enclosure, wait up a minute, I'll go with you.

[stand_unshaken]

[She's absolutely right in that he's already itching to go out. He went for a nice long bath first, to get all the (long-gone) dirt off of him, but when she messages him he's pulling on his boots. He hits the voice reply, since that's easier to multitask.]

Right on the money. Meet you there?

Audio

[dog_eat_dog]

[ She loves it when she makes the right call. Puts her in a good mood quick. ]

Yeah, see you in a minute.

[stand_unshaken]

[He's there waiting for her, fiddling with the controls to the Enclosure. He usually just does the voice command thing, but who knows what he could conjure up?]

Lucky us, no one else is running here first thing.

[dog_eat_dog]

[She joins him at the console to see what he’s putting in. She’s freshly showered as well, hair still damp.]

That or we’re just the quickest.

[ Or everyone else is too busy wallowing. ]

[stand_unshaken]

I'll bet you you're right. Hey-

[He turns to her, fingers on a dial.]

If I take you on the back, you up for some ridin'? Won't make you ride your own horse.

[But he wants to go fast.]

[dog_eat_dog]

[She'd prepared for the inevitability of horseback riding, but the prospect of riding with him is a little different. Maybe better, actually. While she's certain she could manage a horse on her own, there's probably less risk of embarrassing herself if she isn't.

She grins a little. Look at her, plucking up the necessary resolve.]

I'm up for it. Just don't make fun when I grab on tight, yeah?

[stand_unshaken]

You're gonna want to. I'm gonna show you what it's like to ride hard.

[He doesn't mean it like that. Promise. He claps her on the shoulder and grins before finishing putting in the location. He's put in some of the plains near Valentine, which will take them through gorgeous, sprawling scenery, ranches dotting the country. Though she won't see that yet. There's just the horse and the plains, waiting for them when he opens the door.]

[dog_eat_dog]

[That line has Tess smirking anyway, but she knows he doesn’t mean anything by it — it’s just the kind of guy he is.]

Alright then.

[ All of this countryside looks like a storybook. Must be nice to live in a place so picturesque. The fresh air is immediately wonderful, too.]

Where is this?

[stand_unshaken]

[He's walking right over to the horse and swings up. The saddle is large enough for two, as he's assuming she won't be riding sidesaddle.]

Think they call it Twin's Stack Pass - those mountains over there. That's the state of New Hanover.

[dog_eat_dog]

The 51st state, huh?

[The whole fake-states thing is still somewhat amusing to her. The rocks look western, and that's about as close as she's going to imagine.

She has no earthly idea how she's supposed to get up there when someone's already on the horse, but up she's going just the same. It's a graceless affair, but she manages.]

You do anything fun in these parts or is it just a nice place to ride?

[stand_unshaken]

[He snorts.]

Smartass. Who's to say your way's right, huh?

[Once they're both seated and he has a feeling she's solid behind him, he works the horse up into a light trot.]

Nice place to ride. Feller once challenged me to a shooting match right over there.

[dog_eat_dog]

I’ll poll the network and see, but I think it’d be better if I wasn’t.

[Tess hasn’t yet decided if it’s better to let someone else have the reins or do it herself, but she’s sure as hell holding on already.]

You do shootouts often?

[stand_unshaken]

Often? Try not to. But a Mexican feller come over just to shoot with a real American gunslinger, who am I to deny him the pleasure?

[dog_eat_dog]

What an idiot, but if his dream is to die, I guess that’s his prerogative.

[stand_unshaken]

We weren't shooting at each other. [He's not going around shooting random guys! Please.]

Just at targets.

[dog_eat_dog]

[She laughs.]

Wouldn’t dream of wasting bullets that way, back home.

[They’re way too valuable for that.]

[stand_unshaken]

Anything we got enough of, it's bullets. You'd enjoy it. [He's grinning, even if she can't see it she can surely hear it.]

[dog_eat_dog]

[She’s grinning to the back of his neck, too.]

I’m sure I would! Takes the fun out of deciding who deserves a second bullet, though.

[stand_unshaken]

You take enjoyment in strange things, lady. Alright- hold on, now.

[Because he'd promised fast, and the moment she holds on he spurs his horse on to go fast.]

[dog_eat_dog]

Oh, that one's all spite.

[She does hold on, and even with a warning, she yelps when he kicks off, and she holds on even tighter. Holy shit.]

Jesus christ!

[She's fine, just loud. This is the fastest-moving thing she's been on for years.]

[stand_unshaken]

Oh, he ain't got nothin' to do with this!

[He's laughing, that low, raspy belly-laugh of his that hardly ever comes out. He's got a tight handle on his horse, has her jump over a rock and she lands perfectly.]

[dog_eat_dog]

[Tess holds on like she is going to die, but his laugh pries a grin out of her anyway —- that’s a rare sound.]

You are crazy!

[stand_unshaken]

Just alive, right now!

[He can't let go of the reins long enough to pat her hand, but he would if he could. Instead, he leads them further down the road. He bends down low over the horse, showing her how to keep tight control of the animal and create less resistance at the same time. He keeps it up for a good five minutes, after which he takes pity on the made-up horse and slowly brings her back to a trod. His heart is hammering, his eyes are bright, his hands restless on the reins.]

Hot damn.

[dog_eat_dog]

[Tess’s heart is pounding in the same way it might after a Clicker encounter with a happy ending. She’s not dead but it feels like it might have been a possibility — dramatic, but it’s an intense feeling. She doesn’t let go just in case he starts again, just bumps him in the shoulder with her forehead.]

I can’t believe you get around that way.

[It wasn’t half as bad as she was imagining.]