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[stand_unshaken]

 

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[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.]

[stand_unshaken]

[He reaches back with one big, warm hand to pat her knee, still laughing.]

I can't believe you don't get around this way. You okay? No heart attacks, miss?

[dog_eat_dog]

No heart attacks. [ Thankfully. She eases off just a bit, plucking up her dignity. Do not cling to your warden like a wood tick.] Fastest thing I’ve been on in years.

[stand_unshaken]

You seem like the kinda lady who'd enjoy fast, wild things.

If you didn't have a heart attack, that mean you're up for some more?

[dog_eat_dog]

[She chuckles. She’s been read like a book, but she doesn’t want to admit to she could learn to love it.]

Not a lot of ways to scratch that particular itch in a place like this. But sure, I’m up for it.

[stand_unshaken]

Alright, well, hold on then. See how far this place goes, huh?

[dog_eat_dog]

Giddy up, and all.

[She braces herself for it and settles in hanging onto him again.]

[stand_unshaken]

[He takes them riding just as fast as before, but a little longer. Goes up a hill, jumps when it's safe but still a little exciting. Finally, when he's got it out of his system, he pulls the horse to a halt and leans over it, patting its neck, giving it a few oats he mysteriously still has in his hip bag.]

[dog_eat_dog]

[Tess does note how funny it is to just... carry around oats... but she also assumes it's just enclosure shenanigans. She mostly still thinks it's weird to be on a horse.]

So when you conjure up a horse in this place, is it just a random horse, or is this a specific horse with a name and all?

[Maybe men are the same way with their horses as they are with their dogs, and all.]