[Closed] @eidxiety🐎🌹

[winterbolt]

Angelina is a black horse with white markings on her face in this sorry I can't picture her as being any other color-

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[eidxiety]

That's up to you, grouchy boy~.

[Their glasses of water and a bowl of mixed nuts are brought to the table, and Ain deftly unshells a peanut with his demon claws (manicured nails) and pops it into his mouth.]

You're from out of town, you said... there's really nothing in town you'd rather do? There's a big pasture west of here where you could take your horse to play, you know.

[It's full of desert grasses, because yeah, it's basically all sand and brush out here — but still, it's something for horseys to munch.]

[lupusxylem]

[Yes, he is a grouchy boy, it is his God Given Right to be grouchy.

...hm. A big open field would be nice for Angelina though. She always gets antsy during prolonged stays in towns like this, since there's never much room to move around, and she's more often than not going to be put in a stable while Wolfwood is doing something else.]

Sounds kinda like a good way to get myself jumped. Goin' out west to a deserted pasture, all by myself?

[He'll reach over for his water, he is still very dehydrated.]

[eidxiety]

A big boy like you getting jumped? I doubt that.

[It's not going to be the prettiest place. There's something to be said about the pale greens of buffelgrass, obviously, and they'll be able to see the mountains far on the horizon — but it's not near any water, not off in some sort of pretty forest next to a waterfall, not physically in the mountains which are thousands of miles out. It's just a pasture filled with desert grasses and bushes and saguaros, surrounded by a metal fence so the horses don't wander off.

It's also a great place to ride. It's massive. Several acres, which is why it's so far out. It's probably the nicest thing in this dinky little town, and it's not even physically in it. Like, they're going to have to make something of a journey. Not a long one, but a journey.]

Do you think a skinny little thing like me is going to be able to defend you? [Winks.] If you want me to go with you, just ask, sweetie.

[lupusxylem]

Tch. Please. If anythin', It'd be the other way 'round, wouldn't it?

[He drinks some of his water, eyeing Ain over the rim. Hm...though he wonders why Ain is suggesting it to him at all, it does present a sort of opportunity. An opportunity to be around him without it seeming like he wants to go out of his way to spend time with him. Again, it's all part of getting his guard down.]

...guess I could take Angelina out, though. She's probably gettin' stir crazy right 'bout now.

[eidxiety]

[Really, Ain has no reason to be doing the things he's doing. The thing is, he wants to mess with Wolfwood a little before he definitely totally robs him blind, like he did with Wolfwood's boss. None of it is because he wants to go on a "cute date" or woo the straight boy. Ain is a creature incapable of feeling love anymore; it would be overdramatic to say that he's been burned one too many times considering the people he held affection for never loved him back in the first place, but he's certainly sort of over the whole scene. It's complicated.

He's not even trying to be edgy with this, he just doesn't think it's possible, since he cares more about freedom and money and following his own beat than settling down and doing what society wants. It could be the parental trauma speaking. It could also just be the fact that Ain's an asshole— either way, you don't get in bed with people by being a dick (even though Wolfwood has, but he's the one with the money, he's the one who paid last night). You do get in bed with them by being sweet and cute and interesting, and Ain plans on skipping town tonight before his wanted posters get re-printed again with Wolfwood's coinpurse in his back pocket. So!

A-ridin' they will go.]

Aww, is she a bit of a wild one? Haha, well, have fun, darling! [but also he told Wolfwood to ask if he wants Ain to come with so uh.]

[lupusxylem]

[...man Ain why do you have to put the onus on him, a straight man. This makes remaining obviously straight and not-into-dudes-at-all more difficult than it needs to be.

He sighs, heavily, pulling his cig from inbetween his teeth so he can ash it on a provided ash tray nearby before grabbing a handful of nuts, but instead of shelling them with his fingers, he does the worst thing for your teeth and just breaks them open with his incisors like an animal.]

She can be feisty, yeah. But she was a lot calmer around your horse last night, weirdly enough. Guess she just likes the company.

[eidxiety]

[...ah. Yes, that's straight man behaviour. Eugh, your teeth...]

Elria is very specifically trained to deal with ornery people and animals. I work in a dangerous field, you know!

[Yes, of your own volition. You're not a good sex worker, you like to ride men and rob them because it gives you the power you never had growing up—]

If others don't yield to her, she tends to make them. [She's also obnoxiously huge, as Clydesdales tend to get, so that helps.] She's still friendly, though, but I have a feeling it's more because her presence tends to get others to sit down and shut up.

[That or she and Angelina had horsey conversations and are now friends.]

[lupusxylem]

[Honestly, weirdly enough, Elria probably makes Angelina feel safer. She's always been a bit of a smaller horse, more easily aggressed no matter how feisty she might personally be. So with a big Clydesdale around she can just stand there and be like :) horse noises

That, and Wolfwood's ~energy~ keeps her keyed up almost all the time. He's always got something going on, and relaxing is pretty much still a completely new concept that he only just learned last night, so.]

Maybe she could help me keep Angelina from runnin' off on me, then. Unless you're busy with your side gig.

[eidxiety]

[Wow, he's real bad at just saying "come with me" isn't he? Ain pretends not to have heard for a minute while he's unshelling nuts with his nails. We love vitamins and minerals. We love healthy snacks. We love ignoring Wolfwood.

...]

Ooh~. She sure could! But are you asking me to borrow her... Or are you wanting me to come with you? Mister isn't too direct...

[Eats his snack like :) ]

[lupusxylem]

[Ugh.]

I'd rather not try to watch both of 'em by myself, especially if one of 'em is taller than me.

[Elria could just simply decide "I don't like this man" and trample him to death.]

You comin' or not?

[eidxiety]

Haha, good boy. Was that so hard?

[Ain stands up, but he's gotta pack his guitar up first. It doesn't take too long until he's back at the table, standing with the case in his hand and gunning the rest of his water. They'll need to stay hydrated while they're out there, but there's a well not too far from it.]

I'll lead us there, then. Since you asked so nicely and all.

[lupusxylem]

[Do not think about how him calling you a good boy made you feel, do not think about it-

With a grunt, Wolfwood reaches into their peanut bowl and grabs another handful, this time to stuff into his jacket pocket. You know, for later.]

Right. And how far is it again?

[eidxiety]

Half an hour's ride west of here. Not too long.

[Underneath the desert sun? That's quite a lot. That's why they have sleeves baby. That's also why Ain has like seven canteens in the saddlebag—

Let's go get the horses ready to be horse. Neigh.]

[lupusxylem]

[It sure is quite a lot, actually...especially for an asshole like Wolfwood who wears BLACK. But it's fine, he rode like an hour or something just to get here, so he'll survive. He's more worried about Angelina, whose hair is black and tends to absorb a lot of heat too.

Speaking of horse, she lifts her head with her ears perking when she sees Ain again, snorting in his direction. Hello? Wolfwood why did you bring this twink back-]

Easy, Ange. We're goin' for a ride.

[eidxiety]

[Elria, meanwhile, just tossing her head about like yes I am a beautiful horse, love me I am glorious, et cetera. She will nibble on Angelina's ears if she gets the opportunity. Haha ur short.

It's quick for Ain to mount a horse this big, somehow. Like, he has to stick both of his feet in the stirrups and then pull himself up that way, but hey, he makes it. He makes it, and then they're free to set off.]

You'll like it, Ms. Angelina, I promise. There's lots of grass for you to gorge yourself on!

[lupusxylem]

[Angelina whinnies softly and flicks her ears around as Elria nibbles them, but miraculously doesn't actually try to get away from it, which is baffling to Wolfwood. Any other horse- or animal for that matter- tries that and she would have kicked them in the face.

He'll climb onto her back after Ain gets on Elria, adjusting her reigns in his hands.]

Don't encourage her, else we'll never actually be able to leave.

[She snorts again, pawing the ground.]

[eidxiety]

Aww, but she's cute! [This is the first time Ain has really dropped the "I'm just a whore" act around Wolfwood, other than saying "yes I'm gay yes I like to wear dresses" last night. He's much more playful and less focused on calling Wolfwood pet names.] She'll have plenty of time to run around. There's a little shack nearby that we can stop at, if the sunshine gets too much. I've let Elria run around all night out there before.

...

She did come back with cactus needles in her nose, but that's because she'll eat whatever you put in front of her.

[Like a whole-ass cactus, for example.]

[lupusxylem]

[Yeah...that is something Wolfwood notices right away. Here he thought the prostitute was entirely fake 100% of the time. Then again, this too could also be fake, and he could just be falling for it hook line and sinker. But...he's also in a little too deep now to worry about that, so.

Off to the pasture, letting Ain lead the way while he taps Angelina with his stirrups to get her to follow behind.]

She ate a cactus? Seriously?

[eidxiety]

Uh-huh. She's very hungry!!

[Ain is also very hungry.]

I think she's learnt her lesson, but I never know. [She also eats wanted posters. She's more of a goat.] It was a pain to get the needles out of her nose, but she recovered fine.

[They can't race here, obviously, since it's still the middle of town, but when they're a bit away from it? All bets are off.]

Is Angelina very fast? [Grins over his shoulder at Wolfwood.] We can race when we're outta this neck of the woods.

[lupusxylem]

Is she fast?

[He scoffs before he can stop himself, also just barely catching himself before he gets Angelina to move faster on impulse. The last thing he needs to do is get arrested for disturbing the peace on his horse when he hasn't even gotten this arrest made yet.]

You watch. You'll be eatin' her dust by the time we're outta this town.

[eidxiety]

[eidxiety]

[Good luck arresting him Wolfwood he's slippery! Like an eel.

But he'll take this as a challenge, grinning broadly as he turns back to face the horizon. It's an uphill climb, not too steep, but definitely a slight incline compared to the rest of the town. Once they're free from that, the town entrance — signified by an archway and a WELCOME sign — looms, and after crossing the threshold, they're free to race the rest of the way.

Ain, of course, will make it fair, pointing on the horizon line toward the mountains.]

It's that way. Do you see the valley between those two peaks? That's the general direction we'll be going.

[Race ya :) ]

[lupusxylem]

Oh yeah. I see it alright.

[He tugs on Angelina's reins a little as she gets impatient, stepping in place while he keeps his shins tight at her sides so she isn't tempted to bolt prematurely. Honestly, he has no idea how fast Elria is or not, but just because she's bigger doesn't necessarily mean she'll beat Angelina in a full-on gallop. Angelina is fast, especially so once she gets going proper.]

We'll count down from three.

Three...two...one...

[He gives a sharp kick with his heels, enough that Angelina ends up rearing onto her hind legs for a moment before she takes off with a cloud of kicked up dust in her wake.]

[eidxiety]

[Oh, a racin' horse! Ain, similarly, gives Elria a sharp kick, and she takes this as a fucking challenge, nostrils flaring as she bolts after. She's the sort of horse that will cause the ground to shake as she runs, so it's a good thing that they're on sand and soil instead of the hard brick pathways of the town.

Ain leans forward in a full jockey pose, making himself as aerodynamic as physically possible so that Elria can run faster. She's fast... but one wonders if she's as fast as Angelina. I rolled a whole six so she probably isn't we'll see— Ain is laughing loudly the entire time either way, genuinely enjoying the moment.]

[lupusxylem]

[I ROLLED AN 18 but honestly since Elria is so lorge I'm going to say that Wolfwood and Angelina beat her, but like, a hair. Solely because they rolled so high. Maybe they would have gotten a better result if they nat20d but I don't make the rules-

Anyway, Wolfwood hasn't run Angelina like this in a while. Typically, whenever she's going this fast, it's to outrun the authorities, or to chase down a caravan he and his gang are trying to rob. Any number of reasons, really, so to be able to run for pleasure is a treat for sure. He isn't actually expecting Ain to enjoy it as much as it sounds like he is, and he finds himself laughing after him, despite the way the sound gets smothered by the sound of thudding horse hooves.

It's just the two of them and their horses alongside an open stretch of sand and the flat horizon, with Angelina pushing every ounce of her body forward to catch up with and edge her nose just ahead of Elria as they reach the valley.]