If I get up, I might fall back down again

[protects_the_small]

WHO: Kel and whoever runs into her
WHERE: De Chima mostly
WHEN: Month of August
WHAT: Open prompts
WARNINGS: perhaps sparring violence, eta: kissing

[Kel has settled into a routine now, and it’s starting to show. She is easily found on the road to De Chima, on her way to or from work, or accompanying Lucy to her duties as Ambassador. Perhaps she’s in one of the many parks meditating to pass the time, if so, her gelding Peachblossom will probably not be far away. He’s been clever about getting out, so it’s better he’s close to keep an eye on, AND SHE HAS HIM UNDER CONTROL, YES THANK YOU.

…If Peachblossom wants something from you, he may start tapping his hoof impatiently.
For those with previous appointments, Kel can be found at the Pevensie farm, ready and willing to spar. Or maybe just grab one of the horses for a ride, who doesn’t love trail rides?]


(ooc: need a prompt or don’t like these? I can be found at Kithnkin for plotting!)

Comments

ADVENTURE TIME

[irassible]

[ If Peachblossom has been paying attention, he'll have been noticing recently that Hassle has been trying very hard to get into Six's specially planted field, which is now covered with particular vegetables. This includes escaping the stables in the early morning, before any of them have been put out to pasture.

Today is one such morning. Hassle stirs early, rising from his nest-like pile of straw in his box stall, and sticks his head out to start tugging at the latch of his door with his beak. ]

Re: ADVENTURE TIME

[protects_the_small]

[Peachblossom cannot help but notice, if only because Hassle is the only other animal who is almost worth talking to. So when he hears the rattling of the latch, he puts his head over his stall door and snorts

Can't you do that quieter?

....Talking to doesn't mean being NICE...]

[irassible]

[ Hassle pauses and lifts his head, big black eyes blinking at Peachblossom. The chocobo doesn't answer in words, per se; at least, not anything more complicated than single syllables. But there's impressions of sounds and smells and sights, which in this case imply outside in the late summer sunshine.

No.

And, after a pause:

Sorry.

With a noticeable clang, the latchbolt hits the floor. ]

[protects_the_small]

[Peachblossom grumbles and reaches over the stall door, lipping at the latch. It's an easy trick to pull it to the side. WithOUT letting it drop.

Not at ALL showing off, he saunters down the aisle, flipping his tail towards Phillip's stall, and pulls at the latch of the outside door.

...

Slightly more trouble.]

11th

[dirtyredneck]

[Daryl did not associate Peachblossom with Kel as of yet. So while he was aware of the woman he'd seen hanging around Lucy the two times he'd seen the woman, he wasn't aware her presence near Peachblossom was anything particularly important. It wasn't like the horse was nuzzling up to her or even within arms reach when Daryl spotted him.

And since Daryl didn't have any food on him that the horse would care for, he simply went close enough to catch the guy's attention and waved as he called out his hello with a wry smile.]

Hey, Peachblossom. You keeping out of trouble?

[He didn't expect much in the way of greeting, maybe a snort. If he got more, he'd call it a victory. If not, well, he wouldn't have his hopes up so disappointment would be hard to come by.]

[protects_the_small]

[Peachblossom's head goes up at the greeting, his ears forward. He huffs loudly and taps a hoof once. At the noise, Kel looks up from her book to check that he isn't about to pull his tether and go after someone. Since the gelding doesn't seem to be ANGRY, she glances past him to see what is so interesting.]

[dirtyredneck]

[Ears forward this time? That was a change. Daryl had paused outside Peachblossom's radius, but with that greeting (not really warm, but not really cold either) he decided to come a little closer. Walked over like he was talking to a friend, adjusting his crossbow strap as he went.]

You still got that code? It keeping dry?

[Because if he needed a new bag for it, Daryl could go get it. And that's when he noticed the tether. Confused he tilted his head at the sight.]

How the hell'd you get caught and tied up? Shit, hold on, I'll get you out of there.

[Yes, he was definitely reaching for his knife with the full intent of cutting the tether and letting Peachblossom loose.]

[protects_the_small]

[Peachblossom tilts his head the show the bag, a little beat up but still functional, still hanging from the braid in his mane. Extending his nose, he whiffs in the direction of Daryl's pockets inquisitively, not even minding the reaching for a knife...

Kel, on the other hand, speaks up loudly at this]

He's not for stealing.

[The fact that Peachblossom is showing an almost FRIENDLY side to this stranger speaks of where he might have gotten lessons on morse code... But still, tethers must be paid for]

[illuminescent]

[It's very late, and Lucy is very tired, as is obvious from her drooping a bit in the saddle. This was the kind of day where Athos used to sit her in front of him, because she would droop until he worried she would fall off.

She's not falling off, though. She nudges her horse a little closer to Kel as they ride home.]

Do you think me unkind?

[protects_the_small]

[Kel's own head wasn't drooping only through virtue of learning to ignore the tired in a specific way. Even so, she was glad that the saddle that had come with Peachblossom was her tilting saddle with the high front and back. She's more focused on the road in front of them, so she's only slightly aware of Lucy moving closer...and then the other woman speaks, making her start obviously]

My-my lady?

[The question actually penetrates her exhaustion fogged head]

...You are the kindest person I know, I'm not sure why you would ask.

[illuminescent]

Because sometimes I think in kindness I can be neglectful of the needs of others.

[Because sometimes she only sees one side of an issue, because it tugs at her heartstrings.]

And I worry I am being casually neglectful.

[protects_the_small]

[Kel hums softly as she considers this, briefly sparing a thought to wish it could take place over morning coffee instead...]

It's possible, I suppose. Being caught up in necessary work often causes something of a tunnel vision.

[glowsferatu]

[ It's regrettable that Kanaya hasn't had more time to devote to her training, but trying to establish an independent fashion house takes a lot of work and attention, a little bit more than fighting monsters. She hasn't even been to the farm before, and wonders how much Ashiah might like it. Though this probably wouldn't be the time, she'd probably want to supervise how she interacts with the animals. Better not to invite disaster through negligence.

She arrives in a green tank and a long, light blue skirt. (Because what good is she if she can't learn to fight in a skirt? Sure, that may be for someone, but that someone isn't her.) Following her threads to work out where on the property Kel is when she doesn't read her in the house, and greeting her with a smile when she finds her. ]

You've a nice place here, Lady Keladry.

[protects_the_small]

[Kel looks up from her leg stretches and smiles a greeting at Kanaya]

It is rather lovely out here, isn't it? Frankly, I find the walk into town worth it.

[Gettinf up and popping her back, Kel glances at Kanaya's skirt]

That's one you're willing to get torn, I assume?

[glowsferatu]

What, this? I wouldn't have worn it otherwise.

[ She gives Kel an exaggerated curtsy. ]

But you know, I've thought about it, and somewhere like this is probably inevitable for me in the future. I don't know if I'd like it now, it might conflict with business. But Ashiah's only going to get bigger.

[ She gestures out in the general direction of De Chima. ] Did you have many cities like these on your world?

[protects_the_small]

I hope you have as much luck finding open spaces in North Carolina, then

[Having finished her stretching, Kel picks up her sword and twirls it lazily, warming her wrists up]

Mm? Well, large cities, we've quite a few of those. None with so much metal or paved road, of course. Stone is expensive, you can't pave a whole city with it.

[andtherevolution]

[Utena spreads out under a tree, taking a break from the summer heat. She takes a swig from her water bottle before rummaging around for her lunch (if one can call a brown paper sack full of snacks and fruit "lunch".) Utena pulls out an apple and- aaaand that's a horse. An actual horse that's trotting around the park. She stares for a moment, before it starts trotting over towards her.]

Whoa! Uh, hey there.

[What's she supposed to do here? Can she pet it- no, this isn't a dog. And it might bite. Wait, do horses bite? Anyway, horses can be pretty skittish, right? So maybe she should take things slow...

While she debates with herself, though, the horse starts to tap its hoof. She furrows her brow and tilts her head, before looking back up at him]

Do you want something?

[Tap tap tap tap tap - huh, is that normal? She wonders what a horse would wa-wait a minute]

...what, this?

[Aaand she's going to hold up her apple]

[OOC: If this doesn't work, let me know and I'll be glad to edit.]

[protects_the_small]

[Peachblossom has learned that as long as he doesn't ACTIVELY threaten anyone, they tend to be willing enough to hand him food to go away. In his opinion, hatred of strangers in his personal space is trumped by free sweets.

The problem being that despite Daryl's help, not many people know Morse Code, or even recognize what he's trying to do. And he's not all that fond of them getting close enough to look at the paper either.

So he points with his nose at that apple and keeps tapping out 'apple'.

Understand now, stupid two-legger]

[andtherevolution]

[Peachblossom could tap out an entire dictionary's worth of words and she still wouldn't be able to understand him. The way he's pointing his head at the apple makes it obvious what he's after, though. Utena hesitates, before she holds it up closer to his mouth, careful to move her hand slowly. Horses spook easily around strangers, don't they? Then again, this guy doesn't seem too shy...]

Here you go. Help yourself.

[She's speaking softly enough to match her movements. If only she knew the horse's true personality, she wouldn't be so careful (nor would she be so eager to share her lunch. If she heard him call her a stupid two-legger, or a stupid anything for that matter, then he could get his own apple!). But for now, she's kind of curious about what's going to happen next. She's never actually fed a horse before, but hey, there's a first time for everything.]

TRAINING

[rassera]

[It'd been awhile since Kaneda had felt his muscles worked like this. Sure, he'd gotten a decent amount since his time here, chest and arms more filled out, legs stronger, competing against people with a height advantage had made him have to work at keeping his ground. And Kel was no different.

The muscles you use for fist fighting function a little differently when you have a blade, after all. And it's something he's learning as he's getting new sorts of soreness that he wasn't accustomed to after almost a year in the ring.

He's with his longsword this time, although his heart clearly wanted to use the katana--he had to be trained equally in both. It was a different hold...a different feel, but he could see why it was so popular.

It was pretty reliable.

That is, until he's knocked on his ass again, opting to just lie there for a moment to kind of recollect himself. He's good! He's got this!

He just needs a few minutes.]

[protects_the_small]

[It would not be wrong to say that Kel is enjoying herself here. Her practices have mostly consisted of a lot of pattern dances with occasional fencing sessions with Lucy. Having someone who can take a lot more of her strength, even between the pauses for adjusting or commenting on a grip or stance has been.... fun.

So she only grins as Kaneda lays flopped on the ground, and wipes the sweat out of her eyes]

You're doing well for someone who's only been doing this a short time.

[rassera]

[The feeling's mutual. It's nice having to fight someone who he actually stands on even ground with when it comes to a blade. Bull was skilled in many a weapon, but he had that unbreakable wall of a body that Kaneda couldn't topple no matter how hard he tried. It really set your expectations when you started, and even if on a good day he could send him teetering back, it certainly didn't have the same effect as fighting someone your size.

Kaneda would never see the large size as a problem--he was too much of a scrapper.

But he wasn't going to lie. It was nice fighting someone within a foot of his height.]

Yeah?

[Give him a moment to lean up on his elbows.]

You're not going easy on me, right?

THE HANDY MAIDEN HAS ARRIVED- Lucy's Farm

[heart_wrenching]

[ There had been a lot of time lately spent moping around the Dendarii residence, so of course Winry was more than happy to have an excuse for a solo excursion back to the farm. And that's not to mention her eagerness to return favors. So once she heard they were having trouble with their newfangled modern tech (such as toasters) she wasted no time in planning her outing. It's even the same day that Kel contacted her that she's biking up their private road, with about 40 pounds of Russian Mastiff puppy galloping clumbsily behind her. ]


Hello~~~~! Miss Kel? Queen Lucy~?

[protects_the_small]

[Kel looks up from her armor cleaning as the farm pack of dogs set up a howl and start running to greet the newcomers. Setting aside her work, she waves to Winry, and whistles sharply at the dogs]

Off! OFF! Mind your manners, you lot.

[heart_wrenching]

[ PUPPY SEES OTHER DOGS. PUPPY MUST SIMPLY EXPLODE. In retrospect she should have seen this coming. ]

Fang- dammit! Sorry, I keep forgetting that he's still absolutely a moron.