He almost held his breath, stuck in one frame of thought as he waited for her response. At times he felt like this was his life, the horses. Heath didn’t feel so secluded when he was with her, but even as they stood hand in hand he knew that the horses were still a large part of who he was and who he was becoming. She had not turned away from them, and her smile, her kind words told him that she enjoyed their presence. But this was something he felt was a breaking point, but her reaction was something that sealed his affection for her. “Yeah,” He assured her, “He is strong and will easily carry both of us.” his voice spoke of his smile, and the stallion looked intensely at the pair at the sound of his name.
For a minute Heath watched her, and then withdrew his hand from hers and explained, “Let me bring him out.” Gold eyes watched for a lasting moment then reached for the halter that would allow him to command the stallion, and placed it on his pale long face. Just as Heath needed, he was calm and walked easily out of the stall. The large horse moved towards his new found friend, eager to meet her properly. Heath watched, hand on the halter as he walked up towards the border collie wolfess. Slowly, Heath silently asked. Stark paused before the female, gentle and silent.
A blanket on his back and Stark was ready for the riders. Heath looked back at Ruri, pausing in his step. Turning, he found the plywood stairs that he used for training and placed them beside Stark. The coy wolf inhaled deeply, and then approached the female once again. “You’ll need to step up here.” He words were matched with the touch of his hand on hers. She would have to trust him, and Heath could feel the anxiety building in his chest. He knew that he could get her on the horse without any incident, but he was not sure if she would trust him. Slowly he led her to the steps, the railing at the perfect height to help her find her seat on the stallion’s back.
“There are stairs, three.” he explained, standing behind her and ready to help her on Stark’s back.
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