OOC: Could you maybe date it forward a few days? Not sure why... xD
Word Count: 404

Gypsy was being a pain in the ass at the moment, not wanting to do anything that Wayne tried to make her do. When he wanted her to go left, she turned right, same with walking, trotting and galloping. She was just being so freaking stubborn for some reason! Dixie, who was atop of her delightfully obedient Duke, just laughed and shook her head as she followed along about twenty feet behind. Wayne was cursing up a storm, smacking the large paint's rump and yipping when she did something bad, causing her to jump and shy about in circles.

They weren't really making good time this way at all, and the young woman wanted to cover a few more miles before the sun went down, which would be totally impossible if Gypsy kept acting up like she was. Growling under her breath, she tapped her heals against Duke's sides and he sped up a bit, catching up to their companions. She leaned over and slapped the paint's rear end really hard, effectively scaring the mare into a sharp scream and taking off at a quick pace. The girl rolled her eyes and kicked Duke into a solid lope, her body rolling with the movement easily. It looked like she was born in the saddle.

Finally Dixie could see the lake from her point on the hill, and she could also see Gypsy still running through the woods, flashes of white and brown sparking though the trees. The chubby mare was surprisingly fast when she was pissed off and frightened, and Wayne just looked funny trying to hang on as she ran. Dixie sighed and rubbed her hands over Duke's neck as the stallion followed the trail without having to be led, he was such a good boy. The girl was pretty much not focusing on anything but her horse as they walked, so she didn't see the large male walking through the trees at her side until he was nearly on top of them. She gasped and pulled Duke to a halt, waving at the man with a smile.

"Hi there, Mister, I'm Dixie-May... Where ya headin' to?" It was clear how sweet and friendly the dusty white female was just from those few words of greeting. Duke the stallion snorted and pinned his ears slightly, watching the male with sharp eyes, not willing to take a risk with another unknown of the forest.

OOC: That's perfect. And word count doesn't matter to me. Quality over quantity, though I do love long posts. So much fun to read and a lot more to respond to.
Word Count: 598

Dixie's light greenish eyes grew wide as she watched the man crouched down in the bushes. It looked as if he were fearful of something as he searched himself over and then peeked up at her nervously. Her smile wavered a little bit at his unsure expression. The girl just hated making other people feel scared and uncomfortable. She dropped her eyes from him to the ground and allowed him time to compose himself before looking back up and listening to him speak. Instead of answering right away, though, she looked him over, taking in his appearance.


The male wasn't very tall it looked like, but had some weight to him that may have been all fur or muscles or more. His coat was thich and soft looking, like her own, but so much darker and a variation of colors. It was beautiful to say the least. When she saw his curly tail, she peeked back at her own and smiled, wondering what his parent's lineage might have been. The clothes he wore were pretty interesting...not something she'd ever seen anyone wear before. The colors were sharp still, unlike many clothes that were still fit enough to wear. Her head tilted to the side and she grinned, taking in the color of the tie in contrast to the shirt and trousers. The man was very stylish, and the clothes almost had a home-made look to them. Perhaps he knew how to sew and touch up things...


Dixie stood up a bit on her saddle and swung one leg over, then hopped down easily. While the male wasn't tall, he still had half a foot and a good seventy pounds on the young woman. She was completely bare, opting to not wear anything usually. Clothing seemed rather pointless to her unless it was really cold. In the southern part of the continent, the winters didn't get so cold, and she usually could get away with just her thin deer-skin cloak. Now that her and Wayne had ventured up past the Canadian border, she knew that they would have to start finding clothing and collecting more skins in preperation for the winter.


One of her small hands curled around the reins up close to Duke's mouth. "You can come closer if you'd like...he's a little bit grumpy around strangers, but he wouldn't hurt you 'less you come after me." While the girl was overly friendly sometimes, she was smart enough to know not to trust everyone. Giving the male a little warning in the form of her horse was a good hint to not mess around with her unless he wanted to be trampled. Her free hand lifted and stroked over the horse's nose slowly, smiling as he visibly relaxed with the physical contact. His large hips shifted slightly and one of his hind hooves curled, resting on the ground at an odd angle and showing his relaxed state. In that position, it would take longer for him to aim a kick or rear up into the air. He was comfortable with Dixie there, despite the stanger, but was not any less attentive to what was going on around him.


"Travelin' is a lot faster and easier with horses. They are so strong and have incredible stamina." She chuckled softly and gestured down the trail, seeing the hoofprints that Gypsy's large hooves must have left. "Perhaps you saw my companion a few moments before me. His horse is carryin' not only him, but a saddle, some packs, and the remains of a mountain cat. She is quite a strong lass."

OOC: I'll use the table you made for me in our next thread. xD
Word Count:

It seemed as if the dark mal was concerned for his safety around Duke, as he should be. The horses were docile creature that had a temper and a big capacity for fear that mixed with the size of their muscles and hooves…just wasn’t a great combination. At least for someone who didn’t know what they were doing. She had seen a few canines get seriously injured by their equine companions because they didn’t know how to calm the situation or get control of the threat in time to stop the total freak out. Dixie also knew, and preached to anyone who actively wanted to learn about and possibly come to own a horse, that they must not be weak or prone to going crazy with injury. The big creatures could hurt someone while playing, let alone actually being mad. If said person couldn’t handle a little bit of pain, then they obviously didn’t have what it took to be a horse’s companion.

The girl watched as Thomas walked a little bit closer, his ears and eyes flicking around nervously. She had met her fair share of people who were terrified of anything bigger than they were, so she was used to this reaction by now. Smiling sweetly, she stuck her hand out towards him and gestured for him to come closer, trying to show that it was alright. ”He won’t hurt you, I won’t let him. Promise. Just come at him from the side, so he can see you, okay? And when you get close enough, place your palm on his neck and rub gently, so he can get used to your touch.” She rubbed the horse’s neck as a demonstration, watching as Duke sighed and relaxed further from the attention.

A small grin pulled her mouth up and she laughed lightly, looking down the trail again when he asked about Wayne and Gypsy. ”Well…the big girl was getting’ a bit ornery, didn’t want to do anythin’ that we asked her…she was bein’ a bit jumpy as well. So I gave her a little swat on the rump and apparently she wanted to run. Wayne is fine, he is probably havin’ a blast.” She shrugged and patted Duke a few more times and leaned against the big beast, watching the male as he cautiously got closer still. Her hand tightened around the stallion’s reins when he shifted uneasily, not so sure about the stranger approaching.

OOC: Blaaah.
Word Count: 468

When the man’s hand finally rested upon Duke’s neck, she felt the horse tense up a little bit more. A soft snort blew from his nostrils and she lifted her hand as well, stroking his face in a comforting way. There was a pause of silence between the three of them, just the petting and lavishing attention. The only noise came from the breeze through the trees and the occasional call from a song bird. Dixie couldn’t even hear Wayne and Gypsy anymore, so she just assumed that her friend had gotten everything under control with the temperamental mare.

After a while of simple petting, Dixie turned and smiled at Thomas. ”You’re doin’ a mighty fine job…he is likin’ all of this attention. Why don’t you get a bit closer? You can pet his chest and side, as well.” Her hand dropped the reins and she stood directly in front of the stallion, stroking her fingers through his mane and over his ears. There really wasn’t any threat towards the male from her horse, the stud was pretty much a sucker for attention and he was probably going to follow the new male around for a while. Anyone who was a potential ‘petter’ was stalked, nudged and often a bit freaked out by the end of it.

”Alright, I think it’s about time we get on down there and find Wayne and Gypsy, he is probably freakin’ out by now.” A few last stroked over Duke’s head and then she walked around and swung herself back up into the saddle. After getting comfortable, she peeked down at Thomas and pointed down the trail. ”You are more than welcome to come with us and learn more about the horses if you’d like? If not, I understand.” The girl was just a bit too friendly for her own good, and would probably get hurt because of it someday. Wayne was going to be frustrated with her for bringing another stranger along, but he would soon start getting used to it.

Dixie pressed her heels against the horse’s flanks and he started walking at a slow, lazy pace, allowing for the man to catch up and walk along if he wanted to. The girl sank down in the saddle and yawned, dropping the reins to Duke’s neck and allowing him to lead himself, he rarely left the path they were following, so she knew it would be fine. It didn’t take long for them to reach the bottom of the hill and get to the grassy shoreline of the large lake. She could see Gypsy grazing a few hundred feet away, under some trees, and a small spiral of smoke coming from a few feet away from the mare. Wayne had already gotten their little camp started while he waited.

OOC: Wayyyne tiemz.
Word Count: 466

When they got closer to the fire and to Gypsy, the mare whinnied and pinned her ears, stomping her hooves on the ground. It was obvious that her long run didn’t do much to ward off the bad mood, and Dixie wondered what was wrong to make the mare so crass. She shook her head and dismounted Duke for the second time in an hour, standing down right in front of Thomas. He was giving her a curious look, his angular ears pricked towards the fire. Grinning as she began to untie the packs and saddle bags, she turned and waved at Wayne, motioning for him to come over.

When the large half wolf reached them, he stroked his hands over Duke’s head and took off his bridle gently, his large hands working fast and efficiently. His dark chocolate eyes were focused on the new male the whole time though, narrowed and suspicious. Dixie pulled the heavy saddle off with a huff and carted it over to where Wayne has set his under the tree. She walked back over and scrubbed her hands over Duke’s back, grinning when he made a groaning noise and seemed to let out a huge sigh. Wayne smiled at the small woman and helped with the rubdown, still occasionally throwing little glares at Thomas.

”Wayne…sorry for not making immediate introductions, I wanted to get Duke taken care of first. This is Thomas. I found him wanderin’ practically on the same path as us. He’s interested in the horses…well Duke here at least. There is no messin’ with your witch over there…” Wayne growled playfully and jumped at her, grasping her sides and tickling until she was squirming and smacking at his well defined and bare chest. His hands wrapped nearly around her entire waist and rib cage, showing off just how small she was and how big he was. When he finally stopped, she slumped against him and pouted, making sad puppy eyes at him. He sighed and turned to Thomas, who he had so far ignored.

”Name is Wayne…nice ta meet ya.” He nodded to the smaller male and then turned away, bending down to place a small lick over Dixie’s nose. When that was done, he took his dark cowboy hat off and sauntered back over to the fire, grabbing one of the sticks off the ground. There were chunks of meet impaled on the wood, some already placed above the fire to start cooking. His form was slouched over slightly, leaned back against a boulder with one leg pulled up and the other stretched out, the flames warming his foot. The scent of meet made Dixie’s nose twitch and she reached over, grabbing Thomas’s hand and, with a gentle tug, pulled him towards the fire and dinner.

OOC: Darkness falls. Sleepy time.
Word Count: 631

Dixie watched Thomas as he sat across the fire from Wayne, looking a little bit nervous and unsure still. Sighing softly, she sat in the middle of them, curling her body up rather small and soaking in the warmth from the flames. For once she was silent, ignoring both of the males and simply staring at the crackling orange and red. The light danced off her light colored eyes and caused her coat to look shiny as the sun began to drop further in behind the mountain peaks. By the time the moon was partially visible, the meat was done and Wayne had passed two sticks to Dixie, who in turn passed them to Thomas. She didn’t really feel like eating at the moment, her appetite just wasn’t there despite all of the energy burned from traveling.

Wayne frowned as he ate, watching his young female companion closely, trying to figure out what was wrong with her. She felt his eyes and looked up, her expression was sad and almost depressed, and he knew what it was suddenly. Standing up, he walked over to her and sat down again right behind her curled up body. His arms wrapped around her entire frame and he lifted her onto his thighs, cradling her close. This had happened a few times before during their travels and it hadn’t taken him long to figure out what was going on in her overactive mind. She was constantly thinking about their family in Texas, worrying that they she had made the wrong decision in leaving. What if something had happened to her parents? They were getting older and now they only had the help that rode through on occasion. The girl just could not stop the storm of guilt and sorrow that washed through her body whenever thoughts of her parents came up. There was nothing she could do but curl up and wallow in it for a while.

Grabbing the stick with the cooked meat on it, Wayne took a few more bites, finishing nearly the entire back-strap from a buck he’d killed a few days before. The last piece was held up to Dixie’s face and pressed against her muzzle gently. He kept a soft pressure on her lips with it until she growled and opened her jaws and snapped at the meat, ripping a chunk off and swallowing it whole. The male was sure that Thomas was feeling weird about being present for the situation that had arisen, and he glanced up. ”Sorry ‘bout this…she gets a bit sad sometimes, misses her Ma and Pa a great lot.” He shook his head and forced her to eat the rest of the meat. It wasn’t much, but enough to get her through the night with the ability to function in the morning.

When that was done, Wayne set her down on the ground and kicked some sand over the fire, causing it to die down to a soft glow, then went to retrieve their sleeping materials from the saddle bags. Dixie looked over to Thom and smiled weakly at him, shaking her head slightly. ”I’m sorry…We’ll sleep and then talk about the horse catchin’ in the morn.” Her companion came back and handed the other male a large skin with fluffy fur lined on the inside and what seemed to be a water proofed outer layer. It was warm and big enough to double as bedding and a partial covering. He then turned back to the girl and spread out their cloaks, pushing her little body onto one and then curling his larger frame around hers. When they were comfortable, he pulled his larger cloak over the top and curled his arms around her, determined to make her feel safe and warm throughout the night.