[PQ] Ridin' my pony on a cattle drive

Live a good, honorable life.
Then when you get older and think back,
you’ll enjoy it a second time.

Slowly, they seem to find a rhythm and pressure that works for them, the cattle responding appropriately as they guide them towards the gate and the one after. By the time they make their way through another gate, Zavien is slumping in his saddle, wincing every time he has to bring Chip into another trot. So when Colt calls them in for the night, he lets out a long, heavy sigh of relief. 

Having spent the majority of the day trying to stay in the saddle, it doesn't occur to him how to get out until he's stopped with the others, staring blankly at the ground. Doing his best to follow the others' lead, he swings one leg out, but his balance is off, hinging awkwardly as his foot is swinging in the stirrup. With a sweep of gravity, Zavien ends up on his back in the dirt, groaning softly at the aches. He looks up at the horse who just blinks slowly at the performance, "Sorry, Chip."

From his spot on the ground, he glances upside down as the instructions are given. Getting the hint Colt throws his way, Zavien lets out a low laugh. "We're on it." Then Dragoon (once he gets his feet back under him) and dragon set out to gather wood from the nearby trees and bushes, piling it in a small pit so that it doesn't spread. Sol gives an excited wag of his golden tail before blasting the pit with fire, waiting gleefully for it to catch before turning to Zavien with pride. Grinning, he pulls a few pieces of jerky from his pocket to offer forward. "Nice work. Why don't you start an extra pile of firewood for the night?" With a new task at hand, the companion zooms off to compile more fuel. 

Once the preparations are complete, Zavien moves stiffly to take a place by the fire, Sol curling up at his side to fall asleep before Alys has even finished her story. Sensing that it's his turn, he sets aside his empty can of beans. "My mom used to tell me this one story called 'The First Dragonrider'..." He then launches into a tale about a harrowing journey where a young boy meets an ancient dragon who tasks him with proving his bravery in exchange for his life. Only when he refuses to complete the final task of finding and breaking a supposedly 'evil' dragon's egg does the wise dragon allow him to bond with that hatchling, forming the first dragonrider. When he finishes, Zavien lapses into a content silence, looking up at the stars where he's sure his mom is watching from. 

---

Zavien helps Sol gather firewood before starting the fire. Then he tells the story of 'The First Dragonrider' (I'm too lazy to write out the whole thing XD).

Zavien

JACK

Content, both that his efforts in motivation have been heeded by the cows at the pond and by their forward progression, Jack lets Biscuit do her thing until it's time, at last, to get the fuck out of the saddle. He doesn't know who is more pleased about it either, but as the rest of their little group head off to do their own tasks, that leaves the captain playing chef. He has no fire magic up his sleeve either, having to wait until Zavien and Sol are finished bringing the kindling to life, but given that it's just heating up cans, it seems pretty foolproof.

And it's nice to sit on the ground for a bit, though when it finally comes to going to bed, his bones will feel as though they've fused into place. That's for later, though. For now it's dinner and, apparently, campfire tales. Raising a brow at Colt and letting out a sigh, Jack waits for the others to spin their yarns before speaking up. "Don't get too many campfires out on the sea," he says, tossing a small stick into the flames. "But sailors got plenty of stories of their own. Y'ever hear about The Flyin' Dutchman?"

Not a skyship, Jack clarifies, but named so for her speed, he tells the tale of the ghostly vessel doomed to sail forever without making port. "They say that her captain refused to take shelter in a storm," he says, finding a larger stick to poke at the fire. "Vowed that he'd sail through it even if it took him 'til the end of time. The gods didn't like that, so they made his promise into a curse - now the ship an' her crew sail forever. If you ever spot her, some say it's just bad luck, but others'll abandon their journey entirely."

---

Jack cooks dinner and tells the story of The Flying Dutchman.

no more than I was or than I want to be
when you fall on me like night, I wanna kill the lights

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

COLT

With two horses per hand, Colt gets them all untacked, watered, and bedded for the night while everyone else organizes their assigned tasks. Fighting off a yawn, Colt claims the last bed roll and can, eating slowly as the tales unwind. Smiles come easy from her, the usual effect of a long day spent doing what she loves, hard as it is on the body, it feeds the soul in a much different way. There's no beating the views of the rolling plains and the sunset splendor that winks out into the night, or the quiet satisfaction of building a partnership with a horse and making progress towards a goal's end. The company is rich, if unusual, and each tale they spin is a new one for her to hear, not quite the typical cowpoke legends she's grown up with. She tilts her head, content to hear them all.

As for her own tale, she flings bits of food to the dogs and peers into the fire. "There's tale of a bull around these parts that's big as a house and mean as a demon. Got horns wide enough to shade a man. Way back, a greedy rancher tried to claim him, even managed to trick him into his pens. Thought he had built something to hold the beast, but come dawn, everything he had was splintered and all his herd was scattered. The rancher was pissed and set out to kill the bull, but he ended up gored clean through. They say the man’s blood stained the bull’s horns, turned his eyes scarlet, and then the beast disappeared into the hills." She leans over her knees, void dropping lower. "Every so often, when the air gets real still and the light starts to fade, folks claim they’ve seen the bull standin’ in the distance, steam rollin’ off his back, eyes lit up like coals. They say if you ever get too close, if you even think of takin' him, you’ll meet the same end as that rancher—hung up on your own greed."

She grins and tips her hat off, setting it to the side. "Well, best get some rest, we'll be up with dawn and finish the move." She tosses some dirt over the fire, snuffing out what remains into smoke and coals.

- - -

Colt's up with the end of the dark, murmuring to the horses as she sweeps off their grime and gets them all tacked up again. She undoes their makeshift pen and stuffs it away, then sets about to brewing some coffee over reinvigorated coals. Takes a bit more effort for her to manage the fire than some easy dragon breath, but she gets it going. She's set out some fruit and granola bars for the team and nurses her own cup while everyone rouses.

When it's time, she finishes packing up the supplies and slips the bridles back on the steeds, passing them off to their riders.

---

4/4 last round

Wake up, eat some breakfast if you want, then get back on your horses and round up the cattle, we'll ride another couple of hours back to the ranch where you can get off and go home!

Zavien Chip gets bit by a horsefly and will buck a bit
Alys Beans and you have a lovely ride
Jack Biscuit charges a bull that ignores her pressure so provides a sudden jolt of speed you'll have to sit through

Soul as empty as a whiskey glass, Bed as cold as it can be
I've been waking up alone too long, lonely ain't got nothin' on me

JACK

With that ominous thought lingering in his mind - in all of their minds, Jack has no doubt - the captain scoffs and rumbles his own goodnight before retreating to his bedroll. He's got little time for blood-horned bulls and even less interest in claiming them, so sleep finds him easily enough, even if it's a markedly different set up than the rock and sway of a ship or the secure confinement of a bed.

Either way, when the soft fingers of dawn find him, he rouses without complaint, though he does head straight for the coffee with a grunt of good morning that might be a little grateful, though he'll never tell. Yawning his way through breakfast, his body protests quite mightily at being forced back into the saddle, though Biscuit doesn't seem to share his reservations for the day.

Indeed, as she decides enough is enough from a particularly lazy bull, Jack's curse is loud enough to ring across the group, and he spends a hairy few moments holding on for dear life before the mare is satisfied.

no more than I was or than I want to be
when you fall on me like night, I wanna kill the lights

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Alys

Each story was a new tale for Alys to add to her repertoire, though she had to wonder at their origins. With Colt's scarlet-eyed bull to chase them to their bedrolls, the seer chuckled lightly to herself as she lay down. She certainly wasn't going to be making a habit of chasing down cows, and she had rather a hunch that the story was meant more as a lesson than an actual warning of a real bull waiting for the next person to attempt to claim him.

Dawn came swiftly, and Alys sat up in her bedroll, rubbing her eyes and yawning. She helped to break down the campsite but wasn't qiute hungry enough for breakfast. Still, she'd need her strength, so she snagged an apple on her way to get Beans. She took a few bites and then offered the rest to the gelding before mounting up, ready to face the day.

The rest of the ride was lovely, at least for Alys and her mount. The cows mostly behaved, and it felt like a much shorter ride (probably because it was). The seer was sure that her legs would thank her, given how wobbly she had felt that morning.

---

Alys rides along, content, because Beans is the best boy.

I once believed love would be burning red
But it’s golden

Live a good, honorable life.
Then when you get older and think back,
you’ll enjoy it a second time.

He thought it might be hard to sleep with all the aches and pains (why do his abs hurt?), but he's so exhausted that he barely hears the end of Colt's story. The strange limbo between sleep and wake makes the cautionary tale feel more like a dream than reality, the bull's face glowing red behind his eyelids. But when Zavien crawls to his bedroll, sleep pulls him deeper under, the darkness leaving no room for worries or fears, especially not with Sol curled against his chest. 

Blinking awake to the smell of coffee, he gives a big yawn before joining the others. The lack of sunlight doesn't diminish the smile on his face, happy to start another day and complete their mission of moving the cattle. Zavien grabs a cup of coffee, lifting it to Colt with a "Thanks" before moving to pack up their gear. 

Once they're ready to go, he awkwardly takes his seat in the saddle again, wincing as the leather hits all the sore spots on his backside. But he just grits his teeth and smiles, trotting along behind the others - that is, until Chip bucks. Letting out a shout of surprise, Zavien finds himself suddenly more vertical than before, gripping to the saddle and reins for dear life. His feet start to slip and the force of gravity feels like it's about to win, until the horse decides to sprint forward to escape the culprit. Only through sheer force of will does Zavien stay on, waiting until Chip settles to let out a relieved breath, gently patting the gelding's neck. "It's okay. I think it's gone now."

---

Zavien nearly eats dirt.

Zavien

COLT

The herd flows easier now, not so settled and spread in the pasture they stayed overnight in, and accustomed now to the git along lil' doggie of it all. So other than the occasional shout and the bork of a dog, the rest of the cattle drive goes by without much incident. At least, after the show Zavien puts on, to which Colt calls out with a grin she can't quite hold back, "save it for next year Zavien!" Not that Chip had quite pulled the bronc' stunts that make eight seconds feel like an eternity, she has to give him credit for managing to hang on.

With the last gate secured behind them, locking the cattle into one of the main pastures near the arena and the house, preparation for some calf branding and castrating to occur later on, they finish. Plodding back to where they began, Colt slides out of the saddle, gathering the reins from each of them, not blaming any of them for their sore asses and desire to set some of this cowboy lifestyle behind them, at least until the shape of the horse's back thaws its way out of their legs. "I appreciate the hand you all lent, saved us doing this in worse weather. As promised, payment and steaks a plenty in the ranch hand bunk house for you all, and it smells like they're grilling right now if you wanna hang around and grab lunch."

She'll be busy untacking and hosing off the horses for a bit, always certain to tend to them first before settling in herself, but they're free to go, whatever that means to them. It's hard work, and necessary, but she's happier and lighter than she's been in days. It's always one of her favorite jobs, and seeing them all handle it in such stride, it's fun.

---

Done, thanks everyone! Feel free to reply if you want, otherwise I'll fin it here in 3 days.

[FIN]

Soul as empty as a whiskey glass, Bed as cold as it can be
I've been waking up alone too long, lonely ain't got nothin' on me