Abby dismounted Fly and walked her back to the barn, stopping to watch the Ryker ride his gorgeous horse. She shook her head and continued walking. After unpacking and brushing down, she put Fly back out into the pasture and watched as she regained her dominance among the mares by nipping at them when they got to close and pinning her ears. The mare squealed when the other dominant mare, the one who took control when Fly left, bit her hind. Fly bucked and cantered away from her. Abby sighed and turned. Her boyfriend, Gavin, walked up. He was one of the stable hands. Abby wasn't very happy in their relationship, but she thought this was the best it could get. He hugged her and kissed her neck. She carefully pulled away. "Sorry Gav, but I got to go." He trapped her against the fence "but don't you want to hang out with me?" Abby sucked in a deep breath "Not right now Gavin. I have to go" "Abby. Stay with me. You know you want to." Abby held back a cry when he bit her neck. He could tell she was struggling and held her neck so she couldn't move away from him. Fly Away noticed something was up and gave out a shrill winney.

Ryker slowed Serpant down, grinning happily. Even if he wasn't a hard-core gamer he did enjoy the feeling of the wind rushing through his hair. After a bit more pleasure work, he started out of the arena, but a mares whiney brought his attention to the pasture. First of course he noticed the agitated mare, but then his eyes found, with surprise, Abby and some boy that seemed to be bothering her. Now Ryker wasn't the best on relationships but Abby didn't seem too happy, and even though he had just met her... he couldn't not do anything. Ry dismounted and tied Serpant to the fence, striding over. "I have a rough feeling that she isn't enjoying being bitten like a vampire and pinned to a fence. Care to back up a step or two?" Ry kept his voice polite, but there was a sharp edge to it. He crossed his arms, standing almost 3 inches taller than the other guy (or more, I don't know lol), his eyes glittering with slight irritation. Ryker had actually been a very small kid all the way through Elementary school, middle school, and even most of high school. He had been bullied so many times for his southern accent and small size, and he absolutely hated it. However, when he shot up about 2 feet and filled out finally, he started using his strength and found a new... hobby. Whenever he saw someone bullying someone else, no matter who it was, whether he knew them or not, he would always break it up and usually the bully would end up with a bloody nose.

Gavin glared at Ryker "who do you think you are. Don't tell me what to do" Abby's eyes were filled with fear as she tried to wiggle away from his grasp. She looked at the tall guy, begging with her eyes. Gavin pulled away but stayed against her there. Fly tossed her head and bumped Abby slightly. "Leave!"Gavin yelled, swatting at the horse

Ryker slowly tilted his head. "I think I am Ryker, and you? Though I don't think now is the time to introduce ourselves." He said sarcastically, glancing at Abby, who by now seemed utterly terrified and he had set his brain in stone about getting this guy away from her- whoever he was. Likely a rude boyfriend. However, when the boy swatted at the horse, Ryker almost blew a gasket. "You do know there are other living beings in the world that isn't yourself! You cannot treat them bad because YOU are having a bad day- or because you are just a coward in general. Don't take it out on others. When I say step away from Abby, and step AWAY from the horse, I mean it." Ryker strode forward so he was face to face with this irritating boy, his eyes set in an angry glare.

Gavin angrily walked away. "I'll be back Abby" he said. He disappeared in his truck and drove away. Abby fell to her knees. She stared down at the ground. "Thank you" she whispered as she put her hand on her neck. It was bleeding a little but she turned her head away. Fly leaned her head down and scratched her face. She sniffed Abby through the fence and gave a soft breath in her face. "Thank you so much Ryker" she said softly.

Ryker's dark gaze followed the boy as he walked away before turning to Abby. "Don't mention it. If you don't mind me asking, which you probably do... who is he? And also, I am sorry if you don't want me sticking my nose in your business, but I can't help but want to put him in his place. You of all people know what he was doing was not okay." He huffed slightly, looking irritated, a slight tick in his jaw as he watched the truck drive away.

Abby turned away. "He's my boyfriend. Gavin... he said he was the best of the best. I was wrong to believe him." She let Fly, watching the mare. "I should probably go tell my friend what happened. I should have listened to her. She said he was no good. She seems to know those kind of things"

Ryker attempted to smooth out his features, trying not to look TOO angry. He nodded slightly at her words, grimacing a little. "Is that the blonde friend who seemed to like whispering about *cute boys*?" He inquired with a small snort, shaking his head to indicate it was a rhetorical question. "Nevermind, I hope you have a wonderful rest of your evening. If you don't mind, I have a horse not really tied to a post, so I'd better go save him before he wanders off. Good day." Ryker nodded curtly before striding away towards Serpant, who was staring at the grass like he might die if he didn't eat it. "C'mon, bud." He clicked to the horse and walked into the barn, starting to untack.

Abby grimaced +he heard that?+ she sighed and walked up the hill. She groaned and collapsed on the soft grass in the yard. She was tired of the hill. The cabins were tempting. She didn't have to walk uphill. She didn't have to walk as long. The only bad thing was they weren't as good as the house and they didn't have a built in bestie

Ryker finished untacking Serpant, brushing the slightly sweaty stallion down and putting him in the stall. Afterward he grabbed the silver nameplate he had brought in, with the name *Serpant's Shadow* etched into it, and hung it on the stall door. "There... now this place can really feel like home." He mumbled, smiling sadly at the thought. He didn't realy have a home. Or a good one anyway. He probably couldn't count the number of nights he slept outside because his dad was drunk and his mom didn't care. Screaming could still be heard in his memories, even though those days were long gone. Father died of drug overdose and mother commited suicide... best parents ever, right? Ryker sighed heavily and trudged down the hill as the sun started to set, his shoulders slumped a little. He entered his cabin and sat on the couch with a small groan. He really hoped this stable wasbetter than the last...