Ryker clipped the stallion into the crossties and stepped back. He watched in, still, mild surprise as Abby braided another fancy weird pattern. "I am befuddled on how you accomplish that." He chuckled a little, brushing some of the mud off of Serpant.

Abby smiled. "I'll never tell you my secrets!" She giggled and skipped away. "I want to ride but I also want to draw. I also want to ask those grooms what they are snickering about!"

Ryker put a hand on his heart, pretending to be offended. "Aw, shucks." He sighed, laughing a little afterwards and slowly following her at a walk. "Lucky you- you CAN ride." He snorted. "Weeeell how about you start with asking the grooms why they were snickering." Ryker rolled his eyes a little, amused by her to-do list.

Abby tossed her hair over her shoulder and rolled her eyes. A few of the groom took off and hid behind hay and doors uuntil Abby had made her way all the way up the hill. Abby stopped and stared at the tree she usually climbed. "I want to... but I don't want to get pulled down again." She tilted her head. +should I? Ryker would stay on the ground right? He would keep me safe right?+ she looked back at Ryker, still thinking

Ryker chuckled a little at the groom's quick disappearances. +How could anyone EVER not want to be talked to by Abby?+ He thought with a smile, partially joking in his mind but really, he felt it was true. She definitely always made him feel better about his own sad life. "Pulled down by... squirrels? If you don't somehow die up there, I'll be here if you fall." He joked a little as an answer, but he meant it. After ALL he'd done for her (haha) he wasn't going to let her plop onto the ground.

Lollll))

-

"nooo! I mean when Gavin pulled me!" She gave a slight shiver but then pushed the sadness away. Ryker was there. And he was right. He would catch her. "Whatever. Here goes nothing!" She pulled herself into the tree and settled down on her branch

"OHHHHH okay. So not by evil squirrels. Got it. Well, don't worry, I won't let ANYONE get within 100 feet of the tree." Ryker joked with a grin. "But I mean it, Gavin is hopefully far far away and if he isn't I will give him something MUCH worse than a broken nose. Maybe he should get to see what broken ribs feels like. Or something serrated that is 6 inches long and there are four of them stabbed into your leg and viciously dragged down, ripping open skin on the way... grizzly claws suck." He shuddered a little at the thought. His leg still hurt. Even after surgery. And... "Oh crap.............. I have to get the stitches out tomorrow..." Ryker groaned, running a hand through his hair.

Abby's eyes widened the more that he spoke. "So THATS what happened to you!" She tilted her head "why did you not tell me? I'm hurt now" she joked, giving a fake sad face. She leaned back against the tree. "But atleast you get them out. " she smiled at him

"Oh... I didn't realize I hadn't told you what happened. Sorry, didn't mean to, it just wasn't the top thing in my mind to go around telling everyone I met about how I was attacked by a grizzly bear and kicked by my own horse." Ryker winced. He was the last person he'd ever imagine getting hurt by a wild animal... he loved nature and he was really good about giving animals their space. It was a bad mistake to go anywhere near that cave. It was so STUPID of him to NOT assume there was a BEAR in there. "Yeah. But I also have to go back to that STUPID hospital." He snorted. (We're not going to mention the bill for surgery heehehe...)

Lol money isn't a problem in this world lol or atleast I hope not lol)

-

Abby grimaced at his words. "That must have hurt..." she shook her head, getting slightly dizzy and wobbling on the tree. She laughed and steadied herself with a branch. "Whoops. Maybe a tree isn't the greatest idea anymore."