"that would probably be a good idea." said Sam, thinking of Ellie covered in dirt and hay. "'night then," he said, smiling softly as he walked slowly down the long stoney path to his small accomodation. He changed quickly, and sank into the coers of his bed, relishing all his muscles relaxing into the soft velvety feathers. he hears Nero whinnie to another horse. goodnight, Nero he thought, dropping off to sleep, his deams filled with horses, pizza and girls with deep blue eyes.

After a peaceful and enjoyable sleep, filled with dreams she couldn't remember, Ellie woke up to the early morning light that shone in her eyes. She sleepily sat up and stretched her arms before getting out of bed and getting ready to go sort the horses out. She walked along the paths that lead to the stables, poking her head through the door then going off to catch her horses in. It was still very early in the morning, maybe around 6:30, but it had already started to warm up. The sun was nice so she figured that once she had done her barn chores, she could try and take Frost out... Depending on how she felt later.

Sam rose at 5 AM, yawning and stretching. he showered quickly, then dressed in yard clothes. he popped downstairs for some quick breakfast, then went to go see Nero. He whispered hello, and gave him his morning feed of alfalfa, codliver oil, and pony nuts. nero munched away while Sam did a quick muck-out of his stable. He waved hello to Ellie as she came walking down. "late-riser?" he joked. Sam always prefered to be the first person at the yard.

As she lead her two horses in, she spotted Sam, who had already started to talk to her. "I- think that you just got up early. What time did you get down here?" She questioned, letting the two horses make their way into their own stables, shutting the doors behind them. "And I'm tired, so I'm surprised I'm here at all." She grumbled quietly, "It sucks, because I don't like coffee, so I just need to make it through the day the best I can." She said, almost at a whisper.

"hah, yeah you did." sam chckled. "i woke up at 5 this morning, im an early bird." he said. "really? i love coffee," Said Sam. "only thing that gets me throgh these early rises of mine." sam laughed softly, and patted Nero's neck. hmmm he thought, then finally said it. "hey, wanna come out for a quick hack with me and Nero?" he asked. "test that feisty little mare of yours out." he said.

Ellie quivered a little and shook her head, "No, coffee is manky!" She insisted, scrunching her eyes up before blinking once or twice. "A hack with my headstrong mare and your stallion?" She questioned, tapping her finger on her lip, "How wrong could that go?" She said sarcastically but gave a chuckle, walking towards the stable and tickling the icy mares nose.

"nah, its delicious!" Sam said, thinking of the creamy coffee he had this morning for breakfast. "yeah its probably not a great idea, forget it." Sam said, a little embarrassed. he topped up Nero's water bucket and went to stuff some hay into Nero's haynet. Nero chomped happily on his hay while Sam started sweeping the yard and doing varios other chores.

Ellie watched him curiously before speaking up again, "If you really want to go out on a hack, I can come out with you a little later with Astra. I'll take my chances and take Frost out alone." She offered with a shrug before wandering off to brush off her horses. It was one of the many reasons she wished to have darker coated horses. Her gray and palomino weren't the best at staying clean.

"sure, bt no pressure if yo don't want to come." sam said and shrugged, leading Nero out into the yard. he brushed him, popped on a light fly rg and turned him out into the sunny pasture, where he immediately dropped down and rolled around in the lush green grass, then stopped to nibble at some leaves delicately, his golden coat shining in the sunshine.

"Eh, schooling is boring anyway..." She complained, starting to work on a stain on Astras withers, then moving onto his tail. She refused to ride unless her horse was spotless, and there was no sign of a knot in their mane and tail - That included any feathers. "I don't mind, its not like I have anything else to do." She shrugged, almost as if she was talking half to herself and half to Sam once he had gotten a little closer to the barn again.