2/15 Instance: Hot to Trot

[fourpawsonthefloor]

timeline current

Sam: Sam left the ear flaps on his hat untied so that he could hear better, but left them down so that they were a bit more protected from the nippy weather. There was a thick layer of frost on the fence rails and the horses nostrils steamed in the cold morning. He sucked in a happy breath. "Well, it's dang cold here, but you can't beat bein' outside, can you?"

Ben: He looked to Sam and flashed a nervous smile. "Outside is tres bien." He gave the horse a stare. Sam must be crazy. "You told me we were going for a ride. I thought you meant like... in a car." He looked at the horse and shook his head. "That thing. Is freaking. Huge." He didn't want to move.

Ben: "Sudden movements.... make them bite right? Can they not see if you don't move? Like a Rex?"

Sam: "Trays Ben?" He turned back to him. "What are you talkin' about?" A warm snort turned him back to the two he had tied up to the rail. "And nah, what are you gonna do in a car? And these boys don't bite. Well. Yours won't." He smacked the dun's neck he'd picked for Ben. "And yeah, they're big. How else do you expect to ride on them? You'd feel real dumb if you rode one of the ponies we kept for the kids. Sides which, you're too heavy."

Ben: "But..." he looked at the horse. It snorted and stared back. "When I went with Neena to the orchards, they all rode horses. I stayed behind with the mule. I named him Lester, we were very happy. I don't really think Lester would appreciate me making a new hoofed friend." His head lowered to the horses hooves. Good Lord, they were big. "Do these guys tote beer kegs around for Xavier or something?"

Ben: He looked to Sam. "How do I even get on?"

Sam: He gave him an odd look. "Nah, this isn't Xaviers stuff at all. These are the guys that I work for. They just are a standard trail ridin' sort of place." Used to new riders he led Ben around to the left side of the horse and pointed to the stirrup. "Put your left foot in there and then swing yourself up. You can use the horn on the saddle to help you."

Ben: "It won't bite me?" Or trample me? Or kick me? Or swat me with that tail.

Sam: "Nah. Not unless you do somethin' pretty ridiculous, or try to feet it oats in a closed fist or somethin' dumb."

Ben: He raised an eyebrow. What does this boy do on his free time? he wondered to himself. Taking in a deep breath, he did as he was told, freezing once as he swung his leg over and the horse adjusted his stance. Easing himself into the saddle his muscles tightened and his fingerless mittens clenched the reigns. "So... like... wow. I'm on a horse." Holy shit... holy shit... Oh my God! Can they smell fear!? Will the other horse see my expression and push me off his friend!?

Sam: "Uh...no." He swung up on his horse and gave Ben a look. "Just don't try and come up too close to my horse, alright? Cause he's a bit of a bastard. He's gettin' a lot better though." He clicked to him and swung the horses head around to start up the trail.

Ben: "No spider-sense... okay... no clear and present danger. Yet." He copied Sam's movements and sounds carefully patted the neck of the animal. "Good... uhm..." Name, name... "Cupcakes."

Sam: He laughed and craned his neck to look back at Ben. "His name ain't 'cupcakes'. And he's a...he. Namin' him cupcakes seems a bit unfair, don't it?"

Ben: "He can be a gay horse, I don't have a problem with that." He beamed a smile. "So long as he doesn't try and mount your rascally fella while I'm on him." He let the horse plod a long and slowly began to loosen his muscles. "So... you got two guy horses... they don't fight?"

Sam: "Yours is a geldin'. So no. He knows mine is above him...that's why Ah'm up front." He bestowed another smile. "And it still ain't 'cupcakes'. It's Don. Like...Don the dun. It's not really origional, but Ah didn't name him."

Ben: "Not exactly a great name either. Can I just call him Donatello?" He gave Sam a smirk and laughed a bit. "Okay, so we're out for a ride. In the snow. Riding horses..." he looked around nervously. "Let's change the subject. Do you like the name Colin?"

Sam: He gave a long sigh. "Ben, Ah keep on tellin' you. His name's Don. Ain't like you can just go and change it on a whim, you know?"

Ben: "No, no. For a son. Colin? If I have a boy I've been fighting with Colin Parker Reilly or Parker Joshua Reilly." He shrugged. "Neena is dead set that it's a girl. I don't know."

Sam: "Oh, right." He frowned and pulled his horse back a little. "Well...Ah dunno. Ah've never thought of somethin' like that." He shifted his seat a bit. "What does Neena like more? And ain't this all...like a bit early on? Shouldn't y'all be worryin' more about where you're gonna live and how you're gonna do all this?"

Ben: "Well... " he snorted. "First off, she's looking at three maybe four months now." He shrugged. "We're assuming the time we did it when she forgot the emergency contraceptive was the day it happened."

Ben: "However, as for living situation, as we get closer and closer, we both are dedicated to finishing school. After that, she has inherited plenty of money and my album should bring some in, once its re-completed." He rolled his eyes at his new mission of re-recordign an entire album. "So, yeah. Living situation post-Xavier's should be set. She has a house in the orchard, and an apartment she inherited in the city form her Uncle."

Sam: He was way confused now. He'd been reading a lot about birth control since the whole thing. "Emergency? Like the mornin' after pill? Lord." And like Rogue would even take that. "Ah think it's good that you want to finish school. Would seem wrong to leave..." He jerked and his house started with that movement, sidestepping on the path with a loud snort. "A house in the orchard? Which orchard? The one here?"

Benjamin: "No, no. She's the CEO of a company that acts as a Grower for various wineries. There's a lot of other details there, but I steer clear of them." The horse shook its head and snorted, making Ben flinch. "Oh my God! I thought he was about to buck..."

Sam: "Nah..." Sam clucked with his tongue and got his horse straightened out. "They ain't dumb, Ben. They don't wanna go to any more work than they need to do either. They're usually pretty happy just goin' for an amble. Ah just startled mine is all, and he's a bit more wound up than yours is."

Sam: He took in Ben's tight posture on his mount. "Jeeze, you gotta let loose a little and go with your horse. It's gonna end up rubbin' you wrong and makin' Don sore if you don't just relax a little."

Benjamin: "So... give him a massage and unwind him?" Ben offered. He looked at his own horse, feeling momentarily sorry. "Okay... I'll ease up.. but if he bucks, I'm webbing out of here."

Sam: "Oh, don't be so worried all the time. Ah swear, you're in more danger swingin' around like a monkey in those trees than you'd be on old Don there. Just relax and enjoy. Look at all the pretty things that are around here. You can't hear all that nature over the noise of an engine." And in perfect timing Don raised his tail and started to drop road apples behind them. "Though...there is that..."

Benjamin: "Did he just?" he looked behind him. "Good Lord, that's a lot of poo." He patted the horses neck. "You feel better, huh?" He gave Sam a wink. "Pretty soon, pooping and crying is going to be most of my day."

Sam: His lips firmed a bitl. "Yeah, well, Ah suppose it will. Ah guess this is why mah parents are so dead set against havin' sex before marriage." But like he could talk. "But then, y'all will be married before she has the baby, so that'll be alright."

Benjamin: "I think we might hold the wedding off. We're still on the fence about that. With the record getting pushed back it could potentially be sooner. Which is nice. No touring so I can go honeymoon with her or whatever. But we don't want to honeymoon and have a baby suddenly. Soooo." He shrugged. "Maybe no honeymoon? We're not sure. For now a wedding is just set to happen. No time."

Benjamin: "Sex before marriage is perfectly fine anyways, and who cares if you love eachother when she gets pregnant? At least you love each other, y'know? Not like one needs marriage to solidify that. Though... I'm pretty sure Rogue... can't, right?"

Sam: "Yeah...but honeymoon or no honeymoon, you'd want your baby to have married parents first, right? Ah mean...get married after? Ain't that awkward?" His brow pucked. "Ah think that someone needs marriage. Ah mean it's a pledge to each other. It means a lot." The frowned deepened. "Well...she doesn't think so, no."

Benjamin: "The marriage, or the symbol of what it is supposed to be I suppose, can only be as strong as the pledge. If I pledge my love to her, does that mean I want to be married? Yes. But do I need a ring and service to do that? No, not really. It just makes it easier. And more romantic." He saw Sam's face and glanced to the ground. "Well... I mean she could be wrong... but scientifically speaking it's not likely."

Benjamin: "However..." He gave him a wide smile. "If you guys do want kids some day, stranger things have happened under far stranger circumstances, and I'm sure science has come plenty far enough to help you two find a way to do so if you need it."

Sam: "But part of makin' that pledge is makin' it before God and all your family and friends. It's about ownin' it all. Bein' a man, you know?" Hmm. Maybe this was a south thing. But still, it was the right thing to do. He turned away with a shrug. "Ah'm not worried about that at the moment. Ah'm more in how to make sure we don't."

Benjamin: "Meh, God can wait. He knows I'm a man, I don't need to prove that. And so does my family." He shrugged. "Besides I'm basically Buddhist. Christian ideal of God does not apply to me. Not the Christian 'ethic' at least, if you can call it that." He looked at the horse who was slowly trodding.

Benjamin: "Well... if you want to make sure you don't there's only 100% effective way... don't have sex. If you can't do that, the pill and condoms have equal amounts of effectiveness. People forget their pill, guys forget to put the condom on right. It's mostly human mistake. In short, don't fuck up."

Sam: "Yeah, Ah know." Didn't help that she wouldn't take the pill, but he was doing his part of it. He did allow himself to roll a slightly sardonic eye to Ben. "Ah see that wisdom did you well, Ben."

Benjamin: "You can only be wise when you apply yourself. Right now I'm a city-boy on a horse in the snow talking about marriage commitments and his soon to be born child who has yet to have a name." He cursed himself. "I really want a name. I don't know why but... I just do. I love it already and it's not even born."

Sam: "Yeah, but you can't name it till you know what it is, right? No point till then. But maybe is there somethin' in your family or her family? What about her uncle that died? What's his name?"

Benjamin: "Gino. That's the nice sounding short version, trust me the long one isn't that great." He rolled his eyes. "Lazarus is her brother... not sure I like that name a lot. And if it's a girl... I was going to name her Laura Rachel Reilly... but... Rachel doesn't want to be my friend so long as I have this child, so we might go with Antonia."

Sam: That was news. "What?" He pulled his horse to a stop. "What does Rachel want you to do with it?"

Benjamin: "I don't know. Not have it I suppose? She's not very pleased I'm having a kid. I personally think she feels replaced, but that's not true. However; she won't hear of it. Won't talk to me now unless she's yelling at me or making a snide comment about the unborn child."

Sam: He gave him a slightly upset look. "Well she can't want you to abort the child, right? And she'd want you to stand by Neena and do the right thing. So maybe she's just adjustin' to the whole thing?"

Benjamin: "Actually, you might be surprised what Rachel's reasoning is. And I don't know what to tell you as to the adjusting. I would assume so, but honestly, she is calling it all sorts of names already. I just basically threw her out and I haven't spoken with her in a while."

Sam: "You know it? What is it? Musta been bad if you treated her like that." His horse pawed a little, impatient, but he wanted to hear this.

Benjamin: "She just said it would come out creepy or ugly, said ..." Unable to recall her own words, being he had already blocked them out he pulled at the reigns the way Sam had to make his horse stop pacing. "Uh, I dunno... basically in other words, she called it unwarranted. Basically, it was a lot like when you introduce a new child to the play pen. The other kids get ejalous and call it names."

Benjamin: "Just... knee jerk anger. I guess. And all I know is she really doesn't want to be Auntie Rachel."

Sam: That was vastly confusing. He didn't even know what to make out of that. "She's callin' your kid a freak? That doesn't sound like Rachel. Ah mean, Ah know she ain't the child type, but she's not mean like that either."

Benjamin: "Oh sure she is. You just haven't gotten on her bad side yet. She put me in a coma once." His smile was almost one of pride.

Sam: "Oh." He gave a slightly lost frown and nudged his horse to get it going again. "Ah never realized." It was one of those weird moments where you felt like you knew someone, but didn't know that they were so...well evil, by Ben's accounts. It made him question things for sure.

Benjamin: "I don't know what to make of it all... I'm just going to be there for Neena. Right now that is all that matters. That and not getting thrown off by Don here." He clicked and the horse began to plod along again. "I'm slightly less weary of horses now Sam, thank you."

Sam: "Ain't a problem. Ah told you it was easy. Got a while till you'd be a cowboy, but still, imagine Neena might find it nice watchin' you." He gave another look. "Well. Maybe after a couple more times and you get that stick outta your butt. Seriously, Ben, that horse ain't gonna kick you off. Promise."

Benjamin: "Promise all you want, I'm still scared." He imagined Sam in full Cowboy get-up, possibly dancing to some Alan Jackson. It would work. "You know Sam, I think you'd make a good Dad. However, like me on a horse, you gotta loosen up first. You got a good head on you though, and you got... just a dad appeal to you. Not sure where it comes from, but I don't think you'd be all too horrible at it. In fact, there's a lot of people who could potentially do worse like me."

Sam: "Ah'm eighteen!" He laughed. "Ah mean...kids, someday, yeah. But Ah'm a bit young to be worryin' about that yet, right?"

Benjamin: "Hey man, if live has taught me anything, it's that if you're going to take on the responsibility of one thing, let's say sex, get ready to be responsible for the end result." He saw Sam's face and chuckled. "But you'll be fine. You're right, you're 18, there's nothing to worry about. Just do yourself a favor, and love Rogue. Best thing you could do."

Sam: "Well, there's no fear in that." He ducked his head and turned his horse around. "You think you're ready for a bit of a trot back?"

Benjamin: "Oh, definitely." Ben said, eager to hear the word back. "Sam, can you do me one huge favor? Don't talk to Rogue about Rachel's reactions. Neena and I are going to deal with it. I won't let her throw our friendship out the window like that..." (I hope...) he finished in his head. "If Rogue knows... you know she'll talk to either Neena or Rachel about it so... just wait for a bit?"

Sam: "Ah'll let y'all deal with your business." Of course, he'd not said that he couldn't talk to Rachel himself. "Alright now, hang on." And with that he tapped his horse up into a slow trot. Perhaps there was a bit of viciousness in him, knowing that Ben was likely to flop in the saddle like a sac of potatoes on some rather vital parts and wouldn't be in shape to be thinking about impregnanting anything for the next few days. He just felt like there was a part of the story he was missing here.

Benjamin: "thank you." Ben said. As they got their horses to the barn, got off, and slowly began to prepare them for the return to their stalls, Ben gave a hand shake to Sam. "Thanks for the ride too. That was a lot better than I thought it would." He watched the horse stamp the ground and felt the hair on his neck rise.

Benjamin: "Don't expect me to come back however."

[Esynthia]

Ben is being weird...

[Ult_Sm86]

You mean with this sudden burst of responsibility?

[Love das flockige]

Neena: Who are you and what have you done with Ben???

Lol. I liked the interaction between the two, Sam is so endearing as usual and Ben is...Ben? LOL.

Great work you two!

[tears~fall~like~glass]

Of course, he'd not said that he couldn't talk to Rachel himself.

I'm trying to decide whether that should worry me or not...