City Girl Gone Country

[Jude Dorrian]

Jude led Graphite out of the stables; the horses' head held up proudly as usual. The farmer had already been down to see 'Mr. Dorrian' as he knew Jude, and had given him pretty much free reign of all the fields. Actually, the exact situation had been as follows...
"Trying to impress your pretty lady, Mr. Dorrian?" the farmer cackled loudly, elbowing Jude painfully in what he supposed was meant to be a playful fashion. "You show her some of your tricks for a kiss, right? Right?"
"Oh, yes, sir," Jude nodded, mouthing apologies to Ailith over the farmer's bony shoulder. "Yes, but let's not ruin the surprise shall we?"
The farmer cast a careful eye in Ailith's direction, then lowered his voice, "I like blondes too, you know."
"Very good, sir," Jude nodded, stepping backwards from the old man and trying not to wince. "I'll just be going on with Ailith now, okay?"
The farmer sighed to himself as he watched them both leave ("Ah... young love...") and promptly burst into a chorus of 'Puppy Love'.
Presently, Jude came up to Ailith, and tipped his stetson to her. There was no way he was going to wear one of those helmets today.
"Feeling ready?" he asked her, gesturing at Graphite.

[Ailith Rayner]

Ailith glared at Jude, who was beaming, stetson and all, the at the horse then back at Jude, "You want me to get on that? It's huge I don't even reckon I could lift my leg into that stirrup!"
"Fine, I'll help you up." Jude replied brightly, and he linked his fingers together and bent his knees slightly beside the beast.
"I don't know Jude, it is a really big horse and I don't know anything..."
"Ailith..." Jude began but Ailith railroaded right over him.
"...I mean I can figure out how to get onto that saddle but that's pretty much it..."
"You don't have to worry..."
"I mean what do I do? What do I not do? Am I panicking? Yes I am. Very much so but it is a very big horse and..."
"Look, what if i was on the horse with you?"
This was bad, Ailith had never been this nervous ever. Please tell me I'm not afraid of horses, I ... what?
"Erm..." Ailith looked up and grimaced at the great, grey body of dangerous muscle as if it was shouting something hurtful at her, "That might help I suppose..."

[Jude Dorrian]

Jude sighed in relief, pleased that the near-crisis had been averted. He wasn't about to give up on Ailith for this one. She was a city girl, so he supposed that the freak-out thing was only to be expected. The point was, she was in the country now, and Jude planned on having some fun.
"Good," he said, grinning. "Alright, come here, and I'll give you a boost up..."
In complete, solemn silence, Ailith approached him, and he helped give her a push up, surprised by how light she actually was. Once she was saddled, and firmly in place, Jude quickly pulled himself up, pleased he'd thought to bring a bigger saddle. He wasn't quite certain about the whole way this was going to work, what with the stirrups and everything. Jude took the reins with the sinking feeling he was just gonna have to wing it.
He cleared his throat. "Em. Y'all are going have to put your arms around my waist. Because you need something to hold onto- especially if Graphite starts into a canter or something."
Not that he would let Graphite away with it, but still. Horses could be unpredictable at the best of times.

[Ailith Rayner]

Ailith gulped. She looked down at the horse and shamefully felt herself begin to shake slightly. She stopped when Jude got on, mostly because she would hate Jude to know just how scared she was right now but also because if something went wrong Jude might be able to control it, whereas is she were by herself she wouldn't have a clue and fall off and die. She bagan to shake again and this time she couldn't stop.
Jude coughed and Ailith nearly flew out of the saddle, "Em. Y'all are going have to put your arms around my waist. Because you need something to hold onto- especially if Graphite starts into a canter or something."
She swallowed again and slid her arms round his waist. Unconciously she tensed and gripped Jude slightly harder. The beast below her made a slight step to the left and that did it.
Ailith buried her face in Jude's back shaking hard, "No Jude I want off!! Please let me get off!!"
The blood rushed in her ears, she could hear her breathing and she was now seriously panicking. Then her training kicked in, Shut up you wuss! Control yourself. There is practically no danger. The horse hasn't moved, Jude is here if things go wrong which they won't. Besides he does this all the time right? If I was that dangerous would he be taking you here? No. So wise up.
It helped a bit, but it didn't stop her shaking or not want to get off.

[Jude Dorrian]

Jude felt her grip around him tighten and realised that the crisis had not quite been averted. Immediately, Graphite could sense something was wrong, and took two quick, uncertain steps to the side.
Ailith tensed up even more, squeezing Jude tightly as she shook her head against his back. Suddenly, there was a strange noise, and Jude realised that Ailith was whimpering to herself.
"It's fine you aren't going to die, you aren't. It's really, really okay..."
Pulling slightly on the reins so as to keep Graphite steady, Jude raised his free hand to press his palm against the back of one of Ailith's and grip it tightly.
"Ailith, it is okay," he told her firmly, his fingers interlocking with hers. "Listen to me. There is nothing to panic about. I've rode Graphite a hundred times before. He knows me well, and I know exactly how to control him. You need to give this a chance. Okay?"
Slowly, and shakily, Ailith untensed herself slightly, exhaled even more slowly, and croaked, "Kay." Raising her head and pulling away slightly from his back, she looked dead ahead, her jaw clenched.
Jude nodded, and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. "Ailith, I'm going to start Graphite off at a very slow pace to that post over there at the bottom of the field. Once we've reached it, if y'all still feel like you can't cope, I'll help you down again, and we'll go do something else. Ailith, can you do that?"

[Ailith Rayner]

"Sure." Ailith croaked again and then cleared her throat. She was still shaking but only slightly. Thank God for Jude. He knew exactly what to say and that contact he made by putting his hand on hers helped her know she was safe because he wouldn't let anything happen. He told her where they were going and how far which also helped because she knew what to expect. Jude kicked the horse and it moved off slowly. Ailith was tempted to drop her head again but forced herself to remain straight-backed. Jude now thinks you're a wimp don't make it worse It wasn't all that bad she figured. The horse was moving, albeit very slowly, she hadn't died and apart from it being a bit bumpy it wasn't terrifiying at all. She had stopped shaking when the were halfway there and she began to take in more details. She watched how Jude moved with the horse and copied it. Aaah now that's a lot smoother. She had been holding herself ridged but when she loosened up a bit it was a hell of a lot easier. She then peered round Jude's shoulder and watched how he held the reins. Then she brought herself to look at the horse. It looked rather bored taking everything slow. She watched its hooves all moving and felt a slight rhythm.
She sighed. What the hell was my problem?!

[Jude Dorrian]

Finally making it to the post, Jude was pleased to see that Ailith had finally straightened up, and was even beginning to loosen her grip on him slightly, as though getting more comfortable. Her breathing had become much steadier, though Jude still made a point of keeping a hold on her hand.
Just in case.
"There," Jude smiled, and patted Graphite in relief. The horse seemed to snort, and he grinned. "Impatient ol' son of a mare. Alright, Ailith, how are y'all feeling now?"
He knew Graphite was keen to pick up the pace, but he didn't much care about Graphite right now. This was all about Ailith.

[Ailith Rayner]

Ailith laughed, "Miles better." She laughed again releasing all her adrenaline and sighed hard like the horse. "Do you ... do you think if we went, maybe, a wee bit, faster, it would be a good idea?" What are you saying! Shut up! No!
Jude beamed. "It would be awesome."
"But not too much. Please." Oh yes. Very well recovered, you're not an eejit at all Ailith... Her brain tutted at her mouth, Sometimes I hate you.

[Jude Dorrian]

He laughed at her. "Alright, alright. How about if I speed Graphite up a little bit- not a trot, but a fast walk?"
There was a brief pause as Ailith shifted in the saddle. "Yeah, okay."
Turning Graphite around again, Jude kicked the horse in the sides and they began to speed up slightly. At first, the ride was a lot jumpier, but it sooner became smoother. Jude listened to the comforting beat of Graphite's hooves as they pattered across the ground. Jude realised that the horse was actually toeing the line a bit between walking and trotting, and hoped Ailith wouldn't really know the difference. Making it back to the post that they'd started off at, Jude craned his head to look around at Ailith.
"How was that?"

[Ailith Rayner]

Ailith was smiling! She was actually enjoying this! OK it was also some relief that again she had not died nor was she in pain. Brilliant!
Jude looked round, "How was that?"
"That was great! I really liked it! I can't believe I had such a problem before." She laughed and bumped her forehead on Jude's back, mocking her stupidity. She spoke seriously, "Thanks for not letting me get down because I honestly would not have got back on any horse ever again." She lightened her tones again, "And this is actually kind of fun. So sorry about the panic attack!"
"Don't be sorry," he replied. "Everyone's entitled to the odd freak-out. And I'm glad you're enjoying it! Feel like a trot to celebrate?"
"Why not, I suppose but how much faster is it?" Even though she was really enjoying it there is a limit as to how fast someone can overcome a fear. And she really had never been so terrified in all her living life.

[Jude Dorrian]

"This much," he replied, and gave Graphite a sharp kick.
Immediately, Graphite straightened up, his ears pricking proudly as he turned to do a lap of the field. Trots were far bumpier than the actual walking part of riding, and Jude knew that Ailith would notice the difference. Mid-trot, Jude called back to her.
"How are you coping now?"
"How do- ow- you stop the hip damaging jarring?"
He laughed aloud at that. "Oh. Right. Get used to it?"
"Honestly? OK, fair enough," Ailith laughed.
There. She was laughing. Jude couldn't see how this whole thing could possibly have worked out better. Graphite swerved for a second lap of the field, and Jude let him, feeling confident enough that he could now have a proper conversation with Ailith while still riding.
"If you think this is bad, y'all should never try bareback riding," Jude told her conversationally. "If I never sire children, that's the reason why."

[Ailith Rayner]

Ailith laughed through her words, "Why do you do that to yourself!"
"I used to ride a lot when I was a kid. I could get people to pay to come and see me and everything- and I've always loved it."
"You were a show boy? Class! What about your metal bending? You could have made loads from that. Ah, but you'd be in a zoo, ah well. Erm how fast does this horse go with two people?"

[Jude Dorrian]

"Rather," Jude admitted. "He likes to show off a bit, you see..."
Show boy?! Well, that was one way of putting it, he supposed. Tameron was the type of person to just tell everyone everything- Jude wasn't so open about certain things. Tameron made it public knowledge they were orphans- none of Jude's friends actually knew that. It was a dull topic, and he saw no cause for bringing it up.
"Why? You looking to gallop?" he asked her wickedly.

[Ailith Rayner]

"Maaaybe." Ailith smiled, "Would he do that?"
"Hell, yeah, he would!"
"Can we please?" Ailith was practically out of the saddle already God know how she was going to cope with a gallop but she was up for it.
"You serious?" he frowned at her. "You sure you're ready?"
Ailith made a mischievous face and kicked the horse firmly, copying Jude's actions from before and Graphite increased his speed dramatically. Ailith laughed, gripped Jude harder feeling the incresing G-force. And now she had no fear whatsoever. It was probably the fastest anyone had ever come over a phobia. But she'd had help.

[Jude Dorrian]

Laughing in mingled horror and shock, Jude grabbed the reins and kicked Graphite even harder as the horse really began to pick up speed across the fields. Suddenly, the horse had broken free of their original fields, and Jude felt a pure rush of adrenalin as the horse began pounding over hills and paths and fields; running faster than he'd ever felt Graphite run before.
The whole time, he could feel Ailith squeezing him tightly from behind; her grip an iron firm. He could hardly believe she'd already built up the confidence to trot with him- let alone gallop at this smooth, lightning-quick speed across the fields. Jude could hear the wind rushing about him, and the blood pumping in his ears as his right hand flew to his head to keep his stetson steady. Then, on a whim, he whipped his stetson off completely and held it aloft- true Texas cowboy style, cheering all the while.
Finally, Graphite slowed to a canter, and eventually a dull trot, before the horse stopped completely and point blank refused to go any further. Ignoring the horse, Jude spun around on the horse to face Ailith properly, his cheeks flushed with excitement.
"Next time, a little warning would be nice!" he told her weakly.