100F in the shade

[rojoranchmods]

The heat is thick. There is absolutely no breeze and the sun seems to be taunting the Ranch from high above. Everyone has come in from working for lunch. There are tables out on the porch of the house where there are sandwiches, tea and lemonade waiting for everyone. The fire is still burning high and children are now throwing sticks and dead

Comments

Late post is very late :3

[spoony_ninja]

Of course the heat was beating down on the poor prince. He'd been working non-stop all morning, not even sure why he was put in the stables. The horses were such odd creatures, much like chocobos with hooves. In a way, they were majestic animals.

He wiped his forehead of sweat and kept working. As majestic as they were, the horses still smelled bad. He couldn't wait to break for lunch.

(don't worry my posts are even later)

[cassie_ray]

Hunter? Hah! Cassie Ray was to be bait, and the knowledge rankled her. She didn't let her irritation be known, however. She had spent the morning learning what her new duties were to be and helping the hunters-- all men, it seemed-- with various preparatory tasks. Her muscles had softened in the long months since her father... well, since the incident, and it felt good to put them to real use again. The sun punished all from high above, but Cassie Ray was a Texas girl through and through, albeit from about eighty years in the future. She drank her water, wiped her brow, and refused to complain about the heat. She was more grateful than she wanted to let on when they released her for lunch

[spoony_ninja]

"These... creatures need to find some... other place to..." Edge kept mumbling to himself. As he continued to shovel the horses' manure into a huge pile, he noticed a young woman walk by. When she smiled, he couldn't help smiling back. Her appearance made his day just a bit brighter.

Of course, being the helpless flirt that he was, Edge tossed his shovel aside and walked up to the woman. Forget the horses; there was a girl present! "Good afternoon, miss. Lovely weather we're having."

Not his "A" material, but it was a start.

[cassie_ray]

Cassie Ray's smile stiffened slightly, becoming one of politeness rather than quiet pleasure. "Hundred degrees, easy, and not a cloud in sight. Lovely for one level of hell or another." She shrugged. "I don't know about you but I don't expect it to get much better." She nods toward the stables. "How are the horses treating you?" She's not rude, just not very good with strangers.

[spoony_ninja]

Edge put on his most easygoing smile. "They're okay, I guess. I've never really seen horses before, so this is kind of new to me. I was hoping my noble title would get me out of doing such labor, but the other ranch hands just laughed at me." He tried to refrain from snorting. "And they kind of smell."

Oh wow, I thought my reply was posted days ago. I guess the website crunched it. sorry!

[cassie_ray]

Cassie Ray shrugged. "Yeah, they smell, but it's a wholesome smell to me. I don't mind it too much. I grew up in the middle of nowhere and I've seen a stable or two in my life. But I'd be dead bored by doing what you do." She hasn't gotten into much conversation as of yet, and she's still pretty unsettled by finding herself here, though not minding it much. It's better than where she was at and what she'd been dealing with where she came from. But something he said gave her pause, and she quirked an eye skeptically. "Noble title?"

It's okay. It's been eating a lot of my other tags, too.

[spoony_ninja]

Edge straightened up proudly. "Yes! I'm the Prince of Eblan, heir to the throne!" He could say that he was technically king now, but prince sounded better at the moment. It made him seem noble, but not -too- noble. Besides, the ladies love it.

"You're not joking about it being boring. And HARD! Ugh, these horses are going to drive me insane."

Re: It's okay. It's been eating a lot of my other tags, too.

[cassie_ray]

"Yeah, and I'm the Queen of Sheba." Cassie Ray is not your average lady. Nobility does not impress her. She took a swig of her canteen and wiped her brow with a handkerchief. "They're not so bad. But better you doing this than me. I wouldn't trade you for it, that's for damn sure. Although," she went on with quiet mirth, "you can't complain too much. You get to spend half the time in the shade." She pointed to the stable roof.

[spoony_ninja]

Edge shrugged. "True, but with the horses' heat and all this moisture, it sure feels a lot hotter than it should. Then again..." He glanced out towards the entrance where the sun was still blazing. "It does beat being roasted alive."

He thought about using his magic, but he felt like it was all gone. He couldn't explain it, but whenever he tried casting something, it wouldn't manifest. And a Flood or Frost spell would be so helpful right about now.

[cassie_ray]

She grunted a bit and nodded. "Yup. All I'm saying is, it could be worse. All of this could be a lot worse." She could go for some AC, but if it's not to be found, oh well. She could deal.

Cassie Ray stifled a smirk that was not unkind as another horse relieved himself. "Okay, being up close and personal is kind of foul," she agreed.

[spoony_ninja]

When Edge saw the horse relieve itself, he threw his hands up in the air. "I just cleaned that!" He grabbed the shovel again and stomped over to the stable. He gave the horse a dirty look and began to clean. "You smell worse than a wild chocobo!"

He almost forgot he was in the presence of a lady, so he cleared his throat. "Sorry you had to see that. These horses have no manners."

[cassie_ray]

She snorted quietly at first, and then laughed outright. "Don't apologize for the horse just doing its thing," she drawled. "Though he does look a lot happier than you do right now."

[spoony_ninja]

Edge took another look at the horse. It gave the pair a small neigh before settling down. That did soften him up a little. "He kind of does look happier." He was hesitant, but he tried to pet the horse. "I wonder if they will let us ride them sometime. It looks like fun."

[cassie_ray]

Cassie Ray shrugged. "I dunno. Considering that you're a poop-scooper and I'm" - she made a face- "bait, I figure it'll take a while before they let us do anything interesting."

[spoony_ninja]

He was about to say 'I prefer the term stable attendant' when she mentioned being "bait". "What do you mean you're bait? Are these horses wild and they need you to lure them?" Edge sounded genuinely confused and curious.

[cassie_ray]

Cassie laughed. "No. I'm bait for the hunters. Apparently everyone starts out as bait before they can work their way up. I hope it's quick, too. If they'd just give me a gun, I could probably teach them something." There's something in her bearing that says she means it, too.