e_delmar | (no subject)

(no subject)

When you been working with animals all your life, seems wrong not to.

Seems...

well. Ennis ain't out of it yet, and some pain ain't gonna keep him from the paddock. Slow him down, maybe, and could be why he's restin' against the fence instead of giving Tequila a work through, but he's out there.

And that's something.

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His voice is raspy, he forces it out with a smile.

"Afternoon, Miss River."

"Okay," River says happily.

She's only just near enough for that to be audible, but together she and Boukephalos are working their way closer.

Ennis tilts his head to the side, confused.

"You okay, y'mean?"

"That too."

Her cheer is fading a little, as they get closer, but there's only so much River can brood on horseback.

Don't Ennis know that feeling, s'why he's out there. He stands, gripping the fence maybe a little tighter than he should need to, and walks over, offering his hand to Boukephalos.

Boukephalos eyes Ennis's hand warily, and then deigns to snuffle at his palm. When no treats are forthcoming, he snorts and turns his head away as if in dismissal.

River ignores the byplay. Her eyes are on the fence, or maybe on Ennis's hand.

Well, then, Ennis' hand is back on the fence, so ain't that convenient. He shrugs and smiles a light smile at the horse and leans over as a clearing of the throat becomes a cough he can't shake.

River's face tightens, and Boukephalos shifts as her posture changes.

She winds her fingers in the stallion's mane, staring down at them, and waits.

It ain't all that long she has to wait, it clears up in a minute or two, but then he's leaning more'n he was, and wipes his face with his sleeve.

"Sorry 'bout that."

"No," River whispers.

Boukephalos shifts again, restlessly, and arches his neck in wary challenge to any enemies who might be hiding in the bushes.

Boukephalos vs. the Demon Bunnies, who will win?

Ennis purses his lips into a frown and turns his face away from her a bit.

Totally Boukephalos. For he is cranky and full of temper, and also he can step on them.

River looks at him, and her face tightens again with worry or misery.

There's another clearing of the throat, and he manages to keep it under control this time, and he turns and gives her a smile.

"He been good for you today?"

"He's cranky," River says, with a tiny and wobbly smile that turns it into an affectionate statement. Her fingers wind through strands of black hair, brushing over the soft hair and thick muscle of his withers.

"Had a race."

That makes two of them, then.

"With who?"

It's a trend.

River gives Ennis a blank look.

Ennis looks up at her, his eyes large and worried.

The blankness slides away into clear confusion, tinged liberally with worry.

A hand comes up and he covers his face and when he pulls it away, he looks guilty, if anything.

"I won," River says, to say something; it's blank and a little tentative, as if she's not quite sure they're talking about the same thing.

Ennis is pretty damn sure they're not talking about the same thing, and he's confused, but he comes a little closer.

"Mmmm."

River looks down at Boukephalos's neck.

And then she lifts her leg over his withers and slides off, landing with a soft thud on the grass. She winds an arm absently around his foreleg, and leans against him, while he snorts at the sky and casts baleful looks at the paddock's occupants.

Ennis shakes his head at Boukephalos and reaches out a hand, resting it lightly on River's arm.

River's eyes flick to him.

He swalllows, and squeezes her arm.

Softly, "I know."

Nervous, unsure, he looks at her, not moving his hand.

River looks back, before her gaze wanders off into the clouds.

Boukephalos shifts his weight and lifts his head high, scanning the horizon again.

River's eyes drop, and she tries a smile. It mostly succeeds. "Said."

"Said what?"

"Vacation."

Ennis blinks at her, brows furrowed.

"Come again?"

River grins at him, small and quick.

"Yes."

That ain't so much HELPING, River.

Ennis' look clearly says "WHAT?!?"

River looks bewildered, and then rolls her eyes in teenaged exasperation.

"You can. I asked."

"Can what?"

"Come over," River says impatiently.

Possibly either she's forgotten which words she actually used, or she's forgotten again that not everyon is psychic.

"With Jack. Down the ramp."

OH.

"On the ship?"

"Ship and moon."

She looks down, and lets her fingers slide over Boukephalos's knee.

More tentatively, "Captain said yes."

And that smile that'd been hiding down somewhere comes up and makes an appearance as Ennis leans forward and places a kiss on River's forehead.

"Thank you."

River looks up at him -- a little shy, a little proud, mostly touched. The sunlight gilds her upturned face, except where Ennis's shadow falls across her cheek and shoulder.

Ennis clears his throat again, and that smile ain't gone nowhere.

"He say when?"

"It's in the schedule," River says, and her free finger flicks as if calculating something.

"One day at maximum burn. Two if the course corrections are indistinct." Beat. "Ask Wash."

Ennis nods, like he knows what that means (but his eyes say he don't) and he gives River a hug.

"You'll come 'n get us."

It's almost a question.

It's a dumb question, if so, and River's face informs him of that.

"Send up the signal flags."

Ennis gives a light chuckle and nods.

"'ll keep an eye out."

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