The Coolest Pegasus Around. (Ri only)

Malachai walked into the stables, being as quiet as possible not to wake the ones that were sleeping.
It was also to keep what he was hiding a secret. Pegasus had noses like the devil. they could sniff out treats in a heartbeat.
This was for a special Pegasus though. His Pegasus. Malachai had laid claim to a grey Pegasus this past year of camp, only for him. He had named him Tug for two reasons. One, it was named after the horse in his favorite book series, and two...well the horse really did act like the horse in the book. regardless, the Pegasus held a special place in Malachai's heart. He couldn't ask for a finer companion.
 As he approached the stall were Tug laid, Malachai could see the Pegasus' ears twitch before it opened it's eyes. When Tug had spotted him, He immediately stood and awaited for Malachai to approach.
"How ya doing Tug?" Malachai asked as he brought forth an apple. Tug munched on it gratefully, knowing full well that Malachai was breaking the rules giving him treats.
"Remember, this is our little secret."
Tug's expression seemed to tell Malachai that He would keep it a secret, although he also seemed to be saying.
Yea! yea! Are there anymore?
Malachai laughed.
"You'll get fat if I give you more."
smiling, Malachai placed his face against Tug's. Tug really was his best friend.

((Hey, Mal! Can I call you Mal? Anyway, if your asking for Daquiri, or Ri, as it says in the title, she probably wont answer. She says she not joining any more topics until Ri gets claimed. Unless, Ceru, your making another exception ))

If there was one reason Daquiri could appreciate this camp, it was because they had a stables. She hadn't yet gotten a chance to visit them since her tour with Syl had gotten cut short--mainly because her temper had gotten away from her, but still. Daquiri loved horses. Back in Virginia, there had been quite a few horse stables around that she had sometimes gone off to to be alone. Finding stables in New York, however...that wasn't too often of an occurrence.

  Daquiri had always loved spending time around horses. People were aggravating and volatile and all-together ignorant idiots. Horses, however, never seemed to care who you were or what you looked like or where you came from. They still had plenty of personality, but they were great at standing and watching and listening to you. Whenever Daquiri's emotions had ever started to get out of her control, horses tended to be her go-to companions.

  However, when the red-head made her way through the stable doors, the creatures she was met with weren't exactly...horses. They had all the same features as horses, but the creatures standing in front of her had wings.

  "Pegasi," she half breathed, half gasped. Camp Half-Blood had a stable full of pegasi. As in, the winged horses from Greek mythology. From mythology. Daquiri shook her head in amazement. She didn't even care if this meant the Greek gods were real; if it meant she could ride pegasi for the rest of her life, she was okay with that.

  Slowly making her way through the stables, Daquiri crossed the walkway to the stalls where lines of the beautiful creatures were kept. She walked up to a beautiful strawberry roan that was delicately eating hay from a hay net. The gold name plate on the stall door read "Rosebud." Holding out an outstretched palm, Daquiri clucked her tongue to get Rosebud's attention. The mare turned her big brown eyes towards her and whinnied softly as she stepped forward to nuzzle Daquiri's hand with her velvety nose. A small trace of a smile whispered its way onto Daquiri's lips--a very rare occurrence indeed.

  However, the moment was shattered when the strawberry blonde heard footsteps behind her. Thinking quickly, Daquiri grabbed a curry comb from a tack box she spied by the foot of Rosebud's stall, then let herself into the the stall. Normally, Daquiri would never think of invading the personal space of a horse she had just met, but this mare seemed to be very sweet-tempered so she figured that as long as she didn't hide near the roan's back legs, she would be okay.

  Daquiri ducked down when she heard a person enter the stables. Whoever it was reached their destination pretty quickly, because barely any time passed before she heard the low murmurings of a male voice and the happy nickers of another pegasus. Peeking over the rim of the stall door, Daquiri spied a boy that looked a few years older than her standing next to another stall, covertly feeding the grey pegasus inside an apple. The pegasus was a sturdy, friendly looking creature with a mottled grey coat. It looked much more lively and mischievous than Rosebud--her favorite kind of horses to ride. In fact, now that she thought about it, what would it be like to ride a pegasus? Were they actually able to fly with people on them? The thought excited her more than anything she'd ever experienced. And it was strange...she couldn't remember the last time she'd actually felt positive feelings towards something.

  Shifting her position in the stall to get a better view of the pair, Daquiri accidentally knocked against the water bucket hanging from the side of the stall. Water sloshed out of it and, forgetting she was supposed to be hiding, the red-head swore a little louder than she meant to when it splashed onto her shoes. Rosebud let out a nervous whinny at the sudden harsh words.

((...yeah, that literally took me an hour to write. I can't tell how long it is on my phone, but it probably looks like a novel. Heh.))

[Edit:] Yesh, Corra, I'm making an exception ^^ Cuz I'm only in one other topic and this one's closed, lol. And Chai and I were planning last night xD

((oh, fine Gah, i hate my phone. It wont let me join chat or answer PMs or any of that stuff. Just remember-- Jake. i suspect Corra has her eyes on Malachai ))

((Pfft, no worries--Chai and I already discussed this xD Ri doesn't like Chai, she likes Tug, lawl.))

((you discussed wheather Ri liked Malachai or not? gods, i wish i was part of THAT convo. xD))

((Haha, no, we discussed Jake and Ri and Chai and Corra xD Mainly Jake and Ri, but you know ))

Malachai quickly turned around.
"Whose there?"
He asked, a bit loudly to let whoever it was that was here know he was aware of their presence.
Malachai quickly glanced towards Tug who was looking a few stalls down the line on the opposite end.
Over there. He seemed to be saying.
Malachai gave Tug an impeccable nod and silently walked out of his stall and started walking down the stables.
He only had to move a few stalls down before noticing the girl. She had reddish hair and a familiar resemblance to someone he knew, but he couldn't put his finger on it. (Yay for foreshadowing XD)
"What are you doing?" He asked.
He could basically figure out with the way she was trying to hide, she had been eavesdropping on His and Tug's conversation. Whether she meant to or not was another matter. Malachai turned red.
"You didn't hear that did you?"

Daquiri froze for a second when the guy's voice rang out over the stalls. Obviously, he had heard her. That was when she heard footsteps getting closer.

Well...s***.

Her brain coming back to her all at once, Daquiri remembered that she was still holding the curry comb in her hand. Duh. She had planned for something like this to happen. Turning around in her kneeling position, she began to run over Rosebud's flanks with the curry comb, loosening bits of dust and pegasus hair into the air. She resisted the urge to sneeze. When she heard the guy's voice behind her asking what she was doing, she turned around like nothing was wrong and pinned him with one of her Wow, you're slow looks. "What does it look like I'm doing, half-wit?"

When the dark-haired boy's face flushed and he voiced his worries about her eaves-dropping on his apparent conversation with his horse--er, pegasus--her shoulder demon piped up in her head. Well, this could get amusing.

Straightening up in the stall, Daquiri casually brushed Rosebud's hair off of her clothes. "Your little exchange with your friend there, you mean? You weren't exactly being secrative about it."

Malachai was embarrassed. Usually having a full on conversation with Tug, and "acting" like he could reply, had made him the butt of a lot of jokes, including the nickname "Horse Whisperer" which he hated the most.... of course he had made sure to get even with those people... Not that it stopped the name calling.
 " I didn't know anyone else was here.... in fact... how where you able to get in here without me noticing?"
He asked now putting a bit of suspicion in his voice. He had been completely oblivious of her hiding when he came in. And now here they both were in the stables, past curfew.
(i decided to make this night time)

((Lulz, alright. #Rebels))

"I was here before you came in," Daquiri retorted, throwing in an eye roll. "As you can see, I was grooming Rosebud's legs. When one does that, it's normally more convenient to kneel down rather than stand up," the red-head informed him, as if she were speaking to a small child. In truth, she really hadn't been paying attention to what the guy was saying to his pegasus at all--but honestly, it was much more fun to have him believe that she did.

((Short post...As you know, I'm kinda preoccupied...)

Malachai didn't like the way she was speaking to him, but he bit his tongue back, not wanting to say anything that might be turned against him.
"So you snucked out and risked curfew just to brush Rosebud?" he asked, giving the Pegasus behind Ri a nod.
He held a great respect for the Pegasi, and felt it was rude not to acknowledge them.
Malachai felt a familiar nudge against his arm and realized Tug had walked out of his stall.
"Whoops! I forgot to shut your door again didn't I?"
He asked Tug with a smile.
Tug just nuzzled Malachai and Malachai laughed happily, almost forgetting the girl was there.

The strawberry blonde raised an eyebrow at the boy's question. "And you weren't sneaking past curfew, hmm?" This guy wasn't very good at directing the attention away from himself.

However, when the boy's pegasus came up behind him, Daquiri's attention switched off of him completely. Her body tingled at being in such a close proximity to the pegasus; Daquiri had never been one to fawn over anything--she was pretty sure the word "fawn" wasn't even in her vocabulary--but this creature was seriously adorable. She didn't give a rat's foot about the dark-haired boy that apparently owned the pegasus, but she seriously had the strongest urge to go up and run her fingers through the animal's thick grey mane.

When the pegasus nuzzled the boy and a look of pure happiness crossed his tan face ((apparently you're tan, Chai)), a small flash of jealousy spurred through Daquiri. She wanted the pegasus to feel that way about her.

((Lulz. Ri is pining after your poneh, Chai.))

Malachai faced the girl as she had countered his question.
"I always sneak out..." he said, trailing off a bit before mumbling.
"Tug's more sensible than people."
To which Tug nuzzled against Malachai again.
He seemed to be Saying,Well that's just common sense.
Malachai laughed.
"I know it is."
Who's the girl? and does she have apples? Tug seemed to say, having a glint of mischief in his eyes.
"You've had enough for one night." Malachai replied to the Pegasus before turning back to Ri.
"Although Tug has a point...who are you?"

"Yeah, I'm sure he is more sensible," Daquiri muttered. Most horses--and pegasi, she suspected--were. Well...except for maybe Arabians. They could be high-strung pains in the butt.

Daquiri had always been rather averse to seeing couples practically feel each other up in public, but the show of affection between a horse and its owner--or in this case, a pegasus and his owner--she could actually appreciate. However, she kind of wished that this particular pegasus didn't have that particular owner.

When the boy spoke again, Daquiri flicked her eyes back to him, but he didn't appear to be addressing her. In fact, it looked like he was talking to...his pegasus. And he was acting like the pegasus was responding back. Is this another one of those weird telepathy links like Estelle has with her owl? Daquiri wondered. If it was, she was extremely jealous. And jealousy was practically a foreign concept to her--she had learned to pretty much hate everyone along with everything they had. But this...this was different.

Then the brunet did speak to her. She lifted her eyebrows at his rather open display of conversing with his pegasus--Tug, he had called him. She opened her mouth to give some kind of scathing remark about it so she could ignore his request for her name, but then it occurred to her...if she wanted to get near Tug, she would probably have to go through this kid to get to him.

Unless she stole him. Which was in the realm of possibilities...but Daquiri thought better of it. After all, after getting "claimed" at dinner, she wasn't sure if that meant more monsters would attack if she left the boundaries of camp. And in the chance that she did, she wouldn't want them hurting the pegasus.

So, Daquiri drew her hair over one shoulder and began to slowly braid it, her eyes on the boy in front of her. "I'm Daquiri Laurens. And you?"

Malachai looked back at Daiquiri.
"My name is Malachai. Malachai Knight. My friend here is named Tug."
To which Tug replied with a small whinny at the mention of his name, which only caused the grin on Malachai's face to widen and turn to the Pegasus.
"so is Rosebud yours then?" He asked.

((Lawl. You just called Daquiri an alcoholic drink xD))

The fact that she wasn't telling this guy, Malachai, off was putting Daquiri's teeth on edge. It was so ingrained into her nature to go to every means possible to make people avoid her that it actually took an effort to have a...normal conversation. Did she even know how to hold one with another person anymore? In all honesty, she didn't want to know.

Well, unless it meant she was able to ride Tug.

Keeping her voice controlled so that it was still at least bored-sounding like it usually was, Daquiri glanced behind herself at Rosebud standing contentedly in her stall. She offered an outstretched palm and the roan licked it. "No. She's not mine," the red-head informed Malachai. "Does she need to be?" Daquiri couldn't help the slight challenging tone that seeped into her voice.

Malachai merely shrugged but was taken aback at the slight hostility now directed towards him.
"Well..no I was just curious." He replied.
Tug whinnied lightly, sensing Malachai tense slightly from Daquiri's comment. He had taken a step closer to Malachai, trying to let his presence soothe him, and slightly guard him. Malachai smiled.
"You big worrywart. I'm fine." He said, patting the Pegasus' mane.

((Heh, sorry this has taken me forever and a day to reply to, Chai...been busy ^.^))

Daquiri raised a thin eyebrow at Malachai as he turned back to Tug. He appeared to be much more interested in the pegasus than his conversation with her. Which, on one hand, was okay, since she hated wasting her time with people anyway. But at the same time...he was ignoring her to pay more attention to Tug. Who she herself would much rather be paying attention to.

Giving an inward sigh, the red-head pushed down the bile in her throat that came up at the thought of continuing a conversation with this guy. But she pushed on.

"So..." Was that how people normally started conversations? Ugh. "How long have you had Tug?"

"About a year or so." Malachai replied, turning back to Daquiri.
"The camp found him wondering around and doing his own thing, and they decided to take him in."
He said, getting sort of a far away look in his eyes for a second as he thought.
" Tug wouldn't let anyone ride him and every time someone tried to guide him out, he'd just tug on the rope and prevented anyone from getting on.. including me for a time." He said with a laugh.
"Of course, everyone gave up trying to ride him...except me.."

Daquiri cocked her head, a gleam in her eyes. "Is he still like that?" she wondered out loud. She'd ridden a lot of different horses in the time she'd spent at different stables. A lot of them hadn't liked being ridden by many people--but she'd almost always seemed to be able to calm them down enough to ride them. Pegasi were maybe a little different, but she didn't think they were by that much. After all, the only difference was that they had wings.

I sound crazy even to myself, she thought, almost muttering it out loud. Half of herself still couldn't believe she was here, but the other half...well, to avoid mincing words, the other half of her couldn't be more happy to be standing here next to horses with feathers sprouting out of their sides.

Not knowing she was just muttering out loud, more to herself, Malachai answered.
"Actually yes. Stubborn here, as far as im aware, has only let me ride. Others have gotten to if ive asked."
He said has he rubbed Tug's ears.

"Aha," she replied with a facade of indifference. She hesitated for a moment before asking a question. "Mind if I pet him?" She was practically grinding her teeth at this point. She never asked permission for anything. If she was going to talk to someone, it wasn't to waste breath on asking what she could and couldn't do. After all, people had always seemed rather willing to conform to her bidding before. Now, she just had to figure out if these half-bloods reacted the same as people outside the camp.

"Im ok with it." Malachai replied, and then gained a huge grin.
"But it's not just me you have to ask, its him." He said, nodding his head towards Tug.
"After all, you're petting him, not me."

Daquiri gave Malachai a pointed look. "I love horses--and pegasi now, I suppose," she amended herself, giving Tug a glance, "but I don't talk to them." She looked to the side for a second and muttered, "Or, not in front of people, anyway."

Stepping forward a little, Daquiri held out a hand, palm out-stretched, for Tug to investigate before actually touching him.