IC Contact

[foolishwren]

ffzzbrrttzzckssshhhh

"Yo, it's Heather. I'm probably asleep or Godzilla ate my 'Gear or something so I can't answer you right now. But feel free to leave a message or something. I'll probably get back to you. ... Probably. Peace out."

BEEEEEEEEEEEEP.
[Need to send Heather a private message but don't particularly wanna spam up your friendslists? Feel free to leave it here! Please include the name of the game and IC date of the message in your comment to help avoid confusion. For OOC contact, feel free to send a PM or IM the mun at Phantastus! peace out yo]

Comments

[Action] CONFIDE FRIDAY

[no_ufo_ending]

<sub>[SLAM.]

[The front door swings open and Henry stands there, eclipsed by the noon sun, his eyes wide.]</sub>

Heather! I need to talk to you! It's important!

[foolishwren]

<sub>[Well.]

[For just a second, she's so startled that she almost forgets it's a Friday.]

[From her spot on the floor with a small pile of half-folded laundry around her, she stares up at Henry with a deer-in-the-headlights look that doesn't quite rival the one she had when she had stumbled into the pancake dimension three weeks ago, but it comes close.]

[Does he KNOW?]</sub>

... What, wha-at?

[no_ufo_ending]

<sub>[Henry leaves the door wide open and closes the gap between them with long, stiff strides. He's almost vibrating. It really is almost Pancake Day all over again, but he doesn't yell. He stops right in front of a folded shirt, fists clenched at his sides.]

[He jerks as a truth fights its way out of him like a xenomorph.]</sub>

Heather...I want to ride Carousel. I've always wanted to ride Carousel. I've never been on a horse in my life, I don't even care if she burns me, I--gotta.

_{[The spirit leaves his body and his shoulders fall slack like a puppet with cut strings. His face actually grows pink.]}

Uh.

[foolishwren]

[OH THANK GOD]

[... wait a minute.]

--what, really?

_{[She's still staring at him, but now it's in bafflement rather than apprehension.]}

I-- ... jeez, Henry, I had... literally no idea.

_{[Sure she'd seen him kind of tentatively hang around sometimes when she had Carousel out but it's not like Henry doesn't have a sense of curiosity. The thought that he might want to RIDE the flaming unicorn hadn't even crossed her mind.]}

That's fine, man. I could teach you.

I mean, I'm no expert or anything, but I can at least, like... show you how to stay on and stuff.

[no_ufo_ending]

_{[Henry can even feel his ears turning red and he reaches his hands up to cover them.]}

It's--stupid.

[foolishwren]

What?

No! No, it's not stupid!

_{[It's-- UNEXPECTED, sure, and kind of.... FUNNY, but not stupid.]}

I mean, I just didn't figure you were interested in horses. They're kinda big, and scary, and... uh, in this case, on fire.

But I'll teach you.

[no_ufo_ending]

_{[Henry finally manages to look at her again. He's still flushed, still feeling weirdly exposed--he's talked about the serial killer ghost he has to kill, the terrible penis monsters, having to kill creatures that resembled two-headed babies with nothing but a shovel...but THIS is what tears him up.]}

I'd like that...it's just. This thing I've always had in my head. Fruitloops is great and all--and so is Sunny. But. They're not horses.

[foolishwren]

Heh, no, that they're not.

_{[Even in a world full of ridable birds, dinosaurs, and giant dogs, there is definitely something empowering about being on the back of a horse.]}

When do you wanna start?

Today?

We can start today, if you want.

[no_ufo_ending]

_{[His breath actually catches in his chest and for a second he looks like she's just told him that today is actually Christmas and he had somehow forgotten.]}

Oh--uhm! Yes. I would--yes, sure. I would like that.

_{[He's trying not to vibrate. He's gonna ride a horse.]}

[foolishwren]

<sub>[Holy shit, Henry.]

[With the exception of the Day of the Pancakes, Heather is pretty sure she's never seen him so excited.]

[She laughs.]</sub>

Okay, let me get her tacked up.

[no_ufo_ending]

_{[Henry just nods and hurries to the back yard, banging his shoulder on the door frame in his excitement. He waits near the pool, rubbing his shoulders, having forgotten his coat. He doesn't think he'll need one anyway if he's dealing with a fire pokemon.]}

[foolishwren]

_{[Heather emerges a couple minutes later with a saddle in her arms, the various straps and buckles jangling as she walks. Once out the door, she puts it down over the porch railing, dusting her arms off and reaching for Carousel's Pokeball.]}

I'll put the saddle on for you, we can show you how to do it yourself later.

<sub>[For now she just kind of wants to make sure he can HANDLE sitting on a flaming horse.]

[There's a flash of light as the Rapidash is let out, and a small shower of harmless embers that wink out before they hit the earth as the big unicorn shakes out her fiery mane, letting out a whicker.]</sub>

[no_ufo_ending]

_{[THERE SHE IS. Henry shyly walks up to the fire-type and holds up a hand for her to put her nose against it.]}

She's much taller than my Tropius...

[foolishwren]

_{[Carousel knows what to do when presented with an upright hand. She presses her nose into it obligingly exhaling a hot breath against his palm.]}

Heh, yeah, Frootloops is weirdly small for his species, isn't he?

I don't know if Carousel's any bigger or smaller than Rapidashes usually are, but yeah...

[no_ufo_ending]

_{[He chuckles as the horse whuffs against his hand. He wishes he had an apple or something to give her. Carousel has never shown any dislike for Henry but he really wants her to like him. He doesn't want to get thrown and end up breaking something else.]}

He is. His mother is small too. How do I get on?

[foolishwren]

Hold your horses.

<sub>[She delivers this line with a BIG GRIN because she knows EXACTLY what she just did.]

[Then she laughs at her own shitty joke whether or not he returns the sentiment and picks up the saddle again.]</sub>

First I'm gonna put this on. Because otherwise you're gonna have a REAL hard time getting up there.

_{[She hefts it with a grunt and sets it down on the Rapidash's back, wiggling it a little to get it in position before grabbing the girth and buckling it on one side. As she heads to the other side, she runs a hand across Carousel's flank and hindquarters.]}

I've literally never seen Carousel kick anybody who didn't deserve it, but whenever you walk behind a horse, you pat 'em so that they know you're there.

That's real important, so don't forget it.

[no_ufo_ending]

<sub>[Henry knows where that sentence is going before it even finishes leaving Heather's mouth and he waves a hand at her with a grunt of defeat. He'll weather a bad pun or two if it means he'll get to be a cool cowpoke.]

[He watches Carousel get tacked up and gives a few nods as he listens.]</sub>

Don't walk behind a horse. Got it.

[foolishwren]

Haha, yeah, not if you can avoid it, anyway. But when you DO, just pat 'em.

_{[She reaches under Carousel's belly to grab the girth and tug it taught so that she can buckle it up.]}

Okay, so you see the stirrup? Pull it down as far as it'll go. It'll just slide right out.

[no_ufo_ending]

_{[The Receiver of Wisdom finally lives up to his name, absorbing every tip Heather gives him. He tugs down the stirrup and looks right proud of himself. Somehow he always forgets stirrups are a thing when imagining people on horses.]}

Putting a saddle on Fruitloops would probably make things easier, huh?

[foolishwren]

Haha, probably!

Riding bareback can be fun sometimes, but mostly it's just weird and uncomfortable.

_{[She tugs down the other stirrup and then crosses back around.]}

Okay, time to get up.

Put those weird long legs of yours to use and put your left foot up in the stirrup. If you need a leg up after that, I can help you out.

[no_ufo_ending]

<sub>[Henry squares his shoulders. This was it. He was going to get Onto a Horse. He reaches up to take hold of the saddle horn and carefully slips his good foot into the stirrup.]

[The following clamber is entertaining to say the least. Carousel is much taller than anything he's tried to climb onto and he's also working hard not to hit his stupid SPONGE BOOT the doctors put his broken foot in. He was counting the days now until he could take it off.]

[After much flailing and insisting that he's 'got it' Henry finally finds himself sitting atop the flaming unicorn and lets out a satisfied huff.]</sub>

I did it.

[foolishwren]

<sub>[Fortunately for Henry, Carousel has already been through Heather's Awkward New Rider stage and knows to stand still, shifting only when Henry's weight forces her to.]

[Heather can't help but laugh a couple of times (she's supportive but she's still HEATHER) and does take pity on him towards the end by giving him a boost, but then she steps back and puts her hands on her hips, grinning proudly.]</sub>

You did!