ashlin glenn wonderstarr

It was a beautiful day- perfect for a ride in the countryside. Ashlin had her dark reddish hair pulled back in a ponytail that was now shrouded with stray highlighted strands blown about her face, wearing her usual torn jeans and a light blue shirt, decorated with the black silhouette of a horse.

She held tightly to the reins of the tall gray mare she rode, keeping her legs wrapped about her mount's sides. Her gray-flecked green eyes took in the familiar scenery about them till she looked to where Dimitri and Red were, pulling on the reins to slow Wonder down. The gray mare shook her head in protest but reluctantly slowed to a brisk walk through the tall grasses.
"There should be a trail around here somewhere," she stated, eyes scouting the lands. Wonder kept her ears flickering and her legs moving at that same pace.
"Ah, there!" she called, releasing the reins to point off in the near distance with a free hand. She then steered Wonder in that direction and fast forwarded to a trot till they reached the dusty path. She turned Wonder down it and looked around, taking in the beauty.

Wonder's tall dappled body was lined up along the side of the dirt, as she preferred her hooves against grass rather than stony dirt. She bobbed her head, rattling the metal of her bridle. "Well, this is it," the mare said as she looked about. She had been waiting around all day in that paddock to finally get out here.

Dimitri Volkov; Red October; Pasha

.best you can do is to fake it.

Dimitri's green eyes scanned the terrain in front of him as he rode through the tall, swaying grass. He felt the cool, fall breeze against his face. Leaves fell from the trees, blowing in the wind before hitting the ground that marked the end of their journey. A dragonfly buzzed in front of Dimitri, Pasha and Red October.

Dimitri shielded his eyes from the sun when they reached the dusty trail. It seemed so barren, but it was a wonderland for the young Russian man. He preferred the country over the city any day. "Wow. This is definitely a place to remember." He said, gazing down the trail, his eyes stopping at the distant horizon. He urged Red into a trot to catch up, then slowed back to a walk. "Have you been all the way down the trail before?"

Red walked alongside Wonder, bobbing his head, quite happy to be out in the wilderness. "It's beautiful. It's sad how humans are often too busy to stop and enjoy the beauty of nature once in a while." The stallion stated, giving his tail a swish. It felt good to stretch his legs.

Pasha sat calmly on his master's shoulder, his sensitive eyes taking in everything. "I haven't seen Dima this happy in a long time, yeah Red?" He asked, giving his head a tilt. Usually, Dimitri seemed stressed. But now he seemed quite relaxed.

Red was barely paying attention to the gyrfalcon. "Oh, uh-huh, yeah." The Arabian stallion said distantly. Truthfully, he would have agreed with Pasha if he had been listening.

ashlin wonderstarr

It didn't matter how many times Ashlin had rode Wonder down this trail- the scenery always put her in awe. This day, especially, was beautiful since Autumn was no doubt here. She watched as the leaves would drift down along the wind from the trees, one by one, till they landed softy on the path. Wonder stepped on a couple of them and even got one stuck in her mane. Ashlin eased forward to reach and grab the small reddened leaf, pulling it from the hair and then sticking it in Wonder's bridle by her ears.

Ashlin didn't look at Dimitri as she kept her green eyes on the land around them, but did give a nod to his words. "Yes, and yes." she answered, looking around at the colorful landscape. "I have gone down this trail many times with Wonder. It passes by a lake." she stated, smiling at the thought. "We could rest the horses there and then continue on," she then added.

Ashlin would have been right if she had said the lake was one of Wonder's favorite spots. She loved it when Ashlin stopped there to let her drink in the cool liquid, which was probably going to be freezing now that the air was getting chillier. Every once in a while, Wonder would reach out with her neck and attempt to snatch a mouthful of the tall grass, but Ashlin would always pull her head up before she got close enough. At this, Wonder would always snort.
The mare then bobbed her head at Red. "Yeah. My owner doesn't always have the time, but when she does, she brings me here," she said, breathing in the cool air. "This is the best place to relax, in my opinion, and it ends in a lake just further down." The perfect place to make a pitstop on a trail ride, or at least Wonder liked to think.

Dimitri; Red October

Dimitri looked up at a towering cottonwood tree as they passed under its shadow. He figured the trunk had to be at least seven feet wide. It must have stood strong for a century, through wind, through flood, through drought, through anything nature could throw at it. If only humans could be like that more of the time. If only he was strong enough to face the storm.

He was distracted by his brief thought when Ashlin replied. "I wonder if that's the lake I used to fish at. My father would take me and my brothers out to a nearby lake on his speedboat every weekend since we've been here." He stated, remembering the good days. That was before his family somehow got caught up in gang activity. "But he doesn't have time for that anymore. He's the captain of a big fishing vessel. He calls it the Del'fin." Of course, who he spoke of as his father was his adoptive father. His biological father was a horrible person, which led to Dimitri occasionally believing his is a bad person too. "Yes, we could rest the horses there."

Pasha was the one to answer Wonder. "Oh, yeah, I hear ya. Dimitri is always busy. Killing people, I think." He stated, quite inaccurately.
Red tossed his head and snorted at the bird. "Pasha!" He scolded.
"Fine!" Pasha squawked, "Only bad people!"
Red simply chuckled at this, then ignored Pasha to talk to Wonder. "A lake? That sounds cool. I've been to the ocean, but not the lake, I don't think." The chestnut stallion replied. He had heard that, while ocean water was bad to drink, lake water was alright, though he also heard that sometimes it doesn't taste very good.

ashlin wonderstarr

Ashlin's eyes scanned over the terrain, up to where the trees began to cluster together. That was where they would be nearing the lake. She could remember it clearly. It constantly had fish strung through it and it tasted fresh. She figured by now, at this time of the year, it would be quite cold.
She turned her head to look at Dimitri for just a moment as he spoke of fishing. She had never really gotten into such things. "Ahh, maybe. There's many fish there, mainly Pike. I suppose that's why it's called Pike's Lake." she replied, and then turned her attention back to the trail. She breathed in a deep breath and then released it in a sigh. The air was cold to her nose. "I stop Wonder there all the time," she stated. She moved to the valley a while ago but immedietly came to know the places well.

Wonder snorted and tossed her head when she picked up on the bird's words, but calmed once Red began talking to her again. "Lakes are a lot like the ocean, just many times smaller and they taste better- most of the time." she said, knowing all too well how funny water could be on the tongue.
She kept her dark eyes on the path ahead of them and felt Ashlin's heels in her sides. She quickened her pace, picking up a long legged canter.