semi-open || cowgirls need not apply

[complementing]

WHO: Dreadful Women's Adventure Club
WHERE: Churchill Downs Riding School and Stables
WHEN: Backdated to July 9th
WHAT: July's DWAC adventure is chocobo riding! Please sign up here to join the club if you haven't already!
WARNINGS: I apologize in advance if some of these horse riding terms are wrong ahaha.

[Those bingo cards sure have gotten everyone in a tizzy! Minako has to admit that it's a surprisingly nice game, though, despite where it'd come from, and decides to move the DWAC date up by two weeks to help anyone who needs the 'chocobo race' tile filled-- including herself, of course.

Saddle up, ladies, it's time to ride.]

STABLES

[Time to pick your partner! The stable have a variety of docile sunshine yellow chocobos used for beginner riding lessons. Well, they're supposed to be docile. The stables can't help you if the one you pick decides that you're looking at it funny and starts pecking at you. Or tries bucking you off while you get into the saddle. Or just decides to be ornery in general.

Good luck?

The stable has two prized black chocobos too, the proud parents of a little baby chick that likes to somehow squeeze out of her pen and wander around the barn. Maybe you can help the stablemaster herd her back to her parents. And don't you dare think of stealing her.]

MANEGE

[The area outside the stables is wide and spacious, but not quite used to accommodating groups of riders larger than five or six. The ladies might have to take turns going out with their chocobos. But don't worry, Minako arranged for a picnic lunch to be delivered, full of 'cowgirl' foods like pulled pork sandwiches, cornbread, chili, twice baked potatoes, and peach cobbler for dessert. The little black chocobo chick is wandering around too, so anyone waiting won't stay bored.

The trainers will be out with the riders, guiding them through basic gaits and even some obstacle jumps once they get the actual stop and go part down. Did your chocobo stop being ornery? Probably not, huh. Don't be too startled when your chocobo jumps at the sight of a random but h u g e bug in the grass, and be careful of not digging too hard into your chocobo's sides, too. They don't like that very much.

Once the trainers have deemed everyone one knowledgeable enough to continue on their own, they move to a different area to keep watch over the group. Now you can ride however you'd like! Which means it's the perfect time to take care of that bingo tile, of course. Who will throw down the gauntlet first?]

Comments

[mincingminuet]

[Pen's chocobo squawked indignantly and put on a burst of speed to get away from it's friend. Angrily, it made it a point to kick up dirt as it sprinted along, throwing up a cloud behind them to get some sand in the other bird's mouth. Rude, friend.

Sorry though, Lucy, you might get some too.]

[longwei2go]

[ Yin appeared to think the suggestion over a moment. ] ...nah. [ then she stepped right up and held her metal hand out for the chocobo to inspect. or nuzzle. or chew on. honestly, it smelled like all manner of things like cabbage and carrots and treats from before that it might come off as a tasty snack, but at this point it's little more than an unbreakable chew toy should it try. ]

I don't see anyone else helping you with this. Figure you need a little less stick, little more carrot with this one.

[long_live_the_queen]

[It might not have the best sense of smell, but the bird could certainly smell tasty things. The chocobo's eyes promptly opened and it chirped, sticking its beak into the palm of Yin's hand to look for food there. It couldn't quite see that close and directly in front of its beak, but it smelled like treats. Where were they?

Lucy was still as much of a slouching, sulky turtle as before.]

It was behaving fine before.

[When one of its trainers and presumably a person it liked was around. And it didn't have a newbie on its back.]

[long_live_the_queen]

[It was definitely very bad manners to bite your friends.

Lucy sputtered and the chocobo squawked at the flying dirt, making it veer off to the side to avoid the cloud of sand and fall further behind. It didn't kick or try to buck Lucy off, but focused on trying vainly to regain the distance it had lost. The posts marking the finish line were starting to come up now, so that was unlikely—but that didn't stop the bird from trying.]

Why have all of their meetings so far revolved around someone being on the ground?

[totallynotanoni]

[Katherine's face warps into confusion, then shock upon recognizing who was in front of her.]

Oh my God, Lucy! I-I didn't see it was you.

[She reaches out again with an incredibly worried look on her face, only to stop short at the sight of .

Thats right, Lucy was exactly happy to see her. She already has some pretty good ideas on why: working in psychology made it easier to figure these things out. And honestly, she can't blame her.

And now she's gone and hurt her, dammit.

A guilty feeling rises in her chest again.]

Oh, I'm sorry. But it really does look like you hit yourself pretty hard there. [It looks like it hurt. She would know, she's hit a few sidewalks in her day.

She doesn't keep crawling forwards, hoping that her advance stopping would give her sister reason to stop moving away. Instead, she sits there next to her sister, patiently waiting for a response with bated breath.]

[mincingminuet]

[Pen can't really stop her bird, not now, and it keeps up it's sprint to cross the finish line before it runs out of steam. Rude, friend. Why'd you bite him? That was totally not cool.]

[long_live_the_queen]

[His butt was in the chocobo's face, that was clearly interference!

Lucy's chocobo crosses the finish line several lengths back, and keeps on running unnecessarily and slightly passive aggressively until it's evened up with Penelo's bird. It doesn't make eye contact and stays out of snapping range, but it does finally decide to listen when Lucy tugs the reins back to slow it down.]

...that wasn't so bad.

[Sand and dust turning her bangs a slightly more muted pink aside.]

Gravity doesn't like them

[long_live_the_queen]

[Lucy continues shuffling backwards until she's at a more comfortable several feet away.]

I said I'm fine!

[It's her favorite lie.]

What are you doing here?

[mincingminuet]

[Pen's already going for her bag to pull out a wet wipe for Lucy, passing it over. No sense in sending her home to Freya dirty, after all.]

It wasn't, no. I like racing chocobos.

[Though she slides off once her's comes to a full stop, patting it's feathers and neck, hoping it hasn't run too hard.]

Ready to walk these two back and get to the arcade?

[abovethefold]

[It's funny; even though she's only now beginning to get to know Rosalind, she can recognize the expression on her cousin's face clear as day. Kath sits back in her saddle, tucking her chin slightly and shrugging lightly.]

Oh, if you're finished for the day, don't worry about it. I only thought we might try and see who the fastest of all of us is, that's all.

[Yeah, that's definitely a challenge.]

[originallutece]

Oh? There's a question in your mind?

[Like hell she's going to dismount now. A smirk still on her face, she turns her chocobo around, heading over to where Katherine sits.]

I started practicing riding these when you were born. You think you can beat me?

[abovethefold]

It is, isn't it? Maybe we can convince it to let us pet it...

[Are potatoes safe for chocobos? She knows that horses really shouldn't eat them, although cooked is a bit safer...

One bite shouldn't hurt, right?

Kath scoops out a tiny bit of potato onto a spoon, holding it Lucy's way.]

Here. Maybe it'll come to you if you offer it this?

[abovethefold]

[The smile on her own face doesn't fade, no trace of a smirk anywhere in sight.]

You know, Father says if someone tries to intimidate you it's because they're worried you're a threat. Are you threatened by me, Rosalind?

[Kath straightens up in her saddle, heels sinking just that extra half-inch lower in her stirrups.]

Through the steeplechase course? There should be enough room for both of us to jump side-by-side.

[originallutece]

[Hah. She doesn't respond to that baiting comment, but instead shifts over, til she and Katherine are side by side. The steeplechase course isn't so difficult, but just challenging enough they'll both have to put in an honest effort.]

Shall we bet on it?

[long_live_the_queen]

[Maybe it could eat bird things? ...or were they just horses in feathery costumes, with horse stomachs and...whatever else horses had in there?

A mystery for a biology professor.

Lucy glanced over at the spoon, and reached over to lift it up—but not with her physical hands. A little shimmer in the air tugged it up and it floated the short distance over to where the teenager could grab it without stretching.

The whole thing certainly caught the chick's attention, and it promptly fluffed and fluttered its wings while making plaintive begging cheeps.]

It ran— [her sister] —someone over, before.

[Lucy tilted the spoon towards its beak, and the chocobo gobbled the bit of potato instantly. It kept doing its fluttery begging dance.]

[abovethefold]

Is it even a race if we don't?

[Idly she pats her mount's neck as she considers.]

Dinner? It's been a while since we've talked about things. [There's a tiny curl of the lip, and her voice goes flat.] And I suppose I should tell you what's happened with that boy I mentioned before.

[abovethefold]

Oh...!

[SHE WASN'T EXPECTING THE SHOW WITH THE SPOON. Kath's eyes widen in surprise as it hovers the rest of the way over to Lucy, who takes it easily. And then, as if that isn't enough, she decides to drop another bombshell on her.]

Wha--you mean, the chick did?

[originallutece]

Now you're simply going to have to. But yes, dinner sounds the perfect prize.

[She's not grinning, but the smirk is clear in her voice.]

On your count of three, then?

[long_live_the_queen]

[what do you mean casual telekinesis isn't normal??

Lucy seems honestly oblivious to the woman's surprise or even...that she just did that, still facing the not-so-little bird. That happened a lot with small things Lucy idly wanted to pick up but she wasn't looking at or paying attention to.]

Yes, when it got loose.

[The chick seems unapologetic. It just wants more potato.]

[abovethefold]

[She imagined she'd have to anyways... it would have been brought up eventually one way or another!

Katherine eyes Ros out of the corner of her eye, noting the posture that says she's ready to race. She doesn't think that Ros would cheat and take off on "two," but she still doesn't know her cousin that well, and it seems like a strong competitiveness is something the two of them share. Hmm...]

All right. Ready?

Three!

[It's a dirty trick and she knows it, but Kath will hesitate just long enough to make sure Ros realizes they're going before squeezing her mount's sides, spurring the bird into a run. It stretches its neck out with a wark of delight... and they're off!]

[abovethefold]

[This "casual telekinesis" is the first bit of otherworldly power she's seen since all this began! So far, Kath's experiences have been relatively tame, aside from riding her kitten to classes...]

I'm afraid I didn't see that. Who was it?

[long_live_the_queen]

[Lucy picks at a another bit of potato that didn't have any cheese or other presumably not-bird-safe things on it, putting that on the spoon next. The chocobo redoubled its begging efforts.]

Katherine.

[She...didn't know that was this lady's name too. Oops.]

[belligerentwarrior]

[Freya laughs.] Don't sweat it. They're spirited creatures, yeah? Long as we're not gonna cause an accident or anything.

Name's Freya.

[totallynotanoni]

[She sighs, though there is the faint trace of a chuckle in their.] The most I've gotten out of chocobos thus far has been nothing but trouble. If I didn't know better, I'd think this one is trying to throw me off her back. [Not to mention the one that tackled her earlier.

Freya may notice her vice-grip on the rein bar. One-armed chocobo riding isn't her cup of tea, it seems.

Despite her fright, however, she manages to give her a light smile.]

I'm Katherine. I noticed you earlier, actually. [And somehow not her sister.] Your another member of the club, right?

[belligerentwarrior]

Yeah. Been around since the first meeting of it. Think one of my roommate's helping run it, now.

[Freya's gaze does flicker over her one-handed grip, but doesn't let it linger. Meanwhile, her chocobo lifts its head with a cheerful, muffled kweh!, an... unremarkable rock pinched in its beak. Freya gives him few congratulatory pats, regardless.]

Well, did you get to know 'em first? There's a trick to all this.