a quiet ride

Valora was still a little grumpy from waking up after hibernation and went outside for a bit

her feet took her to the stables unconsciously, and she smiled quietly when the smell of hay and horses reached her nose

walking further on, she then cam across her beautiful black stallion, Shay.

the black Anglo-Arabian stallion raised his head at hearing someone approach, preparing a glare at them, but then realised it was Valora and his ears perked up and whinnied

Valora gave a surprisingly bright smile for her, and ran over to her horse, her hands reaching out to his muzzle and began stroking it as she rested her forehead against his and muttering her greetings to him

hello Shay. it's been a while, neh?

she let the horse nuzzle her, and she opened the gate to walk into his stall.

what she saw appalled her.

she looked back to the horse with a mildly distraught look

and who's been taking care of you while i was hibernating? Sharifa surely couldn't have been the one as she would have made sure it was to the same level as i keep your stall....but from her blood memories, i know she never came here.

the stall was in a state (according to Valora, even though it was actually at an alright standard....but Shay was picky)

Shay whinnied again and bump her with his nose between her shoulder blades, and she turned back around to stroke his muzzle again

i guess i'll clean this out again.

she then turned to pick up the needed cleaning equipment and instantly went to work

Richard entered the stables, hands behind his back as Snow followed in - sniffing the hands that had a polo inside.

He blinked a looked at Valora in surprise. "Hello, Valora. I have not seen you in a while." He let Snow in her stable and opened his palm to let her eat the polo. His hand tingled a little at the ticklish feeling and the softness of her muzzle.

He turned to look at Valora again. "Sorry about the state of his stable." He apologized. "When ever I cleaned it out, he would then make a right fuss about going beck in... I guess the smell of snow was a little overpowering to him in the clean stable." He gave Snow a few firm strokes down her neck. "They really detest each other."

Valora chuckled quietly

yes. it has been a while. i was in hibernation for a while. i needed to rest, and i needed to organize a few things in my head. sort out a few personal issues.i thought it was about time i shed off a few things that weighed me down.

she continued with her mucking out, putting the hay into a large wheelbarrow, and then getting a stiff broom and hosing the stable down after leading Shay outside to a pen to wait while she cleaned the place out.

she scrubbed at all the marks, getting rid of any stains

also, i don't think it's the smell that Shay doesn't like. he's damn picky, and doesn't like his stable being even slightly messy. but then, he also is very temperamental around others.

she was a lot more chatty and relaxed that prior to her hibernation, a large weight seeming to have been lifted off of her, and a small smile tugged at the corner of her lips as she spoke about Shay and his pickyness

He frowned "I am a thorough. But I tried cleaning it with natural products, modern products, not products at all, only water... It was a nightmare." He sighed and turned to groom Snow, grateful that she had no care for mud and dirt. He grimaced at her mud covered back. Or maybe not.

He was gone and then back again - grooming gear in hand. He began to brushed the mud of in firm and short stokes while Snow snaked on the hay in the red hay net.

Valora blinked at Richard

.....i never used any of that kind of stuff.....just used water all the time and a stiff brush. all it takes is a little elbow grease

she then used a flash of fire to instantly dry the place up, and showed that it was back to being immaculate

she made the fire disappear and then turned to the straw and began throwing it around the stall, putting more in a corner that would act as a bed for Shay when he slept

quietly, she then sorted out his food, hanging a red net of hay over the stall gate, and set up a salt lick and put some sugar cubes in a bowl for him along with a small trough of water

she swiftly went back out to get Shay and lead him back into his stall.

he whinnied happily and nuzzled Valora fondly before entering his now immaculate stall and settled on the bed of hay, huffing a little and resting his head

Valora tuned back to Richard and smiled gently

i do hope that Shay didn't give you much hassle though. he tends to bite anyone other than me

she smiled a little nervously, finding it only a little odd that she was smiling a hell of a lot more than before

walking over to Shay, she settled in the hay next to him and stroked his flanks, patting him firmly and let him nuzzle her again. Shay was glad to see her again

"I tried that." He huffed under his breath.

He glared a little at Snow as she continued to eat, with only a quarter of the mud removed on the left side. He was also covered in long strands of horse hair from were she was starting to lose her winter coat.

He blinked a little in surprise as she smiled at him, it almost look foreign on her face. From the little time he had spent with her, that was one thing he never really seen her do much. Smile.

"Ah, don't worry. He was like an angel, sort of, compared to when I first brought Snow." Snow grunted at this.

she blinked again, ears pulling back somehow a little, and she then looked over at Shay

is this true Shay? you were actually good for someone else?

Shay whinnied quietly and nodded his large head before huffing and letting his head res on the hay again

she blinked yet again

wow.... she turned toe richard that's never happened before....he usually bites or scares off others. i guess he must be at ease around you

she looked back at Shay and patted his flanks firmly again and brought over a sugar cube for him to eat

she sighed quietly and leaned back against Shay's side, shaking her head and giving a small, almost not there, smile.

i'm suprised by this. i wish Sharifa could have come here and seen Shay so i could have seen him behaving

He smiled a little, and indicated towards Snow. "Like I said, I had a lot of practice." Snow reached her neck round to nip at Richard for ignoring her, at which he smacked her shoulder lightly to tell her off He frowned a little in annoyance, then sighed and continued to groom Snow.

He gave the woman a confused look as she stated that she wished Sharifa could of came here so she could of seen Shay. "I have to ask, but what do you mean?"

she gave me blood donations while i slept. i would have to feed on occasion or i'd fall int deep hibernation and not wake up for a very long time. her blood allowed me to see her experiances, blood memories if you will. i'm fully aware of everything that has happened while i was hibernating. she let out a quiet chuckle and stroked Shay's ears and might i add you're a very childish and suprsingly cute drunk, Richard.

she rolled her shoulders, still feeling stiff after the long hibernation and cracked her joints as she stretched out, yawning wide, her fangs showing and her yawn turning into a half growl before she relaxed again.

it was moments like that, that though she may appear docile and calm most of the time, she was still a leathal and deadly warrior that has survived taking on rabid Lycans in small packs....somehow. and she had the scars to prove it.

all of her muscles shifted under her skin fluidly, further emphasising this fact

blood holds our memories, so the consumer of the blood, if one knows how to, can access the Donor's memories. that is how Ancients, after long periods of hibernation, gain a sense of time when being awakened with taking the blood of the currently awake Ancient of the time.

He processed the information, nodding as she explained it to him - finding it all very interesting. He also felt a little relived that he did not have to explain the events that had happened during her 'hibernation', especially since he did not completely understand them.

His cheeks turned a rosy colour, and his eyes widened at the mention of how she saw him drunk. He was unsure of what happened, but he did not question it - turning the other way to hide his embarrassment.

Facing the other way, he continued to listen to Valora. Deciding not to mention her little growl he heard.

"Ah, I see. So, it is pretty useful then?... There be a down side, right?"

Valora nodded, feeling a little better as she stretched out

it's useful, but the problem is, is that you see everything...and that includes the very personal thing. blood donation is a very intimate thing, as you see their past and things they usually don't want others to find out. my Family has taught me to read blood on a subconscious level and see everything no matter what as i take their blood. this was useful against criminals and to use on our targets if we had jobs and missions to complete. another down side is if the vampire donating the blood can't order their memories into a proper timeline, it'll confuse and disorientate the vampire taking the blood. this has the potential to be dangerous, depending on the blood given. however, i shan't go into detail about that as i'm not allowed.

Valora was solemn as she explained this, toying with Shay's mane as she spoke, remembering everything she had gathered from the different types of blood

however, you can't get blood memories from dead blood, or blood that in the blood banks and bagged up as it's not fresh. it has to come straight from the source in order to read the memories it has. it goes bland and tastes a bit...stale if you will and sickly. this is why i don't like blood bank blood. i prefer it from others. not to get the memories, but simply because it actually tastes of something. i've taught myself, from hibernation, to block out some memories as i drank from Sharifa. so i don't know many of her personal antics. for example, her time with Gia.....i never want to glimps that really....that between her and Gia

she shuddered lightly and stuck her tongue out in a rather childish manour of saying 'eeeeewwwwww'

He listened, starting to brush off the mud on the other side of Snow, slowing his strokes as he turned to face her to listen to her better.

He could deferentially see the positive side in blood memories, but also the down side. It made him wonder whether he wanted to be able to do that. He mulled it other; quickly coming to the decision that, no, he did not want to be able to. Dealing with one set of memories was hard enough. let alone many others.

He slapped Snows shoulder again as she tried to nip him, also giving her a firm glare.

His face heated up again as she mentioned Sharifa and Giacinto, and what they did in their spare time. It sealed the deal of not wanting to be able to have blood memories. A look of childish disgruntlement also fell on his face.

The Elder had a sudden urge to see Envy.

Usually she cared for him during the day and left him to sleep during the night. He wasn't a vampiric horse, after all. It wasn't fair to keep him up during the night.

So her sudden need to see the Missouri Fox Trotter was surprising.

But she found herself walking through the stables with a spring in her step. Her skin now only had faint patches of bruises; it had mostly healed thanks to the stupid amount of human blood she had taken after the Exorcism fiasco.

"Evening Dick, Val. Hows the night been treating you?"

She leaned over a gate and into a stall, clicking her tongue a few times.

The horse inside looked up from its silent staring at the wall and trotted over.

"Hello, my love." She pressed her forehead against the white patch on Envy's and kissed his muzzle as one hand came up to brush through the striking white mane gently. "I'm surprised to see you awake at this time."

Shay looked up from his resting, looking in the direction of the new voice and huffed, uninterested, before laying his head down again and bumping Valora's side

Valora had looked up as soon as she smelt the Elder, recognising the scent as easily as Sharifa's due the blood memories

fine. it has been a while since i saw Shay. and yourself?

she then noticed the horse that Gia was petting, and bowed her head to it, smiling just a little, before turning back to shay and patting his flanks and getting up, the horse standing as well

they both walked up to the gate, and Valora vaulted it so she was the other side, and reached up to stroke Shay's muzzle as she turned to look at Gia, awaiting a response

she didn't smell Gia's scent strongly here, so she was a little shocked to see the elder here tonight

Richard also looked up, and nodded towards Giacinto.

"Evening."

He stretched his head too see if she was alright - having not done so back at the Ballroom. He picked swapped the curry brush for a face brush to disguise the movement. Deciding that she looked fine, he relaxed a little, and turned his attention back to Snow as she nipped his back pocket; filled with polos.

"How are you, Giacinto? Recovering from the exorcism and sleeping in the same room as a Lycan that could have killed you? Yes, Dick, I have. Thanks for asking." One day he'd ask these things without her prompting him. One day...

She turned a smile on Val, hand stilling on Envy's neck. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just wanted to come see Env-" She grunted as Envy nudged her head with his own, pushing her backwards.

Her wine eyes turned to glare at the horse and he took a few steps back, whickering softly, white tail flicking out behind him.

"Funny, eh? How funny will a lack of treats be tomorrow?"

The horse settled and bowed his head silently. He had been around Giacinto for long enough to know that he would not be getting any treats tomorrow if he kept up. That Succubus didn't threaten, she promised.

Shay whikered, shaking his head from side to side and tail swayed as he 'laughed'

Valora rolled her eyes and then gently whapped his nose in reprimand for being rude, and he calmed down again, nuzzling into her hand asking for forgiveness

Valora rolled her eyes and sighed, smiling a bit wider

whatever Shay. just be polite

Shay huffed and sulked a little, making Valora laugh quietly

okay, laughing still felt a little odd to her

she turned back to Gia

ah yes. i remember that. i see the marks have faded away quite a lot. but i can also see you haven't fully recovered. are you sure you're going to be okay?

Valora was making a concsious effort to be more open and relaxed around others, trying to show emotion more...and though she had shifted a lot of baggage, it was still tricky as she was still cautious

Rolling his eyes a little at Giacinto, he bent down and looked a a almost healed gash on the inside of Snows leg. He brushed his hand over it, then stood up, deciding that it was healing up pretty well.

The horse stomped her feet for compensation - which Richard complied with, giving the mare another polo. He wiped his hand on the back of his trousers while Snow twitched her ears to look at Shay, with a curious glance, and then at Envy. Her ears pulled back at both of them in dislike and she went back to her hay.

Richard used a softer brush now that the mud was removed from Snows coat, to clean it, simply listening to Giacintos and Valoras conversation.

"I'll be fine. Just gotta rest up and feed. I'm gonna need something a lot stronger than just human blood, though. God knows its going to cost me an arm adn a freaking leg to find a willing Fairy or Demon." She sighed heavily. Yes, she had the money to toss at whatever fairy or demon she could find but the trouble was finding them in the first place. Fairies were skittish and stayed away from most everyone and demons were bastards through and through.

She yawned a little then vaulted the gate and stepped up to Envy, crooning quietly at him as she stroked his neck, pressing her forehead against his cheek, stifling another yawn.

The Fox Trotter whickered at his master, nudging under her chin gently. His master was terrible for pushing herself and not giving herself time to heal properly. He got overly worried about her.

"I'll be back to normal soon, I hope." Damned soon. She had no idea when Aleksandr's next letter would come. The next one might come with him attached to it. She had to be ready.

Valora scowled, easily smelling the weakness and tiredness on Gia, but figured that Sharifa would berate the woman at a later time, and it wasn't her place to do so.

sighing quietly, she opened the gate of the stall to let Shay out, and easily swung herself up onto his back, holding onto his neck as she got on and used her other hand to brace herself on his back as she settled

she had had an urge to go bare backing on the horse, simply wanting to use all her skill as a rider, and to get Shay out and running.

Shay whikered quietly, shifting a little, but in anticipation that his master wanted to go for a ride. he wasn't like other horses, having had his master change him years ago so he was immortal, but didn't have any special abilities besides being stronger and faster than most horses. and with this, he became restless and wanted to go out for runs a lot more, but he was also a lot more sensitive. this meant her could sense the unease in the manor, and a dangerous threat had settled around the place.

Valora, aware of the threat as well, wanted to get Shay running and she wanted to use energy as well

turning to gia as she held onto Shay's mane, she spoke to both her and Richard.

do the pair of you care to go for a run with me? me and Shay are....restless and need to work off some agitation.

He bit his lip, glad that Giacinto was 'fine'... Sort of. His mind ran through all the information he had on Faeries and Demons, only to be stumped. That was something else has was going to be looking up thoroughly in the library, it seemed.

Snow tor herself away from the hay to raise her head at Valora, her ears twitching at the phrase "go for a run". Richard also stopped grooming the grey, yet white looking, horse to look at Valora in interest.

"Sure." He placed the placed the brush on the side of the door and exited the stool. He throw a glare at Snow as she kicked the door in frustration. "I am just going to go and get her riding gear."

He was gone and then back again with the added saddle and reins. They were put on expectingly, with a few slaps and telling off's frown in when the mare tried to bite, kick, and stamp in annoyance. Richard sighed a little at the bit he had to use, a lot weaker then the normal one... Hopefully, with the fact that she had just been out for a run, she won't be that energetic.

"So, where were you planing on heading?"

"No thanks."

Envy had been out on a run just a few hours ago.

And though he was up for another ride, Giacinto wasn't. Envy would just have to wait until tomorrow to go out again.

She yawned again and leaned heavily against her horse. He wouldn't mind her taking a nap in here.

wherever Shay wants to go really. i don't usually set the route. he does. he knows what challenges him and where he wants to go. he's a very independent horse that simply won't listen to many instructions when it's just a normal run. she sighed a little, patting Shay's neck

she turned to Gia, and noticed how tired she was, scowling a little again at it...something wasn't right. her blood doesn't smell....clean.

Giacanto.....you sure you're okay? you do realise Sharifa will have a major blow out at you if it's something serious and you didn't get help

she didn't want to see Sharifa's mood swings while the woman was still injured....it spelled trouble for all

"Ah, that is fine."

He petted the impatient Snow and went quiet again, listening to the conversation between Valora and Giacinto. He was a little concerned about Giacinto, but he had to remind himself that she was a strong woman. And even if she was not okay, there was little he could do, much to his dismay.