♥ Starr Ranch ♥ 1x1 ♥ Remake/Continuation ♥

[minus infinity]

Xavier was in the river, standing up slightly shakily in a deeper part of the water. Now he could see the tiny creatures that were in the water when he had picked Summer up and even dropped her into the water. He smirked a little at the thought. 'Do you like picking me up?' She had asked. Not as much as I like doing this ...
It wouldn't go down. The fact that he was completely bare probably didn't help matters, as the water lapped against him in beckoning of something ...
Summer had left with her brother after their parents had gotten the news that Chris was injured and they had panicked, or so it seemed. Xavier wasn't sure about Chris, but Summer was holding back tears as she packed up and they exchanged phone numbers with promises to visit one another at least occasionally. They'd even ... broken a past agreement for just a few minutes before Chris knocked on the door to tell his sister it was time to go. And damned if he didn't smile that smug little smile of his when he came in and both of them were very flushed and still breathing heavily. And now, like their now long lost agreement, it was all in the past ...
She had left about a week ago. They were in the second or third week of camp, and even though Xavier didn't really know why he was still so furious about the prank he was. Maybe it just sort of came by nature by now. He knew that he wanted to be in power, though, and maybe that was why.
So, hurt by the loss of power, he was still reeling with anger. He groaned with frustration and another couple of things too just then and as thoughts of his rendezvous with Summer faded back into his mind, he began to think of Esmeralda. That girl ...
Summer and Esmeralda. Esmeralda and Summer. Dammit, how was he going to do this?
For now, he just decided he needed to infuse a douse of ice cold water on his hormones. So with that, he went to the deepest part of the river he could find and attempted a cannonball.

_______________________________




Kahlilia watched the interaction between the two horses with a raised eyebrow. Wow, she thought, we certainly found out something else Phoenix is good at.
Lily flashed a little nervous smile and walked over to stand in between Esmeralda and Roman, not sure if she should approach Phoenix now that he had a mare in his sights and wouldn't really be too interested in a rider.
Cautiously, though, she began to approach the large black stallion but staying as close as she could to the other two. As she thought about the stallion's more playful personality with Roman to try and calm herself down, she inevitably thought of the day where they had tried to hose Phoenix down. Did he think of her as the scary lady with the hose? Lily wasn't sure, and she certainly hoped not. That was the last thing they needed, for the stallion to recognize her as an enemy and treat her as such.

 

[SilentShadowDreamer]

Esmeralda glanced from her mare to Phoenix and sighed. "That is quite enough of that, Sahara," she told the mare sternly. "If you must flirt, you could at least share the love so poor Ben over there doesn't feel neglected."

Sahara had no interest in Esmeralda's admonishments, instead prancing in place and flicking her tail. Ez firmly led the mare away to the opposite side of the pond.

No, of course it had nothing to do with leaving Lily and Roman alone for a few minutes. Of course not. She wasn't really doing anything, just...giving them a little push, maybe.

Just a little one.

She wouldn't want to interfere, or anything.

Patting Sahara's neck, she kept her eyes on her horse and her face turned away to hide the wicked little grin.

~

Roman took a light hold on Phoenix's reins when it looked like the stallion was thinking about following Esmeralda and Sahara. "No, I don't think so, pal," he told the horse. "Rein in the hormones. She's not your type anyway."

Phoenix nudged him, making him grin. "Yeah, yeah, all ladies are your type, whatever. Leave her be." Turning to Kahlilia, he smiled. "I think you'll need a leg up," he said, scanning her up and down quickly - for height only, he insisted to himself. "Do you know how to do that?"

With a firm aside to Phoenix to "Stand, boy," he bent his knees so that he was nearly in a crouch, and offered one hand in a sort of cradled position for her to step onto.  

[minus infinity]

Kahlilia looked confused. No, she did not know what a leg up was. No, she had never done one before. No, she was not blushing and hormonal and biting her lip ...
Oh, wait. Yes she was. Stupid stupid stupid. She looked over at Phoenix and then at Roman, wondering if maybe it wasn't too late to go back? Kind of like how it was when you're next in line for a roller coaster and back out at the last second? Yes, that was what she wanted to do. Very much so. She was too hormonal. She was too scared. She was too shy. She was too ...
Oh, be quiet!
Kahlilia's voice lowered to a soft, almost musical voice a person uses when they're talking to a lover when she said, Could you ... pick me up? Kahlilia had been picked up a couple of times before but this was so much different. Picked up by people who thought they were witty, picked up occasionally even in more recent years by her parents, picked up like a trophy by a past friend of hers. Certainly it was a strange feeling to not be on the ground, and certainly her hormones were setting up an absolute rampage, but ... ?
Oh, she didn't even know anymore! Blushing, she slowly and cautiously went into his arms.

 

[SilentShadowDreamer]

Roman's eyes widened for a second. Just a second. It was really almost imperceptible. But he stood again, wordlessly, and opened his arms to her.

When she went into them, there was a moment where he held her. Just held on to her, took a moment to feel her there.

I won't let anything happen to you.

Then with even less effort than he thought he would need to put in, he lifted her up - wisely averting his eyes so that he didn't have to look at her, didn't have to put her face to the delicate body he was holding.

I won't let anything hurt you.

Phoenix snorted and swung his head around to look at what they were doing, but Roman's orders held - the horse didn't move. A few seconds later, she was on the stallion's back, and Phoenix was gazing suspiciously at Roman.

The boy kept his hands on her sides for a few seconds more as though to ensure she was on properly, and then stepped back. "Well," he said, his voice a little unsteady, "there you go. Not so bad."

I won't let anyone hurt you.

Not even if it's me.  

[minus infinity]

Kahlilia felt an almost sensual chill down her spine before she could control it or even try to hide it. She knew flirting with him in an obvious way would scare him off, and that was the last thing she wanted to do, but she couldn't help her newly supercharged feelings. She kind of wanted to just be held, to be that close to him for just a little bit longer, just a little bit ...
Lily had closed her eyes when she was lifted, but had them open again by the time she had jumped. She'd held onto Roman in a hope to keep her balance, and even when she jumped onto Phoenix's back she still had her hands on his when they rested at her sides in a way that made her think ...
She had to stop this. There was no way she could scare him off right now, when they were ...
Stop it!
Lily forced her thoughts to cease and felt at least a tiny bit successful when they faded enough to have her realize what a height she was at. A little startled, she reached out slightly to take Roman's hand even though he had backed away a little. I-I'm really high up, she said quietly. Thank you, Captain Obvious.
Should we ... ride around a little now?
Glancing backwards for a second, Kahlilia saw that Benvolio had looked up towards them quizzically, as though to say what on earth are you doing? She smiled a little at that, even despite herself and all that she was feeling right now. In her mind, in her heart, there were so many things she could have said or could have done rather than just watching out of the corner of her eyes as Benvolio began to drink from the water in the pond. He hadn't seemed extremely perturbed by the interaction between Phoenix and Sahara, but probably did feel a little like a third wheel as he had snorted, tossed his head and grazed a little more. She still felt so awkward, yet somewhere she wished that she could just be held for a little while longer ... just a little while longer ...

 

[SilentShadowDreamer]

Esmeralda risked a quick peek in their direction and bit her lip before she could lose enough control to giggle.

Oh, poor Roman.

He doesn't stand a snowball's chance in hell, she thought gleefully.

And oddly, she sincerely hoped that she was right.

It was about time that brother of hers stopped being such a coward when it came to girls.





~

Blissfully unaware of what was running through Kahlilia's mind, Roman smiled a little more naturally this time. He let her take his hand, figuring it would just be for a second while she steadied herself. "Well, it's up to you," he replied. "What do you want to do?"

If he'd known the way Lily's thoughts were tending, he never would have said anything of the sort. Of course, if he'd known, he would have been miles away by then.

Before he could make any suggestions, however, Phoenix gave an arrogant little flick of his head and gave Roman a pointed stare. The boy laughed, moving up towards the stallion's head - at least as far as he could with Kahlilia still gripping one hand. "Come on, boy. I know she's light, but you can feel her up there. Now behave yourself."

He glanced back at Kahlilia. "Whenever you're ready."  

[minus infinity]

Kahlilia did eventually let go of Roman's hand, although it was only when Phoenix began to act a little antsy. Was it safe to ride a stallion like him while they were probably more focused on a mare?
But Lily knew that she trusted Roman and that as long as he stayed close to herself and Phoenix she would be okay. Maybe. She hoped he wouldn't decide to go jumping while she was on his back, and that it was possible she would even need to have Roman guide Phoenix via the bridle. It was a technique used to guide the horses around a tiny little track when she was very little and would go to a ranch to ride the horses. Certainly, she felt like a kid right now - she was afraid of heights and she was feeling it with Phoenix. Silently begging the stallion not to pull anything on her just yet, Lily cautiously patted the stallion's neck and said, I'm not really used to this height, gee, she certainly felt like a genius. Probably anybody close enough to her could see how misplaced she looked on such a large stallion. Um, can we just walk around the pond or something?

 

[SilentShadowDreamer]

Roman, a little concerned about his horse's behaviour, nevertheless let go and stepped away so that Kahlilia could try it on her own.

"Yes, of --" he began, and that was when Phoenix decided that he had had enough. With an infuriated, high-pitched squeal, he pinned his ears back and danced backwards, trying to unseat this strange new rider without actually hurting her (since Roman had allowed her up in the first place). His opinion was clear - he was used to Roman, and that was the only rider he wanted.

The young man cursed and strode back to the horse's side. "Shift forward," he told Kahlilia tersely, and without another word swung himself up onto the stallion's back behind her, so that she was sitting between him and the horse's withers. However, he left the reins in Kahlilia's hands.

Phoenix immediately settled down, though he still seemed more eager than before - probably due to the mare. Roman touched a hand to Kahlilia's shoulder from where he sat behind her. "Go ahead. He'll be fine now."  

[minus infinity]

I trust you, Roman.
Kahlilia was sure of that --
She didn't know exactly what happened when Phoenix reacted the way he did. The squealing sound he had made startled her, and the sudden realization that the stallion would have liked her to get off - and that his opinion of her wouldn't change anytime soon - postponed any other fear she may have had. In a way, her postponed reaction was probably better because she knew if she screamed or showed terror it would bother Phoenix. So her eyes were closed and her body became stiff; she knew if she opened her eyes she would start to cry and she really didn't want to right now.
When Roman told her to shift forward she obediently did, although now she really would have liked to just go back and ride Benvolio. Benvolio, she believed, was still by the pond drinking. If he wasn't she knew he couldn't be far, the paint horse probably knew well enough that he wasn't to go after a mare as long as Phoenix was around.
Maybe his intolerance of her was because of his straightforward reaction to Sahara. She wouldn't blame anyone but herself. Lily knew that blaming anyone else would go absolutely nowhere and just lead to more trouble. Still shocked with fear, she didn't realize Roman had joined her on the stallion's back until he told her it was alright. Well, she certainly hoped he would be fine - she really didn't need or want to be injured so early in the summer. She couldn't help but voice her thoughts. I ... A-are you sure? Lily was aware of his hand on her shoulder and felt mildly comforted by the gesture. However, not about to start riding again - or try to start, she hadn't even given Phoenix a tiny nudge - without knowing Phoenix wouldn't try again to buck her off, she slowly and cautiously leaned backwards just a tiny bit against him. In her height when she was situated on Phoenix's back, the top of her hairline and her ponytail were against Roman's chest. She had obediently kept her hands on the reins and her eyes were still closed in an attempt to ward back tears, but here she was leaning against him when she had been warned not to make obvious moves. What was there to lose, besides her head?

 

[SilentShadowDreamer]

Roman was too focused on the stallion to notice Kahlilia's leaning into him - or if he did (of course he did), he forced himself to dismiss it as a need for support, rather than...anything else.

He felt the mild quivers as Kahlilia struggled not to cry, and in a natural desire to soothe, ran his hands over her arms briefly. "Yeah, I'm sure. He'll be fine. Remember, we thought he'd be fussy. He'll figure it out. You just have to be the alpha mare and not take his s**t." His voice was as light and soothing as his hands.

Noticing in a distant way that Ez had gotten back on Sahara and was keeping to the far side of the pond, Roman wished for a second he could send his sister some sign of gratitude. "Don't worry, Lily - I won't let you fall. Go ahead and ask him to move off."

I won't let you fall.

Simple. Straightforward. And somewhere in the back of Roman's mind, oddly terrifying.  

[minus infinity]

Lily still wasn't sure about riding but slowly gained peace of mind as Phoenix seemed to calm down now that there were two of them. She smiled just the tiniest bit as she felt Roman's touch down her arms and bit her bottom lip for a second as she secretly enjoyed the touch, but slowly straightened herself back out so that she didn't lean against Roman now quite as much. They were kind of squished together, as she knew, but somehow it made her feel that much safer - maybe Phoenix wouldn't try anything as long as he knew his preferred rider was on his back as well as a strange and intolerable one. So she hoped, at least.
Danger, danger ...
Wait, alpha mare? What on earth? How was she going to be able to pull something like that on a stallion twice her size? In truth the only true assertiveness she would probably ever be able to pull off was a sexy act she had learned from Kassandra. Strip as slowly as you possibly can and do some little twirls to show off "all she ******** had". Then afterward, when a potential partner was just about having seizures by being restricted from touching that whole time, pounce! That was just Kassandra.
Damn, but could she even do something that an outrageously flirty friend had taught her? One part of her hoped she could at least appear more sexy than she did little-girl cute for just a moment or two and enjoy that, but another was shocked and appalled at the very thought. Well, dang it! What was she going to do? Here she was sitting on a slightly feisty stallion's back thinking about taking all her clothes off!
Danger, danger ... it feels so wrong ...
Oh, it's been so long ...
Kahlilia finally just nodded and with a firm nudge with her tiny pink-shoed foot, she requested that Phoenix be good and take them ... where were they going?
Where are we going?

 

[SilentShadowDreamer]

Roman smiled a little as he felt her relax. Unable to keep himself from leaving one hand lightly on her arm - as a friendly, reassuring gesture, he told himself firmly - he nodded, although she couldn't see it.

"Anywhere you like," he said. "You're in charge - I'm just ballast."

Phoenix seemed to hesitate for a moment when Kahlilia asked him to move off, like he couldn't be bothered to do what she said when she said it. One could practically hear him whistling a taunting little tune, but eventually (possibly helped just a little by Roman's firmer nudge where Lily couldn't see) he moved forward with a showy, high-stepping pace, holding his head and tail high.

~

Esmeralda chose that moment to ride in their direction. Keeping a safe distance, she told them, "You guys have fun. I'm going to head to the river, give my girl and your boy there some space before their hormones take over."

Anticipating Roman's objections, she grinned and said, "Sahara will take care of me. If Mr. Smooth gets in my face, she'll beat him to a bloody pulp." More seriously, she added, "I like to ride alone now and then, Roman, and I'm not letting him spoil our summer."

With a subtle grin in Kahlilia's direction, Esmeralda turned her mare away and sent her off at a canter. "Meet me at the river!" she called, her voice trailing behind her.  

[minus infinity]

Kahlilia couldn't help but smile a tiny bit as she realized Phoenix was still very reluctant to do anything she said. They both had known Phoenix would act fussy, he hadn't gone completely cold turkey on his previous mannerisms.
Then, she remembered that Benvolio would be left at the pond if they were to go farther away. Turning her head just slightly in the paint's direction so that Phoenix wouldn't get confused or act up, she made a clicking noise to try and get Benvolio to follow them. In response, he sauntered towards them with a seemingly relaxed attitude. He knew they were in no hurry to go back into the summer heat as the day approached late morning. Kahlilia had decided the river would be fun, remembering how she had wanted to go swimming a little earlier when she had gone out with Esmeralda. When Esmeralda had rode away to the river she had smiled and quietly said 'see you later', getting excited and losing her earlier fear as she had before. It would be so much fun to go swimming!
The only downside was the horrible, plaster-y sort of feeling that came with wet clothes. Even on the hottest of days, the feeling remained like a caterpillar crawling up and down all over her body.
Her solution was simple yet entirely appalling: she would just take all of her clothes off.
Thinking about that and Kassandra's naughty tips somehow kept her from giving back into fear, but now she was blushing and biting her lower lip even harder in a sort of sensual anticipation. She hoped Roman wasn't able to see that, not yet.
And so those slightly disturbing thoughts helped shorten the length of the time it took to get to the river, with Benvolio following. They were close to the river but had to bypass a field or two, so they couldn't see its other visitors just yet.

____________________________________




Xavier had draped his clothes over his still bare crotch and was sitting underneath a tree, thinking about Summer and Esmeralda. Esmeralda and Summer.
On one hand, he felt he had developed - was developing? - a deeper sort of bond with Summer. Even between all of their sex, there was something there that was just a little deeper than the rest of that ... but with her gone, what was there to do? Obviously the physical aspect of their relationship would have to wait, but did he really want to have Summer know who he really was and how he really acted outside of his bond with her? The answer was a resounding no.
On the other hand, Esmeralda was free-spirited and even a little raunchy like he was. She was brave, fearless and whip smart. Not to mention absolutely sexy, even when her eyes glowed with a cold fire and she insulted him in the nasty ways that she did. But she could challenge him and he could challenge her, and he could really use that. And then, even underneath all of that there was a sort of admiration for her that almost hit the level of the bonding he'd had with Summer ...
So what would he do?
The answer came in another fresh batch of hormones and the sight of Esmeralda on her horse, looking a little windswept and bright. Xavier smiled to himself. So she's come back for more. Well, right now she couldn't see him, but that was how he would have liked it to be. So he stood and put on his jeans within sight of her, watching her with interest. Did she too plan to go swimming? He wondered how she would react if he picked her up and dropped her into the river as he did Summer. Dammit, there he went again comparing them. Quite obviously they were two different people, both very exciting, but somehow having one right in front of him in person was just more ...
Well look what the cat dragged in, Xavier said to the girl when she was close enough to hear him. Did you come back for more?

 

[SilentShadowDreamer]

Esmeralda reined Sahara in, looking at the river. It was quiet here, nearly peaceful - if Ez could ever really call herself a peaceful person, it would be in a place like this, a place that reminded her of her old home. She flung back her hair with a laugh and sent Sahara towards the river, not really sure what she intended to do.

That was the beauty of summer.

She heard his voice before she saw him, and her body straightened in the saddle in instinctive response. Coolly, she turned her deep dark eyes to him. If she'd liked him, or been friendly with him, her response would have been something along the lines of...

Hmm. How would he respond to something like that?

"Couldn't keep away," she replied, casually dismounting and letting Sahara have her space to graze. Standing cockily, one hand on her hip, she continued, "You know how hot it makes me when a boy manhandles me and tries to kill me." The word boy as opposed to man had been very deliberately chosen to emasculate, to make him feel smaller.

She tossed back her dark hair and turned towards the river. "I want to swim," she decided abruptly, and leaped into the water, barely taking the time to kick off her boots. Sahara's only response was a mild flicking of the ears before she went back to grazing.

~

Phoenix turned his head briefly to glance at his riders - clearly the horse was not immune to the rising heat between the two. He snorted, gave a bouncy little kick, and moved into a trot. Instinctively, Roman put his hands on Lily's waist to help her sit it if that was what she chose to do - when the horse was in this mood, Phoenix's trot was much too showy to be comfortable.

Though he was still worried for his sister, he couldn't very well dump Lily off the horse and follow her, nor could they leave Benvolio - and even if they could, he wouldn't bring Lily into danger.

So he resigned himself to letting Ez go her own way, as she always did sooner or later. How much harm could she really come to, considering that she had (he was fairly sure) already armed herself?

Since Kahlilia had her back to him, Roman had no idea that she was blushing, much less why. Instead, he grinned. "Are we having fun yet?" he asked, wondering if she was starting to enjoy the bigger horse's movement now that she'd gotten more used to it.  

[minus infinity]

Kahlilia felt the bounce of Phoenix's little kick and the way Roman put his hands on her waist just then, thinking of things she was glad Roman wasn't able to see in her face. Did he notice how her skin was heating up underneath her shirt, how when Phoenix bounced her shirt rode up the tiniest bit and exposed the skinny black belt with heart cutouts she was wearing? She was starting to lose control of herself, she was starting to lose her inhibitions. It's been too long, oh it feels so wrong ...
Danger, danger ...
Kahlilia even giggled a little in her sexual giddiness when she heard Roman ask if they were having fun yet.
Well, if you want to have fun ...
She bit back the highly sexual suggestion and forced her lips into a bit of a sheepish smile despite how much she was heating up on the inside. I'm excited to go swimming! That was definitely something that was a lot tamer for her to say as the words left her in a soft and musical tone, and she actually was looking forward to the feeling of the cold water on her skin. Her completely bare skin ...
They were edging closer to the river and were about halfway through the second small-ish field of what were probably vegetables and fruit Shannon used as a source of income. Lily enjoyed the smell of the garden, an earthy sort of smell - like how when Roman told her that it was in fact possible to smell water, it just had a flat and mineral scent. That little pond he had talked about ... now this time her genuine happiness overrode her sexual thoughts, but it wouldn't hold for much longer. She was ready in all senses of the word.



_______________________________________





Xavier smirked a little when he saw her hand-on-hip pose and mimicked it for a second before returning his thoughts to her and what she was saying to him. Well of course she was just trying to insult him again, and by God if it wasn't working he didn't know what else did! Damn, she was good. A little too good.
And what else is this lovely lady good at besides busting balls?
Well, as he found out, jumping into a river with all of her clothes on and looking graceful as ever. How the hell was that? Certainly she was just teasing him again, right?
Well, it wasn't really like he was complaining. He was excited by her, really excited. And so in another dousing of his hormones which would inevitably come right back as they just had, he too jumped into the river in pursuit of the girl. Where had she gone?
He surfaced a few seconds later and looked around for her, and it was then that he remembered her paper knife again. How it had cut Summer, been used as a deadly threat and then treated like a harmless little teddy bear in Esmeralda's arms.
In thinking of the paper knife and how at that time she had needed it so much to protect herself, he saw her shadow moving like an underwater dancer. If he were to pick her up, would she try and reach for it as a defense? Not if he restrained her arms to him when he picked her up, she couldn't reach for it and maybe he could take it from her ...
It was then that he heard distant voices and the sound of hooves. Knowing it was probably this girl's brother and his little girlfriend, Xavier bent forward towards Esmeralda's underwater shadow and attempted to scoop her up out of the water.