HOME | DD

Description
Warning: Implied sexual content at the very end of the chapter.

Previously: Chapter Two

Next: Chapter Four

Chapter Three
The evening was wearing on into a soft, golden glow as Mark finished up his chores for the day. It had been busy as usual, and he was glad for the chance to relax and make his way to Cosmic’s stable. The warmblood stallion was munching calmly on his hay, his grinding motions only interrupted by his rough tugs on the hay net.

   He lifted his head as he heard Mark at the door, a low noise escaping him, his whole body rippling with it, as he shuffled around to pop his head over the door. “Hey, big guy,” Mark murmured, rubbing Cosmic’s forehead. “You wanna go out for a good gallop? Burn off some of that energy, yeah?” The horse let out a long, heavy sigh and then perked up again, ears swivelling and head turning to look down the aisle.

   The motion was only brief before his attention returned to Mark, but Mark looked down the aisle anyway to spot Ryan heading his way. Conventionally attractive with a Tony Stark-esque beard and narrow hips, Ryan was Mark’s kinda guy. He wouldn’t normally say he had a type, as he wasn’t particularly choosy, but Ryan pushed all of his buttons.

   Not that he let on about it. The estate history was full of romances that tended not to work out very well and Mark was rather determined to avoid such a fate. His brief crush on Chase had been squashed pretty quickly by Michelle’s arrival and their subsequent courting. He had learned his lesson pretty quick. Besides, he wasn’t sure where Ryan’s interest lay. He was very ambiguous.

   “Heading out?” Ryan asked as he neared. He had just finished exercising the new Harno stallion, Sy’tavi – Mark had seen them in the school – and he was covered in a light sheen of sweat. His black breeches hugged his hips neatly and he was wearing a thin, loose grey t-shirt. It was hard not to look at him, but Mark forced his attention to stay on Cosmic.

   “Yeah, was gonna get a nice gallop in to end the day well.” He paused for a beat, glancing briefly at Ryan before he continued. “You can come along, if you want.” Company was never a bad thing. It was nice to go on a quiet hack, but it was also pleasant to have a bit of banter.

   “I ride high level dressage,” Ryan said with a laugh, but it didn’t seem like he was bragging, “I don’t really do… galloping. I can’t remember the last time I did it.”

   “All the more reason,” Mark replied with a grin. “You can’t tell me Vera doesn’t want to open up a bit and stretch her legs.”

   “She probably doesn’t, to be honest. It’s hard to get her to do much. But it might do her some good to actually exercise.” There was a wry smile on his face, the kind that said he had argued with his horse quite a bit about her exercise. Mark often saw him in the field with Vera, practicing their dressage for a while before Vera would declare she had had enough for now. Ryan had taken to working on his moves with Usafutil instead, a mare who was much more inclined to listen to him.

   Ryan started to turn away, running a hand through his damp hair. “I’ll go grab her, I’ll meet you at the fountain,” he said as he walked off. Mark let out a long sigh and then let his forehead rest against Cosmic’s.

   When Ryan was well out of earshot, Mark mumbled to the horse, “I’m such a sucker for my stupid crushes.”

   They met at the fountain soon after, the cool spray of the water dancing through the dusty evening air, the droplets catching the sunlight in rainbow colours. Vera looked as beautiful as ever, her pale coat shimmering in the sun, her braided mane and tail soft and clean with loose strands dancing on an errant breeze. Ryan sat atop her with his usual surety, unrivalled after all of his years with the mare. There wasn’t a more confident partnership on the yard.

   Cosmic danced a little beneath Mark, his nostrils flaring as he snorted out air sharply at the sight of Vera. “Don’t be such a boy,” Mark grunted, getting the stallion swiftly under control and turning him to walk alongside the other pair as they first walked towards the main house down the wide avenue.

   “If I hear any more complaining about the dust or the heat I think I might go even more crazy,” Ryan grumbled as they walked together. “She hasn’t stopped bitching since I picked her tack up.” Ryan was the only one Vera really talked to, and apparently she always had a lot to say about her opinions. Mark huffed a small laugh and relaxed in the saddle as he felt Cosmic stretch and settle. The rhythmic sound of hooves on tarmac was comforting.

   “Well at least Cosmic is happy about the hack,” Mark said as they turned right between the jumping and dressage arenas and towards the vet clinic. Soon they would be amongst the trees and able to ride up towards the top paddocks where they could go further into the neighbouring fields and get a good gallop going.

   “I’m sorry if we’re encroaching on your peaceful ride out,” Ryan said after a few minutes. He had probably been bickering with Vera in his head for that time. Mark shook his head a little and guided Cosmic towards the gate that marked the large, open Junither paddock that contained most of the woodland on the estate.

   “I invited you, it’s fine. Sometimes it’s nice to have company,” he answered as he leaned down to the gate and unlatched it before pushing it open and riding through. Ryan did the honours of closing it after them, his movements with Vera second nature as they maneuvered perfectly around the gate.

   “But other times, it’s preferable to be alone,” Ryan said. They rode into the shade of the trees, the woods quiet other than the sounds of the birds overhead. Somewhere in there was a herd of Junither horses, but it was rare they would bother anyone who rode through. They were happiest in the fenced off woodland so that was where they got turned out. They were perfectly fine with letting people be as they went about their business.

   “I spend a lot of time alone,” Mark mused, guiding Cosmic easily between the trees. Ryan was barely even holding onto his reins, letting Vera take the lead. “So many people on this yard, sometimes it’s hard to actually socialise with them, y’know?”

   “I get that. It’s hard for me to find anyone to relate to, so I don’t often… hang out with anyone.” Ryan had been at the stables for about a year when the truth had been revealed. His true age was in the hundreds. He had been born in the 1700s and Vera had been keeping him alive, stalling his aging and death, ever since. No one really knew the full story, but the scars that riddled Ryan’s visible body said there was certainly a story to tell.

   With that in mind, Mark could understand how maybe it was hard to find someone with shared life experience. The closest he would have would be the horse he was riding. “What makes you feel so left out?” Ryan asked. Mark hesitated a little at the question and then let out a long breath. How could he describe it?

   “Everyone has friends and stuff. It’s like there’s cliques. You’ve got the original crew, and people who are joined to that crew through relationships-”

   “Aren’t you part of that crew?” Ryan interrupted. Mark shrugged.

   “Not really. I came here on probation. Part of my rehabilitation was working with horses under supervision. Took a long time before anyone accepted me. Anyway… then you’ve got the Americans, they all came here together, then there’s the couples, and the new guys… I dunno. I think I always felt like I was being judged.”

   “I’m sure no one’s judging you,” Ryan said. Sunlight danced across the woodland floor and the coats of the horses, golden light speckled with green and contrasting with shadows as it crept through the leafy canopy overhead. The horses were relaxed, walking calmly side by side.

   “Maybe they’re not,” Mark muttered, “but I tend to find people are always judging.”

   “I thought Chase was your friend.”

   “He was… he is, but now he’s got Michelle and we don’t get to hang out that much. He’d rather hack out with her. I don’t really mind being alone.”

   Ryan was quiet for a moment before he spoke, his voice steady. “Well, you don’t have to be alone. Us two loners can ride out whenever you want.”

   The thought was nice, and Mark found it tempting. If there was maybe one person the yard he thought wouldn’t judge him for his past, it was Ryan. From what the man had alluded, his past wasn’t particularly shiny and clean. “Maybe,” Mark said eventually. “Wanna trot?”

   They trotted and cantered the rest of the way to the other end of the Junither paddock before exiting onto the narrow lane that led through the top paddocks and into the neighbouring grass fields that the farmer next-door was growing for hay. They were allowed to ride around the edges and the slopes made for excellent galloping situations. It was good exercise for such a scopey, energetic horse like Cosmic, pushing his muscles and building his strength, all while burning off some of his excess bounciness.

   They cantered at first, side by side as they followed the field along the foot of the hill. When they got to one corner and turned to go uphill, Mark let Cosmic stretch out and reach for a gallop. He glanced over his shoulder to see Vera raise her head high and perk her ears forwards, her vacant eyes peculiarly showing her focus as she watched Cosmic break away. With ease, she flung out her elegant legs and broke into a gallop after them.

   Mark laughed a little at her high strung, floaty gait before turning his attention to his own horse. Cosmic was powering up the hill, his breath coming out sharp and heavy, his head held proud but level and his ears perked forwards. Mark could feel every muscle working beneath him, pushing hard to gain speed. Cosmic was big and heavy, a powerhouse of a horse who loved to go fast when possible.

   Mark held him at a steady but powerful gallop, allowing Vera to keep up as she settled into the gait. She had lowered her head a bit, her neck arched gracefully as she collected even at such speeds. Every movement was calculated and executed with a careful ease that left her powering up the hill right behind Cosmic.

   They slowed as they reached the top of the hill, the horses settling back into a trot as they rounded the corner. They soon slowed further to a walk and Mark laughed as he patted Cosmic’s sweaty neck. “It seemed like she was enjoying that more than she let on,” he said to Ryan as they walked side by side again.

   “She bitched the whole way, but I can tell she was enjoying it. She can’t hide it through the connection.” Vera snorted at that and Ryan grinned. “I liked it, too. It’s not often I get to go fast.”

   Mark grinned and reclined a little in his saddle. “Maybe we should do it more. It’s good stress relief,” he mused, leaning one hand against Cosmic’s rump and feeling the horse’s hips roll with each step.

   “There are a lot of things that are good stress relief, but this has to be one of the best,” Ryan said. Mark snorted a small laugh at that and looked across at his riding companion. He was even sweatier now but his face was a picture of chilled-out happiness.

   “Hey, I’ll race you down the other side,” Mark said, a smirk spreading onto his lips. Ryan raised an eyebrow at that before nodding, a grin of his own gracing his features.

   “You’re on. Hear that, Vera? You gotta show him just what you’re made of.”

   It turned out Vera was made of very fast material. As they started to gallop down the hill, she pulled ahead, reaching into her gallop with each step eating up vast amounts of ground. Ryan was leaning forwards in his seat, rolling easily with her movements, and Mark couldn’t help but watch the perfect partnership.

   Maybe if he could achieve just a fraction of that with Cosmic, he would be happy with his life. He urged the stallion on, felt a second wind hit him as they caught up with Vera and rode alongside. It was neck-and-neck until they started to reach the bottom of the hill and Vera finally broke ahead again. By the time they slowed down, she was sweating and huffing out her breaths, but Mark could see the victorious look on her face.

   “Not bad,” he said through panted breaths, tugging at his sweat-damp t-shirt to peel it away from his skin. “Maybe you’re in the wrong discipline.”

   There was a brief pause before Ryan spoke, leaning back in his saddle and pressing a hand to his side. “She says she’s absolutely sure she’s in the right discipline and she’ll maybe do this again in a few years.”

~*~

   “My name was Eli,” Ryan said as they sat atop the straw bales in the back field, watching the sun sink beyond the horizon. Mark took a swig of his Diet Coke but didn’t speak, his legs swinging idly where they dangled off the edge. They were high up, but it wasn’t particularly daunting. It was a good place to relax. “When I was born, in 1724, the Black Death was still a thing that people remembered and feared,” the other man continued with a small huff, “and I was lucky to be born in the first place, even luckier to be a boy.”

   Mark found it hard to wrap his head around the fact that the man beside him had seen the world change over hundreds of years. From horses and carts, and no electricity, to cars and spaceships and solar panels. His listened intently but his eyes remained on the setting sun. They had retreated to the spot on top of the bales after their ride. It was late and a lot of people were already in bed, but neither of them had felt like retiring yet.

   “My dad wasn’t a great man. Atrocious by today’s standards,” Ryan grumbled, “and I was about the age of Aithne’s young boy when I found Vera.”

   “That’s pretty young to find a psycho murder horse,” Mark muttered, humour lacing his words. Ryan huffed at that and reclined back on his elbows.

   “Yeah, but when I found her she was just a foal, maybe only a couple of weeks old. She says she doesn’t know what happened to her parents, and I believe her. Her circumstances are so… odd. I found her out in a field in a storm, took her in, fed her until she could look after herself. She’s been my best friend through it all and…” he paused, trailing off, as he seemed to compose himself. “A bit of a curse, really.”

   Mark looked over at him and raised an eyebrow. “How so?”

“Eternal life isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, not when you’ve seen death and misery, fought in wars and seen your comrades die. It’s really not that great when you think you’ve finally managed to achieve death and escape it all, only to find she won’t allow it.” Ryan shrugged a little and tilted his head back, closing his eyes and basking in the last rays of sunshine. “I think it first struck me on the beaches of Normandy. It was violent, you know. You stepped off the boat and immediately you’re made into Swiss cheese. Before that I’d had a few scrapes, deep cuts that could have maybe bled out, but this was the first time I was away from her. The first time I was shot multiple times and had the time to bleed out. But she just couldn’t let me die.”

   Mark didn’t know how to respond to that. Did he say he was sorry? Was this a situation that required sympathy?

   “I’ve seen a lot of people come and go,” Ryan continued quietly, “it makes it hard to form any meaningful connections.”

   Mark swilled his drink around in its bottle and went quiet for a moment. “I can’t really relate,” he started, voice soft, “but I know what it’s like to be alone.” He took in a long breath and then let himself flop back so he was laid out on the bales, the individual strands of straw prodding him in the back a little. “My mum liked to pretend I didn’t exist. She’d get high on whatever and that’d be her done. She didn’t care after that. My brothers were all older, all grew up to be thugs who drank too much and I just… drifted.”

   He heard Ryan settle beside him, laying on his back also. Just as Mark had listened patiently, Ryan remained silent. “By the time I was seventeen I was taking heroin and I’m pretty sure I wasn’t sober at any point.” It had been a tough time. Mark had turned to drugs to try to find some comfort and he supposed in a way it had worked, but it had also ruined most of his life. “I found Cosmic when I was eighteen, tied to the side of the road, just a young colt with a bit of a bad attitude. His owners didn’t like it, beat him regularly. I got him taken to safety with the RSPCA, then I bought him when he was ready to be adopted. Said I’d quit the drugs, was just about to, when the police caught up with me. Locked me up for a bit before releasing me on probation to work here. Cosmic saved my life, too, but I guess not in the same extreme way.”

   He looked over at Ryan and grinned a little. Ryan returned the expression and then sighed. “I commend you, for coming so far,” Ryan said quietly, “you’re just a normal kid with a normal horse and you pulled through okay.” The words struck a chord with Mark. He couldn’t really remember the last time anyone had encouraged him like that, had validated his struggles and told him he’d done okay. Normally he was reprimanded for getting into trouble in the first place.

   “Thanks,” he muttered. “You’ve not done bad either, for an old guy.” He smirked as Ryan flung an arm out sideways and lightly punched him in the ribs.

   “Great things come from being an old guy,” Ryan murmured. “Experience, for a start.”

   “Experience?” Mark said with a small chuckle.

   “You’d be surprised how many people have told me that you really can’t beat the experience of an older guy in bed.” His tone was so casual but Mark supposed there was no need to be shy of anything after so many years of life. Mark’s chuckle broke into a laugh and he rested his forearm over his eyes.

   “I’ll take your word for it,” he said with a sigh.

   “What, not your type?”

   Mark paused and lifted his arm a little to look sideways at Ryan. The man was watching him with dark brown eyes that were edged with gold in the light of the sun. “I wasn’t sure I was your type,” Mark answered. Ryan came across as a ladies’ man, if Mark was honest. The kind who had taken the years of his life as an opportunity to learn how to effectively woo someone.

   “I don’t have a type,” Ryan replied with a shrug. “You learn not to be picky.”

   “I’m not sure if I should be offended.”

   “Not at all, you’re a prize catch.”

   Mark burst into a laugh again at that, covering his eyes once more and shaking his head. He hoped his arm somewhat hid the flush in his cheeks. “Maybe I could illustrate my point on the subject of experience,” Ryan mused, and Mark heard the straw rustle but didn’t dare to look. He acted casual, kept his breathing level, all while trying to resist peeking.

   All of his restraint went out of the window as he felt a hand press against his crotch, his hips arching to meet the touch. “I’m sure it’ll be an illuminating experience,” Mark breathed.

All characters, art & writing © mapal

Description
Warning: Implied sexual content at the very end of the chapter.

Previously: Chapter Two

Next: Chapter Four

Chapter Three
The evening was wearing on into a soft, golden glow as Mark finished up his chores for the day. It had been busy as usual, and he was glad for the chance to relax and make his way to Cosmic’s stable. The warmblood stallion was munching calmly on his hay, his grinding motions only interrupted by his rough tugs on the hay net.

   He lifted his head as he heard Mark at the door, a low noise escaping him, his whole body rippling with it, as he shuffled around to pop his head over the door. “Hey, big guy,” Mark murmured, rubbing Cosmic’s forehead. “You wanna go out for a good gallop? Burn off some of that energy, yeah?” The horse let out a long, heavy sigh and then perked up again, ears swivelling and head turning to look down the aisle.

   The motion was only brief before his attention returned to Mark, but Mark looked down the aisle anyway to spot Ryan heading his way. Conventionally attractive with a Tony Stark-esque beard and narrow hips, Ryan was Mark’s kinda guy. He wouldn’t normally say he had a type, as he wasn’t particularly choosy, but Ryan pushed all of his buttons.

   Not that he let on about it. The estate history was full of romances that tended not to work out very well and Mark was rather determined to avoid such a fate. His brief crush on Chase had been squashed pretty quickly by Michelle’s arrival and their subsequent courting. He had learned his lesson pretty quick. Besides, he wasn’t sure where Ryan’s interest lay. He was very ambiguous.

   “Heading out?” Ryan asked as he neared. He had just finished exercising the new Harno stallion, Sy’tavi – Mark had seen them in the school – and he was covered in a light sheen of sweat. His black breeches hugged his hips neatly and he was wearing a thin, loose grey t-shirt. It was hard not to look at him, but Mark forced his attention to stay on Cosmic.

   “Yeah, was gonna get a nice gallop in to end the day well.” He paused for a beat, glancing briefly at Ryan before he continued. “You can come along, if you want.” Company was never a bad thing. It was nice to go on a quiet hack, but it was also pleasant to have a bit of banter.

   “I ride high level dressage,” Ryan said with a laugh, but it didn’t seem like he was bragging, “I don’t really do… galloping. I can’t remember the last time I did it.”

   “All the more reason,” Mark replied with a grin. “You can’t tell me Vera doesn’t want to open up a bit and stretch her legs.”

   “She probably doesn’t, to be honest. It’s hard to get her to do much. But it might do her some good to actually exercise.” There was a wry smile on his face, the kind that said he had argued with his horse quite a bit about her exercise. Mark often saw him in the field with Vera, practicing their dressage for a while before Vera would declare she had had enough for now. Ryan had taken to working on his moves with Usafutil instead, a mare who was much more inclined to listen to him.

   Ryan started to turn away, running a hand through his damp hair. “I’ll go grab her, I’ll meet you at the fountain,” he said as he walked off. Mark let out a long sigh and then let his forehead rest against Cosmic’s.

   When Ryan was well out of earshot, Mark mumbled to the horse, “I’m such a sucker for my stupid crushes.”

   They met at the fountain soon after, the cool spray of the water dancing through the dusty evening air, the droplets catching the sunlight in rainbow colours. Vera looked as beautiful as ever, her pale coat shimmering in the sun, her braided mane and tail soft and clean with loose strands dancing on an errant breeze. Ryan sat atop her with his usual surety, unrivalled after all of his years with the mare. There wasn’t a more confident partnership on the yard.

   Cosmic danced a little beneath Mark, his nostrils flaring as he snorted out air sharply at the sight of Vera. “Don’t be such a boy,” Mark grunted, getting the stallion swiftly under control and turning him to walk alongside the other pair as they first walked towards the main house down the wide avenue.

   “If I hear any more complaining about the dust or the heat I think I might go even more crazy,” Ryan grumbled as they walked together. “She hasn’t stopped bitching since I picked her tack up.” Ryan was the only one Vera really talked to, and apparently she always had a lot to say about her opinions. Mark huffed a small laugh and relaxed in the saddle as he felt Cosmic stretch and settle. The rhythmic sound of hooves on tarmac was comforting.

   “Well at least Cosmic is happy about the hack,” Mark said as they turned right between the jumping and dressage arenas and towards the vet clinic. Soon they would be amongst the trees and able to ride up towards the top paddocks where they could go further into the neighbouring fields and get a good gallop going.

   “I’m sorry if we’re encroaching on your peaceful ride out,” Ryan said after a few minutes. He had probably been bickering with Vera in his head for that time. Mark shook his head a little and guided Cosmic towards the gate that marked the large, open Junither paddock that contained most of the woodland on the estate.

   “I invited you, it’s fine. Sometimes it’s nice to have company,” he answered as he leaned down to the gate and unlatched it before pushing it open and riding through. Ryan did the honours of closing it after them, his movements with Vera second nature as they maneuvered perfectly around the gate.

   “But other times, it’s preferable to be alone,” Ryan said. They rode into the shade of the trees, the woods quiet other than the sounds of the birds overhead. Somewhere in there was a herd of Junither horses, but it was rare they would bother anyone who rode through. They were happiest in the fenced off woodland so that was where they got turned out. They were perfectly fine with letting people be as they went about their business.

   “I spend a lot of time alone,” Mark mused, guiding Cosmic easily between the trees. Ryan was barely even holding onto his reins, letting Vera take the lead. “So many people on this yard, sometimes it’s hard to actually socialise with them, y’know?”

   “I get that. It’s hard for me to find anyone to relate to, so I don’t often… hang out with anyone.” Ryan had been at the stables for about a year when the truth had been revealed. His true age was in the hundreds. He had been born in the 1700s and Vera had been keeping him alive, stalling his aging and death, ever since. No one really knew the full story, but the scars that riddled Ryan’s visible body said there was certainly a story to tell.

   With that in mind, Mark could understand how maybe it was hard to find someone with shared life experience. The closest he would have would be the horse he was riding. “What makes you feel so left out?” Ryan asked. Mark hesitated a little at the question and then let out a long breath. How could he describe it?

   “Everyone has friends and stuff. It’s like there’s cliques. You’ve got the original crew, and people who are joined to that crew through relationships-”

   “Aren’t you part of that crew?” Ryan interrupted. Mark shrugged.

   “Not really. I came here on probation. Part of my rehabilitation was working with horses under supervision. Took a long time before anyone accepted me. Anyway… then you’ve got the Americans, they all came here together, then there’s the couples, and the new guys… I dunno. I think I always felt like I was being judged.”

   “I’m sure no one’s judging you,” Ryan said. Sunlight danced across the woodland floor and the coats of the horses, golden light speckled with green and contrasting with shadows as it crept through the leafy canopy overhead. The horses were relaxed, walking calmly side by side.

   “Maybe they’re not,” Mark muttered, “but I tend to find people are always judging.”

   “I thought Chase was your friend.”

   “He was… he is, but now he’s got Michelle and we don’t get to hang out that much. He’d rather hack out with her. I don’t really mind being alone.”

   Ryan was quiet for a moment before he spoke, his voice steady. “Well, you don’t have to be alone. Us two loners can ride out whenever you want.”

   The thought was nice, and Mark found it tempting. If there was maybe one person the yard he thought wouldn’t judge him for his past, it was Ryan. From what the man had alluded, his past wasn’t particularly shiny and clean. “Maybe,” Mark said eventually. “Wanna trot?”

   They trotted and cantered the rest of the way to the other end of the Junither paddock before exiting onto the narrow lane that led through the top paddocks and into the neighbouring grass fields that the farmer next-door was growing for hay. They were allowed to ride around the edges and the slopes made for excellent galloping situations. It was good exercise for such a scopey, energetic horse like Cosmic, pushing his muscles and building his strength, all while burning off some of his excess bounciness.

   They cantered at first, side by side as they followed the field along the foot of the hill. When they got to one corner and turned to go uphill, Mark let Cosmic stretch out and reach for a gallop. He glanced over his shoulder to see Vera raise her head high and perk her ears forwards, her vacant eyes peculiarly showing her focus as she watched Cosmic break away. With ease, she flung out her elegant legs and broke into a gallop after them.

   Mark laughed a little at her high strung, floaty gait before turning his attention to his own horse. Cosmic was powering up the hill, his breath coming out sharp and heavy, his head held proud but level and his ears perked forwards. Mark could feel every muscle working beneath him, pushing hard to gain speed. Cosmic was big and heavy, a powerhouse of a horse who loved to go fast when possible.

   Mark held him at a steady but powerful gallop, allowing Vera to keep up as she settled into the gait. She had lowered her head a bit, her neck arched gracefully as she collected even at such speeds. Every movement was calculated and executed with a careful ease that left her powering up the hill right behind Cosmic.

   They slowed as they reached the top of the hill, the horses settling back into a trot as they rounded the corner. They soon slowed further to a walk and Mark laughed as he patted Cosmic’s sweaty neck. “It seemed like she was enjoying that more than she let on,” he said to Ryan as they walked side by side again.

   “She bitched the whole way, but I can tell she was enjoying it. She can’t hide it through the connection.” Vera snorted at that and Ryan grinned. “I liked it, too. It’s not often I get to go fast.”

   Mark grinned and reclined a little in his saddle. “Maybe we should do it more. It’s good stress relief,” he mused, leaning one hand against Cosmic’s rump and feeling the horse’s hips roll with each step.

   “There are a lot of things that are good stress relief, but this has to be one of the best,” Ryan said. Mark snorted a small laugh at that and looked across at his riding companion. He was even sweatier now but his face was a picture of chilled-out happiness.

   “Hey, I’ll race you down the other side,” Mark said, a smirk spreading onto his lips. Ryan raised an eyebrow at that before nodding, a grin of his own gracing his features.

   “You’re on. Hear that, Vera? You gotta show him just what you’re made of.”

   It turned out Vera was made of very fast material. As they started to gallop down the hill, she pulled ahead, reaching into her gallop with each step eating up vast amounts of ground. Ryan was leaning forwards in his seat, rolling easily with her movements, and Mark couldn’t help but watch the perfect partnership.

   Maybe if he could achieve just a fraction of that with Cosmic, he would be happy with his life. He urged the stallion on, felt a second wind hit him as they caught up with Vera and rode alongside. It was neck-and-neck until they started to reach the bottom of the hill and Vera finally broke ahead again. By the time they slowed down, she was sweating and huffing out her breaths, but Mark could see the victorious look on her face.

   “Not bad,” he said through panted breaths, tugging at his sweat-damp t-shirt to peel it away from his skin. “Maybe you’re in the wrong discipline.”

   There was a brief pause before Ryan spoke, leaning back in his saddle and pressing a hand to his side. “She says she’s absolutely sure she’s in the right discipline and she’ll maybe do this again in a few years.”

~*~

   “My name was Eli,” Ryan said as they sat atop the straw bales in the back field, watching the sun sink beyond the horizon. Mark took a swig of his Diet Coke but didn’t speak, his legs swinging idly where they dangled off the edge. They were high up, but it wasn’t particularly daunting. It was a good place to relax. “When I was born, in 1724, the Black Death was still a thing that people remembered and feared,” the other man continued with a small huff, “and I was lucky to be born in the first place, even luckier to be a boy.”

   Mark found it hard to wrap his head around the fact that the man beside him had seen the world change over hundreds of years. From horses and carts, and no electricity, to cars and spaceships and solar panels. His listened intently but his eyes remained on the setting sun. They had retreated to the spot on top of the bales after their ride. It was late and a lot of people were already in bed, but neither of them had felt like retiring yet.

   “My dad wasn’t a great man. Atrocious by today’s standards,” Ryan grumbled, “and I was about the age of Aithne’s young boy when I found Vera.”

   “That’s pretty young to find a psycho murder horse,” Mark muttered, humour lacing his words. Ryan huffed at that and reclined back on his elbows.

   “Yeah, but when I found her she was just a foal, maybe only a couple of weeks old. She says she doesn’t know what happened to her parents, and I believe her. Her circumstances are so… odd. I found her out in a field in a storm, took her in, fed her until she could look after herself. She’s been my best friend through it all and…” he paused, trailing off, as he seemed to compose himself. “A bit of a curse, really.”

   Mark looked over at him and raised an eyebrow. “How so?”

“Eternal life isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, not when you’ve seen death and misery, fought in wars and seen your comrades die. It’s really not that great when you think you’ve finally managed to achieve death and escape it all, only to find she won’t allow it.” Ryan shrugged a little and tilted his head back, closing his eyes and basking in the last rays of sunshine. “I think it first struck me on the beaches of Normandy. It was violent, you know. You stepped off the boat and immediately you’re made into Swiss cheese. Before that I’d had a few scrapes, deep cuts that could have maybe bled out, but this was the first time I was away from her. The first time I was shot multiple times and had the time to bleed out. But she just couldn’t let me die.”

   Mark didn’t know how to respond to that. Did he say he was sorry? Was this a situation that required sympathy?

   “I’ve seen a lot of people come and go,” Ryan continued quietly, “it makes it hard to form any meaningful connections.”

   Mark swilled his drink around in its bottle and went quiet for a moment. “I can’t really relate,” he started, voice soft, “but I know what it’s like to be alone.” He took in a long breath and then let himself flop back so he was laid out on the bales, the individual strands of straw prodding him in the back a little. “My mum liked to pretend I didn’t exist. She’d get high on whatever and that’d be her done. She didn’t care after that. My brothers were all older, all grew up to be thugs who drank too much and I just… drifted.”

   He heard Ryan settle beside him, laying on his back also. Just as Mark had listened patiently, Ryan remained silent. “By the time I was seventeen I was taking heroin and I’m pretty sure I wasn’t sober at any point.” It had been a tough time. Mark had turned to drugs to try to find some comfort and he supposed in a way it had worked, but it had also ruined most of his life. “I found Cosmic when I was eighteen, tied to the side of the road, just a young colt with a bit of a bad attitude. His owners didn’t like it, beat him regularly. I got him taken to safety with the RSPCA, then I bought him when he was ready to be adopted. Said I’d quit the drugs, was just about to, when the police caught up with me. Locked me up for a bit before releasing me on probation to work here. Cosmic saved my life, too, but I guess not in the same extreme way.”

   He looked over at Ryan and grinned a little. Ryan returned the expression and then sighed. “I commend you, for coming so far,” Ryan said quietly, “you’re just a normal kid with a normal horse and you pulled through okay.” The words struck a chord with Mark. He couldn’t really remember the last time anyone had encouraged him like that, had validated his struggles and told him he’d done okay. Normally he was reprimanded for getting into trouble in the first place.

   “Thanks,” he muttered. “You’ve not done bad either, for an old guy.” He smirked as Ryan flung an arm out sideways and lightly punched him in the ribs.

   “Great things come from being an old guy,” Ryan murmured. “Experience, for a start.”

   “Experience?” Mark said with a small chuckle.

   “You’d be surprised how many people have told me that you really can’t beat the experience of an older guy in bed.” His tone was so casual but Mark supposed there was no need to be shy of anything after so many years of life. Mark’s chuckle broke into a laugh and he rested his forearm over his eyes.

   “I’ll take your word for it,” he said with a sigh.

   “What, not your type?”

   Mark paused and lifted his arm a little to look sideways at Ryan. The man was watching him with dark brown eyes that were edged with gold in the light of the sun. “I wasn’t sure I was your type,” Mark answered. Ryan came across as a ladies’ man, if Mark was honest. The kind who had taken the years of his life as an opportunity to learn how to effectively woo someone.

   “I don’t have a type,” Ryan replied with a shrug. “You learn not to be picky.”

   “I’m not sure if I should be offended.”

   “Not at all, you’re a prize catch.”

   Mark burst into a laugh again at that, covering his eyes once more and shaking his head. He hoped his arm somewhat hid the flush in his cheeks. “Maybe I could illustrate my point on the subject of experience,” Ryan mused, and Mark heard the straw rustle but didn’t dare to look. He acted casual, kept his breathing level, all while trying to resist peeking.

   All of his restraint went out of the window as he felt a hand press against his crotch, his hips arching to meet the touch. “I’m sure it’ll be an illuminating experience,” Mark breathed.

All characters, art & writing © mapal