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Maka is disgusted. She's crossed fields, braved creeks, and hunted through woods to locate this one specific plant. Just to find that this...oaf... is ruining the entire patch by rolling around on them like a yearling! Maka swallows the internal scream that is rising up her throat and goes for a direct approach to the problem.

"Excuse me, are you even aware of what you are doing?"

The intruding horse stops rolling and flops his head upside-down in order to see her better, tongue poking from his mouth slightly. "Oh hello, I found these wonderful herbs. They smell awfully good when crunched up." He keeps his head in place but starts to roll again.

"Great. I'm glad for you, really I am. Could you...maybe please go roll somewhere else?" Maka is not very good at tact. This is a strange male she's approaching so ticking him off would be a bad idea.

"Why? I like the way it smells." The stallion blinks at her with glazed deer-like eyes. He is truly enjoying himself here and sees no reason to move. These plants don't really belong to anyone.

Maka clenches her jaw. Ooooh how she hates ignorant horses! Or maybe he's just stupid? She paces a few steps before deciding that this fellow is not stupid or ignorant. He's just clueless at the moment. That means she needs to give it to him clear and simple before he wrecks everything.

"Cut it out and I'll tell you why!"

She seems slightly upset for some reason. And he's pretty curious as to what the cause is. With a grunt he gathers his hooves under him and hefts up onto his legs, shaking his pelt to brush off any loose leaves. "What's going on little lady?"

Maka's eyes widen when he gets up. His body keeps rising! Is this what a giraffe looks like? He's huge! Truly she is a 'little lady' compared to him. None of her parents were super tall, so she's slightly below average mare height. Which she was fine with until now. He has the intimidation advantage....she cranes her neck in order to meet his gaze the best she can.

"I'll tell you what's going on. You. Ruining that perfectly good herb patch. Do you have any clue how many coughs I could have soothed with all of that?!"

The large male shakes his head slowly. "Uh...no I don't. How many?"

"How many- listen! That's not important. What's important is you not doing that again." Maka is doing her best to keep her cool, but her facade is cracking.

"Sorry. I just really like plants...I didn't intend to deprive anyone of anything." His head has lowered in order to reach her level.

Maka calms down a little. He really didn't mean any harm at all! Why did she go off the rail like that? Maybe his height spooked her into trying to assert dominance? She really appreciates his apology even though there wasn't anything to apologize for.

"No, I'm sorry. There's probably lots of those patches around. I'm just being an insensitive whiner. You like plants you say?"

"Oh yes! Almost more than anything!" The large male bobs his head enthusiastically.

Maka smiles despite herself. If she was to find any male cute, it'd probably be one like him. Very quickly she pushes those thoughts away. Focus Maka! Think green.

"Well. My assistant has taken today off; maybe you would like to accompany me in locating another herb patch like this one?"

"I'd like that very much, thank you." He stops nodding and wags his long bushy tail instead. "My name is River . What's yours?"

"Maka." She replies, already scanning the area for possible leafy locations.

"It's very nice to meet you Maka. I'd really like to learn more about the plants I like to roll around in. Or eat." River doesn't want to waste his herd's healers' time in educating him. He's too lazy to do anything useful with the knowledge anyway.

"Pleasure meeting your acquaintance as well River." Maka studies him in a new light. Not only would he work as a practice apprentice, but he could also reach higher-up places. Which can be very potentially beneficial. "If you behave really decently I'll even show you an herb that tastes like honey."

River likes the sound of that. "I'll be the best assistant you've ever had. In fact, I think I smell a similar patch somewhere over there!" He turns his head and starts off towards the source of the scent.

Maka pauses for a second before following after. She really likes how he clears an easily accessible path through the undergrowth for her. She won't be stabbed by picker-bushes today!

Sure enough River has easily located a similar patch of stinky herbs. He looks very proud of himself and doesn't even move to roll around in it.

"Very good job! You found it faster than I ever could have." She's already grabbing bunches of leaves and placing them in the small poorly-woven basket she's brought just for the occasion.

River copies her by grabbing a mouthful and moving as if he was going to give it to her. Maka reaches for the tender leaves and snorts in surprise when he yanks his head up high so she cannot reach. Instead of biting or vocally complaining about the situation, Maka springs straight into the air and snatches them from his mouth that way. She then turns her back to him with a haughty tail flick.

"I don't have to show you the honey herbs you know."

Her yanking the plants away from him has ruined all of the fun. River just wanted to lighten her mood a little bit since it always seems so heavy. He decides that she is probably like that 24/7 and not just around him. He wanders over to a tree to scratch his head on it.

Maka finishes her gathering in peace, occasionally glancing over at him. He's definitely a lot of horse but seems good-natured otherwise. Very lax. And his golden hued coat shines particularly well in the small rays of sunshine...she shakes her head in frustration. What is wrong with her?! She's not like her sister...she doesn't get all google eyed over males! Especially not ones she doesn't know well. But would it hurt to get to know this one better? He IS her stand-in apprentice for now after all...

"River?"

"Yes? Do you need more help?" River stops rubbing his head to look down at her.

"Would you like to be my stand-in apprentice? I need some teaching experience before taking on an actual student and I feel like you'd be perfect for that role. Nothing too mentally demanding or difficult." Maka blinks at him expextently.

"Sure! I'd like that a lot." He beams at her. Wow, this small mare wants to help him learn more about the plants he's so fond of! Which means she must love plants an awful lot too.

Maka smiles back despite herself. Wait, are those...butterflies fluttering around her stomach? That's not allowed! Her grin drops and she looks away so she can focus on digesting the butterflies. They have no place with her.

River's smile also fades. Oh, she looks upset again. Was it something he said? He doesn't break his gaze off of her until she looks at him again.

"I think you've done well enough for a first day. Come on, I'll show you those sweet plants now!" She motions her chin and starts walking.

It doesn't take River long to catch up with her small strides. Yay, she's not mad at him after all! Any mare that likes plants as much as he does is worth knowing. "That sounds fair to me. What am I going to learn tomorrow?"

Maka quite likes the feeling of him walking beside her. She feels safe in a way...protected from the world by a moving mountain of flesh. "Tomorrow, if you behave, we will learn the difference between harmful and helpful berries. How does that sound?"

"Berries? I like those too! Maka, you speak my language." River laughs heartily. He's looking forward to these lessons just as much as she is.

---------------------------------------------------

Big soft boi x smol independent gorl is another guilty ship dynamic that I adore. He can break down her serious side with ease and make her very flustered in the process. She, on the other hand, can open his eyes to other's emotions and how to read others better.

Also they both love plants/herbs/berries!

River and the contest belongs to derp8675309

Maka is mine ^.^

Lines (c) ~ Winters.Lineart

Background photo by Rido Alwarno from Pexels

Description

Maka is disgusted. She's crossed fields, braved creeks, and hunted through woods to locate this one specific plant. Just to find that this...oaf... is ruining the entire patch by rolling around on them like a yearling! Maka swallows the internal scream that is rising up her throat and goes for a direct approach to the problem.

"Excuse me, are you even aware of what you are doing?"

The intruding horse stops rolling and flops his head upside-down in order to see her better, tongue poking from his mouth slightly. "Oh hello, I found these wonderful herbs. They smell awfully good when crunched up." He keeps his head in place but starts to roll again.

"Great. I'm glad for you, really I am. Could you...maybe please go roll somewhere else?" Maka is not very good at tact. This is a strange male she's approaching so ticking him off would be a bad idea.

"Why? I like the way it smells." The stallion blinks at her with glazed deer-like eyes. He is truly enjoying himself here and sees no reason to move. These plants don't really belong to anyone.

Maka clenches her jaw. Ooooh how she hates ignorant horses! Or maybe he's just stupid? She paces a few steps before deciding that this fellow is not stupid or ignorant. He's just clueless at the moment. That means she needs to give it to him clear and simple before he wrecks everything.

"Cut it out and I'll tell you why!"

She seems slightly upset for some reason. And he's pretty curious as to what the cause is. With a grunt he gathers his hooves under him and hefts up onto his legs, shaking his pelt to brush off any loose leaves. "What's going on little lady?"

Maka's eyes widen when he gets up. His body keeps rising! Is this what a giraffe looks like? He's huge! Truly she is a 'little lady' compared to him. None of her parents were super tall, so she's slightly below average mare height. Which she was fine with until now. He has the intimidation advantage....she cranes her neck in order to meet his gaze the best she can.

"I'll tell you what's going on. You. Ruining that perfectly good herb patch. Do you have any clue how many coughs I could have soothed with all of that?!"

The large male shakes his head slowly. "Uh...no I don't. How many?"

"How many- listen! That's not important. What's important is you not doing that again." Maka is doing her best to keep her cool, but her facade is cracking.

"Sorry. I just really like plants...I didn't intend to deprive anyone of anything." His head has lowered in order to reach her level.

Maka calms down a little. He really didn't mean any harm at all! Why did she go off the rail like that? Maybe his height spooked her into trying to assert dominance? She really appreciates his apology even though there wasn't anything to apologize for.

"No, I'm sorry. There's probably lots of those patches around. I'm just being an insensitive whiner. You like plants you say?"

"Oh yes! Almost more than anything!" The large male bobs his head enthusiastically.

Maka smiles despite herself. If she was to find any male cute, it'd probably be one like him. Very quickly she pushes those thoughts away. Focus Maka! Think green.

"Well. My assistant has taken today off; maybe you would like to accompany me in locating another herb patch like this one?"

"I'd like that very much, thank you." He stops nodding and wags his long bushy tail instead. "My name is River . What's yours?"

"Maka." She replies, already scanning the area for possible leafy locations.

"It's very nice to meet you Maka. I'd really like to learn more about the plants I like to roll around in. Or eat." River doesn't want to waste his herd's healers' time in educating him. He's too lazy to do anything useful with the knowledge anyway.

"Pleasure meeting your acquaintance as well River." Maka studies him in a new light. Not only would he work as a practice apprentice, but he could also reach higher-up places. Which can be very potentially beneficial. "If you behave really decently I'll even show you an herb that tastes like honey."

River likes the sound of that. "I'll be the best assistant you've ever had. In fact, I think I smell a similar patch somewhere over there!" He turns his head and starts off towards the source of the scent.

Maka pauses for a second before following after. She really likes how he clears an easily accessible path through the undergrowth for her. She won't be stabbed by picker-bushes today!

Sure enough River has easily located a similar patch of stinky herbs. He looks very proud of himself and doesn't even move to roll around in it.

"Very good job! You found it faster than I ever could have." She's already grabbing bunches of leaves and placing them in the small poorly-woven basket she's brought just for the occasion.

River copies her by grabbing a mouthful and moving as if he was going to give it to her. Maka reaches for the tender leaves and snorts in surprise when he yanks his head up high so she cannot reach. Instead of biting or vocally complaining about the situation, Maka springs straight into the air and snatches them from his mouth that way. She then turns her back to him with a haughty tail flick.

"I don't have to show you the honey herbs you know."

Her yanking the plants away from him has ruined all of the fun. River just wanted to lighten her mood a little bit since it always seems so heavy. He decides that she is probably like that 24/7 and not just around him. He wanders over to a tree to scratch his head on it.

Maka finishes her gathering in peace, occasionally glancing over at him. He's definitely a lot of horse but seems good-natured otherwise. Very lax. And his golden hued coat shines particularly well in the small rays of sunshine...she shakes her head in frustration. What is wrong with her?! She's not like her sister...she doesn't get all google eyed over males! Especially not ones she doesn't know well. But would it hurt to get to know this one better? He IS her stand-in apprentice for now after all...

"River?"

"Yes? Do you need more help?" River stops rubbing his head to look down at her.

"Would you like to be my stand-in apprentice? I need some teaching experience before taking on an actual student and I feel like you'd be perfect for that role. Nothing too mentally demanding or difficult." Maka blinks at him expextently.

"Sure! I'd like that a lot." He beams at her. Wow, this small mare wants to help him learn more about the plants he's so fond of! Which means she must love plants an awful lot too.

Maka smiles back despite herself. Wait, are those...butterflies fluttering around her stomach? That's not allowed! Her grin drops and she looks away so she can focus on digesting the butterflies. They have no place with her.

River's smile also fades. Oh, she looks upset again. Was it something he said? He doesn't break his gaze off of her until she looks at him again.

"I think you've done well enough for a first day. Come on, I'll show you those sweet plants now!" She motions her chin and starts walking.

It doesn't take River long to catch up with her small strides. Yay, she's not mad at him after all! Any mare that likes plants as much as he does is worth knowing. "That sounds fair to me. What am I going to learn tomorrow?"

Maka quite likes the feeling of him walking beside her. She feels safe in a way...protected from the world by a moving mountain of flesh. "Tomorrow, if you behave, we will learn the difference between harmful and helpful berries. How does that sound?"

"Berries? I like those too! Maka, you speak my language." River laughs heartily. He's looking forward to these lessons just as much as she is.

---------------------------------------------------

Big soft boi x smol independent gorl is another guilty ship dynamic that I adore. He can break down her serious side with ease and make her very flustered in the process. She, on the other hand, can open his eyes to other's emotions and how to read others better.

Also they both love plants/herbs/berries!

River and the contest belongs to derp8675309

Maka is mine ^.^

Lines (c) ~ Winters.Lineart

Background photo by Rido Alwarno from Pexels