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Description
Characters:
Rath Cruor
Curtis MacArthur (Resides with Winter-Ghost-Stables )

Horses:
Black Rose
SWS Rusalka (Also resides with Winter Ghost Stables)

Finally, a visual for those rifts Rath so recklessly opens up all the time, straight up shattering through the fabric of the universe Kool-Aid man style XD This definitely couldn't have any kind of lasting effects on the veil between worlds later on, right? Well, regardless, Rath doesn't care. He's gotta see Curtis!

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Curtis was waiting by the edge of the property. He had chosen to ride Rusty, the red Obertaurer mare that he trusted with his life. After all, he was going through some sort of rift into another world, so he should probably have a horse that he liked, and trusted well enough. Rusty wasn’t perfect, but she would do well with him today. At least, he hoped so. His stomach ached with butterflies. He’d had…a week. Since professing that he wanted to have some sort of relationship with Hitori still - and them working out that he was welcome to continue seeing Rath, and really anyone he chose, while Hitori had the same freedom, it made his head reel. He’d never been in a happy polyamorous relationship before, so this was interesting. But he liked it. And today, he was meeting Rath for a trip to his homeworld, and Curtis was nervous.

The idea of traveling to another world was exciting, and terrifying at the same time. But Curtis and Rusty were ready. Curtis knew that Rath would be here in a few minutes to lead him through, but he ran a hand under the edge of his helmet, to tuck his hair behind his ear. He wanted to look his best, so he’d gone with a black button down, black jeans, and his riding boots. But he was worried about making a good impression, still, despite how his day had gone with Rath last time.

You’re being overly worried. The voice was inside his skull, and his brain almost buzzed in the back where it came from. A particular hint of yellow-orange appeared in his mind’s eye. Shiloh, his other most frequent fronter. Curtis was, as Rath well knew, a DID system, and had multiple different ‘alternate personalities’ which took a toll on him, but also helped him to cope. I know, I know. Curtis thought back, sighing outwardly. Well, relax. Shiloh was firm, and Curtis rolled his eyes, wishing his alter would understand that he was anxious in a good way. You’re still anxious, Shiloh commented.

Well, whatever. Rath would be here in a moment, and that was all that mattered.

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Rath glanced up at the sky as he lead Black Rose out of the barn, fully tacked and ready to ride. The demon himself was dressed in a black sleeveless button up shirt to better display the marks running down his arms, dark blue pants and black boots; a favored manner of dress for the weather, even if the heat didn’t bother him anyway.

The clouds were dark but sparse, and for the moment, the sun was out. It looked as though the sky couldn’t decide if the afternoon would be sunny or rainy yet. This summer, in his world, had been obscenely stormy and gloomy, and unpleasantly humid on the otherwise dry days. The demon sighed to himself, ‘As long as it doesn’t rain today…’ He thought.

Mounting up, he looked down at his steed and pet him on the neck. “Don’t go spooking on me today, alright bud?” He grinned before setting the stallion to a walk, splitting a rift open just ahead of them to emerge on Curtis’ property on the other side.

Their horses were practically nose-to-nose once Rath was through, chuckling a little as he didn’t expect to wind up so close to his date. Thank goodness they weren’t going any faster, he thought, that collision would’ve been disastrous.

“Well, hello.” He grinned, “Sorry about that, I can’t exactly see where I’m going until I’m on the other side.” He explained with a nod towards the rift behind him, which stayed open this time. Indeed they couldn’t see the other side, it looked very much like a black void.

“Ready to head out?” He had Rose shift a bit away from the mare as he steered him around to face the void again, keeping an eye on the stallion since he was quite keen on saying hello to Rusty.

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“You’re fine,” Curtis said, backing the red mare up just a little bit. “Sorry, didn’t realize that we’d have to be out of the way so much,” he laughed, a little nervous but otherwise okay. He patted Rusty’s neck, thanking her for not freaking out, because she was doing so good these days. He tried to reinforce the idea whenever possible that she was a good horse, doing a good job.

“All right, let’s do this,” he said, nodding. “Rusty will be fine,” he assured both himself and Rath. “It’s not the end of the world for her, to trust me,” he laughed, joking around a little. Rusty had been a project in the beginning, but she was doing so well now that he figured she’d be good for this.

“Lead on,” Curtis said, motioning for Rath to do whatever he needed to do to get them where they needed to be getting.

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Rath nodded, having confidence Curtis and his steed would be just fine going through the rift. “The passage is quick, just stay close and don’t let her stop or change direction.” He instructed.

Even though it felt like walking on a solid surface while passing through the void briefly, it worked a bit like outer space; one slight change of direction could send them adrift far from where they were meant to end up, which could be very dangerous. Of course, the demon wouldn’t tell Curtis that, there wasn’t any need to give the other reason to be afraid.

Motioning for him to follow, Rath rode Rose back through the rift again to end up back at his own estate.

Indeed, actually passing through the rift was quicker than most would think, like crossing through a doorway. During that brief moment inside the void however, there would be no light, no sound, absolutely nothing visible in any direction; until they were on the other side, on Rath’s property.

They ended up not too far from the barn and the pastures, in a large stone-paved area that served as an intersection between just about everything. The lavish manor itself towered in the distance, with gardens sprawling between it and where the animals were kept. Past the barn and the smaller pastures and pens were bigger, more open fields peppered with the occasional tree, where a couple people could be seen galloping about on their horses together in the distance. Most of the ‘fences’ were composed of rock walls or hedges, save for the metal fence separating the property from the city streets, which were quite a distance from where Rath and Curtis were.

“Here we are, the Bloodfell Estate.” He smiled with a glance back at his date, making sure he was fully through the rift before allowing it to shut behind them.

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The mare was, to say the least, unhappy with the moment of pure blackness, but she made it through, without changing directions or stopping. Curtis sighed a huge sigh of relief when they ended up on the far side. He was not used to this stuff. It was new to him, the way that the demonic worlds worked, but he was willing to give it a shot. He remembered the conversation he’d had with Hitori that morning, where the other had cautioned him not to be too trusting, but to have fun if he could. Curtis smiled, as he saw the Estate come into view.

“This is gorgeous,” Curtis breathed, looking around left and right. The chattering in his head picked up in volume and pace, and he had to beg everyone to please be quiet, so that he didn’t end up with a migraine from it all.

“Wow, I mean, I feel like our home is nice, but not like this,” laughed Curtis, making a joke. “Please, if you’re willing, I’d love a tour,” he said, nodding to the property. “I mean, I don’t want to impose, but this is really something. And it’s all yours?”

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Rath laughed almost bashfully, “Yeah, I guess the lot of us here are kind of aristocrats?” He didn’t want to sound like he was bragging or anything, it was simply a matter of fact. Nobody makes this much money through honest means, and Rath didn’t want to advertise that.

“I’d be happy to give you a tour around the place, you’re not imposing at all.” He smiled, setting his steed at a walk again and motioning for Curtis to follow. “Yep, it’s all mine. As long as I keep my job that is, can’t back out of it or anything or I’ll lose it all. Not complaining though, I’m quite happy with how things are.”

He lead the other along stone-paved paths to the gardens, “We have more land out further that way, but it’s not being used for anything yet.” He mentioned with a gesture out to the fields past the barn, “And an apple orchard a bit out of the way from everything, not that it’s much to see if it’s not flowering or ready for harvest.”

Oh, there was so much he’d likely need to explain to Curtis, he didn’t know where to start. He didn’t want to simply begin info-dumping on him, but he didn’t want to simply leave anything out of context either. “Technology out here isn’t quite as advanced as your world, so…that’s why I get no reception out here,” He laughed, although there was no way texts could be sent across worlds normally anyway…probably.

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“Wow, this is amazing,” he said, grinning from ear to ear as they started their tour. His red mare moved slowly through the lands, following Rath and his horse. The two of them were happy to take in the details. He wondered what exactly Rath’s job was, but figured he may not want to know, so he kept that question to himself. “I feel…honored? Special?” Curtis laughed softly. “I figure not a lot of humans get taken here, huh?” He said, raising a brow. “I’ll have something I can hold over Hitori in arguments,” he joked. “Kidding, of course,” he added with a soft chuckle. “I’m not that cruel, and we don’t argue that much,” he smirked.

“You should meet him, sometime, if you want,” he suggested. “I mean, y’all don’t have to,” Curtis backtracked. “But like…it’d be nice if you wanted to,” he added, trying to be gracious while getting the point across that there was no pressure to meet Hitori if Rath would rather leave the metamour out of everything.

“I think he’d like to meet you, if only because he worries I’m consorting with the wrong sort,” Curtis joked, winking playfully. “Kidding. I’ve told him how much fun I had at our last outing,” he added. “And we’re still tentative to this whole…polyamory thing,” he chattered on. “But I think it’s gonna work out great,” he added, grinning.

“So technology’s a bit behind,” he mused. “What else should I know?” Curtis asked, glancing around. He would love to see the apple orchard, but he didn’t trust his mare not to eat an unripened apple and give herself colic or something. Besides, Rath was going to set the pace for their tour, and that was that. Curtis was happy to sit and watch, letting Rath decide where to go and when.

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Rath shook his head with a grin, “Not from your world. You’re actually the first I’ve brought here, so…I suppose you’re right in this being special.” He admitted with another glance Curtis’ way, laughing a bit at his joke.

“I’d be glad to meet him,” He confirmed softly, “I mean, he likes you, so I already know he has good taste if nothing else.” He chuckled, admittedly curious about the metamour. They cut through a grassy part of the garden, with some stone benches around a statue of a giant snake with its teeth bared. Technically, it was a legless lizard since it had eyelids and a generally different jaw structure, but…everyone calls it a snake. Some mostly-wilted flowers sat on the pedestal beneath the statue, and melted wax was stuck down nearby from candles that’d once been burning there.

“Well…a while back, there was a mass extinction event. Most of the fauna from your world is long gone out here.” He explained further, “Obviously we still have horses, and a few other species from before as well.” He added.

“It’s probably a bit more important I mention it’s not just humans and demons out here though, we have elves and goblins and a couple lamias around.” He figured he’d best get that out there to avoid any potential surprises or awkward situations if anyone obviously inhuman came around.

The demon glanced at the manor briefly before leading Curtis back the way they came towards the barns. “I can show you inside the manor later if you wish, but I’m sure we won’t have time to see everything in there today.” He grinned.

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Curtis followed Rath through the property, past the legless lizard - which he did indeed think was a snake at first glance. He nodded, listening to the explanation of why there were so few creatures that he understood here. “That’s so sad,” he commented, meaning the extinction event. But he supposed that was just the way it was. He listened to Rath explain the ecosystem, and kept his questions to himself.

“Well, I’m happy to follow wherever you want to lead,” he said, grinning. “I’m not picky, and I’d better keep up unless I wanna get lost,” he chuckled softly. “Besides, it’s not every day I get to do something like this. Having an excuse to come back is great.”

He headed for the barn with Rath, letting the demon choose their pace and locale. He wanted to see everything, but he wasn’t sure what to start with, so he was happy to follow along. He was still buzzing from the idea of the two metamours getting to know each other, and he was excited to be spending time here with Rath. He was a curious creature, and being here was only drawing that out more.

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The demon nodded his agreement, “Yeah, admittedly…I didn’t think the earth was going to come back from that, back then.” He smiled a bit sadly at the memory, that feeling of hopelessness. “But,” He gestured around them more happily, “It sprang back, like it always does. I should’ve known better.” He didn’t regret anything he did, but he did wish he hadn’t been so quick to doubt the earth’s recovery at the time.

“Well, you’re welcome to come back here whenever you’d like.” Rath offered as they reached the open paved area where they’d started again. “I know you can’t exactly just waltz into my world on your own, but y’know, I’d be happy to bring you back here again.”

He gestured to the closer barn, “Our stallions are in there, and the mares and foals go in that other barn up ahead.” He pointed out, moving past both barns to stop near the edge of the fields. “Out past that other rock wall, I’m thinking of starting a diabloceratops herd.” He turned to Curtis, “They’re basically our equivalent to cattle, aside from giant bison.” He chuckled. “We don’t exactly have lawnmowers out here, and I’m not sure how I feel putting the horses too close to the forest. Big predators out there.”

The two people riding about the closer field by now had taken notice of Rath and Curtis while they were talking, looking their way from where they’d stopped.

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Curtis took everything in as it was presented to him. His eyes were wide. He listened intently as Rath described the damage done to his homeland, and felt sorrow for the lives that must have been lost. But, he supposed, he couldn’t do anything about it. Rusty snorted. Curtis patted her neck, to calm her. As Rath mentioned the herd of Diabloceratops, he raised a brow, but said nothing about it. He didn’t know what they were, but he figured he could find out at any point later.

“What kind of predators?” He asked, curious. “I mean, do I want to know?” Laughed the redhead softly. “I might not, now that I think about it,” he stated, smirking. “But I guess we’ll find out, someday,” he sighed. “Just hope not to see ‘em myself.”

“Oh, who’s that?” Curtis asked, nodding to the newcomers that he’d just noticed. “Friends of yours? Employees?”

He was curious to see the strangers come closer, wanted to get to know who was on the property, even if only for a moment.
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“Perhaps not,” Rath agreed with a soft laugh. “Let’s just say, most of them are within the same weight class as a polar bear.” He grinned, quite fond of the wildlife even if they were a danger to his animals. They haven’t been problematic thus far, so it was fine. “I doubt you’ll see any, and even if you do, most horses can usually outrun them anyway.” He assured the other further.

Turning his attention to the two riders in the field when Curtis pointed them out, Rath smiled a little. “A bit of both. We all have jobs here, but we’re all like a big family.” The demon didn’t like to raise his voice, so he simply motioned a big wave for them to come forth when he noticed they were looking his way too.

The two began making their way over, one cantering over eagerly while the other swiftly trotted behind.

The first to reach them was a goblin woman, large ears as perked as they could be without smooshing her hat between them and solid black eyes looking up at the two with interest. Her skin was quite green, nose pointed and just a little upturned, with short hair a similar hue, albeit a bit more blue and much lighter. A long, powerful tail adorned with gold cuffs rested behind her against the saddle, and clawed feet gripped the stirrups with three flexible toes longer than that of a humans’. A mere 3’6 feet tall, even the withers of her 12.2hh mongolian mare would be well over her head if she were to dismount.

“What’s up, boss?” The goblin grinned with a look towards Rath, showing off sharp, shark-like teeth as she sidled up beside the rock wall. The cream pearl mare beneath her looked at Rusty, but she wasn’t overly interested in greeting the other equine and lost interest fairly quickly.

The other looked human, blonde hair sprawling over her shoulders and pink eyes meeting Curtis’ as soon as they were close enough to make proper eye contact, as she was keen to meet their new guest. She had a massive, heavy-looking branch in hand, which had had its greens thoroughly stripped off. “Oh hello! I don’t believe I’ve seen you around before, are you new? I’m Scarlett by the way, Scarlett Winters.” She greeted, moving to the rock wall as well and briefly letting go of the reins to offer a handshake.

Scarlett rode a 15.3hh buckskin stallion with badger face markings and knee-high socks; a grade of some sort, as she’d caught him from a feral herd a while back. He had a strong, stocky build to him, although not too heavy. He was a bit hesitant about Rusty, but kept his ears perked as he kept a curious eye on her.

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Curtis did his best not to be rocked by the Goblin’s appearance. After all, he’d seen Rath, so this was not a lot of newness for him. But it took him about thirty seconds to adjust, and then he smiled, and nodded a hello to her. He turned his attention to the buckskin stallion’s rider, as Rusty pinned her ears.

“Acht,” he corrected, and the horse’s ears went back up, reluctantly.

“Sorry, she’s a bitch,” he commented, shaking hands with Scarlett. “I’m Curtis,” he stated. “Curtis MacArthur,” he completed. “Nice to meet you, both of you,” he said, glancing back at the Goblin woman to assure her that he wasn’t freaked out at all. He might have had an initial reaction, but he was over that now.

“I’m visiting, with Rath,” he explained. “It’s ah…nice to be here,” he added, realizing he was about to blurt that they were here on a date, and that Rath may not appreciate that.

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“Oh don’t worry about it, I deal with feral ones now and then and none beat the attitude of a wild horse.” Scarlett laughed, “Nice to meet you too, it’s always nice to see new faces around here.” She paused to glance at the branch in her hand, unsure what to do with it, before deciding to just toss it on the ground away from them. “How long are you sticking around? We’re roasting up some fresh cerato meat from our last hunt tonight.”

The goblin did briefly raise a brow when she picked up on the way Curtis had looked her way, however didn’t say anything about it and seemed unbothered after he’d glanced her way again. “Malacus Sylvester. Pleasure to make your acquaintance.” The goblin wasn’t quite close enough for a handshake, so she settled for simply tipping her hat as she introduced herself.

Rath wouldn’t have particularly minded if Curtis mentioned they were on a date, although he appreciated the discretion; it wasn’t really any of Scarlett or Malacus’ business, after all. It was good to see them getting along with Curtis thus far, not that it was a surprise. Scarlett was a people person, she got along with most everyone. Malacus was one to make enemies, but she yielded more patience for anyone within the business or associated with its members; and since Curtis was with Rath, she’d especially not want to put herself in poor standing with him.

He glanced at the branch Scarlett had tossed aside, curious now. “What were you two doing, anyway?”

“Uh…y’know, settling a bet.” Scarlett said quietly, glancing away.

“She thought she could knock me off my horse when she wanted because I’m ‘perfect whacking height’. I disagreed, and obviously I won.” Malacus grinned smugly.

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"Nice to meet you," Curtis told Malacus, and it seemed he genuinely meant it, as he smiled warmly at her, first impression long gone from his mind. "I'm glad you won that bet," he chuckled, looking at the branch on the ground. "It seems it would be painful otherwise," he said with a smile. "As for staying, that's up to Rath," he said, glancing in Rath's direction. "I would call myself an invited guest, but I don't want to overstay my welcome," he smirked.

"I met Rath at a coffee shop not long ago," he went on. "We got to talking and here I am," he added with a shrug. Rusty whinnied as she looked at the other two horses, not sure exactly what to think of them.

But she didn't seem to mind at all, and turned her attention back to standing around lazily.

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Malacus followed Curtis’ gaze to the branch, then briefly glanced at Scarlett. Not that it was super obvious, it was always a little difficult determining where she’s looking since her eyes were solid black. “Eh, we’re tougher than you’d think.” She decided with a dismissive gesture, “I’ve been stomped on and slapped around by all sorts, it’d be fine.” Indeed, the rule of ‘the bigger they are, the harder they fall’ most certainly applied to goblins; and they aren’t big by any means.

“You’re more than welcome to stay as long as you like, you couldn’t easily overstay your welcome here.” Rath assured Curtis with a smile his way. He wanted so badly to show the other a good time and spend more time with him, it seemed his interest and fondness of him only grew the more he got to know him. “I’m showing Curtis around the place.” The demon added as he looked to the two again.

Scarlett’s keen eye picked up on how the two were looking at each other, looking for just a little too long and not blinking quite as often as a human, as was the norm for her. As one who could read the non-verbal body language of humans incredibly well, she could read the two like a book. “How sweet! I love those little coffee places. I mean I won’t eat anything, but the atmosphere is always nice.”

Malacus’ steed perked her ears when Rusty whinnied, as if realizing all over again the other mare was around, turning her head to sniff in her direction curiously before replying with a soft whinny back. “Did you show him the creepy garden?” The goblin asked, swatting a fly until she managed to grab it and pop it in her mouth happily.

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Curtis nodded, accepting the fact that the goblin was tougher than she looked. He smiled over at Rath, not really trying to hide his intentions, but not making them super bright and blatant either. At the mention of the creepy garden, he raised a brow at Rath.

“That sure sounds interesting,” he laughed. “And yes, coffee shops are the best,” he told Malacus’s friend, chuckling. Scarlett seemed the nicer of the two, but he wondered how much of that was because he’d panicked at seeing the goblin for a second. He felt bad about that.

He said nothing about the fly. He was here to be on good behavior, and so what if the goblin liked a little extra protein in her diet, eh?

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“It is a…fascinating little corner,” Rath confirmed with a nod, having nearly forgotten about that garden himself. “It’s a bit secluded, but I can show you it if you’d like?” He offered, figuring it’d be a nice place to go next.

“Oh, could I come?” Scarlett piped up, she quite liked the creepy garden.

“Oh no you don’t, I won the bet, so you’re taking me out and buying me candy.” Malacus said pointedly.

Scarlett blinked, looking down at the goblin. “What, right now?”

“Yes, right now. I don’t like to wait on favors.” With that, Malacus rode at a walk to the gate to get around the rock wall, leaving the gate open for Scarlett.

Scarlett huffed, but turned back to Curtis as she followed behind Malacus. “Well it was nice meeting you, I hope we’ll see you again later?”

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“I’m sure you will,” Curtis called, trying not to chuckle at the antics of the two. “Have a good time,” he said, waving as he grinned in their direction.

“They both seem so nice,” he said. “Well, Scarlett is very talkative at least,” he laughed, smiling. “Now, about that garden?”

He wanted to know what to see in the secluded corner of the property, and figured Rath would be a good guide as to what to do with that.

Description
Characters:
Rath Cruor
Curtis MacArthur (Resides with Winter-Ghost-Stables )

Horses:
Black Rose
SWS Rusalka (Also resides with Winter Ghost Stables)

Finally, a visual for those rifts Rath so recklessly opens up all the time, straight up shattering through the fabric of the universe Kool-Aid man style XD This definitely couldn't have any kind of lasting effects on the veil between worlds later on, right? Well, regardless, Rath doesn't care. He's gotta see Curtis!

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Curtis was waiting by the edge of the property. He had chosen to ride Rusty, the red Obertaurer mare that he trusted with his life. After all, he was going through some sort of rift into another world, so he should probably have a horse that he liked, and trusted well enough. Rusty wasn’t perfect, but she would do well with him today. At least, he hoped so. His stomach ached with butterflies. He’d had…a week. Since professing that he wanted to have some sort of relationship with Hitori still - and them working out that he was welcome to continue seeing Rath, and really anyone he chose, while Hitori had the same freedom, it made his head reel. He’d never been in a happy polyamorous relationship before, so this was interesting. But he liked it. And today, he was meeting Rath for a trip to his homeworld, and Curtis was nervous.

The idea of traveling to another world was exciting, and terrifying at the same time. But Curtis and Rusty were ready. Curtis knew that Rath would be here in a few minutes to lead him through, but he ran a hand under the edge of his helmet, to tuck his hair behind his ear. He wanted to look his best, so he’d gone with a black button down, black jeans, and his riding boots. But he was worried about making a good impression, still, despite how his day had gone with Rath last time.

You’re being overly worried. The voice was inside his skull, and his brain almost buzzed in the back where it came from. A particular hint of yellow-orange appeared in his mind’s eye. Shiloh, his other most frequent fronter. Curtis was, as Rath well knew, a DID system, and had multiple different ‘alternate personalities’ which took a toll on him, but also helped him to cope. I know, I know. Curtis thought back, sighing outwardly. Well, relax. Shiloh was firm, and Curtis rolled his eyes, wishing his alter would understand that he was anxious in a good way. You’re still anxious, Shiloh commented.

Well, whatever. Rath would be here in a moment, and that was all that mattered.

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Rath glanced up at the sky as he lead Black Rose out of the barn, fully tacked and ready to ride. The demon himself was dressed in a black sleeveless button up shirt to better display the marks running down his arms, dark blue pants and black boots; a favored manner of dress for the weather, even if the heat didn’t bother him anyway.

The clouds were dark but sparse, and for the moment, the sun was out. It looked as though the sky couldn’t decide if the afternoon would be sunny or rainy yet. This summer, in his world, had been obscenely stormy and gloomy, and unpleasantly humid on the otherwise dry days. The demon sighed to himself, ‘As long as it doesn’t rain today…’ He thought.

Mounting up, he looked down at his steed and pet him on the neck. “Don’t go spooking on me today, alright bud?” He grinned before setting the stallion to a walk, splitting a rift open just ahead of them to emerge on Curtis’ property on the other side.

Their horses were practically nose-to-nose once Rath was through, chuckling a little as he didn’t expect to wind up so close to his date. Thank goodness they weren’t going any faster, he thought, that collision would’ve been disastrous.

“Well, hello.” He grinned, “Sorry about that, I can’t exactly see where I’m going until I’m on the other side.” He explained with a nod towards the rift behind him, which stayed open this time. Indeed they couldn’t see the other side, it looked very much like a black void.

“Ready to head out?” He had Rose shift a bit away from the mare as he steered him around to face the void again, keeping an eye on the stallion since he was quite keen on saying hello to Rusty.

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“You’re fine,” Curtis said, backing the red mare up just a little bit. “Sorry, didn’t realize that we’d have to be out of the way so much,” he laughed, a little nervous but otherwise okay. He patted Rusty’s neck, thanking her for not freaking out, because she was doing so good these days. He tried to reinforce the idea whenever possible that she was a good horse, doing a good job.

“All right, let’s do this,” he said, nodding. “Rusty will be fine,” he assured both himself and Rath. “It’s not the end of the world for her, to trust me,” he laughed, joking around a little. Rusty had been a project in the beginning, but she was doing so well now that he figured she’d be good for this.

“Lead on,” Curtis said, motioning for Rath to do whatever he needed to do to get them where they needed to be getting.

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Rath nodded, having confidence Curtis and his steed would be just fine going through the rift. “The passage is quick, just stay close and don’t let her stop or change direction.” He instructed.

Even though it felt like walking on a solid surface while passing through the void briefly, it worked a bit like outer space; one slight change of direction could send them adrift far from where they were meant to end up, which could be very dangerous. Of course, the demon wouldn’t tell Curtis that, there wasn’t any need to give the other reason to be afraid.

Motioning for him to follow, Rath rode Rose back through the rift again to end up back at his own estate.

Indeed, actually passing through the rift was quicker than most would think, like crossing through a doorway. During that brief moment inside the void however, there would be no light, no sound, absolutely nothing visible in any direction; until they were on the other side, on Rath’s property.

They ended up not too far from the barn and the pastures, in a large stone-paved area that served as an intersection between just about everything. The lavish manor itself towered in the distance, with gardens sprawling between it and where the animals were kept. Past the barn and the smaller pastures and pens were bigger, more open fields peppered with the occasional tree, where a couple people could be seen galloping about on their horses together in the distance. Most of the ‘fences’ were composed of rock walls or hedges, save for the metal fence separating the property from the city streets, which were quite a distance from where Rath and Curtis were.

“Here we are, the Bloodfell Estate.” He smiled with a glance back at his date, making sure he was fully through the rift before allowing it to shut behind them.

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The mare was, to say the least, unhappy with the moment of pure blackness, but she made it through, without changing directions or stopping. Curtis sighed a huge sigh of relief when they ended up on the far side. He was not used to this stuff. It was new to him, the way that the demonic worlds worked, but he was willing to give it a shot. He remembered the conversation he’d had with Hitori that morning, where the other had cautioned him not to be too trusting, but to have fun if he could. Curtis smiled, as he saw the Estate come into view.

“This is gorgeous,” Curtis breathed, looking around left and right. The chattering in his head picked up in volume and pace, and he had to beg everyone to please be quiet, so that he didn’t end up with a migraine from it all.

“Wow, I mean, I feel like our home is nice, but not like this,” laughed Curtis, making a joke. “Please, if you’re willing, I’d love a tour,” he said, nodding to the property. “I mean, I don’t want to impose, but this is really something. And it’s all yours?”

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Rath laughed almost bashfully, “Yeah, I guess the lot of us here are kind of aristocrats?” He didn’t want to sound like he was bragging or anything, it was simply a matter of fact. Nobody makes this much money through honest means, and Rath didn’t want to advertise that.

“I’d be happy to give you a tour around the place, you’re not imposing at all.” He smiled, setting his steed at a walk again and motioning for Curtis to follow. “Yep, it’s all mine. As long as I keep my job that is, can’t back out of it or anything or I’ll lose it all. Not complaining though, I’m quite happy with how things are.”

He lead the other along stone-paved paths to the gardens, “We have more land out further that way, but it’s not being used for anything yet.” He mentioned with a gesture out to the fields past the barn, “And an apple orchard a bit out of the way from everything, not that it’s much to see if it’s not flowering or ready for harvest.”

Oh, there was so much he’d likely need to explain to Curtis, he didn’t know where to start. He didn’t want to simply begin info-dumping on him, but he didn’t want to simply leave anything out of context either. “Technology out here isn’t quite as advanced as your world, so…that’s why I get no reception out here,” He laughed, although there was no way texts could be sent across worlds normally anyway…probably.

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“Wow, this is amazing,” he said, grinning from ear to ear as they started their tour. His red mare moved slowly through the lands, following Rath and his horse. The two of them were happy to take in the details. He wondered what exactly Rath’s job was, but figured he may not want to know, so he kept that question to himself. “I feel…honored? Special?” Curtis laughed softly. “I figure not a lot of humans get taken here, huh?” He said, raising a brow. “I’ll have something I can hold over Hitori in arguments,” he joked. “Kidding, of course,” he added with a soft chuckle. “I’m not that cruel, and we don’t argue that much,” he smirked.

“You should meet him, sometime, if you want,” he suggested. “I mean, y’all don’t have to,” Curtis backtracked. “But like…it’d be nice if you wanted to,” he added, trying to be gracious while getting the point across that there was no pressure to meet Hitori if Rath would rather leave the metamour out of everything.

“I think he’d like to meet you, if only because he worries I’m consorting with the wrong sort,” Curtis joked, winking playfully. “Kidding. I’ve told him how much fun I had at our last outing,” he added. “And we’re still tentative to this whole…polyamory thing,” he chattered on. “But I think it’s gonna work out great,” he added, grinning.

“So technology’s a bit behind,” he mused. “What else should I know?” Curtis asked, glancing around. He would love to see the apple orchard, but he didn’t trust his mare not to eat an unripened apple and give herself colic or something. Besides, Rath was going to set the pace for their tour, and that was that. Curtis was happy to sit and watch, letting Rath decide where to go and when.

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Rath shook his head with a grin, “Not from your world. You’re actually the first I’ve brought here, so…I suppose you’re right in this being special.” He admitted with another glance Curtis’ way, laughing a bit at his joke.

“I’d be glad to meet him,” He confirmed softly, “I mean, he likes you, so I already know he has good taste if nothing else.” He chuckled, admittedly curious about the metamour. They cut through a grassy part of the garden, with some stone benches around a statue of a giant snake with its teeth bared. Technically, it was a legless lizard since it had eyelids and a generally different jaw structure, but…everyone calls it a snake. Some mostly-wilted flowers sat on the pedestal beneath the statue, and melted wax was stuck down nearby from candles that’d once been burning there.

“Well…a while back, there was a mass extinction event. Most of the fauna from your world is long gone out here.” He explained further, “Obviously we still have horses, and a few other species from before as well.” He added.

“It’s probably a bit more important I mention it’s not just humans and demons out here though, we have elves and goblins and a couple lamias around.” He figured he’d best get that out there to avoid any potential surprises or awkward situations if anyone obviously inhuman came around.

The demon glanced at the manor briefly before leading Curtis back the way they came towards the barns. “I can show you inside the manor later if you wish, but I’m sure we won’t have time to see everything in there today.” He grinned.

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Curtis followed Rath through the property, past the legless lizard - which he did indeed think was a snake at first glance. He nodded, listening to the explanation of why there were so few creatures that he understood here. “That’s so sad,” he commented, meaning the extinction event. But he supposed that was just the way it was. He listened to Rath explain the ecosystem, and kept his questions to himself.

“Well, I’m happy to follow wherever you want to lead,” he said, grinning. “I’m not picky, and I’d better keep up unless I wanna get lost,” he chuckled softly. “Besides, it’s not every day I get to do something like this. Having an excuse to come back is great.”

He headed for the barn with Rath, letting the demon choose their pace and locale. He wanted to see everything, but he wasn’t sure what to start with, so he was happy to follow along. He was still buzzing from the idea of the two metamours getting to know each other, and he was excited to be spending time here with Rath. He was a curious creature, and being here was only drawing that out more.

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The demon nodded his agreement, “Yeah, admittedly…I didn’t think the earth was going to come back from that, back then.” He smiled a bit sadly at the memory, that feeling of hopelessness. “But,” He gestured around them more happily, “It sprang back, like it always does. I should’ve known better.” He didn’t regret anything he did, but he did wish he hadn’t been so quick to doubt the earth’s recovery at the time.

“Well, you’re welcome to come back here whenever you’d like.” Rath offered as they reached the open paved area where they’d started again. “I know you can’t exactly just waltz into my world on your own, but y’know, I’d be happy to bring you back here again.”

He gestured to the closer barn, “Our stallions are in there, and the mares and foals go in that other barn up ahead.” He pointed out, moving past both barns to stop near the edge of the fields. “Out past that other rock wall, I’m thinking of starting a diabloceratops herd.” He turned to Curtis, “They’re basically our equivalent to cattle, aside from giant bison.” He chuckled. “We don’t exactly have lawnmowers out here, and I’m not sure how I feel putting the horses too close to the forest. Big predators out there.”

The two people riding about the closer field by now had taken notice of Rath and Curtis while they were talking, looking their way from where they’d stopped.

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Curtis took everything in as it was presented to him. His eyes were wide. He listened intently as Rath described the damage done to his homeland, and felt sorrow for the lives that must have been lost. But, he supposed, he couldn’t do anything about it. Rusty snorted. Curtis patted her neck, to calm her. As Rath mentioned the herd of Diabloceratops, he raised a brow, but said nothing about it. He didn’t know what they were, but he figured he could find out at any point later.

“What kind of predators?” He asked, curious. “I mean, do I want to know?” Laughed the redhead softly. “I might not, now that I think about it,” he stated, smirking. “But I guess we’ll find out, someday,” he sighed. “Just hope not to see ‘em myself.”

“Oh, who’s that?” Curtis asked, nodding to the newcomers that he’d just noticed. “Friends of yours? Employees?”

He was curious to see the strangers come closer, wanted to get to know who was on the property, even if only for a moment.
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“Perhaps not,” Rath agreed with a soft laugh. “Let’s just say, most of them are within the same weight class as a polar bear.” He grinned, quite fond of the wildlife even if they were a danger to his animals. They haven’t been problematic thus far, so it was fine. “I doubt you’ll see any, and even if you do, most horses can usually outrun them anyway.” He assured the other further.

Turning his attention to the two riders in the field when Curtis pointed them out, Rath smiled a little. “A bit of both. We all have jobs here, but we’re all like a big family.” The demon didn’t like to raise his voice, so he simply motioned a big wave for them to come forth when he noticed they were looking his way too.

The two began making their way over, one cantering over eagerly while the other swiftly trotted behind.

The first to reach them was a goblin woman, large ears as perked as they could be without smooshing her hat between them and solid black eyes looking up at the two with interest. Her skin was quite green, nose pointed and just a little upturned, with short hair a similar hue, albeit a bit more blue and much lighter. A long, powerful tail adorned with gold cuffs rested behind her against the saddle, and clawed feet gripped the stirrups with three flexible toes longer than that of a humans’. A mere 3’6 feet tall, even the withers of her 12.2hh mongolian mare would be well over her head if she were to dismount.

“What’s up, boss?” The goblin grinned with a look towards Rath, showing off sharp, shark-like teeth as she sidled up beside the rock wall. The cream pearl mare beneath her looked at Rusty, but she wasn’t overly interested in greeting the other equine and lost interest fairly quickly.

The other looked human, blonde hair sprawling over her shoulders and pink eyes meeting Curtis’ as soon as they were close enough to make proper eye contact, as she was keen to meet their new guest. She had a massive, heavy-looking branch in hand, which had had its greens thoroughly stripped off. “Oh hello! I don’t believe I’ve seen you around before, are you new? I’m Scarlett by the way, Scarlett Winters.” She greeted, moving to the rock wall as well and briefly letting go of the reins to offer a handshake.

Scarlett rode a 15.3hh buckskin stallion with badger face markings and knee-high socks; a grade of some sort, as she’d caught him from a feral herd a while back. He had a strong, stocky build to him, although not too heavy. He was a bit hesitant about Rusty, but kept his ears perked as he kept a curious eye on her.

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Curtis did his best not to be rocked by the Goblin’s appearance. After all, he’d seen Rath, so this was not a lot of newness for him. But it took him about thirty seconds to adjust, and then he smiled, and nodded a hello to her. He turned his attention to the buckskin stallion’s rider, as Rusty pinned her ears.

“Acht,” he corrected, and the horse’s ears went back up, reluctantly.

“Sorry, she’s a bitch,” he commented, shaking hands with Scarlett. “I’m Curtis,” he stated. “Curtis MacArthur,” he completed. “Nice to meet you, both of you,” he said, glancing back at the Goblin woman to assure her that he wasn’t freaked out at all. He might have had an initial reaction, but he was over that now.

“I’m visiting, with Rath,” he explained. “It’s ah…nice to be here,” he added, realizing he was about to blurt that they were here on a date, and that Rath may not appreciate that.

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“Oh don’t worry about it, I deal with feral ones now and then and none beat the attitude of a wild horse.” Scarlett laughed, “Nice to meet you too, it’s always nice to see new faces around here.” She paused to glance at the branch in her hand, unsure what to do with it, before deciding to just toss it on the ground away from them. “How long are you sticking around? We’re roasting up some fresh cerato meat from our last hunt tonight.”

The goblin did briefly raise a brow when she picked up on the way Curtis had looked her way, however didn’t say anything about it and seemed unbothered after he’d glanced her way again. “Malacus Sylvester. Pleasure to make your acquaintance.” The goblin wasn’t quite close enough for a handshake, so she settled for simply tipping her hat as she introduced herself.

Rath wouldn’t have particularly minded if Curtis mentioned they were on a date, although he appreciated the discretion; it wasn’t really any of Scarlett or Malacus’ business, after all. It was good to see them getting along with Curtis thus far, not that it was a surprise. Scarlett was a people person, she got along with most everyone. Malacus was one to make enemies, but she yielded more patience for anyone within the business or associated with its members; and since Curtis was with Rath, she’d especially not want to put herself in poor standing with him.

He glanced at the branch Scarlett had tossed aside, curious now. “What were you two doing, anyway?”

“Uh…y’know, settling a bet.” Scarlett said quietly, glancing away.

“She thought she could knock me off my horse when she wanted because I’m ‘perfect whacking height’. I disagreed, and obviously I won.” Malacus grinned smugly.

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"Nice to meet you," Curtis told Malacus, and it seemed he genuinely meant it, as he smiled warmly at her, first impression long gone from his mind. "I'm glad you won that bet," he chuckled, looking at the branch on the ground. "It seems it would be painful otherwise," he said with a smile. "As for staying, that's up to Rath," he said, glancing in Rath's direction. "I would call myself an invited guest, but I don't want to overstay my welcome," he smirked.

"I met Rath at a coffee shop not long ago," he went on. "We got to talking and here I am," he added with a shrug. Rusty whinnied as she looked at the other two horses, not sure exactly what to think of them.

But she didn't seem to mind at all, and turned her attention back to standing around lazily.

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Malacus followed Curtis’ gaze to the branch, then briefly glanced at Scarlett. Not that it was super obvious, it was always a little difficult determining where she’s looking since her eyes were solid black. “Eh, we’re tougher than you’d think.” She decided with a dismissive gesture, “I’ve been stomped on and slapped around by all sorts, it’d be fine.” Indeed, the rule of ‘the bigger they are, the harder they fall’ most certainly applied to goblins; and they aren’t big by any means.

“You’re more than welcome to stay as long as you like, you couldn’t easily overstay your welcome here.” Rath assured Curtis with a smile his way. He wanted so badly to show the other a good time and spend more time with him, it seemed his interest and fondness of him only grew the more he got to know him. “I’m showing Curtis around the place.” The demon added as he looked to the two again.

Scarlett’s keen eye picked up on how the two were looking at each other, looking for just a little too long and not blinking quite as often as a human, as was the norm for her. As one who could read the non-verbal body language of humans incredibly well, she could read the two like a book. “How sweet! I love those little coffee places. I mean I won’t eat anything, but the atmosphere is always nice.”

Malacus’ steed perked her ears when Rusty whinnied, as if realizing all over again the other mare was around, turning her head to sniff in her direction curiously before replying with a soft whinny back. “Did you show him the creepy garden?” The goblin asked, swatting a fly until she managed to grab it and pop it in her mouth happily.

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Curtis nodded, accepting the fact that the goblin was tougher than she looked. He smiled over at Rath, not really trying to hide his intentions, but not making them super bright and blatant either. At the mention of the creepy garden, he raised a brow at Rath.

“That sure sounds interesting,” he laughed. “And yes, coffee shops are the best,” he told Malacus’s friend, chuckling. Scarlett seemed the nicer of the two, but he wondered how much of that was because he’d panicked at seeing the goblin for a second. He felt bad about that.

He said nothing about the fly. He was here to be on good behavior, and so what if the goblin liked a little extra protein in her diet, eh?

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“It is a…fascinating little corner,” Rath confirmed with a nod, having nearly forgotten about that garden himself. “It’s a bit secluded, but I can show you it if you’d like?” He offered, figuring it’d be a nice place to go next.

“Oh, could I come?” Scarlett piped up, she quite liked the creepy garden.

“Oh no you don’t, I won the bet, so you’re taking me out and buying me candy.” Malacus said pointedly.

Scarlett blinked, looking down at the goblin. “What, right now?”

“Yes, right now. I don’t like to wait on favors.” With that, Malacus rode at a walk to the gate to get around the rock wall, leaving the gate open for Scarlett.

Scarlett huffed, but turned back to Curtis as she followed behind Malacus. “Well it was nice meeting you, I hope we’ll see you again later?”

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“I’m sure you will,” Curtis called, trying not to chuckle at the antics of the two. “Have a good time,” he said, waving as he grinned in their direction.

“They both seem so nice,” he said. “Well, Scarlett is very talkative at least,” he laughed, smiling. “Now, about that garden?”

He wanted to know what to see in the secluded corner of the property, and figured Rath would be a good guide as to what to do with that.