~Mary had a little lamb, little lamb, little lamb~

Stacey led her sheep to community fields for a better grazing. All three lambs were attached directly to their mother, Mary, how was in turn tied to a long leash. Once they got to an acceptable grazing ground, Mary stopped, standing still to show that it was perfect right where they were. "Alright girl, if you think so," Stacey said before sitting down. To let them graze in peace. Of course the three lambs immediately ran over to her, trying to butt their heads against her. The girl let out a giggle, "No no, go to your real momma, you need to eat," the little lambs stopped, looking down at the ground, making sad faces, but Stacey just shook her head and pointed to Mary. The babies trotted back over and started butting their mother instead. The sheep looked up from her grazing, giving Stacey a glare. Stacey gave the sheep a smile before starting a song, "Mary had a little lamb, little lamb, little lamb, Mary had a little lamb whose fleece was white as snow~"

~Mary had a little lamb, little lamb, little lamb~ Gendry_2x02

Travis slammed the door to his home after getting into a heated argument with his parents. No doubt he wasn't going to get paid this week. Heck, he probably wouldn't get dinner tonight. It didn't matter though. All he wanted to do was ride for a bit. He went out to the stables he and his brothers made for the new horses and went to where Blitz was. He opened the gate to get inside and he took the saddle off of the rack on the side. He set it on his horse's back, making sure it was secure before getting on. He took the reins and he urged Blitz forward. Once he was outside, he clapped his heels into his horse and they took off. His lips formed what was barely a smile as he felt the wind in his hair and he looked back to see his house quickly becoming smaller in the distance. He closed his eyes for a bit and then opened them again. When he did, his house was barely visible and he was alone in the fields...at least, he had thought he was. He noticed a girl with a few sheep grazing. He had Blitz slow down to a trot and he went over to her. "Hello there. What brings you here? Just came to have your sheep graze?" His intention was to sound friendly, but...it didn't exactly come out that way.

Stacey's singing and the munching of the sheep had drowned out the approaching horse, so when she heard a voice, naturally she was pretty startled. Her voice cut off mid-phrase, causing the sheep to look up as well. She looked up, slightly behind her to see a young man on a black stallion. The boy looked familiar, but he seemed a bit irritated. "Oh...oh I'm sorry. Yes, my sheep were getting hungry, but if this is your land...I'm sorry," she said, standing up and moving to take the sheep to another field if she needed to, her cheeks filling with red.

Travis was puzzled. She seemed to think she was doing something wrong...and she seemed embarrassed. He thought he was being friendly. Maybe he would have to work on that. He got off of his horse and said, "It is my land, yes, but I don't mind you taking your sheep here...after all, we are right next to the community fields. My parents on the other hand aren't so forgiving." He smiled and continued, "I'm Travis Davenport. And this here is Blitz." He put a hand on his horse's head and he shook his head in response.

"Oh, well if you're sure... well this'll just be a one-time thing," she said, giving him a small smile of thanks. She realized he must have just been trying to be friendly; not everyone was as bouncy and kind as she was by nature. When he introduced himself, Stacey tried to figure out where she'd heard it before. Davenport...Davenport, there were rumors about how they treated their kids...bad, right? she thought, but she didn't wan't to pry. "Well, it's nice to meet you, I'm Stacey Crane, and these are Mary, Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup," she introduced herself, then her sheep. "Blitz, huh? that's an interesting name for a black horse," she continued, almost to herself, but it was still audible.

Travis thought for a second and said, "Hmm...Crane...does your family own the chicken farm?" He crossed his arms, until Blitz started nuzzling his side, so he began to pet his head. She said something about Blitz being an interesting name for a black horse and he shrugged. "Didn't really have another name for him...not too good with names." Blitz whinnied, as if in agreement, and Travis grinned saying, "Oh shut up..." It was obvious they had a close bond formed between them, and this was a side of Travis not a lot of people saw nowadays.

Stacey's smile grew, "Yes, yes, the chicken farm. It's a small one, but it's known, eh," she said. Then she looked at Blitz again, who agreed that his master was bad at naming. "Blitz seems to be ratting you out. Isn't that right, boy?" she said, addressing the last part to the stallion as she went to pet him, but she stopped short, "He doesn't mind strangers petting him, does he?" she asked.

Blitz whinnied again as Travis rolled his eyes, but he was still smiling. He noticed that Stacey put her hand out, and he was about to respond to her question, but he was already moving forward. He put his head towards her...and put it under her hand, nuzzling it. Travis grins and says, "Apparently he doesn't mind strangers...well, not you at least. He's almost bit my father before..." He laughs a bit and crosses his arms.

Stacey wasn't at all surprised that Blitz decided to come to her. She rubbed his muzzle a bit, unable to use her other hand, as she was still holding Mary's leash. "I'll take that as a yes," she said, laughing a bit. It was because of moments like this that she really wanted a horse of her own. She was just about to comment on that when Travis mentioned Blitz almost bit his father once. "Well, I've always seemed to be loved by animals," she said innocently, like she was unaware of the rumors about his father's cruelty. Animals could always tell cruel people apart and get violent towards them.

Travis smiled as the girl spoke. Then, he remembered something. He reached into his pocket and brought out a small pouch. Apparently Blitz knew exactly what it was because he moved away from Stacey and over to him. When he untied the string that held the small bag together, he reached in and took out a small white cube. He put it in the palm of his hand, letting the stallion lick it off of his palm. He reached into the bag with his other hand, taking one for himself. "He really likes sugar cubes. They're rare to come by though, so they're slightly expensive." He took one out and held it to her. "Want one?"

Stacey shook her head, refusing the offer. "Oh, no, I couldn't! They're too hard to come by, and they're your treat," she said, though it was obvious she did want one; she just didn't feel comfortable taking something so expensive without repayment. She looked away from the bag and the boy; she didn't want to change her mind about the cubes when she saw them. Now, she could see that the lambs had gone back to eating, but Mary was still watching, whether out of curiosity or concern, Stacey couldn't be sure.

Travis shrugged and threw it towards himself, catching it in his mouth and then eating it. He re-tied the small bag and tied it to his belt. He looked towards the sheep and said, "I was wondering...what is a girl who lives on a chicken farm doing with sheep?" He had a curious expression on his face and Blitz began to nudge him for more sugar cubes, but Travis ignored him.

The question brought Stacey's head back around to face Travis. "That... is an excellent question" she said, a bit of brightness in her tone. In all honesty, she'd never really thought about it, though she knew she had a reason; at least, for the three B's, she did. "Any self-respecting woman has to make her own way of getting what she needs. I can't raise chickens for my own purposes, so I have sheep," she said, leaving off what exactly her purposes were, hoping to leave a bit of mystery around herself. Though, she did cast a quick glance at the stallion that could give her dream away.

He listened with interest and nodded his head a bit. He noticed her glance at Blitz quickly and he looked over at him. It took him a minute to realize why she did that, but when he figured it out he smiled. He didn't say that he figured it out...although, he did slightly imply it with his smile and his next question which was, "Have you ever ridden a horse before? If not, I'm sure Blitz here wouldn't mind giving you a ride." His smile was a bit more wide. He wasn't sure why, but talking to her seemed almost...easy. It was strange to him. Maybe it was just the fact he was talking about his horse...

Stacey looked back at the horse; he was a big stallion, bigger than any she'd ever ridden before. "I've ridden a few ponies before but not recently..." she trailed off. She really wanted to ride Blitz, or any horse for that matter, but she didn't want to leave her lambs here with a practical stranger. She looked back at Mary, instantly knowing the sheep, however docile she appeared, would put up a huge fight to protect her lambs. Stacey looked back to Travis. "Okay then, I'll give it a go," she said.

Travis put a hand on his horse, still smiling. "Well Blitz here definitely isn't a pony. But, he'll go slow and be gentle until you feel more comfortable going faster." He takess, a small step away from his horse and asks, "Do you need help getting on or can you do it yourself?" He notices her look to her sheep and he smiles a bit more saying, "Don't worry. I won't let anyone take 'em." He looks at the sheep and grins.

Stacey only took a moment more to decide. She dropped the sheep's leash so she wouldn't be too hard to catch if something spooked her. then she gave a big grin to Travis. "No, I've got it. Thanks," she said, excitement creeping into her voice before she turned and pulled herself into Blitz's saddle. Naturally, the stirrups were a bit long for her, but she could still reach them, so it didn't matter much. Up high now, she had a different view on the world. She had to take a breath in to calm herself. "Well, I don't think I've ever been this tall in my life," she said with a laugh.

Travis shrugged and let her get on and he took a step back. "Be gentle with her now boy..." He smiled and then whispered something to Blitz, then feeding him a sugar cube. He heard her say she's never been so tall and he laughed. "I had the same reaction on my first ride...the memories." He smiles, and gets a look as if remembering something. He shook his head and looked back to her. "Well, have fun. And try not to go too far away. I'd rather not lose my horse." He laughs again and steps away from them, gesturing for her to go ahead and ride on.

Stacey's eyebrows raised in suspicion when Travis whispered something to the stallion, but decided not to mention it. "And I'd rather not loose my sheep," she retorted with a laugh. She took up Blitz's reins, settling herself in the way she remembered to ride. She squeezed her heels into the horse, easing him into a walk. Once she got comfortable, she clucked a little, hoping he would recognize the command to go faster.

Travis smiled as he saw her begin to ride. "Fair enough, fair enough..." he responded when she said she didn't want to lose her sheep. Travis began to grin as he saw the girl to tell Blitz to go faster. And he did...only he went from a slow walk, to a trot, and then he began to take off running. Travis laughed and called out, "Atta boy Blitz!" He crossed his arms and kept laughing, hoping she wouldn't be too mad at him for the joke.

As the horse picked up speed, Stacey gripped him more firmly with her thigh muscles, proper riding form, of course; don't use your lower legs to hold on or he'll go faster. "Whoa, easy boy," she said gently, pulling back on the reins as he broke into a canter, then a full-on gallop. Stacey fought down her panic and settled into the horse's stride, huge as it was compared to anything she'd ridden before. She managed to pull the stallion back around towards Travis and her sheep, a small smile barely visible; she did love horses after all. It was then that she spotted the boy's laugh. Of course she thought, mentally laughing about it as well. Well, two can play at this game she thought, turning Blitz to the right, away from his owner. She then slipped her feet out of the stirrups and held on for just a few seconds longer, then pushed herself out of the saddle. She let out a quick "Eep!" as she curled up in a ball to protect herself from the fall.

Travis saw her smile and stopped laughing, but kept a grin. He saw her turning right and was surprised that she was actually staying calm...and that was when she fell. His grin slowly melted away to a worried expression and he sprinted after her. When he got to her, he went to his knees looking at her, and saying "Oh god Stacey...I didn't mean for you to fall, it was just a joke...are you alright?" He wondered if she would be angry at him for this...what if she didn't forgive him? There were many possibilities going through his head as he turned and whistled for Blitz to come back over.

The little ball that was Stacey seemed to be trembling. After a moment, she unrolled herself, her face landing right underneath his. A huge grin was etched there, her mouth closed to stop her laughter from seeping out. Now, it was obvious that the trembling was from happiness or excitement or something, not pain or fear. "Ha! You totally fell for it!" she giggled, "I'm fine, of course, but thanks for the concern."

Travis saw that she was trembling and gulped a bit nervously. She started to unroll herself, and when she did...he saw her grinning. When he saw she was trembling out of happiness he bent down and wrapped his arms around her. "Don't scare me like that...I thought you were legitimately hurt..." He pulled away, and got off his knees, instead sitting on the ground. Blitz came trotting over and nuzzled his head against Stacey, which despite himself, made Travis smile.

Stacey blinked as she was hugged; she hadn't really expected that from him. After she was released, she sat up, turning to face him. "Maybe you'll think twice before letting your horse run off like a madman" she said with a laugh. Then Blitz started nuzzling her and she turned to him to pet his face.

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