The company of animals is always a great one [end]

Annie was walking her mom's four corgis in the fields that reminded her of her old house when one of them pulled surprisingly hard for such a small, short-legged dog. She laughed and chased after it, being jerked along by the leash. "Yip!" she fake-scolded with a smile when he'd stopped propelling himself forward at top speed, "You're certainly energetic today, aren't you?" The puppy looked up at her, panting, and then continued running off up a hill. The other corgis were quick to follow, so when they reached a meadow that Annie knew was fairly safe and where she let them roam free sometimes, she unhooked their leashes and took a step back. They trotted across the grass, yapping and frolicking with each-other. Annie couldn't help but grin when she looked at them. They were always so happy.

Suddenly, something with long legs knocked into her and sent her falling backwards. She widened her eyes, throwing out her hands to try and brace for impact, and toppling onto the grass. Annie took a moment to evaluate her situation before she tried to get up. She looked up, and into the eyes of a horse. "Hello," she said, a bit startled. She glanced around quickly. The corgis were fine. Annie tucked her hair out of her eyes and examined her arms for anything that needed medical attention, but she was pretty sure that, at worst, she'd only acquired a bruise or two. She then noticed a blonde boy standing in front of her with a hat and his hand outstretched. She hesitated, trying to figure out why his face looked familiar, before placing her own hand lightly into his. "Um, yeah, I'm okay, thanks," she said, pulling herself to her feet and dusting herself off and smiling at him. "Don't worry about it."

Annie tried to avoid staring at the boy's face. He couldn't be much older than her, but she hadn't really known anyone her age before she moved to Aunt Jemima's, so why did she get the feeling she'd seen him before? She extended her hand out again, this time for a handshake. "I'm Annie. Nice horse you've got there." She looked at him sideways. "I'm sorry, you look so familiar. Have we met?"

Annie nodded her head as Derald spoke, looking over her shoulder at the corgis, who seemed to be thoroughly enjoying their new companion. "Lovely to meet you, Derald. And don't worry, there's no apology necessary," she said with a smile, taking her hand back and resting it on her hip. She shook her head, trying to remember if she'd ever been to a party for someone not in her family, and coming up with nothing. "I doubt it; we used to live way out there somewhere," she paused to gesture off into the distant fields, far away from the towns of District 10, "so there weren't really a lot of parties to attend... or other horses to bump into than our own." She laughed, but even his name sounded familiar. Maybe it's something he doesn't want me to know... ooorrrr maybe I'm crazy. Either way, it'd be rude to pry, right? Annie decided to let it lie for the time being. "Never mind."

Annie giggled when the border collie came up to her and put her paws on Annie's legs. "Hi, sweetie!" she cooed, stroking the top of the dog's head and letting her lick her hand before she ran off. "Ah. Cute name. Cute dog, too." The corgis were tumbling around, chasing eachother and Dusk, happy to have a new playmate. "Uh, no, not really. Well, kind of. They're my mom's. She loves corgis. These four are so full of energy, though, that we have to take them out all the time, and she was busy, sooo..." she shrugged. "Here I am! As for you... just a leisurely horse ride?"

Annie stayed quiet while he spoke, remembering her life before the move. "Yeah... I don't know. Maybe they just didn't know about it, because unless they've figured out how to cause roof-and-wall-uplifting storms outside of the arena, then I don't think we ever got in trouble... who knows, maybe my parents were paying 'em or something." She shook her head. "We moved in with my aunt, which is rather a large total of people living in one house. I mean I've got five siblings, plus my parents and my aunt and her two kids, sooo... it can get a bit cramped." She was just realizing how nice the open space around her was now that she thought about back home. When he said they should take more time to jolt their memories, Annie chuckled. "Sure." She smiled at the horse, who she noticed seemed to have a very close and adorable relationship with her rider, and then back at the playful dogs. "Yeah, I love dogs. We've got an Australian Shepherd, too, but she's not as hyper as them so she's satisfied enough just running around the farm, chasing a chicken every now and then."

Annie couldn't help but wonder what 'things' were crazy, but she knew it'd be a bit rude to ask. "Well, good luck with 'em, and if you ever need someone to talk to..." she trailed off. You hardly know this person, don't expect them to start pouring out every detail of their life. she scolded herself. She was just used to her siblings knocking on her door every time they went through a breakup, or their favorite cow got sick, or they got in a fight with her other sibling, or they were just feeling down. Annie liked being the person her family members came to for advice, but it did, she was discovering, become a habit that slipped into other encounters. Then he offered her a ride on his horse and she giggled. She'd always liked riding horses, but it was always a little awkward on the first go with a new horse. "Only if you promise not to laugh at me if I fall off. I mean, I've ridden plenty of times before, but still. Unfamiliar horse." She was slightly nervous to get up on Sephy's back, as she looked somewhat feisty, so she lifted her hand for Sephy to sniff. "Oh, and sorry, it's rude of me not to ask after rambling on so much about my own- how's your family? Any siblings?"

Annie nodded. Perhaps the Paulie did need some more time outside, but she never really seemed to ask for it. Maybe she's just shy. Oh, I hope she hasn't been hiding her need for more walking time just because she doesn't want to ask! Poor baby. "Yeah, I should probably start taking her out more. We do sometimes bring her along with the corgis, or sometimes my dad goes out for a jog and takes her with him." She shrugged, and smiled when Derald said he might actually take her up on the offer to just listen to his problems. Annie tucked her hair behind her ear. "Anytime." He punched her lightly on the arm and she laughed. Am I supposed to bro-punch him back or something? Is that a thing? Annie mentally cursed her upbringing, although she was pretty proud of herself so far. Not totally screwing things up yet, right?

Annie started to hop up on to Sephy, hoping she wouldn't be bucked off, while listening to Derald about his family. She was genuinely interested. There wasn't a lot of exposure to other lifestyles where she'd lived, so every new story was almost exciting. "Must be nice to have peace and quiet sometimes, although I guess it could be kind of lonely. But you must have friends, yeah?" She lifted her leg over Sephy's back. "I dunno, I've always assumed most people who don't live a million miles away from everyone have friends outside their family. But I'm not exactly the most informed on the subject." Annie settled herself onto the saddle and stroked Sephy on the head. "You're a very beautiful horse," she said affectionately, and then, as an afterthought: "Please don't throw me off and kill me, girl. I'd really appreciate it." She glanced at Derald from Sephy's back. "Should I just..." she trailed off, not wanting to spook the horse or the boy.

Annie listened carefully to Derald's instructions of how to ride Sephy as he adjusted the stirrups. "Thanks." There different styles of riding that horses had been taught and every horse was different. Hold reins, don't pull, squeeze legs twice to go faster. Hold reins, don't pull, squeeze legs twice to go faster. As riding styles went, it wasn't the most difficult technique she'd ever had to remember, nor the furthest adaptation from her usual riding style, but she was worried she'd ending up falling on her face and injuring the horse or just making the worst first impression ever. She squeezed her legs together gently on Sephy's belly to get her started walking, then again to go a little faster, talking as she went but paying close attention to the horse.

"Yeah, I don't know about friends... the only time I interacted with people outside my family was at school, I guess. My parents weren't allowed to just teach me everything at home, but I had to leave the minute school let out or I'd never get home in time to finish my schoolwork and farm chores. Plus my parents would rather I focus on education over side conversations in class. So, you know, not much time for bonding." Annie shrugged and tried to turn Sephy back to go in a circle once she'd gotten further along, about 20 feet from Derald but still audible distance. In the past, when Annie had ridden horses with similar training, she'd been told to lean the way she wanted to go an push in with the opposite foot, but she didn't want to spook Sephy and get bucked off. "How do you turn her?" she called back to him, balancing herself on Sephy's back in preparation.

Annie shifted her position slightly on Sephy's back and made a peace sign back at Derald. It was funny to imagine this effervescent blonde boy as a rebel. He asked about her life now, and she smiled. "Well my Aunt's not my favorite person and it's even more crowded than before, but I don't mind my cousins or the house or location or anything. I mean, today's been pretty good so far, right?" She wasn't entirely sure if he could hear her, but she was more focused on riding Sephy for the moment anyway. Annie heard Derald say something about the normal turning techniques, so she pressed on Sephy lightly with her right foot and leaved left, but something caught her off guard and Sephy turned more sharply than she expected and suddenly she'd been thrown to the grown for the second time that day.


(EDIT: I stupidly didn't use this GIF/didn't find it until now so I'm just going to casually interject here.)

Annie felt her palms bite into the dirt and grass, but she was pretty sure that she hadn't been truly injured and couldn't help but start laughing. "You liar, you said you wouldn't laugh," she teased, smiling at him as he sat next to her on the grass and hitting him lightly on the shoulder with her hand. He offered to help her fix up the few cuts and bruises she seemed to have sustained from the fall and she chuckled. "Alright." She dusted her palms off on her jean shorts as he spoke and nodded. "Pretty much. First friend I've had outside of my family, anyway, and don't worry, I'm sure I'd get myself into some sort of trouble anyways. I should probably be thanking you." Annie resisted the urge to somehow celebrate her first official non-familial friend and just did something like smile or whatever I can't figure out what to write here for some reason and I need to like actually send this post so yeah blew a piece of hair out of her face.  

Annie smiled. "My day was good because I made my first real friend, rode a horse, kind of, and had some quality dog time. Simple as that. We can look past the falling. Twice." The corgis apparently tired of running around in circles and scampered over to Sephy. They sniffed her for a second and then attempted to snuggle up next to her belly to nap. This made Annie slightly nervous as to how Sephy would react, but she knew from experience that the corgis, when sleepy, would not want to be moved by any human, so she settled for just keeping an eye out for them . "Sorry, they're kind of oblivious. And stubborn. And I guess a bit rude and overly trusting," she apologized as the corgis started to drift off, not bothering to nestle their legs in and instead splaying themselves onto the grass. "Usually they just sort of form a dog-pile of themselves. I can move them if it makes Sephy uncomfortable, but I might need your help to lift them and keep them away. Once they find a place to sleep, they usually don't want to be interrupted until they wake up, so they turn into lumps of dead weight and when you move 'em, they just waddle right back. Then because there are four, it's hard to keep track, and the minute you move one another makes it back. Cute, but not a one-person job."

Annie shrugged at his question as she waited for a response as to whether they should move the corgis or not, tilting her face up to the sky with her eyes closed for a second to enjoy the sunlight as he spoke before facing him again. "For the most part I just take care of the animals on our farm. Some of my siblings are starting work at other farms but I think I'll probably just work on ours for a while. I sell eggs and milk and butter and cheese and stuff sometimes. Well, I'm starting to. There wasn't really anyone to sell it to before. My parents just trekked into the more populated area every now and then to trade for the stuff we couldn't make ourselves before the move." She finished explaining, hoping she wasn't rambling on too much. "What about you? Do you work at another farm or something or just stay home?"

Annie smiled at Dusk as she lay down, and nearly imploded from all the adorableness around her. Derald patted her on the back as he talked about dogs and she laughed. "Yeah, I guess so." She watched Sephy's reaction the the corgis very carefully, but she didn't know the horse well enough to tell for sure whether she minded or not. "Oh, yeah, no, I'm not arguing against it being cute. They wouldn't get away with half of the stuff they do if they weren't adorable," she said with a giggle. She got to her feet and followed Derald's lead, starting to scoop up a corgi and carry it over. "Maybe if we squish them back together afterwards and make sure they have someone to cuddle throughout the whole process they won't notice and they'll stay put," she suggested. He brought up their names and she bit her lip. "Uh, Nip, Yip, Kip, and Pip," Annie replied, trying not to laugh. "The one you're holding is Yip. They pretty much come when you call out anything if you say it excitedly enough, though." She remembered one time when she tested them and squealed stuff like 'murder' and 'frying pan' and 'window' and 'boo' and they'd come bounding in from across the hall every time, expecting a treat.

Annie listened attentively for a while as he spoke about his family. "That's cool," she said when he had finished. "And I'll hold you to that, you know, about the omlettes. I'm sure they're fabulous. Your cousin sounds nice too." Annie was mostly kidding. She wasn't going to knock on his door at 2 in the morning screaming that he'd promised to show her his cousin's omlette and she demanded to know now or she'd burn his house down or anything, of course. Derald's situation actually sounded somewhat similar to her own from his description, what with the combining farms with another family member and all. When he stopped walking a little ways down from their previous spot and asked if it was a good spot for the corgis, she nodded. "Yeah, this is good. It's just hard to get them to stay there. I guess we should try putting these two close together so maybe they don't notice too much or a change and try to wander back?" She looked down and identified the corgi she'd been lugging across the field as Nip. Annie kneeled slowly, trying to keep Nip close to her body so he wouldn't realize he'd been moved. The transition between her arms and the grass could be tricky."On three?"

Annie smiled while Derald spoke and stroked Nip's head with her chin, as her hands were busy. "This one's Nip." The corgi made a sort of snoring sound. "You can tell by the white on his head. Nippy has the most white of all of them. Pip has almost no white, Kip has a white tummy but nothing on his head, and Yip there..." She rocked Nip back and forth, trying to settle him back to sleep before they put him down. "Well, he looks most like Kip, but he's a bit on the chubby side. Plus his ears are extra floppy," she explained with a laugh. "Sorry, this is probably a super weird thing to talk about," Annie bit her lip and started to transfer Nip to the ground. After Derald got to three, she set him down slowly, back paws and butt first, then belly, front paws, and finally head. "Here, squish Yip in." She made sure her corgi was in place next to Yip, until the dogs seemed like they would stay. She quietly got to her feet and took a few steps away, then hurried back over to pick up another pup. She grabbed Kip and motioned to Derald with her head to ask him to carry Pip. She repeated the process she had completed with Nip, directing Derald to do the same, until she was pretty sure all four corgis were sleeping peacefully in a pile of adorableness a safe distance away from Sephy. just gonna skip past this a little because I didn't really know how to move forward with it sorreh for powerplaying a tad

Annie sat down on the grass again once the animals had been dealt with and sighed, laying back. Her leg twinged as she did, and she exhaled sharply. It hadn't really hurt, but it had been kin of a surprise. She glanced at her leg, but there was nothing visible. That'll probably be a bruise tomorrow. Other than that, Annie didn't think she'd really sustained any injuries from either fall. "Get knocked down by a horse and then fall off while riding yet escape with only a pre-bruise? I may or may not be invincible," she joked, mostly for the purpose of stating that she wasn't exactly in need of emergency care and there was nothing to worry about. After a short while she spoke again, unsure of how to really continue the day's events. "So... I got nothing to do for the rest of the day. If you wanna talk now, we can do that, or we can go back to my aunt's house and try to make omlettes to rival your cousins, or we can just hang out here with the animals some more and talk, or, of course, we can part ways. Sorry, like I said, I don't have much practice with this whole friends thing. Don't mean to be kidnapping you or anything. " Annie pulled herself back to a seated position and shrugged. "Thoughts?"

Annie appreciated that Derald didn't seem to mind her slight social awkwardness. She ran a hand through her hair to get it out of her face and smiled. He was right about the corgis. "Sounds like a plan, long as I'm not keeping you from anything important." She laughed when he asked if she was really up for a talk. She was pretty sure he didn't understand how often she actually partook in this. "Like I said, anytime you wanna talk, I'm happy to listen. I can't promise to give good advice on the subject, but I'll try my best." Annie shrugged. She was actually rather curious as to what was troubling the poor boy, and wondered if it had anything to do with the fact that he initially looked very familiar to her. However, Annie knew that some stuff was personal and if he didn't want to tell her everything or even anything at all, that was fine. She knew better than to pry.

Annie felt a breeze brush over her face and blow through her hair, probably tangling it horribly. She twisted her torso to face Derald straight-on and shrugged. "Only problems I really have are minor isolation from anyone aside from my cramped family stuff and I mentioned 'em already, sooo..." she trailed off, pausing for a moment. "Vent away." Annie had heard it all- breakups, fights, feeling sad for no reason, low self-esteem, bullies at school, guilt, regret, unwelcome urges, random complaints that eventually spiraled into rants - and some part of her doubted that Derald's problems would be anything new. But she shushed that part, because everyone was different and not only were no two problems exactly alike, but also, there was a perfectly good chance that this was something entirely new. Annie wasn't sure whether she had some sort of unintentional confidence in her experience with helping people or just didn't want to think it was anything serious that she couldn't help with, but she was glad that it was unlikely Derald could read her mind, because she didn't think normal people got that hung up over their own way or thinking. Regardless, her job right now was not to play guessing games. Her job was to be a friend, and to listen, and right now she treasured it more than any random jaded opinion the back of her mind decided to have.  

Annie listened quietly as Derald spoke, figuring he just needed to let it all out. He was being somewhat vague and a bit disorganized, which Annie assumed was probably because either the situation was private or because his mind was a little scattered right now. She nodded every now and then, trying to think of a response that would offer comfort without telling him what to do. Once he'd finished, Annie stayed silent for a few moments, hesitating before she spoke. "That really sucks, and I'm sorry, I wish I could help," she said at last. "Losing people is always hard, and it's perfectly natural to be unsure of how to deal with the aftermath and pick up the pieces that they left behind. To be honest, I'm fairly sure that the best ways to address grief and loss vary from person to person and situation to situation. Sometimes you need to confront your problems head-on, and sometimes you just need an escape." She shrugged. "I, or anyone, I guess, can try to give you advice, but the real process of moving on is going to happen within you. Just remember that though problems generally need to be sorted through personally, you're not alone. People- and animals -care about you, and while they may feel kind of awkward about it for a time, that's probably just because they want to support you but aren't quite sure how."

Annie paused in her mini-speech to gather her thoughts again. She was trying to use more general advice to help him understand his problems rather than tell him exactly what do and how to feel about them, but she always had trouble telling whether she was making things better or worse. Annie bit her lower lip and continued. "Sometimes relationships can genuinely change after a change or big event in your life, and it's completely okay to not know precisely where you stand. Most strong relationships can eventually return to the same or a similar character as they were previously, but of course there will be some remnants of whatever caused the disturbance, because it's a part your identity now... uh, not you specifically, just, you know, 'you'- actually, sorry, this is about you specifically, so nevermind... but, um, the point is, even when it seems like everything should be over because something so monumental has happened that time can't possibly keep moving, life goes on. And it's not leaving you behind- your life is going on. Maybe it's different, and maybe it's not what you're used to or what you wanted, but it's your life and it's still there. Sorry, I'm getting way off track... it's good that you're willing to talk about it, though. I've heard the final stage of grief is acceptance, if that applies." Annie covered her face with her hand. "Sorry, totally didn't intend to rant. I'm a little all over the place, I guess." She let out a nervous laugh and smiled at him apologetically. What the heck was that? she berated herself. You just spouted, like, practically every piece of advice you've ever given. Oh, gawd, I need to learn when enough talking is enough. Annie winced. "So next time I'll just shut up and nod sympathetically, then, yeah?"  

Annie was relieved when Derald didn't seem offended by her ranty attempt at giving advice. She listened carefully as he spoke, catching notice of a very subtle compliment to her physical appearance and getting a slight fluttering feeling in her stomach for a moment, so brief she hardly perceived it. It's just a thing people say, she reminded herself, mildly amused with herself. She smiled when he talked about feeling like cow dung, which was something she felt she could probably identify with a little. Sure, everybody has those days, but I doubt it's to the same extreme or from the same reason. Annie followed one or two of the rocks with her eyes as he threw them in a way that looked very natural, almost automatic. He mentioned that he'd disappeared from the barn though, and Annie frowned. Oh, crap, am I keeping him from something important? she worried, but she remembered he'd originally come out here by himself and wanted to stay. "Sorry if that's my fault," she said quietly, just in case, and nodded when he said he'd talk to Tess. "That sounds like a good idea." Annie laughed as he reached his arm around and squeezed her shoulder, grinning when he talked about the omlettes and told her she didn't have to stop giving advice.  

"So, I've heard your problems, but aside from your family and your name I guess I basically no nothing about you." Annie shrugged. "Tell me something about yourself. Like, for instance..." She paused a moment to think. She didn't consider herself that interesting of a person, but there had to be something. "My favorite color is turquoise, because I love the color of the sky and I love the color of the grass and it's the closest thing I can get to both of 'em mixed together. Might not be the deepest question, but you can tell a lot about a person from their favorite color, right?" Annie giggled. "Your turn."