𝑷𝑨𝑷𝑬𝑹 𝑹𝑰𝑵𝑮𝑺 • 𝐫𝐡𝐲𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐧. 𝐦 (wolfblood)

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐬𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧

.・。.・゜✭・.

.・。.・゜✭・.

ME AND MADDY had woken up in the early hours. We two, Tom, Shannon, and Rhydian, decided to go to the forest for the morning. The weather had undoubtedly been warmer recently, and we were all eager to get a taste of the sunshine.

I, of course, had baked a fresh dozen of cookies the night before and packed a bag. Dragging myself out of bed took a lot of effort, as it was only about seven o'clock in the morning, and me and Maddy had to groom and tack up our horses. Rowen was particularly muddy, and it made my morning watching Maddy scrub at her neck for a good twenty minutes.

I made sure to leave a note on mom and dad's bedside table before grabbing my bag and mounting Astra. The two of us took off down the bridleway and cantered into the forest. When we arrived at the clearing, the sun had fully risen and Tom, Shannon, and Rhydian had already arrived.

"Morning!" I called to them as I dismounted. They all replied with a 'morning.' After me and Maddy had tied Astra and Rowen up on some nearby trees, we walked a few paces down to the field where a picnic blanket was already set up on the grass.

"Right, I know it's only like eight o'clock in the morning, but..." I pulled a tub of cookies out of my bag, "I brought cookies!"

They all gasped in excitement and Tom took the tub off me and eagerly took of the lid, "Lia, you are my saviour." He told me, a cookie already half eaten.

The five of us laughed at his excitement and got the rest of the food out. We sat eating and chatting for a while, enjoying each others company. It wasn’t often that we got to do something as a group five. One of us almost always had something else on, so it was nice to spend some time together outside of school.

I lay down on the damp grass, not caring if my back got wet, and pulled out my book. I found reading in the morning quite therapeutic. I moved my book out of my face when I heard Astra whinny from her spot by the tree. I propped myself up on my elbows.

Her ears were forward and she was digging at the ground. I knew what that meant. I excused myself and jogged over to her and managed to settle her. I rubbed her neck gently as Rhydian walked over, "Is she okay?"

I nodded, "I think so, she just got spooked by something. Probably just a bird or something." I concluded, patting her neck. He nodded and rubbed her nose, I smiled at the sight. Suddenly, Astra sneezed all over Rhydian. The boy made a face of disgust, whereas I was in stitches from laughing.

"It's not funny! That was gross!" He told me, scrunching up his nose. Once I had caught my breath I giggled, "She does that a lot. I think it's her way of telling someone she likes them."

He raised an eyebrow, "By sneezing on them?" I rolled my eyes, "She's a horse, Rhyd, what do you expect her to do?" I asked him.

He just shook his head with a smile and rubbed her nose once more before the two of us walked back over to Tom, Shannon and Maddy. Rhydian has been helping me and the family out with the animals recently. The lambs were now three months old and it was clear he adored them. He also loved helping out with the horses, even watching me or Maddy riding.