#FKSND PLS THIS IS THE BEST THING EVER JUST LOOK AT THEM

[lucygraysboy]

“five  foot  one  —  two?  and  you  dragged  a  six  foot  man  all  the  way  here?  how?  tomorrow  i’ll  be  the  one  taking  care  of  you,  it  seems,”  he  muses  with  a  chuckle,  glancing  at  her  skinny  arms  and  imagining  they’ll  be  hurting  like  crazy  in  the  morning.  “so  the  mean-looking  goat  in  your  barn  doesn’t  intimate  you,”  he  recalls  her  talking  to  that  thing  in  the  sweetest,  kindest  voice  so  surely  they’re  friends,  “but  horses  do?”  it’s  mostly  a  joke,  said  in  a  light-hearted  manner,  but  a  tiny  part  of  him  is  genuinely  surprised.  “yeah,  but  i  see  where  you’re  comin’  from,  lucy  gray.  their  size  can  be  intimidating  when  you’re  not  even  half  their  size,  but  most  horses  have  an  extremely  amenable  and  trainable  attitude.  they’re  very  smart  and  gentle  if  handled  properly.”  and  she  doesn’t  have  to  jump  into  the  saddle  or  struggle  and  pull  herself  up  all  on  her  own.  he’ll  bring  her  a  stool  or  simply  lift  her  up,  whichever  she’ll  feel  more  comfortable  with.  “you  know,  lucy  gray,  i  don’t  think  i’ve  ever  met  a  person  as  courageous  as  you.”  her  willingness  to  overcome  fears  impresses  him.  if  she  told  him  she’d  teach  him  how  to  milk  that  goat  of  hers,  he  doubts  he’d  be  half  as  brave.  “then  that’s  settled.  as  soon  as  i  get  better,  i’ll  teach  you  everything.  i  have  a  feeling  you’ll  love  this.”  the  freedom.  galloping  across  a  prairie,  with  sun  kissing  your  cheeks  and  wind  dancing  in  your  hair  —  nothing  can  compete  with  that  feeling.

“shamus.  it  does  sound  a  bit  masculine,  but  you  know…  it’s  very  fitting.”  an  intimidating  name  for  an  intimidating  creature,  he  thinks  to  himself,  for  whatever  reason  thinking  the  goat  doesn’t  really  like  him.  the  way  it  she  was  looking  at  him…  this  name  he’ll  have  no  trouble  remembering.  his  eyes  growing  wider  and  wider  as  the  names  just  keep  piling  up.  “oh,  i  see  you  have  a  preference,  hm?  southern  classics  like  hank  and  clyde.  lovely  choices.”  he’s  trying  his  best  not  to  laugh  as  it  would  be  rude,  but  a  duck  named  hank?  it’s  so  very  adorable  but  also  hilarious.  “you  weren’t  kiddin’  when  you  said  you  had  a  lot  of  animals.”  and  then,  as  if  to  impress  her,  he  attempts  to  recite  the  names  back  to  her,  “clyde  and  hank  and  gilbert  are  the  three  ducks.  the  three  musketeers.  storm  and  spirit  and  sundance,  the  horses,”  and  the  two  he’s  forgetting  because  their  names  don’t  start  with  an  s  and  stand  out  a  bit  more,  “little  pip  and  his  gang  of  chickens.  and  rabbits,  henry  spot  and  otto  and  two  lovely  ladies.”  maybe  when  she  actually  introduces  him  to  them  and  he  sees  their  faces  and  markings,  he’ll  do  a  better  job  at  keeping  up  with  the  names.  “you’re  right.  if  i  had  a  family  like  yours,  all  these  sweet  animals  and  your  cousin,  i  wouldn’t  be  thinking  of  running  away  either.”  he  reckons  it  would,  indeed,  be  the  hardest  goodbye.  leaving  joe  and  ma’s  grave  behind  was  hard  enough,  he  can’t  even  begin  to  imagine  what  abandoning  living,  breathing  people  would  be  like.  “it’s  alright.  i  didn’t  mean  to  get  nosy.  i  tend  to  forget  myself  sometimes.”  he  can  tell  it’s  a  sensitive  subject  and  retreats  with  no  hard  feelings,  fully  respecting  the  other’s  boundaries.

“that’s  very  kind  of  you  and  your  covey.  when  do  you  meet,  if  you  don’t  mind  me  askin’?  i’m  sorry,  i’m  just  really  curious  about  everything  because  this  is  the  first  time  i’m  coming  across…  a  covey.”  so  everything  about  it  fascinates  him,  from  the  way  they  dress,  their  names,  their  attitudes,  their  bond.  it’s  all  so  new  to  him,  sounds  like  a  concept  from  one  of  his  mother’s  utopian  novels.  “she  clearly  ain’t  no  gem  or  prize,  not  even  personality-wise.  an  unkind  man  would  say  her  father  must  have  been  a  troll.  you  know,  a  mean,  ugly  gnome  from  legends?”  they’re  very  popular  in  ireland,  something  all  parents  use  to  scare  their  children  with  when  they  misbehave.  “but  we  wouldn’t  be  cruel  enough  to  say  that  out  loud,  now  would  we?”  he  chuckles  softly,  gently  nudging  the  curly-haired  brunette  with  an  elbow.  he’s  a  polite  man  with  a  gentle  heart,  but  when  someone  crosses  the  people  he  cares  about  (and  he  sure  does  care  a  whole  lot  about  lucy  gray),  all  that  goes  out  the  window.  he’d  do  anything  for  his  loved  ones.  “i  didn’t  know  you  had  claws.”  judging  by  her  looks  and  actions,  she’s  an  angel  and  so  it’s  almost  impossible  to  believe.  

the  smile  on  his  face  growing,  pale  blue  eyes  watching  her  with  amusement.  “you  slipped  a  snake  down  her  dress?  a  real  snake?”  he  has  to  clasp  a  hand  over  his  mouth  to  keep  from  laughing  out  loud,  his  shoulders  shaking.  he  can  picture  this  sweet,  tiny  girl,  sneaking  up  on  may-not-so-fair  and  slipping  a  snake  down  her  dress,  and  it  sparks  a  whole  new  kind  of  love  and  respect  for  lucy  gray.  “and  left  one  in  his  shoebox,  too?  that’s  the  greatest  revenge  ever.  i  bet  he  was  screaming  like  a  little  girl  when  he  lifted  the  lid  and  saw  the  snake.”  this  girl  is  so  different…  how  could  a  person  not  fall  in  love  with  her  and  her  attitude  and  angelic  looks  and  these  stories?  “an  accident,  you  say?  oh,  god…”  now  billy’s  full-on  laughing,  and  he  has  to  bury  his  face  in  the  colorful  quilt  to  keep  from  making  much  noise.  it  takes  him  a  moment  to  calm  down,  and  when  he  does,  he  puts  on  the  saddest,  most  pitiful  look  and  wails  quietly,  “oh,  poor  mayfair,  a  snake  down  her  dress  and  a  very  public  accident.  poor  mayfair,  got  what  she  deserved.”  he  gently  pats  lucy  gray  on  the  shoulder,  a  silent  good  job  hanging  in  the  air  between  them.  “cheat  taupe  sounds  about  right.  what  do  you  think  of  pee-fair?  to  honor  and  commemorate  that  memorable  event?  they  need  new  matching  names.”  he  can’t  help  but  blush  when  she  says  the  name  looks  better  on  him,  shy  gaze  focusing  on  her  skilled  fingers  and  quickly,  as  if  to  distract  and  keep  her  from  noticing  the  color  of  his  face,  adds,  “thank  you  for  helping  me  tie  it  up.”

"i don't know, five foot one- two?" guessing close to one of those for an answer, since she hasn't measured herself in a long time she wouldn't accurately know. "the horses always tower me, it's no wonder i haven't exactly climbed up one. let's just say they intimidate me." she laughs a little. picking up a snake? that's not an issue to the songstress. but standing next to a mammal a hundred times her size, now that's a problem. "but i would love to be taught. so course i wouldn't mind." if they can find a way to be alone, she'd absolutely love to learn. but then she wonders about his brother, where is he? did something happen to him too? she didn't have the heart to ask and besides that... it was paining her already to think something has happened to him. "shamus the goat, she sounds like a boy but she's a girl. maude ivory wanted to name her so i wouldn't have the heart to tell her no. then there's the ducks.. clyde, hank and gilbert. then storm, spirit, theo, blaze and sundance the five horses." she answered, mind circling for the rest, "little pip, sue and annnie the chickens. then the rabbits... flora, henry spot, otto and clover." softly laughing by the end of everybody's names, it was a lot.

"that's what i'll do, then. if i ever need to. but i know i just can't... my animals and maude ivory is here, she'd be heartbroken. i couldn't do that to her." she'd miss her other cousins too, but maude ivory would be the hardest to break that news to from how attached she was to lucy gray. "you didn't upset me, i just–" she felt guilt pang through her, feeling bad for accusing him of trying to get information out of her inside her head just because she was growing defensive about it.

"that is what makes us different, we flock in color and with an open heart to anybody." she nods, anyone is welcome to join their covey. it's not about being blood born into it. "well now, she ain't no gem or prize but it's not in me to attack anyone's face they were born with. just unless it's my claws diggin' into their skin." lucy gray amusingly smiles. "even though i didn't do that either. i came up to her out in town, slipped a snake down her dress and left one in billy taupe's shoe box. both of 'em scared to death of a little ole garter snake... sure made for a fun way of revenge. mayfair lipp even had an accident on herself, right in front of everybody. but that's what she gets." casually, she smiled about the memory of it while in the middle of trying to guide the string into a knot– little difficult from this angle only being able to use one hand. most called her crazy for it, like she was some type of monster for scaring poor ole mayfair, but they didn't know the story and that's on them for judging before they knew it. "cheatgar. sure, that's what i should've been callin' him long time ago. cheatgar or cheat taupe. i'm sorry he even has to share a name with you, but it looks better on you."