#I LOVE HOW HE SOUNDS ALL PROPER AT TIMES AND THEN HE DROPS *CORNBREAD* KJSKDFNS THAT GOAT AINT NO SWEETIE PIE him on the inside

[lucygraysboy]

“must  be  one  of  your  many  talents,  lucy  gray,”  the  blue-eyed  cowboy  laughs  softly,  still  very  much  unsure  how  he’ll  ever  manage  to  pay  her  back  for  everything  she’s  done  for  him.  maybe  she’ll  allow  him  to  help  around  the  farm  and  animals.  he  could  cook  or  clean  the  house.  he  doesn’t  have  much  experience  working  in  the  field,  but  he’s  not  afraid  of  hard  labor,  and  so  he’d  be  willing  to  do  that  as  well.  either  way,  he’ll  find  a  way  to  make  himself  useful  somehow.  “when  i  tell  my  friend,  jesse,  about  this,  he  won’t  believe  me.”  but  billy  won’t  blame  him,  not  when  he  himself  keeps  discreetly  pinching  his  arm  to  make  sure  he’s  not  imagining  all  this.  “oh,  yeah,  good  thing  i’d  lost  a  few  pounds  along  the  way,”  he  chuckles,  gently  patting  his  flat  stomach.  he’s  tall  and  muscular  from  all  the  hard  work,  but  he’s  not  a  burly  man  and  for  once  that’s  worked  in  his  favor.  “my  ma  sometimes  called  me  a  beanpole  when  i  was  younger,  said  i  reminded  her  of  one.  guess  not  much’s  changed.  i’m  still  a  beanpole.”  the  memory  puts  a  smile  on  his  lips  now,  but  back  then,  it  kind  of  annoyed  him.  

“yeah,  she’s  not  as  big  as  a  horse,  but  i  bet  she  can  bite  you  in  the  shin  just  fine,”  he  playfully  counters,  not  buying  the  whole  sweet  as  a  pie  thing.  “well,  maybe  she  just  didn’t  want  to  share  her  hay  with  me.  i’ll  charm  my  way  into  her  heart.”  he’ll  try,  just  because  this  goat  clearly  means  a  lot  to  lucy  gray.  “i  don’t  really  blame  her  for  tryin’  to  look  menacing.  i  would  probably  do  the  same  if  my  ma  dragged  a  dying  man  into  my  bedroom.”  it’s  only  a  goat,  he  tells  himself,  thinking  what  he  needs  to  do  next  is  give  her  a  few  treats  and  she’ll  love  him  forever.  “lucy  gray,  if  you’re  the  one  tending  to  them,  you  have  nothin’  to  worry  about.  they  surely  love  you  already,”  he  muses  with  a  smile,  his  eyes  twinkling  with  sheer  wonderment  as  he  takes  her  in.  “we’ll  find  one  that’s  big  and  strong,  but  also  gentle,  and  if  we  don’t  kick  him  in  the  flanks,  we’ll  be  just  fine.  we’ll  ride  double  at  first  and  i  won’t  let  you  get  thrown,  alright?”  he’ll  let  her  sit  in  the  front  and  hopefully  having  his  arms  on  either  side  of  her  will  make  her  feel  more  secure.  “they  all  have  beautiful  names.  thank  you  for  reminding  me  about  theo  and  blaze.  i’ll  remember  now,”  he  assures,  determined  to  do  just  that  even  if  there’s  so  many  of  them.  “which  one  would  you  say  is  the  calmest?”  after  all,  she’s  the  expert  on  these  horses,  even  if  she  doesn’t  realize  it.  she  feeds  them,  takes  care  of  them,  leads  them  into  pastures.  she  probably  knows  their  personalities  like  the  back  of  her  hand,  he  assumes.

billy  listens  intently  to  everything  lucy  gray  says,  loving  how  patient  she  is  while  explaining  all  this  to  him.  he’s  finally  beginning  to  understand  what  the  covey  is,  what  they  stand  for,  what  they  do.  “sounds  like  it’s  a  wonderful  community  you’ve  got  there,  so  helpful  and  welcoming.”  he’d  love  to  hear  this  little  band  of  hers  one  day,  but  isn’t  bold  enough  to  suggest  she  takes  him  with  her  next  time.  “what  day  of  the  week  do  we  have  now?”  he  inquires  sheepishly,  embarrassed  to  admit  he’s  lost  track  of  time  out  there  in  the  woods.  “never  heard  of  gnomes?  they’re  small,  ugly  creatures,  kind  of  like  leprechauns  but  evil  in  a  way  that’s  truly  evil,  not  just  fun  and  mischievous,”  he  explains,  smiling  just  because  he’s  happy  to  have  someone  to  talk  to  again.  someone  to  share  these  folklore  legends  with.  “uglier  than  sin  on  a  sunday?”  he  repeats  with  a  laugh,  dark  brows  lifting  in  surprise  because  he’s  hearing  this  phrase  for  the  very  first  time.  he  loves  learning  these  things,  making  sure  to  memorize  each  one.  “is  sin  on  monday  less  ugly?”  but  the  more  he  dwells  on  it,  the  more  it  makes  sense.  “my  pa’s  friends  used  this  word  dryshite  to  describe  anyone  they  didn’t  get  along  with  very  well.  let’s  just  say  she’s  a  dryshite  gnome  who’s  uglier  than  sin  on  a  sunday.”  there’s  something  about  this  girl  that  makes  billy  want  to  smile  every  time  he  looks  at  her.  he  doesn’t  remember  the  last  time  he  joked  around  like  this  with  another  person.  “you’re  a  much  better  person  than  me,  lucy  gray.”  she  reminds  him  of  his  mother  in  moments  like  this,  when  she  reminds  him  to  be  kind  to  all  people.

“that’s  a  fair  rule  to  live  by.  i  think  you  should  always  try  to  resolve  conflicts  with  words  first,  but  snakes  work  more  effectively.  how  do  you  even  pick  them  up?  with  bare  hands?”  and  she’s  afraid  of  horses,  but  not  afraid  of  snakes.  this  girl’s  a  mystery…  “that  must  have  been  a  sight  to  behold.  i  hope  you  stuck  around  to  watch  or  at  least  listen.  and  what?  he  didn’t  have  no  accident?  well,  that’s  kind  of  disappointing,  isn’t  it?  please,  don’t  take  it  as  me  encouraging  you  to  repeat  that  harmless  prank,  but…  you  know,  just  sayin’,  wet  pants  would  only  serve  to  humble  him.  sounds  like  a  good  life  lesson.”  her  laugh’s  such  a  beautiful,  beautiful  sound  that  he  would  say  just  about  anything  to  amuse  her.  “really?  how  come?  oh,  i  should  probably  ask  who  her  parents  are,  right?  that  would  explain  the  reaction  of  those  people  who  said  you  were  in  the  wrong.”  if  mayfair’s  father  is  a  powerful  man,  that  would  explain  everything.  billy’s  seen  his  fair  share  of  corruption,  experienced  it  even,  and  so  this  wouldn’t  be  shocking  to  him.  “oh,  god,”  he  can’t  refrain  from  snorting,  hearing  lucy  gray  point  out  the  obvious  —  mayfair  lipp  sounds  terrible  enough,  no  need  to  come  up  with  silly  names.  “alright,  here  we  go.  all  done.  it  turned  out  pretty  nicely,  what’d  you  think?”  he  cuts  the  ends  with  the  scissors,  carefully  not  to  nip  her  skin,  and  then  brings  his  own  wrist  close  so  they’ll  be  able  to  marvel  at  the  bracelets  together.

"my magical brute force that comes out when i'm determined, i guess." but she hopes she won't be need taken care of, there's too much to get done and do around the house to just be resting on the job with a sore back and arms. then again, that's probably why she does have strength. from all the labor she puts in around this house day in, day out. "plus, you're long but you ain't all that heavy." she plays it off like he's feather light or something. "well that goat only comes up to my knees, darlin'. the horses are a lot bigger and mightier lookin' to me. and she ain't no mean goat, she's a sweetheart. sweet as pie. –well, to her mama and little cousin she is."

in case shamus was being rude to him while she had been gone. "she's just used to girls." she's smart and probably just knows he's a boy. "i love the horses, i admire what they stand for. freedom and strength. i do know they're very smart, too. but i can't help it... i guess i know they're smart and they might sense me bein' scared and throw me off or somethin'. but if you know what you're doin' then i won't mind to attempt to conquer this fear." which just further proved what he was saying was true, about being courageous. "without meanin' to, i guess that part just came naturally so." she softly laughed, meaning the part about naming them so traditionally southern sounding. "mhm, all that's correct." amusement reached her deep honey eyes at his extra nicknames for them... gang of chickens, three musketeers. "and don't forget theo and blaze." the last two horses. lucy gray heard him apologize again and she only felt more guilt for getting an attitude with him, softly smiling to let him know it was okay. maybe he was just curious, even if her mind was conflicted.

"on the weekends we like to sing in our little band we got. and then through out the week, sometimes barb azure and maude ivory come over and help me with the garden and the animals." brunette answers, very grateful for her two cousins too since their kindness helps out tremendously. "a gnome you say?" brows lifted, she hadn't heard much about any gnomes. she knew what they were but never heard any tales people being called one, which made another soft laugh emit from her. "well, over on yonder they'd call her personality uglier than sin on a sunday." but a gnome could work too. "no, now we wouldn't." she agreed, giving him a pointed look that he's right for not going further and agreeing with her that they wouldn't be cruel like that. "makin' comments about her won't make us any better. if anything, just lower." lucy gray lectured, pointing her finger as he nudged her.

"i do, they just come out at last second. i don't wanna use them if i don't have to." her first option is always snakes, but if there's no snakes around then claws are the next best thing. "yes, a real snake." she confirmed. "and he was, he was cursin' and yellin' all over the place." own laughter of hers started forming that she stifled, resorting to grinning until her cheeks hurt at his own muffled laughter her story caused. "right?" she deserved it. "but then, people had the thought to think i was the one in the wrong. ..why peefair? her real name is already horrible soundin' enough, it does it plenty justice alone just by bein' mayfair lipp." lucy gray sassed, smiling a little deviously that time as her fingers weaved the string in between them and formed a nice knot. "welcome, now just snip the ends with the scissors."