#arcebussso

Khaan let out a panicked neigh as you were pulled off of him. The Friesian dug his hooves into the dirt. He came to a hard stop. The steed almost fell forwards, but he managed to keep himself upright. Khaan spins on his back hooves trying to ride back to where you must have fallen. He lets out a snort as Anne’s horse comes crashing into him. The horse does not have a rider. Anne was pulled off her horse and she pulled you off with her.

Khaan noticed blood on Anne’s horse. Little dots of crimson covered the mane of Anne’s horse. The Friesian freaks out. He hopes you weren’t hurt. He tries to look for you, but Anne’s horse isn’t allowing him to move. The horse is freaking out in place. It bucked and threw its head back in the air. Khaan tried to use his body to move the other horse aside, but it didn’t budge. His patience was running thin. He tried again to move the horse. This time the horse kicked him during its freakout. Khaan lost his cool. He had no time for the freaked-out horse.

The Friesian let out an angry snort. He bit down on the other horse’s neck. Anne’s horse let out a shrill neigh. They looked to Khaan. Their ears pinned to the back of their head, and they tried to return the bite. While the two horses fought you struggled to get up. You tried to stand but your right leg sent a sharp pain through your whole body. It wasn’t broken you just landed on it wrong. You needed a few seconds to let your leg rest. Luckily for you, you landed in a huge bush. It covered you completely. The bush allowed you to rest safely.

You looked through little gaps in the leaves of the bush trying to see who pulled Anne off her horse. You did not see the culprit, but you did see the target. Anne was on the floor a few feet away from you and she was holding her arm. The girl was out in the open, she was not as lucky as you were. You could hear her cursing and hissing in pain. Her hissing and cursing was accompanied by the sounds of your horses fighting. Blood covered Anne’s sleeve at the forearm. At first you thought her arm was broken then you looked at it closely.

Bloody lines ran down her forearm to her elbow. Something had clawed her. The claw marks on her arm were huge. What clawed her? You heard a snort behind you. Fear pooled in your stomach. You had an idea of what could have clawed Anne. The snort sounded awfully close to the animal you thought had clawed her. You heard the snort again, and you went wide eyed. You did not want to look behind you. You stayed very still, maybe the animal would ignore you if you ignored it? You looked down at the ground. You tried to stay as still and as quiet possible.

You even slowed your breathing, so no movement could disturb the bush and give away your position. The sounds of your horses fighting gave you extra coverage. You hoped Anne would stay as still and as quiet as you. The girl was still busy with her arm. She was still cursing and hissing in pain loudly. Anne was your enemy right now but enemy or not you didn’t want her to get hurt again. You quietly tried to catch her attention. You pspsps’d at her like if she were a cat. Anne does not look at you. She doesn’t hear you. You do it again this time louder.

Anne looks to where you are, but she doesn’t do anything. She remains on the floor clutching her arm. You start to move out of the bush very slowly. You wanted to tell Anne to get away. To get on her horse and ride back to Valedale with Khaan. Pain shot through your right side as you slowly crawled your way out of the bush. You stop crawling for a second when you stop hearing the sounds of your horses fighting.

You start to move quicker. Did the animal get your horses too? You had to help them, you had to move quicker. Your vision became blurry as the pain in your leg started to get stronger. Before you can reach the edge of the bush something grabs the back of your shirt. Your heart drops all the way down to your stomach. You were definitely going to die. Your want to do a good deed ended up being your end.

You are quickly pulled out of the bush. You reach for it trying to hold onto a branch. The part of the bush you had tried to grab onto… Turned into green smoke? Suddenly the whole bush dissipated. It left you speechless. The bush shocked you enough to make you go completely still. It made the job of whatever was grabbing you easier. You remembered the danger you were in when you were sat down on something.

Being sat down made your leg hurt. The pain brought you back to reality. You looked down to where you had been seated. You were on a saddle. You looked up. You were back on Khaan. The Friesian whinnied, and you sobbed. You leaned forwards hugging the horse’s neck tightly. Quiet sobs came from you as you hugged Khaan. The horse had grabbed you, and he pulled you out of the bush. He whinnied again, and he gently nipped at your pant leg. He was trying to comfort you.

You kept holding him until you heard yelling coming your way. You let go of Khaan, and you quickly grabbed his reins getting ready to gallop again. Alex and Linda were coming. They were headed straight for you. You looked down at Khaan asking him to gallop. He doesn’t move. You start to freak out as you see the two Soul Rider’s get close to where you are. You ask Khaan to move again. The horse does nothing. You close your eyes covering your face with your arms trying your best to use your body to shield Khaan as Alex and Linda ride near where you were.

It seemed like they had planned to crash into you since they weren’t slowing down… Two seconds passed… Then four… then six… Ten long seconds passed. When no impact came you uncovered your face. Alex and Linda took a left turn, and they were riding down deeper into the forest. You were confused. Did they give up on chasing you? “Wha-“ you were about to talk to Khaan to ask him a rhetorical question, but you were interrupted “you’re terrible at keeping secrets you know that right?”

The question made you jump in the saddle. You looked to your left side where you heard the voice so quickly you felt like you had snapped your neck. A white Marwari paws at the ground and on his back a very fancily dressed rider sits. She wipes a hand on her pants. A barely seeable red stains the black suit pants. The snorts you heard weren’t from a bear they were from the Marwari. “We’re safe here I set up an illusion” the rider clicks her tongue her Marwari moves closer to Khaan’s side. “It won’t last forever so we have to be quick” she leans over to you putting a hand on your shoulder “you, okay?” You shake your head you want to keep it all in, but you fail. Jay’s small action of comfort makes everything fall apart. You burst into tears. The girl allows you to cry the illusion still has a few minutes before it fades.

Once you’re calm enough to talk and listen Jay explains to you how she found you. She talks while you rest your leg. She tells you that she was near the area looking for some of the plants you told her about. She happened to be in the right place at the right time. Sabine called her, told her you might need help, and that’s when the girl set out to look for you. Jay accidentally took longer than planned because the forest was a maze to her.

She hadn’t been in it as much as Sabine or Katja, so it took her a while to find you. Had she been more familiar with the forest you wouldn’t have gotten chased as long as you did. The girl was the one that clawed Anne, and pulled her off her horse. She didn’t mean to pull you off as well. The bush was made by her to cover you when you fell. That explained why it turned into smoke after you touched it. The current illusion you were in was made after she pulled you out of the bush. You would both be safe in the illusion for a while. It gave you enough time to rest your leg.

When you’re good enough to walk you and Jay begin to make your way out of the forest. Your horses walk calmly in the safety of Jay’s illusion. Khaan keeps his head low. His steps are shaky. It looks like every step he takes will lead to a fall. You walk by his right shoulder trying your best to support him as he walks. Arcebus walks by his left ready to be something for him to lean on.

The poor Friesian is tired. The whole walk out of the forest you thank him and praise him for all he did for you. By the time Jay’s illusion fades you both had already made it out of the forest and to Sabine and your Lipizzaner in Everwind. Thank you’s from you and Sabine are given to Jay. The girl gives you both a “you’re welcome” and a “you owe me one.” She doesn’t really mean the ‘you owe me one’ though. She just says it in hopes of lightening the mood.

Before Jay leaves her and Sabine talk privately. You stand with Khaan and your mare while you wait for them to finish talking. You can’t fully hear what they are saying but you do hear a whisper or two of an oil rig and a man named Sands. When their conversation ends Jay says she’ll meet you both back at the rig and that she’ll talk to Sands.

You had never heard of an oil rig before nor of a Mr. Sands. You want to ask Sabine about it, but you don’t want to seem nosy. You do not ask in hopes of her telling you. She doesn’t tell you about either thing, but she does drop some pretty heavy news on you. Heavy enough to make you start crying again.

You’re a traitor. The druids will now be after you and they won’t stop until you’re brought to justice.

Your chest rose and fell rapidly as you struggled to breathe. Your breathing was quick and panicked your lungs couldn’t hold onto air for long making you feel lightheaded. Your footsteps echoed as you ran down the big halls of the oil rig. Your fear made the halls seem longer and darker. You almost tripped on air, but you managed to keep yourself on your feet thanks to your brain quickly reacting. You brain was ready for any obstacle that came your way. Adrenaline kept you alert, so you could survive. Blood dripped from your cuts and onto the floors of the rig leaving a trail behind. Thanks to the Adrenaline you weren’t feeling any pain. While it was keeping you alive it was also hiding a big secret. As you ran you felt like a wounded deer being chased by a wolf. Thanks to the trail you were leaving behind and the sounds of your panic the wolf was able to keep finding you. “You’re a fool! We gave you everything!” A spike of ice rose in front of you headed straight for your head. You let out a scream as the spike cut your earlobe when you dodged out of the way. “You were respected! Cared for! Loved! And you threw it all away!” Katja’s voice was everywhere you didn’t know where she was coming from. Her voice echoed in the halls of the rig it was impossible to know where she was. You couldn’t see her, but you knew she could see you. Due to the accuracy of the spikes she was sending your way you assumed she was nearby. Your heart made it harder for you to try and listen to where she was coming from. It beat loudly and it kicked at your ribcage. You felt like your body was going to give out soon. It was giving you its all in hope for survival. “Do you really think the Soul Riders will forgive you?!” Katja laughed, and her laugh echoed throughout the hall. “As soon as you arrive Anne will kill you! If I don’t kill you she surely will!” the woman summoned another spike. The spike was headed for your stomach you dodged it letting out a sigh of relief as you managed to dodge it just in time. You could see a light at the end of the hall. The light was coming from the stables you were almost there! You closed your eyes shutting them tight then you quickly opened them. You ran faster using all the strength left in your body to push yourself to go further. You were able to make it to the light quickly pushing the stable door open. Your horse neighed as you ran into the stables. Mortifa, Khaan and Arcebus neighed along with your horse everyone was startled by your sudden entrance. You calmed them all as quick as possible, so Katja wouldn’t hear them and find you. The corrupted starbreeds watched you as you rushed to your horse. “Listen to me” you panted “we need to get out of here now!” You opened the door to your horse’s stall walking into it, quickly leading your soul steed out. There was no time for tack you would have to ride bareback. “Where are you?!” You could hear Katja yell from outside of the stable. There was little time left she would figure out where you where soon by the trail of blood you left behind. You looked down to your wounds going wide eyed as some of the adrenaline wore off, and you started to feel pain. Your surprise didn’t end there. The floor was covered in your blood you were losing a lot of it. You hadn’t realized just how much you had been bleeding. You needed to get out and find a way to heal yourself quickly. You led your horse to the other doors in the stable. The doors led to the outside of the oil rig you clumsily undid the lock pushing the doors open. Your horse’s ears perked up as they heard you groan. You pushed past the pain, so you could get on their back. Your mount neighed looking to you seeing all your bleeding wounds. You held onto their mane letting out a huff as you started to feel lightheaded. “Run” you told your horse “run as fast as you can” you leaned against their neck. “Please” you begged them, and they neighed, lightly rearing to make you sit up before taking off into a sprint. You sat on your horse holding on as they ran through the oil rig.

The rig looked like a maze to you as you were starting to pass out. Your vision was blurry, and everything was spinning. Your hands managed to stay on your horse’s mane, but the rest of your body was slipping. Your horse neighed as they felt you slowly slip off. They bucked, and you slid back to where you were originally seated. Your smart mount wasn’t going to let you die today or ever. “Get them!” You could hear Katja yelling, but she sounded so distant like if she were miles away from you. The woman sent the workers of the rig after you. The clones scrambled to catch your horse, or to try and catch any of your limbs to be able to slip you off the steed. The workers didn’t have any luck and their stupidity angered Katja. The woman let out an angry scream raising her hand to create a giant wall of ice. Your horse neighed loudly, and they sped up. They wanted to try to jump the wall, but it was rising too quickly. Once your horse realized jumping wasn’t an option they came to a hard stop. The stop made you slide forwards causing you to hit yourself on their neck. The pain and the surprise of the hit woke you up giving you enough consciousness to realize what was happening. You were trapped Katja trapped you this was the end. You were going to die. If Katja didn’t kill you the blood loss sure would. You looked at the wall and then behind you seeing the rig workers approach you. Behind the workers stood Katja glaring daggers into you. She couldn’t wait to kill you and you knew she wouldn’t make it quick. You shivered in fear closing your eyes. Your eyelids felt heavy you couldn’t keep them open for long. Your horse turned around facing their back to the wall they snorted at the workers. You heard them bray at the clones their ears going back they weren’t going down without a fight. You let out a sob “it’s over” you let go of their mane slumping forwards “she caught us.” You gave up, but your horse wasn’t going to quit until you were both safe. You felt them tense, and you opened your eyes to see why. You saw your horse looking over the edge of the railing. The water below the rig formed huge waves. They crashed against the legs of the rig. The waves were headed to land. They were quick and strong enough to carry. Your horse whinnied throwing their head back, and you could see the plan formulating in their head. You had no other choice but to sit up and hug their neck as they slowly started to back up to the other railing. Katja knew what was happening right away, but before she could yell out orders your horse sprinted forwards. You closed your eyes hugging your horse tighter as they jumped over the railing. Workers reached out for your horse or for you, but none of them caught you. Your horse neighed, and you screamed as you both began falling down to the water. The fall wasn’t bad you had hope you would survive, but if you didn’t then death by gravity or drowning was definitely much better than whatever Katja had planned for you. The witch leaned over the railing watching as you and your horse dove into the water. She straightened up no longer leaning against the railing when you disappeared into the waves. The woman didn’t walk away though she continued watching. Katja saw the current take you and your horse deep underwater. The waves quickly swept you both away from the rig. The witch laughed there was no way you would both survive. She would have liked to kill you herself but whatever it didn’t matter. All that mattered now was that you were dying anyways.

When you and your horse were in the water you opened your eyes. You looked around seeing that the water was dyed red by your blood. You held your breath not wanting to drown, and you tried not to panic. Your arms went limp you could feel and see yourself slipping away from your horse. You watched as your horse swam upwards. You tried to follow them, but you were too weak. You couldn’t swim you couldn’t even try your body was too tired. It gave you its all on the oil rig it had nothing to give to you now. You panicked as you realized you were going to drown. You had tried to stay calm, but you couldn’t hold fear back any longer. Your panic caused you to try to breathe which made the situation worse. You held your throat as water went into your mouth and nose. You felt cold as liquid started to fill your lungs. You kicked weakly trying to swim but you couldn’t. You blinked, and when you opened your eyes your fear grew. Your vision was getting worse. With each blink you took everything around you got darker and blurrier. The last thing you saw was your horse swimming above you. When you blinked for the last time your body went limp it was starting to shut down. You were unable to open your eyes again. Your eyelids were too heavy your body denied you any movement, and your lungs got colder and colder as water filled them. This was the end.

It was December 12th. Only a few more days till Christmas and Jay was counting down the days. She really wanted to get a gift for you. The woman had a crush on you, and she decided she should confess on Christmas. It was perfect she could just give you a gift with her confession in it. She was too nervous to tell you in person since she didn’t know how you would react, and she wanted to avoid conflict. She saw the whole Christmas confession thing in a movie once it was painfully cheesy but also incredibly romantic. Jay took Chiyo to the Winter Village and there she learned about a Secret Santa that was taking place. While Chiyo played with penguins and deer Jay listened as a Capran standing under a giant Christmas tree explained the Secret Santa. This secret Santa had a small twist people could choose who they wanted to give a gift to. Jay wasn’t interested in signing up until she saw your name in the list. Your name was among others, and it was unclaimed. Jay blushed as she changed her mind, and she signed up. she could use this as an excuse to give you a gift and if she chickened out of her confession, she could just leave the gift with your name on it and without her confession under the tree and you would never know it was her. she claimed your name and she went to look for Chiyo. She spent the days leading up to Christmas looking for the perfect gift for you. At first, she struggled with finding something for you. Jay couldn’t find anything that would match your style or your horse’s. when she asked Sabine for advice on a gift the woman said to just buy some fuzzy socks or candy and call it quits. Jay didn’t like that so she went to Katja who said the same thing and added that whoever Jay got for a secret Santa would most likely not care too much for the gift so just getting fuzzy socks would be good. The woman couldn’t find anything, and her teammates were no help so she decided she would buy some fuzzy socks and candy three days before Christmas and call it quits. Since Jay was saving the gift for later, she focused on her letter for you. In her letter she wrote her feelings for you, and she added sweet things about you into it things that were really cheesy just like the movie she watched. When her letter was done, and she was sure it was good she put it away in a green gift box she bought days ago for when she got you a gift. The letter sat in the box…Jay didn’t know it, but something was missing from the letter. Three days before Christmas she was on babysitting duty again, so she took Chiyo with her to the store. While she looked at fuzzy socks Chiyo looked around nearby aisles for a better gift. When she found something, she came running back to Jay “I found something!” she whisper yelled “it’s better than boring old socks come on!” Jay followed Chiyo to the aisle she found the gift in, and she went wide eyed. Chiyo was right the gift she found was better than some boring socks and it looked like it matched your style perfectly. The woman looked down at Chiyo “thank you Chiyo” she smiled at the girl and Chiyo smiled back. Jay bought the gift and some stuff Chiyo asked for before going back to the rig with the girl. When Christmas day hit Jay was extremely nervous. She was in the stables of the rig getting her horse. Sands told his generals to take Chiyo out to the winter village again for Christmas even though none of them celebrated it and to enjoy the small time of peace while it lasted. Jay let out a shaky sigh in her hands she held your gift was she ready to give it to you? She was unsure she thought she was ready but now she was having second thoughts. Sabine led Khaan by his reins out of the stable when she heard Jay sigh she looked to the other woman. Sabine stopped walking and Khaan neighed at Arcebus receiving a neigh back. “Nervous?” Sabine asked and Jay shook her head she was lying, and Sabine knew it the woman rolled her eyes “I’m sure the person you got for the trade will love the gift you got them.” Sabine felt she was being too nice, so she added “twenty five percent sure at least”

she nudged Jay with her hip laughing when Jay gave her an annoyed look “come on book brain Chiyo is getting impatient.” Jay scoffed and smiled at what Sabine called her and she opened Arcebus’ stall door grabbing the horse’s reins with one hand and her other held the gift. The woman led her Marwari out of his stall. Sabine and Jay walked out of the stables meeting up with a very impatient Chiyo and a tired Katja. the four dark riders and the three horses took a ship to Moorland’s beach and then they traveled to the winter village. Once there the horses went to eat some hay left out by the Caprans and Chiyo ran around enjoying the snow and the festivities. Sabine kept an eye on the girl and Katja went along with them leaving Jay all alone. She closed her eyes she sighed she was ready she could do this! She opened her eyes, and she walked going to search for you. She spent a while looking for you and while she looked for you, she rehearsed what she was going to say to you. Jay didn’t want to just go up to you and make things up as she went so, she practiced what she was going to say. This would be so much easier if you two weren’t enemies. When she found you sitting near a campfire she blushed, and she cleared her throat getting ready to speak. You looked upset really upset and Jay wondered if she should talk to you…what if you became aggressive with her? You had never done so before, but you seemed like you were in a bad mood, so she worried. Right as she was about to open her mouth to speak to you, she heard one of your friend’s call you to them. Jay watched as you stood up and you walked over to Alex who had called you over to her and she saw the rest of your friends standing with the woman. Then Jay saw Katja and Mortifa and then Sabine who was leading Khaan and Chiyo who led Arcebus. Alex and Katja yelled things Jay couldn’t hear at each other and right as a fight was about to start you stepped in between them. Katja backed up because she didn’t want to fight but Alex didn’t back up, she really, really wanted to fight Katja. that’s when Sabine stepped in and told Katja it was time to go. Sabine, Chiyo and Katja walked away with the horses. The three found Jay standing near the campfire where you were sitting before, and Sabine told Jay what had happened. Jay frowned when Sabine told her they had to leave since they weren’t welcome which wasn’t surprising but still it hurt that Jay wasn’t going to be able to give you the gift. The woman placed it down where you were sitting, and she walked away with her teammates leaving the gift there for you to hopefully find.

Alex groaned “can you believe it? Dark riders showing up here?!” she shook her head “I bet they were coming to ruin Christmas.” The angry woman kicked up a bunch of snow “assholes!” Linda backed up when Alex kicked the snow managing to save herself from it being kicked onto her “I’m glad we caught them before they could do anything.” Lisa backed up as well sighing relieved as she managed to dodge the snow “we should keep an eye out just in case they decide to come back.” Anne nodded she stood next to Alex “I agree with Lisa we can still celebrate of course but as we do we have to pay more attention to our surroundings.” You walked back to your seat as your friends talked and you sighed sadly. Today had been awful you slipped on ice and fell on your bum, your horse rolled in muddy snow and to top it all off everyone who did the secret Santa got a gift except you. When you made it back to your seat you saw a dark green giftbox and you felt like crying. You closed your eyes and breathed in trying not to cry. You picked the giftbox up looking for a name tag. You turned it to the left then to the right and then you saw the tag hidden in the ribbon of the gift box. You took it out careful not to undo the ribbon and you gasped when you realized the tag had your name on it! You flipped the tag looking for the name of whoever left this here for you to find. There was no name, so you undid the ribbon opening the giftbox hoping to find a clue of whoever gave you this gift. When you opened it, you gasped again the gift in the box was something you had wanted for a long time! Who got you this? You took the gift out of the box, and you laughed you were so happy. Your horse who had been eating hay by the campfire neighed and walked over to you wanting to see what you had. They lowered their head sniffing the box your horse found something in it and they grabbed it. Your horse snorted getting your attention and they moved their head up and down showing you what they had in their mouth. You put your gift back in the box and you gently took what your horse had in their mouth. It was a piece of folded paper. You opened the paper and you saw your name and then you sat down to read. The letter had beautiful cursive writing and your eyes got glossy you felt your face get hot as you read the letter. The paper contained the most beautiful love letter you had ever seen and as you read it you felt your heartbeat get faster. Whoever wrote this letter really liked you and your cheeks and ears turned redder as you thought about someone having a crush on you. you couldn’t wait to get to the end of the letter and find out who wrote this for you. when you got to the end you frowned, and you flipped the paper and then you grabbed the giftbox digging through it. Your day had gotten better and just as fast as it had gotten better it got worse. You put the note down in the giftbox and you sobbed you covered your face as you cried, and your horse pressed their nose against your shoulder to try and comfort you. Your friends heard you crying, and they walked over to you going to comfort you. they all asked you what was wrong, and you told them about the gift and the letter crying harder as you told them that…

The letter wasn’t signed. Jay forgot to sign the letter.

You let out a frustrated groan and you pushed a very badly wrapped giftbox away from you. You were sitting on the floor of your stable trying your hardest to wrap some gifts, but you couldn’t do it. Wrapping gifts was hard no matter what method you used it was still difficult to wrap a gift. the tutorials on JorTube made it look so easy but in practice it wasn’t. Your horse who’s stall you sat in front of neighed and looked at the gift. They sniffed it before sliding it back to you if your soul steed could talk like the others they would probably be saying ‘try again’ to you as they slid the box back to you. You sighed and pat your horse you felt like crying you were really frustrated. Your horse nuzzled your cheek trying to make you feel better you smiled sadly, and you continued to pet them. You realized you could take a small break from wrapping you didn’t have to finish now. You would have stood up and go take a small break from wrapping but you were stopped by the front door of your stable opening. You and your horse looked to the door in perfect accidental synchronization. You watched as a white Marwari walked into your stable stopping in front of the door to shake off a bunch of snow. The Marwari looked around seeing you and then your horse it walked over to you stepping over the snow it shook off. You held your hand out and the steed sniffed it before pressing its nose onto the palm of your hand letting out a huff. You pat the horse, and you looked behind them “did you come alone Arcebus?” the Marwari neighed looking behind themselves and you saw their owner walk in. their owner took off their jacket they shook it to get snow off of it adding onto the little pile Arcebus had started. You laughed and looked at the pile “I’m in here trying to hide from the cold weather and the snow” you stood up going to welcome Arcebus’ owner. “But you brought it right into my stable” you looked down at the snow “thanks Jay.” You looked up at the woman and she smiled at you “you’re welcome” she opened her arms, and you walked forward hugging her. You sighed happy to see your girlfriend she made all your stress melt away. Jay rubbed your back kissing your cheek and she looked to Arcebus seeing him and your horse sniff the badly wrapped gift on the ground. She pat your side and you looked to her then to where she was looking “don’t say anything.” You knew your girlfriend you knew she probably had a few words in mind for the awful job you did. Jay let out a small laugh “I won’t” she broke the hug, and you took her jacket from her putting it on. Her jackets were fashionable and comfy…you were definitely stealing this one for a bit. Jay walked over to the gift and just like her horse she too stepped over the snow not wanting to make a mess in the stable. The woman picked the gift up and she looked to you “do you want help?” she wanted to wrap it correctly so badly, but she didn’t want to be rude, and do it unless you wanted her to. You frowned and nodded “I’ve struggled with it the whole day” you walked over to her your smile returning when Arcebus neighed at you and sniffed your pockets looking for treats. Jay sat down on the floor “here sit with me I’ll show you how to do it” before you sat down with her you asked your girlfriend if it was alright to give Arcebus a treat. When she said yes you grabbed a peppermint treat from your pocket and you opened it giving it to Arcebus. You sat down next to Jay, and she began to show and tell you how to wrap the gift. you couldn’t really hear what she was saying because of the crunch from Arcebus eating his treat but you could see what she was doing, and she slowly guided you through it, so you were able to pick something up. You spent the rest of the afternoon wrapping gifts with her and putting nametags on them while talking about random things. Arcebus laid down in an open stall watching the both of you and your horse ate hay as you talked and wrapped gifts. You finished the last gift, and you stretched groaning as your bones popped.

Jay gathered the leftover wrapping paper, and she stood up going to your storage room to put it away. You stood up as well continuing to stretch your horse neighed and bobbed their head up and down at you. You smiled and pat their neck earning a soft blow of air from them. Pats were nice but what they were asking you for was a treat like the one you gave Arcebus. Your horse sniffed your pockets, and you grabbed a treat from your right pocket. You opened it and you held it in your palm and then you held your palm out to your horse “here buddy” you said to them, and they neighed taking the treat from your hand. To thank you they lifted their lip up giving you a nice smile you laughed and thanked them for the smile. you let out a huff and you almost fell as something pushed you forward. You caught yourself thanks to the door of your horse’s stall and you looked behind you seeing Arcebus who was asking for another treat. You pat the horse “wait” you told him and then you called out Jay’s name when she asked what you wanted you asked her if it was alright to “give Arcebus one more treat.” When she said yes you looked in your pocket finding one last treat. Your horse looked at you neighing and then Arcebus neighed back. It was like they were talking about who got the last treat. You laughed and you split it “you guys can share the last one” you gave one piece to Arcebus and another to your horse “I’ll go and buy more from Mrs. Holdsworth tomorrow.” You watched as both horses happily ate their treat as you waited for Jay. When the woman came back from the storage room you walked over to a gift, and you picked it up. it was the biggest gift in the pile she raised an eyebrow at you in confusion when you walked back over to her holding it out to her. “Christmas is tomorrow” Jay told you still confused, and you laughed nodding “yes I know” you gently shook the box “wouldn’t you like to know what’s in it now though?” Jay laughed and she shook her head “so you made me wrap it just to open it now?” You shook your head as well “I was going to give it to you tomorrow but we both might be busy so…no better time than the present.” Jay sighed and took the gift from you she felt like crying this was such a sweet gesture you saw her eyes get glossy and you frowned “is something wrong?” she shook her head “no it’s just-“ she paused clearing her throat “this is really sweet that’s all” she smiled at you, and you smiled back at her. The woman began to open the gift and Arcebus watched her he let out a snort excited to see what was inside. When Jay opened it, she laughed softly “a tie?” she took it out of the box “such a small thing needs this big of a box?” she loved the tie she couldn’t wait to wear it but why was it in such a big box? You leaned against your horse’s stall door, and you spoke “keep looking!” Jay looked back inside the box, but she didn’t see anything in it “there’s nothing else in here?” you panicked for a second thinking ‘did I forget the other thing?’ but your panic was short lived as you saw Arcebus dig into the giftbox tearing off a black piece of carboard revealing the secret under it. it looked like a book Jay thanked Arcebus for helping her and she grabbed the book it was heavy she needed two hands for it. the woman looked to Arcebus, and she put the tie inside the box and then she put the box on his back. The Marwari huffed at her, and she pat his shoulder “it’s just for a minute” she turned her attention back to the book and you were excited for her to see what was inside. Jay opened the book, and she went wide eyed as she saw a bunch of pictures of your first date on the first page, she flipped through the pages seeing many more pictures of all the dates you went on and of your horses. She looked back at you her eyes glossy again “a memory book?”

you nodded “I worked on it all year! Took me a while to find all the pictures and add the recent ones but it was fun!” you looked down at the page she left off on seeing a picture of your horse and Arcebus sharing a fruit cup on Fort Pinta’s beach. You sighed you missed summer it was fun, and it was warm, and you and Jay had more free time. Things were still fun, but they were now cold and busy. When you looked back at Jay, she was crying you frowned “what’s wrong? Do you not lik-“ you were cut short by her hugging you. She kissed your cheek and then she kissed you which surprised you, but the kiss was welcome “I’m guessing it’s good?” You laughed and she nodded trying to wipe her tears away. “it’s wonderful” she held you tight still crying from the sweet gift and you wiped away her tears kissing the corner of her lips. You told her you loved her, and she told you she loved you more to which you replied with “enough to let me keep this jacket?” you were still wearing her jacket you loved it. She laughed and shook her head wiping away any leftover tears “no not enough to let you keep my jacket.” You huffed and kissed her cheek “well it was worth a try.” You rest your chin on her shoulder and she kissed your temple you let out a happy sigh “hey Jay.” She rubbed your back one hand still holding the book “what?” you kissed her shoulder “Merry Christmas” you hummed and then you said, “well actually it’s still the 24th so Merry Christmas eve.” Arcebus neighed from behind Jay, and he broke the hug by getting in between you two he wanted to be loved on too. You laughed as you heard Jay tell Arcebus to go away and you hugged the silly horse wishing him a merry Christmas eve as well.

I think I'm falling in love This time I think it's for real

Jay hates you really hates you because you make her heart beat too fast you make her nervous you make her palms sweat and every time you’re around she forgets what she’s out to do. Today she and Arcebus were riding in Mistfall sent out by Mr. Sands to figure out a new plan to ruin Dundull and take over it again. Everything was going great until Arcebus spotted you and warned his rider.

How can I tell you? How can I tell you?

She was supposed to be polluting the river in Mistfall when she saw you with a weird guy in a cloak and a very anxious looking girl. Jay rode Arcebus over to a small cliff watching you from above curious to what you were doing, and she wondered how she could ruin this for you. She hated you and needed to make your job as painful as possible for the way you made her heart beat.

I notice that you're there, and I'm always in your hair And you're always under my microscope

Jay watches you from above on a hill you’re helping the weird guy in the black cloak and the anxious girl. Who she learned are the spymaster and Kora you’re helping train animals to be spies and Jay watches you thinking of how stupid it is to make animals spies. She was too busy watching you to notice a stupid squirrel watching her Arcebus neighed and stomped his hoof down near the squirrel scaring it. Jay looked down at where Arcebus had stomped she smirked and said hello to the squirrel who quickly ran away knowing that hello wasn’t friendly. The squirrel ran as fast as he could trying to get away but was stopped by Arcebus running in front of him the horse snorted “where are you going?”. The Marwari ducked his head low looking more like a carnivore than an herbivore “don’t have time to chat?” the horse continued walking forward and the little squirrel backed up more until his tail hit something. He looked up seeing Jay and he was suddenly snatched up by the rider “why don’t you stay? Help me play a little game yeah?”. Jay put the squirrel in a bag and got on Arcebus riding him all the way to a bridge. There she waited and while she waited, she caught another animal trying to play hero a little seagull flew around her pecking her messing up her hair and her suit it was trying to save the squirrel in the bag. Arcebus reared and caught it midair handing it to his rider she held the seagull like if it were a dirty piece of trash. Now she had two animals she knew the chances of you coming to find them was now greater she pat Arcebus thanking him for helping her catch the animals “now we wait…”. She knew you were going to notice that the stupid animals were gone, and she knew you were going to come looking for them.

Waste of bread, I need your attention

And she was going to make you play her game.

Falling in love now I think I'm falling in love

It didn’t take long for you to come to her trying to find the animals. She heard you far from her calling out for Lucien and Beeper which she knew were the animals which was which? That she didn’t know, and she didn’t care you found her because the animals in the bag squeaked and cawed loudly in response to their names. She was on one end of the bridge, and you were on the other as soon as she saw you, she felt nervous she had to collect herself before she grabbed the bag showing it to you “looking for something? Come and get it!”. Arcebus neighed before running off and Jay could hear hooves against wood as you rode on the bridge to follow her. Arcebus huffed when he saw a smoke bomb dropped ahead the Marwari managed to dodge it and he let out an angry neigh not happy as more smoke bombs were dropped ahead. Jay used these to her advantage she asked her horse to kick one at you and he ran as fast as he could managing to get ahead of one the Marwari bucked hitting a smoke bomb. Your horse swerved hard trying to avoid the smoke bomb and you held on terrified of falling off which thank Aideen didn’t happen your horse snorted and kept running after Arcebus and Jay. When both of you ran on a new trail the smoke bombs ended your horse finally managed to catch up to the Marwari, they ran side by side with Arcebus you looked to Jay, and she looked to you tensing when she made eye contact with you.

Fell in love now

This time I think it's for real

Jay felt her palms sweat, her ears get hot, and she got nervous as you both made eye contact. You didn’t look away because you saw this as some sort of challenge. In the short time you both made eye contact she realized how pretty your eyes wer- what? Jay was the first to look away and she swallowed nervous as she realized something…She knew why you made her heart beat fast and why you made her nervous…

I think I'm in love now I think I'm falling in love I think I'm in love now, ow

Jay didn’t hate you…she had a crush on you. Gross! This couldn’t be true?! She shook her head, and she looked back to you seeing that you had an empty bag in your hands while she was busy thinking you were busy saving Lucien and Beeper. Jay looked backwards seeing the squirrel running off and the seagull flying behind him. When she looked forward, she saw your horse and Arcebus trying to bite each other you were trying to stop your horse telling them the rescue was over, but they didn’t listen they continued trying to fight with Arcebus. Jay looked up at you blushing when the thought of having a crush on you came back to her. She looked behind you seeing the river her brows furrowed and her nose scrunched a bit she was going to make you pay for her stupid crush on you.

How can I tell you? How can I tell you? How can I tell you? How can I tell you?

You looked back at her seeing her anger and was super surprised when she said “You’re gross!” you didn’t get a chance to ask why as you were shoved off your horse. You fell into the river swimming upwards shaking at the feel of the cold water when you surfaced you coughed you accidentally swallowed some water. You wiped water off your face and looked up at Jay who was still on horseback and your horse was running down to you Arcebus neighed angrily at you feeling his rider’s emotion and Jay glared down at you. You watched as she rode away confused as to why she called you gross and then shoved you in a river. Your horse hopped into the river helping you up and you both got out of the water deciding that enough work was done for today and you both deserved to take a break for the rest of the day.

I think I'm falling in love

Fell in love now

Jay made it back to the oil rig and she put Arcebus away in his stable before going to her room. She shoved her way past Sabine and Katja who were fighting but stopped and scoffed asking what the hell was her problem after Jay shoved them. Jay didn’t listen to them she just walked into her room slamming the door hearing Katja complain. Jay walked over to her bed laying down she groaned burying her face into her pillow. She thought about you she blushed, and she shook her head was she really crushing on you?

This time I think it's for real I think I'm in love now

Jay sat up her face red and warm as she kept thinking about you…” fuck” she covered her face with her hands annoyed and she thought…

‘I think I'm falling in love’

TYSM FOR READING :D