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Stormy has already mounted Apollo and sits back easily, like a natural. Of course, it helps that she's known the Rapidash for many years and he's accustomed to her. That, and Kazimir's mount was considerably taller even than Apollo. Her Mudsdale was a huge beast, with hooves almost the size of her head. She had only quietly questioned the man's decision to choose him over Zebstrika or her Galarian Rapidash.[break][break]
So, of course, the woman giggles at his final attempt. One hand rests on the egg bundled between her thighs. It's strapped down so that it won't fall.[break][break]

"That was.. cute."[break][break]

She says nothing and instead attempts to hide her amused smirk and stifle her snort when he announces that it was 'pretty easy', as if he hadn't spent at least ten minutes just trying to swing his leg over the back of the steed. What would have been even funnier would be if he'd sat on Mudsdale backwards.[break][break]

He asks her a question and she glances over her shoulder, mane of hair slipping delicately over her bare shoulder. A warm smile graces her lips as she gazes at the young man, and then she winks.[break][break]

"I would never give you a Pokemon I didn't think you could handle, Kaz."

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"yeah i can handle this big guy. no problem." in response to stormy's answer kazimir puffed out his chest a little as he gave her a confident smile and whipped the reigns on the mudsdale to show him who was the boss. unfortunately it took it as the signal to start moving and the suddeness of it jerked kazimir forward making him let out a small yelp. "whoa whoa whoa take it easy buddy we got precious cargo." he loudly whispered to the large horse as it went down to a slow trot and kazimir gave its neck a nice pat to reward it for considering his baby's safety.
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"see! easy peasy! now come on ya slowpokes. don't wanna be left in our dust do ya?" he called out to stormy and her own steed as they slowly made their way down the path. he was probably a bit too excited for this little excursion in all honesty. as they made their way down the route he took in the various sights around him, and a new feeling washed over him. like he was experiencing walking down here with a fresh set of eyes as he could see a few more details he wouldn't have seen before. "so you do this kind of thing often? or was i just a special occasion hm?" he asked, the question aimed at her but his focus on nature.

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Stormy can't contain the snort of laughter anymore. Not when he continuously misinterprets her Mudsdale's actions as anything but patient and calm. In fact, the stallion continues to make sure every movement of his is slow and methodical, taking great care to look out for the mans 'precious cargo'.[break][break]

When the draft horse turns his head to look at Stormy, there's almost a bored or exasperated look in his eye, which furthers the woman's bout of laughter. Apollo's hips shift as he balances her weight across his back, making sure that, in her fit, she wouldn't fall.[break][break]

Kazimir urges Mudsdale ahead of her and she can feel her own mount's skin crawl at the mere thought of not being first. He taps his hooves impatiently before quieting down.[break][break]
"You make horseback riding look like a piece of cake, Kaz."[break][break]

She winks but is eventually urged into excitement by the man's namecalling. Slowpoke? Apollo, cover your ears![break][break]

Kazimir's excitement seems to fade to casual awe as he takes in the scenery, and Stormy can't help but blush and sit back in her seat. She's overjoyed to see him at peace and enjoying something she took great pride in.[break][break]

He asks her what she considers to be a very forward question and she laughs nervously, stroking the leather rein with her thumb as a way to distract herself.[break][break]

"I mean - you're always..." she clears her throat awkwardly, "this is one of my favourite things to do. To just take a ride along the trails and enjoy the fresh air and nice view."

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her stuttered words fail to reach his ears as it was probably a good thing. even if he starstruck by the beauty of the natural world around him his eyes kept moving back and glancing over to stormy every so often. kazimir himself wouldn't notice it, he was too buy having so much fun that he kept a big smile on his face.
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if it was possible then it would have grown much larger as she said this sort of activity was her favorite. there was something kazimir could relate to. "oh yeah? then you should try hiking." his legs began to sway in the air as if he himself was walking along the trail before them. "real good exercise if you go far enough and you can do it just about anywhere if ya set your mind to it. maybe you'll join me for one some other time yeah?" this time his whole attention was turned to stormy as he could just imagine him showing all of his favorite hiking spots. "it'll be a date!"
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that's when his feet kicked the side of the horse and he bucked. a lot of noises escaped kazimir's mouth as he tried to wrap his arms around the horse's neck to hold on. most of them sounded pretty scared shirtless as the large horse started to gallop forward. "where are the braaaaaaaaaaakes?!"

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Relief washes the heat from her face temporarily when she picks up on the fact that Kazimir hadn't paid her stuttering any mind. Instead, the woman relaxes back into the seat, earning a flick of the ear from Apollo.[break][break]

Instead, she finds herself drawn in by the wide smile on the man's face. It burns a welcoming pit in her stomach to see how genuinely happy he seems to be. It felt good to share her quiet passions.[break][break]

But then he suggests hiking and she looks away, considering the idea. She finds herself chuckling at the thought.[break][break]

"I'm not sure I'm cut out for hiking, but I'd like to give it a shot."[break][break]

Stormy smirks as she looks back at Kazimir. Her calm expression suddenly changes to surprise and embarassment at the mention of a date, followed immediately by some degree of horror as he's pulled away from her rapidly. It seemed he'd kicked a ticklish spot in Mudsdale's ribs, encouraging him to jump forward in surprise.[break][break]

The stallion charges forward with enthusiasm despite Kazimir's cries to stop or slow down. Stormy gasps in shock, urging Apollo forward.[break][break]

"Hold on! Mudsdale, stop!"

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the screams of poor kazimir could be heard throughout the trees as the man held on for dear life as the horse galloped wildly on through. however kaz was still determined not to let this big animal get the better of him even if his screams said otherwise. "c'moooooon. caaaaaalm, down! ya big lumbering dingus!"
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he's seen this done in movies; pulling back on the reigns as hard as he could to bring the horse to raise its legs into the air to get it to stop. it seemed to work as the sudden jolt was enough to stop the mudsdale in its tracks and rear up on its hind legs. however it was rearing up a bit too high, high enough that kazimir couldn't keep his butt firmly on the saddle and his whole body decided to lean back, and lean back pretty far for that matter.
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"uh oh." was all he could muster before he fell right off. his hands went up to the egg and held it high above his body as his back slammed first into the dirt and he could feel himself bounce at least once off of the ground. lucky for him his arms were pretty steady and held the precious egg safe and sound.
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"i'm ooooooookay. egg's okay too!" he whined out loudly as he laid there in shock at what just happened. also he was pretty sure he cracked something, or he landed on something at least because his back was stinging.

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Apollo's hooves pound the grass, kicking up chunks of dirt and foliage as they eat up the distance between her and Kazimir. Unfortunately, they come in too late, and Stormy's own mount rears as they approach. The Rapidash pivots and takes a step back so as to not collide with the other mount.[break][break]

Stormy gasps in horror as, as if in slow motion, Kazimir falls off the back of the Mudsdale's rump. His butt slides out of the saddle effortlessly, and she finds him laying down with the egg hoisted in the air.[break][break]

She's dismounted Apollo in a flash, running to her friend's side and pressing a hand to his bicep, the other one reaching for his egg to take it out of his grasp and set it to the side so she could more effectively look him over for injuries.[break][break]

"Are you hurt? Did you break anything?"[break][break]

Apollo settles down to graze alongside the Mudsdale, who very clearly seemed relieved to be rid of the horrible rider.[break][break]

"Maybe I should have given you the female - looks like you and him aren't quite jelling."

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even as the egg was removed from his hands his arms were still sort of stuck holding up an imaginary egg. at least the feeling of stormy's hands all over him was pretty relaxing that they didn't feel stiff and more like he just had to hold them still as if not to break them. god if his arms broke instead of something then that would just be peachy.
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"not broken...but definitely bruised." he slowly brought himself to sitting straight up, the pain shooting through his body was something but not something serious. however the more his spine bent forward the louder the little whimpering noises he made became. "see? all better!" he did try to put on a brave face for her with that smile of his although it did grow a bit smaller when she said she should have set him up with a different horse to right.
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"whaaaaaaa? nah i think i can tame that beast. y'know, once he learns how to listen to people!" the last few words were shouted out at the mudsdale eating some grass as kazimir shot a glare at it before turning back to stormy with a smile. "but we should do this again sometime, y'know after i uh...take the egg to a center to make sure its ok. and next time we should make it a race. i bet i could tame the big guy in one of those."

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Stormy's hands find purchase in his fingers, coaxing them out of their stiff rescue position from holding the egg. Her thumbs brush over the back of his knuckles before she sets his hands into his lap and pulls away. There's an awkward but concerned smile on her face when he sits up.[break][break]

In fact, when he begins to whimper, her hand rushes to rest against his spine. Perhaps the natural warmth of her hand might ease some of the pain.[break][break]

Kazimir's attention returns to the Mudsdale, who has since forgotten about the young man. Without the squirming weight on his back, life feels a lot less stressful.[break][break]

She sighs softly as she shakes her head in exasperation at Kazimir's yelling and promise to tame the beast.[break][break]

"Y'know... maybe he'd listen a bit better if he had a name. Maybe... you should name him?"[break][break]

With a shrug, she offers Kazimir another smile, but has since taken to sitting next to him.[break][break]

"Sure Kaz, we can definitely do this again sometime. But let's just sit for a moment and catch our breaths, alright?"[break][break]

Of course, she's more concerned for how injured his back might be, but she instead lays down in the grass next to the man, exhaling a deep breath.

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"you want me to name him?" kaz looked back between stormy and the mudsdale when she suggested such a thing. the horse looked back at him and then went back to grazing, not really seeming to have a care about it. "i mean..."
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he felt flattered that she would give him such a responsibility but also felt kind of...undeserving of it. and no it wasn't because he fell on his ass that was the pokemon's own fault. not his. no he felt a bit undeserving cause...well she seemed to really trust him and he couldn't even be bothered to include her in more of his own life. they were partners in costumed justice after all. they were friends.
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guess he could use this time to make sure that was a solid friendship they have then.
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so he joined her in the grass when she mentioned with an agreeing grunt, taking his time to slowly place himself lying down as his back still stung a little bit. once he was flat on his back however the pain was a bit more tolerable. it helped to focus on the clouds above. "hm...how about...buck? for his name? cause he bucked me off. that or rowdy."

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Stormy smirks at Kazimir's awkward but adorable reaction to her suggestion. The Mudsdale may not have appeared interested, but he had been. Of course, when Kazimir's attention disappears momentarily on the idea of a name, he does, of course, go back to grazing.[break][break]

"I'm just saying, Apollo and I didn't really have a bond until I named him."[break][break]

As her friend begins to lay back down, Stormy would sit back up slightly to make sure he didn't hurt himself more. The fall to his back had probably pulled several muscles and bruised bones.[break][break]

But when he's laying mostly comfortably, she lays back down next to him.[break][break]

The man comes up with the name Buck or Rowdy, cueing the Mudsdale's renewed interest. It's unclear to which name, specifically, he had taken an interest in, but the stallion had appeared regardless. He remains a few feet away, but the sudden closeness is indicative of his approval.[break][break]

"See? What'd I tell ya, if you name your noble steed, your steed'll be loyal."[break][break]

She giggles, bumping his shoulder with the back of her hand.

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kaz stretched his body just a bit, tension flowing from the bones inside of him even under all the pain. it was relieving in some shape or form and gave him a bit of clarity to think of a name. "rowdy...buck? rowdy buck. sounds cool when you put them together doesn't it?" he was not the most creative of names really, his own pokemon are proof of that.
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even so he thought it was a good fit. he always tended to learn towards names that fit different qualities about them after all. "it ain't fancy but-hey you hear something?" as he stretched a loud crack could be heard, only he believed it to come from him. did he break a bone in his body? no he would feel that. only when the cracking continued that he looked over to where his egg was resting and saw it wobbling.
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then a crack appeared on its shell.
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"uh....i think i'm having a baby. i'm...having a baby!" he shot straight up as he saw the egg wobble around. too bad for him that was the wrong thing to do for him as he suddenly froze as pain shot up through his whole body. "ah-ahahahaha-haaaaaa. hey-hey storms...did ya...did ya bring a carriage or...a stretcher for rowdy buck to pull? ...ow..." good thing he had enough breath to let out that cry for help before falling over in a spasm.

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Stormy giggles, shaking her head from side to side gently as he confirms the name he'd chosen. 'Rowdy Buck' approaches Kazimir at this point, curiosity and acceptance of his name encouraging him closer.[break][break]

"Yes, it does sound pretty cool."[break][break]

However that note of amusement and happiness is quickly squandered with panic as Kazimir stretches further, only for both of them to hear something cracking. Stormy sits up straight, concern turning her face pale as she looms over the man, unsure how to help.[break][break]

"Oh my god, are you okay?"[break][break]

But then her gaze follows his line of sight, back to the egg she'd left sitting in the grass not too far away. She's momentarily forgotten about it, and she's more surprised and concerned when Kazimir gets to his feet so abruptly in his delight.[break][break]

"Wait, Kaz!"[break][break]

She winces as he cries out in pain, gasping for air like a fish out of water as he turns back to her for help. She rushes to his side, a hand pressed to the back of his shirt to offer him support and comfort.[break][break]

"Stay still, dude. Jeez, you're gonna kill yourself."[break][break]

She whistles sharply, encouraging both horses to return. Another pokeball is released and her female Mudsdale appears. Stormy reaches into her bag of many things, pulling out what looks like a tarp or sleeping bag, and some rope. She manages to whip up a makeshift stretcher for him to lay on that she then ties to the Mudsdale's reins.[break][break]

"Alright, guys. Slow and steady, alright? Jostle him and I'll jostle you."[break][break]

He has since fallen over in a spasm and she kneels next to him, concern turning to determination as she slowly attempts to roll him onto the stretcher. Once on, she'd give the man's hand a tight squeeze before standing back up.[break][break]

"Alright, you nut. I'm taking you home, you definitely need to see a doctor or something for that back. No way it's my fault the Pokkenger disappears, you got me?"[break][break]

With a sigh, she'd scoop his egg up into her arms to remount Apollo and brush her hand over her own egg that had also begun to crack.

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