a hawss ride lesson | regina

[Oswin Oswald]

Really, it was only Oswin's nature to want to learn things. It was what had drawn her to computer and technology in the first place, watching her parents work with the things they'd bought home from their various jobs. Exploring and learning had come naturally to her as a child, and to some extend persisted into young adulthood. So, when Regina had mentioned horseback riding in passing, Oswin had managed to wheedle the information out of her that she'd been quite an equestrian when she was younger. Which made sense, she'd seen the younger version of Regina when she and the Doctor had gone back in time to the Enchanted Forest. She'd been riding then, so why wouldn't the skill persist? And, of course, with that knowledge came the request for a lesson for herself.

Oswin had never really been particularly interested in riding. The only horses she'd ever seen where few and far between, having grown up in the city. Still, it wasn't as though there was any reason for her not to be interested. Could come in handy too, if she were ever in a situation that required horseback riding. The closest she'd come before was clinging to the Doctor's back that one time in medieval Scotland. They'd bought Arthur for that, the horse that...really had dubious origins for Oswin. She hadn't even discovered the stable in the TARDIS for a few weeks, and when she had, she hadn't been surprised. There was so much else aboard the time-travel machine, why not a horse and stable too? The Doctor had given her a brief synopsis, but hadn't seemed willing to linger on the subject too much. He'd danced around it, really and Oswin had to wonder why.

Well. Either way, Oswin had borrowed Arthur for the day and was currently letting him follow behind her as she made her way to Storybrooke's stables. The Doctor had been rather adamant about Arthur not needing a lead, and Oswin had to admit, the horse followed her easily enough. Had the Doctor trained him or something? Probably, knowing him. And, he spoke horse, so he probably could have just told Arthur to follow Oswin. Though, how an alien even spoke the language of animals was a bit of a mystery. But, she wasn't really in a position to question much, really. She was the one who traveled around in a time traveling phone box with the last of the Time Lords, seeing the universe. Who was she to say talking to horses was strange?

The stable was empty, save for the other horses, when Oswin entered, but it was only a matter of time before Regina showed up. Arthur stayed behind outside, sticking his head in through the door to watch Oswin and the other horses inside. Reaching up to stroke his head, she allowed herself a little smile. She'd never really had much of an opinion about animals, but Oswin would be lying if she said she hadn't grown fond of Arthur. She'd never had a pet before, and he was pretty close to one, even though technically, he belonged to the Doctor. But, she lived on the TARDIS just as much as he did these days, meaning she had just as much right to the horse as he did.

[Regina Mills]

Between the curse breaking and Cora arriving in Storybrooke and...everything else that had been going on recently, Regina hadn't really gotten to spend much time at the stables lately. It was a pity, too. The stables themselves weren't really one of her favorite places - they brought up too many still-painful memories, of stolen kisses and hearts being ripped out and lifeless bodies in the hay. Typically, though, she was able to ignore that pain - it was a fair trade-off for what came next, after all.

Riding, she was certain, would never really lose its sense of wonder - back in the Enchanted Forest, before she'd been queen (and even afterwards, really) it had been her one source of escape. Just for a little while, she'd feel like she was free of all expectations, all responsibilities - and especially, free of her mother's cruelty. It still brought about that same sensation of freedom today - like she could go on running forever, and that nothing or no one would ever be able to come close to catching her. Once, not too long after they'd first met, Daniel had told her that if you could overcome enough fear to just hang on tight and run a horse as fast as it could go, it was the closest sensation to flying that a person could ever experience without sprouting wings. She had to admit, there were few feelings that compared to that sort of sheer exhilaration.

But she'd lose track of time if she wasn't careful - she'd arrived at the stables earlier that morning to make sure everything was in order, and hadn't been able to resist taking one of the horses out - she had to make sure she wasn't rusty, after all. Joey, the five-year old black arabian she'd picked who was hardly more than a colt, had yet to grow out of his rather mischievous, playful disposition. Normally, Regina would have gone with a horse that was better trained and significantly more calm, but in her past visits to the stables she and Joey had formed an odd sort of bond - she'd started training him herself, but she knew all too well that even more important than any training was the relationship you had with your horse. Bonds with horses came fairly easy to Regina, but Joey was particularly special, and that was ultimately why she had picked him...despite his attitude. Something about his spirit reminded her a little of Rocinante, and she'd developed an almost immediate fondness for him. The thing about Joey was that once he started running, he didn't particularly want to stop, but by pulling back on the reins and murmuring a few words, she managed to slow his pace down to a brisk trot and then, eventually, a walk as they returned to the stables.

She'd abandoned her usual somewhat formal attire for something a little more practical for riding today - dark jeans, leather boots, a blouse and a jacket - and already, the small amount of riding she'd done had lifted her spirits considerably from the rather dark, brooding mood she'd been in over the past couple weeks. As she brought the horse to a stop, Regina actually shot Oswin something that might have been akin to a bright smile as she got off the horse, feeling distinctly energized. She'd halted Joey a little ways away from Arthur - Joey himself seemed to love the company of other horses, but she didn't want to make Arthur too nervous, not knowing his temperament. "So this is the infamous time-traveling horse." she remarked lightly, still smiling a little as she shot the white a curious look before turning back to Oswin. A horse on the TARDIS - and just when she'd thought nothing else about the Doctor could surprise her. "He really is beautiful. How long have you had him?" She was going to try not to allow her soft spot for horses to show too much over the course of this lesson. Really.

[Oswin Oswald]

It wasn't long before Oswin raised her head, hearing the sound of what was clearly another horse approaching. Arthur seemed to hear it as well, his ears flicking forward to catch the sound and his front hoof stomping on the ground outside the stables. Hopefully, said horse was accompanied by Regina and not any of the other residents of Storybrooke. Oswin was pretty sure that they had no idea what to think of her, being friends with both the Doctor and the Evil Queen. Most of the residents of Storybrooke knew and liked the former, but having a friend in the latter, made them slightly wary of Oswin. Not that she minded much, so long as she kept out of the way. Her brand of exploring usually didn't include anyone but the Doctor anyway.

Thankfully, it was indeed Regina that appeared in the doorway, accompanied by a black horse. Or, well. It looked like Regina. Oswin quirked an eyebrow at the expression on the other woman's face. Was that an actual smile from Regina, of all people? Normally, Oswin was the brighter of the pair, optimistic where Regina was pessimistic, willing where she wasn't, opposites attract and the whole long list of cliches. Arthur, being a friendly horse and quite willing to make friends, trotted over to Joey curiously under Oswin's careful gaze before she turned back to Regina and smiled in return. Strange as it was, it was good to see her friend happy, after everything that had occurred in the past weeks. Maybe longer for either of them, taking traveling into account.

"Couldn't tell if he's the one one, but yeah," Oswin glanced back at Arthur, giving him a fond smile. "M'not really well-versed in the history of time-traveling equines. Could be something to look into." She grinned, looking back to Regina. "Dunno. The Doctor'd be able to tell you better than I could, and time's a bit weird for both of us. Maybe a year?" While she knew the story behind Arthur's arrival on the TARDIS, how the Doctor had found him on the SS Madame de Pompadour and how Arthur had pretty much followed him home, she wasn't too well versed in the exact times of these things. Didn't really matter anyway since time was a bit of an odd concept to one who traveled through it.

"So!" Oswin brightened, giving Regina a smile. "Better get him ready, yeah? "Fraid you're going to have to show me what's what, I'm a bit out of my element unless you've got a keyboard I can start typing on." After all, Oswin was a tech girl at heart, outdoors-y things like this were a little lost on her until properly instructed. And while asking for help wasn't really her thing, it sort of stood between her and getting thrown off of Arthur's back. Traveling would be a bit hard with a broken neck. With the low whistling sound she'd seen the Doctor use before, Oswin drew Arthur back to her side, allowing him to stand in the front of the stables. Best to let Regina handle this for now, she'd pick it up quickly enough.