Lillian's POV
"Y'know," I called to Derek from the inside of Ophelia's paddock. "It would be a lot more helpful if I knew why she's so scared of you."
Ophelia's reaction when Derek hopped to sit on the fence that enclosed the pasture was considerably less violent than their first encounter, but she still cantered away the moment he approached. Ophelia and Ginkgo were now both as far away from us as they could be, in the corner, grazing.
"I don't speak horse," Derek deadpanned, glancing over at me as I scowled.
"I'm just saying," I replied, twisting the end of my braid over my shoulder. "I don't understand why all the horses seem to hate you so much. Ginkgo won't come near you either, and she's usually pretty friendly."
"I couldn't tell you," Derek muttered, squinting into the sun as he looked away, the gleam against his hair like ice.
"Thanks, that was helpful," I snapped.
"I don't know what you want me to say," Derek grumbled, keeping his eyes on Ophelia and Ginkgo. "I don't know why they all hate me, I don't know anything about horses."
"Okay, jeez," I raised my hands, frowning at his defensive response. "Why are you being so defensive?"
"Horses just aren't my thing," Derek replied.
"Well, guess what? This horse is a huge part of my life and if every time you come around she loses her mind, that can't happen. I need her to not be afraid of you."
"And how are you going to do that?" Derek snapped.
"The same way I got her to not be afraid of everything else: exposure."
"So, what? You want me to stand out here all night?"
"No," I sighed, eyes narrowing at his tone. "Sounds like today isn't the day for this."
"It's fine," Derek said. "I just don't want what happened before to happen again. Me being around that horse almost got you killed last time. Forgive me for wanting to not let that happen again."
I paused, my brows furrowing. "So you won't help me?"
Derek sighed. "I will, but I've said this so many times; be careful."
"I will," I promised.
*
I didn't learn much in the next few hours. Ophelia did not take well to Derek, that was for sure, but I'd already known that. At least I found that Gingko was slightly more curious about Derek than Ophelia was, my sister's horse flaring her reddish nostrils and stretching her neck over when Derek occasionally came near. Ophelia continuously bolted whenever Derek so much as looked like he would walk towards her.
As the sun began its descent in the clouded sky, I changed my tactic. Instead of bringing Derek to Ophelia, I brought her to him.
Well, tried to.
"C'mere, Ophelia," I cooed, taking her blue halter in my hand, clicking my tongue as I took a few steps through the breezy grass. She nickered softly, glancing across the paddock with those intelligent eyes, but surprisingly, she walked with me toward Derek. He stood by the gate of the paddock, leaning against the fence, his dark jacket gleaming mutedly in the light.
Every thump of her hooves drove my shock deeper as we approached. Something was bound to go wrong. She'd spent an hour galloping away from him, I wasn't about to believe she would give it up now.
It was almost a relief when Ophelia's steps became shifty and wary, with a subtle stop and start, a lilt on the breeze. And yet, she still moved forward. Even Derek's eyes were narrowed as he assessed the horse willingly walking toward him.
We were five metres away when Ophelia stomped to a halt and huffed, ears flicking around.
"Hey," I murmured, patting her neck. "You're fine."
Derek's eyes remained narrow as Ophelia took another step toward him, bobbing her head. She nickered, stretching her neck toward him, as if curious, and I raised my eyebrows. Derek became as still as death, no breath escaping his lips.
I barely moved as the wind rustled my hair, blowing into Ophelia's face. With a sharp whinny, she wrenched back her head and darted away from us. What stopped my heart in its tracks wasn't the horse's sudden movement, but the sound that came from Derek. I could have sworn he snarled.
"Dammit," I hissed as watched her kick up dirt as she galloped off. "We were doing so well." When I turned back to my boyfriend, his eyes were closed. I narrowed my eyes. "Hey, are you okay?"
"Fine," he ground out, his eyes snapping open, blazing bright.
Was he scared of her?
"Okay," I said instead; I knew it was better not to open that can of worms at the moment when I needed his help. I paused as Derek's stance relaxed slightly, considering. "I think she doesn't like how you smell."
Derek raised his eyebrows incredulously, a playful gleam dancing in those eyes. "You think I smell bad?"
I scoffed. "No, you definitely don't, but I think for some reason Ophelia doesn't like it. She seemed kind of curious about you, almost, right up until the wind blew in her face. Maybe you smell like someone who abused her because I've never seen her have such an explosive reaction like she had that night except for right after we rescued her from the people who abused her."
"What did they do to her?"
"They neglected her, she was underfed, and they whipped her till she bled," I said, glancing at the faint, thin scars that marred her grey coat. "See those scars on her hindquarters? Those are from the whip."
"Damn," Derek blew out a breath. "If I cause her this much stress, then maybe I should just leave."
"Don't give up so easily, Derek," I chided, moving to lean against the fence. "We'll figure this out."
Derek smiled, phosphorescent in the setting sun. "Alright," he murmured, brushing my arm as he came closer, resting a hand on either side of me on the fence.
I sighed as he stared at me, those green irises sweeping quintessence over me. "What is it?"
"Nothing," he murmured softly, leaning closer and I breathed in that scent I'd come to love so much as it wrapped around me. The leather of his jacket was smooth and soft under my hands as I held his forearms, glancing at Ophelia over his shoulder.
"Wait..." I murmured.
"What?"
"Can I borrow your jacket?" I asked, straightening my posture and stepping out of Derek's embrace.
"Sure," he said, shrugging the leather off and handing it to me. "Why?"
"I just want to try something," I murmured, sliding my arms into the jacket. It was too big for me, and had a comforting weight to it, along with the scent that I was after. I stepped out of Derek's bubble and made my way over to where Ophelia was standing rather pissed off looking in the corner again.
I didn't let myself hesitate as I approached, extending confidence to her. I knew she wasn't afraid of me, so I hoped my little plan would work.
As I got closer, she huffed and stomped her hoof, flaring her nostrils.
"Hey, you're okay," I cooed. "You know me. Everything's fine."
She stared at me as I kept walking, holding out a hand to her. "It's just me," I whispered as I stopped about a metre away. "You don't need to be scared."
The grey horse huffed again, but, to her credit, didn't move. She just kept staring.
"Alright, Ophelia, here's the deal:" I began, twisting the end of my braided ponytail. "I really like that guy over there. He took care of me after you did your number on me. There's nothing to be afraid of. He doesn't smell bad, trust me." As I spoke, I inched closer. Ophelia still didn't move. "I can't have you going ballistic every time he comes around. Because I really hope he's not going anywhere."
*
Derek's POV
I couldn't blame Lillian for spilling her guts to her horse, thinking I couldn't hear her all the way across the paddock. I found myself smiling a bit as I wondered when she'd admit those things to me.
"I really hope he's not going anywhere," she admitted, and I grinned. I hoped so too.
The horse had stopped prancing around, eyes still wide and ears flicking around, but at least she was still.
Lillian had some unspoken connection that I wasn't sure I'd ever understand, but it was a wonder to watch. Even though I was sure Lillian now reeked of wolf wearing my jacket, the horse didn't move. Lillian crept forward, the horse letting out a soft nicker.
"I'm not going to hurt you," she promised, almost touching Ophelia's cheek. "And neither will he."
Ophelia's head jerked back a fraction as Lillian laid her hand on her neck but stilled after that, sighing deeply.
"There, you over it now?" Lillian smirked, taking hold of Ophelia's halter and turning around. The joy on her face was breathtaking.
Ophelia walked alongside Lillian at a steady pace, ears stiffly forward and alert. I tensed for her to bolt the second she came near me, but she just stood next to Lillian placidly as she stopped in front of me.
"Well that was fun," Lillian joked, sighing. Ophelia nickered softly, eyeing me. "I think she should be okay now. Do you want to try and touch her?"
"You don't think she'll lose it?"
"No, but if she does it should be fine," Lillian encouraged, patting her neck. "You can do it," she whispered, leaving me wondering who she was talking to.
"Alright," I said, lifting my hand slowly, monitoring the horse for any movement. She made none, other than her eyes following me. I stayed as still as I possibly could except for the hand that I moved to rest on her neck. The moment my hand touched her powerful body, she almost flinched, a shudder wracking through her before she stood still again, staring at me.
"Good girl," Lillian soothed, stroking the other side of her neck. "Alright, I think that's good for today." With that, she let go of Ophelia's halter, but the horse didn't move for a moment. No one moved, Ophelia just stood there and huffed, before turning away calmly and trotting away.
"Well," Lillian sighed, brushing back her braids over her shoulder. "That went well."
A/N: Progress! Much wow.
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- TAAF_