White Horse

[Beau LaRoux]

So despite all Beau's protests, he found himself at the stables, looking at the building and pretending like he didn't like the smell. He'd argued, well, more like playfully debated, the whole horse thing with Liz before. His main reason for avoiding the whole mess essentially amounted to "I get the cowboy thing enough." Still, he supposed the whole cowboy thing actually amounted to something like street cred, given what he chose to do with his life. He should just turn into the skid.

Plus, Beau knew that Liz was going to want to go riding at some point, seeing as she kept going on and on about how she had a horse of her own to take care of. So Beau had better get used to the stables and find at least one horse (preferably white) to become familiar enough with to ride. So he tucked his hands into his ragged jeans and entered the building.

The smell of horse hit him, but Beau was used to that by now. He took only a moment, breathed deep, and then ventured further inside, looking over the various animals. Liz had told him which one was "hers" and he soon found the right stall, standing outside it and looking. He'd like to think that he could tell the horse fit Liz simply by looking at it, but there wasn't anything inherently "Liz" about its looks. Beau looked around for sugar or something to feed it. Seeing none, he shrugged and simply reached up to pat its nose, smiling at it and whispering a few words.

"Now, I jus' gotta find a white one I could ride," he said, speaking to the horse. "Got one that's got your eye? Make things a mite easier on me if ya did." He patted the horse a few more times, looking around, eventually seeing a few white ones. He did wonder if they "belonged" to people. Did that mean you couldn't ride them? There were a lot of students after all...

[Cyril Kingsley]

Cyril was busy getting done feeding up all the horse that were in their stalls and then working on making sure his cat was fed. Sure his cat had mice to eat and whatever she killed that ended up here, but they did not get a lot of mice all that often and mice didn't make for a well-balanced meal for a cat. Cyril was a vet after all and it was important to take care of all animals to the best form of care you could get. He had been a bit busy making sure all the horses were alright after the whole SPECTRE attack. Thankfully not many SPECTRE agents came out to the stables when they did their attack and those that did were quickly taken care of by Cyril. He had to rest a bit after using his power the way he did but at least none of the horses got shot and any fence that got broken was more or less fixed by him now.

He was wearing work clothing, since it was work time after all. Blue jeans, fingerless gloves, and no shirt. So his muscles were out in the fresh horse air and he loved it all. "Alright, fences fixed. Everyone fed, just wait a bit and then out to pastures." Cyril said more or less to himself even if he was talking to his cat. Bending down to give her a quick scratch under her chin. She then took off and out of site, heading off to the person that was now in the stables and standing in front of Heiress stall. Cyril of course followed, or more or less was leaving the feeding room and spotted Beau. His mind instantly wondering if he was finally going to get a male club member since all of them had been girls. Not that he was complaining because he didn't mind having all the little sisters around. He was more or less out of site still until he head Beau's words about finding a white one to ride.

"Well Heiress is a bit picky sometimes when it comes to likely the other horses, but still would do good to walk with one. I take it you know Liz?" Cyril asked because why else would this boy want to have a white horse to ride that this one was interested in. He would have to have known about Heiress and for that he would have to have known about Liz. Cyril was in a mix of eager and alertness since Liz was like a little sister to him and this was a boy. Boys were bad for little sisters if they were not good boys.

[Beau LaRoux]

The sound of another human drew Beau's attention away from the horses. He dimly recognized the guy approaching, as Liz had pointed him out from time to time. Besides, it didn't exactly take a rocket scientist to guess that the guy hanging out in the stables who looked like he belonged there was most likely the stable-master. Adding even further to that was the fact that the guy spoke of the horse like he knew exactly what was up with it.

"You could say that," said Beau, talking slow and dripping the honey of his Southern accent over each syllable. He chuckled, giving Heiress a few more pats before walking to Cyril, nodding. "Cyril Kingsley, right? Liz pointed you out before, said you run this place?" Beau gestured around, indicating the stable, as if that wasn't already obvious. He chuckled and rubbed at the back of his head. Then he took a breath, looking around.

"Kept tellin' her I didn't really wanna sign up, since I get the whole cowboy thing enough. But she seems to love it an' I figure she's gonna wanna drag me off on a horseback ride at some point, an' it would be best if I was ready for it," he let out another sigh, lowering his hand to pat his leg a few times. After a few seconds of that, Beau realized something. "oh damn, my ma would smack me for forgettin' some manners. Name's Beau LaRoux, I'm, well, Liz's beau," and yes, yes he did enjoy saying that far, far too much.

[Cyril Kingsley]

Oooo, another person with an accent. Cyril thought to himself, of course it not being the same as his British accent, but that didn’t matter. That meant that either Beau came from another part of the world or because of the accent was raised in a particular place as…Cyril knew this, he just had to remember the states. Umm…how many states do they have again? Cyril asked himself and just went with a guess that beau was from somewhere south maybe, he had no clue. Cyril smiled in his usual more or less friendly tone as Beau said his name and pointed out that Liz had pointed him out before. Ah Liz, she was just a ray of sunshine. Always coming down to take good care of her horse and worked hard to make sure she kept up to Cyril standards. The perfect little sister who was just so cute that he wanted to scoop he up and run off with her. Good thing these were inside thoughts and not being said out loud or he could find himself in some unwanted trouble.

“That is me and I do run things here.” Cyril said proud that he was the Stable Hand as well as basically the person who controlled everything related to the horses since no one else had stepped up to join in the position with him. He was still having a hard time getting the club together, but he still had members and that was all that mattered in the end he supposed. He was still going to plan and do something with the people he had when things settled down, possibly over the summer for any of the students who were eighteen years and older that decided to stay back, and of course the ones that were going to have to be here anyways. The boy seemed nervous with how he was stating the obvious and that whole neck scratching. Or was it that he was just not used to talking to older guys or something else? Cyril was curious either way as he tilted his head to the side a little. His cat letting out a meow and moving to go rub up against Beau’s leg.

Beau was then admitting that he was more or less down his because Liz was making him. Well Cyril was happy that Liz was getting others to take an interest but if Beau really didn’t want to deal with horses then Cyril was not going to make the boy have to deal with them. He think he understood what that boy was getting at and was trying to not be too critical behind the point if Beau was just doing this to get Liz to like him some more or if he had a small interest in it or not. “Have you been ridding before?” Cyril asked, not wanting to just assume because of the accent and even more so because Beau said that he got the cowboy thing enough and didn’t say it with such fondness. There was a moment of silence that made Cyril remember that he was not wearing a shirt in the presence of a student. He was about to scamper off to go grab one when Beau pointed out that he forgot his manner and intoduced himself. Oh a boy with manners, that earned him some points in Cyril’s book.

“Nice to meet you Beau. I’ll be happy to help you with what you need.” Cyril said extending his hand to shake with Beau, when Beau would take it he might give it a bit a firm squeeze that was more than necessary but that was because Beau pointed out being Liz’s beau.

[Beau LaRoux]

In actuality, Beau hadn't really paid much mind to Cyril's not wearing a shirt. Where he was from, guys went like that all the time, and they often didn't have the excuse of doing hard work in the summer sun. Nothing wrong with getting caught in your work uniform. Let Beau know that on top of running things, Cyril actually did some of the hard labor too. Of course, it might not be so hard if Cyril had the right power. Beau didn't feel any different though, well, aside from feeling a cat move against his legs. Those critters did seem to like him.

Beau bent down to let the cat smell his hand, keeping half an eye on Cyril. "Yeah, I've done some ridin' before. "Enough to saddle up a horse an' head out on my own. Ain't really a cowboy though: that ain't my area of the South," he replied. The cat had moved to butting his head, so Beau went ahead and scratched the top of its head, smiling down at it. There was a moment of silence before Beau's manners kicked in, which worked well.

When Cyril extended his hand, Beau rose and took it. He felt the tingling sensation his power always gave him when he touched a mutant, and he braced himself for something odd to happen. When nothing did, he nearly sighed with relief. A smile settled in and he nodded, returning the squeeze, wondering if it felt just a little hard.

"Well, I'm mostly figurin' that I should get to know the horses an' how that all works here better," Beau said, snaking his hand back from the stablehand. "Wouldn't want to look like an idiot, an' I figure that I should be willin' to do stuff like this for her. 'sides, the animals can be fun, right?" Beau grinned and looked over at the nearest horse, appreciating its beauty, because let's face it, horses were beautiful animals.

[Cyril Kingsley]

"I see. A lot of people that have come down here all seemed to have a good background in at least knowing the basics of riding." Cyril pointed out, since that had been pretty much true of all his club members, but that just made his job all the easier. Still he liked to give everyone his own little brand of test just to make sure that they still knew the basics as well as they said that they did. Thus far people proved that they could and he was thankfully that people were willing to deal with his test. He liked eagerness but if students could not wait to take a ridding test to make sure they were doing things right, well then could he really trust them to take care of the horse and follow his rules. The horses were there for the students, but his job was to take care of the horses and the students while they were with him.

"Are you planning on being coming a member of the club or you just more or less want to find you a nice white horse to ride when Liz comes down to ride Heiress?" Cyril asked, fine with either or really. He could not very well force someone to join the club and there was no point in joining if they only wanted to ride and not take care of the horses. So long as they brushed and put the horses and the ridding gear back where it belong, Cyril did not mind people coming down to ride if they passed his test or had some form of clearance. The squeeze was returned, which just had Cyril smiling and nodding a little. As if he was approving just a little bit more. Beau then explained more or less the details of what he wanted. He wanted to make sure that he at least knew what he was doing so he did not embarrasses himself more or less. He was doing this for Liz and still thought that animals were fun more or less. So his reasons were not outright bad.

"Alright, I think I understand and yes animals can be a lot of fun if you are willing to take the time to understand them." Cyril said as he looked at Heiress for a moment and then walked over to one of the stalls with a white horse, male, and a different breed from Heiress, but the two horses would still look good walking next to one another. "This is Kingslayer (because GoT). He would work well walking next to Heiress and would be easy enough to work with." Cyril said as he smiled at Beau, and then moved to get the halter and lead rope.

[Beau LaRoux]

Beau nodded; did seem like most people who would make the trek all the way to the stables would know something about it. He supposed that some might come to check just out of curiosity or to see the horses, but those people might not get that close. Hard to say, and, really, it wasn't his place to figure it out. He'd leave that to the professional, who stood right next to him grinning and asking questions.

Beau had laid out his intentions pretty clearly, but he saw no reason not to add on: "I might end up joinin' the club if Liz wrangles me into it," he admitted, shrugging. "I know that probly ain't what you wanna hear from a prospective member, but I do like horses an' all too. I jus' like Liz more," he grinned at that, chuckling and rubbing at the back of his head.

The mirth gave way toward a look of sincerity and alertness as Cyril explained. Beau's eyes went to Kingslayer (what a name; where were the horses named Mr. Fluffles or something?), eying the stallion as best he could. He watched the horse for a bit, eventually approaching as Cyril walked off. Though he felt a little silly doing it, Beau raised a hand up to pat Kingslayer's head. "Hey there, bud," he said, nodding, "looks like I'm gonna be ridin' you soon, so try not to stomp me or somethin'," he moved aside as Cyril approached. "You want me to try an' get him ready? I ain't sure I can do it without you remindin' me what goes where, but I ain't got no problem doin' myself."

Beau even held out his hands for the various gear to be placed in them, ready to do the work, the Southern boy in him coming out strong.

[Cyril Kingsley]

Cyril smiled brightly at hearing the possibility that Beau would join the club if Liz convinced him to. Cyril was always pleased to have more club members and Beau would be the first guy to join the club, at least he was pretty sure that was the case. Not that Cyril didn't mind having all the little sisters around; it was just sometimes difficult to, well walk around without a shirt on when you had the cute little girls around. He didn't want to give any of them the wrong idea since he could not see there being any way that he would hook up with a little girl. So if there was another guy around at least he would not feel too bad about not always wearing a shirt. It was getting to be summer time after all and it was getting hot. Working out in the hot sun caused you to sweat and having fewer layers on just felt better.

"It's fine. At least you have something you like and so long as if you were to be a club member you did your duties, then I would be fine with it." Cyril admitted because he could understand doing things for a girl. He also could understand just wanting to do it because that girl was into it and not really having a passion for it yourself. Cyril however had a passion for horses so he was always going to love this job no matter what. There was Kingslayer to introduce, and no Cyril was not a fan of any of those names like Mr. Fluffles and names that were normally given to animals based upon their colors. He liked powerful names and that was why the mane six had more or less powerful names. There were like two or three horses with names that he felt were silly, but that still did not change how he felt about the animal. He just ended up calling it by a nickname of the real name. "Oh, if you liked to that would be great." Cyril said as he clicked the lead rope onto the halter after going into the stall.

Leading Kingslayer out and leading tying him up to one of the indoor post. Moving then to go get Kingslayer’s saddle, bridle, blanket, and everything else Beau would need to get the horse all his ridding gear on. Normally Cyril liked to do his little test another day after a person met a horse, but he figured changing up tactics did not hurt too much. Plus this kid was not a for sure on joining the club yet. Setting everything out for Beau and then giving him his space to watch. "Would you like me to ride with you or to be around just in case something is off?" Cyril asked, fine with either way or ready to help Beau out in anyways. Had to get a good reading of this guy that was with his little Liz sister.

[Beau LaRoux]

"I wouldn't shirk," agreed Beau, nodding. He wasn't sure if his heart would really be in the work, but that didn't mean that he wouldn't pull his own weight. More of that whole Southern, down home raising coming to the forefront. Like it had when he'd volunteered to saddle up his horse himself, though as Cyrus laid it all out, Beau was seriously regretting that decision.

He stood for a moment, scratching at the back of his head and looking over everything. It took a bit for his memory to jog into place, but soon enough he was grabbing the blanket, moving over to Kingslayer and tossing it over the horse. He adjusted it as best he could, making sure that it set even. Took him a bit longer than it probably would have a more experienced rider, but he fared well enough, all things considered. Soon he was moving to grab the saddle, grunting a little under the weight.

Cyril asked questions while Beau worked, so Beau felt he should respond: "Probly be best if you stuck 'round, jus' to make sure that I don't end up breakin' my neck," he admitted. He would've shrugged if he wasn't moving to get the saddle into position. "Wasn't really figurin' so much on ridin' today, since I didn't want to do it without permission or whatever, but I'm figurin' I'm good for it," he nodded, then worked to raise the saddle up, at least getting it onto Kingslayer's back with one good pull, assuming he didn't need to adjust anything overmuch...

[Cyril Kingsley]

"Good to hear since some would." Cyril said, with a pleased smile to hear that Beau would still do what he needed to do even if he was not all that into it. That was the important part to it all as well. Sure Cyril wanted people to enjoy their work, but understood that it was not really all that fun to clean up horse poop and pick out their hooves. Still, it was work that needed to be done, so as long as someone did it and did it right. It meant nothing if someone was going to do the work, but not do it right and just waste their time, Cyril's time, and the horse’s time. Thankfully beau gave off the 'you can trust this guy' vibe and Cyril felt like he could trust him. At least in terms of working with the horses. He was still a bit unsure about the whole being with Liz thing, but he was keeping that to himself for the most part.

Cyril stood back and watched Beau put everything on, noting that the boy more or less knew what he was doing. More than likely just trying to make sure he recalled everything correctly. So long and Beau knew where everything went he should not of had any problem. Every horse had their own ridding gear; all of them, it was expensive, but it made it a bit easier. everything was adjusted to fit the horse so getting things on didn't take that long and it made sure that the horse would only have to wear what it was comfortable and used to. Everything marked by their names in the storage room and Cyril often went in and made sure that everything would still be in its proper place. Only the main six had their names sew into their stuff after all, so Cyril had to actually check with the other horses gear.

"Alright, I can assure you that I will not let you break your neck. My power comes in handy when I want to prevent someone from hitting the ground." Cyril pointed out, since well he could manipulate gravity and if someone was falling he could stop them by making the gravity on them lighter. He had done it before when a student was thrown from a horse. Most of the time if the fall looked like it would not hurt he leave them be to learn a lesson, but still he had a soft spot for girls so more often than not would prevent them from hitting the ground. "Well normally I like people to get a bond with the horse first, but since you want to be able to ride with Liz I figured I might as well give you my test." Cyril pointed out, since that was basically hi plan at the moment. May have just wanted Beau to say ‘how awesome he was’ to Liz when he would see her later, but yeah this was important too.

[Beau LaRoux]

Beau adjusted the saddle girths, pulling snug, and then moved to make certain the bridle was in position. He stroked and murmured to the horse while getting the bit in between the teeth, adjusting to make absolutely certain that everything was more or less good to go. Beau then walked around, adjusting and giving some last minute things, all the while mumbling to the horse.

When Cyril spoke, Beau did look over, eyes on the other man when he talked about his power. "So, what is your power, if you don't mind? I'm only askin' cuz I pick it up whenever we get close enough," he said, waving a hand and working his fingers a few times. He didn't feel particularly lighter, so maybe it took some focus or something? Beau narrowed his eyes, taking a few deep breaths. He felt... lighter, maybe? Could have just been in his head though. He focused again, only jerked out of it when he fully realized the second part of what Cyril said.

"Wait, test?" he said. Then he lowered his hand, grinning, "So did I pass already or am I jus' doin' good so far?" he chuckled then moved to stroke the horse again, taking the reins, wanting to make sure that the animal knew who was in control and, almost as importantly, that said person didn't want to hurt him. As for the confidence well, Beau knew that confidence never hurt.

[Cyril Kingsley]

Cyril was pretty much giving approving nods and Beau seemed to be handling everything without any trouble at all. He was doing everything right, making sure everything was adjusted properly, and even talking to the horse while he worked. That last bit really made Cyril smile because he felt it was important to talk to the horse or really animal when you were working with it. He sometimes would let a horse know what he was doing to it or just in general talk about the horse or the day. He felt like having a calm and relaxing conversation with the horse helped keep them calm as well. After all they were standing there while you put things on them; the least you could do was have something of a conversation with them. Then there was a question of his power, which he did not mind sharing at all. Even more so when Beau shared what he could do? Oh I like this chap...fellow...dude? Cyril thought to himself, trying to figure out which word was the best and most American to use in this situation.

"Gravity Manipulation. I can make certain things and people lighter or heavier by snapping my fingers." Cyril said as he snapped his left hand two times, having been looking at one of the brushes. The brush would then be more or less floating in the air not really being held by anything so if Beau pushed it, it would go off in the direction it was pushed. Like being in space. Still, he had to snap a certain hand for it to work and it had to stay within a certain distance of him in order for it to be effected by his changes in gravity. He then was curious as to what Beau had stated about his power. "So then you could more or less use my power as well, correct?" Cyril asked, wanting to make sure for one he said things right and was trying to fully understand what it was that Beau was capable of. Either way he found the boys power pretty cool and it just moved him up on his whole 'i like this guy, he is okay' scale.

"Yes, test." Cyril said with a nod and a smile to Beau question and then chuckled at the boys next few words. "Well it’s more of a ridding test to make sure you can ride around without falling off, looking too odd, or making the horse uncomfortable. There is a bit about confidence in there too." Cyril pointed out, more or less having certain standards that he wanted someone to meet before they could just go off and ride the horses down here. His job was to take care of the horses, keep them safe, and also keep the riders safe after all. "You are doing very well so far. Pretty much just need to see you mount, ride to at least a canter, and then dismount." Cyril said, but the canter part was not really needed, but he still wanted to see it. At least to make sure a student could handle if a horse decided to go faster than a walk or trot.

[Beau LaRoux]

Gravity Manipulation, well, that sounded helpful. The next bit though: "You snap your fingers?" Beau asked, a little incredulous. Not that he hadn't heard of weirder ways of getting a power to work before. When you picked up other people's gifts, you had a tendency to run into pretty much all the odd ways that powers worked. Snapping fingers did rank as pretty normal. Just... weird.

Beau tried it, raising his right hand, focusing on his feet for a moment, and snapping his fingers a few times. Instead of feeling lighter though, Beau nearly found himself dragged to the ground. "Yeah, yeah, I'm thinkin' I picked it up," he grunted, waving and wobbling for a few moments needing to extend his arms to make sure he didn't fall. He grunted and moved, managing a step or two. Okay, so that didn't work...

Test, something about riding, not that Beau was as focused on that as he arguably should be, what with his feet feeling like they'd been stuck in cement and left for a while. Just mount up. Well, first he had to... maybe the fingers of his left hand? That must've been the hand Cyril had used; Beau should've paid closer attention. He gave it a shot, and felt himself... normalize.

"Definitely weird," he said, giving Cyril a grin. "Figure I should jus' try on my own. Ain't likely that you're gonna stay within the ten foot range of me, huh?" And with that, Beau moved to the horse. He gave the saddle a quick experimental tug, not expecting it to fall, but still wanting to make certain. When everything held, Beau grabbed the pommel and part of the seat, hoisting himself up, one leg swinging over. It was a bit awkward, but he obviously at least knew the actions. Soon, Beau was sitting in the saddle, looking rather pleased with himself.

[Cyril Kingsley]

“Yes.” Cyril said with a pleased nod, ready to explain it, but the look on Beau’s face seemed like he wanted to work out to figure out how to do it himself. So then Cyril was going to explain why it required him to use his fingers to do it. “When I first came into my power, I had little control over it. Things and myself would start floating or be forced down to the ground. Over in the UK my trainer and I could not figure out for the longest time how for me to get control over it since moving my various parts of my body and thinking about it did not help. So we went with focusing on something on a small level, taking into account math in a way to…oh dear I’m boring.” Cyril said when he realized that he was not only talking a lot, but this stuff probably didn’t really interest the boy. He had a feeling that if he didn’t have the same power then he would not care. Beau could copy his power so in a way they did have the same power right?

“Anyways, long story short. Snapping is how I figured out to have full control over my power.” Cyril said with a pleased smile, proud of himself, but leaving out the whole gravity surges he would have a night when he was sleeping. He had been allowed to graduate because he got control over them as soon as he woke up, and it was not like people were walking on him like sleep floating or something. During the whole time, Cyril basically missed that Beau was more or less testing out the power himself. He did catch it more or less because of the snapping, but he didn’t say anything about it. Wanting Beau to work it out for himself to see if the boy could and because again this was a boy going after his little sister Liz. Beau said that he was thinking he picked it up, making Cyril watch him closely as the boy worked it out. Making himself heavier because he snapped his right hand instead of his left. Cyril tempted to help again, but Beau still seemed like he wanted to try and figure it out. So Cyril did nothing and to no surprise Beau was able to figure it out and get himself more or less back to the normal effects of gravity.

“Just make sure to be careful using it. Always keep in mind what gravity you want to alter or you will end up effecting things around you in a radius.” Cyril pointed out as he gestured around them and looked at the horse then to Beau. Basically trying to communicate that he did not want a horse floating around the air for many reasons. Cyril gave a small nod to Beau pointing out why he had tried it out on his own, it made sense. “Oh, so you only pick up on others powers in a ten foot radius? Is it only one at a time or do you like pick up all of them?” Cyril asked, half curious, but still more or less focused on the whole horse riding test because horses were more important of course. Cyril was completely still and silent then as Beau moved to get on the saddle. Cyril basically acting as if time had stopped because he was fully watching ever bit of how Beau mounted and how the boy was sitting. Giving a nod, approving.

“Very well done Beau. Now all you have to do is show me some ridding.” Cyril pointed out as he moved to wait for Beau to start following him. He would lead the way to the ridding ring so Beau had a more enclosed environment to walk the horse. Just in case something went wrong then Beau would have grass to fall in and the horse would not run off around the school grounds.

[Beau LaRoux]

Beau looked over at Cyril as the other guy spoke, just now picking up an accent of some kind. Beau usually got those a little sooner, but, well, his mind hadn't really been "in it" with this whole conversation and event and all. Something about the mention of "UK" got it to snap for him. He ended up grinning and nodding at any rate. "It's the way you got your mind to work it," he said. He paused for a moment, noting that it had worked for him too. Maybe it would work differently if he... naw, Beau didn't' want to dig too deep into it. Cyril had already provided some tips, enough to make Beau realize that he was definitely dealing with one of those more complicated powers. he just figured he wouldn't bother with it, which really wasn't too far off from his usual decision. Best to just pretend he didn't have a power; made things easier on all parties involved.

Not like Beau couldn't sit on a horse and ride without a little mutant help. He squeezed his legs tight, glad he'd worn jeans, already adjusting and tugging at the horse, getting him to take a few hesitant steps forward. Beau even proved capable of multi-tasking, addressing the questions as he moved. "Jus' the one," he said, pulling at the reins and pausing to click his tongue, "whichever's closest. Can be a pain ina crowd, lemme tell you."

Soon Beau had the horse moved a few steps forward, and he'd obviously settled into the saddle. Grinning, he looked down at Cyril. "So where we---ah," he said, nodding as he realized that Cyril was reading the way. Beau gestured with the reins, again clicking his tongue, getting the animal to head the right direction. Soon enough, he'd be out in the riding ring. "Surprised you got grass round here," he commented as he looked around. "Woulda figured the horse woulda stomped it all. Guess it helps to have mutant gardeners around, huh?"