Riding the Fence

WHO: Nika, Christian

For the past several days, Nika has taken Christian only as far as the paddock to ride. She's been teaching him the basics of horseback riding and letting him get to know the horses -- each one's a little different in temperament, just like people. Today, though, as she brings two horses out of the stable, she grins slightly. "Gonna go a bit farther today. Nala says the west fence line needs to be checked, we're pretty sure there's a hole. So you can ride with me and we'll see what all you've learned today. Watch out for snakes," she tells him as she hands him the reins to a bay and then swings up on a mahogany-colored gelding.

Christian takes a moment to admire the bay and then nods. "Okay. Try not to kill me, please." He says to the horse. Then he swings up, managing to get up and into the saddle smoothly enough. "Snakes are bad. Holes are bad. Got it."

Nika laughs at him and turns the horse to head out onto the flat grasslands of her family's property. On her horse is a set of saddlebags along with a pommel scabbard for her rifle, which nestles comfortably near her knee, and a rope. "You're a crack-up," she tells Christian. "You're not doing too bad. Assuming your client's not an idiot and wants to do something stupid like run the horses in the dark, you'll be fine." As they ride, Nika looks out over the landscape, taking in the horizon, the cloud patterns, and the state of the hay as they ride past it.

Apropos of nothing, really, she comments quietly as she rides, "My father worked this land his whole life. Nala's had some tough times lately."

"I don't think she wants to race." Christian says, thinking of the client for a moment, and what he's learned about her. He looks up at the sky, then focuses on not falling off the horse. He rides in companionable silence until Nika speaks again. "You think if you had been here, she wouldn't be selling off the herd and land in order to pay off debts."

A glance is slanted at Christian, and Nika pushes the cowboy hat on her head back a bit. She's taken to wearing her hair in a long braid down her back since they arrived instead of tying it up under itself as she does on the ship, and the bottom of the braid swings around nearly brushing the saddle as she looks at him. "I don't know," she replies honestly, blue eyes turning back to the fence they're approaching. As they near it, she turns her horse at right angles to the fence and starts to follow it, checking the strands visually as they go. "Probably not. Not like anything *I* could have done while I was here would have brought in the kind of money she needs."

"I'm glad you realize that. A lot of people let guilt blind reason." Christian says as he urges his horse to turn. To her credit, she does after balking only once. "Have you considered selling her your share of the ranch?"

"Nope." There's a tone of finality to Nika's voice. "She wouldn't have the money to buy me out even if I was interested. And what the hell kind of message does that give her? 'Here, take it, I ain't comin back!', that's what."

"Are you?" Christian asks. "Do you think there will magically be a day when you no longer want to fly and can settle down on land?"

She laughs quietly. "I don't know," Nika admits honestly. Usually after about two weeks here, I start hankering for a run. But... it's home."

Christian smiles at that. "A safe place where you know you belong. I understand." He glances at the ground, looking for snakes, "It sounds like we might have to come back here for a wedding, eventually."

"Yeah. Not sure how I feel about that one," Nika admits as they ride. She pulls to a stop near the fence, leaning down off the horse to test the top strand. Seemingly satisfied with it, she resumes their course up the fence line. "Larry's a good guy. I jumped to some conclusions when we got here, but... I really should have known better. Daddy trusted the Johanssens."

"You had a bad experience and weren't told complete truths. Your sister's own view was colored by her problems.." Christian pulls on the reigns gently, "Stop, please." The horse takes two steps extra before coming to a halt. When it is time to start again, the steed only delays a few seconds before follow behind Nika and her geldling. "Does she know about Arden?"

Pulling her horse to a stop and turning in her saddle to face him, Nika tilts her head. "Yeah... she cornered me in the kitchen to ask about him." She hesitates, her body language giving off her own uncertainty about that whole thing too. "I asked him to keep it off the ship for now," she says, scanning restlessly while the horse dances a little beneath her. "Not sure how it's gonna work out."

Christian pulls to a stop. He looks at Nika, his eyes meeting her's. "Your business. His, too. Not mine. I'll just say this and let it go. He needs to know your heart belongs to someone else up front. A sexual relationship between friends depends on honesty. Without it, the feelings develop into something... troublesome."

Nika smiles at that. "I was up front to start with -- that I wasn't looking for permanent. Ain't about heart belonging to someone else. Just.... not sure what he really wants. He says he wants to have a good time, and that it's ... I dunno, friends with benefits." She grins at Christian and starts them riding again, seeming more comfortable talking while they move. Up ahead, a spot in the fence draws her attention and she heads for it. "He said it wouldn't get sticky." She's not sure she believes that.

Christian follows along, working on controlling his horse while keeping his hat on his head. "Managing relationships is a skill, like any other. It requires practice to master." He doesn't say anything else, but the unspoken is clear enough. Arden doesn't have a lot of practice.

Stopping her horse at a hole in the fence, Nika climbs down and pulls out a skein of wire from her saddlebag with her gloved hands. She looks up at Christian and asks, "You trying to tell me it's a bad idea, or telling me to be careful with him?" She moves to stretch the wire to repair the hole while he talks.

Christian unhooks his foot from one stirrup, pulls his leg up and over and then lowers himself to the ground. "How many presents has he given you and how expensive were they?"

Nika hesitates, glancing at him. "Two... and one of 'em definitely not cheap." She reaches into the saddlebag with one hand to pull out wire cutters, and then goes back to tying off the span of wire she want on the one side.

Christian watches as Nika repairs the wire in the fence. "Friends give gifts on holidays, on birthdays... lovers give gifts to court someone."

Her hands don't stop their work, though there's a definite hesitation. "You think he's trying to get serious?" she asks him quietly as she starts stringing the wire.

"I think..." Christian pauses to put his thoughts in order. "I think he comes from a culture without much of a concept of love or romance so his understanding of how to act in a situation like this is limited. He might need to learn how to separate sex and romance."

Nika pulls hard, stringing the piece of wire tightly between the posts and struggling to get it tied off. It's been a couple years since she did this kind of thing, and the strain in her arms and face are clear, but she wrestles it to where she wants it and ties it off, clipping the end efficiently. "I don't want to lead him on." She glances at him. "I don't know why you think it's a matter of being all 'in love' with someone else or something. It's a matter of practicalities. .. if it goes south with us, it impacts the ship, and that bothers me."

"I don't think that. I just..." Christian considers and shakes his head. "I think this is something the two of you will have to manage. I've said my piece. I worry about both of you."

With a grimace, Nika brings the wire and cutters back to her saddlebag and packs them up. "If you see things hitting the fan, I'd be much obliged if you actually had a conversation with him, Christian. I don't want to hurt him," she says, finally looking at him. "I won't lie to him, and I won't expect him to just know stuff. But I'm uncomfortable enough with the idea that we're talking about a guy who ain't got much experience, you know? I don't want him to think it's somethin' it ain't," she tells him, her distress at the idea showing only in the improper grammar and the drawl that accompanies it.

Christian nods. "I suppose I should talk to him." He says, "For now, perhaps you should just tell him, gently, that you don't need gifts. Just his company?"

Relief shows in the blue eyes before she turns her attention to the saddle. "If that'll help, I will," she tells him as she climbs back up. "Let's keep moving. We got few enough cattle at this point that losin' 'em to the neighbors' herds is a bigger deal than usual. Especially when they're calvin'."

Christian mounts up again, a little more smoothly this time. "I don't know if it will." He's honest. "But I think moving away from the trappings of a suitor courting a lady might help fix things better in his mind. And your's."

Nika kicks her mount into motion, her agitation communicating itself to the horse and reflecting the somewhat faster pace that they set this time. "I'm not worried about my mind," she tells him. Although maybe it's a lie, she's forced to reflect. Still, saying it out loud is as good as convincing yourself.

Christian just gives Nika the look. The "you aren't fooling me. I hope you aren't fooling yourself" look. After that, though, he focuses. The faster pace means he has to keep all his attention on the ride.

Nika ignores the look, glancing occasionally to be sure Christian's doing okay with the slightly faster pace. "And don't gimme that look, you. I never said I knew what the hell I'm doing." She grins a bit as they ride on.