A Day Out

[Katherine Lorelia]

Kitty grinned at the other girl's dismissive attitude, shifting slightly in her saddle to improve her posture and adjusting her reins which had a tendency to be slippery despite her gloves. Andrea was a sweet girl and Kitty was prepared to believe that she might be emotional, but she doubted that her friend would have reacted to her troubles in such an extreme way.

"Aren't we just." she murmured, then flashed a brilliant smile at the girl on the smaller mount. "But we didn't come out here to talk about her. How was your Christmas?"

[Andrea Valentine]

Andrea's face lit up. "Christmas was amazing! My dad took us all on a hunting trip. We take the horses out and camp out for a few days. It's really cool except that it's so cold. I'll show you some pictures when we get back to the room." She giggled. "Our older brother's so light-complected and his hair is so light blond that when he wears white he almost blends in!" For a second, she felt bad that Kitty would probably never meet Nick. She had the feeling they'd get along famously.

"Anyway, enough about me. How was your Christmas?"

[Katherine Lorelia]

Kitty grinned at the way Andrea's whole face lit up like... well, a Christmas tree... at the mention of the word. This was why she loved Andrea; the girl had a boundless enthusiasm for life in general and she was such fun to be around! "That sounds great!" she replied genuinely, blowing a wisp of hair off her face. "My Christmas wasn't bad, thanks. I phoned home on Christmas Day... put my phone bill up by about fifty per cent." She hadn't been able to get a flight home to see her family, which was a shame, but she knew that she'd get back at some point, and she was looking forward to it. "Your family sound like fun!"

[Andrea Valentine]

"I'm sorry you didn't get to go home. I wish I'd have known; I would have invited you over! Maybe you can visit over the summer?" She giggled. "New York is closer to Ireland anyway! My dad won't mind having a guest. We have a big house."

She glanced at Kitty to see what she would say. She hoped she'd say yes.

[Katherine Lorelia]

"That sounds great!" Kitty exclaimed excitedly, wishing that she was on the ground so that she could give her friend a hug- she compromised by patting Andrea on the top of her helmet, unable to restrain the grin which was slowly launching an attempt to take over control of her entire face. "But are you sure you can put up with me for that long? You've been living with me all term!"

[Andrea Valentine]

Andrea fake-pouted at being patted on the head. But she laughed anyway. "Oh, sure! We get along so well anyway." she paused, "And when you finally go back home, maybe I can still visit. We have family in Scotland, my mom's family. I think it would be nice to see them and see you." Her tone had turned a bit melancholy, she realized, so she followed up with her usual enthusiasm. "But only if you want to!"

[Katherine Lorelia]

Kitty giggled at the other girl's expression, giving her a look of mock sympathy as she gave a squeeze on Pride's reins to bring him back in line with the smaller equine. Being tall and having long legs, he was inclined to get a little ahead. "We do; it's great!" the blonde agreed with enthusiasm, winking at her roommate. It would be torture having to live with someone who she didn't get on with. The Irish girl rolled her eyes at the other girl's addendum. "Of course I want to!" she exclaimed. "A day without you is a day without sunshine, Drea." Kitty overdramatised, and then paused thoughtfully. "Ooh... Drea. I like that."

[Andrea Valentine]

She laughed lightly. "Me too! Nicky calls me that. My older brother. Anyway, you can bring Pride along with you; we have plenty of room and a nice stable for mares and geldings that he can stay in. My dad will be impressed with him. He'll say what a fine horse he is and all that." She rubbed RJ's neck. The mule hadn't had the chance to spend a lot of time at home; he'd been sent with Andrea to school almost right away.

"I have this beautiful Friesian stallion, Toby. I'd like you to meet him." she smiled.

[Katherine Lorelia]

The blonde grinned. "Well, I think I'm just going to have to join him now. That name is too awesome not to use." Kitty had never met Andrea's older brother and nor was she likely to, although she did vaguely know Chase from... somewhere or other. She was sure they had a class together... or maybe they didn't... it was hard to say. Kitty knew a lot of people.
"That sounds great! I love Friesians!" she exclaimed happily. "Even if they're not quite as good as ISHs."

[Andrea Valentine]

"Cool! I'll just ignore that part about Friesians not being the best breed ever." Even RJ was part Friesian. "My dad has bred Friesians since before I was born. He's had a few really good dressage horses." She realized she'd probably been talking about herself a bit too much again.

"Anyway, what's your family like?"

[Katherine Lorelia]

"You do that." Kitty agreed, shooting her friend a cheeky grin. She was well aware of Andrea's attachment to the breed, but she herself was equally attached to her own favourite and so there was no chance that she was ever going to give way on this particular point.

"Well, my family are..." She shrugged helplessly. "I don't really know, to be honest; they're just my family. They're Irish."

[Andrea Valentine]

Two hundred Irish stereotypes went through her head but she kept her mouth shut for once. Well, she opened it to laugh. "They sound nice."

She sighed contentedly and stopped talking for a moment to hear the birds chirp. RJ sneezed and she patted his neck. "It really is a nice day."

[Katherine Lorelia]

Kitty nodded enthusiastically, a smile spreading across her face. "They definitely are." she agreed with a grin. "And a bit bonkers too. You'll meet them when you come and stay!" At this point, she would have quite liked to give Andrea a playful poke, but alas, the other girl was out of her reach, and the Irish blonde doubted that her American friend would appreciate a poke with the end of a riding crop.

At her friend's sigh, Kitty's smile grew even wider, displaying a mouthful of white teeth. "Every day is a beautiful day. You just have to look at it in the right way." she told Andrea with conviction.

[Andrea Valentine]

She nodded too. "Yes! I'm looking forward to it." If they were on foot she would have bumped Kitty with her hip, and tried to dodge the inevitable poking she'd receive from Kitty, but they were mounted so she winked.

When Kitty replied, she shrugged. "Yeah, I guess you're right. But this one is especially beautiful."

[Katherine Lorelia]

"Ah, you might be looking forward to it now, but just you wait until you find out what I've got planned." the blonde teased lightly, returning the other girl's wink. In actual fact, she hoped very much that Andrea was going to enjoy every moment of it, because she personally certainly was.
"Lovely weather." the Irish girl agreed, in the tones of an expert- because Ireland was exposed to an awful lot of weather, through the year.