forum Are You An Angel..? / OxO / closed! Pm if interested!

Started August 06, 2020 by @ElderGodSwimwithGamers group

tune

Rowan nodded nervously, burying his face in Matthew's shoulder. "I-I… um… alright… let's just go ahead and get on then, yeah?"

"Are you sure you're ready?" Matthew set a saddle bag on Whitney, lightly patting her back.

"Ready as I'll ever be…" Rowan sighed, looking up at the horses with a nervous expression. "Um… can you help me up?"

Matthew nodded. He simply picked Rowan up, carefully setting him in front of the wings of Starks. Matthew pulled himself up, right behind Rowan.
"How are you doing?" Fluff jumped up on Whitney, purring softly and settling down.

"I-I'm okay…" Rowan was laying forward on the horse, hugging its neck to try and feel more secure. "Are you sure this is safe?"

Matthew slowly pulled Rowan up off the horse's neck, instead wrapping one arm around him and holding him close.
"It's completely safe, I promise…"

Rowan whimpered quietly and clung tight to Matthew's arm, closing his eyes to try and relax. He was still incredibly nervous and looking down at the ground from atop a tall horse wasn't helping.

"Here, keep focused on me," Matthew said gently. He wrapped both arms around Rowan, squeezing his legs a bit. Starks started walking slowly, gait gentle. Whitney followed after. "I've got you…"

Rowan drew in a few quick, wavering breaths, just allowing Matthew to hold onto him. "U-Um… how long… how long is this trip?" He asked anxiously.

"Five days on horseback," Matthew said gently. He held Rowan to himself, Rowan's back to his chest.
"Do you think you can handle that?"

Rowan sighed weakly, keeping his eyes closed. "I-I… um… I dunno, but I guess I'm gonna have to anyway, yeah? We don't have much choice…"

"We can walk if you want to. It'll take longer, but if it makes you comfortable, that's all that matters." Matthew rested his head on Rowan's, sighing gently.

"No, n-no, I… um… I can do it. Don't worry about me. I'm sure I'll get used to it…" Rowan sighed weakly as he leaned back into Matthew.

The horses were able to travel on their own, so Matthew was able to focus on Rowan.
"Well, then I'll make sure to help you with this then. I don't like seeing people push themselves like this without help…" He rubbed Rowan's arm a bit, keeping him close.

Rowan flushed a bit and nodded, holding tightly to Matthew's arms. "I-I… uh… thank you…" He stammered quietly.

"You're welcome." Matthew let out a faint hum, pulling Rowan a bit closer when the human tightened his hold on Matthew's arms.

Rowan kept his eyes closed to try and get himself to relax more, which worked to some degree. He eventually seemed to sort of zone out, just quietly holding onto Matthew's arms.

By the time Rowan had zoned out, Matthew had as well. Occasionally he course corrected, but for the most part he just let the horse carry them. He left his head on Rowan's, almost semi wrapped around him.

Rowan seemed to be more relaxed when Matthew was wrapped around him, figuring that the avian could keep him safe in case anything went awry. He yawned a bit and huddled closer to Matthew.

Matthew fluttered his wings a bit, with them wrapping slightly around Rowan and himself without him really doing it himself. He smiled softly, rubbing Rowan's arm again.

Rowan kept his eyes firmly closed, which seemed to be working out pretty well for him at this point. He was more relaxed, though still noticeably a bit jittery, and he seemed to be overall okay.
(Should we time skip?)

(Okay then!)
Eventually, Matthew looked up from holding Rowan. He brought the horses to a stop.
"I don't know about you, but I'm getting hungry," Matthew joked a bit, but his stomach growled lightly.
"Ready for a break?"

"Mm…?" Rowan opened his eyes and looked up at Matthew curiously, flushing when his own stomach growled. "Y-Yeah, it's probably about time we took one… this horse's spine is hurting my ass…"

Matthew nodded a bit. He lifted Rowan up a bit, setting him down. Matthew himself turned on the horse, carefully slipping off.
"We should stretch a bit… otherwise, we'll get leg cramps," he explained. He set the tip of his foot against a tree, slowly running his hands over his straight leg to stretch.

"Alright…" Rowan hesitated before starting to stretch as well. He was used to stretching since he went on daily runs, but it felt strange to be doing it in front of somebody else.

Matthew didn't seem affected by stretching in front of Rowan. He hummed a bit, bending down and easily touching the ground now. He was quite… flexible.

Rowan flushed a bit when he glanced over at Matthew and quickly looked away, continuing to do his own stretches. "S-So… what are we planning on doing for food?"

"Well, I brought some bread and cheese with us," Matthew said. He was still stretching, but eventually straigthened back up, he brushed the hair out of his eyes.
"I could go hunting too, if you want."