✓ | 𝗔𝗣𝗛𝗥𝗢𝗗𝗜𝗧𝗘 · ͟͟͞͞➳ spencer reid

CHAPTER 24 ━━━

# ! | CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
- they venture into the wilderness

━━━ ON THE MORNING OF
the twenty second, a party of twelve energized travelers pile into an eco bus driven by Ren and head into Bozeman for some shopping. Desirée, Sarah, Fran, Penelope, Beth, Hotch, Jack, Henry, JJ, Desirée, Sarah, Clau, and Marilyn all venture into town and make their first stop at a cool little breakfast place that Ren was raving about the whole way.

The eldest of their party had left a note for the others to see when they woke up. Meryl was out of her house and down in the lodge kitchen by eight a.m, scrambling eggs and making bacon while bread toasts away. She wears maroon riding pants with a grey long sleeve shirt tucked in and a black vest overtop. Knee high grey socks are on her feet, looking a little silly without her tall riding boots. Meryl's hair is pulled back into a low pony tail, but some wavy strands have battled their way out of containment. She sends a text to Emily, Spencer, and Morgan, having already seen Joey, Leona, and Rossi playing cards on the porch with cups of coffee.

murph
breakfast is in the kitchen for anyone who will go horseback riding with me >:)
Read 8:32 p.m

emmy
God you're so sexy when you have food
Read 8:32 p.m

morgue-an
Be there in 5, sweet thing!
Read 8:33 p.m

Meryl scrunches up her brow when she sees Spencer is online but not answering, but her confusion is quickly remedied when his hands on her hips and his woodsy leather cologne cloud her senses.

"Morning, angel," he murmurs, looking down at her sky blue apron with cartoon cows on it and smiling. He's wearing a long sleeve shirt and jeans, a brown belt threaded around his hips.

Meryl is about to reply when Emily and Morgan walk through the doorway in tandem. "Jeez, Mer. Those pants make your ass look so good," Emily states, scarfing down bacon like a stray dog.

Spencer resists the urge to agree. Good God, did he agree. Morgan fills his plate and thanks Meryl for cooking, kissing her cheek as he passes by.

"Have you already been down to the barn today?" Spencer asks, looking at the window as he sits down at the table to see twenty or so horses scattered around the paddocks that surround the barn.

Meryl nods. "Did my morning check, fed them, then turned them out so I can bring them in when we go out."

Emily chews thoughtfully. "How do you build rapport with them when you're so far away?"

Meryl shrugs. "They're horses, not unsubs, and I'm here whenever I can be. Those two weeks I was supposed to be resting, I was here. Not responsible, I know, but there's no better place to recoop."

That much was true. The Venus Lodge had such a comfort about it. It was seven floors, the bottommost being an indoor pool, then a bowling alley, then the ground level with the lobby and a library that doubled as a game room. Also on that floor are the kitchen and laundry room, as well as the few shops. The next three floors are guest rooms, the top floor being an observatory. Every inch of the floor was either marble or black oak, fuzzy grey rugs giving the rooms a cozy energy. A fireplace crackles in the dining room where they sit.

Leona, Rossi, and Joey come in at some point and "wave the kids off to go have fun", insisting upon cleaning up the little bit of mess that Meryl hadn't already tended to.

So, the next stop was getting everyone settled with riding gear. It didn't take long, she knew everyone's sizes and color preferences. After getting them zipped into boots and fitted for helmets, the four of them were ready to rock. Morgan was in dark green pants and a black shirt and jacket, Emily in a cobalt blue, black, and white blocked out windbreaker and grey pants, and Spencer was in dark brown pants and a navy sweater with another jacket tucked away just in case.

Meryl makes them pose so she can snap a picture, almost vibrating with excitement. "It's so pretty out here. You guys are gonna love it. I think. I hope." She shrugs and bounces out the door to where a side by side is waiting, ready to serve as their chariot to the stable. Much like every other building on the property, it's made out of white brick with black roofing and doors. There is a set of barn doors on two sides of the building, as well as a normal, human sized door. Inside, there is a heated lobby area. Turn left out of that door to go to the indoor arena, where a few jumps are set up, red and black poles on white standards. Then there's the tack room and two groom stalls on one wall, a wash stall and the feed room on the other. The stable then divides into two corridors, six stalls on each side for a total of twenty four stalls.

Meryl walks over to a panel on the wall and taps a button on the screen. Automatically, every stall door opens with the exception of a group of four closest to them. Simultaneously, the gates right next to the barn open up and horses begin trotting through, dutifully returning to their stalls.

When everyone is settled, she closes the gates and the doors. "That's my favorite. Okay, let's see. Morgan, you're on Athena. Prentiss on Pip, Reid on Odin."

Spencer laughs as Meryl flits between the tack rooms and various stalls. "You're really crossing the lines of mythology here."

Meryl snorts at Morgan's face as she leads Athena, a gigantic Clydesdale mare, out of her stall. "Can't stick to one when they're all so cool. Derek, groom kits are in the tack room, she's a sweetheart."

Emily immediately falls in love with Pip, a stocky Irish Warmblood with a grey dappled coat. She has the time of her life braiding his tail as he sits there obediently, ears swiveling.

Finally, Meryl leads Spencer to where she's clipped a butterscotch colored cob with a fluffy mane and an excess of long hair similar to a beard under his chin. "Spence, meet Odin. Big guy turned ten a few days ago."

She leaves her friends to groom and does the same to Bucky, brushing his milk chocolate coat until it shines. When all is done, she takes a few minutes to tack the horses in coordinating gear to that of their rider and then makes the three of her friends pose for pictures.

They get on, and after a half an hour long lesson on the basics of horsemanship, they hit the head of Meryl's favorite trail.