Evergreen Tirohanga Trek

Evergreen Gift

Alex opened her eyes, the first thing she saw being Gage's antlers. The nerd was still in a state of slumber. Alex grabbed their arm, sniffing it whilst they slept. Gage slowly woke up, ignoring the weird feeling they had on their arm. They then realised that they had fallen asleep by themselves the previous night, meaning that either Alex was caressing their arm, or there potentially was a spider crawling on it. They rolled over to inspect their arm, seeing Alex laying down with them and sniffing their arm intensely. "Morning, Gagey!" She exclaimed, hugging their arm. "Rise and shine, Alyeska." The nerd stretched their unoccupied arm. "You smell nice in the mornings." Alex commented. "... Thank you?" Gage responded. Alex moved out of the way so Gage could get up with her. They both exited the room, seeing everyone else waiting for them in the sitting area.

"Did we sleep in?" Alex asked. "Yeah, now hurry up, you purple-faced yoga mats." Tien rushed everyone out of the cabin. They caught their horses from the paddock, tying them up to tack up. Everybody mounted their Friesians, being ready to continue their big trek. Madeline and Capellini lead the way, once again. They travelled through the plains, Alex still collecting some flowers that she could reach and storing them away. Soon they all approached the beginning of a pathway that looked as if it had been trodden on and formed by other horses over the years. They proceeded to follow the path, and the ground changed colour the further along they rode. The terrain became greener and softer, with less hills and more freshly grown grass.

They came across a yellow sign with a silhouette of a horse printed onto it. "Is this sign meant to warn others about us?" Hippo questioned. "Actually, it's meant to warn us about the wild horses that are around this area, so it's best to stick to the path." Madeline clarified. "Wait, there are wild horses?" Katelyn's jaw dropped. "Yeah, you can take photos of them if we see them. But you're not allowed to approach them, pat them, feed them, or try to ride them." Madeline explained half-jokingly, expecting the members to already be aware of wild horse safety. Everyone nodded in an understanding way. They continued walking, keeping an eye out for the wild herd.

A while into travelling along the path, the horses began to get tired, slowing themselves down. Madeline pat Capellini, glancing behind her. "We should have a rest soon, these guys have had 2 long days of exercise." She announced, looking out for a shady spot they could relax under. They spotted a small gathering of trees in the distance, heading over towards them. They were somewhat close to the path, so they could remain safe incase the wild horses did come closer. Once they arrived, everyone dismounted, holding onto their horse's reins. Gage sat down, Alex copying them and shuffling closer towards the nerd. They glanced over to her, then looked away, trying to ignore her.

Prancer laid down with his rider, resting his head on their lap. "You're a bloody cutie, Prancer." Gage chuckled, patting their horse's nose and taking a bottle of water from their saddle bag. Gloria stuck her nose in Alex's face, then ate the grass next to her. Alex stroked Gloria's face as she grazed. The rest of the chaos group rushed over, surrounding the nerd. "Hey nerd." Fries teased. "Hello, chaps." Gage said as they took a sip of water from their water bottle. "What have you got there?" Cassie asked. "It's a bo-le of wo-ah!" Carbs started bursting out laughing at her own impression. "Indeed it is!" Cassie took the plastic bottle away from Gage, flipping it, making it fall over. "Dang it." She complained. "Let me have a go!" Fries picked it up, flipping it as well.

"Quit assaulting my H2O storage!" Gage tried to snatch their fallen bottle back, not being able to move because of Prancer. Carbs held the bottle, flipping it in the air. It landed correctly on the ground. "I win!" Carbs exclaimed, throwing the bottle back at the nerd's face. "Enjoy your bo-le of wo-ah, chap!" She mocked. The other members laughed at Gage's annoyed expression as they brushed the dust off of their water bottle. Suddenly, there was movement in the corner of everybody's eyes. They peered out to the open meadows they were near. "Look, look, look, look, look! Oh my gosh, oh my gosh! I need my phone to get photos! Let's steal them all!" Tien shrieked. "Tien, we can't steal them..." Zari responded to the excited instructor. "Shut the fuck up, we're taking them." Tien snarled, taking photos of the wild herd.