Dallas was sitting on the front steps of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, notebook in hand. He wandered about the courtyard, making a list. He needed to find a way to count all of the unicorns, without recounting them, or scaring them off. He was looking through a very shady map of the forbidden forest, trying to pinpoint a spot where they gathered.

The mermaids were also getting restless. He made a note on his notepad to find a charm that creates music to soothe the creatures as the air and water got colder. It had been less than two weeks since he got the job, and he was already up to his ears in projects he needed to complete. He just wanted to take a day off. he had the choice, obviously, it was Saturday, but other than pal around with Thor, there wasn't much he could do.

The collie trotted around his legs, a stick in his mouth.[1] He whimpered, and Dallas dropped down on his knees and grabbed the stick from the dog and chucked it as far as it would go. Thor ran after it, burning up his seemingly endless supply of energy. Dallas slowly walked after the crazy canine, when he heard the unmistakable sound of the Hogwarts front doors opening.

He made a mental note to oil the hinges as a white haired professor stepped over the threshold and into the snowy flurry that had erupted that morning. Dallas scratched down on his list to get some sand for the pathways so students would slip. "Good Morning!" Dal raised a hand in greeting.

1.	Hope you don't mind dogs.

Gale was upset about not being able to go home this weekend, but he tried not to show it. Chaz was busy anyway, and he enjoyed the extra time with his students. However, the first week back and proven to be a rough one, Gale's faith in his ability to properly instruct his students wasn't very high, and he'd been up half the night worrying over this stupid date.

The auction at St. Mungo's did a number on his rabbit like nerves, but the Opera last weekend certainly finished the job. He hadn't talked about it much, but just the action of it opened doors that he'd long since closed. The nightmares returned, and with a vengeance. Gale certainly looked worse to wear, despite his rather odd attire.

"I have a favor to ask, if you are not busy this afternoon." He started right in, by passing their normal friendly greeting. "I'm supposed to go pick out a few horses for my date with Dolly St. James, and it's been a good while since I've been around such creatures. Would you care to day trip with me to London and make sure they are up to proper standards?" It wasn't like him to ask any body for anything, so his rather nervous demeanor was to be expected, but a little bit of his personality shown through when he smiled at the dog.

"She can come too." He/She, Gale wasn't certain.

Dallas lowered his hand and flicked the brim of his hat up. This man was being rather forward, not that Dal didn't like forward people, it was just that the professor trusted him enough already to help him out with horses. There was no other person better to ask about horses. "Well, uh, sure, I'd be happy to." Dallas smiled, he had just found his way out of here. Thor nipped at his jeans. "Thor, home"

Dallas pointed to his small cottage at the edge of the lake. The dog closed his mouth, then stuck his tongue out again, panting. He looked at his master then at Gale, and then turned his tail and trotted off towards his doggie door. "He gets real crazy around crowds, most herding dogs do, too many people to herd." Dal laughed.

"What kind of horses did you have in mind? And are you trail riding or riding in the ring, 'cause those are two different styles." Dallas said, beginning to walk down the few hundred steps to the gates at the bottom of the hill. He pulled his large ring of skeleton keys and singled out the key to the main gate. He had spent a bit of time figuring out all of the keys and the lock they went with.

Gale tried his hardest to not find the hat tip endearing, and on a better day he might have returned the small smile. This man seemed far too eager to laugh, far to easy to please, and beyond friendly. The thought unnerved him, but more he simply admired the way his face seemed to glow when he expressed his emotions. Gale found that something to be very envious of, but pushed the thoughts from his mind.

"I don't do well in crowds either, so I can sympathize with your animal." Pulling the wrap around his shoulders tighter, he pulled on his bag of supplies for the day.

"It's trail riding, and though I'm certain Miss St. James can handle herself on the back of a horse, I want to make sure I pick one that is gentle and would be patient with her. I've ridden before, but it's been a really long time." He explained before they departed for London.


---
London, UK[1]

"I won't keep you long, and I'll buy you lunch for your trouble. Even pay you if you wish." Gale spoke as gave the cab driver the address of the stables, and welcomed the sight of the city leaving. He wondered if his companion ever traveled in muggle things, but remembered they said he'd been in America--Texas was it? He was bound to know what at least a Ford pickup was. Their caravan was mostly drawn by old draft horses or similar breeds, but every now and then a few motor cars would wind their way through the mountains with their tribe. Gale never minded to travel, and even now found himself far more fascinated with the changing world outside the thin pane of glass than the cowboy earning strange looks from the driver.

"Thanks for coming," Spoke the one eyed Professor who perched rather daintily on the edge of the backseat, unwilling to get too comfortable in the cab. "I'm sorry I'm not very good at small talk." Especially now.

1.	Assuming they traveled by floo or apparition.

Dallas thought a moment, then decided that he'd have to pick the best looking, best behaved horses in the whole bunch. He had only heard of Dolly St.James a few times in magazines he flipped through, but with a name like St. James, and Gale looking for the finest animal, she was probably a rather important woman.

Dallas was never good with crowds either, and it was a wonder he only got a few funny looks as he got into the cab. He was covered in dust and rather wet from the snow. His trench coat was slicked wet from it. London was much drier today than Hogwarts, and Dal was in utter awe of the city. He had been born in the capital of Scotland, which wasn't terribly big, but it was pushed aside when London came into play.

"It's really no trouble Professor, I'm glad you gave me a reason to take a break from my plannin." Dallas pulled his notebook from one of his many pockets. "I've never been much for chattin' either, but I've been trying to figure out how to catch a-" He cut himself off, he wasn't at Hogwarts anymore, he would have to hold his tongue or risk being called a nutter. He couldn't talk about unicorn with the cabby right there. "Woops" He leaned back in the black seat and pulled down his hat.

When the ranch came in to view, the first thing Dallas thought, was how tiny it was. The property probably had less than a dozen acres. He had traveled to ranches within Scotland, and most of them were sheep ranches, or goats, but horses needed plenty of space to run and be horses.

As Dallas opened the door to the cab, he knew it was going to be difficult to find the perfect beast in a place like this.

“I just really want it to be nice for her. An escape from her normal routine. She has become a dear friend, and I’d like for her to not feel the need to be all glitz and glam. Let her have a little escape from the every day. We are going to ride to a little cabin, and I’ll cook her dinner. She can relax, and not feel the pressure of ending up being romanced.” Gale gave a little smile, “At least not from me. So I don’t want her to ride just any old mule. Something fit for a princess.”

Gale missed the sights of the city almost instantly, but enjoyed the lazy country side. He wondered what it was Chester was doing right now, and if he knew how desperately he was missed. But Gale was concerned that things would be different now, especially after what happened.

When the cab came to a stop, Gale climbed out beside Dallas and used his much larger frame as a shield from the cold wind as it blew down from the hillside. The fences were rather pathetic looking, but the barn looked like it was in good shape. The ground was muddy from the lack of warm weather, and Gale’s eye was already watering from the cold. His breath like phantoms with every exhale, and his fingers curled into the fabric of his wrap as they were cold.

“Mmmm,” He mused, “It smells nice here. The air is clean and crisp, the trees are heavy. No students, not tears, no fights.” An actual little smile pulled up on Nightingale’s lips as he looked around, and sort of child like looked towards the barn. When the owner came out and greeted them, Gale introduced the two, and asked if they could just look around. The old nearly toothless farmer gave his consent, and Gale took down through the stalls. He was nervous, to be around so many muggle raised creatures in one place.

“How do you tell?” He looked in on one of the empty stalls (or what he thought) seeing a much smaller little pony, “I mean, which one is a good horse? There are so many.”

“Princess, huh?” This lady was more important than Dal originally thought. Dallas' boots sank into the soft ground. He took a deep breath, as Nightingale expressed what Dallas was feeling in his own words. He loved the smell of horses, that heavy scent of horse sweat and hay. It reminded so much of Texas, that he loved more than anything on earth.

Dallas asked the farmer if he could get inside the stalls to inspect the horses for the right one. “Well, I guess we start with the legs and shoulders, and that’ll narrow it down a tad, then we can move to eyes and teeth, and by that time I’m sure we’ll find a few good ‘uns. Then, we’ll saddle them up to see if they fit you’re riding style.” Dallas unclasped a rather good looking horse’s stall door and slowly stepped onto the wood shavings.

The horse’s ears perked. It was a younger male, palamino in color, with a sock on his right front leg and stocking on his left back. Dallas spotted the horse’s name on his halter. “Howdy there, Nova.” Dal said, getting closer to the animal. The horse took a step towards him, and he laid a hand on his muzzle. He ran his hand down the neck of the horse, down onto his legs. He used his thumb to feel the horse’s muscle. It was strong and taught.

“Gale, put your hand right here.” Dallas shuffled out of the way for Nightingale to come into the stall. “That’s what you want for legs.” Dallas stood up and looked at the shoulders and ribs. “This one is a very good candidate, perfect for, uh…Dolly.” Dallas was reminded of a cow named Dolly back at the ranch. She was blind and ate twigs instead of grass.

He hoped that this Dolly would be much better looking and less…bovine.

"Not a real, Princess, but we treat her like one anyway. My father would be very cross with me if I did not treat a woman as such. She is wonderful, and if I had been put with any other woman there I'm certain I would have died. I just volunteered for the auction because I like to help a place like St. Mungo's." He watched Dallas with the horse, and couldn't help but admire how natural the young man seemed with this whole thing. However, when he was invited into the stall Gale shook his head.

"No no, I do not need to feel. I trust you." The horse made him nervous and he wasn't willing to admit it, but it had been a great number of years since he'd been this close to one...And to be in such a tight space with the thing worried him. What was he thinking? Horses. Really? "If you say it is a good horse than I believe, but--" He was cut off by a pounding sound that had him jumping across the way as if there were a fire. Hooves heavy and monstrous slammed against the door, and the horse that looked back was a massive one. Yet, to Gale it was a familiar sight and he quickly grinned with a little blush trying to mask his fear with a grin.

"Look at you," Gale said to the horse who was clearly upset with them being there. The horse was a beauty, and Gale was drawn to it like a moth to the flame, "You are a sight for a sore eyes...eye I suppose." The thing was wild and bucked in the stall, nearly breaking the entire door off, and Gale was quick to switch his languages.

"Ov yilo isi, Rinkeni Grast[1]." The language of his people rolled from his lips like a confession, and he turned a grin back to the cowboy, "Could you ride him? He wants you to." The horse calmed as the pale hand of the professor came to brush over his nose, "They are too afraid of him, he says. Only pulls the cart." Gale turned a look over his shoulder to the other man, and grinned like a child.

"This one is for you, America."

1.	It's ok, Pretty Horse, Beast of Burden

Dallas was out of the stall in a flash, thinking the horse he stood with was causing a ruckus like that. Dal's eyes were wide, he had forgotten how much he loved and feared horses, they weren't beasts to be taken lightly. Dallas watched in awe as the professor used his native tongue to soothe the restless draft. Dal tilted his hat up and looked at the horse, it read wild all over, its eyes to it's feathers seemed spirited and free, but his ears were pulled back and he looked tired and defeated.

"I guess I could give him a try, you sure about this one? He's big, and I would know." Dallas gulped. The horse was massive, one of the biggest gypsies he'd ever seen. Gale's smile said it all, but how he knew that about the horse was beyond him, but it didn't take much thinking to figure it out. Dallas turned to the farmer and asked where his draft tack was. "He pulls the wagon, nobody rides him, there's no tack for him here."

Dallas sighed, he'd have to help Gale fit the horse for a saddle if Gale decided he wanted this one, which Dal was having an itching feeling he was. "Right, I need a length of rope, about this long," Dallas said to the farmer. Dal would knot a quick bit-less bridle and grab a saddle pad from the tack room. The farmer handed him a length of purple rope and Dallas used his arms to get the bridle the right size.

Dallas then pushed past the farmer and opened the tack room door, it was pretty clean, a bit of dust, but that was expected. He dug through the piles of unorganized saddle pads, but none were really big enough. Then, Dallas' eyes cast down, a floor rug, the perfect size for the horses back, sat under a bowl of cat food. 

He pulled it up and threw it over his shoulder. He exited the tack room and shut the door behind him. "You wanna bridle him Gale?" He asked, maybe thinking that he should have just opened the stall door and done it himself.

"I bet you do know a thing or two about big horses, Mon ami." Gale wasn't paying attention to what his companion was doing, he was far too busy making fast work of the horses mane and braiding it. His nimble little fingers did this often growing up and it was tradition of his people to braid bells to bless the roads as they went.

"No, I've no business on the back of this beast. Maybe the one you think is fit for a princess? Do I count?" He was strange, he knew that much, but this was actually very calming and nice. He needed it badly.

"You will not throw him will you?" He spoke to the horse who was rather calm and enjoying the feel of Gale's hands in his long mane, "He's new so go easy. The staff hasn't had the chance to properly break him in." Gale took the moment to pull out one foot from the boot, the sound of little silver bells sang out down the row and he clipped one to tie it in the gypsies mane.

The Farmer didn't look very pleased with the going on, and cast a weary eye at the one eyed professor, but soon realized the cowboy had enough experience he could get back to his duties and left them. He wasn't drunk enough for this.

"I could hitch the wagon faster than I can do up a saddle," Gale said as he moved away from the horse, his foot back in his boot. The beast was quick to spit and stamp it's feet, and turned it's large black eyes on Dallas.

Dallas put on a straight face, and showed no emotion, the horse was watching him with a wary eye. He wasn't thrilled Gale had braided bells into the horse's mane, it would make it a challenge to listen to the beast's footfall, make sure his legs were moving right. This was much more than what Dallas bargained for. There were several other horses to be checked out, and he was wasting his time getting on a horse that would most likely trample him.

Dallas let Nightingale back out of the stall, then cautiously stepped into the box. The walls were scuffed from the equine's kicking. The bell clad horse snorted, yet Dallas raised the rope bridle. He was glad that he didn't have to put a bit in that animal's jaws, but rope was only so tough. Dallas keep stepping towards the creature. He wasn't a Gypsy, and he couldn't soothe the horse with a foreign language, but he clucked and spoke to the horse as he got closer.

"Steady now Jingles, steady." He was terrified of this animal, and it knew it. It stared at him, unblinking. He let go of the bridle cord with one hand and reached up to the horse's muzzle. "Hush now" he clucked his tongue a bit and hummed. He placed a hand on the beast's head. It's ears perked in alarm. He ran his hand down the creature's jaw and onto his neck. "There we go" Dallas draped the makeshift reins over the horses neck and lead it outside and into the ring, watching the horse's feet as he did.

He closed the ring gate, and approached the animal once more, having a bit more trust in it. He slid the rope over the horse's ears and held the reins. "There, that wasn't too bad, now was it?" He patted the horses neck, still feeling nervous, he still had to ride this monstrosity.

Gale was beyond tickled to watch this whole thing, and half wanted the horse to buck him just to see the reaction out of the cowboy. However, Gale knew that the horse wouldn't. He was too old for such a thing and far too excited. It brought him great pleasure to see the whole thing go down, and he waited patiently for Dallas to ride him around the ring a few times.

"You don't have to do it if you are afraid, America," Gale said as he made his way over the fence to climb up and watch. The cold air hit him again and he shivered. The stable hand was watching them with amused eyes and half placing a bet on the horse. Leave it to someone from Texas to feel the need to show off.

"I'm not...." Dallas didn't finish. He wasn't going to lie, and he wasn't about to tell the horse upfront that he was scared of him. Dallas let go of the reins and put a few feet between him and the horse. He pulled the rug off his shoulder and the horse took a few steps to the side. Dallas held the rectangular “blanket” in the position he wanted it in, then, raised it to lay it over the horse’s back. His shoulders were even, he’d be a good candidate if he wasn’t crazy.

The horse danced out of the way of the dusty rug and snorted. So this was how it was going to be. Dallas shuffled his feet to get it over the horse again, but the beast bolted away, whinnying. It was mocking him, and that was something he couldn’t have. This time, Dallas tossed the rug, hoping it would fall into place while the horse wasn’t looking at him. The horse kicked and Dallas skidded back. The horse’s hind quarters hit the blanket straight on and it flopped onto the ground.

Dallas smiled as the horse reared and kicked up at the sky. Then, the creature’s feet hit the ground and Dallas’ smile vanished. It was playing at first, and now it was going to kill him. “Uh-oh” The horse charged after him. Dallas turned and hightailed it out of there, launching himself over the metal fence. The horse came up to the fence and pulled his ears back and screamed at him. Dal scrambled to get back up and put his hat back on his head.

“If I get back in that ring, I’m gonna get killed, no way amigo, sorry”

The banter between horse and man was endearing, and it made Gale smile brightly. His entire face lit up watching the two, and for a brief moment it seemed that his cold exterior had found a crack. However, all of that changed in an instant when the horse turned on Dallas. This wasn't funny anymore, he could be truly hurt.

Gale opened his arms to wave at the horse in an attempt to intimidate it. His heavy black cape waving like wings as he went, and he hissed at the beast. A slew of nasty words, and Romani curses spit at the large beast as Gale nearly climbed up over the fence to break it's neck. He only made it half way up before stopping.

"That is not funny, you could have hurt him!" He spat at the horse who was already running the length of the ring, and still the stablehand laughed. But even his toothless grin stopped when Gale's silver gaze swept angrily over him, and the man pushed to go put the horse away.

"I am so sorry," Gale quickly turned to jump down to face Dallas and went over to him to make sure he was alright, "Did he hurt you? Is anything broken?" Without thinking he started to feel the man's arms, worried about his legs as well. "I'm sorry, so so sorry."

It was the fear talking before. Now Dallas just wanted to get on the horse. "No, I'm fine, it's no problem, really." Dal waved Gale away, not wanting to be fussed over. The horse ran around the edge of the ring. Dallas straightened his hat and narrowed his eyes on the crazy horse.

Dallas climbed the fence, and the horse stopped trotting, and stared at him. "Number one rule of ridin', get on the horse and ride until your thrown, and then get back on." Dallas swung his leg over the metal bar and hopped down into the dust pit. He stared the horse straight in the eye, getting closer and closer, his boot heels dragging through the dirt.

The horse stared right back at him. Once Dal was a few feet away, he started at a sprint and kicked off the ground, throwing himself at the beast. He landed on the creature's back and swung a leg over, grabbing the horse's mane and rope reins. He pulled on the reins with force, "Backupbackupbackup!" Dallas commanded in a stern tone. The horse turned it's head and he pulled a bit harder. "Back. Up." He said a gain, giving the reins a small tug.

The horse's back foot extended back and then the other. Dallas stared at the horse's eye, knowing it could still see him from his place on it's back. Dal gave the reins slack and dug his heels into the beast's sides. "Walk on" He said. The horse didn't move. "Move along, Gypsie."

Silence. The horse's front hoof dragged in front of him, followed by the other. Dallas felt the tension in the horse's midsection and gripped the horse's hair. The beast kicked up and reared, bucking and throwing itself about, Dallas laughed, feeling absolutely nuts. It was hard to stay in place without a saddle. Dal felt himself sliding, and finally gave in to the horse's jerking body movements and thudded to the ground.

He rolled away, trying not to get trampled.