Hooves: Introductions: Part Two

Tom lead Elsie down towards the Mercury Estate proper. It was not a long walk by any means. And even if it had been, Elsie would not have minded that. The trip in the trailer had left her feeling a bit cramped and claustrophobic. Being out beneath the open sky was doing wonders for her already. She had to remind herself to stifle a neigh down.

Tom looked over at her and cracked a huge grin as he walked alongside her. “Feeling good with all the fresh air?” he asked.

Elsie nodded in reply to him. She didn’t say much else though. Though she had met Tom earlier when he had come to get her, she hadn’t really felt the need to talk to him much. That lack of a desire for conversation had not really changed in the past few hours.

Tom nodded in return. “Good, that’s good,” he said. “I enjoy it too. Better here than Philadelphia, anyway. That city’s too dirty for me.”

Elsie looked over at him curiously. She assumed that he was from there, by the way that he inquired about it. Still, there wasn’t much of an inclination to talk at all. Not yet, at least.

Tom gave her a knowing look that seemed to say he realized what Elsie was doing. “So what’s it going to take for me to get you to talk?” he asked. Elsie shrugged and kept walking forward. Tom laughed. “All right then. Have it your way. It’s sure not any fun to just keep quiet though, that’s for certain.”

Elsie just shrugged her shoulders at this and looked at the countryside around the Mercury Estate. The rolling hills to her left gave way to mountains not too far away. Their snow-capped peaks looked down upon the collection of buildings. To the right, the green forest squatted like some small troll waiting for a thought.

“That’s the Arrow Forest,” Tom said. He pointed back towards the mountains. “Those are the Dior Mountains. You can visit either one, if you ever feel up to it. Just be sure to let us know before you go galavanting across the countryside.”

Elsie nodded. She did not know if she would be going to either one of them, actually. The forest looked to be too cramped for her to enjoy herself. The mountains were a little more inviting, if only because of the rolling hills between here and there. Already she felt an urge to go galloping across them and revel in the freedom that she knew she would feel.

“Got an itch to scratch?” Tom inquired, looking up at her curiously.

“Yes,” Elsie said softly, smiling longingly as she looked at the open hills.

Tom laughed. “There’s your voice.”

A breath was caught in Elsie’s chest and she looked at the ground. “Sorry,” she said, a bit of guilt in her voice.

Tom laughed again and shook his head. “Think nothing of it. I just like to hear my own voice, is all. I forget others aren’t quite as talkative as I am.”

The boy suddenly went flying forward and landed flat on his face. Elsie stopped suddenly and walked up to him. Tom rolled over on his back and laughed hard.

“That’ll teach me to watch where I put my feet,” he said, grinning up at the open sky.

“Are you all right?” Elsie asked, looking over him with a little bit of concern on her face.

Tom turned his smiling face towards her. “Why yes I am,” he said, propping himself up into a sitting position. For a moment, he rested his arms on his knees and caught his breath. Then he hopped back up and stood beside Elsie. “Just fine,” he said. “Shall we continue?”

Seeing that the boy was indeed rather unharmed, Elsie nodded her head and started to walk forward again. Tom followed alongside her, his steps bouncing as he hummed a mindless tune.