At Least She Didn't Break Lovebird's Heart

He really needed to stop doing this. That's all he knew. 

 

Voltar stared out at the pasture, leaning his weight back on Heartbreak, having just broken the mare in and wanting to take her on a proper ride around before she and he went to rest for the day. He stared at the mares trotting around, arching his head slowly to the side before he took a sharp breath. 

 

He needed to stop doing this. 

 

As much as he loved taking his young mare around, coming this way was stupid; he was so well aware, but it didn't matter. He was here, and he had bells in his pockets to spare. He shifted some, pressing his weight down into the saddle with a gentle 'whoa', reaching to scratch the mare for a moment before finally going to pop off. He gently scratched at her neck, Heartbreak releasing a low nicker before he approached where the wild herd was. Voltar held gently to the reins as he walked towards the mares. The one that was catching his eye had a small heart on her head; it seemed to make her look softer, more...approachable, in his mind. He swallowed hard, sending a glance back at Heartbreak, the mare gently shoving her nose against him before leaning into him gently. 

 

"Atta' girl," Voltar spoke softly, not wanting to spook the wild horses that were in front of him. He narrowed his eyes a bit. A bit uncertain about what he was doing, but he knew that uncertainty didn't pay off in these kinds of situations. He had to have confidence.

 

He had absolutely none.

 

"Hey, pretty girl," Voltar gently clicked out the mare that he liked, staring at Lovebird with a bit of a smile, trying to appear softer, more approachable to the mare as he gently took a step that way. He paused when she lifted her head. Her mane was roached, a bit too short for him even to try tying a ribbon into it. He wasn't stupid; he knew what his limitations were, especially when it came to his tying skills. Cascade had helped him a few times with different knots. He swallowed hard, gently clicking his tongue, before he seemed to light up, remembering that Heartbreak had treats in her saddle bag.

 

"Hey, girl, I'mma steal a treat, mind if I do? I'll share with you, too." Voltar promised Heartbreak gently, the mare leaning her head curiously to see what the avian was doing, Lovebird snorting quietly and curiously approaching, her head arching slightly to the side, definitely curious in whatever the avian was doing. He was digging into the bag for something, and the other mare seemed calm, so curiosity definitely won out. 

 

Voltar looked over a bit when he saw Lovebird approaching, the mare lowering her head some and releasing a loud snort as she sniffed at the avian, trying to figure out what he had. When he pulled out the groanola treats, she snorted, taking a sharp step back. She looked extremely uncertain, and Voltar could definitely understand why. He laughed quietly, going over to her and gently clicking as he reached to offer Heartbreak one first. 

 

Heartbreak looked towards Lovebird as she backed up, snorting quietly before going to lean her head into Voltar's hands, gently taking the treat and quietly eating it while lowering her head to do some, despite her tack, the bitless bridle she'd been started in was better than the one that he planned to use on her while they were working the cattle. He smiled, putting his head slightly to the side, scratching on Heartbreak's side for a moment, trying to reassure Lovebird that he meant absolutely no harm. He leaned his hand out, offering the treat with an open and flat palm. Lovebird just stared at him for a few moments before snorting quietly and approaching with caution, obviously not certain of whatever the avian was doing. 

 

Voltar tried not to move, or snort at the expression that Lovebird certainly had, biting his lip a bit and just letting her approach to take the treat from his palm. He smiled some once she took a step back, the mare quickly went to swallow it down before he even had a chance to take it. He wasn't going to take it, but he found some amusement in how fast she decided that he wasn't going to be able to. Lovebird snorted quietly as she held the treat, taking a few steps to the side in order to swallow before she turned her eyes back to Voltar, the curiosity now searching for more snacks that the avian had to offer.

 

"I've got more, but first," Voltar cooed. He tried to think what the best way to get this ribbon on this mare without absolutely spooking the hell out of her was. He narrowed his eyes a bit before he seemed to light up, reaching into his pocket, the ribbon was long, he usually made them long, not wanting to have to struggle with a short ribbon when he was going to be tying it into manes, yes her mane was roached, but could he tie it down the mane instead of in the strand like he had with Heartbreak. "Can I put this in, or do I have to fight you by giving you more treats?" Voltar asked gently, smiling as he watched the mare take a cautious step closer, her ears perking. 

 

Voltar nodded some, smiling as he reached to get more treats from the bag, softly whistling and patting at Heartbreak, the mare turning a bit when he went behind her, still learning how to trust the avian, but she certainly was improving. The going behind her was still a cautious thing, when she didn't move her bottom half any, Voltar happily offered her a treat as well, Lovebird just watching the exchange with a level of low curiosity, not wanting to get involved, but obviously staring down the treat that was moved from Voltar's hand into Heartbreak's mouth. She snorted quietly, taking a step closer before going to gently shove her nose into a wing. Voltar's wings immediately spread out to the shove; he turned back towards her for a moment before he smiled, trying not to laugh. 

 

"Are we starting to get impatient, jealous that Heartbreak got a treat before you? I thought you didn't trust me?" Voltar gently teased the mare as he reached into the bag, quickly going to offer more treats. Lovebird seemed to absolutely beam at the offering, the lavender mare lowering her head into his hand immediately to eat at the treats he was giving. Voltar gently reached to scratch at her head, pulling his hand back when she jolted a bit, uncertain of what he was doing. It took just a moment before finally, Lovebird was leaning into the scratches while eating a few treats. Voltar tried not to laugh at the expression that the mare was giving, looking so relaxed and comfortable. Voltar looked towards Heartbreak for a moment, the mare getting a grin. 

 

"Okay, can I...reach a little higher?" Voltar spoke slowly, offering more treats. Lovebird had pulled away when more treats were placed into his hand, but she was eager, rushing to eat them quickly and without any form of hesitation, obviously just excited for a chance at them. Her ears perked slightly when Voltar moved up some, gently scratching at where her forelock was. He smiled a bit. The caution was there, but he could see that she was giving up for something to nibble on; treats always worked! (It was the only reason Meatball hadn't run him over yet, he was sure.) 

 

"Okay, I have no more treats. Is it okay if I play with your mane anyway?" Voltar asked it quietly, trying to still hold a very comforting tone as he drew his hand away some. Lovebird raised her body almost immediately, staring at Voltar with a look of betrayal and annoyance, definitely wanting more treats despite his words. Voltar released a low sigh, shaking his head some. He didn't have much of a choice; he didn't want to accidentally make a wild horse sick on way too many treats.

 

"I just wanna scratch, you liked this?" Voltar gently offered a scratch to her head, giving a soft confirmation that she enjoyed the scratches. It took a long moment, but the mare released a low huff sound, leaning forward into the scratches at her forelock. She did, in fact, enjoy it. Voltar smiled, trying to relax some despite tensing up when he thought Lovebird might've taken off on him. He shifted to the side, taking a step to the mare's side. Lovebird immediately moved, stepping to follow and keep her head turned towards him. She didn't trust him, which Voltar was fine with, but he reached out gently, scratching at the side of her neck. Voltar swallowed hard. He had to just calm down. 

 

"You like the scratches, don't you?" Voltar asked gently, smiling at the slight lean that Lovebird was giving into the scratches. It was difficult, he knew that, but as he moved, he kept scratching. He looked towards Heartbreak for a moment, snorting quietly at how jealous his mare looked, but she'd once been in Lovebird's situation, untrusting and unwilling to accept scratches without some level of caution. He smiled some, leaning his hand more up towards her mane, trying to ease her into the feeling of getting scratches in her mane. He sighed quietly. He had to do this, he had this! 

 

"I'm just going to tie something into your mane, okay?" Voltar offered quietly. He reached into his pocket, glancing at the ponies out in the field. He could see the bells looped in their manes, so the sound shouldn't scare Lovebird, should it? He cautiously still offered it to her nose so that she could sniff it, not wanting to risk the mare getting spooked and hurting herself or him and Heartbreak. Lovebird snorted quietly, leaning her nose down into the bell, gently nipping at it before sniffing at it. A few low huffs escaped her before she decided that it was like those things that she'd tried to eat before. These weren't treats as much as the mare obviously wished that Voltar had in his hand. 

 

Voltar snorted quietly, trying not to laugh as he stared at the mare's expression, which was something between slight contempt and uncertainty. Voltar took a deep breath, smiling softly at Lovebird, still scratching at her side for a moment as she investigated the bell, when she finally turned away from it, he released a breath he didn't realize he was holding. He wasn't sure if he thought of it as acceptance or realizing that Voltar didn't have treats in his hands anymore, but he would take it either way, quickly turning towards the mare's shoulder and reaching his fingers into her mane. He smiled somewhat as he looped the bell around the first bit of hair. The jingling did earn a small jump from Lovebird, but the mare didn't react much at all after the initial small spook. She leaned her head towards Heartbreak, who still proudly wore her bell tied in her mane. 

 

Heartbreak was glad to sniff back, her ears perking forward at the curiousity Lovebird was presenting, while she wasn't the most trusting mare, she could see that Lovebird wasn't going to do anything to her or Voltar, so she got sniffed. Heartbreak released a low snort after a moment, taking a small step back and shaking her body out. The movement of tack did make Lovebird jolt straight up, Voltar making a soft trilling noise with the back of his throat, trying to ease the mare back down into herself so that he could finish tying the ribbon. It wasn't as hard as he thought, just braiding it down through her mane instead of just doing the strand as he had initially planned. If he'd spotted a horse he wanted to take home, he sent a desperate look to Heartbreak, wanting her to keep Lovebird calm for a few more moments. 

 

Heartbreak stared at her handler, but seemed to understand the message. After a moment of staring, she released a few softer-sounding nickers, snorting gently before going to sniff at Lovebird again. The wild mare snorted quietly but sniffed back. Voltar gently scratched her neck and released a low 'whoa' at the way she gave a squeal at Heartbreak. He tried not to laugh, not to get even the tiniest bit amused. Heartbreak certainly had personality, but she was very friendly, glad to snuggle with Cascade any chance she got, so the idea that she made this wild mare nervous? He sighed, smiling more as he scratched at Lovebird's side, finally getting his fingers worked down into the bottom part of her mane, smiling at the way the bell hung, a soft tone escaping it. 

 

"I think I got that bell in pretty good, it's braided, so don't go ripping it out!" Voltar warned quietly, smiling some as Lovebird turned towards him, releasing a loud snort of a huff, he sighed, shaking his head some before turning towards Heartbreak. "Do you think she deserves another treat? I certainly think she deserves another treat, and so do you." Voltar gently buzzed out, moving to the saddle back, reaching in and quickly pulling out a treat for Heartbreak and one for Lovebird, offering them both the small pieces with open palms. 

 

Lovebird stared at Heartbreak as she ate her half, staring at the treat for a few moments before finally closing the distance and quickly going to swallow it down, her tail flicking a few times before she snorted, releasing a low-sounding nicker at Heartbreak, obviously now more comfortable with the mare despite squealing at her. Heartbreak seemed to just beam, softly snorting back. Voltar laughed quietly, scratching at Heartbreak's side.

 

"If you keep that ribbon in, you can keep seeing Heartbreak." Voltar gently took Lovebird, nodding at the mare before reaching to put his leg into the stirrup on Heartbreak's side. He put himself on the mare's back, leaning his weight down into her gently. Heartbreak released a happy little snort, shaking her head at Lovebird. Lovebird stared at the two before releasing a small nicker, her ears perking as she turned back towards her herd. She stared at the herd for a few moments before finally taking off. Voltar leaned his weight down to gently scratch at Heartbreak.

 

"I think you might've just made us a friend, let's hope that she keeps that ribbon tied in, eh?" Voltar buzzed out gently, smiling at the soft nicker that Heartbreak gave in return...he couldn't wit to return and see if he had a new mare to bring home.