|
|
Post by Harley Venson on Dec 24, 2010 5:24:41 GMT 2
Licking his lips, Harley adjusted the collar on his thick coat, the zip done almost all the way to the top, his legs crossed underneath him. After all, it was Winter and Harley never ever sat in the comfort of the stands. Nope, he preferred to sit on the gridding on top of one of the sheds, out of the way and out of the limelight. Sure, he could rodeo better then a lot of people, it was what he was best at, but he let everyone else take the credit as much as he could. Harley simply liked living his own life to as much enjoyment as he could. Nothing more, nothing less.
Taking a long sip of his beer, Harley stubbed out his cigarette and threw it with the other finished butts into the basket ready for him. Harley knew it was a dirty habit but that was exactly what it was, a habit that he couldn't and didn't particularly want to, break. He watched as they prepared the next rider... another out of towner. This was the first rodeo in a couple of weeks so naturally people had made the visit out, Harley considered that was why there was such a big crowd tonight. There was snow on the hills which just made the whole festive atmosphere that bit more special. Only a few people knew where Harley's favourite spot was, and occasionally he would have a few visitors which was good.
Harley sat straighter, his forehead furrowing slightly at the current rider. He could tell from the off that the guy had no idea what he was doing and yet had been sat on one of the notouriously worst horses. Clearly the man had lied to the rodeo workers about his ability. It had happened before and Harley wasn't stupid enough to think this was the last time it would happen. City boys and their toys. Putting his half full beer down, he got onto his knees slowly, before standing fully and jumping down behind the fence as soon as the man hit the floor. It wasn't safe and this horse in particular didn't enjoy being wound up by amateurs.
Climbing over the fence with ease, Harley made a rare appearence into the ring, running carefully to the bucking horse as best he could. Grabbing the reins tightly, Harley shushed the horse, his muscles working as the stallion pulled hard. Still, he was used to the annoying personalities of some of the horses recently, particularly in the cold weather. Glancing at the out of towner who had managed to pick himself up off the ground without injury, Harley barely spoke a word to him, more interested in the horse.
"You shouldn't kick so hard when it's not needed."
Common sense, Harley thought, but then who had any of that these days. Pulling the horse to the gate once it had calmed down and steam puffed out of its nostrils, Harley stroked the mane before passing the reins over to one of the workers.
"Get Lucker out. He's already prepared." Gesturing for another horse to be used instead, Harley glanced back at the out of towner before he left the arena. "Next time, don't lie. The horse could have been hurt."
It was all well and good when it wasn't youre on property, according to these people, but the horses were Harley's life. He loved them as much as he loved people and he didn't want to see them hurt basically. Waving at the crowd who were cheering for him to give the rodeo a go, something he had only done three times in total since starting, again preferring to stay out of the limelight. Simply shaking his head, Harley climbed over the fence and under the second gate to get to his place of watch. This was why he needed to be here, to make sure none of the horses ran away from them. |
|
|
|
Post by Wyatt Parker on Dec 24, 2010 6:50:01 GMT 2
Word Count: 1095
Status: Complete
Lyrics: Photograph by Nickelback
Wyatt combed through his messy hair with his fingers, brushing back the tuft of hair that always stood up above his forehead. His hair had a natural forward comb to it, with that little tuft causing chaos on the top of Wyatt's head. He didn't really think much of a bad hair day because for him he could just dump his stetson on his head and that was that. Today he had it sitting on the empty seat beside him and Wyatt glanced at it, his eyes roving over the worn cover on the seat. He didn't have his family with him there today because the rodeo would have been too much for Lily to handle. It was like his day off from the ranch, which Wyatt didn't often take off. He gave Carl and Billy their days off but the ranch was his livelihood. It was everything he breathed and his life revolved around it. Yet he'd taken the time out to go and visit the rodeo. It was back up and running with competitions all through the day. Wyatt had a connection to it from back when he'd done a bit of bullriding himself. He'd been nothing special, coming up just fourth or so. Harley had always been the one to take home the gold.
The two men were only separated by a year and since there was only one high school in town it wasn't a coincidence that they knew each other. Wyatt's eyes averted back to the road that stretched out for another good few miles ahead of him. There was no sight of the wild horse herd anywhere around this country and the first snow had only just fallen the previous night. It was late, considering how deep in Europe was but Wyatt was glad for it. There wasn't any ice on the road to make this trip hazardous and it was an easy way along, it was just the cold that got to him. Wyatt had to work his fingers a bit, having become cold and stiff holding on to that steering wheel.
Look at this photograph
Everytime I do it makes me laugh
How did our eyes get so red
And what the hell is on Joey's head
And this is where I grew up
I think the present owner fixed it up
I never knew we'd ever went without
The second floor is hard for sneaking out
Wyatt climbed out of his Ford truck that he had just parked, reaching over to the passenger seat and grabbing his hat before he closed his car door. He looked out at the crowds headed towards the pens and such, all set out alongside the main area that held the arenas where all the riding took place. He pulled his stetson on and blended in with the crowd. He noticed alot of people had come in from out of town and there were only a handful of familiar faces out here. They must have all been out in the stands watching the riders go out and give it their best shot. Wyatt was curious to see what kind of riders were going around in the rodeo nowadays. He hadn't been in a long time and Wyatt certainly had some catching up to do.
Wyatt was wearing a black jacket which was a change from his usual, his father's coat had stayed on his back since the first day he'd needed it out on the ranch what with the cold. He'd left it hanging on the coat rack inside his kitchen and opted for a change. Underneath the jacket he was wearing a plain maroon shirt that had faded over the years. Besides that he was wearing a good pair of jeans, not the ones stained with all sorts of who knows what. Wyatt approached the pens and eyed a few of the stallions getting all riled up, some fighting their handlers as a few of them were led out towards the arena. Wyatt's eyes followed their path and headed on towards where all the action was. He was confronted with crowds bunched up closer together, all holding some kind of food like popcorn, which was the best seller apparently. Up in the stands crowds cheered and in another moment he heard them all hold their breath as a rider would fall. One in particular caught Wyatt's eye as he drew closer. He'd gone up into the stands now but hadn't made his way to any of the seats. He leaned on the rails, even though the bars were freezing. He looked on as an inexperienced rider took up his seat on the stallion waiting in the holding pen. Wyatt was wincing for the sucker already.
A few moments went by and the rider didn't last long. He'd been kicking too hard and Wyatt's face hardened. He didn't see any use in that man trying to put another hair on his chest acting all tough on a bronco that needed a good rider. Nevertheless he didn't get too stormy on the matter. He was too busy smiling as Harley came out into the arena. It was the first time he'd seen the guy in a few weeks and he could see that the rodeo owner was giving that sucker a piece of his mind. Wyatt leaned away from the bars as Harley left the arena and made his way out to the area where all the riders waited for their turn. He passed men in plaid shirts and coats, all with numbers on their backs. Some stood in groups, chatting about the horses or bulls, others looked nervous and rubbed their hands together, or did something else to distract them from the pain they were going to feel pretty soon. Wyatt had his hands in his jacket pockets and looked around the crowds for the distinctive hair that seemed to be Harley's trademark. He eventually found the guy leaning against one of the gates, watching the next rider go out.
When the hell are ya gonna give that crowd something to cheer 'bout?
Wyatt quipped, his lazy smile only lifting up one corner of his mouth. His voice had been pretty upbeat which was a change in the rancher. Over the past two years he'd been hard to talk to but what with Lily coming back, even with her illness, Wyatt seemed better. That whole ranch had gotten better and coming back to the rodeo only brought back good memories. Right now visiting someone he'd never been good friends with but knew from high school and the rodeo was pretty good progress. He figured he needed to get in touch with the world again. And Harley? He was still living it up at the rodeo.
How's it goin', Harley.
Wyatt held out his hand for the man to shake, a customary greeting for the men to share. |
|
