Birthday Stroll

Memoire Antique's Main Story

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Shouri Hajime on Javior

Connor R. Winters on Stanko

Hamingja & Vijolica

Severni Sij & Ásjá

Fjötra & Zdravilka

Story

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Next: Tactical Stop

The crisp February air nipped at Shouri’s face as he adjusted his gloves before picking up his reins. His breath was visible in the cold, but disappearing into the quiet afternoon. The snow-covered ground crunched softly under his horse’s hooves as he turned toward Connor, who was fumbling with his phone while trying to mount. “This is gonna be great,” Connor said, grinning as he finally got himself settled in the saddle.

Shouri forced a smile. “Yeah. Just a ride.” Just a ride. A simple, everyday thing. It felt too small of a gift, too plain. But when he had asked Connor what he wanted for his birthday, the answer had been frustratingly clear: "Just a ride with you, man. That’s all I want."

So here they were.

They guided their horses along the fence line of the stable, Shouri and Javior took the lead. A few pastured horses lifted their heads, curious about the two riders. With soft snorts, they started following, their warm breath steaming in the cold air. Connor pulled out his phone again.

Shouri groaned. “Seriously?”

Connor smirked. “It’s tradition. Alright? So listen to this one: Why don’t horses use cell phones? Because they can’t find a stable connection!” Connor chuckled, scrolling for another one. “Okay, okay, one more - Why did the horse sit down at the bar? Because he was the neigh-borhood drunk!”

Shouri shook his head. “I give up.", he turned in his saddle to glare at Connor. “I regret gifting you this ride.” Connor burst out laughing, his breath fogging up the air. Strange enough, Shouri felt the corners of his mouth twitching. The sound of hooves crunching over packed snow filled the silence between them, and for a moment, everything felt still. Peaceful.

Connor sighed, tucking his phone away. “Man, I needed this.”

Shouri glanced at him. “Yeah?”

Connor nodded. “Yeah. We don’t get to do this much anymore. Life’s busy, y’know? But this? Just riding, talking, being out here with you? It’s exactly what I wanted.”

Shouri let that sink in. Maybe he’d been overthinking things. Maybe this was enough.

“... Fine,” he muttered, shaking his head. “But if you tell one more joke, I’m pushing off and into the snow.”

Connor grinned. “No promises.”

Shouri rolled his eyes, but as they rode on - past the fence, past the following horses, past the quiet stretch of wintery fields - he realized something. Sometimes, the simplest things really were the best gifts. The horses moved at a steady walk, their hooves crunching through the snow as Shouri and Connor continued along the fence line.

Connor shivered a bit, “Man, I always forget how cold February rides are.”

Shouri smirked. “You were the one who wanted this and it's your fault you didn't put on a jacket.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Connor waved him off. “still totally worth it. We really gotta do this more often.”

Shouri nodded, but something in his chest tightened. They always said that - we need to ride more, we should hang out soon - but life had a way of pulling them in different directions. He was about to say as much when Connor suddenly pointed ahead.

“Hey, check it out.” A deer stood in front of them. It lifted its head, ears twitching as it studied them.

Shouri slowed his horse, “That’s a big one.”

Connor grinned, “I bet he’s waiting for me to tell him a joke.”

Shouri groaned, “Please, no.”

Connor cleared his throat dramatically. “Why don’t deer like horse jokes?” The deer flicked its tail and bounded away before Shouri could respond. Connor laughed, “Wow. Tough crowd.”

Shouri shook his head, but he was smiling. They continued on, talking about nothing and everything - work, old memories, stupid things they’d seen online. The horses on the other side of the fence eventually lost interest and wandered off, leaving just the two of them.

Connor sniffed and wiped at his nose absent-mindedly. At first, he didn’t notice anything. But when he looked down to adjust his reins, he frowned at the sight of red smeared across his left hand. “Ah, crap,” he muttered.

Shouri glanced over. “What? Oh shit,” his relaxed expression immediately shifted to concern.

Connor shrugged it off, “It happens, sometimes. Cold weather and so on, classic combo - whatever.”

Shouri didn’t look convinced. “Are you okay? Do you need to get off? Do you feel dizzy?”

Connor faced down again, which only made more blood drip onto his hands and Stanko's saddle. “Relax, mom. I’m fine.”

Shouri sighed and reached into his jacket pocket. “Here.” He pulled out an old, slightly crumpled tissue.

Connor raised an eyebrow. “You just carry tissues around?”, but without more thoughts he accepted the tissue and pressing it to his nose. “Thanks.”

Shouri watched him for a moment, still frowning. “You sure you’re okay?”

Connor nodded, “Yeah. It’ll surely stop in a minute.” He gestured ahead, “Let’s keep riding.”

Shouri hesitated but eventually nudged his horse forward again, keeping a wary eye on Connor. They continued down the snow-covered path and Shouri stared at him for a long moment before shaking his head, “You’re the worst.”

Connor just laughed, riding on with the now red tissue still pressed to his face. Shouri didn’t stop watching him out of the corner of his eye, though. Just in case.

By the time they returned to the stable, the sun was beginning to dip behind the trees, casting long shadows over the snow-covered paddocks. The air had grown colder, and their horses huffed out warm clouds of breath as they stepped onto the packed path leading toward the barn.

Connor grinned a bit after getting off of Stanko, “See? Totally fine.”

Shouri gave him a skeptical look. “You bled all over yourself and your horse.” Connor just shrugged again and Shouri rolled his eyes as he swung off his horse, “Well, at least you didn’t pass out on me.”

They led their horses into the stable, the familiar scent of hay and warmth made it just cozy enough. Aside from them the stable was quiet. As they loosened girths and removed saddles, Connor finally tossed the now tissue into a nearby trash bin. Shouri handed him a clean rag, “For your face. You still look like you lost a fight.”

Connor accepted the rag, and cleaned off the last traces of blood. Meanwhile, Shouri brushed down Javior. The familiar routine was comforting, but something gnawed at him - something that reminded him of his detective-sense. Maybe it was just that same thought he’d had on the ride. That they always said they’d do this more often, but they never really did.

But for some reason, today felt different - like something was about to change.

Neither of them knew it would be their last peaceful ride for a long time.

Neither of them knew how much they would soon wish for one more day like this.

All of the characters reside with me.

No references used.