"well ever since-" he paused "ever since my mother passed away, my father thinks he needs to care for me double as much as normal, so he sends me out with my friends. i dont really mind it, but its sad he just chucks his money at me and leaves me too it..i miss her." sam said quietly, sudenly feeling a pang of longing for his mother to be with them. she had been a keen equestrian, and had died of cancer 6 years ago.

"I- uhm... I'm sorry..." She murmured quietly. For the first time, Sam genuinely didn't look quite as up-beat as normal. She was going to chuck her past in there, but decided to let Sam have his moment. She knew how heart braking it was to loose a parent, and she didn't want to dig that up again. "Tell me about where you've been." She said suddenly, trying to change the subject.

"yeah, its ok..its just hard sometimes, thats all." sam said softly. "oh, places like hawaii, Kenya, you know, tropical places." he said. he leaned down and hugged nero's neck as they walked down the twisting sandy path. they rounded a corner and came to the most breathtaking o views. the sea spread out as far as the eye could see, and rugged cliffs, sprinkled with heather lined the sandy beaches. "wow." sam breathed

"I do not know." She replied with a chuckle, "But it sounds nice." She shrugged inwardly with a small smile. Ellie knew the trails like the back of her hand, so the beach was no surprise to her. Though the sight always made her smile. "Stunning, isn't it? It's surprising how close the beach is." She questioned with a grin, seeing the look on his face. "We can go down there if you want? There's never many people, so we will have the whole place to ourselves," She noted, starting to walk Astra down a path that lead directly to the flat sand.

"yes, that would be amazing." Sam said, following her down the narrow trail to the seashore. Sam relished the wind in his hair, the salt on his tounge. once they reached the sand, sam said "lets go!" and he and nero surged forward, galloping across the deserted sand. Sam whooped with joy, and flung his arms in the air with happiness. Sam had never felt so wild, so free, so happy. he watched the waves as him and his horse raced the wind.

Ellie looked a little confused for a moment before she peaced together what Sam was doing and almost went from a halt to gallop in an attempt to catch up. She steered Astra into the sea, making him pick up his legs a little more, and creating huge splashes that whipped up and into her face. A toothy grin spread across her face as her gelding slowly became faster and faster with every step.

Sam guided Nero to the waters edge, the white fringes of the waves rising up and coming down in a vibrant, undulating motion as they galloped further. the wind whipped their hair about and the sea splashed their faces. they reached the end of the beach and sam pulled up. sandng there for a moment, listening to the gentle sound of waves and wind. "i needed that, thanks." he said to Ellie, who had just pulled up.

Ellie slowed down slightly until she came to a halt, her face windswept and her plait a mess. "No problem," She breathed, letting Astra put his head down, "So did this fatty," She teased, pointing down at her golden patched gelding. "And me, of course," She added with a laugh.

"come on!" Sam said, starting to walk up a heather-lined path on the clifftops. he walked for a while and came out of the pine tree forest, coming back to the log trail, heading back to the yard.Nero suddenly spooked at a plastic bag, and Sam was almost thrown off! "wooah, there," he sais, regaining his footing an speaking firmly to the headstrong stallion.

Ellie followed along quietly, watching her gelding head bob up and down with every step... Well, until she heard the muddled footsteps of Nero. Her deep blue eyes darted up look at the boy and his horse worriedly, then she spotted the plastic bag. It made her want to chuckle but she held it back. "Well sat!" She praised, though her tone was a little sarcastic. She looked thoughtful for a moment before speaking up again, "Had he always done that with plastic bags?" She questioned curiously.