[ when he'd first agreed to help her, he hadn't actually considered the extent that they'd actually be spending time together. pairing up on a job sounded easy enough, but considering how long he'd gone on working on his own, he'd forgotten about the minutes and hours that came stitched in between, when the company becomes so consistent that you even begin to start forgetting when to part ways, when the work stops and somehow they're still there.
briefly, it reminds him of sarah (prompting a sigh that carries something of a relief when he recognizes that she isn't a memory he's forgotten about), to their days of merc work just before they put him on the slap for over two centuries. with all the hours he's had with marta these past weeks, it's been similar enough to the kind of work entanglement he'd had with sarah — just short of spending actual nights together, which he's already put a restriction on in his mind.
but helping her survive this feels safe enough, feels necessary when he knows she's trying as hard as she is, especially after she's granted him a number of favors already. she stitches up his wounds, he could keep her from throwing up all over scorpion's bend. and how to ride a horse apparently. ]
Just stay relaxed while you're up there. They sense that kind of thing. You start freaking out, she's gonna know.
[ watching marta settle up on top of the saddle, kovacs remains below for now, fingers stroking the side of the animal's face to keep it steady, his hat tilted back on his head so he can keep a watchful eye on his partner. ]
[ the rains that had come along with the second group had been an inconvenience at the time, but now days after marta finds herself missing the reprieve from the planet's merciless twin suns. she blinks up at the clear skies, no cloud in sight to offer them shade, and blows out a puff of air that's meant to be steeling, but all it does is make the horse she's mounted on grunt and whinny in protest. so maybe the sigh had been more aggressive than she intended. ]
Can't I just walk everywhere?
[ she slides a pitiful look over to her partner, though it's clear she's half-joking. of course she recognizes the importance in learning how to use the town's main source of transportation, but now she's wondering of maybe she should have stuck to the mechanical horses instead. surely they wouldn't care if she's just a bundle of nerves, right? ]
Sure. Maybe get yourself caught under a storm out on the field if we get clouds again like we did two days ago. Or, even better, your feet can carry you off safely for cover if a couple of bandits charge in on their own horses and chase you down.
[ blunt and maybe even a little threatening, but he wouldn't actually be bothering to teach her any of this if it didn't come with its purposes, and more particularly the ones in which it'll keep her safe, especially with the way she constantly seems like she's fretting how much she's in over her head.
his own horse is a short distance away, taking advantage of being ignored to sniff at the ground for some semblance of edible grass amongst sandy dirt and dried land. kovacs keeps his attention up to marta for the moment, pursing his lips. ]
If you end up needing a quick escape here, this is gonna be your best bet. I might not be around to swoop you up myself if worse comes to worst.
[ marta doesn't normally pout, so what she does right now is the closest thing to it. ]
You're especially grumpy today. Did you lose a game of cards last night?
[ she readjusts herself in her seat, firms up her hold on the reins, like sitting up straighter will somehow instantly make her a better rider. in her defense it's not as if she's trying to be obstinate here; it's all just an unfortunate combination of multiple frustrations putting her in a dour mood. the general unease of how heavily the mission depends on deception, the number of missing folks still unaccounted for despite the new group's arrival, her overall lack of absolutely anything useful to supply the team with, despite having had all this extra time. and the goddamn heat beating down on her like it's got absolutely no chill (pun intended) at all.
another sigh, and the reins get ignored for a second so she can shrug off her vest and shove it at him. her sleeves get rolled up, revealing a splattering of freckles matching the ones that'd blossomed over her nose and cheeks the very second the planet's twin suns hit her skin. she readjusts her ponytail, trying to pull as many errand strands of her out of her face as possible. ]
[ not especially true, but she's not wrong in noticing the notable tension in him, credited either to a lack of sleep or a lack of ... plenty of things. there's frustration in that there's still plenty in this town they haven't figured out yet, that the trouble with bandits and menial work requests have kept him from diving into why they're really here. there's a parallel in both of their body languages from that, whether they seem to address it or not, even if he tries to appear more apathetic to the whole ordeal as to not carry it over.
his brows knit tight when her vest gets shoved at him, giving her a brief look of really? before simply tucking it under his arm to revert back to guiding her. ]
You want to keep them both in one hand, so you can keep one active. [ reaching in for her hand, he slides the reins beneath her fingers, tucking it against her thumb in the right position, his own calloused skin brushing hers to coordinate her posture, warm from the cascading heat. ] Hover it over the middle and don't grip tight. Just enough so that you're ready to pull and direct when you need to.
[ sweat beads along her hairline, the air thick and sticky still from the rain. though it's been days, there had been so much, all at once, that the air and the ground still bear evidence of it. the clearing they're at now, some distance away from the bustle of the town and the stables, have pockets of mud and lingering puddles that marta makes note of trying to avoid once she and the horse actually get moving.
the touch to her hand has her gaze dropping, watching as his guides the leather into a more comfortable position in her grasp. she wills her grip to loosen, shakes out some of the tension from her shoulders. she can already feel a strain on her hips and thighs, spread wide across the saddle, the position so foreign it's like her body's already protesting. ]
How did you learn?
[ she slides her look over to him, her gaze quietly inquisitive. he seems a man of a wide variety of talents, that she wonders what part of it is him, what part of it is being an envoy. ]
[ even beneath his fingers, where he makes direct contact with hers as he positions where to clutch, he can feel the loosening tension, purposeful in how she directly tries to relax even if it's easy to tell how it's required for her to be conscious of it to achieve it, at least for now.
he raises his eyes when she asks, feeling the direct line of her eyes to him. as if looking for something else to distract him when he draws his hand away, he brushes his palm to the mane of her horse. ]
Was on a job. Protectorate had me out looking for a man who was hiding out a planet that was mostly farm land. Had to blend to find him. Made quick work of learning the horses so I wouldn't stand out. Did it well enough, I even earned loyalty from a team of other riders.
[ the details are left mostly vague, like not making mention that it was a kill order from the government, that when he'd worked for the protectorate, it was as an assassin, to an extent, something he'd only really admitted once he was out of there, once he'd seen it all from the other side.
he considers she might assume it anyway, but then she tends to look at the good side of someone before assuming their worst. ]
It's how I was trained. When I was on the side of the government and then even when I switched to fighting alongside the Envoys, that part was all the same — blend in, learn the culture, inspire loyalty in a few capable locals, use them however you need to. [ he raises his eyes to her again, sight stern despite the brief swallow in his throat. ] Whatever the mission, you take what's offered.
[ their eyes meet again, and in the light of the twin suns marta can make out the different flecks of green in his eyes, the way his throat works around all the things he isn't saying. ]
At least it's offered.
[ perhaps not the most comforting of sentiments, but it's certainly the most optimistic of outlooks while still being wholly grounded in realism. however grim.
but from the sounds of things, kovacs has had more than his share of grim, and marta isn't looking to spend the rest of this heat feeling down if she can help it. ]
Come on. Am I going to be riding alone? Your poor horse looks bored.
[ the reality is that a lot of what he's learned, a lot of what he's had to do has all been for the purposes of having to achieve some unconventional task for someone else, getting his hands dirty because he's one of the few people willing to. it's why taking up this deal in the first place hadn't taken much thought; there's very little he wouldn't do, even if these days, he's trying to avoid doing it for someone else. not that it's working well.
but she draws him out of that brief detour into his own thoughts, raising a brow considering she'd been the one skeptical about the riding in the first place. ]
If I let you ride alone, I'll probably be seeing you in six hours, without a horse and with a few layers of mud on your skin to peel off. Wouldn't do that to you.
[ he shrugs a single shoulder, face displaying the shift of the conversation's mood as he shows a smugness in the smirk of his lips, patting her horse once more before turning to go climb upon his own. ]
[ see, now that outcome sounds incredibly likely, and probably something she'd say herself, but now that he's said it first, with that smug twist of his lips, marta's feeling contrary enough to ensure it absolutely never happens.
not that... you know... she would have done it on purpose anyway. ]
Do they have karma in your world, Kovacs? [ she watches him mount his horse with an ease she's be envious of, if she wasn't so busy pursing her lips and narrowing her eyes at his back. ] I'm going to make you eat your words now, just wait.
[ yep, once she figures out how to get her horse actually moving... it's over for you. ]
[ he can almost even see the flicker in her eye that believes exactly what he's saying, and with how he's technically supposed to be training her to be more comfortable, he should likely feel guilty for implying the idea, but as he settles into his own saddle, his personal amusement is only even more evident snide curl of his lips.
when she speaks up, he manages to swallow back a laugh, even if the inclination is written in his eyes when he looks to her, snagging his own reins and turning the horse's direction with ease as he aligns it alongside hers. ]
Can't wait. You ready to start moving or should I come back in a few hours when you've nudged forward a few more inches?
You have so much to say, [ marta mutters around a huff, but she refuses to give further into his baiting and resolves to turn her full attention to the matter at hand. which is... remember how to make this horse move. they always make it look so easy in the movies, but that's the movies for you. theoretically, she knows what she's supposed to do, but the actual execution of it has her pausing. the horse she's on has been patient enough, but now that it's just her and him, she can't help but feel much, much smaller and so very lacking in control.
but now she's got a point to prove. she's not normally so proud but there's something about that smug twist of kovacs' lips she just wants to wipe right off sometimes. now what was it he'd said? grip the reigns, nudge them with the heel of your boot a bit—
later, she'll blame it on her poor reflexes in the moment. but what was meant to be the gentlest of taps somehow wound up being more than that, and more than her horse had been anticipating and willing to stand for. one second they're just standing around, practically immobile, the next they're blasting off down the clearing like their life depended on it.
[ while he has no problem making fun of her a little, he's actually expecting her to handle it without too much trouble, since it at least doesn't require any real mastery of skill to at least get a horse moving and he does at least intend to stay beside her the whole time to make sure no problems actually arise while he gets used to the seating and the movement.
what he doesn't expect, through plenty of fault of his own for not giving it more careful attention, is for her to suddenly go darting across the field, the horse next to him one second and then leaving a trail of dusty dirt the next. ]
Marta — ! [ at least his instinct to move fast is still in working order, slapping the reins of his own horse to get it into high speed to chase down marta's along the path. ] Pull the reins back! It slows it down!
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dirty (muddy) saddle party;
briefly, it reminds him of sarah (prompting a sigh that carries something of a relief when he recognizes that she isn't a memory he's forgotten about), to their days of merc work just before they put him on the slap for over two centuries. with all the hours he's had with marta these past weeks, it's been similar enough to the kind of work entanglement he'd had with sarah — just short of spending actual nights together, which he's already put a restriction on in his mind.
but helping her survive this feels safe enough, feels necessary when he knows she's trying as hard as she is, especially after she's granted him a number of favors already. she stitches up his wounds, he could keep her from throwing up all over scorpion's bend. and how to ride a horse apparently. ]
Just stay relaxed while you're up there. They sense that kind of thing. You start freaking out, she's gonna know.
[ watching marta settle up on top of the saddle, kovacs remains below for now, fingers stroking the side of the animal's face to keep it steady, his hat tilted back on his head so he can keep a watchful eye on his partner. ]
no subject
Can't I just walk everywhere?
[ she slides a pitiful look over to her partner, though it's clear she's half-joking. of course she recognizes the importance in learning how to use the town's main source of transportation, but now she's wondering of maybe she should have stuck to the mechanical horses instead. surely they wouldn't care if she's just a bundle of nerves, right? ]
no subject
[ blunt and maybe even a little threatening, but he wouldn't actually be bothering to teach her any of this if it didn't come with its purposes, and more particularly the ones in which it'll keep her safe, especially with the way she constantly seems like she's fretting how much she's in over her head.
his own horse is a short distance away, taking advantage of being ignored to sniff at the ground for some semblance of edible grass amongst sandy dirt and dried land. kovacs keeps his attention up to marta for the moment, pursing his lips. ]
If you end up needing a quick escape here, this is gonna be your best bet. I might not be around to swoop you up myself if worse comes to worst.
no subject
You're especially grumpy today. Did you lose a game of cards last night?
[ she readjusts herself in her seat, firms up her hold on the reins, like sitting up straighter will somehow instantly make her a better rider. in her defense it's not as if she's trying to be obstinate here; it's all just an unfortunate combination of multiple frustrations putting her in a dour mood. the general unease of how heavily the mission depends on deception, the number of missing folks still unaccounted for despite the new group's arrival, her overall lack of absolutely anything useful to supply the team with, despite having had all this extra time. and the goddamn heat beating down on her like it's got absolutely no chill (pun intended) at all.
another sigh, and the reins get ignored for a second so she can shrug off her vest and shove it at him. her sleeves get rolled up, revealing a splattering of freckles matching the ones that'd blossomed over her nose and cheeks the very second the planet's twin suns hit her skin. she readjusts her ponytail, trying to pull as many errand strands of her out of her face as possible. ]
Okay. What do I do with the reins again?
no subject
[ not especially true, but she's not wrong in noticing the notable tension in him, credited either to a lack of sleep or a lack of ... plenty of things. there's frustration in that there's still plenty in this town they haven't figured out yet, that the trouble with bandits and menial work requests have kept him from diving into why they're really here. there's a parallel in both of their body languages from that, whether they seem to address it or not, even if he tries to appear more apathetic to the whole ordeal as to not carry it over.
his brows knit tight when her vest gets shoved at him, giving her a brief look of really? before simply tucking it under his arm to revert back to guiding her. ]
You want to keep them both in one hand, so you can keep one active. [ reaching in for her hand, he slides the reins beneath her fingers, tucking it against her thumb in the right position, his own calloused skin brushing hers to coordinate her posture, warm from the cascading heat. ] Hover it over the middle and don't grip tight. Just enough so that you're ready to pull and direct when you need to.
no subject
the touch to her hand has her gaze dropping, watching as his guides the leather into a more comfortable position in her grasp. she wills her grip to loosen, shakes out some of the tension from her shoulders. she can already feel a strain on her hips and thighs, spread wide across the saddle, the position so foreign it's like her body's already protesting. ]
How did you learn?
[ she slides her look over to him, her gaze quietly inquisitive. he seems a man of a wide variety of talents, that she wonders what part of it is him, what part of it is being an envoy. ]
no subject
he raises his eyes when she asks, feeling the direct line of her eyes to him. as if looking for something else to distract him when he draws his hand away, he brushes his palm to the mane of her horse. ]
Was on a job. Protectorate had me out looking for a man who was hiding out a planet that was mostly farm land. Had to blend to find him. Made quick work of learning the horses so I wouldn't stand out. Did it well enough, I even earned loyalty from a team of other riders.
[ the details are left mostly vague, like not making mention that it was a kill order from the government, that when he'd worked for the protectorate, it was as an assassin, to an extent, something he'd only really admitted once he was out of there, once he'd seen it all from the other side.
he considers she might assume it anyway, but then she tends to look at the good side of someone before assuming their worst. ]
It's how I was trained. When I was on the side of the government and then even when I switched to fighting alongside the Envoys, that part was all the same — blend in, learn the culture, inspire loyalty in a few capable locals, use them however you need to. [ he raises his eyes to her again, sight stern despite the brief swallow in his throat. ] Whatever the mission, you take what's offered.
no subject
At least it's offered.
[ perhaps not the most comforting of sentiments, but it's certainly the most optimistic of outlooks while still being wholly grounded in realism. however grim.
but from the sounds of things, kovacs has had more than his share of grim, and marta isn't looking to spend the rest of this heat feeling down if she can help it. ]
Come on. Am I going to be riding alone? Your poor horse looks bored.
no subject
but she draws him out of that brief detour into his own thoughts, raising a brow considering she'd been the one skeptical about the riding in the first place. ]
If I let you ride alone, I'll probably be seeing you in six hours, without a horse and with a few layers of mud on your skin to peel off. Wouldn't do that to you.
[ he shrugs a single shoulder, face displaying the shift of the conversation's mood as he shows a smugness in the smirk of his lips, patting her horse once more before turning to go climb upon his own. ]
no subject
not that... you know... she would have done it on purpose anyway. ]
Do they have karma in your world, Kovacs? [ she watches him mount his horse with an ease she's be envious of, if she wasn't so busy pursing her lips and narrowing her eyes at his back. ] I'm going to make you eat your words now, just wait.
[ yep, once she figures out how to get her horse actually moving... it's over for you. ]
no subject
when she speaks up, he manages to swallow back a laugh, even if the inclination is written in his eyes when he looks to her, snagging his own reins and turning the horse's direction with ease as he aligns it alongside hers. ]
Can't wait. You ready to start moving or should I come back in a few hours when you've nudged forward a few more inches?
no subject
but now she's got a point to prove. she's not normally so proud but there's something about that smug twist of kovacs' lips she just wants to wipe right off sometimes. now what was it he'd said? grip the reigns, nudge them with the heel of your boot a bit—
later, she'll blame it on her poor reflexes in the moment. but what was meant to be the gentlest of taps somehow wound up being more than that, and more than her horse had been anticipating and willing to stand for. one second they're just standing around, practically immobile, the next they're blasting off down the clearing like their life depended on it.
apparently? marta's got some lungs on her. ]
Kovaaaaacs—!
no subject
what he doesn't expect, through plenty of fault of his own for not giving it more careful attention, is for her to suddenly go darting across the field, the horse next to him one second and then leaving a trail of dusty dirt the next. ]
Marta — ! [ at least his instinct to move fast is still in working order, slapping the reins of his own horse to get it into high speed to chase down marta's along the path. ] Pull the reins back! It slows it down!