3rd Rodeo [Action/Voice - Backdated to July 1]

[honestapples]

[It's been a really long week since the storms ended. Applejack has been working around the clock, trying to clean up the wreckage around the farm, sweep out the water that got in through holes broken in the roof of the barn and also the cottage, find a few sheep who wandered off in panic, and just overall repair all the broken fences/sheds/whatever. Not to mention there are several very young apple trees that she had just barely planted who have been unfairly broken.

She manages to make it through this sleepless week working by herself - alright, with Winona helping - but even her dog is exhausted now and there's still more to do.

The loss of the trees is what's hitting her the hardest. This never happened back home. The pegasi always just said if a big storm was coming and then tadaa, they could secure everything in time.

She thought about asking for help earlier, decided against it, and balanced her journal atop a fence. Which she's in the middle of repairing, so after kicking in a few nails, it falls off and open. She doesn't notice at first, still mumbling under her breath as she works, lost in a sleepy haze.]

...gone. All of 'em. Rosemary, Irving, Bloomburg Junior... even Gladys... [Kick. Board is on crooked. Heavy sigh.] Hayseed.

[Another badly-aimed buck knocks the board off for readjustment, and it's only then that she sees the journal wide open.

...Oh.]

Uh. Heh-heh. Howdy. [Sleepy brain whirring, she manages a sheepish:] Don't reckon anyone would mind helpin' ta fix some fences? Or maybe catch a couple sheep...?



[[ooc: Tags most likely to come this evening, but they'll be on the way >>]]

Comments

voice

[handmotions]

Catching sheep you say? [Consider him pinged. He used to do this sort of thing a lot back at home.]

I'm a hunter and I can get the job done for you. Are you looking for wool in particular?

voice

[honestapples]

[She's. A little lost on the wording there, Noel. There's a blank stare at the journal for a moment before she answers a little hesitantly.]

Uh... Ah just need 'em back inside the fences. Y'see, a few of 'em slipped out when the fence broke, an'... [Looking for wool in particular... Hmm. She tries, and fails, to stifle a yawn.] All of 'em have white wool, but there's a brown one in there too...

voice

[handmotions]

How'd the fences break? Was it from the draft?

[He's socially awkward so he's probably at fault for it.]

I'll see what I can do.

[voice]

[rashness]

[...Fences, sheep? Wait, wait...] Like, farm work or something?

[voice]

[honestapples]

Yup. It's farm work. [And, because she's half asleep, she's repeating herself a bit:] Workin' on the farm. It got hit real hard by the storms an' Ah'm still cleanin' it up.

[voice]

[rashness]

[...] Never done that.

[But this person sounds tired. A beat] I uh, could try though.

Action

[chibifalenas]

[Lym watches the sleepy pony for a bit as she's exploring. All the being cooped up has got to her so this is all fascinating.]

Um, are you okay Miss Horsie?

Action

[honestapples]

[Applejack pauses, a little surprised to hear another voice (or at least one that isn't one of the sheep or chickens). And then it takes a moment to get Lym into focus, because her eyes are just not cooperating.]

Ah'm okay, sugarcube, don't you worry. Just -- [Yaaawn.] -- a li'l bit sleepy.

[Ah, focus. Sort of. She can see Lym clearly, but there are two of her. Close enough.]

What brings y'all out this way?

[chibifalenas]

Was sick of being inside. With the storm and everything else I didn't get out much.

Um, are you sure you're okay? I mean if you are sleepy isn't it best to rest?

[wannabolt]

[Dash heard AJ's message over the journal, but rather than give her a heads-up that she's coming, she opted to fly straight out to the farm. Being Rainbow Dash, this... didn't take long.

So here she is, swooping down to investigate the mess. And boy what a mess it is.]

I swear, if I had the rest of the weather team with me, this whole mess wouldn't have happened.

[honestapples]

[Oops, dozed off. Applejack starts awake, looks around in alarm, and then relaxes once she sees that it's just Rainbow Dash. And what a relief it is to see her.

Don't mistake the yawn for disinterest, Dash. >>]

Ah know. This kinda thing never happens back home. The weather here is just awful.

[As if to punctuate her point, a branch breaks off a nearby tree and crashes to the ground. Applejack somehow manages to droop and seethe a bit at the same time.]

How's a pony s'posed to run a farm if the weather's controllin' itself, anyway?

[wannabolt]

I guess you've just gotta expect the worst and hope for the best.

[She huffs, digging her hoof in the dirt.]

Apparently those hue-mans have to deal with this all the time, too. Makes you wonder how they get anything done.

[voice]

[catus_carnival]

Tao can help catch sheep!

[She has to distract herself due to some events...and it seemed like a good outlet for her energy.]

[voice]

[honestapples]

[...is that a pair of glowing eyes in a hood

...oh wait, she should probably answer rather than stare.]

Uh... Sure ya don't mind? Ah think some of 'em ran off inta the woods, so they're kinda hard ta find.

[voice]

[alabastatomboy]

[Vivi may not exactly hear what Applejack is talking about, because the important part is obvious that she's a talking horse. Still, she looks rather different from the horses Vivi's used to. For a child living on the Grand Line, there's an explanation that leaps immediately to mind.]

Are you a horse zoan?

[voice]

[honestapples]

Ah'm a pony, sugarcube. Horses're usually bigger'n us.

[...wait.]

...What's a 'zoan'?

[Voice]

[knightofratatosk]

I could help out if you need it.

[Voice]

[honestapples]

Are ya good at catchin' sheep? That's really the hardest part.

[brokethefourthwall]

[Don't worry, Applejack. Not all of the trees are gone. In fact, some of them still have some ripe, juicy apples on them.

Delicious, delicious apples. They look like if you leave them be too long, they might just eat themselves.

...Which is totally what looks like just happened, as one of the apples vanishes into the dense leaves and branches.]

1/2

[honestapples]

[Don't mind her staring blankly for a moment or five. Because she can't tell for a while if she's imagining the apples disappearing or if it's really happening.

...It's really happening.]

[honestapples]

Hey now! You leave them apples alone!

[The trees have been through enough this week!

...Which is why she's going to buck that tree really hard to knock whatever it is out of the branches.]

[voice]

[i_am_not_cute]

Well, um, I don't know anything about catching sheep, but I could probably help fix up the fences if you'd like.

[voice]

[honestapples]

That'd be a real big help. There's a whole lotta fence that got wrecked in the storm.

[voice]

[concasse]

... Sheep? [They've got sheep here? Well, never mind that. Sanji snaps to attention]

And of course I'll help any way I can, Applejack.

[voice]

[honestapples]

[Sanji, she's going to owe you an entire smorgasbord of apple treats by the time this storm fiasco is over, isn't she? Because she has to pay off the help somehow.]

Ah know you've got a lot ta worry about right now, too, Sanji. [The restaurant, after all. Although she really hopes it fared better than the farm.] If ya see any sheep wanderin' inta town, just give me a holler an' -- [Yaaawn. Headshake.] -- Ah can come get 'em.