[X] Sunny Skies ~OPEN~

   It was Killian's worst nightmare come true.

   There was officially nothing to do around here.

   Groaning miserably, the young lord turned over on his bed onto his stomach, flipping his view of the room around him upside-down and feeling the blood rush into his head slightly; he had pranked his staff enough times that they knew all of his tricks, Sephen still wasn't back with his caravan, and he had grown tired of Niko's cussing and babbling after the fiftieth time he had been asked in his own voice for a peanut. Getting a headache from lying upside down with his head hanging off the side, Killian turned back over; now that the blood had gone to his head a bit, he paused in thought. What the hell was he doing trying to come up with something to do inside when it was such a gorgeous day outside? Now that it was turning into autumn, the weather was no longer swelteringly hot and muggy.... instead it was just swelteringly hot, but that was still a step up from the air around you being almost sticky with moisture.

   Getting up from his bed, Killian wasted little time finding his loose shirt and boots, jogging outside merrily towards the stables. His were less impressive than Sephen's, of course, since his elder brother had been the one to inherit the title of Lord of the Fiefdom, while Killian had the slightly less grand title of just Lord. Still, Sephen was a generous lord and brother, and had been more than happy to provide the younger stables to what would have otherwise been a house for the staff of Sephen's estate. It had taken ~~a lot~~ a bit of fixing up, much of it by Killian's hands, but now that it was furnished with all the decor expected of a lord, it was home.

   In any case, he lightly kicked the stable door open, smiling as five heads peeked out of their stalls at him; he wasn't quite the rider that Sephen was, but Killian did love his animals, horses especially. It didn't matter what kind of a mood you were in, horses were sympathetic and nonjudgmental. A chorus of snorting and whinnying alerted him that it was feeding time, at which he sighed as he passed the horses, patting their noses as he went.

   "I know, I know," He cooed, "I'm sorry I was late."

   While he fed his four mares, Killian turned to the stallion, a huge white horse with blue eyes by the name of Fleetfoot. He had been Killian's birthday present from Sephen when he had turned 20, and now at five years old, the stallion was fully grown and a wonderful creature to behold. Fleetfoot snorted impatiently seeing his mares being fed, stamping his hooves eagerly. Stepping into the stable, Killian shushed the fidgety stallion, stroking his soft white coat gently. "Shhh, it's okay..." He crooned, feeling the horse steady under his hands, "Calm down, it's okay, shhh..." While he knew Fleetfoot was going to get temperamental if he wasn't fed soon, Killian was hardly so stupid as to feed the stallion right before taking him on a long ride; besides, where they were going, the horse would have all the time he wanted to lounge in the sun and feast on apples fallen from the trees. Once the stallion was calm, Killian set to tacking Fleetfoot in his saddle and bridle and reins, checking and double checking the equipment before leading the stallion outside. Fleetfoot was a large horse, sixteen and a half hands, sired from a thoroughbred and a draft horse, and Killian had to climb up onto the arena fence to mount his steed. As soon as he was settled in, he kicked the horse into a run.

   There was a good reason he had called the horse Fleetfoot; the white horse was a hell of a runner, and when Killian spurred him from a run into a hard gallop, it was hard to resist the urge to let go of the reins to stand up in the stirrups. Maybe if he was a better rider, but for now, he was perfectly content to feel the wind rushing past him to the tune of Fleetfoot's hooves thundering over the ground beneath them. At that kind of speed, they would reach the ruins in no time at all, but Killian was hardly so eager to get there that he was going to push Fleetfoot that hard; it was maybe three-quarters of the way there that he finally slowed the stallion to a walk, patting the horse's neck and praising him. Killian operated under the firm belief that being kind to others, human or otherwise, was going to merit the desired results the best, and it had yet to fail him in the cases of his staff and pets. The ruins were gloriously cool from the ocean breeze, and Killian dismounted to let Fleetfoot wander the grounds, munching on fallen apples. He already had his own ideas for today.

   It was a short hike to the beach, and Killian wasted no time shedding his boots and shirt to walk along the beach, the sand between his toes and the sun on his skin; he wasn't worried for Fleetfoot, knowing the horse was much too large for any predator to consider, and would come running at a whistle from his human. Grinning to himself, he dashed out into the waves, jumping into the water and feeling the cool water envelop him. This was much better than staying at home, and at the thought, he laughed aloud as he gallivanted around in the water.