14902/A Horse is a Horse of Course

A Horse is a Horse of Course
Date of Scene:	11 May 2023
Location:	Horse Stables
Synopsis:	Lorna meets Rhona. Not Rhonda. Rhona!
Cast of Characters:	Rhona Lauren, Lorna Dane

---

Rhona Lauren has posed:
The school year is wrapping up, it's Rhona's first year at Xaviers and it's gone... relatively well. She's only had her life endangered four times? Five? It's hard to say really. She's still alive though! So that's something.

Being that it is late afternoon now, Rhona is out in the stables taking care of the three horses and one donkey. She's a member of the Equestrian Club, thus her daily chores involve cleaning the stalls, feeding and brushing... and she loves it. She grew up with horses back home in England, and this is a way to bring her back to her roots so to speak.

The teenager is closing up one of the stalls to one of the horses after filling up their feeder with brand new food and a few treats. She's dressed casually in tshirt and jeans, with her dark hair tied back.

Lorna Dane has posed:
    It hasn't been a particularly hot day in upstate but it's getting warmer for sure. The queen is certainly feeling the change in the weather with her hair sticking to the side of her face and forehead. A simple black t-shirt and a thin jacket tied at her waist shows she's at least trying to fight the heat but the woman is flushed. "Hey." Lorna says towards Rhona with an upnod and a hard sniff as she's trying to act the punk bad ass of her youth. "Fuggin hot out here no?" Lorna asks, making small talk as she enters the stables and runs a hand through her hair. sort of.

Rhona Lauren has posed:
Rhona had recently skipped out on going to the King's Coronation back in London. She'd already gone to the Queen's funeral for her parents, and when they sent her the ticket information for the King's 'crowning' she'd just pretended to ignore the message until she could tell her mother she missed the flight. That was the night the school was attacked though, which made for an even better excuse to tell her mother that a weather balloon crashed on the school roof, and she needed to be around to help out. Not that her mother really even cared, she'd hated Rhona for a long time now... since it'd been revealed that her daughter was a 'mutant'. All of these things have added up to why she's here in New York, and the United States.

Her eyes go over to the woman who just appeared out of no where. She eyes her with a uncertain expression for a moment whilst she pours another box of feed in to the pale she was using. "I guess so." The 17 year old girl softly says back as she taps the last bits of the horse food in to the bucket. "I like your hair." She then adds, and shows the older woman a soft smile. "You're like... Royalty? Right?" She asks in her posh London accented English.

Lorna Dane has posed:
    "Thank you! I like yours too." Lorna says with a deep breath as she steps up to the stall and let's the breath go as she leans in to give the horse a kindly smile and a hand reaching out to offer pets to the beast.

    "Haven't seen you around before, but, yeah, kinda. I think." She knows damn well she is but it's still in that mood, especially with the weather kicking her butt so much. "I mean yes, but you don't have to address me as such. Not while we're here." The stables or the School, or the States? Lorna doesn't clarify before she turns to face Rhona fully and courteously, "I am Lorna Dane, pleasure to meet you...?"

Rhona Lauren has posed:
While Lorna replies, Rhona goes on about her chores, finally ending with pushing the feed containers back on to their shelves. When the introductions are officially offered, the teen raises up again to use the hand sanitizer station. Squick squick squick. Rub rub rub.

She then offers her hand to Lorna, and a sweet smile.

"I'm Rhona, Lauren. Not really from around here. I've mostly been here in the stables in my off school hours, or out at the archery range. Neither of which are heavily trafficked by most people, so I don't suppose it's surprising I'm a rare sight."

She'll shake the other's hand softly before drawing hers back to put her arms over her stomach. "Still though, it's an honor to meet a Queen face to face, from some place I've never heard of, no less." She pauses then, and adds. "Uh, no offense. I'm sure it's a very lovely place."

Lorna Dane has posed:
    "Lovely name Rhona." Lorna compliments the teen's mother's sense of taste from afar with a kind smile, sending her hand out to shake and yeah, that's sweaty to, but at least she rubs her palm against her shorts beforehand.

    "Don't worry about it, I didn't know about it until a couple years ago myself." She says with a shrug to dismiss the whole emotion of awkwardness. "I'd rather talk about you." Lorna says, sensing an introvert. "You're new here, and you said yourself you go to the places with less people." Lorna waves her hand and a bench slides over for her to sit on, suddenly realizing her feet hurt too, but ignores it more as she's making a new friend, "It seems like you want to avoid people. Why do you think that is?" She then pats the bench next to her, wanting to be social with the antisocial flower.

Rhona Lauren has posed:
Rhona watches the bench as it comes sliding over from against the opposite wall. It makes her look to the horses, who didn't seem to notice, then to the woman who seemed to manipulate the bench to do that.

"That's pretty cool." Rhona quietly says. "And thanks... yeah... My parents named me after one of their famous friends. I don't mind it, though I get called Rhonda a lot..." She says with a faint smirk before she accepts the offer, and finds herself sitting down on the bench as well.

The question has her look away from the horse she'd just fed, watching it munch on food for a moment, before she looks to her left where Lorna is seated too.

"Uh... I dunno. I had a brother... back home. But he passed away when I was pretty young. After that, I just kinda stopped trying with people. Everyone seemed like they were right assholes around me anyway. Guess I got used to that." She says with her hands coming up to stroke some loose strands of hair back behind her ears. "So what is being a Queen like, exactly?" She asks back.

Lorna Dane has posed:
    "Sorry to hear about your brother and that you had the illusion broken so young that people just kinda suck." Lorna says with a knowing sigh.

    "Bring a queen can be a total nightmare some days but some days it can be freaking incredible." Lorna smirks, "I know that doesn't really answer anything I know but that's such a loaded question, I can go into detail if you really want."

Rhona Lauren has posed:
Rhona leans back against the metal and wood back of the bench as she looks over at Lorna on her side. She eyes the woman when she gives her that rather mundanely casual response.

"You seem like you're not really a fan of your position?" She asks her. "Is that why you're out here in the stables? Hiding from some responsibilities?" She inquires, getting a little snoopy now with the woman.

"Forgive me for saying it, but you have the air of someone who isn't really comfortable..." She looks around them, and motions to the horses in their stalls. "In a place like this. Which does sound a bit like a Royal in a place she normally wouldn't go."

Lorna Dane has posed:
    "No need to beg forgiveness. I'm used to this place, so when I'm lost or confused on who I am, i come back here and sulk and soul search. plus the kids tend to have interesting ideas for the future." Lorna says with a sigh. "You read me quite easily there, so tell me, what should my next action be?" The queen teases with a soft sigh.

Rhona Lauren has posed:
The question that comes from Lorna achieves a small smile on the teen's face as she answers by standing up, her hands pushing off of her jeans covered knees. She steps forward, grabs a large hairbrush and then steps back to lower herself down on the bench again. She offers the large brush over to Lorna. "Take this." She says, then motions to the pale furred horse on the right. "And any time you're stressed, come here and brush her. She loves it. She'll never turn it down, and it'll always ease your anxiety, stress and nerves. At least it does for me. Call it a nice natural therapy."

Lorna Dane has posed:
     Taking the brush in hand and looking at it briefly, Lorna looks back to Rhona, "Could use some therapy, but I think most people get a dog." The queen teases as she stands up and slides the bench back to where she got it from. "Thanks Rhona. You're quite thoughtful for a teen. Keep it up and I'll make sure you have a job in a nice island." Lorna winks before she disappears into the horse stall.