if we met at midnight, in the hanging tree [private]

Sam looked around the dirt path ahead of him. The horse beneath him shifted from foot to foot. He knew that it was not the fastest nor most lively horse in camp, but he had taken a liking to in. In fact, Pumkin was the oldest horse there. He figured after maybe another year she would be too old to ride. But she wasn't at that point yet, and she handled the weight of Samuel on her back just fine. Samuel was taking her on a pretty easy walk, anyway. He had taken her a third of the way up the path, before it turned off to the right and looped around a different section of camp. On his left was the forest, a plethora of trees that parted just where the dirt began for the pegasi to take off and the horses to walk.

Sam wasn't really one to visit the stables often. He rode Pumkin once a week, or sometimes less. But the winter had removed many of the opportunities of outdoor activities like swimming, so he threw on some jeans and a gray long-sleeve shirt, along with some boots that he'd managed to secure. They weren't too raggedy, because he didn't wear them often, for he had no reason to. But visiting the stables gave him an excuse.

Samuel decided it was about time to go back. His ears were turning a little red from the wind, and being elevated on the horse didn't help. He pulled the reigns to the right, but instead of continuing on the circular path he made a U-turn and began to head back the way he came. Pumkin walked at a comfortable pace, and Sam's eyes wandered around the woods around him. When he looked down the path back towards the stables, he caught sight of another person. She was pretty far away, but that was no problem for Samuel. Being a son of Apollo, he was able to see much further distances at his will. It helped with archery. Sam's eyes narrowed, and his pupils decreased in size considerably until he was able to get a clear picture of the girl upon the horse. She looked a little bit uncertain, which was understandable. She was a couple feet higher than she was used to, on top of a living thing that was likely unfamiliar. It was a good thing that it was a horse and not a pegasus. As Samuel's horse neared, and some time passed, the girl tried to get the horse started, but it bucked.

Samuel's pupils grew larger and his vision snapped back. Seeing the girl had landed on her face gave him quite the jolt. Heart beating a little bit faster, he grew concerned. That kind fall could have definitely broken something. People have been gravely injured from falling from horses, and the neck could be a fragile structure. Samuel squeezed the belly of his horse, and made a clicking sound with his tongue. The horse obediently sped up. That was another thing he liked about Pumkin. As old as she was, she wasn't hesitant about picking up the pace, and followed orders well. She was easily rideable for someone with as little experience as he.

When Samuel arrived, the girl was picking herself up, but the heart darted past him. He wasn't very concerned about it, but rather about the girl. As soon as he got to her location, he pulled Pumkin to a stop, and then swung his leg over the horse, hastily jumping down. As his boots collided with teh ground, in sent a little shower of dust into the air. He hastily made his way to the girl.

"H-hey, are you okay?" he asked, jogging up to her. He was concerned, but he didn't really know what to do. In fact, he had trouble even asking her if she was okay. He began to look her up and down for any broken skin or broken bones. When he saw nothing, he figured she was okay, visibly, at least. "Do you feel okay? Is there pain anywhere in your chest, or neck?" he asked. He didn't know why he asked this specific question, but it sounded like he knew what he was doing, so he went with it, trying to convince himself that he could help if anything were wrong.