The dust swept across the ranch causing the ranchers to face the opposite way to where the wind was blowing. Every morning they would get their cattle and head to the plains letting them graze for the day.
"Does this shit do your head in, Clarke?" Raven shouted over to her boss whilst trying to herd the cattle out of the stables with the dust blowing in her eyes, "God sake, this dust!" She muttered covering her eyes.
Clarke was walking over to Raven with tack for her horse, "Every day." She replied as she walked past her.
Raven checked the stables before grabbing her own horses tack and following Clarke in the same direction, "It's easier dealing with oil than this dust." On the odd occasion Raven would fix up the local tractors, it was more her thing.
The blonde settled the saddle on her horse and applied the tack before getting in the stirrups.
"At last you're not shoveling shit in the stables every morning like Octavia." Clarke chuckled as said to Raven who was climbing into her saddle.
"True." The brunette agreed grabbing the reins.
Both of the women steered the horses getting either side of the cattle and whistling getting the cows to move.
Raven saw Octavia with the wheelbarrow and waved, "Enjoy shit shovelling!" She teased her friend.
"As long it helps to earn my keep!" Octavia shouted back before she entered the barn next to the stables.
Both Raven and Clarke carried on their morning routine of taking out the herd, grooming their loyal stead, helping muck out the stables and doing whatever chores needed to be done for that day. It had become the same routine for the past three years and a half since Clarke's parents died in a freak accident. Clarke took over the family ranch named 'The Griffin's Horse Ranch' and asked her two friends to live and work with her with pay to maintain the place and keep it from falling apart.
Originally Clarke was in med school in the big city of Polis and attended Polis Pre-Med school hoping to be a surgeon just like her Mom. Since the death of her parents she applied her medical skills to become a vet surgeon to help animals and the pets of the local town of Arkadia.
Later that day after Clarke had finished with her chores and taken time to fill out her accounts in the books ready for the end of the month. After she had decided to take off for a ride through the meadows. Every now and then she would go and enjoy the wilderness around her, enjoying the company of her horse, Echo.
Echo was a beautiful white mare with black speckles on her rear, Clarke had hand reared Echo since she was foal due to the mother dying giving birth. Clarke would stay up all night with horse if it every got ill, over time the horse became more than her stead it became her best friend.
Looking over the meadow below her the autumn breeze had picked up, Clarke had noticed clouds forming over the mountains in the distance as she stood next to her horse on a cliff that was shadowed by the tall trees behind her.
The horse made a few noises and rubbed her nose on Clarke's long black duster coat she was wearing.
Clarke smiled and looked at Echo, "I know, we'll head home."
As Clarke got into the saddle she caught a glimpse of a pure black horse with someone riding it, she watched curiously before instructing her horse to move. The blonde couldn't see the face of the person riding as it was too far away and the fact the mysterious person was cloaked in black which hid their face well. From what Clarke could guess the unknown person that they were slender and not particularly masculine therefore could be a woman riding through the meadows below, possibly heading into Arkadia.
Clarke wasn't too sure how long she had been staring at the unknown person but it had started to rumble with thunder, her cue to go home.
Later that evening...
Raven, Octavia and Clarke were enjoying their evening together drinking some beer that Raven had gotten earlier in the week ready for their Friday evening.
In the living room the wood was burning in the fireplace producing a comfortable warmth around them.
"So Clarke, you said you saw a mysterious woman riding in the meadows when you went out this afternoon, have you told Raven about it?" Octavia brought up into their conversation.
Clarke sent Octavia a look, "I wasn't sure if the person is a woman."
"I bet you're hoping so though." Raven joked and playfully shoved Clarke.
"Whatever!" Clarke defended herself shoving Raven back just as playful.
"C'mon Clarke when are you going to start enjoying your young life and meet someone you can fall in love with and have kids." Octavia asked making Raven scoff at the comment 'kids'.
"Alright O, jumping a few guns there." Raven added looking over at a wide-eyed Clarke.
"Look I appreciate the concern but I'm enjoying how things are now." The blonde admitted taking a sip of her beer.
"Exactly! Anyway more about this mysterious possible woman you mentioned." The mechanic urged Clarke to give more details.
"Hey Guys! I was up on the ridge near the trees, I didn't see the face but they were dressed in all black and hooded." Clarke explained standing up, "The horse was a stallion, that's for sure! Pure black." She then added.
"If that had been me I would have raced down there just to see who this person was crossing our lands." O chimed.
Raven nodded in agreement with her housemate, "Where were they heading?"
"Looked like town. There is nowhere else to really go around here." Said as she walked out to the kitchen area fetching more beers.
"I mean there's not much there either though," Clarke re-entered the living area passing the bottles around.
Both of the women hummed in response while taking their bottles.
Clarke looked at the clock on the fireplace and it was only 8:35pm and had an idea, "Shall we head into town and have a good night?"
Her two friends looked at each other and thought about it and looked at Clarke with knowing smiles.
"What?" Clarke was confused by their smiles.
Raven raised her right eyebrow, "You wanna see who this mystery person is don't you?!"
Octavia stood up and pointed at Clarke, "Oh my God, Clarke you so do!"
Clarke rolled her eyes, "Maybe, I doubt they're at Lincoln's Saloon though."
Lincoln's Saloon was the only good place to drink in the town and the owner was good friends with the women.
"Oh I hope!" Octavia interjected.
"Only because you have the hots for him, O." Raven chirped.
"So, he's so handsome and hot, have you seen his tattoos?"
"I have, O, but men aren't my type." Raven explained as she stood up from her seat.
"I'm sure we'd find you a hot woman too Ray! So shall we go?" O was downing her bottle before hearing an answer.
Clarke looked at her friends and smirked, "Let me go get into something more attractive."
As Clarke walked down the hall to her room she heard both girls cheer and clinking their bottles together.
"Don't take forever Clarke!" Raven shouted out.
Not long after they all got ready Octavia was texting on her phone and Raven caught a glimpse of who it was.
"You have Linc's number? When did you get that?" Raven questioned trying to look at the text.
The other brunette pulled away and smirked, "A few weeks back when we last went out. We started chatting and he asked for my number. Been talking since."
"Oh right, kept that quiet, O" Raven knew most things that happened around her, normally she didn't miss a thing.
Octavia was reading a text she just received from Lincoln, "He said that his cousins are in town and arrived today."
Raven perked up at hearing this, maybe she has a chance to meet someone tonight, "Please be hot, single women."
Clarke walked in hearing what Raven hoped, "Who are hot?"
"O said Lincoln has his cousins in town for a while and I'm hoping I can get a lay if at least one of them is a woman." Raven repeated.
"If one of them is a women and is that mysterious rider then hands off." Clarke claimed.
"He said cousins so both maybe be women." Octavia added.
Raven and Clark looked at each other and shrugged.
"So are we ready?" Clarke looked at her friends waiting to go.
"Oh yeah!" Both of the brunettes excitedly got up grabbing their jackets.
Both Raven and Octavia dressed casually whereas Clarke made a little effort, she wore black ripped jeans with a off-white shirt and her leather jacket with added black combat boots. Clarke was totally hoping to meet someone tonight, a specific mysterious person.
In Lincoln's Saloon the lights were dim and there was light chatter amongst the regulars. As Clarke and her friends walked in a few of the regulars knew them and greeted them.
The town was small and therefore people knew of each other but kept themselves to themselves, it was a tight knit community.
Lincoln was wiping down the bar as he saw the women entered and saw Octavia who brought a smile to his face.
The three women walked up to the bar and talked to Lincoln before ordered drinks.
Raven watched Clarke scanning the bar for the possible woman they spoke of this evening.
"Seen the mysterious hot rider?" Raven winked at her best friend.
Clarke was looking around "Not yet, they might not even stopped by town."
Both women turned around to grab their drinks and wandered off to find a free table to sit at, considering it's a Friday evening there weren't many to be found.
The three women were sat in the corner of the bar enjoying their evening but weren't going to crazy on drinking, although it was the weekend Saturday mornings they still had yard work to do until midday and they would take their weekend.
Octavia noticed that Clake kept looking up and searching the bar, she decided to go and have a chat with Lincoln whilst it was quiet at the bar.
The tall man saw Octavia walk over to him, he smiled instantly upon seeing her.
"Hey Linc." She greeted, smiling at him.
They both spoke between them, she had mentioned about his cousins and wondered if one of them was riding into town looking rather cloaked.
"Oh one of them came this afternoon but my other cousin is arriving tomorrow. You'll get to meet both of them." He looked at her wondering why the curiousness all of a sudden. "Why so curious?"
Octavia looked behind her causing Lincoln to follow her line of sight, "Clarke over there. She saw someone from the ridge this afternoon, on a black horse, cloaked and mysterious."
Lincoln raised his right brow, "Mysterious?" He chuckled.
O nodded waiting for an answer.
"That would be Lexa." He confirmed.
"Do we get to meet this Lexa?" She smirked knowing full well she's asking for Clarke.
Lincoln wiped the bar with his cloth before going through the back.
Octavia turned around to her friends who both were looking at her anyway.
Clark eyed her wandering what Octavia was smirking at only to receive a little wave.
Clarke turned to Raven, "What she up to?"
Raven was slowly getting tipsy, "God knows!" She swayed.
Lincoln came back to the bar, "Give her a second and she'll be down."
"Thanks, Linc." Octavia kissed him on the cheek, "I think Clarke could be interested in her."
Octavia went back to join her friends waiting for the moment Lincoln's cousin Lexa walks through the bar.
Octavia sat across from Clarke and smiled at her.
"What are you smiling at?" Raven asked her knowing O was up to something.
Clarke waited for Octavia's response, "O,?"
Octavia didn't need to say anything.
"Hey guys! Meet my cousin, Lexa." Lincoln Called from the bar to his friends.
Lexa looked over at the three girls and smiled at them, but the eyes lingered on Clarkes.
Clarke looked at Lexa and looked at her friends, "Safe to say that's the mysterious rider."
"Hey, come sit with us Lexa." Octavia waved over.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Clarke asked in a sharp whisper.
"Relax Clarke. She's hot." Raven calmly said smirking at Octavia.
Lexa walked over to them and took a seat next to Clarke, to which made her uncomfortable but in a good way but she would never admit to it.