Chapter 11
Disclaimer: I only own the OCs in this story. Oh, and in case you don't read the author's note, I want to say that, yes, I do take requests. I only have two spots left- I rearranged and combined some of my own plans- so hurry with the submission of your requests to try and claim the top two spots!
"Tonight is the night. He's gonna learn tonight," Jedediah says in his head, a smile crossing his lips as he rides into the Roman diorama on the back of Lightning, his loyal paint stallion.
The blonde cowboy begins to scan the Roman diorama for Octavius, wanting to find his best friend. Just about a week ago Octavius and Jedediah had shared their pasts and lives with their wives and children to one another. That night had taken a lot out of both men; Octavius had fallen asleep in his bed not long after Jedediah left the general's quarters. Jedediah, on the other hand, had gone into the Wild West to apologize extensively to Shane; Jed's second-in-command did nothing to deserve Jedediah's wrath the night before. After that, Jedediah had proceeded to check on everyone in his diorama, not noticing until after doing all his rounds that he and Octavius had spent nearly four hours telling their tales of sorrow to one another. The blonde had retired to his tent after doing his rounds, intent on getting some sleep and try to get away from the depressing memories that haunted him earlier in the night.
"Ah-hah! There he is!" Jedediah remarks in his mind, seeing Octavius commanding his men in Latin as usual.
Jedediah slips off of Lightning's saddle as quietly as he can, landing on the ground with a slight thud.
"Consiste!" Octavius shouts out, commanding his legions to halt in their current positions.
With Octavius' back turned, Jedediah continues to sneak up behind Octavius, a smile on the blonde cowboy's face as he has to bite his lips to keep from laughing. Unknown to the Roman, the cowboy is now only a few inches behind him.
"Rompere le righe!" comes Octavius' next command, allowing the men to drop out of ranks once the general notices what time it is in the night. "Dimitto!" he now calls, dismissing the troops for the night.
The Roman legion's men happily begin talking, some even heading over to the tunnel that connects them to the Wild West diorama to talk with some of the cowboys and cowgirls that live under Jedediah's command. Octavius soon feels hands clamp around his eyes. In sheer reaction, Octavius puts his hand on the hilt of his sword before attempting to spin around and throw his captor or enemy off balance and- more importantly- off his eyes. With the unknown person's hands still over his eyes, Octavius manages to get the other miniature's arm held at such an angle that he or she winces in pain while trying desperately to get out Octavius' vice-like grip.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Ockie! Chill out! It's only me!" Jedediah remarks with a bit of a laugh present in his tone, though he winces slightly at the amount of pressure Octavius is able to exert.
"Jedediah?" Octavius inquires, reaching his other hand up to pry the cowboy's calloused hands away from his dark brown eyes.
"In the flesh. Thought I'd come an' surprise ya after ya finished with the army," Jedediah smiles, dropping his hands down from Octavius' face before starting to head back towards Lightning.
"Must you keep doing that?" Octavius asks with a bit of a groan, not knowing why Jedediah always insists on covering his eyes to try and sneak up on the Roman.
"It's the only way to truly surprise ya, Ockie. Your wolf-like hearin' isn't exactly like a wolf when you're trainin' your men," the blonde laughs, swinging his leg up and over Lightning's back before settling into the saddle.
"What exactly did you come into the diorama to get me for this time?" Octavius inquires, petting Lightning's face gently, which makes the paint stallion nicker softly.
"I'm gonna teach ya how to ride a horse, Octavius," Jedediah grins, which makes Octavius' mouth hang open in surprise.
"Wha- Why are we venturing to do this lesson tonight, my friend?" the Roman questions in shock, not knowing why this particular event fascinates Jedediah.
"Well, I figured that since ya told me your Pa never taught ya how to ride a horse that that job should fall on me. I am your brother, after all. That's what brothers are for, Ockie!" Jedediah grins, offering Octavius a hand.
Octavius grabs Jedediah's hand, not expecting to be roughly pulled up behind the cowboy onto the rather uncomfortable saddle. The Roman lands onto the saddle with an "Oof!" not yet used to the rough leather on the back of a horse.
"Jedediah, I am only willing to attempt to ride one horse," Octavius announces, gripping the back of Jedediah's vest as the cowboy makes the stallion take off running across the Roman diorama.
"And who might that be, Ockie?" Jedediah inquires, turning Lightning towards the Roman stables that contain all of the Roman horses, including the two that Octavius usually has attached to his chariot when riding.
"I will only ride Spirit, my buckskin stallion that I received when he was no more than a colt as a present from Atia many years ago," Octavius reveals, a smile on his lips as he recalls the memories he and Atia have with that horse and with each other. "He's the nicest horse you'll ever meet," the general assures, ducking his head where it does not hit the stable door as Jedediah rides Lightning into the stables.
Jedediah slips off of Lightning's saddle, his boots making a soft thud as they connect with the hard ground of the stables. Octavius still sits on the back of Lightning's saddle, not quite sure what to do.
"Ockie, ya can get down now, partner," Jedediah sighs, shaking his head in amusement as he watches Octavius continue to sit there.
"I think I need some help dismounting. I have never ridden a horse on a saddle, either," Octavius admits, a look of embarrassment written across his face.
Jedediah laughs lightly before moving back over to both his paint stallion and his best friend. With one hand the cowboy holds Lightning's reins where the stallion can't run off while Octavius is dismounting. The other hand is used to help Octavius down; the blonde holds one hand out which makes Octavius grab Jedediah's hand like it is his overall life support. Octavius is able to jump off to the ground, swaying slightly as he hits the ground at a rather unnatural angel.
"Whoa, there, partner. Don't pass out on me 'fore we start anythin' interesting, Octavius," Jedediah jokes, helping Octavius regain his balance.
"Thank you for the assistance, my friend. Now, I shall go and let Spirit out of his stall and then you shall have to endeavor to find a way to transport him, Jedediah," Octavius instructs, not knowing how Jedediah is going to manage getting two horses to the Wild West diorama.
"It can't be that hard, Ockie. Ya just leave that part to ol' Jedediah here," Jed remarks with a puff of his chest as he watches Octavius disappear around a corner to Spirit's stall in order to get the buckskin horse out for the night.
With that, the Roman starts his nightly ritual with Spirit, unbeknownst to the cowboy.
Jedediah walks around the corner, leaving Lightning waiting by the doors to the stable in order to check in on why it's taking Octavius so long. He walks in to the stable hall to find Octavius inside the stall with his horse; Octavius is feeding Spirit an apple, much to the stallion's pleasure. Once all of the apple is eaten, Octavius begins to stroke Spirit's muzzle, making the buckskin neigh in appreciation and affection. Octavius then presses a kiss to Spirit's muzzle as well, making the horse nuzzle his head against Octavius' face, nearly knocking the Roman's helmet off of his face. Spirit nuzzles Octavius some more, whinnying as Octavius murmurs some words of affection in the horse's ear. Spirit is the only pet Octavius has ever had, so like many people give words of affection to their dog or cat, Octavius tells them to his horse. The Roman then whistles, which makes Spirit lean his head back from Octavius' face and allows the general to retrieve Spirit's brush from the stall's opposite wall, the stallion following closely behind him. Octavius takes his helmet off before setting it on the dividing wall of Spirit's stall that allows the stallion to see out into the Roman diorama when Octavius is training his men. As Octavius begins to brush Spirit's golden coat, the stallion begins to playfully bite and nip at the general's hair, making Octavius laugh a bit before he pulls away from the stallion's mouth.
"Spirit, you cannot expect me to brush you if you are acting this way," Octavius laughs, returning to brushing Spirit's coat with a smile.
The stallion, however, will not take no for an answer and continues to nip at Octavius' hair, attempting to pull the general backwards.
"What is it, Spirit? Do you smell what I have for you?" Octavius inquires in a slightly teasing tone, knowing what he has in his pocket. "You couldn't possibly smell this sugar cube, could you?" Octavius grins, producing the sugar cube from his pocket before handing it to Spirit.
Spirit neighs happily, practically inhaling the sugar cube out of Octavius' hand before licking the Roman general much like one would expect a puppy to do.
"Ockie, can we hurry this up, please?" Jedediah asks from where he is sitting on the edge of Spirit's fence of the stall.
Spirit begins to get visibly agitated as he rears back on his back hooves, nearly hitting his head against the ceiling of the stable. The stallion named Spirit neighs loudly, running towards the fence Jedediah is sitting on with a crazed look in his eyes. Spirit nickers angrily, raising his hooves at the fence, preparing to kick the cowboy off of the fence. Jedediah yelps before jumping off the fence and rolling to the ground, landing harshly on his shoulder. The blonde cowboy remains on the ground as Spirit neighs ferociously at him before attempting to reach through the fence and bite Jedediah's arm.
"Spirit, stop this this instant!" Octavius says at the same moment that Lightning comes running to his rider's aid.
Lightning gets in Spirit's face before neighing harshly at the other stallion, standing in front of Jedediah in an attempt to protect the cowboy. The loyal Western paint stallion then snorts at Spirit, making the Roman war horse back off and stand next to Octavius.
"Well, that went well," Octavius sarcastically remarks, dropping down from over the fence to help Jedediah to his feet.
"I haven't ever seen Lightning act like that 'cept when some o' Marshall an' his men tried ta beat me up," Jedediah comments before taking Octavius' hand and then brushing some dust off of his jeans. "Now, steady Spirit, I'll get some rope from Lightning's saddlebag and try to get 'im to come back with us that way," the blonde instructs, not wanting to get anywhere near Spirit right now since the buckskin seems to have it in his head that the cowboy is bad news.
"Okay, my friend. Now, I would find it an appropriate time to tell you that I think Spirit must think that we are still enemies and not the good friends and brothers we are now," Octavius admits, which makes Jedediah roll his eyes.
"Why am I not surprised?" Jedediah mumbles under his breath, sliding onto Lightning's saddle to be safe from Spirit's thrashing hooves.
This was going to be a long night, indeed…..
It takes the two men about thirty minutes to finally get over to the Wild West diorama. It's now around midnight, meaning the two friends only have about five and a half hours before the sun rises and they are frozen until the sun sets once more. Jedediah pulls them to a halt once they reach the middle of the Western diorama. The blonde cowboy slides off the saddle with ease, landing on the ground with a soft noise before extending his hand to help Octavius off of Lightning's saddle. All the while, Spirit is kicking his hooves around like crazy, trying to get loose and not wanting to stand next to Lightning since the paint stallion basically yelled at him in horse language.
"Mitescere, Spirit," Octavius gently tells Spirit, stroking the buckskin's face affectionately while telling him to calm down in Latin.
Spirit starts to breathe normally again as Octavius continues stroking his face; about the only person Spirit will actually listen to is the great General Octavius. The Roman sees quite a few similarities between the horse and Jedediah.
"Are you gonna change your clothes?" Jedediah suddenly asks, daring to edge a bit closer to Octavius without having Spirit go berserk again. "I wouldn't wear that ta go ridin'," Jed chuckles, noticing that Octavius still is clad in all of his Roman armor, which would make for some very uncomfortable riding clothes.
"I was planning on changing. Yes," Octavius admits, himself thinking that armor would be a tough first outfit to learn how to ride a horse in.
"All right. Well, go into my tent, Toga Boy. I prolly have some extra clothes in one o' the trunks under my bed," Jedediah instructs before remembering one last thing. "Oh, an' you'll need a hat where your head don't get sunburned and where ya can look cool," the blonde smiles, thinking of just the hat that could work for Octavius.
With that, Octavius slips into Jedediah's tent, not quite sure what he is going to look like in cowboy clothes. The Roman starts to have a feeling that he will look absolutely ridiculous in these new clothes, not to mention feel a bit out of place and maybe even uncomfortable wearing what Jedediah calls jeans.
Eventually, Octavius emerges from Jedediah's tent, an unsure look on his face as he steps out into the bright and sunny Western diorama once more.
"How do I look?" Octavius inquires in an unsure tone once he steps out of Jedediah's tent clothed in traditional cowboy clothes.
Jedediah had given Octavius a pair of black jeans, a black shirt, a brown vest, some brown cowboy boots, and even a brown Stetson to go with his outfit.
"I think you look great," Jedediah remarks, shocked to see just how much Octavius looks like a proper cowboy just with a change of clothes.
His blue eyes widen as he takes in Octavius' new look; it seems to suit the Roman in a way neither man thought would have been possible. Octavius was concerned about sticking out like a sore thumb- per Jedediah's wording- in the cowboy garb while Jedediah had once thought Octavius would look goofy, just goofy, in cowboy clothes and a Stetson. Octavius actually looks quite adorable in his new clothes; the black shirt shows a bit of the top of Octavius' chest as it comes down just a tad lower than Jedediah's shirt normally rests due to Jedediah being a bit taller than the general. In addition, the brown boots give Octavius a bit of stylish flair, not that either man really notices this fact. (Well, maybe Octavius notices, if either of them does.) The brown Stetson ties Octavius' whole transition into Western clothes together, adding even a little bit of height to the Roman general.
"Just like a real cowboy," Jedediah says with a hint of surprise in his voice as he looks Octavius over one more time, checking to make sure Octavius has everything he would need to be transformed into an honorary cowboy for the night. "It doesn't look that bad, actually."
"Really?" Octavius asks in shock, not expecting that answer from Jedediah.
"Come on. Would I lie to ya?" Jedediah grins, patting Octavius on the back before remembering something. "Oh, yeah! These are for you, partner," Jedediah says, producing a pair of black gloves from Lightning's saddlebag.
"What do I need gloves for, Jedediah?" Octavius inquires in a confused, yet adorably cute, tone of voice as he looks at said items in slight disapproval.
"Well, partner, gloves can help ya keep from gettin' rope burn from the reins. Mighty hurts ta get rope burn, Octavius. I got it once and it was not pretty nor did it feel too good on my hands," Jedediah answers the Roman, thinking back to when he got rope burn as a teenager and then once during the fifty-two years they have been in the Museum of Natural History.
"So, what should we do first, Jedediah?"
"First we gotta get a blanket and then put a saddle on that crazy horse of yours. No wonder ya called 'im Spirit."
"I think I'm starting to see some similarities between the two of you," Octavius smiles, which makes Jedediah push the brown Stetson over Octavius' eyes.
With that, the two amigos head off towards where Lightning and Spirit are waiting to begin riding for the night.
Octavius softly places a blanket on Spirit's back before leaning over to get the saddle Jedediah has sat on the ground in front of the Roman. Spirit, deciding he doesn't like the change, turns his golden head around before grabbing the blanket in his teeth. No sooner than he grabs it does Spirit throw the blanket off his back; it lands on Octavius' head. Needless to say, Jedediah laughs at this, seeing Octavius with a blue and white checkered blanket on his head is too funny for words.
"Spirit, you need to let me put this blanket on you. Jedediah seems to believe that he can teach me how to ride on a saddle," Octavius remarks to Spirit, petting the buckskin's nose with one hand. "If you would allow me to put the blanket on you, I would greatly appreciate it," the Roman quietly whispers, pressing a kiss to Spirit's muzzle.
Octavius then places the blanket higher up on Spirit's back, hoping the golden stallion cannot reach back and throw it off this time. The general's hopes seem to be all for naught, though; Spirit reaches his head back and throws the blanket to the ground once more, kicking up some dust in the process. Both Octavius and Jedediah cough, though Octavius coughs longer than Jedediah; the cowboy is used to dust being kicked around by either the animals or the people of his diorama.
"Looks like Spirit's givin' you some problems there," Jedediah remarks as he sits with his back against the nearest oak tree.
It's taken Octavius nearly an hour to get clothed in traditional cowboy wear and attempt to try and get Spirit ready to go riding. Jedediah got Lightning ready to ride in less than ten minutes during the time while Octavius was dressing in the tent.
"You want me to, uh, give you a hand?" Jedediah suggests, looking at Octavius continue to struggle with Spirit as the buckskin horse seems to have other ideas.
"No. I can do it," Octavius insists with a small sigh exiting his lips before he picks the blanket up from the ground.
He was going to prove to Jedediah that he could do this…
"Sure you can," Jedediah sarcastically remarks, still watching Octavius struggle with the blanket from his vantage point of the tree.
"I don't like that tone of voice, Jedediah."
"Then do it properly and I won't have to use it, Ockie."
Octavius doesn't even care about gently putting the blanket on Spirit's back this time. He just throws the blanket on the stallion before the horse pulls the blanket off yet again. Spirit even has the nerve to nicker at Octavius in what appears to be a horse's version of a laugh. Octavius just sighs before picking up the blanket off the ground, preparing to try this one final time. If this doesn't work….. The Roman is seriously thinking of calling it quits if he can't even put a blanket on his horse properly.
"Stop, stop, stop, stop," Jedediah comments, holding one hand up in the air while waving the other back and forth.
The blonde cowboy stands up, wiping his hands on his jeans before straightening his Stetson. Jedediah then begins to walk over towards Octavius and Spirit, not sure what the hold-up is and why both Octavius and Spirit are being so stubborn this evening.
"I can't take it anymore," Jedediah says with a slight sigh, coming up and taking the blanket from Octavius' hands. "Watch me do it," he commands in a gentle tone, which makes Octavius pay extra close attention to what Jedediah is doing differently. "Get it like this," Jedediah starts to instruct, unfolding the blanket all the way where it takes up the most surface area it can on Spirit's back. "And put it up high," the cowboy continues, settling the blanket nearly on Spirit's neck, which is much higher than Octavius ever attempted to put it. "See? It'll drift back while you're riding," Jedediah finishes his instruction, turning to face Octavius.
His blue eyes study Octavius' thoughtful and learning expression as the darker-haired man watches in amazement that Spirit does not throw off the blanket when the cowboy places it on his back. Jedediah actually finds Octavius' expression similar to one a child may wear at learning how to do something, which makes his heart feel a little lighter. Maybe it was because of his dark brown eyes looking like how baby Owen's did, but Jedediah can't help but think his son would have worn the same expression when Jedediah would have taught the blonde boy how to ride. (If he had ever reached that stage of life, that is.) Octavius grins at Jedediah, making the cowboy ruffle the Roman's hair from underneath the brown Stetson Jedediah let him borrow for the night. Sometimes Octavius could act so much like a child wanting praise or instruction that it makes Jedediah laugh. Tonight is one of those times.
Next, Jedediah heaves the saddle up onto Spirit's back, making the buckskin horse squeak slightly at the extra weight on his back. The experienced horse rider begins to adjust the saddle into its proper position on Spirit's back, not wanting the saddle to bounce around while Octavius is trying to learn how to ride. That would not end well. Octavius is tasked with keeping Spirit calm, so the Roman runs his hands over Spirit's muzzle, whispering words of encouragement and pride to the horse. He barely even notices what Jedediah is doing with fastening the saddle's many different parts around Spirit until the stallion lets out a confused snort that makes Octavius look over at Jedediah in concern.
"Jedediah, why is Spirit making such an alarmed noise? What is it that you're doing to him?" Octavius asks in a much harsher tone than he intends to. "I'm sorry; that was harsh of me."
"Spirit just isn't used to havin' a saddle on 'im, Octavius. That's all. An' all I'm doin' to him is tightenin' the saddle to almost as tight as it can go," Jedediah explains, which ends up drawing another question out of Octavius.
"Why is that, my friend? Spirit is by no means either too skinny or too fat to fit properly in the saddle," Octavius comments, confused by his best friend's statement.
"No, he's not, Ockie. But, ya see, horses tend to suck in their lungs as much as they can where the saddle doesn't get as tight as it can. Then when you sit on the horse, BLAM! Ya fall off an' roll in the dirt," Jedediah explains, getting louder at the end. "See, that's called puffing their lungs, an' it makes for an incredibly terrible pain. Shane fell off one time an' rolled all the way into a river!" Jedediah laughs hysterically, finishing putting the saddle on Spirit with a flourish of his hands.
"Don't tell him what Rain did to me," Shane pleads, walking up with the mare in question following behind him.
Rain is a paint mare that Shane got for both her personality and the hopes that she would have a foal with Jed's paint stallion Lightning.
"It's not Rain's fault that ya forgot to check her saddle, ya klutz!" Jedediah grins, feeding an apple to Rain as the paint mare comes closer to him and Octavius.
"How are you tonight, Shane?" Octavius inquires, wanting to keep the two cowboys from getting into a debate and keeping Jedediah too busy to teach him how to ride Spirit.
"I'm fine, Octavius. Thank ya for askin'. So, Jed here tells me that it's your first night in the saddle," Shane smiles, sliding his leg onto Rain's saddle before settling down on the back of the mare with his weight evenly dispersed on the saddle.
"It is. Jedediah is supposed to teach me how to ride Spirit on a saddle instead of with a chariot all the time," Octavius replies with a smile, petting Spirit as the golden stallion nuzzles the general's head and face.
"Well, now's as good a time as any. Let me help ya up there, Octo," Jedediah says with a grin, offering his hands in a basket shape in order to hoist Octavius onto the saddle.
Octavius places one of his feet in Jedediah's hands before swinging the opposite leg onto Spirit's back and saddle. Next, Jedediah releases the Roman's other foot, leading Octavius to believe that he now must just need to settle his other foot in the stirrups like he has seen Jedediah do so many times in the past. Octavius is now settled into the saddle, though it takes him a few seconds to get used to having to keep his weight perfectly balanced while sitting atop of Spirit's saddle. With knowing that Octavius is perfectly safe on Spirit's saddle, Jedediah leaves the golden stallion's side before swinging himself up onto Lightning's saddle. Jedediah then rides over before grabbing Spirit's bridle with one hand and beginning to lead both Octavius and Spirit in the direction he and Shane are leading their paint horses in.
The three riders reach a relatively calm and open area; no others from the frontier diorama are around, which means that Octavius can get in some practice without fear of getting Spirit spooked by anything or anyone.
"So, what is his first lesson for ridin', Jed?" Shane inquires, pulling Rain to a stop once the reach the back side of the Wild West diorama.
To most full-sized humans and animals, the miniature dioramas are just that: miniature. However, to the miniature people and animals, the dioramas span for what is the equivalence of miles for their full-sized counterparts. The miniatures think of their dioramas as being cities, which, in all technicality, they are.
"Ya know, just the basics of ridin', Shane," Jedediah answers, not really used to having to teach another man how to ride a horse.
It was different for children; Jedediah has different lessons that he used on his younger brothers during his past life.
"What, may I ask, are the basics of riding?" Octavius inquires, still holding on for dear life on Spirit's saddle.
The Roman looks a bit off balance, so Shane brings that fact up to Jedediah.
"For cryin' out loud, Jed! Ya need to teach Octavius how ta balance on that saddle 'fore he hurts himself or the horse!" Shane instructs before gently pushing Jedediah in the direction of Octavius and Spirit.
"All right. All right. I guess we gotta teach ya balance 'fore ya learn anythin' cool, Ockie," Jedediah sighs, coming up alongside Octavius and Spirit with a slightly unexcited look on his face.
"Yes, that would be very useful and practical, Jedediah," Octavius replies, starting to lean to one side.
"Whoa, whoa, partner," Jedediah softly says, placing a firm hand on Octavius' forearm before helping Octavius distribute his weight back evenly on the saddle. "Don't go gettin' yourself hurt. I don't want a repeat of what happened with the rhino," Jedediah remarks, letting out a relieved sigh as Octavius gets his whole body back on the saddle.
Jed then takes Spirit's reins in his hands, leading the buckskin around in a circle where Octavius can get used to the motion of being on top of a horse instead of behind one in a chariot. The blonde lets Spirit walk slowly in a circle, barely even getting a few steps in a minute. Once Octavius seems to be getting the hang of it, Jedediah lets go of Octavius' arm, ready to let the Roman try and remain balanced by himself. Almost instantly after letting go of Octavius, Jedediah notices that the general is beginning to tilt to one side again.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Jedediah remarks again, reaching out a hand to steady Octavius once more.
Much to his surprise, Octavius shrugs off his help and actually manages to stay upright and balanced while Spirit starts to walk in a straight line side by side with Lightning.
"I did it!" Octavius shouts in pure amazement as he and Jedediah reach the back wall of the diorama without Octavius losing any of his balance or falling off of the horse at all.
"Ya did! I'm so proud of ya, Ockie!" Jedediah cheers, slowing Lightning to a stop beside Spirit where the cowboy can give Octavius a congratulatory clap on the back.
"Thank you, Jedediah. Now, what's next?" Octavius inquires in an enthusiastic tone, now finding the activity of riding a horse with a saddle to be fun.
Pausing ever so slightly, Octavius moves the brim of the Stetson out of his face; he's still not used to wearing all of the Western clothing Jedediah gave him.
"Well, we've only got about an hour before sunrise," Shane remarks, looping Rain's reins around his hands.
(Try saying that five time fast.)
"Well, I guess we can ride back towards the tunnel and let Ockie put Spirit back into the stables for the night," Jedediah announces before clicking his booted feet against Lightning's side to urge the paint stallion forward once more.
"But, Jedediah, I did not learn everything tonight," Octavius softly comments, hope in his dark brown eyes. "I had rather hoped that you would show me how to ride like you do when you're riding with Shane, Roy, John, or the other cowboys," Octavius continues, wanting to ride fast and free like Jedediah so famously does.
"Well…." Jedediah starts off, thinking of what he can do since it would probably take him and Octavius around exactly an hour to get back to Rome, put the horses away for the day, and make sure their respective dioramas were in order all before the sun rises for the day. "Come back tomorrow and I'll show you then," Jedediah grins, knowing how much Octavius is appreciating the blonde teaching him how to ride a horse and learn to do other cowboy related things.
"Really?!" Octavius asks in excitement, a smile on his face as his dark brown eyes light up. "You mean it?" he continues in his excited tone, turning around to face Jedediah.
Even Jedediah's blue eyes light up and he smiles back at the Roman he is proud to call his brother before he answers the eager general.
" 'Course I mean it," Jedediah grins, leading Lightning towards the stables before dismounting. "That's what brothers are for, Octavius. I've gotta show ya how to finish ridin' if you're gonna be my new riding partner," Jed continues smiling, helping Octavius dismount before the Roman starts to head off into the Roman side of the tunnel, Spirit following closely behind him.
"Thank you, Jedediah. I am proud to call you my brother," Octavius smiles, showing his teeth as he grins as wide as the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland.
"Yep! I am, too, Octavius. Now, get outta here and get some good sleep today. We're gonna do a lot more trainin' and learnin' tonight," Jedediah tells Octavius, gently shoving Octavius the rest of the way through the tunnel.
"I shall. Until tonight, Jedediah. I appreciate you teaching me how to ride a horse, my friend."
"No problem, Ockie. Now, good morning, amigo."
"Good morning, Jedediah."
With that, the two go off in their own ways where they would stay throughout the duration of the day.
The next night comes rather quickly and Octavius wastes no time going into the stables in order to get Spirit ready for the night. Within three minutes, Octavius has the blanket and saddle on Spirit's back.
"If only Jedediah could have seen this. He would be so proud of me," Octavius smiles as these thoughts run through his head.
Yet again the Roman has thoughts that would make Jedediah compare the famous Roman general to a child if only he could read thoughts.
"Okay, Spirit. Now, let us ride into the Wild West and show Jedediah what we have learned," Octavius whispers to his noble steed.
With that, Octavius mounts onto Spirit's saddle and they begin to ride off into the tunnel after Octavius tells Marcus he would be gone for most of the night and wasn't quite sure when he would be back. Marcus couldn't help but laugh, assuring his general that the army could survive the night without him. The other Roman commander is just glad that General Gaius Octavius is back to his normal self and is going to seize the night like he normally does.
"But, wait. Was that Octavius riding a horse?" Marcus whispers to himself, thinking that he must be seeing things.
With that, Marcus goes off to spend the night with his sixteen-year-old son Maximus.
Roy runs up to Jedediah with a smile on his face as he pants for breath as he reaches Jed's tent from the tunnel.
"Uncle Jedediah, you have a visitor," Roy grins, sitting down on Jedediah's bed to catch his breath for a moment.
Jedediah sticks his head out of his tent before the rest of his body follows closely behind his head.
"Well! Lookee here! It looks like someone took my lessons to heart!" Jedediah cheers before letting out his signature 'Wow' as Octavius continues to ride into the cowboy camp.
"Yes, it is I! The mighty Octavius has arrived!" Octavius grins, slowing Spirit to a stop without falling off of the buckskin stallion.
"Whoo-wee, boy! If ya had told me you were gonna ride in here after only one night o' lessons, I woulda called ya a liar," Jedediah smiles, resting one hand on Spirit's muzzle, only to have to retract his hand as the golden stallion attempts to bite him.
"Yes, well," Octavius begins before losing his train of thought and clearing his thought. "I arrived early tonight in order to show you what I have learned and to learn some more," the Roman grins before dismounting all on his own.
"Man, Octavius! I sure did teach ya well for just one night! I sure am good!" Jedediah smiles, pleased with his own work. "Now, who saddled Spirit up so quickly for ya? Now, be honest," Jed jokes, just wanting to get on Octavius' nerves.
"I did, Jedediah. No one helped me saddle Spirit. I did everything on my own," Octavius proudly admits, puffing his chest quite a bit in pride.
"Well, let me go get Lightning out of his stall an' then we can get started on tonight's lessons," Jedediah grins, pleased with Octavius' enthusiasm to want to learn more so early in the night.
With that, Jed disappears into the stables to get Lightning and start the lessons for tonight where he can help Octavius learn everything he needs to know about horse riding, hopefully before the night is through.
They end up in the middle of the diorama and Jedediah dismounts from Lightning before prompting Octavius to do the same thing.
"Now to truly see if you have gained any skills, I must see you mount with complete ease in a copy the leader style," Jedediah challenges with a smirk, wanting to see just how good Octavius' skills are starting to come along.
Jedediah grabs the top curve of Lightning's saddle before pulling himself up onto the saddle in less than two seconds flat. The saddle makes a slight jingling sound as Jedediah distributes his weight and then spreads his hands out above his head in victory.
"Now you do that, Ockie," the blonde cowboy instructs, wanting to see Octavius' skill set thus far and how it has rounded out.
Octavius walks over to Spirit before grabbing the top curve of the saddle just like Jedediah did less than thirty seconds earlier. The general then swings himself onto the saddle, a soft 'Yes' escaping his lips as he makes sure his weight is balanced on the saddle. He raises his arms in the air like Jedediah, but to less of an extent as he does not want to fall off so soon on his first night of independent riding.
"Wow! That was—That was great, Octavius!" Jedediah cheers, shooting a thumbs up over at his best friend and student for the night.
"Thank you. So, what are we going to do first?" Octavius asks in an excited tone, wanting to see what Jedediah has in store for them tonight.
"I thought we could ride around the diorama for a bit and just make sure you're completely comfortable with bein' on the saddle 'fore we get to gallopin' and ridin' at fast speeds," Jedediah reveals before turning Lightning and then walking the paint stallion back towards where the others in the Western diorama.
"Sounds good to me, Jedediah," Octavius grins, falling in step beside Jedediah and faring well on horseback alone.
The two best friends ride back into the heart of the diorama. Octavius remains a little more reserved in his horse-riding; he stays in the middle of the saddle and keeps both hands on the reins. Jedediah, on the other hand, is an experienced rider, so he leans further back on the saddle, puffing out his chest a little and giving a sweet smile to some of the women that walk past him. The famous blonde cowboy tips his hat to some of them, making a few of the women giggle and blush a light red. Jedediah then places his black Stetson back on his head before moving to only holding the reins with one hand while just enjoying riding slowly around town with Octavius by his side. Nothing would ever break the brotherly bond the two of the share, of that Jedediah is sure of.
After about an hour of riding just for fun, Jedediah begins to get that look in his eyes that usually tells Octavius he is up to something crazy or risky.
"Watch me and do exactly what I do," Jedediah instructs the Roman, his smile getting wider before he kicks his boots against Lightning's sides. "Yee-haw!" Jedediah whoops as Lightning gallops quickly across the sand, leaving hoof-prints behind him as he starts to race through the desert, wind whipping through his hair.
It is a moment like this that Jedediah lives for. It is a moment like this that Jedediah remembers his days in the West when he was a lot more than three inches tall. Tossing a look over his shoulder, Jedediah smiles upon seeing Octavius racing after him, a grin unlike any other Jedediah has ever seen on Octavius' face. The Roman is finally doing it; he is getting to loosen up and become freer with less of his usual responsibilities weighing on his mind.
"Oh, yeah. I could get used to a freer, less of a rule-abider Octavius. Maybe then we could get into even more trouble than we usually do… "Jedediah muses in his head, turning around before seeing something that worries him.
Octavius' left foot is slipping out of the stirrups and the general starts to fall over to the left side, which makes Jedediah shout out a warning to his best friend.
"Octavius, watch your foot! Look out, partner!" Jedediah shouts, pulling Lightning to a halt to try and help Octavius.
Octavius' right foot slips out of the stirrup as well and he slips off of the saddle before falling off into the dirt on his back, grimacing as the harsh ground makes contact with his shoulder. Jedediah instantly jumps off of his horse's back, rushing over to Octavius to see if his best friend and brother is okay and is still with him.
"Are you okay?" Jedediah asks in major concern, leaning down on his knees beside Octavius, not wanting the Roman to be hurt or even unconscious like he was after their car accident a few months ago.
"No! I am not okay!" Octavius winces, clutching his shoulder as he tries to sit up to see if the rest of him felt any better than his shoulder does right now. "I think I broke something, or dislocated it, or…." Octavius begins to mumble before Jedediah grasps Octavius' shoulder and roughly yanks it back.
That motion makes Octavius yell in a pained tone, but he soon stops screaming before rolling his arm back and forth to find that his shoulder no longer hurts as much as it did just a few seconds ago.
"Better?" Jedediah smiles, offering Octavius a hand up, which the older man gladly takes.
"Yes, thank you! How did you do that, Jedediah? That was amazing!" Octavius answers back, impressed by his best friend's skill at curing pain and diminishing it when others are hurt.
"Old cowboy trick. Take the mind off the pain and then pop the joint back into place," Jedediah explains before dusting Octavius' back off. "Everybody's bound to fall off the horse at least once while they're learnin'. I fell off and had to get stitches on my forehead," Jed admits.
That produces a laugh from Octavius as he imagines a young Jedediah falling off a horse and needing to get a few stitches to offset the damage he endured.
"So, what do we do when we fall off the horse?" the blonde inquires, wanting to get Octavius back up and riding before the Roman could have any second thoughts.
"We get back up," Octavius says in his proud and usual Roman domination voice that makes him sound so strong, especially when talking about a challenge he wishes to face.
"Now, come on. Let's try that again. This time, don't fall off," Jedediah jokes, heading off to mount Lightning to continue their night of horseback riding.
"Ha-ha," Octavius sarcastically laughs, pushing Jedediah from behind and swiping Jedediah's Stetson from the blonde's head.
"Gaius Octavius! Ya better give me my hat back, Toga Boy!" Jedediah shouts, running after Octavius only to see the Roman mount his buckskin stallion and begin running through the desert of the Wild West diorama again.
"You'll have to catch me first, my friend!" Octavius challenges, not stopping for anything as he increases the distance between himself and Jedediah.
Jedediah wastes no time jumping onto the saddle of his own horse before kicking Lightning into full gallop and practically flying across the desert sand. At many points in time all four of Lightning's hooves are off of the ground and Jedediah does feel like he is flying through the air. Jedediah catches up to Octavius soon enough, being comfortable enough in a saddle where he can attain higher speeds and not feel like he is going to fall off and break parts of his body. The blonde cowboy snatches his hat back from Octavius before taking the brown Stetson he loaned to the general from Octavius' head as he continues to quickly run through the desert without a care in the world.
"Yee-haw!" Jedediah yells over the howling wind- more like the air coming into the diorama from the air vent. "Come on, Ockie!" Jedediah continues, wanting Octavius to both yell over the "wind" and continue to ride through the Wild West diorama at an even faster pace.
"Whoo!" Octavius shouts as well, tilting his head back and letting the air whoosh through his dark brown hair that he usually has covered by his helmet.
Tonight, with his hair not under a helmet- or hat like it was before Jedediah snatched the Stetson- Octavius is able to feel the wind flow through his hair like it did back before he was in the Roman army. Octavius eventually is able to catch up to Jedediah either because Jedediah slowed down or because he went faster, the great general is not sure. The two friends continue riding around the diorama, both of them feeling free to yell as loudly as they wish. Jedediah is starting to rub off on Octavius and vice versa, which isn't a bad thing to say the least. They circle the Wild West diorama twice before heading back towards the center of the town, their horses heaving as they finally pull to a stop near the water troughs.
Jedediah and Octavius slip off the saddles and land on the ground with hardly any noise at all. The blonde slaps the brown Stetson back on Octavius' head, which makes Octavius laugh at how Jedediah haphazardly throws the hat on his head. Jed then tosses Octavius a small bandanna before dipping his own red bandanna in the well nearby before resting the now wet and cool cloth against his neck and face.
"Get it wet and place it on your face, Ockie. We still got a lot left to do tonight before calling it quits," Jedediah smiles, resting against a fence post as the cold water runs down the back of his neck and re-hydrates his skin after losing a lot of water through perspiration.
"I'm going to be vomitably ill," Octavius remarks in a lower tone voice than normal as he steadies himself against a fence near Jedediah.
The Roman then drapes the cold bandanna against his neck, appreciating the water as it sinks into his skin and cools him down after his night of riding through the desert.
"Nah, Ockie. That's just your stomach catchin' up with the rest of ya," Jed jokes with a smile. "All the new cowboys get that feeling when they first start riding fast like that. It'll pass," Jedediah continues before taking his Stetson off and wiping his forehead after pushing his unruly mop of blonde hair out of the way.
"Yes, well, I think the cool water is helping to alleviate a bit of that feeling," Octavius smiles, accepting the canteen of water that Jedediah is passing to him that the blonde got out of Lightning's saddle bag.
About five minutes later, Octavius and Jedediah mount their horses again before starting to ride towards the center of Jedediah's town once more.
As they each the outskirts of the miniature Western town, Jedediah walks Lightning directly into Octavius and Spirit's path, which makes Octavius slow Spirit to a stop whereas not to crash into the cowboy and paint stallion
"You're a quick study, Ockie. But, there's one more thing you need to learn before riding into town square again," Jedediah grins before getting that look in his light blue eyes that Octavius knows all too well by now. "Feel free. Be free," Jedediah instructs, which makes Octavius cock an eyebrow in confusion. "Feel free, just like me," the blonde cowboy continues before throwing his head back and letting out a loud wolf howl like he and his men used to do- and still do- on the plains.
Shane, Roy, and John howl back from their positions in the town's center, which makes Jedediah howl back before he prompts Octavius to do the same with a nod of his head. Octavius sucks in a deep breath before tilting his head skyward and letting out a rather loud and undignified wolf howl, which actually sounds quite similar to an actual wolf call. Then Jedediah and Octavius mouth 'one, two, three' to each other before they both begin howling, which travels through the whole diorama and catches on with nearly everyone in the Western town, men, women, and children alike. That's how Teddy, Sacagawea, and Texas find the two miniature leaders, howling with their heads tilted back and Octavius wearing cowboy clothes.
"I wondered how long it would take for Jedediah to make a cowboy out of Octavius," Teddy smiles, pressing a quick kiss to Sacagawea's cheek as he turns around to face her.
"Yes. It indeed seems like Jedediah has managed to teach Octavius all of the cowboy ways," Sacagawea grins back, which makes Teddy chuckle lightly as not to disturb Octavius and Jedediah's howling like wolves. "All that remains is for Octavius to make a Roman out of Jedediah," Sacagawea admits, knowing that Octavius would certainly try to make that come true.
"I feel like that would take a bit longer than Jedediah took to turn Octavius into an honorary cowboy," Teddy jokes, earning him a soft swat on the arm from Sacagawea before they ride off.
Not noticing neither Teddy and Sacagawea's arrival nor departure, Octavius and Jedediah eventually stop their impressions of wolves and start to ride into town, smiles on both of their faces.
"Man, Ockie! Your spirit animal must be a wolf or somethin'!" Jedediah expresses in shock and an impressed tone of voice.
"It might be. Now, what exactly is going on here?" Octavius inquires in confusion while looking around to figure out the situation around him.
There are two separate pens that are set up in the middle of the Western civilization along with many men on horseback surrounding what appears to be a pen of cows to Octavius. He is not quite sure he has ever seen whatever this course of action is before.
"You don't get this whole farm concept, do ya?" Wallace, one of Marshall's men that Jedediah frankly despises with all of his guts.
"Hey, Wallace! Ya leave Octavius outta this or your sorry butt's gonna have a lot more to worry about then how you're gonna pay your next bar tab!" Jedediah growls through gritted teeth, not liking it when anybody other than him picks on or teases Octavius.
"We're doing what's called cattle sorting, Octavius," Casey, one of Jedediah's better friends and most reliable workers in the Western diorama says, riding up to Octavius and Jedediah with a smile on his face and excitement in his emerald green eyes.
Cattle sorting has always been a favorite job of Casey's; Jedediah likes to joke that Casey just likes to show off in front of his girlfriend- soon to be fiancée if Casey has anything more to say about it- named Sadie.
"I literally have no idea what that means or what its purpose is," Octavius responds, still confused as to what cattle sorting is and why Casey seems to be so excited to be participating in it.
"City slicker," Jedediah mumbles under his breath with a smile on his face, which makes Octavius elbow him in the ribs while still remaining balanced on the saddle. "Cattle sorting is when we gotta divide the cow herds into two separate pens 'cause either the herd is too big or we're plannin' on sellin' some o' the steers we got," Jedediah explains to Octavius, which makes the Roman general understand quite a bit more than he did coming over to the pens not long ago.
"Oh. So, you put the females and calves in one pen and these steers in another?" Octavius guesses while straightening himself on the saddle where he does not fall off again.
"Did ya here that, Casey?" Jedediah smiles, patting Octavius on the back.
"I heard him, Jed," Casey grins back before he opens the gate and heads into the main pen with the cows.
"We'll make a cowboy outta him yet," Jedediah announces, his blue eyes housing both pride and a sense of achievement.
The blonde cowboy is proud that he was able to teach Octavius how to ride a horse regardless of the trouble and challenges the Roman faced. A sense of achievement comes from knowing that he is getting the general to open up a bit and become more free; Octavius is learning that there is more than one way to approach a problem. Jedediah is more than happy that he has brought about such a change in his best friend. Octavius has been given the opportunity to escape from his troubled past and grow as a well-rounded person that the Roman army never really helped to enrich or encourage a multi-talented individual.
"You're not thinking—" Octavius starts of, his dark brown eyes widening as he realizes what Jedediah is implying.
"Yep! You're gonna help us sort cattle, Ockie!" Jedediah shouts before he opens the gate and motions for Octavius to go forward.
Octavius remains rooted in the same spot, noticing how large the cows are in comparison to him. Even miniature cows and horses are much larger than the miniature men, women, and children are in order to keep the sizes in proportion for the sake of accuracy.
"I don't know, Jedediah. I'm just learning how to ride a horse, my friend. I would not wish to injure myself, any others, or ruin your cattle sorting endeavor," Octavius quietly remarks to where only Jedediah can hear him.
The Roman general didn't need the entire Western diorama thinking that he is either a wimp or a scaredy cat.
Jedediah notices the slightly shaky and alarmed tone that Octavius replies in.
"You okay? Nervous?" Jedediah softly inquires like one would do when comforting a small child who is afraid of thunderstorms.
The blonde cowboy's question merits a simple nod from Octavius as the brown Stetson slips down to cover Octavius' eyes and most of his face.
"It's all right to be nervous if you're new," Jedediah assures in an encouraging tone while resting a reassuring hand on Octavius' shoulder.
Octavius takes the moment to push the brown Stetson off of his own face where he can look Jedediah in the eyes.
"Really?" Octavius inquires, starting to feel a bit better about the whole situation, regardless of the annoyed sighs coming from Marshall, Wallace, and the rest of the rebel cowboy's posse.
"Yep. Took me close to two years to convince Roy to finally help me round up all o' the cattle," Jedediah grins, making Roy hide a bit behind his hat where Jed does not see his embarrassed face. "You'll be okay. I'll keep an eye on ya," Jedediah promises, walking his paint stallion into the pen in order to get the cattle sorting done for the night.
"Thank you for your help, my friend. Now, what should I do to help out?"
"All you gotta do is follow my lead."
With that, Octavius follows behind Jedediah into the gate, hearing the metal click shut behind him as Sadie closes the gate behind the men before climbing up to sit on the divider and watch Casey with an amused smile on her face. Sadie could probably help the men sort cattle, but she is very aware that Jedediah, Casey, Roy, and Shane seem to have a running competition going that leaves very few cows for anyone else in the pens.
"All right, boys! Listen up! Casey an' I will split off the steers from the cows and calves. Shane, you an' Roy work with the calves; John you an' Wyatt get the cows into the center where hopefully they won't panic about the calves bein' separated for now," Jedediah instructs before he begins to race through the pen with his hair blowing in the wind the ride creates as his hat starts to flap along with the air rushing past the blonde cowboy. Octavius sits still on his horse for a while, not quite sure what to do. Eventually, as Jedediah begins to push two steers towards Casey by pushing the steers against the side of the fence where they cannot escape back into the center circle of the pen where the females and calves are.
"Casey, take these two an' put 'em in Pen Three," Jedediah yells over the mooing and various other cow calls before rushing off to let Casey work his way in between the cows.
The green-eyed cowboy follows Jed's instructions to the letter, kicking his heels against his horse's side before driving the two steers into the pen marked with a giant three.
"Jed! Me an' Roy are gonna get some o' the calves into Pen Two where the cows can stop tryin' to rush past John and Wyatt!" Shane shouts before breaking off in the center of the pen, roping one calf that seems to be lagging behind the others.
"Sound good, amigo!" Jed grins, seeing Roy racing through the pen with three calves either in front or to the side of him, depending on where the seventeen-year-old cowboy is riding at any given moment.
Roy is able to get all three calves into the pen before he shuts the gate tight, not wanting all his hard work to go to waste. The young man- almost man if you count eighteen as being a man- smiles before wiping the sweat off his forehead and then riding to help Shane detach the last calf that remains roped in Shane's lasso.
"Octavius, you need to go and get that last steer, kemosabe!" Jedediah yells as he attempts to help John and Wyatt with the cows who are starting to get panicked due to not being able to find their calves.
"Now I know you're mental!" Octavius calls over all the noise once he sees how big and dangerous the steer in front of him and Spirt is.
The steer has horns nearly twice as long as Octavius' arms and a look on his face that makes Octavius believe the male animal has had quite a disagreement with humans in the past. But, not wanting to disappoint his best friend and honorary brother, Octavius starts to spur Spirit forward, only to find out he is heading in the wrong direction from both the steer and the desired pen Jedediah wants the animal in. Octavius quickly course corrects though, being used to spur of the moment moves with being a Roman general for many years. The Roman urges his stallion forward, cornering the dangerous steer before running off towards the pen, making the steer charge after him. At the last second as the steer starts to lower its head to crash its horns against Spirit's legs, Octavius ducks both himself and his loyal stallion out of the way, which sends the steer practically skidding into the pen. Dallas swings down from his position on the pen to slam the gate shut, giving Octavius a thumbs up in the process.
"That was mighty fine cowboy riding for a Roman, Octavius," Casey admits in a kind and sincere voice, which makes Octavius beam with pride.
"Thank you, Casey. How did I do, Jedediah?" Octavius inquires with a huge grin, thinking he has done really well in his training.
"I think ya did amazing, Octo! Well done, partner!" Jedediah cheers, opening the main gate for both Octavius and himself to head out into the main part of the diorama. "Now, before we go to ride around in the car, I want to teach you some stuff," the blonde admits, jumping down off of Lightning's saddle before heading around to where he and his men keep their target practice equipment. "Come on," he grins, urging Octavius to dismount from the horse and follow him.
The two friends arrive at the target practice range, which gives Octavius a sense of dread or apprehension in the pit of his stomach. He never is quite sure what Jedediah may have him do.
"You just follow me," Jedediah instructs before he begins to basically kiss his own thumbs, which Octavius finds strange.
"What's that?" Octavius inquires, not sure what in the world Jedediah is doing.
"Sensitivity. It increases the reflexes," Jedediah explains. "An old gunslinger taught me that one in the West a long time ago," the cowboy grins as he thinks of the memory.
Jedediah then reaches his hands towards his holsters, pulling out his trusty pistols out of their respective holsters on his hips. He manages to get them out with one quick motion, making Octavius step back in surprise and slight alarm, not understanding what Jedediah is doing now.
"These are guns," the blonde remarks in an explaining tone.
"I know that," Octavius responds in an unimpressed and deadpan tone, wondering why Jedediah has the need to explain this.
"Well, Mr. Know It All," Jedediah starts off before continuing with his lesson. "These can be your best friend or your worst enemy," he continues before spinning both pistols in his hands to the fascination of Octavius. "That's a spin in my left hand," Jedediah comments, twirling the left pistol. "That's a spin in my right hand," he remarks before spinning the right pistol the exact same way he just spun the left gun. "That's two spins."
This time both pistols spin before Jedediah starts to hand the one in his left hand to Octavius.
"Now, here, I'm gonna let you hang onto this," he says gently, watching as Octavius reaches a hand out for the pistol. Jed then jerks it back with a spin, causing Octavius to pull back in confusion. "See? Whoa. Be careful, Octavius. Always be ready," Jedediah cautions, letting Octavius know the rules of the West where not everyone fights with honor like they do in Rome. "Always be ready. Some o' the men here don't fight fair or with honor like you're used to, Ockie. I want ya to keep that in mind," the blonde honestly tells his best friend and brother, looking at the Roman with a serious expression on his face.
"I will keep that in mind, Jedediah. Thank you for telling me," Octavius gratefully says, happy that Jedediah gave him that piece of extremely helpful advice.
"Now, try to exhale for long-range shots, inhale for close-range," Jedediah instructs which makes Octavius breathe in deeply.
"Surely Jedediah does not believe I am actually going to fire one of these things. Then again…. These guns don't even work! I have nothing to fear!" Octavius silently remarks in his head, now feeling that he can't possibly make a fool of himself without any real effect coming out of the miniature pistols.
"Cover up your ears, 'cause this could be loud," Jedediah instructs, taking aim with the pistol resting in his right hand and his index finger on the trigger. "Cover up your ears," the cowboy says again, wanting to make sure that Octavius was not really alarmed or scared into firing his own pistol at the sound of Jedediah shooting at the target.
Octavius does end up covering his ears, even though he knows that nothing will come of Jedediah shooting the pistol. None of the guns in the Western diorama have ever fired anything other than a click, and the Roman general is convinced that they never will. To his surprise, a loud bang actually does erupt and Jedediah's pistol fires for the first time ever- as far as Octavius knows. Interestingly enough, Jedediah's shot completely misses the target and ends up falling into the sand somewhere. Jedediah has never particularly been known to be the best shot in the West.
"Amazing! How on Earth did you get it to fire tonight, my friend?" Octavius asks in awe, having neither heard nor seen one of the Western guns actually fire before.
"Gunpowder, Ockie!" Jed announces with a slight smile as he reloads the pistol with a few extra rounds of ammo. "Shane, John, an' our blacksmith found out none of the ammo or guns had any in them," the cowboy admits before taking three more shots that each result in failure as well.
The first shot lands so far behind the target that Shane comes running over from the stables to see if anyone is hurt. Embarrassed by his failure to hit the target, Jedediah blames it on the air vent being turned on suddenly.
"I don't feel any-" Octavius starts off, only to be nudged harshly by Jedediah.
"They just turned it back off, Toga Boy," Jedediah grumbles, wishing that Octavius hadn't mentioned there being no air on in the Western diorama.
"Right," Shane smirks, knowing very well that Jedediah faced no opposition from the wind. "Well, then I'll let you get back to instructin' Octavius then, Jed," Shane remarks with a laugh before walking away.
Jedediah knits his eyebrows in annoyance. Sometimes he can't stand Shane McCann…
Jedediah's seconds shot is much like his first; it misses. By a lot. This time, the cowboy's shot ends up about twenty miniature-sized steps to the right of the target. The third time Jedediah fires his pistol at the target, he misses by almost twenty-five miniature paces- Jed needed to aim further right as the bullet landed too far left.
"I can't figure out what in the heck is wrong with this today," Jedediah mumbles, beginning to dismantle the pistol to try to see if the problem is internal.
A loud noise makes both Octavius and Jedediah look up in slight confusion.
"Is everything okay?" Hannah inquires as she and Ahkmenrah look into the diorama with concerned looks on both their faces.
"Yes, Lady Hannah; everything is all right," Octavius remarks in an assuring tone.
"What is going on? Attila started screaming about he heard strange noises coming from this hall. We feared the worst that the Mayans had escaped," Ahkmenrah quietly says, true worry sketched on his face as his green eyes scan the Wild West diorama for any injuries.
"Nope. I was just showin' Ockie how ta fire a gun," Jedediah says in a nonchalant tone, almost as if he had announced something as trivial as that the sky is blue.
"Oh, well, if that's all," Hannah starts to say before realizing what Jedediah actually said.
His calm tone had thrown her off and not made her realize exactly what he had said.
"How did…. Is anyone going to get hurt?" the nineteen-year-old college student inquires, not wanting to have to use her college medical training yet again.
First it was Jedediah and Octavius' car crash, then it was Attila thinking he had broken one of Columbus' arms- which made for a very weird night as Hannah tried to see if the bronze man even had bones at night- and then the most recent event was helping Teddy get over his whiplash he got from riding a zebra and then having seven chariot races. It's easy to say her nights at the museum since they started about a year and a half ago- it would be exactly a year and a half in a matter of a week- have been interesting to say the least. Hannah definitely didn't think she'd get to put her medical knowledge to work before she will even enter medical school in about two years- give or take a few months since college lets out in May and med school would start that August the year she graduates.
"Nah, Hannah! Don't worry, girl. We aren't gonna brain nobody," Jedediah insists with a wave of his hand.
"Charming," Octavius sarcastically remarks, not believing that Jedediah managed to make a promise turn into something as violent as that.
"Be careful, my friends. I do not wish to have to experiment with the Tablet's power on how to fix bullet holes or bring people back to life even more so than we already are," Ahkmenrah remarks with a straight face as he looks at Jedediah in particular.
The young Pharaoh receives three looks of concern and absolute mortified expressions on Hannah's, Octavius', and Jedediah's faces, respectively.
"Too dark?" Ahkmenrah asks with a slight blush appearing on his lightly tanned cheeks as he diverts his green eyes from the others around him.
"Just a little bit, Ahkmenrah," Hannah answers, placing her hand on her Pharaoh boyfriend's arm to tell him that he was darker than he needed to be in that situation.
"It was kinda a scary thing ta hear from ya to be honest, Ahk," Jedediah reveals, turning back to face the target once more.
"I seriously am having misgivings about this idea now," Octavius admits, a concerned look spreading across his face as he fingers the weapon in his hand.
"Just say what ya mean, Ockie! Ya know I never understand all o' those fancy words ya use all the time," Jed remarks, rolling his blue eyes at the Roman's need to use proper speech all the time.
"It means doubts, Jedediah, my friend," the general explains with a slight sigh, having noticed the eye roll that the cowboy did when he thought Octavius was not working.
Jedediah just shrugs his shoulders, a motion that Octavius is not quite sure what it means.
Hannah and Ahkmenrah leave the Hall of Miniatures to go play soccer in the lobby with Attila, the other Huns, Columbus, Sacagawea and Teddy. Hannah is a team captain with Teddy, two of the Huns, and Columbus. Sacagawea is the other team's captain with Attila, Ahkmenrah, and the other two Huns on her team. Meanwhile, Octavius and Jedediah are still attempting to get Octavius to use one of Jed's pistols, which is not turning out well for either man.
"Octavius, ya need to trust me, partner. Would I ever give ya somethin' that could hurt you?"
"Well…. No. You would not."
Jedediah prods Octavius into trying to fire the gun, which results in some pretty humorous results. Octavius raises the cowboy's pistol up to his chest, a nervous look on his face as he prepares to fire the gun. To both men's surprise, Octavius clicks the trigger and the Roman hits the target dead in the center, a perfect bulls-eye.
"There ain't no way. There just ain't no way," Jedediah whispers, not believing his eyes before he goes up to the target to examine and see if Octavius actually hit the center of the target.
"I take it that is a good mark?" Octavius grins, knowing very well that a bull's eye is exactly what any gunslinger would be proud of.
"Beginner's luck," Jedediah scoffs, beginning to walk back towards Octavius.
BANG!
Jedediah jumps back as a bullet nearly grazes and embeds itself in his foot.
"Dang it, Octavius! What in the heck are ya tryin' ta do? Shoot my foot clean off?" Jedediah demands, snatching the firearm from his best friend.
"I'm sorry, my friend. I told you I had no idea how to work one of these things," Octavius says in an embarrassed tone, hiding his face behind the brown Stetson he still has from the night before.
"Yeah, well, that's obvious. Let's call it a night and go ridin' in the car," Jedediah sighs, taking off his black Stetson to wipe sweat off his forehead and try to tame his unruly blonde hair.
"All right. Tomorrow night you shall come to Rome and I will try to teach you some Roman techniques," Octavius grins, liking the challenge of trying to teach Jedediah how to be proper.
The next evening certainly would have humorous results, of that Octavius is sure.
"That's gonna be mighty hard for ya, Ockie."
"Don't I know it. I don't know if you'd ever pass as being a presentable Roman."
"I'd watch that mouth if I were you, Toga Boy…"
"Or what?"
Author's Note: And there's Chapter 11! Yes, I am aware it's Wednesday and I know I said I would try for Mondays, but I had a lot of schoolwork on Monday and last night. This weekend was pretty light in regards to amount of homework, but I was playing Sims with my sister. (We made Teddy, Sacagawea, and Rexy- Rexy was a Saint Bernard puppy- and then we let Sacagawea and Teddy have their own kids in the game that we didn't create ourselves. We also played a game with Octavius, Atia, their children, and Jedediah. (It was hilarious, just so you know!) Well, that's all I have to say for now, except for that I'll try to update the next chapter as soon as I can! Until Chapter 12, my friends!
P.S., for all of you who have asked if I take requests, the answer is: yes, I do. With some conditions, though. I WILL NOT write slash, as I do not think of anyone in this fandom as being that type of pairing like I commonly see in this fandom. Slash is just not something I will read or write. Sorry if I have offended anyone, but I am being honest about my feelings. In addition, send your requests to me and they will either be incorporated to this story or into a one-shot if I cannot fit it in the framework I already have set for this story. I do, however, have two spots open for this chapter as I have combined a few of my own ideas for this story. Oh, and arwenishtar, the second movie will not come into play until Chapter 30, give or take since there was the two-year period the museum went without Larry. (I have given myself the position of acting as night guard in his absence, as I'm sure you have seen. Is anyone still reading this note at this point? If you are, thank you, and type :) at the end of your review to tell me you read to here. I've always wondered if anyone ever reads my entire author's note…..