The animal stood stock still, her ears flicking gently. She was odd to look at, but very beautiful. A black haired, stoic man stood at her head, holding her lead rope tightly. His knuckles were white, as if he thought she was about to bolt.

Reno swaggered into view, his hands stuffed in his pocket, but the confidence wavered a little at the sight of the animal that stood beside his boss. He faltered, and flinched at the evil little smile on the black man's face.

"Bossman?"

"Meet your new friend Reno. As you know, for the past year, we have had a Mounted Unit. And for that year, Rufus has asked me to dispatch a member of my team to this Unit. And I have had enough of you Reno. You're disruptive and destructive behaviour has gone too far."

He handed the lead rope over to the red head, and walked past him, with his arms held behind her back.

"Tseng! This is unfair yo!" He called, spinning round. The black haired man turned, shrugged and nodded to the horse.

"This is your new project Reno. If your behaviour improves, I'll take you back."

Reno stood, and looked at the mare beside him. She was a pretty thing. Her coat was pure white, and gleaming. Her mane and tail were the deepest black. She had kind brown eyes and a scar on her nose that looked very familiar to him indeed.

She gazed at him, and her head lifted. Her ears pricked towards him and she nuzzled her nose into his hand. He sighed, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw him turn his head away from her to look in the direction that Tseng had gone. He sighed again, and his free hand instinctively rose to rub at her nose and up between her eyes. She snorted softly, and rested a hind leg.

"Guess I'm stuck with you then." He sighed, and pulled his hand away when he realized what it was doing. She tossed her head in seeming agreement, and her ears swiveled round to take in the sounds around her.

He pulled on the rope, pulling her into a walk. As he walked along the stalls, he caught sight of all the different horses' heads poking out of their stall door. But none of them were as pretty as she was. Something about her was just so familiar.

"Oi! Williams!" He called. The brunette turned her head, and looked around at him. She smiled warmly, her eyes traveling over the mare's body.

"Ooh, you have a pretty one there!" She nodded in approval, and cocked her head gently, gazing at him before smiling again, "So, how can I help you?"

"Tseng's offloaded me onto you. I have to stick around here. So, I'll need the training."

"Okay. You'll be here for six months at least, learning to work with the horses. And you'll be training her at the same time."

He gaped at her, and then looked at the horse again. She turned her head at the same time, and her muzzle brushed his nose. He batted her away, and the motion made her throw her head up and turn away from him again. Her tail flicked at the flies on her rump, and she pulled her head down, almost yanking Reno over with her.

"What is she?" He asked, and patted her neck. She looked dainty and very elegant, but she had a good build. Williams took the horse to settle her down, and Reno went home. An hour later, Williams faxed him.

Friesian. 16.5hh. Grey/Black. 3yrs. Female. Good build and steady temperament. Suitable Mounted Unit Horse. Signed To Reno Sinclair.

Reno read through it and sighed. Being stuck on the Mounted Unit was bad news. He would have to get up early every day. That horse was now his responsibility to look after. He would have to go down every day to sort her out.

"Maybe it won't be so bad, Dad? You know, this could be a sign. Mum LOVED horses. It was her idea to have the Mounted Unit anyways." The blonde haired girl piped up, sat beside him at the dining table.

When Sarjah had had a baby with Zack, she had suffered extreme Post-Natal Depression. During that period, she had had an affair with Reno. Lily was the result of that, but Sarjah had been put on Anti-Depressants and had been so much better at the time of her accident.

"I'm not sure." Reno murmured, and looked up at the picture under the wall mounted TV and sighed heavily. Sarjah grinned back at him, one eye squeezed shut as Lily's nose had been thrust in it, and her tongue lolled out of her mouth. Lily had a wide grin on her face, and the blonde hair blew across their faces and mixed with her mother's bright red locks.

He missed her. He missed her a lot. He missed working with her, talking with her. He missed being able to admire her, seduce her, flirt with her. He still loved her.

He stood, clearing up the plates and letting Lily run upstairs and into her bedroom to get her homework done. He cleaned up the dishes and sat at his laptop to start his research into the Friesian horse. He wanted to know what he was dealing with.

He stood by the stall door, looking in. His horse was lying on the floor, and was dozing quietly. Her ears flicked gently, pointing towards him as she heard him approach. She lurched to her feet, and stood up in silence. She lifted her head so her nose brushed his face and snorted gently, the air ruffling his bangs.

"Did Sarjah send you?" He asked quietly, ruffling her forelock and missing her muzzle very gently. She tossed her head up and snorted again, but rested her chin on the top of her stall door while he rubbed at her ears in a soothing motion.

"You seem willing to bond. That's got to be a good sign." Williams appeared beside him, and ran a hand over the mare's neck as far as she could go. She patted the white neck again, and looked up at Reno.

"Well. Might as well. This is probably some voodoo mind trick that Tseng's set up." Reno huffed, and ran his hand up the mare's nose, rubbing between her ears before dropping his hand. She turned away from them, and he watched as she inspected the hay and the sawdust.

"I think this'll be the making of you, Reno Sinclair." She said gently, and patted his arm gently, "Anyway. Get her tacked up, and meet me in the indoor school. I'll meet you there in half an hour."

She smiled sympathetically and walked off again. He watched her go, and turned back to the white horse that stood quietly in her stall. He slowly slipped in, and started with his hands on the top of her neck and worked his way down her body, and then back to travel down her legs and picked each one up in turn. She leant her weight over and obediently lifted up each leg as he asked.

He smiled, and patted her shoulder very gently. She swiveled her ear back again, listening to him as he spoke to her, but also kept speaking to Sarjah. He groomed the animal; working off the slight dirty patch on her side caused by her rolling out in the paddock, and offered her the bit when ready to tack her up.

She took it easily, causing him no fuss what so ever, and chomped on the metal he had in her mouth. She stood still as he braced the girth across her chest. She stood still as he did, accepting the weight on her back. She threw her head up, the reins swinging in front of her and trailing on the floor.

She stood still, and caught sight of the black haired male again. He was watching them, but she paid no mind to him. She tossed her head up in her impatience to get going, and Reno laughed as he caught hold of the reins. She set her chin on his arm, and he very gently started to stroke her forehead. Her ears swiveled to him again, and she snorted softly.

Tseng smiled. It was a good idea after all.