True to his word, Richard was free to do as he pleased the next day. They woke up early, as usual, dressed, and headed downstairs. It was frustrating that he needed so much help to do something so simple as pull on a shirt and socks, but, as he reminded himself constantly, it was only temporary. After a light breakfast, Hank left to start his morning rounds, promising to be back by mid-morning to help him with the chickens. He didn't like the thought of him struggling out there alone with the feed bucket, so he made him promise to wait. Richard had agreed, but he'd said nothing about visiting the stables.
The moment Hank was out of sight, having hopped the fence to collect Connor and wander into the fields, Richard slipped along the side of the house and turned the corner into his own farmyard. He was in no fit state to do any actual work, but he could at least put his head in and see how the horses were doing. A flurry of snorts and whinnies greeted him as he unlocked the door, along with hooves kicking wood. Multiple heads appeared over stall doors, ears twitching as they nodded in recognition and greeting. No longer limping the way he had a few days ago, Richard ambled his way along, patting noses and murmuring greetings as he went.
"And how are you doing, hm?" He'd stopped at Mellow's stall, where her deep cream coloured head had appeared, black mane swishing as she nodded. Holding up his good arm, Richard shuffled closer so she could nudge and nose his chest. He winced a little as she nudged his shoulder, patting her neck and grumbling as she lifted her head. "It's alright, don't you worry about that." She snorted as if to argue and moved her nose to nestle on the other side. "It's not so bad...I'll be back out here in no time..." He hoped so anyway. He'd be getting the sling off in a few weeks. Getting on a horse again though...That might take a little longer. His jaw tightened at the thought. He was itching to saddle up already, and it had barely been a week!
Since he was there, he decided to make himself useful. Although he couldn't do any heavy lifting, he could at least give them their breakfast. Obviously, it would take a lot longer than usual. Getting the nosebags on with one hand would be a bitch, but it wasn't impossible. He'd done it before. He took the thick canvas bags one by one, holding the bag in his left hand while opening the feed sack and shovelling dry feed in with his right. To get around the head, the strap had to be unfastened on one side, so once the horse had their nose buried inside, he balanced the bag on his sling arm and looped the strap over their ears with his good arm. It was painful, fiddly work, and the bags slipped more than once, much to the current horse's indignation.
"What the hell are you doing?" He was almost halfway through the fifth bag when Hank's voice interrupted him from the doorway. He barely had time to turn his head before heavy steps had crossed to join him and large hands had taken over, supporting the bag and fastening it in place.
"What are you doing here?" Richard hadn't expected Hank to notice.
"Who do you think's been feeding the horses and turning them loose in the morning? Allen doesn't get here until noon. You think I'd leave them in until then?" He'd thought exactly that. Hank had his own animals to take care of. Richard had never expected him to see to the horses as well, not when he had Allen coming over to help. "Your turn." Richard winced internally. This is exactly why he'd been chained to the bed until yesterday, and the look on Hank's face told him as much. Richard almost pouted at the glower he was receiving.
"I just came down to check in and see how they were doing." Feeding hadn't originally been part of the plan, but since he was there, it made sense for him to do what he could to help. Allen had been handling things alone for the past week, at least, he'd thought he had. "I was just making myself useful..." Hank huffed fondly at that.
"Your job is to get better, not strain yourself trying to do work around the stables!" Richard hated that Hank was probably right. He was doing his best, but putting on the nose bags by himself was painful work. The horses couldn't help nudging his mending bones as they nuzzled in trying to eat their breakfast, which made balancing the bag that much harder. "I'll put the bags on...You can fill them." Better to let him do a little than risk him coming back in secret and getting himself trampled or something. Hank watched warily as Richard filled a bag and brought it to the next horse, where Hank took it and easily strapped it over the mare's head.
They worked together, with Hank doing the heavier, harder tasks. It was like being a child again. Hank let him fetch down the harnesses and hold the leading reins as he put them on each horse, ready to lead them down to the fields. Richard wasn't allowed to lead a horse, just in case it got spooked and tried to bolt. Instead, Hank had him walk alongside him as he led them two at a time. At the field, he let Richard unbolt the metal gate and swing it open. As soon as he had them inside, Hank unclipped the leading reins and turned them loose, watching fondly as they trotted out and scraped the earth.
Nice as it was for Hank to involve him in these small ways, Richard couldn't help feeling useless. He missed it. He missed being able to work around the stables. Even the smallest task was now an inconvenience. Hank seemed to pick up on it too as he reminded him once again that it was temporary, and he'd been back to it soon. Richard hoped so. By the time all the horses were loose, he was getting antsy. To appease him, and make him feel a little less useless, Hank hurried him along to feed the chickens. Though it took a little longer, it was at least something he could do with one arm.
Hank watched over him as he filled the feed bucket and held back from taking it from him as he crossed to the pen. Richard needed to feel useful. Hank helped with the door and let Richard open the coop for the day. Balancing the bucket on his knee, he tipped most of the feed into the trough to a chorus of morning clucks and scattered more around their feet before leaving. Hank didn't even think to argue as Richard headed for the fence. Instead, he climbed over first and held Richard's good arm as he climbed. On the other side, he helped him down and guided him around Connor and into the pen. It seemed Connor understood something of Richard's pained state. He remained on all fours and didn't even attempt to jump at him as they passed.
Inside the second pen, Hank lifted the lid of Nines' crate and let Richard pet and fuss over him. He ran his fingers over Nines' comb and teased his neck feathers before stroking his good wing. Nines cooed softly in greeting, dark eyes looking up at Richard with a glimmer of recognition. Richard hesitated to think there might even be something accusing about the look he was given. A quiet reprimand for not coming out for four days. An impatient beak nipped his fingers, though it didn't really hurt. It was almost a greeting, coming from Nines.
"I know, I'm sorry...Looks like we match now," Richard huffed as he patted his own blue sling. He could have sworn the cluck Nines gave was an agreement as he drew back and looked at Hank. There was no way he'd risk trying to pick Nines up with one hand. He didn't want to drop him. Hank didn't say a word as he bent down to scoop Nines up and set him free. Nines stretched his good wing in something akin to relief and scraped the dry earth. Richard refilled the bowl in his crate and scattered the rest across the ground, enjoying the sight of Nines strutting about, swishing his tail. "Has Gavin been over lately?" He'd been somewhat out of the loop for the past few days.
"Just the once. Now he's on the mend, Nines isn't taking Gavin's dominant attitude, so they keep fighting. It might be best to keep them separated until that wing's healed." Richard nodded his agreement. He didn't want to risk Nines getting hurt, and he was quite sure that Gavin wouldn't want that on his conscience. A rooster with a conscience...What next? After watching Nines a little longer, Richard allowed Hank to help him into his own yard and headed back to the house. Hank joined him, walking him to the door with a hand on his hip. "Make sure you keep yourself out of trouble, you hear?"
"Alright!" He scowled as Hank patted his ass.
"Attaboy." Hank smirked as Richard tried not to see too affected. "Text me if you get bored." Richard's cheeks heated at that. He knew what Hank would suggest if he texted. They parted with a brief kiss and Richard returned to the house, quietly determined that he would not text Hank. He sighed as he looked around the empty hall and wondered what he should do with himself. There wasn't much to do around the house, but at least he was free to make himself a pot of tea, which he did. Sitting at the breakfast bar, he sipped his tea and enjoyed the view of his yard, surprised as he heard the front door open.
"Richie? You in here?" Allen's voice called. The man himself appeared moments later as Richard hollered back that he was in the kitchen and rose to grab a second cup. There was still plenty of tea in the pot. "Did you go down to the stables thing morning?" His grey eyes were alight with suspicion as he dropped a black bag on the counter and looked him up and down. Richard clicked his tongue and poured a second cup, offering Allen the milk jug as he retook his seat.
"I just went down to see how the horses were doing!" Allen seemed set to say more when Richard held up a hand and waved him off. "Don't worry, Hank came over and took them out." That seemed to appease him a little at least as he slipped onto the stool beside him and sipped his tea. It had been a few days. He hadn't seen Richard since he'd been confined to the house. It had seemed best to stay away since he knew the game Hank was playing. Richard seemed all the better for it, too. From what Hank had told him, it was going well.
"Good! You shouldn't be down there by yourself." Richard glared, unwilling to listen to yet another lecture about how he couldn't go and visit his own stables. "Just bring one of us with you." Like a child. Allen sighed and shoved his head as if he could tell what he was thinking. "Look, I know you miss the horses, which is why I brought you a few things." Richard raised a suspicious eyebrow, especially at the way Allen's lips were twitching. This was definitely a prank, and with Allen's pranks, it was usually better just to get it over with. With a withering look, Richard waited for him to continue. "Look in the bag." Whatever this is, it better not jump out and-His thoughts stopped dead as he looked in the bag.
"What the fuck is this?" Allen snickered quietly as Richard pulled out a sleek black box. Looking suspiciously at the way Allen was smirking, he opened it and looked inside. Richard spluttered indignantly as he took in the carefully packed contents. Nestled in the foam was another vibrating plug, shorter and wider than the one he was currently using. Beside that, carefully stored inside a net and clear bag, was a thick glossy rainbow coloured horse's tail that could be attached to the plug. The last thing was a small remote to control the vibrations in the plug.
"You're a fucking asshole." Richard snapped the box shut without touching anything.
"Since you miss the stables, I thought I'd bring a little of the stables to you." Allen chuckled as Richard punched his arm.
"You're fucked up, you know that? Do you seriously think I'm going to wear this and strut around like some sort of animal?" He was positively indignant, as Allen knew he would be. That didn't mean the plug wouldn't get used. With the right motivation, he was quite sure Hank would have his way with him. If Richard didn't do as he was told, he wouldn't have much say in the matter either. He'd already come around to the normal plug. There was no reason this wouldn't be the same. With a little praise and encouragement. That was for Hank to deal with though.
"Well, you could ask Hank to wear it, but I don't think he's the tail type." Oh, and you think I am? Giving him one more swat for good measure, Richard jammed the items back in the bag and shoved it aside. "It's just a little something to make you feel more at home while you're away from the stables!"
"Ha...Hilarious." Allen laughed at the dry response, which make Richard's lips twitch in turn. "How have they been, anyway?" They'd all seemed well enough when he visited that morning, including Mellow, but he thought it best to ask. Allen had wondered when he'd ask. He was always anxious when he was away for too long.
"Fine-fine. Bramble's growing like a weed already, and that vet, Luther, came and checked Mellow over. She tore her hoof a little when she threw her shoes, but the farrier came and fixed that, so she just needs to heal up. No riding for at least two weeks, which is unlikely anyway considering..." He waved up and down at Richard, who touched his sling arm with an almost resentful scowl. He'd be out of action for a lot longer than two weeks. He'd be lucky if he was allowed to ride again within two months! The fractures aren't even that bad! "Don't worry, I'm still exercising them." He couldn't train them as well as Richard, but he could still ride them so they didn't get too rusty.
"Thanks." It wasn't exactly something he needed to thank him for. The horses had to be exercised, and it really couldn't be helped that Richard was out of action. Allen watched as Richard cradled his sling again, dark eyes looking downcast as he thought about how useless he was and how long he'd be away.
"Hey, come on now! It's not like you'll forget how to ride!" It wasn't his first injury. They both knew he'd be back in the saddle soon enough. Richard gave a small nod of agreement, but it didn't make him feel any less useless now. Allen stayed awhile, doing his best to cheer him up with talk of other things, like the potential sale of a mare and the possibility of buying a new one. He'd been talking to Hank about fitting those new pens in the barn and turning them into some extra stalls. Hank was more than willing to help if needed. By the time Allen left, Richard was feeling at least a little better, though he still didn't know what to do with himself. He settled for reading his book until Hank returned for lunch, setting himself up at the breakfast bar and pointedly ignoring the little black bag that was still sitting at his elbow.