Rocky Mountain Retreat

[Bruin Dumbledez]

Bruin picked up the remote and quickly changed it to The Sports Network (TSN), a baseball game being aired at that time. "Alright, this is a baseball game. Basically two teams, one team taking turns to hit a ball that is thrown at them with something that resembles a long beater's bat and the other team trying to catch the ball if it's hit. Kind of a stupid game really and the players get paid an insane amount of money, something like 20 times what the leaders of most major countries are paid per year."

Bruin changed to ESPN and found that they were covering a golf tournament. "Aw c'mon, that's not even a sport!" he complained more to the TV gods than anyone else. Changing channels again, ESPN2 had some coverage of arena football on. "This is american-style football. 11 guys on one team try and pass, catch and run that funny-looking ball down the field and the other team basically tries to tackle the guy with the ball before he gets there. Come to think of it, kind of a dumb game as well."

Bruin flicked off the TV. "Too bad it's the summer, I'd kill to show you Ice Hockey, it's better than Quidditch in my book. I actually tried to organize a game of hockey back at Hogwarts last winter, but it didn't work that well as most people couldn't even stand on the ice, never mind skate on it."

Bruin realized he was talking alot and stopped abruptly, trying to think about what to suggest.

"I suppose we could take a little walk and I could show you the horses. Then if you're up for it we could go horseback riding tomorrow. If not, we can always hike or mountain bike instead. Oh right, you probably don't know what a bike is...wow, this is confusing."

 

[Sophia Stark]

Sophia tried her best to follow Bruin and take in all of the information, but found herself failing miserably. She frowned slightly, wishing she could understand what Bruin was talking about.

"No, I do not know what a bike is," Sophia said with a hint of sadness. "What are...what were they called, horses? Are they gentle?" Never before had Sophia found herself so embarrassed, and for being a pureblood at that.

 

[Bruin Dumbledez]

Bruin noticed Sophia's frown and sad look. "Sorry, I didn't realize how different our worlds are. Let's keep it simple. Come for a walk with me and I'll introduce you to our horses. For horses, they're gentle... umm, do you know what unicorns and centaurs are?" Bruin was grasping now, trying to find some connections between the muggle world he had grown up in and Sophia's previous experiences.

 

[Sophia Stark]

Sophia's frown dissolved into a muted look as she listened to Bruin, quite appreciative of his efforts. Her expression shifted into one of recognition when bruin mentioned unicorns and centaurs. "Yes, I know what they are, but I have never seen either live."

 

[Bruin Dumbledez]

"Alright, well a horse is an animal like a unicorn, minus the horn. Muggles sometimes ride on their backs which is called horseback riding. Come on. I'll show you what they look like and then you can decide whether you want to try it." Bruin said as he rose to his feet.

 

[Sophia Stark]

"All right," Sophia said with a hint of excitement. She was enjoying learning about muggles and quite glad to be following Bruin for the moment. She rose fro the couch and smiled softly at him. "Lead the way."

 

[Bruin Dumbledez]

Bruin grabbed a handful of carrots off the tray and then opened the door and led Sophia down a short pathway to a small barn and paddock, Ray trotting at his heels. As he made his way around the side of the building, two horses wandered over to the fence in expectation of a treat. Bruin waited for Sophia to move a little closer and then introduced her to the two large animals.

"This handsome chap on the left is Chewbacca and the funny-looking one on the right is Starbuck, don't ask, even I don't get the names." Bruin said as he held out a carrot for each of the animals and gently rubbed the side of their necks. "Chewy would probably be the safer and easier one to ride, Starbuck is a little tempermental at times."

Bruin held out some carrots to Sophia. "Care to feed them?"

 

[Sophia Stark]

Sophia followed Bruin with her hands in her sweatshirt pocket. Her neck felt quite naked not being covered by her hair, which was pulled back into a ponytail. She had decided to ignore the odd feeling for now and focus on the experience.

Seeing Bruin stop Sophia stopped as well, moving a bit closer to the animals so as to get a better look. She listened intently to Bruin, keeping her golden eyes on the animals. when Bruin suggested feeding them she turned to look at him, her eyes moving from his face to the carrots in his hand and back to his face.

With a small smile she picked up a couple of the carrots and walked closer to the fence. Here goes nothing. Sophia quickly thrust her hand toward the horse Bruin had described as Chewbacca. Bracing herself for the worst she closed her eyes, a look of worry evident on her face.

 

[Bruin Dumbledez]

Chewbacca stepped back quickly and shook his head with a whinny in response to Sophia's quick movement. Bruin turned to Sophia and gave a relaxed smile. "Alright, a little slower next time. Animals take time to warm up to new people. You need to move a little more slowly and let them warm up to you a little, let them gain your trust." Bruin clicked his teeth and beckoned for Chewbacca to return.

"Now, try again, but slower this time." Bruin said in a calm voice.

 

[Sophia Stark]

At the sound of the whinny Sophia's eyes shot open and she jumped back, dropping the carrots on the ground. Her cheeks flushed red she bent down and picked up the carrots, trying to regain her composure. She took a few deeps breaths and stepped back to the fence, slowly extending her left hand toward Chewbacca, one carrot lying n her outstretched palm.

 

[Bruin Dumbledez]

Bruin watched as Sophia gathered her composure and Chewbacca moved back towards the fence, tentatively lowerine his head over the fence and deftly taking the carrot from Sophia's outstretched palm. Bruin gave Chewbacca a light pat on his muzzle and then turned to Sophia, strangely proud of the courage she had shown.

"Much better, looks like he likes you." he said sincerely. "Maybe we can work up to the whole riding thing slowly. Come on, we should get some rest. I've got a busy summer planned for you." he added with a playful glint in his eyes. Bruin began walking back up towards the main house, looking forward to simply enjoying the break from school and exploring the muggle world through Sophia's golden eyes.

 

[Sophia Stark]

Sophia smiled brightly as Chewbacca took the carrot from her, a feeling of accomplishment surging through her. She turned to look at Bruin, her face just it up as it had never been before.

When Bruin said he had a buy summer planned for her Sophia could feel the red starting to rise in her cheeks for reasons she could not completely comprehend. "All right," she said softly, and followed Bruin back to the house. Despite her best efforts she was still wearing some form of the smile the whole way back.