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During the off-season at the stables, Pandora did as much work as she was able to with any horse she was authorized to do more than feed/brush. She spent hours mucking stalls, cleaning and oiling tack, cleaning out hooves, brushing and oiling and braiding and doing just about everything but nailing new shoes to their well-kept hooves.

It wasn't because she had to do these things, oh no: it was because when she was with the horses, everything clicked. She clicked. All the blanks in her memories fell back and she could focus completely on what she was doing. When Pan was with the horses, hearing the soft crunch-munch-munch as they ate, breathing the good scents of clean straw, alfalfa, leather and horse...she felt whole again. Totally normal and all the crap she couldn't remember just didn't seem that important anymore.

Of course, she couldn't spend every waking moment there, but she did it as much as possible while still keeping her Negaverse Peers and Commanders happy. She did her duties like a good lieutenant and had even participated in some of the battles for Elysion (though that happened while she was sleeping, rather than during the daylight hours). The hair-eyed girl shook her head and finished tacking up her favorite horse, the palomino affectionately called "Choogie".

"You ready to have a little fun, hmm? Get a little exercise, maybe a good run?" She patted his neck and checked once more that everything was secure but wouldn't cause any saddle sores. Today there were saddle-bags that went on last: filled with some treats for the horses, food for the people and a large thermos with hot chocolate. She and Toki could share the single cup, it wasn't a big deal.

Pandora lead the horse out of the stables and towards the path she was meeting her friend at - she could see the brunette and her chosen mount and smiled, breaking into a slow jog. Choogie pricked his ears and nickered to Red River; he was far more easy going, but they were stable-mates and generally got along (so long as he didn't try to get a treat before she did!).

((Italics = Haida))

Toki mounted the mare and Pandora followed suit; leg arcing over his broad back in the manner of those who have ridden horseback nearly all their lives. "Yeah, and some hot chocolate to drink in a thermos." She smiled at her friend and gave a little shrug, nearly hidden by the light jacket she was wearing. "Sorry it was so last minute...but I figured we could talk uh, shop a little..." Obviously, talking shop was a way of saying they could talk about the Negaverse without allowing anyone outside their faction to accidentally hear something and wonder about it.

"Sounds good." With a cluck and the light pressure of her legs against the horse's flank, she started after Toki and Red River. "Yeah, it has been. But at least today we can relax." Hopefully.

When they were further down the trail, back where very few people ever went (and in the grassy clearing they were going to settle in for some food and a nice chat), they could stop talking in circles and be more direct, but for now...yeah. As ridiculous as it might have sounded, circumspect was best.

"None at all. Though I think the other guys had it worse than I did." A few sprains and smoke inhalation induced coughing/asthma for a few days...some cuts and bruises....but mostly Pandora had come out whole - as for the senshi she'd nearly beaten to death or that human...well...she did wonder. And poor Toki! Her nose had gotten broken but at least it would heal without leaving much of a bump or disfigurement.

"Extremely weird. Mondo weird. Like...Teletubbies and that Gaga-person weird." So she didn't keep up on pop-culture, there was no way she could have attended high school without having heard about Lady Gaga and the Teletubbies - both subjects of lulz and juvenile horror spoken over during lunchtimes and study-breaks or between classes back at Meadowview. "I had that stupid song-thing stuck in my head for two days Toki. TWO DAYS!"

Choogie snorted and shied a bit when Pandora's voice rose, but she calmed him with some softly reassuring Haida words before returning to their conversation. "I've never ridden a fish bareback...but uh, the 'special mounts' we ended up on...that was pretty uh..." She waved one hand as though saying it had been weird, but easier to accept than flying rainbow orcas and senshi/negaverse karaoke sessions blasted over a nightmarish flash-game background.

"I ended up doing that after a day or two...when I found my headphones." They had gotten wedged behind and under some of her stuff, so she didn't find them for a while - not the most fun in the world, being stuck with the mangled, awful song the Senshi and Negaversers had been singing back and forth as a taunt.

Pandora nodded at the 'familiarity' comment; "Oh yeah...well, bareback isn't so bad if you've done it before. But I think those, uh, horses were a little bonier than usual. Maybe on purpose." Losing that crazy area hadn't really bothered her save that they had lost - again - to those Senshi bastards.

"I...I can't help thinking it was rigged. Somehow. And I hate losing to those guys, but...I think this time maybe I'm not so upset. I mean, who would want that place anyway?" Pandora rolled her eyes as she spat the words out. "It's only annoying because they won again." A pause, then: "But at least they got the other place at a heavy cost!" She was thinking of Atlas (gangly, useless male Senshi in her mind) and Tony (stupid civilian with more balls than brains).

Choogie kicked up his heels and swung his head, enjoying the sunshine and exercise. There were a few other people out at this time, a few hikers...one or two people out riding like they were but those were coming fewer and further between. Soon they'd be completely alone together on the trail, and after a quarter of a mile the clearing would spread out before them like a banquet for the eyes.

"Some of the people that ride in this area are real assholes. I had someone get angry the other day because I used the wrong color leg wraps!" Ridiculous and just...ugh. Like it had mattered! The horse had several colors because it was a show animal...but oh no, she'd offered to help out and wrap the legs and used green instead of purple! Totally world-ending. Pandora rolled her eyes a bit and leaned so she could pat Choogie's creamy hide fondly.

"Hmm? Oh, that blond guy with the glow-sticks?" Sadly, she couldn't quite recall his name - she was doing better with things like that, but sometimes they got muddled in her mind and she had to rely on Toki to remind her. "We do. And we're a lot more organized...I just don't know how those bastards keep winning!" It was weird. Definitely some cheating going on - or some insane blind luck.

"Don't worry too much Toki...we'll win, in the end. No matter how many battles they might win...we're gonna beat them in the war!" Since being zapped, she'd clung to Negaversian dogma even more than before; trusting that this was indeed the way to find herself again.

She clucked to the palomino and after assuring herself that no one was around to see them, turned Choogie onto the small side-trail that wasn't really noticeable unless you knew it was there. "Almost there!" For a moment, she was just a young, happy woman with her friend and some horses, enjoying the day - not a Negaverse Agent.

Sometimes, she really enjoyed working with people (obviously, or she never would have agreed to working at a public stable) and other times...well, she was very, very happy that there were places she could 'hide', like the Escape. Especially now that she couldn't remember as much as she should have. Whatever, it wasn't that important! She'd learned quickly to be observant and could usually fake knowing someone...remembering them. Most of the people closest to her knew she had amnesia, so it wasn't a big deal - but the people at the stables wouldn't know, so she had to pretend. At least at first.

For a while, the two girls rode in companionable silence - to make sure no unwanted 'visitors' followed them, but then the conversation continued right where it had left off. Pandora didn't answer her friend and compatriot right away, she was drinking in the calming beauty of the Escape meadow.

"Yeah. They're like ants...or rats. A scurrying, populous plague." Even one of their number missing was a heavy blow - but even so, they tended to beat those b*****d Senshi due to how disorganized the useless faction tended to be. "At least they're useless and disorganized...very few have the balls to take on a single Lieutenant, let alone one of our Generals."

Pandora dismounted and staked Choogie out near Red River (but not so close as to have him infringe upon her delicous grass) and pulled the saddle bags from her mount, pausing as the brunette faced her fully. Both of the young women were full of idealism and yes, hatred for the same group. It was how it had to be...sometimes, Pandora wondered if this was the life they were meant to have: most girls their age were giggling about boyfriends, whining about classes and parents and how hard it was to get into college or to get a job. But she and Toki were part of a military agency, protecting the Earth from the intruders and their ridiculous Royal Family.

The black haired girl reached out to touch Toki's shoulder briefly, nodding her resolution: Everything her friend said was true and right. "We will win, Toki. We will protect the Earth and banish those bastards to the furthest stars. Let them have the universe, I just want them to leave my home!" And then she was helping Toki spread the blanket, she was settling down cross-legged on said blanket and rummaging in the saddle bags to bring out the sandwiches and fruit and hot chocolate so they could eat and chat. "Besides, who ever heard of someone winning a war wearing a tutu!?"

"Or maybe Earth never needed a senshi - we had the Prince, our Great General-Kings..." No need for a useless tutu-wearing bitchlet to prance around their beautiful blue and green earth. Both girls were smiling, settled happily on the blanket with their picnic lunch. "Ew, Toki--" Facehuggers!? What a disgusting thought - but yes, yes...it was apt.

She was grinning, laughing hard too - a stitch in her side from suppressing great guffaws of laughter paining her but only serving to make her want to laugh more instead of stopping. "Some of the guys too...they look like they raided their little sister's ballet costumes. It's terrible!" Pandora poured herself some hot chocolate and sipped it before nibbling at her sandwich.

"Hmm? Oh, no....I wasn't. At least, I'm pretty sure I wasn't."