The sound of their hooves clomping through the grassy field filled Trevor's ears. At least, that was the case when Rita wasn't talking to him, or vice versa. Ahead of them, they could just make out the lights of the barns and farmhouses at the parks headquarters. The sun had drifted behind the western hills by now, leaving the two in the dim light of dusk.
Finally, Rita asked Trevor something she'd been curious about since she first met him. “So, what do you do in the human world, Trevor?”
“I'm a salesman at a carpet and tile store.”
Rita let out a surprised snort. “Really? And what made you decide to come out here and spend a week as a horse?”
Trevor kept on walking but twitched his tail anxiously as his ears dipped sideways. He hoped Rita hadn't seen the body language, but, with the field of vision horses had, he doubted she'd missed it.
“I spent my summers on a farm my aunt and uncle owned as a kid. They had a horse there named Duster that I really grew attached to. I'm sure it's kind of weird, but I've always wondered what it would be like to be a horse like him. He just seemed so relaxed and at peace with the world, you know?”
“Gelding?” Rita asked bluntly.
“Well, I didn't realize that until much later,” Trevor admitted shamefully. “Either way, I guess some boyhood curiosity just got the best of me and I finally decided to come out here and see what it was like.”
“And?”
Trevor nickered quietly. “Well, so far, I haven't been disappointed. It's certainly different, but I think I'll get used to it. Finally seeing what it feels like to have hooves and a tail is pretty cool, too.” Then, “So what about you? Aside from being here as sort of a business trip, how have you liked being a horse for the last three weeks?”
Rita nickered and twitched her ears back and forth a few times. “I guess the thing I've liked most is the sense of strength and power when I'm training in the arena or walking around the paddocks. It's like it takes so much longer to get tired, you know? Plus, running faster than I could ever dream of as a human is pretty exhilarating. I can only imagine what it's like to be a cheetah or a gazelle.”
“No kidding,” Trevor snorted.
“But, beyond that, I guess it's the sense of freedom I've experienced being an animal here. After spending three weeks as a horse, I don't think I've felt so removed from the human world than I do now. It was weird at first, but I kind of like it now.”
As the two were nearing the edge of the first paddock, Trevor spotted a water trough near the fence ahead of them. A cow, a couple of horses, and a llama were already gathered around it. Suddenly he remembered how thirsty he was.
“Um, can you excuse me for a bit?” he asked Rita sheepishly. “I've actually been dying to get some water since I ran into you earlier.”
“No, go ahead,” Rita answered back. “I'll wait for you over here,” she said, nudging her head toward a pine tree next to the fence.
The two split up and Trevor trotted over to the water trough. He would have been disgusted about drinking out of this as a human, but the horse side of him didn't really care right now.
Finding his spot in between the llamas and the horses, which he quickly realized was a mare and a stallion, Trevor dipped the end of his snout into the water and started slurping. He did his best to ignore the bits of hay and grass and the occasional dead bug floating on the surface and focused on the reflection of his own horse face staring back at him. Strangely enough, it seemed to be some of the best tasting water Trevor remembered having. Either that meant his taste buds had changed dramatically or he was just that thirsty.
After Trevor had sated his thirst, he turned around to head back over to Rita. An instant later, he froze in his tracks and his heart skipped a beat as soon as he spotted her.