Rita nickered and stepped in between the two. Even though Trevor didn't know it, his ears were starting to swivel back. A clear sign of aggression.
“It's okay, Trevor. Didn’t I tell you I wasn’t here for that kind of stuff?” she said with a snort. Then, “Jasper's actually been sort of my trainer ever since I got here. My horse-side trainer, I guess,” she explained. “Jasper was born here. Unlike us, he's been a horse his whole life.”
“I’m actually the resident equine counselor here, but I do act as a trainer of sorts on occasion,” he corrected her. “Seriously, though. You should have seen the way she was trotting the first time I saw her in the arena,” Jasper laughed, trying to brighten he mood a bit.
“Hey, I'd just finished transforming,” Rita shot back. “It's not like the instincts they warn you about do everything for you.”
“If you say so,” Jasper chuckled. "So. Y’all were on your way to the barn to get some oats?”
“Yeah. Or, at least that's what I was planning,” Rita said with a flick of her tail. “I don't know if Trevor's interested, though.” With a bit of relief, she realized his ears were pointed to the side now. He was still a bit unnerved, but at least he wasn’t about to challenge Jasper. Unfortunately, he seemed to be lost in his thoughts and didn’t answer back right away.
“Trevor?”
The sorrel horse jolted with a start before looking back at Rita. “I’m sorry. What?”
“Did you want to go to the barn and get some oats?" Rita asked again. "They’re actually really tasty.”
At the mention of it, Trevor felt his stomach grumble. Even though he’d had plenty of grass earlier, he quickly realized he could go for some more food.
Still, if Rita was going to get some oats, did that mean Jasper would be coming too? Even if he was just Rita’s trainer, Trevor realized he still felt unnerved, intimidated even, by the dapple gray stallion across the fence from him.
Trevor glanced at Rita for a second before he finally looked and swiveled his ears toward Jasper. “Are you coming, too?”