Search and rescue, and a surprise

Tori scrolled on her phone, before she peered closer at it for a moment. "...How much time are you willing to spend with me today?"

"You've got me for the day," you said, with a shrug. "I didn't have any plans, other than maybe picking up a movie tonight. Why, do you have something a little more involved to do?"

"Yeah, not really a vet thing, more like a... bounty? That makes it sound more exciting than it really is, I guess. Mr. Laredo's horses that aren't currently traveling to the regional tracks got out overnight, all except one it looks like. They don't know how yet, could've been anything from forgetting to close some doors and wolves got in and spooked them, or some thieves stopped by. Without more info, they don't know where to look, but they can't interrogate a horse like I can!"

"Horse thieves? Seriously?" You asked. This was definitely the countryside that you and Tori were roaming around in, but you always thought it was pretty uneventful around here, not the best location for some Wild West storyline.

Tori shrugged when you glanced over. "People will steal whatever! Laredo Ranch has produced some fairly profitable racehorses. Marinara Sunrise? Molar Eclipse? Gimme A Magic Hat? All of them were longshots that won their heat in tracks around the region. Breeding can be expensive for people looking to make the next generation of racehorse, so if it's more economical to just, I dunno, take the horse they want? It's within the realm of possibility."

You chuckled at almost every name Tori listed. "Molar Eclipse? Who comes up with these names?"

"You're one to talk, wasn't your first dog named Smelly Bean?"

You grimaced. Tori was right, you didn't have much ground to stand on. Instead, you waited for Tori to put the address in your GPS, and then off you drove to Laredo Ranch. "So what's the reward if you find them?"

"They're offering two hundred a head, assuming they're just lost. They're looking for about two dozen horses, that could be a big chunk of change! I could maybe start looking for my own place with money like that in the bank again." Tori clapped her hands together at the thought. "Not that I don't like staying with you! But I know your girlfriend will be happier with that situation. I could just be down the street again though! Just like old times."

You didn't respond, since you actually were hoping that Tori would stick around a lot longer in your house. You just liked her company, you never got bored or angry at each other and treated each other with respect, at a bare minimum. Even if she wasn't paying rent, that was worth her presence to you, instead of an empty house. You weren't sure Andrea would ever move up to the mountains, so you might otherwise be just alone in your house with your cat if Tori moved out.

The Laredo Ranch sign came into view a few minutes later. You pulled onto their road, heading down their long driveway to get to the house. There were no vehicles, and all the lights were off. "Denny and his hands are probably out searching, the quads and trucks are all missing. I'm gonna see if Linda's home." Tori climbed out of the car, glancing around carefully. "Also, the willful channeling from earlier didn't count toward my daily channeling quota, so if you see any creatures in distress in the distance, let me know so I can keep my distance. This would be a terrible time to get sidetracked until I can see the stables!"

You nodded, and followed Tori. She knocked on the door of the pretty massive house--these racehorses must've really been a good business for them! You and Tori waited for a couple minutes, but nobody came by. With a shrug, Tori jogged toward the stable, glancing around.

"Hmm, which one is... oh!" Tori clapped her hands. "It's Tsunami Tango! She's a firecracker, you'll like her. One of the oldest horses still on the ranch, if it was thieves maybe they didn't think she was worth it, she only ever placed in her best races. If it was wolves... well, Tango doesn't get spooked so easily. She's a tough cookie. Can't believe they left her here, she could still be helpful out there... but, good for us. I'm gonna text Linda so she doesn't freak out about us borrowing Tango for a bit, I think they'll take any help they can get."

Once she sent her text, Tori walked up toward Tango, blue magic bursting forth from her hand. "Hey girl, it's been a long time! Remember me? Let's find your friends." Tori looked back and grinned. "You're gonna like this trick, brace yourself for this one!"

Before you could ask what Tori meant, she touched Tango's neck, and immediately the two were enveloped in blue light. You'd expected that Tori was just going to become a girl with some horse ears, given the results you'd seen with Lucinda and Bella. But Tori was... taller.

And a quadruped. From the waist down, at least.

"Hey darlin'!" Tori said, her chipper voice adopting a slight country accent. "Pardon the voice, Tango's around some real through-and-through cowboys all day, things just kinda sink in. Ah, I haven't done the centaur trick in a while!" Tori opened the stable door in front of her, stepping out. From the waist up, she looked entirely normal--well, maybe a little heavier on the chest, as you'd learned by now that Tori seemed willing to impress you with extra shape to her body, and Tango apparently didn't mind. Those equine ears sat atop her head as well. From the waist down, however, she looked identical to the horse she was channeling!"

"H-how?!" you stammered, watching Tori trot out and wander around you. "I thought they all channeled into you to be people?"

"Usually, yep. Tango here would often be happy to go bipedal, she's been in my body before for one of them half marathons through town one time. But we ain't in town! We gotta travel the countryside and your car just won't cut it, fortunately I can utilize a mixture of features from both sides of the channeling when fulfilling needs, though for most it's best to just be a human. Trust me, we'll get the saddle on me and we'll be able to search so much faster this way! Oh hey, there's a jacket and hat in the backroom, can you go grab 'em for me? The brown ones, in case we get spotted then from a distance I'll look horse-like until I can end the channeling before they get closer. There's a couple gear bags that should be in there too, grab 'em both."

You did as Tori asked, while she racked her shared brain for clues on where the other horses may have gone. You came back out, with one brown cowboy hat and a matching jacket that said 'Linda' above a pocket. You set the bags on the table, inspecting them: food and water rations, first aid, some sort of emergency tracking broadcaster. Handing the garments up to Tori, she smiled and winked at you. "Thank ya kindly," she said, before she stepped back toward the stable. "Next step, the saddle. Tori has only done this once, but I'll guide you through it, okay? Shouldn't be long, then we just need to grab a little extra gear in case we need to set up camp, then we ride, alright? Alright."

With Tori and Tango's guidance, you got her saddled up, and tied on the bags and other gear, making sure they were secure. Tori held a hand out, helping you up into the saddle, before she took a couple test steps. "Ooh, this is... new. I've only done this once, the centaur thing that is. That time I didn't have a rider, Mike would've never done this, so I was just on my own and didn't leave the stable. It feels kinda nice having you there, feels familiar. Reminds me of my racing days, with a jockey on me and a need for speed!" Tori-Tango chuckled, zipping up her jacket and tipping her hat forward. "Shall we?"

"Ready when you are, 'Tauri'," you joked, getting your legs in the stirrups and grabbing the saddle's horn, not needing reins while Tori knew where to go.

She nodded with a grin at your joke. "I was asleep when the stable emptied, so I don't know what spooked 'em all, but I watched them head northeast. Jimmy forgot that the latch on the door doesn't fully engage if he doesn't push the door in far enough, rookie mistake, so that door was open all night. Anyway, I got an idea where they might have wanted to go to feel safe, so we're headed northeast!"

Without another word, Tori held onto her hat and hurried out of the barn, quickly building into a gallop towards the hills!