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*Nightwhisper
"And guilty I may be, but don't give up on me... We will still be thick as thieves."
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Post by *Nightwhisper on Oct 10, 2024 10:56:11 GMT -5
Melanie couldn't help but smile as they were told to get their horses. She had to admit, the excitement was getting to her. And, besides, even though she hadn't wanted to attend, there was no reason why she shouldn't enjoy it. Heading to Charmer's stall, she grabbed the halter and lead rope. They looked to be in good condition, but the orange color wasn't a favorite. She wasn't going to judge the previous student's choice of favorite color, but both lead rope and halter just wasn't what she would have chosen. A light blue to match his eyes would have been what she went with. She wasn't one to just throw out supplies that were still in good condition. So Melanie told herself she would make do until next year, or until the colors just absolutely annoyed her to the point she couldn't stand it any longer.
After giving him some well deserved scratches on the cheeks and ears, Melanie slipped the halter over Charmer's head and buckled it securely. Then she attached the lead before opening the stall. She knew this wasn't always the way to do it, but she had handled enough colts and fillies who would bolt in excitement whenever the stall was open. This way, she at least had a little better chance to keep them in control before they escaped too far. She doubted Charmer would run, but it was pretty much second nature to her at this point. Once the stall was open, she led him out, closed and locked the door behind them, and when to where Grace was waiting.
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Heterosexual
✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧
"You never have to prove yourself to anyone who doesn't accept you for who you are."
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Post by ✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧ on Oct 12, 2024 11:34:26 GMT -5
Saylor stepped into the stall, leaving the door open just wide enough for her to slip through in an emergency, and keeping herself between it and the horse. Not that Ace seemed inclined to force his way out. He willingly approached Saylor, sniffing the hand she offered. If he remembered her from earlier, he gave no sign.
"Hello, pretty boy," Saylor whispered. "I'm not sure what Grace has in store for us, but she's mentioned fun a couple of times now, so it's sure to be just that. Are you ready for it?"
Ace's ears flicked toward her as she spoke, and he held still while she secured the halter over his head.
Looking out into the aisle, Saylor saw a line of horses. As she was in the last stall, she would either have to butt in front, or wait until everyone had gone by before taking Ace out. She chose to wait, because the first person in line was Khloe, with her lovely dapple grey mare.
With most of the students out of the stalls with their horses, Grace gave out more directions. "Follow me. Single file through the barn, and then double up once we're outside. Make sure those behind don't get too close to the horse in front of you. These are well-behaved animals, but they are still animals, and we don't want anyone - student or horse - getting kicked. Let's go." She turned around, walked through the centre of the barn, and entered the West Wing. Khloe and the others followed.
Once the last student and horse pair had gone by, Saylor opened Ace's stall door wide and stepped out. He followed politely, but once out, he immediately wanted to trot forward to catch up with the others, even though they weren't that far behind. Saylor quickly corrected him, made him wait for a few seconds, and then moved forward and followed the others at a slow walk.
The West Wing was the mirror image of the East and South Wings. Fourteen horse stalls, two wash stalls, a tack room, and a feed room. Like the South Wing, one side of the aisle was empty, while the other housed six young horses. They looked no older than two, which meant this must be the third-years' Wing. Ace wanted to say hi to any curious young horse sticking its head out, and while Saylor wanted to say hi as well, she kept him moving, quickening their pace to a brisk walk.
By the time they made it outside, they had caught up to the others. Grace was marching off down the path, and the other students had paired up and were walking two by two after her. Saylor and Ace were the odd ones out.
"This will probably happen to us a lot, I'm afraid," she said conversationally. Ace's ears shifted toward her. "I'm an extra. Something went wrong with the school system when the students were being selected. I wasn't supposed to be here at all." Telling Ace, she didn't feel as guilty for that as she had before. Whether she was meant to be here or not, she was, and now she was going to make the most of it.
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*Nightwhisper
"And guilty I may be, but don't give up on me... We will still be thick as thieves."
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Post by *Nightwhisper on Oct 20, 2024 18:25:27 GMT -5
Melanie and Charmer walked in step with each other pretty well. There was an energy in him that was eager to be heading out of the barn. Perhaps he thought he would be lead and freed in one of the pastures for the rest of the day. Melanie couldn't blame him. Even if the stalls in the barn were comfortable, dry, warm, and safe, she assumed horses of any background or training would prefer the open spaces of pastures over the confinements of a stall any day. She gave his neck a couple of scratches to distract him, and made sure to keep a firm hold on the lead line. He wasn't pulling or trying to run, but she wasn't going to take a chance and be caught off guard.
When they reached outside, she found herself beside David and behind Khloe. David wasn't too bad, for he was focused on keeping his own horse from trying to pass Khloe's. So while he was doing that, she made sure that they weren't crowding him. The fresh air and sound of gravel crunching under hooves helped to spread Charmer's eagerness to be outside for herself. It also brought on a small wave of homesickness. Right now, she would have been helping with the chores, or watching some colts and fillies being let loose on their practice arena. Or maybe even be riding along one of the trails they had forged, taking one of the older, retired horses out for exercise. While she would be having the same duties here, she missed her home. Missed her hearing her family's “bickering” when her dad misplaced something and couldn't find it. Missed her mother's calm tone telling him to check in a random spot that shouldn't have been a logical place to look. Missed her dad's laugh as he found whatever he lost exactly in one of those oddball places and then blaming it on gremlins for taking it. She just missed home, but she knew that once school began in full, she would be busier and would have a lot more things to focus on. So maybe it wouldn't be too different from home.
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Heterosexual
✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧
"You never have to prove yourself to anyone who doesn't accept you for who you are."
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Post by ✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧ on Oct 21, 2024 22:13:35 GMT -5
Grace led her students down the path between two pastures to the intersection, where their path joined the main one that circled the barn and pastures. Across the intersection were the outdoor arenas. Saylor noticed that large round pens had been set up, three in each arena. Grace stopped between the two arenas and turned to face them.
"Boys on the left, girls on the right," she ordered. Once they had complied, she continued. "You each get to spend the next hour in a round oen with your horse. You are to remove the halter once the gate it secured behind you, and use that time to get to know your horse. Talk to it, sit back and watch, attempt a join-up — I don't care what you do, so long as it has something to do with creating a bond. Any questions?"
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Heterosexual
✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧
"You never have to prove yourself to anyone who doesn't accept you for who you are."
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Post by ✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧ on Oct 30, 2024 18:34:27 GMT -5
Grace pointed to her. "That is exactly what's going to happen. You'll each get half an hour in the pen, and the other half hour can be spent on the green between the arenas. Halters and lead ropes will have to stay on while you're there, but otherwise you can do whatever you want.
"Now, why don't you three boys take Arena Two, and you can pick out a round pen among yourselves. Melanie and Khloe, you can take the far and middle pens in Arena One. Saylor and Laura, you can share the closest pen to make it easier. Decide between the two of you who goes first. I will be wandering around watching all of you, but I will not interfere unless I need to. You may ask me questions whenever I am within sight. Hop to it."
Saylor stayed where she was, watching the boys go one way and the girls go the other way. The only one who remained was Laura and her bay mare. She smiled at her. "You can go first," she said without preamble. "I don't mind waiting."
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Heterosexual
✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧
"You never have to prove yourself to anyone who doesn't accept you for who you are."
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Post by ✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧ on Nov 1, 2024 16:21:13 GMT -5
Saylor hardly noticed the passing time.
Once he was free, Ace walked the circumference of the pen. He stopped every few feet to look around and sniff the breeze, and whether walking or standing, his ears were never still. After circling the outside, he wandered into the middle, head down to check out the sandy ground. Only after completing his inspection of the round pen did he turn his attention back to Saylor. He gave her a look out of one big brown eye that she interpreted as, "Well, now what?"
Saylor responded by moving to the other side of the pen, saying nothing and waiting to see his response.
Ace watched her, only his head and ears moving to follow her progress. When she stopped, he swished his tail, let out a snort, and shook out his mane. Then he waited.
Saylor stepped toward him. Ace stepped back. Saylor sidestepped. Ace shifted his hindquarters to keep her well within his sights.
This little dance continued for several minutes until it turned into a game of tag, Ace showing his playful side and Saylor enjoying the game and the challenge. They only had so much space, so Ace couldn't run, but he could canter and buck. Saylor didn't believe Ace would purposely hurt her, but the risk was there regardless, and she kept it in the back of her mind without letting it interfere with the bonding experience.
For it wasn’t just play they were engaging in, but a conversation. No words were uttered, save the occasional “whoa” when Ace got a little too rambunctious, or a “good boy” when he listened to her. The rest of the discussion happened entirely through body language. There was a learning curve in the beginning that brought about some close calls, but both horse and girl proved fast learners, and before long they shared an understanding.
Before Saylor knew it, Grace came to the gate and whistled to get her attention. Ace halted his trot and swung his head toward Grace at the same time Saylor did.
“Time’s up,” Grace told her. “Head out to the green and let Laura know it's her turn.”
“Yes, ma'am.” Saylor collected Ace's halter and faced him. He had followed her halfway to the gate and stopped a few feet away. Saylor invited him into her space, and after a minute, Ace accepted and let her put the halter on. Once it was secure, she opened it wide and headed off to find Laura.
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