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Post by Ame Robinson on Jul 20, 2010 16:14:53 GMT -5
It was a Saturday morning. Nevertheless, Ame had planned to come up to the school to get some paperwork done, but she was distracted halfway across the grounds by the sound of a horse whinnying in the distance. On a whim, she changed course and went to visit the stables. She had always liked the idea of horses, but never had a chance to be around them before now. It seemed too good an opportunity to waste, and the stable would undoubtedly be a warm, pleasant place to escape the chilly February weather.
She felt a little nervous stepping in, since she wasn't sure what the protocol was for being here, but she promised herself just to look around and not to do anything stupid. She took a few moments to warm up and take in the mix of scents, from hay to manure to leather. A good mix, overall.
A couple of the horses put their heads out to investigate the newcomer, so the healer decided to oblige them. She went up to the nearest one slowly and held out a hand to sniff, much as she would have to a cat or dog. "Hello... I'm not sure what I'm doing. I hope you don't mind," she confessed.
The horse, a chestnut mare with a white snip, didn't seem to mind, but she also wasn't particularly interested in a hand with no food in it. She gave Ame's coat a cursory whuffle, then went back to grazing at her food bin. Ame sighed, partly in relief that she hadn't done something wrong accidentally, and leaned against the door, just watching for the moment.
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Post by Natoli Joss on Jul 20, 2010 17:12:25 GMT -5
As Natoli walked across the grounds back to the stables after breakfast, she tried to think of what she needed to do. She had already fed the horses. Ah yes, now she remembered, she was going to make sure the 'unclaimed' horses were properly groomed. She really needed to make a schedule for taking care of the animals.
She entered the stables and looked around trying to decide which horse to start out with, noticing Ame. "Oh. Hello!"
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Post by Ame Robinson on Jul 20, 2010 17:27:59 GMT -5
Ame jumped when the door opened and spun around to face Natoli. "Oh! Hello," she echoed, wondering if she was about to be sent off for intruding. She knew she would have Words for anyone caught poking around the infirmary without her say-so. "I was just looking around... I've always wanted to ride horses... never met any before. Do you work here?" she stammered. It would figure if she were explaining herself to another random visitor like herself, but Natoli's outfit did seem to suggest work rather than pleasure as their purpose.
Mental flailing done, her eyes finally got an audience with her brain and pointed out Natoli's ears and sylvan beauty. Ame's head tilted slightly to one side, but she didn't say anything more for the moment.
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Post by Natoli Joss on Jul 20, 2010 17:41:56 GMT -5
Natoli blinked at Ame. She hadn't ever had anyone react to her like that, specially someone around her own age. "I am the Horseback Riding teacher if that's what you wanted to know. The name is Natoli Joss." She hoped she hadn't scared Ame, the horses loved visitors. She then realized something. "You would like to learn how to ride?"
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Post by Ame Robinson on Jul 20, 2010 20:01:45 GMT -5
"Scared" wasn't precisely the right word; "caught out of her element" came close. But either way, she recovered as she started to get a handle on the situation. She smiled and came closer, offering her hand for shaking.
"I'm Ame Robinson, the new nurse. I don't know if I'll have much opportunity for riding, but yes, I'd like to try sometime if it's all right."
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Post by Natoli Joss on Jul 20, 2010 20:09:01 GMT -5
Natoli shook the offered hand. "I also teach Magic Creatures. I'll try and keep things in control in that class for no mishaps, though it's a little harder when they're going to actually ride the horses." As she let go of Ame's hand, she looked around the stable.
"It would probably help if you had an assistant or two, but anytime you're not busy, I would be happy to show you how to. And once you're used to riding, long as you post a note on the board in case of trouble, you could take a horse down to the beach or on the road to town. I've heard that the forest isn't a place for pleasure visits. And there is also the riding corral."
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Post by Ame Robinson on Jul 20, 2010 20:21:01 GMT -5
"Oh, wonderful!" Ame smiled at the mention of magical creatures (and Natoli keeping things in control). "This place gets more fantastic every day."
She followed Natoli's look around the stables. "I'm not busy now," she pointed out, unwilling to leave yet. "I don't want to impose, though. You were here for a reason. What if... would it be all right if I just shadowed you for a while? Maybe I could even learn to help. It would be nice to have something to do apart from work."
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Post by Natoli Joss on Jul 20, 2010 20:33:50 GMT -5
Natoli grinned. "I was just going to properly groom all the horses that the students didn't claim for the semester. So I don't mind if you shadowed me around. I just don't have the time during the week to do the rest of them besides a quick brush over. But if you want to learn how to ride, I can show you how soon as well. I usually am done with half of the horses at lunch and then finish the other half tomorrow."
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Post by Ame Robinson on Jul 20, 2010 20:53:12 GMT -5
"That sounds great!" Ame grinned. "And really, I'm happy to help. Just let me know what to do."
She started to take off her coat, realizing that it wasn't really conducive to doing any kind of work, and looked around for somewhere to put it. Otherwise, she had on bluejeans and a soft dove-gray sweater. The last wasn't precisely meant for brushing horses in, but what the heck, it could be washed.
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Post by Natoli Joss on Jul 20, 2010 21:11:33 GMT -5
Natoli gestured with a hand at the hooks in the small room she was entering, as well as placing her own coat on one. She grabbed the bucket she had put together for her grooming supplies as she stepped out of the tack room. She looked about and chose a mare, opening up the stall and leading her out to an area designed for horses to be groomed in.
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Post by Ame Robinson on Jul 20, 2010 22:05:15 GMT -5
Ame followed her example, hanging up her coat and fortunately having the sense to stay out from behind the mare as Natoli lead her to the grooming stall. Ame watched carefully to see what tools the riding instructor used, and how she used them.
"Do they like being brushed, and everything?" she wondered aloud. "Or does it vary, like with other animals?" It sounded like a silly question, but she really had no idea. She didn't speak horse even in the sense that normal people come to understand the signs of their pets, so she couldn't tell by looking.
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Post by Natoli Joss on Jul 20, 2010 22:19:56 GMT -5
Natoli grinned as she took out the rubber curry comb after she had hooked the mare up so she would stay still. "Oh, it depends on the horse. But I'm able to keep them calmer than they would be. I can speak with them and being able to understand them seems to make them feel a little calmer." She started brushing the mare's neck in a circular fashion and worked her way to the body.
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Post by Ame Robinson on Jul 21, 2010 0:09:29 GMT -5
"Wow. That's quite a gift."
Ame watched Natoli groom the mare for a while, thinking about what she had heard and seen. She wanted to say something giddy and excited, like "so are you really an elf, like for real?!" but she restrained herself. The upper Midwest was so very... normal. The weirdest things she'd seen before coming here were certain tropical diseases and tourists--sometimes both at once--but they all had perfectly natural explanations. Ame was not used to things she couldn't explain. However, she was used to covering emotions that might potentially cause patients to panic. Therefore, restraint.
The preceding, blended lightly, resulted in the following: "So, where do you come from? How did you decide to work here?"
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Post by Natoli Joss on Jul 21, 2010 0:45:32 GMT -5
Natoli nodded. "My family has a few different kinds. The only one out of my siblings that doesn't really have a magical gift is my twin brother. He's too scholarly to really have it bother him though. Though he is a genius." She moved from doing one side of the horse to the other and finished that and started using the Dandy Brush.
"I'm from Missouri, somewhere along the Mississippi River. Well, least my particular branch of the family is. And I decided to work here because I love animals and had just finished my world tour, and my parents didn't really need my help on the ranch. I'm also trying to study to be a shapeshifter and thought that if I was going to learn something, it would be nice to teach others at the same time. I thought of here because my younger sister started school here last semester and had a good time."
Natoli then moved to the other side of the horse, still using the Dandy Brush. "What about you?"
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Post by Ame Robinson on Jul 21, 2010 1:40:02 GMT -5
"Nothing quite that exciting," Ame said, smiling at Natoli's enthusiasm when talking about her interests. "I grew up in Minnesota with my sister, Jenni." She hesitated. Airing her laundry to people she had just met was one of those things she just didn't do, but it did explain how she ended up here. "After college, she left, and we haven't spoken since. I more or less couch-surfed my way to Port Virtue, and I saw an ad for a school nurse. So, here I am." She smiled weakly. The story was absolutely gutted, like a fish, with only the spindly little bones left. It would take a bit of asking to find out the exact details.
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Post by Natoli Joss on Jul 21, 2010 1:59:08 GMT -5
Natoli nodded as she started using the Body Brush next. "So I'm guessing you have some sort of degree in medicine? Since I never went to college, I'm not exactly sure how those degree things worked. My brother and I were home schooled for the most part, but there weren't many kids living close by to have a school near home until recently."
She sorta bit her lip trying to phrase this without losing her dignity. "What was it like going to college?" She blushed a little and turned her face to look at the mare's side, she really hoped she didn't sound like a child then.
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Post by Ame Robinson on Jul 21, 2010 14:55:47 GMT -5
Again, Ame hedged. "Well, I did get my associate's degree in nursing--technically it's a two-year degree, but all the requisites and general education requirements stretched it out to four--but I got almost all my experience at home. I've got a certificate from them, but it's sort of outside the usual system, so I had some trouble before I finally came here. Headmistress Cutty understood." Her gratitude was plain to hear.
"College is great," she pressed on, not at all concerned that Natoli hadn't been. She of all people understood a non-traditional education. "It's a lot of work, but you meet people who have the same interests as you, because you see them in classes, so you make really good friends. That's really why they made us go, I think," she mused, failing to specify who "they" were.
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Post by Natoli Joss on Jul 21, 2010 15:30:35 GMT -5
Natoli's blush faded away. "Wish there had been a college where I could have learned. Traveling all around the world was great, but it was lonely at times. Even with as big as my family is, adding all the cousins, there were times that it was just me. But considering what I was studying I didn't really have a choice. That's why I'm glad my younger siblings get a better chance then I ever did. And that there are enough children in the area we live for an elementary school that they get to go to."
Her voice was a little wistful in the middle of it. She started brushing the mare's mane. "So, what do you think of here so far?"
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Post by Ame Robinson on Jul 22, 2010 0:55:18 GMT -5
"I'd like to travel more," Ame said. "Know what you mean about being by yourself, though. Even here, there are people around, but I hardly know anyone yet, and it's just me. I do like it here, though," she added, seamlessly pursuing the next topic. "Everyone I have met is... interesting. And it's such a nice area. I'm sure it will be really beautiful in the spring."
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Post by Natoli Joss on Jul 22, 2010 1:18:30 GMT -5
Natoli nodded as she got to work on the mare's tail, careful not to stand in the way of the hooves. "If I hadn't spent all that time traveling, I would be really lonely here too. Even with my twin keeping his nose stuck in books and the like, I had three younger siblings though Mellianne wasn't born until I was 10. Now I'm only a little lonely."
She sighed. "When Mellianne wrote back, all she could go on about was the pool and the beach. I bet it will look amazing in the fall too. I really do need to get a chance to look around the town too. I spend so much time here with the horses even when I don't need to be. Do you know what kind of stores they have in town? I'm not a big shopper, but it's nice to do something different every once in awhile."
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Post by Ame Robinson on Jul 22, 2010 13:58:59 GMT -5
"Oh, you're a twin, too!" In point of fact, Natoli had mentioned that earlier, but it took the second mention to sink in. Suddenly Ame was much more at ease. Natoli probably understood exactly what it would be like to have your second self take off for parts unknown, severing all ties on the way out. Frankly, it sucked. But she didn't mention it.
"I've been staying with friends in town, actually. It's mostly fishing, especially during the summer, but there are some small shops. There's a bookstore with a cafe I've been meaning to go to. ... Do you want to go sometime?" Strong overtures from the socially-removed healer. Outside of school, she didn't often get a chance to meet people and make friends normally, so this was an opportunity even shyness wouldn't make her miss.
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Post by Natoli Joss on Jul 23, 2010 0:09:33 GMT -5
Natoli grinned. "Yeah, I'm a twin too. Justyn is an alright twin, but I don't even know where he is at the moment. Probably in some ancient library getting his nose all dusty from being stuck in old books. I at least remembered to contact everyone at least once a month, though sometimes had to do it by snail mail."
She got out the hoofpick and ran her hand down one of the mare's legs, causing the mare to left her leg. Holding the leg up, but not too high, Natoli started to carefully pick all the dirt and stones out of the hoof.
"Hmm. I've been staying at a motel on the side of town closer to the school, but I've been spending so much time here, I almost practically live here instead. Though with the salary it's not like I'm too worried about finding a place to live when I have time. And yum. I haven't been to a cafe in forever. While they serve coffee in the cafeteria, it doesn't have the same feel. I would love to go sometime."
Natoli loved coffees and teas, totally unlike her little sister. Though she wasn't addicted to the caffeine.
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Post by Ame Robinson on Jul 23, 2010 0:46:38 GMT -5
Ame couldn't help but cringe a little at the mention of contact, but again, kept quiet about it. "I know what you mean," she said. "I have to be available all the time, just in case, so I'm here a lot more than I'm at 'home'." The attentive listener might have picked out the quotation marks around the word home, but they would have to be in the habit of thinking in punctuation. "But all right--it's a date! Just let me know when you're up for it." She smiled.
That settled, Ame watched Natoli pick the mare's hooves and decided that, while she could probably get a handle on the brushing today, that part would be better left to someone more experienced for now. When it was time for the next horse, Ame joined in with Natoli coaching her until she got the brush techniques. Together, they spent the rest of the morning grooming the first batch, and then went their separate ways.
(( OOC: This post submitted with Marieravenclaw's approval. ))
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