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Post by Kahlen Jeanne Nox on Jul 24, 2010 23:08:26 GMT -5
Kahlen skipped up to the stables sometime around nine on a Saturday morning in early Februrary. She was prepared with her riding boots and Mikhail left in her room.
She had checked the notice after class one day and was sure Professor Joss would be there. She wouldn't be too keen on having to run back to the building and to the first floor if the professor wasn't in the stables.
Peeking her head around the entryway of the stables, Kahlen said in a singsong voice, "Hello, Max!"
She was answered with a whinny. Max stuck his head over the side of his stall and nibbled on Kahlen's ponytail as she patted his neck.
"Have you seen Professor Joss around, Max?" He whuffed in her face in reply.
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Post by Ame Robinson on Jul 24, 2010 23:21:36 GMT -5
"She usually comes in about this time, I think," said a voice. It was not, in fact, the horse talking--it was Ame.
In keeping with her promise to help out, the healer had turned up again, this time in clothes more suited to a stable: weather-beaten sneakers, rough bluejeans, and an old, blue cable-knit sweater with a few holes in it. Unwilling to start by herself, she was waiting outside the stall of the chestnut mare she'd first met the previous Saturday. This time the mare was permitting her forehead to be scratched, perhaps in the hope of earning treats for patience, but also seeming to enjoy the attention for its own sake.
"Are you in Professor Joss' riding class?" Ame asked.
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Post by Kahlen Jeanne Nox on Jul 24, 2010 23:27:01 GMT -5
Kahlen jumped a little at the unexpected voice. Max, who was used to Kahlen's odd behavior by now, continued to chew her hair. She stared intently at Max before realizing that it was a female sounding voice. She stepped back from the stall and turned to the direction of the voice.
"Oh! Hullo," Kahlen said to the woman standing by the stall of another horse. "Sorry I didn't notice you. And yep, I'm in her riding class. I'm Kahlen, by the way."
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Post by Natoli Joss on Jul 24, 2010 23:55:18 GMT -5
Natoli entered the stables after a quick trip to the restroom. She had already finished almost all of the horses' grooming as she had been given a bit of extra time earlier in the week to get quite a few of them done early. She paused once she was inside of the stable when she saw Ame and Kahlen.
"Oh, hello Ame, Miss Nox!"
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Post by Kahlen Jeanne Nox on Jul 24, 2010 23:59:36 GMT -5
Kahlen waved at Professor Joss. "Hullo! How're you? I was looking to do a bit of riding," she said, not pausing for breath between words.
She went back to patting Max's neck after he pulled on her hair to make her pay attention to him.
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Post by Ame Robinson on Jul 25, 2010 16:26:25 GMT -5
"Nice to meet you, Kahlen. I'm Ame, the new nurse," Ame answered before Natoli arrived. It occurred to her that at this rate "the new nurse" was going to seem like part of her name before the end of the semester.
Ame, too, waved when Professor Joss came in. "Hi, Natoli!" Then, upon Kahlen's mention of riding, she looked expectantly between the two, wondering if the prof would give the okay. She hadn't come with riding in mind, but if it was in the cards, she certainly wouldn't turn it down.
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Post by Kahlen Jeanne Nox on Jul 25, 2010 16:53:21 GMT -5
"Oh," Kahlen said in response to Ame's introduction. "I haven't been to the infirmary, but I've probably seen you around."
After giving Max a few more pats, Kahlen turned her attention to Ame and Professor Joss.
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Post by Natoli Joss on Jul 25, 2010 16:59:23 GMT -5
Natoli thought for a moment, doing a mental checklist. "Hmm. Well, I already have most of the horses groomed. I can put the few left off until tomorrow. And I should probably get a few of them exercised."
Focusing solely on Kahlen, she asked, "Do you wish to have some company on your ride?"
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Post by Kahlen Jeanne Nox on Jul 25, 2010 17:59:57 GMT -5
Kahlen grinned. "Oh, sure. Company would be nice. I'll start tacking him up now, if you don't mind?"
She went over to where the tack was kept and stood near Max's stuff.
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Post by Natoli Joss on Jul 25, 2010 18:09:04 GMT -5
Natoli grinned. "Sure."
She turned to Ame. "Would you like to come along? And if so, do you want me to walk you through how to tack a horse up, or would you rather me do it the first time?"
Natoli started to grab the tack for a mare she felt really needed some exercise, a paint named Bonita.
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Post by Ame Robinson on Jul 25, 2010 18:15:15 GMT -5
"That sounds great!" Ame nodded. "I think you'd better do the tack the first time, though. I'll make sure to pay attention. And, um, would it be all right to take Capella here?" She smiled at the mare, whose ears twitched at her name. "I think we're starting to be friends, but if there's someone who needs the walk more..."
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Post by Natoli Joss on Jul 25, 2010 18:24:51 GMT -5
Natoli nodded and grabbed Capella's tack as well. "Sure, I'll do it. And nope, she actually needs a bit of exercise, but not enough to make her a bad choice for your first time riding. I really should ask the headmistress to put an ad out for grooms so I don't have to do as much grooming and exercising. I love it, but there are way too many for me to do."
She first started tacking up Capella, making sure to explain how to do everything.
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Post by Kahlen Jeanne Nox on Jul 25, 2010 18:25:31 GMT -5
Kahlen nodded at the go ahead and picked up Max's stuff. She went back to his stall and set the blanket and saddle on the ledge. She fit the bridle over his head.
"Alrighty, Max. Don't give me any trouble with your saddle, okay?" Kahlen put the saddle blanket over his back. Max made a grab for her hair. She mock glared at him and put the saddle on him.
"I win," she said, patting his neck. She fed the girth strap through the buckle and tightened it. She wiggled the saddle, which was a bit loose.
"Thanks for puffing out your stomach you big silly." She tighted the strap again and was satisfied that the saddle wouldn't slip. She led Max out of the stall and waited for Ame's horse to finished getting tacked.
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Post by Ame Robinson on Jul 25, 2010 21:34:12 GMT -5
Ame watched Natoli carefully, mentally repeating each new term so that she would remember them and what they did and how to properly arrange them. Sort of like anatomy all over again. Come to that, maybe she would study horse anatomy in her spare time, along with behavior. Just another of a growing list of reasons to visit the library.
Once Capella was tacked, Ame followed Kahlen's lead and took her out of the stall to wait for Natoli to explain what to do next. "So, do you ride a lot?" she asked the student.
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Post by Natoli Joss on Jul 25, 2010 21:43:41 GMT -5
Natoli grabbed Bonita's tack and tacked her up as well while Ame asked Kahlen a question. Leading Bonita out of her stall once done, she motioned with her head to exit the stable and led the way. There just wasn't room to mount inside.
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Post by Kahlen Jeanne Nox on Jul 26, 2010 12:12:46 GMT -5
"I used to," Kahlen said. "I've been focusing more on dance lately. I didn't ride at all last semester, but I went on a little trip during break where I got to ride. I'm guessing you haven't before?"
She saw the professor motion towards the exit. "C'mon, Max, let's have some fun, eh?"
She led Max out of the stables.
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Post by Ame Robinson on Jul 26, 2010 23:40:18 GMT -5
Ame shook her head. "No, not at all. Up until now, I've always lived in the city. I'm really excited for this. Professor Joss is being very good to take me on as an extra student in her free time." With this, she grinned at Natoli.
She followed Kahlen's lead and, with Capella's good grace, walked the mare outside. She wasn't too worried about getting on--as long as she didn't have to jump, how hard could it be?--but staying on was another matter. She would just have to hope for the best.
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Post by Natoli Joss on Jul 27, 2010 1:11:25 GMT -5
Natoli turned to Ame to give some instructions. "O.K. I'm going to ask Capella to act like I'm leading her. However, if something happens and you need to stop..." She went on about how to slow down and stop the horse.
Thinking for a few moments, she added in the basic ways of how to turn and how to get the horses to walk, trot, or canter, with a bit about galloping. When done, she led them towards a set of mounting blocks. "It's easier to use the mounting blocks." She demonstrated how to mount and then dismounted, telling Bonita to stay. The she offered to hold Capella still while Ame mounted.
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Post by Ame Robinson on Jul 27, 2010 2:08:48 GMT -5
Ame listened and nodded, though she wasn't planning on trying anything but a walk today. The directions made sense: naturally, she would lean forward if she wanted to go and lean back if she wanted to stop, or one side or the other to turn. The use of the knees and reins sounded like they would follow naturally. And anyway, if she messed up, she had friends around who could help.
She agreed to Natoli holding Capella still and climbed up on the mounting block. Now, faced with the actual transition from platform to stirrup to saddle, the process seemed more tricky than expected. She had to lead with what felt like the wrong leg and somehow keep her balance while throwing the rest of her weight across the horse's back--but not too far across! Oh dear.
After what seemed like far too long just standing there, feeling foolish, Ame finally decided enough was enough. It wouldn't be the end of the world if she fell, after all. With a deep breath, she took hold of the saddle's pommel, placed the correct foot in the stirrup, and heaved her other leg across. She felt Capella shift her weight in response, which gave her a start, and she wavered awkwardly before coming to an uneasy seat. It took her a moment to realize that she was on board and remember to tuck her second foot into its stirrup. She looked at Natoli, rather amazed.
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Post by Kahlen Jeanne Nox on Jul 27, 2010 14:50:10 GMT -5
"I see," Kahlen said, with a smile. "You'll have a lot of fun."
Kahlen followed the others to the mounting blocks and stopped Max a few feet behind. She didn't need the mounting block because Max wasn't too tall. She watched as Natoli demonstrated a few things to Ame. After Ame got settled on Capella, Kahlen stuck her left foot in the stirrup and easily swung her right leg over Max's back. She had a fairly good seat, but slouched a bit.
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Post by Natoli Joss on Jul 27, 2010 16:35:12 GMT -5
Natoli grinned at Ame. "There, wasn't too hard, was it?" She handed Ame the reins and mounted Bonita.
Turning to see how Kahlen was doing, she noticed the slouch. "Miss Nox. No slouching. It's not good for your back."
Natoli then asked, "Now, which would you two rather do? The trail to the beach or the road to town?"
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Post by Kahlen Jeanne Nox on Jul 28, 2010 17:40:54 GMT -5
Kahlen grinned and sighed a bit. "Yeah, I get that a lot."
She straightened her back and hoped that it'd behave and stay straight.
"The trail to the beach sounds nice," she said cheerfully, leaning down and giving Max a quick pat on the neck.
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Post by Ame Robinson on Jul 28, 2010 19:46:55 GMT -5
"I haven't been to the beach yet," Ame said by way of agreement.
She took the admonishment to sit straight as good advice for herself, too, and checked her posture. Could be better; she adjusted. A desk chair wasn't the same as horse's back. She'd have to remember that.
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Post by Natoli Joss on Jul 28, 2010 19:53:10 GMT -5
Natoli nodded. "Sure, if you guys want to, next time we can go to town and grab something to eat while there or bring food with us to eat at the beach. We shouldn't need anything today though."
She asked Capella to follow, turned around, and moved Bonita forward at a walk, heading towards where the beach trail started.
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Post by Ame Robinson on Jul 28, 2010 20:22:56 GMT -5
Ame agreed. "It's too cold for a picnic right now, but maybe in the spring. Whoop!" She lurched a bit when Capella started without her, so to speak, but she recovered by grabbing the pommel. After that it didn't take her too long to adjust to the mare's four-footed gait, and she began to relax into it.
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Post by Kahlen Jeanne Nox on Jul 29, 2010 11:58:31 GMT -5
"Sounds great," Kahlen said. She clicked her tongue to get Max started, moving him so that he was slightly over to one side, but behind Capella.
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