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Post by Adrienne Dionas on May 22, 2010 23:49:58 GMT -5
Adrienne slowly walked down the aisle of the stables to the horse she had been assigned. She stopped at the stall door, reading the golden plaque that had her name and then the chart that hung next to the door. She studied it a moment before she carefully climbed up so she could see the horse. She wasn't very happy about being stuck here, surrounded by the things that reminded her of her mother's death the most, but she didn't have much choice. She didn't submit to the rules entirely straight away though. It took several days for her to finally step foot in the stables. It was a rainy day though, and she was sick and tired of being stuck in the rec hall with a bunch of strangers.
She studied the large muscular mare that stood in the corner of her stall. Her ears were pinned back and her large hoof stamped in irritation. "Not happy to be here either, are you?" She asked softly as she studied the chocolate colored mare. Calliope's head turned to Adrienne and began to bob it up and down, snorting in what seemed like disdain. Adrienne couldn't help but chuckle at the mare before she carefully got down. She grabbed a lead rope and was just about to open the door when Calliope's large head swooped out from over the stall door. Adrienne ducked just barely in time, looking to the horse, smirking. "Nice try, Missy, but I've been around temperamental horses before." She commented as she clipped the lead rope to Calliope's purple halter and opened the door. The horse tried to lunge out, but Adrienne had expected it. Her feet were firmly planted on the stable floor as she forced the mare to run around in a circle in the middle of the aisle before she finally calmed, snorting and throwing her head up in agitation.
"That's a good girl." She murmured as she reached a hand up to the mane covered blaze and carefully brushed the soft creamy brown hair away from the large blaze. "Aren't you a gorgeous girl. Mhm. I'm sure all the stallions have their eyes on you all the time. " She cooed in a soothing tone, smiling faintly. Calliope gave another soft snort and then a gentle little whicker. Adrienne smiled at this and softly brushed a hand along the soft, velvety muzzle. "Come on, I'll give you a nice little brush down. We can get to know each other" Adrienne murmured as she gently led the horse to the cross ties and secured the mare. She didn't seem to like that very much. The large mare showed it to with a stomp of a large hoof.
Adrienne took a step back, violet eyes looking over the large mare. Calliope was a very large, muscular mare. She wasn't a pure bred, but there was a chance that she definitely had some form of a draft horse in her. Adrienne noticed on Calliope came from a poor trainer who mistreated the horses. A scar on the mare's shoulder was evidence enough of just how much her trainer liked to use a riding crop. Jared rescued her from a slaughter house a few months back before Adrienne ever even knew about Willow Brooke. As far as Adrienne could figure out, Calliope got sick of having a riding crop taken to her hide for no real reason and snapped on the trainer. All Adrienne had to say was that she hoped he suffered miserable from whatever the mare did to him. Adrienne studied the mare a moment longer before she found a cleaning kit and pulled out the curry comb, gently running it over Calliope's soft hide, lifting the dirt and grime from her suede like pelt.
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Post by Ayesha McMillan on May 23, 2010 3:39:38 GMT -5
"Easy girl, easy, come on," Ayesha softly urged Dance towards the stable doors. The mare was restless, and Ayesha could understand that all too well. It was a long way from the Hamptons to Montana and she, too, wished for nothing more than to stretch her legs, enjoy the fresh air and have a little run. "We need to settle in first."
She ran her hand slowly down the mare's nose, brushing a few drops of rain away, and looked Dance into the eyes. "I need to sort out a few things, but I promise you can stretch your legs soon, okay?"
Dance exhaled noisily, but then took a few more steps forward, apparently willing to trust her owner, only to halt again when the pair were at the threshold of the stable, sniffing the air and looking around at all the horses she would be quartered with, her ears springing up, listening to all the unfamiliar sounds around her.
"Now, now... don't be shy," Ayesha whispered into Dance's ear. "We'll both have to adjust, but I know you can do it, girl. It's only a matter of time." With that she nudged the mare another two steps forward, before she, too, looked around.
It took her a moment to realize that there was a young woman with the large horse she saw in the middle of the stable, overshadowed by the size of the mare as the girl was. "Hello there. Any idea where I can find a brush or two?"
All her stuff was still in suitcases and crates, half of it still on the way across the country, but Dance needed some attention and affection, a familiar hand to help her settle in in her new environs, not to mention the dust that had settled in her mane and on her body during the long journey. The rain they had caught on their way to the stable hadn't been enough to wash half of it away.
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Post by Adrienne Dionas on May 23, 2010 16:36:48 GMT -5
Adrienne knew there was someone else in the stables well before she actually heard them. How? For one thing, Calliope was getting to be a little more antsy. Adrienne stopped combing the large mare and watched as her ears twitched about at the noises she was picking up. Then the mare flattened her ears and pulled at the cross ties she was secured to. Adrienne laid a hand gently on the large mare's neck, trying to sooth her while she went back to curry combing out the dirt from the suede coat.
Adrienne had her long black hair tied back just because she didn't feel like battling with rain frizzed hair. Her make-up was pretty light today too so she wouldn't have to worry about the rain ruining it. She was expecting the rain to turn to show pretty soon too though. She doubted it would stick because of the rain, but it was just cold enough for snow. She had on the usual choice in clothes as well. A pair of black converses she had decked out with a little bit of fabric paint, some ratty jeans with holes and splotches of pain here and there and a vintage tee-shirt with the Beatles on it. And of course, she had on a hoodie. She always had a hoodie on. No matter the weather. They made it easy to cover up the scars of what she did to herself the last couple of years. People took self-mutilation pretty serious these days. Especially when it was a teenager involved in the act.
Calliope gave a snort and a stomp as her ears went down to her head as the fresh new scent of a new horse came to her nostrils. She swung her head about as much as the cross ties would allow her. "Hey, come on." Adrienne said gently, reaching to one of the cross ties and bringing the mare's head to a firm halt. "That's it. Good girl." She murmured as she stroked a hand along Calliope's forehead, running a hand along the wide blaze. Adrienne looked up to Ayesha when she heard the lady's voice. Adirnne studied her through deep violet eyes for a long time before she gently released Calliope's head and stooped down to rumage through the grooming bucket, pulling out a second. "Here." She said softly as she walked over to her, offering the curry comb.
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Post by Ayesha McMillan on May 23, 2010 22:49:58 GMT -5
Ayesha also studied the person she had found herself with and realized they were not dressed very differently. Her own jeans were new and without rips or holes, her trainers not as colourful as Adrienne's, but together with Ayesha's grey sweater and dark-brown leather jacket they were both clad in functional, everyday garb. Something else she noticed were the girl's unusual eyes. That and how well she handled a horse that appeared to be on the lively side.
She took a step forward, only loosely holding Dance's rein, to take the offered comb. As her hand closed around the comb she could feel the rein loosing some slack as Dance moved her head aside, away from the unknown person who had come closer. But Ayesha had no fear that her mare would bolt or do anything else unwanted. Dance was shy, but also loyal to her owner. She would stay calm as long as Ayesha stayed so too.
"Thank you." She gave the dark-haired girl a friendly nod, before turning back to her companion. "Now, let's see if we can't make you all pretty again, like you are supposed to be, girl."
Ayesha led Dance a little deeper into the stable, but also a bit to the side, so the distance between her and Adrienne remained about the same, before she began to give Dance a gentle, but thorough combing, the familiar touch distracting the mare from the unfamiliar surroundings.
Looking over her shoulder, Ayesha smiled at Adrienne. "I am Ayesha, by the way, but if you are a student here, perhaps introducing myself as Miss McMillan would be better."
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Post by Adrienne Dionas on May 23, 2010 23:25:35 GMT -5
Adrienne watched her as she took the curry comb before she turned back to a very fidgety Calliope. She watched as the head bobbed vigorously at the new comer. Adrienne gently grasped at Calliope's halter, having to avoid the teeth that tried to take out her hand. "Come on. They don't want any trouble." She said soothingly as she forced the head down and gently stroked along her neck to sooth the antsy mare. She calmed down as Adrienne murmured soft, soothing words tot he mare. Calliope was starting to show that she was going to be a handful. Needless to say, Adrienne would have a lot of work ahead of her. She might as well since she was stuck here with nothing else to do...
She looked up to Ayesha once she was sure Calliope was calmed back down. The mare gave a little grunt like snort and shook her hair, ruffling up her long thick mane. Adrienne looked back to Calliope as the woman introduced herself. Her English teacher. Of all the people she would have to meet in the stables it was the teacher of her least favorite subject. Classes of course had already started, but at the moment they had a substitute filling in until Miss McMillan took over. "I'm Adrienne." She said gently, studying Ayesha intently before turning back to Calliope and finishing off the brushing. Adrienne wasn't really a people person these days. She used to be a little social butterfly, but Adrienne studied the scar on Calliope's shoulder for a moment, running her fingers along it. Calliope tired to turn her head, but once again, the cross ties stopped her. Adrienne took her hand away, understanding the implications behind the attempt to turn her head.
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Post by Ayesha McMillan on May 24, 2010 0:28:01 GMT -5
"Pleased to meet you, Adrienne." She nodded again and wondered why the girl was at Willow Brooke. It wasn't exactly a normal school for average teenagers after all. Ayesha didn't mind, actually welcomed the challenge, even if she suspected she would have her hands full with some of the students. Trading a normal school in New York for a so-called correctional facility in Montana was a big move in more senses than one, but she knew she could make it. And the idea behind the place intrigued her. Teaming a young, troubled person with a horse seemed like a good plan to her to teach someone a bit of responsibility, and either it had already worked for Adrienne, or she was just good with horses to begin with.
She moved around to Dance's other side and looked over the mare's back at Adrienne and her horse, the movements of her hand a little absent-mindedly, going through a routine - a routine Dance seemed to welcome as she looked around some, before turning her head to nuzzle Ayesha's shoulder. "Told you everything would be alright."
She stroked Dance's neck a minute, before turning back to her brushwork, looking at Adrienne again. "Looks like you got a pretty lively one at your hands, Adrienne. What's her name?"
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Post by Adrienne Dionas on May 24, 2010 1:20:43 GMT -5
She watched Ayesha and her mare thoughtfully. Pretty mare. Adrienne could definitely say that much. She turned back to Calliope and gently brushed out her mane a little to try and get out the tangles and what not. Calliope gave a gentle shake of her head, sending the cream-brown mane flying. Adrienne smiled faintly and patted the mare's neck gently. She took note that Calliope watched the new horse curiously. Adrienne studied Calliope for a moment before giving one of the leads to the cross tie a little warning tug to tell her to leave the two alone.
Adrienne looked up to Ayesha over Calliope's back before she stooped over to reach into the bucket and pulled out a hoof pick. She stood and her violet pools turned back to Ayesha when she asked about Calliope. "Her name is Calliope." She said gently as she looked to the large chocolate head and gently ran a hand along the mare's neck. "It's a Greek muse or something like that." She said in a somewhat casual tone as she stooped over and gently urged the mare to lift one of her front feet. She fidgeted a little at first, but then relented and allowed Adrienne to scrape the bottom of her hoof of any dirt.
She glanced to Ayesha and her horse thoughtfully as she carefully ducked under Calliope's head to make her way around the mare and do her other front foot. She bent her knees and squeezed just above the hoof to urge the mare to lift. The mare didn't listen at first, but then she relented and lifted her foot. Adrienne gently tucked the hoof between her legs and started to scrape some mud out from around the horse shoe and on the hoof. "What's her name?" She asked gently, glancing to Ayesha and her horse.
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Post by Ayesha McMillan on May 24, 2010 1:59:58 GMT -5
Ayesha tried to untangle a knot in Dance's mane and nodded gently at Adrienne's words. "That's a beautiful name." Discovering that her attempts with the mane were rather futile she held that strand of Dance's mane with one hand, then brushed out the hair vigorously.
Working on Dance's hooves would be a good idea too, but that would have to wait till tomorrow. Unpacking would have to come first, and there was, most likely, some paperwork to do too, before the day was done. She wasn't looking forward to that at all, but it was a necessary evil in her line of work, something she just had to accept as part of the teacher's life, as much as she disliked it.
"This lady here is Wind Dancer, or Dance, if you prefer brevity." Satisfied with her work on the mane for the moment, Ayesha turned her attention back to Dance's coat, gently pushing the mare's head aside, as Dance tried to nuzzle her again.
"And you are right, Calliope is a muse," she informed Adrienne. "The muse of heroic poetry, actually. Some say she inspired Homer to write the Illiad and Odyssey. She was also the mother of Orpheus, the bard who went into the underworld to get back his wife, as far as I can remember. Perhaps some of those tales might make good reading for the classes, now that I think of it." While not English stories, it was the reading, understanding, and analysing that Ayesha thought counted, and that could be done with pretty much any tale. And stories of gods and heroes would perhaps capture her students' interest better than Shakespeare or some other typical reading. It was certainly worth thinking about.
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Post by Adrienne Dionas on May 24, 2010 2:24:12 GMT -5
Violet pools studied Dance thoughtfully for a moment as Adrienne gently dropped the mare's foot, which Calliope made a point to stomp, flattening her ears in disdain. Adrienne looked to the mare, shaking her head as she moved to the back hoof on the same side.
She listened thoughtfully as she cleaned out the back hoof, frowning when she noticed a rock in the shoe. No wonder she was being such a pain. Adrienne carefully extracted the rock and gently set it aside as she continued to clean out the hoof. She didn't mind reading so much. That was the main reason people hated English classes so much. The reading and the analyzing and writing papers about it. The reading wasn't so awful. She usually enjoyed reading the things the teachers assigned to read. It was the analytical paper writing that she hated so much. She hated it with a fiery passion. If the author had meant for someone to write an analytical essay on the damn short story or novel or whatever she was reading, then the author would have asked for the reader to do so.
She glanced over to Ayesha for a moment before she looked back to the hoof as she gently let go and made her way under Calliope's head to the other side again, her hand gently running along the soft, warm pelt. She kind of missed being around horses, but at the end of the day, her longing to be around horses didn't weigh as much as the guilt she felt even just stepping into a stable. Which was why it took her father driving her halfway across the country to the middle of no where to get her back in a horse stable. Kind of sad really, but at this point, Adrienne didn't have much choice, so she just went with the flow.
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Post by Ayesha McMillan on May 24, 2010 5:00:50 GMT -5
For a while Ayesha worked in silence on brushing Dance, only from time to time casting a glance at Adrienne and Calliope, with every glance coming more and more under the impression that the girl really knew what she was doing. She knew full well that appearances could be deceiving, but a display of skill could not. From her teaching experience she knew some students could do a good job at pretending to know something, fake something, but a physical skill like taking care of a horse was something one either knew or did not.
After she was satisfied she had done a solid job with the curry, Ayesha slipped it from her hand and picked some of the hair and dust from it, before slowly walking towards the grooming bucket, keeping an eye on Calliope. She didn't want to risk spooking the horse, but she needed a dandy brush to clean Dance of all the dirt the curry had stirred up and shaken loose - that and an even softer brush to work on Dance's head.
She squatted down and searched through the collection of brushes and combs till she found what she had been looking for. But before she rose again, she decided to try and get a little more out of the girl.
"Looks to me like you are not a beginner when it comes to horses. Any special interests? Dressage? Show jumping? Cross country?"
There would be something about Adrienne on file at the school - and she was likely to turn up in Ayesha's class - but establishing a connection could never hurt. And talking about riding and horses seemed like the best thing to accomplish that right now.
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Post by Adrienne Dionas on May 24, 2010 12:27:33 GMT -5
She looked could hear Ayesha rummaging through the bucket for something. She slowly stood up once she was finished with Calliope's hooves. She looked to Calliope and knelt down at the bucket, doing her own rummaging as she found a second dandy brush and stood, chunking the pick into the bucket.
Her head lifted when Ayesha asked about Adrienne's experience. Adrienne's expression changed a little at that question and she withdrew into herself a little more as she turned back to Calliope, softly brushing off the dirt she loosened up earlier. "I used to ride when I was younger." She said softly as she glanced up to the large head that turned slightly, nudging Adrienne's arm. Calliope seemed to have picked up on something that bothered Adrienne and though the mare was fidgety and a little on the aggressive side, she wanted to comfort the girl she was stuck with. Adrienne gently laid a hand over the soft nose and smiled faintly when she nuzzled Adrienne's hand.
"Show jumping and cross country." She said softly as she looked up to Ayesha then went back to brushing the dirt off of Calliope. "I used to compete in show jumping and cross country."
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Post by Ayesha McMillan on May 24, 2010 13:09:46 GMT -5
Ayesha noticed the change in Calliope's behaviour and closely studied the mare and her groom. She slowly rose and turned back to Dance, but her mind was still stuck on what Adrienne had said, wondering how old she was, to have competed when she was 'younger'.
It sounded like it had been a while ago, but it couldn't have been that long ago unless Adrienne had started riding - and competing - at a pretty young age. But asking directly would perhaps not be a good idea. Calliope had picked up something in Adrienne that Ayesha had missed, reacting to an undercurrent that was beyond her own senses to pick up, but if the lively mare suddenly decided to get cosy and comforting it had to mean something.
As she began to brush down Dance again and lifted some more dirt from her mare's coat she thought about what to say next, but decided against inquiring too much. Just keeping up the conversation for now would perhaps lead to something, and if not it was still worth a try.
"Cross country is what I like best," she remarked conversationally, her back turned on Adrienne. "But I doubt I am good enough to enter any serious competition. And besides, Dance is not the best jumper around. Steeplechase might be more her thing, but I never got much chance to try my hand at that."
She looked over her shoulder and gestured with the brush in Calliope's direction. "How about Calliope? She certainly looks strong enough to be a pretty good jumper."
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Post by Adrienne Dionas on May 24, 2010 13:31:56 GMT -5
She didn't pry. That surprised Adrienne a little. Most people would have pried and try to delve deeper into her comment, but Ayesha didn't. Adrienne glanced to her thoughtfully for a moment before she turned her head back to Calliope and gently brushed the dandy brush along the large, long neck. Even if Ayesha would have tried to pry, Adrienne wouldn't have said anything. It was none of her business. That's part of why she was so angry with her dad for bringing her here. It was nobody's business except for her and her family's.
Adrienne studied the mare thoughtfully when Ayesha suggested that Calliope would be good for jumping competitions. Adrienne shook her head weakly. "Not for show jumping. She's too bulky. She wouldn't have enough time between jumps to build momentum to get over." Adrienne said gently, looking over the muscular body that stood next to her. "She might do good in cross country though. She's got the muscles for the endurance end of it. " Adrienne said it as more of a side note to herself while her hand trailed over one of the muscled legs gently. , but then she reminded herself of why she stopped competing in the first place. Her mother was dead because of Adrienne's competitions. That's why Adrienne gave it up. After her mother's death, she never stepped foot into a stable until her father dragged her down here.
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Post by Ayesha McMillan on May 24, 2010 14:41:50 GMT -5
"Yes," Ayesha slowly replied, "she is a bit... heavy-boned. But I bet she has the strength to propel her quite a distance, once she jumps. Cross country does sound like a good idea for her."
She tried to imagine Calliope running along a course, building momentum for a jump, taking it... But while the image that formed in her head intrigued Ayesha, she couldn't quite picture herself riding a horse like Calliope. Fast and agile was what she always looked for and she had found just that in her current companion.
She thought back to the day she had first met Dance and smiled to herself. It was perhaps a bit odd for a woman who had liked horses for many years to get her first own horse when she was approaching thirty, but the way her family had always moved around before they settled down for a while in New York, Dance was the single horse she could truly call her own.
Ayesha ran her left hand down Dance's muzzle, while her right stroked the dandy brush down her shoulder. The mare was calming down more and more, dozing off and catching up on the rest the last few days' travels had not allowed her. As Dance's breathing grew slower and calmer Ayesha's brush strokes became softer and longer, less concerned with the looks of Dance's coat and more with providing comfort to the horse.
After a minute or two of just stroking Dance she withdrew her hands, and smiled to herself again as the mare didn't seem to notice. Crossing half the continent had taken its toll on her.
"Do you think Calliope would mind if I touched her?" she asked Adrienne. "I guess you know her well enough to tell."
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Post by Adrienne Dionas on May 24, 2010 22:32:00 GMT -5
Adrienne's dark head nodded softly as she looked to Ayesha then back over the bulky mare. "Yeah..." She didn't really build off of the English Teacher's words or thoughts any. Adrienne didn't plan on competing any. She didn't even plan on riding. And if she did ride... she might have to work with Calliope on her training a little. Whoever had this beautiful example of the Equine family last was a coward for beating on this animal. She ran a hand along the scar on Calliope's shoulder again before she moved around to the other side of the large animal and continued to brush off the dirt with the brush.
Adrienne looked to Calliope as Ayesha asked if the mare would mind. Adrienne wasn't sure how to address that issue seeing as her and Calliope were just starting to get to know each other. She looked to the mare gently and gave her a gentle nod as she looked back to Ayesha. " I don't think it would be such a problem." She said gently as she moved to Calliope's head and took a firm grip on the cross ties. She gestured for Ayesha to give the mare a gentle pet. Calliope turned her head toward Ayesha gently before turning to Adrienne when she felt a small hand lay over her cheek and scratch gently under her chin. Adrienne just gave a light smile and kept the horse distracted with the affectionate scratching.
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