good feeling - [ Amiee ]

[♪ ♫ ty KENNEDY]

Ty Kennedy
^{________________________________________________________}

A blue truck turned onto the drive, its appearance a bit rusty, as is the white trailer being pulled behind. The driver, a boy around the age of sixteen or seventeen, was dressed simply in a light green t-shirt and jeans. Light brown hair that was slightly on the shaggy side flopped over his forehead, the ends of his bangs touching his eye-lashes. He raised a hand to push the annoying hairs back, relieaving his green eyes from the stinging. Each side of the long drive-way consesting of fenced in fields, some of them had a horse or two while others were completely empty. It was apparent that this place wasn't very busy at the moment, but then again it just opened for students and boarders.

The boy slowed a bit upon hearing the kicks in the trailer. A soft sigh passed through his lips and he moved his head in a slight shake. He had agreed to trailer one of his friend's, one of his only friends he might add, mare. Breezy was a good horse in all, but he should have guessed that his own horse, an appaloosa mustang stallion, would react to having another horse in such close quarters. At least his silly horse would be out of the trailer soon enough. The driver, Ty Kennedy, found a place to park, close to the barn, and pulled the old truck to a stop. He slid out of the blue colored truck and headed to the two-horse trailer, a high-pitched whinny urging him on. Unlatching the handle, Ty swung the door open and a spotted hide backed up instantly. Reaching up he grasphed the lead in his hand before the stallion could have his chance to escape.

The appaloosa was defiantly spooked; his brown eyes were rimmed white, the large ovals wide, and his nose flared pink as he glanced around the stable yard. Ty lay a hand on the leopard spotted white neck, not liking the moist feeling of sweat that touched his hand. "Easy Splash, you're getting yourself upset over nothing." Ty's voice was low and soft, and the stallion's ears flickered in response. The two walked in small circles and Splash began to settle down, though he still eyed his surroundings with wide eyes. Deciding the stallion was calm enough to let Breezy out, Ty slowly opened the other door of the trailer. The large figure of Breezy emerged, a gray Percheron/Thoroughbred mare who stood with a bored expression on her gentle face. Ty couldn't help laughing softly at the contrast between the two horses as he glanced around the stable yard, looking for any activity.

status: finished
comments: yucky - but its the first role-play on the site!
tag: Jen, or Amy, or who ever you are!!

[amy hall;;]

xx___ amy leaned forward, shifting her weight slightly in preperation for the take-off. the horse beneath her glided over the combination, a snort escaping her flared nostrils. a smile took shape on amy's face as she pulled blue wings, the thoroughbred warmblood mare cross, up. though the mare wasn't actually her horse, more like a lesson horse, everyone had had to pitch in exercising the lesson horses until they got more business. so far she had managed to get a ride on lacey, apache, tobi and trib, who almost dumped her - the crazy pony. after the troublesome ride on trib, who did have a hobby of bucking and bolting, the smoother gait of blue was much more relaxing. with a sigh amy thought back to the last few days; she had been drafted with tribulation everyday so far since she was the smallest, besides cheyenne of course ( but they weren't going to put her on the silly pony ). speaking of which...

amy turned her head to see her sister, caroline, walking into the other arena with spitfire, a black warmblood gelding who had a temperment similar to trib though on a smaller level - which was good since falling off a pony wasn't as big of a deal as falling off a 16 hand horse. her cousin cheyenne was also riding a horse, a large paint gelding named carlo, the oldest horse on the grounds. though the fifthteen year old looked so tiny up on the large part draft gelding, she had him well under-control. parker, amy's brother, was just walking out of the barn on his own gelding, romeo, a hot-tempered stallion that seemed to dislike everyone but parker. amy looked away, focusing on the horse she was riding as she cooled the mare off. it was just as a truck and trailer was pulling up that she had decided that it was time to ride her own horse, and a trail ride on spartan sounded wonderful just then.

as amy dismounted and started to lead blue out of the arena, she noticed that the driver of the truck, a boy maybe a bit older than herself, had unloaded a horse who seemed pretty spooked. she paused a little ways off, ready to assist if needed, but the boy seemed to calm the appaloosa down pretty quickly. another larger, much calmer, horse appeared from the trailer and amy began to step forward. since her family owned the stables, she should probably greet the boy at least, and she could find out if he needed any help. blue snorted softly, obviously excited about the other horse's company and she pricked her ears in a friendly way. amy halted a little ways off, not wanting to get too close so the appaloosa, a stallion she noticed, wouldn't spook again. she swallowed, preparing to speak - something that wasn't her favorite, or best, thing to do at the moment. hi... i'm amy. amy hall; we own autumn hills. um... anyway, do you need any help bringing your horses into the barn? the slight stutter wasn't uncommen in her speech lately, and her cheeks flushed slightly as she hoped he didn't notice and she waited for his reply.

[♪ ♫ ty KENNEDY]

Ty Kennedy
^{________________________________________________________}

Splash lifted his head, staring so intently at something that Ty had to turn and see what had grabbed his attention. A girl, his age, maybe a bit younger, was walking toward him leading a tall gray mare. Of course, being a teenage guy Ty couldn't help notice how pretty she was. She was skinny, on the short side, with brown hair and pretty gray eyes. Ty smiled in greeting, a tinge of embarssment overcoming him as he realized she must of his seen his horse's silly antics. She began to speak, her voice was very soft and hesitant, like she was shy or ... embarassed. Why would she be embarassed? Inwardly shrugging, Ty focused on what she was saying. He nodded almost instantly, feeling relieved. With a kindly smile he spoke, trying to match his voice to hers in terms of softness and kindness. "Thanks, I'll have to take your offer. Would you mind taking Breezy in - she's my friend's horse and is real quiet. She shouldn't give you any trouble."

He handed her the large mare's lead rope and Breezy stepped forward, her ears pricked in a friendly way. Ty started rubbing Splash's neck now that he had a free hand, trying to comfort the still tense stallion. He ran his pale hand over the small black dots imprinted on the horse's white fur, his eyes taking in the coloring - Splash had a leopard-like pattern, which always reminded Ty of a dalmation dog. Clucking with his tounge, he softly urged his horse forward and in the direction of the barn. He glanced momentarilly at the riding rings, where there were three people working their horses, but of course he couldn't let his attention waver too much from Splash. The stallion was prancing a bit at the end of the lead, his head high and his ears pricked. He actually looked very pretty, almost commanding, which wasn't surprising since he was a stallion.

Ty stepped into the barn, where some of the stalls were filled and others weren't. He quickly found the stall with Splash's name on it and he clipped the horse into the cross ties right outside the stall. Even though they had just arrived Ty had decided that maybe going for a short ride would calm the stallion down a bit. But first he quickly went back to the truck, grabbing the grooming box and tack he had brought with him and carried it into the stables. He paused near the girl, Amy, checking to make sure she was handling Breezy fine. "Thanks so much. I'm Ty Kennedy by the way, I just got a job here. So, who's this guy?" He gestered at the grey mare that Amy had been riding, rubbing Splash on the nose while he waited to see if she would reply.

status: finished
comments: my worst post ever, gross!
tag: Amy

[amy hall;;]

amy just nodded, focusing on taking the large gray mare - breezy's - lead shank instead of looking at the boy's, who had yet to introduce himself, face. ever since the accident she had been much more akward around people, especially strangers, and prefered not to talk as much. thankfully blue was also a very calm horse, her large brown eyes, mellow after her work-out, gazed softly at the other mare, snorting a soft greeting. amy followed the boy into the barn, going a bit slower to put some space between herself and the prancing stallion. the boy's horse was very impressive. he had great confirmation and was a looker - amy had to say that the dalmation look appealed to her. though they had no appaloosas currently, amy always felt a bit defensive when someone tried to belittle the abilities of a colored horse.

as amy walked forward, a gray mare on each side, she let herself wonder about breezy's owner. the boy had said the large mare, who probably had some sort of draft in her, belonged to his friend. she wondered who this person was and when she would meet him/her. amy could already see herself becoming attached to the mare and hoped she would find the owner's personality equally pleasant. the boy disappeared into the barn as amy paused to watch chey canter around the arena closest to them on carlo. her cousin looked comfortable on the large draft cross despite her petite size, which was probably good since her new horse was also on the large side. amy clucked to the mares, continueing on to the barn.

amy stepped into the large stable, a sudden waft of strong horse smell hitting her. the heads of the lesson horses who weren't in the fields peered over the dutch stall doors. a soft smile appeared on her face as she saw the black and bay heads of her own two horses, a quarter horse named spartan and the dished face of her mare roesy, who was obviously part arabian. both nickered, expecting a treat or a pat but leading two horses didn't leave any free hands. walking past them amy slipped the reins over blue's head as she releashed the mare to walk into her stall and stand 'ground-tied' while she found breezy's new home. it didn't take her long to find the stall that read 'breeze of the west', and assuming that was the large mare, amy put breezy in the stall and was closing the door just as she heard a voice.

the newly introduced ty was bringing in his saddles and grooming gear, standing next to his horse. amy nodded in a way that waved off his thanks, letting him wordlessly know it was no big deal. but he had asked a question, which she was required to answer if she didn't want to appear rude. oh, this is blue wing, one of our lesson horses. she paused, her answer short like all her replys seem to be now-a-days. as she stepped into blue's stall to untack the mare she glanced over the stall door, her gray gaze running over the appaloosa stallion. he was impressive to look at. amy gathered all of her tack and carried it to the tack room where she grabbed a brush. on her way back to blue's stall she paused next to ty and his horse. he's gorgeous, whats his name? amy was surprised that she had gotten out a question without any hesitiant in her speech - so much like the old her. she offered a small smile as she waited.

[♪ ♫ ty KENNEDY]

Ty Kennedy
^{________________________________________________________}

Amy replied, though it was short, almost cut off. Ty nodded, wondering if something was bothering her, though he didn't say anything. As she stepped back into the gray lesson horse's stall he bent down to get a brush from his pile from the truck. Ty lifted the brush to Splash's neck, gently running the bristled object over the black flecked white coat. It really didn't need cleaning, as in there was no trace of dust or dirt along the hairs of the stallion's pelt, but his fur was drying a bit oddly after being moist with sweat. Splash's ears kept flicking back and forth and his nose was going to work processing all the strange smells of the different horses, but all in all Splash was looking much calmer. He was also returning to his normal silly self, making snorting noises as Ty made his way over the stallion's back with the brush. It was obvious to even non-horsey people that Splash loved to be groomed. The stallion then went on to fully show his enjoyment by streching his spotted neck out and sighing. It was such a silly sight that Ty couldn't help laughing.

"You're a silly thing, boy." As Ty moved to the other side of the horse, he glanced up to see where Amy was. She was so quiet that he wasn't sure if she had left or not. But no, she was in the stall with Blue Wing, the lesson horse. Shifting his eyes back to Splash's black flecked coat, Ty couldn't help wondering why Amy was so hesitant to speak. Was she shy, which would be the easiest and would seem to be the most obvious choice, or had something happened to make her so reserved? Ty knew that would not be a good question to ask so soon after meeting the girl, and she might take it to be offensive and rude - and it probably was. Still, one could wonder. Ty knew he would like to become friends with her, not because of the mystery of her quietness that almost seemed... sad, but because of how nice she seemed. She looked like a nice, trustworthy person, worthy of being a friend - thought one might claim that you couldn't guess all of this from the first meeting. Who cares, call it a gut feeling.

It was Splash who first noticed Amy's approuch, only because his alert ears were concentrating on any and every sound while Ty had become absorbed in his thoughts and brushing. He looked up as his stallion snorted in a curious way and Amy's voice followed soon after, suprisingly unbroken by hesitation and very smooth in tone. Ty took a few steps to stand in front of Splash and closer to Amy; it was easier to talk when he didn't have to look over the Appaloosa's broad and strong back. He offered a kind smile back, an almost encouraging smile one could claim. Maybe she was just shy and now that she knew him a little better, her confidence was growing.

Ty didn't show in his friendly expression that he was unconvinced with this conclusion - her eyes, althought very pretty, seemed sad and empty. But Ty didn't let his mind trace out possible answers, he instead answered Amy's question. "Oh, this is Splash. Sort of Splash of Color, which actually doesn't make much sense because he isn't very colorful - just black and white." He shrugged, smiling a bit as the horse reached his nose forward, his interest in the people clear. Ty reached down to grab a western saddle and blanket and started to tack his stallion up. "So, how are the trails around here?" He threw the question over his shoulder as he reached for Splash's bridle.

status: FINISHED - its amazing
words: 630
comments: I am SO, SO, SO sorry - you have permission to hit me
tag: Amy

[amy hall;;]

amy smiled as the stallion snorted and she lifted a hand for him to sniff. once she had given the horse enough time to check out her scent, she gently rubbed his flecked nose. even before the car accident, amy had felt more at home with animals, espeically horses, then people. that was probably pretty obvious, it aqured to amy, and she felt embarssed that she was so reserved. she wondered if ty thought she was rude - he hadn't said anything about the matter and he didn't show any signs that he noticed. amy was surprised at the flutter of relief in her chest. this could be a chance for a clean start with someone; a chance for her to make friends with someone who didn't know that her parents had died in a car accident, that she had been in the car. she didn't even have to tell him right away, so she could avoid all those pity filled looks and such for a while. of course, she wasn't even sure if ty was interested in being friends.

with all this in mind, and the fact that ty seemed to friendly and upbeat gave her hope, amy concluded that she would try to speak more, be more outgoing - with this guy at least. her blue-gray eyes were still the holders of an unexplainable emotion, most likely saddness and lost, but the features of her face softened as she made up her mind and as ty answered her question. she smiled, her mouth curving slightly at the horse's name. it was a good name, and if you thought of his black spots as flecks as paint on a white canvas, the name fit. I like it. her voice was still soft, but amy was trying to force the hesitation out of it. amy rubbed the stallion's forehead as he reached out his nose, convinced the appaloosa wouldn't try to bite her.

the trails are great - really pretty. her response to his question might not be considered a complete sentence, but it was getting there. no stutter. amy stood by the horse as ty tacked up with his western gear, keeping her eyes on the horse. she felt a bit awkward as a silence elsaped around them and she was building up the courage to speak again, to make on offer. a soft nicker from a black stallion with a white star on his forehead reminded amy that she had promised herself she would take spartan out, and gave her the push to speak. um, I was about to take my horse out for a ride. if you want, I mean I don't have to, but I could show you around on the trails so you don't get lost. there, maybe she did have a chance of making a new friend. she lifted her own western tack from over spartan's stall door and led the stallion out to get him ready. even if he declined, she was going to work the thoroughbred anyway.

[♪ ♫ ty KENNEDY]

Ty Kennedy
^{________________________________________________________}

Ty's couldn't help but give a soft laugh at her approval, the noise good-natured. He liked it too, but his mom had always insisted that Spotty or Freckles would have been a better name then Splash. Shaking his head, he had always waved it off - Spotty seemed childish, like naming your horse Blackie, and honestly Freckles didn't do the proud-filled stallion any justice. So since it wasn't quite fitting, color-wise at least, Splash he would stay. Grabbing the cinch, Ty started to tighten the girth, immediately glancing up to check his horse's reaction. Like many horses, the girth was not Splash's favorite part of the tacking up proccess and he often conveyed this by snapping his teeth. Splash's white pearlies had even clamped around Ty's arm, pinching the skin, a couple times. But this time the stallion just lay his ears flat for a moment and snorted, intent on the rubbing he was getting on the forehead.

He nodded as Amy described the trails in brief words. He barely noticed the silence as he gave his horse's solid shoulder a pat then bent to grab his bridle, the reins knotted together. Splash had a nasty habit of pulling at the reins, especially when he was bored. It was annoying enough on its own, without the worry of spit reins slipping through Ty's fingers and falling to the ground. At least this way, if the reins fell, they would land on the stallion's neck in easy reach. He was about to unclip the stallion from the cross-ties when Amy spoke, amazingly stringing together an unexpected amount of words. Glancing over he saw her grabbing the tack belong to a elegant looking black horse, a tall and lean animal. Spartan. He liked the name, which was on a tag on the stall door.

"Splash and I would be honored if you joined us." He smiled, noticing that her confidence seemed to be steadily growing. He went on to slip the bridle over Splash's head, hanging up the halter before turning to look at the horse Amy brought out of the stall. Ty had to say the stallion was stunning, and though he was in no way a horse-breed expert, he knew enough to guess it was a Thoroughbred. He just had that powerful, lean look to him. "Wow. He's beautiful. Is this guy yours, or another lesson horse?" He was skeptical that this was a lesson horse - but then again, Blue was a beautiful horse as well. Just then an annoying scrapping noise reached Ty's ears. Splash was pawing at the ground, impatient and maybe a bit uncomfortable being close to another stallion. Laughing softly, Ty patted his horse's neck. "I think we'll wait outside, ok?" Once outside, Ty mounted his appaloosa and walked him in a small circle while they waited, tying to keep the stallion busy so he wouldn't get bored.

status: finished
words: 483
comments:
tag: Amy

[amy hall;;]

it seemed as though ty didn't hesitate at all before accepting her offer. she smiled, finding herself relax a bit at the boy's outgoing personality. amy just put spartan's western bridle on to lead him out of the stall, skipping the halter and lead robe. her reins were split reins and the leather was soft, hinting that they were well used and not just some decoration to hang in the tack room. spartan accepted the bit readily, dropping his jaw as the bar slid into his mouth. amy rubbed her hand over his white star before leading him into the aisle way, dropping the reins. though the stallion still looked quite young, he was obviously well trained - the result of hard work on amy's part with careful guidence from her parents. the brown-haired girl could proudly say that spartan was her first horse that had been practically untrained and green when she got him, the first horse she gentled.

as she bent down to grab her saddle and pad from the floor, she heard ty's praising words. she smiled, pride clearly written on her face as she faced the boy again. she nodded, smiling softly, the corners of her mouth slightly turned up. yeah, spartan is all mine. so is rosie over there. she inclined her head, gesturing to the bay, arabian-like face peering out from the stall next to spartan. the mare was smaller, over a full hand shorter then her thoroughbred, who was between sixteen and seventeen hands tall. anyone would guess that amy, who was on the tiny side herself, would be better suited with the arabian-cross mare then the thoroughbred stallion that almost loomed over her. but amy obviously didn't feel intimidated by spartan's size, and it was clear he had no problem with her as he gently nudged her arm with his nose, an act of affection.

amy nodded as ty and his anxious appaloosa left the barn, her blue-gray gaze watching his retreading back before placing her western saddle on spartan's broad, and high, back. he snorted a bit as she pulled the girth into place, shifting his weight a bit, but his large brown eyes seemed paitent as she grabbed the split reins and led him out to meet ty. he was already mounted and circling splash, so amy led spartan a little whiles away. placing her hands in the correct places, gripping the saddle in one hand and the reins and part of his black mane in the other, she gave a mighty leap and somehow managed to get herself in the saddle without looking clumsy. some might wonder how such a small girl could mount the towering thoroughbred so easily, and the answer was simple - experience and practice. she rode spartan daily, so it is basically required that one should be able to mount their own horse.

collecting the reins in one hand, amy turned spartan on his hand-quarters, a simple movement that had used a touch of the rein on his neck and a stirring of her foot. amy used spartan in dressage as well as in jumping, so the horse was responsive to the slightest of touches. his ears were flickering back and forth, alternating from facing amy, trying to be an attentive horse, and splash, a bit wary of the other stallion. amy smiled fondly at her horse, rubbing the section of his neck where the mane started, playing with the black strands. he tossed his head, snorting. amy let out a bubble of laughter, the sound soft but more free then any other sound she had made since meeting ty. I guess that means 'lets go'. wanna head over there? she pointed to the woods, were a path could be seen. she glanced at ty, allowing him to make the decision.

[♪ ♫ ty KENNEDY]

Ty Kennedy
^{________________________________________________________}

It didn't take long at all for Amy and Spartan to appear from the barn. Ty's knowledge on most horse breeds were limited at best, but he did know that Thoroughbreds were tall, and though Spartan wasn't extremely large, he seemed to tower over Amy. It was also a bit weird to see a horse you usually assosciated with small racing saddles wearing a large western saddle, but he didn't look awkward or anything. He halted his own horse as the brunette girl gathered her split reins and readied herself to mount. It seemed like such a great distance for the petite girl and Ty was wondering if he should offer her a leg up but she was already settling into the saddle, hardly looking bothered. He watched her turn the black horse in a much cleaner turn on the hindquarters than he could do on Splash.

Speaking of the Appaloosa, he wasn't so sure about being near another stallion. His head was raised and Ty could hear the strands of his tail swishing as they were whipped through the air. "Sure, lets go." He turned Splash and nudged him with his heels and the stallion started off at a walk. They walked toward the trail visible in the woods, passed a couple of the paddocks. By the time they reached the start of the trail, Splash had already yanked at the reins, communicating he wanted to canter, or better yet, gallop. Ty didn't let the stallion out that much, but he let the appy move up into a trot. Splash had a nice trot, it was pretty smooth, or as much as this gait could be, which was wonderful since bouncing certainly was comfortable for well, a boy.

As they moved under the cover of autumn spotted trees, Ty steered Splash onto one side of the trail so that Amy could ride next to him. It was then that Ty realized they had lulled into silence and he wondered if Amy perfered it this way or if she would mind having a small conversation. Glancing over at Amy on her black thoroughbred he smiled softly. "So, how long have you had Spartan? He doesn't look that old, though I'm probably not the best age guesser." He shrugged, hardly bothered by the fact. He wasn't an experienced rider in the least, but he wasn't a novice either - he had the posture to show for that. Looking at Amy, he noticed she looked like she had been riding for a long time, which was very possible since she lived on a horse farm. Ty couldn't help but envy her for that - he had to work hard to pay for Splash's board, though his parent's did help a bit. He would love to live at a stable.

status: finished
words: 466
comments:
tag: Amy

[amy hall;;]

my was it relaxing to be riding spartan again. the stallion was so responsive, so in-tuned with amy. he wasn't the best neck reiner, but he was sensitive enough to her cues and seat that it made up for his inexperience to western riding. amy herself looked even tinier perched on top of a nearly seventeen hand horse. her ability to control the animal had been questioned many times at shows - surely this petite girl couldn't have the strength to handle the powerful and quick thoroughbred. of course she couldn't over-power spartan, or any horse - who could and who would want to? there was no doubt who would win between an almost 1000 pound animal and a mere human. still, amy would always claim teamwork was her tactic.

speaking of spartan, the young stallion wasn't so sure about being near another stallion either. part of it could be territorial. if you thought about it, in spartan's mind he could see this farm as his, even though other stallions had lived here longer. or it could simply be bad experience - amy often went trail riding with her brother and sister, and parker owned the nastiest horse she had ever met. romeo was drop-dead gorgeous, but got along with no-one but parker - he would barely let anyone around him let alone on his back. romeo also held something against other horses, so spartan might be remembering all the times the smaller black stallion had tried to kick or bite him and all of the times he actually did. amy couldn't help dropping her hand to his neck, rubbing his satin like coat in reassurance.

when they reached the start of the trail, amy moved spartan up into the space ty offered, side by side to him and splash. the black stallioned copied the appaloosa, transitioning into a springy trot that didn't at all resemble the slower jog of a western horse, which was easy to sit. the horse's long stride also threatened to over take the appaloosa and amy tightened the reins, slowing the thoroughbred's trot so they stayed next to ty and his horse. for a moment amy felt a little clumsy; it felt very odd to be sitting spartan's trot when she was so used to posting when she rode him. the thoroughbred's trot wasn't exactly easy to sit either. hum. I haven't rode him western in a while... she murmured almost to herself, her voice very soft, barely a whisper.

after a moment or two, amy relaxed and settled into the saddle, moving with the gait easier. she felt pleased with herself. amy titled her head toward ty, blue-gray eyes flickering to his face as he asked her a question, breaking the silence. for once, amy wasn't unhappy that they had drifted into conversation. she smiled; she loved talking about spartan. well, I've had him for about four years - I got him when he was one. she paused, not adding that he was five - the math was easy enough. my parent's bought him for me for my fourteenth birthday and they helped me train him. I've started to compete with him in jumping and dressage. she glanced down at her black stallion, remembering their first win, saddness hitting her as she recalled the joyous look on her parent's faces. gaining control over her face quickly, she smiled back at ty. what about splash? is there a story there? she asked, smoothly changing the subject to ty instead of herself.

[♪ ♫ ty KENNEDY]

Ty Kennedy
^{________________________________________________________}

Ty nodded as Amy told him about how Spartan came to be hers. She seemed lighter, more joyful, as she spoke of the stallion - it was quite clear she was very fond with the horse, and he seemed to feel the same about her. He smiled, nodding in understanding, though he didn't miss the sad look the appeared on her face as Amy mentioned her parents. The look was gone so quickly though, the girl must have praticed her poker face or it was possible Ty had imagined the whole thing. He shook his head to flick the just long enough to be annoying strands of his brown hair - the ends were now long enough to fall into his eyes which quite frankly, wasn't pleasant at all. He turned his attention back to Amy as she countered with a question of her own, and he flashed her a small crooked smile. "Sure," he replied easily, resting a hand on Splash's warm neck.

"I have a younger sister - Alice - who was horse obssesed since she was seven, so about four years ago, she inheirited by grandma's young Tenneessee Walker." he paused, picturing the black animal and how pleased his sister had been when the ownership papers had been signed over to her. "I wasn't all that in to them at the time, but by sister certainly was. About a year ago, my parent's started fighting and yelling - it was really loud - so I started going to the stables with Alice and she talked me into taking a few trail rides. I still wasn't as serious about horses as her, but I was starting to like riding. Then the stable owner bought this Appaloosa stallion. At first, I was fascinated with his coloring, then I started visiting him every day. Eventually, just before my parent's divorce, I managed to get them to help me buy the Appy."

He nodded, glancing down at that same Appaloosa from the story. Splash had calmed down a bit and was ignoring Spartan, choosing instead to observe the forest surrounding them. Everyonce in a while, the stallion would snort or raise his head in response to a fluttering bird or shift of the wind, but not once did he spook. In fact, the horse was behaving very well, and when Ty put his hand on his molted shoulder, the muscles underneath were bunching with each step, but weren't all tensed up either. Feeling encouraged by Splash's relaxed posture, Ty glance over at Amy with a smile, his voice sounding eager. "Wanna go faster?" The path in front was straight and wide - perfect ground for galloping. Splash picked up on Ty's excited energy and arched his neck to prance a bit. The horse was ready to bolt forward with a single nudge from his rider.

status: finished
words: 472
comments:
tag: Amy

[amy hall;;]

amy concentrated on the springy steps of her beloved stallion, resisting the urge that she should be posting. closing her eyes she rocked slightly with the movement and she could practically feel spartan's lean muscles bunching and rippling under his satin like skin. amy exhaled through slightly parted lips, wondering if she had felt such a connection between a horse as she did with spartan. sure, she loved pegagus and rose, but nothing compared to the black thoroughbred. he was different, irreplaceable, special. so lost within her own thoughts, amy almost didn't notice when ty started to speak. of course, at his first utter, she snapped to and focused on his words. she had asked the question after all, and she was interested in what he had to say.

of course, ty, as she was already seeing as an more outgoing person than herself, offered more detail, more padding to his story. the girl felt almost embarssed that she got such a response from her pathetic three sentences. hadn't she made the goal to open up more? amy knew she had to step out of the bounds she had drawn, the ones that were a security blanket of sorts. it was hard to expand her comfort zone, but she was working at stretching it. even so, amy just nodded when he was finished. couldn't she think of one thing to say? at the moment, no. so much for progress. she made up for it a few minutes later, after she had watched splash. the appaloosa stallion looked relaxed yet fascinated with the forest around him. so, is splash used to trail rides?

a moment later, spartan lifted his head and pricked his ears, staring intently ahead. up ahead was the long stretch of path she usually galloped the stallion and he knew the routine by heart. even though he mouthed at the bit, the stallion was waiting obendiently for a signal from his rider. who said thoroughbreds were dumb and unpredictable? clearly, not all of them were - though amy would never believe a horse to be stupid, she agreed some were unpredictable. it seemed as though ty read her mind since he suggested a faster pace. amy smiled and nodded enthusastically, lifting her reins in prepration. in response spartan danced, picking up his knees in clear excitment. amy leaned forward slightly, not even moving her feet, and the stallion bounded forward.

his stride lengthened and his gait was so smooth. he stretched his muscles, moving into a medium gallop. amy glanced back to make sure they weren't leaving ty and splash behind - though spartan had never set hoof on a race track, he was bred for amazing speeds. for the first couple of strides, spartan's mouth pulled against the bit and reins, as if he wanted to be allowed to run full out, but amy kept him at a reasonable speed. it would be foolish to allow the horse to run at the breaknecking gait on a trail - so very dangerous. they had galloped a good ways when spartan suddenly shifted to the right and hopped cleanly over a small log. amy stayed with him, though she clearly hadn't planned the jump. still her posture had experienced grace to it, and she had to admitt it was fun even though she got a good jap in the stomach from the saddle horn.

amy was laughing as she pulled the stallion up, feeling a bit high from the energy of the run. the smile seemed carved permantly in her face for the moment and her blue-gray eyes were lit up. with her free hand she rubbed her stomach where it had connected with the saddle horn. ouch, spartan. you know you aren't supposed to jump with a western saddle on. her voice was still soft, but tinged with excitment. turning to ty, she blushed a bit, feeling embarssed that her mind had wandered. well, I feel stupid for letting him do that. amy laughed shortly again, watching ty through her pretty eyes.

[♪ ♫ ty KENNEDY]

Ty Kennedy
^{________________________________________________________}

Ty answered Amy with a nod; he and Splash had been on many trail rides. The stallion prefered them to arenas - he got frustrated with going around in circles, over and over. Splash usually got fussy and acted up. The boy had thought about trying jumping with the stallion, but he didn't know if the horse even knew how to jump. Sure, all horses could jump, but Splash probably had never been trained - Ty had never even ridden him in english gear. Besides, it wasn't as though Ty could afford to pay for jumping lessons on his own. Splash snorted then, loudly, the pink skin of his nose quivering. Smiling, Ty could almost believe the horse had been reading his mind and was showing his distaste for jumping. Ty was sure the stallion liked trail rides just fine - besides, he could always pester to ride one of his sister's horses if he wanted to try jumping. Mary Alice had her own trio of Thoroughbreds, two trained for eventing - the other was blind.

Ty smiled as Amy agreed - it seemed as though she was growing more excited by the minute. Maybe she would open up more. But Ty soon forgot these thoughts since Splash lunged forward as soon as Spartan broke into a gallop. Though the dalmation horse defiantly wasn't small, he had to work a bit harder to keep up with the black Thoroughbred, his legs churning to stay in step. Ty gripped the saddle horn for the first few strides, trying to keep his balance - Splash had his neck stretched out, ears flat on his head, as though he was trying to extend his body to go faster. The smile on the boy's face seemed permentally plastered on, loving the run even though his eyes burned from the wind and he didn't feel perfectly centered - if Splash suddenly turned, he would a goner.

However, it was Spartan who suddenly turned. One minute, there was a huge black horse at his side, then Ty and Splash were galloping alone. Confused, the Appy slowed, pricking his ears and turning his head so Ty could see his rolling eyes. Ty was just as confused and he lifted his reins, tightening them to stop Splash. For once, the horse didn't fight - though that might be because he was winded. Ty twisted in his saddle just in time to see Spartan leap over a log, looking like a well trained jumper - well, expect more the huge western saddle on his back. Ty turned to face Amy as she stopped, and he raised his eyebrows questionally - he was pretty sure you weren't supposed to jump with western tack.

Though, one look at Amy's laughing form, Ty couldn't help but join in. "I bet that hurt - I've been jabbed with the horn a few times when Splash decided that he wasn't going to move another step." He smiled, surprised but happy at how lit up Amy's face was. Then her face flushed and she looked embaressed - Ty shrugged at her comment. "It was a good jump though." Sure, he didn't know much about that kind of riding, but he knew enough that Amy had had good posture while air-borne. Then he noticed how heavily Splash was breathing - his neck was slick with sweat. Looking back at Amy, he made the suggestion that they head back. "Maybe we should go back to the barn - Splash isn't as fit as he should be." He started to turn the horse, looking to see what Amy thought.

status: finished
words: 472
comments:
tag: Amy

[amy hall;;]

still laughing, amy noticed right away when another voice joined hers. wow, she was really having a great time. it was surprising how quickly and easily she had relaxed in ty's presence. amy could defiantly, with no doubt, see herself becoming friends with the young man if they weren't already - were they? at the moment, it felt like it. she smiled at ty's compliment, blushing a bit. when ty made the comment about his horse, amy squinted a bit to peer at the appaloosa. his sides certianly were at work, heaving as the stallion tried to draw air into his body quickly. amy neatly urged spartan around so she was right next to ty, ignoring how close their knees were, and she reached out to lay a hand on splash's wet neck. yeah, he's kinda hot. we'll walk back.

amy just had to turn spartan and the thoroughbred rushed forward, eager to run again. tightening the reins, she pulled gently and sat a half-halt, reminding the stallion to listen. he shook his head, as though he were about to resist, but he just sighed loudly and obeyed. the pair of riders walked back the way they came and amy headed straight for the barn when it came into view. she rode right into the barn, kicking her feet free from the stirrups and hopping down. a pale hand reached to grab the split reins and she ran another hand down spartan's neck, to his chest, checking for heat. the stallion had cooled down from the walk back, so amy felt fine letting him take a drink of a water after she had put all his tack away.

amy ran the brush over spartan's onyx black coat, smoothing all the lines the saddle let behinde, erasing any sweatmarks. the giant horse made a grunting noise, lowering his head and his ears flopped lazily. shaking her head, amy let out a short snort of laughter. silly boy, she said, shaking her head. once she was done, she set the brush on top of the stall door and slid out, watching spartan shake his frame before falling gracefully to his knees to roll. amy was sure that once he stood back up, his coat would be spotted with the sawdust they used as bedding. looking around to see if ty was finished putting splash away, amy suddenly heard a soft nicker. turning, she saw the elegant face gray face of pegasus. stepping forward, amy rubbed his soft muzzle, her blue-gray eyes sad. hey buddy. how are you doing today? her voice was soft, practically a whisper, as she spoke to the gentle stallion, waiting for ty to reappear.

[♪ ♫ ty KENNEDY]

Ty Kennedy
^{________________________________________________________}

Ty was confused as Amy gracefully moved her horse closer to him - their kness practically touching, he noticed. He couldn't help but notice how close they were as she leaned forward to lay a hand at on Splash's neck (by now he realized what she was doing). Not for the first time, Ty thought about how pretty Amy was in that simple, accidental way, like she didn't even realize. He pushed such thoughts out of his head; yes she was pretty but he barely knew her. It was easier to guide his mind once she started talking again and Ty nodded, his brown hair falling into his eyes. It was annoying, but not enough to cut it like his mother was begging him to do. Splash followed quietly as the other stallion walked forward, the appaloosa behaving like a well-trained trail horse. He must be tired, Ty thought with guilt.

Soon they were out of the forest and in the barn again, Splash following Ty obidently into the stall once he hopped from the stallion's back. The horse had never been groud-tied (Ty honestly had no idea how one could train a horse to do that) but for once, he let go of the reins, which rest on Splash's neck, and the stallion stood quietly. It was amazing, Ty jokeingly wished he had brought a camera. He worked quickly to remove the western saddle, gripping both the blanket and the saddle and flopping them over the stall door. Grabbing a body brush, Ty ran it over where the tack had been multiple times before he was sastified all the sweat marks were gone. Using his hand, Ty checked how hot the stallion was by resting his hand against Splash's chest. He was cooled out so Ty removed the bridle and slipped out of the stall.

After grabbing all of his tack and finding a place for it in the tack room, Ty ran a hand through his hair and walked back into the aisle. Amy had already finished taking care of Spartan and was standing in front of a nearly white horse. Approuching her, he hesitated. Her mouth was moving, as though she were talking, but her voice was so low he couldn't understand what she was saying - which made it clear she was talking to the horse, not him. Ty looked at the horse, Pegasus it said on the door, in awe. He was a beauty, the kind you would imagine a prince riding in a fairytale. After glancing at the horse, Ty's eyes shifted back to Amy's face. He was shocked that her light and excited expression from the ride was gone, replaced with such a sad look. Worried, he hesitantly put a hand softly on her shoulder, not sure if she would shrug it away. "Hey, you ok?" His voice was soft and gentle, making sure the sound conveyed that she was free to confide in him if she wished, but he certainly would mind if she wanted to keep it private - they had, after all, just met.

status: finished
words: 512
comments: probably full of spelling errors but I'm just too lazy to check right now
tag: Amy