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Word Count: 533
For Gemma. Tentatively dated 26 February, mid-morning, if that's all right. Let me know if it isn't, for whatever reason.
★ ★ ★
Grace had risen with the sun for another day of training the horses. Now that she knew what Faris could do, she really should be testing the mares. The first she wanted to see, oddly enough, was the feisty blue roan; she could guess what the war-horse could do, but the little mare had caught Grace's attention. She could make a loyal companion, very much like Layla, for someone who was in need of such an equine counterpart. But most folks looking for a horse, Grace had learned, weren't looking to train one from raw, as she'd done with Layla. No, certainly not. They wanted a horse that could already understand their commands, a horse who was intuitive and alert, a horse who was already trained to be their companion. Then, all they had to build was a friendship. Grace was not just friends with Layla; they were partners, because Grace had trained her from raw.
But Grace didn't judge others, for not wanting that experience. Different folks, different priorities. It wasn't her place to say that what was valuable to her, should be just as valuable to others. She knew (although she didn't understand how) other folks were afraid of horses, or nervous around them. Grace had never been clear on why, since she herself didn't have a fear of horses. A healthy respect, sure; she'd been kicked before, and Layla had even bitten her arm once, albeit not too hard. But never a fear. A horse wasn't likely to do more harm to her, even if possessed by Death himself, than she could do to it first, if push came to shove. She didn't like the idea, but she didn't have to.
She was out in the field for some time, testing the blue roan mare. She was quick, and she gave the respect that she received. She returned to the stable with her charge worn out, rubbing her down and feeding her before heading for the central section of AniWaya. There, a great fire burnt on, and she often saw other packmates here and there. As she sat down with her leather-bound day book and scribbled down a few notes about the training session, Taj landed on her head. "What do?" he asked curiously, leaning down between Grace and the paper, head tilted.
She frowned playfully, glaring in the most exaggerated way that she could muster, then grinned at him. "I'm writing about horse training, Taj. I worked with the blue roan today. I'm trying to think of a name for her." Since she had learned that Taj could understand what she said almost completely, and could mimic some sounds and words, she had been trying to speak very clearly for him, so that he could pick up more. She loved working with creatures to improve their interactions with wolves; the one things that she always tried to teach her equine charges was, above all else, find a way to communicate their needs, desires, and information to their rider. If they could do that, they would likely make it through okay.
After all, wolves were very much like all other manner of animal. They feared most what they understood least.