Highways I called home
#1
It took a while, but he finally got it. After some hard work, Liev managed to get the horses used to wearing saddles and bridles. Including the big Shire horse he took as his own. Boy, was that horse stubborn! Luckily, they seemed to have so sort of chemestry between them, so the stallion wouldn't bite him. Much. The Russian had to bandage his hands about twice a week, thanks to that horse. Well, it was worth it. Or so he kept saying to himself.

All that was left to do was to break them. And there was no real easy way to do that. He'd have to go, get on their back and hang on while they would kick around, trying to get him off. And just the thought of what those huge, heavy hooves would make to him if they hit any part of his body sounded rather... catrasthrophic, to say the least...

No matter that, it was better to keep in mind the good part of it. If he made it, Anathema would be able to have rides to help them around. And it surely garantee him a promotion. That is, if he made it through.

With a sigh, he tied up the new leather bridle on his - still - unnamed horse and led him outside the pen, and left it tied with a loose knot on a wooden pole to get the two mares Theodore had captured. It had been a while they hadn't talked. Not that the older wolf blamed him, of course. He was now one of the leaders, and it meant he had much more things to do than goof around with him.

With the three horses, he led the way to the small round fenced structure he had been using to train the horses. A tamimng ground, if you will.

He left the two mares tied up tightly not far away from the fences on a wooden parking lot. With a firm hand, he led the horse inside the pen attatched to the fences from inside. With a simple combination of a rope and a stone, the man made it easy to unlock the door and have it open automaticaly as he did so.

Once the horse was inside, he closed the door, and the black and white horse whinned in a slight protest to the suddenly small space. Quickly, the man climbed up the fence and hopped up the huge stallion. It started to fight back his weight, but not so successfully, thanks to the few inches that seaparted it from the wooden planks.

With a heavy sigh and deep breath, the male made himself confortable, making sure his feet were steady on the pedals and he had a firm hold on both the curb and saddle handle. It was sure to e a bumpy ride...

In a quick motion, he opened the lock, and it swiftly opened. It all went blurry afterwards. The huge Shire horse ran off the small square into the bigger space, kicking and thrashing around hardly the Anzu felt his brain was going to jump off his skull. The strenght with which the stallion threw him around made him sick to the very bones, if not more. The movements weren't that quick, but the sheer strenght applied on them was much more than enough to compensate the lack of agility.

It became harder and harder to stay steady above the creature. His hands began to hurt and burn with the harsh pressure with the rough leather, while he attempted to hold back part of the creature's stress by pulling back the enlaced leather he used as the curb rein. It wasn't of much use, but at least it was of some help while he held on.

Luckily, after a few minutes that seemed like hours, the horse began to tire, his kicks becoming less strong and less frequent. And when he thought he could relax a bit his shoulders, it restarted to kick back and he had to use his remaining strenght to stay on top of the stallion.

Soon, both males drainned out and huffling with the exercise, the horse whinned and tried to fight back the extra weight, but to no avail. He had done it. He actually did it!

The Russian sighed so heavily it almost sounded like a moan of relief and fatigue. He then started to test if the tired creature still remembered some of the basics he had taught it, like turning around as he tugged on the bridle. The horse responded to them, though it tried to shake them off as some sort of rebellion. Like "if I can't get you off, I won't obey, or something like that.

"You get some points by trying, but I'm still on charge here...!" He said, pulling the reins further until the horse gave up and walked around the fence.
#2
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Large animals did not frighten Salvia. She was used to her father’s horse, which while uneasy with small animals underfoot, recognized their scent and did her best to be careful around them. The sheep were stupid. When she was larger, she intended to see how much she could control them with her eyes. Misery had told her that capturing their eyes would be the way to do this, and she practiced daily. It was while out here that she heard the commotion from nearby.

Her oversized paws carried her towards the source. A strange man was riding a black and white horse, though it didn’t look like riding to the little girl. The horse looked like it was trying to throw the wolf off his back. This seemed entertaining, and the pup moved closer to observe. After several minutes the dance concluded with a triumphant shout from the graying wolf. Salvia’s green-yellow eyes narrowed as they focused on the pair and she perched her feet up to the lowest branch of the fence. “What’s wrong with your horse?” She called out, puzzled by this display. Larkspur’s horse certainly never behaved like that.


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#3
It was about the fifth roube they've made on the fence when a small voice came from below. For a second, Liev shifted here and there, trying to find the source, but found no one around. With a puzzled face, he was about to return to the task at hand when the Shire horse whinned and retreat a few paces, slightly amused with something. The Russian shifted to investigate what it was staring at, and was quite startled when he spotted the tiny puppy frame perching on the fence.

"Oh, hello there, Miss! What brings you here?" He asked, bringing part of his trunk forward to have a better look on her, causing the horse to shift as well to the changing weight. She had a faint scent he remembered to belong to Larkspur. She must be one of his children. Also, she didn't mind the horse so much, but the Anzu kind of expected that. After all, her father had a horse of his own.

The equine lowered its head to look better at the newcomer itself, but the grayish man feared it would get too close and end up biting her and, really, knowing it so well, his bite would end up clipping off one of her paws. Something neither canines longed for, of course. He tugged strongly at the ropes attached to the bridle, forcing it to step away from the girl. It obeyed without much rebellion.

"Well, Miss, he's a bit of a trouble-maker in a regular basis, but he hasn't been broken to riding yet. That's why he was kicking like that." He explained to the pup, and jumped off the horse when he was done. The stallion shook his mane back and forth, his body much less tense than he was before, with the Russian on his back. It was clear more training was needed, but he seemed to have got the message.

The grayish man kneeled down on the humid floor as to be closer to the girl, a respectful gaze on his eyes and a kind smile in his face.
#4
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Though the horse was large had certainly could have damaged her without much effort, Salvia stared at it without fear. She would have tried to capture it as she had done with the sheep, but the gray man pulled his mount away. Encouraged by this display, she approached as the wolf dismounted. Small as she was, her curious nature made her bold. Besides, she had nothing to fear—her father would never let any harm come to her, and she was watched over by a benevolent huntress god. In her young mind, she was invincible.

“Are you going to hurt him?” She asked bluntly, green eyes sharp and focused on his face, unaware of what “breaking” entailed. She had seen Harlowe broken by Larkspur, and did not wish the same to occur to a horse. They were smarter than sheep, which told her they had feelings. Sheep were stupid; she wouldn’t have a problem hurting a sheep. It probably wouldn’t understand what was going on to it.


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#5
So sorry for the wait! Art block is so hard to break through sometimes D8

That little girl sure is blunt, huh? When she asked about the horse's safety, he could see in her eyes that she wasn't like other fragile, innocent pups. Of course, her youth granted her some of those, but her spirit was much more mature than that of other regular children. He laughed once for that. She reminded him of one of his young proteges, back on his older pack.

"No Miss, I'm not going to hurt him. Breaking a horse is an expression used when you wish to say that the horse have not been trained to be ridden quite yet. Rest assured, for he is no trouble." He explained simply while rubbing gently the horse's silky neck. It whinned lowly and waved the white man back and forth. After knowing it for some time already, Liev could tell it meant it was enjoying the praise.

He couldn't help but notice she didn't answer his question of why she was out here, especially alone. He took a wild guess that she went venturing out the caves by herself, taking her adventurous spirit. "I'm sorry if I'm repeating myself, Miss, but why are you out here by yourself?" He imquired, being as gentle as possible, doing his best to avoid being rude to her.


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