WC:394 OOC: Late morning, nearing noon or going on afternoon. Please? <3
She was beginning to feel the sluggish movements of pregnancy, her ability to do things diminished as well, but she still worked. Nothing would stop her from taking care of the animals, especially now that there was twice as many as she started with. There were even sheep too now. She liked them, for all they weren’t so very smart, not like the horses, but they were warm and cuddly and she at least befriended one of the smallest of the little flock that had come to AniWaya. The woman, now full of pups, was working to get the horses fed. It took longer now that she couldn’t lift so much, but it was worth it for both the pups, herself and of course the horses. She wondered what type of mother she would be like, she had a slight scare at the beginning, not sure of how she should react how she was going to be a good mother, but deep down... she knew. She would love these pups as she loved Nayati... maybe even more, but she wouldn’t tell him that.
She found herself at the new dapple grey horse she’d corraled up during her trip back to AniWaya, wondering, what she was going to name them.... the horses, but at the thought of naming she did wonder about what they would name their pups when they arrived. She would find out later for sure. Her back was starting to hurt now and she was wore out, she’d already been working most of the morning, and she had to take frequent rests. Her body was not used to the horomonal changes within herself, nor was it use to the added weight that could not be turned into muscle. She leaned on the stall, staring at the dapple grey. What a beautiful horse, her mind thought. It often wandered from one thing to the next now, possibly due to her pregnancy, but she didn’t mind. She hoped her mindframe would go back to the way it had been pre puppy at least she wouldn’t keep forgetting things because her mind wandered. She’d been lucky so far, there had been no complications, and she even didn’t go through the morning sickness. She stood at the stall staring into the big brown eye of the dapple rey drifting in and out of daydreams.
OOC: Its been awhile since Ayasha has seen Liliana.
IC: Ayasha had taken to visiting Inez as often as she could. He had grown a lot since they had first met. But he still was a long way from being ready. And she had yet to even learn how to ride a horse yet. She supposed that it would take a while for that to happen. But that was fine with her. she entered the stable and was about to visit Inez when she saw a familiar wolf.
She had to think a moment when she first saw her. Liliana. Liliana? It's me Ayasha. She said this part because she had grown a lot since she last saw the female. She was able to shift and had grown quite a bit. Yet Liliana had definitely changed. She was pregnant. So the tribe would have a lot of new pups. Her mother, Ralla, had three pups and apparently Liliana was expecting.
She noticed a new horse nearby. It was a nice grey horse. What's the new horse's name?
WC:253 OOC: Well maybe she could give Ayasha some riding lessons
She was daydreaming once again about her pups that she almost jumped out of her skin when a voice, so new yet... slightly familiar... came to stop all her daydreaming. Her fur rose on end and her tail fuzzed out a bit, and she turned defensively, but her face was more of surprise than anger, and she let herself relax when she heard the words the girl said. Liliana calmed down, and smiled at Ayasha. “Oh wow, you have grown into a fine young lady! It is good to see you again, and yes, she is new, we caught her on the way back from the great tribe but I have not thought of a good name for her.”
She answered the pup.... well not so much of a pup now, she was a young lady, even able to change too. She smiled at the girl, she felt bad she had not see her much at all lately. She missed the girl growing up and all.
“Hey maybe you have an idea, and do you have a horse of your own? We picked up six of them along the way, we will be breeding them, but it’s always good to have them have owners.”
She said, giving herself a brilliant idea as she spoke, though she didn’t know the girl didn’t know how to ride, most everyone in the tribe did and someone was bound to have taught her, so it never crossed her mind the girl was not able to.
OOC: That will be good. Though she doesn't quite have a horse. Inez isn't ready and isn't officially hers.
IC: She was a little embarrassed that she had startled Liliana. It seemed that she had a penchant for it. Sorry about that. I tend to do that to people. At being called a fine young lady, she blushed. This was a time that she wished that her fur wasn't white since the blush showed through very well. About a name for the female grey, she cocked her head to the side. You could name her after a prominent trait that she has. What is she like or what does she do best?
About riding, she partly perked up. Well I haven't learned to ride yet and Inez isn't ready for me to ride yet. Could you teach me to ride? She asked eagerly. By the time that she had talked about Inez, she was standing by the stall petting his nose. She had spent enough time that Inez trusted her and liked her. Is there a horse that I can use until Inez is ready? And maybe use afterwards?
Liliana smiled at the girl’s suggestion, yes she had thought of that, but as she was still getting to know the dapple grey and the five other horses she brought in, she didn’t see any particular nameable trait. Though that thought went out the window as soon as Ayasha said she couldn’t ride. No one had taught the girl how to ride? Liliana was shocked, well she would have to do something about that then.
“I would love to teach you, and in fact, once I can get her fully trained you can ride this lady here, but for now we can use my horse, she should be ok to let you ride her.”
She moved over to her own horse, who was a pick of the herd. She was a deep red chestnut with a flaxen mane. Two such contrary colors looked beautiful on the horse, and it made Liliana more proud. She was hoping to find a stud for her horse soon, and possibly breed her, she was starting to get signs of going into heat, which meant Lili would need to choose fast. For now, she was still her docile self, though she could be feisty if she didn’t want to do something, but Lili knew the horse wanted out, and though she would get tack on, she should be cooperative for now. n
She thought it was odd that Liliana was shocked that she couldn't ride. It was apparent that Liliana thought that everyone was able to ride. I just shifted and with my mother having pups, no one has really gotten around to showing me. She offered in way of explanation.
She perked up at hearing that she would be able to ride Liliana's horse to learn and would soon have a grey female to ride. She followed Liliana to her horse. She reached up and let the horse sniff her. What's her name? The horse was very pretty. She glanced over at Inez in apology. Though he seemed to be OK with her being with another horse. Or at least, she thought so. I'd like to ride her to learn. How long will take for me to learn?
The girl explained why she couldn’t ride yet, and it was quite understandable, though it wasn’t like she was going to berate anyone for not teaching her how to ride a horse. No that was not the way Liliana did things. As long as she knew she wasn’t stepping on anyone’s feet she would do things herself, and as this was her field, she would teach Ayasha how to ride.
“It’s ok we can rectify your inability right now and you can be proud to say you can ride a horse.”
She wouldn’t say the girl wasn’t an AniWayan because she couldn’t ride, there were others in the pack that couldn’t either, it was their choice to ride or not to, she would always be there to give them the opportunity to learn. At the question of the horses’ name Liliana quickly answered.
“This is Grace, for she takes after the horses of her ancestors, she moves as though she were flying through the air.”
Liliana said, and then another question came and she couldn’t help but smile wide at this, many were impatient to get things and learn them. She knew this from experience
“To be able to know how to ride only a few hours, but to become a true horseman, it takes many years of practice. To know how to move with the horse, but I think you want to at least know how to do commands on a horse, that would take you a couple of weeks but it’s all worth it I promise you, now let’s get her over to the tack area, normally I would bring it to her, but seeing as I shouldn’t carry things too far It would be best to do it the other way around.”
She said, opening the stall. The horse had no halter, she didn’t need one, not with Liliana anyway, she knew what was going on and as she saw the familiar motion to follow, the mare moved towards Liliana as she brought the horse to the tack room. The woman, though fully of child, was not weighed down by them. She was still as agile as she had been without the gift of life inside her. She turned to see if Ayasha was following, the girl might as well learn how to put the tack on properly. Liliana never bothered with it when she was on Grace, she liked being bareback, but seeing as the girl was young she would need to have something as a support for her.
IC: She smiled. That would be nice. Riding a horse would make scouting much easier. It would cut the time and energy she spent patrolling the borders so she could do more patrolling in the same amount of time.
As Liliana said the horse's name, she got closer to the horse and talked to it. Hi, Grace. I'm Ayasha. I'm going to ride you to learn how to ride. Is that OK with you?
As Liliana said how long it would take, she nodded. For now, being able to ride so the horse will do what I want it to is all I need. She followed Liliana and Grace to learn how to prepare a horse to ride. What do I need to do?
Liliana Utina Sorry about the delay I should be quicker now, hopefully
Liliana smiled, riding made a lot of things easier, she thought, feeling more respect for the horses, knowing now that she couldn’t do half of what she use to because of her children. Not riding was starting to drive her nuts She acknolwedged the girls comment by a slight now, smiling to herself, but not elaborating. Her goal was to get the girl taught now that she offered and it was accepted. Liliana liked that the girl talked to the horse and as she spoked to Grace the horse responded by a nicker and the shake of a head, Lili wondered if Ayasha could understand the language of the horse. The girl folllowed her to the tack room, and Liliana pointed to a saddle. “First we need one of those, do you think you can lift it up, if not I am sure you can help me, it’s gotten rather hard these days to lift up anything heavy.”
She asked pointing to the saddle that would best fit Grace. “Once you do, if you could make sure this part is to the front of the horse? That is the front, i’m sure you don’t want to be riding her backwards.”
Liliana said with a grin, knowing she joked though she wanted to make sure Ayasha knew as well. SHe had pointed to the front of the saddle with her finger, and waited hopingthat the girl could lift it up over the horse.
IC: She smiled at Grace's reactions and asked Liliana, Is she saying that its OK for me to ride her? That's what it looked like to her at least. Though she might be totally wrong.
She followed Liliana into a room she had never been before. It had a lot of saddles and other horse stuff. Wow. She grabbed the saddle that Liliana had pointed to, which was a bit heavy but she was able to lift it, and put it on Grace's back.
Ayasha looked up at Liliana and asked, What now? Her eyes were bright and eager.
Liliana Utina Some pretty lyric goes here trallala
Liliana smiled at the girls enthusiasm for learning, and watched her put the saddle on the horse with almost ease. She smiled but kept until the girl asked what to do next.
“Ok you now take the belt, and pull it through this, i will help you by getting it part way around her and you can buckle the belt, but make sure it’s just right not too tight but not too loose ok?”
She moved to the side that had the belt hanging almost to the floor and wrapped it over Grace’s belly. The horse shifted a little, she was used to the saddle, but not the process Liliana was going trhough, she usually did this herself, Then she waited for the girl to grab the other side before she would go around her and watch, talking to the horse to let her know everything was fine.
Ayasha smiled back at Liliana. She glanced over to see if she was doing this right. She took the smile to mean yes. She grabbed the belt from Liliana and put the strap through the buckle. How do I know how tight or loose to make it? She asked Liliana when she was on her side of the horse. She didn't want to hurt Grace.
This next question was unrelated to what they were doing but Ayasha needed to ask. Liliana? When are you due? She wondered how long Liliana would be able to teach her to ride. But she also wanted to see the pups after they were born. She was a pretty decent puppy sitter.
Liliana Utina Some pretty lyric goes here trallala
OOC: I hope you don't mind i skipped up a bit ^^ had to get to the best part
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Liliana moved around as the girl asked how tight it should be. That was easy, though Liliana didn’t blame the girl for not knowing. This was her first lesson and Lili had to remind herself.
“If you can fit two fingers between the saddle and the horses belly, it’s perfect, no tighter and no looser. So you tighten it first, then you check, if you think it’s too tight then you loosen it a bit.”
She said and watched the girl for a second before turning to get the bridle.
“My pups are due sometime in the next month, a good month away I’m sure of it.”
When Ayasha was finished with the saddle Liliana held up the bridle. She would put it on now, as it could be confusing at first. She pointed out the key points to the bridle, and how the girl would know what went where. Grace was slgihtly reluctant to take the bit, but soon chewed it back before long. Liliana poined the straps that needed tightening so that the bridle fit right.
“Now we are ready to start riding!”
She said excitedly as she walked Lili out. She had the reigns only so they didn’t drag on the floor. The horse followed with little care, her knees cracking a bit as she moved forward and the leather creaked at the sudden movement. Liliana brought the horse to a large stepping rock. It was out of the way enough that id didn’t get in the horses way.
“Now you get on from the left side. That’s the side she’s used to, use your right foot to hoist yourself up and swing your left leg over the saddle.”
OOC: Sorry about the wait. Decreased muse mixed with increased temps make for little posting.
IC: Ayasha nodded as Liliana instructed her on how she could tell it was too tight. She was able to put two of her fingers in but just barely. I think the saddle I ready. Her attention was taken by Liliana’s pups. Are you excited? My siblings can be your pups’ playmates. She offered with a big smile. Liliana showed her how the bridle went on a horse. It seemed a bit confusing. Is this really all necessary?
Ayasha then followed Liliana and the horse outside to a big rock. She climbed on the rock and put her right foot in the stirrup and swung her left foot over. It would take her awhile to get used to the motion but it wasn’t all that difficult. It will take awhile to get used to that motion but its not hard. She shifted slightly in the saddle and asked, What now?
“Yes I’m Very excited. And I hope they will all be good friends”
Liliana said as she checked the girls work to make sure it was accurate. Then nodded happily. The girl asked Liliana if this was necessary and Lili nodded
“If you find you are going far from home, it’s best to keep the horse tacked, for your comfort and it’s easier to control the horse”
She explained. Once she was done with the bridle and led the horse out she watched the girl get on the horse, and sit on her. Lili smiled at the girl, knowing she didn’t need to get used to horses. She grew up on the back of them pretty much.
“Yes, it’s less comfortable without the saddle sometimes, you can feel absolutely all the movements bareback. Now you direct the horse which way to go with the reigns, and lightly tap her sides with your legs. Horses are very sensitive to the touch so be careful with how hard you tap. You loosen the reigns to go faster, and tighten them to go slower, to stop you pull up on the reigns to tell her you want to stop”
She instructed. Moving away from the horse a little, but was keeping a clear eye in case something happened.
She smiled at the idea of her siblings having friends about their age. That will be good. Then they won’t have to hangout with their boring old sister all the time. Her voice was filled with amusement towards herself. She didn’t really mind making fun of herself. At it being necessary, she nodded. So it is only sometimes necessary? She clarified.
Ayasha smiled down at Liliana as she sat on the horse and listened to her instructions. She tried squeezing the horse’s sides with her legs gently and Grace started to go slowly. She loosened her grip on the reigns and Grace went a bit faster. Ayasha then tightened her grip and Grace slowed down. She then tried steering the horse and found it rather easy. This is pretty easy. How am I doing? As she asked this, she gently pulled on the reigns and Grace stopped next her master. Ayasha patted Grace’s neck. She’s a nice horse, Liliana. I like her. She beamed at both the wolf and the horse. She then started to go in circles around Liliana. I don’t think that I want to go much faster yet. Do I? She smiled happily. Now she could do her patrolling a lot easier.
Liliana could tell a joke when she heard one and she smiled wider, knowing that Ayasha wasn’t a boring old sister. She wa sure the woman had plenty of things to do with the pups.
“Oh I thik you wouldn’t be boring at all. They will look up to you as an older sibling. Sometimes I wish I had a sibling, but my parents said that I was the only one of my litter. As rare as it is I was always glad that I had my parents to myself, but I’ve wondered what it would be like to have someone else to look up to or even help along the way.”
Liliana did wonder why her parents never had any more children, then again, they had been killed when she was only a year old, maybe she would have had siblings if they hadn’t died. She kenw it wasn’t good to dwell on the past. She looked at Ayasha, snapping back to the present.
“It might be necessary for you. Controlling a horse without a bridle on can be very difficult. You need a lot of training before you can really ride on one bareback.”
Liliana cautioned. She watched the girl as she guided the chestnut around. She smiled, and nodded.
“Your legs can be used as signals too, so if you try to hold on tight to her, she’ll think you want to go really fast so always keep your muscles nice and loose, and remember, horses have the same sense we we do, and they know fear, anxiety, and all sorts, and they play on those emotions not because they want to but because it’s instinct, so always stay calm if a horse balks, or you go too fast. and if you feel you can go faster, by all means, I’m here, but stay in the area, I cannot run I’m afraid.”
She said rubbing her belly and smiling at the girl. It was up to her if she really wanted to go faster or not.
She smiled at not being boring. I get to rough and tumble with them. It’s great fun! But Ayasha frowned slightly at the mention of Liliana’s parents. I was the only one of my litter. And it was only after the snowstorm that I had a parent. She wasn’t all that upset though. What happened to her parents was in the past, so there was no point on dwelling on it.
About needing a bridle, she nodded. So I might eventually not need one but for awhile I will. She didn’t mind. Horseback riding was not something that was mastered in one day. And she wasn’t even a year old yet. But I’m still young so I can easily get to that point right? She asked with hope in her voice.
Ayasha listened to Liliana carefully. I understand. She had stopped Grace and was stroking her mane. You’re a good horse, aren’t you? She considered whether or not she wanted to go faster. I think I’ll stay at this speed for now until I get used to riding. She watched as Liliana rubbed her pregnant belly. No. You can’t really run. You might hurt the pups and I wouldn’t want to be responsible for that. She kept Grace moving at a medium and steady speed.
Liliana could somewhat understand how the young girl felt. She had lost her own parents, but she had been much older, and she never really needed to gain new ones because she was old enough to take care of herself. This one had lost parents at such a young age she couldn't remember it. Liliana was glad she at least had someone to call mother, and now she had siblings she could play with. Liliana was more excited about having her own.
"Yes it would take a little while, but I'm sure you'll be able to, and any wolf can learn to do it, it just takes a little time, not their whole lifetimes."
Liliana explained as she watched the girl moving. She laughed when the girl said that Liliana couldn't run.
"Ah they are nestled in my belly, I could run and not hurt them in any way. Exercise for me is a great thing. Any pregnant woman should at least do a bit of work until it's time, I was taught that it help birth them easier. You wouldn't be responsible for what I think I can and can't do."
She said in a reassuring tone. Sh e would blam herself, and no others if she made the mistake of hurting the ones that were in her womb. What she did was her decision first and foremost, now if someone came and did something to her that made her lose them, she would blame them. She continued to watch waiting for the time that Ayasha would want off, it could take a while longer or only a few minutes, but Liliana was a patient woman and loved teaching about the animals and how useful they could be.
<3
