Know Your Horses, and Your Mares

Sineria again walked through the stables as he stretched out, as he shuffled himself between stalls and very carefully replaced food, water, or both from various horses very warily. Whenever he entered the stall of a horse he wasn’t familiar with Sineria took a breath before he walked in. Since he started working at the stables today, Sineria's fur had become dirty and would remain that way until he would get a chance to clean off later today. There was dirt and mud on his hands and paws and face, and he didn’t exactly smell the best since he started spending more and more time around there as of recently.

Sineria was accustomed to most of the procedures by now thanks to Sedona, and what he learned from experience. However whenever he had to deal with a horse that he wasn’t familiar with he froze up. Just earlier today he had accidentally bumped into a random horse, and it turned its head around and gave the canine an unpleasant look. Sineria practically froze until the creature turned away, and once it did Sineria bolted out of the stall as quickly as he could.

After his most recent run-in with one of the horses, Sineria sighed and panted as he made his way over to an empty stall. It was the stall that bordered Yavapai's stall, and next to Yavapai’s stall was his mother’s stall. Though for the time being it just seemed to be Sineria and the young colt. As the white wolf started replacing the hay in the stall next door the colt stuck its nose out towards Sineria and managed to blow a gust of hot air from his nostrils out at Sineria.

Sineria blushed a little bit when this happened, the stall wasn’t completely finished yet, and Sineria wondered if the colt actually looked forward to seeing him from time to time. "I-I’ll get to you i-in a moment o-okay?" Sineria said, before he got back to work, and slowly but surely continued covering the stall with fresh hay for the equine it belonged to.

Word count: (363/1000)

[+200] • OOC Text

Zuri hadn't spent much time with Tirion in recent times. It made sense with her daughters being at home. It wouldn't be too long before they would be able to come along with her when she moved through the territory. Thinking on it more, they would be able to do so now, but where she was going would be a bit of a risk for them. There was no telling how the other horses might react to two little pups wandering around them and the stalls. Better to avoid the risk than putting it into motion in the first place.

Making sure that all the doors had been closed to her home, she promised the girls she would not be gone for long. She knew it would have been smarter to ask for Posey to come over and watch them, but she had her bats to help her watch them. If something had gone wrong, they could come get her.

The pale woman came to the stables, giving her vanner a gentle brush along his cheek before stepping inside the place. She had been a bit surprised to see that there was someone else there. The male had been moving along the stalls, and his pelt had given away who he was. She had come across the male once before, if only briefly. This was Sedona's mate, Sineria.

Guiding the horse into the stables, she offered a soft smile to the male, not wanting her voice to be raised too much to surprise him, "Nice to see you again Sineria. How have you been doing?"

Sineria noticed the horse first before Zuri, and part of him thought,"Oh crap, did one get out?!" But then he saw Zuri and breathed a sigh of relief once he saw her next to the stallion. Sineria faintly remembered meeting this woman on one occasion, and he struggled to remember her name in light of all of the recent events. "N-Nice to s-see you to uh... Z-Zuri?" Sineria facepalmed and sighed,"S-Sorry, I-I’ve been busy here s-since Sedona s-started her w-work at Rum Bridge, a-and we only met once i-if I’m right." Sineria gave Zuri a small smile before he turned to the horse she brought in, and once he saw the adult he asked,"I-Is he yours?"

Sineria felt himself shrink down in front of the stallion Zuri had with her, and though he had no idea of the stallion's nature in the slightest. Still, Sineria at least felt a little safer since it wasn’t just him alone with the stallion, plus the adult equine seemed obedient enough to obey Zuri's movements gave him some comfort. Meanwhile Yavapai saw this stallion and moved to the opposite end of his stall, and Sineria almost felt bad for his horse as the white male turned back to check up on the colt.

"Oh Yavapai," Sineria sighed then he turned back to Zuri and whimpered,"U-Uh... s-sorry again, h-he’s j-just a bit shy a-around others s-stallions and m-males." Sineria then gestured to the stall he recently prepared and smiled at Zuri, and said,"I-I just cleaned out th-this stall if you want t-to use it. So how h-have you been since w-we last met, Z-Zuri?"

Word count: (681/1000)

[+300] • OOC Text

Zuri's eyes caught the slight panic that washed over the man as she came closer, speaking up, his eyes having caught her horse before the woman standing next to her. They had only met once before, but now she could see more on where Sedona was coming from in their short discussion of her mate. If was like this around his other pack mates, then they both may need some time before the idea of starting a family came into the light.

Even so, she gave a small wave of her hand before it found its way to the horse's cheek once more, "No need to worry. Yes, it was only once before when we had met, hunting if I recall correcting." She gave a pause before continuing, "Yes, this one is mine. His name is Tirion."

Crimson gaze followed along with SIneria over to the stall of the painted horse, watching it move closer to the back end of its stall. A shy one, just like the male that was standing with her. It was a shame to see the animal sink back the way that it did.

The pale woman nodded to the offer of the open stall, carefully leading the gypsy over to it. Entering the stall to remove the tacked items, she rested them along the stall before removing the reins. Once they were removed, she made her way to the door, exiting the stall, "Thank you. I've been well since then, been busy taking care of the girls though. Your mate came by to see them actually, told me about your mateship to her. Congratulations."

Grabbing the items she had set aside before, she moved to put this up before coming to join the man once more, "How have things been with you and here?"

"O-Oh, th-thank you, i-it means a l-lot," Sineria exclaimed then he paused once Zuri expressed her curiosity about Sineria's situation with the stables. "Hmm..." Sineria paused and put two fingers to his chin, and he thought for a few moments before he answered Zuri. "W-Well... i-it's better th-than just t-trying to f-figure out h-humans. It’s b-been hard, b-but rewarding in its own s-special way," Sineria explained,"On one h-hand I’m n-not used to this, a-and some days I feel l-like I’m w-working m-myself raw. But... on the other I-I feel l-like I’m d-doing more here th-than I ever h-have been in m-my entire l-life in the p-pack. P-Plus well... th-there’s Y-Yavapai, he's shy b-but... h-he's like me..."

Sineria looked at the colt, who found comfort only when he stayed away from stallions and males, and who preferred to stay with his mother and mares. Perhaps Yavapai was just nervous because he was born from Hopi, Sedona’s mare, and he just wasn’t sure about males and stallions because he never met any before. Well, until Sineria that is, and the white wolf felt that Yavapai opened himself up more and more each day with Sineria.

Sineria then focused his attention back on Zuri and asked,"S-So... uh... Tirion, d-does he h-have any uh... quirks? I-It’s just that, I kn-know Y-Yavapai, a-and he’s shy a-around everything th-that isn’t a female p-person, or a mare.... unless it’s m-me since we’ve been s-seeing each other m-more and more l-lately. I-I was just wondering if Tirion h-had any q-qualities I sh-should l-look out for."

Word count: (1017/1000)

[+300] • OOC Text

Every little step, even if it was a small one, was worth something when it came to someone like Sineria. She was in no place to judge, even though if such a similar situation had been found back home, no doubt this male would be found and taken advantage of for his more submissive nature. Perhaps not even that, but one who didn't seem to have the strength in his to fight back, should things come to it.

All the more reason to make sure that this place would not draw influence from a place like her own home.

The pale man had gone into a explanation of how his new found task could be both a hassle, but rewarding at the same time. Any true passion was like that. When it came to her own interests, trades could either come up well, or not at all. Her bats could chose to cooperate with her, or their own personalities would keep them from doing so. It helped to keep ones on their toes though, and learn to be prepared for many situations.

Even so, it would help to strengthen his own confidence by adding her own support to his choice, "Animals are a lot like those of us in the pack. It helps greatly to have someone who's well versed with them and can know who will work well with who, just as you must with Yavapai."

Crimson gaze turned over to the gypsy as his head moved over the small railing of the stall. He could tell that she was still here, "Tirion is a very docile horse. He seems to do well with the other horses." Much like her, he had probably mellowed out some since coming from Mortimer. Stepping gently to the side, she moved one hand up to the horse's cheek, "I promise you, he is gentle if you want to come closer."

Sineria listened to Zuri's explanation and glanced towards Tirion for a moment and gave the woman a small nod though he still appeared unsure. He knew that deep down inside of him that he had to do this eventually down the line, and he couldn’t just avoid getting to meet a new animal in the stables. Sineria felt his nerves acting up again, but this time everything seemed split for some odd reason. Part of him wanted to stay safe, and didn’t like taking any sort of risk no matter the danger. But thanks to his human fascinations, and the many teachings from Sedona he now felt curious and maybe even eager to meeting new animals.

Either way, Sineria didn’t want to disappoint anyone and make himself seem lesser in their eyes, so he slowly approached Tirion and held out his hand so that the stallion could take in his scent. "I-I hope y-you’re r-right," Sineria whimpered and gave Zuri a worried look before he turned his attention fully towards her stallion. The one thing going through Sineria’s mind right now on repeat was,"Please don’t bite, please don’t bite!"

Word count: 205

[+300] • Some slight PP. Let me know if you want me to change it.

Zuri could tell that Sineria was nervous about the idea of trying to get closer to her own horse, even if Tirion was a docile creature. Part of her wondered why this male would want to take on a task like this one when he was so nervous around others, nervous around the other horses. She could understand taking inspiration from his wife, but there should be no need to push himself into something that would make him this uncomfortable.

Then again, on the other side of the coin, maybe he just needed some more time. Anyone working with animals would need time to understand them, just as anyone in this kingdom would need to interact with one another to get to know them better. She should not discredit him so easily.

A soft smile came over her face as she moved to Sineria's wrist, taking a gentle hold of it as she helped him to open his hand up. The horse's head inched closer, taking in the scent of the other luperci near his stall. He gave a snort back against the open hand, but otherwise did nothing but stand where he was. His head had shifted slightly to his rider, knowing she was still nearby.

Coming back a little closer, she moved one hand up along the top of Tirion's head. Crimson gaze moved over to the male at her side, "See? Everything is alright. If it would help, I'll keep his attention so you can touch him. I assure you, he will not hurt you." Her other free hand moved, helping to support the stallion's chin in her palm. There was no better horse for her, and the more docile, the better to help him grow more comfortable around this sort of environment.

Sineria overheard the white furred female and nodded to her as he looked up at Tirion. The white furred male at this point just told himself over and over again,"He’s gentle, it’s okay, just be gentle too.... right?" By the time Sineria was halfway through that thought he had gently placed his hand on the side of Tirion's neck, and once he realized what he had done it was astonishing to him. He then patted Tirion gently where he had his hand, and he started to question why he felt so afraid and nervous.

Sineria then looked over to Zuri with an embarrassed blush on his face, and he gulped and suddenly felt like an idiot for how afraid he was. This was yet again a task that at first Sineria felt like would be nearly impossible to accomplish, but suddenly achieved it like it was absolutely nothing. "I-I uh...." Sineria muttered to Zuri then he took a couple steps back and added,"I-I feel s-so stupid now," He facepalmed afterwords and sat down on some hay that was next to him on the ground, and he started to think through some past scenarios where his fears got the better of him.

He then looked up at Zuri and said,"I-I.... th-thank you, I-I don’t really know w-why I f-feel so afraid s-sometimes."

Word count: 245

[+200] • OOC Text

Zuri watched him carefully. Even though it was true that Tirion was a docile animal, any horse could be spooked if given the proper reason to. It seemed that Sineria had the proper form of approach, being slow and careful before his hand eventually found its way to the horse's neck. The stallion uttered a soft noise, air blowing out of his nose before turning his head over towards the new stranger that had not only come closer, but touched him.

The pale woman had not left his side, hoping it would help give him more confidence to keep this ride going, at least as long as he was comfortable with.

Soon enough, the white man had backed away from the horse, the Hawkesond woman coming to join him. With no one else at the edge of the stall, Tirion turned around, pacing a bit in the square before moving his head to an open window, peering outside of it. Crimson gaze fell down on the male as he looked over at her. He had admitted to feeling so stupid. Well, perhaps in some ways he was. It was such a silly thing to get so riled up over, and having gotten over such a simple hurdle must have been a strange feeling.

Even so, he thanked her, letting it slip he had no idea why he was so scared. Zuri's head moved slightly to the side, before she offered him a small shrug, "I'm probably not the best to help with that. I've seen far too much to be afraid by anything. I think the best I can tell you is that it'll come with time. Just have to understand how each horse acts and work around it."