If You Give A Horse A Carrot
#1
OOC:// Dated 10/2/12 after Eclipse's return. Smile Sorry for the massive post! O_O

IC:// It was late afternoon when Kenna and her companion Dust rode back into the newly restored Thornbury and into the stables. The two had risen with the sun and gone out exploring the CdA territory a bit. It was an easy expedition and both horse and rider were fairly content with the day. Ever since her accident in the barn, Dust had been behaving a lot better. He seemed to figure out that it was his shenanigans that had gotten Kenna hurt in the first place. Sure, the buckskin still occasionally went off and pestered the mares while out in the pasture, but overall he seemed to be back to his regular, well behaved, gentle self. As she walked Dust to the stable doors, she lightly tugged back on the reins and dust complied and come to a stop. Sighing, the stallion flicked his ears back to listen as Kenna leaned forward over the saddle, hugging him and affectionately patting his neck. "Good ride, Dust..." She praised him then went to dismount. hopping down from the saddle, Kenna brought the reins over her mount's muzzle and then lead him easily into the stables. Dust's hooves clopped gently with each step and echoed softly through the structure. Passing by the usual stall Dust occupied, Kenna grabbed up his halter before bringing the stallion over to a cross hitch. She then slipped the woven halter over his face then unfastened the leather bridal from behind his ears, accepting the bit as he spat it out into her paw.

Dust immediately shook out his mane and head bumped against her front, rubbing his forehead along her shirt to scratch the itches. Kenna chuckled and set his tack aside, gently scratching her claws under his forelock and along the path of where the bridal had been against his cheeks. She smiled fondly at he companion, kissing his nose once before turning and beginning to remove his saddle and saddle pad. Dust stood calmly and relaxed as the wolf-collie woman worked. Even though the ride hadn't been strenuous, he was ready to be back home. Dust enjoyed being in Cercatori d'Arte. He was kept sheltered, well fed and had plenty of company. Cocking his rear hoof, the stallion splayed his ears contently as his rider groomed his coat free of dust and sweat. As she went along, running the brush and curry comb along his powerful body, Kenna wondered if she should give her horse a bit of a bath. It'd been a while since he'd gotten truly cleaned off.

Deciding to keep the thought in mind for another day, she grabbed a metal hoof pick and cleaned out Dust's feet before coming back around, running her paw along his rump as she passed behind him and coming to stand in front of him. Dust nickered softly and swiveled his ears forward alertly, gazing at Kenna with big brown eyes. Kenna smiled as another idea popped in her head. "I know what you'd like..." She winked then and turned heel and padded out of the stables. "Be right back buddy." she called to Dust who watched her leave with indifference. Once outside, the cow girl went around to the garden nearby. Entering the little plot, she made her way over to a section where she knew some carrots still grew and had survived the hurricane. Kneeling before one of the plants she carefully pulled it from the ground and dusted it mostly free of soil before carrying back into the stables. Upon her return, Dust's head rose and his nose quivered as he caught scent of the fresh carrot. He whinnied then and pawed at the ground, excited for his treat. Kenna laughed and held up the carrot. "Hold on boy, let me get it all cleaned up for ya!" She then went over to a water spigot and turned it on, rinsing the fresh picked vegetable before using the knife from her belt to cut off the tip, head and greenery from the carrot. What was left she would give to Dust. Shaking the water from her paws, she then returned to the stallion's side. Dust stretched his head forward eagerly, tail swishing. Grinning Kenna held out the carrot in a flat paw. "Yeah, there ya are Dust...that's what you wanted huh boy?" Dust quickly snatched up the carrot and ate it happily as she watched. He then nosed and lipped at Kenna's shirt hoping for more, but the woman held up her paws. "Sorry, no more for now." She shrugged before reaching forward and rubbing a finger on the soft pad of the horse's nose causing him to wriggle his lip cutely. Having stowed away all her supplies, Kenna readjusted her hat upon her head before untying her mount and started to lead him out tot he pasture to graze and socialize with the other horses for a bit. She' need to clean out his stall before she put him back and it was still to early yet. As she untied the stallion's lead rope from his halter and let him loose into the pasture, Kenna sighed fondly. "You really are my one true friend boy..." She thought to herself and leaned against the fence, watching as the pack's herd interacted.
#2
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(362) OOC: Eclipse is in optime and is wearing her clothes in her profile as well as her bow and quiver Smile


The morning had been eventful, she had visited her children’s graves and made sure they had markers. Perhaps someday she could get them something more perminant, but she wanted to make a habit of visiting them everyday. She was no longer afraid of crying over her children. She also met someone new as well and the day itself had been over all well. Now she was headed back home, though before she came close to her own home she thought of Grace. She should check on her mare, and Colt, who had been without his mother for many days. She was sure he was fine, he had been weaned off his mother for some time now. She walked to the pasture where she was sure they would be.

It seemed she was not alone in the thought as there was an unfamiliar woman standing close to the herd. Eclipse moved closer and made a noise of clearing her throat, and smiled, the woman did smell of pack and Eclipse wondered when she joined. It must have been more than a few days to get the pack smell on her, especially in the damp area they had now, the mud was horrible, and she knew more rain would soon come from the skies again to keep their world drenched until spring came along; “Hello, I do not believe we have met, My name is Eclipse Soulstorm.” She said putting her hands together and giving a slight formal bow, something she would never stop doing as she felt it entirely polite, but she did not expect others to do the same, as she knew everyone had different customs and she never demanded anything from anyone. She wanted to make a good impression on a new fellow member. She loved making friends and it was usually her that made the initiative. She was rather outgoing so she was glad enough for that and being as spontanious as she was, she tended to make things interesting to say the least, though she could see the woman was looking whistfully and the horses and couldn’t help but wondering which one she was admiring.

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#3
OOC: Would you be up for the girl's trading lessons? Kenna can teach Eclipse more about horses and Eclipse could maybe teach her some archery? Big Grin

As Kenna watched Dust interact with the other horses, she let her mind wander back to when the stallion had been born. His mother had had some trouble during the birthing process and her parents, Firus and Claire had called her over to help. She already knew a lot of animals by that time, especially horses and knew right off the bat what to do. With the aide of her family, the two helped the mare push out the colt using gentle massage and some herbs. In the end, Dust had been born healthy and happy. His mother survived the process and was able to raise her foal without a hitch. Kenna was allowed to name him and chose Kickin' Up Dust only a few days after his birth when she saw him playing with another foal in a patch of dust in the pasture. From the beginning Kenna had bonded with the young horse and through raising, training and riding lessons the two only forged that bond stronger. Today, the two were nearly inseparable. Dust was loyal to Kenna and she would do anything for him in return. Just like any good friends would they would also give each other a hard time and play around. Dust was a very smart animal and he was by far the most important, most treasured thing in Kenna's life.

It was the soft sound of paws on grass followed by a friendly greeting that brought the hybrid woman back to the present. Turning at the sound of the unfamiliar voice, Kenna was greeted by a wolf who couldn't be all that much younger than herself with a quiver of arrows upon her back. The girl bowed and Kenna smiled. She'd never been bowed to before... She always just shook hands. Seeing as that option was not unavailable, instead she simply tipped the brim of her hat to her pack mate. "Howdy, I'm Kenna, Kenna Foxleigh. Pleasure to meet you miss Eclipse." The cowgirl's tail wagged amiably behind her as she greeted the woman. Blue eyes then traveled over the bow settled on Eclipse's back and Kenna's ears lifted with interest. "You shoot?" She asked, gesturing to the bow and the quiver. "Archery's always intrigued me, but I've never learned..." She chuckled softly but before she got an answer the moment was interrupted by a shrill neighing and the drumming of hooves behind them. Swiftly turning, she saw Dust and another stallion standing off, ears pinned and tails lashing, the rest of the heard retreating to the other end of the pasture. As she watched, the other stallion reared up and lashed out at the Buckskin with his hooves. Dust dodged and reared up as well, snorting and grunting defensively.

Without even looking at the woman Kenna quickly excused herself. "'Scuse me a sec..." She gave a soft growl and then vaulted the pasture fence, simultaneously grabbing Dust's lead rope from where it was draped over the post she'd been leaning on. Her hat blew off in the process and landed harmlessly on the grass. Handling the rope like a lasso, Kenna ran up to the two sparring horses shouting loudly and sharply. At her interference, the other stallion bucked and threateningly stomped the ground. Kenna simply clucked her tongue and snapped the rope in the air beside the challenging stallion's flank. "Get! Go on you!" At this, the stallion backed off and trotted off to the side to join the other horses who had already gotten out of the way. He mingled in with them once more and disappeared. Dust whinnied loudly but returned to all fours just as Kenna whipped the lead rope out and lassoed him about the neck and reeled him in slowly with a disapproving look on her face. The quarter horse splayed his ears and came to stand in front of Kenna without complaint. Kenna spoke a few words to him in a low tone before shaking her head and releasing him from the rope. "Behave!" She warned before turning away and heading back to the fence where she'd left Eclipse. Picking up her hat she glanced over her shoulder to keep an eye on Dust who had rejoined the other horses. Rolling her eyes she smiled slightly at the woman as she hopped back onto the other side of the fence, sinking a little into some mud as she landed. "Sorry about that..." Not even noticing the mud, Kenna set the rope up on the post again. "Horses...they can get into all sorts of trouble just like you or me..." She then nodded back at the woman's bow. "But yeah, back to the original topic..." She smiled and trailed off expectantly.
#4
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(318) OOC: sounds good to me, Eclipse likes fair exchanges Big Grin


As always it was her bow that received much attention. She was in no way happy. She was proud of her skills as an archer. She smiled at the woman's introduction and question. She nodded. “Yes I have been practicing almost as long as I could walk on two legs.” She admitted. “If you would like I would be glad to show you!” She said, then thought perhaps she should just start a school of archery... it was not the first time she thought about it. Nor would it be the last, she would probably talk to her mate about the ideas of it all and see what he said.

She watched the woman as she ran at the stallions fighting with one another, her eyes wide with worry over the woman, but she looked confident and fear didn't spill out of her scent so Eclipse watched with fascination at the woman's treatment to the horses. She grinned as Kenna came back; “Wow that was amazing. I don't know how I would be able to handle Colt if he eve becomse like that.... Colt is my mare's child. My mare is Grace, she's the chestnut with the flaxen mane.” She said pointing to her horse, who was grazing with a little palamino horse next to her, he wasn't all that big yet, but he was bigger than he had been at birth. “I tell you what, you teach me how to handle horses and I can teach you a bit of archery. I only have my mare, and she's as docile as ever.” Eclipse said. She didn't want to be the one stuck here when another fight would come, and she also wanted to help contribute to working at the stables as well, she knew only the basics of brushing and combing and cleaning hooves, but she left the feeding and other care to others.

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Table by Kite/Aly
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#5
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With the sudden interruption of the fighting stallions, Kenna barely had the time to get excited over the extended offer Eclipse had made to teach her archery. But upon her return that excitement began to show in the form of a grin and her perked ears. It had always been a skill she wished she possessed. Kenna was really only good with a knife in close combat, she didn't have any kind of knowledge regarding ranged weapons. It would be good for her to learn how to shoot. It would help her when out hunting if she wanted to capture something at a distance. When using a knife, she had to get in real close or otherwise set traps which at times wasn't an easy task. As the cowfgirl caught her breath again, she chuckled at the younger woman's compliment. "Wow that was amazing." Kenna waved a paw dismissively. "Ah, it was nothing really. I've broken up worse fights..." She smiled then as Eclipse told her about her own horses.

The hybrid woman's blue gaze returned to the herd out in the corral as her pack mate spoke. She spied the two horses referred to and nodded. "Colt's a handsome fella...I bet he'll grow up to be a real stud." She grinned. "Mom's beautiful too. Grace is a fitting name." She sighed softly, content for the moment to just look out at the colorful herd. Kenna's passion was for all things horses, she'd grown up, lived, hell, practically even breathed horses all her life. She knew just about everything there was to know about them. "It takes someone who ain't afraid of them to handle horses right." She shrugged lightly and repositioned against the fence."Even though you might be smaller in size, you have to be bigger in attitude. Horses will listen to ya, but you have to give 'em a reason to respect you. You have to make them see you are not just a part of the herd, but the leader of it."

Kenna could talk about horses all day every day, so when her company spoke up again with another offer, the collie couldn't refuse. "I tell you what, you teach me how to handle horses and I can teach you a bit of archery. I only have my mare, and she's as docile as ever." Kenna enthusiastically nodded. "I'd love to teach ya!" She exclaimed happily, her excitement obvious. She'd never really taught anyone else her skills with horses, but she was damn willing to give it a try. With her tail wagging behind her, Kenna held out a paw to Eclipse to sort of seal the arrangement. "You got yourself a deal ma'am." She laughed softly with a dip of her head, ears swiveling as one of the horses responded to the sound with a neigh. "We should set up a time for lessons. I usually find it best to get started with horses early to mid morning. I hope you don't mind risin' with the sun?" She asked, lifting an eyebrow in question. "As for learning to shoot, I'm open pretty much everyday, all afternoon and evening. What's a good time for you?" Kenna's tail continued to sway as she respectfully held the gaze of the younger female.

It made the cowgirl glad to know she was starting to make friends now that she was getting over the 'newbie' awkwardness since joining Cercatori d'Arte. It was a plus to her that she was able to bond with her pack mates through something she already loved and knew about. It seemed horses were great conversation starters. It was too bad she hadn't thought of it sooner.

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#6
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(388) OOC: Tee hee


Eclipse let out disbelieving air as the woman told her it was nothing, if that was not nothing then she was a dancing bear. She didn't say that out loud but wondered what the woman's reaction would be. Instead she remained silent with her ears perked and her eyes in a disbelieving look. She smiled once the woman gave Eclipse the compliment. “Thank you, Grace was not named by me, she was once owned. She has passed on, but she was the one who trained the horse. I am thankful because if she hadn't the horse wouldn't have saved me when I came back.” She said letting her memory cross over to the moment the pregnant mare actually risked her life to save Eclipse, a predatorial wolf, so whatever this Liliana had it was certainly the greatest talent of all. Eclipse was sure it would be missed.

Eclipse listened to the woman as she spoke about not just being a part of their herd.... but there were so many and they were so big! It was a reason why wolves didn't pick on horses often even when they were just four footed animals before the human's demise. She looked at Kenna incredulous! “How can anyone be the leader of such huge animals, if they wanted to they could pound you in the dirt!” She said, she wasn't scared but she certainly was skeptical.

Eclipse smiled as the woman agreed to Eclipse's proposition. “ I wouldn't mind a week from now? There is still a lot to do to get the pack back on track, but I can give you a lesson in the bow today, now if you want.” She said, turning to Grace, she'd wondered if she would now be able to shoot from on top of the horse after working with her and making sure she understood that the arrow wasn't going to hurt her as it went by. Or the sound of the bow was a bad thing, as though it would hurt her or something. She looked at Kenna in hopes that she could do something today that would be just as much fun as it would help out the pack. Though she had no extra bows, she was sure there was someone, like Hotaru that could make them.

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Table by Kite/Aly
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