First Impressions [Open to anyone!]

[April Conners]

April Conners
“Something wicked this way comes.”

“Ow!”

I grumbled, my head banging against the window sill as the car hit a spot on the road. I screwed up my eyes against the bright sunlight attacking my eyes, blaring through the windscreen. I started to blink, trying to adjust to the light pouring through the old car. I lifted my head off the vibrating window which felt as though my head was the only thing keeping it there it there and that it could fall out at any second. I turned my head slowly, feeling a deep stiffness in my neck. I let go of my legs, allowing them to drop off the seat onto the mud caked mate bellow, sending off a bomb of dust swirling up. I didn’t recognise anything as I stared out the window. “I think we’re nearly there. Nancy said the place was near that big lake we went past...” My mom’s voice started to fade out into the back ground along with the struggling old engine.

It had been a long journey. Perhaps my Mom going on and on didn’t help. It seemed like that’s all she would do, chat. She didn’t seem to care that I wasn’t paying attention either. It worked for both of us. She’d be able to go on and on about how good this new school was going to be and how happy I was going to be there and I’d completely ignore her. Smile and nod, that’s it, smile and nod.

I sighed deeply, taking in the scent of the old car. It wasn’t like one of those brand spanking new range rovers that everybody seems to think rich horsey folk have with the new car smell, in fact it was the complete opposite. It was practically falling apart. Dust, mud and unknown substances covered all the surfaces. Old show flyers lay across the dash board, along with on only empty tin of horse oil, a stained lead rope, an old bottle of water, bottles of horse shampoo and rosettes won years ago. Very fancy.

“Oh look, look!” My mom seemed to explode, pointing to a road sign. I saw it in the corner of my eye but didn’t even bother to look at it. My mom, being strangely excitable and optimistic (The opposite of me), was always pointing out the stupidest little things. I tilted my head back, running my hand through my hair and grabbed a dented take away coffee sitting in one of the broken drinks holders. “It says that the place is just up this track!” I took a gulp of the coffee, finding out that it was cold, stale, and basically undrinkable and spat it back into the cup. “I know, isn’t it exciting?” She went on, using that as evidence so she could carry on believing I was the least bit bothered. I nodded by head, holding in my coughing fit. My mom thought I thought this was so much fun, a mother daughter bonding road trip, and I didn’t see the point in disappointing her. It was odd considering she was the one sticking me in this place. “Oh look here it is!” She cried, practically bouncing up and down in her seat with a grin going from ear to ear.

“Wow.” I croaked for the first time in hours as we drove through the gates. This place was fancier than I thought. I never spent much time looking at the flyer. My mother was always making up idea of what we were going to do and how wonderful it was going to be, yet they never seemed to happen. I grabbed it quickly glancing down and up from the picture of the place. “Fuck me...”
“April, Language!” She snapped, her tone changing for a split second as she stared at me. I could feel the fiery glare at the side of my head. “Sorry.” Clearing my throat. I did feel sorry for her. She always expected so much of me, think I was something I wasn’t. She’d done a lot of that in the past. I looked up at the buildings; I was never going to fit in here.

“I think we can park here.” The pulled the old car up, allowing it to puff to a halt. I felt as though the whole car was going to fall outwards and we and my mom where going to be left sitting in the seats. What a way to mark are coming here. “Can you see anybody that can help us get the ramp down?” She peered through the glass, searching for somebody. There was nobody around for all the students will have been on class.
“By the look of the place there’s bound to be 20 grooms at the ready!” I spluttered, still not managing to shut my jaw.
“April, please don’t say anything like that to people. It’s kind of, well, rude. I mean, serously, April.” She opened the car door, stepping out into the fresh air. She slammed it behind her sending dust flying around the car. The door look as though it was going to fall right back on her. I quickly threw the door open so I was able to breathe.

“Phe-ew!” I exclaimed, stepping out the car onto the gravel. I took a deep breath of fresh air, glad to at least be out of there. It was about time I stretched my legs. I scanned the car park, my eyes flicking back and forth from our old mud caked trailer to all the brand new horse boxes, the type you only see in the adverts selling them for 2 billion quid. Our trailer stuck out like a sore thumb.
“Mom, we can get the tramp down ourself, we’ve done it millions of times!” I shouted to the other side of the trailer as my mom appeared around the back of it. “I’d much rather find someone to help. Anyway it will be a great opportunity for you to meet someone new!”

So here I am now. Scanning the stables car park for some posh person to come and help us open something that they will not even want to touch. Home sweet home.

I’m wearing...
Hoodie Tank top Jeans Half Chaps Trainers

My horse is wearing...
Headcoller Rug Travel boots Tail bandage
[/color]

[Dale McCall]

Dale's feet were killing him, already. He’d only just put his shoes of half an hour ago, but as soon as he found an opportunity to, the stack heeled boots had to come off. “God, I feel as though I’m in Sweet today,” he groaned, wrapping his thin arm’s around his torso and swishing his shoulder-length bottle-black hair off of his forehead.

Cowboy’s wore stack-heeled boots didn’t they? Well, nothing like what Dale was wearing, obviously. His were way better. He loved to dress up; always been quite fascinated by his own image and what he can do with it. Dale had a non-masculine aspect to his attire. Probably due to his androgynous, danyesque dress sense; Dale liked to adapt a whole group of sub-cultures, to fit his own strange style. He loved to dress up like Mick Jagger and David Bowie; stylish, effeminate men, really.

Dale was now clad in a grey/black black 'train conductor' hat, a KISS jacket zipped up against his thin frame, over the top of a green singlet. He loved that jacket too - with flames lining the bottoms of the sleeves, and red lightning bolts striking in a vertical fashion on his right shoulder, outlined in white. The large 'KISS' logo, wasl also written in red lettering, also with white outlines. Black jeans clung to his short legs, held up by a black belt, with a pacman print on it. Red leather boot’s completed the ensemble, with a small stacked heel, to help give him a little height. Being 5’6” wasn’t fun.

Dale’s hair, too was something that he loved. Raven-black in color, it was a a basic back-comb structure, slightly root-boosted framing a cheeky fringe. His hair was a bit of a theme in itself, it sort of looked like a woman’s wig, worn backwards. He could still smell the fresh amount of volume boost he’d put in it, as well as the faintest scent of strawberry shampoo and conditioner.

He sounds pretty spruced up doesn’t he? No, this was pretty casual by Dale’s standards. If you caught a glimpse of his closet back in his dorm, you’d probably think you walked into a forth dimension, or something. Dale put allot of time into his appearance (evidently). He liked to look different. Growing up, his heroes weren’t comics, but androgynous musicians: Jagger, Bowie, Syd Barrett. (Although he liked Peter Cook’s style and looks too). He liked clothes and make-up, he liked the transformation.

It was a monday. 'Recover Monday', as Dale was calling it today. After a full night of drinking on the Saturday, he still hadn't fully recovered from the hangover he'd recieved as a result. It hd been worth it though, he thought. Even if he'd only narrowly avoided a bumming from that Mr Bad Breath guy, and sculling that gross tasting beer thing he'd given him. The fact that some male's mistook him for a woman was a common occurance too, especially when he was out clubbing - there had be many a time where Dale had wonrn the odd eyeliner or lip gloss. Hell, once when he'd gone out to a party with mates in London, he'd worn one of his mothers dresses over his trouser's, just for a laugh.

Did it puzzle him that people found this so sexually attractive? Yeah, a little. Dale was very compfortable with his sexuality; he knew he was straight. He read a book once, about the New York Dolls and David Johansen was saying that none of them were gay or even bisexual, and that when they started dressing in stilettos and leather pants, women got it straight away with no explanation. But a lot of men had problems. It’s one of those strange things. A man will go, ‘You bloody queer.’ And you just think, ‘Well, your girlfriend fancies me.'

Dale wasn’t sure why he chose to attend Firefly Fields Academy. He’d always had an affinity with animals, but he also had a passion for art. His uncle, whom he had lived with right up till a few months ago, had encouraged his nephew to avoid getting a proper job while he was so young (if you got to know Dale, he’d probably tell you why). Dale wanted to study art, as well as vocal music, but he wanted to learn more about horses as well. Dale had already travelled out of London; though travelling and seeing the world had never really been one of his main aspirations in life.

He knew very little of horses, most of his animal know-how came from the animals that weren’t always represented. He loved otters, shrews, and he thought that the northern root vole was pretty good too. Flying Foxes were a favorite of his. They just fly around and hang on trees. You weren’t supposed to touch them though, because you could get a disease.

Dale liked English things. He thought English animals and forests were really cool. He liked English gardens. He liked the idea of the squirrel. He liked moths, because they’re so tatty. They’re just so English. Crap butterflies, basically. He liked crap animals. Mammals that are tiny and you never see them because they’re rubbish. If you saw a documentary about them on the telly you’d probably just turn it over. If it’s about frogs you think ‘aaah noooo’, but if it’s about hyenas you’d watch it.

So, he supposed he was broadening his animal know-how a little bit, by being here. As well as the usual boring math, chemistry, English classes etc, Dale decided to take Equestrian 101, hunt-seat/jumping, and team roping. His uncle had been pretty into watching dressage on the telly, but all that entailed was sitting on a horse, in a fancy suit, while your horse trotted around a square arena. Kinda like horse gymnastics, he supposed.

As Dale plodded along down the trail towards the horse stalls, he took a large inhale of breath - breathing in the scent of the Spring air, mingled with fresh hay, and horse feed, the closer he got to the stalls. It was something that he was getting used to (the smell of this place). Before Firefly, Dale lived in Dalston, Inner London. It was a very diverse sort of place. Very different from here, that's for sure. The closest Dale ever got to country living was when he visited his uncles homestead just North of London, where the guy owned a couple of horses.

Dale thought very fondly of his uncle. He had suggested that Dale enroll at Firefly for two reasons, one) he thought that it’d be a wonderful idea for Dale to learn more about horse’s, and two) It just wasn’t safe for Dale to stay in London. After the little fiasco between... never mind, it was for the better that Dale disappeared from London for a while.

His uncle was a great guy. Howard, his name was. He worked with animal transport, a kind of ranger, Dale supposed. When he was younger, Howard would let him stay with him at his home for day’s, sometime’s weeks on end. Thing’s for him weren’t good at home, you see, and his mum and dad didn’t have allot of money all the time, so allowing Dale to spend time at the tiny house with his uncle was often the best thing his parents could do for him.

Howard didn’t have allot of space in the house. It was only him living there, having no children, or wife, or girlfriend of his own. It was just him, and a couple of horses behind the house. When Dale stayed there, Howard would make him sleep in the corridor, on an old brown duvet that he’d had since he was a boy. Dale used to plead with his uncle - “Can’ I sleep in your room?”, and Howard would say, in his Northern accent, “No Dale, you will be sleepin’ on ‘the brown’.”

Dale had always been a pretty good kid. Needless to say he’d never deserved any of the treatment that he’d gotten at home. Howard was more of a father figure than his own father - he was someone that Dale could idolize, and look up to, and count on. Who’d only tease him in a light-hearted way.

As the stable came into view, Dale noted the surrounding's he had come to familiarize with. Everything always looked the same; yet just ahead of him, he noticed something standing out against everything else, something new. An old car, the front end almost completely covered in mud stood, parked a few feet from the stalls, with a large horse float attacked to the back. Outside of the float, standing at the back of it, was two woman, one noticably older than the other. The younger one, clad in a grey and pink hoodie, black tank top, a pair of half chaps, and white trainers. Her hair, was long, and straight, with one bright reddish/pink streak along the right side of her face. What really struck him though, was her height! She was actually shorter than he was. So far, as far as Dale knew, he was probably the shortest person at Firefly - until now, it seemed. Aww, at least he was still the shortest male.

"Oh, A'wright?" Dale smiled as he approached them, speaking with his distinctive cockey lilt. He was by nature, an open sort of guy. He'd approach everyone with the an unwavering, upbeat friendliness. "'Fraid we don' 'ave the groom's 'andy at the moment, but I hope I can do jus' the same." He looked over at the horse float. Although he'd had riding lessons in the past, Dale still wasn't all too familiar with the horse floats, or most of the 'technical' terms for horse equipment.

No-one in their right mind - and very few people in their wrong mind - would ever accuse Dale of being intelligent - though perhaps calling him stupid wasn’t entirely fair either, for it was true that he compensated for his lack of book-smarts with an uncanny intuitiveness that few possessed. But he had an appalling lack of handle on spelling, grammar, and the English language in general, and his skill with arithmetic was all but non-existent. He had left his school in London early with insufficient Math, English, Chemistry and Geography grades, though he had managed to acquire high marks in both Fine Art and Hair Design. His grasp on time and reality in general was tenuous at best, to the extent where he often had to be reminded of his own age.

So he didn’t know an awful lot, but the one thing he was absolutely, one-hundred-percent concrete-certain on was that it cant be as hard as it looks. "Would ye like some 'elp?"

[April Conners]

April Conners
“Something wicked this way comes.”

“Aw, crap, do you not have to go and report to the front office thingy first?” She swung open the car door, leaning in and made a racket as she search through the whole thing for her bag, grumbling to herself.
“Dunno.” I shrugged, looking out at the scenery.
“Look I’ll go and find out, ok? Don’t go putting the ramp down yourself. I don’t want you getting squished on your first day.” She found her bag grabbed it and was now searching it for something he had lost. Typical. She kicked the door shut and wandered round the back on the trailer. “That’ll be no good, no...” I heard her mumble as she walked down some track, talking to herself. I wasn’t sure that she knows where she was going. That was unusual, however she always found her way somehow.

I could hear Ollie in the back of the trailer, moving about. I could hear him whinny; waiting for a reply from what hopefully would be a new pal. He was pulling the lead rope making the tie up ring rattle against the side of the horse box. At least someone was excited to be here. I best get him out before he kicks his way out. It wasn’t fair to keep him in there. He must be bored sick.

I hooked my left thumb into the side of my old faded blue jeans. It was force of habit standing there clinging onto the pocket with my thumb. It was even wearing down where I hold on. I really need a good pair of jeans. I was saving up but my Sisters pony, Tommy, cut his legs and we were short on cash so it all went down the drain. It was frustrating, I always tried saving and my mom would always go out and buy a new hen at the market or see a bargain on a rug and all of the money would be gone.

I took at deep breath, blowing and fringe up off my face as I squinted into the sun, looking over to the fields and trails wondering where they all go. I ran my right hand up the side of my face, pushing my fridge back, only stopping to shield my eyes from the bright light beating down. I was scanning down one of the tracks when someone caught my eyes. A boy walking up towards me.

“Wow.” He put a smile on my face. You could see he was a character. Definitely his own person. I stood grinning as he walked up towards me, almost laughing. Was this what this place was like? I could almost feel my mom’s stair in the back of my head. “Be nice April!” She snapped in my head. To be truthful he did give off a good first impression. At least he was himself, y’know? Theres nothing more than I hate is people trying to impress people, being something there not. It’s pointless.

"Oh, A'wright?"
I had to laugh as soon and he talked. He stood in front of me now, shading me from the sun. I dropped my hand back down to my side, holding onto my pocket with my thumb. My hair fell straight down over my face again. He sounded like a Londoner, which was nice since I did come from Essex, just outside of there. Maybe this place wasn’t so far from home.

"'Fraid we don' 'ave the groom's 'andy at the moment, but I hope I can do jus' the same." I grinned at him, looking at his clothing. He reminded me of Johnny Depp when he played captain Jack Sparra’. A guy you could get along with. Someone with a sense of humour maybe? We’ll see.

“Well if you’re offering then you might as well help me get this ramp down here.” I glanced back towards the ramp and to him before stepping off in its direction, nodding my head towards it. I could feel the stones under my feet as I strode towards the vehicle. Ollie could hear my footsteps and shrieked a whinny. I put my foot up on the bumper.
“Alright boy, we’re coming to get ‘cha.”

I’m wearing...
Hoodie Tank top Jeans Half Chaps Trainers

My horse is wearing...
Headcoller Rug Travel boots Tail bandage
[/color]

[Dale McCall]

Dale's grin grew, showing off slightly crooked teeth and high cheekbones as he noticed the girl's reaction, to what he assumed was his attire, as she blew her long tresses of blonde hair from her face. It felt good to know that he made people smile, or laugh. Even if it was at his own expense sometimes. He loved making people feel happy.

Stopping at the float, Dale stood on his tippy-toes, shoving his fingers into the small pocket's of his KISS jacket, as he tried in vain to look int othe float. He could hear the rustling, and bump's of the horse bumping into the sides of the float, impatient to be released. Dale wondered what sort of horse it was; he’d always liked animals, but he’d never been good with bigger animals. Most of them either nearly bowled him over every time they saw him, stepped on him, pushed him around or bit him. He never knew why. Perhaps it had been a dominance thing, because he was so small. Didn’t all animals usually single out the smaller species?

"Ah the rampy-thing," Dale nodded, walking to the opposite side of the float to the girl. "Yeah, I can 'andle tha'." he placed one stack-heeled boot onto the bumper and readied himself (possibly for the worst, though he had never been the sort to dwell on bad thoughts) to help her take the ramp down. "'M Dale, by the way. Pleased to meet'cha." He spoke with an amused smile, in his South London twang. He'd noticed that she too, had a London accent, though it seemed less South than his; North perhaps.

"You're new here too?" He asked, as the horse within the float emmited a loud whinney, causing Dale to squeak and his face go into the ultimate defence mode; eyes big, face innocent, looking for all the world like butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth. "Whoa! Bi' impatient, inne'?" He looked at the girl, letting out a slightly nurvous chuckle, as he raked his thin fingers through his ink-black hair. "Cool yer boots, we're gettin' 'round to it." He admonished the side of the stall, but directing the statement towards it's restless occupant.

[April Conners]

April Conners
“Something wicked this way comes.”


“Hey, I’m April.” I replied, grinning at him.

I turned to concentrate on the job in hand, Stepping up with both feet on the bumper so I could reach the bolts and undo them. I gripped into them to keep my balance, bending my knees, and started to pull with a lot of effort as I spoke “Yep, Just arrived.” I squeaked. The bolts where old and stiff, so they did take a bit of force. At least you where safe that they wouldn’t come out on their own, still a pain in the neck when it comes to getting the ramp down. I leant back, putting all my weight into in which wasn’t really much use because I am actually quite light. I just had to make do, my cheeks flaring with the effort.


Ollie started, hearing one of the bolts slamming out quickly, smacking his feet off the old floor, this metal hooves clattering everywhere. He was keen to see his new surroundings. I almost got thrown off the bumper, grabbing onto the top of the ramp to steady myself.
"Whoa! Bi' impatient, inne'?" Dale laughed quietly, probably thinking poor Ollie was a complete nutter ready to burst out on us.
“Yeah you could say that.” I laughed, realising the last bolt with great effort.

I jumped backwards quickly so I was on the opposite side to Dale. I grabbed the ramp as gravity pulled it down to earth. It had been oiled so it didn’t make that massive squealing noise that it used to, but it still took a little pull to hurry it up. I’d loved to see Ollies reaction to that, not. We both caught it and allowed it down to the ground, allowing it to settle. It revealed the lovely Ollie.

“Now this is Ollie.” I grinned, my eyes flicking towards Dale and back to Ollie, who looked petrified as my horse tried to turn around to take a good look at us. “He’s 6 years old, so only a baby.” I smiled, proud. I’d broken him in myself and I loved this horse very much. Sunshine flooded into the horsebox, shining against his bright chestnut coat, showing him off. The young horse was twisting and turning, trying to take a good look at Dale who was just out of sight. His hooves clattering as he was side stepping, whickering al eyes on me as I approached him.

“Why hello Ol’ster.” I smiled, placing my hand on his rump, stopping to take a good look at him. His little ears where pricked forward as he strained against the lead rope. I ran my hands down his side as I started to squeeze down between the horse and the partition bar. As soon as I got to his shoulder he darted back, the lead rope stopping him from going any further which gave him a fright causing him to rear up. It wasn’t a very big rear, he wasn’t really bothering to lift his hooves up it was more just a reaction, but it was big enough to scare someone.
“Whoa there, calm yourself boy!” I soothed him, taking a hold of the side of his halter, steadying him. “There no rush, we’ve got plenty of time.”

I stroked his neck and he started to relax as I reached for the end of the realise knot, pulling it slowly. He darted back as soon as he was free, pulling me along with him, turning so he was at the end of the ramp. I managed to catch him, getting in front of his shoulder so he couldn’t go running off, giving a firm pull down the rope. “Hey, hey, hey!” I exclaimed, his little ears where pricked, his nostrils flared as he gave out a pitched whinny. I put my hand over his nose, pulling his head back down to me. “Steeeeeeady... That’s a boy.”

I looked towards Dale, smiling. “Yep, this is Ollie!”


I’m wearing...
Hoodie Tank top Jeans Half Chaps Trainers

My horse is wearing...
Headcoller Rug Travel boots Tail bandage
[/color]

[Dale McCall]

"Pre'y name," Dale smiled, as he followed April's lead, hoisting himself up onto the bumper so that he could help unhook the bolt on his side of the float. He glanced down at his feet, shuffling them slightly from side to side for a moment to make sure his stacked boots had a firm hold, before he grasped the bolt in both hands and gave it a pull towards him. It barely budged, causing Dale's brow to furrow slightly. Another pull and it loosened somewhat, before he adjusted his possition and glanced towards the blonde April, who appeared to be struggling about as much as him.

The rail's bolt were tricky to unhook; sure it didn't help that Dale only had the upper body strength of a plastic bag, but as he gave one more twist, the bolt loosened, and he smiled victoriously, jumping backwards and stumbling slightly as he watched the rail begin to descend, in it's own good time, towards the ground. "Well," He heaved a sigh, grinning as he placed his hands on his slender hips. "That wasn' so hard."

Dale stood a little unsteadily as April ascended up the ramp, cooing softly as she ran her hand across the horse's flanks and dissapeared inside the float. Dale's stance often seemed unsteady; how could someone sin when they can’t even stand on their own two feet? He walked with a bounce, as a child would. He would greet everything as if it were the first time he had ever seen them; with awe and amazement that they actually exist.

Dale leaned in close, or at least as close as he dared to, to look into the float as April began to introduce them. Ollie. It was a cool name for a horse, Dale thought as his large powdery blue eyes sweeped over the horse's strong, muscular frame, and the soft golden-brown coat color. The horse in question was craning it's neck to the side, trying in vain to turn around, but was of course trapped in the tight stall. "A'right Ollie?" He smiled a little nurvously, being careful as he stood by the stall, to not get too close to the chestnut gelding's back hooves. If he had learnt anything living with his uncle, it was that no matter how tame a horse might be, if you walked behind the horse, there was always a chance that said horse might try and kick back at you.

Taking a look at the beautiful horse, Dale could not help but think of his own horse, Zappa, his 'Reborn Garnet'. She was a lovely mare; a young paint horse of about five years of age, so like young Ollie, she was really only a baby aswell. Her bodice was covered in white, sorrel, and grey color's. Dale's uncle had bought her for him, as a surprise. How the guy had pulled it off, Dale will probably never know, but he was glad that he had.

His thoughts, however, where broken as he heard the sharp noise of a lead rope being pulled taut, and Dale took a step closer, to take a closer look at what was happening, but as he did so, however, the horse reared, causing Dale to take a quick step back and scuttle towards April's side of the float. What was he being so nurvous about? He'd been around horse's plenty of times; granted they were mostly female horses, the male horse's just seemed to have sort of beef with him. Giselle's horse, Romeo had been a mighty pain that night they'd almost fallen asleep together in the stalls (it's not what you think!). The cheeky sod had been trying to bite at his hair and his clothes, snorting at him and you name it. Even when Giselle had finally closed his stall, the berk continued to try and nudge the door open before he finally settled down, in defeat.

As April led Ollie out of the float, Dale chose that moment to step forwards again, this time deciding to be the assertive one, and approach the gelding himself. Dale never had any problems approaching people. Regardless of how they looked at him, or treated him, Dale would talk to anyone. Good karma and all that, y'know? When you do good things, good thing's come back around to you. At least he thought so anyway. It was important to keep that chain flowing. 'If you bi'e me, I'll scream bloody murder' he thought to himself as he reached out to the gelding's long forehead, giving in a scratch. Heh, so even his thought patterns had a cockney lilt. "So, where'd you guy's come in from?" His large eyes landed on April once more.

[April Conners]

April Conners
“Something wicked this way comes.”

I loosed my grip on his nose, allowing my hand to slip down his silky fur down his soft muzzle. As soon as I allowed him to go he was off, barging ahead of me, almost making me fall flat of my face down the ramp. I steadied myself quickly, automatically pulling down the rope so the young gelding couldn’t be off on his own, which he would quite happily do if he had the chance. His head turned towards me as he sidestepped just off the edge of the ramp, the whites off his eyes showing with fright as he realised there was just thin air as his hoof plunged down to the ground. Between his hoof and the solid ground. He seemed to lose all coordination, tripping, his front feet slipping the only way to go, down. He hopped down off the ramp to regain himself as though nothing had ever happened, not noticing that he was dragging me along with him.

“Oh, Oliver!” I scolded, gritting my teeth. The young horses seemed to lose all manners. What kind of a trainer did that make me look like?
I grabbed his nose, wrapping my hand around his head to pull him to a firm square halt. He stood ears pricked, completely content looking around at all the cars, smelling as the horsey smells. He was blowing out his flared nostrils, sticking his tongue out. I don’t know why he did that, he just did. It was one of his little habits. It was kind of cute really. He always seemed to do it when he was brought to a halt. I used to do little pony club dressage tests with him because it was an outing for him and I’d always get little comments back from the judges saying “Cheeky pony” or “Nice tongue”. It never got in the way of things so I didn’t mind really. Not a lot you can do about it anyway.

“So, where you guys come from?” Dale asked, giving Oliver a scratch on his forehead. He seemed to enjoy that. Ollie dropped his head, closing his eyes, and of course there was the tell tale sign that he tongue was sticking out even more. What a silly horse.
“Essex, down near London.” I replied, fascinated by my horses tongue techniques. “I’m taking it your from around there. Got a right cockney accent, like.” I grinned at him, giving the horse a good slap on the neck as a pat. Ollie never minded it – It was normal for him, but I doubt that would be a good idea to do to all the horses, you never know there past.

“Best start walking him round. Do you know which stall he’ll be in? Nothing made up for him?” I asked. I really wanted to get him sorted so I could unpack all the tack and rugs he had. Ollie was already getting impatient as he started to step from foot to foot; giving Dale firm nudges in the chest. “Oi! Oliver! Don’t be so rude. Where are your manners?” I pulled his head away, flicking his nose to discourage him. “That’s naughty!”

I’m wearing...
Hoodie Tank top Jeans Half Chaps Trainers

My horse is wearing...
Headcoller Rug Travel boots Tail bandage
[/color]

[Dale McCall]

"Ahh, so you noticed tha'?" Dale smiled cheekily, in regards to his lilt as he continued to scratch Oliver's nose, chuckling as he noticed the horse's tongue sticking out of his mouth. He'd never really seen a horse do that before, he thought, and it reminded him of a young dog, who had rollen over to recieve a scratch on the belly from it's owner. "'M from around Dalston originally, though I used to spend allo' of time with my uncle in the country. Tha's how I learnt to ride horses."

Not that he was necessarily good at it though. The very first time Dale ever plucked up enough courage to get on a horse (after about twenty minutes of tantrums and tears), Dale slipped right out of the saddle. He had only been eleven at the time. Never the less though, his uncle lifted him back on, and led the horse around the house at a slow walk, going as slow as Dale felt comfortable with, until he was confident enough to hold the reins himself.. His uncle had always said that once you learnt to ride a horse, you never quite forgot how. He loved it; thought it was the best thing in the world, to climb onto a horse's back and just fly along. No other feeling like it in the world, he'd say.

So she was from Essex? That was pretty genius, actually having someone at the school who had lived close to home. He missed London. Firefly was a cool place, but he couldnt help but feel homesick at times, for his mother and uncle. He wondered how often they were thinking of him. Would they be thinking of him as much as he was thinking of them?

"There are a couple of empty stalls, but 'm really no' sure if anything's been made up for him to be honest, sorry." Dale glanced back at the stalls for a brief moment, shrugging, before he turned back at April. "I really only came down 'ere to check on Zappa. Haven' been down here since yesterday." As he spoke, Dale suddenly felt a large weight push against his torso, causing him to totter slightly, his dark fringe falling back over his eyes. "Oi, give over ya cheeky sod," he admonished, albeit lightly, as Alice pulled Oliver's face away, giving him a quick flick on his large nose. So it starts, does it? Picking on the little guy. "Think he should have a li'l walk around for a bi' ay? Before he decides to gobble me up like a twix." He reached out to give Oliver a quick pat on the side of his face, being careful to keep his finger's away from the bully's teeth. "Y'know, I was goin' to go for a ride, how about we take your stuff to the stalls and then you an' Oliver come along with me? There are some grea' trail's along here." He offered, running his finger's back through his hair, re-exposing his large powdery blue eyes.

[April Conners]

April Conners
“Something wicked this way comes.”

"Y'know, I was goin' to go for a ride, how about we take your stuff to the stalls and then you an' Oliver come along with me? There are some grea' trail's along here." Dale offered.

“That’ll be great!” I said tipping my head back and giving my foot a stop with enthusiasm. I turned to look at gelding. “This little guy here needs to stretch his legs.” I gave another flick to his muzzle, grinning at the horse as he tossed his head up, almost like he was going “Hey! No fair!”

I stroked his forelock, fingering it out so it had no tugs in it, making it all neat and tidy. In return the cheeky monkey chucked his head up in the air, messing it up again. He gave his head a good shake, making absolute sure that there was no way one hair could be in place. “Oi, Cheeky!” I laughed at him, giving him another flick on the nose. He bobbed his head up and down, sticking his tongue out again sending saliva flying. Eww...

“C’mon slopper chops.” I smiled tossing the lead rope forward. He started to jog along beside me, pulling on the rope. He janked his head down, wanting to go faster in every direction I faced him. I ended up having to bring the lead rope over his muzzle like a drop nose band to give me some extra support.

“You sure you want to go out hacking with me?” I laughed, glancing back at Dale. I didn’t really want to take my eyes off Oliver for a second, having my hands full with him. “I bet your mare is better behaved than his!” The young horse was frothing at the mouth, his nostrils flared, ears pricked forward excitedly. He constantly let out these deafening high-pitched whinnies. “Easy, boy.” I said, continuing to lead him in circles, calming him down.

He started to settle after a few circles. He stopped jogging and started to walk properly, showing more manners. “Good boy, Good boy..” I repeated soothingly. “That’s a boy.” I turned him towards the barn, giving a gently pull down the rope to stop him. He finally responded without a fight. I turned to Dale .“Do you think it’s worth finding a stall?” I asked. “I mean I might as well tack him up out here and settle him after he’s been worked. I don’t even know where I’m going.”

I’m wearing...
Hoodie Tank top Jeans Half Chaps Trainers

My horse is wearing...
Headcoller Rug Travel boots Tail bandage
[/color]

[Dale McCall]

Dale grinned widely, showing off high cheek bones and slightly crooked front teeth as April agreed to acompany him on his ride. It seemed like ages since he'd had someone to hang out with (when in reality, he had only caught up with Giselle on the Saturday), so he had begun to have slight company withdrawls.

"A'right le's do it," He clapped his hands together in a lively way. He had no idea how far April or Oliver had travelled to be here, but yes, he agreed with her that the gelding looked as if he needed some time to simmer down a bit, the way he kept tossing his head back and gittering on his hooves. The salivating was a little odd too, but Dale could only really put that down to all of the excitement of being in a new place. This horse, it seemed, was a real goofy character. But that suited Dale just fine, after all, he himself was considered a bit of a goofy guy as well. Perhaps they weren't so different.

As April played with Oliver's hair, Dale could not help but gently tuck some of his lengthy raven-colored hair behind his own ear, enjoying the way that it slid smoothly through his fingers. It seemed unnaturally soft, considering all the daily products he used in it: root booster, volume spray, hair spray... to name a few.

As April asked if he was really sure that he wanted her to come along, Dale's smile softened and he have a light shrug. "'Course I do," he spoke between Oliver's insistant whinnies. "How bored would I be, knowin' that you're ou' there havin' fun, while I'm on me own." Dale waited patiently for a moment, whilst April settled Oliver down, not wanting to rush her. If they did leave while he was in this state, Dale was sure that they'd have problems, so the best thing to do was wait until some of the excitement had worn off at least.

"Prolly no' worth finding the stall actually," Dale considered this a moment as he crossed his arms, allowing his tongue to curl cheekily against one of his incizors. "From the look's of i', if we don' hurry it along, young Ollie here will prolly star' draggin' you along the ground." He chuckled, glancing back at the stalls for a brief moment. "I'll just ge' Zappa ready real quick a'right? Be back in a flash."

At a quick jog, Dale entered the stalls, heading towards the far left, where a young white, sorrel, and grey mare was nosing about the stall floor's, presumably picking up stray hay, or horse feed that had scattered along the floor boards. "A'right, love?" Dale spoke with affection as he approached, unhooking the stall door. Zappa raised her head, a piece of hay sticking out of the corner of her mouth as she nickered a greeting and sauntered towards him.

"Sorry I haven' been around for a bi', I've had allo' to do lately." He apologized, rubbing a hand along the white line of fur on her long nose, before moving along to the sorrel fur of her neck as he stepped inside. Again, Zappa nickered, small ears waving in the direction of his lilt as he spoke. "Go' a surprise for ya." He smiled as he took a bridle from the side of the stall, and began to slip it over her head. Zappa responded with a noisy snort, and tossed her head downwards, sniffing at his boots. "'Ey! Now do you wanna know wha' your surprise is or not?" He rebuked lightly, giving her chin a light flick, not unlike how April did, as Oliver had misbehaved. "'Cause I can easily come back tomorrow. Hmm?" As if in reply, Zappa lifted her head and began sniffing at his KISS jacket. "Tha's a bit better." He decided, bottom lip clamped between his top and bottom teeth, as he smiled warmly. It had been an empty threat, of course, but she didnt have to know that.

Dale leant towards Zappa and stroked her mane as he took hold of the reins in his hands. "You ready?" He asked, making a couple of clicking noises with his tongue as he opening the stall door a little wider so that he could walk her outside. Hee decided against the saddle, knowing that it wasnt the best idea considering he still wasnt quite used to riding bareback yet, but then, putting the saddle on took time, and he really didnt want to keep April, or Oliver waiting. Especially Oliver, actually, who looked as if he could break free from little April's grip at any moment if he didn't hurry it up.

The weather was nice outside; not too cold but not too warm, either. It was a refreshing change from English weather, which was very unpredictable at times. Most Londoners made a habit of carrying both an umbrella and sunglasses about their person. So far the Kentucky weather had been nothing but pleasant, save for the chilly nights (which he spent curled up in a little ball inside of his duvet anyway).

The moment that the warm sun hit Zappa's tri-colored fur, she let out an eager nicker, trying to walk a little faster as Dale tried fruitlessly to keep her close to him. He wasnt sure how either horse would react towards each other, so he wanted to keep it safe, at least for the moment until he was sure they'd both be alright. "Well, this is my beau'iful girl, Zappa." Dale spoke with a hint of pride, as he came to a stand still, about a meter away or so away from where April was holding Oliver.

Almost instantly, Zappa let out a whinnie, lowering her head and raising it as she looked on at Oliver, ears raised in attentiveness towards him. She was in no way a shy mare, but she was also quite gentle, and complacent. Perfect really, for a rider such as Dale, who wasn't as confident in his own riding abilities. Not than he didnt love it! Oh no, he did like to ride, he always had. It was just that when it came to everything else, Dale approached everyone, and everything with a confidence and elegance, the way he was always open and friendly. It was make horse's that made him a little nurvous at times, females where fine.

He supposed it was just one of those things. He'd always preffered the company of women, rather than mens. Women were cooler about stuff, where men were very narrow and conditioned to think a certain way. He didnt suppose it was the same with horses. They didnt really have a respect for fashion, he supposed. But still, you can see his point. Right?

[April Conners]

April Conners
“Something wicked this way comes.”

I started to walk towards the run down trailer, gazing over at Dale who trotted off to get his mare, wondering what she was like. I hoped in the back of my mind that she would be a quiet well mannered mare, a role model to Oliver, but somehow doubt a youngster would be. I don’t even think it would be right having a well behaved youngster. I could remember one of the young horses at a neighbouring farm back at home. The horse never did anything, never bucked, never reared, never spooked, and never bolted. He was practically like the perfect horse. Turned out to have a hole in his heart.

I quickly tied Ollie in a loose tie knot at the side of the trailer. He looked great, for once. He didn’t need grooming which was a god send because when Oliver needs grooming you don’t want to know about it. I unhooked the front of his rug, pulling it off him quickly. It was new, one of the bargain mom picked up. I did love the rug, though. It was one of the only things I was glad my mom bought. I whipped it off, showing his bright chestnut coat. It had just been washed and I was proud of it. The sun shone onto him making it gleam. I smiled to myself, stepping back to admire my handy work. Might as well enjoy it now, it isn’t going to last for long. Hmm... If only me and Oliver could go and compete in high level competition then he’d look like this all the time. I’d be able to afford the best horse shampoos and maybe we’d even have a groom who could help me... I quickly snapped out of my day dream. Oliver has a great jump on him but there’s no way that we could afford to even get started. Nope. It’s not going to happen.

I strode forwards and started to take off his travelling boots. Oliver was being a pain, trying to chew my hair getting slobber all over me, nudging me and basically getting in the way of everything. I found myself growling at him every two seconds, just trying to get the job done. “Oliver!” I scolded as he walked into me just missing my foot. He was a very patient pony, always feeling the need to fidget and move around. I hardly noticed the echo’s of hooves coming from the direction of the barn until Oliver sent his head flying up in the air, head butting me and sending me back into the trailer, and just to top it off squealing a whinny right in my ear.

“For fuck sake, Oliver!” I cried at the horse, cradling my head in my hand.
I forgot about Dale, taking a swing at the gelding with the travelling boot, pretending to hit him. Oliver took no notice; he knew I’d never raise a hand to him. No matter how many nose bleeds he gave me. I sighed, turning round to see Dale and his mare walking towards us. “Oh shit!” I mumbled under my breath, stumbling towards the car. I swung the door open, rubbing my head. I threw the travelling boot in and started rummaging around for his tack among the bomb site. “I’ll just be a minute!” I shouted back towards Dale.

“Got it!” I pulled the some tack out from the wreckage of the car. I grabbed a hold of as much as I could, and as if I couldn’t make more of a fool of myself, smacked my poor head off the door frame. “Dammit!” I grumbled angrily, dropping my bridal bag of the ground so I could grab the back of my head again. I put on a fake giggle, turning towards Dale, pretending to laugh it off as I grabbed the bag off the floor. My smile dropped as soon as I turned my back on him. This wasn’t going to well.

I quickly unzipped the saddle back, trying to multi task as I put swung the numnah over Ollie’s back. As soon as I let go he turned his head round and grabbed it, pulling it straight off his back. “Oliver!” I cried, grabbing it straight back off him. This was one of his little party tricks. He liked to take things off himself as soon as you put it on. It was cute at first, but now it was just annoying. I signed to myself, my head aching (Courtesy of Ollie himself) and turned towards Dale. “Would you give me a hand?” I asked, since he seemed to be getting on so well himself.

I’m wearing...
Hoodie Tank top Jeans Half Chaps Trainers

My horse is wearing...
Headcoller Rug Travel boots Tail bandage
[/color]

[Dale McCall]

Oliver just seemed intent on sabotaging April's every attempt at getting him ready to go for a ride. It would have almost looked comical, had April not hurt herself in retrieving a bridle bag from her mother's car, or dropped the tack. Then, to make matter's worse, as April tried to pull the numnah onto his broad back, he simply flipped it right back off again, letting it land onto the dirt.

"Okay!" Dale agreed quickly as April asked for help, before giving Zappa's lead rope a firm tug. He really should have offered straight away, he thought, a little guiltily. "C'mon you," he said resolutely as he pulled her towards the other side of the trailer that Oliver was tied to and and tied her there himself with a quick knot. Almost instantly, the mare began to swish her head from side to side, pulling the lead rope taut, before letting it loosen again, and repeating the action; she was obviously not very pleased about being let out of her stall, only to be tied up again. Ahh well, she was just going to have to deal with it for the moment.

But first, rounding to the other side of the float, Dale stood in front of Oliver, arms folded, legs apart but with the toes pointing slightly inwards. Jet-black hair fluffed up around his head underneith his hat so that he looked like some dark avenging angel; his powder grey eyes giving the naughty gelding a fixed look. "Now you lookie here, Trouble," He gave the gelding's forhead a firm flick with his index finger, making sure that Oliver was paying attention. "Behave yourself!" Dale wasnt sure how April would feel about him handling her horse like that, whether he was being a deliberate paint in the ass or not. But enough was enough really. It was time for the gelding to settle down.

Dale then turned his attention towards April, and his facial expression changed in an instant. A look of concern on his face, his eyes were glittering with a worry, not rebuke. Every muscle in his body seemed to relax. It was quite the transformation – He had conveyed what he wanted to say to Oliver before turning his attention towards April. Now he walked towards her, all traces of his previous mood vanished. Yet his new behaviour wasn’t fake, not at all. It just seemed that Dale had perfected the art of changing moods in an instant to suit his purpose. He was genuinely concerned for April.

"Here, lemme take this," He knelt down and hoisted the tack underneith one arm, almost dropping it all himself before he adjusted it into a better possition. It was heavy, but he found he couldn't really care less. "Are you a'right?" He winced as he looked at the little blonde's head, top lip biting down on his bottom lip. "He go' you good didn' he?" The thought of personal boundaries didn't really occur to him then, as he reached out with his free hand, and ever so gently, felt along where he guessed she'd been hit. If it had been the other way around, big bump or not, Dale knew that he would hate it if someone just reached out and touched his hair. He never usually vocalized it though, not unless he felt riled up in anyway. "Do you need to si' down? I don' wan' you keelin' over on me. I don' wanna carry all this an' you back to the acadamy." He spoke a little more light-heartedly, look of concern replaced by a cheeky smile.

[April Conners]

April Conners
“Something wicked this way comes.”

I felt as though I was just about to melt into the ground.

Or at least I wanted to. Just disappear. Oliver looked at me innocently, cocking his head. I knew he wasn’t a nasty horse. He didn’t have a bad bone in his body. But he was challenging. I didn’t know what Dale would be thinking about him, he was making himself look like the most horrible horse ever. The fact that Dales mare had been taken away seemed to help him calm down a bit, though. Funny how she didn’t seem to be misbehaving. I walked up to his head and took a hold of the cheek piece of the halter, looking into the gelding’s eye. “Listen, you.” I told him. “Settle down! You’re making a fool out of yourself. Just quit you’re messing around or I’ll get angry.”

My eyes flicked up to Dale as he came round the side of the trailer. I started to fiddle with Oliver’s numnah, feeling like a failure as a trainer. He walked over to my horses head and told him to settle down which made me feel worse. I ran my fingers through the fleece lining of the numnah, looking up at him as he walked towards me. I looked into his eyes, he looked deeply concerned. "Here, lemme take this," He took the saddle off me, staring at my forehead, looking genuinely worried. "Are you a'right? He go' you good didn' he?" He winced, concentrating on my head. I broke my gaze, looking over at my gelding feeling a bit uncomfortable.

He reached out his hand to touch the bump on my forehead. Even though I knew he was just trying to see if I was ok, it did make me feel slightly weird. I leant back, moving away from his hand. "Do you need to si' down? I don' wan' you keelin' over on me. I don' wanna carry all this an' you back to the acadamy." I stepped to the side, walking over to the gelding’s side, putting my hand on his shoulder. “I’m fine, honest...” I mumbled over my shoulder. “I best just get him tacked up, yeah?” I placed the numnah on his back, moving in carefully to get it in the right place like a nervous twitch, looking back over my shoulder.

I around, leaning back on the horse. Placing my hands on his belly, stroking his fur in the right direction. I smiled to Dale, who didn’t seem convinced. “Look, I’m fine, honest.” I tilted my head to the side, grinning, showing a set of white teeth. I pushed off Oliver’s side and walked back up to Dale. “Here, let me take that off you.” I took a hold of the saddles, slinging it over my arm. “Do us a favour and stick on his bridal for me.” I asked, turning back to focus on the young horse. I gently placed the saddle on his back, grabbing onto the saddle cloth, pulling it up into place with the saddle. I shifted it so it sat comfortably on the geldings back. I glanced over at Dale, smiling as I attached the girth to the saddle. He is a real nice guy. I have a feeling that we’ll get along well.

We soon had Oliver tacked up and ready to go, despite the bit drama, which wasn’t so bad. He just was fussing about accepting the bit. I grabbed my helmet from the car, placing it gently on my head before whacking it in place. I wrote my mom a quick note saying that I was off riding Ollie before stabling him.

“You ready?” I grinned at Dale, spirits lightened, looking forward for a good ride.

OCC - Do you want ot start a new thread for a hack? It would be nice to start something a bit fresher. Sorry about the quick ending I just havent got a lot of muse.


I’m wearing...
Hoodie Tank top Jeans Half Chaps Trainers

My horse is wearing...
Headcoller Rug Travel boots Tail bandage
[/color]