Calming Strokes (Open)

[Kaye~Twins~Koby]

.x.Kayleigh Rae Swift.x.
.x.Blind but not without insight.x.

The campus smelt of new growth, flowers blooming, fresh cut grass and everything of spring, the sun was gently filtering down onto her dark brown hair and the golden coat of her dog. Kayleigh kept a gentle hold of the guiding harness attached to her best friend and guide as the dog led her. Yes Kayleigh was blind, and she relied on this trained guide dog to lead her to the places she wanted to go, and to keep her safe. It wasn’t too hard to do, she trusted Kara completely, They had been shown around the campus yesterday before their arrival, and Kayleigh had picked up on the different scents of the different area’s also.

Right now they were headed to the stable’s, and Kayleigh knew they were almost there, the smell of leather saddles, horses, and hay and mixed together to form the most wonderful scent in the world in her opinion. They had allowed her to bring her gelding in yesterday while things were quiet and she had her mother there to help setting him. Not that she needed help with him but her mother had insisted.

She felt the ground beneath her change from the crunching gravel of the driveway to the inside of the barn, she knew she wouldn’t need to search for the one name plaque that held both writing and brail. Kara was already guiding her to the right stall and sure enough when Kara stoped and sat down with a little yip Kayleigh ran her fingers over the plaque and there written in the language of the blind was the words Local Warrior. Smile played on her lips as she took off Kara’s harness, it only got in the dogs way when she wasn’t holding onto it.

“Go get my brushes girl”

She spoke gently to the golden retriever, she heard the gently clicking of the dogs claws on the floor and waited as she entered the store rooms and after sniffing for the right scent come loping back with Kayleigh’s grooming kit. She knew Kara had gotten the right one as she took it from her as it too had brail writing on it, she smiled patting the animals head before opening the stall door, Junior whickered softly and Kara walked in. Easily at home in the small space next to the much larger animal, the two animals greeted each other as normal before Kara went and lay out of the way.

“Hey beautiful boy, shall we make you sparkle”

Kayleigh said fondly as she picked up her curry brush, stroking the geldings velvet nose before moving off to the left, always her bare hand stroked him first before she used the curry brush in circle motions, to loosen off the dust and any shedding hair. She relied on feel to ensure that she wouldn’t hurt her horse during the grooming process, and she heard his wicker gently before he went back to absently munching on stray its of hay. He always stood so still and easy while she groomed him, and she always felt so relaxed when doing so, once again she was glad it was Sunday and she could spend time getting Junior used to this place, and to calm her own nerves.

She knew she could do all the classes she signed up for and she knew she could ride and care for Junior easily. Though she also knew that in a new place where no one knows you people often criticise, she always had to prove herself to new people, prove that she wasn’t a child that her handicap was simply a slight handicap and she could still do most things that normal kids could do.

“We will just have to show them wont we my darlings”

She spoke with a sigh as she addressed both of her animals, thoughts turned to her parents who had to move in order for her to come here, they had all been living in Australia, but no where they had looked there were willing to allow a dog on campus and around the horses, or to have the burden of ordering books in brail. Kayleigh knew the real reason though no one believed a blind person could ride a horse without breaking something. They had all but given up when they heard of FFA, it had been a shining beacon of hope, one that had not flickered and died.

Amused smile played on her lips as she moved to the other side of her gelding with the curry brush.

“We will just have to prove them all wrong”

She murmured into the ebony geldings ear. Some days she longed to be able to see him again, she remembered training him herself when he was a little colt of course her father had helped a lot but he had always told her ‘that colt of yours only responds to you, if I tried training him meself he would be a lost cause that one’ Kayleigh had never believed him because in her eyes her father was the best and could tame and train any horse no matter what. Though she never argued with him, she knew she and Junior had a special bond.

Word Count ;; 872

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[Sonya Williams]

The day was nice, a bit warm and humid but nice enough. Classes though? Boring, dull and repetative. Blake's last class of the day had been jumping and dear god was he tired of the course they'd been running. Time and time again, repetition over small, low jumps as warm-ups and then only slightly higher jumps in various patterns through the rest of the class. As much as he loved jumping, Blake knew that both he and his Thoroughbred needed higher jumps to get any thrill out of the event. Real jumping usually got him a decent thrill and doing it in show was like nothing else. Plus, Tucker, his Thoroughbred was a high energy animal. Tucker needed a long hard work out, not the easy jumps and warm-ups they'd been going through in class.

"Looks like we'll be doing some practice this afternoon" Blake said to Tucker, leading the bay stallion into the barn.

Tucker snorted, shaking his mane a little.

Taking that as a yes from his mount, Blake headed for Tucker's stall. Regardless of his or Tucker's impatience, the horse needed a chance to eat a bit and drink before Blake took him out for a longer workout. So, the jockey-to-be led his rescued mount toward his stall but stopped short before he got to it. Tucker, droopy-eyed and bored, bumped him and snorted unhappily. Blake ignored him for once.

In the stall to the left of Tucker's was a black gelding that he was sure hadn't been there when he'd ridden Tucker out for his class. Of course the stable hands cycled horses through the pastures in the morning so, maybe he'd been in pasture and just brought in? Possibly but still, weird that Blake hadn't noticed the new student. Speaking of which...

Blake's eyes searched the stall and found a girl brushing the black horse. Great. Another one. People might thing guys didn't know how to sit on a saddle. Oh well.

Shrugging, Blake gave Tucker's reins a small tug and led him toward his stall as if nothing were new. As he circled Tuck in and closed the stall door though, the Thoroughbred seemed interested in the gelding and interested wasn't a good thing for Tucker. He was a competitive Thoroughbred unless in the right state of mind and right now he had some decent pent up energy.

"Don't even think about it doofus" Blake chided the Thoroughbred as Tucker started snorting and pawing at the straw bedding in his stall.

Relieving the stallion of his bridle and saddle so he could eat comfortably, Blake was just about to slip out of the stall when...Tucker reared. The Thoroughbred flung his front legs up and reared up high, boxing the air and snorting unhappily. Blake groaned, holding up his arms to get the stallion's attention.

"Knock it off, you're not in the gate so stop being such a jerk" Blake chided, blushing at his horse's misbehavior in front of a new student. "Save it for the track you walking glue bottle."

Tucker snorted and shook his head, pawing at the empty water bucket.

Blake rolled his eyes and snatched up the bucket. "Only if you behave. Sheesh." Turning to the girl he rubbed the back of his neck apologetically. "Sorry about him, he's just a jerk sometimes. He's harmless though, I swear."

[Kaye~Twins~Koby]

.x.Kayleigh Rae Swift.x.
.x.Blind but not without insight.x.

Kaye had just swapped the curry comb for a normal brush to rid Juniors coat of the dirt that would now be visible on the top of his coat, though naturally not to her. She head the clicking of hooves on the ground coming closer and the quieter sound of the feet beside the horse. It wasn’t until she heard the voice that she realised it was a guy walking the horse in. She also heard the barely audible growl in Kara’s throat as they grew closer and paused outside their stall.

Kaye didn’t look up pretending not to pay attention to the boy and his mount though she really just didn’t want to advertise the fact that she was blind right off the bat. People tended to pick up on those things when she couldn’t look them directly in the face as they spoke. She knew though that there was no threat from either as Kara’s growl only lasted seconds before it cut off. If she didn’t like someone then it was hard to get her to stop her rumbling growl, which would build up from the barely audible growl to a thundering one. Thankfully today was not a day of which Kara chose to display this.

The door to the stall next to them opened moments later and she heard the tell tale signs of the horse being led into it, then the gentle clinking as the bridle and saddle being removed after the males voice had scolded the horse lightly. She shook her head only slightly as the tell tale sounds of a rearing horse sounded beside them. Junior snorted and Kaye heard Kara shift uneasily, a calming hand easily found the geldings neck.

More insults were thrown at the horse from the boy before he chose to address her. With a calming breath she turned in their direction looking the in vague direction of the boy, only guessing after all using the spot where his voice had last sounded.

“Don’t worry I believe that he is harmless, and maybe you should try talking to him as if he is a horse and not a ‘walking glue bottle’ after all horses are smart they tend to pick up the behaviour of their owners”

She spoke easily and calm, it wasn’t that she was a total bitch by any means, after all she had said it in a nice enough voice. Kaye but simply outspoken, in her mind animals held higher rank then humans, and she was never one to keep her thoughts to herself, if she thought you were being a jerk she would tell you.

Absently her hand still ran the length of Juniors neck as she faced where she hoped the boy stood, even though she knew it wouldn’t be long before he and the rest of the campus knew she was blind she did like to seem as normal as possible, I mean being an outspoken teenager was hard enough without the world being a black empty void.

Word Count ;; 504

[Sonya Williams]

Blake chuckled at the girl's words, not really picking up on the blindness. He wasn't the most observant fellow around. Either way the guy just shrugged and patted Tucker's muzzle. "He's alright. Tuck knows he's a champ to me. When he gets to rearing though, not exactly a time for praise."

Tucker and Blake were two of a kind. Hotheaded, often irritable, not very social, competitive and cruisin' for a bruisin' more often than not. Tucker knew Blake didn't insult him because he hated him. The nicknames were in good fun. Since Blake had saved him from being a bottle of glue when he'd bought Tucker, Tuck could be assured Blake wouldn't let him be made into one any time soon. But, the girl didn't know that so he couldn't hold it against her. Plus, at least she was honest about what she thought. If she thought he was mean to his horse then at least she said it to his face, kind of.

Wait a second...

Blake blinked and frowned slightly. Her gaze was a little off, not bad but now that he noticed...Blake's eyes wandered to the dog in the stall and his eyebrows shot up. They allowed dogs at Firefly Fields? Since when? Frowning slightly, Blake looked from dog to girl, girl to dog and it clicked. Blind. Seeing-eye dog and all that. Huh, well that was new.

Shrugging, Blake walked out of the barn to fill up Tucker's water bucket. He hoped the Thoroughbred would behave himself at least. Turning on a hose, Blake filled the bucket before turning off the water and hauling the bucket back toward Tucker's stall. As expected the bay had fallen quiet, sullenly munching his hay from the net and flicking his tail in irritation. Blake rolled his eyes and opened the stall door to set down the bucket, slipping Tucker a mint out of his pocket for being quiet while he'd been gone. Tucker crunched them happily, still eyeing the new gelding but at least he wasn't making anymore moves to make a fuss.

"Pick your battles buddy" Blake murmured to his horse, stroking the stallion's muzzle before stepping out of the stall and turning toward the girl. "You new around here? I could swear there wasn't a horse in that stall this morning" Blake said.

He usually wasn't one for conversation but, there was a first time for everything. Might as we be friendly and not just because this girl was probably blind. Nah, Blake had been threatened two days ago by phone that if he didn't keep out of trouble his mom was going to either make him pay his own tuition or put him back in a correctional academy without Tucker. Seeing as being without his beloved rescue wasn't an option, Blake had decided to at least make an attempt at shaping up. Thus far it wasn't really working all that well but he hadn't gotten into any fist fights yet so, it was his best record so far.

[Kaye~Twins~Koby]

.x.Kayleigh Rae Swift.x.
.x.Blind but not without insight.x.

Kayleigh smiled and shook her head slightly at his words, obviously she knew that calm words and praise where not what was warranted while the horse was rearing. He had totally missed what she was getting at, typical male, she thought to herself smiling inward at the thought.

“I realise its not the time for praise when they rear, but have you ever considered that continuing the rebuffs once he calms isn’t doing him any good? Most horses would learn quicker about what is expected of them if once they do as you wish they are praised.”

She spoke easily in the direction of his voice again, behind her Junior snorted quietly not too impressed about the fact that she had stopped brushing him to talk to the guy with the rearing horse. As she heard him leaving the stall she shrugged and turned back to her gelding flicking the brush over him to remove the dust. Smile played on her lips as she heard Kara sneeze off to the side.

Kaye pushed aside a thick strand of her dark brown hair that had escaped her high ponytail and tucked it behind her ear, sometimes she considered shaving it all off, it would make life so much easier. She could never do much with her hair, mainly because she couldn’t see it, so either leaving it out or chucking it into basic pony tails was all it ever got.

Her clothes were simple today, faded and somewhat ripped jeans covered her legs, while old battered riding boots protected her feet, usually she preferred ballet flats for their comfort but when in the stables boots were best. Today a basic green v neck shirt clung to her figure and her gold heart locket nestled against her neck.

As she brushed Junior she could hear the water slowly filling the water bucket as it gushed from the hose, then when that stopped she heard the slow footsteps accompanying the sloshing water as with each step the guy took it moved around the water bucket. Finally she heard him place it down and leave the stall next door, at first she thought he would keep walking and she would again be alone in the stalls again. No that wasn’t the case he stopped outside her stall, she kept brushing Junior though, just because this guy had decided to talk to her didn’t mean she was going to drop everything and pay undivided attention to him. No that attention was much better spend on her gelding Junior, and he was more then happy to have it back.

She listened to his words and pictured where he would be standing, was she new here? Well obviously if he hadn’t seen the horse right next to his before she was, what a silly question she thought to herself but she didn’t voice that … this time.

“Well since I’m guessing you have never seen many blind chicks around campus either it would be a given that I’m new, names Kayleigh, my friends call me Kaye which means you may call me Kayleigh”

She said instead, still not the gracious shy response she often heard new girls giving but that wasn’t her, she wasn’t one of the shy girls that would look down and away and mutter a quiet yes to anyone. Besides where was the fun in that, you never got into verbal sparing competitions with anyone if you were shy and didn’t say much. Her mother had always told her she needed to watch her mouth, her mother defiantly was one of those quiet girls who would look down and mutter a yes. Kaye didn’t even get her personality from her dad, nope defiantly not from him, he was a coward he never stood up to anyone in his life. No Kaye got her personality from her grandmother, now she was someone who no body ever messed with or questioned, and if they did she would never back down, if she believed she was right she would fight for that belief until she turned blue.

Yes her grandmother understood her perfectly and where her mother tried to tell her to tame it down, her grandmother was always telling her to amp it up. ‘You’ve got the foundations of a strong women Kayleigh but you need to amp it up a bit, ignore your mother you will never command a room if you give in to even one person! Never take anything for say so girl, you tell em who’s boss and you keep telling em till the cows come home’

Was just one of her grandmothers favourite speeches to give, it always pleased her the most when Kaye would get all hot headed and fire stuff back at her, in her grandmothers mind, that was a better way of saying I agree then yes grandma.

Word Count ;; 810

[Sonya Williams]

Blake raised an eyebrow at the girl's reponse but he wasn't really surprised. The thing she didn't seem to grasp was people came and went at this academy like no other. Also, sometimes horses had their stalls shifted and rearranged according to if new horses were coming in or if certain horses had bad reactions when in stalls near one another. Last semester there had been two stallions that would constantly bite and try to kick one another or escape their stalls to fight. He would know because he had been one of the few idiots smart enough to help calm the horses and herd them to different empty stalls before they knocked each other's blocks off.

Shrugging, Blake simply smiled and leaned on Tucker's stall door. "Well Kayleigh, horses tend to change stalls pretty often around here and its a big school. I don't know everybody's horses and to be honest, I would get your horse mixed up with any other black gelding wandering around in the pasture. But, I'm the guy that would loose my own horse if he didn't decide that for some reason he didn't mind tolerating me."

From his stall, Tucker snuffled and moved from munching hay and drinking his fill to nosing at Blake's arm and lipping his shirt sleeve. Blake smiled and stroked the Thoroughbred's muzzle. To some he was just a mean, grumpy horse that had two moods: competitive and murderous. That wasn't true. He was a softie to some, like Vee, Luke Peters' mare but that was probably one that didn't count. They got along well and Blake didn't think it was just because he had saved Tucker from being made into glue or dog food. Tucker snorted and swished his tail, looking toward the saddle Blake had left over the half door of his stall. Blake smiled at the stallion.

"Ok boy, time to ride. Want the race saddle or just take it easy?"

Tucker nickered and shook his head at the mentioned of 'take it easy' which made Blake laugh.

"How's a nice mile gallop sound? I don't have my silks so you'll just have to make due with none of that fancy stuff you used to have."

Again Tucker snorted.

Blake shook his head and looked over at Kayleigh. "Well Miss Kayleigh, I'm guessing it'll be too much to ask if you'd care for a bit of a ride? Probably. Be right back Tuck, gotta switch out tacks."

Grabbing the English saddle they used in classes, Blake began to make his way to the tack room for the racing saddle he'd saved up to buy when he'd first bought Tucker. Hoping to be a future jockey and all, Blake had wanted some practice despite the fact he was rather tall for a jockey.

Halfway to the tack room though, walking past the wash stalls, Blake's riding boots slipped on the wet concrete outside of a recently used stall. With a yelp his saddle flew out of his hands as Blake toppled, landing on his back and nearly smacking his head on the concrete floor. God this just wasn't his day. From the stall he heard Tuck paw the straw.

"What are you laughing at Tuck? You'll be bathing in one of these things tonight" Blake shot back, snatching up the saddle and scrambling to his feet.

[Kaye~Twins~Koby]

.x.Kayleigh Rae Swift.x.
.x.Blind but not without insight.x.

Kayleigh laughed and shrugged this guy could be fun to verbal spar with, at least she knew now that she wouldn’t be without someone who was outspoken like her. She would have kept going but she had to admit he did have a point, not that she would admit it out loud though, another thing her grandma had always told her ‘no matter what never let the opponent sense that they are breaking down your defences’ Kaye smiled at the memory where most kids would have sat with their grandma’s watching them knit or drawing pictures, her grandma had coached her in how to win arguments, and stand up for everything you believe in.

Mother hated it, as she often lost arguments with Kaye even before grandma started coaching her, and once she had grandma’s knowledge she nearly never won, like allowing Kaye to go to a horse riding college away from home. So not her mum’s idea, she had been against it to begin, not wanting Kaye to embarrass herself if something went wrong but her arguments were nothing to Kaye’s and she eventually gave in and found this place for her.

Kaye listened half heartedly as the boy turned his attention to his horse, something about a ride by the sounds of it. She had to smile when he addressed her again and couldn’t resist the urge to throw something back at him, so turning she smiled sweetly.

“What, is that your way of saying, I would invite you for a ride, but I don’t want to be shown up by a blind chick?”

She called out after him as she heard him walking off to the tack room, she heard the tell tale clinking of the buckles and straps of a saddle as he picked it up and exited the tack room. Then the crash as she heard him fall the saddle flying into the air and thudding to the ground. The stallion in the stall next to them pawing the ground in amusement, soon followed by Junior who neighed, though it was more of a snickering sound as he was obviously laughing at the boy in his own horsey way.

“You ok boy?”

Kaye said as she placed the brush down and felt her way to the stall door, opening it, she looked in the direction she knew he would be and was about to fumble her way over to help when she heard him scrambling to his feet and grabbing hold of the saddle once more. An amused smirk was on her lips at the thought of this tough guy falling on his ass and once more she wished she could see, it would have been an amusing sight to witness properly she thought. Plus it would be nice to put a face to the voice, and eventually the name if he ever told it to her in the meantime she would just have to call him boy.

She felt the golden retriever brush against her leg as she obviously came to sit next to her, she was a worry wart of a dog, never liked to be separated from Kaye’s side, and she could be very protective when something threatened Kaye, even if it was a stick in her path that may make her trip. Kara would make her stop, and Kaye knew better by now then to fight with her guide and friend, so she would let go of the lead as Kara raced forward shifting the stick before returning to her side.

Word Count ;; 590

[Sonya Williams]

Blake flushed, knowing that there was no way Kayleigh could have missed him falling on his ass since both he and the saddle had made plenty of noise on the way down. Oh well. He wasn't thankful she was blind but just this once it helped salvage a small part of his ego. Making his way back to the stall and giving the protective-looking retriever a wide bubble of personal space, Blake chuckled.

"Boy? What did your horse hurt himself? Well, either way, I wouldn't mind being shown up by a blind girl. Just proves there's someone in this damn place that knows how to ride. Doubt you ride the same style though. Race tack. I know, I know, not a good career choice but, its a nice adrenaline rush."

Tucker snuffled as Blake slipped into the stallion's stall. Nudging him aside so he had room to work, Blake started with the saddle blanket and saddle. Working to situate them comfortably on Tucker's back, Blake checked the stirrup length, typical regulation length for a guy of his height. True he was tall to be a jockey, but he was a scrawny kid. He'd just have to ride the taller Thoroughbreds. Once he was sure the saddle was fine and the girth strap wasn't too loose or too tight, Blake dropped into a crouch and began booting Tuck's legs. Thoroughbreds had touchy ankles and their thin legs required good care. After rides like the one he would give Tucker today, he would have to tend to his legs later to make sure nothing strained, pulled, tore or got bruised. It was work but Tucker was worth it even if track officials didn't thinks so.

"You know Tuck? I've got some lovely ladies I'm gonna show you later though I doubt you'll care. But, guess what? One of the fillies is your daughter, two year old filly. coulda' had a heart attack when your old owners called to see if I wanted her. What do ya think bud?"

Tucker snuffled, not looking all that interested as Blake circled his legs, strapping the riding boots around his ankles. Blake hadn't expected much of an answer and sighed regardless, grabbing the bridle from where he'd hung it over the stall door. Tuck took the bit and Blake checked the straps before looking over at the gelding and his girl.

"So, want to ride? We don't go far, about a mile out maybe."

Of course Blake wasn't a total jackass. If she really despised his company then he'd leave her be and go let Tuck run wild to his heart's content but, if his mom had managed to beat anything into his head it was be considerate to women regardless of their visionary prowess. Besides, vision was overrated. If nothing else the horse could see perfectly well for her.

[Kaye~Twins~Koby]

.x.Kayleigh Rae Swift.x.
.x.Blind but not without insight.x.

Kayleigh chuckled at the boys attempt to suggest that she had been talking to her horse and not to him, though it wasn’t much of a stretch she did call Junior boy sometimes but no, she had been addressing him this time and not Junior.

“Oh Junior is fine I was talking to you, but since you haven’t told me your name and all I really know about you is you’re a guy, boy seemed like a good choice, if you prefer I could call you klutz, since it seems to fit, if your demonstration just now is anything to go by.”

She said easily smile playing calmly on her lips, yes he would be a fun guy to have around even if it was simply to have someone to provoke into arguments. She shook her head and felt her way back into the stall where she finished off brushing Junior, placing the things back into the bag.

“Kara, you know where it goes”

She spoke easily as the golden retriever took it from her hands and into her mouth before loping out of the stall and down the hall to the tack room, Kayleigh stroked Junior absentmindedly her thoughts drifting as the boys voice next door became a background hum as he spoke to his horse. Yes that wasn’t weird to her she did it often, no one listened better then an animal. Before long Kara entered the stall again tongue out she licked Kaye’s hand where it hung beside her. Smiling Kate stroked the animals head as well, heaven knows she couldn’t possible ignore Kara, or she would be very jealous.

“Thanks girl”

She said fondly as she scratched the retriever’s belly where she had laid on the ground and rolled exposing it. Kaye became aware that the boy seemed to have directed his words at her again and she listened before smiling.

“Well we were going to go exploring on our own, but Junior would never forgive me if I didn’t let him race around the trails with some competition, just let me get him saddled”

She said easily, yes she was blunt and to the point but that didn’t mean she didn’t like the company of another human, once more she felt her way out of the stall and Kara was right beside her as the two headed down to the tack room, it didn’t take long for Kaye to locate her western saddle and bridle, with Kara’s hyper sensitive nose. She soon had them and the blanket bundled in her arms and was paying close attention to the warm body beside her, using Kara to guide her a little more subtly then with the harness, but also more slowly.

Kara gave a quiet yip and Kaye knew that was the sign that they were back at Juniors stall so she placed the saddle over the door and entered again. She set about placing the blanket and saddle, relying on feel to fit it correctly, she had it down to a fine art by now, and she knew exactly which hole the straps needed to be in, and when they didn’t match up she knew Junior was blowing his gut out and she shook her head.

“Let that breath out boy”

She said tapping his stomach gently, she heard him let it out with a sigh and smiled pulling it into the right hole before taking hold of the bridal, it took a little longer as she felt for all the pieces, until she was happy she held it right, Junior took the bit easily and she lifted the leather over his ears before doing the straps up on this too.

“Alright we’re ready”

She said easily, as she worked she hadn’t been paying attention to the other boy or his mount so she wasn’t entirely sure if they were still in the stall next door or if they had moved off getting ready to head out.

Word Count ;; 661

[Sonya Williams]

Blake laughed, suddenly realizing she was right. She had given a name but he hadn't. Well, that wasn't too unusual. Blake was choosy about who actually got to know his name and who got their lights knocked out. Of course, with some very, very rare people they got both. The last person he'd knocked out that actually knew his name was his ex-best friend from home that had tried to frame him for drug possession. It had almost worked but Blake got out of it and two days later got shipped to Firefly Fields like it was a correctional facility. Blake knew it wasn't but his mom knew that if he was threatened with loosing Tucker, he would walk the line and not step a toe off. For a while.

"Right, totally forgot. Name's Blake Monroe" Blake told Kayleigh. "This pushy stallion is Tucker, Kentucky Rain when he's wearing silks."

Tucker flicked his ears at the mention of his name, looking around for why Blake was trying to get his attention. Blake patted the stallion's neck and checked the girth strap, tapping Tuck's belly lightly to make sure he hadn't "fluffed up" to make sure Blake didn't get the strap too tight. Luckily Tucker only did that when he didn't want to ride or whenever he was a particularly funky mood. Looked like today Tucker wasn't trying to decieve so, Blake gathered the reins he had let hang loose. Unbolting the stall door, Blake led Tucker out and grabbed a stepping stool next to the stall door. Even though he was tall, mounting on a racing saddle almost always required a little boost because the stirrups were so short.

Boosting himself up, Blake hopped into the saddle. Bending his knees so it almost looked like he was kneeling on Tucker's back, Blake hooked his boots in the stirrups. Looking over at Kayleigh, he smiled, just a little bit, even though she couldn't see it. She was looking somewhere between the stall and the barn doors. Blake nudged Tucker's side a little. The stallion stomped a hoof lightly.

"If you're ready, we're ready" Blake said. "Plenty of daylight before curfew so we can go slow or gallop, whatever you want."

He wasn't pitying her for being blind by offering to let her set the pace. Her gelding could see just fine and so could the dog. Blake knew how fast Tucker could go and knew that if they got to a nice straightaway gallop, well, a blind girl would be the last thing on his mind and he didn't want her getting disoriented or anything.

[Kaye~Twins~Koby]

.x.Kayleigh Rae Swift.x.
.x.Blind but not without insight.x.

Kaye smiled as she finally had a name to put to the voice, Blake, it suited him she thought even though she had no idea what he looked like it didn’t matter. Walking to the stall door and pushing it open she walked out, the reins were already over Juniors head and waiting near the horn on the saddle. She heard as both animals followed her out neither one being led. Once out of the stall Junior stoped and waited very still as Kaye felt her way around to his side, even though she wasn’t very tall herself neither was the gelding and she easily placed her foot into the stirrup she held in her hand.

Grabbing up the reins and a chunk of mane she made an easy jump and swung her leg over landing lightly in the saddle, leaning down over his neck she found the other stirrup with her hand and placed her foot in, then straightening up she separated her reigns and smiled, she loved being in the saddle it felt so natural to her.

“We’re ready aren’t we Junior, and if you want to go slow by all means go slow but we wont be.”

She said with a grin on her face and with the tiniest nudge Junior walked forward easily, sidestepping the other horse he walked sedately out the front doors of the barn Kara walking along beside them. As soon as Kaye felt the sun hit her face she squeezed Juniors sides again and bent lower in the saddle, Junior knew his que and he was off, racing over the ground toward the trails, mane, tail and hair whipping out behind them, Kara broke into a full out run in the next stride and the three friends enjoyed their sense of freedom, whether Blake and Tucker caught up was no skin of their nose, for in that moment Kaye felt free and she knew both her friends would be loving this too.

Laughter bubbled up inside her and burst out as it so often did when they galloped, it was always such a thrill, even though Junior wasn’t an overly tall horse, his strides were long and quick and he flew over the ground easily. Kaye had no idea where they were headed but she trusted the Gelding, he had an awesome sense of direction, and besides what was curfew anyway, who really cared, she would go to bed eventually, if it happened to be out in the bush curled up next to Junior and Kara so be it.

Word Count ;; 427

[Sonya Williams]

Tucker was known for not being a fast breaker from the gate, Blake had noticed that when he'd gotten to work with Tucker last summer. So, when Kaye's horse took off, it took Tucker a nano-second to process and then bolt forward as well. To many this was one of his undesirable hitches, a glitch that needed to be repaired or removed. Blake though, Blake found that while Tucker didn't break right away, he held the lead in the long run which suited Blake just fine. Tuck would find his groove and when he did, there was no catching him.

The stallion broke out of the stable, hot on the heels of the black gelding. Blake leaned forward, a jockey's position atop the saddle suiting him just find despite his height. Most jockeys were short but Blake made due with taller Thoroughbreds or ones like Tuck that didn't break right away but could hold their own when it came down to it. Swerving slightly to follow the path toward the trailhead, Blake relished in the feel of powerful muscle, easy breathing and sheer speed that made up a Thoroughbred. Bad tempers and all, he adored the breed. They were enduring when they had to be, affectionate when they wanted to be and bad ass all the time.

"Come on boy, there's no one to impress" Blake murmured to his horse, leaning close to the stallion's neck. "Let's go."

Tucker snorted, tossing his head a little before kicking it up a notch. His hooves thundered in a steady but fast rhythm and Blake could tell by the stallion's demeanor he was in a racing state of mind like he had just broke from the gate. Clicking his tongue, Blake shifted slightly and watched the world flash by from the back of a Thoroughbred. He didn't know if they passed Kaye's gelding or not until he caught sight of them up ahead. Adjusting Tucker's path so the stallion wouldn't trample the dog or graze past the gelding, Blake guided Tucker past them but they didn't go far ahead, maybe just a half-horse length.

Blake wanted to get Tucker to go faster but if nothing else he knew Tucker's limits. On the track Tucker had fallen twice before being "retired" and he didn't want to cause any injury to his champ. Since owning him, Blake had never pushed Tucker to the point of falling or serious injury. He had seen jockeys to it before when he had used to hang around his dad but had always made a point to not do that himself.

Also Blake didn't want to really loose sight of Kaye on a trail the girl didn't know. She was new here, didn't know the rules or where the trails tended to flood after a long rain. So it hadn't rain in a while but still, she had a lot to learn about FFA. Blake wasn't usually the tour guide type, much less to snobby girls but, oh well. He was feeling hospitable today, probably because he hadn't gotten a call saying his mom was threatening Tucker again so, that kept him in a decent mood.

Rounding the bend, a little ahead of Kaye, Blake blinked and yelped. Leaning back in the saddle he pulled the reins. Tucker neighed and stomped, swerving wildly. Slipping off the trail, the stallion clumsily half trotted-half slid down the embankment. Swinging out of the saddle, Blake scrambled up the embankment.

"Kaye hang on!" Blake called. "There's a copperhead in the trail!"

Copperheads were irritable snakes that would quite happily lash out and bite any horse that disturbed their sunning. Warrior wouldn't trample it but go close enough to see it and freak or go close enough and get bit.

Behind him, Tucker snorted unhappily, unharmed but disgruntled that his groove had been disrupted.

"Sorry buddy, better than getting bit though."

[Kaye~Twins~Koby]

.x.Kayleigh Rae Swift.x.
.x.Blind but not without insight.x.

Kaye was enjoying the ride so much it seemed like forever since they had ridden like this, flat out and care free, and she missed it, boy did she miss it. They would have to make this a weekly thing at the very least she thought to herself as they sped along the trail. She heard the other horse’s hooves coming up behind them, they were gaining but she didn’t mind, hadn’t Blake said something about Tucker wearing silks? Yes she thought he had, which meant that Tucker was in training to be a racehorse, only natural that he would be gaining on a gelding trained in dressage.

Kaye was enjoying the sun on her back and the wind in her hair as she gripped the mane more then the reins of the horse, when you were riding like this and you relied on the horse to be your guide what good were reins anyway, other then to confuse your mount. Then she heard it, Tucker neighing and stomping on the dirt up and to right, around the bend. Already she dropped the mane she had been holding only and gathered up her reins more firmly. Pulling back gently, Junior had heard it too and responded easily to the slight pressure at his mouth.

Then she heard Blake yelling out for her to wait, there was a copper head on the trail. So that was what had caused the commotion ahead of her a snake, well that made sense she thought as she slowed Junior right down to a walk, she felt him stop, obviously where Blake was.

“Are you and Tucker ok?”

She asked, she didn’t know a lot about the snakes around here being a lot more familiar with Australian snakes herself but she knew any snake wasn’t really a good thing. She heard Kara whine from where she had stoped beside them, she knew that whine.

“No Kara stay!”

She spoke firm and the golden retriever stopped fidgeting and whining and sat down looking up at Kaye even though Kaye couldn’t see her doing it. Sometimes that dog had a death wish, she loved to play with other animals, and snakes were something that seemed to fascinate her more so then others, luckily Kara was trained to listen to Kaye over acting impulsively.

Kaye took her feet out of the saddle and slid down to Juniors side instead of being atop him, she knew he wasn’t a fan of snakes. Taking a few steps forward she stroked his strong neck comforting him with her presence and touch as she waited to hear from Blake, she hoped his horse was ok both of them had been fair barrelling through the trails, how much warning had he that the snake was there. Obviously not a great deal from the noise she had heard before his yelling.

Word Count ;; 477

[Sonya Williams]

Blake glared at the snake sprawled in the middle of the trail and frowned. Ugh he hated snakes. They were much easier to handle with a .22 in his hands but, unlike back home he didn't have one here so that meant either trying to stomp it to death without getting killed or, find a nice long stick and poke it along. They did it on AnimalPlanet so how hard could it be? Looking up as Kaye came into view atop the gelding, Blake was about to speak again before the horse stopped seemingly of his own accord. Huh, smart horse. Smarter than he looked anyway. The dog though, well, Blake was about to either bark a command and hope it listened or just let it get bit and learn its lesson before Kaye gave a sharp command for it to stay.

"Tucker's fine, he's just cranky. Doesn't like getting put on the rails." Jockey terms for 'he's all good, just doesn't like swerving off the trail.'

Sighing, Blake looked around for a stick of some kind while the snake continued to sun itself. Spotting one under an elm tree alongside the trail, Blake lunged for it and snagged it before hopping back up onto the trail. Grabbing Tucker's reins, he led the Thoroughbred back up onto the trail though he left Tuck standing next to Kaye's gelding so he wouldn't get bitten. As Tucker skirted the snake it hissed menacingly, coiling up from its original stretched out position. This thing meant business.

"Just give me a sec, he needs to be in the bushes not trying to snap at horses" Blake said, adjusting his grip on the stick.

Leaving Tucker, Kaye's gelding, the dog and Kaye, Blake began to approach the snake. Stepping so he could try to come up behind the head, Blake tried to get the stick under the snake's body or loop it through a coil or something so he could fling it into the bushes. Whether it broke its spine landing was no concern of his. One less poison snake in Kentucky wasn't going to kill him and he was certain nobody would miss it. The snake hissed, flicking its tongue at Blake, looking very irritable.

"Come on Scales, you gotta move" Blake murmured, trying to prod the snake into slithering off or something.

It hissed again, raising its head a little. Managing to get the stick under the snake, Blake tried to move the snake but it slipped off and hissed angrily. Jumping back when it lunged, it missed but Blake was seriously considering just heading off the trail and going around. But, what if other riders came and didn't see the snake? The horses stabled at Firefly Fields were not only very expensive but also close friends to their riders. A copperhead bite wasn't a fun thing for a horse or rider to go through. Using the stick, Blake tried to immobilize the copperhead's head. Lunging forward he grabbed the tail, holding it at arm's length for a nano-second before flinging it into the bushes. The snake left an angry hiss and half lunge at Blake in its wake before landing in a bush and disappearing into the brush off the trail.

Sighing, Blake raked a hand through his hair. "I hate snakes" he muttered, snatching Tucker's reins. "Weird to see them out and about so early. They're usually summer snakes. Guess they like the heat."

Using a tree that had fallen on the side of the trail, Blake boosted himself onto Tucker's back. Tucker danced slightly, neck arched, eyeing the brush nervously. Tuck hated snakes. It came with being a pampered racehorse for a few years and then being more or less spoiled in his retirement.

[Kaye~Twins~Koby]

.x.Kayleigh Rae Swift.x.
.x.Blind but not without insight.x.

She was glad that neither the rider of horse was hurt but she wasn’t too thrilled with Blake said he was going to get it off the trail. Surely the smart thing to do would be to either side step it or go back the way they had come. But she could already hear him approaching it and knew it would be best if she was quiet. Hang on wasn’t it better to make a lot of noise? Didn’t that scare snakes away, maybe that only worked on Australian snakes, she would as someone later, for now she stayed quiet.

Kaye waited impatiently listening hard to what was going on as Blake tried to get the snake off the trail, it was times like these she wished she could see. She hated hearing a snake that agro and not knowing who was wining, or what stupid act they were doing to accomplish the goal.

Finally she heard him walking back complaining about hating snakes, she didn’t blame him she hated them to. She breathed out a sigh of relief when she knew the snake was gone and she hadn’t heard him yelping or anything like that, which she assumed meant he hadn’t been bitten.

Hearing Blake remount his horse, Kaye turned and found the stirrups of her own mount and in one fluid moment was again perched atop the gelding, leaning down again she found the second stirrup and slipped her foot in.

“Maybe we should take it a little slower encase there are more around, we might not be lucky enough to stop in time if we run into another while going flat out”

Kaye suggested, as much as she didn’t want to take it slow either, but when there were snakes around it was best to be cautious, no matter how much you wanted to be reckless, and she knew if it she was the one to run into the snake she defiantly wouldn’t see it in time to pull Junior up, hell she wouldn’t see it at all, and she hated that thought of Junior getting hurt.

Word Count ;; 350
OOC ;; I’m really sorry I went blank couldn’t think of anything else to post, gah I hate making short replies