Opportune Moment (Open)

[charles michael matthews]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: f9f9f9; border: #727085 solid 10px; width: 450px; padding: 15 5 15 5px;] love is supposed to hold the key tagged open! words idek muse Hayley's Comet notes -- credits template by irish! Addison Texas, it was not somewhere that Chuck had ever imagined he would end up. When he had been in college he had always thought that with his degree in teaching he would get a job somewhere exciting and interesting. A city would have been ideal. He took his courses at a college in California, and played football until the second half of his senior year when it was discovered, rather dramatically, that he had a heart condition which would endanger his health should he continue to play. After graduating, he took a job in a local high school which was very highly populated. After a year there, he quickly realized that having more students than he could even remember the names of was not the sort of job that he wanted. He wanted a job where he could make a difference in someone's life and have a relationship with them. He didn't expect to ever get a job where he would be the most remarkable teacher anyone ever had, and he didn't expect that all of his students would even like him, but he wanted to at least have a chance at giving someone more than just an excessive knowledge of the English language. Shortly after he began the process of looking for a job in a smaller town, he got a call from his younger brother who was very ill and going off for cancer treatment. He was concerned about Jamie's reaction to his situation, and asked if there was some way he might be able to go stay in Addison for a while to keep an eye on him. Chuck took that request as an opportunity. He knew how emotionally vulnerable Jamie could be when it came to illness in his family, so he thought it might be a good chance to get Jamie to let him back in. He initially planned to just go there for a week or two, but when he arrived in Addison, he learned of a job opening at the high school for an English teacher. He applied, and was hired quite quickly after his interview, which meant he was going to be in Addison for a long time if all went as he planned. Today was the day that his horse was arriving. It was a long trek from Dan Diego to Addison, about 20 hours in all, and he had no doubt that the Hanoverian would not be impressed with having to be stationary for that long. While he was a fairly well behaved horse, he was only nine and he was a stallion, and he also had more than enough when he was in regular work, so he knew that the best thing for everyone would be to just let the horse out immediately into the arena for a nice gallop before he put him up in his paddock. When the truck rolled up, his suspicions were confirmed by the sound of loud pounding of a hoof against the walls. He quickly wrote the hauler a check, and took the restless chestnut off his hands so he could be on his way. Once the hauler was on his way, Chuck headed down towards the outdoor arena, Boss dancing and prancing and making as much noise as he possibly could to announce his arrival at Crossfire. Being a stallion, he was, of course, very interested in all of the horses and with all that pent up energy, it was all Chuck could do to keep control of the stud. He was pleased to see that the arena was empty, since most people used the indoor arena at this time of year. He lead Boss in, closed the gate, and unclipped the lead. Without a moment's hesitation, he spun around and took off at a fast paced gallop, letting out a few big leaps and bucks every so often. He continued in this manner for a while before settling into a huge ground covering trot... the very trot that had made him fall in love with the horse as a yearling. As a dressage horse, Boss was enough to make most people who knew the sport drool over his huge range of movement. Chuck climbed up onto the fence, sitting on the top rail while he watched the horse burn off all of his excess energy. It was nice to be in a place where everything was close together and the horses had places to run and stretch their legs. Big cities had very few nice places like Crossfire with trails and cross-country courses and whatnot. Back in California, Boss had spent most of his time in a stall due to lack of space, so he had a feeling that the stallion would like it here much more than he'd liked it there... and Chuck had already decided that he himself liked it better here too.

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[ Horse: Belladonna ] [ Outfit: Click ] [ Tagged: Charles ]

Mini Goal: Exercise Bella without interruption

Since she'd finally settled into life back in Texas, things were going well for Ruby. She'd found a job almost immediately at a cute coffee house in town, and had recently found a relatively inexpensive apartment. Jasper, the small black cat she'd adopted had finally stopped hiding under the couch and actually cuddled with her (when he felt like it, of course). King, the Andalusian gelding her mother (a well renowned horse trainer in the area) had brought to Crossfire from home was settling in nicely. However, Ruby's Warmblood mare Bella was adjusting a bit slower than she'd hoped. The elegant mare was not the type of horse who dealt with change well. Ruby had a feeling that it was a mare thing. It had taken the chestnut at least a few months to settle into life at Penn State after leaving Texas the first time for college. But, the pair was back now, and Ruby hoped the mare would eventually get her bearings again.

It had been a while since she'd taken Bella out, and it was obvious from the mare's demeanor. The chestnut tossed her head rebelliously and whinnied as Ruby led her out of the barn. The day had dawned warmer than she'd expected, so she figured it was time to get herself and Bella some fresh air in the outdoor arena. The indoor at Crossfire was lovely, but Ruby figured being outside would be best for Bella, since she was rarely turned out due to an unsavory disposition. More than once, the mare tried to bolt and drag Ruby with her, but the petite brunette was used to all of Bella's little tricks and circled the Warmblood expertly until she calmed down. "Maybe I should have lunged you first..." She muttered to the horse. But it was too late to turn back now, since they were almost to the outdoor.

Bella excelled at dressage (as did Ruby), but she was starting to show some talent for jumping as well. If all went as planned, Ruby would start competing her at Level I jumpers in the next show. Hopefully the mare would work out her hi jinx, and they could get some progress with fences today. To her dismay, she saw a horse loose in the arena. Inwardly, she groaned. It was just her luck. Ruby could deal with another horse and rider being in the arena while she schooled, but a loose horse was another matter entirely. Bella had noticed the other horse too, her nostrils flared, and ears perked forward. She let out a trumpeting neigh to the other horse in greeting. It wasn't like Bella to be so friendly, Ruby reflected to herself as the mare neighed again. As the pair drew closer, she realized why her mare was being so uncharacteristically chatty. The other horse was a stallion, and a handsome one at that. Liver chestnut; all muscle and flowing gaits. Probably another dressage horse if she had to guess. He definitely had the potential for it.

Bella tugged at the reins again, plunging forward towards the ring, just as Ruby went to turn back towards the indoor. Unfortunately, the mare had been too quick for her, and the reins slipped through her fingers. Seizing the opportunity, Bella bolted off towards the outdoor arena that enclosed the stallion. "Shit!" Ruby ran after the mare, a full scenario of all the trouble that could come with what had just happened. Bella could trip on her reins and break a leg, or injure herself trying to get to the stallion. Or, the stallion could injure himself trying to get to her. None of it was desirable. Luckily, Bella stopped at the side of the arena, and Ruby was able to grab her before anything else happened. "I'm so sorry," She told the boy she'd just then saw sitting on the fence. "Normally she hates other horses..." As if to make her out to be a liar, Bella lifted her head and issued yet another friendly greeting at the stallion.

It was going to be a long day.

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[charles michael matthews]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: f9f9f9; border: #727085 solid 10px; width: 450px; padding: 15 5 15 5px;] love is supposed to hold the key tagged open! words idek muse Hayley's Comet notes ohmygod I'm sorry that sucks, I'm dying from the mancold D: credits template by irish! After about 15 minutes, Boss had started to slow down and relax a little. He was coming out of the crazy pent up energy phase and moving into the taking in surroundings phase. If there was one thing that Chuck would never tire of, it was watching his horse move. He'd ridden a fair few horses in his life before Boss was old enough to start, and they'd been nice enough, but there was just something about the big flashy chestnut that gave him the chills when he watched him. Elegance didn't even begin to describe Boss. He was like a finely tuned machine that worked absolutely perfectly. Sure, he wasn't perfect and he had his quirks and vices, but boy, when he was let loose, there was very little that Chuck would rather watch. Just as Boss was settling down to a more collected trot, the sound of hooves fast approaching distracted both Chuck and Boss from their current task at hand. Chuck turned just in time to see a mare come racing up to the fence and stop there, whinnying to Boss. The large chestnut's head flew up, and for a moment he stood frozen, as still as a statue, starting intently at the other horse. Just as the horse's apparent owner caught up to her horse, Boss leapt back into a trot, covering the ground between him and the mare in huge strides and arriving shortly at the fence. Despite his stallion status, Boss had never been the sort to tear down a fence or kick through a stall to get to the mare, so he stopped at the fence and reached his neck out towards the friendly female. Certainly, if he were let in with a mare he wouldn't hesitate to do what stallions do best, but with a barrier between, he was just as docile as they came. While Chuck didn't think Boss would be a problem, he knew all too well how mares could get especially persnickety towards stallions, or even geldings, so he jumped down off the fence and clipped the lead back on Boss's halter and asking him to back up a bit, "That's alright" he said with a smile in response to the girl's apology. "Boss doesn't mind the attention." Being that Chuck had done all of Boss's training himself, the horse, despite his rather large size, knew to respect the man, and took two steps back as requested, then stood squarely, as if he were being judge for conformation and had been set up for it, with his head high and ears pricked, letting out a series of small but deep nickers to the mare. Friendliness had never been a problem for the horse, that was for sure.

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