One Fresh Start [open?]

[pashadow]

Avalon snorted, pawing at the ground, ready to burst. Aliki laughed quietly to the reaction of her gelding to this new area. He was bursting at the seems to get going, ready to show and ready to run up the trail that sat in front of him. It wasn't like he was going to go against Aliki's wish if she wanted him to walk, he would just be chaffing at the bit. That made her smile, the thought of him being excited for some time to unwind from the traveling across the few states they had.

Aliki nudged Avalon with her heels ever so slightly, and jumped when she did. "Easy boy." She mumbled, rubbing his neck and then grabbing on to a piece of his snowy silk mane. She didn't need to hold on, but that's just was made him feel better. She nudged him on again, this time softer so he would walk on. He snorted again and let out a whinny, pawing at the ground again before continuing. Finally Aliki could relax, and so could Avalon. The sturdy gelding continued on through the forest and let out slow breaths as he walked. Aliki could feel him relaxing.

"That's it Avalon." She whispered, patting him one more time before nudging him on to a sitting trot. Aliki sat easily while he trotted on through the forest with his head tucked neatly against his chest and his ears pricked forward. That's just what he did, though some thought his head looked low, that's how he held it when he was paying attention to something. There was nothing stressful about this to him, and nothing to Aliki.

As they walked, she let her mind fly away, running around into it's own little world of the impossible. She wondered about the characters in her story. Would they be able to get back together? Would they find their way? She didn't know, nor did she think she'd ever know. She could see her blond heroine and her strong dark haired hero, his eyes that dark chocolate that Aliki wished she could find. Actually, she wished she could find someone like that, or at least someone nice.

Aliki shook her head and looked down at Avalon who had let his nose drop to the ground and started walking. She didn't know whether he was sniffing the ground or trying to eat grass, but he wasn't stopping, so she didn't worry. He picked his head up then and stopped walking, turning his nose towards her boot, nearly reaching it. She slid her foot forward as if to let him sniff and laughed when he did and then turned his head back towards the trail.

"What do you think boy, should the two of them get back together?" Avalon snorted, as if to say no. He wanted the story to go a different way than she did, and if worried her. What would happen if she did go the way her horse thought it should go? "I bet people think I'm crazy for asking you. People don't give horses enough credit." Well, at least the one's she had met. Aliki always believe that the horse could understand and answer a human, almost speak to them. That's what Avalon always did, that's what all the horses she had trained did.

That brought another question up, would she get another horse to train? No. Don't worry about that now. She thought, shaking her head. Thinking about work was giving her a headache and making her neck burn. She needed to relax, stop stressing, that would help. She nudged Avalon into a trot than after a while, eased him into a canter, just letting him go, making sure of course he was one the right lead. After a while though, she slowed him to a trot then a walk and just walked for a while. It wasn't long before she heard a twig snap in the forest and Avalon let out a cry and reared about a foot off the ground.

She didn't know what was wrong, but calmed him slightly before whispering some words to him. "Easy boy... relax." And patting his neck. Once he calmed down, they just stood there for a bit, listening.

[canterlope]

Maggie slid her foot into the stirrup and eased herself into her comfortable Western saddle. She squeezed her calves against Bingo's sides, and he walked forward, toward the trails. Bingo stepped happily into the woods, with pricked ears and a forward gait, the Paint gelding pleasantly made his way down the trail.

"It's easy to get lost in your thoughts," Maggie said out loud. Bingo flicked one ear back when she spoke, then turned it forward again. Letting her left hand rest on the saddle horn, Maggie reached up with her right hand to adjust her black cowboy hat. "Look Bingo, there's a log up ahead." Maggie touched her heels to the gelding's sides and kissed, and Bingo picked up a gentle canter. "Good boy!" Maggie exclaimed when Bingo cantered. She had been teaching him to pick up a canter from a walk, and he had recently started doing really well with her cues. When they got to the log, Bingo eyed the log for a second, then hopped over it as if he were a professional jumper. Maggie slowed him back to a walk, and continued along the peaceful, wooded trail.

The trail turned, and Maggie was off in her own little world, not paying attention. There was a small branch across the trail, and when Bingo stepped on it, the branch made a noticeable cracking sound, bringing Maggie back to reality. "I don't even know where we are," Maggie laughed. Bingo snorted, and soon, they came face to face with a girl on a grey horse.

Maggie stopped Bingo a few feet away from the pair. Bingo, eager to meet a new horse, reached his head toward the grey. Unsure if the horse would be friendly towards her horse, Maggie turned his head a little, and spoke to the girl in front of her. "Oh, hello! I didn't know anyone else was around. It's so easy to get lost in your head on these trails, that I didn't even realize you were here!"

[pashadow]

The voice that came from the side made Aliki jump, almost fall out of her saddle. That was the problem with some English saddles, it felt easy to fall out of, but she loved riding in them. "Hello," She replied to the voice, knowing just what she had meant when she said you could get lost. Aliki seemed to be lost herself, but there was no way she'd admit that out loud, too much pride. "Day dreaming... it can cause many people to get lost." she added with a smile, patting her gelding. She noticed how the girl moved her horses head away from Avalon. "Oh, don't worry about him, he's a nice boy, kind." She was proud of her horse's attitude, happy that he never bit or kicked.

"I'm Aliki, but some of my friends call me Liki..." Aliki trailed off and let her mind wander again. She wasn't sure where she would go with a conversation but then thought of it. "Oh, silly me. This is my horse Avalon." She gestured to the snowy gelding who now pawed restlessly at the ground. That was how he reacted to things now, pawing or gnawing on his bit. All that meant was that he was nervous about starting in a new place.

All Aliki could think was to smile, and how much she itched to write something down in the notebook that sat in her simple black bag. Why was she like this, so rude? She shook it off and smiled, happy that someone was talking to her. "Um..." She was nervous, talking to someone for the first time in a while, "Oh! What a beautiful horse you have there. A stallion?" She had to admit, beautiful, colorful, a paint. She was out of it, definitively. Well, that's what you get after driving for a few days.

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[canterlope]

"Aliki" Maggie replied. "I have never heard that name before, it's really cool!" While allowing Bingo to sniff noses with Avalon, she rubbed his neck and added, "I'm always cautious with new horses, you never know how they'll react to each other" she laughed. "By the way, this is my gelding, Bingo. He's a six year old Paint. I've had him for just over two years." Maggie then noticed she was still petting Bingo, and abruptly stopped and put her hand on the saddle horn. She was always nervous when she met new people, and this was no exception.

Maggie switched between fiddling with Bingo's mane and playing with the reins. "Were you headed back to the barn?" Maggie added, wondering if maybe Aliki would like to join her. Since Maggie was still pretty new to Crossfire Farms, she hoped to click with at least one person there, to help make the transition easier. She planned on sticking around the farm for at least a few years, and having nobody to talk to or hang out with would make living so far away from her family in Abilene that much harder, but Maggie was determined to find her way in the world.

Bored with the uneventful new horse, Bingo yawned and began looking around for mischief elsewhere. He took a step forward, and Maggie quickly stopped him before he got any more ideas. Bingo was very cooperative and obedient, but he still liked to test the boundaries now and then.

[pashadow]

Aliki smiled. "Thanks, it's Greek." She nodded and looked down at Avalon. He had finished sniffing noses with his new friend and now had his nose to the ground, looking for something. He stood, calmly waiting for Aliki's next move. "Wow. I've had Avalon for about ten years and he's my sturdy Hanovarian gelding." Aliki smiled, not meaning to brag if that's what is sounded like. She was just proud of her boy and how much she's accomplished with him. She looked over at her new friend and felt happy.

"I know what you mean about being safe. Sometimes other horses don't like another and then it doesn't turn out well. Luckily, our horses seem very friendly." Aliki nodded and stroked Avalon's neck, then pulled his withers out from under his pale blue saddle pad. She didn't know what to do and seemed more comfortable now around this new friend. When she asked though, if Aliki was heading back to the barn, she didn't know how to answer. "Um... to tell the truth, I have no idea where I was going. I was just letting Avalon do the navigating." Yeah, how smart is that, let her horse make the decisions... well he helped with everything else.

"I think my main purpose for being out here was to get inspiration." She shrugged and looked up at the sky. It was blue, and that made her happy. A blue, cool day, how fun. She smiled again, wondering why she was smiling so much, and then sighed. She was happy to have met someone, seeing as she didn't know anyone right now. Maybe she would have a friend, maybe. And that would be nice. Her eyes wandered down to the ground and back up, still listening to the world while being in la-la land.

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