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 Posted: Wed Jul 01, 2009 8:34 pm
"Sorry," Kahlilia squeaked, chewing subconsiously on her lower lip. "I didn't know I would be so scared." She blushed and turned her eyes away to look over at Benvolio, who was standing and looking impatient beside her. She flashed a smile and said, "I should probably go take him back."
As she was undoing the reins that kept him in a certain spot where they were hosed down, she heard Esmeralda's voice. "Hi!" She said with another flash of a warm smile.
"Hows it feel to be riding again?" She asked her as she finished undoing all of the reins. Benvolio shook his head slightly as though to shake the feeling of the reins and the girl patted his neck. She repeated that she had to take Benvolio back inside and led him back into the barn.
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Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2009 9:03 pm
Roman merely shook his head. "Nothing to be sorry about," he told her right away. "The only thing that you would have to be sorry about was if you told me you were ready when you weren't, and you got hurt because of it. Like I said, we've got all summer."
Esmeralda waved at Kahlilia but said nothing. Her bright smile was answer enough. Turning, she urged Sahara into a canter and rode off over the fields, looking absolutely happy and carefree.
Looking, in a word, wonderful.
Roman caught up with Kahlilia as she led her horse into the barn. "So, do you still want to go riding later?" he inquired. He meant with her riding Benvolio and him on Phoenix, of course, but didn't seem to realize that he might need to clear that up.
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Posted: Fri Jul 03, 2009 10:13 am
Kahlilia looked relieved. "Thank you." She said just before dissapearing into the barn.
Benvolio was eating some oats and Kahlilia was checking to see if there was enough when Roman came in and the girl looked up at him. "Sure," She replied casually. "As long as I can ride Ben." She smiled a little again and put her hands in her pockets. She hadn't understood that he meant to go riding as they had the other day.
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Posted: Sat Jul 04, 2009 10:51 pm
"That was the idea," replied Roman, grinning a little sheepishly as he realized that somehow she thought he meant riding Phoenix. "I want to try jumping him again - see if that last time was just a fluke. It could be, you know. Are you going to try and clock Benvolio?"
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Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2009 8:33 am
Kahlilia blushed. "Oh, yeah," She said with a bashful smile. Then, she looked over at Benvolio and back again. "Probably," she said. "It'd be nice if I can get him running."
Her soaking wet clothes were starting to cling to her bare skin underneath and it created an itchy, tingly feeling that she greatly disliked. She pulled a little on the bottom of her shirt and said, "I should probably go change though, first. See you later?"
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Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2009 10:35 am
Roman thought for a few minutes. "Oh, yeah," he said when he realized she was still wet. Politely averting his eyes, he agreed, "You should probably go change, I mean. You'll get cold."
He returned to considering his current problem. If he was jumping, who was going to clock Ben for Kahlilia? She couldn't do it while riding the horse. Eventually he figured that he could probably stop his work long enough to time them. He checked his watch - yes, it had a stopwatch in it. Perfect.
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Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2009 3:54 pm
Kahlilia blushed a little more and said, "See you later," and with that, she started walking in the direction of her cabin.
She had to change out of everything - she was really wet from hosing Benvolio down and the aftermath was actually sort of gross. The tingly feeling cold wetness gave her was not fun. With a deep sigh, she changed again into dark capri shorts that clung to her skin like jeans and a loose-fitting tee-shirt. Since her shoes were salvagable, she kept them on.
It was maybe about ten minutes after leaving that the girl came back into the barn. "Hello again," she chirped with a bright smile. "What'cha doing?"
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Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2009 4:04 pm
In the meantime, Roman had gone out to get Phoenix again, since it seemed they would be riding earlier than anticipated. After a quick look at Kelly and Ariel - both of whom seemed fine - he smiled to himself and brought his horse in.
When Kahlilia walked in, he was shaking his head a little. Not only had Phoenix rolled - he'd also found a nice muddy patch to do it in. "Looks like I have a little more work to do," he said with an exaggerated sigh.
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Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2009 6:46 pm
Kahlilia's eyebrows raised when she saw that Phoenix's coat was now predominantly brown with the mud he had rolled in. "Wow," She remarked with a shake of her head as well. She smiled and added, "Pretty stubborn, eh?"
Benvolio stuck his head out of his stable just then and made a snorting noise, either to them or to Phoenix - maybe even Kelly. She had heard them 'communicating' with one other sometimes, like when Ariel was born. Kahlilia stifled a giggle and tilted her head to the side. "How are you going to clean all of the mud off?" She asked Roman quietly.
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Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2009 10:19 pm
Roman stood back and scratched his head. "That's a very good question," he replied, examining the horse. "Either I'll have to groom for a few hours before we ride or we'll have to teach him to bathe, like, now." He considered. "That might not be such a bad idea, actually. He has to learn eventually. If I hold him, will you run the hose?"
Phoenix was eyeing him suspiciously, making him chuckle. "I never know how much he actually understands of what I'm saying."
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Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2009 12:54 pm
Kahlilia giggled a little when she saw the look on Phoenix's face. "Sure," She replied. There was no way she was going to ride him but she could help Roman hose him down. Is that weird?
Wondering briefly how on earth they were going to get to clean Phoenix and not be trampled or bit, Kahlilia rocked for a moment on her heels. She was feeling a little anxious and wasn't sure why - maybe she was just too high-strung, maybe she was just a little scared because Phoenix had just seen water and was probably still a little spooked.
She looked over at the hose quickly and smiled. Hopefully, this would work out.
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Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2009 8:38 pm
Roman noticed her tentative look and smiled, looking a bit worried himself. "Listen - you don't have to. I can try to crosstie him," he said gently. "If you wield the hose, you're the one most at risk of being kicked." He conveniently didn't mention that he was the one most at risk of being bitten or trampled. "The only reason I'm not doing the hose is because...uh, well...if he decides to bolt, I'm not sure if you could hold onto him. He's pretty big," he added quickly, not wanting her to think he considered her incapable. And he didn't. It was a simple matter of physics. Phoenix was huge, and Kahlilia was not a very big girl. If he decided to run, Roman couldn't see any other outcome than Kahlilia fluttering along behind the big stallion like a kite. With his extra foot or so, and the extra weight and muscle that came with that height, Roman thought he stood a slightly better chance.
Slightly.
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Posted: Wed Jul 08, 2009 12:12 pm
"No," Kahlilia objected. "I'll be okay this time - I promise. I really want to try and warm up to the idea of interacting with Phoenix," She continued, realizing that she probably sounded like a child asking for one more cookie. She smiled a little and stroked Benvolio's nose because she was standing directly beside his stall and he was observing them with semi-interest. "Besides, safety in numbers." She added jokingly with a grin. It was true she wasn't going to want to ride Phoenix for a long time, but she could at least stand being around him.
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Posted: Wed Jul 08, 2009 12:25 pm
Roman smiled a bit again, patting the now very wary Phoenix's nose. "All right. I'll take him out to the place where you were bathing Ben - we're both going to get soaked again, mind you," he added with a grin. "So you went and changed for nothing. I fully expect him to panic the instant he realizes that he's going to be washed - and since he's not dumb, that will probably be either when he realizes he's standing where he saw Ben being bathed or when he sees the hose. Maybe we could tie Ben nearby. If he sees another horse dealing with the hose and not caring, he might calm down a little. You ready?" he asked, realizing he was thinking out loud.
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Posted: Wed Jul 08, 2009 6:06 pm
Kahlilia listened, putting her hands on her hips and rotating them as though posing, but in truth she never noticed it or cared when others mentioned it. She nodded simply and opened Ben's stall, making a clicking sound to coax him outwards. When they were standing beside each other, it was extremely evident that she was petite and the stallion was the opposite. "Do you think hes okay right now?" She asked Roman, getting a rope and holding it in one hand, looking up at the wary Phoenix. She knew they had to get him clean, but she wondered for a moment what made him so afraid of water.
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