A melody softly soaring [MEGHAN]

[essie ackart]

I want to live,
Where soul meets body.
And let the sun
Wrap it's arms around me.

The little fjord pony threw up his head in defiance, eyeing the bridle that was hanging in Essie's hands suspiciously, as if he had never seen such a thing before. The teenager sighed and gently but firmly grabbed his pony's head, pulling it down and bringing the hard metal bit to Zacky's lips. Though the pony resisted, years upon years of dealing with the same situation had caused the boy to become skilled at it. In a flash the bridle was up over the pony's head, and in confusion the little creature shook it, his mohawk of a mane swinging in a way that looked amusing. Grinning slightly, Essie expertly fastened the chin strap and noseband, slipping one hand under the girth to check it as he did so. It was tight enough, and as the bridle was finished, he opened the stall door and stepped quickly out of the way to avoid his pony's eager hooves.

A stable hand stood holding a small palomino mare, who was all ready tacked up and ready to go. Leading Zacky over to where the two stood, he took the reins and nodded to the stable girl, who blushed at his "thanks" and quickly made her exit. It was one hell of a task to try and hold both horses at the same time without having them interact, and he winced as one of the mare's, who's name was Molly, hooves found his foot and stepped down with a sickening pain. But it was worth it. Today he was hanging out with a beautiful girl, and he smiled at remembering their talk online. Though they had never met, he felt a strange connection with her, or perhaps it was her intelligence at the computer. She didn't use stupid abbreviations like "u" and for that he was in appreciation of her. He couldn't stand people who didn't have the time to properly spell out words.

But it was not just the way she typed. There was something else there, something that he couldn't seem to consciously recognize. It stirred his heart and made his belly churn uncomfortably, and as he thought of her coming to ride with him he felt a deep, weird nervousness flow up through his brain. Why he should be feeling this when he barely knew this girl simply baffled him, but he could not stop the wave of feeling. It threatened to take him over and as his body struggled to keep the two horses' apart, his mind struggled to keep from being swept under. He had only had this feeling a few times before, and they were so distant in the past that he barely recognized them. A tiny part of him knew, though, a tiny part of him remembered. And it was that part that he ignored now. Though it was curious, he thought as he gently stroked Zacky's neck, that Meghan could cause such an emotion inside of him. It was downright terrifying.

[megan]

Megan pulled her hair back into a high ponytail. She gave herself one last look glance in the mirror. She was wearing a loose-fitting t-shirt over a comfortable pair of jeans. Her thick, brown curls were smoothed by endless brushing over the top of her head. Past the elastic band, however, it exploded into bushy locks. She wore very little makeup -- only a little eyeliner and some lip gloss. She wanted to look good, but she knew she needed to be able to move around. She had heard riding horses took comfy clothing and movement. She smiled at the mirror, and the reflection of her sparkling brown eyes smiled back. She had managed to pull of the sporty-comfy-girly look pretty well. She slipped her feet into her sneakers. She didn't have boots like the ones she saw people wear in the movies, but she hoped sneakers would be enough. She pocketed her keys and her phone and headed out of the room, locking the door behind her. She glanced at her watch. She wasn't late. So far, so good. She jogged down the stairs and left the dorm for the stables.

She was a little nervous, honestly. Her stomach danced in her, doing a jig of excitement, anticipation, and nerves. What was going to happen? She had never ridden a horse before. What if she made a fool of herself? She generally didn't worry about these things, but she was pretty sure it wouldn't be hard to hurt herself on horseback. She was very clumsy, and she didn't know how much she trusted herself on another live animal. Would she be thrown off and hurt? They were in the prime of soccer season. She wasn't sure how bad of an injury she could get from horse riding, and she didn't know how big of an impact it would have on her soccer playing, but she knew it wouldn't be pretty. Plus, she had barely met Essie, and he seemed like a really nice guy. He hadn't made any friends yet. She knew it wouldn't be hard for him, but it wouldn't help if she scared him away by making a horrific fool of herself. She didn't put it past herself to make some idiotic mistake. What if Essie left the stables today frightened of Americans. She was probably the first American he was going to hang out with. She wanted him to like it here. She could blow it. She knew he was a really nice guy, even if the only conversation she had had with him was online. He had been friendly, even in the words he typed. He was the kind of boy she wanted to make friends with. Also, he was part of the Dolces clique, like she was. She didn't want to embarrass herself in front of another in her clique! Still, she didn't generally get nervous about embarrassing herself. As she walked through the grounds, she pondered this. Why was she getting embarrassed now? There was nothing to be embarrassed about. Maybe she was confusing her feelings. She had always thought horses were cool, but she had never imagined she would ever ride one. Maybe she was just excited.

Yes, that was it, she reasoned as she walked through the gate to the stables. She was just excited. She caught sight of a boy standing with two horses. That must be Essie. She smiled. Not only did he sound nice, but he even looked like a nice boy. He looked friendly. He had an inviting smile on his face, and his eyes, even from this distance, seemed to twinkle gently. Smiling, she walked briskly towards him. "Hey," she said when she was close enough to him. "You must be Essie, right? I'm Megan." She stood still for a moment, then stuck out her hand. She wasn't sure if people shook hands in England. Suddenly, she wished she had paid a little more attention in World Geography class all those years ago. Would he think she looked like a goof with her hand out like that, or would he shake it? She turned her smile to him, trying to match his friendly look.

[OOC - Yay, it's done!]

[essie ackart]

And I cannot guess what we'll discover,
When we turn the dirt with our palms cupped like shovels.
But I know our filthy hands can wash one another’s,
And not one speck will remain.

His little pony shifted from one hoof to the other, obviously bored by the slow way things were proceeding. A soft snort of a breath filtered out through his wide, pink nostrils and sounded very much like a sigh, though Essie could not say he agreed with his horse. His stomach was acting very strange, indeed, and he reconginzed the symptoms of butterflies. Having been riding horses since he was about two years old, he could not just simply blame it on that fact, and that thought was what made him groan, leaning his head against Molly's shoulder in frustration. He barely knew this girl, and yet he still was anxious to meet her, to see her smile light up the arena. He had no information about whether she already liked someone, and he didn't even know if she had a boyfriend. The possibility was very likely - if he found her so very attractive, then it was likely someone else did, as well. So he prepared himself mentally for the news she may give him that she had one, but what he didn't expect was the stab of jealousy that penetrated his mind, and his limbs. Lifting his head from the mare's shoulder, he gave it an irritable shake, though his straight dark hair remained in place, held under by a velvet riding hat.

Essie's warm, dark eyes traveled down to his outfit but saw nothing out of the ordinary. The top part of his body was covered in a long-sleeved dark blue shirt, seemingly much too nice to wear riding. He had replaced his show breeches in favor of a pair of bootleg cut jeans, not too tight but just enough. His feet were hidden by a pair of black leather riding boots that reached somewhere just below his knee, freshly polished. Although he doesn't flaunt the money his parents have in anyway, his clothes are still expensive enough to show one that he is not, indeed, poor or middle class. His mind wasn't settled on his outfit, though, for he really had just quickly thrown something together in his haste to get ready for the ride he so anticipated. Zacky sighed again, and Essie fussed with his forelock, nervously waiting.

A girl with curly brown locks pulled up into a ponytail and wearing a comfortable pair of jeans walked in. Essie's heart seemed to jump out of his ribcage and he marveled how much prettier she was in person then online. He concentrated on keeping his eyes soft, not wanting her to catch him staring, lest she be scared off or find it uncomfortable. Both horses at his side pricked up their ears at her approach, and Zacky swung his head from side-to-side, hitting Essie's shoulder with a considerable amount of force. Although the teenage boy winced, he didn't say anything and simply tugged harder on the little pony's reins, which caused the pony to cease his rapid movement and drop his head, obviously once again bored.

"Well, hello, Meghan," said Essie politely, but the effect was ruined by him lifting down one eyelid, winking at her and taking her hand to shake it, plus his words were tainted by his English accent. She was so much prettier up close, though is face remained alight with friendship, not giving anything away to how he really felt about her. He lifted the reins of his pony and nodded to the animal, saying as he did so: "This is Zacky, my crazy pony." With the hand that held Molly's reins, he patted the mare on the neck and announced: "This is Molly, a stable horse. You'll be riding her." As if she had been listening, the stable girl appeared, her face slightly flushed as she looked at Essie. He smiled at her kindly and handed Zacky over to her, turning to Meghan afterwards, his smile turning into an excited grin. "Here, put on this hat, safety first, you know." He handed her a velvet riding hat much like the one he was currently wearing. "Stand next to her, lift one knee, and I'll hold your other leg. Grab a bit of the saddle and on three, jump. One, two, three!"

[[Yay! I've found my muse for Essie.]]

[megan]

Megan's ponytail bobbed behind her as she made her way through the gate. Her smile reflected the excitement she could feel pulsing through her body. She imagined it would be fun to ride a horse. There were a lot of people that rode horses at Dayton. She had to admit she felt like she had missed out on a part of life that it seemed everyone else had experienced. She wanted the thrill of the wind blowing through her hair. She wanted the feel of the horse's body working in time to her own. She wanted the soaring feeling that she had read about it books. The flow, the movement, the speed, the exhiliration. All were things she had read about in various books that described what it was like to ride a horse. And now she was finally going to feel those things. It wasn't like this had been her life-long dream. But come on, what girl didn't still fantasize about riding a pony, even long after she began to insist these things were trivial. Now, Megan knew she wouldn't immediately get to gallop on a horse. She was at least educated enough to know that speed came with time. In fact, she doubted she even trot. She didn't know that she trusted herself enough. She would do her best, but she imagined the world would look much different from the back of a horse.

As she got closer to Essie, she found herself smiling wider. He had his own smile that seemed to infect her. It was a nice relief after her afternoon spent with Charlie. Charlie didn't smile much, and he was hiding something from her. He was secretive and shy, and he had a sad air to him. Essie, on the other hand, looked much friendly, more outgoing, like someone Megan could really get to know. He was wearing what looked like traditional horse-riding garb, not that Megan would know, except that the usual white pants were traded with jeans. He winked at her as he shook her hand, and she almost giggled. Almost, but not quite. "Hello," she said again. She wanted to say something about how cool his British accent was, but she realized this would make her look somewhat foolish. Plus, he probably already had a bunch of people reminding him of home, and he had said online that he didn't want to be reminded of home.

"Hi, Zacky," she said. She turned to the stable horse. "Hi, Molly." She hesitatantly put out a hand and touched Molly's neck. It was warm and soft. She felt the horse's mane. It was just as she had thought it would feel: just like hair. Just standing next to the horse feeling her was really neat. Megan couldn't wait to get up onto the horse. She thanked Essie for the helmet and put it on, buckling it. It felt a little awkward. It was different from the bicycle helmets she had grown up in. As she felt herself be boosted up by Essie, she grabbed at the saddle and swung her other leg over. The next thing she knew, she was on the horse. "Oh my gosh!" she said, swaying unsteadily as it moved beneath her. Even with the saddle, she could feel the powerful muscles tensing beneath her. She laughed. "This is so cool!" she said. She held on to the reigns tightly, frightened of what would happen if she let go.

[essie ackart]

Do you need anybody?
I need someone to love.
Could it be anybody?

Molly stood like the good old mare she was, used to years and years of unexperienced riders being put unto her back. She let out a soft sigh and chewed on the bit, and he almost laughed, for it seemed that he could hear her thoughts. If she could talk, he was certain that she would be saying "I'm too old for this." His dark eyes shined with amusement as he looked up at the pretty girl perched delicately upon the mare's back, holding the reins so tightly it looked like she expected to fall off at any moment. With hand he reached up and gently pried her fingers loose, trying to get her grip to relax slightly. "I wont let you fall," He said to her, holding back a spout of laughter that was threatening to erupt from him. But the feel of his skin on hers had caused an electric reaction in him, and the blood began to race in his veins, delighted by this show of affection which was barely recognizable as one.

Certain that she was safe, he turned to the stable girl and offered her another one of his crooked smiles, and in reaction she blushed a deep red and handed him the reins without saying anything, turning and walking as quickly as possible without disturbing the horses. He watched her go with some curiosity, wondering why he had such an effect on her. Essie was not conceited, and he didn't really have much self confidence, though the matter of looks never bothered him too much. But maybe the girl acted as she did because she had finally found a straight guy that rode horses. Or perhaps she thought he was gay. He shrugged, question in his eyes as he turned to touch Zacky's nose. The pony shook his head back and forth as if agreeing with him, not knowing why the stablehand acted so.

He stuck one riding boot-clad foot in the stirrup and grabbed a handful of his pony's short, mohawk cropped mane, quickly pulling himself up just as Zacky began to walk forward a few paces. Unpreturbed, the teenager fixed his position and properly picked up the reins, feeling right at home. He always felt most comfortable in the saddle, the place where he had spent so many hours of his life. The animal beneath him danced a bit, excited at the prospect of going out for a ride. He smiled and turned to Meghan, hoping that she was ready for their little adventure. He delivered one pat to the dun neck below him and squeezed his heels, causing the pony to step forward so that he and Molly were side by side. With a grin he looked at Meghan and began instructing her.

"We're going on a trail, so squeeze her with your legs. If she doesn't go then kick her, but don't do it too hard, we don't want her getting frustrated." His grin grew in size as he said those words, though he hoped that he wasn't scaring her. He highly doubted that the old mare would be angered by anything, but he figured that he would worn Meghan all the same. "You might want to shorten your reins a little, too."

[megan]

Megan giggled nervously as Molly shifted her weight just a little bit. The movement was hardly visible, but Megan could feel every toned muscle flexing and relaxing in the mare's back. When Essie began to pry her fingers off the reins, she reluctantly loosened them. Still she almost quivered in the excitement and fright that came from being on horseback. She felt so much higher off the ground than she knew she was. She knew a fall from this height, unless she landed wrong, wouldn't be all that bad. Or, she told herself she knew that. The ground look farther away than she thought it should have. How could the people in the movies make it look so simple? They made it look as though their movement and that of the horse was combined. In reality, it was much harder than she had expected to sit up here. Perhaps it was just her nerves, but every time Molly moved even a little, Megan felt that movement enhanced. Not only that, but there was also the issue that Molly's back was wider than Megan had anticipated. It was a little strange, sitting high off the ground with her legs spread so far apart, and on a living being, at that.

Megan looked down at the stable girl, who was walking away. The girl looked shy, and her face was red from her encounter with Essie. Megan didn't exactly blaim her. Essie was pretty good looking, and his accent was really awesome. She giggled very quietly at that thought. But she wasn't really interested in him, she told herself. Not when Charlie's face filled her mind so often. Not when talking to Charlie sent her heart on something like a wild rampage. She hoped she could get to be very close friends with Essie. He was the kind of guy to whom she wanted to be close, the kind of guy with whom she wanted to be best friends. But nothing more. She watched as the stable girl nearly tripped on her way back to the stables. That was cute. But looking over her shoulder like this made Megan all the more nervous about being on a horse, so she turned back to Essie.

Essie mounted Zacky with ease. The horse stepped forward a few steps, but, effortlessly, Essie pulled back so he was next to Megan. She sighed. "You make it look so easy!" she said as he grinned at her. For a minute, she was able to forget the fact that she was sitting on something alive. She watched Essie in awe. Sure, he only made the horse move a couple feet here and there, but Megan now knew just how much harder that was than it looked. She raised her eyebrows at him, almost incredulously.

For a moment, she worried she looked like too girly. She didn't want to seem fragile and scared of riding horses, even if she was. She wasn't fragile, but she sure was nervous about going on a trail with Molly, no matter how well behaved Molly was. This in mind, she squeezed her legs gently. Nothing happened. A little more firm this time, she kicked Molly softly. The mare stepped forward. Megan swallowed a shriek. She didn't want Essie thinking she was a flake or anything. Girls that screamed at a little motion were immature. "Wow," she said, instead, a little breathlessly. She drew in a little more of her reins. Then she realized the horse was still moving. "How do I make her stop?" she asked, a trace of panic in her voice.