Thomas wandered the training ground aimlessly, unsure of what he should be doing. The Commander had said some long speech about picking the right horse, how their personality mattered, and something about biting, and then Thomas had gotten bored and stopped listening. He cast his eyes around him, looking for prospective horses, but also making sure that someone in charge wasn’t eyeing him down, trying to making him feel guilty for whatever reason. The people here were like that.

Alrighty then. Two ponies. Shouldn’t be too hard. But what if I don’t like any of them? How do I know which ones to choose?

“Do you have any idea how were supposed to do this?” he mouthed to the trainee next to him.

[fellow trainees, ahoy!]

The trainee next to him looked up. "I have no idea," whispered the girl, who was wearing the expression of a startled deer. She had listened to the Commander, honestly she had, but that didn't make her any more sure of what she was doing. This did not bode well for her career as a rider trainee. If she got this nervous about picking out two mounts, what would she be like when the actual training started?

The girl shook her head briskly, trying to reorient herself with what she was doing, but all the motion did was cause her chin length bangs to get in her eyes and mouth. With a sigh, she tucked them back behind her ears where they belonged.

The girl looked at the ponies, then back at the other trainee. "I guess you just find a pony that doesn't hate you."

"Aye. They're nasty creatures. Yes, you," he said, directing his comment towards a white, shaggy-coated pony, who in turn snapped at his hand.

"My theory is, they pick the meanest ones they can find, just so they can make it hard for us. Bet you she," he nodded at Brindie Dyer, "picked them personally. You know how she is."

The girl gave a small snort of laughter when the pony turned and snapped at her fellow trainee. "Well, seeing as they are so awful, I wouldn't provoke them if I were you," she joked. She liked horse and ponies, and for some odd reason, liked the stubborn and mean ones the best. Maybe it was because they weren't afraid to show a bit of personality, a fear she had often been told she suffered from.

"Well, if we learn to deal with the meanest ones, then we should be able to handle any mount," the girl said sensibly. She always tried to be sensible, which was why she so surprised much of her family when she told them she was going to become a rider trainee. Many of them had thought she would become Daughter or priestess.

"Come on! I'm not going to hurt you, darling." Meridan stroked the neck of a spirited bay who was tossing his head. "Oh now aren't you a pretty girl." She moved to a small dapple-grey mare, and inspected her thoroughly. "Not built for speed, nice disposition though." She left the mare and looked around for another prospective mount. Suddenly a familiar horse caught her eye. "Dalien!" She cried, then quickly clapped a hand to her mouth. Her own horse wasn't supposed to be in with the Rider ponies. But... a sudden thought occured to the girl If she's here, and I rightfully choose her, then I'm allowed to keep her as one of my horses. I doubt I'd be allowed, otherwise. She moved purposefully toward the chestnut mare and slipped a halter over her head. "There you are girl. Just don't act like you recognize me." She added in an undertone.

Meridan looked for a while longer, and finally found a dark bay gelding that seemed to get along with Dalien. Indeed, he had a personality to match that of the mare, so he did not feel a stranger to Meridan.

"I dunno, didn't she say something about having them for the rest of our lives? I wouldn't know, I wasn't listening, but but I don't think that's exactly possible." He jerked his hand back quickly as the pony went for his other arm.

"Hey! That's not very nice, you know!" he exclaimed, hitting her softly against the nose with the back of his hand. The mare took a short step and then began to lick his hand, wet tongue playing across his fingers.

The girl shrugged. "I think that's what she said, but what if the pony dies, or you have to use another mount in an emergency?" she pointed out. "Nothing's permanent, even if we like to believe it is." She leaned against the fence, watching the ponies.

She turned and looked at the boy. "What's your name?" she asked. "I'm Lorelle Brown." She laughed softly as the pony licked the boy's hand. "That pony must think he's a dog," she said, chortling.

"Horse Lords, you're beautiful," Kiara whispered to one of her mounts Snowfell. Smelling a carrot in her pocket, the horse shoved his nose at her pocket. "No, not yet!" she admonished. "First, you and the other horse," she gestured at the mount that didn't have a name yet, "need to get into your stall." The unnamed horse gave Kiara a haughty glare. Seeing two other trainees not to far from where she was, Kiara asked, "Excuse me, may I join you?"

"Thomas... er, Rede. I think it wants me to keep it." Upon reexamining the pony, he realized that she was a mare, and that her shaggy white coat was in fact slightly golden when it caught the sun.

"You're very, well, you seem to like things that make sense." he commented suddenly. "I don't know if there's a word for that or not, but that's the way you are. I'm not usually too good at figuring out people, but I noticed that about you right off the bat [lol, anachronism?]."

He then noticed that a third trainee had approached. "Hi. You look familiar. You wouldn't have been the same one who was fencing with Meridan the other night, would you?"

[Hee, I noticed right before I was about to post this that Kiara had said hi. If it sounds weird, it's because I had to edit it and didn't feel like changing any of the original content.]

Lorelle reached over the fence to stroke the pony that had grown rather attached to Thomas. "Yes, I like things to make sense," she said lightly, "but I can manage some nonsense every now and then," she added with a smile.

The girl looked up as another trainee walked over. "You can join us if you want," she answered. "Pull up a fence." She looked interested when Thomas mentioned fencing. "You fence?" she asked curiously. "I've always wanted to learn that, but a sword is a noble's weapon," she continued, looking at the ground.

Miniya sighed, grabbing a spot upon the fence a bit away from the others. Long legs dangles slightly as she gazed about the fenced area. Two horses were needed out of these. Can't be too bad to do. Min thought to herself.

She never had gotten this close to horses, let alone even have a pet. Emotions, of course, were swirling in her. Anxiety to get one, nrvousness for caring or even being like, and excitement to be doing this. As the sun came down, she tired to calm down her emotions.

Thoughts and emotions where brushed away when a tall, sturdy, yet dull-ish dark brown-black gelding approached. His nose lazily sniffed at her pockets, which held the food the trainee's were to use to get the animals closer to them.

Gently moving his nuzzle away, she stuck her hand into her pocket, and offered a carrot. At this movement, he seemed to back away. Slowly, he stuck his head out to the offered food.

Thomas noticed Miniya standing a ways off, and waved cheerily towards her.

Side-glancing towards Thomas and the group, she returned his wave with a faint smile. Her attention was diverted as another nudge was given to her pocket. The horses' dark eyes glancing up at Min.

Automatically, she reached in and offered another carrot. This time, the horse went to stick its head into her pocket. Giggling, Min fell to the ground purposelly. Standing up she shook her head, at shoulder level with the horse. Once again she offered the vegetable.

Ella slipped up behind the little group of trainees. She wouldn't have approached at all, but she had spotted Kiara, the girl she had met the other night.
"Hi, everyone," she said shyly, shooting a skeptical look at the ponies. So far, none had caught her fancy.

Lorelle looked around as several other trainees seemed to pop up out of nowhere. She waved to the newest addition to the small crowd that was forming. "Hello," she said in reply to the other girl's greeting. It seemed everyone was having difficulty choosing mounts.

The girl looked out over the ponies, noticing one stallion that was staying a bit away from the others. She reached out a hand to the creature, making soft, encouraging noises. The pony merely laid back his ears against his skull and bared his teeth.

Lorelle chuckled at this display of ferocity. "Mean little creature, aren't you?" she asked, jerking back her hand as the pony snapped at it. "Bite me and I'll bite you back," she added, but the smile never left her face.

Min glanced over at the girl who was trying to coax the fierce looking pony. The black one, which was slowly growing attached to Miniya, was able to continuously sport food from the Carthaki.

Hesitantly, and lightly, she reached to gently pet the male's nose. Luckily, it didn't seem to care, chewing on its latest prized vegetable. Any other forms of petting, are ones that Min has seen the stablehandlers do, and

"I guess your mine, since you don't seem to be leaving me." Miniya whispered, lightly running fingers through his mane. The only response was a movement of the head from the horse, and nose to return to the pocket. Defensivly, a dark hand covered the pocket.

"No, no... I need one more pony and I'll see if I have extras." Stated the Carthaki trainee lightly. Looking into the mess of horse, she began to walk in, the horse at her side.

"I guess they're all that way then," said Thomas. "Glad I know what to expect now. You would have thought the commander would have mentioned it, as long as she talked." He grinned, stroking his newfound equine friend.

[Lol, this is like something out of Dragonflight. Impressing horses, who would have thought?]

Lorelle chuckled. "Maybe she wanted to surprise us," she theorized. "Watch us squirm for a bit. Commanders seem to enjoy that, for some reason." She returned to attempting to coax the stallion closer, deciding she liked the pony's spirit. She had always liked mean horses, for some reason. Perhaps it was because they showed so much spirit. Most of the time the ferocity was an act, anyway.

The girl jerked her hand back once again when the horse snapped at the appendage. She glared at the beast, receiving a glare of equal intensity. This staring match continued for about a minute, then the staillion snorted and dropped his gaze, as if saying that the whole thing was stupid and her had better things to do.

Lorelle reached out slowly and gently stroked the animal's withers.

"So I've observed," Ella remarked wryly. Noticing the stallion by Lorelle, she grinned.
"Spirited one, isn't he?"

She jumped as she felt a nudge in the small of her back. Slowly she turned around, to find herself face to face with a curious seal brown mare.
"Uh... hello," she said nervously, shifting her weight and ordering herself not to back up. The mare whuffled in reply and stuck her head forward, trying to reach the carrot that stuck out of Ella's pocket.
"Want this? Here, then." Ella pulled the treat from her pocket and held it in her outstretched palm. The mare snorted imperiously, but accepted the carrot, chewing noisily.

Min sighed, making a good complete round through the ponies, the black one at her side. She wasn't sure if she saw all of them, so she decided the best thing was to do what she did last time. Sit and wait.

Walking steadily to where the group was, she waved a small hello. "Good Afternoon. Mind if I sit?" She questioned, rather shyly, the black-ish gelding lipping at her ear, wanting more treats.

"Not at all," Ella answered, smiling in welcome at Miniya. "Of course, I don't think I wield authority here, but you're welcome to stay," she continued, glancing at the other trainees for confirmation.

Her face took on an expression of curiosity as she noticed the gelding at Miniya's side.
"He's pretty," Ella informed the other trainee. "Is he yours, then?"

Shyly she extended her hand to pat the mare's nose. The pony whickered in response, and blew lightly into Ella's face. The trainee blinked in surprise, and looked to her companions.
"Was that normal? I mean, is she supposed to do that?"

[OOC: Is it just me, or is everyone else here getting swarmed with Pop-ups?]

Smiled lightly at the other girl, shurgging as she sat down, the gelding following in suite. "Thank you." She responded, adding, "He's seems to be attached, so I guess so..." She stated, gazing at the mare with the noble.

She grinned at the suprised look. "It seems normal, as their have been some others with that trouble." She shrugged lightly, adding. "Maybe you can blow back and see what he does. Or not to do anything." She spoke rather quietly, some parts more loud than others.

Silently, she brought out one more treat. "Last one." She told the pony, as it happily ate the vegetable.

Cautiously, Ella took Miniya's first piece of advice and blew gently into the mare's face. The mare did not even flinch, but instead whinnied and nuzzled the girl.
"Guess you're mine, then," Ella said with a shrug. Snorting, the mare tossed her head haughtily.
"Or the other way around..." she added quickly. Turning to Miniya, she introduced herself.
"I'm Ella. Ella of Shaila, Rider trainee, although that's probably obvious. What's your name?"


ooc: I wouldn't know; I'm using Safari with 'Block Pop-Up Windows' enabled. So I guess I can't be very helpful there!

OOC: No... but its soon to really bug me...

Giggled lightly at the other's statement, as the black one settled down at Min's feet. As she listened to the introduction, she inwardly winced. It was a common reaction that this Carthaki developed. She hated to be precieved as rude to the nobles, and get on their bad side. Of course, it would be a totally different thing if the nobles were cruel themselves. Luckily, none of them in the Rider's seemed like such.

"I'm Miniya. Miniya Clayson, young lady. I too, am the obvious." She replied, hoping she used the right title. Gaze shifted for a moment, as a shaggy, gray mare made her way over to Min's black one. Not paying any attention to the trainee's, it plopped down, head resting on the trainee's horse. The carthaki cocked up an eyebrow, and shrugged it off, looking to the Noble again.

A small smile played across Ella's lips.
"Miniya," she repeated. "That's a pretty name. And speaking of names, have you got one for your pony there?" Her green eyes flicked to the black gelding, and her smile widened.
"Looks like someone's found himself a friend," she said, laughing.

The seal brown mare, who now considered Ella to be hers, cast a furtive glance at the other ponies and whickered a hesitant greeting.

"Look -- over there. They're just like us..." He motioned towards a group of horses grouped tightly together in the far corner of the enclosure.

"I think I'll go over and socialize," he remarked, winking.

Lorelle chuckled at the thought. "Maybe you'll be able to find a cute mare," she joked in reply. Laughing quietly, she continued to stroke the stallion, who seemed to have decided that he couldn't do anything about her attention, so he might as well enjoy it.

"I told you you weren't so tough," the girl whispered to the pony, earning herself a snort and a smack of the tail across the face. She gave a surprised sound and sneezed from the dust in the creature's fur. "You need to be groomed," she told the animal.

Thomas returned a few minutes later, triumphantly leading a dark brown mare with white stockings.

"It was love at first sight," he explained, grinning. "She's dirty though, she could probably use a good grooming, and maybe a scrub, too. All of them are dirty," he said, nodding at the ponies around them. "It's like they've just returned from a long journey."

Lorelle chuckled at Thomas's explanation. "They are dirty, aren't they?" she agreed, patting the stallion on the whithers, stirring up a veritable cloud of dust. "They've come a long way, though, so it's only to be expected."

The girl gently took the pony's bridle, half-expecting to have her hand bitting off. However, the stallion merely snorted and looked at her with dark brown eyes.

Smiled lightly at the note of her name. "Thank you..." Her gaze turned to her gelding at the ask of a name. "No... not yet." Smiling at the gray mare, she stated. "Aye." Absent mindly, she reached into her pocket.

Pulling out a treat, she made a clucking noise, which got the attention of both horses. Min offered it to the gray mare, by stretching out her hand. Slowly, and boredly, the shaggy horse took it, and began to ate, before settling down again.

"I suppose I should think of a name for this girl," Ella sighed, patting her mare.
"But I haven't got one yet, and I still have to find another pony."

She turned to Thomas, silently appraising the mare he had found.
"Any other good horses over there?" she asked him, eyeing the group of ponies wistfully.

"Several, I'd think, from the looks of them. If you're shy, I'll introduce you to them. C'mon, these horsies are really friendly underneath it all." He beckoned for Ella to follow him.

"No, not you," he told the two mares exasperatedly. "Stay right there, I'll be back." They then proceeded to ignore his orders.

"Fine then, you're horses, you don't understand me, go ahead, do what you want."

"Okay, if you don't mind..." Ella took a hesitant step forward, glancing back to see if her mare would follow. The pony didn't even notice, as she was too caught up in meeting a nearby stallion.

She couldn't help but giggle as she noticed what Thomas's two mares were doing- it seemed like they were quite attached to him.
"They like you a lot, I guess," she told him, smiling slightly.

He grimaced and shook his head. "No, I think it's more instinctive, like ducklings following their mother. But I can still be complimented." They had reached the mini-herd now. "Ah, here we go..." he said, flicking his bangs out of his face for a better view.

"That one looks nice," Ella said, nodding towards a heavier gray mare. "C'mere, sweet..." she called softly, offering her hand. The mare snapped at the girl, displaying yellowed teeth.
"Ooh!" she exclaimed, jumping back to avoid being bitten. "Maybe not so sweet, after all."

Leading her own stout gelding by the pasture, Gwenna looked out toward the trainees and grinned lightly. She moved to the fence and propped her elbows on the wood. It groaned slightly under the new weight and settled. The gelding moved to chomp on the grass near the base of the post as his mistress stared out at the others in the field. Ah, first days' always the fun part.

Gwenna plucked a piece of grass, and put it into her mouth, chewing on the end as she watched with interest and relaxation. Her hand moved to her gelding's nose as he butted her gently as if to remind her, he was still there and he was going bored.

"Well, as Lorelle said, they're much less nasty than they act," Thomas reminded her. "But of course, it's your call. Some of us really do like our fingers."

"And I'm one of them," Ella remarked wryly. "I prefer mounts that are nice to me." Her gaze moved to a mare standing at the edge of the group, grazing quietly. This one was a dappled reddish gray, and something about the shy loner appealed to Ella's heart.

"What do you think of this girl?" she asked Thomas, walking over to the pony and attempting to stroke her back. The mare squealed and shied away from the girl's gentle touch.
"I like her, but it'd be nice to have a second opinion."

Miniya coverted a yawn, slowly slumping against the fence. She glanced out among the trainee's and horses. Shaking her head, eyes closed, she came to wonder if the ponies were just teasing the others. Sighing, she let gravity take over, allowing her to fall to the ground. Face to the sky, she squinted, covering her face with her arms.

Unknowingly to Min, the gray horse moved slightly, to now lay at the end of the Carthaki's feet. The ebony gelding, deciding to mimic its owner, rolled onto its back. A small nudge was given to Miniya when he moved.

Boredly, she peeked beneath her arm. Smiling faintly, she informed her horse, "I dub thee Sir Kaseko." The horse meerely whickered, moving its head back and forth. Only one more horse to name...

"I'd be sure of her courage - you don't want a mount that shies away in battle," he said, remembering one of his formers horses, a senile mare. "Still, if you have a gut feeling that she'll do well for you, then you're probably right." He looked the mare up and down. "She's well built," he supplemented. "Nothing like a horse that can go on forever..."