| |
|
No worries at all I never mind, trust me I get it lol) - Eventually, Matt got Falcon tacked up and ready to go. He had sped through the process the best he could, blanking out whatever Hailey's issue was for now. He could deal with that later, but right now he needed to get to the arena. He led Falcon down the barn hallway and outside, mounting off the mounting block in one swift motion. Immediately, Matt could feel how tense his gelding was underfoot. It was just as well the instructor was fully aware how the gelding acted sometimes, otherwise he would have a lot of issues - and explainng - to deal with. - The arena was outside for this lesson. There were a few more horses than usual, and the outside arenas provided a lot more space. Having been used for prestigious competitions in the past, the arena was large, enough to bear a high stakes course with no issues. Matt rode Falcon through the arena gates, standing a little further from the other horses than usual. The instructor, who simply went by Joe, stood in the middle, waiting for people to file in. For just a second, Matt caught Eleanor's gaze, but he tore it away and focused on the other horses in the arena. Of course, Destiny shared this class, which was always a...thrill. She was riding a dark bay thoroughbred, who everyone from Utopia knew was a total push button horse. Trained by the best, just to end up with a girl who used daddy's money and had awful riding talent. He scanned over Destiny's posture and expression. Gosh she looked nervous under the saddle. - Soon enough, Joe started to speak, clearing his throat. He started on about the warm ups at first - a simple walk, trot, canter around the arena and a few lead changes. He paused to let people take it in, and then spoke again. "As we've changed arenas, and there are more of you, I want you splitting into groups. Those of you that have your assigned partners from the former class, youll be paired together. Those of you that don't, I'll pair you up." - Brilliant. That only meant that Matt and Eleanor were riding together. Not exactly what he had in mind, but it was only an hour, right? At least Matt had now caught onto the fact that evidently every class had been assigned partners, not just their former one. Joe finished up his instructions for the warm up, and then dealt with pairing up the leftover people. Hesitantly, Matt urged Falcon forward towards Eleanor, keeping a short rein on the gelding. He hadn't yet met her horse, and would most likely act up until he was used to her. Whether that would take ten minutes or a good week, remained to be seen. |
|
|
| |
|
Eleanor stayed by Samuel's side, talking quietly until the instructor began speaking. The usual warm-ups from the sound of it, not too bad. She caught sight of that girl from the village ride yesterday. Destiny. She looked quite nervous on her horse, which made Eleanor suddenly feel slightly even better. And she didn't even know Destiny aside from her name and the fact she's loud. Okay, things could stay okay as long as- Ah, there's the magical words. Train in pairs. Samuel gave her a apologic look before he led Checkers towards the instructor. Since Lisa wasn't in this class, he didn't have a set partner. She didn't want to move her eyes from Infront of her, but finally forced herself to look to herside. There he was, on his own horse. Looked like he was coming over, slowly if anything. •~• Not that she mind. Gave her a moment to mentally prepare. She patted Dutchess neck, leaning forward slightly. "We, regrettably, have partners coming. Please at least tolerate the other horse. We only have beef with the rider right now, okay?" She mumbled. She wasn't sure if the mare understood or not but she took the silent answer as a yes. She urged Dutchess to turn slightly, so she could see Matt coming over easier. As soon as he was within range that she wouldn't have to shout, she spoke. •~• "Guess we're stuck together, aren't we." She didn't phrase it as a question, and her tone said exactly how much she was also displeased about this. "Look, I won't try and start anything if you don't start anything. Mostly." She finished, pulling Dutchess's reins gently but firmly to keep the mare's head from getting to close to Matt's horse. She didn't know this horse nor how it reacted with things, and last thing she wanted right now was having the horses start something. Her parents, would not be happy learning their daughter was kicked out of the Academy because she got into something with another rider. Though maybe she's exaggerating, she wouldn't know until she did it. •~• "This is Dutchess. Mare, Dutch Warmblood." Eleanor informed shortly, pointing at the horse she sat on as if believing he wouldn't know who she was talking about. She knew he did, but she couldn't help it. There was some part of her that just... Needed to poke at him. She blamed the fact he was a Utopia rider, as usual. Pairs started lining up as the first couple went around and used the arena. Now she was wishing they had been closer to the front so they could've gotten this done and over with in even less time. |
|
|
| |
|
The feeling of being so displeased with the pairing had slipped out of his mind for just a few minutes, as he focused on the gelding underneath, making sure he didn't try and start anything. That was, until Eleanor opened her mouth. Of course. "You'll have to keep your mouth shut for that then wont you." He snapped, watching as other people moved together in pairs. There were of course others that looked just as displeased with the situation, but were at least...talking to each other. Without it turning into somethinig negative, or so thats what he took from observing the other people. As Eleanor introduced her horse, his gaze ran over the mare, almost scanning her frame. She looked good, he wasn't about to deny that - and relaxed. It was just the rider that was an issue, then. - "Falcon." He muttered, gesturing to the light bay gelding, not elaborating any further. Why she needed to know his breed or gender was not his concern. Or perhaps he was just being petty, given the horrific situation he was in. Slowly but surely, the two edged towards the front of the lines of pairs, the others getting part of the warm ups done with zero issue. It was simple t start with. One person on the outside, one person on the inside. Walk, turn the corner, trot, turn the corner, canter down the long side. That couldn't be too much of an issu, right? Wrong. - Soon, it was their turn to go. Joe went over the instructions again, his gaze evidently very wary of Falcon, and rightfully so. The gelding was unhappy about having been stood for so long, and next to a mare he had no interest in getting used too, or so it seemed. The others watched on as Matt started off the walk down to the corner, doing his best to let how tense he was feeling, slip away. If he's tense, Falcon will sense it, so he kept reminding himself anyway. For the most part, the walk wasn't really an issue. Falcon was a fast walker, his ears alert as for the majority of the time, only taking the time to sidestep for a few seconds once they reached the corner. Urging the gelding into a gentle trot though, was easier said than done. He was on the outside of the two, bringing him to be caged between the arena fence and Eleanor's horse. Without any warning, he attempted to shoot forward, just inches from colliding with Eleanor's horse. Matt was able to keep himi under control fairly quickly, pulling him up to circle him around a few times - but not before snapping at Eleanor. "Maybe give him some space, next time? You couldn't wedge us in more, could you." He shot, gesturing his hand to her vageuly. Joe looked...displeased, to say the least. "Matt, enough. Eleanor, perhaps move a little to the side. It's not your fault, Falcon's just a jittery horse sometimes. Matt probably should ahve mentioned that." He said, his gaze boring into Matt. Brillant, so the instructor was against him too. |
|
|
| |
|
Oh, it was so so damn hard to not snap back. Here she was trying to somewhat tolerate him and he has to be petty about it. Finally though, she got a name to the horse. Falcon. But that's all she got, and she has now internally rolled her eyes ten different times throughout this conversation. Whatever, she didn't care. She just needed to get this done and over with. Finally it was their turn, and she nudged Dutchess into the walk, keeping her mare alongside the bay horse. She could tell that Dutchess wanted to pick it up, but she managed to keep the mare to the appropriate speed. Dutchess kept trying to close in on Matt's horse, but Eleanor kept nudging her to keep her distance. She considered Dutchess a friendly horse, but not even then did Dutchess try and bug another horse this much. Maybe she could sense Eleanor's displease for this particular rider. •~• Now when they hit the trot, that's when it went wrong once more. Falcon tried to shoot forward and she pulled harder then she meant to on Dutchess's reins, causing the mare to stop instantly with a neigh. "Whoa, whoa. Sorry girl, didn't mean to pull that hard." She muttered, but Dutchess just tossed her head up and down. Eleanor winced internally, definitely gonna need to give her apology snacks later. She looked up to see Matt walking his horse in circles, and snapped back, "I wasn't trying too! Maybe if you controlled your horse better then it wouldn't have happened in the first place." Was it the right thing to say? No. Did she slightly regret it? She... Didn't know the answer to that. She was ready to bite out more of her displeasure, but Joe spoke first and she deflated. Likely for the best. She had no idea why this guy was able to get under her skin so easily. •~• "I understand, teacher." She replied. Jittery, that explained it. She knew in the end it wasn't up to the horses on how they reacted but... Ugh. Well safe to conclude this first partnered up subject was a fail. She pulled Dutchess around and when she passed Matt, she mumbled under her breath so quietly it was barely audible, "Sorry." She didn't say more. Didn't give a tone prove she meant it or not. Or even if it was for him, maybe it was for Falcon. Didn't look over her shoulder as she Trotted Dutchess the rest of the path she needed to before pausing at the next corner for the canter. Either they can finish this stupid thing as they were supposed to, or she'd finish it alone. Either way she was counting the seconds in her head. She'd get Dutchess moving again in two minutes max. |
|
|
| |
|
It took Matt some time to regain full control of Falcon, the gelding clearly worked up and irritated. After a few more circles, he finally let his head down again, standing still for long enough for Matt to then regain his own composure. Of course, Eleanor's snap back didnt help in the slightest. "Pardon me if my horse doesnt like being caged in." He shot back, glaring at the girl. He zipped it when Joe gave him another, rather frustrated look though, and instead jst focused on finishing the part of the warm up. Although he didnt want too, he urged his gelding up alongside Eleanor's mare again, trotting up to the corner. They turned, and he gently urged Falcon on into a canter. His canter was deep, with long strides an fairly quick. That wasnt a behavioural thing though, his paces were naturally rapid. A pain to take him around a beginners jumping course, but it came in handy in the higher stakes. - Two things surprised Matt in fairly quick succession. One, the canter alongside Eleanor was much more relaxed than before, and didn't seem to spark anymore issues. Two, she had...apologised? Or at least sounded that way, anyway. Not that he cared for her apology, anyway. Or so he told himself. Soon enough, they'd reached the other end of the longside of the arena, and pulled the two horses up to a stand still. Joe complimeted them both, though was clearly unimpressed with the outburst from before, and then set to explaining the instructions to the last pair to go. Whilst they did, Matt turned his body slightly to look at Eleanor, giving Falcon's reins a good amount of slack and a small patt. - "Look, Falcon's not...great with new horses. Not until he's used to them. He's quite a skittish horse as it is, let alone in an arena he's barely been in next to a horse he's never seen before. Just a heads up, okay?" The explanation was simple, but Matt's inner instincts were screaming at him to just shut up, stop bothering. She couldnt just learn the hard way? No, that would be irresponsible to the horses. That's all he cared about, right? - After a few minutes, Joe clapped lightly and gestured vaguely to a few student staff members standing by the arena gate. They quickly rushed over and set poles down on the ground in different areas. "Now, I want your pairs to split off, okay? Each pair has a set of ground poles. I'm sure you all know how those work, so I wont explain. But I want you guys to watch each other, watch how the other horse moves, observe the striding. Give feedback if neccessary. And for the love of god, please watch your space with each other." He said. His tone was slightly exasperated at the end, shooting a look towards Matt and Eleanor knowingly. A small smile played on Matt's lips for just a few seconds, before he turned to look at the girl, gesturing to the ground poles that had been set up a little way away from them. "Go. I'll be glad to watch you knock every single pole." He mused. |
|
|
| |
|
She'd admit, Eleanor wasn't expecting Matt to continue with her. Dutchess, still slightly fuming from earlier, at least kept to herself this time at they finished up the canter. Dutchess made sure to keep her stride with the Falcon's longer ones, not wanting the other horse to gain a lead. Not even the tiniest. She blew out a breath when they finally finished without further incident. She slowed Dutchess to stop besides Matt and his horse, shifting in her saddle. When he started speaking, without snapping, she had to hide her mild surprise. So he could speak like a civilized person, wow. She turned to face him, for once listening quietly while he gave his simple explanation. "I... Get it. I mean, Dutchess is the opposite, but she can get... A little competitive. Anyway! Thanks, for the heads up. I guess." What words were coming out of her mouth? She snapped it closed to shut herself up. She didn't mean any of that, not one bit. She could've screamed in relief when Joe started talking again. Whipping her head around to focus on him so quick she was dizzy for a millisecond. Oh, poles. She could do that, even more so since their horses wouldn't be forced side to side again. He'd just be watching her, and she'd just have to watch him. ... Eleanor felt like she should've been more irritated, exhausted at that thought. But she wasn't, and it felt weird. It was just her mind focused on the accident earlier. Yeah that got her frustration back up. She saw the look Joe shot them at the end of his sentance and just shrugged her shoulders a little. When Matt suggested she should go first she narrowed her eyes at him. "What, wanna try and feel better about your own poor skills?" Eleanor answered, but she walked Dutchess forward. She wanted to go first away, it got it out of the way. She clicked her tongue, letting Dutchess into a trot and led her through the poles. At the end she turned Dutchess around and back through them once more. Dutchess was a little slower than usual with the poles, but she knew that was because they were new objects. Were they much different from the one's back at Hollowhearts Academy? No, not really. But to Dutchess, they smelled different, new. But she made it through anyway. But while the horse had that problem, the rider had a different one. •~• Eleanor felt him watching, it was weird. Made her stiffer then normal. It was so hard to not look up and glare at him. Once or twice she almost snapped at him to look away but she knew that wouldn't be logical with the lesson. Why must he get under her skin? Didn't he have something better to do? She finished the poles and brought Dutchess over to him, stopping her besides Falcon before gesturing at the poles. "There. Your turn." She said, loosening her grip on the mare's reigns and crossing her arms. |
|
|
| |
|
It was hard for Matt's mind not to just wander anywhere else other than that arena when he stood listening to Joe yap on about a few things. He wasn't exactly...miserable, no. But before Hollowhearts came here, jumping was actually somewhat enjoyable. Hell, everything was more enjoyable. Now it was just arguments, burning gazes and a whole lot of judging from afar from both sides. And boy did he feel like he was paired with the worst of the lot. Having been civil fo just a minute for the sake of keeping the horses safe was...hard enough. He would much rather provoke her. - Matt did surpress a small chuckle at her comment about his skills though, holdinig back any sort of reply that would rile her up even more. On foot, it would have been fine, but not on horseback. Not yet, anyway. Matt's gaze followed Dutchess' movements as they started over the poles, scanning. He observed how the mare moved slowly, almost unsure, as if the poles would come to life and attack her if she touched them. He wouldnt admit it out loud, but gosh did that horse move beautifully. Matt couldnt help but silently wonder if Eleanor was a dressage rider, or at least a fan of it. She looked graceful. The horse, that is. - As Dutchess was brought back in the other direction over the poles, Matt tightened the slack on the reins, though kept his gaze on the pair. More on Eleanor as they trotted back over, observing her riding stance right up until they were done. "You got lucky this time huh. How could you hit a single pole when she's at a snails pace." He teased, gently urging Falcon on, nearing the start of the ground poles. The gelding was still evidently a bit tense underneath Matt, but he had definitely calmed down from the incident earlier. Whilst he was still on full alert whenever Dutchess neared him, he had stopped acting up. That was something, at least. The pair started off over the poles, the gelding's hooves leaving a graceful amount of room to spare, holding his legs high enough each time to see he hadn't clipped them. He was exactly the same back, too, which was relieving to Matt. He hadn't spent years building the horse up as a showjumper for nothing. Despire the graceful display the horse put on going over the ground poles, he still decided the shadow of a student passing the arena was too much for him, and he stopped dead, spooking just after the last pole. Matt was tilted forward slightly, though sat back in his seat as Falcon regained his own composure. "Christ." Matt muttered, though a small smile played on his lips. - The four redid the poles a few more times, the atmosphere still as uncomfotable as ever. Soon enough though, Joe stopped the group, clapping his hands lightly. "I've had something come up, I won't be able to finish the lesson. You all hav about half an hour left. Instead of jumping today, I suggest you guys take the time to get to know your partners horses and their needs, get to know what they're like with jumping, what your partner can manage and stuff. Do not leave the arena until the hour is up, okay?" Joe looked somewhat troubled, phone in hand. He didnt really give anyone time to speak, rushing out the arena fairly quickly. Matt was far from pleased, and his gaze caught Eleanors for a second. No only were they trapped in the arena together, they had to remain civil, converse. |
|
|
| |
|
Eleanor watched as Matt and Falcon went over the poles. Not bad, not bad... Maybe he wasn't that bad of a rider. Not that she'd ever say that to his face. Her eyes kept wanting to drift to the rider but she forced them to focus on the horse. Watch him- she was pretty sure it was a stallion, gelding. One or the other. Mainly because Dutchess was always a little more displeased around male horses. Or that could just be from earlier, though she was pretty sure it was the first one. Falcon was graceful, she saw that much and how comfortable he looked doing it. He was likely a show jumper, she figured just by how well he was doing it. Completely different from the earlier task. Well until he spooked again. Wow, really was a very jittery horse. 'If he is a show jumper, how does Matt get him through shows?' She thought. As she moved Dutchess forward to do a few more tries. •~• Just as she finished another round, she heard Joe speak. She halted her mare and look over at the teacher, listening. Won't be able to finish the lesson? That's... Sudden. So just a half a hour just standing here? Could he not see how tense it was already between the the two different academy riders? What made her even more curious was the look on Joe's face when he pulled out his phone and left. Why did he look so troubled? What happened? But then he was just... Gone. •~• She turned her gaze to Matt just to see him already looking at her. The staring felt like it went on for a eternity. Other pairs were already either splitting up or, the rare chance, actually talking. Despite the teacher's words prior to leaving. So now she had to talk with this guy. Try and get to know him despite that being something she did not want to do. At all. If there was ever a moment she needed her friends to randomly appear and save her, it'd be now. Samuel was still here, right? Couldn't she go over to him? She didn't have to stay here and chat, no one else really was. She looked over her shoulder at the other riders around, trying to see the familiar black hair or Selle Français. And there he was, he was chatting with a Utopia rider, likely his own pair. She didn't have the heart to interrupt him, not when he didn't seem uncomfortable. Last thing she wanted to do was pull her friends away from something to help her own problems. •~• She looked back at Matt. Leaned back in Dutchess saddle a little. Thirty minutes. She could focus all her hostile thoughts on how warm it was. Late summer meant it was in the transition where it was starting to cool down one moment and the next it felt like it was the hottest day in existence. Thankfully today wasn't too bad. It was still warm, but the occasional cloud that covered the sun helped. Didn't matter, she still hated it, preferred the cold. Hated the heat with every fiber of her being, though Matt was rivaling that. Yes, she'd focus on that. "Guess we've got thirty minutes of this. So... Is Falcon a show jumper? You guys looked... Well, like it out there." She asked, motioning with a hand at the two. Her tone was tight, proving this was uncomfortable. Talking without throwing sarcasm or a jab in. "I... Focus on dressage with Dutchess. She enjoys the others, but is was clear she loved dressage more then them." She added after a few seconds. This isn't so bad, was now currently the words playing on loop in her mind. |
|
|
| |
|
Matt's gaze followed Joe out essentially right up until the guy wasn't in view anymore, having rushed around the corner of the barn and up towards the academy building. He knew Joe was a pretty laid back guy, he rarely showed o much...emotion. Especially during a lesson. Whatever he'd seen on his phone seemed to havhe gotten him pretty riled up. With a sigh, Matt tore his gaze back over to Eleanor, after kind of just observing his surroundings. What they would do for thirty minutes was beyond him. There was no way Falcon would stand still for a good half an hour, not with Matt on his back. Following that thought, Matt slid off the saddle and gathered Falcon's reins, leaning against the fence. Then, his gaze dragged back up to Eleanor. - Her first guess being Falcon was a showjumper was slightly impressive to Matt, despite the fact he knew it was somewhat obvious. He nodded, his eyes scanning over the light bay gelding, who now seemed content to just relax. "Yeah, he's a jumper." He mumbled quietly, gesturing rather vaguely in the horses direction. As she mentioned Dutchess being a dressage mare, it clicked into place in his mind. Well, it was no surprise at all, she moved freely, her movements were...graceful, to say the least. In fact, it was obvious. That would have been the perfect time to throw in a sarcastic comment, but in the end Matt decided against it. They could argue after they'd put their horses away. - "I can tell. She looks good." Matt said, once again looking over the mare. The sun slipped out from a cloud overhead, bearing down over the arena with an unusal intensity. Matt unclipped his helmet and put it down next to him, running a hand through his hair absentmindedly. "Do you prefer dressage or is that just your mares speciality?" He asked. If there was one thing the majority of Utopia riders knew about Matt, it was that he hated dressage. His least favourite discipline by far. He just didn't...understand it. There was no thrill to it, nothing exilerating going on. Unlike showjumping, or cross country. Hell, he'd rather do polo. - As the two conversed, the conversation seemed to flow into a much easier state, learning about how high the other person could jump, how long they'd been doing it for. The conversation occasionally drifted on to other disciplines too, much didnt stray too far. Matt looked up at the large standing clock just by the centre of the academy building. They still had a good ten minutes left, and Falcon was getting evidently restless. Matt stood up straight from the fence, directing his gaz towards Eleanor. "You can stay if you want but I'm heading out, I doubt Falcon's intent on staying here for much longer." He mumbled, watching the gelding pull slightly on the reins. For just a second, Matt caught Destiny's eye as the blonde also left the arena early, her thoroughbred following behind. Brilliant timing. |
|
|
| |
|
Eleanor asked, Matt answered, and the other way around. She was surprised that he didn't add a comment after he answered her question, and she mentally relaxed just a little. Well at least they could play nice when talking about the horses. It was simple conversation, staying on the lane about riding and straying no further. Casual. She hadn't noticed how easy it was to chat when they weren't trading insults. She looked at the clock when he did, and noticed the time. She hadn't realized twenty minutes passed so quickly when it usually felt like it was dragging on forever. She looked at Matt as he spoke before dismounting from Dutchess. "Sure, yeah. Bye." The words tasted weird when they left her mouth. She waited until he left first, before moving herself to find Samuel. Who she saw was also beginning to leave. A few other riders had the same idea, but surprisingly most stayed to finish out the ten minutes chatting. •~• She caught up to Samuel, who gave her a smile. "Glad to see your still alive. Didn't murder that Matt guy?" He said, dismounting from Checkers. She let out a exasperated sigh, hanging her head back and staring at the ceiling. "No, sadly. Thought about it once or twice." Eleanor answered, not adding anything about the conversation. Or mild civil moments. Samuel shoved her shoulder gently and she looked at him. "What?" "Nothing." She shoved him back before deciding to ask her own questions. "What about you huh? Who'd you talk to? Who'd you pair up? What'd-" She began rambling off, and Samuel blinked, slowing his pace. "Okay okay I got it! Slow down." She listened as Sam described his own experience, and it helped distracted her mind. Well until they hit the barns and she saw a particular blonde. She tightened her grip on Dutchess reigns and hurried along. She'd rather not deal with that loud girl. Samuel looked confused but followed. While he dealt with Checkers, she tied Dutchess up and began un-tacking her. •~• As she put her tack away in the tack room she headed back out to see Destiny trying to chat to Sam as he un-tacked and cleaned Checkers. She could tell he was uncomfortable but being the person he was, Samuel didn't try and stop her. Just nodded along while trying to focus on his horse. Eleanor walked over, poking Destiny's shoulder, making the other girl jump. The look Destiny gave her, oh yeah Eleanor knew she remembered their last run in. "Hey there again, least your quieter this time. Though you can still do with less words. Your making my friend uncomfortable, could you please leave? Thanks." She said. Samuel looked and gave her a thankful look. She gave him a thumbs up until she heard Destiny say something, though in all honesty she hadn't been listening. "Sorry, did you say something? I zoned out at your voice." •~• (Rah! Sorry! Trying to make waffles for dinner at the same time. I'll do my next reply after I eat.) |
|
|
Sunny
