{New Girl in Town}-->[OPEN TO ALL]

[Aria Lockhart]

Aria sighed as she stared out the window, watching the country side go by. Only a few minutes to go and she would be at her new stable. New barn, new people, new instructors...it was all very over whelming for the almost sixteen year-old. But it wasn't herself that she was truly nervous about. Aria rocked forward in her seat and looked into the right-side mirror. She saw the trailer that they were, well, trailering. It was a small, two-horse trailer. Within it held her two jumping horses. Though she was sure that her eleven year-old gelding would adjust easily, she was nervous about her younger four year-old. He was a spirited one, and she counted on the first few weeks being...interesting, to say the least. At least, with the younger one.

"Thanks for driving me out here, Kaleb," Aria said to her eighteen year-old brother who was sitting in the front seat. Her brother shrugged his shoulders and stated that it was nothing. After all, with their father unable away at some History-teachers of New York conference in Florida (yes, history teachers of New York in a conference in Florida. Aria didn't understand it either) and their mother back up on Long Island working in Suffolk County in the seventh precient, they couldn't drive their daughter down to Virginia. It just wasn't an option, and Aria understood it and was perfectly fine with it. Both of her parents had extremely important jobs, and she was used to both of them not being around a lot. It was something that she had learned from a very young age, and now it was nothing. She knew that her mom and dad would come and visit as soon as they could to visit her and the horses.

A small, nervous smile curled Aria's lips as they turned carefully into the front drive of the stables. It was absolutely gorgeous here, and Aria was very excited to be here. She was very lucky that she was here, and would probably only be here for the summer. But that would only be if Keith didn't transfer down here to Virginia State in the fall. Things were still being worked out, but if that was the case, she would be sharing an apartment with him for the school year and transferring to the nearby Highschool. But for now, she would be staying in an apartment all by herself. Boy, did she love her parents for trusting her this much. Not like Aria was the type to be stupid and or throw apartment parties or set the place on fire, but half the kids in her High School back in New York would positively die to have the chance to have their own place.

The truck pulled up to the unloading area, and Aria told Kaleb that she would be able to handle unloading the horses. "Anything I can do?" he asked her. She bit her lip and thought for a moment.

"Actually," she replied. "There is. Just go into the storage area of the trailer and pull out my tack box and saddle, please?" Kaleb nodded and they both hopped down out of the large Escalade Kaleb had recieved for his eighteenth birthday present. While he went to go grab her supplies, Aria headed out for the horses. Boy, it was hot out. She was lucky she decided to wear a thin, white, Aeropistal Polo and a pair of worn jeans with her half-chaps and paddock boots. She couldn't imagine being able to survive on a day this hot in her jodphurs or breeches. She quickly pulled her golden hair into a high pony tail and continued on her way to the trailer. She walked to the back of the trailer and very carefully opened the back, and then pulled out the ramp and placed the grip mat on so the horses wouldn't slip. She looked up and saw the behinds of two very nervous-looking horses.

"Hey my handsome men," she cooed as she walked around to the side entrance. She opened the door and entered carefully. The first horse she came upon was her eleven year-old, Pinto Dutch Warmblood cross. He perked his ears at her and nickered softly, showing his affection for her. She smiled and unhooked him from the cross ties and slapped a black leather lead rope onto his black leather halter and clucked her tongue. "Back up, please," she told him. On cue, he began to back up slowly. Aria cooed to him softly, keeping him calm until all four feet hit the dusty earth. "Good boy," she cooed. The Warmblood perked his ears and looked around, prancing a bit. She gave him slack on the lead rope to let him reach his head and take in a big, nostril-filling sniff of the air. As he did, he looked massive. Already 17.1hh, he began to look like a monster as he stretched his head to the air. When Aria felt like he had smelt enough, she clucked her tongue and asked him to walk forward.

The two entered the barn and looked around. The owner had said that she had the eigth and ninth stalls to the right. She led her gelding down the aisle until she found a stall with the nameplate she had sent down.

Fairytale Ending
"Quill"
Owned and Loved by Aria Lockhart

Aria smiled and opened the stall door, leading him in slowly. Immediately his nose went to the floor and he began sniffing around the stall. As he did, Aria quickly unwrapped his legs and pulled off his light travelling blanket. He had gorgeous black and white tobiano markings, with a black mane and a white tail. Aria smiled to herself, watching her gelding settle in. She removed his halter as well, and brought it out with her. For the moment, she just left it in a pile on the floor outside of the stall. She would clean it when she got back in. But for the moment, she put it as close to the stall door as she could get it so there would be no accidents.

Aria walked back out to see her brother had unpacked all of her tack items. "Thanks, Kal," she told her brother. "Can you bring them to the tackroom for me? My spot should be labeled, okay?" He nodded, and she gave him the directions that the owner had given her to get to the tackroom. Now, it was time to get her other gelding, the excitable four year-old. This was going to be fun.

Aria entered the trailer armed with a few mints to lure him. She cooed to him gently, and he was already beginning to prance. She clasped a royal blue nylon leadrope to his matching royal blue halter. She unhooked him from the ties and asked him to back up. He took tentative, causious steps. One at a time, being very careful about where he put his feet. He finally hit the ground, and when he did, he backed up quickly and sharply, tossing his head. Aria gave him the leadrope length to do it, so he wouldn't hurt his head and she wouldn't be dragged. She brought him back to her, cooing gently and patting his neck. Kaleb came back out, and watched her.

"I'm good, Kaleb," she told her brother. "You can peace, if you want." Kaleb nodded and walked over to his sister cautiously, wary of her prancing horse. They hugged briefly, and Aria held her young gelding steady as Kaleb drove away. He began prancing again, tossing his black mane and beginning to sweat with anxiety. This was Disney, Aria's jet-black Thoroughbred gelding. He had been off the track for two years, and Aria was now teaching him to be a jumper's horse. But he was very spooky, and still extremely green.

"C'mon my handsome," Aria said, clucking her tongue gently. She brought the prancing gelding into the barn. He snorted and tossed his head, pinning his ears at the horses that he passed in their stalls. Aria gently smacked him on the neck. "Cut it out," she told him firmly. "They're not doing anything to you. They're not even near you!" When she got to the stall next to Quill's, she took a second to admire the nameplate.

Do You Believe in Magic?
"Disney"
Owned and Loved by Aria Lockhart

Aria brought Disney into his stall and quickly removed his traveling wraps and blanket, revealing his flawless black coat. She shook her head as she exited, leaving Disney to fret about his stall, his only solace being the ever-calm Quill in the next stall.

Aria brought their wraps and blankets into the tackroom and packed them all in her box. She sighed as she returned to see Disney fretting about in his stall. She would have to take him out for a good, long, lunge later on. But first, she was going to spend some time with him. She had only had him for six months, he had been a Christmas gift from her former instructor as a going away present. She had got him at an auction pretty cheap, since he never did any good in the races. The pair had made real progress, but they were still working on their trust issues.

So Aria entered the stall cautiously, offering a slab of carrot as a peace offering. Disney walked over and quickly snatched the treat away. She smiled and patted his shoulder, beginning to coo to the truly gently gelding. He would never mean to hurt anyone, but he was just a baby, and he didn't like changes. "There's my good boy, Disney. There's my good baby." She cooed to him softly, and began to hum a little Disney song as she began gently giving him a massage, using the "T-Touch" method she had learned in a book to attempt to relax him. Hopefully, it wouldn't take that long for him to settle into his new home. Hopefully.

[εïз [new name comi]

ANDRYA MONTRELLE

<sup>Smoke trailed from the open window, the breeze taking the cloud on a ride of its own. The cigarette was brought back up to her full lips as her hand returned to the steering wheel and her elbow rested on the open window. Her right hand rested on the vibrating shift, working in synchronized movements with her left foot and clutch. She shifted into neutral as she slowed to a stop, waiting for the tractor to finish going. Andrya took another drag on her cigarette before moving the shift into first, second and third as she continued toward the barn. The truck she drove was a large Chevy duley, diesel by the sound of the growling engine. She had bought it several years ago because it was a good deal and the sellers were throwing in a two horse slant load with a small living quarters with it.

She turned the radio up a notch, kicking the notes out of the speakers with force, letting the neighborhood hear the beat the music thumped out. When the host returned to his chattering, she dropped the radio down low so she wouldn't have to listen to it. Her attention had been stolen, however, when she felt the small rocking of the trailer again. Every twenty miles or so the mare in back decided to rock a little to test the shocks. Andrya waited for the next rock before tapping the breaks, the mare in back spreading her limbs out to catch herself.

Andrya watched the drive approach, slowing down proportionally to the nearing of the turn, switching lanes to compensate for the wide turn she had to make. The truck and trailer entered the drive and parked gracefully by the barn, the engine cutting after a few short seconds. When the door opened, out slipped an average - tall sized woman with thick, deep brown hair that fell over her shoulders and down to her mid back in a cascade. She dropped her used cigarette to the ground and ground it with her boot into the gravel. Stretching, she raised her arms upward and bent down to touch her toes, loving the feeling after having sat the past few hours, taking the long drive from New York to here, Virginia, with only a couple stops in between.

The girl reached for her keys and shut the door, locking them, and pocketing the keys. Her hands fanned a couple times at her face, feeling the heat of the south. Her legs cooked slightly under the jeans, but her torso was alright. Having worn a tank and having a natural tan, she felt warmer than usual, but nothing she wouldn't get used to.

Andy walked to the trailer door, opening it up to reveal an empty stall and behind it a large red roan mare that greeted her with wide eyes and a snort. Andy had bought her from a rougher gentleman who brought in mustangs from the wild and also sold horses for other people that were a far cry from the show horses that she expected to be housed in Southern Blues Stables. The mare had been barely broke to saddle, each time having thrown the rider and had a record of being the boss of both the other horses and people themselves. Andy saw her and thought she was a gorgeous looking thing with a brain to boot, so she bought her for $150 from the man.

She smiled and stepped into the trailer, unhooking the mare from the trailer tie and clipping a long lead with a stud chain wrapped through her halter onto her. As soon as the divider opened, the young mare lunged at the opening, her head ducking and audits melting to her poll. The quick pressure of the stud chain pulled her nose back, and her dial dipped to her chest out of prep training Andrya had done with the mare as soon as she bought her. The first thing she ever taught horses was to give to pressure, and that they should never raise their head up - only down.

Woah there. Hold onto your britches.

She walked up beside the mare, telling her to woah for awhile until she was safely off the trailer. It was the second thing she worked on with her horses - when she says woah, that meant to stop and stay. So far, Aroe only understood any of it with a chain over her nose.

Alright, then. C'mon out.

She clucked at the young mare, tapping on the lead to request her to move her feet forward. When she did, the mare lunged forward again, leaping out on the last step and spinning around to face Andy again, her dial up and nares a flare with snorting. Andy let the mare stand around awhile to get her bearings and settle down a bit before tying her to the side of the trailer while she closed it all up. The mare stood quietly while looking around, calming down a bit when she realized there were other horses and she was on solid ground again. Andrya grabbed the lead and brought her mare into the barn, walking down the aisle until she reached stall 7. In the stall beside her, a girl was patting her young gelding, though Andy could see he was at least two or three years beyond Aroe.

Looks like we're neighbors.

Aroe stood straight and tall, but not nearly reaching the height of the geldings beside her. Her nape arched and she nickered, straining against the pressure on the chain. When she neared the gelding, she flipped her ears backwards and struck out, a loud, high pitched squeel resounding off the metal and aluminum of the barn. As soon as she struck out, though, the end of the lead came back and smacked her broad chest, snapping the young mare back into reality. Andy pulled the lead as she walked into the stall, the mare walking with a bounce into her area, imediately checking the bucket for water and the trough for grain. When nothing was found, her attention returned to a mare beside her stall, stall 6. The two mares squeeled at eachother a couple times before the other mare lowered her dial a bit. Andy simply rolled her eyes.

This is Aroe, and I'm Andrya.

Andy looked through the bars at the other girl, who she imagined to be wondering how she got her horses stuck beside an insane filly.</sup>

[Aria Lockhart]

ooc: Sorry this took so long to reply to. I've been sick the passed two days.

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bic::
"Oh hush," Aria cooed gently to Disney, who was backing himself into the corner of his stall, tossing his head up. "Nothing's going to hurt you, silly." A bird had swooped down into the stall and almost ran into the excited youngster's face. Disney had a right fit and was threatening to rear. But Aria stayed calm, trying to show him that she was not afraid, and neither should he be. She held her hand out to him, palm up, fingers together. She didn't have any treats, but she was asking him just to touch his muzzle to her, to show any form of trust. But Disney pinned his ears and snaked his head out, clacking his teeth together. Aria removed her hand quickly and glared at her horse. That was just a rude behavior that she had not deserved.

"Sometimes I wonder why they named you "Disney", boy," she told him matter-of-factly, as if she was talking to a human. Her tone was calm and steady. Even though she was angry with him, she was just trying to get the four year-old Thoroughbred to calm down a little bit. "I'm pretty sure Walt wasn't afraid of birds and tried to bite people." Disney just stared at her. Aria stuck her hands in her pocket and he perked his ears. He thought she had treats. "Oh no-no-no," Aria told him, removing her hands from her pocket. "No treats until you behave -- and even then I'll have to think about it." She shook her head, not being able to not smile as Disney started nickering and extended his head out to her. All for the love of food. Maybe later she'd try a join-up with him, if the ring was available. She'd learned how to perform a join up from her old instructor, and hopefully it would still work.

She sniffed the air and wrinkled her nose. Just before she heard the sounds of uneven, prancing footsteps on the cement floor of the stable, she registered the smell of cigarette smoke. Yuck. In her opinion, it was a dangerous, disgusting habit and just plain stupid to do it around animals. Not to mention, she hated the smell. She could pick it up very easily and it always made her feel a little sick to her stomach. But even then, she never let that judge the person who was smoking. So this situation would be no different. After all, you really can't judge a person by if they smoke or not. But she turned her attention back on Disney. She approached him slowly and was able to continue giving him T-touch and he stretched his neck down, relaxing.

Aria heard the horse and the owner walking near by, but didn't turn around. She was focusing on Disney, who had flicked his ears back to hear her murmuring to him. Though, out of the corner of her eye she saw Quill looking over enviously. He had always been a jealous little bugger, and he especially didn't take to Disney. Infact, Disney was one of the only horses Quill hated. Perhaps it was because he took time with Aria away from him, but Aria ignored it. Quill would just have to get on without being the center of Aria's attention all the time.

"Looks like we're neighbors," the sound of the girl's voice caused Aria to lose concentration and turn around to see. Her. She watched to roan filly dive into her feed bucket and then go and greet the mare in the next stall over with a ripping squeal. This brought a chuckle from Aria's lips, it was quite entertaining. And as long as the filly didn't disrupt Disney or Quill, she thought they would be fun to have as stall neighbors. "This is Aroe, and I'm Andrya.

"Hello there, Andrya, nice to meet you," Aria said with a smile, walking over to the door of the stall. "My name's Aria, and this is Disney. And that big paint in the next stall over is Quill. They're both mine. And your right, looks like will be neighbors. Your girl Aroe is gorgeous."

[εïз [new name comi]

[ooc] you’ll have to forgive me first – my lizard was dying and I, myself, am coming down with strep. A music competition is also coming up in two days. Sorry for the wait, again.

Andy saw how Aroe’s rambunctious nature brought a smile to the girl’s face, which in turn, made a smile appear on her own face. The girl was a few years behind herself, which surprised her at the same time it didn’t. She had expected to see younger kids here – it being a riding school and all – but at the same time she was oddly surprised that the girl didn’t have her daddy or mommy smothering all over her like the rich parents usually do. Without noticing, her hand was brought up and pulled her thick waves over one shoulder, letting her neck cool off in the warmer barn. The removal of her hair revealed three things about her:

1.) Her cartilage and several other piercings on her ear
2.) The coiled snake tattoo on her shoulder
3.) Another tattoo on her neck that read “Liza” and had fancy decal swirling about the letters.

She ran her hand up to her forehead and fingered her bangs back, sighing. The girl greeted her back, introducing herself and her horses, which Andrya leaned back to look at. They were large and beautiful, and the closer she looked, the more she could see the heavy muscle of fit horse under those gleaming coats. She looked at the horse the girl was giving attention to – Disney – and figured she knew exactly what she was doing with horses. She had the young gelding totally relaxed and oblivious to her own mare’s carrying on.

Thanks. Don’t say it to her too much, she’ll get a bigger head than what she already has.

Andrya smiled, joking of course, about complimenting Aroe. However, at the same time she said it, Aroe turned on her haunches and tossed her dial the way mare’s do and snorted before turning in a few tight circles. Andrya supposed the Aroe had built up quite a bit of energy and was just dying to get it out of her. After Andy got her room all set, she decided she’d get back to the barn and take her out for some work.

You’re geldings are beautiful. Especially Quill – I’ve always had a crush on paints, myself.

Smiling again, Andy turned to hang up the lead and halter that she had taken off of Aroe. While she looped the lead up, she bent her tongue and brought her tongue ring forward between her teeth, gently biting it for a few seconds. It was a habit, like some people with tucking their bangs behind the ears, or biting their lip. A soft nose poked out between the bars of the stall, the lips working back and forth in a nuzzling motion, though it was faster and rougher than a loving nuzzle. Knowing that Aroe had been put to auction because of her being a mutt, harder to handle, and having several bad habits, Andrya knew she was going to open her jaws and take a taste of her arm. Andy brought her elbow back and then popped it forward to Aroe’s lips. The mare brought her head up in surprise and delight, her audits perked at Andy. It was likely she was going to make a game of it until Andy got her good enough for her to stop.

I wouldn’t pet her for awhile, at least until I get her trained, even if she gives you the puppy dog look. She’s bitten me a few times before.

Andy said the warning to Aria, just in case the young girl was giving attention to her geldings and Aroe drooped her head to give her a yearning look. Andy would put up a sign on the door that would read “caution: bites”. Short and to the point. The thought made her think about the day when she first saw Aroe at auction.

A larger blue roan stud that had been perhaps the once-in-a-lifetime horse was led out of the ring, Andrya loosing the bid by several hundred dollars. After $600, she had to stop because she hadn’t brought enough money along with her. The auction was coming to a close, which meant all the older horses that either had injuries or mental issues would be brought out next. She rose to her feet as the next horse was brought out, introduced as Aroe. Glancing at the ring, she saw a bright red roan mare prance out on the line, snorting and whinnying like there was no tomorrow. With a quick glance she had guessed her to be about five or six with the amount of muscle that was packed on her, along with the thick bone structure of her legs and hocks. The announcer went on to describe her.

2 and a half year old filly. Broke for halter. Bred at an open range ranch. Bidding starts at $150.

Andy raised her arm automatically, searching the crowd to see if anyone rose their hand up, too. To her surprise, no one else did. She saw the young mare hop about, rearing and calling, snorting and tossing her head. The young age was a shocker to Andy, though she supposed she should have seen it with the high spirit of the mare. Being the only bidder, she won the mare for $160.