Lady Diamonds horse lessons. (IC thread)

[Vanor]

After the quick ride out to the field, Vanor leans back in his saddle, to see if Spirit will respond to his body once again. She takes a few moments to act, but does slow down and then stops, looking back at him, with a look of “is that what you wanted” in her eyes. Vanor reaches up and pats her neck and scratches behind her ears a bit to show her how pleased he is with her.

Well here we are, lets give the horses a chance to cool down a bit before we start in the training once again. Diamond slips off of striker, and pats his neck a bit, Vanor follows her lead, and does the same, letting the horses catch their breath before they mount back up again. I noticed you stopped her with out the reins again, that’s good to see, she seems to be a very smart horse, and quick to train.

Yes she does seem almost eager to please, is this a common thing in horses?

In some yes, but not all. When I found Spirit she was very protective of her former master, it took a great deal of skill and time before I was able to get her to let me near her masters body. She had nearly died, rather then leave his body. She is a very special horse, and your lucky to have her.

Of that there can be no doubt love. I’m very lucky to have two such special ladies in my life. Altho I think you smell better then Spirit does. He says with a grin

Well I sure hope I do! She responds and laughs. Vanor finds himself once more struck by her beauty, and entranced by the sound of her laugh. Yes he is a very lucky man indead.

The two of them spend the next few hours riding around at a walk at first, then over time increasing the pace to a canter. The whole time, Vanor tries to guide Spirit with his legs, and body. At first she doesn’t seem to respond much to just his leg, Diamond reminds him to use the reins as well.

You need to teach her that pressing on her leg means the same thing as you putting pressure on the rein love. She’s a smart horse, but she’s been trained with a bit and bridle so she expects you to use them when you want her to turn. Press with your leg, and if she doesn’t turn, pull lightly on the reins in the direction you want to turn, she should get the idea.

Ok, I’ll try that.

But wait a moment before you use the reins, see if she’ll respond to your leg first. I’m sure that it will take a bit before she starts to fully understand what you want her to do.

Vanor starts off once again, this time following Diamonds advice. When he wants Spirit to turn he presses with his leg, and sees if she’ll respond. They ride around for several hours, at first he has to use the reins every time, but after a bit she starts to respond to just his leg. Towards the end, she responds to a very light touch on the reins, and mostly to the pressure of his leg.

Very good love, she seems to be learning. It will take some more time before she’s ready to go without the bit and bridle. But she does learn quickly.

Yes, I noticed that myself. I guess I had hoped that we could keep learning at the same speed we had before, but perhaps this will take a bit longer.

Diamond looks at him slightly shocked then laughs You are something else love. She shakes her head and laughs again

I don’t understand love?

Diamond rides up next to him and takes his hand in hers. I’m sorry love, I wasn’t trying to be mean. You just have no idea how quickly you have progressed. I guess it makes sense, it’s come so easy for you and Spirit, you don’t realize how gifted you are at horsemanship. It normally takes weeks for a horse and rider to mesh as well as you two have. Remember back on the first day of your lessons? In the space of a afternoon you had not only been able to ride well, but were able to jump as well. I honestly couldn’t believe anyone could learn to ride as quickly as you do. And in a space of this morning, we have almost trained Spirit to respond to you without reins, bit and bridle. This normally would take weeks to train a foal to do, and even longer to train a grown horse who has already been trained with the bit and bridle. But you feel disappointed that she didn’t learn it all today.

Oh, Vanor looks slightly abashed, then laughs himself I guess your right, it’s come so easy so far, I didn’t stop to think about how quickly things have gone.

Don’t worry about it love, if nothing else, perhaps this was a good lesson for you too. But I think that perhaps it’s time for us to head back, I’m getting a bit hungry.

No need for that beloved. Vanor smiles, at being able to spring his surprise on her I have brought lunch with me, and there’s a small glade not to far from here, that we can relax and eat in.

The one by the waterfall?

Yes that’s the one, it seemed like such a lovely place, I thought we’d enjoy having lunch there.

That sounds lovely, and it was so sweet of you to plan ahead like that, lets go eat.

The two of them ride off to the glade, and Vanor unpacks the food he brought as Diamond sets out the blanket. The meal he brought was simple, some wine, some cheese, bread and meat. Nothing fancies but good for eating on the ground. Once the horses were taken care of, the two of them sit and eat. They talk softly to each other as they eat, drinking the lovely scenery, around them and pointing out little things to each other, like a butterfly or perhaps a songbird. After they had eaten their fill. Vanor looks at Diamond, then at the pond under the waterfall.

Would you like to take a dip beloved? We could wash off the dust and smell of the horses, before we return the dojo.

That sounds wonderful love, perhaps we could do a bit more then just wash… She grins at him, wraps up the remains of the picnic, before heading over to the pond.

Ooc: I think I’ll wrap it up here, and let Lady Diamond post her response.

 

[Lady Diamond]

As they headed for the waterfall Diamond chuckled to herself a bit. "Horse smell".. she loved the smell of horses. It reminded her of the days spent riding, away from her cares as a slave to the Emperor and future court concubine. Only while riding Striker had she truly felt free in those days.

"Last one to the waterfall is a rotten egg!" she cried gaily, glancing at Vanor and taking off running, stripping off her clothes at the run, undoing her long fiery red hair and kicking off her sandals, stopping briefly to peer down into the crystal clear water to see if it was safe to dive. The water looked fairly deep. She glanced back to see Vanor standing several yards behind her with a surprised yet appreciative look on his face. "I win!" she laughed, and dove into the pond.

Diving deep and looking around, she could see that there were rocks and silt and water plants, their fronds waving slowly as if disturbed by her presence. Little silvery-gold fish in schools parted in alarm as she approached, then melded together as she swam away from them. Looking up she saw the sun glinting overhead, silvery sparkles of light. She gazed down at the bottom of the pond as she swam upward, watching the play of sunlight fade away as she reached the surface.

She broke the surface of the water gasping and looked towards the edge of the pond. "Aren't you coming in?", she treaded water and gazed at Vanor standing there by the edge.

"Oh yes," he grinned. "I have to get rid of a few things first though."

Diamond smiled, knowing full well the picture she presented, swimming naked in the pond, the sunlight and clarity of the water leaving nothing to the imagination, her long hair floating about her like a silken cloud. She watched Vanor undress, her heartbeat quickening, running her eyes boldly over him, drinking him in with her gaze. She knew he felt a bit self-conscious about the scars upon his body, but she loved all of him, the scars were simply proof that he had survived many a vicious battle. To her they were badges of courage.

Laying his clothes carefully atop the pile of her clothes he'd picked up along the way, he stood there for a moment, with the sunlight blazing behind him as the afternoon sun dipped closer to the horizon. He stood there unmoving for a long moment, finally in mock exasperation she raised her arms in supplication to her beloved and said "Join me." It was almost as if he were teasing her.

"Gladly," he smiled, and dove into the water. When he didn't surface immediately she looked around, gasping in surprise as she felt a hand grabbing her by the ankle and pulling her under. She spun around and felt his arms around her, pulling her close, holding her tightly against him under the water, kissing her slowly and deeply as they gradually floated up to the surface together, bodies entwined.

Time stood still... they were simply man and woman showing their love for one another, letting the world of fighting and death flow around them, inconsequential. Unseen. As if only they two existed in the universe.

Exquisite joy, a celebration of life.

 

[Lady Diamond]

Time passed very slowly as it often does in times of complete joy and peace, but soon the sun began to settle on the western horizon, and it was time for the two lovers to gather up the things they had brought to this sacred place and depart for home.

Diamond tied her thick hair at the nape of her slender neck, it was still somewhat wet and heavy from the delightful dip in the crystal pond, she gazed at Vanor with a loving smile. "This place is sacred to me now beloved, I haven't felt such joy and peace for quite some time. Thank you for bringing us here."

Vanor smiled in return, and looked at her thoughtfully. "You know, I bless the gods for bringing us together."

Diamond's smile broadened into an appreciative grin. "I have a confession to make," she began. "I won't even attempt to second-guess the fates for bringing us together, and for allowing us to become friends and lovers, I thank the stars every day myself for that first day, when you appeared to me. You were everything I'd hoped for, and more."

Vanor looked a bit puzzled. "What do you mean?."

She replied. "Truth be told, I had heard of you on my travels to this realm. People spoke of a valiant warrior, a man of honor, and respect. I believe that had we not met on that first day, I would have sought you out to meet you, eventually."

He chuckled wryly. "Ah, my fame preceeded me. You shouldn't believe all the things you hear from people second-hand beloved." He thought about all the roads traveled to become the man he is, while replying "I was not always honorable you know, I spent some time as a sash, fighting for money, not honor."

She nodded, "I remember beloved. You said during that time that you had all the material things money could buy. Everything but true happiness, and peace. The journey, the ritual you undertook to find the honorable path again nearly killed you. How many would take that risk to find an intangible "something" that many do not even believe in?"

They both continued to load up the horses and gather things as they spoke, she fell silent for a short while as is her way when she muses about fate and the workings of "luck". They mounted the horses and set off for the short ride back to the dojos, the setting sun taking most of the heat of the day, and the air chilled. With her still-wet hair drawing some of the chill towards her body, she shivered a bit, but just looking at the man she loved brought a warm glow to her entire body, and she smiled at him.

"Beloved, whether the things that were said about you were true or just exaggerated, I found the truth as I began to get to know you. You are all the good things that were said about you." She looked up to the sky and said a quick mental prayer, hopefully the gods wouldn't fault her for admitting that she had tried more than once to make a bit of her own "luck".

She turned to him, taking his hand as they rode. "Fate smiled on us that first day, yes. But I believe that sometimes people can have a bit of influence upon the kind of 'luck' they have. A person can bemoan the hand the gods have dealt them and do nothing, or they can try to do something about it. That 'something' can either turn out good or bad, but striving onward and picking yourself back up off the ground after you've been knocked down is the only thing a person can do." She looked away briefly and rolled her eyes, thinking of trying to say things just the right way hadn't worked. No matter how she'd tried to phrase it, what she'd said sounded simplistic and trite.

He squeezed her hand softly and brought it to his lips for a brief kiss. Her hand was cool, one touch of his lips brought sweet warmth to her soul, and she looked at him and smiled again. The darkening night enveloped them both, but at the crest of the last hill they saw the dojo lights shining out, guiding them home.

"You know," he said. "We should plan to visit my parents soon beloved. They'll want to see the woman who plotted and connived to meet me just on the basis of hearsay." He grinned.

She chuckled, her thoughtful mood uplifted once again, just with a few words from him. "Oh yes, I hope they like 'schemers'." She snickered. "Or women who tempt fate by trying to make fate work for them, once in awhile."

"I think I'm the lucky one to have you, my beloved," she said as they reached the stables.