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Post by Kiersten on Apr 21, 2023 14:56:18 GMT -6
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Post by Bri on Apr 21, 2023 21:07:43 GMT -6
Silas pulled up to the barn, parking his truck off to the side as he hummed softly along to the country song playing on the radio. Just because school was out for the summer didn't mean he got a day off, someone had to take care of the horses and he didn't mind being that one. He was used to it by now, taking up the chore every summer since he had started working at the school, sometimes bringing Samuel along but today he was on his own. He shut off his truck, hopping out and heading to the doors as he flipped through his set of keys but paused when he heard some kind of struggle, looking up to see a woman trying to balance a saddle while trying to open the doors. "Ma'am?" He raised his voice a little as he got closer to her, "the doors are locked, can I help you?"
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Post by Kiersten on Apr 21, 2023 21:24:40 GMT -6
Cosette turned when she heard someone speaking towards her, her brain working overtime as she ran his English words through her brain, matching them up with the French equivalent. “Er, I am the English Riding instructor, I just need to er, set up my saddle.” She hefted the saddle in her arm, taking a step away from the door, and him. She was still a little hesitant around men after Henri’s suicidal attempt, though she knew the likelihood of another guy wanting to kill her and himself to live in the afterlife together was very low, she couldn’t help herself. “*Je n'ai pas encore de clés.” She said quietly to herself, wondering if she should have gone to the main office to see if anyone there could help her get a copy.
*Je n'ai pas encore de clés = I haven’t gotten keys yet.
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Post by Bri on Apr 21, 2023 21:30:01 GMT -6
"Oh!" Silas's eyes widened a little when she said she was the English Riding instructor, "Leda had told me that you'd be joining us, I'm Silas, the Western Riding instructor." He offered her a smile, feeling a little awkward when she spoke in a different language, having no idea what she was saying. "I'll show you around, the barn doors are locked from the inside but the main door is over here." He gestured for her to follow, walking over to a side door that was off to the side from a set of double doors, inserting his key into the lock and swinging the door open, stepping inside and holding open the door for her.
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Post by Kiersten on Apr 21, 2023 21:37:02 GMT -6
Cosette offered him a smile when he mentioned Principal Leda had said she would be arriving. “I am Cosette, it’s very nice to meet you.” She slowly nodded her head when he informed her about the main door, not really understanding since she hadn’t looked at the map she was emailed. It was a barn, how hard could it be? She followed him to the front door, stepping past him and inside the building as he held the door. “Er, thank you. Where might I find the um, tack room?” She asked, feeling silly now that she hadn’t looked over the map more than the one time she opened the email.
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Post by Bri on Apr 21, 2023 21:57:15 GMT -6
Silas smiled back, "it's nice to meet you too." Once she was inside he walked over to set of switches and flicked them on, the main lights of the barn coming on. "Oh yeah, follow me, I can show you around." He told her, not minding that showing her around would push him back a bit but it wasn't like he had any plans for the rest of the day. He headed down the main aisle between the stalls, smiling as a few horses poked their heads out to look at them as they went past. "Here it is." He swung open a large door to the tack room.
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Post by Kiersten on Apr 21, 2023 22:24:26 GMT -6
Cosette was stunned by the place once he turned on the light, “It’s beautiful.” She didn’t think a barn could be such a thing, but it was immaculate inside. The place was spotless, despite hearing several horses, one neigh sounding familiar in the distance. She followed him down the main aisle, turning to check each horse as they poked their heads out to see them. None of them were Estella, but she could still hear familiar neigh, “Who keep this place so clean?” She joked, not really expecting him to answer. She found the spot with her, and Estella’s name tacked to the wall, placing her saddle on the rack.
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Post by Bri on Apr 26, 2023 13:50:23 GMT -6
Silas felt a bit of pride in his chest when she said the barn was beautiful. Of course he had no hand in building the thing but he took care of it as if it was his, enjoying how the maintenance kept him busy. "I do," he chuckled softly, noting the rack she put her saddle on, "I gotta keep busy somehow," he joked and stepped out of the tack room. "I was wondering who the new horse belonged to, I can show you to her stall." He offered.
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Post by Kiersten on Apr 26, 2023 16:49:47 GMT -6
Cosette brushed her English saddle, even though there wasn’t a speck of dust on it. “Well, the barn looks er, magnifik.” She chuckled nervously, hoping he’d understand what she was saying, her brain unable to think of the word magnificent. “Yes please!” She whipped around to face him when he mentioned Estella was there. “I haven’t seen my sweet bebis in forever.” She clapped her hands together in excitement.
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Post by Bri on Apr 27, 2023 22:59:58 GMT -6
"Ah, well, thank you." Silas said a bit awkwardly, Leda had told him his new coworker was from somewhere far off but he hadn't exactly been thinking that there would be a language barrier, but even thinking that made him feel like an idiot. "Here, she's right this way, we got her in the stall next to my boy." He explained, leaving the tack room and heading down the side row of stalls and stopping at the end end where her horse was.
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Post by Kiersten on Apr 28, 2023 14:11:50 GMT -6
Cosette’s smile turned up, bigger and brighter as she followed him out of the tack room and towards the stall that held her horse, Estella. The gorgeous white horse with brown speckles poked her head out of the stall as they got closer, a whiney of excitement at the same time Cosette gasped. “Ah, *min mästare,” she called the horse the nickname she’d whispered to her since she was a day-old foal. She reached out and ran her hand along face, then down her neck, patting her shoulder. “Gorgeous girl.”
*min mästare = my champion
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Post by Bri on Apr 29, 2023 19:04:27 GMT -6
Silas started to feel a little awkward as he stood there so he turned his attention to a honey colored horse leaned out from his stall, nosing the pocket of Silas's shirt, making him chuckle. "Hey big guy." He said, reaching out and scratching gently between the horse's eyes where a white star shaped patch was. "No treats today buddy, I have to run to the store to get more." He said, his horse eyeing him suspiciously and nosing his pocket again.
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Post by Kiersten on Apr 29, 2023 20:30:28 GMT -6
Cosette pulled out a couple of cubes of sugar, holding her hand flat with one in the middle of her palm for Estella. “Don’t worry girl, we’ll take a ride soon.” She wanted to saddle her immediately and check the area out, but she had to unpack still. She looked over her shoulder as Silas talked to another horse, assuming by the talk it was his own. “I have a few extra, if you want to treat him.” She said, turning and holding her hand out that held a few more sugar cubes.
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Post by Bri on Apr 29, 2023 21:47:34 GMT -6
"Oh," Silas looked over at Cosette, giving her a bashful smile, "that would be great, thank you. Dodger is a glutton." He chuckled as he took a couple of her sugar cubes, finger tips brushing slightly against her palm but didn't seem to notice as he held a cube up to Dodger. His horse reached out, plucking a sugar cube from his hand as his tail swished back and forth.
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Post by Kiersten on Apr 29, 2023 22:13:12 GMT -6
Estella whined, throwing her head up in defiance at the fact she wasn’t being walked out of her stall. “Er, you are being a brat Estella,” Cosette scowled, but she was smirking as she ran her hand up and down her forelock. “I guess I could take you out for a bit, if that’s alright.” She turned to Silas, wondering if that was allowed, though school wasn’t in session, and no one else was there.
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Post by Bri on Apr 29, 2023 22:22:58 GMT -6
Silas chuckled at her horse's indignation, "wouldn't you be too after being cooped up in a stall all day?" He joked, letting Dodger have the other cube of sugar and scratched his cheek, not noticing Cosette looking at him for a minute, until he felt a set of eyes on her, eyes widening a little when he realized she was asking him if it was alright. "Oh yeah, she's your horse, you can take her out whenever you want off the clock." He said with a shrug, knowing he'd have to take out Dodger and let out the rest of the horses to get their exercise.
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Post by Kiersten on Apr 29, 2023 22:43:36 GMT -6
Cosette felt her lips curl into a big smile before quickly heading back to the tack room. She didn’t hesitate to grab her bridle and saddle, lugging it back down the aisle towards Estella who instead got excited at the sight of the saddle. “I am sorry you’ve cooped up my sweet girl.” She hated when Estella arrived at the destination before her. She placed the saddle on the door before taking the bridle inside, putting it over Estella's face as the horse started dancing in place, a chuckle leaving Cosette knowing the horse loved to show off.
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Post by Bri on Apr 29, 2023 23:43:38 GMT -6
While Cosette headed to the tack room Silas gave Dodger a scratch behind the ears before moving on, going to a near by supply room and pulling out a pitch fork, shovel, and wheel barrow to much out the stalls. He placed his thing s a bit out of the way, glancing over at Estella as she eagerly danced. "She really needs to get out and about," he chuckled, "I'm going to be letting the horses out in the West Pasture but everywhere else is fair game for you to ride. There's a few trails that go out into the forest that circle back around here that aren't too hard to follow."
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Post by Kiersten on Apr 29, 2023 23:56:14 GMT -6
Cosette threw the blanket over Estella’s back and grabbed the saddle, nodding to Silas’s instructions. “How many horses are at the stables?” she asked, wondering if it would be weird for her to ask him to join her for a ride. She threw the saddle over Estella, reaching under her for the strap to cinch her in, her mind telling her it wouldn’t be weird, they were grown adults, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it.
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Post by Bri on Apr 30, 2023 0:29:56 GMT -6
"With the addition of yours there's about twenty-five now." Silas replied as he went to the stall next to Dodger, peering in at the horse inside who huffed at him in response. "Our riding classes are pretty small so we have a rotation going and a few students do board their horses here. Those ones are in this row and their name plates have squares carved into the corners of the plaques, the class horses have circles on theirs." He explained, knocking his knuckle against the wooden plaque that was in the door of the stall in front of him, which was a rectangle shape with the horses name carved in it and inked with black and in each corner was a square, seemingly meant for decorative purposes. "Estella's plaque is still a work in progress but the students aren't allowed in this row unless they have a horse here."
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Post by Kiersten on Apr 30, 2023 0:38:29 GMT -6
Once Estella was cinched and buckled in, Cosette took her reigns and led her into the aisle. “Wow, that is a lot of horses to care for. Does someone help you?” she asked, noting the plaques as he pointed out what the squares and circles meant. She looked around at the horses in this row, looking for the name of her student she’d be training, spotting the name a few horses down. That at least, meant she wasn’t out of a job, yet.
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Post by Bri on Apr 30, 2023 17:58:54 GMT -6
"I get my son to help me sometimes but there are a couple guys who come out here a couple times a week to help out, but for the most part it's all up to me." Silas explained with a shrug, he didn't mind the extra work, it got him paid in the end and kept his head busy. He wasn't sure if having Cosette around would mean that she'd have to help out too, he didn't know what she had agreed to when taking the job and didn't want to cause any trouble.
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Post by Kiersten on Apr 30, 2023 19:01:05 GMT -6
Cosette smiled softly at the mention of a son, wondering how old Silas was, even though it didn’t really matter. She hadn’t spoken to the principal about what her full duties were. She would not only be the English riding coach, but also teaching French, they hadn’t talked about any other duties with riding or the barn. “If you need help ever, please let me know.” She was used to mucking out stalls, feeding, running horses, she’d been a stable hand all through high school and well into college before her career took off. “And er, if you’d like to go ride with me, it’d be nice to not get lost.” She threw the offer out to him as she turned to make her way towards what she assumed was the back door of the barn.
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Post by Bri on Apr 30, 2023 21:17:57 GMT -6
"Will do," Silas smiled, glad she was willing to help out. In the past he'd tried to get students to help out with cleaning stalls but that had been like pulling teeth and was nowhere near useful so he had just given up. He paused at her offer, glancing over at Dodger who stared back, as if daring him to say no. "Well...I suppose it wouldn't be very fair to let you go out on your own right now, accounting on you being new and all...I could go right now if you're willing to wait for me to get Dodger ready." He said, thinking that if they got back soon enough he'd have plenty of time to let the other horses out and clean.
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Post by Kiersten on Apr 30, 2023 21:39:16 GMT -6
Cosette felt like learning to keep a barn clean, learn how to muck out a stall properly, things that would keep a horse healthy and fit. She planned to have her student come and clean her own horses stall, not only to build responsibility, but to help Silas out. He had enough on his plate in her mind, with teaching, keeping up with the horses, and cleaning the barn. She stopped and looked over her shoulder as he said he’d come along. “I can wait.” She wasn’t going anywhere in a hurry, even if she still had a lot to do. She had the whole summer to unpack and get ready. She at least, hoped it was enough time.
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Post by Bri on Apr 30, 2023 22:14:48 GMT -6
"Alright, I'll try not to take take too long." Silas smiled a little before heading to the tack room, grabbing his saddle and whatever else he needed and carrying it back to the stall where Dodger neighed, throwing his head back. "Aye ya lummox we'll get out there in a minute, simmer down." He chided the horse and started getting him ready to ride. Once everything was secure he lead the horse out of his stall and looked at Cosette, nodding his head, "we're ready."
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Post by Kiersten on Apr 30, 2023 22:30:48 GMT -6
Cosette patiently waited for Silas to saddle up his horse, checking and rechecking her own equipment, in case Estella got any funny ideas while she had waited hours for her to show up. She chuckled at him calling his horse a lummox and to be patient, and once he was ready, she nodded her head. “After you, monsieur.” She slightly teased, though she didn’t see the point in her leading when he knew the place.
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Post by Bri on Apr 30, 2023 22:49:25 GMT -6
Silas felt his cheeks warm up a little from her laugh, willing them to calm down before standing straight. "Ah, alright." He took Dodgers reins and walked him outside, sliding open a set of double doors that opened up into the pasture. "We'll ride out to the end where a set of gates are then we can get on one of the trails." He explained, closing the doors once Cosette and Estella were out of the barn then pulled himself up into his saddle, Dodger twisting in a circle and ready to get going.
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Post by Kiersten on Apr 30, 2023 23:01:57 GMT -6
Cosette followed Silas, leading Estella down the aisle and finally outside, where her horse started tapping her feet again with excitement. “We aren’t training today, min mästare,” She soothed the mare, patting her on the neck as she turned her attention back to Silas as he explained where they were going. She nodded her understanding and while he shut the door, she jumped into the saddle. It had taken her years to perfect the ability to jump into the saddle with ease, but Estella had made it easier for her. “How many trails are there?” She wasn’t a trail rider to be fair, mostly rode around an open field when they weren’t training.
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Post by Bri on Apr 30, 2023 23:28:08 GMT -6
Silas looked over at Estella, chuckling softly. At least his horse wasn't the only overexcited one. He straightened out Dodger after letting him turn one more circle. "There's five total but we only let students take three; the one that curves through the meadow, one that cuts through the flat part of the forest, and the one, which is the longest, that connects the two. The two that the students aren't allowed to take go farther out into the forest and take longer to complete." He explained, giving a soft nudge with his heel and Dodger started to walk out across the pasture.
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