Honey and the Moon

"They're a little stinky, huh?"

Allen laughed. "You'll get used to it," he said. It hadn't taken him long, so hopefully it wouldn't take Enelya long to get used to it either. Then again, he had been around horses for much longer than she had.

"I like this one. She's funny."

He grinned when she started laughing, and nodded when she said the horse was funny. This would probably end up being a good experience, since she already seemed to like the horse. "Good," he said. "I'll go get her saddle and bridle."

With that said, he went and did so. He grabbed the gear and returned to the stall, smiling when Enelya said that the mare had told her she would be patient. "Good," he said. "The last thing you need is a horse who doesn't like listening."

"She likes you too."

"Does she now?" he questioned. After a moment, Allen opened the stall gate just big enough so he could squeeze inside and stroked the horses back, putting the saddle on. He crouched down and tightened the piece of equipment before standing up again and putting the bridle on the horse.

He opened the gate and guided the horse out. "Now, I hope you paid attention to what I did. You have a quiz later!" Allen told Enelya. He pointed to the stirrup. "Now, put your foot in it and I'll help you up, alright?"

"Quiz? No problem."

Allen folded his arms over his chest and rose an eyebrow. "Oh really?" he questioned. He didn't really plan for there to be a quiz, but he could always say it to frighten her a little. He noticed her say something to the horse and realized they were probably in cahoots, but it didn't matter much to him.

"Help!!!.."

Not another word had to be spoken before Allen quickly grabbed Enelya by the waist, keeping her from falling. He grabbed her leg and helped her to put it over on the other side of the horse. "There we go," he said. "Now you just sit down and make sure your feet are in the stirrups. You shouldn't fall again, since I tightened the saddle and everything."

He grabbed the reins and handed them to Enelya. "You use these to steer the horse. If you want to go left, pull the reins left, if you want to go right, turn them right. If you want to stop, pull back, and if you want to go faster, just give the horse a kick."

With that said, Allen went to get his own saddle, bridle, and horse. After a few minutes he left one of the other stalls, leading a black horse behind him. He lead it outside, then put his foot in the stirrup and pulled himself up. He turned to Enelya. "Now, just give her a gentle kick and come outside with me, alright? If that doesn't work, then just tell her." Lucky Plant Lady and her ability to talk to animals...

"That's horrible..."

Beginners... Allen thought to himself, rolling his eyes. They never wanted to kick the horses. He hadn't wanted to either, seven-hundred years ago. He couldn't exactly say that he blamed her, to be honest. "She'll be fine, don't worry, Enelya," he told her with a smile, hoping she would eventually get used to doing it.

He watched as Enelya barely even tapped the horse and sighed, blowing some hair out of his eyes. She was lucky she could talk to animals, otherwise that would have done nothing.

Once the other horse had followed his, Allen smiled. At least that would work. "Alright. Now just follow me, alright?" he asked her. He made the horse start walking away from the stables, but he looked behind him to make sure Enelya was easily following.

The lack of talking was bothering him somewhat. "So, ehh... lovely day, hm?" he said, trying to make more conversation.

As Willow wandered off a bit, the man slowed his face. He didn't want to loose Enelya out here, especially since she didn't know anything about horses. Sure, her horse could tell her, but a spooked animal probably wouldn't be good with giving information.

"Iiii.... Ffffeeeelllsssl llliiiikkkeeee Iiii'mmmm iiinnn annn eeeaarrttthhhqquuaakkeee!!!"

Allen laughed at her speech, though he was glad she was closer. "But it's a FUN earthquake!" he exclaimed, grinning. If she was saying that at just a trot, then he couldn't wait to see what she would end up saying when they were going faster.

"I'm glad we're doing this today. I'm having so much fun!"

A genuine smile came to his face. He was glad she was having fun... really glad. It would have upset him a bit if she hadn't liked it, since he had practically grown up with horses. He hadn't had those fancy cars when he was growing up and those two-wheeled things that had a bell when he was a kid. "Glad you're having fun," he told her. "Everyone ends up loving riding horsies eventually!"

Willow then broke out into a run, and Allen was left there for a moment, blinking. He quickly gave his own horse a nice kick after though and ran after her, not wanting her to get lost. "You think you're up for a race?" he called over the sound of the hooves, laughing. He had wanted to wait until she was more comfortable on the horse, but since they were already running, he didn't see the point in waiting.

"I don't know if I'm ready, but Willow sure is!"

Allen grinned. Enelya probably wasn't ready... and he wondered if Willow was the right choice of a horse. She had said she would be patient... but he didn't think that zooming off with a beginning rider was exactly patient, or wise for that matter. The smile was immediately wiped off of his face and a bad feeling began to sink like a rock to the bottom of his stomach.

He kicked his horse harder, hoping that both Willow's neigh and the kicking would urge her to go faster. He had to get that horse to slow down before something happened to his precious Plant Lady. "Enelya, pull back on the reins! Tell her to slow down!" he yelled, hoping his voice was loud enough.

Another kick and the horse was going faster. He cursed under his breath, wishing he hadn't let Willow run off in the first place. "You shouldn't be going so fast when you're just learning!" Allen sighed, biting his lip and leaning forward on the saddle. It felt nice to be riding again, but it was bringing up some chases in the past that he didn't really want to think about at the moment. The memories were only going to make him more paranoid.