[Windmount Stables] A day at the Stables

by **Crypt** on November 10th, 2012, 5:26 am

Crypt shook his head.

"No, that'll be for later. We'll have to use another comb for his mane and tail. We have one more task to do, but I'll do it by myself and show you. This is the most delicate process, and I'd advise you not to do it by yourself without any supervision or to a young, easily excited horse."

Once Hisoka had completed both sides, Crypt looked over Eolfin with a critical eye, before nodding slightly.

"Good job. We'll move on to the hooves. Just watch, I'll do this for all of them. Now, the first thing to do is to approach Eolfin diagonally from the front. Let him see that you're coming - don't startle him. Kneel down in front of him, but keep your feet away from his hooves. Use one hand and run it down his shoulder and along the length of his leg, like this."

Crypt used one hand and gently moved it down Eolfin's left leg, stopping at just above the ankle. He applied some pressure to the back of the horse's leg, and Eolfin obediently lifted his hoof up. Crypt retrieved a strange-looking brush, with a wooden handle and boar bristles, from the box of tools, and starting removing bits of dirt and small pebbles.

"Just apply a small amount of pressure to the back of his ankle and he'll lift it up for you. Kepp in mind that Eolfin's well-trained, and he's been through a lot of this. A younger horse may not be so obedient. Now, this is a hoof pick. We use it to clean Eolfin's hooves, removing all debris that we can see or take out. Do not apply too much pressure, or it will irritate Eolfin and might complicate matters further."

Crypt brushed off the last of the dirt and slowly placed the hoof done. He patted Eolfin and gave him a piece of carrot.

"The back hooves are similar. Just remember, slide your hand over to his back leg, running it along his back. Let him feel that your hand is moving to his back, so that you won't startle him. Do not worry if, when lifting his rear foot, he gives a little jerk. He's not going to kick you, it's just a reflex action, nothing to worry about. Last thing to note: Ensure that his four legs are equally spaced out such that he can balance easily on three legs when you're picking one of his hooves."

Crypt completed the operation for the rest of Eolfin's hooves. After knocking the hoof pick on the wall of the box stall to dislodge any dirt stuck on the bristles, he placed it back into the tools, then picked up a large comb.

"This is what you'll be using for his mane and tail. However, use your fingers, and run them through his mane slowly. Feel for any knots and tangles with your hand, and loosen them as best as you can. Go on, have a go."

Crypt stepped aside, allowing Hisoka to do so.

by **Hisoka** on November 10th, 2012, 5:44 am

Hisoka took the brush, using her other hand, she combed through Eolfin's mane
with her fingers. She found a few leaves and other debris, discarding them over
her shoulder, and disentangled a few nasty knots. After she got as much as she
could, she began to gently brush his mane. She began to hum a Vanthan tune,
and whenever she got caught in a tangle, she gently held the hair above the area
so she would not hurt the Eolfin as she combed it out.

After finishing the mane, she moved slowly to his tail. She trailing her hand along
his flank until she was positioned by it, to ensure that he would not kick her when
she started combing his tail.
She repeated the same process with the tail as she had done Eolfin's mane.
Finished, she looked over her work, seeing both sleek tail and mane, giving of a
shine from the filtered light entering the stall.

She looked at Crypt. " ...Good..?"

by **Crypt** on November 10th, 2012, 6:15 am

Isn't that from Avanthal? That's quite... familiar. Heard it once when I visited that one Hold to watch a performance... Nah, can't remember its name. So either Hisoka has been in Avanthal - quite a fair bit away from here, or her mother taught her that tune.

Crypt fingered Eolfin's mane, checking for anything wrong with it. Finding a still-tangled tuft of hair, he used both hands to untie the knot, then moved to the tail. Thankfully, it was alright, but it would require more combing for perfection.

"Good? Yes, good. I see you've some experience in combing hair - maybe you did the same for yours?" Crypt grinned while combing Eolfin's tail, using his other hand to stroke Hisoka's long, dark hair. "Anyway, that's the grooming finished."

Crypt placed the comb back into the wooden box and closed it up.

"We're going to do this for a few more horses today before we stop for lunch, so you'd better remember all of this. I'll help you when you forget, but do try to remember, so that I won't have to spend more time explaining everything to you all over again. Come on."

Crypt fed Eolfin one last piece of carrot before picking up the two boxes and exiting the stalll, closing the door behind him after Hisoka went out. He then ambled off to the next box stall.

by **Hisoka** on November 10th, 2012, 6:20 am

Hisoka blushed a bit, touching her hair a bit, and followed him.
She noticed that he limped, almost noticeably, and frowned slightly,
but stopped before he could see her expression.

Injured...?, she thought to herself.

by **Crypt** on November 10th, 2012, 1:29 pm

75th of Fall, 512 AV (Timeskip, Afternoon, the thirteenth Bell)

Lunch is good as always. Time to get back to work.

Crypt quietly walked back to the Stables, turning around every now and then to ensure that Hisoka did not wander off anywhere.

"Come on, Hisoka, break time's over. It's time to continue our job."

Once they had reached the Stables, they were spotted by Serena, who walked over to them, gesturing wildly with a rope in her left hand to catch their attention.

"Right," Serena began. "You'll be giving the horses their meals, so get over to the stack of hay bales over there, and start distributing the hay to their mangers for the nearest row of stalls. After you do that, fill their water troughs. Some of the grooms will be bringing in water in buckets, so use them. Once you're done, you can rest for a few chimes, then I'll give you more work."

She walked off. Crypt turned to Hisoka.

"You've heard her. Let's start now."

by **Hisoka** on November 10th, 2012, 9:53 pm

Hisoka followed Crypt to the hay bales, and looked around. She began
to gather some hay, picking out the once that weren't so good.

"Do we use pitch fork? Or carry..?", she asked, though she already had a
large arm-full of hay.

by **Crypt** on November 11th, 2012, 1:23 am

“Nah, won't need to, Hisoka. They're already tied up - just carry them over here and distribute the hay, about this much for each horse.”

Crypt lifted up a bale of hay with each hand, transporting them to the box stalls, where he removed the ropes and started separating the hay into several bundles. The Drykas placed each bundle in the feeding troughs and watched in satisfaction as the horses began feeding on their lunch.

“I'd say we'd need about ten more of the larger bales. Distribute the bundles here, I'll carry them over.”

by **Hisoka** on November 11th, 2012, 1:56 am

Hisoka nodded, and began to efficiently separate the bundles into several equal
portions. She then placed the bundles into the horses' mangers, patting the
friendlier ones as she passed.
She repeated this, picking out the inedible pieces.
Since all the horses' mangers were filled, she then went to where some of the
grooms had placed buckets of water. Lifting one with both hands she slowly made
her way over to the troughs, careful to make sure that the water wouldn't slosh,
and spill.

by **Crypt** on November 11th, 2012, 2:35 am

An hour had passed, and the duo was finished for now.

“Well, Hisoka, good job with that. Time for our break.”

Their first day at the Stables wasn't too bad, though hopefully Hisoka would refrain from any further... mischief, and Crypt would stop being too overprotective.

~FINE~

by **Balderdash** on November 19th, 2012, 9:45 pm

Delicious Rewards! Happy days and jubilation!

Crypt :

Hisoka :

A nice little slice-of-life thread. A quick note to Hisoka: While there's nothing wrong with short posts (Indeed, my posts are rarely more than two paragraphs or so) one-liners and one paragraph posts should be avoided if possible. It's not a horrible offense, but it's helpful. Your characters thoughts, what they're feeling, their surroundings, and motivations are always good ways to make posts a little longer. Don't feel TOO pressured for length, though. A post only needs to be long enough to get the job done. That being said, I think you have some real potential from what I've read so far!

And Crypt... Keep up the good work. Your crisp, matter-of-fact style of writing never fails to entertain.

If you have any questions or concerns about this grade, please PM me. A happy you makes a happy Balderdash!

Completed [Windmount Stables] A day at the Stables