[Godiva's] Inhibitions (Kavala - Open)

[Kavala]

OOC NOTESelf moderating the rest of this thread due to inactivity from Evarette. I'd rather finish it for the XP than let it be dropped.

With her advice given, Kavala felt Windsong dance under her. The stallion wanted to run, and Kavala was inclined to let him. Unlike most of the Drykas, Kavala used no blanket between her body and the torso of her horse, preferring to feel his motions uninhibited so they could truly have close contact. She shifted her weight, let the stranger wander with her own stallion, and let the strider beneath her run. His long elegant legs flashed out and the buckskin took off like a flash dashing off to chase the surf down the beach. Kavala tipped her head back and laughed, shifting her weight to hold herself closely to her racing stallions body. She leaned over his neck, letting her weight shift urge him on, and charged with him through the foam of the wintery surf crashing on the sand.

Wind tossed his head, bucked slightly, and obeyed Kavala's shift in weight, and began a big circle to the right in the hard-packed sand. He started out on the right lead with Kavala posting to ease his canter before she asked him to spin left and shift his lead just at the directional transition. When he preformed the maneuver perfectly, she laughed and patted his neck. Sitting deeply into her seat, she halted him, then asked him to back up by laying her legs along his side and pressing them backwards as if she was shifting invisible energy backwards, and thus urging him back. The small stallion backed until Kavala released the pressure, and spun right at her request to break into a lengthy trot. He earned another pat on his neck as Kavala asked him for an abrupt canter on the left lead. She cantered him off, switching his leads every three beats, giving a casual observer the impression that the little buckskin was skipping.

Windsong wasn't a huge animal. Most people were wholly unimpressed by his size. But Kavala knew him to be a true athlete, one that could out maneuver much bigger horses quite often. She brought the stallion down to a walk, let him blow am moment, and then asked him to spin in place. He planted a back leg, and dug in, spinning around the locked limb then came out with a lash of his back hooves as if he were fighting a glassbeak. He earned another pat on his neck along with a long string of praise as Kavala circled him around a large log, brought him back on his own steps, and jumped it before letting him run again.

Wind loved to run. He lived for it. She often said he'd outrun the wind himself if she'd let him and there was need enough for it. It was part of the reason he had his name. So now that the stallion was good and warmed up, the girl let the little strider stretch his legs and thunder down the beach, leaving their companions behind. Kavala would keep an eye on them, but she was here to take care of Wind's needs came first, and Kavala was definitely going to see to them.

Eventually though, when the horse had winded himself, she turned him and walked him carefully back down the beach. Eva could fend for herself, or at least she had up until now, so Nya let her wander on her own as she brought Wind slowly back down the beach, letting him blow and catch his breath.

[Kavala]

As she rested the sweaty horse, letting him cool a bit before starting his lessons over again, Kavala thought about what she could do to work on Wind's training.

One of the things Kavala wanted Wind to do was collect up. He had gotten sloppy running wild for two weeks and frankly with Kavala getting the Sanctuary ready for horses, she'd been too busy to work him. Basically, the idea was to get Wind to use his front quarters to steer with and his hind quarters to drive with, powering with the parts of the body that were designed for it - his rump. There were a few ways to do this, but one of the most effective way was to get him to partially halt, throwing his hind end up under his front end, and then releasing him out to move forward again. If she did this every time his body lost its collection, after a while Windsong got the idea that he had to keep working with his back and leading with his front because she wouldn't tolerate laziness.

And it was truthfully lazy for a horse not to be collected. They conserved energy by driving from behind with their rear legs, but it was harder for them to simply do, especially if they were out of shape. Wind was in great shape, just lazy, and using his front end was in the long run it was robbing him of power. He couldn't run as long or as hard if he wasn't collected up. So she set about to working on this... driving him forward, half-halting him without bringing him to a full stop, and then launching him forward again. It was a lot like watching a horse and rider play leap-frog. And after a few minutes, Wind got the idea. He started anticipating her half-halts, powering down, powering up, and leaping to please his rider. Kavala laughed at her sturdy little strider stallion, and urged him into a gallop to see if their lessons had helped. They had, sure enough, and he powered up properly, collecting his hind end under him and driving from behind, using his forelegs to throw out and paw at the ground, gaining traction in the sand and steering his body neatly.

The Konti felt his withers loosen up, his shoulders move more freely beneath her, and his neck arched in pleasure as his body properly aligned as he ran. Kavala spoke praise to him, laughing as he danced, bringing him to circle the beach once more and come back along the tideline. This was their special place, this stretch of foamy sand beneath the road leading up to The Sanctuary, and they enjoyed it fully. And though Eva and her black horse were with them, Kavala didn't mind sharing the peace of the place. A great deal of people would come and go in the Konti's life. Most of them would be fleeting, frail in their humanity, while the Konti lived on, unchanged. That was why she built something strong and permanent, a place to be herself, to be safe... while the rest passed by, moving on, following their fate and roaming at will.

Kavala glanced down the beach at the woman and her stallion. They would move on. Even now the girl had a quest. The Konti had none, nor did she want any, the thing she wanted most in life was something only she could give herself - peace and quiet.

[Cayenne]

Great thread! I really did believe I was there with you and riding a horse myself! I hereby award the following: Evarette Karmine Horseback Riding - 2 XP Kavala Horseback Riding - 4 XP