Midmorning Arrival

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Kyra Bell and Mjollnir

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As Kyra turned her old, black pickup onto the path, she noticed the trees lining the path leading to the house, and it caused her to smile. "This one feels right, boy," she called back through the open back window of the truck, to the stallion in the single-horse trailer attached to the back of the pickup. They had been driving for about a week . . . drawing on a week and a half, since she had left her family and forced Mjollnir to ride in the stuffy trailer. She knew the stallion would enjoy the chance to run again.

All to quickly, the tree-lined driveway gave way to a log cabin-like house. From her truck, she could make out a barn and pastures in the back, but from where she sat, she couldn't see everything. Slowly, she brought the truck to a halt, and killed the engine, listening to Mjollnir prance in the trailer. Sighing, she slowly opened the door of her truck and stepped out, shaking her head as the stallion began nickering and snorting for her to let him out. "Quiet boy . . . We want these people to like us," she whispered over her shoulder, wondering if she should let Mjollnir out of the trailer first, or wait until after she had talked to someone. She quickly changed her mind when she remembered what had happened last time, when it had taken her four apples, five carrots, and two bales of hay to get the blasted stallion into the trailer after she had decided the last place wasn't best for him or her.

"Hello?" she called, shutting the door to her truck and looking around. She placed a hand over her dark blue eyes and looked out through the pastures, trying to spot anyone around, but found no one was out there. As she stepped toward the house, her black boots crunched on the gravel, while the dust she stirred up clung to her loose blue jeans and semi-tight, black tank top. There was a white, button down in her truck, but she had taken it off back in the town when it became to hot for her to stand in the truck, with no air conditioning. "Anyone here?" she called once more, before rapping on the door with her knuckles.

Standing on the porch of the log cabin-like house, out in the middle of no where, Kyra suddenly hoped that the townsfolk hadn't been playing with her when they had mentioned a stable out here that was looking for stable hands. There had been other jobs mentioned, but Kyra had wanted to start her own life, not pick up outside the tent with her mother's tricks. She would work her way up, until she could branch out and own her own stable. The townsfolk had mentioned that she could come out here and talk to Rachael Harden about work; work which included board and a possible place to stay. The fact that Evergreen Ranch had been talked about as a ranch that helped abused horses appealed to Kyra, seeing as that was something her mother had started shortly before she had left.

Which was what had brought Kyra Lee Bell to be standing on the front porch of what she hoped was the Harden House, with her stallion, Mjollnir, out in a single-horse trailer, in the middle of no where.

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[Nevvy]

Coming through the pastures toward the house was a chestnut Arabian, and atop the Arabian was a brunette, looking on at the trailer as the other lady walked toward the house, knocking on the door. Juliet neighed. Loudly. She knew there was another horse in that trailer, and she wanted to find out who it was. Quiet girl. Now that the barns and everything were in better shape than they were before, she could spend more time with Juliet and start looking at more horses for sale to bring to the barn to get it under way, although that was spending money she didn’t have in order to spend more money taking care of a horse before selling it and hoping to make a profit. Okay, too many logistics. She picked this out because she loved it, end of story. Money was just a physical thing the government used to keep the citizens under their thumb. So there. She covered her eyes to look over at the other before clicking to Juliet and nudging her slightly into a canter. The ride was smooth as they went toward the door that the lady was waiting for an answer at. Finally arriving, she dismounted before walking toward the door with Juliet. Can I help you? She asked, looking over at the trailer before looking back at Kyra.

Juliet stared at the trailer, really not even caring about the human. Now that she was closer, she could smell that it was a stallion and neighed toward him again, this time pawing at the ground, wanting to go and check out the new arrival. It had been so long since she had been with another horse, and that it was a stallion made it even better. Stop that. Rae said, tapping her shoulder until she stopped. You can let your horse out, we have a ton of empty stalls and pastures here. Rachael recounted in her head, making sure that all the fences and stalls were done and painted, chips put in a few of them just to get started and she would add more as time went on. Yep, that was about it. They had just gotten another grain delivery yesterday in time for opening, and the tack room was looking spiffy. So that counted just about everything. She smiled as she remembered that there was a key point that she had forgotten when inviting someone to keep their horse here. Whoops forgot my manners for a second, I’m Rachael the owner of Evergreen Ranch and this is my Troublemaker-In-Command Juliet.

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Kyra and Mjollnir

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Turning quickly, Kyra noticed another female walking toward her, a chestnut Arabian mare walking along behind her. Of course, the horse seemed much more interested in the trailer, causing Mjollnir to snort and whinny from within the trailer. Kyra started down the stairs as the other female asked if she could help.

From inside the trailer, Mjollnir could smell the mare outside, which only made him more unhappy that he was locked inside the trailer and the mare was outside. He snorted, his neck arched, and his muscles tensed. He let out a sharp neigh and started to lift himself off his front hooves, nearly hitting his head on the roof of the trailer. It was when his hooves struck the floor of the trailer that he head his Mistress moving quickly toward his trailer.

"My name is Kyra Bell . . . And inside is my little devil, Mjollnir," Kyra stated, reaching for the lock on the back of the trailer. "In the town, they mentioned that this ranch had some open positions for stable hands . . . I was hoping that I could start a job and get my horse boarded here," she stated, opening the trailer and lowering the back. She reached into the trailer and untied the lead rope and allowed Mjollnir to back out of his trailer.

Once his Mistress opened the trailer, he backed his black rump out of the trailer, only being brought up by his Mistress when he tried to turn quickly and find the mare that had teased him from outside the trailer. Settled by the gentle hand of his Mistress, Mjollnir cast his gaze upon the chestnut mare and couldn't stop the nicker that escaped him as he gazed upon her. Greetings, the Percheron/Friesian stallion nickered, bowing his head to the mare, as his Mistress began speaking with the other female. "He's a really good stallion . . . Please don't let his size frighten you," Kyra reach up, patting Mjollnir's arched neck and fixing his crimped mane. He was truly a beautiful stallion, something that took her breath away every time she saw him.

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[Nevvy]

Rachael watched as she took her stallion out, keeping a good hold on Juliet so she didn’t decide to go and do her version of “investigating”. The chestnut mare looked at the stallion, letting out her own little nicker. He was cute. Okay cute was an understatement he was gorgeous. She arched her neck and pranced in place a little bit. Well it won’t be as lonely here anymore. I’m Juliet, and you are? She answered. Rae just looked at her, tucking back some of her brunette hair before fixing Juliet’s forelock. Okay flirt, no more of your antics are necessary. Rae pulled on the bit a little, bringing her back to attention. Yes there really was an owner attached to these reins. Looking back over at Kyra, she shrugged. Truthfully, I love my Arabs now but tall horses are always the greatest. Dunno why, but they are. If you want to follow me we can see if we can tear these two apart. She stated, jesting of course.

Right over there is the stallion barn WAY FAR AWAY from the mare and gelding barn. She gestured toward them before looking at Juliet again, as if saying don’t get any big ideas. Lemme just run her into her stall and get her untacked, and then I’ll get back to you. You can make him comfortable in whatever stall. Each of them have a run, but only some of them have chips in them. I’ll be back in a jiff. Jogging away, Juliet followed in her own little dance, letting out a neigh, Goodbye handsome. You really are something else, you know that right? Rae stated as she entered the barn. She may always say these things about Juliet, but she was her number one girl, and nothing would ever change that. Quickly but efficiently, she cleaned up Juliet. After she got Kyra and Mjolliner settled, she’d bathe her and then let her out in the one of the bigger pastures for the rest of the day. It seemed like it took no time that Juliet was already in the run, jogging through it before finding a good spot and starting to graze happily, as if the stallion was already forgotten. Rae passed by on her way toward the stallion barn. You are the complete package. She mumbled as she strode toward them, hoping Kyra was finding everything well..

[stephanie]

The rambling motor of a car became slightly audible, and only grew louder as time passed. Soon the figure of a man in a blue car had pulled up to the driveway. The car was not anything fancy, in fact it was rather beat up. Its paint was scratched and chipping, it had a big dent in the side back door, and a chip in the back window. Yeah, so he clearly had not had the easiest time with this car. First learning to drive he had to teach himself, and ended up backing up into a tow truck, thus the chip in the window, and then the tow truck had been moving and well.. hit him in the rear passenger side seat. Luckily he had only had minor injuries, only a few scrapes. Now he was much better at driving, but stuck with the same old car. "Stupid... stupid car..." He murmered as the motor choked and fell silent. He walked the rest of the way up the driveway. "Hopefully this is it..." He muttered under his breathe, and then saw two girls, each with a horse. Talking to each other and the horses whinnying. Then they were walking away, leading their horses in a different direction. "Great!" He whined, then started to run. He skidded to a halt in front of Kyra, and his jaw dropped slightly as he saw her face to face. Rich AND beautiful? "Excuse me!" He said, running up to Kyra. "Do you work here? Are you Ms... umm.... Rachel something?" He said and then realized that she probably wasn't the right person. "Crap.. um.. Do you know.. where she is? Could you show me to her?" He had no idea that this was a new girl who probably didn't know where the other barns and pastures were.

He shuffled his feet. "Um.. I'll find her.. myself.. nevermind." He said, his nerves getting the better of him. He looked at her horse, and suddenly his eyes met with the horses. He walked up to the front of the stallion, seeming to have a better understanding of horses then what most had. He ran his hands along the horses cheek, then to its muzzle. He pulled out a carrot, offering it to the stud with soft eyes, averting them so that he would not be a threat. Yes, he was breaking all the rules of horsemanship, but most horses had a better understanding of him then humans... he was hoping this horse would see into his heart and help him someway.. how he did not know. But for a moment it was bliss, just him and the horse. The big, big, gentle giant...

He looked back to her. "You must think I'm pretty.. weird... I have a touch... I don't know I got it when I was a kid. Horses... they understand me better then anyone else. They never judge by the skin or appearance, they judge by how you act and if you're calm and caring, well.. so are they... Most of the time." He said with a small grin. "I'm sorry, miss.. I've been rude. I'm Daniel."

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Kyra and Mjollnir

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As Rachael took Juliet to the mare stables, Kyra stood and watched her walk off for a moment, having Mjollnir trying his best to follow the Arabian mare, whining and snorting like a mad stud. "Cut that out," Kyra stated shortly, nodding in approval as the black stud finally settled down once she spoke. Of course, her shortening his lead rope and drawing his head back toward her helped a lot. "We're going this way," she stated, already walking toward the stallion barn, noticing that Rachael had been right, the stallion barn was WAY AWAY from the mares barn. "Just so you can't get into any trouble," she grinned, reaching up and petting Mjollnir's arched neck as he walked beside her.

Good day, sweet little one, he whinnied to Juilet's retreating form, watching her rump sway with each step. He snorted as his Mistress turned his head from the Arabian temptress, but quickly quieted himself, knowing his Mistress would accept nothing less. From the way they were walking, he could tell that his Mistress was at ease with this place, which calmed, as the young stallion was unsure of his surroundings and tempted on more than one occasion to bolt at the simplest of noises.

Almost to the stallion barn, Kyra heard someone call behind her and she started to turn when suddenly a young man skidded to a halt before her. Of course, she tensed, reaching up and grabbing hold of Mjollnir's black leather halter with one hand, while the other reached up to rub the stallion's neck. Beside her, Mjollnir started to lift himself into a full rear, but stopped when he felt his Mistress' touch. With strong dislike, he tried to toss his head, glaring madly at the human male, pawing at the ground, and snorting.

Yet, all that snorting and stomping stopped when the human moved toward him and presented a carrot for his pleasure. Hesitant, Mjollnir turned a questioning gaze to his Mistress and received a smile and a nod. With a quick whinny, he reached out and bite the carrot in half, pulling his head free of the human's grasp and munched happily on the carrot.

"I'm not Rachael Hardren . . . but she's coming this way now," Kyra stated, waving toward Rachael moving toward them. He spoke of him having a gift of understanding with horses, at which she only nodded, knowing her mother had been able to understand the horses she had trained, just as she had an understanding with Mjollnir. "Nothing strange about it. Kyra, Kyra Bell," she stated, not sure why she gave her full name, but lifted her free hand to Mjollnir and grinned. "Of course, you've made yourself known to Mjollnir," she stated, watching as her stallion started to reach for the other half of the carrot that had his name all over it, but stopped when he heard his name and turned his head toward her, a questioning gaze in his eyes.

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[Nevvy]

Wow, two people in one day? What was going on with this place, hmmm? She grabbed the rubber band around her wrist and threw her brunette hair into a messy ponytail, looking onward at the little gathering that just seemed to be getting bigger. Her soft brown eyes looked over the tall man before watching Mjolliner hesitantly, not wanting to get in his way too much. Seeing as she wasn’t used to this many people around here, she put on a smile, this time more of a front though she made sure not to show it. I’m Rachael Hardren, owner of everything you see here. That over there is Juliet., as if on cue the mare lifted her head, looking over at the gathering before going back to grazing in her little clover patch, and I see you’ve already met Kyra. What can I do for you today? She asked pleasantly, gesturing toward the stallion barn so that Mjolliner could get comfortable.

She walked in, looking around. Okay she had filled a couple of the stalls with chips like she thought; that was good. She opened the tack room door, looking in. There were a couple benches for people to sit and get ready or to clean tack. There was room for about five tack boxes and the rest of the wall was taken up by racks and hooks for saddles and bridles while little boxes on the floor could hold other things like grooming supplies and other odds and ends. She wiped a little dust away from them before going into the feed room. The little fridge was filled with carrots and other treats plus some things she just liked to keep refrigerated. The feed was all full however she knew she was going to need to get another hay delivery soon. Sorry, I just wasn’t expecting people so soon. I just finally got done putting in some of the finishing touches. It seemed, though, that always when she thought something was done, it turned out not to be. So, what brought you two to Evergreen? She asked, interested.

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[stephanie]

He smiled a friendly smile as the girl Kyra tensed at his approach. The horse had reared, but had quickly calmed at the sight of the carrot. "I'm not Rachel." He heard her say and nodded, blushing a little bit. He heard her say her name and smiled at her, feeding the second half of the carrot to the stallion, who seemed more at ease just to eat a carrot then to be worried about the boy. Eyes wandered to the stud again, she seemed to have just the touch with horses. He was standing directly in front of the horse so that the horse would not move forward. He had learned this trick a while back, along with some others.

"I tend to break all the rules when it comes to horsemanship.. but it usually works out better in the end. Take Windy for example.. I trained her and won the Kentucky derby a year back. But my parents kept most of the money for my college education, storing it in a bank for me. I don't mind so much, but then I gave over my account to them and they booted me out the back door. Gave me the boot, so to speak." He shrugged his big shoulders, looking at them.

Another girl had approached. "I'm Rachel, owner of all that you can see here." She stated and he smiled a little bit, though not as much as he just had been. He was nervous, now was his moment. "I may have won a race or two, but I'm looking to start over... Work as a stable hand. Earn my keep to earn back my life."