alright guys! Thanks for the great response! Here is the second chapter! If all goes well, i will have another ready by tonight or early tomorrow!:) please read and let me know what ya think!
Callie took a deep breath as she nervously walked through the door of a large indoor arena. From outside, she could hear a lot of commotion and she wasn't fond of it. As she came through the door, she saw a girl about her age walk by, leading the biggest animal she'd ever seen in her life. The horse walked behind the girl, swinging it's head good naturedly, back and forth. Callie hoped she didn't look as shocked as she felt. Anyone who was willing to work with these giant creatures, whom could easily kill you, must be crazy. Callie laughed to herself, 'Apparently I'm crazy enough to work with them' she thought. Callie was unsure of where to go after she'd entered the arena, so she stood awkwardly to the side, watching people riding and working with horses of all different sizes, shapes, and colors.
"Hey there! You must be Callie?" a voice sounded from behind.
Callie jumped and spun around quickly in panic. She hated when people surprised her by coming up behind her. She liked to be aware of her surroundings at all times, in case of an emergency. Callie took a deep, calming breath when she realized who the voice was coming from. A woman, who by the looks of it, was barely 5 feet tall with outrageously curly hair stood there looking at Callie. The woman, who looked to be in her early twenties, had a wild, unpredictable look in her eyes, but seemed harmless enough.
"Oh gosh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you! I always forget a lot of people with PTSD don't like when people come up behind them without warning, but its exactly the same with horses, so I don't know why I have trouble remembering it. Oh lord, here I go rambling! I do that a lot too! Okay, sorry, my name is Miranda, but you can call me Randy for short if you'd prefer. It's nice to finally meet you! I've heard great things about you from Dr. Hawthorne!" Miranda said as she stuck her hand out for Callie to shake.
Callie had the urge to roll her eyes, ' hearing great things about me from Dr. Hawthorne is probably an exaggeration' she thought to herself. She stared at the wild-eyed woman for a second, before she decided that she liked her, then stuck out her hand and shook Miranda's.
"Nice to meet you too! I would introduce myself, but since you already know my name I guess I don't need to." Callie said with a little spark of attitude.
Miranda laughed and nodded her head.
"Okay, so I'm the assistant trainer here. I'll be working with you and your horse a great deal over the next few months, so expect to see me a lot! Let me take you to meet your horse, he just came into our facility a few days ago, so he's a little jumpy, but I think once you get to know him you'll get a long famously." Miranda said with a smile as she began to walk, motioning for Callie to follow.
Callie fell into step next to Miranda, and together, they walked towards some stalls that housed the horses near the back of the arena. They walked in a comfortable silence, until they reached the stalls. Miranda abruptly stopped in front of a stall that housed a large black horse. It was very tall, and had a large white blaze that spanned from its forehead to the bottom of its nose. It looked at the two women, the whites of its eyes showing, as it backed up nervously in its stall.
Callie glanced at Miranda worriedly, 'They're crazy if they want me to ride this thing' Callie thought to herself.
Miranda stepped forward slowly, careful not to move too fast and scare the horse. She made a small shushing, as if to calm the horse, while opening up the stall door with a careful consiceness. The horse watched the woman warily, but did not back up any farther. Miranda walked up to the horse, with a hand outstretched, she touched the horse's nose, and the black animal blew air into her hand nervously. Miranda clicked her tongue softly, as she began to stroke the horse's nose.
"Hey Callie, could you hand me that halter?" Miranda whispered to the teen, but never taking her eyes off the horse.
Callie moved slowly, just as Miranda did and mimicked her soft shushing noise. Quietly, she grabbed the large red halter. She noticed a copper plate on the halter, with the word "Chance" engraved in it. Slowly, she moved her body, and slid into the stall without any sudden movements or loud noises, but never taking her eyes off of the animal.
Miranda studied Callie intently. She was impressed at how much the girl had noticed her doing. Callie handed Miranda the halter, and then warily raised her hand for the horse to smell. While still tense, the horse didnt seem to mind Callie's presence.
Miranda slipped the halter around the horse's head easily, but continued to make calming noises, as not to scare the already anxious animal.
Callie rubbed the horse's nose gently, and smiled at Miranda, hoping for some affirmation that she was doing the right thing. Miranda smiled back and nodded, giving Callie her approval.
Miranda walked out of the stall to grab the lead rope, leaving Callie alone with the horse, Callie was alarmed at first, and the horse startled, sensing Callie's tension. Callie realized and calmed herself down, while also calming the horse down by whispering to him softly and rubbing his neck.
Miranda approached the stall again and whispered to Callie, "here's the lead rope, I want you to clip him to it and lead him out of the stall."
Callie stared at the woman like she was insane, but took the rope and slowly leaned over and clipped it to a metal ring on the halter.
She patted the horse's muzzle one more time before haltingly turning around, keeping both hands steady and holding the rope firmly. She took a hesitant step forward, but the horse stayed where it was. Callie was jerked back, alarmed, and looked at Miranda with wide eyes, unsure of what to do.
Miranda stood, studying the two, Callie and the horse, and then spoke softly, "You need to act confident, if Chance doesn't think you're confident, he won't follow you. You have to be the leader, the alpha, Chance is scared, and needs someone to lead him."
Callie nodded, understanding that she had to lead and protect this horse, just as she had with Jude. Determined, she straightened her shoulders and glanced back at the horse whose name was apparently Chance. Callie took a step forward, with a little more force, and this time, Chance followed, although hesitantly. He looked at Callie curiously, and watched her intently.
"Good job Callie! Now let's lead him over here and have a good look at em, huh? You need to get familiar, so for these first few lessons, there wont be any riding, it'll just be you learning about horses, or more specifically, Chance, and him, learning about you." Miranda vocalized as she began to walk.
Callie nodded, and then continued walking, leading Chance behind her. Miranda led her over to a small round pen, and opened the gate to lead them inside. Chance snorted in suprise when the gate opened, and began to back up. Callie looked up at Miranda, hoping for some advice. Instead, Miranda gave her an expectant look, telling Callie that she needed to figure this out on her own.