A Horse Tale
Chapter 2
Lessons
"Isa!" Nina shouted, running up the corridor. "Isa!" She saw Ayu along the way and grabbed her friend's arm, dragging her behind just as she had done to Tsujiai.
"Isa, I want to ask you something." She said, letting Ayu go and clasping her hands in front of her. Kaji ran up, panting, and Tsujiai came up beside him.
"Nina... me and Ayu were in the middle of something very important!" he protested, blushing a bit. "I'm glad that you thought kissing was important..." Ayu giggled, caressing his cheek with her right hand. Leaning forward, she closed her eyes.
Tsujiai turned red. "Leave them." Nina said without a backward glance. "They deserve a break." She turned her thoughts back to Isa. The girl was blushing hotly as well, because of Ayu and Kaji, or maybe it was because Yuta had walked up.
"Well... Isa... I wanted to ask if... err... could I... no, that's not right..." Nina struggled for words. Ayu pulled away from Kaji and said shortly, "She wants to take up riding lessons like you." She turned back to her boyfriend.
"Well, yes I do." Nina said, smiling at Isa. "Do you know where I could sign up for some?" she asked hopefully.
Isa giggled. "Okay, you can watch my riding lesson again tomorrow and we'll see about getting you signed up with Leila. She turned to the rest of the group, pulling Ayu and Kaji apart again. "Do any of you want to take riding, too?" she asked.
This time it was Yuta who spoke. They hadn't heard him come up. "Would it be all right if we would just come along with you? We could do work if you taught us... sort of like a ground crew..." he said, and Isa nodded, blushing.
"Sure, that would be great!" she said happily, and the others nodded. "So, here's the plan. I have riding every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, at 4:30 in the afternoon. If you can be at the stables at those times, I'll teach you everything you need to know to help me."
She turned to Nina. "And I'll help you, too. I can give you some riding tips and skills." She stopped talking and smiled. "I never knew this many people liked horses!"
Maya watched them from behind a pillar. "Holy Stone... at the stables." She read silently from her computer. "But how will I get a chance to find it?" she mused, stroking Lulu.
"...Isa." Everyone turned to see Maya standing there, looking at Isa and blushing. "Could I... also take riding lessons?" she asked, and Kaji frowned.
Isa didn't know why Maya wanted to sign up, but didn't care. Nodding cheerfully, she smiled and told Maya where to be, and when. "Arigato!" Maya said, walking away.
"That was easy..." she chuckled to herself.
"You want to sign up for riding lessons?" Leila asked, smiling. "All right then." She turned away from Nina and Maya and wrote their names in a book. "Your lessons are on the same days as Isa's, only one hour later." She said, and Nina saw her name written beside '5:30'. Maya nodded. "That's later." She said. "What will we do while Isa is having hers?"
"Well... I'll get someone to help you." She said, then smiled as Yuta walked in. "Yuta!!! It's so nice to see you again." She turned to the girls. "I never knew you were friends! All right then. Yuta, can you help these ladies with... everything they need to do?" she asked, and Yuta nodded.
"I have to go. Isa probably has Cali tacked up already." She said, and waved, shutting the door behind her. As soon as she was gone, Nina and Maya glared at Yuta.
"You took riding lessons???" Nina asked, and Maya shook her head. "You could have been using that time practicing your magic!" she scolded. Yuta laughed. "You two are just jealous because I'm good at magic and I had time for riding lessons!"
After a bit of fighting, Yuta led them to the barn aisle and looked at a sheet posted on the bulletin board there. "Okay, Nina, you're riding a horse called... Making Magic!" Nina laughed at the horse's name. It was perfect for her.
Yuta led her to a bay horse standing in one of the stalls. "He's a bay, which means his coat is brown and his mane and tail are black." Yuta explained, and then left Nina to get acquainted with her horse while he looked for Maya.
"This is Sunbeam." He said, gesturing to a palomino mare. "She's a palomino, which means she's golden..." Maya cut him off with a glare. "I know what a palomino is." She said, stroking the mare's nose. "I read up on the internet."
Yuta looked around and bent closer to Maya. "Listen, why do you want to take up riding? I remember that you were scared of horses when you were little!" he said. Maya turned away. "I'm not anymore... and there's a Holy Stone at the stables."
Yuta smiled. "I was wondering when you would find out." He said, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. Maya gasped and slapped him. "Don't do that ever again!" she said, and stomped off to find her gear.
"Oh, and I don't need any help. I told you, I read up on the internet." She said, without a backward glance. Yuta rubbed his cheek and went back to Nina.
"Here." He said, dumping a saddle pad, girth, saddle and bridle down on a rack. He handed Nina a brush and led Making Magic out of his stall, tying him up in the barn aisle.
"Brush him, then I'll show you how to pick out his hooves, then the tack." Nina nodded and started brushing the bay's silky coat. When she was done, Yuta came with a hoof pick and bucket and bent down close to Making Magic, facing the opposite from where the horse was facing.
"Here's how you pick up his hoof." He said, leaning on Magic's shoulder and running his hand down the horse's leg. Magic bent his hoof obediently, and Yuta carefully dislodged all the dirt and mud from the horse's hoof.
"I... I'll try..." Nina said, doing the same. It took her a little longer, but she finished perfectly. "It's easy!" she said, going to the back of the horse.
"No, you only have to do the front." Yuta said, grabbing her hand. "Here, first put on this saddle pad." he said, helping her smooth the cloth over the horse's back.
"Then the saddle." He said, lugging the saddle up. Nina nodded, helping him position it. He took the girth. "Then the girth." He said, doing up the girth on the left. Nina did it up on the right.
"Don't we tighten it?" she asked, but Yuta shook his head. "Not until later, when you're about to get on." He said. Nina took the bridle, instantly getting tangled in all the straps. "Err... how do you do this?" she asked, and Yuta laughed.
By the time they had tacked Magic up and led her out, Maya was already at the mounting block. She glanced around, and then snapped her fingers, and her body rose up high in the air. She settled herself down on Sunbeam's back and shortened her stirrups, collecting her reins. She turned back and winked.
Nina smiled back. Yuta helped her tighten the girth, and then she stood on the mounting block and reached her left foot up to the stirrup, swinging herself up. Yuta smiled. "How did you know how to do that?" he asked, shortening her stirrups for her.
"I saw Isa do it." She replied shortly, and Yuta took her reins and led her into the ring.
The lesson was easy and fun and Nina learned to post up and down at the trot. Making Magic behaved wonderfully, responding to leg and rein whenever he needed to. She dismounted and gave him a pat, and Yuta came into the ring again to help her.
They untacked Magic and hosed him down, and then Yuta turned the bay horse out in the paddock. Ayu, Kaji and Tsujiai were helping Isa.
"So, what do we do now?" Kaji asked when everything was finished. Isa smiled, and said, "I'll show you all the horses. I hope you don't get bored, though."
"...and this is Stardust. She's one of Leila's Grand Prix horses, and she jumps like a dream." Isa finished, giving the mare a pat. Suddenly Tsujiai looked around. "Where's Maya?" he asked.
"Where is it? Where?!" Maya said, digging through boxes in the tack room. Nina and Yuta came in, frowning at her. "Where is the Holy Stone?!" Maya exclaimed, not noticing the others.
"Holy Stone?!" Nina, Ayu, Kaji, Yuta, Tsujiai and Isa exclaimed. Suddenly they all looked sharply at Isa. "Might as well tell her." Tsujiai told Nina, and she nodded to Ayu, who walked up to her.
Nina turned back to Maya. "There's a Holy Stone here?" she asked, hands on her hips. Maya nodded. "That's why I signed up for lessons. I want that Stone!" she said defiantly, and summoned her flying chair.
"Not the flying chair again... Yuta groaned, but it was too late. Maya got into the chair and flew away. Isa stared after her.
"So you mean Nina, Yuta, and Maya are kid witches, and Maya's a black magic one? I must be dreaming!" she said, and Ayu patted her on the back. "Don't worry... that's how I first felt." She said.
After school the next day, Nina, Tsujiai, Ayu and Kaji went on a double date at the cinemas. "I'm so happy I get to ride!" Nina said, smiling. Tsujiai and Kaji nodded at each other, and then slid across the booth to their girlfriends, putting an arm around them.
As Kaji's lips met with hers, Ayu relaxed and even giggled a bit. When their romance had just been starting, everything had been so confusing. Most of the confusion started with a brown-haired boy named Mark who had come last school year. Nina didn't think about anything else except kissing Tsujiai.
When the couples pulled apart for air, they heard a familiar voice. "I knew I would find you guys smooching someplace." Isa said, laughing and shaking her head. The four friends turned red.
Chapter 2
Lessons
"Isa!" Nina shouted, running up the corridor. "Isa!" She saw Ayu along the way and grabbed her friend's arm, dragging her behind just as she had done to Tsujiai.
"Isa, I want to ask you something." She said, letting Ayu go and clasping her hands in front of her. Kaji ran up, panting, and Tsujiai came up beside him.
"Nina... me and Ayu were in the middle of something very important!" he protested, blushing a bit. "I'm glad that you thought kissing was important..." Ayu giggled, caressing his cheek with her right hand. Leaning forward, she closed her eyes.
Tsujiai turned red. "Leave them." Nina said without a backward glance. "They deserve a break." She turned her thoughts back to Isa. The girl was blushing hotly as well, because of Ayu and Kaji, or maybe it was because Yuta had walked up.
"Well... Isa... I wanted to ask if... err... could I... no, that's not right..." Nina struggled for words. Ayu pulled away from Kaji and said shortly, "She wants to take up riding lessons like you." She turned back to her boyfriend.
"Well, yes I do." Nina said, smiling at Isa. "Do you know where I could sign up for some?" she asked hopefully.
Isa giggled. "Okay, you can watch my riding lesson again tomorrow and we'll see about getting you signed up with Leila. She turned to the rest of the group, pulling Ayu and Kaji apart again. "Do any of you want to take riding, too?" she asked.
This time it was Yuta who spoke. They hadn't heard him come up. "Would it be all right if we would just come along with you? We could do work if you taught us... sort of like a ground crew..." he said, and Isa nodded, blushing.
"Sure, that would be great!" she said happily, and the others nodded. "So, here's the plan. I have riding every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, at 4:30 in the afternoon. If you can be at the stables at those times, I'll teach you everything you need to know to help me."
She turned to Nina. "And I'll help you, too. I can give you some riding tips and skills." She stopped talking and smiled. "I never knew this many people liked horses!"
Maya watched them from behind a pillar. "Holy Stone... at the stables." She read silently from her computer. "But how will I get a chance to find it?" she mused, stroking Lulu.
"...Isa." Everyone turned to see Maya standing there, looking at Isa and blushing. "Could I... also take riding lessons?" she asked, and Kaji frowned.
Isa didn't know why Maya wanted to sign up, but didn't care. Nodding cheerfully, she smiled and told Maya where to be, and when. "Arigato!" Maya said, walking away.
"That was easy..." she chuckled to herself.
"You want to sign up for riding lessons?" Leila asked, smiling. "All right then." She turned away from Nina and Maya and wrote their names in a book. "Your lessons are on the same days as Isa's, only one hour later." She said, and Nina saw her name written beside '5:30'. Maya nodded. "That's later." She said. "What will we do while Isa is having hers?"
"Well... I'll get someone to help you." She said, then smiled as Yuta walked in. "Yuta!!! It's so nice to see you again." She turned to the girls. "I never knew you were friends! All right then. Yuta, can you help these ladies with... everything they need to do?" she asked, and Yuta nodded.
"I have to go. Isa probably has Cali tacked up already." She said, and waved, shutting the door behind her. As soon as she was gone, Nina and Maya glared at Yuta.
"You took riding lessons???" Nina asked, and Maya shook her head. "You could have been using that time practicing your magic!" she scolded. Yuta laughed. "You two are just jealous because I'm good at magic and I had time for riding lessons!"
After a bit of fighting, Yuta led them to the barn aisle and looked at a sheet posted on the bulletin board there. "Okay, Nina, you're riding a horse called... Making Magic!" Nina laughed at the horse's name. It was perfect for her.
Yuta led her to a bay horse standing in one of the stalls. "He's a bay, which means his coat is brown and his mane and tail are black." Yuta explained, and then left Nina to get acquainted with her horse while he looked for Maya.
"This is Sunbeam." He said, gesturing to a palomino mare. "She's a palomino, which means she's golden..." Maya cut him off with a glare. "I know what a palomino is." She said, stroking the mare's nose. "I read up on the internet."
Yuta looked around and bent closer to Maya. "Listen, why do you want to take up riding? I remember that you were scared of horses when you were little!" he said. Maya turned away. "I'm not anymore... and there's a Holy Stone at the stables."
Yuta smiled. "I was wondering when you would find out." He said, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. Maya gasped and slapped him. "Don't do that ever again!" she said, and stomped off to find her gear.
"Oh, and I don't need any help. I told you, I read up on the internet." She said, without a backward glance. Yuta rubbed his cheek and went back to Nina.
"Here." He said, dumping a saddle pad, girth, saddle and bridle down on a rack. He handed Nina a brush and led Making Magic out of his stall, tying him up in the barn aisle.
"Brush him, then I'll show you how to pick out his hooves, then the tack." Nina nodded and started brushing the bay's silky coat. When she was done, Yuta came with a hoof pick and bucket and bent down close to Making Magic, facing the opposite from where the horse was facing.
"Here's how you pick up his hoof." He said, leaning on Magic's shoulder and running his hand down the horse's leg. Magic bent his hoof obediently, and Yuta carefully dislodged all the dirt and mud from the horse's hoof.
"I... I'll try..." Nina said, doing the same. It took her a little longer, but she finished perfectly. "It's easy!" she said, going to the back of the horse.
"No, you only have to do the front." Yuta said, grabbing her hand. "Here, first put on this saddle pad." he said, helping her smooth the cloth over the horse's back.
"Then the saddle." He said, lugging the saddle up. Nina nodded, helping him position it. He took the girth. "Then the girth." He said, doing up the girth on the left. Nina did it up on the right.
"Don't we tighten it?" she asked, but Yuta shook his head. "Not until later, when you're about to get on." He said. Nina took the bridle, instantly getting tangled in all the straps. "Err... how do you do this?" she asked, and Yuta laughed.
By the time they had tacked Magic up and led her out, Maya was already at the mounting block. She glanced around, and then snapped her fingers, and her body rose up high in the air. She settled herself down on Sunbeam's back and shortened her stirrups, collecting her reins. She turned back and winked.
Nina smiled back. Yuta helped her tighten the girth, and then she stood on the mounting block and reached her left foot up to the stirrup, swinging herself up. Yuta smiled. "How did you know how to do that?" he asked, shortening her stirrups for her.
"I saw Isa do it." She replied shortly, and Yuta took her reins and led her into the ring.
The lesson was easy and fun and Nina learned to post up and down at the trot. Making Magic behaved wonderfully, responding to leg and rein whenever he needed to. She dismounted and gave him a pat, and Yuta came into the ring again to help her.
They untacked Magic and hosed him down, and then Yuta turned the bay horse out in the paddock. Ayu, Kaji and Tsujiai were helping Isa.
"So, what do we do now?" Kaji asked when everything was finished. Isa smiled, and said, "I'll show you all the horses. I hope you don't get bored, though."
"...and this is Stardust. She's one of Leila's Grand Prix horses, and she jumps like a dream." Isa finished, giving the mare a pat. Suddenly Tsujiai looked around. "Where's Maya?" he asked.
"Where is it? Where?!" Maya said, digging through boxes in the tack room. Nina and Yuta came in, frowning at her. "Where is the Holy Stone?!" Maya exclaimed, not noticing the others.
"Holy Stone?!" Nina, Ayu, Kaji, Yuta, Tsujiai and Isa exclaimed. Suddenly they all looked sharply at Isa. "Might as well tell her." Tsujiai told Nina, and she nodded to Ayu, who walked up to her.
Nina turned back to Maya. "There's a Holy Stone here?" she asked, hands on her hips. Maya nodded. "That's why I signed up for lessons. I want that Stone!" she said defiantly, and summoned her flying chair.
"Not the flying chair again... Yuta groaned, but it was too late. Maya got into the chair and flew away. Isa stared after her.
"So you mean Nina, Yuta, and Maya are kid witches, and Maya's a black magic one? I must be dreaming!" she said, and Ayu patted her on the back. "Don't worry... that's how I first felt." She said.
After school the next day, Nina, Tsujiai, Ayu and Kaji went on a double date at the cinemas. "I'm so happy I get to ride!" Nina said, smiling. Tsujiai and Kaji nodded at each other, and then slid across the booth to their girlfriends, putting an arm around them.
As Kaji's lips met with hers, Ayu relaxed and even giggled a bit. When their romance had just been starting, everything had been so confusing. Most of the confusion started with a brown-haired boy named Mark who had come last school year. Nina didn't think about anything else except kissing Tsujiai.
When the couples pulled apart for air, they heard a familiar voice. "I knew I would find you guys smooching someplace." Isa said, laughing and shaking her head. The four friends turned red.