Show Practice (OPEN)

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The tack room door was standing open, and the little thirteen-year-old Poseidon girl hauled Butterscotch's things outside, setting them on the post she'd stuck outside the stall. On the ground was a bucket with brushes inside, and Hitomi took one of the brushes and went into the stall.

"Sorry I haven't been able to visit much," she said to the buckskin Mustang mare as she moved the brush across her coat. "One of the Ares kids was trying to help me pick a weapon that felt comfortable in my hands..."

I knew you would not forget me, Butterscotch told her gently. She nickered, and Hitomi smiled softly.

"I've got the arena set up already," Hitomi continued, grabbing the saddle blanket and putting it on Butterscotch's back. "We're going to do jumping practice today. Is that alright?"

It's fine. Practicing keeps us both in shape for the next show.

"There will be another one," Hitomi said strongly, determined. So what if she had these weird powers that she couldn't always control. She wasn't going to let that stop her from getting back into the show ring. Well, once she actually could control her powers, at least. Just because she had a weird scent that attracted monsters didn't mean she was going to stop participating in shows. "We'll be a bit behind Sarah when we do get back in the ring though..." She struggled a little bit with getting the saddle up high enough to put it on Butterscotch, but it got there eventually. She made some adjustments, making sure it was sitting right.

Why does that matter? You are not your sister. A little further forward, the horse said helpfully. Hitomi adjusted the saddle before cinching it in place.

"Let's get to the arena," she said, clipping a lead line onto Butterscotch's halter. She directed her horse out of the stall before leading her out of the stable area and toward the arena. Once they got there, Hitomi unclipped the lead line and tossed it over the fence. When she got up into the saddle, it was in one fluid motion that spoke of experience on horseback. She didn't even need any help to get up.

"We're going to start easy, okay? Let's do a few laps around the arena for a warm up" she told Butterscotch, taking the reigns in her hands. "Then we'll do the lower jumps first and work our way up to the higher ones before going around it like it's a show. Okay?"

Sounds like you've got it planned out pretty well, Butterscotch responded with a snort. Just tell me where to go. Hitomi grinned and nodded, leading Butterscotch into their warm-up routine before working on the jumps. The pair was so focused, they wouldn't have noticed anyone watching.

[Blake Ulrich]

Blake had firmly slammed the door behind him, it was his latest attempt to escape from Ms. Ri, it was usually futile in most cases as Blake would end up finding the girl in his cabin, likely rummaging threw his clothing. "Joy..." He muttered with a light sigh, his silver eyes blinked for a couple of moments as he realized all the equines staring at the boy. "Oh..." He said with a light, yet nervous chuckle. "Sorry about the rude entrance y'all... Ya see... Um... Never mind..." Blake soon did his best to tend to the usually unruly, offering a few snacks from his beg as he blinked, noticing the newest arrival has been taken out. "Oh... Did someone come by?" Before any of the pegsi could reply the boy heard the sound of galloping from near by and soon made his way by sound, spotting the young girl and her horse doing a routine, Blake lead on the edge of the barrier that divided the arena from the stands and watched in mild reminisce of his father. "She ain't bad.." He said with a smile as he enjoyed the show. "Oh.. I hope I'm not intruding.." He muttered as he contemplated on leaving, not to get in her way. 

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As they finished the course, Hitomi slowed Butterscotch down to a walk. They did a slow lap around the ring to cool down a bit before they ran the course again. Or, that was the plan at least. But it seemed they had a spectator. So Hitomi directed Butterscotch over to the boy. She didn't recognize him, and he definitely looked older than she was.

"No, you're fine," she said, a hint of an accent in her voice. "We're just practicing, in case we can get back into shows in the future." What she didn't say was related to the lack of control she had over her powers, but that didn't need saying. "My name is Hitomi, and this is my partner Butterscotch." The Morgan reached her head over the bars and tapped the boy's hand with her soft nose, her way of saying hello. Well, to everyone besides Hitomi, of course.

"Do you ride?" she asked him after a moment. The campers who didn't ride didn't usually come to the stables during their free time, she'd noticed. "Hm... I wonder if Chiron would let me go riding in the forest...? I could use that as training for the Cross Country part of the next show!"

We have never done Cross Country during shows, Butterscotch reminded her.

"So? We'll end up in the beginner class with everything else again anyway, since Chiron said we can't do shows for a while," she countered, rolling her eyes. Maybe they could do Dressage practice next...