Adopt the pace of Nature - Her secret is Patience

[Aishe Tigani]

Aishe turned her car into one of the parks beside the entrance to the Blue Ridge Reserve. Stepping out of the car, the Gypsy stretched her arms above her head and arched her back, ridding herself of any aches that may have developed since getting into her tiny vehicle. "I'd get a bigger car." She said to herself as she opened the back door. "But I like my bug. Come on beautiful." She smiled as Star jumped out of the back of the car and shook herself, her full mane and forelock flying in all directions.

The woman laughed at the few startled looks that she received from people standing around the carpark. After all, it wasn't every day that you see a tiny horse hop out of the back seat of a car. Putting the filly's pink rope halter on, she grabbed the skewbald's ball from the back seat, locked her car, clicked her tongue and led the Fellabella into the reserve. Most people brought their dogs for a walk, well Aishe brought her horse - the young horse thought she was a dog anyway and lived in the woman's apartment as though she was one.

When they reached the main part of the reserve, Aishe unclipped the lead rope and pitched the ball. She laughed as the tiny horse let out a squeal and took off after the pink object. Still chuckling, the Gypsy walked slowly in the direction after Star, as the horse wasn't always so good with the fetch side of things.

The weather had been so changeable lately that she was pleased to be outside enjoying the fresh autumn air, and she had a jacket in the car for bother herself and Star should the weather decide to change on them before they had had enough of being out. Coming to the reserve also gave Star a chance to let off some steam, as Aishe didn't like leaving the tiny horse in the pastures unsupervised with the much bigger horses and the Fellabella couldn't keep up with the stride of a bigger horse while out on the trails. And she couldn't always ask Dr Carr if she could use one of the clinic yards, as the woman may need all of them.

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Chase was tense. He was always tense, wound tight. At least he was off campus, right? That made a difference. He was out in the wild where he could walk and where he could breathe. What a funny thing breathing was when Chase filled his lungs with nicotine. It was so hard to keep up with the addiction when he wasn't supposed to be smoking on campus. He had to go off campus, usually sit in his truck, and have a smoke. He'd watch the world go by then, let the earth turn around him. Today, he would turn around the earth. That seemed to make sense with a Newport hanging from his lips. Addiction was addiction, and they were the least expensive at the drug store on the corner. A part of him ached for something stronger. The other part had filled his flask with fireball whiskey and stuffed it in the pocket of his skinny jeans and made his way into the outside world.

It was easy to be outside, he supposed. It was easy to be in the world that wanted nothing to do with him. The thin soles of his worn converse were there to show him every rock and stone and bump in the ragged trail that wound through the reserve. Everything about the ginger young man was ragged, right down to the truck he drove. He needed a haircut. He needed a few more hours of sleep. He needed another box of nicotine patches to keep him from snapping at the passing student or barn hand on any given day. Hell, maybe he needed a frontal lobotomy while he as at it. That seemed like a reasonable request. He wasn't a man known for being reasonable either, so it was something eh could aspire to.

Joke was on him.

But on his walk, there was something that caught his eye. Hooves, but short steps. He could hear them, and that was enough to bring him in that direction. It dragged the ginger man in the direction of the sound, and he was able to find the pair making the commotion. A part-- a large part-- of Chase ached for his own minis, the ones that he couldn't quite arrange for yet. It would be another little while, but he would wait it out. All good things came with time, and he needed a teaching horse before another riding horse.

But it didn't keep him from calling a simple "Hello," to the woman with her filly. Yes, a part of Chase's heart ached. A large part. And he couldn't help that in the least. Grinding out his cigarette with his heel and putting the butt back in his case before approaching further, he tried to put on a friendly face. "Couldn't help but notice your mini-- she's lovely." And that was all it took to grab Chase's attention.

outfit

[Aishe Tigani]

After a couple of games of fetch Aishe clipped the lead back onto the Star's halter and led her back to the car. The temperature had dropped again, and the Gypsy didn't think that it was now warm enough for the Felabella to be out without her coat on. Opening the car door, she pulled out the filly's fleece rug and, after locking the car again, she put the rug onto the tiny horse and secured it into place that that it wouldn't slip while the tiny-horse was tearing around.

Leading her back onto the grassy area, Aishe regretted not grabbing her own jacket, but shrugged it off as she unclipped the lead and once again pitched the ball across the grass and watched as Star once again took off after the pink object. "Watch out!" She cried as the filly was heading full tilt toward the pond, sliding to a halt at the last possible moment to pick up the ball and then turned with a rear to return to her owner.

Aishe's hand dropped from her mouth as Star reached her and dropped the ball at her feet. "Ohmigod, my little one. You scared me!" She exclaimed as she crouched down and hugged the animal. Pulling herself together again, she stood up and sent the ball flying through the air once again.

Star had just brought the ball back when the woman heard the sound of another voice. She pitched the ball away before she turned to the owner of the voice. "Hello." She returned with a friendly smile. She looked toward the filly, who was once again tearing after the ball. "Thanks. Don't tell her that she's actually a horse, she thinks she's a dog."

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Chase watches with a gentle light in his eyes as the filly rips off without a second thought. The creature is a trip and half, chuckling lightly. It's quite the scene that the girl is creating, he can't help but grin. There's something that warms his heart, if a bit. He likes foals more than most things, with their silly dispositions and their absolute and utter lack of manners. They're unapologetic in their silliness, and that's something Chase can get behind. He's also missed his own ponies quite terribly... a moth to flame. The ginger creature has an addictive personality, and he can't help that.

"Always seems that way, right? Especially when they're little." He comes to greet the dark haired woman, tilting his head to the side slightly. Chase was quite sure he'd seen the woman around the academy somewhere, in passing. "I'm Chase by the way... the reining instructor over at the academy." he was hoping the woman would give him some sort of clue as to if he was thinking correctly. The town was so small, he could have seen her passing on the street or... well, anywhere. Small town, small world they were living in. His stormy eyes cast to the foal that played her way about, running around and after her pink ball.

[Aishe Tigani]

Aishe couldn't help but laugh at his words. "Something tells me, Chase, that you have a little experience with tiny horses." She said as she turned back to see what Star was up to, noticing that the silly was heading back toward them.

She opened her mouth to praise the filly for returning, but bit back her words as Star dropped the ball and walked straight over to Chase, rubbing herself against the man's legs. "I'm Aishe. School counsellor, and I also teach the nutrition class." She raised her eyebrows toward the man. "Star here helps out with my counselling, as she can at times read people's emotions better then I can." Ever since Aishe had found the filly at the kennel, of all places to find a horse, the filly had been great at knowing when people needed cheering up.

The Gypsy chuckled when Star picked up the ball again and then dropped it at Chase's feet. "I'm so glad you turned up." Aishe said, my arm is beginning to get tired of throwing the ball. Ok, so that was a little lie, as the woman didn't have any issues with her arm, but it sounded like a good excuse at the time. To emphasise her owner's words, Star reared up, pawing the air as she let out a little squeal.

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Chase grinned, raking a hand through his hair once more. His attention on the woman with a soft nod, he was at least keen on conversation. "Awful good drivers, the little ones are." The sport was really and truly his first love, as were the miniature horses. Good little workers, keen little eyes, bright personalities-- what wasn't there to love? Another ache in Chase's ribs, and he did miss his own ponies. At least they were well taken care of, if getting fat and happy and not being worked. Such was life. Such was always life, especially when they were getting spoiled rotten by his parents.

"Ah, er, nice to meet you." Chase is slightly distracted, taking a knee to pet the foal softly. She was, in many ways, dog like. That was fun, and he was quite pleased as he stroked the painted creature's forehead. It was a gentle pat, and then he reached for the ball. "I don't think I've ever met a pony that fetches before, though." It was quite a sight to be seen. The young man got to his feet and lobbed the ball with a chuckle, watching it go in a safe direction-- away from the pond. Away from the pond was a good option.

[Aishe Tigani]

Aishe's nose crinkled slightly at the thought of Star pulling a cart. Even though she knew that the breed could be trained for driving, the Gypsy would never do it. She was a Romany, her people lived in horse drawn wagons. But those wagons were drawn by Vanners, and she felt that she would insult her own bloodline if she rode in a pony cart. "Indeed they are." She replied. "Though not for Star." She pressed her lips together in thought. "Might teach her to jump though." The filly had such an enormous personality that she was sure the tiny horse would love flying over tiny fences - inhand of course.

"Me or Star?" The brunette asked with a laugh as all of the man's attention was suddenly on the Felabella. She shrugged at his next words. "AS I said, she thinks she's a dog." Her shoulders shook with mirth. "Don't know how or why she was there, but when I went to look for a companion animal, she was at the kennel with the Labs, rolling around with the other puppies, and she's the, um, puppy I brought home with me." She watched as Star took off after the ball. "Did you bring any of your minis with you to the Academy?"

She bent down and scooped up the ball that was dropped at her feet, but before she could draw her arm back, Star flopped onto the ground. "Your tired, baby?" She asked with a chuckle, and it wasn't any surprise with the amount of running the young horse had been doing.

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Chase chuckled lightly, raking a hand through his hair. He was of the idea that any horse could be trained to drive, but many should never go farther than ground driving. Horses that were built for speed didn't make the best cart horses to begin with, and some just looked silly doing it. "Jumpers classes are always great to watch... can't say I've ever tried it though." Maybe he would, but honestly Chase had no idea how to go about such a thing. Driving, working horses had always been his way to go. It was something that he just simply never had time for. Now maybe he would.

"Both of you, really." A kind smile. At least Chase had that to his credit. He listened to her story, smiling gently. "I know the feeling... made out with a lovely, er, pup though." Yes, gentle words as he watched the filly rip off after the ball. "Not yet, I wound up bringing the gelding I brought back from France instead... not like he's any better, I can't teach my class on him. He's young, but I was too attached to him to leave him at home." And that was true-- he was attached to the creature.

Chase watches the filly topple to the ground, and he's thankful it's in a way that he doesn't have to worry. "I don't mean to be keeping you, it's getting dark." And that it was, the sun starting to look like an egg yolk cracked over the hills.

[Aishe Tigani]

"Of course, it'll all depend on her. I could always get her to do agility, minus the crawling through a tunnel."

Aishe grinned when the man finally smiled. "I left all my horses when I left my family." She said, a sadness washing over her as it did when she thought about leaving her family behind. "I found a Gypsy filly here in the States, but she didn't like the Academy so I sold her shortly after getting the job here. I now have Star."

The Gypsy was suddenly aware of the time and her eyebrows shot up. "I need to get my baby home, she'll need a wash before bed tonight I think." Washing the Falabella was no harder than washing a dog and could do so in her own bath tub. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Chase. No doubt I will see you around the Academy." She clipped the lead back onto the filly's halter and clicked her tongue to encourage the horse to her feet. Walking slowly back to the woman's bug, Aishe thought about that day's events and was pleased that she had decided to bring Star to the reserve after all.

After loading the tiny horse into the back of her car, she climbed in behind the wheel and started the engine.

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He had an easy chuckle in his lungs, one that lit him up. Being on fire like that was good. His eyes glimmered, and that was something that was simply rare with him. Simple, easy, charming Chase. Just kidding. That was okay though. That was more than okay. Chase couldn't help but like an easy conversation. Friendly. Friendly was good on so many levels.

"I could see it." Agility. That was what border collies were good for according to a lot of people, and he was considering it. Chase was always considering it. "If I try it with my pup we'll have to see about training together." Easy joking. Easy joking was good. He likes good jokes.

"Yeah, no doubt." The young man felt better knowing that there was someone there he could talk to. He felt so much better, he felt so much more... more brilliant? That wasn't quite right, but a part of the darkness that had been following him around had lifted. The walk back to his truck through the reserve was one that he couldn't help but feel a little lighter about. A little lighter, breathing a little easier, and that helped. Everything that he could find that help would help, right? Right. Day by day.