One Step Forward, Two Back

[Amaya Mae Byron]

Amaya gave up on lunging the mare. She hadn't even bothered to work her since she had arrived. Too busy talking with the boy. She put the lunge line back, and mounted the mare. Tinkerbell was urging to be worked, and Amaya had been ignoring her. She began to walk around the arena, keeping her eye on the boy.

"But you don't," she commented. She smiled at the boy. Maybe he wasn't so bad afterall. He could be an asshole, but that wasn't anything she couldn't handle. "I mean, you're definitely something," she giggled. "What brings you to Blue Ridge, anyways?" she asked, deciding she was going to be curious about this boy.

[Mikala Palakiko]

He shrugged. "I have broad shoulders." He replied, and basically he didn't care what other people thought about him. And if them thinking badly of him to make themselves feel better? Well, that was on them. He gave her a dashing grin at her question. "A plane and a really long car ride." He quipped. He shrugged again. "My parents decided that it would be good for me to broaden my horizons, and when they heard about this place they decided it would be good for my character." Hey! It was kind of the truth, and he and Kona hadn't spoken about how they were going to explain... them, so it a just easier not to mention that he was sent here because it seemed like middle-ground between where they both lived; him away from the beach and Kona away from the frozen wilderness. "You?"

[Amaya Mae Byron]

Amaya laughed, easing up her quick judgement of the boy. "That's fair," she said, and shrugged. She usually wasn't one to judge so quickly, but she had been getting pissed at his attitude. But things seemed to be changing, and she was okay with that. "No, really," she exaggerated. She knew he hadn't been completely serious with it, and she grinned, to show she wasn't being serious either. "That makes sense," she said, nodding.

"I've always been pretty serious about my horseback riding," she said. "My parents sent me here to help me get an edge up, and continue to be the best that I can. She was fairly confident in riding skills, and very competitive. She had loved riding from the minute she started, and was happy she was able to continue throughout her life.

[Mikala Palakiko]

He gave a grin and nodded. "I would have said I flew here, but was afraid you would have taken me literally." Yup, back to being an ass. He was pleased that she seemed happy with his reason for being at the academy, things just got too... difficult. Not only the fact that he was adopted, but the fact that he and his sister were adopted by different people. Not exactly the greatest of conversation starters.

He arched an eyebrow at her reason for being at the Academy. It was on the tip of his tongue to make some smarmy comment about the fact that there was no class in western riding, and if she really wanted to get an edge up, she would be better off changing disciplines, but this probably wasn't the time or place. "Nice." He chose instead. "Every thought about giving English a go?"

[Amaya Mae Byron]

Amaya rolled her eyes. "Funny," she said. The boy definitely had an attitude about him. She hadn't liked it at first, but she was starting to get a decent feel for him. He seemed to be okay, at least for now.

Amaya was surprised he didn't have some sort of smart ass response to her saying she wanted to get an edge up. She shook her head at the guy, but then shrugged. "I mean, not really, no," she said. "I've done some jumping with Tinkerbell, but nothing serious." She hadn't ever really given the English discipline a second thought. Jumping was fun, but it wasn't what she was used to. "I haven't ever had any training in English," she said,
thinking out loud.

[Mikala Palakiko]

He frowned at her words. "Sounds like a dumb idea, but your horse and neck I guess." He commented. "The school have a number of school masters here, why don't you speak with Au... Ms Carr and see if you can have some English lessons on one of them? Save you from ruining a perfectly good western trained horse." He returned his focus to Butch, who started to fidget about and they worked on increasing and decreasing spirals.

[Amaya Mae Byron]

Amaya scrunched her forehead, irritated he was judging her for doing what she wanted with her horse. They had done well with what they had worked on so far, and hadn't had any issues. Besides, the jumps were small, and it was always just messing around. "What good would English do me?" she asked, confused. She was a junior in high school. Anyone who had enough English experience was already pegged for what the colleges wanted from them. With western, she could at least run the rodeos nationally. She kicked herself, for realizing he might just be right about something. Western might not be the best suit for her, though it was the only thing she knew. And she loved riding western.

[Mikala Palakiko]

Mika snorted at her question. "Ah... national and international fame, the Olympics; 'cause between you and me, they're never gonna add western classes to the Olympics. And if you want to continue riding into college, not sure how many of them offer non-English teams." Not that he was planning on aiming for the Olympics, though it was always a possibility, and finding sponsors would be easy enough. "Doesn't mean you have to give up your heavy saddles, but your current discipline will only take you so far." Yeah, tact had never been a strong pint with Mika.

[Amaya Mae Byron]

Amaya considered it. She hadn't thought much about her college career, and now was the time to do it. She had wanted to work with horses, in some way or another. And competing was what she loved to do. Maybe she should learn how to ride English. Hopefully it wasn't too late for her. She nodded at the boy. "I guess you could be right," she stated, more boldly than she had intended. She was going for the cool, confident vibe, but it wasn't working well for her today. "You said Ms. Carr could help?" she asked.

[Mikala Palakiko]

After the gelding had done once nice circuit of the arena, Mika asked him to change reins and at that point the horse decided to stop listening and do his own thing.

Mika shrugged at the question. "It's an equestrian academy." He said simply. "I don't see why she wouldn't. I know that quite a few of the school horses are school masters, so they'll be good to teach you the basics." And he didn't see why they would decline allowing a student with their own horse to borrow one of another discipline. "The worst she could say is no."

[Amaya Mae Byron]

Honestly, Amaya could ask her parents to buy her an English mount. But she usually worked for what she got. And they would be confused as to what was wrong with Tinkerbell. It would be an odd conversation to have with them. They had the money to do it, but they didn't understand equestrian things. And eventually, they would do it. But it was the questions she wanted to avoid. With anything, she could still ride rodeos with Tinkerbell. It's not like she was about to abandon her own horse. She loved the mare. Riding another for another discipline wouldn't be a bad idea.

"You know, I seriously hate you for being right," she teased. She didn't actually hate him, but she was kicking herself for not thinking this through earlier in her life. "But thanks for the advice, I kind of appreciate it," she admitted.