Log! With horsies!
Characters: Kurogane and Sora
Summary: Kurogane is curious about a memory of riding, so goes to Sora to see about renting one of the horses. After confirming the memory is true the two talk about possible riding lessons for other people.
Where/When: At the Stables, before Riku's post about Sora hurting himself working on the boat, but obviously after Kurogane asked Sora about when he could meet him to talk.
Notes/Warnings? Nothing to warn about. They were pretty low key, no yelling or anything XD; See? Kuro doesn't freak out ALL the time!
Kurogane
Sora
Kurogane took a look around the stables for a few minutes. He hadn't really had any interest in them before now so hadn't paid them much mind. Work didn't bring him here since they did their own cleaning and what did he care about horses? However, since "Christmas" he'd remembered riding as a boy and wanted now to test that. After spending a few minutes looking around outside, noting a few of the employees, but not seeing the one he was after, he headed in to the stables. Stepping in, he swept the inside for the familiar spikey hair. "Oi, kid, you in here?"
Upon hearing a familiar voice, Sora popped his head up from behind the wooden wall of a stall. "Huh? Oh!" he said, face brightening as he spotted Kurogane. He had been expecting Kurogane to show himself at some point since the man had been interested in when he got off work, though he had been unsure whether Kurogane was going to approach him at the apartments or in the stables. Obviously, Sora knew which was true now.
Squelching to the door of the stable, Sora went to greet Kurogane, pitchfork in hand. "What's up?"
Kurogane's eyes immediately fell on the boy as he popped into sight and he gave the kid a slight wave of acknowledgment. He hadn't been sure if the kid would be done yet or not by now, but he'd finished his own work shift up and decided it couldn't hurt to track him down here. "Just wanted to take a look at the horses, not too busy are you?" Kurogane generally wasn't one for extraneous pleasantries and got to the point. And if the kid was too busy he'd come back another time. Or help him finish. It didn't look like he was doing anything terribly complicated or anything or working with the horses specifically. Either way, it wasn't like this was pressing. More just an opportunity to satisfy his curiousity.
"Nope!" Sora chirped happily, setting the pitchfork across a wheelbarrow beside the door of the stall he was working on. "I can show you the horses if you want, they're outside." Motioning to Kurogane, Sora silently instructed him to follow him as he walked along middle path in the opposite direction Kurogane had come in. When the reached the outside, three horses greeted them, tied up to the side of the barn.
"This is Mickey, that's Jiminy, and that's Maleficent." From behind his hand, Sora added "she's a brat," in a quiet voice, as though the horse would understand. "Anything you want to know about them?" Reaching out, Sora pet Mickey's soft nose. "Not many people around here buy them, it's sad. And these three like to walk forever."
Kurogane nodded and followed Sora outside, glancing around idly until they got back outside. As they stepped out, he looked over the three horses. One of the others had been working with some other horses, so he could only assume these were specifically Sora's responsibilities. "They like to walk forever, huh?" The man walked over to the one Sora was petting and he gave it a long look over, slowly circling around it before giving it a gentle pat. "They're strong looking horses. So no one comes out here to rent them?" He was surprised somewhat, though he supposed it made sense. Even if there were people who did know how to ride or were interested, they may not even remember that yet, just as he hadn't before now. "How much is it?"
Nodding in conformation that they did walk long distances with ease, Sora watched Kurogane observe the horses. He'd gotten to know them all very well, and ridden them to map out paths, which was harder than it sounded. For a long time he had been measuring and drawing, getting lost and frustrated, or miscalculating on how many supplies he needed for the horses, but as he stood now he had it all pretty much down to a science. It was fun work, but it was hard, and Sora didn't think he got paid nearly enough for it -- not that it mattered, it just made him jealous to look at how much money Riku got for doing practically nothing on patrol.
"For a day it's four hundred monies. We have lots of trails for them, and maps, and we have all the feed and water you'll need for trips," Sora said, then smiled. "I didn't know you liked horses. Are you going to ride alone?"
Kurogane glanced up at the boy and nodded slowly at the price, considering it. "Hm... I didn't either. I remember riding when I was younger." He gave the horse another pat then stepped away. "I don't know about 400 for a day yet. I wanted to give it a go to confirm the memory and see from there. How much would it cost just to try around the stables?" He may not be smiling, but the man was definitely not scowling like everyone claimed he always was. In fact, he looked to be in a rather good mood at the moment.
Maybe Sora's mood and optimism were a contagious thing?
Sora was glad that Kurogane had remembered something, especially something nice like how he rode horses. A lot of people seemed to remember depressing things, himself included, so whenever he heard of someone feeling good about the life they had before Memento Eden, it also made Sora feel good.
When Kurogane told him he wasn't looking for a full day commitment yet, instead favoring a trial around the stables, Sora grinned, placing a finger against his lips. "I'll let you do it for free. I never did get you a Christmas present." Reaching for Mickey's nose again, Sora pet him. "You should start with Mickey; he's really calm. Jiminy is excitable and Maleficent -- well, you remember. I'm going to go get his saddle and everything, you stay here and get to know him!"
With that, Sora trotted off temporarily.
Kurogane's eyes widened a bit as Sora mentioned letting him ride for free as a present. He opened his mouth to object, but merely let out a sigh. He figured that Sora was not going to budge on it, even if there was no reason to get him anything. He still didn't understand the holiday, but somehow this kid had talked him into participating when he'd originally just wanted to repay a couple people for that cake. Not that he'd minded other than the process of shopping and thinking of all the gifts, it wasn't like he was spending the money on much else.
As Sora disappeared back into the stable to retrieve the supplies, Kurogane walked back up to Mickey and held out a hand for the horse to sniff, then gave it a few soft pats on the head, letting the horse acquaint itself with him. "So you're the calm one," he murmured to it as it watched him quietly, nosing into his hand once more. This one would do, he decided. Especially for a first ride. He had no idea if this would come back to him more with some experience or if simply remembering riding was not going to be enough. But that is what he was here to find out, so he'd wait for the boy to return with what was needed.
Sora returned shortly carrying a few things, the most noticeable being a Western saddle, which looked very big in his slim arms. After setting the bundle down, Sora pulled a folded saddle pad from the top of the pile and approached Mickey with it.
"I didn't ask what style you rode," he said, on tiptoes as he arranged the saddle pad squarely on the horse's back, "because these horses usually ride Western. I think it's better for long distances...." Sora was uncertain, not having much background information on horses, but he'd learned a lot in his time working at the stables.
Going back to the saddle, Sora picked it up, letting the horse's bridle clank quietly to the ground, and hefted it onto the horse's back, grunting with effort. He buckled the girth and tightened it with a great pull, then untied Mickey's lead rope. "He's usually good about this," he told Kurogane as he lead Mickey around in a couple circles, then brought him back to the side of the stable, "but it always needs to be tightened again." In demonstration, Sora tightened the girth again, then patted Mickey's stomach.
Last he switched the horse's halter for a bridle, feeding the metal bar into the horse's mouth and tying it all off, afterward checking to see if Mickey was comfortable and everything was correct. He pulled the reigns over the horse's head, then looked to Kurogane. "Want to ride over to the riding rink?" he asked, and motioned to the saddle so Kurogane could hop on. When he did, Sora would adjust the stirrups if necessary, then lead the way to the rink with Kurogane on horseback.
"There's more than one style to ride?" Kurogane asked, watching the boy as he went about prepping the horse. He sure seemed to know what he was doing. Kurogane himself only honestly knew part of these preparations, and what he did remember was rather patchy. Maybe he wasn't used to setting up the horse himself... though that didn't sound right either. Maybe he just didn't remember it all yet. Probably the more likely explanation.
As soon as Sora finished Kurogane nodded in appreciation for the work. "Your boss has got you really well trained." The man looked over the horse one last time then climbed atop the steed, not really having any trouble or awkwardness in doing so. He'd definitely done this before. Vague pieces of different memories and different times he's ridden horses had filtered through his mind before, but it was different when actually confirming it.
Once he settled himself in place in the saddle, he let Sora lead the horse over to the rink while he adjusted to being horseback.
"Yeah, there's a couple different kinds. I hear you use the reigns differently with them and everything, but I've only ridden Western." Sora smiled at Kurogane then, glad the man had shown up. It wasn't very lonely around horses all day, but it wasn't like they spoke back, either.
"Haha, he's pretty strict! He seems to know stuff about horses, too - we were all trained since I don't think anyone had memories of being around horses, or had read about it. But I guess the library has books all about it. I went to the library with Riku once, but," Sora shook his head, "I didn't take anything out." The boy had learned quickly he didn't much like reading.
As they reached the riding rink, Sora opened the door for Mickey and Kurogane to walk through, and then closed the door behind them. From there, Kurogane could take the reigns and steer for himself. "I don't know how much you know, but just kick to make him go. If you want to go faster, kick more, and if you want to stop, pull back on the reigns like this." He demonstrated with invisible reigns of his own. "I'll be right here if you need anything," he added, turning to hop onto the fence.
There was a grunt in response from the older man and he took the reigns up loosely and after a moment gave the horse a soft kick, starting Mickey off at a walk. He gave himself a few minutes, getting used to the rhythm of the horse before giving it another kick, sending it into a trot as he steered it around the rink.
The actions surrounding all this felt natural and came to Kurogane with little thought. It was a bit harder when he tried to think of what to do, but he assumed that would change once he had more memories to pull from. "I've done this before. You said it was $400 a day to rent them?" he called over to Sora, giving a pull on the reigns and bringing Mickey to a stop in front of the boy.
Sora watched Kurogane steer the horse around the rink. It was easy to get a horse to go around in a circle for the most part, especially a horse like Mickey who was used to doing so while cooling down from a long trail ride, but Kurogane wasn't sitting idly in his saddle. When he sped up to a trot it was even more obvious, and Sora noted he handled the bumpy ride very well. It had taken him a long time to get used to trotting.
When the man finally stopped in front of him, Sora lifted his eyes to Kurogane's and nodded, squinting against the sun. "$400, water and feed included. You think you want to?" It was exciting to see one of his horses go out, mostly because he knew they would really enjoy it, and also because it would be much less work for him, exercising only two horses. The distance horses liked to walk, and they could store energy very easily; he didn't want them to become restless.
Kurogane gave the boy a nod. "Yeah, but for the rest of today would be a waste of my money, so I'll come back in a few days to take him out for the day." The man swung his leg around and stepped down from the horse and led it back to the gate. "Sound like a plan, kid?"
Kurogane paused for a minute, brow furrowing. "You said one of the horses was a bit jittery, right? Can I take a look at him?" An idea had occurred to the man and while he didn't intend to carry out said idea without considering it further, it was best to see if it were even feasible first. "Does he do alright with someone with experience?"
Nodding in return to Kurogane, Sora slipped off of the fence and opened the gate while the man dismounted, keeping it open while Kurogane and Mickey left the rink. After closing the gate securely, Sora trotted up to Kurogane's side and walked with him. "Sure, I'll be ready for you when you come," he promised.
They arrived back at the stable side quickly, and Sora took Mickey from Kurogane, leading him back to his post. "That'd be Jiminy," he said, pointing to the horse in question, pulling Mickey up on Jiminy's left side. He removed Mickey's bridle and replaced it with a halter so he could tie him up in preparation for removing his saddle. "He's very friendly, but he spooks easily. It's a matter of staying on his back when that happens," Sora said, laughing.
Red eyes glanced down, sidelong, at Sora and Kurogane's lips quirked into a sort of half-smirk. "Know that from experience, huh?" He'd imagine the kid had had some tough times training these horses as well as himself. Probably thrown enough times to know each quite well by now. Perhaps for this first trip he'd just stick to Mickey, he decided. If need be he could experiment with the other horses later.
The man watched as Sora went about tying up Mickey and removing the saddle from the horse. Over all he was pleased with how this had gone. And it opened up new chances for exploring outside the town as well. It was surprising how few people had done anything like that. Along with Riku's idea with the boat, maybe between the group of them they could find out something useful.
"Hey, kid, what other kinds of horses are here at the stable? Besides these three long distance ones. There has to be some for training people to ride, right?"
With a broad grin on his face, Sora rubbed the back of his head. He had, indeed, learned the hard way how to stay on top of Jiminy at all times, and he'd suffered many a sore, sleepless night because of it. Thankfully, he'd never had to go to the cleric or anything like that, but Riku had given him many a concerned glance over bruises he'd acquired from learning how to deal with horses.
When Mickey was relieved of his saddle and all, Sora pet his back. He was a little damp with sweat where the pad and saddle had been, but that was just because of the heat. He didn't feel very hot, but he was sure Mickey (and the other horses, too) would appreciate a nice, long drink once they were back in their stalls.
"There are racing horses and ponies," he said promptly. "I bet any of them could teach people how to ride, especially if they have nice personalities. There's only ten horses - including the ponies - here now, I bet if there were more demand for them there'd be more."
The boy's response prompted another nod from Kurogane. "Ah, I'm surprised more people haven't been looking into the horses or exploring this place really at all," he said, leaning back against the stable wall. "How much would lessons cost instead of taking one of these out for a day? It the same price?"
Kurogane pushed off the stable side and walked back over to Mickey and gave him a pet along the nose. "I know some people who probably would like learning how to ride if they don't already know how. And the more people able to go out and look around outside the town, the better. Besides, you sound like you want more business. Or business to start with I suppose. You guys get anymore horses though and you'll need more help, right? You're already pretty busy with these three on your plate."
It was rare that Kurogane said so much, but he was actually having a conversation with the kid. He was curious about the horses and felt like they could prove useful to find out more about the place they were all trapped. Plus, the kid wasn't as irritating as most the people in the town and Kurogane didn't seem to really mind his company. A bit naive and over enthusiastic, but a good kid.
Though he had been told many things, Sephiroth hadn't mentioned lessons for people wanting to learn how to ride a horse - at least, Sora didn't remember that topic ever coming up if it had. For the first time, Sora looked absent and pensive before shaking his head slowly. "I have no idea. I'll have to ask the boss about that, but I'll tell you as soon as I know! I doubt it would be that much." Sephiroth would probably be pleased to hear people wanted to learn how to ride, and Sora thought it would be fun to teach riding lessons. He definitely would have time, as it would likely replace exercising the horses every day.
"Yeah, Cloud and I both have three horses, and Al has four ponies, so I think we'd need some more help. Cleaning stalls and stuff isn't such a big deal, but exercising the horses takes a long time. It's not a bad job! But in this hot weather it can get tiring." Sora wiped his forehead.
Then he smiled. Kurogane was appreciated company; Sora even wondered whether Kurogane would be up for taking on some horses should they get more since he seemed to be interested in riding. Being around horses all day probably beat cleaning up after everyone in the apartment.
He smirked faintly again, obviously he'd stumped the boy with bringing up lessons. But he did look excited at the idea. Probably a welcome change since Sora didn't seem the type to like doing the same things day in day out. Kurogane sure as hell didn't really enjoy it. The addition of the girl lately did make it a little less boring and cut the time it took to make his rounds down, but it was still doing the same thing every day. Boring tedious things in fact.
The man nodded as Sora listed off all the horses and who took care of what. "I imagine it'll be just as tiring during the winter too if there is snow and cold impeding you," he pointed out. "Think like that bizarre Christmas thing, but for a few months. The job itself is going to be tiring no matter what. You seem able to handle it though."
Kurogane shrugged faintly as he passed his gaze over the three horses in Sora's care again. "I doubt you guys will need more horses or help around here unless a lot more people are interested in learning to ride. I may know a few, but not that many."
When Kurogane brought up the snow, Sora nodded, eyebrows drawing together. "That's going to be rough. Even during that one week, it was much harder just because the water kept freezing and I had to shovel paths for the horses, and I had to figure out how to keep them warm." He sighed. "I hope the winter isn't that cold. Where I came from, I remember, it was always warm. There was never snow there." Sora had liked the snow, so he hoped it did snow sometimes, but the snow made his job all the more complex.
"I guess you're right. It'd be more fun if more people worked around here, though." Sora was a social person, but he didn't often get to spend too much time with either Cloud or Al, mostly because the animals in their care needed to be in different places at different times, and they all were very busy. "But I can live with lessons! It'll be fun, I'll tell you the price as soon as I find out! A group of six will probably be the biggest we can do, though. Unless you have someone in mind who's small enough to ride a pony," he added, grinning.
Kurogane nodded in agreement, doing his job wasn't going to be very pleasant come winter either. But who knew, maybe the kid could round up enough interest in lessons and the horses in general to get more help around there. Kurogane pegged Sora as the type of person people just naturally gravitated toward as well as someone whose optimism often paid off for them.
The man shook his head. "I'm sure that hyper active blonde kid wouldn't mind learning to ride, but otherwise, full-sized horses will probably be best for the people I'm thinking of. Once you let me know about the lessons I'll pass the word to them." He shrugged a bit like it was no big deal or big rush. He was most concerned with taking Mickey out for a day himself, but if others were interested as he thought they may be, may as well do the kid a favor and send them his way.
Sora smiled when Kurogane mentioned Mitsukuni may like to learn to ride. "You're right, I should ask him! I've been helping him learn to swim. He seems to like animals, too." He wondered who else would be interested in riding, but it didn't really matter who. Just as long as they really wanted to learn and could listen to some simple directions, Sora knew he could teach anyone, and chances were he would enjoy it very much.
"I don't know if Sephiroth has ever thought of lessons before. I bet he'll be happy to know people want to come here to learn. He seems good with money to me. He'll probably tell me how much he wants right when I ask him! You'll be the first person to know, Kurogane," he promised. "And you can come by whenever you want, even if it's just to see the horses. I think Mickey likes you already."
The man almost hinted at a smile there. "I may just do that. I'll get back to you on when I want to take him out too once I figure out when to do it. Around the work schedule and the random crap this place throws at us."
He glanced back toward the entrance/exit to the stables. "Probably gonna head home and make sure that blonde idiot isn't getting himself into trouble somehow," the man sighed heavily and rolled his eyes. "I'll see you around, kid. Will get back to you on those things too." He gave Mickey one last pat before he nodded to Sora and turned to make his way out, giving the boy a short wave over his shoulder as he left.
Feeling excited at the prospect of many people around the stables, as well as excitement purely for Kurogane and his discovery about himself, Sora smiled broadly at the man. "Okay," he chirped. "I'll see you later!" Sora waved Kurogane good-bye, then bent to pick up the saddle and things, ready to get back to work.
Summary: Kurogane is curious about a memory of riding, so goes to Sora to see about renting one of the horses. After confirming the memory is true the two talk about possible riding lessons for other people.
Where/When: At the Stables, before Riku's post about Sora hurting himself working on the boat, but obviously after Kurogane asked Sora about when he could meet him to talk.
Notes/Warnings? Nothing to warn about. They were pretty low key, no yelling or anything XD; See? Kuro doesn't freak out ALL the time!
Kurogane
Sora
Kurogane took a look around the stables for a few minutes. He hadn't really had any interest in them before now so hadn't paid them much mind. Work didn't bring him here since they did their own cleaning and what did he care about horses? However, since "Christmas" he'd remembered riding as a boy and wanted now to test that. After spending a few minutes looking around outside, noting a few of the employees, but not seeing the one he was after, he headed in to the stables. Stepping in, he swept the inside for the familiar spikey hair. "Oi, kid, you in here?"
Upon hearing a familiar voice, Sora popped his head up from behind the wooden wall of a stall. "Huh? Oh!" he said, face brightening as he spotted Kurogane. He had been expecting Kurogane to show himself at some point since the man had been interested in when he got off work, though he had been unsure whether Kurogane was going to approach him at the apartments or in the stables. Obviously, Sora knew which was true now.
Squelching to the door of the stable, Sora went to greet Kurogane, pitchfork in hand. "What's up?"
Kurogane's eyes immediately fell on the boy as he popped into sight and he gave the kid a slight wave of acknowledgment. He hadn't been sure if the kid would be done yet or not by now, but he'd finished his own work shift up and decided it couldn't hurt to track him down here. "Just wanted to take a look at the horses, not too busy are you?" Kurogane generally wasn't one for extraneous pleasantries and got to the point. And if the kid was too busy he'd come back another time. Or help him finish. It didn't look like he was doing anything terribly complicated or anything or working with the horses specifically. Either way, it wasn't like this was pressing. More just an opportunity to satisfy his curiousity.
"Nope!" Sora chirped happily, setting the pitchfork across a wheelbarrow beside the door of the stall he was working on. "I can show you the horses if you want, they're outside." Motioning to Kurogane, Sora silently instructed him to follow him as he walked along middle path in the opposite direction Kurogane had come in. When the reached the outside, three horses greeted them, tied up to the side of the barn.
"This is Mickey, that's Jiminy, and that's Maleficent." From behind his hand, Sora added "she's a brat," in a quiet voice, as though the horse would understand. "Anything you want to know about them?" Reaching out, Sora pet Mickey's soft nose. "Not many people around here buy them, it's sad. And these three like to walk forever."
Kurogane nodded and followed Sora outside, glancing around idly until they got back outside. As they stepped out, he looked over the three horses. One of the others had been working with some other horses, so he could only assume these were specifically Sora's responsibilities. "They like to walk forever, huh?" The man walked over to the one Sora was petting and he gave it a long look over, slowly circling around it before giving it a gentle pat. "They're strong looking horses. So no one comes out here to rent them?" He was surprised somewhat, though he supposed it made sense. Even if there were people who did know how to ride or were interested, they may not even remember that yet, just as he hadn't before now. "How much is it?"
Nodding in conformation that they did walk long distances with ease, Sora watched Kurogane observe the horses. He'd gotten to know them all very well, and ridden them to map out paths, which was harder than it sounded. For a long time he had been measuring and drawing, getting lost and frustrated, or miscalculating on how many supplies he needed for the horses, but as he stood now he had it all pretty much down to a science. It was fun work, but it was hard, and Sora didn't think he got paid nearly enough for it -- not that it mattered, it just made him jealous to look at how much money Riku got for doing practically nothing on patrol.
"For a day it's four hundred monies. We have lots of trails for them, and maps, and we have all the feed and water you'll need for trips," Sora said, then smiled. "I didn't know you liked horses. Are you going to ride alone?"
Kurogane glanced up at the boy and nodded slowly at the price, considering it. "Hm... I didn't either. I remember riding when I was younger." He gave the horse another pat then stepped away. "I don't know about 400 for a day yet. I wanted to give it a go to confirm the memory and see from there. How much would it cost just to try around the stables?" He may not be smiling, but the man was definitely not scowling like everyone claimed he always was. In fact, he looked to be in a rather good mood at the moment.
Maybe Sora's mood and optimism were a contagious thing?
Sora was glad that Kurogane had remembered something, especially something nice like how he rode horses. A lot of people seemed to remember depressing things, himself included, so whenever he heard of someone feeling good about the life they had before Memento Eden, it also made Sora feel good.
When Kurogane told him he wasn't looking for a full day commitment yet, instead favoring a trial around the stables, Sora grinned, placing a finger against his lips. "I'll let you do it for free. I never did get you a Christmas present." Reaching for Mickey's nose again, Sora pet him. "You should start with Mickey; he's really calm. Jiminy is excitable and Maleficent -- well, you remember. I'm going to go get his saddle and everything, you stay here and get to know him!"
With that, Sora trotted off temporarily.
Kurogane's eyes widened a bit as Sora mentioned letting him ride for free as a present. He opened his mouth to object, but merely let out a sigh. He figured that Sora was not going to budge on it, even if there was no reason to get him anything. He still didn't understand the holiday, but somehow this kid had talked him into participating when he'd originally just wanted to repay a couple people for that cake. Not that he'd minded other than the process of shopping and thinking of all the gifts, it wasn't like he was spending the money on much else.
As Sora disappeared back into the stable to retrieve the supplies, Kurogane walked back up to Mickey and held out a hand for the horse to sniff, then gave it a few soft pats on the head, letting the horse acquaint itself with him. "So you're the calm one," he murmured to it as it watched him quietly, nosing into his hand once more. This one would do, he decided. Especially for a first ride. He had no idea if this would come back to him more with some experience or if simply remembering riding was not going to be enough. But that is what he was here to find out, so he'd wait for the boy to return with what was needed.
Sora returned shortly carrying a few things, the most noticeable being a Western saddle, which looked very big in his slim arms. After setting the bundle down, Sora pulled a folded saddle pad from the top of the pile and approached Mickey with it.
"I didn't ask what style you rode," he said, on tiptoes as he arranged the saddle pad squarely on the horse's back, "because these horses usually ride Western. I think it's better for long distances...." Sora was uncertain, not having much background information on horses, but he'd learned a lot in his time working at the stables.
Going back to the saddle, Sora picked it up, letting the horse's bridle clank quietly to the ground, and hefted it onto the horse's back, grunting with effort. He buckled the girth and tightened it with a great pull, then untied Mickey's lead rope. "He's usually good about this," he told Kurogane as he lead Mickey around in a couple circles, then brought him back to the side of the stable, "but it always needs to be tightened again." In demonstration, Sora tightened the girth again, then patted Mickey's stomach.
Last he switched the horse's halter for a bridle, feeding the metal bar into the horse's mouth and tying it all off, afterward checking to see if Mickey was comfortable and everything was correct. He pulled the reigns over the horse's head, then looked to Kurogane. "Want to ride over to the riding rink?" he asked, and motioned to the saddle so Kurogane could hop on. When he did, Sora would adjust the stirrups if necessary, then lead the way to the rink with Kurogane on horseback.
"There's more than one style to ride?" Kurogane asked, watching the boy as he went about prepping the horse. He sure seemed to know what he was doing. Kurogane himself only honestly knew part of these preparations, and what he did remember was rather patchy. Maybe he wasn't used to setting up the horse himself... though that didn't sound right either. Maybe he just didn't remember it all yet. Probably the more likely explanation.
As soon as Sora finished Kurogane nodded in appreciation for the work. "Your boss has got you really well trained." The man looked over the horse one last time then climbed atop the steed, not really having any trouble or awkwardness in doing so. He'd definitely done this before. Vague pieces of different memories and different times he's ridden horses had filtered through his mind before, but it was different when actually confirming it.
Once he settled himself in place in the saddle, he let Sora lead the horse over to the rink while he adjusted to being horseback.
"Yeah, there's a couple different kinds. I hear you use the reigns differently with them and everything, but I've only ridden Western." Sora smiled at Kurogane then, glad the man had shown up. It wasn't very lonely around horses all day, but it wasn't like they spoke back, either.
"Haha, he's pretty strict! He seems to know stuff about horses, too - we were all trained since I don't think anyone had memories of being around horses, or had read about it. But I guess the library has books all about it. I went to the library with Riku once, but," Sora shook his head, "I didn't take anything out." The boy had learned quickly he didn't much like reading.
As they reached the riding rink, Sora opened the door for Mickey and Kurogane to walk through, and then closed the door behind them. From there, Kurogane could take the reigns and steer for himself. "I don't know how much you know, but just kick to make him go. If you want to go faster, kick more, and if you want to stop, pull back on the reigns like this." He demonstrated with invisible reigns of his own. "I'll be right here if you need anything," he added, turning to hop onto the fence.
There was a grunt in response from the older man and he took the reigns up loosely and after a moment gave the horse a soft kick, starting Mickey off at a walk. He gave himself a few minutes, getting used to the rhythm of the horse before giving it another kick, sending it into a trot as he steered it around the rink.
The actions surrounding all this felt natural and came to Kurogane with little thought. It was a bit harder when he tried to think of what to do, but he assumed that would change once he had more memories to pull from. "I've done this before. You said it was $400 a day to rent them?" he called over to Sora, giving a pull on the reigns and bringing Mickey to a stop in front of the boy.
Sora watched Kurogane steer the horse around the rink. It was easy to get a horse to go around in a circle for the most part, especially a horse like Mickey who was used to doing so while cooling down from a long trail ride, but Kurogane wasn't sitting idly in his saddle. When he sped up to a trot it was even more obvious, and Sora noted he handled the bumpy ride very well. It had taken him a long time to get used to trotting.
When the man finally stopped in front of him, Sora lifted his eyes to Kurogane's and nodded, squinting against the sun. "$400, water and feed included. You think you want to?" It was exciting to see one of his horses go out, mostly because he knew they would really enjoy it, and also because it would be much less work for him, exercising only two horses. The distance horses liked to walk, and they could store energy very easily; he didn't want them to become restless.
Kurogane gave the boy a nod. "Yeah, but for the rest of today would be a waste of my money, so I'll come back in a few days to take him out for the day." The man swung his leg around and stepped down from the horse and led it back to the gate. "Sound like a plan, kid?"
Kurogane paused for a minute, brow furrowing. "You said one of the horses was a bit jittery, right? Can I take a look at him?" An idea had occurred to the man and while he didn't intend to carry out said idea without considering it further, it was best to see if it were even feasible first. "Does he do alright with someone with experience?"
Nodding in return to Kurogane, Sora slipped off of the fence and opened the gate while the man dismounted, keeping it open while Kurogane and Mickey left the rink. After closing the gate securely, Sora trotted up to Kurogane's side and walked with him. "Sure, I'll be ready for you when you come," he promised.
They arrived back at the stable side quickly, and Sora took Mickey from Kurogane, leading him back to his post. "That'd be Jiminy," he said, pointing to the horse in question, pulling Mickey up on Jiminy's left side. He removed Mickey's bridle and replaced it with a halter so he could tie him up in preparation for removing his saddle. "He's very friendly, but he spooks easily. It's a matter of staying on his back when that happens," Sora said, laughing.
Red eyes glanced down, sidelong, at Sora and Kurogane's lips quirked into a sort of half-smirk. "Know that from experience, huh?" He'd imagine the kid had had some tough times training these horses as well as himself. Probably thrown enough times to know each quite well by now. Perhaps for this first trip he'd just stick to Mickey, he decided. If need be he could experiment with the other horses later.
The man watched as Sora went about tying up Mickey and removing the saddle from the horse. Over all he was pleased with how this had gone. And it opened up new chances for exploring outside the town as well. It was surprising how few people had done anything like that. Along with Riku's idea with the boat, maybe between the group of them they could find out something useful.
"Hey, kid, what other kinds of horses are here at the stable? Besides these three long distance ones. There has to be some for training people to ride, right?"
With a broad grin on his face, Sora rubbed the back of his head. He had, indeed, learned the hard way how to stay on top of Jiminy at all times, and he'd suffered many a sore, sleepless night because of it. Thankfully, he'd never had to go to the cleric or anything like that, but Riku had given him many a concerned glance over bruises he'd acquired from learning how to deal with horses.
When Mickey was relieved of his saddle and all, Sora pet his back. He was a little damp with sweat where the pad and saddle had been, but that was just because of the heat. He didn't feel very hot, but he was sure Mickey (and the other horses, too) would appreciate a nice, long drink once they were back in their stalls.
"There are racing horses and ponies," he said promptly. "I bet any of them could teach people how to ride, especially if they have nice personalities. There's only ten horses - including the ponies - here now, I bet if there were more demand for them there'd be more."
The boy's response prompted another nod from Kurogane. "Ah, I'm surprised more people haven't been looking into the horses or exploring this place really at all," he said, leaning back against the stable wall. "How much would lessons cost instead of taking one of these out for a day? It the same price?"
Kurogane pushed off the stable side and walked back over to Mickey and gave him a pet along the nose. "I know some people who probably would like learning how to ride if they don't already know how. And the more people able to go out and look around outside the town, the better. Besides, you sound like you want more business. Or business to start with I suppose. You guys get anymore horses though and you'll need more help, right? You're already pretty busy with these three on your plate."
It was rare that Kurogane said so much, but he was actually having a conversation with the kid. He was curious about the horses and felt like they could prove useful to find out more about the place they were all trapped. Plus, the kid wasn't as irritating as most the people in the town and Kurogane didn't seem to really mind his company. A bit naive and over enthusiastic, but a good kid.
Though he had been told many things, Sephiroth hadn't mentioned lessons for people wanting to learn how to ride a horse - at least, Sora didn't remember that topic ever coming up if it had. For the first time, Sora looked absent and pensive before shaking his head slowly. "I have no idea. I'll have to ask the boss about that, but I'll tell you as soon as I know! I doubt it would be that much." Sephiroth would probably be pleased to hear people wanted to learn how to ride, and Sora thought it would be fun to teach riding lessons. He definitely would have time, as it would likely replace exercising the horses every day.
"Yeah, Cloud and I both have three horses, and Al has four ponies, so I think we'd need some more help. Cleaning stalls and stuff isn't such a big deal, but exercising the horses takes a long time. It's not a bad job! But in this hot weather it can get tiring." Sora wiped his forehead.
Then he smiled. Kurogane was appreciated company; Sora even wondered whether Kurogane would be up for taking on some horses should they get more since he seemed to be interested in riding. Being around horses all day probably beat cleaning up after everyone in the apartment.
He smirked faintly again, obviously he'd stumped the boy with bringing up lessons. But he did look excited at the idea. Probably a welcome change since Sora didn't seem the type to like doing the same things day in day out. Kurogane sure as hell didn't really enjoy it. The addition of the girl lately did make it a little less boring and cut the time it took to make his rounds down, but it was still doing the same thing every day. Boring tedious things in fact.
The man nodded as Sora listed off all the horses and who took care of what. "I imagine it'll be just as tiring during the winter too if there is snow and cold impeding you," he pointed out. "Think like that bizarre Christmas thing, but for a few months. The job itself is going to be tiring no matter what. You seem able to handle it though."
Kurogane shrugged faintly as he passed his gaze over the three horses in Sora's care again. "I doubt you guys will need more horses or help around here unless a lot more people are interested in learning to ride. I may know a few, but not that many."
When Kurogane brought up the snow, Sora nodded, eyebrows drawing together. "That's going to be rough. Even during that one week, it was much harder just because the water kept freezing and I had to shovel paths for the horses, and I had to figure out how to keep them warm." He sighed. "I hope the winter isn't that cold. Where I came from, I remember, it was always warm. There was never snow there." Sora had liked the snow, so he hoped it did snow sometimes, but the snow made his job all the more complex.
"I guess you're right. It'd be more fun if more people worked around here, though." Sora was a social person, but he didn't often get to spend too much time with either Cloud or Al, mostly because the animals in their care needed to be in different places at different times, and they all were very busy. "But I can live with lessons! It'll be fun, I'll tell you the price as soon as I find out! A group of six will probably be the biggest we can do, though. Unless you have someone in mind who's small enough to ride a pony," he added, grinning.
Kurogane nodded in agreement, doing his job wasn't going to be very pleasant come winter either. But who knew, maybe the kid could round up enough interest in lessons and the horses in general to get more help around there. Kurogane pegged Sora as the type of person people just naturally gravitated toward as well as someone whose optimism often paid off for them.
The man shook his head. "I'm sure that hyper active blonde kid wouldn't mind learning to ride, but otherwise, full-sized horses will probably be best for the people I'm thinking of. Once you let me know about the lessons I'll pass the word to them." He shrugged a bit like it was no big deal or big rush. He was most concerned with taking Mickey out for a day himself, but if others were interested as he thought they may be, may as well do the kid a favor and send them his way.
Sora smiled when Kurogane mentioned Mitsukuni may like to learn to ride. "You're right, I should ask him! I've been helping him learn to swim. He seems to like animals, too." He wondered who else would be interested in riding, but it didn't really matter who. Just as long as they really wanted to learn and could listen to some simple directions, Sora knew he could teach anyone, and chances were he would enjoy it very much.
"I don't know if Sephiroth has ever thought of lessons before. I bet he'll be happy to know people want to come here to learn. He seems good with money to me. He'll probably tell me how much he wants right when I ask him! You'll be the first person to know, Kurogane," he promised. "And you can come by whenever you want, even if it's just to see the horses. I think Mickey likes you already."
The man almost hinted at a smile there. "I may just do that. I'll get back to you on when I want to take him out too once I figure out when to do it. Around the work schedule and the random crap this place throws at us."
He glanced back toward the entrance/exit to the stables. "Probably gonna head home and make sure that blonde idiot isn't getting himself into trouble somehow," the man sighed heavily and rolled his eyes. "I'll see you around, kid. Will get back to you on those things too." He gave Mickey one last pat before he nodded to Sora and turned to make his way out, giving the boy a short wave over his shoulder as he left.
Feeling excited at the prospect of many people around the stables, as well as excitement purely for Kurogane and his discovery about himself, Sora smiled broadly at the man. "Okay," he chirped. "I'll see you later!" Sora waved Kurogane good-bye, then bent to pick up the saddle and things, ready to get back to work.