don't forget me [open]

[levi owen]

The wind bit at his bare skin, the frost crunching beneath his boots a bleak reminder of winter. Deep down the cold, barren scenery made him almost happy. Wintertime was beyond his favorite season; the cold air, the snow, the holidays. As much as he loved the cold weather, he still didn't enjoy actually getting cold. Bundled up in a thick sweatshirt and insulated vest, he strolled in to the barn, exhaling forcefully and watching the visible cloud of breath looming before him. Hands shoved in his pockets, he went straight to stall 100, where his favorite creature on all of the Earth stood waiting for him expectantly. He was rarely late and had his own routine laid out, and the mare seemed to know when to expect his footsteps coming down the aisle. Tacoma stepped up to hang her head over the stall guard when he slid open the door, her nose shoving at his soft vest. "Good morning darling," he murmured, rubbing the side of her neck. Her soft brown coat was now slightly thicker than her smooth, shiny summer length. He had clipped her earlier in the week since they were still on a fairly heavy work-out schedule and she always worked up a sweat, even on the flat.

A striking white blaze marked her face, her short black mane neatly combed to one side of her neck. Her 17.0 hh frame was tall but she was built more like a heavy duty truck than a fast sports car; but her strength and elegance was unmistakable. She still had a lot of work to do, but she had matured in to a steady mount for the most part but Levi knew that he wasn't some professional rider and that there were much better riders than him at the barn that could probably transform her in to an even better horse. He had been nervous about coming to such a prestigious facility; but he was good enough to get in and he decided to take the chance of subjecting himself to criticism. Lifting the leather halter from the stall door, he slipped it over her elegant head, the brass plate on the noseband polished. "Tequila Mockingbird" was etched in the metal.

His bright blue eyes studied the mare as she stood calmly in the aisle, calm and relaxed, a hind hoof already on its toe. He smiled to himself, knowing that he should enjoy the calm while it lasted because she was very hard to read. Usually when she was this calm she would be a bit hard to work with in the ring because whenever she has a lot of energy she is hard to focus and control. His gentle hands moved quickly over the buckles of her blanket, undoing them as he whistled a soft tune. Sliding the blanket off her tall and thick body, he folded it neatly and hung it on the blanket rack attached to her stall door before walking to the tack area to gather all of her grooming equipment and tack.

[levi owen]

Levi was slightly taken by surprise, jumping back half a step as he nearly collided with the young woman. He wasn't expecting to see anybody around the barn at this time in the morning, but he shouldn't have thought he would be the only one. A shy smile spread across his face and his blue eyes darted to the floor a moment. "I apologize, miss," He managed to utter, his strong English accent evident. The young woman was beautiful, no doubt, but she looked almost too young. He always tried to not judge so quickly, but he noticed most of the women he saw around the stables were in their late teens or early twenties while he felt terribly old at 28. His dirty blonde hair was cut fairly short so as to not be troublesome with his helmet. His face and hands were slightly tan from years and hours spent out in the sun for days on end, and he would begin to fade now that winter had hit. "Excuse me," He said with another smile before moving around her to reach his tack area. A simple black saddle pad, his saddle, a girth, and a bridle made their way either on his forearm or slung over his shoulder.

Tacoma continued to stand patiently in the aisle, near the blind mare's stall. She watched Lila curiously, stepping forward until the cross ties were taut on her halter and stopped. She could smell the treats and nickered, pawing at the solid aisle with a forehoof and making quite the noise as she did a horse's way of 'begging'. Within a minute Levi was already making his way towards her, shaking his head. "Now now, none of that." He murmured at her antics, setting down his tack on a saddle rack nearby. Breaking out an assortment of brushes and a hoofpick, he worked his way over her coat and picked out her hooves. The mare was a good size for him, he at 6' and her at 17.0 hh. It had been difficult to find a horse within his price range at the height and temperament he wanted. The Holsteiner mare was beautiful no doubt, but she wasn't extremely top grade material compared to the other horses here. But to Levi she was perfect, and of course they both would have their bad days here and there but so far it had been one of the most enjoyable horse owning experiences he had ever had. He didn't plan on working her too hard today, just some flat and over a couple of fences. He didn't like to work her to much in a new barn so as to not get her stressed and for her to get acquainted with the facilities.

Levi continued to glance from now and then over to the young woman, trying not to make it obvious. He didn't have any friends or even acquaintances at the stable yet, and he decided maybe it should be time to make some so that the people wouldn't think he was so completely standoffish. He was here to spend time and work with his horse, but he knew that he could use a good friend or two. Smoothing the black saddle pad against the soft bay coat, he lifted the saddle effortlessly in to place and did up the girth. This was usually when the mare got fussy, and just like clockwork, she pinned her ears and snapped at the air with her mouth. "Oh knock it off, you act like this has never happened to you before." Satisfied with the tightness, he let her forgive him and put on his helmet. He knew he wouldn't need his crop today as he observed her bobbing her head excitedly, her mood transforming to relaxed and almost lazy to completely ready to go. Getting her bridle, he removed her halter and replaced it with the polished bridle. All of his tack was kept neat and tidy where it almost looked brand new, even though it had served him well the past three years he owned Tacoma.

[levi owen]

Levi could feel his face becoming slightly flushed, and he assumed that it was just the warmth of the barn that was getting to him. Shrugging off his outer jacket, a thick sweater was layered with some under armour underneath. He let the buckle of the reins rest at the start of Tacoma's withers as he folded his jacket and fit it on the blanket rack with the winter blanket for his mare. Tacoma pawed at the aisle flooring, tossing her head and rudely shoving her nose in to Levi's back. He stumbled awkwardly, catching himself by grabbing the blanket rack. "Tacoma....." He grumbled, feeling is face heating up once again. Embarrassment? He hoped not. After all, there was just some woman here to witness it all...a complete stranger. But at the same time a very beautiful, intriguing woman. He felt himself becoming even more shy at her flirting, but he didn't find himself disliking the attention. He managed to flash her a smile as she walked past, his teeth white and in alignment. "Yes, I'll see you there." He said after her, watching the beautiful painted mare that followed her out in to the arena. Lifting the reins back over Tacoma's head, Levi led the energetic mare to the arena also.

The bay mare tossed her head and side-stepped in the aisle, arching her neck and mouthing at the bit noisily. Her ears twisted atop her head, eyes darting to a dozen different things as she sort of pranced her way in to the arena. For a minute Levi considered lunging her, seeing as she seemed to have a lot of cooped up energy that could potentially be difficult to work with. After contemplating awhile, he decided to lunge her at the far end of the arena, keeping out of the way of the girl and her paint mare. Sending Tacoma out around him in a circle, the mare was already trotting without any sort of encouragement, her head held high and lifting her hooves rather high as well with each step. The lunge line had some slack in it, but not too much; the mare was accustomed to being lunged and worked an almost perfect circle around Levi. She would switch her attention to a bunch of different things, including looking to the paint mare. A sound from outside the arena spooked her, sending her in to a canter and showing off the energy Levi knew she had bottled up. She cantered around him at quick pace, throwing in a few bucks here and there and snorting, shaking her head back and forth and up and down. After several minutes it was obvious she was beginning to calm.

Her strides became more measured and even, and at a much slower pace. Her neckline relaxed and she lowered her head, her hooves still landing rather heavily against the footing. She wasn't the most elegant horse, but she was still beautiful and had her own grace in her movements. A light sheen of sweat was already gathering on her neck, and she came down to a trot. Levi waited until she stopped looking around at her surroundings and focused on her circling, her ears stuck forward and her composure much more relaxed and calm. "Woah," He crooned softly, and the mare immediately broke down to a walk and then to a stop, waiting for him to coil in the line to retrieve her. She nudged at his stomach when he approached her while he undid the lunge line and returned it to its proper place. Checking his girth and her bridle again, he walked her to the mounting block and got on his hopefully tamed beast.

Levi found himself glancing over at the girl, wondering who she was and her riding and her horse. He tried to not make it obvious, and avoided making any eye contact. Moving to the rail he kept Tacoma away from the other mare, not wanting to interfere with the other rider's plans. After a few laps of walking around the ring the pair picked up a trot, Tacoma starting off at a slightly quicker pace but eventually being worked down in to a working but not frantic pace. She lowered her head and framed rather nicely. Bringing her back down to a walk once more, he gave her a breather before asking for a canter. Tacoma literally sounded like a freight train moving down the long sides, her hooves striking the footing with pronounced sounds. He got her to lighten up a little bit but that was something the two would need to work on. Making sure to not be in the way of the girl and her mare, he did a few lead changes with Tacoma who did them smoothly. Finally he decided to walk her, turning his attention to watching the paint mare and her attractive owner. The girl seemed to be too much of his type....dark hair, dark eyes, nice complexion. She seemed to not be afraid to talk to someone, which he always found himself of keeping to himself and not really talking to anyone, but he felt a strange desire to make conversation with her. For now he settled for stealing glances and studying her riding, trying his best not to be obvious about it.

notes: the nickname is just fine (; sorry this post doesn't have that much going on in it and is kinda rambling, it'll get better once the plot gets going i promise!

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[levi owen]

Tacoma's breathing was normal and steady, but you could hear it coming through her nostrils with a little more force than normal. Levi couldn't help but smile as he saw the paint mare move up alongside Tacoma. "Levi. Pleasure to meet you, Lila." His English accent was thick and almost sultry, but not on purpose. He had found that most women adored accents, and that was usually the first compliment he would get in conversation. Tacoma instantly turned her head to try and sniff in a friendly manner with the paint mare, always very friendly and curious. Levi quickly turned her head straight, not sure if the other mare would exactly favor Tacoma getting so close. He could feel his cheeks heating up again, he hoped it wasn't that damned blushing business again...

"I noticed our mares seem to always be neighbors wherever they are." He commented with a smile, looking straight at Lila now and found he wasn't able to look away easily. He allowed a small laugh to squeeze out under his breath as he tore his gaze away to look straight again. Tacoma snorted and was perfectly relaxed now, happy with plodding along. Levi knew he had to work her over a few jumps, not high heights but something to get her used to working in this new atmosphere. It had been over a year since they had shown together, and he needed to cause her the least amount of stress for their preparation. He also reminded himself mentally that he needed to get lessons set up soon in order to work on the problems they needed to solve. Tacoma was the type of mare that with the right rider, would clock around a ring and over the jumps no matter the bond or trust she had with them. Even though he had had her the past three years, she has had several owners and wasn't the type to only attach herself to one person. Levi knew that a deep connection between them was not obvious, but he felt they had a mutual respect for one another and she seemed to always enjoy his company.

"If you don't mind, Lila, I'm just going to work over a few jumps and we'll be done. It'll only take a little bit, I want to get her over some while she's loosened up." His tone was very apologetic and he hoped that he hadn't insulted her, but he was almost rushing along getting done with jumping Tacoma in order to talk to the woman more. Foolish, foolish move most men would probably say. But he was very intrigued. With a slight squeeze, Tacoma moved forward to a trot away from the paint mare. In the center of the ring there was an outside line, a diagonal line, a bending line, and a single oxer set up. They varied from heights of 2'6" to 3', not as high as Tacoma had been used to doing regularly but she was a little bit out of shape compared to what she used to have been. Her ears immediately perked up, her whole body becoming in-tuned to what Levi was asking of her. They seemed to work much better together when a common goal of jumping was involved, much more teamwork and timing. Asking for a canter in the far corner, they first approached the single oxer.

The mare's step seemed to become much lighter, her ears forward and eyes focused on the fence. The approach to the fence was very long, giving her plenty of time to figure out the strides. Tacoma was the type of mare that needed plenty of support but needed to carry herself to the fence; she was confident in picking her striding and eyeing up the fences but was not a push-button jumper by any standards. Levi could feel her hesitating slightly as they neared the jump, but he kept a soft hand and a supportive leg, keeping a distance in mind in his own head that he saw. They reached the fence, Tacoma gathering herself gracefully and popping over the oxer. Her forelegs lifted and tucked neatly in unison, her expression excited and interested. Levi gave her plenty of release, his hands pressed against her neck, heels down, with a neat two-point. They landed on the wrong lead, Tacoma swapping neatly. They continued along the course, having little difficulty with the low fences and fairly quiet pace - at least for a jumper. Slowing her to a trot then a walk, a very happy Levi rewarded her with a few enthusiastic pats on the neck, murmuring to her under his breath while leaning forward. She tilted her ears back to listen to him, sighing softly. Steering her back towards Lila, he walked up alongside them. "What type of events do you do with your paint? I've always wanted try Western riding." He flashed her a warm smile, giving Tacoma another firm pat on the neck.