Keep Those Wagons Rollin (Open)

[Lahja Morgan]

Thankfully, the sun was shining and it promised to be a rather beautiful day. A slight breeze stopped the air from being too hot, and whilst it was a little humid it was well within tolerable range. Almost perfect weather for working the horses. The horsebox was parked in a field a short distance away, and two of the grooms from the stables were there looking after the two horses that would be being used this afternoon. For now it was just Lahja, Comico and Romero here.

The carriage had been cleaned and polished to perfection, decorated with ribbons, bows and flowers in bright summer colours to match the party atmosphere of the field day. The horses manes and tails were braided in matching colours and bright plumes were atop their bridles, with delicate little bells on the rollers that jingled merrily as they fidgeted idly, waiting for their next circuit around the perimeter of the faire.

“Shhhh. Patience, pony.” Lahja smiled softly as she ran a hand down Romero’s neck, lightly scratching over the soft fur. The geldings were normally very good at standing quietly for a while, but the atmosphere of the fair was fairly intense and they were both itching to get moving again. She could understand that; she too was looking forward to the next customer.

Lahja retied her hair into a neat ponytail before straightening out the pastel purple blouse that was worn with cream riding breeches and black knee-high riding boots, and then checked that the Carriage Rides sign had not been smudged. It was only a few bucks for a circuit around the whole fair, with half the proceeds going to a Vermont horse rescue charity. It was hardly going to be the most profitable day ever for the business, but as long as they at least broke even she would be happy. This was their first time working the fair after all, so if nothing else it would be a great experience both for her and the horses. She busied herself with flicking a soft brush over the horse’s legs, making sure they were impeccably neat, while waiting for the next potential customer to surface.

[Cameron Tyler]

Cameron had been enjoying her first Fair, that was certain. She was actually enjoying doing things today instead of just people watching. Maybe the smiles and laughter of her fellow students were infectious. She certainly wasn't feeling any melancholy today. She had never been homesick, of course. How can you be homesick for a place in which you never really felt comfortable living in? Her quote unquote ancestral home was filled with expensive stuff she was scared to death of breaking or smudging. She felt like she was just considered part of the brick a brack, a memento of one of her father's rare adventures. 

She didn't hate her father. How could she, since she barely knew him. He saw the haunted look on his face on those infrequent times when he visited. He would smooth his hand over her hair and smile sadly before commenting about how much she looked like her mother. Then he would find an excuse to flee her presence for another few months while leaving her to basically grow up without either parent. Her grandparents were kind, but distant.....

And now she had talked herself right into being down again, dang it. She stopped to look around, noticing that she had wandered in her self absorbed walk to the outer edge of the fair. She was facing a lovely young lady who was happily grooming one of her horses. She admired the horses and their finery as much as she did the lady in the jodhpurs. 

What was it about girls and horses? 

She went up to the horses with a tentative smile, wanting to touch and stroke them. 
"Hi, beautiful......" she murmured. 

"I love the ribbons, they're all ready for the fair, that's for sure. It it all right for me to touch them? "

[Lahja Morgan]

Lahja had always been a proud woman. From her appearance to her business to her farm to her horses. She had worked so very hard to achieve what she had, and she knew full well that many would not have been able to reach their goals as well as she had. She had a very successful business, a reasonably lucrative side-career as an equestrian journalist, a beautiful home and now a relationship that made her truly happy. Her biggest regret was just how much she had lost to be able to get to this position. Her life away from work, her husband, her son...

But today was not a day for sadness and regrets. The sun was shining, the horses looked magnificent and the atmosphere around the lake made it difficult to be anything other than cheery. There was a soft smile on Lahja's lips as she flicked the microscopic specks of dust off the grey horses' legs; she was never more settled and comfortable when around her horses. They were honest and uncomplicated, and they didn't turn around and leave you all alone just because they'd rather be with someone else than you...

An unfamiliar voice pulled Lahja out of her miniature thought moodswings, and she stood upright and turned to face the young girl. The two geldings turned their heads in the direction of the voice. The horse closest to the girl, Comico, flared his nostrils with a soft snort as he took in her scent, ears pricked in curiosity. Lahja smiled and gently rubbed Romero on the nose. “Sure you can, sweetie. They're both good boys. Just make sure you stay near the head end.” She indicated to each of the geldings in turn. “This is Comico, and this is Romero. Are you having a good day here?”

[Cameron Tyler]

Cameron's face lit up with the permission to touch the beautiful horses. She reached out with a hand to carefully stroke Comico's neck.
"Aren't you the handsome boy...." she praised. "I'm Cameron. I'm sorry I don't have any treats for you, like sugar cubes or apples. Maybe next time I see you I'll be sure to bring something, ok?"

She looked to the lady with a radiant grin. The lady had a strikingly lovely face. She had seen her share of life, that was certain, but she wore it well. She had the rare kind of beauty that only grew with maturity. It wasn't based upon the bloom of youth. Cameron had to shake herself from staring at the lady's face. 

She reached into the pocket of her cargo shorts and pulled out a twenty.
"Is this enough for a ride?" she asked with a naive tone.

[Lahja Morgan]

Lahja was always happy to allow people to meet the horses, especially these two since they were always so ver y well behaved. It was nice to be able to offer people the opportunity to interact with horses when they might not otherwise get a chance, but it was also very good at getting the horses used to interacting with a huge variety of different people which was essential in their day job. Besides, it usually also gave her someone else to talk to for a while and that was never a bad thing.

Smiling softly as the young girl spoke to Comico, she chuckled lightly as the gelding nuzzled and lipped at the girl’s hand, trying to look for anything treat-flavoured. “Honestly, sometimes they seem to want to make it look like I never feed them.” That was clearly not the case, no matter how much Comico made out that he was a poor starving pony sometimes. Both the greys were well muscled and their coats were fine and sleek, the picture of horses in peak condition.

As the girl pulled out the twenty Lahja looked a little surprised for a moment. She had honestly expected the girl to just want to say hi to the horses then wander off, not actually want a ride around the fair. The look of surprise was quickly replaced by a bright smile though. “It is more than enough, dear.” Lahja looked around for a second, expecting to see some other children milling around waiting for their friend. “Do you have any friends coming too, or just yourself?”