Matt's Sweet Ballad

With barely a sound, Matt gently closed the heavy stable door. It was early morning, the sky still alight with the colours of dawn. Turning away from the door, he was greeted by a chorus of eager and curious nickers as horses stuck their heads over their stall doors to see who it was. One nicker rang out louder than the rest, a sweet sound full of adoration. Matt's eyes fell on the silver head of his mare Ballad, her eyes bright and her ears pricked. He walked over to her with silent steps and wrapped his arms around her perfectly shaped head. She nickered softly again and half shut her eyes.

Fiona awoke as she hear a stable door close and quickly got up and started brushing Ziggy's silky coat, not wanting anyone to know she slept here. She yawned tiredly and comb the straw from out of her hair and gently kissed Ziggy's cheek as he munched hungrily on his haynet. Fiona finished brushing him and started combing his mane and tail. She sighed and walked out of the stall and slumped onto a bale of hay and rubbed her eyes. Then stood up and grabbed it and chucked it into Ziggy's feed trough. Fiona noticed a boy with his mare and smiled slightly before going to get a bucket and filling it with water to refill Ziggy's water trough.

(Hehe, Lilly was meant to reply to this. Oh well, I should've added it somewhere...)

From the corner of his dark blue eyes, Matt watched the girl as she wandered around the stables. She didn't try to talk to him though, so he relaxed. Rubbing Ballad between her rounded, grey ears, he opened the stable door. Ballad stepped back as he entered and followed him as he walked over to grab the grooming box. Matt pulled out a brush and began to stroke it along Ballad's beautifully dappled, soft coat, sweeping away the dust that had gathered there. Ballad turned her gorgeous head to watch and he smiled, patting her perfectly shaped rump. Somewhere in the stables, he could still hear the girl as she moved about.

Fiona returned, rubbing her eyes. She refilled the water trough as her gelding impatiently tried to barge past her. The girl turned around and laid her hand on the base of his nose and pressed firmly, making him obediently walk backwards. Fiona moved aside and picked up the brush laying on the hay bale and started to gently groom his coat, boredly, while curiously watching the boy a few stalls down.

Matt made sure there was not a single speck of dust, dirt or hay left on Ballad's shining coat before moving to her other side, where he began at her head and groomed along to her rump. The grey mare stood calmly, scooping up mouthfuls of feed with her dark lips. She sighed, blowing pieces of chaff up into the air. Matt smiled and shook his head, but frowned as he noticed the pieces landing on her face and forelock. He walked over and began to gently sweep them away with his fingers, determined to keep his mare spotless. She nickered and the sound echoed inside her bucket, making a strange sound. He patted her neck and then went back to grooming her belly. For a moment, his thoughts wandered to the other girl in the stables. He hadn't seen her arrive, but he'd seen her here before.

Fiona tossed the dandy brush onto the ground and peeled off her gelding's rug and grabbed a lead rope, clipping it onto his halter and tying it up around the other side. She opened the stable door and lead out her horse, thinking a morning bareback ride would be pleasant. The girl walked out of the barn and mounted swiftly onto her horse and nudged him into a canter along the gravel road. Steering him to the left as a few cars came down.
Ziggy tossed his head up and barely felt Fiona's demands because there was no bit to let him know what she wanted him to do. He tossed his head up and broke into a gallop. Suddenly a car skidded around the corner and almost hit Ziggy but swerved. The gelding reared and set off at a fast, uneven gallop.
Fiona was surprised by Ziggy and tried to control him but slipped off during his rear and rolled onto the grass, hurting her leg.
Ziggy galloped off into the woods, not noticing his rider had fallen.

The harsh squeling of the car's tires and the frightened whinny of a horse instantly caught Matt's attention. He leapt swiftly over the stall door and raced out of the stables, Ballad's concerned whinny following him. He saw the car almost immediately, and not far from the girl he had seen just moments ago. He heard the pounding of hooves as her grey horse galloped away, but he would take care of that later. For now, Matt sprinted to the girl's side, shooting a firce glare at the driver of the car, and knelt at her side. "Are you alright?" he asked, worry thick in his voice. Behind him, a car door opened and closed.

Fiona looked up at the boy but ignored him for a minute, she slid back and grabbed onto the wooden fence for support as she tried to stand, limping slightly. She looked back up at the boy and cringed as her ankle screamed out "PAIN". "Yeah... I think I'm fine." The girl muttered, staring after her horse. "Sorry to startle you." Fiona grunted taking a step forward, just a sprain.. luckily.

Gently supporting her weight, Matt helped her to stand. He quickly noticed her limp and looked up at her, his blue eyes alight. "That doesn't look fine. You'd better sit down." he told her, looking around. The driver of the car glared angrily at both of them, but said nothing before turning away. Matt grunted and shook his head. "You rest, I'll grab something for your ankle." he said kindly.

Fiona looked up at Matt and gave in, her body slumped gently to the ground. She sighed and combed a hand through her hair, looking in the direction her horse had gone off to. "But, I really need to get my horse back, y'know?" The girl said quickly, she was kind of frightened that Ziggy had hurt himself badly.

Matt paused, looking in the direction that the horse galloped away. Frowning, he stood up and sprinted to the stables, slowly as he jumped through the doors. He looked around, certain that he had seen someone else arrive not so long ago. A girl with thick brown hair looked over a nearby stall door, her expression bewildered. A large, dapple grey head appeared above hers, ears pricked. Smiling with relief, Matt jogged over to her. "Brooke! One of the riders took a fall. She's hurt her ankle and her horse has run off. Could you lend a hand?" he asked her quickly. Brooke immediately understood the importance of the situation and nodded as Matt ran to the office and began his search for a first aid kit. It didn't take him long to find it, and as he walked back to injured girl a stall door flung open and Brooke dashed out, her large draft cross trotting after her, saddle-less. When they had gone through the stable doors she leapt onto his back and trotted over to the girl, Matt just behind them. "Which way did your horse go?" Brooke asked as her horse chewed at the bit.

Fiona sighed and relaxed on the grass, watching all the commotion grumpily and it was all over her.. Sheesh. She looked up at the girl, her arm automatically lifted, shading her pale eyes from the glaring sun. The girl jerked her chin towards the east, "That way," Fiona said certainly and confidently. She grunted and looked up at Matt, "Thanks," The girl murmured quietly, glancing at her ankle.

Brooke nodded and, as though he had understood Fiona, her horse galloped away in the right direction without the guidance of a rein or leg. They dashed off, soon dissapearing between the trees. Matt watched them leave before kneeling by the girl and pulling out a bandage from the first aid kit. "No worries." he replied, looking up at her. "Oh, can you take your boot off?" he asked. Matt glanced over at the forest, wondering how long Brooke would be.

Fiona watched the girl and horse gallop off out of sight and combed her hair behind her ear and watched the gentle boy carefully, studying his light features. She nodded at his instructions and slipped off her boot, careful not to disturb her pained ankle.

Matt smiled gratefully at her and began to wrap the bandage around her ankle with extreme care, being careful to avoid any pain he may cause. When was done, he made sure the bandage wouldn't unwrap before looking up at her. "How does that feel?" he asked with concern, his blue eyes bright. The sound of thudding hooves reached his ears and he looked over at the forest. Brooke was riding her gelding Defiance at a steady trot, one hand reaching out to hold Ziggy's mane. The run away horse followed Defiance obediently, and Brooke smiled with relief.

Fiona extended out her leg to make it easier for Matt to wrap the bandage around it. She looked into his eyes and smiled gratefully, "Thanks, it feels much better," The girl said, smiling slightly. The sound of hoofbeats tore her gaze from Matt's. Fiona looked up and saw the girl and her horse with Ziggy trailing behind a little, she stood up and winced but walked over quickly to them. "Thank you!" She smiled happily to Brooke, taking Ziggy's halter with a hand and pressing her hand to the end of his nose firmly.

Standing up, Matt walked quickly over to the girl and put one hand on her hand. "Be careful." he told her gently before looking up at Brooke. She was patting Defiance's neck whilst smiling at the girl. "No worries! It's a good thing he's such a nice horse." she said brightly, glancing at the slim grey. Defiance swished his tail and snorted, flicking his ears. Brooke leant forward and kissed his neck. "I know, I know. You're still hungry." she teased, turning to Matt and the girl and nodding to them before riding her large grey back to the stables. Matt watched her go before frowning and facing the girl. "Sorry but, I don't think I know your name." he said hesitantly, his eyes wandering to her horse.

'fiona,' she said quickly with a small smile, stroking ziggy's neck gently. 'yeah, he's really well behaved and really sweet too,' fiona mentioned to brooke before she strode off, watching out the corner of her eye as ziggy's ears pricked, enthusiastic to hear more compliments about himself. laughing softly, her musical laughter ringing in her own ears as she gently prodded the gelding with her shoulder. 'sorry, ziggy likes to hear positive things about him.. well i think anyway.'