ten thousand lightning bugs [open]

[rachel]

Steam rose in a thin tendril from the lid of Mercedes Anderson's Starbucks coffee cup and wafted through the small Ford Taurus as the nineteen year old girl pulled out of the Starbucks parking lot that was just down the street from her apartment in town. Bright morning sunlight streamed through the windows and Mercedes squinted her eyes as she slowly navigated through the traffic towards the exit that would take her to the barn. It was a twenty-six minute drive from where she was, which wasn't too bad in her opinion. She didn't have to be at the barn quite as early as some of the people who rode and boarded at the barn. Not owning her own pony was nice at times. Jon-Paul and Anne Anderson had provided everything for their two daughters as they were growing up but a preacher simply didn't make enough money to buy a pony for his daughters, as much as they would have loved it. Mercedes had always enjoyed riding school horses, however, so it worked out well.

Her two-toned hair was pulled up into a pony tail high on her head and was sprayed into place. Two black bobby pins held her long bangs away from her bright blue eyes. Mercedes wasn't big on wearing tons of makeup. A swipe of concealer to cover her newest breakout on her chin and some black eyeliner and mascara was all she needed for a day at the barn. Her clothes reflected the same no-fuss attitude Mercedes had with her makeup. A simple pair of light blue skinny jeans and a navy blue Hollister tee shirt worked just fine for her. She tried to save her riding breeches for lessons and shows since she didn't have a lot of money to spend on new ones, especially now that she was on her own, without a job. A job was something Mercedes needed badly. She hadn't had any luck finding one that didn't involve stripping, however. She figured she might have to try it out if nothing else worked within the next few weeks.

Exactly twenty-six minutes later, Mercedes drove her silver Taurus into the driveway of Caramel Rivers. The barn and pastures stretched out in front of her and she smiled at the familiar sight. Swinging into a parking space, Mercedes slipped out of her car and grabbed her half chaps. Throwing her now-empty Starbucks cup out on her way to the tack room, Mercedes left her half chaps on a tack box and picked up a small grooming kit. Heading down the barn isle, she instinctively walked to Mack's stall on the left side near the back of the large barn. Mack was the stable pony she rode most of the time. He was one of the few ponies at the barn and definitely her favorite out of all the horses stabled at Caramel Rivers.

The chestnut pony nickered softly to Mercedes as she let herself into the roomy stall and offered him a small treat. As he lipped it from her outstretched hand, she reached into the grooming kit and produced a hard brush. Running the brush over his short coat, she admired how his hair gleamed in the light. Inquisitive, Mack reached his head around to blink at her suspiciously. As sweet as he was in the stall, Mack was a handful to ride. He was notoriously the laziest pony in the barn and had no problem throwing in some bucks whenever you kicked his flanks too hard. Smiling softly at him, Mercedes rubbed his stripe and finished running the brush over his already clean coat. "Silly boy," she talked softly to him while she picked his feet, "you'll like what we're doing today."

Fifteen minutes later, Mercedes was leading a gumpy, tacked up Mack from his stall and down the barn isle. Armed with spurs and a crop in case he was in a bucking mood, Mercedes marched the pony straight to the outdoor ring. There were some people riding but it wasn't too crowded. Buckling her velvet covered helmet and tightening Mack's girth one last time, she entered the ring and closed the gate behind the two of them. Some jumps were set up in the far side of the ring. Perfect. Pulling down her stirrups, Mercedes stuck her left foot in the stirrup and pulled herself up on Mack. His ears pinned against his head as she nudged him forward but she didn't pay any attention to his ill-temperateness. He would enjoy himself after a while.

word count: seven fifty eight
tags: open

[jupiter]

<sup>Jupiter Bagley made her way down the barn aisle, touching horse's noses she went, each of them hoping for some kind of treat or tidbit. Unfortunately, Jupe didn't have anything for them. Also rather unfortunate was the fact that the only horse who didn't have its head shoved over the stall door was her own gelding, Contillo. The sorrel gelding actually had his butt against the stall. Jupiter shook her head. Naturally

She grabbed the halter from where it hung next to Tillo's stall, slipping inside and giving the gelding's rump a firm smack. His only response was to swish his tail. He didn't even lift his head or open his eyes. Jupiter rolled her eyes a little bit as she slipped the halter over the gelding's nose. She smiled as she turned and the gelding ambled along behind her. Clearly he was feeling lazy today which didn't tend to happen on a regular basis. Usually he was a hot, mean tempered horse. Usually the days he was feeling lazy were good days. maybe it'd be a good day to try her luck at bareback.

it was definitely her weak point. She wasn't at all good at bareback but she knew that it would improve her as a rider, so it was something she was determined to work on. And when Jupiter set herself to something, she got it done. That was the way she had always been; set your mind to something and get it done. She led the gelding down the aisle and clipped him in the cross ties. Luckily, the gelding wasn't too dirty, so it just took a quick brushing to get his coat clean. She'd give him a more thorough grooming after she rode. She drew a deep breath as she grabbed her bridle. The gelding took it with a huge sigh, but he didn't fight her on taking the bit.

She quietly led the gelding toward the arenas. The indoor arena was always really nice, but it was such a beautful day that Jupiter could hardly bear the thought of being inside, so she headed for the outdoor arena. There were only a couple people, so it wouldn't be too bad if she fell off. Not that she was going to. She refused to have a self fulfilling prophesy today. No, today was going to be a good day.

She drew a deep breath as she slid into the arena, gently tugging Contillo in behind her. Lining the gelding up beside the fence, she quickly swung on, gently pulling him to a stop before he could just walk off with her. It was one of her pet peeves when horses walked off while you were getting on. Of course, that was most riders' pet peeve, as it could be dangerous as well. She glanced up, taking in the other riders in the ring, her eyes landing on a chestnut horse and rider. They seemed a well matched pair, Jupe thought to herself before nudging Contillo into a walk along the rail.

((OOC: Sorry, I know there's no interaction here, but feel free to reply however you like.))</sup>

[rachel]

Settling into the comfortable, worn leather of Mack's saddle, Mercedes tried to relax her back and shoulders as she walked the large pony on the rail to begin her warm up. She had a lot of trouble with tensing her muscles up, which usually just led to jittery ponies. Several deep breaths helped remedy the problem for the moment. Mercedes remembered from her lessons that the more she tightened the muscles in her shoulders and back, the more her mount would tense up. She definitely wasn't keen on the idea of a freaked out pony, so she tried to remember to relax as often as she could.

Her mind drifted to her job situation as she rode Mack in several large circles and serpentines at the walk. She couldn't stay in Chicago much longer if she didn't find a job, and soon. Even renting the cheapest apartment she could find in the city, Mercedes was struggling to get by each month. Her father gave her a small sum of money each month for food, gas, rent, anything she needed, but it wasn't enough for anything. She was lucky she found a barn with lesson ponies for her to ride, since she certainly could not afford to board one anywhere.

Mack blew heavily from his muzzle and Mercedes snapped back into reality. Focusing her attention on the lazy pony beneath her, she coaxed him into a lively trot with the help of her spurs and picked up the left diagonal as they moved next to the rail around the ring. She let the reins rest loosely in her fingers, giving Mack all the room he needed to stretch his neck out before they moved on to anything difficult. As she passed the gate for the second time, she noticed a girl leading a sorrel horse into the ring. She smiled when the girl looked at her and Mack and kept pressing the pony into a bigger trot. Mack loved to go as slow as possible, which never failed to aggravate Mercedes.

After a few more minutes of nudging the pony along, Mercedes sat up and slowed him to a walk. She needed a breather; Mack was being more difficult than usual and was hard to keep even at a slow trot now. She halted near the center of the ring and watched as the girl and the sorrel horse passed them. The two looked good together. She thought she recognized the horse from around the barn but she couldn't remember his name if her life depended on it.

word count: four hundred twenty seven
tags:[/b jupiter!
notes: sorry, i have nooo muse. D:

[jupiter]

Jupiter settled herself firmly against the gelding as she felt him arch his back. "Don't even think about it" she murmured to the gelding, tightening her reins a little. She hated when the gelding bucked. It didn't happen on a regular basis or anything, but often enough that the girl was rather familiar with it, after a year of riding the gelding, and that she did not like it. Then again, who does like when their horse bucks? It's almost never a pleasant experience, and Contillo tended to be particularly nasty if he took a mind to buck. If he bucked, he bucked. None of this little crow hopping stuff. As a result, it was a little nerve wracking when the gelding threatened to play that card.

She heaved a slight sigh of relief when the gelding evened out, settling into his snapping Dressage trot. Jupiter loved that. The gelding could look so flashy when he put his mind to the task and buckled down. They really looked like a well-matched pair, then. Otherwise, it tended to just look like Contillo was throwing his weight around. Which, usually he was. And while he hardly ever got away with it, it never seemed to keep him from trying. The gelding was a head strong thing.

The girl's gaze was drawn to another pair in the ring, a chestnut and blond girl. She smiled hesitantly as she passed them, but Contillo spooked, nearly sending her sliding off his back, and she dragged her attention back to him. She grabbed at his mane, quickly righting herself, her cheeks burning a brilliant red. That was one thing Jupiter hated about herself. She blushed about everything. It didn't matter whether she was right or wrong. Someone complimented her, she blushed. Someone insulted her, she blushed. She did something stupid, she blushed. It was horrible. She wasn't sure why it bothered her so much, even, it just did.

She drew a deep breath as she nudged the gelding into a lope. He had a very nice, rhythmic canter, Jupe had to say. She loved how the gelding moved; he was a lovely ride. Well, as long as he was good and relaxed. If he got stressed or tensed up he tended to get choppy, as so many horses do, and then he was actually really miserable to ride. Jupiter heaved a sigh as she felt herself relaxing and beginning to flow with the gelding's easy, collected motions. He was a rather willing horse as long as you didn't throw your weight around or saw on his mouth.