Gypsy's Wings

[Cyril Kingsley]

Cyril was still working out all the kinks to running and starting up a club, but it was all for the horses, so he was not going to be deterred! He had his goal to get at least six members and had went with the whole plan that the first six would be able to pick which horse they wanted to look after. Others could still feed, take care of and ride the horses; it was just more of that whoever signed up first got to have their own horse. Meaning they would get their own saddle, resins, blankets, and he were even thinking of club jackets. Keeping to the school's yellow and black colors of course, but that would be for later. Now he was still having people sign up and claim the horse they wanted to take care of. It was all way too exciting for Cyril as he thought of all the different club activates he had planned for them to do. This may have been a school for mutant, but they were still going to be able to do things that other horse clubs did.

A very young girl by the name of Alouette Odessa had requested to look after Gypsy, who was a female American Paint Horse and was very gentle. In Cyril’s opinion Gypsy seemed like she would be perfect for the little girl. Cyril had not actually met the girl, but he pulled up her file, like he did for all the kids that were join so he at least knew their names and how old they were. Age was not really a big deal since you could be really young and still a good rider. He was just happy that she had picked Gypsy and that she was interested in being a member of the club. Cyril was a bit distracted however as he stood in front of Gypsy's stall as he waited. Having arranged a time to meet up via a letter so she could have Alouette meet Gypsy and the two of them bond. "I bet she is going to be a bale of cute." Cyril said to Gypsy who just munched on her hay.

[Alouette Odessa]

As soon as she had found the bulletin board and the only poster that had stood out to her- subject wise, and written wise- Alou knew that she had best get her butt into the Equestrian Club. Besides being a girl and almost genetically programmed to have a love of horses, Alouette was a huge fan of all sorts of animals, horses just happened to be one of her top faves. She put pen to paper signing herself up and had shortly after received a letter stating a time to meet her new equine friend, Gypsy; and club leader, a Mr. Kingsley.

Walking down to the stables her thoughts wandered to how Gypsy would be. On the poster it had had a small photo and a short description: an American Paint Horse mare. It was a very short description. She didn’t know if this horse was one for beginners, or more advanced mature riders. If she was more prone to like male or female riders. Or even if she liked being worked! All horses couldn’t always be chipper and happy to be taken out of their stall and worked by a child. Even with supervision. On the safe side, Alouette had a pocketful of sugar cubes and mint life-savers- you couldn’t meet a horse and not have anything sweet to give them. They tended to remember the ones who had treats in their pockets.

Reaching the stables, Alouette peered into the shady depths. On the poster and her letter it had said stall number two. Peering a little more closely the young student found a man standing near a stall labeled number two.

“Well, seems like the place…” she said to herself. With a small deep breath, she straightened up and walked into the stables. “H-Hi, I’m Alou,” she rubbed her left arm with her right hand nervously, “I’m here to meet Gypsy…” Approaching slowly, her eyes grew a little wide when she got to see the real Gypsy up close. For the moment, her eyes glazed over her new equestrian teacher and glued themselves to the beautiful black paint who munched on her hay. Black blacker than black, and white whiter than snow. Only when she watched an ear slide in her direction did Alou remember her manners and snap to attention again, “A-and Mr.Kingsley.”

[Cyril Kingsley]

Cyril had left the little description of the horses vague for a reason. All the kids needed to know really were the name and gender of the horse. He added in knowing their breeds and an image of them because he felt like a student should know what the horse they would be working with looked like. Plus it was a bit of a test to see if someone would be able to feel like the horse was right for them just by looking at the image and knowing their name. Not telling a kid about a horse personality left the kid wondering about the horse, which then enabled them to make their own bond and form their own opinion about the horse, other then what Cyril had already known about them. Plus an interesting trait might come out in a horse that Cyril did not know they had when they worked with a child that they might not have agreed with. Plus just the whole it gave each horse an equal chance of being picked.

The little voice had Cyril turning to face Alouette and immediately Cyril felt as if his heart melted. Awwww, she is soooo cute. Look at her. She even goes by Alou, sooo cuteee! Cyril's mind thought but on the outside he smiled at her and did let out a small tiny sqee. It slipped out from time to time when he got excited, which he was one because around horses and two because little girl, and little girls made him think cute and also of his little sister, even if she was not as little as she was years ago, she was still little compared to Cyril. "Hi there, I'm..." Cyril started to say but quickly caught on that the girl was distracted now that she actually saw Gypsy up close, who of course was going to be a lot bigger then she looked in the photo and compared to the girl up close. Gypsy looked back at Alou as she munched, not bothered at all by the staring. She was after all a very laid back and easy to work with horse. One word to describe Gypsy would be kind or gentle...yeah gentle worked best, but it was going to be on what Alou of what she thought about the horse.

"Hay there, I am indeed Mr. Kingsley, and you are Alou, I assume that it is okay to call you that yes?" Cyril asked even if he was most likely going to be calling her filly on and off. He already had Gypsy's halter and lead rope ready to go, since Alou was not just going to stand outside a stall and look at the horse she was going to be looking after. Nope, she was going to get to pet, brush, give her a snack, and if she felt confident enough go ahead and try walking Gypsy around. Cyril thought it was important for a person to lead a horse around first, get that small bond established by being close to the horse before you just hopped up on its back and expected it to do whatever you told it. Yes, all the horses here were pretty well trained, but Cyril still wanted it to be on equal terms. "What do you think of Gypsy here? Are you alright with her being your choice?" Cyril asked, not wanting Alou to back out or anything, but he wanted her to be sure.

[Alouette Odessa]

A small noise made Alou glance from club leader to horse and back again. Had it been..? Nah, it must have been Gypsy. Surely that sound could have only been made by a horse and not a full grown man. Right? Her confusion got swept under the rug as the man in charge got down to the business at hand.

Alou nodded. She actually preferred Alou over Alouette, seemed much simpler and easier to get out, less beats to carry out. Taking the last few steps required to carry her the distance to the smack-dab front of Gypsy’s stall, the young student clucked lightly with her tongue. The paint tossed another ear in her direction, then stepped up to stick her head over her stall door. Alou watched as the mare’s nostrils flared searching for who this little person was standing in front of her. Politely she stuck out her hand and allowed the mare to scent her then not so subtly search for a treat in the open palm. The whiskered muzzle tickled her palm and Alou smiled.

“She’s wonderful, Mr. Kingsley!” she said most truthfully. Gypsy was probably the first real horse that Alou had met up close. The little ponies at the zoo, or petting zoo rather, had been much, much smaller than the paint horse. Seeing as this was her first chance at getting to know, and even ride, the stunning equine that she had chosen made Alou’s weird year completely. A warm puff of air right in her face reeled her in. Gypsy seemed intent to finish her homework and get to understand the small being who stood in front of her. Trying not to move too much, Alou struggled not to laugh out loud and instead managed to say, “I think I made the right choice.”

Taking a small step back, just out of the inquisitive mare’s reach, Alouette turned to more Mr. Kingsley’s direction. It was then that she noticed a halter and lead in his hands. Her heart fluttered in her chest and butterflies erupted in her stomach. What possibly could the teacher have in mind for the day for such a greenie as herself?

[Cyril Kingsley]

Alou didn't seem to suspect that he had been the one to make the sound, even if it had been in fact around him. She would find out soon or later that yes he was capable of making such sounds when things involved horses or his little sister. Cute things too got to him, so little things and animals made him let out less than manly sounds. He was finding with it personally, he liked to think that he made very happy and sexy manly squeals. What others thought and what was the truth was another story, but it was all opinions in his head. Alou had given a nod which confirmed that she wanted to be called by the shorter version of her name, in other words a nickname. He watched as Alou seemed to already hitting it off with Gypsy as the little girl gave the horse some treats, which was perfectly fine with Cyril. So long as it was in moderation and the horse’s diet or weight did not show a change, then it was fine.

Cyril's smile could not get any bigger at this point with hearing Alou's words about how wonderful Gypsy was, and he fully agreed. He thought all the horses were wonderful, despite their personalities or how they would behave from time to time. They really were all pretty good horses, perfect for working with the students. Alou confirmed that she made the right choice which had Cyril nodding in agreement because he thought so too. It was like Alou knew which the perfect horse was for her just from having seen a photo. "Manetastic! She is all yours. Just make sure you sign up for the club officially with the school. I'll send letters out for the first club meeting." Cyril said as he started to unlock Gypsy's stall door and slide it open, with Gypsy already moving her head to help with getting the halter on. A club meeting would be a wait until they got at least six members, but it was in the works either way.

"Come on in and pet her, and when you feel comfortable enough I like you to walk with her." Cyril said to Alou as he stepped into the stall a motioned with his head for Alou to come on in. He made sure the helter was buckled right and held onto the lead rope, not that Gypsy was going to run off anywhere, but it was like an iron rule to never let the lead rope touch the ground. For obvious reason. He would stand off to the side, on the horses left; that being the standard side for leading a horse.

[Alouette Odessa]

When she heard with her own ears that Gypsy would be paired with her and her alone-- that is until other students signed up with the club, which Alou was certain wouldn’t take very long at all-- Alouette nearly released one of her own squees. “I promise that I will, Mr. Kingsley, I promise,” her head nodding along with her excited words, "What all will my chores include for Gypsy?" her excitement got derailed when she saw that he was going into Gypsy’s stall. There was more than just the simple meet and greet? No hard labour of mucking out a stall or rebedding it first? Hearing the invitation to come into the stall she blinked then walked in slowly. Whoa.

Alouette entered the stall as if entering a temple, her footsteps were muffled as she walked on the woodchips below, walking behind Kr. Kingsley until she was at Gypsy’s left side and her teacher’s right side then she stopped. Raising her right hand slowly she gently touched the paint mare’s shoulder, then began to stroke from a little further up her neck and down past her shoulder area. “H-how many hands is she?” Alouette may have studied up, or crammed, on her horse terms shortly before her intended meeting in the stables. The tallest horse she had met, or rather pony she had met, had only been about 8 or 10 hands high. Nothing compared to the taller APH.

Gently fingers stroked the mare’s patch work hide, feeling the mare’s muscle shiver under her feather light touch. Alou smiled and got a little bolder and reached a little higher. Her fingers teased out a small strand of mane and thoughts elsewhere she began to braid a small thin braid of white and black hair into Gypsy’s mane. It would surely fall out on it’s own but she felt that she needed a little style, even if it was only temporary. “What disciplines is Gypsy trained in, Mr. Kingsley?” sudden thoughts and questions began to pop into her mind one by one, all of them revolving around the horse in front of her, “Is Gypsy very old? Do you know if she’s had any foals?” Then a very important one came into Alouette’s mind, “Mr. Kingsley-- what all are we going to do with Gypsy today?”

[Cyril Kingsley]

“I have a feeling that you will.” Cyril said with a friendly smile, honestly pleased that she was so excited and looking forward to it all. He liking the horse and then looking forward to working with it was very important. Question was not if she was going to be up for the challenge all the time when she would have to come down to look after him and show up for club meetings. He honestly was not really worried about any of that because she seemed eager and ready for anything that he was going to toss at her. She was even already asking about her chores. "You will have to make sure she get the right amount of feed with the mix of vitamins, I will handle everything hay. The stalls have an automatically system so you don't have to worry about that. Manely you will be focusing on making sure her stall in clean, that she is brushed, her mane and tail are combed, and that her hoofs a cleaned." Cyril said listing off of what the students would be expected to do. Most of it was just making sure they gave them the right mixture of food, keeping the stall clean, and keeping the horse clean. When it came to ridding there would be another set of responsibilities but that would be discussed later.

He would never have a student have to get down to the not so fun part of working with a horse. Not on the first meeting. This was bonding time and seeing what a student was capable of so he could get an understanding of how much he was going to have to teach. Basics would be mentioned yes, but he was not against his students being able to get to the advance activates if they knew what they were doing. "Gypsy is fifteen hands." Cyril responded, surprised that she knew the terms which did make him very pleased that she knew what she was talking about despite her age. A Paint could be up to sixteen hands so Gypsy was not abnormal in her height and was not the tallest of all the horses here. Cyril's eyes watched the girl closely and observed how she was petting the horse, all to which Gypsy seemed perfectly fine with and in fact enjoying. Cyril was a bit amazed at how she ever asked what disciplines Gypsy was trained in. "All the horses here are good for general ridding and trail riding, but Gypsy knows Jumping and a little bit of Dressage." Cyril explained as his mind went back to the information sheet he had on the horses, each having their own binder of information.

"Gypsy is eight years old so she is not very old at all. Sadly she had not had any foals, but the idea has been there." Cyril explained, thinking back to how there was information on how people thought she would be a good mother but that was only because how gentle she was with people of all ages. There was a note that she did not seem to be interested in foals at all, which was the main reason why she had not be paired up to become a mother, but she still had time. Cyril chuckled as he held out the lead rope to Alou as he kept a smile on his face. "We are going to take her for a little walk. By we I mean you and I'm just going to walk with you and make sure everything is alright or in case you need me." Cyril explained as he would give her space to take her position on the left side of the horse. He was mainly going to watch, answer any question she had and see how Alou did. She clearly had to have at least some experience or enough willingness to learn more with already the questions she had asked.

[Alouette Odessa]

Alouette almost let out a disappointed sound but managed to check herself just in time. Remarkably, the nerd in her felt cheated at not having to be designated to the chores of forking hay or cleaning out the stalls. The chores revolved all around Gypsy, beautifying her mainly and of course serving her her special mix of feed. The girl nodded and peered around the stall trying to spot the food bucket and water pail. “Are all the brushes and stuff kept in a separate room? Or does each horse have their own brushes and tools?” Alouette felt herself sag again, suddenly remembering that her handy little notebook was still in her room- she had meant to bring it with her to make valuable notes along the way of spending her day with Gypsy and Mr. Kingsley.

“Oh, she knows jumping!” she squeaked in excitement. One of Alou’s dreams had always been to learn how to jump with horses. The dressage had always seemed complicated to her but the dressage people who knew what they were doing, wow-- they certainly had her admiration. Her brain began to conjure images of her and Gypsy going over jumps in the arena, then it jumped to her sitting on a fifteen hand high horse and there it stalled. Oh… That’s a tall seat.

“Eight years isn’t old for a horse?” she quizzed aloud, her mind busy thinking of a cute little spotted foal at Gypsy’s side. Blue eyes went from the painted mare to her teacher’s hand thrust out for her to see a lead rope being offered to her, “A w-walk? Me?” Alouette took the lead rope from Mr. Kingsley’s hand gently and held it firmly, shaky hands letting it drop to the floor on purpose then coiling the excess lead up neatly in her left hand while her right hand held on closer to Gypsy’s head. Alouette watched her teacher give her room and saw the stall gate beckon her to the outside world. Taking a shaky breath Alou stepped forward with a click of her tongue, “Let’s walk on Gypsy,” The mare knew what to do and diligently walked after her new, shorter, handler. Head bobbed up and down rhythmically as she followed the girl from her stall down the aisle then make their way back up the other side. Her ears and heart absolutely loving the sound of Gypsy's hoof-beats clip-clopping on the stable floor.

“I used to visit a zoo all the time when I was little,” remembering all she could of her experiences with horses, she spoke aloud whether she was speaking to Gypsy or to her teacher she wasn’t sure but she started talking all the same, “They had a little petting zoo section, and there they had about three or four little ponies. I think they would have come up to Gypsy’s belly,” she smiled remembering the shaggy little horses. Her destination was unknown and her walking took her from one end of the barn to the next, going up and down any aisles she could find while keeping a firm grip on the lead rope and tugging Gypsy’s head only when she went to try and nibble at something. “Where did Gypsy come from, Mr. Kingsley? Or any of the other horses?”

[Cyril Kingsley]

Well there was to be stall cleaning, but that would be specifically for her horse, she did not need to clean up all of the stable or the other stalls. That was the purpose of making sure each girl got her own horse. That way each one had its own special care and Cyril could judge the girls on their work and would know if someone was slacking off while someone else was working hard. He did like group effort, but in this case he really wanted to see if a person was up for the work that came with taking care of a horse. There would be times when he would have them help him out with a deep clean of the stable, or stalk up on hay. There was also cleaning the equipment that they would also include on their jobs. Again he did not really bring it up because it was for later and when the club was fully up and running with all the right papers signed and the members being...well official members. "Each horse has their own little tack box. Since we have different breeds here and certain horses need a tad bit different care then other." Cyril informed here since some horse liked soft brushes over hard ones.

Cyril found it very interesting that Alou had so many questions to asks, and he had no problem answering them. Alou let out a squeak at finding out that Gypsy knew jumping and Cyril just nodded his head yes once more as he gave a chuckle. "She is pretty good at it. Have you ever jumped on a horse before?" Cyril asked, wondering if she had or not and if she had not he would be happy to help her. He understood that for some jumping had to be scary and you had to do it right. If not you could go tumbling off the horse, or the horse would feel your hesitation and also hesitate. Gypsy however was pretty good with all level of riders so would be great if Alou wanted to actually get into jumping. They could even go out and compete but that was for later on and future plans for the club. Cyril shook his head no to Alou's question, no really sure if she was asking or not, but he would answer anyways. "They hit physical maturity at the age of five and middle age for them would be roughly thirteen years old." Cyril informed her, using his knowledge about horses to the best of his ability.

Cyril gave a nod when she seemed to be stunned as to him asking her to walk the horse, it was all a part of the whole get the horse and said future rider to bond. He pretty much had in mind what he was going to do with all the members since he had a basic plan worked out. He watched in silence and made sure to leave them room to walk around, he did find it amusing that Alou had remained inside the stables instead of going outside like he figured she would. He would still help her out with that. Moving ever so slowly toward the end of the stables that would lead outside, hoping she would catch on without him having to say anything. Being able to walk around inside was nice, but it was still very controlled and the horse could only go so many place. Outside it was free to bolt off if the handler didn’t keep a good hold on the rope or if the horse was not really trained well. All the horses however were trained well so Cyril was not worried about that. Plus if a horse did bolt, he was confident that he would be able to catch Gypsy.

He listened closely as she explained how she used to visit the zoo when she was little and how she had been around ponies. He was pleased to know that she did in fact know the difference. Ponies were little horses, but not the baby of a horse. Ponies could have little ponies yes, but a pony well, it was not...Cyril los this train of thought. There was a difference and that was all that mattered! Main difference being that ponies where not really for ridding and they were smaller of course. Alou was doing a good job at remaining in control over Gypsy which had Cyril giving approving nods. Then there was a question about where did Gypsy come from and the other horses, which had Cyril scratching his head for a moment as he tried to remember. "There were a few that were original here when the stables first opened up a year ago, but it shut down because the school didn't have the proper staff. Like Gypsy, most of the horses come from different areas." Cyril went on to say as he stepped outside and scratched at his stubbles of his beard.

"Gypsy came from a pretty large horse farm, but she was pretty anti-social with the other horses there, so they put her up for sale and I jumped on it. So far she seems to get along with the other horses, but no bonds formed yet." Cyril said, sounding a little sadden but not fully since at least none of the horses were bullying her. He figured with Alou's help maybe Alou would bond with another club member and have Gypsy around their horse and in a way that would get Gypsy used to or at least make one horse friend.