[Gift] Trail Class [Elysian]

POV : Elysian

It was going to be a long ride. Ben meanted it several times while he was grooming me. As much as I love Ben, sometimes I wish he would just shut up and stop treating my grooming session like a vent session. 

The tack fit perfectly on my back. A brown western saddle fitted with saddle bags. We don’t normally ride western but I suppose we could make it work, I am Elysian after all. 

“Good girl Elysian. We’re going to have so much fun.” Ben said enthusiastically as he finished looking over my tack. With one last pet on the shoulder, he led me out of the spacious stall where we met with Pluto and Angela. 

POV : Pluto

Angela didn’t take long to groom me. She went on and on about how excited she was to be marrying BJ, but how scary this whole thing was. I may be just a horse, but I can tell how much Angela loves him. Not quite as much as she loves me, because I’m obviously, “Just the best,” but she does love him.

Angela hoisted the massive saddle on to my back. Western. A western saddle? What’s next a western bridle? 

Angela attached a few saddle bags that were rather heavy for something so small. Sure enough, when it came time for a bridle, it was none other than a western bridle. As different as it was, I had to admit it did feel better. It was a little heavier than my normal tack, but it felt more comfortable in some odd way. 

Angela led me out of my stall, to my despair. “There’s food in there, and none out here.” I mumbled grumpily as we saw Elysian and BJ waiting for us. 

POV : Benjamin

I met Angela with a tight embrace as Elysian and Pluto stood impatiently to the side. “Ready to go?” I asked, staring into her beautiful eyes. I reached to move the hair out of her face.

“Ready or not, mountain orienteering here we come!” Angela said excitedly. 

“Wait, it's not mountain orienteering.” I said, cocking my head.

Angela rolled her eyes. “It might as well be. Think about it,” She said, raising her hands and taking a small step back. “Running into the forest, finding three landmarks, it's basically mountain orienteering!” She said excitedly. 

“And, you're happy about that?” I asked with a sigh. Pluto stomped his hoof as he tried to pull his leadrope out of Angela’s hands, but Angela paid him no mind, focusing solely on me. 

“You’re not?” She said, now cocking her head and letting her arms fall down to her sides. 

“I’m happy, I just don’t want to get lost.” I said putting on a fake thin smile.

“And that’s why I’m here.” Someone from behind us announced. My body jolted as I spun around. 

“And who would you be?” I asked. He had short buzzed hair as well as what seemed to be a uniform.

“I work for Fjellhov Stud. I’m going to be accompanying you guys to make sure you don’t get too far off track, or get lost.” He said, nodding to the horse beside him. She was a brilliant colored hazelnut that I recognized as Passerine, one of Fjellhov Stud’s best competition mares. 

“I’m Benjamin but you can call me BJ.” I said, extending my hand out. He took it and shook the life out of it. 

“Angela.” Angela nodded towards him.

“Rowan.” He nodded, still vigorously shaking my hand. “Are you guys planning on wearing that stuff out?” He asked, glancing at our clothes and our horses. “It’s freezing. Before we’re even out an hour you are going to be frozen to the bone. Wait here.” He sighed, jogging off somewhere, taking Passerine with him.

“That was,” I started, watching Rowan run off into the distance.

“Odd.” Angela agreed, nodding her head, and loping her arm through mine. 

It wasn’t like I didn’t like Rowan, he just had this energy that wasn’t like anything I had ever seen before. He was professional, yet kind, yet he bordered on rude.  

POV : Rowan

I refuse to hear more people complain for hours on end about how cold it is. BJ and Angela are going to be freezing, not to mention their horses are going to act up because of how cold it is. Although Loshenka’s were bred for this weather, they must be attuned to it. From my understanding, BJ and Angela come from the beach. Their horses are bound to act up with the snow replacing the sand they’ve come to accept, and the harsh winds replacing the soft breeze of the ocean.

Passerine pawed the ground with her hoof, her way of telling me to hurry up. Passerine may be one of the best competition mares we have at Fjellhov Stud, but she is one of the most impatient. Her work in the show arena is probably one of the only reasons she's still here. She’s kicked, bit, and attacked countless staff yet behaves as well as imaginable in front of everyone who matters.

The wind bellowed as the clouds turned darker and more menacing. “This is going to be a fun one.” I groaned, grabbing extra sized fluffy blankets for both the horses and BJ and Angela and jackets. Passerine huffed as we started moving back to the stable we’d just come from. 

It didn’t take me long to get back, Passerine following in toe, and even less time for BJ and Angela to get their horses ready. 

POV : Passerine

Rowan, one of the workers and one of my tenders came into my stall. With him, he brought mountains of tack. Absolutely not, the weather is turning sour, and I’ll be damned if I’m to go anywhere, especially with that storm rolling in as a late Christmas gift. 

“Come on Passerine.” Rowan groaned as I turned to let him face my rear. “The weather isn’t that bad.” He sighed. “I have two people to ride with, help a man out won’t you?” He tried to reason. “I’ll sweeten the pot.” He taunted. I snapped my head back, and to my surprise he was holding a bag of my favorite treats. 

With a sigh, Rowan quickly tacked me up, ensuring I was comfortable and would have no reason to kick out on the trail. I never kick out on a trail in front of people. Only when there is no one around to witness. 

“Looks good.” He sighed admiring his handy work. I let out a hard breath. “You did not.” He groaned, checking on the girth. Sure enough, it was as loose as a duck. I flipped my lip, smiling at him. “Fuck you.” He groaned as I enjoyed him being irritated. It was fun, almost like a game to see what buttons all the staff have.

Rowan quickly fixed the girth as I rolled my eyes. 

Rowan led me out to the three people and horses waiting. Two of the people huddled close together, while their horses stood by their sides. The other person stood awkwardly, their horse staying close to them. 

POV : Elysian

The large man came back, blankets and a horse in hand. The horse snorted as she eyed me. Rude. Anger infiltrated my veins, taking over my thoughts. 

“Who would you be?” She asked, her eyes scanning over every fiber of my being. Pluto nudged me, shaking his head. 

“I’m Pluto.” He started before I could say anything. “And this is Elysian.” He nodded to me. 

“Cat got her tongue?” She asked, a small smirk tugging at her lips. She was enjoying this. I don’t get how some of the most able and capable horses will waste their time toying with other horses. 

“And who the hell would you be?” I asked, trying to keep my tone steady. I saw a rush of shock go through her facial features, which slowly dissipated into amusement. Who the fuck is she? I don’t tolerate bitchy horses. Or bitchy people for that matter.

“Passerine. The one, the only.” She boasted. 

“If you two are done with your cat fight–” The gruff horse to my right started. My attention snapped back to Ben who was trying to get an extra blanket on my back, starting at the end of the saddle and flowing onto my tail. 

It didn’t take long before Ben mounted, and the eight of us were off with Passerine of course leading. I couldn’t even explain what made me so upset about her. Maybe it was just the way she acted, how she made me feel so small next to her even though I was a full hand taller than her.

The cold wind blew, and even though I had thought the blanket would be too much, it was actually, arguably not enough. Ben had a blanket draped over his lap as well as a much thicker jacket than the one he had on earlier. 

I thought we were bred for the cold? Why was I so cold in a climate I was quite literally bred for?

The first part of the trail wasn’t bad, and went by quite quickly. Jimber and I had a nice conversation.

“I’m Jimber.” The gruff horse from earlier nodded. His coat was a soft light cream, with a few tobiano like markings. He seemed actually kind compared to the interaction I had with him earlier. 

“Elysian.” I smiled as we continued walking. I felt an odd shift in the weather, and as all of us looked up, we were greeted with even greyer storm clouds than earlier. 

“Think we’ll be caught in the storm?” Jimber asked as his rider reached down to pat him. I felt my own rider shift his weight as he probably saw the storm rolling in. The air felt thicker, as if the clouds were ready to give us a downpour.

“Would it be any fun?” I asked back, a small chuckle escaping. I couldn’t help but feel more nervous with every step. The trail was going to be a long ride, but also a fairly short one in some manner. Although the distance was large, and would take quite some energy to move through the snow that hadn’t melted under the cover of the forest, if we moved fast enough we’d only be gone a few hours.

He shook his head. “Not at all. It would probably be freezing as we raced back to the stables.” He sighed. He seemed older, but strong in these conditions. Maybe he had more experience with trails than I did, or maybe he was just used to this unforgiving climate.

“You do a lot of trail work?” I asked. He nodded. He seemed like a mentor. Every mentor needed their own mentor I suppose. “What are your values?” I asked, trying to phrase the question in a kind way, but I don’t think there was a right way to phrase that without it being blunt.

He looked a little shocked. “My values?” He hollowed. I nodded. “Helping the weak, the misunderstood, and the mistreated.” He replied quickly as if this wasn’t the first time he’d thought about it, but the first time he was ever asked the question. 

I nodded. Those were good values to have. Ben’s weight shifted again, as he tried to get comfortable in the saddle. 

Pluto and Angela seemed to be doing well. Pluto seemed to be going strong, which considering the fact that there's a damn good chance we’re going to have to race back, was a good thing.

POV : Angela

All the horses seemed to be getting along. Pluto behaved well under me as I talked with BJ. 

“What kind of honeymoon?” I asked, relaxing further into the saddle as we worked to get to one of the locations. 

“As much as I’m happy for you two, the weather is getting worse and we need to pick up the speed.” Rowan interrupted.

“According to the map, we need to head north a bit.” Chloe Sanders added. Chloe was riding Jimber, the buckskin tobiano. Chloe was nice, but set me off the wrong way sometimes. She seemed overly happy to be here in the cold, with the storm rolling in, which I can’t say didn’t surprise me. 

I guess some people are just more happy than others, though I would say I’m happy with my life. I’ve been with BJ for a few years, and now that he finally proposed I see a beautiful future with us and our future kids. 

Pluto huffed as we picked up the pace. We cantered off into the forest, the thick canopy above us making the forest that much colder. The forest had an odd scent, like fresh rain. Pluto lifted his head high, a tell tale sign of his anxiety. Maybe I wasn’t the only one who found the darkness of the forest scary rather than relaxing. 

I glanced over at BJ, Rowan, and Chloe who all seemed relaxed as their horse’s tensed underneath them…