LEAD THE WAY [O] [SEP]

[Alexis Elmstone]

Alex took a hesitant step into the stables, after making sure no one was present. He was aware that the school provided horse riding lessons, but he didn't want to make a fool of himself in front of the teachers, let alone the students, with his utter lack of knowledge surrounding horses. Besides, he knew there was a special kind of pride in being self taught, which he had never really experienced.

After one last check to make sure there wasn't anyone around, he peeked over the barrier of the first - what was it? Stall? - and found a rather adorable pony resting within.

"What are you doing in the stables?" Alex exclaimed, "You're way too small to be ridden!"

Well, everyone started somewhere. Maybe he should just get used to the horses first, before riding them. Was he allowed in the stalls?

Couldn't hurt to find out, he thought as he undid the lock.

[Catalina Dominguez]

Nascha Chee's equestrian area had to be one of Catalina's favorite places. She had always enjoyed horses, having grown up with both of her parents in the horse racing industry, and going to school with horses was just amazing for her. However, discovering that she was a unicorn just made it so much better somehow. Horses could always be dangerous creatures, and although their riders gave them commands, Catalina had never quite felt equal to them. A horse could kill a human if they really wanted. As a unicorn, she was able to walk among horses as an equal, without having to worry so much about the dangers.

Not only that, but the equestrian area had so much space. When the horses weren't out in the paddocks, Catalina would often jump a fence and wander around, just enjoying her time as a unicorn. Sometimes she'd visit the horses after, too. She wasn't sure how many recognized her as the same person both as a unicorn and as a human, but it didn't matter. The stables reminded her of her best memories back home, and it was good to get to know the horses she'd need to ride for class.

Catalina had spent long enough in the fields, and she jumped the paddock fence again. She hesitated for a moment, thinking, and decided to head towards the stables. One of the doors, she had found, was easy enough to open even in her unicorn form. She used her nose to pull it open, and took a few steps into the stables. Happily, she began to trot over to the stall of one of her favorite horses, but froze as she heard the sound of metal from a distant area of the stables. She wasn't alone in here? Somebody else must have walked in through the other door before she arrived. Carefully, Catalina began to walk to the other end of the stables, the sound of her hooves announcing her presence.

[Alexis Elmstone]

Alexis started at the sound of something approaching. He could have sworn that hardly anyone visited the stable at this time of day, as they were usually all training for their clubs or just spending time with their friends. He didn't think horse riding would be a particularly popular time waster, since it was the main mode of transport at the Academy. Despite finding friendships easy to come by, Alex still had trouble making any these past few months. His recent move had forced him into a shell that he had trouble breaking out of.

Completely forgetting about the quite vulnerable pony who he'd just left to wander the stables as it pleased, he glanced around the corner to see who or what had entered.

"Wha-How did you escape?" Alex sputtered at the sight of a horse that had apparently found a way to unlock it's paddock. It was then he noticed it's horn.

"Oh! I'm so sorry, I mistook you for a horse there," he hurriedly explained, voice shaking a little with embarrassment.

[Catalina Dominguez]

Catalina soon came across the other person- a boy, another student, that had been doing something in the stables. She sat still and stared at him for a moment, swishing her tail. He appeared to think that she was a horse, and immediately a number of ideas passed through her mind. She could maybe run out into the paddocks and make him think that he'd let a horse escape, something like that- but as soon as she thought of these, the boy appeared to notice her horn.

In response, Catalina shapeshifted from her unicorn form than her human form so she could speak. "Oh, it's no problem, I was actually hoping that you wouldn't notice that. I wanted to mess with you a bit." She grinned, chuckling for a moment. "I don't think I've ever seen you here before, I come here on the weekends and after school sometimes. Are you much a fan of horses?"

Catalina looked at the stable door next to her, where one of her favorite horses- a pretty gray mare- was staring at her. She rubbed the horse's nose, and glanced back at the other student. "Did you want to ride or anything?" She asked.

[Alexis Elmstone]

Alex let out a breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding, thankful that his clumsiness hadn't landed him in trouble this time. He was glad that the girl hadn't succeeded in pranking him - that would have been embarrassing - but he could respect someone who could appreciate a good practical joke. After all, he had a tendency to leap before looking, so a prank always taught him a lesson. A lesson he usually forgot, but it's the thought that counts.

He panicked a little at her question.

"That's the problem. I've never ridden a horse before," Alex explained with a grimace,"Sooner or later I'm gonna have to learn. I didn't want to embarrass myself in front of everyone, so I thought I'd try to teach myself when no one was around."

He wasn't quite sure why he was telling her this. But a lack of social interaction had affected him quite a bit, so he talked to whoever would listen at this point. He knew that assuming unicorns knew everything about horse riding was rather offensive, but the stereotype still crossed his mind.

[Catalina Dominguez]

"That's the problem. I've never ridden a horse before. Sooner or later I'm gonna have to learn. I didn't want to embarrass myself in front of everyone, so I thought I'd try to teach myself when no one was around."

Catalina bit her lip to keep from laughing, and actually did a good job keeping a straight face. She wasn't so amused at him not being able to ride a horse so much as she thought it was funny that he was worried about being embarrassed. Plenty of the students at the school came from cities and had no idea how to ride a horse, this kid certainly wasn't going to be alone in that regard. However, trying to ride a horse without any knowledge of how to do so- particularly when he was alone with absolutely no one else- was a horrible idea.

"Well, I guarantee you that you're not the only only. In my freshman year, when we did horseback riding, maybe only half the class were competent riders, and I had to help teach the other half." Catalina explained. "But if you're really that concerned, maybe we could go outside and I could teach you the very basics? I've grown up around horses and I'm a unicorn, you'd be fine."

Really, Catalina just didn't want to see him hurt himself. She didn't know if he had actually been planning to ride a horse or not, but if so, she felt it'd be a lot better if she were there to make sure nothing went wrong.

[Alexis Elmstone]

Although his thinking was anything but logical, Alex could usually tell what a person was thinking. His brief shame at the girl trying to keep from laughing was discarded, however, when she volunteered to help him. Besides, he kind of knew already that trying to teach himself to ride a horse probably wouldn't go very well.

His hands went to his chest in a touched gesture.
"You'd do that for me? Thank you, thank you so much!" he said, his gratitude evident in his voice. His English manners were rarely forgotten. "By the way, it's nice to meet you. I'm Alex. Well, Alexis Elmstone. So what's first?

He was excited, at least. He had an affinity towards animals, being a shapeshifter, and new skills were always welcome. Even if they were kind of mandatory.

[Catalina Dominguez]

"Nice to meet you, Alex." Catalina greeted. "I'm Catalina Dominguez, but just call me Catalina. I'm just gonna get two horses ready, feel free to either wait around or go outside."

She motioned for him to wait for a second, and took a few minutes to fetch some tack from elsewhere in the stables. She picked two horses, a chestnut gelding and the gray mare that she liked, and put the tack on them in the area between the stalls. She led them outside slowly, and once they were outside, got herself up on the gray mare. She knew the chestnut well enough to know that he'd just stay there as long as she did- and even if he escaped, Catalina was able to chase after him in her unicorn form rather than having to force her mare to do so.

"Just sort of climb up into the saddle, for now, and get a feel for being on the horse's back." Catalina explained. "Don't try to get him to move or turn or anything yet, just sort of get used to balancing on top of the horse. You can't ride a horse if you just fall off."

She paused, then asked a question. "You aren't afraid of horses, are you?"

[Alexis Elmstone]

Alex followed Catalina outside, admiring her effortlessness. How did she get all that equipment on the horses so quick? He hoped with enough practice he would be as efficient as her at some point. He paused at her question.

"No, I'm not scared of them. I hope." Alex said with a laugh. With minimum trouble, he managed to get into the saddle. The horse seemed obedient enough, so at least Catalina wasn't trying to mess with him again. The saddle was also a lot easier to sit in than he expected. He assumed he'd fall off straight away.

"So what next?" he asked, finding himself really looking forward to learning to ride. He hadn't even noticed the massive grin plastered on his face.

[Jackie Song]

Jackie walked towards the equestrian area dragging the shovel behind her. She would really have to stop doing this, she thought. It must be awfully convenient for her to get in trouble so they can get someone to clean the stables. Again. She was in the school's standard athletic uniform, but this time with a bandana tied around her neck, gloves, and heavy boots. She knew this task well.

So what? She punched a kid in the mouth, and now she has to clean the stables of horse manure. The little shit had it coming. Smart-mouth. She was nearing the stable, continuously bracing herself. Yet she glanced right outside it. There were two students. Now usually, she'd be uninvolved with equestrian kids, but if she's going to slack off, now is the perfect opportunity. She called out to the two of them.

"Hey! Are you two supposed to be out here?"

[Catalina Dominguez]

"I'd just sort of get familiar with the tack, like make sure your feet are in the right place and check how you're holding the bridle." Catalina advised. She guided her horse slowly around Alexis, looking closely at the positioning of his body. She realized that she didn't quite know how to teach someone to ride a horse; she'd grown up doing it, it was just natural to her. Still better than just letting him figure it out on his own, she supposed.

"Hey! Are you two supposed to be out here?"

The sound of the shout made Catalina's horse suddenly move back on her hind legs, pinning her ears back. "Woah, girl." She said, stopping the sudden movement. "Fuck." Catalina muttered, as she turned to face the girl that had shouted. She was in a PE uniform, carrying a shovel with a bandana around her face. Whatever she was doing, Catalina couldn't guess.

"Well, we're not leaving campus," Catalina answered. "So yes, we are. What do you think you're doing over here with that shovel? I certainly hope you're not planning on breaking Rule Seven." Okay, maybe mentioning a specific rule was a bit stupid, but there weren't many other ways to word it.

[Alexis Elmstone]

Alexis nodded and looked at how Catalina was holding herself. He carefully adjusted his position, how he held the reins, how he held himself to match her stance. If he was going to ride a horse, he was going to do it right.

"Is this oka-" he started, but was cut off by a shout from behind him. 

"Hey! Are you two supposed to be out here?" 

Catalina's horse became startled, which shot a jolt of fear through Alex momentarily. She got it under control pretty fast, but the wariness from learning something new still left him on edge. He began to answer her question, but Catalina got there first. 

"I certainly hope you aren't planning on breaking Rule Seven."

Alex snorted involuntarily at her sudden nerdiness. He couldn't even remember what Rule Seven was. 

[Jackie Song]

Jackie blinked. What even was rule seven? She raised a hand and scratched her cheek. "Rule 7? What the hell?" She approached them casually, no reason to look intimidating or anything. They're just some kids. 

Jackie! Observe situation. One of these kids didn't look very uncomfortable on top of a horse. Jackie isn't exactly a horse person herself, but that much is rather obvious. And the other was clearly a nerd. She faced the nerd, wearing not necessarily a smug expression, but as if she was very clearly sizing them up. She had thought the girl looked a bit familiar. Maybe from PE class or something.

"I'm doing volunteer work," was the best way she figured to avoid further confrontation about the shovel. She shrugged and glanced around. There didn't seem to be any instructors or teachers around. Jackie didn't know much about the equestrian rules, not really something she payed attention to, but she figured she'd ask anyways. 

"Aren't you supposed to have a teacher or something?"