[bridge] over troubled water--closed to Danny
Oct 29, 2012 1:38:05 GMT -5
Post by Raseri on Oct 29, 2012 1:38:05 GMT -5
On her way down to the barn, Lyric wet her lips and decided to whistle. It wasn't any particular tune that she could put a title to, just nameless notes that had surfaced out of nowhere to the back of her mind to flutter softly through her lips, composing a song as they mingled with the rhythm of her footsteps. No one was there to tell her that the notes were horribly out of tune, but despite its imperfections the song satisfied her as she tromped through the heavy blanket of fallen leaves that always seemed to cover this part of the St.Clairs' ranch during the autumn months. The wind seemed to be trying to thwart her attempts at whistling, and all around her it blew the leaves in a swirling cacophony of red, brown, yellow, and orange. But Lyric persisted, hugging her sweater in closer and continuing towards the barn.
It wasn't long before she reached it--she only had to walk another minute to be able to thrust open its broad wooden doors as she'd done so many times before, to crane her neck and look up at the rafters decorated with cobwebs. To others, the barn wouldn't be at all appealing. The smells of horse sweat, oats, hay and wet straw, of dust and of leather, the flies that constantly buzzed about--these were all things that others didn't generally want to hang around with. But to Lyric, these things were home.
The air echoed with snickers and whinnies as the horses acknowledged her presence, and these sounds grew even more enthusiastic when she picked up the bucket of feed and began scooping it into the horses' troughs. A few of the animals would try to win her over with nuzzles and nips as she passed, and occasionally she'd give in, rewarding them with a cube of sugar from her pocket. After all that, it took her a while to get to the last stall, where her favorite horse greeted her with a loud whinny and a nudge to the shoulder.
"Easy, Shadow," she chuckled fondly, reaching a hand over the gate of the stall to rub his soft white neck. Shadowfax urgently nudged her shoulder again, and Lyric reached into her pocket to feed him the last two sugar cubes, knowing it was what he was hunting for. "You're spoiled, ya know that?" she told him, petting his soft nose before unlatching the gate and attaching a lead rope to his bridle to guide him out of the stall. Trusting him not to run away, Lyric didn't tie the horse up while she saddled him. She let the rope fall to the ground as she tightened the strap around his belly.
After she'd led him out of the barn, Lyric hoisted herself into the saddle and nudged him gently with her heels. Shadowfax broke into a light trot, and soon she was lost in the steady rhythm of the horse's hooves, barely paying attention to the wind that whipped her hair around and nipped at her face. This horse had a tendency to gradually speed up, and after a few minutes Shadowfax was almost reduced to a blur of pure white. Lyric urged him forward until they reached their destination, a creek hidden behind a small patch of trees near the boundaries of her father's land. Again, Lyric let the horse have its head after dismounting rather than tying it up. Shadow wouldn't go too far, he was too much of a wuss. Besides, he always returned to her when she whistled.
While Shadowfax wandered through the trees, Lyric walked up to the creek. It was her favorite place to go in the mornings--she liked to just watch as the clear water bubbled and rushed over the rocks before spilling over the little waterfall. Unlike the other things going on in her life, this creek was constant, never changing its course. It flooded sometimes, of course, but then it always eventually returned to the way it was now--clear and steady, with the morning sun glinting softly off its surface. Sitting on a mossy rock and leaning her back up against a tree, Lyric counted the leaves as they floated past.
OOC- Open to anyone. Quality > quantity, but I would appreciate at least 400 words for the first post. I'm just looking to develop my character, so I'm open to anything.text
speech
thoughts
others' speech
lyrics