nexus_stables | ((Tag to terry_the_bat and <lj site="livejournal.com" user="maste

((Tag to terry_the_bat and <lj site="livejournal.com" user="maste

Arriving a little early, before either Batman or Michael, she'd missed coming here. Granted, they'd been very busy and she'd been sick, but today was a good day -- and an even better day for visiting with the horses and riding.

She'd given Batman the coordinates here, with Michael probably arriving after that. And they couldn't ask for a better day, either: sunny, balmy, and just enough of a breeze to keep them comfortable.

Walking over to the paddock with a bucket of apples and carrots, she climbs the fence to sit and visit with the horses for a while before the others join her.

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Batman PINpointed in, taking a moment after he arrived to just savor the atmosphere. After spending his whole life in as crowded and polluted a city as Gotham, fresh country air and sunshine was just amazing. He was tempted to ditch the suit and actually be able to breathe without filters and feel the sun on his skin. But now wasn't really the time. Or was it? More stuff to talk about with this psychiatrist he was about to meet, though he didn't want to discuss anything in too much detail. Being totally open was, much as he hated to admit it, getting more and more difficult every day. He settled for walking up to where Ellie was and giving a friendly wave. "Hey."

"Hey!" Beaming, this was really her natural habitat, not Chicago, and not the Nexus. At least here her friends could easily visit with her here, much more so than when she lived with her parents in Indiana.

"Wanna join me up here?" Holding the bucket, feeding the horses would give him a good idea about their personalities too. Oh, and look, there's Beer the Clydesdale! He's the largest horse in the stable so far, over eighteen hands high. But a gentle giant, really.

"Um, I guess so. Yeah, hold on a minute." He jumps up to join her.

Woah. That is one big horse. Still, no reason to be intimidated, they're not supposed to be dangerous, right? He waves to the horse as well, feeling kind of silly.

"Wanna try feeding him? His name's Beer, and he's really, really gentle too." She pulls out a carrot and holds it in the flat of her palm. "Just hold it like this, and he'll munch it right off your hand!"

She smiles as Beer takes the offered carrot and crunches away. Gently stroking his nose, he's one of her favorites here. "He's a draft horse, but trained for Western and English saddles too."

"I guess I'll give it a shot."

"Schway. Uh, what does all that mean?"

She offers him access to the bucket. Inside are carrots and apples, either one suitable to give to Beer. "Just hold your palm flat, and he'll nibble it right up!"

"Oh, sorry!" She blushes a little. "They're two of the most common types of saddles for riding. Western saddles have a horn on the pommel, and some people think it's easier to ride with one of those. English doesn't have a horn, but I think they give the rider better control."

Batman does as instructed, wondering what the horse will think of him, if anything. "Cool."

"It's cool. Western would be better for beginners, then?"

Spotting the apple in Batman's hand, Beer readily accepts the offer and eats it right up.

"See! He likes treats, very much, and hasn't ever bitten anyone either." She picks out a carrot to offer Blossom, the big bay Standardbred mare who's come to join them. "And this is Blossom!"

"Yes and no. Some people say Western's easier, but English has always been a lot more comfortable for me."

"Good for him. Hi Blossom!" He waves, feeling more than a little bit ridiculous.

"Well, I suppose I'll have to give each one a try later on."

Ellie doesn't think it's ridiculous at all! Mr. Dobson does it, as does Michael too. For her, it's the way things should be!

"I highly recommend English saddles though. Beer has one specially made for him, if you'd like to ride him! And maybe it's just me, but I'm not usually as sore as I would be on a Western saddle."

Dr. Anders has changed into his riding gear already. He smiles as he approaches. Although he's seen Batman in passing, in the Nexus, he doesn't think they've ever really spoken. Jonathan would probably be utterly horrified to know that a Batman was at the Stables, but it certainly won't hurt him not to know.

"Hey there! Sorry I'm so late." He offers Batman his hand to shake. "I'm Dr. Michael Anders. Just in case Ellie hasn't already said it, welcome to the Nexus Stables."

Batman has seen him around, but mostly he's just heard about this guy from Ellie. And now they're meeting in person.

He shakes the hand with a nod. "Hey. Nice to meet you, I'm Batman. And thanks, I'm glad to be here. This place is amazing..."

She waves to Michael, sparing Batman the PDA! "Hi! It's okay! We were just feeding Beer, and Blossom too."

So very bouncy, she tries not to bounce her way right off the fence! "We don't come out here often enough, I don't think." Some of that depended on her feeling better, and things are finally looking up.

Done shaking Batman's hand, Michael climbs up onto the fence, too, and immediately has a giant horse-face up against his; Beer apparently likes him a lot. He gives the huge horse a thorough petting while he talks.

"We don't, and we really should. This place is incredible, and we really haven't explored all that much of it yet." He grins at Batman. "Want to help us with that today?"

"Sounds like a great idea to me!" The suit makes anything like smiling fairly difficult, so the most Batman can manage is a faint smirk. But he's grinning on the inside.

"If you haven't done much exploring, it must not be long since you found it, huh?"

Dr. Anders nods. "I bought it in July. We intended to spend a lot more time here but then things got pretty complicated for a while, and we didn't get up here as much as we meant to. Now that things are finally calming down, we can really get to know the place."

He feeds Beer a carrot; he and the horse obviously like each other a great deal.

Aw, horses. Apparently these are pretty easy to get along with... or Dr. Anders has just known them a long time.

"Well, plenty of time for investigating the place now, huh? You guys making up for lost time?"

Dr. Anders nods, smiling. "Among other things, yes. A place like this can't really go to waste, because just being what it is makes it pretty special. But I'd like to make the most of it."

He looks out over the field and takes in a deep breath. Chicago is probably a lot less polluted than Gotham, but the difference is pretty magical for him, too.

"I hear you on that. You two are pretty lucky, looks like."

He follows the doctor's example -- it's not as fulfilling for him, since he's still got the suit on, but it's way better than nothing.

Ellie nods and grins; she certainly thinks so! "It was such a wonderful surprise, him buying this place." Of course, it ended in tears the evening he brought her here for the first time, but that's another story.

She feeds Blossom an apple, smiling when she sees Bucky heading over here too. "And that -- the Palomino gelding -- is Bucky. So you think you might be up for giving riding a try?"

"I can see how it would be."

He takes a carrot to offer the horse, trying to memorize the breed name but already not sure what it was. "Sure, let's get moving!"

"You have a preference for which one you'd like to ride?" All three of them are incredibly gentle and great for first-time riders. Beer is the tallest, by over two hands, though Blossom and Bucky aren't so small themselves.

Michael can help her saddle the horses and fit their bridles, and Mr. Dobson has probably set everything out for them in the barn as it is. And Batman needs a helmet! "We need to get you a riding helmet too, and we have extras in the barn."

The strangled sound that might be suppressed laughter, at the image Ellie just put in Michael's head, quickly dissolves in a manufactured cough. He's trying NOT to imagine Batman with a riding helmet perched atop his spikey bat-horns. Really he is.

"Whichever one is least likely to throw me off while I'm riding! But seriously, any of them would be cool."

"Helmets? Well, I guess that would make sense. Let's go?" Alright, at this point the procedure has gotten him totally lost.

"Probably Blossom or Beer, either one!" Sliding off the fence, she headed for the barn. "Wanna come with me, and you can pick one out? And Michael? Can you help me saddle them up?"

It's rather funny this, with her being the one to direct Michael! This is the only scenario she's comfortable doing so, and has a feeling he knows that too.

"Absolutely." He follows them, still stifling a laugh. Somehow he suspects what Batman has on right now is tougher than any of the protective gear in their barn.

The suit does offer more protection than any gear he could name. He'd been shot and thrown off of buldings and come out of it one piece. Then again, he'd been shot in civilian clothes and come in one piece, it'd just hurt a lot.

He followed her, looking to Dr. Anders for a second and then shrugging. "So, how important is all the gear, anyway? And how's it work?" Because you never know, there might be some gadget around here he could use, or at least get some ideas from.

Ellie bounces towards the barn, unable to stop from butting in! "Pretty important! But if your suit protects you from falls, you can forego the riding helmet. I always wear one, and so does Michael. But I think your stuff..." She points to her head to demonstrate what she's trying to say. "If it protects your head, then a helmet is optional."

Opening the door of the barn, she leads them inside. And sure enough, Mr. Dobson has set out the saddles and bridles for the three of them to go riding. She picks up her own helmet, and fits it on her head and snaps the chin strap to the side. Then, she picks up the tack for Bucky, she figures that they'll be riding Blossom and Beer.

"I figure I'll ride Bucky, if that's okay."

"I... think I'll be alright." He'd take the helmet just to make sure, but well -- the suit worked fine. Didn't mean he didn't want to use the rest of the stuff, though.

"Schway." He nods toward Dr. Anders. "I'll take whichever one's left, then."

"Mind if I ride Beer? He and I have been kind of bonding." Dr. Anders grins.

((SO sorry about the lag!))

"Schway. That leaves me with... Blossom, right?" Which was an interesting name considering his costume, but oh well.

((No problem.))

"Yes! Blossom is all yours!" Setting Bucky's bridle on top of his saddle, she scoops them up in her arms. She'll tack up and saddle her horse first, and then help Batman, and possibly Michael if he needs it.

"You all ready? We can come back here whenever you feel like you've had enough -- like, sore in the saddle -- or want to grab something to eat. Sound good?"

Michael has his equipment for Beer -- which is larger given Beer's size, and is going to get to work on him. Ellie, of course, is the expert on saddling, so she'll undoubtedly finish first and help Batman, but he'll offer his help as well if it's needed.

"Jake and Nat were talking about making all of us dinner."

"Sounds like a great plan to me. Um..." Terry has managed to pick up his gear, but what to actually do is more or less a blank to him. After all, this is one of the only times in his life he's even seen horses.

"Um?" Oh! "I can help you, once I get the saddle on Bucky. Sorry, I wasn't able to carry everything myself. And if Michael finishes first, he can help you too!"

She blushes! "Oh, and another thing! If you like riding, you're more than welcome to come out here any time you like." And she hopes he will, too.

"Thanks again, for everything!"

"I'll make sure to. Assuming I can actually figure out what I'm doing here, that is. But once we get the routine down..."

"You're very welcome!" Ellie leads the guys out to the paddock, turning to look at Batman as she settles the saddle on Bucky's back as if to say, 'like this.'

Taking the bridle, she fits the bit into Bucky's mouth first, and then adjusts it to fit around his head. Once in place, she arranges the reins half way up his neck while she works on saddling him. Reaching under his belly, she grabs the girth strap and buckles it in place. She gives the stirrups a once over, and they're the right length for her already -- even better!

"You ready for some help?"

"Definitely." He thinks he might have gotten a general idea of what to do, but better to see it done once up close before he tried anything on his own.

Next time, though, he's gonna saddle of these things on his own.

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((Tag to terry_the_bat and <lj site="livejournal.com" user="maste

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