Told you I'm a beast
and you're the bottom of my food chain
Showed you I'm the chief
and leave you rotting on my crusade
Hope you brought at least
another option to amuse me
Quote me, I will feast upon your heart
before you move me

R A I O N
╜───────╓

"Twenty-five." Came a strained voice from behind the stables. It sounded heavy, like it had been counting all this way. The voice was attached to a fiery redhead with some strange attire choics who was hanging from a tree branch and doing crunches. It seemed to be her normal routine, since she was pretty well balanced. Her outfit consisted of a black compression shirt that she had cut the sleeves off of, which showed off a rather toned stomach, and some compression shorts doing the same of her legs. Her hands were folded behind her head and seemed to be clutching weights with big 5's on them. Her hair was tied back into a long ponytail, and it seemed as though there was a Spica uniform on the ground below her next to a towel and a sports drink.

"Twenty-six." she continued her count as she found her chest meeting her knees. She held that position for a moment, then let herself sink back down. This continued until she reached thirty, at which point she stopped and pulled herself up into the tree branch, reclining against the tree and hanging a leg from it to rest.

"No good. " she growled. "I need to double this if I'm going to beat them."

Her attention shifted to the area she was in. Surely she needed to be doing a different form of training right now. She didn't dare try this without someone to help her though. One of those things could kill her if she angered it too much. Instead, she resumed her previous workout. Doubling it meant sixty of these before she would be satisfied.

╖───────╓
H O N O O

By the time Zeph headed for the stables the sun was heading toward its peak point in the sky and she decided to take her time getting there. It was a free day and one she had planned on spending on the back of a friendly beast. After all, the weather was perfect. No rain, no clouds. Just a blue sky and chirping birds. She smirked up to the cloudless sky and stretched her arms toward it before tucking her hands behind her head.

By the time she came into hearing distance of Raion the girl was well into the forties. When Zeph heard her friend's voice she was in the middle of fixing her ruffled riding attire. Straightening the cropped jacket around her torso and dusting off the tight padded pants, but she paused in her movements and cast her crimson gaze around the space.

Ah, there she was, hanging from a branch. The tall girl smirked and proceeded toward her, keeping her footfalls as quiet as possible. She didn't speak until she was about twenty paces from Rai.

"It isn't often that you find a lioness in a tree. Other than when she is hunting. Looking for more challenges, Raion?"

Zeph smirked as she walked the rest of the way toward the tree and rested a shoulder against the trunk. When Raion looked her way she'd notice the Gael was still sporting two black eyes that were mostly covered up by makeup but she hadn't put much effort into it this morning.

Told you I'm a beast
and you're the bottom of my food chain
Showed you I'm the chief
and leave you rotting on my crusade
Hope you brought at least
another option to amuse me
Quote me, I will feast upon your heart
before you move me

R A I O N
╜───────╓

It was impossible for her to respond until she was completed, or she would not complete things. And after recent events at the mall she definitely needed to do this. The mind was a funny thing. It cleared for her when she was working out, and impressively enough she was so set in her ways that she didn't even notice Zephyra until she concluded her sixty. At that moment, she shifted her weight and threw herself off the tree, landing on her legs and immediately squatting low to keep from forcing damage. It wasn't graceful, but it was how she did it. Finally, after she felt all the tension leave her, she stood and dropped her weights, turning to face the girl before her.

"I'm sorry, I didn't hear you." she shrugged, before realizing how improper shrugging was and bowed. "Salutations. You seem geared up for some working out of your own." she noted.

Wait... Could it really be that simple?

"I didn't know you ride." she commented, her expression clearly showing interest. "Mind if I accompany you over there? I'm done here and Miator or not, you are an ally." the word Miator had a growl to it. A low one, not as strong as it used to be, but it was there. Before even waiting for an answer, Raion threw a towel over her shoulder and opened her drink, downing most of it in one go.

╖───────╓
H O N O O

It wasn't uncommon to find someone completely focused upon a task that they didn't respond, so Zeph took no offense to the silence that followed her question. She simply took up a relaxed posture and waited for the girl to finish her reps before training her attention back on her. A simple wave was given to the shrug then she dipped her upperbody in a returned bow.

"No problem. I'm just using up some free time I have. Nothing too physically taxing."

The redhead reached behind her to tighten the ribbon that was holding her hair in place at the base of her neck. She gave her own nonchalant shrug.

"I grew up around horses. But I haven't been riding in a few weeks and with this weather I couldn't resist. You're more than welcome to join me. Have you ever ridden before?"

She waited for Rai to finish her drink before she turned for the stables, assuming she would fall into step with her and finish their conversation along the way.

Told you I'm a beast
and you're the bottom of my food chain
Showed you I'm the chief
and leave you rotting on my crusade
Hope you brought at least
another option to amuse me
Quote me, I will feast upon your heart
before you move me

R A I O N
╜───────╓

It had appeared she was forgiven for her improper introduction. That was a relief. Now the matter at hand was entirely in what to do about this... Perfected situation. An ally was a rider? She needed a tutor, but would it really be this easy? Surely she would owe something in return. She immediately thought of her wealth and thought that maybe she could dip into some of it for Zephyra's interests, in exchange for assistance here.

"Never once." she admitted. "Which poses me some problems right now, as I'm competing with someone in a triad of events with riding being one of them."

She picked up her things and made her way next to Zephyra again, the fire natural to her eyes replaced with wild curiosity. That usually killed the cat, so be careful Raion.

"I was actually looking for a tutor. What would your price for such assistance be?"

╖───────╓
H O N O O

"I see." That was good in a way. She could start off with the basics and a clean slate. When someone had ridden before and picked up bad habits they were harder to break. Zeph lifted a hand to tap two fingers against her lower lip as she thought of where to start exactly.

"Was there a specific riding style they challenged you to perform? Western, English?.." Her crimson gaze shifted to the shorter girl as an eyebrow lifted with her questioning expression.

Her head gave a shake in response to Raion's question of price. This was her passion, she needed no compensation to pass on that love. "I don't need anything, Rai. Just your attention and you to win that competition. And I only need that for your safety and of course, my pride. I don't teach losers." Of course she was only teasing and her lopsided grin proved that.

Since they weren't that far away when they began it barely took the two any time to reach the stable doors. Zeph reached out and hauled back on one then pushed the other sliding door open to let in some of the fresh spring air. Many of the beasts inside lifted their heads and snuffled the air. When they recognized a familiar scent many whickered their greetings and poked their heads out of the stalls. The redhead made her way to the first stall and dipped her hand into her pocket to retrieve the sugar cubes she had liberated from the cook before heading this way. They were given, she knew better than to steal. The redhead passed one of the cubes to each of the horses, all the while making her way toward the tack room where she could find the best style saddle for Raion to start on, but that really depended on the style the girl would be riding.

Told you I'm a beast
and you're the bottom of my food chain
Showed you I'm the chief
and leave you rotting on my crusade
Hope you brought at least
another option to amuse me
Quote me, I will feast upon your heart
before you move me

R A I O N
╜───────╓

Raion would not willingly take free aid. That went against her own set of rules. For now, she would play along with it, and allow Zephyra to believe that she was in agreement, but down the road there would be payback. Her immediate thought, however, was of styles of riding. Really now? That was a thing? Only two minutes in and she had learned something - Something hopefully useful to defeating Tori. Speaking of, she was certain that Tori would be doing something English as she kept talking about English things. That was a sure fire bet, so what she needed was something all her own to combat that. She couldn't just ride on in doing the same thing as her enemy.

"Is there a French style?" she asked casually. "The school I was from before, it held a lot of French culture, so I grew up fairly French despite being Japanese. I'd like to honor that."

Honor that and get a rise out of Tori, who no doubt would see her doing so and push even harder for victory. She had no idea why Tori held such animosity toward French things, but it was fun to remind her that Raion herself was from such an upbringing regularly just for reactionary purposes.

"And I assure you, there will be no loss. You don't teach losers and I don't lose anyway."

╖───────╓
H O N O O

Her pursed lips and tilt of her head showed her thoughtfulness as she moved into the tack room. "Well the French tend to lean toward English side.. here just let me show you. The styles of riding don't mean exactly what they say. It's mostly just the style of the saddles."

Zeph pulled a key, that was strung on her necklace, from under her shirt and unlocked one of the doors leading from the main room of the tack room. She pushed against the door, once it was opened multiple saddle rests that held her possessions were seen.

"That is an English saddle. Western. Racing and Jumping."

The redhead pointed to each saddle in turn. The first had no saddle horn, which often kept less experienced riders in their seat and had a much smaller area on which the rider could settle. Next, the western, was the most padded and comfortable saddle in her opinion and used for more endurance and barrel races. Racing was more like the English saddle, but with far less padding, it looked like a few straps of leather with stirrups, since the rider rarely sat anyway. And jumping had much more padding, multiple straps that would keep the seat from sliding and thicker stirrups.

"I need to know more about this competition so I know what to teach you. Getting you to saddle your ride and actually getting on it will be our first steps, but from then on it'll mostly be whether you need to remain in a seat while cantering or jumping. If you'll do flags and barrel racing. Too many things overall to teach you in a restricted time so I need specifics."

The redhead spoke as she grabbed two of the saddle blankets and her own bridle. The other would be hanging with the horse since the metal bits were shaped to the horses mouth. When she turned back to Raion it seemed like she had just now noticed her clothing. She paused, turned back to the small dresser and pulled out a pair of riding trousers she had left for emergency purposes.

"These will be a bit big, but you'll slide right out of the saddle in those. Compression shorts are not your friend on horseback."

Told you I'm a beast
and you're the bottom of my food chain
Showed you I'm the chief
and leave you rotting on my crusade
Hope you brought at least
another option to amuse me
Quote me, I will feast upon your heart
before you move me

R A I O N
╜───────╓

Yes, yes, this was all excellent to know. All these varieties and trivia facts were starting to make sense to her the more she heard. The one X factor that remained was horse behavior, she thought to herself. The rest could be calculated, accounted for, and even perfected, but it was the attitude of the animal that would undoubtedly outweigh any amount of preparation. That had to be considered heavily when selecting her next objective. However, Zephyra had then asked the nature of the competition. It seems word hadn't spread to Miator just yet - She was somewhat relieved but equally worried. That meant her biggest rally for presidency was unknown, at least among this student body and possibly most of her own. She would need to rectify this, but... That meant admitting to something she was only recently made very aware of, and thinking about it was now causing her to burn up, visibly and internally. Cheeks almost as red as her hair, Raion mustered the most serious tone she could.

"We are performing a triad featuring tennis, horseback jumping, and karaoke as our events. The prize for me is simply publicity as I'm running for student council presidency, and the prize on her end is a date." she forced the last word out heavily implying she had no idea what she had agreed to before she did so. "You can imagine the stakes are quite high, as my competitor is quite the talented rider and I, well, I've never even been this close to one of the creatures."

She had noted as well that Zephyra had provided proper equipment, bowed and said her thank yous, and waited for further instruction to put anything on.

╖───────╓
H O N O O

Jumping it was then. Still, the redhead hefted the western style saddle and placed it over the blankets, then the jumping saddle over that.

"I had heard rumors of your competition, but I don't like to trust heresay. The details were fuzzy anyway. I'll step out and find a timid beast to get you started and saddle up Aman Cara while you change. It's easier to learn by seeing, so you know what your body should do."

The Gael smirked and quietly shut the door behind her. She had decided to save her questioning and teased about the date for another time. On her way out she dropped the extra gear on an empty saddle horse and made her way down the stalls to one of the older, more calm horses. Her own seemed to be unsettled at the fact she passed him by and started clicking his hoof against the door. A soft string of Gaelic silenced him, but he kept his head poked out the stall door, black ears tipped forward in her direction.

Zeph slipped into a stall after grabbing the tack needed to lead the horse out into the large hall between stalls. When she was face to face with the animal her voice lowered and she murmured softly to the mare. While she spoke she eased the bridle over the horse's muzzle and gently ticked her chin to get her mouth to open. A soft compliment was given before she tightened a few of the cheek straps.

After leading the speckled mare into hall and tying her reigns around the door handle she turned back for her own mount. Repeating much the same process. Once he was tied to the stall she figured it would be best to wait on the smaller girl so she could learn how to put the saddle on herself.

Told you I'm a beast
and you're the bottom of my food chain
Showed you I'm the chief
and leave you rotting on my crusade
Hope you brought at least
another option to amuse me
Quote me, I will feast upon your heart
before you move me

R A I O N
╜───────╓

Ah, she was intelligent. That was a change from the normal rumor listener, and a welcome one. Especially right now. She thought about everything that had been said as she got changed, taking her time in doing so in order to prolong her absorption of the material. Surely she would need to defeat Tori in Tennis and she had a feeling her horseback skill would not compare, but she wasn't going down without a fight. Then came karaoke... What song could a girl like Raion actually sing, if any? The more immediate question, as well, was if Tori could sing. She hadn't thought to ask before agreeing to those terms, after all. Perhaps this was a neutral territory, but she would prepare for it as extensively as horseback all the same.

One hundred percent is the only percentage that should ever be given to anything.

Upon completing her ensemble, she decided to go out and find Zephyra. Along the short walk that took place she heard the noises of the animals around her, all itrigued and possibly worried about a lion among them. She had no idea how this would work in her favor if at all, but she had to hope that something would play out correctly related to this. Tori couldn't win. Not after recent events. This thread I believe takes place before their big love confession, so she's still determined to fight back her romantic interest in Tori.

"Is... This correct?" she asked softly, as to not spook the animals. She was wearing what was provided, but had no real idea of if it were on correctly. A little approval seeking never hurt, right?

╖───────╓
H O N O O

The knickers of the horses relayed Raion's appearance before she even caught sight of the girl. When she did it was hard to keep a grin off her lips. The pants were obviously far too long for the shorter girl.

"Aye. That's right.. but here. This will help keep them up." The redhead removed her belt that was merely for show since her pants were actually beginning to grow snug, whether from gaining muscle or height she wasn't exactly concerned about it. She passed the belt to Raion and kneeled down to cuff off the legs of the padded pants. This way they wouldn't cause her issues when she tried to get in the saddle.

As soon as this was done, Zeph rose to her feet and brushed off her knees and turned back to Cana. The muscular beast quivered under her touch and she lightly patted his neck.

"I'll show you how to put on the jumping saddle on Cana then I'll help you put the Western saddle on your mount. Once you get use to being on horseback we can switch rides and you can practice jumping. Cana is trained for most styles, so if you would like you can borrow him for your tournament."

Zeph looked up to the proud beast and ran a hand along his dark muzzle. The buckskin was a much larger animal than the one Raion would start on, but his gait was smooth and would possibly make it easier for the girl to impress. ( Haven't read all of that thread yet so I wasn't sure if they had done the jumping yet. But it seemed like something Zeph could offer. )

"I'll even braid is tail and mane for you."

As she spoke Zeph shifted the saddle pad on Cana's back so it rested on the curve of his back instead of his shoulders. Then she grabbed the saddle and using both hands and a swing, she placed it on his back.

"You have to make sure it sits right. Too high and you'll pinch his chest. That's likely it get you thrown. Too far back and the straps will remain too lose, the saddle will slide and you're going to fall off."

She was moving around the horse sinching up each strap as she went, leaving the belly strap for last.

"This part is very important. Horses hold a long memory and know that if they hold their breath the saddle will remain lose and not hold them tight. Just be easy when you do this, okay?"

As she hauled back on the strap her knee rose and tapped against Cana's belly, making him release a big huff of air. Quickly, the redhead pulled the strap tighter and clipped it. She gave the beast one more pat then turned to Raion.

"Got it? I can do it again if you need. It is a lot to take in at once."

Told you I'm a beast
and you're the bottom of my food chain
Showed you I'm the chief
and leave you rotting on my crusade
Hope you brought at least
another option to amuse me
Quote me, I will feast upon your heart
before you move me

R A I O N
╜───────╓

"A-ah, thank you." she bowed and took the offered belt without question. Anything helps.

She listened and observed as closely as she could without being invasive. It was certainly quite a bit of information to handle, but she would handle it nonetheless. There was far too much riding on this to just shirk off such valued information. Her eyes never left the redhead's hands, as she tried to absorb every motion they made. In that observation, she remained silent, both trying not to spook the poor creature and trying to focus all her attention on the study of the saddle itself. She wouldn't miss a detail

"I see..." she spoke up towards the end, the detail about horses holding their breath. So, one of these animals could be dangerous to her if she did i wrong.

"I think I'd like to try it out. If I fail, we can return to this." she nodded. "I'm an observant learner."

╖───────╓
H O N O O

"Very well. Here you are. I will observe and make any comments needed. Careful, it's heavier than it looks."

She passed the western style saddle to Raion, easing the weight into her arms. All in all, it wasn't terribly heavy, but it could be easily misjudged. She then grabbed the pad to carry for Rai. Instead of walking around her mount she dipped and slid under his belly. Once on the other side she pushed against his back leg so he would shuffle over, giving Raion room to pass out of striking distance of his back hooves. He was a well mannered beast, but it was better to be safe than sorry. She had taken more than her fair share of strikes from flailing hooves that she didn't want a well places kick to end their session early.

"The western style is a little easier, it only has a y strap on the front that clips in. You usually don't jump in this one, so it doesn't slide around as much. Just a single belly strap holds you on, so make sure you get it tight."

Zeph tossed the blanket over the mare's back then stepped back so she could observe Rai's work.

Told you I'm a beast
and you're the bottom of my food chain
Showed you I'm the chief
and leave you rotting on my crusade
Hope you brought at least
another option to amuse me
Quote me, I will feast upon your heart
before you move me

R A I O N
╜───────╓

Raion stayed silent, nodding in confirmation of the information she had just been provided. It was all relatively simple to listen to, but performing was not as set in stone. She had trouble at first in understanding the straps, but it didn't last long. What really took her the longest was actually putting the saddle upon the animal, as she was weary of the holding of breath and of the shoulder distance especially. Lions would devour such animals, but she was no monster and was not in any way hoping to harm the poor thing with her rookie status. She meticulously went over everything three times over before confirming to herself that she was ready to be evaluated.

"I think that does it." she said, turning to Zephyra. "Of course, I'd like a second opinion for my own safety."

What she had forgotten was not exactly major, but she had definitely forgotten something. For your convenience, I don't actually know what she forgot, so work with what you know are common rookie mistakes. As weary as she had been, Raion was quite proud of herself so far. Trying something new was always a scary experience, so it was natural that she would take it at a slower pace. Especially since this animal could probably kill her if she wasn't just accurate enough. She wasn't afraid of riding by any stretch, but she was definitely concerned about it.

╖───────╓
H O N O O