"She's a gorgeous color" I said, running my hand over the roan shoulder of my newest horse.
"Nice conformation too" Nick commented, inspecting the well-conformed legs.
"Let's see how she is under that saddle, shall we?" I said, slipping her saddle on. Sakura, meaning cherry blossom in Japanese, grunted as I hefted the girth up another notch, and clipped the buckle.
"Easy girl" I said, as she threw her head up a little as I eased the bit into her mouth. "Good girl" I cooed, swinging my leg over her.

Nick accompanied me on Macca into the arena, where I bent Sakura in circles, halted her, and tried her in various gaits. "She's ok" Nick said, as I instructed some basic dressage commands, and then put her through a few simple jumps.
"Yeah, but I can feel her tense a little before the jump, and she's a little puffed. I'll trail her to work up her stamina." I resolved.
I directed Sakura over to the gate when I saw Melanie, Leila and Philip peeping in.
"Hi" I said, pulling Sakura up as Nick pulled Macca in beside and kissed me on the cheek.
"Whatcha been up to today?" I said, in a baby voice to the angel-faced Leila.

Holly~

Liela gave her a wierd look. Though young, one thing I had learned was that Liela did NOT take kindly to babying.
Her eyebrows raised, she answered airily.
"I've been riding Morgana." she siad shortly.
"Lie." I scolded playfully. Liela's face broke into a childish grin.
"I'm sorry Holly." now she was acting like a child, to amend her frostiness.
"That's alright." Holly smiled good naturedly. "She's got your sense of humour." she turned to me, raising her eyebrows comically.
"Ah well, you can't have anything, not even in an angel. Even Gabriel had vice." I sighed dreamily.
"Do you want to go riding, all of us?" I proposed to the group. Many yeses, and nods answered.
"Okay, 'cept I need a horse." Liela said.
"You can ride Morgana, she likes you. Philip has Shadow, and I'll..." I turned pleadingly to Holly.
"Can I borrow a horsey?" I sniffled comically, like a little child. Holly laughed...
[Insert another message here, Holly]
~Melanie

"You can take Jedda, I'm sure you're acquainted with her by now [Ya know...THE Jedda], I'll go on Sakura, and Nick will ride Macca" I paused, and looked at my fiancee, "Ok?".
He smiled, "Of course"...

[Kitty! I am tired, this fever thingo... you write next... I wanna get a Sharna horse too! I've got dibs! Ehnehweh... how's Ca taking the... the thingy?]

"Thanks." I smiled gratefully at Holly.
Ten minutes later, Morgana had Liela on her back, Shadow was prancing nrevously under Philip, and I was trying to make sure Liela was okay while holding onto a fresh Jedda.
As we set off, I laughed.
"Look at us." I shook my head. "Holly and Nick both on nice, colourful forses, and we've got two blacks and a dark grey." I smiled, there was no longer any importance for me riding on the colours of a horse, but it was still amusing.
"Your smile is still colourful." Holly promised, trotting a little further ahead on Sakura, into the mouth of the trails.
"Where to, Hol?" I asked, catching up with her. Holly squinted, deciding which trail to decend into...

~Melanie

"Well, Mel" I said, with a tinkle of a laugh at my corny recognition of a rhyme, "There was this one path I think you should see. It goes through a cave and opens to a gorgeous meadow. Me and my best friend found it, a long time back. I miss her, she left." I sniffed then smiled, brushing off the cold chill that had just run through me. I had missed that friend who just up and left. I knew that that chill was not from the snow that had just begun to fall, and I pulled my parker around my shoulders tightly.
"Come on," I said, clucking to Sakura, "This way."
...
"Gosh, I feel like such a tour guide," I said, leading the head of the group. "Now it's just through this hedge-thing here, don't worry, the horses will go through without any problems." I waited as each horse filed through.
Melanie rode by Leila's side as we walked quietly through the cave. The area somehow seemed too sacred for speech, and the silence was kind of eerie.
"Wow, it's beautiful,' Leila said, as we stopped our horses in the open fields.
The grass that grew long in the summer had since become brown, and it was blanketed by a thin layer of fluffy snow. The draping vines of the weeping willow were frozen into the surface of the lake which had iced clear, and you could see to the bottom- to the fish who swam in the freezing waters quickly.
"This is it" I said, "This is the place that me and Caitlin found"

Holly~

"Caitlin?" I asked. I had heard this name before. "Didn't she find a white horse... or something?" I stretched my memory for something someone had told me once.
"Neva?" I asked. "Or... Novacara?" What WAS that name? "Nevica... Nevicata!" I was pretty sure I had hit the mark this time. Holly nodded. I smiled.
"Yeah. I hope she'll be able to come to my wedding." Holly seemed a little preoccupied now. I laughed, lookig at the frozen lagoon.
"I wish I had brought my ice skates!" I exclaimed. The long drooping branches of the weeping willow had becoem frozen in the surface of the water.
"Come on." Holly slid off Sakura gracefully. Jedda knickered, moving over to her new found friend.
I dismounted and let her go with Sakura, and helped Liela off Morgana.
"I'll show you what's behind the Willow." Holly pulled on my hand. Nick squeezed her other hand, and Philip, Liela and I followed with curious interest...

~Melanie

P.P.S. Caitlin will come to your wedding, BTW!

"Look," I said, pointing to a weathered old boat that was half frozen into the water. It was close to the bank, so we all precariously piled in and I ran my fingertips over where that beautiful pledge had been, and Mel squinted at the hardly legible carvings and began to read aloud,
"To my dear Sara...

~Holly })I({

[You continue it.]
{Thankyou!!!!!! I wanted her to come. She'll be a bridesmaid!}

"To my Dear Sara..." I squinted to see what else was written beneath the adressing.
"It has been ever so long since-" I broke off abruptly as I heard a crack. The ice!
"Come on, everyone get out!" I urged, almost projecting Liela onto the shore.
"Melanie!" I was the last one left in the boat, and the ice between me and the shore had cracked. There wasn't any way I could get back now!
"Philip, don't worry, I'll be alright." I told him, leaning out precariously over the bank to grasp my hand.
"Don't, you'll fall in." I said sharply.
I heard a whinny. Morgana trotted past Philip, and sunk into the icy water.
"Morga, gt out. You'll freeze!" If she didn't get out, she'd die!
She seemed to shake her head, and pressed up further, grabbing hold of the boat's tattered rope. She then bolted out of the water, haking with cold. The old boat was dragged up onto the shore, and I leapt out with a sigh of relief.
"Morga!" I hugged her tight. If we didn't take care of her now, she'd die of cold and shock. I untacked her as quickly as I could, and rubbed her all over with her saddle blanket, drying her shining ebony coat.
"Morga." I cried, hugging her neck for a moment. I rummaged through my saddle bag, and only found a light wool blanket. I tossed it over her back. She seemed to be alright. I sighed with relief again, and looked back to the boat, with a trail of broken ice behind it in the water.
The old boat sat on its side, a big crack in it. I shook my head disbelievingly.
"Go on, you guys all get back to the barn, Liela ride Jedda. I'll walk Morgana back." I stroked the brave mare's mane. Her breathing was still a little shallow, but she was going to be okay now...

~Melanie
(When is the wedding?)

"No, Jedda can sometimes be a little flighty." I said to Melanie, "Do you want Leila to ride with me?" I said, rummaging through my saddle bag and finding another blanket, and passing it to her.
"Here, better safe that sorry."

[I'm not sure. I think it will be after the baby... but I haven't really decided. I'm in no rush.]

Holly~

"Thanks." I took the blanket and watched the others rise home bfore leading Morgana slwoly round the sandy banks and into the trail again.
"Thank-you." I said appreciatively once more, hugging her neck as we walked along homewards.

~Melanie