Falcon’s been takin’ Meikiko off to ride ponies. He told me that (or maybe Cooper said he said?) ages ago, back inna summer when I went an’ visited Pip in Washington. But I never figured out where they went, or where the barn was at, or nothin’. An’ I haven’t had much luck with trackin’ ’em to their ridin’ spot. I kept gettin’ sidetracked by things, like watchin’ birds, or trackin’ animals, or maybe those holes… (I know they’re probably made by those cicada bugs an’ all, but I’m still watchin’ for giants onna pogo stick!) You never know when somethin’s gonna turn ugly.
Anyhow, I followed ’em right this time an’ found the barn where the ponies live! At first, I stayed back an’ just watched, cuz they were gettin’ things ready, an’ I think horses get kinda scared if they don’t know you too well? But…oooh… The barn’s inna clearing inna woods, kinda tucked back down a lane where I don’t go too much.
I’ve met Pip’s unicorn herd an’ fed ’em some apples an’ stuff, but I ain’t never met a real horse before. Or ridden one. But here was little Meikiko, doin’ somethin’ new an’ brave an’ awesome! When I tracked in, they already had the horses outta barn an’ were gettin’ ready. I couldn’t quite hear from where I was, but it looked at first like Falcon was tellin’ Meikiko stuff, cuz he stayed onna ground while she asked her pony to do things (like walk forward an’ stop an’ go round inna circle)
Then I thought I heard Falcon make a sound, a sorta whistle-cluck? An’ I saw the other horse come up off inna distance an’ head towards ’em.
When it got up close, Falcon grabbed onna its neck hair, gave a li’l hop, an’ suddenly he was sittin’ onna pony’s back. Just…pop!…an’ up he went. Pony didn’t even blink, an’ he made it look real easy.
I’m not sure how the horse knew where to go, though, cuz he didn’t have a collar-thing round its head, like Meikiko’s horse had. But Falcon an’ Meikiko circled round the barn a time or so, with Falcon inna front, then they set off down a trail together.
I should’ve waited for them to get back, but I popped outta woods then an’ snuck over to the barn to look around. There wasn’t much to find, tho. Some buckets. Some sawdust onna floor. There was a ladder up above the stall, but there wasn’t much up there either, except spider webs an’ hay. I went peek-a-booing round a bit, just havin’ fun, then I sat down outside the barn to wait.
It was nice there, sittin’ inna sun. The barn smelled woodsy from alla hay an’ sawdust, an’ it was warm. The birds were singin’ an’ squirrels were runnin’ round with acorns an’ pinecones an’ things. It was warm an’ comfy.
After a bit, I saw Falcon an’ Meikiko come ridin’ back on the ponies. Falcon saw me an’ pointed, but neither pony seemed upset bout me bein’ there.
When they came up, Falcon hopped offa his pony an’ helped Meikiko off hers (she was so short up there! It looked like an’ awful long way down. But she didn’t seem bothered at all by it). They gave me hugs an’, while Meikiko took off her pony’s saddle an’ stuff, Falcon introduced me to his pony.
Her name is Whisper. She has soft fur an’ tickly lips an’ big, warm eyes. I like her. Meikiko’s pony is named Griffin. Falcon says he’s a sweetie. He followed Meikiko around like a puppy–like a good puppy! Made me think bout Riley followin’ me round the house. Falcon walked Whisper round the barn a bit, an’ she followed him close. He said he hadda walk her so she’d cool down before he put her back inna barn. I walked with him an’ Whisper until he said she was good an cooled down.
When we were saying goodbye to Whisper an’ Griffin, Falcon asked if I’d wanna come back with them to the barn an’ maybe learn to ride too. Yes please!
~Kestrel
Kestrel's Roost 