Second Glances, Second Chances

"Sure," Brian smiled, carrying package of fish wrapped in brown paper. "But wait til you see this. Come on. You have to meet the hippogryff." He personally liked the hippogryff and he and Angus tried to take it out regularly. It didn't do to have a restless hippogryff. He walked her back down the stables, telling her about how Dumbledore had entrusted Kate to the hippogryff when it was a juvenile, and how it had simply stayed. When it was old enough to leave, it had simply refused to go. And so, Robert and Kate had kept it. It was that simple. Brian educated Faith about how to introduce herself to the hippogryff.

Brian brought Faith into the stall one step behind him, with the stringer of fish well in sight. He knew the creature well enough to not have to go through the formalities of the introductions, but he did it anyway so that Faith could also introduce herself. He took the fish off the stringer and said, "You can feed him if you want. Toss the fish into the air. He'll catch it. Trust me, he never misses a meal."

Faith grinned and walked after Brian, feeling more alive then she had ever felt before. The energy around her, of the animals, and the magical creatures, and the family, it was starting to affect her, but the animals were affecting her the most, and she loved it, every single second of it. She followed along, and then stared at Brian as he made his move towards the Hippogriff. He bowed, waited, and the Hippogriff bowed back.

Faith nodded at Brian and then moved a step forward, keeping eye contact she bowed to the Hippogriff, and after a long moment of hesitation in which Faith nearly took a step back, the Hippogriff bowed back. Looking relieved she looked at Brian and grinned, happy that she had done it. When she was handed the fish, she looked slightly repulsed, but nodded and tossed the fish up into the air. And without even blinking, the Hippogriff caught it in it's beak and the fish was gone. "Can I touch it?" she whispered, looking at the magnificent creature, amazed at how beautiful and bizarre it was.

"Sure," Brian said, petting its beak. The hippogryff nudged Brian who fed him another fish. "Have you ever ridden one before? Its pretty darned amazing and one heck of a lot of fun. I might fly him a bit today. I have to do it today or tomorrow anyway. And the weather is perfect for flying today. You're welcome to come along for the ride if you want.

"I should have Archangel just go along with us. He needs some flight time too. And if you go along you can get a good idea of the layout of the grounds and where things are. I'd like you to not be lost when you go outside. If you can get a view of it, it will be easier to get your bearings later. And if that fails, there are several magical ways to get back to the house from the grounds. "

Faith's moved forward and pet him gently, stroking the soft feathers while he ate the second fish. When he asked if she wanted to ride him however, she turned her head sharply and stared at Brian. "R-Ride him?" She asked her voice a squeak. "I-I don't think that's such a good idea.. I mean.. riding things.. up high like that... and being.. up high... on.. on him?" She let her face turn to the Hippogriff, who puffed out his chest. "Not that I don't trust you sweetie." She said gently, and he calmed down.

"I'm just not very good with heights.." She said, her eyes going to the ground as she stroked his feathers again, finding a good spot, and the hippogriff lifted his head, his eyes closing as she scratched it. Faith smiled slightly and glanced at Brian. "I'm just not good with heights.. me and high things that aren't trees don't get along very well.. specially not.. things that high up.. with nothing stable to hold onto.." She said looking extremely nervous.

"Okay,' Brian smiled. "That's okay. I'll take him out when the kids nap this afternoon.. So--lets stick a little closer to the ground. " He tossed the rest of the fish to the hippogryff and when they left the stall, he secured the door behind them.

He flicked his wand into the air. "Saddle up Chelsea and Midas!" he ordered. Saddles, blankets, bridles, bits, and tack, flew into two different stalls and Brian heard the snapping and clicking and clinking of the two horses being magically saddled. By the time they reached the stalls, the saddling was done. He opened the first stall and led out a light tan colored mare.

"This is Chelsea," he said. "She's very gentle. I think you'll get along with her just fine." He handed Faith the reins to she could get acquainted with Chelsea. While she was doing that, he opened the stall door and got out a tall, gunmetal gray colored stallion. "This is Midas," Brian said. "He's a runner. He needs to stretch his legs even if its just for a long walk. If not, he gets cranky. He's always more than ready to go out, no matter what the weather is. Just so you know, he can be a bit opinionated, so he needs a firm hand. You do need to show him you're the boss or he'll wander you all over the bloody property before he brings you back. Robert's been working with him, though, and he's much better.

"Have you ever ridden before?" he asked.

Faith nodded and left the stall with Brian, before she watched him take out a beautiful mare. She took the reins, and gently pet the horses nose. Grinning as she did, running her hand across the beautiful hair. She listened as he spoke, nodding along with what he said. She hoped that she wouldn't have to ride THAT horse... but she supposed if it was ever needed, she could learn someday.. for now, she'd stick with the gentle one, and learn how to even make them GO, let alone control them so that they didn't go wandering everywhere.

When he asked if she had ever ridden before, her face turned beet red. "To be honest Mr. Lupin.. I've never even seen a horse before today.. let alone a unicorn, or a hippogriff... or a pygmy puff!" Her face was red, and she looked confused and slightly upset. "I don't even know how to do any of it.. I've never been in a barn.. or.. or.. well I've seen pictures of horses.. and eagles.. and.. I've seen the cats, owls, and toads at Hogwarts.. I saw a rat once.." She said, her face going red. "And a boy at school when I went to Muggle School brought in a dog for show and tell one day.." She looked at the ground and held onto the reins loosely. "I've never really been around too many animals..."

"Well, not to worry," Brian said, "you're doing very well. For someone who hasn't been around animals, you do look to me as if you have a natural touch for them. If you follow my lead, you can do this. Watch. Come around to the left side of the horse." He walked around to the left side of Midas. "Put your left foot into the stirrup--not your right. Its easy to get that bit screwed up. Use the saddlehorn to pull yourself up and swing your leg over. " He demonstrated and slid into Midas's saddle. "Getting off is the same thing in reverse. Right leg over and down to the ground, and left foot out of the stirrup. If you think you need a hand, I'll help you up if you like. Getting your foot into the stirrup isnt so much the problem for women as much as it is having to pull your body weight up with your arms and your shoulders. It's pretty normal for a first time rider to need help getting off and on."

He smiled and said, "Sometime I'll tell you about Khaat and I learning to ride. We do have a few stories about that. If a mistake could be made on a horse, I guarantee you one of us has already done it."

Faith looked at him as he demonstrated getting onto the horse, and she looked at her horse nervously. She had climbed a fair few trees in her life, if only to get into a comfortable position so she could read, but she had climbed them, and gotten in trouble for climbing them, and fallen from them, but horses were different, they moved, they could get scared and run, they were sunk into the ground like a tree was, they were on hooves and she was deadly afraid of hurting it on accident.

However, Faith couldn't help but feel slightly happy when he had called her a natural with animals. She had always wanted to get to know animals, wanted to be around them. She had never been given an opportunity too, she watched him and frowned slightly, before she went to the correct side of the horse, put her foot up into the stirrup and attempted to pull herself up. She pulled herself up, and fell back down, her foot trapped effectively in the stirrup. "Can I get some help?" She asked, looking up at him, her foot still in the stirrup, her face beet red.

"Oh, you have no idea how many times Khaat and I have done that," He said, dismounting a lot faster than he'd gone up. It only took him a moment to rescue her and to help her comfortably up in the saddle. He rested his hand on her ankle and her knee for a moment, knowing that it could cause some twisting. He drew off the pain before it got started for her. He didn't figure she would even notice that she'd ever twisted it. His healer's hands had immediately detected most of the past injuries her body still held record of. And the ones he was already sure she was trying to keep hidden. He said nothing. He did nothing to change how he treated her, how he approached her.

"Let me know if that ankle bothers you," he did say, though. "I was on crutches for days once after doing that. Don't just try to put up with it. That's what Angus tries to do. I'd rather he just speak up. That man gets more bumps and bruises and never says a word unless he just can't freaking find a way to hide it. Better?" He handed her the reins. "Now if you want her to go forward, nudge your heels here into her side." he moved Faith's foot to show her where to nudge Chelsea at. "Guide the direction she goes with the reins. You'll do fine. She knows the trails well. And I'll be right beside you."

He went back over and mounted Midas and picked up the stallions reins. "Ready?" he asked Faith.

Faith smiled slightly, but looked tense when he helped her up. Her smile was forced, and her hands were shaking slightly. It was the first time he had touched her since she had gotten here, and it had shaken her, even though she had asked for help, it was still a shock to find his hands on her in a way that wasn't like her father was.. in fact, he took away pain.. pain that had just barely began to spring up in her knee and ankle, before it was gone, she knew he was fixing it, and her eyes went wide, trying not to look to startled.

Faith smiled at him and nodded slowly. "Thank you.." She said slowly, and nodded when he showed her the way to move, and how to get her started. "Alright.." she said softly, and she gently kicked the horse where he had said to, and the mare started forward, moving at a gentle pace, as though she knew that Faith was new to this, and didn't want to startle her. Faith felt the sway of the horse beneath her, and she gulped, holding onto the reins tightly, her eyes as large as saucers. "This is so weird!" She exclaimed.