Stables
Upon entering, the nose is assaulted with the smell of fresh hay mingled with the smell of runners, not at all an unpleasant mixture. The lazy buzzing of vtols and an occasional snort or whinny helps to break the silence. On either side of the massive room are rows of stalls, each kept meticulously tidy by the stablehands.
A doorway leads back to the rest of the herder's area, while other exits and gates open out to the courtyard and a nice green pasture.
You see Glory, Quicksilver, Wildfire, Enigma, Beast Pen, SilverWind, Misty, and Peppered here.
The following runners are here, and not in the stables: Cornix, Araby, Purple, Blue, Surreal, and Breeze
There are runners in the stables. Type '@stable' to see a list.
From here you can go:
Pastures HerderHall
Courtyard Ladder

Avaly has arrived.
Avaly arrives.

Beast Pen
A rather extensive Pen oftentimes filled with the various beasts of the HerderHall. OOC: The animals in here are for sale. Contact a Herder should you have one catch your eye.
Contents:
Proud Bay Runner
Rich Black Runner
Chestnut Stallion
Fuzzy Round Pony
Playful Ebon and Snowflake Hued Runner

Aldrea is standing off to one side, head bowed over an intricate tangle of reins and bridle. A soft muttering can be heard every now and then before small hands move over the leather, untangling it from the mess someone had made it into. "Sharding apprentice..." is her only audible comment.

Aldrea
Glowing embers peer out of a smooth, narrow face, sparking with a joy of life that only a child should possess. Shortened brunette locks befall the smallish head and dance about her slender shoulders as they gently curl back towards her face. The dark hair sets out her ivory skin tone perfectly, it a bit too much for one's eyes to gaze upon. Pert little nose rises from her face and a smile curves below, allowing dimples at such times of great happiness. But that smile can disappear as soon as it shines forth... she was a shy one. Short neck leads down into a small torso, developed though not outstandingly so. Young... that is what her body speaks of so far. A slim waist then moves towards long legs, muscular, though not overly so. Speaking of such, her feet aren't much to gaze at either. They just sort of peek out from the ends of her legs and carry her where she wishes without complaint.
Her clothing is pretty simple really. Nothing to gawk at or swoon about draps this trim figure, though it sets out her features quite nicely. A light blue tunic covers her upper half, the neck strings holding it shut tightly and the lower portion being belted down. The belt, made of soft wher-hide, clings tightly to her small form and makes the tunic bag a bit about it. Frolicing runnerbeasts careen about the belt and the buckle is of a subdued gold hue. Her trous are a simple brown color, nearly matching her hair. They crinkle at her ankles where the cuffs meet with her shoes of soft leather. A deep, rich brown they are and make her feet look smaller than they actually are.
A knot of yellow and white tell of her belonging to the Herder Craft as a Senior Apprentice.
She is awake and looks alert.
Aldrea just looked at you.

Avaly
The Harper's long locks of honey-brown hair have just recently been chopped off late one night. Now the longest bits end just below her shoulders, while the shortest bits end at her jawline. The layers aren't cut into her hair in a way that they blend in. Instead they're slightly choppy and ... different. Most of the time she has them curled so that the layers aren't quite as noticable. Pale blue eyes take everyting in from under long lashes that caress her cheeks when she blinks. Skin is pale with a hint of sunkissed sheen to it. Lips are a wonderful rose color and are often seen in song or just a smile. Limbs are long and slender, almost graceful. Her body is well toned as it should be after hours of running after kidlets. Though her limbs might be well toned the right areas have slender curves. Her bustline is again more curvy than the rest of her. Though quite curvy uptop, one would never make the mistake of calling her topheavy.
Tight and clingy are the two words the best describe what the young harper has chosen to wear today. Deep brown wher-hide pants seem to be a second skin, conforming to every curve of the slender legs that support Avaly. The top is just as tight as the pants and has long sleeves that appear to be made out of scraps of fabric in different shades of blue, infact that's how they were made. The shirt has a low v-neck to it and a circlet of the deep hide can be seen hugging Avaly's neck, with a small deep blue stone hanging from the middle of it. On her feet are boots in the same color and material as the pants and go up just a little way.
Upon the Harper's shoulder is the knot of a Journeyman Harper. Intertwined are cords in Igen's colors since that is where she's posted.
She is awake and looks alert.

Avaly comes walking in and blinks a bit as words she so often mutters come floating over to her, "Hello?" She carefully heads further into the stables, not wishing to startle anyone.

Aldrea looks up from the bridle, turning upon her heel at the voice. "Oh, hello. I didn't know anyone had come in." She places the leather mess upon a matching saddle before dusting her hands together and moving towards the harper. "Senior Apprentice Aldrea... can I help you?" She reaches out a hand in greeting to the other, smile warm upon her face.

Avaly smiles and takes the offered hand, "Harper Journeyman Avaly." She nods at the mass of leather and comments, "Seems you have quite a mess there, and well met." Umm ... get to the point silly harper, oh yeah. Ava glances at a few of the runners with a slightly wrinkled nose, "Actually, I've been thinking about getting a runner. Thought it would be best to come down and actually talk with someone."

"Pleasure, Journeyman Avaly," is Aldrea' reply before her gaze shifts back to the bridle with a faint sigh. "Yes... one of the apprentices thought it'd be fun to play a joke and in the process, tangled that bridle up." That said, she follow Avaly's gaze to the runners, her grin broadening. "You are welcome to look at the ones we have in stock... or order a specific one."

Avaly smirks and nods, "Last time someone tried to play a joke on me, they got the wrong clothing chest. My poor fellow jman had purple splotched clothes for a while." She winks and then steps over to the stock pen, eyeing the runners kept there, "Are there any that would do better in a warmer climate? I'm posted at Igen but I go back and forth quite a bit."

Aldrea gives a soft laugh as she shakes her head. "I'm glad that wasn't thought of," she comments wryly before looking over the runner stock slowly. "Taken care of, any of them would do fine in Igen. It just depends on what you want and how much time you'd be willing to give it." She reaches out and strokes the soft nose of a curious runner, giggling softly as it lips at her fingers. "If you don't see one here, you could ask for a more specific kind, breed, temper... and I'd send the order out for our other stocks to be looked over. It all depends on you."

Avaly nods, "Well I have plenty of time and plenty of helpers. And I've been considering this for quite some time." She leans against the railing to look the available runners over, "Which of these here, is the best tempered?" Gaze keeps returning to the deep black one wandering about while the harper keeps asking questions. She'd just outright get that one, but would rather at least appear to have come prepared with important questions...even if they're only slightly necessary questions.

Aldrea is silent for a time, her critical gaze running over the runners up for sell. She moves slightly to get a better look before returning to where Avaly was standing. "They all pretty much have the same temper... the ones for sell." Head nod as she strokes another curious nose. "If you want something different, you'd have to order it. It's so that an apprentice or someone won't end up with a hot-tempered runner they can't handle."

Avaly laughs and nods, "I wouldn't want one I couldn't handle either." She finally nods over at the one she's been eyeing, "What about him over there?"

Aldrea steps into the pen, moving through the runners slowly before taking the halter of the stallion. Stroking his nose, she mutters a few things and offers him a slice of tuber before leading him towards Avaly. "He's not as hot-tempered as some can be. But since he's a stallion, he has his moments." She winks at the other. "What do you think?"

Avaly smiles and holds out a hand to the stallion, "We all have our moments." She keeps her hand held out for a few moments so she doesn't seem like anything new and scarey, before lightly running a finger along his nose, "He's definately something to look at."

Aldrea chuckles softly as she strokes the strong neck, watching as the stallion reaches out to delicately sniff at Avaly. "Yes, he's a beautiful runner," she says fondly before tilting her head at the harper. "Is he the one, or...?" she trails off, fingers still twined with the halter as she waits for the other's response.

Avaly tilts her head to one side as she watches the stallion. After a little while a small smile begins to tug at the corners of her lips, "He very well might be." You know harpers, never seeming to actually frimly agree to anything. She nods slightly as she winks at the stallion, "He very well might be." It's the only answer you'll get out of her, and she won't say it for any of the others.

Aldrea raises one brow, but her grin is still there... she's had experiance with Harpers. "Well, how about that one?" Her finger points towards the bay, testing the other to make sure. "Or that one?" The snowflake one is now singled out, though her hand is still firmly planted on the rich stallion's halter.

Avaly glances out at the others, gaze lingering on the snowflake one for a moment before she says simply, "I don't know about them....they seem kind of ...." Voice trails off with a wave of her hand. Seems the harper's settled.

Aldrea's grin grows upon her features as she nods. "Okay, then." That's all as she gently leads the stallion to the small gate and moves out of the pen, runner following. Carefully closing the gate behind them, she moves to Avaly's side, beam along her features. "If you're sure about this one..." She waits for confermation before she voices the mark amount.

Avaly reaches out to run a hand along the stallion's neck, smile still playing at her lips, "As sure as one can be I suppose."

"Are you going to buy a saddle and bridle or go the bareback method?" Aldrea questions before looking over the stallion again. "Without, he's placed at fifteen and a half marks. With the saddle and bridle depends on the type and detailing you want."

Avaly nods a bit as she mentally goes over how many marks she's saved up, "I'll probably go bareback actually." She's had a little experience with both and likes the feel of the runner under her more than the feel of the saddle under her.

Aldrea laughs before she moves to the wall with the runner and clips a leadshank onto his halter. "He comes with the halter and lead," she comments with a wink before handing the long, braided rope to Avaly. "I hope you two get along well... and if you ever do require a saddle and bridle, just come on back."

You remove Rich Black Runner from Beast Pen.
Rich Black Runner has arrived.

Rich Black Runner
The sleek shine of a rich sable coat reflects every curve of muscle and sinew of this stallion. A long dash of white lightning dances across this runner's sable forehead down to his fine tapered nose as it draws attention to the bright intelligent dark eyes, overshadowed by a heavy growth of raven's wing-black forelock and mane. The high pool arches over a thick neck, spreading down over smooth withers and slender haunches. His legs have clean confirmation, long and graceful with not a splotch of white on any of them. Tuffs of wavy hair form all small curtains around his black colored hooves. A long and naturally full, the black banner of his tail hands down to his pasterns to finish off his magical look.

The runnerbeast Rich Black Runner has the following abilities (ranked out of 10).
Speed: 6
Stamina: 4
Jumping: 6
Temperament: 5

Avaly nods as she takes the lead roap and halter, "I'll make sure to do that. And I'm sure you'll see him now and again since I'm here nearly as often as I'm at Igen." She winks and then takes the appropriate number of marks from their spot - her shirt of all places, "Here ya go. Should be fifteen and a half there ..."

Aldrea quickly counts and nods, placing the marks into a small pouch at her side before giving the stallion a departing scratch. "Thank you," she voices softly, her grin wide as she takes a step away from the runner. A hide and stylus are procurred from somewhere and a note is made before they're replaced. "If he falls ill, this is the best place to bring him if you're anywhere in the vicinity." Gotta make sure all is said and done.

Avaly smiles and nods, "Well, let's hope that doesn't happen." Stallion nods his head almost in agreement, though it's more of a normal run of the mill head nodding, "Now all I need to do is think up a name for the guy."

Aldrea chuckles softly as she moves towards the tangled bridle, picks it up and fingers it.. trying to find out what exactly the apprentice had done. "I hope not either," she comments softly, looking at the new pair with twinkling eyes. "Good luck on the name."

Avaly giggles as she leads the stallion off to an empty stable, "What do you think of Starlight?" The question is for runner and Aldrea.

Aldrea works at the bridle as she thinks, lips pursed slightly. "Starlight... it fits him. He has more black than white on him anyhow."

Avaly nods, "That's what I was thinking." She nods, deciding upon it, "Starlight it is then." She's busy fussing over the stallion for a few moments before she looks over at Aldrea, "Can I keep him here for a little while I check on things in the hall?"

Avaly whips out a stylus and begins penning a note.
Avaly finishes whatever note she was writing and pays attention again.

Aldrea moves down the line of stalls, hands continuous in working on the fine leather. Stopping in front of an empty one, she peeks inside before jerking her head at it. "You can stick him in here. It's all ready for him."

Avaly smiles, "Thanks. Probably be a little easier on him if he gets to stay here for just a little while longer." Easier on the harper too. That said she heads over to the empty stable, Starlight in tow.

Aldrea finally gets the bridle untangled, a sigh of relief given as she moves back to the saddle and hangs the bridle on a hook set into the wall for cleaning. Rubbing her hands together, she takes a pitchfork and leans against it, grinning. "Yes, though he's probably glad to be out of the pens."

Avaly considers that and nods in agreement, "I know I sure would be. After being cooped up with so many others." She glances around until she finds a suitable brush and starts to work on Starlight's coat ... didn't she say she had stuff to take care of ... yes but oh well.