A Bit of Playing Around Never Hurts

This was the second time Aslan had found himself trying to claim a teddy cob. He double checked his pockets every five minutes, in fear he would lose his bell. And this was not a situation he’d want to lose something. Aslan walked up with Hawley to observe the newest group of ponies, and almost immediately his gaze fell upon one particular stallion. He was slightly taller than Aslan’s current two cobs, and his head shot up multiple times, ears swivelling in every direction trying to make sense of the unfamiliar situation.

“I think I’m going to try for that one,” Aslan said to Hawley, pointing at him. Hawley checked the piece of paper displaying pictures of each horse and some basic information on them.
“It says his name is Cabaret,” Hawley showed Aslan the sheet. Aslan leaned over and read the notes written for the grey. In clean handwriting read, ‘Spirited stallion, not suited for beginners’. Aslan scoffed, shaking his head.
“Of course this guy is difficult, that’s just my luck.” He checked the ribboned bell was still in his pocket and entered through the gate towards the ponies.

Cabaret’s head immediately picked up when he noticed Aslan beelining for him. He snorted and stood tall, assessing if this new human was a threat. He shook his head and trotted off, leaving Aslan’s first attempt at gaining a new friend unsuccessful. Aslan sighed and took a wide arc around the paddock making sure the pony didn’t feel too bothered, looking at the others as he went.

After a few minutes, Aslan tried approaching Cabaret again. He trotted off once more, holding his head and tail high as if to taunt the poor guy. Still, Aslan was determined to claim this teddy.
The chase turned into a game after a while, and Aslan could tell that Cabaret was enjoying it. The stallion would snort and trot around proudly each time, mocking his pursuer with a joyous glint in his eye, and Aslan was not having any of it.

Eventually, Aslan gave up and walked back to the fence to take a break and have some water. Hawley was looking at him in amusement.
“Having fun?” he joked, earning a scowl in return. Hawley had attempted a claim on Montana earlier, and a pink ribbon with a bell tied on the end was on the pony as a result of his efforts.
“It’s not fair, how come you got an easy one?” Aslan whined, leaning on the fence watching the horses.
“I’ve been around horses a lot longer than you have, you get better with experience.”
With that, Aslan shrugged, screwed the cap back on his water bottle and went back for another try at reasoning with the stallion.

Cabaret was much more relaxed than before, grazing underneath a nearby fir tree. He lifted his head once more as Aslan approached, but he didn’t move. Aslan held his hand out for the stallion, and he extended his neck to sniff briefly before going back to eating. Even though he knew it was risky, Aslan moved towards his shoulder, picking up a silky chunk of his mane. Cabaret turned around to see what was up as the man got busy braiding the ribbon in with the mane. When he was done, he tied it and stood back to admire his work.

“Not bad,” he muttered to himself before giving Cabaret a quick pat and walking back to Hawley, grinning.
“Did you see that? I finally did it!” Aslan exclaimed with joy. Hawley let out a chuckle and nodded.
“Yeah, you did pretty good.”