Maya sat in the passenger seat as Jasper drove along the road. He had showed up that morning and asked if she wanted to go on a date with him. It had been surprising, but she had been delighted to accept. She had asked where they were going, but he only told her to wear comfortable pants.
Needless to say, her curiosity was peeked. While Jasper did like to surprise her with where they were going, knowing about her insatiable curiosity, he usually gave her more of an advanced notice. So today was definitely odd.
"So? Are you gonna tell me why you planned a date for today and didn't tell me?" she asked, her curiosity finally getting the best of her.
"I wasn't planning on taking you out today, but I got a call about something and figured that you would enjoy going with me" he replied cryptically.
She leaned back in her seat, tapping her lips with her index finger. "Hm, mysterious phone call huh. Does it have to do with vampire business?"
"No" he laughed, realizing that she was going to begin her guessing game as she always did. He found it adorable how curious she could be. She was similar to Bella in her need to ask questions and find answers. But while Bella was demanding and entitled, passing any boundaries to get her answers, Maya was more innocent, asking out of pure curiosity and knew when to not push.
Her questioning continued until Jasper pulled up a long driveway that led to a couple of big barns surrounded by fenced in fields with a couple horses grazing in them.
"A farm?" she questioned.
"Of sorts. People who own horses, but have no where to keep them, can house them here where they will be taken care of and looked after for you. I actually own a few myself and these people care for them for me so that I can come by and ride them from time to time" Jasper explained.
"Cowboy, you're meeting all the stereotypes here" she joked causing him to laugh.
"Yes, well one of my mares just had a colt this morning, that's what the call was about and I figured you might want to come meet him with me." Jasper was attempting to distract her, trying to steer her away from any cowboy jokes she could come up with and it was definitely working.
Maya gasped, "really?! Oh I would love to meet him! Come on!" She dragged him into the building ahead of them as he laughed at her enthusiasm.
They wandered down the rows of pens until Jasper pulled her to a stop at one. They both approached the door and peered over to see a mare with a newborn colt at her feet. The mare was a lovely shade of chocolate with a full black mane and tail that swished as they approached. Down her face was a stripe pattern of white hair, which Maya noticed was similar to the little guy's mark. But where his mother was lighter in colour, he was fully black besides that mark.
"Oh Jas, they're lovely!" Maya leaned over the door trying to get a better look at the little guy.
"Yeah, they are aren't they. But allow me to properly introduce you. Maya this lovely girl in front of you is Lady and Lady this is Maya." Jasper reached out to stroke Lady and bring her closer so she could catch Maya's scent and get to know her.
"Well how do you do Lady?" Maya asked as she reached out to touch her nose. "What about the little guy? What are you going to call him?"
"I don't know. Why don't you name him?" Jasper suggested.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. You think of a name for him while I have a talk with stable hand to make sure he is doing fine." Jasper placed a kiss on the top of her head before heading off to find the person who cared for his horses.
Maya turned back to the stall and leaned on the door, "Hm, what would be a good name for you little one? It's got to be something fitting because I can already tell that you are gonna grow up to be handful. That look in your eyes says it all; you will love adventure."
"Better keep a close eye on him, Lady." Maya warned turning to face the mare who let out a sound that Maya took as agreement.
Maya continued chatting with the two horses until Jasper came back. "Well Darlin' have you decided on a name for him yet?"
"Yep. I'm gonna call him Athos, if you're okay with that."
"Sure. But why that name?"
"Because Athos was the name of one of the three musketeers and they were always up to something. And I can tell this little guy is going to be an interesting one, so he needed a name that would fit." Maya explained with a nod of affirmation at the end.
"Alright, Athos it is. I will have them add his name to the stall later. In the meantime, do you want to try riding with me?" Jasper watched as her eyes lit up at the suggestion.
"You mean it?"
"Course I do Darlin', I'll teach you all you need to know to ride a horse."
Maya squealed quietly, jumping up and down in excitement. She had always wanted to learn how to ride but had never had the opportunity. While most of the Volturi knew due to the time period they had been turned, it had been far too sunny in Italy for any of them to actually teach her.
Well, there had been that one time that Demetri had snuck a horse into the castle to try and teach her to ride. But they had been quickly found out and the horse sent away, so she really didn't count that. Although watching her two mother figures lecture him for over two hours about the mess the horse had made had been good entertainment.
Jasper laughed at her obvious delight as he led her over to another set of stalls to introduce her to his other two horses.
"This big stallion here is Alistair, he's Athos's father, and the mare is Grace" Jasper introduced.
Maya looked both over, Alistair was a big one and looked almost identical to his son. The only difference being that Athos had a white spot on his head and Alistair was completely black. Grace in almost opposition was a lovely dappled light grey mare with a slightly darker mane and tail.
Jasper opened up Grace's stall door and led Maya inside to meet her, letting the two get comfortable with each other as he saddled her. Of the two horses, he knew that Grace had the gentler and more forgiving nature, which would be a better match for a first-time rider like Maya. When he was done, he moved onto Alistair to get him ready before leading them all outside to a small enclosed area.
Jasper tied Alistair to the fence and moved Grace towards the centre so he could give Maya a lesson on the basics. He began by explaining the saddle and harness and what each part was meant for or how she was to use it before teaching her how to mount.
Thanks to her abilities as a shifter, she didn't have much trouble getting on or finding a comfortable way to sit. She also sent out a silent thanks for the fact that balance also came easy to her thanks to her abilities as Grace shifted under her.
Once Jasper was sure she was steady, he began to adjust the stirrups to her leg length as he gave her pointers on how to hold the reins. Then he stepped back and gave her a chance to lead Grace around the small area so he could observe and point out any issues she had.
Finally, when he was satisfied with her abilities, he opened the gate and untied Alistair, mounting him as he did so. He led her out of the small area and towards a trail he often road that was nice and flat from years of use that wound through the woods. The two joked and chatting the whole time, Maya mainly cracking jokes about him being a "real cowboy" as he rolled his eyes good-naturedly.
When they came to the end of the trail, that had looped around so they were back at the start, they began to wonder up and down the fences. As they went, Jasper would point out different horses and tell her a little about each type and what made them unique. She had smiled all throughout this, loving the way his eyes lit up as he spoke of them. It was clear for her to see that he had a passion for horses and given how the horses responded to him, obviously a gift for handling them.
By the time they had returned to the barn, her legs were sore but she was happy to have seen this side of him as from what she could tell he did not show it to many people. Jasper was happy as well. He was glad that Maya had enjoyed the day with him and he was also delighted to have had the opportunity to share this passion with her.
They returned Alistair and Grace to their stalls, Jasper showing her how to properly brush Grace down after he removed the tack. When both horses were clean and fed, they went to say goodbye to Lady and Athos before heading back to their car. They spent most of the ride in companionable silence, Maya being tired from the long day.
When they reached her house, she had leaned over to give a Jasper a sweet kiss as thanks for the day. Although it quickly became a short make-out session that ended as her dad came out of the house to check on them.
"Thanks for the lovely day Jas and for showing me your horses" she said leaning forward and resting her elbows on the seat of the truck after she had gotten out.
"Not at all Darlin'. I'm just happy you enjoyed yourself." he offered her a smile, which she returned.
"You coming to see me tonight?"
"As soon as I hunt I will" he promised.
She gave a nod before turning to head into the house, Jasper waiting until she had gotten inside before heading home.