Hanging with the Horses

['Tobi' Daire/ Adalyn Madison]

slow it down, make it stop
before my heart is gonna pop

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • [/center][/size]

The big, bright sun glowed down on the slickly grass of the school's campus as Tobi worked her way into the stables. She was desperately hoping for a ride on Dee, especially with how warm the weather was that day. It wasn't boiling, however, but quite close to it. Some of the horses looked up at Tobi as she walked past. It was a wonderful feeling as the breeze hit the teenager’s skin.

Browsing around for her favourite little chestnut coloured horse, Tobi fiddled with the long-sleeved shirt she currently wore. Maybe I should’ve worn something more… cooling. The sophomore wondered as she fanned herself with her hands, feeling as tanned and brown as Dee. Speaking of which, Tobi’s golden eyes wandered around, where was that horse?

The dark skinned stallion was Tobi’s best equine friend in the school, and he happened to have disappeared; which the frustrated Tobi disliked, since she needed someone to complain to. Eventually the chestnut horse was spotted behind an old gelding. Tobi almost squealed in joy as she found herself rushing towards Dee, arms stretched out. Hugging her six year old Campolina, Tobi told Dee about her first day: Transcripts, schedules and interviews had been settled. She complained about the steaming weather as she saddled the stallion, adding little jokes the orse souldn’t possibly understand. It didn’t matter. Dee whinnied and wheeled at all the right times, and that was all Tobi needed.

Toying with a broken buckle, Tobi grumbled once more to her equine. This time, the horse neighed mockingly at her and nudged her with his muzzle. ”Midsummer Day’s Dream, don’t laugh. It’s your buckle, anyways.”

[/color] Realizing how stupid she must’ve sounded, reprimanding her horse like that, Tobi looked around the stalls to see if anyone else was there. A few stalls away, stood a figure, obviously human.

Uh-oh.[/size][/blockquote]

[Sonya Williams]

Blake Monroe & Kentucky Rain

The warmth of the day was probably more suffocating than anything Blake had felt in a while. For him, the rough-around-the-edges fighting troublemaker that got choked at least once a month, that was saying something. Despite the warmth though, the junior was out of his English class and heading for the doors as soon as the bell rang to end classes for the day. God he was sick of this place and all its prissy people! At least he'd managed to keep his head down for the most part, just like his mom had asked. If he stayed out of trouble at a fancy boarding school, he could keep his rescued Thoroughbred, Kentucky Rain. Since Blake had seriously bonded with the stallion, he wasn't about to let his tendency to get in fights make his mom take away his horse.

Bursting out of the building with the language classes in it, Blake headed straight down to the barn. He didn't bother to head to the dorms and drop off his bag. Nobody would bother it in his tack trunk anyway. So, Blake strode into the barn and headed straight for the student-ruled tack room. In the corner of the trunk-lined room, Blake pulled out his riding boots out of his trunk along with Tucker's bridle and saddle blankets. Dumping his textbook-ladened bag into the trunk, he closed the lid and gathered up his boots and blankets. Going to the saddle racks, Blake found Tucker's saddle and added it to the pile he was carrying.

Making sure he had everything, Blake headed out into the stables.

Standing in a stall between a red roan and a black horse, Blake saw his slender-bodied retired racer looking back at him expectantly. Smiling, Blake approached the stall and dropped his riding boots next to the door, slinging the saddle and blanket over the half door of the stall. Tucker, still in his prime but retired from racing due to too many falls, looked back at him with passive brown eyes, snuffling softly. Blake stroked his muzzle and slipped inside the stall, setting about tacking up his racer.

'Midsummer Day’s Dream, don’t laugh. It’s your buckle, anyways.'

The words made Blake look up from checking the girth strap on Tucker's saddle. Peering over his stallion's back, Blake raised an eyebrow curiously, spotting a girl a few stalls down looking embarrassed.

"Having some trouble over there?" Blake called, not mocking but just asking.

Tucker swung his head to look toward the person Blake was talking to, ears perking up curiously.

['Tobi' Daire/ Adalyn Madison]

slow it down make it stop
before my heart is gonna pop

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • [/center][/size]

Tobi twitched as a voice spoke, and she realised it was a boy. She stepped out of her stall a little to get a better view of him. Both his hair and eyes were a dark brown, and he was taller than her by about four inches. She recognized him as a junior she had seen on campus, and secretly thought to be hot. She rubbed the back of her head awkwardly and smiled, eyes closed as not to see his reaction.

”Huh, what… oh. No, no problem. Just… my horses buckle broke and I’m scolding him for it.”

[/b][/color] Tobi spoke quickly, hoping she wouldn’t look a fool. She opened her eyelids and patted her horse. Then, realising how stupid she must’ve sounded, she added ”It has happened before.”[/b][/color] This in fact, was not a compete lie. Dee had once trodded on his buckle, causing it to snap. Of course it was also Tobi’s fault along with his, because she dropped it.

Tobi, you are a genius. [/b] She thought sarcastically, rolling her eyes at herself. Fiddling with the buckle for a few seconds she then continued, ”I got him two spare ones after that, which, by the way, this one happens to be part of.” [/b][/color] She tried to fix it one last time, until she gave up and decided to ride bareback.

She threw the lousy buckle aside and leapt onto Dee, using his mane as reins, getting ready to go for her intended ride. [/size][/blockquote]

[Sonya Williams]

Blake could tell the girl was embarrassed but he wasn't surprised that she talked to her horse. Really when you were at an equestrian academy, who didn't talk to their horse? How many hour-long conversations did Blake have with Tucker on a regular basis? Ok, not that many but he wasn't a talker really. When he did get going though, Tucker was one for an interesting conversation. Patting Tucker's neck, Blake slid back the bolt on his stall door and led the long-legged Thoroughbred out. He walked like a champ almost like he was strutting toward the starting gate. Blake knew the old racer wanted to race and hated retirement even though he wasn't past five years. He hadn't been good enough to keep around apparently. Leading Tucker toward the other girl, he raised a curious eyebrow when she swung herself up onto the horse's back without a saddle and wound her hands in the mane.

"You know, I'm sure they keep spare buckles in the tack room" Blake pointed out, not meanly but just bluntly. He wasn't a fan of riding bareback but, if she really wanted to it was whatever.

Tucker swung his head over Blake's shoulder, regarding the girl and mare for a long moment, swishing his tail. After a long brown-eyed stare at the mare, Tucker gave an imperial snort of disregard and pushed Blake's shoulder impatiently. He really wanted to get moving and stretch his legs. Blake hadn't had any equestrian classes today so Tucker needed his exercise before he danced right out of his well-groomed skin.

"Ignore him, he's a snob sometimes" Blake said, raising an eyebrow at his stallion. "Blake Monroe, by the way. Don't think we've met."

He put his boot in the stirrup of Tucker's saddle and swung himself up and on, looking back over at Tobi. She looked familiar. Was she in his biology class or something? She looked familiar but, there were a lot of people on campus and he didn't bother to learn the names of many.

['Tobi' Daire/ Adalyn Madison]

slow it down, make it stop
before my heart is gonna pop

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • [/center][/size]

Stopping on her tracks, Tobi looked around. They actually kept spare buckles around here? Huh, that’s cool. Happily, Tobi dismounted her Campolina and smiled giddily to herself. Riding bareback wasn’t something she wanted to do right now, especially with the weather. It could get really uncomfortable. She shot a grateful glance at the junior as he introduced himself.

”Blake, huh? I’m Miel. But most people just call me Tobi; my middle name prefers itself over my first. It’s Tobias actually, but yeah you get the point.”

[/b][/color] The teen quickly stopped herself before she made herself look a fool again. The boy in front of her didn’t look too eager to have a conversation. She exhaled, and began to head for the tack room to get a buckle.

She ran as fast as she could, and returned within less than a minute. Now she could finally have that desired ride.[/size][/blockquote]