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Post by Cara-Jean Kitchi on Dec 25, 2011 4:37:50 GMT -5
Cara shrugged as if it were nothing, a little disappointed to hear that she would more often than not be alone during the holidays. At least it would give her a chance to work on her riding and training though.
She watched the twinkling lights, thinking of how they reminded her of the stars that she had slept under while trying to save the life of an abused pony a few years earlier. She shook the memory off before it could take a hold of her and play itself out in a full-length motion picture.
She traced a circle on the carpet with the toe of her sock, working through the ballet positions as she created the circle, trying to think of how to answer the older girl's question without revealing too much. She finally shrugged, knowing that it would come out in the open sooner or later. "I don't have a home to return to, so I generally opt to remain on campus during the holidays. Previous schools have allowed me to help keep the mounts in work and keep up my own training."
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Post by Thoroughbred on Dec 25, 2011 21:57:51 GMT -5
Summer was surprised. She loved college and everything, but staying on campus - alone must suck. "Do you want to come home with me over break?" she offered gently. Her house wasn't exactly cozy - it was a nice house, but her parents weren't very friendly. Everything in the house (except for her and Trey's room) felt incredibly untouchable and cold, as if an alarm would go off if you touched anything. The house was basically very serious - there were few family photos hanging on the walls and everything was kept incredibly tidy. Summer doubted Cara would want to come over to her house, after all, her father had been very rude to Cara (and the rest of the riding team!) in the past.
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Post by Cara-Jean Kitchi on Dec 26, 2011 0:59:36 GMT -5
Cara's eyebrows shot up, this isn't what she had meant to happen at all, though the idea did sound nice. "Um, I'm not sure if I'd be allowed." She replied. "My social worker is really fussy about the families I go an stay with." Which was true, her social worker only ever seemed to find her the most evil of people to stay with - the main reason for her timid personality - and she didn't think he'd let her go home with other teenagers from school. Although, Troy's cocky attitude could sway him in the right direction.
She chewed her lower lip. "I don't think your father would be too impressed with the idea either. I don't think he likes very much that I'm on the varsity team with a pony." She worried her lip with her teeth again as another thought flashed into her brain. "What do you know of Thunder's history? His attitude in the arena doesn't match his face, if I may say so." She didn't ever share her analysis of horse personalities with anyone, but the large gelding had been playing on her mind a lot recently and she wanted to know if she could help horse and rider connect a little better with each other - even if there was the chance of ticking off the older girl's father even more then her presence already seemed to do.
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Post by Thoroughbred on Dec 27, 2011 0:49:58 GMT -5
Summer sighed. Her father's unfriendliness was embarrassing. "I doubt it's the fact that you're riding a pony - he just doesn't seem to like anybody on the team. Including myself. He's always expected some Olympic dream team or something, which is utterly ridiculous," Summer said rolling her blue eyes. "My father and mother are rarely at home, so I'm sure you'd be able to come to my house. They wouldn't know the difference if you were there or not. Seriously, talk to your social worker about it. I'd love to have you over." And I'm sure my brother would love for you to come over, too, Summer thought.
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Post by Cara-Jean Kitchi on Dec 27, 2011 3:28:23 GMT -5
Cara pressed her lips together, the idea of going and staying at a house for the holidays was beginning to sound more and more like something she wanted to do, even if she knew that she wasn't going to be there to work. "I could phone him and ask." She said softly as she fished the phone he had given her out of her pocket, a blush creeping up her cheeks as she knew she had told the older girl that she didn't have one. Pushing the call button twice, she held the phone up to her head, her shoulders hunched as she waited for the man to answer.
After a lengthy phone conversation, and Cara holding the phone away from her ear for most of his part of the conversation, the girl pushed the end button and looked at Summer with a half smile. "He said I could go, but he's going to phone your father first."
She walked over to her desk and picked up one of her sketchbooks and her favourite charcoal pencil. She had noted that her roommate hadn't answered her question about her mount's history and Cara wasn't going to push the question as it really wasn't any of her business. Opening the book, she held it against one arm and made a couple of quick, but very detailed sketches of Thunder's face; portrait and side on.
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Post by Thoroughbred on Dec 27, 2011 16:30:48 GMT -5
(ooc: oh, my bad! i forgot to talk about thunder! >.<)
Summer raised an annoyed eyebrow when Cara pulled out the cellphone, but decided not to say anything. She didn't want to start a petty argument over a phone. "Awesome. I'll text my dad about it," Summer said, quickly retrieving her iPhone. She quickly and lightly tapped the screen, composing the message, and sent it. "I sent it," Summer said. She walked over to the corner of the room that had a small minifridge. The minifridge was on a small bedside table/stand, and directly beneath the stand was a basket of assorted snacks. Summer selected a bag of chips, walked back to her bed and sat on it, careful not to get any crumbs all over her sheets. She smoothed down her tight black yoga pants. "Anyways, about Thunder. We - my father and I, bought him from directly from the breeder for like, a thousand dollars or something because the breeder basically thought Thunder was too much of an asshole to ever be bought by anybody. Thunder has always been super high strung, he is a descendant of a couple of racehorses and whatnot. We bought him when he was a year old, and my father helped me train Thunder once he turned two. So I'm really the only person that ever has ridden Thunder. My father has ridden him a couple of times," Summer said, nibbling on a chip, "and maybe one or two of my barn friends. I'm very wary to let anyone ride him because he's so obnoxious sometimes." Summer rolled her eyes at the thought of him trying to buck her friends off in the past. "So don't take it personally if I don't let you ride him. I just don't want to be responsible for any accidents I could have prevented by simply not letting people ride him," she explained. Even though Summer knew at some point or another in a rider's career they would fall, it was the bad falls that scarred her - she didn't want anyone to have to go through what she had experienced.
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Post by Cara-Jean Kitchi on Dec 27, 2011 19:34:04 GMT -5
Cara gave a musical laugh at the thought of her sitting on Summer's horse. "I'd look like a pimple on a pumpkin. And no doubt he'd think I was an annoying fly." She replied. She had ridden horses Thunder's size before, but her question wasn't her way of trying to get a ride on the large horse.
She walked over to the other girl's bed, crouched down beside her and showed her the sketchbook page - something she didn't often do, but using a visual aid would be easier then trying to get the girl to picture her horse's face. "You can tell a horse's personality from looking at their face. And what I see in Thunder's face isn't the horse I see in the arena." She ran a finger down the picture's nose without touching the paper. "He has a long straight profile, which shows a horse who is very uncomplicated and learns easily. The sloping muzzle is who he is, a horse who needs to test his rider. His ears, which are wider at the top then the base, just echo what his profile says. He has the eyes of an introverted horse who needs to trust his rider until he gives them his heart. When he goes over fences or has to think, he takes on a "parrot jaw" look - like how a lot of boys have to stich their tongues out while doing something. Lastly, his soft, movable, upper lip shows how curious in the world he is." She stopped talking and blushed. "Sorry."
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Post by Thoroughbred on Dec 29, 2011 0:49:14 GMT -5
"No, it's okay, I know vaguely know what you're talking about. I read that book Getting in TTouch by Linda Tellington-Jones in high school. I don't really remember much of what I read, though. What do you suggest I do about Thunder, though?" she asked. She nibbled on the last chip and crumpled up the empty bag. Her iPhone vibrated with a new text. "It's from my dad," she explained, not wanting to seem rude for texting in front of Cara. She bit her lip and read the text. "He said it's fine if you stay over, and you're welcome to bring your horse home over break if you'd like. And don't worry about the boarding costs, my dad will handle it. I get cheaper board at the stable because my dad is the trainer there and friend of the barn owner, anyways," Summer said, looking up at Cara.
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Post by Cara-Jean Kitchi on Dec 29, 2011 3:09:14 GMT -5
Cara nodded her head, pleased that the other girl had read the book. "I would suggest that you work your way from the ground up." She said without any doubt in her voice. "It seems that somewhere along the way, the two of you have fallen out of trust with each other and you need to build it back up. However, with Thunder's personality, it'll need to be done on his terms." She walked over to her bookshelf and pulled out two books, the first being the very book that Summer had mentioned and the second being a book by a woman named Hilary Paige-Self called A Modern Horse Herbal. "You can start helping his fizziness (he wasn't a naughty horse, so refused to use that term) by adding a handful of different herbs; garlic, camomile, fennel, fenugreek and hops. And along with the herbs, you could also offer him some aromatherapy oils, and T-Touch. Once you get him to trust you completely on the ground, when you're in the saddle there won't be a you and a him, there will be a partnership."
She fell silent as Summer answered a message on her phone, knowing that she had some explaining to do when it came to cellphones, but she hoped that could wait until later. She chewed her lip at the thought of taking Shay along with her. The mare was great and all, but the girl wasn't sure what she'd be like in a new place with new horses. "That is very a very generous offer thank you, but I can pay my own way." The one thing she wasn't short of was money, she would just need to use the public phone and call her family lawyer to put through some money for her. It had been a while since she had spoken to the soft-spoken, elderly Japanese man.
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Post by Thoroughbred on Dec 29, 2011 17:52:23 GMT -5
"Cool, I'll have to try that. Maybe you can help me with it over break," she said, fighting the urge to explain to Cara that her family was loaded and it would be no problem for them to pay for Shay's board. But she didn't want to sound conceited. "Are you sure you don't want my dad to pay for it? It's not problem, trust me," Summer insisted.
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Post by Cara-Jean Kitchi on Dec 30, 2011 1:22:13 GMT -5
Cara face paled at the thought of assisting Summer with reconnecting with Thunder. "I would be happy to help, M..." She broke off before she could finish the honorific.
She gave Summer the first genuine smile that had touched her face since arriving at the university. "That is very kind of you to offer." She ran her tongue along the edges of her molars. "I can have the money if your father would wish that I paid my own way."
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Post by Thoroughbred on Jan 3, 2012 18:07:58 GMT -5
"Awesome!," Summer said in response to Cara being able to help her with Thunder. This would most likely be a great roomie-bonding experience. It made Summer a little excited. "Alright, if you insist on paying," Summer said, not wanting to make Cara feel uncomfortable or anything by forcing her to allow her father to pay for her board. Summer was already feeling excited for winter break - it would be really long, and kind of depressing to be away from campus, but it would be fun. Me and Cara are probably going to get really close,Summer thought proudly. "By the way, are you going to go to that fraternity party that's coming up? My brother is going too... You don't have to be involved with the sororities here or anything, it's basically open to anyone," Summer asked.
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Post by Cara-Jean Kitchi on Jan 4, 2012 3:17:57 GMT -5
Cara blushed as she ducked her head. "I just like to pay my own way." She mumbled softly.
She often enjoyed remaining on campus during the holidays when the others had gone home, but she was looking forward to this. She would be at a place that her social worker hadn't cooked up for her. The thought made a shiver run through her and she used all her mind power to keep the memories at bay that were clawing to get through to the surface.
She looked at Summer with raised eyebrows and shook her head. "I'm not the party type." She replied. "I have been told that I'm too straight for partying."
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Post by Thoroughbred on Jan 7, 2012 15:50:26 GMT -5
Summer quickly texted back a friend and raised an eyebrow at Cara's comment about partying. "I don't believe that. You should come," Summer said, while still staring back at her phone. "Maybe you'd be able to meet some more people from around campus. Don't think of it as a booze fest - think of it as a social event," Summer said with a playfully devious look in her eyes, looking up from her phone.
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Post by Cara-Jean Kitchi on Jan 9, 2012 2:10:37 GMT -5
Cara's face looked crestfallen as she heard Summer talkig about the upcoming party ad telling her to come long. The young girl shook her head. As much as she would like to meet more people around the campus, she knew that she was pushing her luck by being able to leave campus and go to Summer's house over the holidays. "I would like to, I really would." She said. "However, I know for a fact that my social worker will look at the gathering as being anything but just a chance to get to know others, especially if he finds out that there will be males there." She shivered slightly, even thugh the room was warm.
She turned her back on the older girl and walked over to the window, tracing a star onto the glass, knowing that if she kept facing the girl, her body language could give away too much. There was so much she wanted to tell the older girl on why however much she wanted to attend the get-toghether she just couldn't, but fear kept her from speaking up. Be obedient, tell only the truth, but speak of nothing tht happens here between us. The words of her social worker floate through her head.
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