LOUIS WRIGHT | Dublin, Wes, Max, Devyn

At the outburst of passionate language, Louis blinked once, slightly shocked – but really, more confused. Half of the words that Dublin used, he had never heard of. And the one’s he did know, did not actually make sense within the sentence – “Gonny no dae that” was one good example of that. Naturally, it started Louis up on a new conversation once the girl left. “So…that’s a really thick accent there – mind translating?” And on top of that, a lot of curiosity as well. Louis travelled a fair enough amount around the world, but he’d never heard this one before.

If Louis had to take a guess, Dublin was from Great Britain – one of the mini state, country things. They were bigger consumers of tobacco than other alternatives. The US, he’d heard was more cigarette orientated. Whether that was true of not, he couldn’t confirm.

Switching up the topic again, he reflected back on the girl that had approached them earlier. “D’you think she thought that the proposing thing was about her? If she was, I probably should go and apologise, no? Because that wasn’t the intention.” Granted by the fact that the girl seemed to be sulking, if that was even the right term, she probably had taken offense to something. Her last words clung to him as well, the curiosity of the phrase creeping in. “I wonder why she felt bad for me. Maybe she didn’t like the look of this good looking face.”

With that explanation, even that clinging thought was dropped off with the inflated confidence – there was no grip for that. “Boy, am I good-looking, no? I can confidently say that.” Giving a spin, he threw his hands up, a wide smile on his face. “It’s your turn – say something you like about yourself. I’ll take a guess and say your hair.”

Soon after, another guy came up to them, with a soft voice and truly stunning eyes. Already, the prospect of knowing a new person suited Louis very well. An instant scan of the person was done, and conversations already planned. “You know her too?! I thought she was going to murder us with some martial art – but she didn’t, as it turns out.”

As Wes had introduced himself, it was only fair Louis did too. Swinging his arm around Dublin’s neck and pointing to himself, then Dublin, Louis presented, “Name’s Louis, and this is my new best pal Dublin, from not Dublin.” Almost instantly moving on from that, Louis’ eyes met the others and launched into praise about the colour, “God, I love your eyes – your parents must be really attractive – can we trade? And your jumper too – where’d you buy it?” Both of the people he’d met had similar enough styles to his own homebody one, so it was less awkward. Arlette usually dressed up most of the time – enough that being next to her made him seem like some sort of back-alley tramp.

“I was planning on taking Dublin to breakfast – mind joining in?” Looking back at his pale partner, he explained, “I’m going to point things out as we go. That cool?” Grabbing both by the wrist, Louis pulled them along for a few paces before letting them come on their own. Without hesitation, he began pointing things out here and there, whilst also intermittently switching to talk about what football team they supported and what sport they were into.

The three poured into the basically empty cafeteria, where Louis filled up his own tray with a variety of food. Observing the wide expanse of the hall, he commented on the lack of people, especially at this time of the morning. Usually, it would be pretty busy. Spotting a couple at one of the tables in the middle, he announced to the other two his desire to sit with them. The red-haired girl in particular seemed like she would be a good friend to make.

Going up to the two, he re-introduced himself and the two new friends. “Meet Wes and Dublin – do you mind moving up so we can join you?” Leisurely sitting in beside the guy, Louis asked, “So, who’s who?” Eying his table partner, Louis noted in the weary expression and the slightly upset appearance. Clearly, lots of things had been happening in his life.

Heather Proudstorm | 21 | Eventing | Titanium "Storm" and Open | School Horse: WO Descendants Of Khan "Khan" | M: Olivia, Tryst

Reggie | Heidi, Brielle.

That morning had been unusually productive, mainly due to the effects of the jetlag, and Reggie had put it all to good use. His first course of action had been to bring in his chestnut Loca from the pastures, where she had been left overnight, alongside her gelding friend. She was behaving well, accepting the breakfast of hot mash without a fuss and happily being groomed, until Reggie got to picking out her hooves. Thereon after, she made a good point with regards to her disdain in trying to step on his feet at any given opportunity, as well as nip in the direction of his hands.

Compared to her, Gambler was an absolute pleasure, happily leading the way into his stall and munching away at his own breakfast. So engrossed was he, that he made no reaction as he was being groomed. And there was still time for Reggie himself to indulge in a jogging session for himself, away from others. The early morning mist had settled without the creation of dew, so the grassy paths alongside the cross-country route were dry enough, that his trainers would not be soaked by him efforts.

Although it was a morning routine, today’s weather was quite distinctively different. Out here in Virginia, the weather was a lot more humid, even though today was expected to be quite warm. It had made the jog slightly harder, since every breath felt thicker and more difficult to swallow. The benefit of his decision meant, however, that he could scope out just how much higher he would have to be able to jump to tackle one of White Oak’s ones. As expected, the answer had been quite a bit.

Worn out by the exercise, the early morning and the lack of sleep, he took it easy for the last few hundred yards that led up to the main barn, casually strolling and enjoying the greenery. Pulling his phone out of the pocket, he switched it on to see that he had received a large sum of texts from Louis about of a variety of things. They started from midnight and reached down to around a quarter of an hour ago, with various amounts of break intervals between each one.

Louis: Heyyyy, Reggieeee!!! I hear you’re back in town. I drove all the way back, so make sure to come say hi!

…

Louis: You awake??? R u out on a jog???

Louis: Did you see Arlette yesterday – don’t take her words to heart. She’s just super tense about Hidalgo’s upcoming races.

…

Louis: I need to talk 2U urgently. Where r u?

Louis: Reeeegggggiiiiieeeeeeeeee!!! Heyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!

…

It seemed that with each progressive message, the meaning, intention and writing style morphed into that of some other text maniac. But Reggie could honestly say that it wasn’t unexpected. Louis had always been more restless and unable to have patience, so receiving that many messages wasn’t unusual, to say the least.

Reggie: Hey, you’re still alive? I thought you’d disappeared into the depths of the Danube.

Now more careful with the knowledge that Louis was lurking around somewhere, he cautiously snuck up towards the main barn, constantly on the look-out for his friend, who he hoped was no longer within the vicinity. Reggie didn’t think that he would be capable on handling Louis’ excitable energy levels at this given moment, so it would be best to avoid him for as long as possible.

As it turns out, Reggie was in luck, because there was no torrent of a guy rushing up to give him a hug and without even finishing said hug, start talking about whatever was on his mind. His luck even held up as he went into the main barn, to which Reggie sent a silent thanks for. Making his way to the board, he spotted the other two riders approaching it as well, and they reached it before he was even halfway there.

Both were females, and friends most probably, although they were as different to each other as the night and day. The one closest to him was around his age, with long blonde hair that was tied into a single, thick braid that reached her mid-back. She was dressed more casually compared to her eccentric red-headed friend. Coming up behind them, Reggie asked, “Mind if I join you to see what’s on the board?”

Trystan Bergman || Livvie ; Heather

The trio had fallen into an easy ride, the kind where the equines were content to follow the happy eared Toby who galavanted before the group. Taking after Livvie, Tryst too dropped her reins. Smiling, she leaned backwards and laid her back across her geldings rump and crossed her arms over her chest. If it had been any other ride the horse surely would have stopped and given her a piece of his mind but the old bay was pleasant to continue on his stroll with his girl relaxed completey.

"It is crazy to think that so many people look up and see the same sun everyday." She spoke before glancing over to Livvie and Heather.

Livvie too marveled at the beauty of the world and Tryst could tell from Heather's face that the girl was happy too.

"Paris is nice. Especially this time of year. Not too cold not too hot..." Tryst hoped that one day Heather would get to go there and experience it for herself.

"Now I dont know about the weather in Japan but from what i have seen online it sure is pretty."

When the other two looked to her for her answer Tryst sat back up and furrowed her brow. She really needed to think about this one.

"I would really like to go to Cape Cod I think."

It seemed silly to them she was sure but it was dreamy to her.

A large Part of the mousey haired girl wanted to dip her toes in the sand there, fall into the water, and into a goose down chair by a warm fire later on. She wanted so deeply to fall in love with it and live in a little light house by the sea with just enough space for an old pony or two to keep her company. She craved the simplicity of it she guessed.

She stretched her hand down and gave Krigare a scratch behind the tail of the braid she had given him. She found herself reminiscing on the day she got the bay prince and how overjoyed she was with him. He was much younger then (and truthfully so was she) and she wondered if he too would want to fall in love with a place such as Cape Cod as badly as she wanted too. She smiled to herself at the thought and knew that if she ever made the gelding part from his job he would surely find a way to kill her.

"I think I would like a place like that very much."

It was a fanciful vision, one she romanticized often enough to taste the salty air anytime she thought of it.

For now she was content at White Oaks, completely enamored with it infact. She knew that one day she would go to Cape Cod and maybe she would hate it (though she doubted this). Maybe she would spend the rest of her life at places like White Oaks. It wouldnt be a bad life that was for sure she just knew that she would never go back home again.

Shaking her head to free herself from her own thoughts she giggled to ward off the curious stares she would surely be getting as she had completely zoned out of reality for a moment.

"What about you Livvie? Where is your dream at?"

She spoke before leaning forward this time to relax against the strong kneck of her steed who only offered a snort in protest before relaxing once more into his stroll.

Rena/Vik | Max, OPEN

“Are you sure you don’t want to stop here and eat lunch? We shouldn’t go too much further since no one knows where we are and I’m on a horse that doesn’t belong to me.”

“We have our phones, silly. What’s going to go wrong? Nothing, if we’re careful and prepared.”

The pair traveled further into the woods, telling stories and breathing in the peaceful silence the scenery provided. For Viktor, having alone time with Katarena was completely needed. He didn’t feel obligated to make a good first impression on her because she knew him inside and out, and he was free to speak in their native tongue without feeling like he was excluding anyone or like the language barrier excluded him. Everything was peaceful and calm, and gave him energy rather than taking it away.

A little while later, Rena and Vik stumbled upon a cleared-out lot that appeared to have housed an old barn at one point. There was open pasture on one side and forest on the other, the remains of what might have been a building compiled on the edge of the forest floor. It definitely appeared as if it had been something, and based on the fact that cars could be heard nearby, they were much closer to the main road than they had initially thought.

“My watch must be broken,” Rena commented, shaking it as if that would help. Hugo was an awful trail pony when hacking in company, and her arms ached from attempting to control him. He had been as obnoxious as he usually was, though Mira had been a saint and had tolerated her poor excuse for company. The little gelding had pulled every trick in the book, and his rider was getting tired.

“It’s not your watch that’s broken, it’s your sense of direction,” Viktor replied in jest, chuckling at his own joke. “Let’s stop and eat.”

Pulling the ponies off to one side and allowing them to graze without their equipment on, the two riders found a place in the clearing near a tree that looked quite climbable. A fence was placed nearby that appeared to be in decent condition. After they had eaten and spoken for a while, the female rider’s gaze became fixated on the tree. “I’m gonna climb that tree and see if I can get a better view of where we are. Next time we’re driving I want to see what this looks like from the road.”

Carefully climbing in riding boots that had no tread on the bottoms, Rena felt the fence wobble beneath her. She was almost fully in the tree when the top rail of the fence collapsed, leaving half of her trying to grasp the tree and failing. She slid down part of it before crashing into the ground below. Getting up quickly as not to startle or concern Viktor, Rena pretended to dust herself off without trying to move too much. Her entire body stung, and she was very ready to get home and fix it up as best she could.

“You okay?”

“Never better,” Rena replied, wincing. She tried to conceal the pain as best she could, though she knew her entire body was probably covered in little cuts and scrapes. As long as they weren’t too deep, she could manage. A strong, pulsing pain came from her abdomen, but in her efforts to get home, she assumed it was just a menial scrape like all the rest. It wasn’t.

Somewhere along their long ride back to the farm, a river crossing sat, just as it had on their way there. Stopping for a moment to let them cross through it comfortably, Hugo began splashing water around, some of it landing on Rena. She was already dripping with sweat, or so she had thought when she commented on it earlier in their trip back. She also mentioned feeling light-headed, which she had reasoned was thanks to too much time in the sun. When the water splashed her abdomen, it soaked through the black cross-country vest she’d put back on despite the pain it caused her after her little fall. It dripped through the light gray sunshirt she was wearing, and when it dripped off of her, the clear droplets were crimson, staining the light gray saddle pad that was still beneath her. She froze, feeling herself go pale as they kept walking.

Viktor had been talking and realized after some amount of time that Katarena was preoccupied in her mind. He glanced back with a “are you even listening to me” until his gaze dropped to the streaks of blood that were dripping off of her and falling onto the saddle pad. He got pale--he had never been good with blood. “You’re not okay,” he couldn’t look at her, but he knew from the small glimpse he’d gotten that she would need serious medical attention. “How bad is it?”

“I don’t know,” Rena replied. “My vest is keeping it safer than if I were to let it bleed out. I just need to get home to the medics.”

“I’m calling Max,” he replied, and despite her protests he did exactly that. Considering the fact that they were barely an hour into a three hour ride back, he was terrified of what condition she would be in when they did get home.

A little while later, both of their phones buzzed with the sound of another text in the groupchat.

[Max]: Hey guys. I just got off the phone with Viktor, Katarena hurt herself when they were out on a trail ride and is going to need some serious medical attention when they get back. His English isn’t very good so he had me text the group for him. If anyone with information regarding how I can get to them sooner could call me, I’d appreciate it. I’ll be down near the office for the next hour, then I’m gonna start walking back there on foot if I don’t come up with a better solution.

About an hour or more later, the two horses and riders heard the sounds of a four-wheeler in the distance. Viktor called Max, but Rena could barely register it. She was pale and grey, shaky and barely responsive to the conversation Vik was trying to have with her to keep her conscious. Her saddle pad was soaked with her blood and her friend was ponying her mount, who had gotten much more pleasant to handle in the emergency situation, thankfully. She could barely mumble a coherent sentence though she tried.

“Can you get down?” Max held Hugo’s reins, and Rena tried to slip off of her horse but would have ended up simply collapsing into a heap on the ground. Max gently supported her dismount despite her weak efforts to get him away from her that ended quickly and resulted in her surrender. She let him pretty much carry her to the four-wheeler despite his attempts to get her to walk, then helped her nestle into him so she wouldn’t lose her balance when he started driving the machinery. She tried to fight him, and he softly said, “I know you hate me, but I need you to pretend you don’t for five seconds so I can get you the help you need. If not for me or for yourself, do it for Viktor.”

His words seemed to have calmed her down some, or perhaps she was just too fragile to fight him any more. She seemed to be more conscious now than she had been riding Hugo, barely able to hold a conversation with him but able to verbally fight him back when he asked her to speak instead of remain silent. They left Viktor to bring the two horses the rest of the way home while Max drove as fast as he possibly could back through the fields. The stretch he had driven was all cross-country fields and pasture on either side, so it wasn’t as terrible a path to drive as the forest portion the two riders had emerged from. He was able to get her to the medic fairly quickly, who was startled by her condition and immediately got her into an ambulance they called in from town, driving her to the hospital as soon as possible. Max rode with them because someone needed to be there for Katarena, and though Viktor would have put her at ease, he spoke terrible English and did awfully with blood, needles, hospitals, and everything else. The other brother was quiet, though, the whole ride, allowing the medics to work and stitch up the gash that had been gushing for several hours at this point. He was fortunate that he knew her medical history and could explain exactly why such a small gash created so much blood, though the fact that he knew her so well and she hated him so much made him feel empty inside. Because he had helped her, he was covered in blood himself, and looked like he’d come from a crime scene. He was worried for anyone who had seen him at the barn, or would see Hugo--they made it look much worse than it was, as if Rena had died or something.

The hospital visit took the better part of the day and into the evening. Once they had cleaned her up and stitched up the gash, they gave her an extensive blood transfusion to replace all of the blood lost, and that took a majority of the time. Another hour passed and the doctors kept her for observation, ensuring that her stats came back to normal levels and she was fully conscious and recovering before releasing her. By ten in the evening, Viktor picked the pair up and brought them home. Both brothers walked Rena to her door, like old times. She said goodbye and thanked them, though her goodbye with Max was lingering. Their eyes darted around, there were words unsaid. It made her dizzy.

Rena was unable to sleep now and filled with anxieties and thoughts that were stimulated by the trauma of the day that had come to pass. Her mind was trying to process everything that had happened. The sting of the fall, the shock of the blood, the barely clinging to consciousness. She still had hospital bands on her wrist and smelled faintly of the medical center which didn’t help. Though she was supposed to stay in bed and rest for a day or two to ensure the stitches didn’t rip, she restlessly fell out of bed, finding her way onto the couch, then into a chair. She knew she couldn’t be seen outside, but she contemplated texting Viktor to meet her somewhere they wouldn’t get in trouble for cohabitating after hours. She needed someone to talk to. A friend, a confidant, someone to get her through the night. Either way, she knew she’d be up until the sun rose, but the idea of doing it with company felt so much more comfortable than bearing it alone.

Evander / Katrina / Sullivan | Hunter, One Another

Evander and Sullivan had just finished another introduction with another equestrian, this time someone a bit closer to them. Katrina was very similar to Evander in her role at the barn, she was very flexibly hired to fill gaps wherever gaps needed to be filled. Her explanation had been vague and concise, but Evander and Sullivan understood that, to some extent, the young woman had been at White Oaks for quite some time. She wasn’t much on communication, they gathered, or perhaps she had somewhere better to be. Either way, what she said to them was short, to the point, and not sugar-coated. Evander left the conversation wondering exactly his relationship should be like with the other instructors, and Sullivan left the conversation wondering when he would see her again. She was mysterious, she would be a challenge to get to know. He was entranced by the prospect of that.

As they watched her leave, the sound of hoofbeats in the barn attracted their attention. Both men moved closer to the wall to clear the aisle, but the rider and his zoo stopped short, intent on speaking with them. Evander was nervous, but equally thrilled. The idea that riders would be looking up to him and asking him for advice and guidance was only second to the prospect of having personal relationships with each and every one of his students. He gave the gentlest, kindest smile towards Hunter, listening intently to what he had to say without judgement. Sullivan had zoned out, focused on the tack room door. He vaguely heard himself introduce himself the way he always did. My name is Evander but that seems like too garish a name for a simple guy like me. You’re free to call me Evan or Evander, whatever you prefer. Katrina had gone in there a few minutes ago and he was thinking of the best excuse to use to go in after her. He hadn’t heard what Hunter had said, but the name ‘Sullivan’ caused him to focus.

“Sull, did you see where Katrina went? Hunter has a question she might be able to help us with.” He turned back and smiled warmly at the rider with the horses, his body language calm and inviting. He looked every atom of the kind man he was, no wonder everyone liked him so much. “Hang on one second, Hunter. I promise I’ll get you the help you need, one way or another.”

It hadn’t taken Sullivan three seconds to agree to go in and get Katrina, and the two emerged after a few moments. He wobbled on his one crutch trying to hold the door for her--normally he just let someone get the door for him.

Katrina watched Hunter intently, studying his bright eyes. They were an intense color, but a pleasant one. She crossed her arms. “What can I help you with?”

“Hunter, this is Katrina, she works here too.” He still wasn’t entirely sure what her position of the week was, so he left it there. “Katrina, this is Hunter, a new rider here.” He spoke slowly, kindly, and deliberately, testing her patience. She felt her blood pressure rising with each syllable he pronounced. “We were wondering if you knew where we could find out the boarding arrangements for his horses?”

“You should have gotten an email with all of the information in it before your arrival. If you didn’t get an email, it’s also in your packet at the front office. There should be a folder with your name on it. If you haven’t gotten that, I don’t mind walking up there and getting it. I need to speak with Lara anyway.”

Evander nodded, smiling. “Thank you so much, Katrina.” He turned to Hunter. “If you don’t mind, I’m happy to help hold one of your horses. You’re doing a great job managing them all but lots of hands make for light work. Or, if you want to go to the office with Katrina, Sullivan and I can hold them for a few minutes. I don’t know if you’ve been up there yet.”

“Or,” Sullivan added, “I can go with Katrina to get the packet and you and,” he paused dramatically, “Evan, can stay here with the horses.” He watched the petite woman sigh, then glanced back to Evander and Hunter. “Either way, I’m cool.”

Reyes | Drew

Reyes had gotten through the breakfast line early and was on his second horse by nine in the morning, a thrilling concept to someone who still had a very long list of horses that needed to be hacked. He was one of the only experienced dressage riders at the farm so he got the brunt of the responsibility. The funny thing was, most of the horses he rode weren’t even dressage horses. They were hot-blooded show jumpers, hunters, and so on whose owners wanted the benefits of cross-training in dressage without the hassle of learning to do it themselves. The horses were unruly until what he was trying to implement clicked, and basically as soon as they turned good again, the riders pulled them from the training program. It was infuriating to him, he just wanted to have pleasant rides for once.

His third ride went smoothly and he was well onto his fourth by the time he checked his text messages. He kept his phone on silent because of how active the group chat tended to be, but that meant he had to check it more frequently. A few minutes prior, someone named Drew had requested someone ride with her and no one had replied yet. The mare he was riding, Layla, was a fairly calm Thoroughbred mare who was just learning the ropes of the training program. She had come in from the track three years ago, but due to injuries and rider changes, Reyes was the first person to truly invest in her. She was quite mild-mannered from all the groundwork that had been implemented during those three years, and he wondered how she would hack in company.

[Reyes]: I got you, @Drew. Headed your way from barn B1, I’ll be up in about seven minutes.

Just about seven minutes later, Reyes emerged. It almost appeared as if he manifested out of thin air because of the way the slope of the hill hid horses and riders. He spotted a girl with a horse he recognized and loved dearly. She was checking her phone and seemed lost enough, and Reyes happened to know that Knox was expecting a new rider. It made sense now.

“Knox,” he greeted with a grin, looking into the large gelding’s beautiful brown eyes. He either forgot to greet Drew or just purposefully made it a point not to. Either way, he carried on as if it was completely normal. Without introducing himself, he continued, “you’re quite lucky. Knox is one of the kindest souls on property. I have the privelege of doing tune-up rides on him every now and again. He’s a blessing.”

Gesturing to one of the open arenas, Reyes said, “I think they’re holding a lesson in the indoor right now, but both outdoor arenas are open…” Without another word, he started walking Layla over to a mount block to get on.