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Matt didnt look up as he heard the door open, though he guessed it was Eleanor mainly by the slam of the door that followed just a few seconds afterwards. He stared at his hands, playing with a ring on his forefinger absentmindedly, that being the only thing he was able to focus on as worst case scenario thoughts flooded through his mind. He struggled enough with losing focus into unwanted thoughts, constantly zoning out, let alone with something as major as this happening. Eventually though, he tore his gaze away from his ring, sliding it back onto his finger as he looked up. Eleanor looked distraught, understandably so, and that only made him feel that bit worse. Her love for Dutchess was evident any time her and Matt were paired together, anyone with eyes and one brain cell could see that, and he could barely grasp how she felt. Sure, he was in the exact same boat, but he had a hard time even getting to grips with his own feelings. Somehow, they didn't feel real. - Once again, his attention was only brought back from multiple thoughts by her speaking, and he could have silently cursed himself for constantly zoning out, especially in a situation like this. Any other time and sure, it wouldnt have been an issue, he hadnt cared much for them conversing. But of course, it was different now. "Right, and they'll believe that. Joe, the guy that was putting more effort in than anyone else at the academy to find Ranger." Matt mumbled, watching a water droplet drip from his hair and onto his lap. Well, that sounded a little too harsh for what he meant, or the situation. Without thinking, Matt looked at Eleanor, speaking again. "Sorry, I didn't mean..." His voice trailed off. So much for keeping it together huh. - Matt pinched the bridge of his nose, standing up and ducking under the small archway to the kitchen, grabbing a glass so he could get a drink. He could still see and hear Eleanor well, he just wasn't too keen on sitting still. "Look, even if we did tell them, everything starting from the tack room the night we were both down here, I doubt they'd believe us much. Clearly the CCTV isnt working, or they would have seen him taking the tack, Ranger and...Falcon and Dutchess." The last three words felt bitter on hs tongue, and his voice noticeably dropped in volume. He focused on the task at hand, filling the glass up with water. Without really thinking, he filled another up and made his way back to the sitting area, placing it down in front of Eleanor. She didn't ask for a drink, nor did have to drink it but it felt kinder anway. Especially after he snapped at her. - "The academy principal is the issue." He said eventually, his voice quiet as he took a small sip of water, placing the glass down. "Val." For a principal, Val was barely ever seen, leaving it up to the regular staff to actually run the place. She was more interested in handling the finances of the academy from abroad, or if she wasn't, she kept herself thoroughly locked away from the students and staff. Some of the riders often joked about her "not being real," or "being a spectral figure,| because she just never seemed involved. But when she was, it never usually ended well for the riders. "If she catches onto us accusing a staff member, especially one as highly...respected as Joe, we likely won't be here much longer, Eleanor." Matt's tongue rolled around her name as if it was the most foreign thing in the world, and he caught her gaze. "But I have no idea what else to do." |
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Eleanor understood when Matt didn't answer right away, she wasn't expecting him to either. She saw him fumbling with his ring out of the corner of her eyes. She watched the movement for a second or two, before returning her gaze to her own hands. She sat her phone on the armrest beside her before leaning back further, as if trying to disappear into the couch itself. Normally Eleanor would've grabbed her pencil and doodled on something, usually her book of course, to distract herself. But she didn't even want to open it, and see the unfinished sketch of Falcon or Dutchess's. Her gaze wandered about the room, occasionally pausing on Matt but never staying long. •~• Eleanor should ask if he was okay. And it almost did come out a few times. But she wasn't sure if the question coming from her wouldn't just make things worse. Matt clearly loved Falcon as much as she did for Dutchess. Matt had mentioned once too that he's had Falcon since the gelding was a foal. Which, in her opinion, definitely made it harder to deal with then if one got the horse, say, just a few years ago. Eleanor was still trying to wrap her head how, how would they have taken the horses. Dutchess wouldn't have let anyone near her during this storm, let alone outside in it. And she'd picked up on while Falcon is jumpy, he's still friendly. But friendly enough to let anyone lead him out? Probably not. She put a pin in her thoughts, because Matt had spoke. Getting lost in her thoughts made it feel like hours passed, not seconds or minutes. Eleanor nearly didn't hear him. •~• "It's fine." Eleanor mumbled quietly under her breath. Something barely there, not having meant it to come out but it did. She understood why he said it that way. Hell she's surprised she hadn't said anything sarcastic yet. But more importantly, she wasn't going to get frustrated or irritated with Matt right now. Not at this particular time, it would not help at all. Her eyes snapped to Matt fully though when he stood up. Eleanor didn't say anything right away, but it was on the tip of her tongue, 'Leaving?' she wouldn't blame him if he was. But Matt when for the archway and she realized he was just going to the kitchen. And a few moments later Matt's voice drifted from the other room. It was a little quieter, but Eleanor could still managed to hear him. •~• Matt was right, Eleanor knew that. She'd been worrying about that for awhile after all, how to get others to believe them. "Wait, there's CCTV?" It was more of a echo of his statement then a actual question. Of course she knew there had to be some form of security, Eleanor just hadn't noticed anything. Joe or whatever friends he had must've done something, because there's no way the staff haven't noticed it and at least tried to fixed it. She heard Matt's returning footsteps and blinked at the fact he had two glasses. For a moment she figured he was going to drink both, before he sat one down infront of her. Eleanor stared at it for a good ten seconds before she managed to get out words, "Thank you. Thanks." Stop talking, she told herself. Taking a few sips from the glass instead. Thankfully Matt was speaking again. The Principal... She hadn't thought about that. To many other things had been circling in her mind, and she hadn't actually heard much about the principal of Utopia. Now technically her principal, temporarily at least. Her eyes did widen, just a tiny bit, at her name coming from Matt. She hadn't ever really paid attention to when he did say it before. Maybe it was just the situation. "Then we get evidence, or something like that. We can't just sit back." Truth be told, Eleanor was not overly worried about the chance of being unable to remain at the Academy. Without her horse, what was the point? •~• Eleanor could feel a headache coming on, just from everything. And that storm likely wouldn't be over soon. She downed a bit more of her water before she stood from the couch. Hopefully that'll dry on it's own before some other soul sat down. "I'm going to head back to the dorms. We should 'talk' more tomorrow." She looked from Matt to the door, before finding a napkin, grabbing her pencil and scribbling down her number. Took a few tries but it worked. Eleanor then gathered her things and shoved the napkin into Matt's hands. "Just to give each other updates, we're in the same boat. Send me something stupid and I'll block you." Weird, her new favorite word when it came to Matt. Felt so weird giving him her number, part of her now wished he wouldn't- would?- even use it. After all of this ends she'll remove him, block him, whatever. Suddenly not wanting to spend another minute there, she hurried out the barn lounge door, back into that rain and onto the path to the dorms. Eleanor made a mental note to make a list of everything they had discussed once she got there. •~• (Wanted to add the timeskip but it's already so much longer then I meant for it to be lol TwT. Colds suck.) |
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No you're totally fine dont worry, I hope you feel better soon! We can do the timeskip after this post if you'd like :)) - The time felt like it was dragging on insanely slowly and going quickly at the same time. Slowly because this had crossed the borderline of a nightmare a while ago, but quickly because their horses were missing. Time was slipping away, they were getting further and further away with every passing second. Something Matt felt incredibly sick even thinking about. To calm the nausea, he just sipped the water slowly, looking down at the intricate patterns it would make every now and then, creating almost a tornado shape as he swirled it. Distractions were scarce right now though, and what would usually successfuly take his mind off something, - focusing on absolutely tiny details, - now just made him feel worse. So much worse. He offered her a small smile as she thanked him for the drink, though didnt say anything in response. - Matt's gaze came back up as Eleanor asked about the CCTV, and he nodded weakly, dragging a hand through his hair with a sigh. "There's CCTV in the tack room and a fair few cameras in the barn. The maintinence guy is the only oe with the keys to the security room so we can't exactly check it." He muttered. His voice was barely audible, although his tone was now entirely devoid of anything harsh. It was just pure exhaustion. "It's a little easier said than done getting "evidenc," Eleanor. We have absolutely zero proof other than the CCTV, and the maintinence guy will not budge giving us any camera information." He knew he sounded stupid, allmost as if he was maing excuses, but...he'd seen enough icidents at the academy to know what the guy was like. He didn't give anyone CCTV footage unless it was the principal. Why, no one had any idea. - Surprise washed over Matt's face as she handed him a napkin, with a number sprawled out over it. Well, that was...unexpected. Before he could say anythng though, Eleanor rushed out, leaving him sat there alone. He had of course heard the one snarky remark he had left though, and in all honesty? Matt was grateful for it. Something normal in this...hellish nightmare. He breathed out a long, exhausted sigh, quickly putting the number into his phone before making his way up to the dorm too, careful to not be spotted by any roaming staff. There weren't any, it was still storming badly outside and it was incrediblly late, but still better to be cautious. Matt entered the dorm quietly, throwing his keycard onto the counter and hopping into the shower very briefly. To his surprise, Dylan hadn't woken up throughout that, which Matt was entirely grateful for. He made his way to his room and promptly locked the door behind him, slipping under the covers. Sleep did not come easily at all, most of the hours were spent staring up at the ceiling just thinking about what had possibly happened. Falcon, Dutchess, Joe, his friends and parents reaction...And how distraught Eleanor looked. Why couldnt he get that out of his head? |
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Once Eleanor made it back to her dorm, the first thing she did was take a very warm shower, and change out of her soaked clothes. She then sent a text to her friend group chat, a single sentence. 'We need to talk tomorrow.' Because no one would notice the two horses were gone unless the riders said something. Other students would just assume the horses were out. Eleanor also hovered over both her parents names, but ultimately didn't send anything at the moment. She'd text some point tomorrow and tell them. It was already so much at the moment. She grabbed one of her notebooks from her desk, leaving her sketchbook in it's place. Eleanor wouldn't be using it for awhile. She then sat on her bed, leaning back against her headboard. And then she began writing down everything she and Matt had discussed. Mainly to just get her thoughts onto the paper, a outlet. Eleanor didn't know how much longer she had stayed awake. And she didn't bother checking the time until she truly felt like she couldn't write anything else down. Eleanor then turned the lights off and got under the covers, but didn't close her eyes right away. Dutchess, Falcon, they both had to be okay, she couldn't handle thinking any less. And they couldn't have gone far either, right? Especially if Joe decides to show back up. Truth be told, Eleanor felt Matt wasn't the worst person she could've been stuck with the same problem. But she at the same time she didn't want him to be in general, because now it was becoming less about hostility and more about her wishing he didn't have to go through it too. •~• A few days had passed since the horses had disappeared, and nothing had been peaceful that's for sure. Eleanor told her friends first, about both Falcon and Dutchess being gone and the suspicions. She didn't say Joe specifically, she didn't want to drag them that far into it. Just that she had a idea of who could've done it, she has help, but couldn't prove anything at the moment. All three had followed her around almost all day after that. Eleanor had also sent a couple texts to Matt over the course of those days. Simple things like if he's found anything, or if they should meet up. She did catch herself more then once checking her phone when the group chat buzzed, slightly hoping it was him. Wondering if he had found anything more. After it was brought up to the staff, (not like they could really hide it) things followed the same motion as Ranger and Mya. Promises that they'd be found, questions asked around the school, and some once more going to search the trails. •~• But Eleanor could see the strain it put on some of the staff, especially those like Emma who knew the event wasn't something that could be stopped on a whim. Even if they had also just lost not one, but two horses to the riders they had been calling their best hope. Even so the planning was moving forward and Eleanor had heard the sponsor and further details would finally be discussed, and soon. A part of her wondered if It was half to try and cover some of the tension the Academy was in. The fragile trust that had been building between Hollowheart riders and Utopia riders over the past weeks, had started to crack. What if the other side was the one taking horses? What if my horse was next? No one, at least not out loud, she has heard question any of the staff. And Joe... Eleanor was a little glad she currently couldn't do classes like jumping. Because he had indeed shown back up as if nothing was wrong. She kept a wide distance between herself and that man, which wasn't the hardest to do. And she hoped Matt wasn't having trouble with him either. •~• Now present time, Eleanor was sitting in the grass by one of the pastures. Sam and Kat had been with her up until a few minutes ago, when both went to the barn because someone else's horse had started causing a ruckus and they wanted to check on their own horses. She had to keep herself from not imagining Dutchess's stall, or how Falcon would've probably joined in. Eleanor had gathered that the sponsor would be announced pretty soon, like within the next hour or two. Mainly because she saw the staff from last time, Emma included, running around a bit more then usual. She knew currently there wasn't any real need for her or Matt to know anything or even join in at the moment. But she had decided she'd still show up with the other pairs to finally see what all the mystery was about. And it'd be a good distraction. Within the short span of their horses disappearance Eleanor had spent it it either trying to figure out anything about the principal from other students or snippets from staff. Or trying to find evidence against Joe, including a way to at least see the CCTV to see if there was even anything on it. And every time she paused in doing that, Dutchess would fill her mind. •~• Her phone buzzing pulled Eleanor out of her daze and she saw a message from her family group chat. Not often used, as she preferred to text her parents separately, and her parents had the same idea. But she had used it to tell them about the situation after she told the staff, and recently it's been filled with simple messages, check ins. Her mom even offering for her to come home for a bit, with even her sister agreeing. Which that offer Eleanor left pending. She loved her parents but the constant buzzing was getting a tad bit annoying. She hovered over what she had labeled just 'Matt' and the little bit of conversation there, before ultimately turning her phone off. If they were going to meet up, there was the high chance they'd run into each other. Not like she'd seek him out anyways. Eleanor got to her feet, and dusted herself off. Before walking to see if she could find where Emma or the others were gathering early. •~• (Longest I've written yet, whew.) |
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I woke up about half an hour ago so I apologise if this is absolutely awful) - For the first few days that passed after the horses had gone missing, Matt hadn't said a single word to anyone himself, not even Dylan though the guy kept asking non stop what on earth was up with him. People knew soon enough though, which could only mean Eleanor would have said something. In a way, he was grateful that he didn't have to break the news himself, having to explain the whole situation would have been awful for Matt. Although, he did still have to go through what seemed like endless pity, questions, and being pulled aside by staff almost every single day. It was literally exhausting. - It only took about a week or so for the staff to finally leave Matt alone enough to have his own actual...thoughts on the situation, without being jostled around from one place to another. Without a horse, Matt didn't have to participate in the riding classes which ultimately meant no jumping tooo, no Joe. In most ways it was a good thing, not having to look at Joe, deal with him acting as if nothing happened, as if he was concerned about Falcon and Dutchess - but Matt just couldn't help the fact he wanted to see if Joe would slip up even once in front of others. Something that would prove he was the person that had taken the two horses, and mos likely Ranger too. It was bad enough that Matt was certain he'd seen small, evidently knowing smiles tug at Joes lips when they'd pass each other, or if Matt was helping with someone else's horse, and he had it tied up at the same cross ties that were right next to Falcons stall. Or the tiny muttered comments of Joe walked past when Matt was talking about Falcon to a friend. It was the...smaller things, only the things that he would notice, and he couldn't help but wonder if Eleanor was getting the same too. Hopefully not. - Over the time that had passed since the situation, Eleanor and Matt really hadn't spoken much - obviously. The hostility between them was growing much weaker, which was awful timing considering the hostility between the two academies was doing the opposite, given the fact they started blaming each other for the missing horses. Matt and Eleanor did text each other from time to time, but barely. Only really about where to meet to discuss the sponsor, or if they couldn't actually meet each other, then to talk about it there. There was rarely any actual conversation, though. Not that Matt cared. Or so he thought. They were still yet to actually talk in detail at all about what happened, though the conversation was very clearly hanging over them every time they were face to face. It was just...tricky. Where were they meant to have that conversation? How were they meant to start that? Was it even worth it? Everyone else was talking about it so much that it didn't seem useful anyway. - Now present day, Matt was sat up in his dorm, leaning against the kitchen counter. He'd had it free for a few days, it was Monday now and Dylan had gone home to see his parents for the weekend. He wasn't back yet, meaning back had a tiny bit of peace for the rest of the day.
He pulled his phone out, glancing down at the various messages from people. Nothing really caught his eye much, having only gazed over the 'are you okay' or 'who did it?' messages for less than a second. One did stop his scrolling through, one from his mother. It only took him a few seconds to catch onto what she was saying in the long paragraph. Somehow, she'd found out about Falcon, and somehow, she was ultimately, one hundred percent blaming Matt for it. He shouldn't have expected any different obviously, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt one hell of a lot. How she has come to that conclusion, he had no idea. - Matt just swiped the notifications away and pulled himself up, quickly throwing on a shirt before heading downstairs. It was nearly time for the sponsor to be announced, and as much as he wanted to, he knew he couldn't miss that at least. After it was done, he'd just head straight back up to the dorm again. It was as expected as he got nearer to the people. Constant questions again. ' Are you okay? Do you know what happened yet? Can I help?' Matt was tempted to ignore every single person, though he was rarely that rude. If it was someone from his academy of course. Eventually though, he pushed through the mess of people, heading into the barn instead which was pretty much cleared out for now anyway. He could go into the arena where Emma was announcing the sponsor in a bit, but for now Matt decided it was better to make himself busy, do the last of the feeding that was abandoned by the other students before. |
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Eleanor made a few stops on her way to the arena, killing time as much as she could. Stopping to help a rider who dropped some stuff, and so on. It was really all she could do these days just to be busy. And every minute her mother's offer to go home, just for a bit, was growing more tempting. Eleanor's pace faltered when ahead she saw Joe. He looking like he was heading to his class. Even if she had been trying to avoid it, they locked eyes for a moment. And he had the audacity to wave at her like nothing was wrong. Eleanor forced herself to wave back in return, though of course it was a bit stiff. She didn't even bother trying to match the smile Joe had after she waved back. Thankfully before either could say something, a different rider ran up to him and started asking him something. She took that distraction to slip away and keep walking. •~• Eleanor eventually made it to the arena, still somehow earlier then she would've liked. Emma was there, talking with two other staff members. She wasn't in a hurry to intrude, so Eleanor stood a bit off to the side, just waiting now. Noises from outside the arena drifted through the air, and she shifted uncomfortably. She should've been out there, training with Dutchess's for this event. Should be trying to find ways to comment on how Matt and Falcon did on a jump or something. Not just... Standing here, even if it was to wait. She rubbed her eyes, no she couldn't dive into that again, she needed to focus on what she could do and not what she couldn't. Eleanor heard footsteps and came back from her space out to see Emma heading her way. She swore if this was more pity, she might scream. Internally. •~• "Eleanor! I'm glad you decided to join us, after everything. Is Matt coming too?" Eleanor heard Emma say the moment she was within range, stopping only a few feet away. "I don't know." She answered, shrugging at the same time. She hadn't asked if he felt the need to come in any of their chats, Matt would come if he wanted to. Emma blinked, and Eleanor could tell the young instructor was trying to figure out what else to say. But at the same moment some of the chosen pairs for the event started to come in. "Oh, it's time! We'll have to keep talking later." Emma exclaimed, patting her on the shoulder. Which made Eleanor jump just a little bit, only because she was surprised by the action. She watched Emma go meet up with the other staff members before she looked around at the people coming in. No, she wasn't actively searching for Matt. She didn't think so at least. •~• Eleanor caught sight of Kat with her partner, and her best friend saw her at the same time. Kat gave a thumbs up and tilt of the head, and she knew that was Kat's version of 'how are you doing?'. She gave a thumbs up back, nodding. Kat nodded back before making a call motion, then turning back to her partner. Eleanor scanned the rest of the people there, noting how everyone certainly seemed excited. Even if the tension from pairs that were of the two different riders was still noticeable, it seemed to out do it at the moment. After another minute or two everyone became quiet, and Emma began to speak. First thing she of course talked about was everything already done so far, bla bla bla. Eleanor almost zoned out at the beginning. Emma eventually got to the main part, who was the sponsor in the first place. •~• "It took us awhile to confirm it, but this sponsor event will be sponsored by one of the top riding Academies, Shadow's Ridge!" At first only silence followed Emma's statement, but not long after people began whispering excitedly to each other. Even Eleanor was a bit surprised. Shadow's Ridge was indeed another riding academy, but definitely more well known. Lots of riders leave that school as champions. She didn't know much, but definitely knew them being the sponsor was going to be a big deal. And she made a mental note to look up more about it later. Oh if she was still able to participate in the event... Meeting riders from there would've been one of the best things. •~• (Oof, day late. Writer's block struck again -_-) |
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You're totally fine!) - - Eventually, Matt was done with the left over feeding that he needed to do. He took his time because admittedly, he wasn't too keen on actually going to see Emma for pure fear of pity. Constant pity. It was bad enough from the various other students and staff members that didn't know how to keep their noses out of things, let alone from the one person that also constantly reminded him of the stupid sponsor, and how big the event was seemingly going to be. Not that it was set to be too much of a success now, considering a lot had been silently riding on Matt and Eleanor. And the horses they didnt have. - Matt was broken out of the long train of thought about the incident, as the last horse he had given the feed to, decided it hilarious to tug on his sleeve. Only then did he realise he was still inside the stall, leaning against the door, and also somewhat late for the sponsor meeting. Quickly,Matt gathered his thoguhts, wiped his sleeve down and exited the stall, checking the horses as he walked past with one second glances before making his way out to the arena. He slipped inside quietly, stopping near the back of the slight crowd without a word. There were a few glances in his direction, a few pity smiles, though none were returned. Sure, he wasn't exactly an asshole, but i was getting harder and harder to return the evidently fake kindness some of the other academy riders had. Whether that was Utopia's own, or not. - After what seemed like an eternity of Emma and another staff member yapping about how special this sponsor was, about how they couldn't let anything get in the way, ruin the chance for the sponsor to be cancelled...They finally dropped the sponsor name. Shadow Ridge. As soon as the name came out of Emma's mouth, Matt's gaze snapped up, though his expression was unreadable. Shadow Ridge were one of, if not the most well knwon riding academies in the world. People constantly came from other countries just to visit, let alone fight to get a place there. They were also incredibly talented, knew exactl how to handle others, and the worst part? Kind. Way too kind. They didn't have the sort of fire both Utopia and Hollowhearts did when at competitions. Theyd been taught much differently. Matt hated it. - About ten minutes passed before Emma dismissed everyone, though of course she called Matt and Eleanor over no doubt for another pity conversation. As soon as Matt stopped by her, she started speaking, clearly picking her words carefully as if stepping on eggshells. Matt hated it. "I'll get straight to the point for both of you. This sponsor is huge, you know that now. I trust you know who Shadow Ridge are?" Emma left little to no time for a response. "If your horses dont...If we can't manage to find them again in time, you'll both be assigned academy horses for the sponsor event. It'll be a lot of work to work with them as well as on your current tasks at hand but I trust you'll be fine with that. How does that sound?" It was evident by the look on Matt's face, he wasn't fond of the idea. Having to work with a horse he didnt know at all, for a day that was pushed onto them as huge, almost riding on the two to plan it correctly? It seemed absolutely impossible. Especially with the motivation Matt was eve losing for Utopia Academy. Who knew not having Falcon would affect him that much? - Eventually, Emma left, along with the other staff member. Not much inforation on the possible newly assigned horses was given, apart from that they would give it a bit more time first, to see if they could be found. Matt stuffed his hands in his pockets, kicking at the arena sand underfoot as he turned his body towards Eleanor. "So how do you feel about Shadow Ridge? Do you know much about them?" He asked finally. It was rare that Matt ever actually started up conversation with someone he wasn't friends with, eh was one to let others just talk and he listen. But hey, things change. |
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It wasn't too much longer after the name drop that Emma finished up and dismissed everyone. Eleanor was about to follow the crowd out when she heard Emma calling her over. She bit her lip before sighing and turning around, walking back. She half wondered if this was to resume the conversation from earlier, until she also hear Emma calling Matt's name. And at that moment Eleanor felt a bit bad for him as well. She wasn't enjoy any of this, and she highly doubted he was jumping for joy either. She stopped besides Matt, and while she had the idea to step a bit away, she didn't act on it. •~• Eleanor could tell Emma was trying to be careful with her tone, and the words she used. That, unfortunately, didn't stop Eleanor from feeling the intentions behind it. And then the instructor mentioned their horses, along with academy horses. She stiffened a bit, but kept the scowl off her face. It wasn't anything new but that didn't mean it didn't affect her still. She casted one quick glance at Matt out of the corner of her eye, maybe feeling a flicker of concern of what Matt thought of this idea. And it was clear to her from his face that he certainly did not like it, no more than she did. Even if this wasn't about their horses being missing, trying to adjust and train with other horses this close to the event day. Did the staff think giving them more and more work would keep their minds off things? •~• Unfortunately Emma left before Eleanor could do anything but nod. She turned to face Matt just as he did the same. "I know the basics about it. Good, no great Academy, and extremely talented. The fact they decided to sponsor our school already says a lot." She answered. She had started to accept over the time that Utopia was currently her school. Though she'd definitely still categorized herself as a Hollowheart to anyone that asked. With everything else happening, Eleanor figured that worrying about what school she was actively in was not the biggest problem. "How do you feel? About the whole academy horses thing. Not that it's a guarantee that we'll end up using them, but..." Eleanor trailed off, not sure if right now would be the best time to bring up their horses, or Joe again. •~• "Have you considered leaving the Academy at all? At least, for the time being." Eleanor suddenly asked, this time not Looking anywhere near Matt and keeping her eyes on some other part of the arena. She wasn't sure why that question came out of her mouth. Maybe because she'd been contemplating it herself. If she left, would Matt be left alone with this mess? And Vice versa. Eleanor was beginning to notice in the mess of everything maybe she didn't hate the guy as much as she thought, and they just had a bad first meeting. And second meeting. While still uncertain whether caring was the right thing to do when it came to him, Eleanor wasn't denying it to herself as much. |
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Matt gazed around the arena as the few of the riders that were called to them filed out, whilst others stayed in little circles dotted around, talking to one another quietly. It was evident by the looks on a lot of their faces, they were excited about the sponsorship name being dropped, much too excited for the pressure they were under. Of course, it would feel worse for Matt specifically, but he tried not to forget that the rest of the academy were also riding on a lot. It wasn't just those two. Eventually, Matt's eyeline swivelled back around towards Eleanor, who's expression was very different from the joyful looks on the other rider's faces. Her and Matt both, really. - "I guess. If you can count them being stuck up, no matter how subtle they are with it." He sighed, rubbing his forehead in frustration. He knew it was harsh, they weren't exactly...as he'd described, but Matt wasn't exactly used to the same level of sportsmanship from other ridding academies as they'd gotten before from Shadow Ridge. No one was, really. With that being said, he'd only met them once at a show a while ago, and there wasn't too much to remember. Matt dropped his hand from his forehead, letting it land by his side with yet another, quieter sigh. "Not exactly thrilled. It's hard enough working on the aspects of the sponsorship that don't require riding, let alone possibly having to work on a horse i've likely never ridden before." Matt mumbled, his gaze hitting Eleanor's. - Matt moved aside as a group of four riders walked past, unintentionally scowling at them as they cut through the middle of him and Eleanor, stopping the conversation. The confused look on their faces from Matt's expression showed clearly, and he couldn't help but smile slightly. Just slightly, before he let it drop, turning back to Eleanor. Her next question took him by surprise entirely, and for a second he sort of just...opened and closed his mouth a few times, unsure on how to word things. "Not...Really. I can't exactly go back to staying with my parents, and finding anywhere else to stay is a stupidly long process." He sighed, moving slightly to lean against the wall of the arena. "Somehow, my mother thinks it's my fault Falcon's gone missing. If I go back there, she'll only eat me alive for the time I stay." - Matt could hear how ridiculous it sounded, saying out loud that his parents thought his horse going missing was down to him. In what world could it be? Sure, she didn't yet know the exact details, Matt hadn't replied to her text and had absolutely no intention to, but it was still crazy to him either way. After all though, he was used to the criticism and the blame without reason. It had been there throughout his whole life anyway. He looked back at Eleanor, few thoughts running through his mind for a few seconds - as per usual. Matt hated the fact that, at the back of his mind, he was fixated on the one thought from when they were sat in the lounge together a week or so ago. She was pretty. Especially if he really looked at her, not just those five seconds glances they'd been exchanging since they met. It didn't matter, though. No matter what he thought, it wouldn't change the fact they were supposed to hate each other, and it stay that way until Hollowhearts left. Although, Matt could safely say there wasn't an ounce of pure hatred left for Eleanor. - That was enough. As per usual, Matt had fallen into the habit of zoning out, letting himself fixate on whatever singular thought that flooded his mind at that moment, and he was fully aware of it as he snapped back to reality. Luckily though, Eleanor hadn't replied yet, so at least he hadn't missed anything. "Anyway, what about you? Are you leaving?" He asked eventually. Deep down, a tiny part of Matt was hoping she wouldn't...At least not for long. No one else here knew about Joe, and the only other person who'd had their horse go missing was already gone. That was the only two reasons, though. Of course. |
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Moderate Temperatures and Overcast
