Realistic or Modern Winding Oaks' Equestrian College

[Wildflower101]

Griffin was heading up to Brynn's dorm when he noticed Jadah and another girl. He noticed the other girl looked nervous and saw her paper with her room number. "Are you both heading up to that room? That's Brynn's room too so I could help if you want?"

Griffin watched the girl fidget with his backpack. He smiled gently at her, "I'm Griffin. It might be nice to change. I know long flights are not fun."
-----------------------

Brynn grinned at Jadah, "I'm also in 202. I didn't even unpack yet so I have to go back."

She turned to Kerry, "I'll see you at dinner." She led Orion back up to the stables and grabbed her stuff from her dad's apartment. Her finger fell over the photos she had taken over the summer. She was so gentle with her camera. She headed up to 202 and smiled when she saw the colorful walls. She started unpacking when she sent a quick text to Griffin. She needed his help with unpacking some stuff. Brynn hung up some of her favorite photos on the wall. She also wanted Griffin to move the couch and table. One thing she was excited for was photographing different disciplines. Brynn took a shower while waiting for Griffin and changed into leggings and a tank top. She heard a knock on the door.

@ starfxll ,@ Ch3rryBlossom28

 

[starfxll]

Jadah turned to look over at Brynn, her heart lifted a bit when she heard that Brynn would be in the same dorm as her, At least I’ll have somebody I know a little. Jadah would speak, “Oh that’s great! I’ll see you there but first I have to put Hades away.” Jadah lifted herself up on to Hades and gave a wave to the nervous girl fidgeting with her things, “I’ll see you at our dorm?” And gave Hades a swift kick towards the stables. He halted to a stop in front of them and Jadah hopped down, taking the reins down from his head and leading him in and to his own stable. She opened the door with a slight creak and lead him in. Hades was exhausted and thirsty so Jadah left his stall for a second to get a big, cool refreshing bowl of water, she set it in his stall and as he was drinking she removed his saddle and saddle pad. He finished drinking and once he lifted his head a few droplets of water leaked out of his mouth. Jadah laughed and wiped them away before taking off his bridle. She groomed him a bit and gave him a kiss, “Bye bud, see you later or tomorrow.” Jadah left his stall and skipped towards her dorm, a happy feeling in her stomach for some reason.

She reached her dorm and was a bit taken back to see Griffin knocking at the dorm room door. She gave him a smile and a wave before grabbing the door knob and opening it, she stopped before actually going inside, “Hey Griffin, how’s Artemis...I’m really sorry again.” When she spoke she remembered he had been knocking at the door. “Oh! Come in by the way!” She let him in to the dorm and waited to see what he would do next.
( Wildflower101 , Ch3rryBlossom28 )

 

[Ch3rryBlossom28]

Alec Rosewood
Alec didn't agree with Paisley, he preferred the training aspect not the teaching aspect. He left that to his mother and Leo. He never had to worry about money the only job he ever had was riding his mother horses and that wasn't really a job to him. Alec face stayed neutral as Griffin went to wrap his arm around. The boy was always affectionate with Paisley and Alec wasn't sure how he felt about it. Alec leet out a breath he didn't realize he was holding when Griffin received a text from his sister and said he had to go. Alec waved good bye before focusing his attention on Paisley.

He groaned at her mentioning his summer yet again. "Stop reminding me." As she mentioned that they should do something on the weekends Alec tried to think of ideas but was coming up with none. Whenever there were horses around it was like he could think of nothing else. Normally, along with lesson through the school he would also be riding clients horses but this year his mother said no so he did have a little more time on his hands. "Going swimming does sound nice. Maybe one weekend we could also take the kids (aka their horses), I'm sure Echo would be happy to do something new."

He noticed paisley move closer to him but didn't think anything of it. What he was expecting was a hug from her. His body stiffened for a split second before relaxing. The only people that really showed him affection was his family or if he had a girl-friend. He put one arm around her to returned the hug. "I missed you too Paise. And don't blame yourself for that. Things happen. Even mom has had injuries from riding." He removed his arm when she pulled away.

"You just need to be careful on the recovery. I know its hard to stay off a horse, I know it better than anyone, but we have that huge competition with the other schools at the end of the year. If that doesn't heal up good Mom will probably not let you participate." Alec shivered at the thought of how his mother would react to her even trying. "And there goes a missed opportunity to have Lyric for a season." Though he was pretty positive if Paisley wanted to show on Lyric his mother would let her. Mostly because she would want to throw it in Paisley's dad's face.

wendy Wildflower101​

 

[Quiddles]

Kerry held Artemis quietly as Griffin dismounted and checked her over, her own gelding standing perfectly quietly when she told him to "Stand". She relaxed again when it was clear that no horses were hurt; not that she had been tense, exactly, just a look that said she had been ready to take action. She gave a wave and a cheerful "See you later!" as he headed off, and as she was re-mounting heard Jadah's remark to Brynn. From her sudden look of puzzled thoughtfulness, it was likely she couldn't actually remember which dorm she was in herself.

She headed to the paddocks next, however, and turned Puzzle out, putting his saddle and bridle away in the tack room before jogging across campus, head turning one way then another as she searched for something. What she found was a teaching assistant handing out maps, dorm keys and dorm assignments, and Kerry thanked him with one of her wide grins. As she was wandering along with her nose in the map, matching up the ground around her with the stylised illustration, she noticed a nervous-looking student, a young Asian woman clutching a backpack. She trotted over that way, head tilting to regard her in a friendly way. "Hello! You're looking lost? Maybe we can be getting un-lost together? I have a map!" She indicated the aforementioned item.

***

Sean spotted several faces he knew, and was on the point of heading over to join Paisley and her friends when a flash of yellow caught his eye, someone he ought to have known having been at the academy so long but had, somehow, missed. "Devin!" he called with a wave, turning that way. "Shall we see who we can collect up for dinner?"

wickedlittlecritta Ch3rryBlossom28

 

[wendy]

Paisley Halt
Paisley smiled at the thought of the pair of them taking their kids out to the river and going for a dip before drying off in the sun. Max would especially enjoy it because he has a bit of trend of trying to rollover in ponds even if Paisley is sat a board him. The young French women listened to Alec consoling her about the injury “Your mum just seems so untouchable, she’s like a walking horse goddess.” Paisley says running a hand through her hair. “You should of seen it though, it was quite a spectacular fall.” Paisley says the memories of her slamming into the ground flooding into her mind “I had this monster bruise for 3 weeks.” Paisley says finding the memory slightly amusing but at the time it was less than that.

A shiver ripples down Paisley’s spine at the thought of not being able too compete in the inter-school competitions. For Paisley she had to perform well in those competitions as she was using them as her stepping stones to reach the French National team who would be scouting new riders at the end of this academic year. “Riding Lyric in a competition is like finding the whole grail. No way am I giving that opportunity so don’t worry your pretty little head, I’ll take it slow until my hip is all healed up.” Paisley says reassuring Alec “Don’t think I’m going to let you win either.” Paisley says cheekily as the dinner bell rang loud and clear throughout the campus. “Help me up lover boy.” Paisley asks Alec holding out her hands for him to pull her up.

After being hoisted up by Alec she gently brushed the back of her dress to get any dirt off as they started walking towards the dining hall but in Paisley’s opinion Alec was walking too slowly for her liking as she was extremely hungry and so the young women grabbed one of his hand and begun to pull him faster “Come on you snail, all the good food will be gone soon!” Paisley says to him pulling him into the entrance of the dining hall which was already flooding with students. Paisley hadn’t yet let go of Alec’s hand as they found their way into the queue. “Griffin! Over here.” Paisley says letting of Alec’s hand to wave at Griffin. “Here’s your stinky sweater back.” The French women says tossing the jumper towards him.


mentions: Alec ( Ch3rryBlossom28 ), Griffin ( Wildflower101 )
​

 

[Ch3rryBlossom28]

Ying Hua Wong
Ying Hua was not expecting the girl on her mount to come up behind her. She quickly did a small bow before introducing herself. "Ni hao! Wo jiao Ying Hua." It took a moment for Ying Hua to realize that she had just spoke in her mother tongue. "Ah Sorry. Hello! My name Ying Hua. Nice to meet you." Ying Hua couldn't help but look over the girl's horse. He truly was beautiful. She was surprised the stallion did so well around so many people. She watched them head off after the brief introduction. How odd?

She was surprised she didn't jump when a male came walking up to her and introduced himself as Griffin. A smile formed on her face when he said that one of her roommates was his sister. "Hello Griffin. My name Ying Hua....umm..." She had to pause for a moment to think about what she was going to say. "I would love to change. Could you take me here?" She held out her paper with the room number. "This is my first yue i mean year here. I don't know where things are."

When another student came up to her Ying Hua retreated her hand back to her pack. Too many new people in such a short amount of time. She really wished her groom was here. "Ah Griffin was going to show me to my room. His sister is my roommate."

Wildflower101 Quiddles starfxll​

 

[Ch3rryBlossom28]

Alec Rosewood
Alec understood Paisley's thoughts on his mother. He thought the same thing. He has seen her take spills when he was little and she was training Lyric but nothing as bad as Paisley's. "I'm sure it was fantastic. I wish I could have been there to get it on video." The corner of his mouth curved up into a smirk. He was sure it sucked really bad when the accident happened but he would have loved to have it on video to have for 'blackmail' later in life. Alec couldn't help but roll his eyes at Paisley calling Lyric the holy grail. Yes Lyric was an amazing horse and brought his mom to the top but I guess since hes been allowed to ride the mare its lost a lot of excitement for him. Personally he wanted Echo to bring him to the top and didn't want his mother's help with it.

Alec moved to get up as he heard the bell ring. "I don't plan on letting you win either. I'll definitely give you a run for your money." Alec took her hand that she held out and pulled her up. He made a mental note to help her when he can so she didn't have to overwork her injury. He put his hands back in his pockets as he waited for the Paisley to finished brushing her dress off and then they stated walking.

Alec was jerked forward but the sudden pull of Paisley who had pulled his arm out and took his hand, pulling him along. "Paisley! I'm in sandals!" He groaned, almost tripping at the sudden increase in speed.
When they reached the dining hall, Alec's stomach started to grumble. He didn't realize how hungry he was. Also it wasn't until Paisley called for Griffin did her realize they were still holding hand and he removed his from her grasp, clearly embarrassed.

wendy​

 

[Wildflower101]

Griffin could feel that Ying Hua was overwhelmed. He looked at Kerry, "Thanks again for helping me with Artemis! I'll see you at dinner. I'll just help her to her room. "

He shooed the rest of the people away and turned to face her. "Take a deep breath in and out. Copy Me." Griffin took a deep breath in and out. Once he saw she had calmed down. "Let's go I know it's overwhelming. But if you need anything you can always ask me....or uhh anyone else everyone's helpful." He pointed out different parts of the campus on the way to the room. He knocked on the door.

Griffin smiled when he saw Jadah open the door "Fancy, seeing you here Jadah. I guess we'll be seeing each other a lot on and off the course. Yeah don't sweat it. Artemis is fine" He smiled at the freshman. He entered the room."Brynnie? What did you need? Also your other roommate is here!"

Brynn ran out of her room.Brynn introduced herself to Sing Hua, "Hi, I'm Brynn. I hope my doofus brother didn't say anything stupid" Brynn was excited to meet Ying Hua.

She wacked Griffin's head with a newspaper "Griffin you took forever. Help us move the table and couch." Griffin rolled his eyes he had been taking his time. He moved the couch and table to where Brynn.

Once he finished Brynn clapped her hands,"let's go to dinner!" They walked over the dining hall and Griffin kept the conversation going by making silly jokes.

Griffin grinned"What did the horse say when it fell?...."I've fallen and I can't giddyup!" He thought it was pretty funny. Griffin saw Sean, "SEAN! MY MAN!" He introduced himself to Devin as well.

He opened the door to the dining hall. "A gentleman should always open the door for ladies." He heard Paisley calling his name. Griffin grinned noticing their intertwined hands. He pulled on the sweater.

Brynn squealed, "Alec! Paisley!" She rushed over to hug them. Brynn adored the both of them and saw them as older siblings that she could come to if she had any problems in English riding

Brynn whispered to Paisley, "Griffin is out of control. I swear he's hit on every single one of my roommates."

Griffin grumbled, "Guys I'm starving. Let's get the food and sit!" Griffin helped himself to plenty of food

Ch3rryBlossom28 wendy @ Quiddles wickedlittlecritta , starfxll

 

[Ch3rryBlossom28]

Ying Hua Wong
Ying Hua nodded at Griffin and followed behind him when he started heading to the door. There was a small smile on her face. She might have made her first friend! She was excited to meet her other roommates. When she walked into the apartment she was amazed by all the colors on the wall. All the dorms back in China tended to be boring. Well at least from what shes seen. She waved hello to Jadah, the girl she had met earlier. When Brynn entered Ying Hua did a slight bow. "Ni hao Brynn! My name Ying Hua. Your brother was very helpful."

Ying Hua wanted to help them move things but they insisted she get changed. She took a quick shower and changed into her pair of clothes she packed. She pulled her hair into a high pony tail and walked out right when Brynn mentioned food.

Ying Hua followed behind the group listening in on their conversation. She didn't get the joke Griffin said when they entered the dinning hall but that was because it was a play on words and those were hard for her to understand.

Griffin held the door for her and she muttered a thank you. She stayed quiet as the group approach people she never met before. She stayed quiet and just listened to their interaction.
starfxll Wildflower101 wendy

Leo Fairchild

Leo had had a relatively long day. After walking Lyric out and taking care of her, he had to go ride his own horse. Normally that was something he always looked forward too but Bubba decided to pick a nasty fight with him today which lead to a very long session. it didn't help that he had to help feed and turn out due to some staff falling ill. Leo just got out of the shower, his hair still wet, when the dinner bell rang. He was contemplating skipping dinner all together and going to bed but he knew that wasn't smart, considering he almost never at breakfast and he had another long day tomorrow. He threw on some basic clothing, sweats and a baggy tee shirt before heading out to the dinning hall.

Luckily for him the graduate students and professors had their own line so they didn't have to wait as long. Leo was feeling better about coming down for dinner because once the smell of food hit his nose, his stomach started growling.​

 

[starfxll]

Jadah waved a welcoming hello to Ying Hua and returned to Griffin. She watched as Griffin moved the table and couch, smirking a little when he rolled his eyes. Her attention soon drifted to a bell that was ringing loudly outside, she was confused until Brynn mentioned it was the dinner bell, she followed them all to the dining hall and walked in, the smell of delicious smelling dishes and sickly sweet deserts filled her head, making her hungrier as time ticked on. She watched curiously as Brynn ran over to a few teens and gave them a huge hug, Jadah realized she had never actually met them except, she remembered she had seen the male one time. Her stomach was growling to the point where it made her actually feel sick, so she decided she’d eat first and then meet with the new teens. She got in the line full of starving college students and once it was her turn to collect her food she picked a huge helping of soup and a petite brownie.


She waited until her group was ready to sit and in the meantime watched the other people, including the teens Brynn ran over to.


( Wildflower101 , Ch3rryBlossom28 , wendy )

 

[wendy]

Paisley Halt
Paisley was more then excited to see Brynn “Brynn!” Paisley says bringing to younger girl into a tight hug “You are as beautiful as ever.” Paisley says to the gorgeous girl who was certainly coming into her own. Paisley couldn’t help but laugh at Brynn’s comment about her brother “He’ll flirt with anything with a pulse.” Paisley says linking arms was Brynn about to walk into the mess hall when she spotted two girls she’d never seen before “Are these your dorm mates?” Paisley asked Brynn. “Bonjour! I’m Paisley.” She says to both girls before the hungry French girl picked up a warm plate a begun to pile on the food.

Paisley had always been a big eater and she wasn’t shy about it as the girl walked down the row of delicious foods placing roast potatoes which had been seasoned with rosemary onto her plate before reaching for a mix of roasted carrots and parsnips. “So much choice.” Paisley muttered to herself as she stared at the selection of meats on offer but she finally decided on a couple of lamb chops but the girl wasn’t done yet as she wandered over to the bread selection and picked up 2 small white rolls and a few butter packets. Paisley was also eyeing up the dessert table but decided that she needed to finish what was on her plate before she could have dessert. Paisley turned counting the amount of people in their group before standing next to one of Brynn’s roommates but when she saw what the girl was holding she was shocked “Are you not that hungry?” Paisley asked out of genuine concern seeing that the only thing Jadah held was a bowl of soup and a brownie.

Paisley did a small headcount of how many were in the group as she scanned the dining hall for a table large enough to fit them all on but she soon spotted a table and immediately walked over and sat down so that no one else could take it. Before the others arrived Paisley dished our the knives and forks at each seat as well as pouring each a glass of water for each of them. “Come sit next to me.” Paisley says to Jadah gesturing her over to the seat beside her. “I don’t think I caught your name.” Paisley says with a warm smile before taking a sip of water. “That’s a pretty name for a pretty girl, what’s your speciality?” Paisley asked Jadah as she leaned back in her chair checking to see where the others were and internally pleading for them to hurry up so that she could start eating.


mentions: Jadah ( starfxll ), Brynn and Griffin ( Wildflower101 ) , Ying Hua ( Ch3rryBlossom28 ). ​

 

[starfxll]

As Jadah watched the people, a pretty girl waved to her and spoke, Jadah knew it was French and assumed this girl must be French as well. “Hi!” She watched as Paisley took helpings of food and slid in beside her, Paisley peeked on her plate and spoke to her, Jadah was confused as she thought that the food on her plate was a lot but apparently it wasn’t. Paisley sat at a table and motioned for Jadah to follow and so she did, when Paisley said she hadn’t caught Jadah’s name she spoke up, “My name’s Jadah, and my speciality is barrel racing! Yours is?” Jadah felt happy and warm inside when Paisley had called her name beautiful, she thought that Paisley was a very cool person and felt a friendship approaching.


( wendy sorry if it was a bit short)

 

[Wildflower101]

Brynn giggled at Paisleys comment. If anyone could put Griffin in his place it was Paisley. She couldn't wait to catch up with her about their summer.

Brynn moved along to put a salad and chicken on her plate. She was just excited for dessert. She had a huge sweet tooth. She may have already eaten a sandwich before dinner. It wasn't her fault that dinner was so late and she had been riding all afternoon with Griffin. She followed Alec to the table that Paisley was at.

Griffin was picking out mash potatoes, beef, green beans, and three bread rolls. He was a growing boy. He needed more food. He noticed Ying Hua being quiet. He pointed out all the foods, "Personally American food is pretty heavy compared to Chinese food." His mom was Chinese but Griffin had been so angry with her when she left that he usually didn't mention it to anyone. He knew how sad Brynn was when she left. He waited for Ying Hua to finish picking before heading to the table.

He teased Paisley, "I made sure to take a long time just so you had to wait for all of us." They had rivaling plates of how much food fit on it. Except Griffin planned on seconds. Brynn had made him move all this stuff which made him starving.

He took a seat next to Jadah. He knew Alec usually liked to sit next to Paisley. "Don't listen to whatever Paisley says about me it's all just lies."

starfxll Ch3rryBlossom28 wendy

 

[starfxll]

Jadah watched as people began to pool into the table, Griffin took a seat next to her and made a funny remark, “Okay, for sureee.” She smirked and picked up her spoon, digging into the steaming hot soup. It tasted delicious, way better than the cafeteria food she had at her high school, now that food was disgusting, chunky milk and cold sloppy pizza. This food tasted like it was made for the wealthy, it was definitely made by an experienced chef. She was eating quickly and didn’t even notice she had made a mess all over her face. Embarrassed, she quickly hid her face and wiped it with a napkin. She ate her brownie more elegantly, not letting crumbs fall onto her shirt or pants.

A rumble of voices passed around the table, many different discussions and topic fluttered about and Jadah decided she wanted to start a conversation as well. She turned to Griffin and spoke, “So..you’re a barrel racer huh? Tell me, what’s your fastest time.”


(Sorry it was short, Wildflower101 )

 

[wickedlittlecritta]

"Making it a party, are we?" Devin asked Sean, and followed him, and when they ran into Griffin and his sister and her roommate it felt like a party, Griffin making jokes and Brynn laughing and playfully harassing him to stop. And once they actually made it into the dining hall their group only got larger. He only half-listened as he filled a plate with potatoes and carrots and roast beef and smothered everything in gravy before grabbing some rolls as well, and a second plate for a brownie and a semla and a miniature prinsesstårta.

"I missed eating fancy little pastries at every meal," Devin said to no one in particular, squeezing into a place at the table that fit his two plates. He sat and crossed himself, muttering something that might have been grace under his breath, before making an elaborate forkful of beef and rosemary-scented potato and thick brown gravy and stuffing it in his mouth.

mentions: i think we're all here now? lol

 

[Quiddles]

Outside by the front lawn:

Kerry stepped back as Griffin shooed her off. Apparently he knew the nervous-looking young woman. It probably wasn't the time to ask for directions for herself as well, and she did know how to read a map. A proper map, with contour lines and compass markings and grid references and a scale. This map, in her orienteering and mountaineering opinion, was sadly lacking, and... she rubbed at her eyes, which were inexplicably stinging. Sadly lacking and blurry. She turned to look for the assistant who'd been handing them out, but he was somewhere out of sight amongst the crowd, and it was striking her, more and more, just how large and how busy this place was. She could ask someone, but there were so many someones, where would she start? She'd probably already seen more students than had been at her entire school, and that was just those hanging around outside. She was a thousand miles from home and she'd never felt more out of place.

A bell started ringing, and gradually people headed in more-or-less the same direction. The bell stopped again, so it wasn't a fire alarm. Kerry stood still, the crowd flowing around her until the area was almost empty. She had a printed schedule, but, checking it, she saw that it was dinner time. She didn't feel hungry. Instead she turned about and trudged back to the paddocks instead, making a beeline for her gelding and burying her face in his mane with her arms around his neck as he craned around her and snuffled at her pocket for carrots. It was probably all just adrenaline crash, she told herself, after the horse-kicking incident earlier. She was Ceridwen Gwynedd, she couldn't possibly be feeling homesick.

*

In the dining hall, with everyone else (apart from Leo unless/until he comes over):

"So this is where the party is! Don't worry, you can get started now, I'm here!" Sean called cheerfully to the crowded table as he slid into a space beside Devin and set his plate down. Far from loading up with party food, the polo player had plenty of pasta with a meat sauce and a side of vegetables. Probably a good thing he only had the one plate, too, with Devin occupying a space-and-a-half. Sean cast his eye down the table, winking at Paisley, throwing a little salute at the Juniors and making a mental note of the new faces. "I'm Sean Guinness, those who don't know me. Polo senior. I hope you're all settling in so far this term?"

 

[Ch3rryBlossom28]

Alec Rosewood
Sometimes Alec hated how much of a social butterfly. Sure the people they were with were also people that he knew but sometimes he wanted there to be...less people. It was for this reason Alec was particularly quiet as everyone spoke with each other. The only other person who was remotely quiet was a little Chinese girl following behind Griffin. When he reached the food, Alec was so happy the semester was starting. Over the summer the school had such bland food, but now that everyone was here it picked up its game. Steak. Boy did he love himself some steak.

After he got his food he followed the group and sat on Paisley's free side. He listened in to their conversations but didn't really have much to say no did he really want to talk to everyone. He sat quietly as ate his steak. Though his face did give away how much he was enjoying it.

Ying Hua Wong
Ying Hua was relaly surprised by the type of food at this school. She was not expecting a feast! She felt her mouth water up at the sight. Ying Hua moved her attention to Griffin when he started to speak. "I have had american food before." She paused for a moment clearly thinking. "I traveled with my polo team." Ying Hua had traveled to many places though she only had american food once. Personally she preferred Chinese but she'll just have to get used to it. She mostly picked some vegetables and some pork. She would need to test the waters to see what she could eat.

Ying Hua followed the group to a large table that would accommodate all of them. She took a seat next to Griffin for he was the only one she felt particularly comfortable with at the moment. She took out chopsticks that she carried in her bag to eat her food with. Ying Hua listened intently as the other spoke and introduced themselves. When Jadah said she was a barrel racer she was a kind of amazed. She had seen barrel races, she would never be able to do that. Ying Hua perked up when a boy, Sean introduced him self and said he was a polo player. " Ah my name name is Ying Hua. I am also a polo player." She smiled, happy to finally find another polo player.

Leo Fairchild
Leo managed to get fries and the last of the pizza. People stared at him strangely since it was an odd combination of food. Over the heads of all the younger kids Leo managed to spot his main man Alec and Paisley. They were seating at a large table with a few of their friends. Many of them he recognized. He walked over to them and slid in the empty seat next to Alec. Normally teachers and graduate students usually ate in their own area but sometimes Leo liked to sit with his students to see how they were doing. Plus he hadn't seen Paisley all summer. "Hope I'm not interrupting."​

 

[social]

Finlay Addair
outfit // interactions (open)

Over two days of traveling was enough to drive anybody crazy and frankly, that’s what Finlay felt like as her truck and trailer finally pulled into the entrance of the school. She had been napping most of the way there, unable to really keep herself awake since she had stayed up far too late the night before. It was her second year at the school and that just made her anxious, mostly due to the fact that the competition was only going to increase. In her first year at the school, she had transferred in the middle of the year, instantly setting her up to be out of place and caused her to have a difficult time finding a circle of friends. But she managed to have a decent time at the school and got her name around in the eventing side of the place.

A small bump in the road caused the redhead to jolt awake, her gaze unfocused and a bit confused as she tried to see where they were. “Finlay, you need to wake up, we’re at your school.” The voice of her mother caused the girl to groan in annoyance, not wanting to actually get up and be productive. “You know, you shouldn’t whine so much, it’s going to make you seem like someone who can’t even tack up their horse on their own.” The tone was slightly teasing but it was more than enough to earn a glare from Finlay.

“Mum, you really know how to make a girl feel better.” Rolling her eyes, she sat up and tried her best to pull her hair back into a manageable braid. After a bit of a struggle and various curses of annoyance, she was ready to be seen by the general public. She hopped out of the truck when it came to a stop in front of the stables, taking a moment to stretch her arms above her head and sighed heavily. She looked around at everyone heading into the barns, mostly people eager to snag a stall in the barn closest to the school. “I’m going to grab a stall real quick so unload him if you can.”

Waving to her parents, the ginger began to jog towards the stables, looking for an open stall. She managed to find one and tossed her jacket into it in order to claim it. It had earned a disgruntled glare from a freshman who was looking for a place to unload, but she wasn’t really in the mood to give it up. After hanging her jacket over the stall door, she left the barn and headed back out to the trailer. Upon going outside, she heard the aggravated snorts coming from her horse as he threw his head, not exactly happy that he was cooped up for so long. It didn’t help that a lot of the horses around him were also quite hot and it caused the air to be a bit tense and agitated.

“Here, Dad I got it.” Finlay approached her dad and reached out for the lead rope, wanting to calm her horse down as quickly as possible. Batal tossed his head a few times as he anxiously stepped around in a small circle, almost ready to take off. “Hey you have to calm down, it’s alright.” She spoke in a gentle tone as she approached the gelding, reaching her hand out to stroke his neck as she attempted to put him at ease. “I know it sucks but I’ll lunge you and get you all calm and tired. Don’t worry.” Eventually, he settled, lowering his head a bit and simply keeping an eye on the horses that surrounded them.

Grabbing a bag of Batal’s things from the trailer, the Scottish student began to lead to horse towards the barn, wanting to brush him before she went out to an open arena to lunge him. It was something she did whenever they traveled, just to loosen him up and get him settled into his surroundings a bit more. Plus the less energetic he was, the better his mood would be with everyone else. And she needed an excuse to be occupied until dinner.

By the time the dinner bell went off, Finlay had already moved her things into her room for the year and exercised Batal enough to keep him calm for the rest of the evening. Brushing her stray bangs out of her face, she wandered into the dining hall and made her way to the food. Honestly, she wasn’t overwhelmed by the choices of food that were presented to her, but she made do with what she could. Grabbing as many fruits and veggies as she could, she quickly found her small group of friends and headed over to their side of the table. It was nice to see everyone again.

She mainly was friends with students who specialized in an individual discipline such as jumping or dressage. It made things easier as they didn’t all compete and whatnot. Plus, she found them to be a lot calmer than other people. It gave Finlay an opportunity to unwind and relax, now able to talk to people she was comfortable with. Still, she couldn’t help but notice all the new faces and all the commotion that was already going on in the hall. It was going to be an eventful year, that’s for sure.

 

[social]

Mila Jansen
outfit // interactions (open)

The sounds of the plane wheels hitting the runway caused the tall woman to relax visibly, her eyes trained on the vehicle that carried her horse inside of it. Every time her parents flew the horses in for some event, or in this case for school, she was incredibly anxious and worried. Mostly due to the horror stories behind planes and the fact she was unable to be with her horse and could only wait at the airport for him. A smile immediately graced her features as the grey was led off the cargo plane and she found herself heading over to him, excited to be reunited with him. One good thing about having an incredibly rich family, you had your own private runway. This made being with her horse a lot easier than having to wait.

Their location was still around an hour away from the school itself but that didn’t really bother Mila. The young rider found herself at Aristotle’s side, slender hands running down the length of his neck to check that he was okay. The horse was incredibly calm and relaxed, seeming rather unphased by the ordeal of a flight. His companion, on the other hand, Fleur, was far more vocal and excited when she was taken out of the plane. The harsh contrast in their personalities really reflected their riders and how different they were as well. Without saying much, only whispering soft words in her native tongue to her horse, Mila eyed her younger brother’s horse as she pawed annoyedly at the ground, obviously not thrilled by the experience.

“Mila, walk him around a bit to stretch his legs before we load up. I don’t want you or your brother to be late on the first day back. Your luggage has already arrived at the school and is in your dorms so we need to hurry, they won’t have stalls forever.” Her father’s cool voice caused the dressage student to turn around, eyes widened slightly.

“Yes Father, I’ll get right on it.” Her exchanges with either parent were very short and straight to the point, not leaving much room for a continuation or even an argument. Grasping the lead in her hands, she began to walk Artistotle off the runway, going towards the field in order to give him some time to stretch out his legs and graze a bit if he really wanted to. She walked him around for a while, making sure that he was moving comfortably and didn’t seem to be in any pain or distress. Once she figured he was ready, she brought him over to the family trailer and loaded him up, the entire process not taking very long. What did take long was loading Fleur. The mare was adamant about not getting back into another box and was throwing a tantrum, much to the amusement of her rider, Ezra.

Mila rolled her eyes at the commotion, grimacing when the grooms tried to pull her into it, rather than letting her warm up to it herself. The whole ordeal was a mess and it only got resolved when their father yelled for Ezra to get her into the trailer himself. Once the mare was in, the family was driving off towards the school, a lecture about punctuality following shortly after.

When the Jansen family arrived at the stables, Mila found herself rather excited to be away from home. While the school wasn’t easy for her and definitely challenged the rider, she found it to be easier in the emotional aspect compared to her home life. She was able to perform better when she was away from the prying eyes and critical opinion of her parents so she was the first to get out of the car, eager to unload her horse and get him situated. As she walked towards the trailer, she could feel the gazes of freshmen on her, a bit in awe of the woman as she waited to go inside to get her horse.

While most of the students came from perfect equestrian families, many of the new students were still in awe when they saw someone from said families. Mila had gained a lot of attention ever since joining the school due to her performance in dressage. It was a raw and natural gift that many people envied and admired. Of course, she needed work, but she was aiming to be a professional dressage rider until she could retire so naturally, she had a lot of competitions under her belt. As Mila led Aristotle out of the trailer and towards the stable, it seemed like they were models more than anything. From the way she was dressed and held herself to the way that the dapple acted around the spirited horses, it was obvious that they belonged at the school.

Tucking some hair behind her ear, the woman managed to find a stall that was unoccupied and brought Aristotle inside, pleased that she got one near the school building. It honestly made life a lot easier in the long run. While she wished to allow the stallion to just rest and enjoy the quietness of the barn, her parents had declared that she rode him for a bit before they would head for home, wanting to confirm that she had indeed improved over summer. But it was part of the routine so she nor her horse were that surprised when they had to head to the area.

“Kian! I thought you weren’t showing up today!” Throwing her arms around the tall man in front of her, Mila laughed and hid her face in the crook of his neck, only to be spun around a few times before she could properly see his face. The woman had started dating the top polo player at the school, a senior named Kian Breyers, and the pair made for a very attractive match. It was a very loving and caring relationship so a lot of underclassmen often gossiped about it whenever the two of them were together on campus.

“I know but surprisingly I managed to get here on time. Plus I was really excited to see you, especially since you were pretty much on lockdown this summer.”

“I’m sorry. My parents insisted that I went to clinics and competitions throughout the summer because they were worried my skills would dull over the break.” She frowned before the older placed a quick kiss on her lips.

“Don’t worry about it anymore, let’s just go and get something to eat yeah?” Intertwining their fingers, the couple headed off to the dining hall in order to get some food and to mingle with their friends, hopefully hearing about summer vacations that were more exciting than their own.

 

[social]

Ezra Jansen
outfit // interactions (open)

Shrill whinnies and snorts reached the young eventer’s ears as he rolled down the car window, watching the grooms unload his horse from her spot in the cargo plane. Or at least, try to unload her. Fleur was not happy in the slightest, throwing her head, snorting, rearing a bit as she went down the ramp, it was a whole ordeal. His older sister’s horse had practically been an angel, much to his annoyance. Still, it was amusing to see his father and mother get so annoyed by his mare’s antics. Fleur was anything but a quiet horse, right from the start he knew she would be a troublesome horse at times. She had a temper on her and did not like taking orders from people she didn’t respect and she certainly didn’t enjoy traveling for long periods of time.

It wasn’t until his father’s frustrated features filled his view that the teenager actually got out of the vehicle. “Oh come on, they can’t even handle taking her out of the plane, why do you think I can?” The question was asked with sarcasm and an obvious attitude as he stepped onto the runway and headed towards his horse. She wasn’t exactly in the mood to deal with anyone, her ears practically flat against her head as she was forced to stand still as Ezra made his way over to her. Smiling a bit, he easily moved to take one of the leads from a groom, his free hand traveling to her shoulder. “I know you’re angry, believe me, I get it.” He stayed with her for a bit, mostly just petting her and attempting to lift her out of the foul mood.

It worked enough so that he could lead her around, stretching out her legs so she wasn’t as tense and on edge. Honestly, Ezra didn’t even know why he was going to the school as he never really thought his parents wanted him in the competition ring. They belittled his choice of discipline all the time and found Fleur to be an excellent example of wasting money, but they still accepted the invitation for him to attend Winding Oaks. He had little to say in the matter, mostly because both of his parents knew that he wouldn’t outright say no to something, especially if his mother agreed with whatever it was. So he was stuck at the school, forced to compete with other famous athletes and their horses. But it wasn’t interesting to him, none of it was. He much preferred the idea of just going to a school outside of the country and competing over there, not through a prissy university as he liked to call it.

Still, he knew he was blessed with opportunities others would die for so he never really voiced his annoyance out loud since he was far smarter than that. Eventually, though, it was time to load Fleur back up, this time in a trailer and it was no easy task. Ezra had learned the hard way that loading Fleur after she’s already traveled a long way, well it was dangerous at times. She would get a major attitude and would be a pain in the ass to get into a trailer again. So the boy let the grooms struggle as they attempted to load the French mare, cursing as they did so. She didn’t budge, she only resisted further. It wasn’t until his father’s sharp voice cut through the air and ordered Ezra to load her that the youth moved. It took only a few minutes before she was in the trailer securely and the brunette sported a cocky smile. Who didn’t love family vacations?

The arrival to the school was nothing short of a red carpet event, at least in his eyes. He found it to be rather wonderful to have so many people turn and stare at him, all whispering and giggling amongst themselves. Ezra couldn’t help but flash his charming smile as he went into the trailer to unload Fleur, having given his sister time to unload Aristotle herself. Only he took his time, making sure to stop and talk to the groups of girls that he found particularly attractive. The male slowly made his way into the barn, his eyes scanning the building for empty stalls. He eventually found one right next to a girl who was brushing her horse’s tail out so he walked over and leaned up against the stall entrance. Might as well make a good impression. “Is the neighboring stall taken? I was hoping to use it since the rest appear to be filled up.”

The charismatic smile he sported seemed to do the trick and the girl hurriedly answered him, explaining that it wasn’t in use. So naturally, he took her word for it and began to move all his things into the barn. It wasn’t until he brought in the brush box that he heard the girl arguing with someone about giving away the stall to him. Well, he did ask before taking it so really, it wasn’t his fault at all. Still, he couldn’t help but laugh a little at the dispute that was going on. “Let’s see how much trouble we can get into,” Ezra whispered the comment to his horse as he rubbed her forehead, interested in the rest of the students he was bound to encounter.

Just like Mila, Ezra was required to show his parents a bit of an improvement from the last time he rode so by the time the dinner bell rang, he was ready to eat as much as possible. Naturally at this point, he already had a small group of girls that were eager to show him around, most of them being upperclassmen while there were some freshmen who knew the layout of the campus due to their older relatives attending the school beforehand. All in all, it made life easy for the eventer. The students walked to the dining hall, one of the girls practically dragging Ezra with her, explaining that the sooner he got in line, the more food he could get.

It wasn’t a bad thing, having all these people willing to run errands for him and do whatever he asked, but he was careful to not get too greedy. At least not right away. It didn’t take long before he spotted Mila, noting that she was sitting mostly with other dressage students and probably some polo players since her boyfriend was one. It was a bit annoying that his sister of all people was popular, but he didn’t let it show on his face. Instead, he smiled and chatted with the girls, focusing on getting decent food so he wouldn’t starve later on.

“So, what are most of the eventers like at this school? I don’t really know anyone.” His question was an honest one as he never really paid attention to his competitors and certainly couldn’t be bothered to actually research top eventers in the area. It was way too much work to actually do it himself. So he was just going to have the other students fill him in.

 

[wendy]

Paisley Halt
It felt so good to be back with everyone, familiar faces and new one sat around her like they were one big family. Paisley had always felt more at home at Winding Oaks then back at her home stable which was most likely due to the people at her home stable being older riders with a lot more experience and a lot more titles under their belts while Paisley was just setting out into the professional equestrian world. "Paisley, Paisley Halt." The young French women spoke to Jadah between bites of food "I'm a eventer but I focus on Cross Country." Paisley says noticing that Griffin had taken the seat next to Jadah as he told her not to listen to Paisley "Oh, I was just telling her about your amazing Barrell Skills." Paisley teases "I guess I do only tell lies about you Griffin" Paisley loved to tease Griffin as his reactions always made her laugh. Griffin and Paisley had been firm friends since she joined the school, he had always been of a big brother figure to Paisley, she knew he was there for her even if they do tease eachother every single day.

Paisley says noticing that the rest of their group was slowly joining Jadah and herself. Paisley noticed that the Irish Polo player Sean winked at her and so the flirty women blew him a kiss. "So Jadah, Where are you from?" Paisley asked the pretty girl sat beside her. As Paisley carefully listened to her response she turned to see Alec sitting down beside her and a small smile creeped across her face, she couldn't hide the small happiness she felt of Alec choosing to sit down next to her. Paisley saw that everyone had finally sat down including Leo "Leo! Long time no see." Paisley says cheerfully to him before she turned her attention to Alex looking at his silver hair "Did you dye your hair again?" Paisley asks curiously reaching up expecting it to feel slightly dry but his hair was extremely soft which was a surprise to the young French women who kept running her hands through his hair "It's so soft." Paisley mumbles before finally turning her attention to her dinner which she had barely touched.

mentions: Jadah ( starfxll ), Griffin ( Wildflower101 ), Sean ( Quiddles ) and Alec ( Ch3rryBlossom28 )​

 

[starfxll]

As Jadah dug into her food and listened to Griffins response she heard Paisley speak up, “Oh! I’m from America, I assume you’re from France?” Jadah smiled politely towards Paisley. Paisley seemed very nice and a great person but she also gave off the rich girl vibe, it didn’t shock Jadah as she comes from a rich family too, high class to be exact, her dad works as co-owner of a very famous company. Jadah stared down at her empty plate, tiny little crumbs remained on the sleek white dish. “Excuse me, I need to use the restroom.” Jadah spoke to everyone at the table before picking up her plate and taking it away. The restroom wasn’t very far and so she pushed the door open and used the toilet, washing her hands and returning to the table to relax.

A ding from her phone startled her as she had been spacing out, Jadah reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone reading the text message that appeared after the ding, it was from her mother: How are you doing sweetie? Made any friends yet? Jadah smiled at the little text from her mom and replied with: Yeah! I met this one girl named Paisley, she’s real pretty and she’s super nice, you’d like her. Jadah put her phone away when she saw Paisley touching Alec’s hair. “Oooo someone’s in love.” She mumbled under her breath and chuckled.


( Wildflower101 , Ch3rryBlossom28 , wendy )

 

[Wildflower101]

Griffin Williams​

He tsked at Paisley's comment ruffling her hair. "Giving me a bad rep to the freshmen already Paisley? It's like you're trying to mess with discipline-bonding before it even happens. "

Griffin ran his fingers through his hair as he answered Jadah, "I'm not that great. My fastest was 15 seconds." He had already seen a preview of Jadah's skills and she was good. Really good. Griffin was stressed but he didn't show it. He had spent all summer working saving up money. While most of the students had time practicing he was teaching 10 year olds how to ride. He didn't have as much practice as he wanted only being able to practice during his off time. He didn't want to worry Brynn but he knew how tight money was. Having two horses was a stretch for them but his dad would never say anything to them. He was excited to be able to spend more time riding and to be back at school.

He threw something at Paisley's hair at her comment. He rolled his eyes when he saw Paisley playing with Alec's hair. Those two were something else. Griffin laughs at Jadah's comment and whispers in her ear, "The only one that doesn't know are those two. "

He continued to eat his bread rolls. When he saw Finlay. He gave her a little two fingered salute. Finlay was Griffin's reality check to life and was one of the few people who understood his internal struggles when it came to money. He'd have to catch up with her later to ask her about her summer. He had terrible phone reception all summer but the peace and quiet was nice.

He turned to his sister who was just playing around with her food., "What's wrong Brynnie?"

Brynn shrugs, "Nothing I'm just going to go to the stable to check on Orion. I'll see you tomorrow."
starfxll wendy Ch3rryBlossom28 social

 

[wickedlittlecritta]

Devin scooted his plates a little to make more room for Sean, and gave Paisley a little two fingered salute around a mouthful of potato.

A small commotion at the doors made him look up, and he saw a young man enter absolutely surrounded by awestruck freshman girls and one or two upperclassmen. Devin snorted. "Oh, the king of the freshman arrived," he said, gesturing with his fork. "Hope his court is dramatic. I love watching shitshows."

 

[Quiddles]

Sean’s grin turned into a chuckle as Paisley returned his wink with a blown kiss. Tilting his head slightly in acknowledgement, his attention moved on around the table to the quiet Ying Hua who had finally spoken up. His eyebrows lifted in recognition of the name. As participants in a team discipline, the Polo specialists were expected to support each other and with that in mind a list of the new students had already been circulated. He returned Ying Hua’s smile of greeting with a friendly grin. “Nǐ hǎo! Hěn gāo xìng rèn shí nǐ! (Hello! Very happy to meet you!)” Then he held up both hands in apology. “That’s almost the only Chinese I know, I’m afraid. Your groom was kind enough to teach it to me. If there’s anything I can do to help you get settled in, just ask.” He stopped before voicing his next thought, which was to ask if she’d seen the polo ground yet; it seemed likely to him that a roomful of excitedly yammering English speakers must already be quite a lot for her to cope with. He made a mental note to keep a friendly but tactful eye on her until she settled in.

“Mr Fairchild!” he greeted instead, as Leo had joined them at the table. “I hope you had a good break? Maybe you can tell me who organises the catering? I thought I would suggest they do one meal each week themed to the cuisine of a different country. It might help all the different nationalities here feel a bit more at home.” He glanced around the table, to see if anyone else had a comment about the idea, although with the buzz of other conversations going on it was very likely that nobody was really paying attention. The glance did mean he spotted Brynn preparing to leave the table, in time to lift a hand in combined greeting and farewell, fortunately before Devin's remark had him sniggering quietly. "The Cult of Celebrity, worship held daily," he replied dryly.

***

Back out at a paddock near the stables:

Feeling embarrassed, though there was nobody to see, and angry with herself, though with little reason, Kerry eventually released her death-grip on Puzzle’s neck and swiped at her cheeks with the back of her hand. “Sorry Puzzle,” she told the gelding, who had been remarkably patient but now snorted and danced a little. “Twmffat that I am.” Puzzle’s little dance provoked a watery little smile and awoke memories of evenings after school spent teaching her boy silly tricks. She cleared her throat a couple of times until she thought she could sing without her voice croaking, then launched into Pump It Up at the top of her voice. As she danced to the song, her piebald gelding echoed her steps- side, side, forward, back, spin: just a girl and a horse, together, with the whole paddock now their dance floor and the two-horse audience goggling a bit at such outlandish behaviour.

wendy Ch3rryBlossom28 starfxll Wildflower101 wickedlittlecritta ( social )