Opening my eyes just in time {open}

[Kyle Smithe]

Kyle was standing outside of Wonder's stall. Or sometimes called by his full name "One Hit Wonder," who was a chestnut quarter horse gelding. Kyle was leaning against the stall with his head down, having only gotten here today, with his step-loser towing his horse in the trailer. The only reason Kyle was here other than wanting to be was his parents wanted him out of the house. Kyle sighed and crossed his arms over his chest, like an icy draft was blowing into his very soul. How could this person be so very alone at this moment? Sure Kyle had people who cared about him, but things just weren't the same with out good old dad. He could feel the tears welling up behind his eyes, and wished they wouldn't fall to no avail. Kyle didn't bother wiping them, his father was his world, and losing him was like losing himself. Kyle was just hoping against hope no one would find him.

[Aren Haight]

Aren sighed as she walked into the stables, headed for her horse, Kaitou, in her stall. She missed her old home already, but knew she should try to think positive. She was able to find a new home with her best friend, Luna, and in a place where she could see her horse everyday. Quack quack quack.. went the two yellow ducks who were in her arms. The blonde girl had to smile as her two ducks, Fuzz and Bubbles, as they tried to chomp on her hair, which was braided and thrown over her shoulder. She couldn't help but laugh as their soft feathers tickled her skin. Nothing like two ducks to cheer you up.

As she walked, she spotted a guy outside a stall that was right next to her own horse's stall. The guy seemed to be depressed, or maybe he was just a bit sad? Just then, Bubbles squirmed out of her arms and fluttered to the ground. She quacked loudly and irritably as she waddled over to the guy. Her quacks were met with the friendly nicker of Kaitou, who recognized the duck's voice. Now Fuzz was acting up, trying to follow her sister, Guys calm down! she said and tried to settle down her pets. Fuzz quacked again, louder. She squirmed and wiggled free of Aren's grasp and half ran, half flapped, after the other ducks. Hey! Get back here! She ran after the ducks, who were waddling quickly towards the guy who was outside of a stall. Kaitou stuck her chestnut head over her stall door, curious of all the commotion. She nickered and flicked her ears towards the waddling ducks.

[/color]

[Kyle Smithe]

Kyle saw the ducks and stooped down, grabbing the little things as the ran by him. He looked up, only to look away as if ashamed, he handed the ducks to the girl. Kyle was feeling worse by the moment. The thoughts of his father, always opened a fresh wound, and sometimes caused an asthma attack. Which it did this time, brilliant Kyle forgot his inhaler. He leaned on Wonder's stall who nudged his owner with worried eyes. Kyle refused to speak unless he desperately needed help, this was one of those times. My.. Inhaler.. Forgot... Tack... room. He was leaning forward, as he was gasping for breath, asthma sucked. Why couldn't he remember his friggen inhaler half the time? Kyle dropped to his knees still gasping for air, hoping the girl would help him.

[gloria ivy thomas ~]

---- WOAH THERE SID

You're not making the word limit there, hun. It's two-five-oh, and I know you can make it, so yeah, please do so. I'll let it slide this time, but please don't do it again! Thanks <3

( nyla )

[/size]

[Aren Haight]

Aren was good in bad situations. She was normally the calm one when everyone else freaked out. The ducks had stopped quacking and were silent, sensing the guy's pain. Aren, slightly panicked, nodded and hurried to the tack room. She looked around frantically, losing her usual calm state. She spotted the inhaler and grabbed. She sprinted back to the guy who was on his knees by now. Kaitou was snorting, it was what she did when she was concerned about someone. Aren leaned down next to him and handed him his inhaler. Nod when you're ok, she siad calmly, hoping the guy she had just met would be ok. Her ducks gathered around them, quacking softly as if encouraging the guy to feel better. Kaitou stretched out her neck and blew softly in their direction. All the animals wanted to help their masters.

Aren noticed the tears in the guy's eyes, but knew better than to ask what was wrong. She wouldn't want anyone to try and help her if she were crying, it was the way she was. The girl said nothing as she watched, concerned. He would be alright, wouldn't he? She tried to get the inhaler to him as fast as she could. She'd never forgive herself if something bad happened because of her.She already believed that her parents were gone because of her, even though everyone said it wasn't her fault. Aren winced and pushed the thoughts out of her head. She shouldn't be thinking like that, especially during this kind of situation. She picked up her ducks and cradled them in her arms, more to comfort them than herself. Her pets were very sensitive to people's emotions. They were used to her own emotional turmoil, and they didn't like it when her emotions boiled over. Now they watched as someone other than their master experienced the same thing.

[Kyle Smithe]

Kyle grabbed the inhaler from the girl as quickly as he could. He seemed fine after he used it, trying to catch his breath though. Kyle eventually nodded and slid down the stall door that held Wonder in. Wonder was impatiently stamping around his stall, trying to kick it to pieces to help his owner. Kyle managed to catch his breath eventually and put the inhaler in his pocket. He reached up and wiped the tears hoping he could hide what they really were by saying it happened when he had an attack. Kyle studied the girl who seemed to be on the edge of losing her calm facade it seemed, holding the ducks which he was still confused about. He looked up at what was her horse, standing with its neck as far out of the stall as it could looking at him. What's this? Have  I turned into a freak show? Maybe I should just  talk to her, let her know its alright? I'm not usually one to say anything but this seems like a good time. After all the old me is still buried in me somewhere. I'm... Okay? I'm still kinda new to the whole Asthma things. Uh thanks though. Hey if anything you should be looking up, you really saved my behind there.

Kyle thought standing up would be a good idea, so he slowly slid up on Wonder's stall. He was nudged roughly by his horse, pushing him forward and almost hitting the girl who had to be there at the perfect time. Kyle rolled his eyes, Wonder only meant to show him he was glad he was okay. He walked back to the stall and handed his gelding a treat. Kyle stroked the gelding's face, tracing the shape of his blaze and caressing his cheek. Wonder sighed contently and leaned into Kyle's touch and snorted when he moved away. I'm Kyle by the way.

[Aren Haight]

Aren let out the breath she had been involuntarily holding. He was ok, everything was fine. She loosened her death grip on Bubbles and Fuzz, who were calm now. I'm glad you're ok,

[/color] she said, relieved. Kaitou, seeing the guy stand up, snorted, satisfied, and went back to her feed. The girl didn't think she should say "you're welcome" because it seemed like an awkward response. However, she had a feeling that the boy really had been crying when he had had his attack. She wondered why, being the caring person she was. However, since she had just met the guy, she let the thought go in her mind and didn't mention it.She nearly dropped her ducks when the boy was pushed towards her by his horse, but managed to regain her balance. Fuzz and Bubbles started squirming again, so she backed up a few paces and clucked to her horse. Kaitou looked up, saw the ducks, and lowered her head. Aren slid the ducks onto the horse's back, where they waddled around carefully.

She turned her attention back to the guy, who said his name was Kyle. I'm Aren,[/color] she said, glad that everything was more or less back to normal. Or at least, as normal as it could be. It was mostly familiar to her, the sounds of the horses, and the soft sounds of quacking. When she had lived on her friend's ranch, there had been a bunch of ducks who lived in a pond near their home. So in a way, ducks in the stall were as comforting to her as Kaitou and her out riding. She smiled politely at Kyle, still relieved that she gotten his inhaler to him on time.[/center]

[Kyle Smithe]

Kyle nodded after she said what her name was, and took off his sweatshirt. He now only had his muscle shirt on and Jeans and boots, with messy hair. Kyle's face was a little pale, but that was normal for him at least. He was now ignoring the name "Jonathan" tattooed on his arm, facing the girl. It was surrounded by a blue ribbon in black laced writing. Kyle grimaced when she said "I'm glad your okay." Kyle had to be totally honest, he wasn't glad he was okay. Far from it in fact. Uh Thanks. Though I'm not really all that glad? Kyle reached up again, the tattoo danced across his muscle, as he stroked his Gelding's neck. You really are a One Hit Wonder...[/b] His chest seemed to hurt still, whether it was from the crying, or because of the attack or just plain out tired of living attitude. Maybe it was all of it?

Kyle put his arm down, again to be grunted at by Wonder, unhappy that his owner stopped petting him again. He leaned on the stall door again, being nudged repeatedly by wonder, which was annoying but comforting. Uh why do you have ducks? Sorry, Just not used to seeing ducks at all let alone ducklings. Kyle frowned, he was still trying to put on the facade of happiness, though his eyes as always held a conflicting emotion, that was barely readable to anyone but himself. He liked his eyes sometimes, but sometimes he didn't. Wonder still hadn't given up on the nudging for attention so Kyle moved away to come look at Aren's horse. Wonder let out a piercing whinny of jealousy. He hated when his owner payed attention to other horses. What's her name?

[Aren Haight]

Aren was a bit shocked when he said he wasn't really glad he was okay. Who wouldn't be glad they didn't have to be hospitalized, or worse? She could see something else in his eyes other than the fake happiness facade that she recognized so much. She did the same thing all the time. Some people were so confusing! It made her wonder if she was this confusing to everyone else? Maybe not to Luna, who knew her so well, but others, maybe? Kaitou stretched out her head and rubbed it on Aren's arm, sensing her emotions. Aren smiled slightly and rubbed her horse's head. When Kyle asked why she had ducks, she was caught off guard. She hadn't expected the question. Umm...I'm not sure? We have a pond filled with ducks back home, and these guys always stuck around with me and made me feel better whenever I felt down. My friend here has a duck, too. They're all buddies. she tried to explain. True, Fuzz and Bubbles were buddies with Luna's duck, Ahiru.

Kaitou nickered softly when Kyle came closer to the stall. The ducks quacked when the horse moved, and flapped frantically to avoid falling. The horse turned her head and nudged Bubbles, who was slipping, back onto her back. She then turned her attention to the two people outside her stall. Aren rubbed her horse's head. Her name is Kaitou des Coeurs, or Kaitou for short. It means "Theif of Hearts".

[/color] Aren said. Kaitou whinnied in response to her name. The mare had that name for a reason. The first time Aren saw her, the mare had already taken her heart. It was a name fit for the sweet mare.[/center]

[Kyle Smithe]

Kyle couldn't help but smile at the mare's name. She reminded him of Wonder. Wonder was given to him by his father, and it was the first horse he trained himself. Wonder knew quite a few things from Jonathan, and Kyle, Things like laying down to allow people on his back. He was one peculiar horse, not only in personality, he was pretty smart too. Wonder hadn't figured out how to unlatch these stalls yet but he would soon, knowing the horse he raised. Kyle looked at Wonder who was still making a fuss about everything so he went over and unlatched his stall, that way he could see both horses. Wonder eagerly nudged the door and walked out, closing it again with his hind foot closest to the door. Wonder nickered and followed Kyle the short distance to Kaitou's stall, nosing the door and snuffling Aren's hair, who was this strange girl? Seemed to be the expression on Wonder's face.

Kyle seemed to have gotten lost watching the horses, and ducks. Weird little things. He blinked and looked at Aren. Oh, This is One Hit Wonder, we just call him Wonder. He's the first horse I pretty much trained myself with some help from Jonathan. Kyle said his father's name as if everyone knew him, unfortunately not everyone did. He often got looks when he mentioned his name, or people saw the tattoo on his arm. Though back home everyone knew his father and step-loser Mike. Mike was the main reason Kyle wanted to get out, He hated Kyle and his horse with a passion. Kyle was often kicked out of the house. He always went to sleep in Wonder's stall, knowing this horse would lay down with him. Kyle figured out finally that Mike and Jonathan never really liked eachother, and Wonder was the last horse he bred before the accident. Mike hated Kyle and Wonder  because both meant something to Jonathan, they were a  big part of his life. Mike did almost everything to make Kyle miserable, and the smile of victory when Kyle got out of the truck was still fresh in his mind. Kyle coughed for a few minutes after that, and Wonder nudged his back with his nose. He frowned again. Sorry about that. Jonathan was my dad, before the accident. And Mike dropped me off today with Wonder. Wonder had his nose over Kyle's shoulder now.

Kyle absentmindedly stroked Wonder's nose, and didn't realize he was crying again until his horse nudged his cheek. He almost growled under his breath and just let them roll down his face.

[Luna Quince]

Aren smiled at the horse who was snuffling her hair. She patted his nose and smoothed back her long hair braid. Kaitou nickered a friendly greeting to the horse outside the stall. The mare nudged Aren's arm for attention, so she gave it to her. She rubbed her horse's chestnut colored head, right between the eyes where she liked it best.Fuzz and Bubbles quacked and poked at Kaitou's neck with their bills. The mare lowered her head so her neck was straight, and the ducks waddled carefully across her neck like a bridge. Aren remembered teaching them that trick a long time ago, yet it still made her want to laugh. The ducks quacked loudly, looking at the other horse standing by their master.

Kyle said his horse's name was One Hit Wonder, or Wonder for short. Cool name. What did you train him in?

[/color] she asked. She didn't know who Jonathan was, perhaps his friend or his relative from back home. The ducks waddled back towards the center of Kaitou's back so that the mare could raise her head again. She patted Wonder's nose again, as if to reassure him that she was a friend, not a foe. Aren glanced at the tattoo on Kyle. Whoever the Jonathan guy was, he must be pretty special to Kyle. Kaitou tugged on Aren's long braid with her teeth and pulled her closer to the stall. The girl smiled and stroked her mare's nose. Whenever another horse got good treatment, she got it, too. When Kyle coughed, the hair on the back of Aren's neck stood up. It wasn't an attack though, but she wondered just how bad his Asthma was. After his coughing fit was over, Kyle explained that Jonathan was his father. There was also an accident, which she easily guessed his dad hadn't survived. Mike must've been his step-dad or something along those lines. Oh. Is Mike your step-dad or something? she asked. She wasn't expecting an answer, since it seemed like he didn't like Mike very much from the sound of his tone. Aren couldn't remember her dad's name. She didn't know the names of any relatives, actually. She glanced at Kaitou's back and saw that the ducks were asleep already. Whatever happened to all the energy they had just few moments ago?

When Aren looked back at Kyle, she was surprised to see tears rolling down his face. She hadn't said anything wrong, had she? She wanted to help, to comfort him somehow, but she didn't know what to do. You must miss him a lot.[/b][/color] she said softly. She'd feel the same if someone close to her died.[/center]

[Kyle Smithe]

Kyle nodded to the last question. My dad was pretty special. He could connect with just about any horse he met and taught me how to do that a little. Pfft Mike is not my step-dad He's my step-loser. He could barely remember what Wonder was trained in. The horse was so special it seemed that he knew everything. Kyle couldn't help but laugh when Aren was pulled to the stall by Kaitou. He still felt like crap, and kinda wanted someone to hug him and tell him it was alright. Um, Wonder's trained in Basic western, and a few odds and ends. It's kinda like circus tricks.

Kyle tried to force a smile, though he knew Wonder deserved one. His smile was odd and out of place, awkward. Wonder nickered and shoved Kyle again, this time he tripped and fell into Aren. Kyle hit the ground pretty hard avoiding landing on Aren. He lay on his back blinking for a moment, he got the wind knocked out of him. Kyle groaned and got back to his feet, looking around to see if Aren was alright. He stumbled backwards again into Wonder this time, who caught him with his nose. Oh, crap sorry. Kyle decided it was time Wonder went back into his stall, so he opened the door and pointed at the stall. Wonder snorted and walked in reluctantly, turning around and closing the door with his nose. Kyle latched the door, hoping Wonder missed it. He reached his hand down to Aren, whom he did knock over. Kyle was still embarressed about Wonder's odd behavior.

[Aren Haight]

(last post was Aren, not Luna )

Aren couldn't help but laugh when she was knocked over. However, Kaitou whinnied, concerned, when she saw her master hit the ground. The ducks' quacking rose higher as they tried to see what had happened. She grabbed Kyle's hand and pulled herself up. It's ok, and thanks for the hand.

[/color] She smiled. Wonder sure was playful, or he was just nosy. She rubbed Kaitou's nose as a sign that she was fine, and her animals calmed down. It was funny at how her pets could be so protective over her. It was one of the reasons she loved them so much. Kaitou nipped at Aren's braid again, clearly she was hungry. She pushed her braid over her shoulder, so that it draped across her front, instead of haning down the back. Now Kaitou couldn't get to it.

Step-loser, huh? I'm guessing you don't like him a whole lot, she said. Her mare lowered her head and the ducks waddled up. Aren patted Bubbles and Fuzz's heads to let them know she wasn't hurt, and they waddled down to the horse's back. She pulled a piece of straw from her pants and let it drop to the ground. She still had straw sticking to her hair, but she didn't bother with them. Straw in her hair was as close as fashion she could get. It was probably why Kaitou wanted to eat her hair. The mare nuzzled her shoulder, and the girl rubbed her behind her ears, one of her favorite spots. I've trained Kaitou to do English and Western, but I think she prefers to just do whatever she wants,[/color] she said.[/center][/color]

[Kyle Smithe]

Kyle practically scoffed at the words "you probably don't like him much." Like him? Ha, I don't see how anyone can like that asshole. More like I hate him. He didn't mean to sound harsh to this person who was so friendly. Kyle just absolutely hated his step-loser. Sorry, I didn't mean to sound harsh. He took a step back feeling his entire body go cold. Kyle was also used to this, often passing it off as rejection, or someone staring at him with malice from behind. Step-loser. He groaned and turned around, there was Step-loser with Wonder's tack.

Mike grunted looking at Kyle with pure hate. He threw the tack at Kyle and left. Kyle sighed and went to pick up Wonder's tack. He couldn't help but feel frustrated with Mike, it was obvious he had to make Kyle miserable no matter where he was. Kyle put the tack and grooming tools in the tack room, and walked out still looking pale. He'd be getting a call from mom about his bad behavior and how upset Mike was. Screw Mike, like he cares about how I act, all he cares about is taking my life away from me. Uh... I should go? I'm sorry about that... Kyle made sure his sleeves were rolled down so no one would look at what he'd done. The constant reminder of his past would always haunt him as long as they were there taunting him. Wonder stomped his foot as if telling Aren to stop Kyle from leaving. He was a smart horse and knew when his owner did something to make it harder to brush or tack him. His eyes looked pleading at the girl, hoping she'd understand him somehow.

[Aren Haight]

I can see why you hate him,

[/color] Aren said. People like the step-loser really pissed her off. She was distracted from her sudden thoughts of evilness by Kyle's eyes. They looked so...troubled and pained. It gave her a heartache. Kaitou nickered softly, as if saying everything would be ok. But would it? Are you really okay? she asked. She couldn't imagine what he must've been through with the whole thing between him, Mike, and his dad. All she knew was what it felt like to not have a dad, but to know one and then have him taken away from you? She couldn't imagine what that was like. she wanted to do something, say everything would be alright somehow. But she didn't know if she should, if it would be too awkward or something. You don't have to go,[/color] she blurted before she knew what she was saying. She blushed slightly, and then the ducks started quacking softly.

What was she doing? She knew that you could only really help a person when you knew what they were going through, and she wasn't sure she did. However, she couldn't not try to help, it was against her nature. She also knew that she was similar to him, which was why she wanted to help him so much. She knew what it was like to not show her true feelings, to keep them bottled up under the surface and pretend nothing was wrong. Aren was so confused, she didn't know what to do.[/center][/color]