The morning was bright and crisp as Scott arrived at the prestigious stable. Prato Alto Ranch was much different than Moonlit Creek Stables. Moonlit was much homier and elegant with white plank buildings with dark grey roofs but Prato Alto was all brick. It basically had 'money' painted over the entire farm.

Scott yawned as he stepped out of his vehicle. His brother, Eli, stepped out as well. This was their first day working here and they did not look the part. At all. They wore old clothes that made them almost look like homeless people while it was white breeches everywhere they went. The two siblings received many stares and Scott wished he could turn invisible. Eli; however, did not look perturbed at all. He just kept his same hard scowl that he always had.

(Its a bit shorter than I wanted it to hehe Sorry bout that lol

"Oh my god." The drawn-out, childish whine of a certain twenty-year-old broke the serene sounds of the morning. "If I have to haul one more piece of horse people junk, I…" Pausing to think, Rhynn stared in an anguished expression at the sky. She was also met by an amused look from Katrina when her eyes returned to her companions face, which was only about two feet away from her, the length of the tack trunk apart. "I don't know what I'd do," her hands were now rested aggressively on her hips, "but it wouldn't be pretty."

“And it doesn’t change the fact that we work here now so suck it up, buttercup.” Scott said. He could have used a much more joyous tone but struggled to find the motivation to use it these days. Eli muttered something hateful under his breathe but said nothing more. “Anyways,” Scott said turning towards Elise. “It’s good that you’re already making yourself comfortable here. I’m afraid it will be much harder for me and Ollie.” Scott’s eyes twinkled with mischief as he said that last word.

If looks could kill, Eli would have brutally murdered Scott in the most gruesome way known to man. Eli took a deep breath and placed a hand on Scott’s shoulder. “Dear brother of mine...” He started. Then, he smacked Scott sharply on the back of the head. “Don’t you ever call me that again.”

“Why not?” Scott said as he rubbed the back of his head. “You’re first name is Oliver.”

“Well maybe I don’t want to be called Oliver.” Eli growled. He was just about ready to hit Scott again.

"Thank you, Scott. Finally, someone who cares."

With a bubbly grin, Elise's eyes twinkled as she looked at Scott. She had known him for about two years now, and was surprised when he suggested their departure from Moonlit. For the entire time she'd known him, he'd seemed quite depressed, though she had never heard the whole story. Bits and pieces had been shared on the occasional late night phone call, but not enough was known for her to be able to make anything of it. Elise's feelings had been hurt by the unrequited nature of their relationship many times, but she cared for him far too much to ever not be his shoulder to cry on. "You guys are too much. So...what should we do now? Give ourselves a tour of the place?"

--

As the pair walked towards the barn to reach the office, Rhynn was looking around. Nearly every time she saw a male rider, she'd make a comment, ninety percent of them being, "he's cute," or something of that nature. Eventually, she saw a trio of three people who did not look like all the rest. "Ooh, he's fine," she commented, gesturing to Scott, who was quite a distance from them. Perhaps Rhynn was loud enough to hear, however.

The volume of her voice made Katrina glance up from her phone, though she only looked for a moment, rolled her eyes, smirked, then returned to whatever she was doing.

"You're crazy."

Then, something hit her. She looked up again, really studying the group. She knew who he looked like, but she also knew how delusional she could be, seeing faces she wanted to see in a lonely crowd. The past two years had been total hell for her in any definition. She hadn't slept more than 4 hours in a week, nor eaten more than a meal daily. Originally, it was Scott. Haunting her dreams, invading her thoughtsÂ… She wanted to hate him, but she couldn't. It was entirely her fault. Then, it was Rhynn's brother, Spencer. After numerous assault charges and a restraining order, here she was. A long story to add to her entirely too long, dramatic, and depressing life story.

Deciding to study the girl since she couldn't see the man well from a distance, it clicked for her. "Oh, isn't that the girl from earlier?"

--

Seeing the two girls, Elise noticed they were checking out Scott. "Ooh, those girls are checking you out, Eli," she teased, the three of them knowing he was hardly the cuter brother. In personality or temperament. "I think those are the girls from earlier, I wonder where they're goingÂ…"

Eli glared at Elise before rolling his eyes. "Whatever." He muttered sourly. He turned to look at the girls and immediately recognized one. Oh my God that's Katrina... He thought. It was a bit difficult to see her but it was undoubtedly her. He knew that Scott would probably go completely ballistic if he saw her. 'Uh, lets go visit the stud barn!" Eli said frantically and grabbed Scott by the shoulders in an attempt to lead him as far away from Katrina as possible.

"Dude! What's your problem Eli?" Scott asked confusedly. This was not Eli's normal at all.

"I'm, uh, just excited to see horses. C'mon, let's go." Eli said. He needed to get Scott away. Right. Now.

"Woah, woah, not until you explain what's going on." Scott said.

"What's your deal, dude?" Rhynn's sideways glance shook Katrina from being deep in thought.

"I'm not sure..."

--

Elise knew that Eli's behavior was completely abnormal, which sparked quite a bit of intrigue and confusion regarding his behavior. "Eli, is everything okay? You look really tense...and nervous...and you're manhandling your brother."

--

sorry it's short :(

Eli rubbed his face in irritation. "I'll explain later, just go." He said with much annoyance.

Scott gave his little brother a confused expression but followed, shrugging towards Elise. He was quite concerned. Eli has never acted this way. Not even when they were children. Actually, they never really bothered to really be brothers when they were young, except with fighting like them. Eli would be upset and Scott would try to cheer him up, only, Scott was extremely annoying as a kid. Eli would get angry and snap at him, which lead to an argument. Soon, the argument lead to an all out brawl.

(mine is too hehe

As she approached the pony, he pinned his ears, turning his butt towards Katrina and threatening to kick. After a good twenty minutes of chasing him around the stall with little power to alter the cycle, he was finally haltered and ready to move to his new stall. It wasn't until they arrived outside that the antics truly started...

As the pair stepped into the sunlight, Tucker spun and reared with enough force to make Katrina trip aside, out of the pony's way. By this point, the antics were loud enough to cause a commotion with the oncoming foot traffic, causing both girls to become predictably flushed. However, they had assumed these issues were going to come much sooner. As he once again pulled the same move, but this time ramming into her, Katrina's minimal strength from no food or sleep caused her to fall over, clutching the side of her head which had a small cut oozing blood.

Rhynn collected the pony, threw him back into the quarantine barn, then reached Katrina once more. Surprisingly, she was moving at a faster speed than an ambling walk, which was more than could be said at most times. Due to Rhynn's frazzledness and Katrina's minimal strength, the pair hardly looked twice when traveling towards another barn rather than back towards the office, where the medic station was.

--

Elise gave Eli another look of reluctance before following closely behind Scott, as was the norm. Perhaps her positivity had been having a positive impact on him, or so she thought. On the other hand, his actions were simply reckless, and hasty... neither of which were any kind of norm for Eli. As they entered the barn, Elise turned around, hearing some kind of commotion in the nearest barn, which was nearly a quarter mile up the road.

"Hey, it sounds like something's going on up there. Isn't it our job--well, your jobs--to see if they need help?"