Rena | Alex, Ezra, Eventing ‘B’ Team, Sully

The next morning, Rena awoke to find the faintest streams of light falling in through the curtainless window at the end of the dark room. Admittedly groggy, she shifted under the heavy layers of sheets, trying to get a better sense of where she was. Despite low levels of intoxication, many of Rena’s memories were barely accessible due to the mental state she’d been in for the last few months.

As she shifted her body, she became suddenly aware of Sullivan’s presence beside her, his arm strewn casually across her midsection. Things were becoming clearer, but no amount of remembering what had happened could provide reasoning as to why she’d made the decisions she’d made the night prior. Sullivan was the only friend she had at this point with Alex still as distant as he was. Of course, she knew people around here–lots of them, in fact–but not to any level of depth that she could categorize as friendship.

“Morning,” he mumbled sleepily. His voice sounded different than normal, more gentle, more vulnerable. She turned gently to face him, studying his soft expression with skeptical brown eyes.

“Good morning,” she replied icily, seeming to grow more defensive and apprehensive as she became more awake. With her tone, Sullivan forced his eyes to remain open, detecting her face for any indication as to why her behavior was so unpredictable, and if he’d done anything to trigger whatever was going through her mind at that moment.

“What’s on your mind?”

“Nothing,” she replied blankly.

“Are we okay?”

“Yes.”

“Do you regret that it happened?”

She inhaled slowly, studying his eyes briefly. They were so gentle, so capable of love. She knew in an instant that she would never be enough for him, that it would never work out in the end. “No,” she replied, her voice much higher than normal. She’d said it with her back to him as she hastily got up, gathering her clothes as she braced for some sort of response from him. Her voice had cracked too much, it had been too superficial.

“Yes.” He smiled weakly, half awake and watching her frenzy of movement across his floor.

“Listen, I just- I need time to figure things out. I need to think. I’ll see you later?” By some stroke of luck, she was wearing a shirt of Sullivan’s that felt more like a dress, one that she recalled being given in the middle of the night as a result of being too cold. In this way, she didn’t have to be as naked as she felt under his gaze, and she didn’t have to worry about making herself decent to walk two steps across the hall into the safety of the isolation of her room. All of the boxes were still on the floor, barely packed. She had no right calling it hers, it was simply a room that held her stuff. She was still prepared to flee at any moment, and now felt like a good one. Still, she was being paid heaps of money by Emily to work more jobs than she felt capable of managing, and the university down the street was too prestigious to give up furthering her education. She would have to make do for the time being, even if it meant living with the discomfort and the fallout of her poor decisions for a few years. Surely it’d go away, especially as long as no one had to know about it except for the two of them. “I’ll see you at practice.”

As she opened Sullivan’s door, prepared to reach her own in a second, she realized that a familiar figure was lingering outside of her door. “Rena.”

“Alex, I-” Her stomach dropped and her face felt hot. She hadn’t felt panic in a long time, but the feeling was so familiar, as if she was dizzy, as if she would drop to the floor in a matter of seconds. Her gaze was flighty and impatient, willing him to let her go–at least for the moment. She couldn’t stand to see the fallout of this, to face the consequences of their poor timing. It seemed as though the universe both willed them together and forbade them from happiness. Behind her dull, hardened gaze, tears threatened to spill in her eyes. It wasn’t supposed to end like this, it wasn’t supposed to end like this…

Before she could escape the terror of this moment, which was still somehow better than what would have awaited her in Sullivan’s room, Alex cut her off. Being the gentleman that he was, his gaze had never wavered below her face, prolonging the anxiety that Rena felt regarding breaking his heart even more than she already had.

“You told me to think about it, and now I have.” These words had no right to give her such hope, to make her feel anything, especially after what she’d done. Whatever she’d been telling herself he’d been doing with his time, she’d been wrong, and somewhere deep down, she had always known it.

“Rena, I just want to go back to being someone you say hi to and have shitty talks with at four in the morning and – I don’t even know. God, I just want to be friends.” Though her tears had been building the entire time, this was the sentiment that finally got her to break. She choked out a breath, streams of tears now falling down her face. These were the words she’d wanted to hear for days, and the decisions she’d made in the desperation of her own hopelessness had put them at jeopardy again. Here he was, extending an olive branch, and she’d ruined her chances at being his friend before they even began. She could see the confusion in his eyes at her tears, the way he searched her for both validation and reassurance that she was okay.

“I’m ready, if you are.” I am, she thought to herself. Her heart begged her to say the words, but her brain knew it was already too late.

“Alex, I-” Before she could manifest any kind of explanation or apology, she followed his gaze on the path of fallout. She turned around to find Sullivan there with a towel around his waist, gentle but uneasy smile on his face.

“Alex, hey…” He studied both of their expressions, then added, “it’s nice to see you. If you need anything, I’ll just be in here.”

Still in shock at the way everything was going down, Rena took half of a step forward to allow Sullivan’s door to shut. Undoubtedly, that was why he’d gotten up: to see if Rena was okay and why she was still standing in his doorway six minutes after her rushed exit.

“Um, you know what, I think I’ll just–” Clearing his throat, Alex shifted backwards, eyes anywhere but the scene in front of him. “See you around, yeah?” Though Sullivan had already left the two of them to speak, she felt as though the words were more for him than for her.

“Alex, wait, I-” Still, she couldn’t bring herself to finish the sentence. She didn’t have anything to say that would help the situation, and she had no right chasing him down the hallway in this state. She’d spend some time alone, thinking, processing, figuring out what the best plan of action was for all parties involved. Then, she’d act on her clearly raw emotions.

Scarlett Moor | M: Open, Open, | H: Dakota, Faye,


Scarlett opened her eyes to a dimly lit room, She had covered the window with currents so the sunlight wouldn't bother her as she fell into a deep sleep last night, She had only arrived at Stadt Estates recently and had already made up her mind to avoid a lot of unneeded attention, Which went well with her since she isn't the- social type.

Scarlett turned onto her side and reached out to her bedside table where her phone was laying, She squinted her eyes shut as her phone beamed bright rays of light onto her face, Clearly, she wasn't fully awake- as her eyes hadn't adjusted to the light. Scarlett opened her eyes just barely and managed to open her conversation with her mom. It was pretty early in the morning so she was skeptical about her mother being awake, But she went ahead and texted her,


Savannah at 10:23 said: Hey mom, You up?

..
...
Mom<3 at 10:25 said: Yes, is everything alright?

Savannah at 10:25 said: Yeah. I'm just deciding on whether or not to go on a small ride, I don't know if the barn manager- or whoever is in charge would really mind.

Mom<3 at 10:26 said: Oh? Well, why not! I'm sure they wouldn't mind. You'll get a better look at the land anyways, Just don't get lost.

Savannah at 10:26 said: I guess so, I mean what if i get caught?

Mom<3 at 10:27 said: Come on Savannah! You have to get out there, Im sure the horse will be glad to see you and the one you choose to ride will be happy to get outside.

Savannah at 10:27 said: Yeah your right.

Savannah at 10:28 said: Alright I will, I'll talk to you later Mom. Love you bye!

Mom<3 at 10:29 said: Have fun!

Savannah at 10:30 said: Oh don't you worry mom, I'm going to have a great time.

Savannah set her phone aside and got up, She grabbed her brush and quickly ran it through her thick, Long blonde hair as she looked through her closet for a good outfit to wear. "Huh, Maybe I should go marching? No.. Oh geez here I am at 23 and I can't even pick my own outfit.." She grabbed a dark-is purple riding shirt and black breeches, The weather was nice out so she didn't have to wear a jacket or anything. Savannah was finally ready and she exited the room making her way down to the stables. "Barn 'A' Stall 6 and 7" She'd repeat over and over in her head as she reached Barn A

"Hey Dakota, Hey Faye!" The once quiet barn was filled with the excited neighs of Scarlett's horses. Dakota seemed to be more settled in and had already adjusted to the new stables, While Faye was a little unsure she'd eventually grow to like Stadt Estates. "Sorry Dakota, But I'm taking Faye with me." She reached out and stroked Dakota's Forehead, He seemed to understand as he went back to snacking on some hay. Scarlett had left Faye's and Dakota's main saddle and saddle pad along with their bridles with them right outside of their stalls so she didn't need to make the journey back to her dorm.

She grabbed the dark-ish purple saddle pad and slid aside the stall door, Scarlett made her way to Faye who stood there impatiently ready to be tacked up. She lifted the saddle pad and placed it carefully on Faye's back, After tacking Faye up she clearly matched Scarlett with the purple theme- Besides for her bridle and saddle. Scarlett grabbed onto Faye's bridle and led her outside, The summer breeze felt nice.

Scarlett was more of a fall person but she still loved the summer's little lasting tame weather. Scarlett focused and she grabbed the horn of Faye's saddle and placed her foot in the stirrup, She quickly lifted herself into the saddle. "Feels nice to get back to riding eh?" Scarlett smiled.

Scarlett urged Faye into a steady yet smooth trot, She wasn't really going on a trail ride or anything- just a small ride around the area to get Faye used to it, and eventually Dakota. Stadt Estate's land was pretty, It was quite open and space-ish as well. Faye seemed to be enjoying finally getting outside, Her head was high with confidence as she perfectly trotted.

Scarlett tugged a little on the reins and moved her foot in the stirrup, Faye turned and went into a faster trot that was clearly rushed as it was not as smooth. But Scarlett thought that didn't really matter, Now she was outside in a new environment with new opportunities. And what could be better than that?

Karla Kleine | Conrad Fairfield

Crossing her arms and studying the Australian with glittering, intelligent eyes, Karla maintained an amused smirk as he went off on her about one thing or another. Really, she only took in three out of every four or five words he spoke, so any shock or sting factor he was trying to implement was a lost cause. Her English level was intermediate at best. She understood enough to function around here, but she’d totally cheated on the exam Emily had given her and forged the most desirable results. Surprisingly, or perhaps completely unsurprisingly, Emily had been way too busy to notice whether or not Karla was speaking English at a near-fluent level.

Without missing a beat, Karla began laughing amusedly the second Conrad stopped to pause for a breath. She shock factor she’d returned with this unexpected reaction registered all over the man’s face, adding to her inner sense of beaming pride. Despite her laughing, her face was entirely serious, creating a contrasting sense of irony and sarcasm that was implied without the use of words. As soon as she finished laughing, her face returned to its stoic, serious expression. Like a true German, she had on a puffer jacket completely unzipped with a crop top beneath. Though her bare skin was red, it didn’t seem nearly as disturbed by the climate as Conrad’s entire body, which was completely hidden from the elements. After enough of a silence to allow the man to try to comprehend what was happening, she crossed her arms and stood, face to face with the man. Despite her girlish qualities and her lacking height, Karla held a fierceness that was not to be questioned. Once she got within inches of his face, the slightest smirk began to creep onto her lips, enveloping her entire face. “You foreigners have a funny way of claiming things that aren’t yours to claim.” This, she’d heard somewhere. A friend, a movie, a sound byte from somewhere. It afforded her one of the only grammatically correct sentences she’d ever created in the English language. “You leave, or I throw you off ceiling. I will do it without any sorry.”

Giving his chest a little poke, she was surprised to feel how solid the mass of his body was. It wasn’t meant to threaten him, just provoke him a bit. Temper didn’t bother her. Emotion didn’t bother her. If he so chose to continue to invoke his rage, so be it. She didn’t mind, the more he wore himself out, the more she knew he would want to go back inside. Besides, he wouldn’t be able to withstand the elements for much longer. He wasn’t made for this kind of cold, if his ugly surfer haircut was any indication. Regardless, she wordlessly made her way back to her chair, eyeing him with a humorous look. She was daring him to test her, to try to move her away from her spot on the roof. It seemed that Karla had no regard for the rules, nor the consequences from her actions. If it was anything to go by, she’d be a force to be reckoned with in Conrad’s world.