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Matt was essentielly engrossed in his phone as they plodded down the wooded track, though looked up everytime Falcon became more alert just to be sure. That would be every two minutes. As they neared the clearing, as suspected, the gelding's pace picked up, his head held high. Matt knew it was his fault for letting Falcon go everytime they got there, and it was a bad habit - but he ouldnt help but love it. After all, it wasn't like anyone else was set to ride him, let alone take him out on this specific trail. And Matt could handle him just fine. - He stuffed his phone away and took up the reins back in both hands, tightening the slack a good amounut, but enough to give him a good amount of freedom. With that, they picked the pace up, Matt leaning slightly out of his saddle as the gelding took off at a fater pace than usual. He let it happen, Falcon needed it and much more, though kept him back froma full blown gallop to be safe. The gelding wasnt known for bolting, but there was no telling how he would react when being so fresh. Soon, they neared the bridge to the village, and he slowed Falcon to a gentle walk, easin him over it. Much to his surprise, the gelding walked over with ease, ears perked forward as the evening village life started to engulf them. Matt loved it there, almost more than being around the grounds of the academy. It was peaceful, the majority of the people there were friendly, and they were centered around horses. After all, the majority there also owned or rode horses, it was just...that sort of community. - Falcon slowed his pace to a gentle plod as they ride through, his ears alert to every conversation, every cat running around or dog digging in the banks beside the road. After a few minutes, Matt pulled him up on the bank, letting him graze. He slid down off the saddle and tied the reins in a loop to avoid the geldings legs getting stuck, standing next to him to stretch his kegs. He had some time to kill, and in no way wanted to go back to the academy. Not yet. - As he stood, looking around, his gaze caught a horse grazing a little further away. Matt would have looked away if he didnt spot the rider accomanying it. Someone he vaguely recognised. Was it...It was. The same rider from earlier. "She's like a horsefly." Matt mumbled to himself, acting as if she hadnt arrived there first. How they ended up on the exact same trail though, was beyond him. - Matt was very quickly brought out of his thoughts as a girl screeched his name, rather loudly. Falcon's head shot up as the girl ran up to them, and he was evidently very uncomfortable. "Holy, keep your voice down, Destiny." Matt frowned, watching as the tall blonde stopped just short of him. Destiny was a well known rider from Utopia Academy. Yes, she was talented, yes she had well trained horse. No, he was not tolerable. She was loud, had no regards for horses that werent her own, and absolutely obsessed with guys. Matt included. - Destiny ignored his sentence and started off on a ramble about Hollowhearts, her gaze not once leaving his. She spoke on, and on about the girls from Hollowhearts, how they evidently were only here for the guys, how they couldnt ride..or whatever. Matt was not focused at all, only on keeping the now rather skittish gelding beside him calm, which was proving difficult. |
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"Your such a demanding horse you know that? No, I don't have any more ma'am! And if I did you wouldn't be getting them." Eleanor said when Duchess finished her snack and began sniffing her hands and clothes for more. She gently shoved the mare's head away, who made a very disappointed noise and began grazing. She rubbed her head, putting her hands on her hips. Apparently the word quickly doesn't register today, per usual. It wasn't a fight worth having right now, so she just let Duchess be. She stayed by her horse's side, but took the extra time to look around at what she could see. She hadn't noticed how many horses were here, whether out in pastures or being ridden around. Guess they loved horses just as much as anyone else in the area. She didn't hold anything against the locals, not at all. 'Doesn't mean I want to chat with strangers at the same time.' She thought. Eleanor watched a three kids walk down the street with a pony, one skipping alongside, one on the pony's back, and another leading it by a lead. Looks like if you live here, your around horses in any form, period. •~• This was... Different from her Academy. It had it's own land, the closest place was the city a half hour away. Which influenced it more then anything. Some of her first reasons to go to the Hollowhearts Academy was because it was the closest place to both her parents. And then it kind of just... Stuck. They focused more on Dressage, more showy stuff. Most trail rides had gone around the land, never really venturing too far. There wasn't a set time or anything like that, but you always got that feeling teachers would be disappointed in you if you showed up in the middle of the night. Eleanor was snapped out of her thoughts at a loud... Screech? That's what it sounded like anyway. Even Duchess's head snapped up, and she'd usually ignore anything if she was grazing. She turned and saw two things she didn't want to see. •~• First, that light bay horse looked familiar. Even more so the person besides it. Eleanor groaned to herself, rubbing her eyes. That Utopia rider, really? Couldn't they have picked a different trail?! 'Okay, calm down. Their getting on your nerves again.' She turned her focus to the other girl that had come up to the boy, which was apparently were the screech in the form of a name had come from. She didn't catch the whole thing, but she believed that it started with a M. Not that she cared. She was about to turn back to her own thing when she saw the boy trying to calm his horse, not focusing on the other girl. Looks like his horse, and a few other ones around didn't like the noise. Especially the riders or owners, with the looks they were giving the girl. Duchess after confirming it wasn't a threat, had turned back to grazing, not particularly caring. •~• Eleanor didn't care about whatever the Utopia rider could've been talking about. But it was getting annoying and no matter where they were from, she cared about the horses too. She grabbed the mare's bridle and tugging slightly to get her to focus and start moving. Heading for the overly loud girl, stopping just close enough she wouldn't have to shout herself. "Hey shouter, mind tuning your screeching down? Your voice- Sorry, volume- Is effecting horses within a 15 mile radius." Eleanor said, waving her hand slightly as if to get the girl's attention over her personal monolog. She looked her over, definitely a Utopia rider. Probably one of the worst, if the boy was that uncomfortable looking too. "Good." |
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To Matt's horror, Destiny's rambling was soon interrupted by another voice, coming from the direction Matt's gaze had been focused on earlier. It didn't take him long to realise who it was, and although the girl had shut Destiny up - albeit for a few seconds, - he didnt appreciate it. Not only because she was from Hollowhearts, but purely because it just wasnt her business. Matt watched as the blonde stopped talking, turning around as if someone had just told her they'd murdered her family. It was as if he could...see her thoughts forming, taking all the time in the world. As they often did. She wasn't very bright, after all. - "Don't" Matt said eventually, right as Destiny opened her mouth. He knew how loud she could get, how sharp tongued she could get, and how hostile she was especially towards other girls. He didn't care about the last two things, but his ears needed a break. Judging by Falcon's behaviour, so could he. It was evident Destiny wasn't ready to listen, and she turned back around. Matt let go of Falcon's bridle to pull the blonde back slightly, his gaze flitting between her and the girl that had spoken. "Seriously, Destiny, she's not worth it. I'm sure you can see that." He said, a tiny smile playing on his lips despite his irritated mood. Destiny shot the girl a look, turning back to Matt, who took the time to speak again. "Go back to the academy, I'll come and see you later. Okay?" That was a lie, he had no intentions of that. He was exhausted, irritated, ad quite franky not drunk enough. Still, Destiny didnt pick up on any of that. She nodded with a smile, evetually pulling away from the situation - but not before shoving her way past the girl and her horse, with zero regards for their space at all. - Matt let out a long, silent breath, turning back to Falcon, who was back to grazing quietly, albeit very alert to his surroundings now. It was only then, Matt actually...remembered the girl was stood there. Not close, but close enough that he was back to being irritated. - "Next time stay out of whatever you're seeing. Seriously, you'll do well to remember that." - His words were directed towards her, and eventually his gaze too. He knew he was being harsh, for essentially no reason. She hadnt been mean to him, or really even acknowledged him, but who was he to have to care? She wasnt important in any way, after all. |
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Eleanor was ready for whatever the blonde- Destiny?- was about to say, but it didn't come. Honestly, she was a little disappointed. Missing a chance to exchange words with some stuck up sounding Utopia girl. The boy got her to go away at least with a few words, that sounded the furthest from happy. She watched the blonde leave until she couldn't see her anymore before turning back to the other unfortunate situation infront of her. He seemed to care for his horse a lot, she noticed. Checking the creature quite a few times since she noticed him here.. That's... Good. At least most Utopia riders looked like they cared for their horses. Not that she cared or anything, it's only the horses she worried about. •~• "Excuse me? I didn't do it for you or anything of the sort. Not one bit. It was hurting my ears and freaking horses out." She snapped back. She did not need some insult disguised as a 'warning'. She crossed her arms, narrowing her eyes as she shot him a glare herself. She's never found herself so... Annoyed, frustrated with someone before and she's only talked to him twice! "Can't just say thank you? Would that hurt your Utopia pride too much? That's okay, I know you're saying it mentally." She said, hostile teasing completely laced with sarcasm. She rolled her eyes for what felt like the hundredth time and that her eyes would get stuck in the back of her head. "Come on Dutchess, it's getting dark." She tightened her grip on the mare's bridle and without waiting for a reply, led her away before mounting. •~• This trail ride started out good, but now it's just gone downhill. She clicked her tongue and let Dutchess go into a canter, sudden really wanting out of that village. She didn't find herself enjoying the ride back to the barns, and reached them just as the sun disappeared in the sky. She dismounted and led Dutchess into the barn. Tying her up before taking her tack off, wiping it down before returning it into tack room. She took a moment to clean out Dutchess stall and replace the hay. She refilled her water and food before leading the mare back in. Made sure she was good before rubbing her head and leaving the stall. She locked it, leaning her forehead on the bars while she let out a tired sigh. For one moment, she thought this place might not be too bad. And then every came crashing down the moment she interacted with some of their riders. Yup, horrible. •~• She eventually pushed off and left the barn, making her way up the grounds back to the Academy. Locking her eyes on the lit up windows that were beginning to glow slightly through the huge building. |
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It wasn't surprising that the girl's reply to Matt's comment was just about as negative if not more. If anything, he deserved it, but that didn't stop him from letting it piss him off. "Won't survive talking to people like that around here." He muttered, more under his breath than anything else. She had already mounted her horse and ridden off before Matt could even comprehend what she had said, let alone open his mouth to answer. He didn't care anyway, or so he told himself. Right now, all there was to focus on, was get back to the academy - safely,- check the barn down once more and head to his dorm. Without encountering any of the nightmares they called Hollowhearts rider. - After a few minutes of waiting, Matt mounted Falcon and urged the gelding on down the grass bank, back in the direction of the academy. The ride back was peaceful, with it getting later, there were less children running around. Less sellers hollering about selling second hand riding gear they'd bought for their grandaughter than hated horses and refused to visit. However, despite how peaceful the atmosphere itself was, Matt was anything but. He was irritated, worried about his gelding - as per usual,- and exhausted. Not to mention a raging headache was forming, which was just about the cherry on top to the whole situation. He suffered with migraines, and whilst they were widely intermittent, they always chose the worst times to pop up. Now he knew he wouldnt be sleeping for the next few hours. - Soon enough though, Matt was back at the academy grounds. He hopped off Falcon, removed his tack, and tied him to the cross ties, hosing the gelding down a little to ensure the sweat from the earlier canters and being fairly worked up, was gone. It didn't take long, what with Falcon still being slightly skittish, and clearly irritated with being tied to cross ties as usual. Matt scraped him down to remove any further drips, and led him back to his stall. Whilst checking him and the rest of the barn over once more, the only thing swirling in his head minus the forming migraine, was the earlier interaction with the girl. Had he been too harsh perhaps? Did she deserve what was very clearly a directed threat? Not really. Why Matt was even thinking about that should have been the main question. He wasn't supposed to care even one bit about how he had spoken to a Hollowhearts rider, or vice versa. Gosh, this migraine was getting to him, wasn't it? - Matt left the barn and started the walk up the cobblestone path to the dorm and main buildings. The large buildig came into view fairly quickly, standing proudly, accentuated by a fountain with a horse statue right outside the entrance. The main building was in the middle, the female dorms to the left, and the male to the right. Matt took the path to the right and started up it, the events of the day rolling around his mind as he did so, though slightly blurry given the rising pain that was replacing. |
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Eleanor reached the dorms, moving around a small group of friends near the entrance. The looks they gave her proved clearly they were Utopia and she gave them the same look back. She's had just about enough of this today. If it wasn't for the fact she loved riding and still held a hope that her Academy was only temporarily shut down, she would've quit the first day here. She pushed the doors open and headed for the stairs, making her way to the second floor. She was to exhausted to even look around her, her eyes locked in front and even more so on her door as it came into view. Most of the Hollowhearts had been given last minute dorms, some rooming, some still without rooms. She hadn't gotten a roommate, not yet anyway, and she hoped it'd stay that way. Her room was last door down the right hall, and she unlocked it and walked in. She closed it behind her and locked it again, before she went to change out of her riding gear into simple blue pajamas. She flopped back onto her bed, staring at the ceiling. •~• Should she bring her riding clothes to laundry and wash them? Yes. Should she take go take a shower? Yes. Did she want to? No. Right now she just wanted to pretend everything was normal for once out of this whole week. That those boy's words weren't ringing in her head. He was worse than anyone else she's talked to here, and she'll stand by that fact. He hadn't even said thank you! Not that she had been expecting him to, but the thought of it ya'know? And now making her frustrated by not even being around! She rolled onto her side, pulling out her phone and texting Katherine. '-Ran into a Utopia rider again. Most infuriating guy ever. How's your situation?-' She typed. She didn't even have a second to look away before she got a reply from Katherine. '-Better. My mom needed help with a gathering while my dad was working out of country again. Sorry I couldn't join you on that ride, I would've shared some words with that rider.-' Eleonor smiled a little, texting out a quick reply and goodnight before she turned her phone off and sat up. Parents, right. She was happy that Katherine got to have those things, those gatherings. She rarely got to see her family together, let alone both sides. Not because of bad blood, just because... Well... It doesn't work out. •~• She went around and turned lights off and opened the window a little, staring out for a moment before she closed the curtains and crawled into bed. Normally she would've stayed up a little later, but not tonight. Not when classes finally start tomorrow, not when the even worse situations were bound to start. Not when months from now, she might not be in her own Academy for one of the biggest events of the year. Hopefully, she wouldn't ever see that boy again. Hopefully, right? |
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It took Matt a long while to bring himself into the academy building, though eventually, he reached his dorm room. He shut the door behind him with a soft click, turning and throwing his phone and keycard down onto the counter beside him. Gosh he was exhausted, and it was hours before he usually even got to sleep. It didn't help that classes started tomorrow. Sure, he had half the day off to help with the planning of another event the next weekend, but even just the few hours of equine management sounded so...grating to him. The week off classes had been much much to his preference. Well, as much as they could be with the Hollowhearts riders running around like fleas. - Before Matt managed to get another thought in, his roomate appeared from his room. He was pretty much the polar opposide to Matt in looks. The guy was blonde, curly hair, pale skin and light blue eyes. He also happened to have a horse almost polar opposite, a very light grey mare. Matt shot him a small smile and sat down on the couch, kicking his shoes off with a small groan. His roomate, Dylan, had a knowing smile playing on his lips. It was evident he knew what was up. Well, a few things. "Headache, horse issue or Hollowhearts rider?" Dylan asked, his thick polish accent curling around each word. Matt dragged his hands down his face, catching the guy's gaze. "All three, believe it or not." Dylan threw a sock at him, letting it fall from his hair onto his shoulder. Matt flicked it off with a frown, averting his gaze back to whatever was playing on the TV. "Some Hollowhearts girl was up in the village, think she took the same trail as I did or...whatever. Anyway, Destiny arrived and as you can imagine, she was..." Matt's voice trailed off as Dylan gave him a knowing look. They both frequently dealt with the blonde. "So anyway, the Hollowhearts girl took it upon herself to butt in and start yapping to Destiny about being loud or whatever. True? Yeah. Does she need to get herself in shit like that? No." He groaned. - After a good twenty or so minutes of explaining and yapping about how horrific the other academy riders were around Utopia Academy, Dylan finally retreated back to his room. Matt took that opportunity to shower, slip into simple tracksuit bottoms and no shirt, and head into his room, lockinig the door beside him. For the next good hour, he just...laid there, staring at the ceiling, praying he would fall asleep, that it would be better the next day. Who was he kidding though, of course it wouldnt. After what felt like an eternity, Matt finally fell asleep, his head pounding, but leaving just enough room to doze off. |
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Eleanor found herself waking a bit before dawn. Not something she did often, she wasn't much of a morning person. It was either because of the early night sleep, or the nerves that woke with her. She tried to get back to sleep for about the next hour, but no use. With a groan she rolled out of the bed and headed to the bathroom, taking a quick shower before changing into grey leggings and a dark red hoodie. Honestly the first things she pulled out. She braided her hair back before slipping on socks and a pair of boots before taking ten minutes to eat a bowl of cereal and scroll through her phone. Once finished she took her riding gear and headed to get those in the laundry to be finished for later. •~• She grabbed a sketchbook and pencil before she left her room and headed downstairs and out of the girls dorm. She spun around once outside, gazing at the rest of the Academy. Sun still low in the sky, dew sparkling across the grass, air chilly. She's gonna need to be in there later. First classes in this Academy, Hollowhearts and Utopias having to be together now, no longer able to avoid eachother until after classes end. 'That's gonna be fun.' She thought. She have about two hours before her first class, so she made her way down the cobble stone paths to the barn, heading straight for Dutchess stall. "Morning girl. Wanna go out to the paddocks, warm up for later?" She mumbled, unlocking the stall and leading Dutchess out. Holding the rope with one hand and her sketch book with the other. She led Dutchess out of the barn and to one of the paddocks, unclipping the rope and letting Dutchess go. •~• She rested her hands on the fence and watched for a few minutes before she heard footsteps besides her. She looked, ready to say something, until she saw it was Lisa. Another Hollowheart rider, she wasn't as close to her as Katherine but she'd still call her a friend. "Hey Lisa, your up early. Where's Sunny?" Eleonor said, turning completely to face the other girl, who pointed a thumb over her shoulder. "I could say the same. She's with Samuel, he took her and Checkers out to one of the futher paddocks." Lisa answered. Sunny was Lisa's chestnut Thoroughbred mare, and Checkers was Samuel's, her brother, Selle Français dark bay gelding with white markings. Since she was friends with Lisa, she was friends with Samuel too. And knew it was weird for him to be up early just as much. "You guys nervous too?" She asked, tilting her head slightly and crossing her arms. She forgot her own problems for a moment to make sure her friends weren't having worse ones. Her and Lisa stayed by the paddock, chating. |
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Matt woke up fairly early that morning, despite it taking him a fair while to fall asleep in the first place. Having been at Utopia for a while, his body bascially had an internal alarm clock anyway, no matter how little he'd slept. He rolled out of bed, showered, and pulled on a solid black colour tee, and black jeans. He ran a hand through his hair, messing it up a little though without much of a care. He pulled on a few rings, grabbed his phone and keycard, and made his way down to the ground floor, and outside. Dylan was still fast asleep, as were most of the academy riders, and Matt couldnt help but be somewhat grateful for that. The dude was always yapping, no matter the time of day. Matt stepped out into the cold air, lookiing at the horizon far from the buildiing. The sun was just coming up, casting a smooth orange glow over the academy grounds. - As Matt made his way to the barn, a familiar figure fell into step with him. His gaze caught onto a tall, slim, dark haired girl, with foreign features. It was Hailey, the only person he had known since joining Utopia academy a while ago. They were close friends, and always had been even a few months before they'd joined. It only stayed as friends though. Sure, there was once a romantic interest there, though that had been thrown out the window rather quickly after one drunk night at an academy celebration event. They'd vowed to just stay friends then. - "Coming to planning later? For the tours next weekend?" She asked, catching Matt's gaze as they walked towards the barn entrance. Matt nodded, twisting one of the rings on his finger, the only sounds he was registering being her voice and the crunching of gravel underfoot. "Probably, yeah. As long as I'm out of classes for the day." He mused, turning the corner into the barn, grateful for the familiar smell and sounds of the horses. Him and Hailey engaged in friendly conversation for a while, moving about the barn, checking everything was in order. It was fairly empty being so early, and though he could hear a few voices, he ignored them. Matt was not up for even more conversation this early on. - After about fifteen minutes of checking around the barn, Matt stopped, leaning next to Hailey against a few hay bales near Falcon's stall. Something about the girls demeanour was....off. She was less chatty, more coy. And being almost speechless for Hailey was definitely out of the norm. Matt's gaze flitted from Hailey's to around the barn, occasionally catching onto dust blowing through the air, or towards the swishing of tails from the stall. It then landed on an unfortunately familair face. The same girl from yesterday. Probably the worst of the Hollowhearts riders he had encountered yet. Matt tore his gaze away as quickly as it landed on her, back to Hailey, only picking up on the very end of her sentence. Something about needing to talk, or...a year ago or...whatever. He didn't hear the whole thing. Though judging by the look on her face, whatever it was, was somewhat important. It's just that Matt wasn't at all picking up on Hailey talking to him about a relationship. There and then, that early in the morning, and loud enough for anyone else in there to pick up on. - Gosh sorry if my writing is awful, my mind goes blank halfway through sometimes sob)) |
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(Your good lol I just noticed I didn't describe Lisa at all and now I'm just imagining a completely white person just t-posing unfinished I don't know why.) . Eleanor chatted with Lisa for quite awhile, occasionally looking over at Dutchess who was most of the time either trotting around or grazing. Lisa eventually turned to her phone at a ding notification, and she took the moment to flip open her sketchbook. Pressing her pencil to her mouth for a moment before drawing something out. She only got about five minutes of it though, before a male voice interrupted both her and Lisa. Another boy, about 6'0 to Lisa's 5'4, came over waving a hand. She closed her book and waved back. One could tell Lisa and Samuel were related, both having the same raven black hair and pale green eyes. Samuel's was cut short, while Lisa's reached about her shoulders. Both had pale skin, though Sam's was a little tanner. While Samuel was the same age as her, Lisa was a year younger. Sam was like a gentle giant, while Lisa was the one you went to if you wanted to know things (or cheat on a test.) •~• "What are you two girls chatting about?" He questioned, slowing his walk and stopping on her other side. "Nothing much, mostly about how much being here is gonna suck, the usual. How's the two horses?" Lisa answered, and Samuel gave his sister a shrug. "Don't worry, I put them both back in their stalls. Sunny was getting snippy at Checkers." He answered. Eleanor gave him a look. "You sure Checkers didn't start it?" Samuel gave a dramatic gasp, a hand to his chest while he began ranting about all the ways Checkers wouldn't, and Lisa countered with past accidents. While the siblings bickered she suddenly heard something else, turning her head towards the barn entrance. The shadows didn't help, but she thought she saw... No, damn it. Why was he here? Why did he have to wake so early?! Oh, he was with another girl. And did she just say... Something about a relationship? •~• She ripped her gaze away, turning it to Dutchess. Locking it onto her horse. She didn't care. She didn't know the guy, not even his name. If anything she was sorry for the girl if they were together, unless that bad attitude is reserved just for them Hollowhearts. She didn't care. She hadn't noticed Sam was saying her name until he was practically yelling it in her ear. "Ella? Ellie? Earth to Eleanor!" She snapped out of her doze and gave a embarrassed smile. •~• "Sorry, yeah? What is it?" She answered. "What's got you spaced out?" He asked, raising a brow in question. "Nothing. Utopia riders. They suck." "Okay... Sudden but true. Me and Lisa are gonna head back inside. Coming?" She nodded, before pausing. "Yeah, give me a second. I'll meet you there, I gotta put Dutchess back in her stall." She turned away and called Dutchess over, clicking the rope back on and leading her to the barn. |
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Sunny
