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Matt just sort of listened to Eleanor's reply about Hailey, though he didn't respond. Like had had thought to himself before, he was only telling her because it would likely get out anyway what with Hailey being so friendly to everyone, regardless of who they were. That and things just spread quickly around the academy. He was not in the least bit convinced by her words when she mentioned she wasn't bothered, but decided to just let that slide too. He was not up for talking about his problems to anyone, let alone a Hollowhearts rider. Then let alone Eleanor. After she had finished speaking about Hailey, Matt just shrugged, focusing back on his phone screen and whatever he had been scrolling through before. - About a minute passed before Eleanor spoke again though, and this time her next comment absolutely took him by surprise. What reason she had to be bothered at all was beyond him. Oh right, yeah...the kids. He sighed and stood up, tucking his phone into his jean pocket, his gaze catching hers. "Do what you want, I'm not bothered. Your choice." He muttered, glacing past Dutchess and towards a fellow Utopia rider walking towards the trail back to the academy. Then, his glance drifted back to the pair next to him. "Perhas its better if you stay out of it. Cant walk around acting the hero if Falcon gets replaced at the tour weekend." He added. With that, he sort of just...walked away, back up the pavement towards the path that led straight to the dorms of the academy. - Now of course, his comment sounded harsh, but he was too irritated to actually care about how he came off. Not that he did anyway of course, it was none of her business whatsoever. Matt mulled over the short exhange for the rest of the walk back, right up until he got back into his dorm. He shut the door behind him, set the things he had bought down on the side, and sat down on the couch, running a hand through his hair. It was too late now to be able to hack out without risk of the gates being closed, and there was really nothing to do in the lounge. Hailey was pissed at him, Dylan was likely napping as usual, and his other friends he just did not feel like...socialising with. Wasn't as close with them. Not wanting to bother with going down to the barn now whilst everyone was around, Matt figured he'd head down later. Entering the barn without an actual cause too at night was no longer allowed after issues last month, much less riding, but...well it was what it was. He'd managed to get down plenty of times. - sorry if this one is written badly, had to rush before i went out sob) |
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(Your good! I'm going out myself lol) •~• Eleanor watched him leave, before she led Dutchess into the village. It was quieter than the first time she was here, with most of the residents having retired to their homes. She didn't want to start heading back yet, didn't want to take the chance of running into Matt again. First he tells her to do whatever, then tells her to not bother? Fine! Last time she tries to help that guy. She knew it was stupid to ask in the first place, but it had come out anyway. Whatever, his problems weren't her's unless it had something to do with their pairing up. Deciding she had walked Dutchess in a circle long enough, she headed back to the barn. •~• After Eleanor put Dutchess back into her stall, she wandered the barn for a few minutes. Giving her friends horses a few quick greetings. Including Katherine's gelding, who was also a Dutch warmblood, but had a grey coat. Once she finished she left out one of the side doors, heading back up to the dorms. A part of her truly did want to go see if she could fine the head of the tour and ask, even if it might not do anything. For the kids, she kept telling herself. But then his words would come back into her mind and those thoughts would shrivel up. Maybe it'd be best for them to see how stupid the decision was on their own. Once Eleanor was back in her room she showered before turning the lights off and getting into bed. Maybe sleeping early would help. •~• Eleanor closed her eyes, but couldn't get sleep to come. She checked her phone, no knew posts or messages but one from her Mom and that's just asking if she's going to visit dad or her first. Eleanor didn't reply at that moment, just turned her phone off and stared at the wall. Her Dad lived further away, and he usually let her bring Dutchess with to ride the few trails around his property. He loved horses just about as much as she did, which is were she probably got it from. But he'd gotten a new girlfriend, one she's met a few times. Eleanor didn't think she was bad or anything, and she was happy for her Father but it was just... Awkward. Her Mom on the other hand lived closer with her sister, but in a apartment. A nice one, but still a apartment, which meant leaving Dutchess behind. Her parents couldn't be more different in both living arrangements and... Well everything else. Her Dad was outgoing, her Mother was more strict but had her soft moments. Eleanor did her best to balance doing things between the two, but sometimes she just didn't have the energy. •~• She'd answer her Mother's text tomorrow, at some point. When she'd figure out what she wanted, and she wasn't irritated with someone named Matt and fighting with herself mentally. Eleanor stuffed her face in her pillow, forcing her eyes closed. Sleep, let sleep come. Let her forget about everything that happened today, because clearly it didn't want to leave her mind alone. About twenty minutes later she accepted the fact she might have to pull a all nighter and just stare at her wall all night. |
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A couple hours passed, and Matt was nowhere near sleeping. Of course, he was tired, but he had way too much on his mind to even think about actually dozing off any time soon. He had resorted to finishing a few assignments for the Equine Management class instead, pouring as much effort into them as he could as an attempt to distract him from anything else. By the time he was actually finished, his eyes were burning from the laptop screen, his room being dark around him despite the glow in front of him. He shut his laptop and got up with a sigh, peering out the window to the academy grounds below. It was around 11pm. The time he had spent doing the assignment had gone rather quickly without him realising. - Now would be a better time to stick to his plan of heading down to the barn. The staff would have finished up down there around half an hour ago, and the horses would be somewhat settled enough to not kick up a fuss at the sight of a person at night. Deciding he couldn't be bothered to get changed into actual riding clothes, Matt kept on the clothes he had - black jeans, and a fitting black tee. He'd ridden in jeans a few times before, and considering they were baggy, it really wasnt an issue. Until he gets stuck on a fencepost or something of the sort. He left his room, locking his bedroom door and turning around. At that exact time, he spotted Dylan making a drink in the kitchen. The boy turned around, smiling with the same huge grin as always. "Going somewhere?" He asked, putting his glass down and crossing his arms. Matt just shot him a glare, swipiing his keycard off the side. "Didn't get the chance to check Falcon over earlier." He lied. He had the chance. Dylan just nodded and turned back to his drink, mumbling something about being caught. Matt didn't really listen though, instead swiping the ealier items he had bought for his gelding off of the counter, and heading out the dorm, and out the building. - As soon as the air hit him, Matt felt more relaxed. It was much better than just being stuffed up inside his dorm room for so long, and ther weren't people running around everyrhwere. No Destiny to cling to him, no Eleanor to...be herself. Thank God. Matt made his way to the barn, unconsciously looking around every now and then to make sure there were no staff. When that was confirmed, he slipped into the barn quietly, traisping to Falcon's stall. The barn was lit very lightly, creating a soft sort of light orange glow across the middle, though the stalls were a bit darker. Matt slipped into the geldings stall, watching as Falcon nuzzled his arm, evidently not used to him being here to late. Matt just smiled and started to unpack the varous things he had gotten for him, putting what needed to be in the stall in there, before leading Falcon out to tie him to the cross-ties. The gelding started to relax fairly quickly, and Matt got to grooming him. |
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Five minutes. Then ten. And the while in her eyes the wall had a hole burned into it, sadly it did not change at all. Eleanor checked the time, 11:15. Everyone would be in their own dorms by now, probably having more luck at sleeping then her. She tossed her blankets off and stood from her bed, heading to grab a snack that consist of a granola bar. She sat at her desk, staring out the window at the grounds. It looked so much more peaceful then earlier, no one was out there. 'No one is out there.' Eleanor repeated to herself mentally, and it clicked. She stood and grabbed her hoodie from where she left it earlier and pulled it on before she tied her hair back into a quick ponytail, and slipped her phone into her pocket. •~• Eleanor slipped out of her dorm room, closing the door quietly to not risk the chance of anyone in the hall hearing. Normally she wouldn't go out this late. Though also Normally she would've been asleep or near sleeping by now, and that's changed too. She sped walk down the hall, taking the steps two at a time before heading out the dorm doors and onto the path. Eleanor looked around her, before she made her way down to the barns. She wasn't going out for another ride, not likely at least but... Okay she didn't really know what she was doing. She'll figure it out when she gets there. It didn't look like anyone else was down here like she thought, but she still used one of the side doors instead of the main door. She poked her head in and while it was darker in the barn, she didn't see anything. She slipped in and dodged around a wood horse, heading to her mare's stall. •~• It looked like Dutchess was sleeping, but when Eleanor unlocked the stall and slipped in the mare opened her eyes and let out a neigh. Eleanor was quick to put a hand out so the mare knew it was her, making a shushing noise. "Hey, it's me. I couldn't sleep, mind if I stay here for a bit?" She mumbled, running a hand along the horse's side. Dutchess nudged her back and she looked back at the mare. "I'm okay. Just... It's been a lot today." Eleanor leaned on one side of the stall, closing her eyes and letting out a few deep breaths. Wouldn't be the first time she's fallen asleep in Dutchess stall. She did it once back in Hollowhearts, before a Dressage show when she first started. She had been so nervous she hadn't been able to sleep that night and went down to Dutchess stall. She had woken that morning by a horse head bumping her own, and straw everywhere. Eleanor left the stall after a few minutes, heading to the feed room and heading into there. She didn't turn on the light but pulled out her phone, turning on the flash light while she looked for something to bribe Dutchess with. She'd just had to remember to add extra exercise tomorrow. She thought, for one moment, that she heard footsteps. But she shook it off and kept looking. |
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Matt hadn't heard anything going on at first, cfully focused on grooming Falcon and nothing else. Though when his head turned and his ears became alert, Matt's focus was also brought to the direction the bay was looking in. Convinced it was nothing though, he gently brought Falcon's head back arond to sort out his forelock, going back to untangling the end with a sigh. He wasn't scared of the dark, nor of being alone, but somehow being around horses made that just slightly...possible. No one else would be down here though, o there wasn't much to think about. Matt finished up grooming Falcon's coat, taking an extra long time to actually get it done. He wasnt in a rush, there was no risk of anyone coming to speak to him, and luckily no staff to usher him around or whatever. For now. - After he was done, he packed the brushes back up and made his way to the tack room, dumping the grooming set back in its box underneath the tack. He stopped mid step, another rustling noise filling the barn albeit quieter this time. For a second, Matt contemplated it being rats, perhaps even a stray cat, but it didn't...feel like it. It felt different. He shook it off and left the tack room, but not before stopping by the feed room. If they were going to be riding at night, especially slipping out onto the one trail that wasnt gated, he would need some sort of treat for Falcon, even a small one, if he acted up. The gelding was much more likely to be spooky with the amount of unexplained shadows about. Without another thought, he lightly pushed the feed room door open, and made his way inside. - Now, the last thing he expected was to encounter an actual person in the feed room at this time. The rustling had been coming from there, and his brain had sort of just convinced him that if it was anything, it was a stray animal, or a rodent. So seeing a shadowy figure stood there with a light was ten times more shocking to him. Either another rider had the exact same thought as him, at the exact same time, or the rat had somhow grown and shapeshifted. I think it was obvious which one. Matt shielded his eyes from the flashlight and turned away with a frown, flicking the lightswitch beside him. Only then did he realise exactly who was in there. Eleanor. Of course. - "Are you...What are you doing here?" He asked, his brows still furrowed as he blinked back his vision she had momentarily taken away. What were the chances of this? The exact same time, exact same thought, and out of many many Utopia and Hollowhearts riders, it just so happened to be the one he got on with the least that had shown up there. Matt could shoot her an insult, or a sarcastic comment, but he was far too stunned to do any of that. Unless she started it of course, he'd be happy to shoot right back then. Strangely though, Matt felt zero need too. He wasn;t exctly relaxed by all means, having been slightly startled and it being, well...Eleanor, but he could remain civil. Right? |
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Apple or carrot, that was her current predicament. Which one would Dutchess prefer right now? She brought her phone over whatever which on was closest, which happened to be the apples. She went grabbed one from the top, looking it over before nodding to herself and spinning around. Only to have her phone light up another person?! She almost screamed from sheer surprise, and her phone even slipping out of her hand a little. She caught it though, and turned it off when the actual light came on. She blinked and then looked at the other person only to notice it was- Matt?! " Matt?! I could say the same thing, you scared me! Say something next time." She snapped as she took a few deep breathes to calm her heart, running a hand through her hair. •~• Damn it, couldn't she stop running into him? Just once? She was starting to run out of things to insult him about. Having her main reason be because he's from Utopia wasn't going to work forever. She glared at him, before she answered his question. "Couldn't sleep. Came down to relax. But apparently that's a no-go now." Eleanor shoved her phone back into her pocket, tossing the apple between her hands. She wanted a break from this guy, he keeps invading both her mind and real life, and it was getting on her nerves. He looked as stunned as her, so obviously he wasn't following her or something, though she didn't know why she even considered that. Coincidences just had decided that they needed to keep running into each other apparently. First day, sitting at the desk and being paired up, jumping, out on the trails yet again, and now here? Okay she gets that maybe she'd run into him a few times throughout the days, their in the same school now. But not this many times, not in two days! •~• She moved past him to the door. Not here, not now she wasn't going to deal with him. She reached for the door handle but she stopped before opening it, did she just hear footsteps? She shot a glance back at Matt, but they couldn't have came from him. "Did you hear that?" She questioned. Eleanor pulled the door open enough to look out to see the front doors opening a bit. She pulled back into the room, slamming the door (quietly) shut again. "Someone's here, do you have a friend meeting you? That... Dylan guy?" Eleanor questioned again, backing away from the door. What if it wasn't? What if it was a teacher who for some reason decided to come down here? She didn't care if he got caught, but she definitely didn't want to be herself. •~• (Sorry it's rushed! My phone is minutes from dying 0_0) |
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Dont worry at all!!)) - Matt stood by the door, still kind of regaining his composure as Eleanor snapped at him. He had to force an amused smile down as she was seemingly startled, so he resorted to moving away from the door, scanning the shelves for what he could find for Falcon. "Woah hey I'm not stopping you from relaxing." He protested, holding his hands up in mock innocense as he moved about the room. His demeanor was less hostile now, more...relaxed, kind of. In a way. That basically just meant he wasn't throwing shade and scowling constantly, instead finding the situation somewhat amusing. - Just as Matt went to reach for something off one of the higher up shelves, Eleanor spoke again, and his gaze his hers. When she asked if he heard anything, he just stared at the door. "Apart from you yapping, no." He said, turning back to the shelves to get what he wanted. He brought the packet down and shook it slightly, examining the plastic. However, when she spoke again, this time asking about her friend, he set the packet down on a nearby feed bin, slightly frustrated. Did she not shut up? Moving towards the door, he shook his head, then proceeded to pinch the bridge of his nose. "You'd be lucky to see him awake past 1am if he's not drunk, so no." He muttered, shooting a look at Eleanor. He cracked the feed room door open and looked out, scanning his surroundings. The horses were perfectly fine in their stalls, content and eating or resting. The area was entirely empty apart from Falcon tied to the cross ties, though could barely be seen from the long barn hallway. Just as Matt was about to pull his head back in, his gaze caught something. A figure turning the corner of the back entrance to the barn. He was familiar, too familiar. It was a staff member. - Without another thought, Matt closed the door again, biting his top lip. He didn't want to admit it out loud, but Eleanor was in fact right, there was somebody there. "There's a staff member out there." Which was strange, considering they literally never walked down there at night. He ran a hand through his hair, leaning against the feed bins. "I blame you. You probably led them down here huh." He mused, though his sentence was cut off as the footsteps grew closer. There was no telling whether they'd definitely come in or not, but they were close to the feed room. Matt didn't care much for being caught, he could just use the excuse of Falcon having "issues," but he knew that Eleanor being caught would result in significantly worse penalties. Not that he cared, obviously. If she was kicked out, so be it. But he just didnt want someone even worse to replace her. Yeah, that was it. - "Just stay in here and shut up, I'll talk to them." He mumbled, reaching for the door handle. The footsteps stopped as he did so, seemingly heading into the tack room rather hurriedly. The movements sounded...strange. Off for a staff member. And as the sound of moving inside the tack room started up, it only baffled Matt more. |
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Eleanor gave him a bored look at his comment, but didn't say anything. Though she wanted to yank that idiot back in when he poked his own head out the door. She wasn't lying, and he could get them both caught! Thankfully he came back in without her needing to do that. And from the look on his face, she figured it was in fact not his friend, which made her tiny sliver of hope deflate. Of course, because what was the chances of things going right for them two. It just had to be a staff member, it couldn't have been another rider down in the middle of the night. Eleanor put her hands on her hips and began pacing. But she turned her gaze to Matt again. •~• "My fault? Is not! I never saw anyone behind me. If anything it's more likely your fault for scaring me and causing us to be louder then we should've been." Eleanor hissed back. Was it a little petty? Maybe. She snapped her head to the door as she heard the footsteps get closer at the same time as he did. But then they began heading for the tack room, and she blew out a breath. Though she stiffened again when she saw Matt reach for the door handle. Her eyes widened slightly and before she knew it she was grabbing his hand and pulling it away from the door. "Are you insane?! You may be from this school but that doesn't mean you won't get in trouble some way still! It sounds like maybe their just looking for something. Just stay here." Eleanor whispered, pulling him back a little more for good measure. Then realizing what she was doing, she let go and pulled her hand back to her side just as quickly. She was only stopping him because she didn't know if he'd say anything about her being here. That's all. •~• "Go out if you really want to. I just think it's a stupid idea." Eleanor mumbled, crossing her arms and turning away. The hurried sounding footsteps from the other room did confuse her too, but if he's right and it's just a staff member then maybe they really are just looking for something. But in the tack room? She just came to visit Dutchess. This is the opposite of what she came to do, this was not relaxing one bit. Every time Eleanor was in the same vicinity as Matt something, usually bad, seems to happen. Though she did move to turn the light off and pull her phone light back out, dimming it slightly. What? If whoever it was walked by and saw the feed room light on, they might investigate. |
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As if the situation wasn't tense enough being in there with Eleanor, and a staff member wandering around in the room right next to them, her pulling on his arm protesting was irritating enough. He turned to her with a slight frown, his gaze boring into her. "Leave it, Eleanor. Just...stay in here or whatever. Or do you want me to drag you down with me? Because I will." He shot, his tone coming out slightly harsher than he had expected. As she reached to turn the light off, his blinked a few times, his eyes adjusting to the sudden dimmed light. For just a moment, Matt hesitated against the door handle, biting the inside of his bottom lip. He wasn't...nervous exactly, not about possible penalties anyway. It was more so that the sounds, movements and overall situation just felt wrong. Off, somehow. - Pushing down the thoughts, he grabbed the food he had gotten for Falcono earlier, to make it look as if he actually had a purpose in the feed room, and stepped outside. Shutting the door behid him, Matt made his way to the tack room door, just as it opened. Much to his surprise, the familiar staff figure was...Joe? He was stood holding something in a bag, looking rather rushed. Now, Joe didn't have a horse at the barn, nor did he own one at all. What he would be doing with what could evidently be seen were multiple halters in a clear bag, was beyond him. Every single one being the expensive show halters that were never used. Matt's eyes drifted down to the bag, but snapped back up again as Joe spoke. "Matt! I...I was just..." Joe's voice trailed off, and his flustered expression quickly hardened, his usual mask returning. "What are you doing down here?" He asked. Matt straightened up, holding the plastic pouch of food he had out. "Falcon was having a few issues, I just came to check on him." He said calmly. Matt was a good liar when it came to it, and it was somewhat believable. After all, Joe had seen the incidents with the gelding earlier, before he rushed off. Joe nodded slowly, an unreadable expression on his face. "Right. And is anyone else down here?" He asked. Matt shook his head, and Joe nodded. He was evidently uncomftable, and had clocked on to him seeing the bag. To Matt's surprise, Joe just shrugged it off. "Well make sure you're back at the dorm again soon, and I wont say anything." He muttered. He clutched the bag, hurrying back off out the barn - Well, that was...odd. And entirely unlike Joe. In fact, he was one of the only staff members that weren't even housed at the academy, being one of many differen instructors needed. Why he was even there was...confusing. Matt shook his head and returned back into the feed room, the dim light a contrast from the outside barn lighting. His gaze landed on Eleanor fairly quickly. "He's gone." Was all he said. For a moment, Matt wasn't sure on what to do. Stay? Leave? Both seemed strangely awkward. In the end he went with the better option and left the feed room, making his way back to Falcon. Whether or not he had been caught, he was still going on that ride. No way was he sleeping soon. Plus, his classes were in the afternoon tomorrow. |
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Eleanor watched Matt leave, before she was once more left alone in the food room with a phone light. She began to pace again but stopped that quickly, leaning back against a wall instead. She kept glancing at the door, and she could hear the voices outside the room. Getting closer she could pick up slightly on the words, but they were still a little muffled. The second voice sounded familiar, and so far she's only met/heard two of the teachers. And that did not sound like a woman's voice. Joe then? But she did hear the question, or at least half the question of asking if someone else was in here. She wouldn't put it past Matt to sell her out, but what would he gain? Though maybe it didn't matter if he gained something or not. But she didn't hear him reply, and from the sound of it only a few minutes later someone was leaving. •~• She heard footsteps coming back for the door and took a few steps back from it. It opened and thankfully it was just Matt there. Admittedly, it was better to see him then someone else right now. And since from the looks of it the staff member- Joe presumably- was the one who left, he hadn't sold her out. That's... Nice. 'I guess, for him at least.' Eleanor thought. And to confirm even more Matt said he was gone. He didn't say anything else and she kinda just... Stared at him for a moment. "Thanks for... Not selling me out I guess. Can't say I would've done the same." She said. Strangely she can't say she definitely would've either. She flicked the light back on and turned her phone flashlight off, before stuffing her phone back into her hoodie pocket. Since Matt didn't look like someone who just got in any trouble, at least from what she could tell, then whatever he told Joe was believable. And when he left the feed room, she followed the same idea after a couple seconds. •~• She headed for Dutchess stall, who was oddly alert. Normally the mare could care less what was happening around her unless it was food or someone friendly she knew. Instead, right now the mare had her ears pinned back the slightest bit, eyes on the barn entrance. Eleanor was able to redirect the mare's attention with the apple in her hand, and after a few seconds of munching the horse returned to normal. But Eleanor now looked between her mare and the barn door. Something really did feel off. She couldn't help but wonder if Matt felt it, but it wasn't like she was going to ask him. She leaned against one of Dutchess stall walls, watching the mare without really focusing. Part of her wanted to get out of this barn, but the other part didn't want to leave Dutchess. A ride could work, but she put that off the table. She might have rode them a few times now, but she wasn't familiar enough with the trails to ride them in the dark. So for now, she'll just stay here until she either felt like going back to her dorm or she fell asleep right her in Dutchess stall. But even then... Now she wasn't sure if she'd be getting any sleep tonight. And that meter had already been high. |
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Steady Rain all Day
