Blue Ridge is a fictional town located deep in the heart of Kentucky. It is home to one of the most well known equestrian academies in the United States. Students and staff from all over the world join the academy for what it has to offer. Do you have what it takes to join us and learn from the Academy?
Smilys were made by Sapphire Heaven of LiveJournal.
The mini-profile hover follows a tutorial by Kagney of Adoxography.
Photos in the skin used under CC from Flickr.
It was just a normal night, with it being dark long before curfew, but still. Will had drawn the short straw with himself, since he was the lone campus officer, he ended up working all of the nights, and sleeping more during the day, when students were in classes. After all, that was when everyone was out and about, and the teachers would be able to be of use if anything did happen, at least to call him.
Anyway. It was night, past curfew for even the upperclassmen, so Will wasn't expecting a lot of activity, as usual. Perhaps a teacher or two straggling in from a night in town, but that happened infrequently enough to make it an event when it did. With his jacket hanging open, he wandered around the campus, following a different route than he had the day before, just to keep shaking it up.
Something was off today, though. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, because there was no specific light. The moon had set a few hours previously, though, so that light that he was seeing... It couldn't be coming from there. That meant that there was some other source of illumination in the memory garden. Pulling his own flashlight out of his belt, and loosening his weapon in his holster just in case, Will turned on the flashlight and approached where he thought the light was coming from.
Post by Thomas Oliver on Nov 3, 2013 0:21:41 GMT -8
Tommy put the last of the things he needed in his large sports bag. He looked out the window and watched the as the sun gave the tree tops his last embrace before night fell. Glancing at the time on his phone before it too got thrown into the bag, he knew that he had better leave now rather than wait any longer and have the Head of House catch him trying to leave after curfew.
Leaving the House, he made his way to the Memory Garden. He had missed his chance to do any on Halloween itself, so he had decided that tonight would be it. Once at the Garden, he began to set up his circle, using the small cauldron he pulled out of the bag as a centre point with his portable altar beside it. He then began took a compass out of the bag and placed the large tallow candles at each quarter; North, East, South and West. The then took out a jar filled with salt and used this to create a visible line between the candles so that he was now standing in a very large circle.
The evening was still, without the hint of a breath of wind, so he guessed it would be safe to light the candles. Just in case though, he pulled a knife out of the bag and used it to cut into the candles so that the wick was well below the lip of the candle, no chance of wind catching a spark of the flame and sending it anywhere. Happy with this done, he lit each candle in turn, welcoming the elementals to his circle.
Returning to the middle of the circle, he lit the gold and silver candles on the altar. Sitting on the ground, facing the altar, he stared into the flames of the two candles, allowing his mind to drift into meditation. This was the time of year to think about those who had left this life before him, those he loved and even those he did not. It was not a time to remember past grudges, or quarrels, but a time to think of the love and laughter he had shared with them.
When he was ready, he pulled a pile of papers out of his bag and placed them inside the cauldron, he then struck a match and dropped it on top of the papers. Another thing that this day was all about, was saying good bye to the past, and on the paper was written all of his traits that he wanted to banish, as well as a few disgruntled thoughts he had had about a few people at the academy.
When he had finished, Tommy couldn't believe how much time had gone past since he had arrived here, nor how dark it had become as he disbanded the circle and collected a handful of dirt for the garden - making sure not to disrupt any of the plants - and dropped the dirt on top of the flames in the cauldron.
Pulling a flashlight out of his bag, he began to gather up the candles and put them in a plastic bag before dropping them into the bag. the cauldron he carried over to the garden, dug a hole and buried the contents in the garden. Gathering up the last of his things, he shouldered the bag and turning the flashlight off, he waited for his eyes to adjust to the darkness and then headed toward the path that would lead him back to the Houses.
Treat the earth well:
it was not given to you by your parents,
it was loaned to you by your children.
We do not inherit the Earth from our Ancestors,
we borrow it from our Children.
- Tribe Unknown
William raised an eyebrow as he saw the light flicker out. He held his position and waited at the edge of the Memory Garden, his flashlight trained on the ground along the path to the garden. As it was the way back to the dorms, it was the most obvious route for anyone heading back after curfew, seeing as it was the most direct, and quickest, route. However, there was always the chance that he was wrong, so while he kept his main focus on the path he had chosen, he was still aware that he might be missing someone smart enough to know that was where he would be waiting, if he was waiting.
A few minutes of waiting paid off. Before too long, he sensed movement, and upon flicking his flashlight beam in that direction, he spotted a younger male, obviously a student, brunet and not the tallest, although he was about average size for a freshman or sophomore. Will smiled, although he knew that the bright light had most likely half-blinded the student, apart from the fact that his face would still be in shadow. He didn't recognize the student, but that didn't change his curfew, "Would you mind answering, why you are out here at this time? I'm sure you're aware of the time?"
Post by Thomas Oliver on Nov 4, 2013 23:29:56 GMT -8
Hitching the bag up his shoulder, he picked up his pace a little as he headed down the path, hoping that there wasn't anything on it that he might trip over as he was walking with no light other than what his eyes could see now that they had adjusted to the darkness. "Darn moon." He muttered, displeased that the moon had already set. He guessed he was lucky that Onyx had decided not to join him, which was surprising in itself, as the feline normally loved taking part in his... things.
The boy jumped as there was suddenly a very bright light in his eyes and he raised his hands to ward off the offending glare. "Um..." Not a very intelligent reply, but it was all that came out as he tried to think of how to explain what he was doing. "My cat took off earlier on, just before the sun set. And since Onyx hasn't been out a lot, I was worried that he'd get lost so I've been looking for him since then." He knew that the lie would probably put him in even more hot water than the truth, but he figured that lying was easier than trying to explain what he had really been doing out at this time of night. "Honestly, Sir, I hadn't meant to stay out so late. Onyx is young, and black as pitch." It was only now, that he thought of the bag he had over his shoulder. Oh, bugger! He added silently.
Treat the earth well:
it was not given to you by your parents,
it was loaned to you by your children.
We do not inherit the Earth from our Ancestors,
we borrow it from our Children.
- Tribe Unknown
Will waited patiently as he let the boy, obviously startled by the light, figure out what he was saying, and in the meantime, lowered his flashlight beam to the ground at the boy's feet. He raised an eyebrow as he heard about this cat having run off, having already noticed the bag the boy was carrying, which wasn't usual for cat-searchers, but less than that, there was the fact that the sun had set nearly five hours prior, meaning that the boy had been out for almost that long, and hadn't given up the search?
He wasn't buying this story, and it could be seen on his face, "Well, perhaps next time, you will find that however much equipment you're carrying with you would not be necessary for anything less than a dragon. I am quite sure your cat would have found his way back home in the hours since sunset, and perhaps you should be joining him." He paused, considering what to do to persuade this boy that being out after curfew, then came upon it, "If you'll give me your name and house, I will inform Ms. Carr that she has a new barn assistant for the next week, one who has been stripped of riding privileges apart from class, and I don't want to see you outside of your dorms save for class or any chores that Ms. Carr may assign you." A bit harsh? Maybe. But then again, word would get around, and it would hopefully deter any future wrongdoing.
Post by Thomas Oliver on Nov 6, 2013 11:11:31 GMT -8
Tommy's eyes adjusted to the light once again as the blinding light was lowered from his face. He blew out a breath at it seemed that his fabrication of the truth had been seen as just that, a fabrication. "My cat has lots of toys." He said patting the bag, which jingled slightly amidst the crinkling sound of the plastic bags that held the candles. The boy's eyebrows shot up at one of the man's comments. "Ooh, dragon hunting? Have you seen any?"
The boy bit back a yawn and his shoulders slumped as punishment was handed out. "Thomas Oliver, Yellow Ribbon." He pressed his lips together in thought. "Ms Carr is the Manager of White Oak Barn?" He was making a guess here as he knew that it wasn't the name of the manager of the barn his horses were in. The thought of being stuck indoors while not in class or doing chores was the worst form of punishment that the boy could think of, at least he'd be working in a barn. He dropped the bag off his shoulder and held onto the two smaller straps as it had got heavy. "Can I head to bed?" He asked softly.
Treat the earth well:
it was not given to you by your parents,
it was loaned to you by your children.
We do not inherit the Earth from our Ancestors,
we borrow it from our Children.
- Tribe Unknown
Will raised an eyebrow as the boy continued on his charade, but didn't deign to respond, as he knew, and the boy knew, that no one was buying the 'cat' story. However, he couldn't help but smile as he heard the boy's response to his dragon comment, "Not today, no. They don't usually come out until far later, though, so perhaps you'll have to wait a few years to embark on that quest." He hadn't meant to soften to this boy, but that response made him think of Ria, who would have wanted to set off after the dragons as well.
He nodded as he heard the boy's name and house, "I'll contact Ms. Carr, and you can go talk to her tomorrow to see when you should report to the barn." The boy's question made him pause. Was that the barn's name? He just knew that Ms. Carr was the one in charge of any punishments. White Oak sounded about right, though, "That's the one, yes." He finally nodded as the boy asked to head to bed, "Straight there, though. And try not to be out past curfew again, make sure to tell your Onyx that he is to report to your room before nine." With a small, wry smile, he waited for the boy to move off, then started looping around the Memory Garden to check on the pastures.
Post by Thomas Oliver on Nov 8, 2013 23:57:26 GMT -8
Tommy snapped his fingers, looking disappointed about having to wait to embark on a quest to find dragons. "Maybe one of them will find me?" He said, his voice slightly hopeful. The boy set up a mental score-sheet in his head and put a mark under the officer's name and another under his.
He nodded his head as he listened to the man. "I'll go and see her as soon as I have seen to Amber and Dragan in the morning." A smiled played on his lips at his gelding's name, especially with what they had just been talking about. He then gave the man a formal, and ever so slightly theatrical, bow. "By your leave, Sir, I shall return to my room. Have a lovely night." He gave a small smile as he straightened up, picked the bag up again and then made his way toward Yellow House. He did stop a few feet away from the man though as he waited for his eyes to once again adjust to the lack of light.
It didn't take him long to get back to his House and he silently opened the room, almost tripping over the cat that had been waiting at the door. "What are you doing out here, Luna?" He asked as he scooped up his sister's cat and walked in, closing the door silently behind them.
As he jogged up the stairs, he deposited Luna on the landing of the second floor and jogged the rest of the way up to the next floor and then slipped down to his room. It was times like this that he was pleased that he had yet to get a room-mate. Walking into the room, he didn't bother turning on the light as he dropped the bag on the floor, kicked his shoes off, dropped the jacket he had been onto the floor beside the bed and fell onto the bed, where he quickly went to sleep
Last Edit: Nov 8, 2013 23:57:46 GMT -8 by Thomas Oliver
Treat the earth well:
it was not given to you by your parents,
it was loaned to you by your children.
We do not inherit the Earth from our Ancestors,
we borrow it from our Children.
- Tribe Unknown