Catching the World on Film

[Fionn Paquet]

Finn stood in his bedroom, curling his nose up as he looked into his draw and noticed that his stash of supplies was running low, and unfortunately, he wasn't exactly in a position to refill it any time soon. He would just need to hope that it lasted out until the next gym competition, and that his friend was at the same competition. Pulling his clothes back over the vials, he pushed the drawer closed and stooped down to grab his riding boots as he headed out of the door.

It didn't take him long to get down to the barn and he whistled as he walked to the tack room and grabbed Spur's grooming kit and tack. Once the gelding was in cross-ties, it didn't take him long to get the crossbred gelding ready to be ridden. Walking back to the tack room, he put the kit away, grabbed the digital camera from the locker and hung it around his neck. He then swapped his trainers for the boots he'd brought out... possibly something he should have done before going to get the gelding, but he hadn't got in trouble - yet.

With his helmet in place, he walked back out and laughed when he saw that Spur was dozing in the cross-ties. "Wake up, sleepy." He laughed as he walked over and pushed the gelding's shoulder to make him wake up enough to step to the side. Removing the cross-ties, he tied the lead rope around the gelding's neck and led him out of the barn.

Mounting up, he turned him in the direction of the Rocky Ridge trails. He didn't have a real destination in mind, but he was planning on going somewhere that he could get some good photos. While he liked to people-watch, today's subject was going to be nature, rather than humans, and he had high hopes that he'd get a couple of photos worth framing... after all he had Christmas presents to start thinking about, that and a way to get out of attending the Paquet family Christmas function. A scowl marred his features as he thought about that, only imaging what his father would expect of him this year.

[Khalid Al-Kuwari]

Khalid hated the fact that he had to look after his own horse. It felt like it took forever to groom the warmblood, and his arm ached by the time he set down the soft brush. Just brushing felt like a workout in itself, and the cost of a personal groom was well worth the convenience. The back and forth march between where Nasr stood on the crossties and the tack room was dull and arduous. For all Khalid figured, he could have been marching across the Sahara desert and not noticed the difference. It was a great relief that Nasr was easy to tack as the boy didn't think he had the patience to handle a horse that couldn't stand still. His green saddle pad had his name monogrammed on the left side in silver thread.

He mounted up and headed towards the trails. Khalid was still exhausted from travel and didn't have the motivation to try jumping courses. However, he was happy to get back in the saddle and ride some. He heard the trails in the Rocky Ridge area offered a good challenge, and horse and rider needed time to get to know one another. He cantered along the trail where it was possible and trotted the rest. The view was nice but also entirely foreign with all the trees and changes in elevation. Up ahead, Khalid could see another horse and rider and slowed Nasr to a walk. His expression hardened as there wasn't enough room to safely pass.

"Oy! Consider not being a road block! This is a riding trail, not a nap site."

The usual decorum was missing, but Khalid was hardly in the mood to show professional kindness. He was tired, it was freezing out (by Middle Eastern standards of cold), he had to work before even getting on his horse which was such a time waster, and Nasr was nothing like the Arabians of home. To say nothing about having to use English. The boy was fluent, but he hated how it sounded and looked.

[Fionn Paquet]

They left the main trail and turned onto the one that followed the river upstream, as he guessed that getting photos over the river were going to be a lot more interesting than millions of photos of trees. Listening to the river also helped him forget about any issues that were going through his head.

He tipped his head to the side as he caught sight of a Hawk sitting on a branch over the river and he asked Spur to halt as he looked in every direction, and listened closely to make sure that there wasn't another horse about to come across them, as the trail was narrow and with where he now had spur, they were kind of standing in the middle of the path.

Lifting the camera up, he turned it on and aimed it at the bird, waiting patiently, he took a couple of photos as he watched the bird, all he had to wait for was for the creature to take flight. However, his concentration was broken by the sound of an approaching horse, and Spur shifted under him in uncertainty as the horse was approaching them quite quickly and then he turned with narrowed eyes in the direction of the owner of a voice, grounding his teeth as he heard the bird leave. "For your information, not that you obviously care, I was trying to take a photo, not have a bloody nap!" He had to put up enough with this kind of attitude in the gym, he wasn't putting up with it out here. "But sure, let us get out of your way now that you've ruined my shot." He let the camera hang around his neck again as he used his seat and legs to get Spur to turn so that the other boy could get past them. He rubbed his gelding's neck, making sure he didn't sidestep and put them in risk of stepping off the trail.

"Word for the wise, don't go racing off on this trail, it's advanced for a reason." His lips turned up in a smile that didn't go anywhere near his eyes. "I'd hate for your horse to take a wrong step and get injured due to his rider's lack of knowledge about the trail." He let the insult hang in the air.

[Khalid Al-Kuwari]

Naturally, Khalid never saw the hawk. He was too focused on his horse and adjusting to the differences between a warmblood and an Arabian. The new jumper was wonderful, and Khalid was anxious to see the horse truly perform, but this trail was hardly the place to practice jumping 3'9" courses. As he rode past, Khalid didn't even bother to pretend to look grateful.

"Tazz fik."

It was just loud enough to be clear that it was supposed to be heard. The Arab didn't care that he was the only person who understood the insult. One glance and Khalid could tell they came from different rungs on the social ladder. Silently, he lamented the fact that these underprivileged children were his classmates. And Khalid would have been content to continue on his way and forget all about Finn, but that last insult wasn't going to be left unchallenged. Not even an Al-Thani could insult an Al-Kuwari like that and get away with it, much less some nobody with a camera. He halted Nasr and turned him around to face Finn.

"Take your own advice, camera boy. I'm sure we'd all hate to see your horse walk off a cliff because the rider was too busy photographing trees. And for that matter, what are you doing on this trail? Like you said, it's for advanced riders, and you're clearly more interested in pictures than your horse."

[Fionn Paquet]

Finn arched an eyebrow as the boy passed them, though he didn't even begin to try working out what had been said. Though he did admire the sleek bay Warmblood as he walked passed them, he had a feeling that that horse was something that his father had envisioned when he'd bought Spur, and hoped that the congressman never got wind of the thought that the crossbred gelding he was on wasn't the best the money could buy and to have another horse suddenly turn up on campus for him. He shuddered at the thought.

He grinned as an insult was hurled back at him, the challenge evaporated his foul mood, and basically gave him something else to think about. "A hawk, not trees." He corrected as he looked behind them to make sure the trail was clear and no more unexpected riders were suddenly going to materalise out of the ether. "I was waiting for a hawk to take flight. And as we were taking up the trail, I had to have been thinking of my horse, else I would have had him standing were we moved so your horse could get past." He arched an eyebrow in question, thinking of how much this boy reminded him of the stuffy white collar kids from his last school, kids from his parents' social circles, but ones who didn't interest him in the slightest. At least here he didn't have to wear a suit and tie to every gathering and no one cared if he dressed down; like today with his torn jean jods and long sleeved polo.

"I'm Finn." He finally offered, another thing about attending school here, he didn't have to introduce himself by his given name and it wasn't about who his father was or how much money he made.

[Khalid Al-Kuwari]

Khalid took full advantage of his family's wealth to dress in a way that announced his upper crust upbringing. He loved his Sergio Grasso boots and the new dual layer jacket he got for the cold weather. The outer shell was black with the Qatar flag stiched over the left breast.

"Saker falcons are better. Prettier, more elegant fliers, and superior hunters." He shrugged.

While he was at school, one of Khalid's cousins promised to look after his falcon. It was a fun weekend sport and a good way to spend time and bond with family. Khalid would have brought the bird to school with him, but his father put his food down on the matter. America was for getting a good education, becoming a more well-rounded person, and improving riding skills.

"Khalid Al-Kuwari. And this," he gave his horse a couple good pats, "is Nasr. Purebred Holsteiner imported from Germany."

It was annoying that in America, the Al-Kuwari name didn't carry as much weight as in Qatar. Even the idle comment of having an Al-Thani on speed dial meant nothing to these people. As the youngest son and fourth child, horseback riding was Khalid's only shot at stardom. His older sister was studying to be a doctor, and his older brothers had careers working for the Al-Kuwari group. As for the youngest twin sisters, they didn't even think about careers and life choices.

[Fionn Paquet]

Finn shrugged at the other's boys comment on falcons. "Falcons in general are prettier than hawks." He returned with a strained smile. "Though I take photos of whatever speaks to me at the time." He knew that his words probably made him sound like a complete idiot, and part of him was still tempted to do some online searching for a college with a good photo journalism course, so so he could get the pamphlet sent to his home and just wait for the phone call form the Congressman about the boy's lack of future prospects. How many times did Finn have to tell the man that he had no interest in following the man into politics?

He bowed his head when the other boy introduced himself, with a little more swagger than Finn had given, his eyebrows rising at the information of the horse. "This is Spur, he's a Mustang, PRE/Andalusian cross, God-only knows where he came from." It still hit a rough spot about how the gelding just turned up one day, and the boy knew it was because his father couldn't stand the thought of his son ridding a common school horse. It also showed that his father hadn't thought a lot about researching breeds either, as if the congressman knew anything about breeds, he wouldn't have his son riding anything that was grossed with a lowly Mustang; so that alone made him happy to be riding the crossbred.

"With your pompous attitude, I can only guess we're housemates." It was a (slightly cutting) comment, not a question. After all, money spoke to money, and there was no way that this boy would be suited to any of the other Houses, and he was too full of himself to be living in a boys' only House. There was something about the whole situation that was bringing out the stuck-up private all-boys' school student out of him, and Finn wasn't sure how much he liked the reminder of his life before this place. "What is Nasr trained in?" He asked to try and defuse the situation, all else fails, talk horses.

[Khalid Al-Kuwari]

Khalid's experience of photographers was based primarily around regular family and corporate photo shoots. Even the fun shoot of Khalid and his horse felt forced and stressful. As for the ruling family, they were avid art collectors, something the youngest Kuwari boy couldn't understand. He was also less than impressed with the crossbread horse. Andalusians were good dressage horses without question, but he saw Mustangs as the common riff raff in the equine world. No noble sires or bloodlines, and in Khalid's opinion, they always looked scruffy and dirty compared to any purebred warmblood or hotblood.

"How...interesting," he commented with disdain. "And if you're in the Blue Ribbon house, then yes, unfortunately."

Between the school horses and what fellow students called horses, Khalid was amazed that this academy ever got the status as elite. He expected the school horses to be former champions in their own right, not just pitiable strays someone picked up for a couple pennies. The Western riders were just as lamentable. He couldn't understand how anyone thought horseback riding should be a fashion show or that spinning in circles constituted real riding.

"Jumper. Obviously. Or maybe not, since you had to ask. You must do dressage, though Andalusians are known for their athleticism, so I suppose it could jump. A word of advice, stay out of the jumper ring. Ballet is for girls, anyway. I'm sure you'll fit right in."

[Fionn Paquet]

Finn easily shrugged the disdain in the other boys voice off. "Dad obviously saw something in him." He replied with a slight smirk. "Too bad for him he know nothing of colours and breeding." His smirk returned at the mention of Blue House. "Great, we'll get to know more of one another then."

He rolled his eyes heavenward at the answer to what the horse was trained in. Yes, the breed was normally known for being jumpers, but for all he knew the horse had been trained in dancing the polka, which is why he had asked. His shoulder shook in silent laughter, the whole conversation was reminding him of the catty spats that happened between Libby and Blythe. "Spur is an established eventer." Or at least that's what the papers he'd come with had said, and Finn didn't care enough to actually check up on the gelding credentials. And he was a little bitter about being take off the school master he had been working with.

He arched an eyebrow about the ballet comment and shuddered. He'd done a couple of terms of ballet, much to the Congressman's disgust, to learn about turnout and all that but it was a means to an end and nothing else, and because - unlike the woman's floor - men's floor exercises were all about power, he didn't need the dancing to help him with that. "I take it they don't teach the classics under the rock you crawled out of, since most of the best ballet dancers in the world are males. And I prefer the power of gymnastics over the airy fairy side of dancing." He knew that he may have given the other boy some ammunition with mentioning gymnastics, but it wouldn't be long before Khalid knew about Finn's placement on the team, so it was just easier to get it out in the open now.

[Khalid Al-Kuwari]

Eventing. The suicidal adrenaline junkies of the horse world, in Khalid's opinion. It was almost as bad as steeplechase. True, jumping was the only the ride, but even among jumpers, it was important to have some sort of self preservation. As if launching a horse over five foot obstacles involved a lot of self preservation.

Even though singing, dancing, and music was generally seen as forbidden in Islam, there was a thriving patronage of the arts from all the foreigners. Khalid knew there was an all girls ballet academy in Doha, though his parents refused to have any involvement with it. A gymnastics school existed, but that was the most Khalid heard about the matter. Even at Al Shaqab, Khalid's parents made certain that he would only be working with a male instructor and not have to interact with female riders. In many ways, Khalid felt that he grew up in a world very different from that of the expatriates even though they all shared the same city.

"Where I'm from, men aren't allowed to be ballet dancers, and my parents would throw a shoe at me if I ever expressed interest in seeing a dance performance. Gymnastics is just something the foreigners do. If it forces a person to dress indecently, then I want nothing to do with it. Dressing in lewd clothes is almost as bad as eating bacon."

Sure, he was parroting his parents' opinions, but he mostly agreed with the sentiment. Khalid's one rebellion against his parents was a strong desire to read Harry Potter and the Chronicles of Narnia.

[Fionn Paquet]

"Tough parents." He remarked and then gave a sly smile. "When I was first forced into gymnastics, I was so tempted to tell my father that I wanted to swap to ballet. For nothing other than kicks." Though back then he never saw enough of his parents to be able to tell him that, his words would have been conveyed through his latest nanny and she would probably have been fired due to insubordination.

His eyebrows shot up the comment of dressing indecently. "I wear my gym uniform for five and a half hours a day and then again in competitions. While I'm not on the floor I am covered up in a tracksuit, so I would hardly call it being indecent. Though each to their own I guess, especially if you're out on the trails looking better dressed for an arena." There was no insult in his tone this time, just matter-of-fact. "Curious minds want to know if you can think for yourself, or if your every move is pre-planned? And if it's the latter, I know a girl you'd get along with perfectly." He gave a flash of a smile with his words.

He looked ahead to see that the trail was finally widening again and leveling out. "There's a clear bit about one hundred paces that way, do you want to give Nasr a good blast?" He'd love to let Spur have a good gallop, but he'd keep the gelding reined in if the other boy declined.

[Khalid Al-Kuwari]

Khalid shrugged. He didn't really disagree with his parents, and it was important to respect them always. Sure, they argued from time to time, and Khalid did enjoy listening to music on the radio sometimes to relax, but never in the house. House rules were to be obeyed because they were put in place by his parents.

"Of course I can think for myself. I just mostly agree with what my parents and the imam say and believe. It's important to respect parents and elders and to listen to what they have to say."

His mother had warned him about the temptations of the Western world, and now, Khalid could definitely believe her. The most important thing was for him to not forget his identity as a Qatari and as a Muslim. Remember to always pray five times a day, go to masjid evert Friday, and don't be tempted into eating haram food.

At the question of a small informal race, Khalid forced himself to take stock of his horse's ability and his own. Nasr had time to rest and felt a bit fresh, though the boy was still exhausted from jet lag. A bit of adrenaline wouldn't be terrible, however, and would go a long ways towards staying awake. It was fairly typical for Qataris to stay up late into the early hours of the morning given the desert climate, but schools weren't always so forgiving.

"Yeah, sure. Just be ready to lose."

Khalid gave Nasr his head and pressed him forward to a steady hand gallop.

[Fionn Paquet]

Finn's shoulders shook in silent laughter, it seemed that he'd hit a sore point. Though he guessed that if his parents had actually had more to do with his upbringing, rather than their dinner parties or the Congressman's career, he guessed that he'd have a little more respect for them and follow their words as closely as it Khalid followed that of his parents. Though he guessed he was being a bit hard on them both, as if not for the man, he wouldn't be a gymnast, and if not for gymnastics, he would never have discovered horses and photography... There again though, if he'd never done gymnastics, he'd also never have done drugs, so it was a little catch twenty-two.

"I believe that respect goes both ways." He replied with a shrug. "I was raised by nannies and babysitters, while my parents were busy developing my fathers career. I find it hard to find respect for two people who didn't think twice about me while schmoozing up with the rich and famous." Yes, it hurt.

He shook his head when the idea of letting the horses have a blast turned into a race, and part of him was tempted to allow the boy and his fancy jumper gallop off without them. Spur, however, had other ideas and he started to cowhop when he wasn't given his head. "Go!" Finn said as he easily moved into two-point and gave the gelding his head as soon as the trees opened up and the Mustang in the buckskin allowed him to easily cover the ground, as the boy lay low against the horse's neck. And before he knew it, Finn was sitting back in the saddle and riding the horse in a circle to encourage him to slow down. He slapped the gelding's neck as Spur dropped back to a quick trot as they entered the trees again. "Feel better now?" He asked the horse.

He glanced at Khalid. "Do you do any sports other than riding horses?"

[Khalid Al-Kuwari]

In Qatar, there is a very strict order of respect. First are one's elders, parents included. Next are women, then children, with young, adult men ranked lowest. The mother was responsible first and foremost for her family and home. Khalid always knew his mother would be around to give him encouragement and support him just like she supported all his siblings. There was no problem with women working so long as they could manage the rigors of raising a family as well.

Nasr stretched himself out and lengthened his stride. The gelding was clearly enjoying the short run which was over entirely too soon. Even a quick gallop was making Khalid more than anxious to see his horse jump. They would be an absolutely unstoppable pair. He settled back into the saddle and brought Nasr back to a working trot. Even if it was a little unfair to Nasr to stay in his stall while Khalid recovered from the long journey across eight timezones, Khalid wanted their first jumping course to be perfect. It was best for them both to be ready mentally and physically even if it meant the delay of another day or two.

"I played football, same as every young boy. Falcon hunting when it's in season. My cousin is looking after my bird while I'm here in America."

For a rich Qatari, horseback riding was the only noteworthy thing Khalid did. He knew a lot of people with falcons to the point where it was quite the feat to organize everyone for a group trip into the desert. Khalid mostly flew as a hobbyist and wasn't worried about competing, but it was a fun excuse to go out and spend time with family.

"Your horse isn't a bad mover. And, what you were saying earlier about your parents, mine are on the opposite side of the table. And it's the mother's job to raise a family. It doesn't matter that she's a princess because her duties as a mother and wife come first. I'm from Qatar, so I have no experience with American parenting."

[Fionn Paquet]

Finn kept a tight hold on Spur as the gelding was more than eager to go for another run, which told the boy that he would need to rug-up and then release the gelding in the pastures on their return so that the horse had a chance to burn off his energy. He frowned in thought as he looked skyward and wondered if he could chance leaving the horse out that night.

He glanced sideways when Khalid spoke of his sporting, his eyebrows lifted at the mention of falcon hunting. "I think the previous campus officer here had a falcon." He offered and then shook his head. "I know about football, know nothing about falcon hunting though. Gymnastics kind of claimed my life for a while and now that and horse riding." He didn't think the other boy's falcon would enjoy it here though, so it was a good thing the bird had remained at home.

He smiled and bowed his head graciously at the compliment toward his horse. "Thank you." He replied. "Your horse will be a formidable opponent in the jumping ring." And yes it as that easy to see from watching a horse on the flat, as long as you knew what to look for.

He pressed his lips together as he listened to how much the other boy's mother had to do with his upbringing. "I envy you." He replied, though there was no hate or jealousy in his tone. He did file away the news that Khalid's mother was a princess though. "Don't base your experience on American parenting by how lapse mine is. From what I have learned, parenting here depends on the parents income and lifestyles. You might say that there are no set rules here, as long as they aren't obviously abusing their child, there isn't a right or wrong way to bring a child up." There were times when he wondered how different his life would be, should he have had attentive parents, and where he would be now if that had been the case.

"Do you have any hobbies, outside falcon hunting?" He asked.