If we never come back, how can they blame us?

[Martijn van der Berg]

Martijn finished brushing all of the shavings off of Sybren's black coat. Careful not to hit Ritske with the flying end of the maroon blanket, Martijn covered the younger horse. It was the final step in his getting ready to turn out his horses for the night, so he grabbed the grooming kit and returned it to the Red Willow barn's tack room, returning with his black helmet. As he walked, he buckled it on. Yes, it was a hassle, and he'd never have bothered previously... But then, accidents happened when one didn't expect them, as he knew first-hand now.

As he walked, he remembered the email that they had received, and paused for a moment, the possibility of a shooter going after his horses going through his mind... But that was unlikely, wasn't it? There was no evidence to expect that the shooter had been going after people randomly, and imagining him going after horses, that was just fantasy. Or so Martijn told himself. It wouldn't be right to keep the geldings in for another night, though. They needed their time to run as well.

Once he'd reached the hitching post, Martijn untied Ritske first, tossing the end of the lead rope over the gelding's back and knotting it to the halter, forming makeshift reins. Using the rail to boost himself up, he got situated on the blanket covering the black's back before he reached down to untie Sybren. The two geldings, used to the maneuvering, stood waiting, and turned eagerly towards the pastures when directed. As they ambled towards the pastures, Martijn eyed the masses ahead, counting shapes until he decided which pasture to put the geldings into.

Once they had reached the gate to the chosen pasture, Martijn halted both with a quiet, "Woah," and then slipped off of Ritske's back. After checking to make sure that the blanket was still straight, he led first Sybren, then Ritske, into the pasture, releasing each individually. Once that was done, he looped the halters over his shoulder and returned to the fence, his heart beating somewhat quicker as he boosted himself onto the top rail to watch the horses for a while. At least he could see if there was anyone lurking around, and the horses would know better than he if there was someone else around, right? This whole business was unnerving.

[Fionn Paquet]

Finn was lazing in Spur's stall, pretty much doing the best to hide from the world, his mind going over the email he assumed had been sent to the entire student body about the shooter. He closed his eyes and groaned, wondering if their parents had also been emailed and how soon he should be expecting a car to arrive to pick him up.

He opened his eyes as a hoof stomped quite close to him and he smiled up at the gelding, who leaned down and blew into the boy's face, sending his hair flying. "Ok, ok, I get ya buddy." He said as he pushed the horse's nose away gently, lifted his arms up and then holding in his abs he sat up. "You wanna get outside to terrorise someone." He was tempted to stand up with a backward walkover, but he was in a small space with the gelding, and as calm as the buckskin seemed, he didn't want to do anything to put either of them in trouble, so he just stood up.

It didn't take too long to give the horse a quick groom and then throw his rug over his back. The boy pressed his lips together and shot back to the tackroom with the grooming kit and came back with his helmet. What he was about to do, he knew that Coach Hoefflin would have kittens about, but Finn felt like riding out to the pastures.

Leading the gelding out of the barn, he used the rail of the hitching post and vaulted onto the gelding's back. He sat there with the lead rope in his hand, only then thinking that he probably should have thought about tying it and making reins. With a shrug though, he squeezed the gelding forward, hoping that he would be able to stop the gelding as easily with his legs as he could direct him.

He let Spur pick the speed that they headed to the pastures, allowing the gelding to stop and snack on any lush grass he could find. They walked down the path that lead to the pastures and he looked into the mare's pasture, wondering if he should shake things up a little and put Spur in there - as it was currently empty - but decided against it as they continued down to the next pasture.

He smiled at the student sitting on the fence. "Do you mind if I throw my monster in with your boys?" He wouldn't normally ask, but the other boy was there, and there could have been a reason that he had picked that pasture. And it wasn't like Spur was known for attacking other horses, in fact the gelding tended to be quite the snob when out with others. He'd muck around with the other horses, but he would remain out of any arguments over pecking order.

[Martijn van der Berg]

The horses had spotted something, and were looking behind Martijn, down the lane towards the barn. Martijn turned around from where he was sitting, tensing up, although as he finally recognized his housemate through the gathering darkness, he relaxed, “Not at all, the more the merrier.” He turned back to the two Frisians. Sybren was stretching his neck towards the gelding, and Ritske had turned away, disinterested now that he had identified the newcomer as another horse. The grass, whatever of it he could find, seemed to be of more interest.

As Sybren approached the gate, Martijn shook his head, “Sorry, let me move him for you.” He walked a couple of steps away, “Sybren, come here.” The dark horse tore himself away from the buckskin and his owner, and Martijn rubbed his jowl when he had come close enough, “He's a gelding, anyway. Not your type, I think.” The gelding was, at least, had been, notorious for his distraction around mares. Here, less people knew of him, and that was fine as well. A second chance, as it were.

When the chance for frustrating Finn had passed, Martijn sent Sybren off once more and returned to the fence. With a grin that belied more confidence than he felt, he joked, “Not worried about the shooter going after him?”

[Fionn Paquet]

Finn grinned when Tjin didn't object to Spur sharing the pasture with the black geldings. He loosened his grip on the rope as the buckskin gelding stretched out toward the black horse that was reaching for him.

Finn vaulted off the gelding's back, laughing as Spur looked over at him, one ear forward and the other back, the boy could almost imagine them being the gelding's eyebrows and having one of them arched as though asking him what the hell he thought he was playing at. His laughter continued at his house-mate's response. "I have never actually asked Spur about his sexual orientation, so you never know, Sybren could be his exact type." He chuckled at the thought of having a gay horse and then turned serious again as he opened the gate and led Spur through before he remove the halter, jumping back just in time to stop himself from being flattened by the gelding's hip swinging around.

He left the pasture and joined Tijn on the fence, arching an eyebrow at the question before he looked at the horses in the pasture, looking for grass. "Nah, I was hoping that he could hide between your two and that their size is enough to intimate anything. While Frisians weren't exactly a big horse - like a shire - they were still an impressive animal to look at and they looked powerful, and majestic, which made them look bigger than they were. "He could use them as camo and act like a shadow between then." He looked at the trees that marked the other end of the pastures. "Us however? We're kind of sitting here, like sitting ducks. Quack, quack."

[Martijn van der Berg]

Martijn nodded, although he was quiet. That was a subject he wasn't too sure about joking about, himself. He preferred just to separate himself from the whole sexuality thing, to be honest. There was no need for him to know, and people could take care of themselves although he knew his mother would look down upon anyone. He didn't know quite what he thought.

As Finn revealed that he was hoping that his horse was protected by Martijn's, Tijn laughed, "I don't know about acting as a shadow, but he could probably hide between them." Given that the pair didn't squish the grey, of course. As Finn pointed out what he had already considered, Martijn nodded, "That's very reassuring."

Deciding that he'd rather change the topic, because the shooter was still a worry, he asked, "So, how do you like Spur so far? I know he's new, are you getting along well?" He had gotten to know the gelding, of course. He was stabled in the Red Willow barn, after all. "And how in the world do you keep his halter so nice and white? I mean, I know he's a gentleman and all that, but still, it seems magical!"

[Fionn Paquet]

It didn't take much to see that his humour on having a gay horse was lost on his house mate. "Sorry, my father is a bit of a homophob, and I'd never get away with that crack if he were within hearing distance." He muttered his apology with a shrug.

He looked from the two black horses to his own buckskin and shrugged. "He could always try to blend in and pretend he's part of the foliage. Given the right light and shadow the horse's coat could look like it was the colour of tree bark, depending on the horse standing very still and not making a noise. "I'm sure if we were in any real danger, the horses wouldn't be so calm, and I doubt we would be allowed to leave the buildings. And I'm sorry, sarcasm just slips out when I'm feeling a little stressed."

He arched his eyebrows at the change of topic, but just went with the flow. "So far? He seems the perfect horse. Not that different from Casper actually, other than being a hand shorter. However, I'm waiting for him to turn into Mr Hyde and sump my arse on the trails somewhere and head home without me. The horse is probably smart enough to untack himself and find his way back into his stall." He laughed at the question about the halter and looked down at the almost pristine halter he was holding, picking off the loose hairs. "I have three of them, so one's in the wash, another is in his locker and the third on his hook, or on him." He shrugged again. "How are you and your boys settling into the stride of things here?"

[Martijn van der Berg]

Martijn blinked at the word 'homophobe', worried for a moment that his reservations had been mistaken, but then realized that Finn was just talking about his father. From talking to the boy, he'd guessed that his father was the strict, expecting sort, although he couldn't remember if they'd discussed his profession. It didn't really matter, anyway.

As he heard of the boy's plan for his horse's safety, Martijn smiled, "I suppose that he could try that, yes." He looked out at the horse, "Definitely looks like a large shrub, that one." Finn reassured him that the shooter couldn't possibly - Or most likely wouldn't, at least - be out here, since the horses were so calm. It made sense, and he nodded, "I guess that's true. Having a student be shot would not be good for publicity for the school."

The conversation turned to Finn's new horse, and Martijn listened to the expectations the boy had for the horse. He chuckled, "Maybe, but maybe he won't. Not all good horses have a terrible second personality." He grinned, "Enough do, sure, but be positive, Spur seems to be pretty relaxed about everything." He looked back at the horse, "But if I find the saddle in the tack room with bite marks, I'll make sure to check that you're not stuck out on the trails." He chuckled, then listened to how the halters remained white, "That would explain it! And make it much easier."

As he was asked about settling in, Martijn shrugged, "Well enough, I guess. They're getting used to being surrounded by horses that look different from them." He grinned, then sobered up again, "Although it feels like they're always questioning why I'm saddling them yet again, and not putting on their traces." He shrugged, "But I don't have anything to drive them for anymore. I do think they're getting more used to being asked to do all sorts of walks and trots, though, for dressage." He quieted, realizing how much he'd been blabbering, "They're getting used to it. I guess I am too. Anyway..." He paused, trying to think of a question to ask Finn, "How's gymnastics going?"

[Fionn Paquet]

Finn looked at his horse with a bemused expression. "I don't think he could pull it off." He commented with a shake of his head. "Spur would end up sneezing or something and ruin the act." The corners of his mouth curved in a smile. "Hey, they could add to the pamphlet that being at the school could give students a running shot to the top of the industry." He sighed, even his sarcasm was beginning to get to him.

He nodded at the other boy's positive words about the horse. "True, I could find out that he's so lazy that he got the name 'Spur', because that's the only way to get him to move." He looked at the horse and felt guilty for his words, because the gelding was a great horse, and coming from his father, he was damn lucky that Spur was as sedate as he was. "I'd love to have been a fly on the wall when Dad decided he wanted me to have Spur. What did he see in the horse that made him want to spend the money?" He gave a grin when the other boy said that he'd come looking if the it looked like Spur had taken his own gear off. "Thanks." He said with a chuckle.

He listened as Martjin spoke. "And I guess painting all the other horses black is out of the question?" He chewed on his bottom lip as he turned serious. "Have you thought about just turning them out for a couple of months? When the weather gets warmer, of course. And then bringing them in and re-introducing them to their new life."

He shrugged when the question turned to gymnastics. "Things in the gym are good, as long as you don't get in the way of the queen of the beam, aka Libby. Even breathing in her direction lately will have her tearing our hides off. The coach is still pushing us as hard as he can. Sometimes I think he pushes the girls harder than he needs to, but that's just me."

[Martijn van der Berg]

Martijn chuckled at Finn's joke, shaking his head in bemusement. A running shot indeed. As he heard Finn's thoughts on his horse, Martijn nodded, "I suppose you could find that small flaw." He looked out at the horse, looking at what the other boy's father might have seen... Hard, since he didn't quite know what the man was like. He had a pretty good idea, though, "Probably some good shows, but nothing you'd fall off on?" He grinned at the boy, meaning no offense by his comment, "And a nice-looking horse, of course. He's quite the combination, not a breed I recognize, though?" He didn't have that much access to the horses' files, although it might seem like he did occasionally.

Hearing the suggestion for helping his boys settle in, Martijn considered, "That might be an idea. But at the same time, then they'd lose their friends when the paint wore off." He nodded at Sybren, "Especially the airhead." Now, that wasn't fair to Sybren at all... But he was the ditzier one of the pair, most certainly. He listened to Finn as the boy talked about the gym, "Well, he's probably trying to bring out the best in you?" Even he wasn't sure if that was sarcastic or not... He'd heard the excuse from teachers enough, "As long as no one gets too badly hurt, right?"

Pushing himself off of the rail, he looked over to Finn, "I think I'm going to head inside and get their stalls done now, two less for me to do in the morning." He smiled, "It was nice to see you again, though!"

[Fionn Paquet]

Finn pressed his lips together as he watched Spur grazing with the other two horses. "I'm think I'm trying to find a flaw in him because dad said he'd never buy me a horse." He finally said. "Which I know is really unfair to Spur.And between the two of us, I don't think it would have even crossed dad's mind to wonder whether the horse was too talented for me or not." He looked at Spur again. "He's an Andalusian, Mustang cross." He liked Tijn for the fact that the boy knew his stuff about horses, but wasn't cocky about it.

Finn pursed his lips and nodded. "Didn't think about the colour wearing off, and repainting the horses every day would get a little expensive, and time consuming." He grinned. "You could always buy white paint and give your boy's stripes?"

He nodded as the other boy responded to his comments about gym. "Coach is always trying to bring out the best in us." He relied in a chipper voice. "Yeah, getting hurt in the gym, with the speed and height we work at, can sometimes be career ending." People saw major crashes televised at the Olympics or other international competitions, but a lot of people didn't think about all the life ending accidents that happened in the home gym. and by life-ending, he meant career ending rather than death.

He smiled toward Tijn and nodded. "Spur's stall's done, and when I head in I'll do his buckets and haynet, so that'll be another stall less that you have to worry about come the morning. "It was great talking with you." He released a sigh as he balanced on the fence, thinking about not only his place here at the Academy, which he had not intention of leaving without a fight, and his place on the gym team./font]