Autumn Leaves

[Luke Brown]

Luke finished off grooming Ace and, glancing down at his watch, hastened his steps towards the tack room, where he deposited his tack. He was running a bit later than usual today, and that wasn't at all the kind of thing that he wanted to be doing, because there were certain customs and practices which it was not at all in his interest to miss out on.

Sina was amazing. Come to that, she was many things, but one thing which he was at least fairly sure that she was not was patient, and so he highly doubted that she would wait for him if he was late, hence his rather unusual hurry since Luke, being an easygoing kind of boy, wasn't generally the kind to hurry for anything or anyone.

But Sina wasn't just anyone. Which was why he breathed a sigh of relief as he rounded a corner to see the girl's figure ahead of him. Not hugely late, thank heavens. "Hey, gorgeous!" he called, breaking into a light jog. "Wait a sec!"

Sina Aleardi

[Sina Aleardi]

Sina had her routine, and she generally didn't vary from that very much. Every afternoon, after her school obligations ended but before she started her homework, she groomed her horses, turned them out, and then took Derecho for a walk. Today was no different, and the afternoon found her on the green hill trail. Derecho had been dressed in his hi-vis jacket, because the days were getting shorter, and Sina wanted to prevent him from startling any trail rider who might just see a dark form in the bush.

She had just released Derecho and had planned on starting walking when she heard Luke's voice behind her. She smiled and paused, waiting for him to catch up and grinning at him, "Hey handsome." She gave him a quick hug, then started walking again, although she hoped he'd come along, of course, "Glad you made it." It wasn't an official date, as such, but Luke knew her habits well, and she was always happy when he joined her on these walks.

[Luke Brown]

Luke returned the girl's hug with enthusiasm, happily falling into step beside her. His own schedule was not nearly so defined as hers, and it certainly lacked any kind of certainty from one day to the next, but whenever it was possible, he liked to join her for these evening walks, if only because it seemed like he never saw her for the rest of the time. Maybe that was just the way that it seemed, but either way, Luke was never going to turn down an opportunity to spend time with her, because well, who would? She was just awesome!

"So am I," he told her with a grin, managing to take his eyes off her in order to watch where he was going, although it was a somewhat pointless exercise considering that he then started watching Derecho instead. But still... some you won, some you lost, and so far as Luke was concerned, Sina was definitely a win.

[Sina Aleardi]

Sina couldn't help the grin on her face as they walked along. She liked the season, the leaves on the trees in their fall colors if they hadn't been shed yet, and she had Luke and Derecho. What could be better? She grinned as the shepherd came back to investigate Luke briefly, tail wagging, before scampering back off to sniff and roam. As they walked, she carefully allowed her hand to bump into Luke's, hoping he'd take the hint - And if not, she had no issue grabbing his hand, but she'd let him make the move instead if he wanted to. "How was your day today?"

[Luke Brown]

Luke allowed himself a slight grin as Sina's hand knocked against his own. He was no idiot; he read the meaning behind that, and it wasn't as if he really needed the excuse. Entwining his fingers with hers, he smiled briefly at her before returning his attention to the trails ahead; he didn't want to break his neck tripping over a stick, or something equally stupid, which he was well aware that he was fully capable of doing. "My day was fine," he told her. "All the better for seeing you." Hey, sometimes the old ones were the best, and Luke wasn't shy about that belief.

[Sina Aleardi]

Sina laughed at Luke's words, although she had to admit she appreciated it. "Flatterer." She squeezed his hand, unable to wipe the grin off of her face, then lapsed into silence, just enjoying the day and spending time with Luke. They didn't share too many classes - one, to be exact - so this time after school was the best they could get most days.

[Luke Brown]

The boy shrugged. "How can I help it when you give me so much material?" he riposted, returning her squeeze. For a moment or two, silence hung in the air; not heavy uncomfortable silence, such as might be found between two strangers thrown together, but the comfortable silence of two people who had said all that they had to say.

Even so, he couldn't let it last long. "What're you thinking?"

[Sina Aleardi]

Sina chuckled again, although she couldn't come up with a good comeback to that. She kept her eyes ahead, occasionally picking out Derecho's orange coat ahead of them, pushing through the bushes but staying close enough. As Luke asked about her thoughts, Sina grinned impishly at him, "Aren't you the cheapskate? Even a penny is too much?" She kept smiling, but then answered, "Honestly, just thinking about the break and finals and stuff." She shrugged, "Nothing too exciting or insightful. Do you have any plans for the time off?"

[Luke Brown]

Luke grinned. "Hey, if I go throwing away money just to find out what people are thinking, how am I ever going to save anything? Gotta be practical, Sina." Although he had to admit that practicality was not exactly one of his greatest strengths... Still, he was doing his best. "I'm not planning a lot, no... How about you? Going gallivanting off somewhere exotic and steamy to forget all about your poor boyfriend with some tanned weightlifter?"

[Sina Aleardi]

Sina laughed at Luke's ideas, "I wasn't, but now that you've given me the idea," she trailed off, leaving him hanging for a moment before she continued, "That sounds like a pretty good plan." She chuckled, then continued, "I'm going to fly home for Christmas and New Year's, but that leaves a bit of break before and after."

[Luke Brown]

Luke gasped in mock incredulity. "Oh, I see how it is," he snapped dramatically. "As soon as you get a better offer, off you go!" He grinned, giving the girl a gentle peck on the cheek. "So, you won't be totally deserting me for the whole break then. That's nice of you."

[Sina Aleardi]

Sina grinned, "But of course. Although I don't have to worry about you doing that." She flipped her hair, her eyes sparkling with laughter at the implied lack of better offers. "Yeah, I guess I'll spend some time with you. We'll have to see how icy it gets for planning big trail rides, though." She knew that some of the academy's trails were closed in the winter for safety of the students and horses.