Winter Woes

[Sina Aleardi]

Sina felt warmed up - Her morning had consisted of mucking out stalls and turning out Rolo and Vaxi, giving the horses a much needed break on this wintery day. There wasn't much snow on the ground, but they'd still pawed and snorted at it, Vaxi going for a romp and sending showers of the snow up into the air. That had been fun to watch briefly, but before long the warmth she'd felt from mucking stalls turned into a chill, and she returned to the barn to pick up her coat. As she tugged it on, she looked wryly down at Derecho, "Should just make you carry it for me." The dog, as always, didn't respond, although he glanced up at her voice.

Deciding that he deserved a break too, after laying patiently watching her work, she headed for the river trail. There was only the barest hint of ice along the edges, in the shallows, lending the river a sparkle as the sun hit the ice. As they reached the trail's start, Sina unclipped Derecho's leash and released the dog. To her surprise, he didn't go darting off as he usually did, and stuck close, looking up at her and finally nudging at her with a stare. Sina rolled her eyes, "No, I'm fine. Go." She shooed the dog off, but he refused to go, instead raising a paw and batting at her. "Fine." She flounced over to a tree and set down her backpack, pulling off her gloves and holding her left out to the dog, twining it through his thick fur to help warm her fingers. With her right, she dug through the backpack to find her finger stick kit.

[Caspian Collins]

When he'd received a package from his parents the day before, Cass had been more than a little dubious about what would be inside - he was honestly expecting books or something that would not-so-subtly suggest even more inside time - but when he had opened it, the world had become a little brighter! It appeared that someone did happen to sell the likes of studs for human shoes, or it would probably be better to compare them to the chains you put on a car tire, but either way, the grippers for the bottom of his shoes would make walking outside, with just his cane, a little more easier - and hopefully make the adults a little less freaked out.

With his horse cared for, and acting like a loon in the pasture, and his barn chores accomplished, Cass decided to take his freedom another step further and went for a walk. It felt so nice to be outdoors, even still on campus, and he made his way toward the river trails, as he had heard talk of how pretty it looked at this time of the year and he was keen to get some photos taken, maybe turn it into his holiday card for this year.

Even with the added grip on his shoes and the aid of his spiked cane, the wet ground make walking a little slower than normal, and he was thankful to the fact the he was relatively fit. He was lost in thought as he walked, really only focusing on the camera bumping against his chest with each step and the ground in front of him, that he didn't notice another person, or their dog, until he looked up to work out what path would take him closest to the river. "Hey there." He greeted. "Is everything ok?" The girl look way too young to be an adult he could easily assume that the canine at her side was anything but a pet.

[Sina Aleardi]

Sina had become so engrossed in digging through her bag that she didn't notice the approach of anyone else, and his greeting startled her. Just as she'd managed to find the kit, too! It slipped through her fingers as she turned to spot the person who'd spoken, flushing in embarrassment, "Yes. Sorry. You startled me." Her quick glance took in the cane the boy used, but she didn't have long to think about that. She raised an eyebrow at Derecho, "Some guard dog." The dog stared back at her with his serious brown eyes, and raised his paw again, reaching out to paw at the backpack, "Fine!"

Sina turned back to the backpack, this time using both hands to pull out the kit (much faster this time!), then turned back to the boy, "Sorry about that. He's insistent sometimes and he says the answer is no." And was usually right, although usually at the worst times. "Don't let me interrupt your walk, please."

[Caspian Collins]

Cass flushed in embarrassment as the girl jumped and he ducked his head. "Sorry about that." He offered, and he really was, it was never nice to have someone sneak up on you. He couldn't help the chuckle at the dog's command. "I think he is guarding you, just not in the way you meant."

He shook his head at her apology. "Don't be sorry, he's doing his job." He glanced off toward the river, but didn't take a step. "I'm new here, and not sure which path will take me closest to the river, without having to go too much off the beaten track." He also wasn't sure if he should be leaving her, and the dog, alone.

[Sina Aleardi]

Sina nodded, although that just made her head hurt a bit, "You speak like you have experience with others telling you what to do." Yes, she'd noticed the cane earlier, and had no doubt there was a reason for it. She pointed down the trail she'd been about to follow, "That one will keep you the closest, probably." Her vision was a bit blurry now, and she realized that she needed to test and correct, before she continued, "And I'm sorry, but I'll play tour guide later." She could feel the headache building and sat on the ground, unzipping the testing kit she carried and pulling out a lancet, "If you don't like blood, now's the time to walk away."

[Caspian Collins]

He chuckled and nodded. "Yeah. Being told what to do, treated like I might shatter like a dropped glass if I fall over." He shrugged. "Anyone would think my leg was made of porcelain."

He followed the direction she pointed with his eyes and nodded as he turned back to look at her, well, study really, reading the lines in her face that were telling more than her words were. "A tour guide sounds great, if you don't mind me waiting." He said with a soft smile. He shuddered at the mention of blood, but didn't turn away. "I'm not likely to faint." He offered as his smile deepened slightly. Sure, he couldn't move quickly if she needed help, but he could remain with her if the dog needed to go and get extra help.

[Sina Aleardi]

Sina barely noticed what the boy said about his leg - she'd have to get some context later. Right now she had other things to think about, though.

She hadn't exactly been offering, but shooing him away hadn't worked, so too bad for him. She cleaned a fingertip and then used the blood glucose meter, setting it aside while she dug into her bag for the insulin pen that she kept there - Already guessing what she'd need from Derecho's alert and her own feelings. As the meter beeped, Sina glanced at it, then at the pen, twisting it to what she thought was the 'two' position. She uncapped the needle and the pulled up her jacket and shirt, exposing her midriff before she injected herself with the insulin.

She capped the pen, then tossed it back into her backpack - she'd have to deal with it later. "You're still here?" She glanced up, beyond caring if she was short at the moment, "Der, take your leash." She unwound it from her shoulders and let the dog grab it, then pointed at the boy, "Can you clip it? We're going to have to head back." Once the insulin started working and she could see things properly, that was, "Dog is Derecho."

[Caspian Collins]

Cass knew a dismissal when he got one, but had ignored it. He did turn away slightly, giving her a semblance of privacy as she made a move to lift her clothing.

He flashed a grin at her comment. "You're not well, and I wasn't going to leave you alone, should he had to have run to get help. Running isn't exactly one of my specialties." He nodded and waited while the dog approached him. "I'm Cass." He returned, introducing himself earlier probably would have been more polite, but the girl had had more on her mind at the time. "There you go, Derecho." He said as he clipped the lead in place. Can you walk? I could go and find help if needed. Carrying people, like running, not a specialty of mine in this weather." He gave a grin, to, hopefully, show that he was half joking.

[Sina Aleardi]

Sina smiled wryly at his comment, and at his introduction, "Right. Sina. Pleasure." Not really, but that wasn't his fault.

She pushed herself to her feet, "Getting there. It takes about fifteen minutes to kick in properly." If she hadn't gone too far the other way. "Not like I have much of a choice." She glanced at her dog, "Der, law." As the dog retrieved the leash to her, Sina scratched behind his ear, "Good kid."

The next step was grabbing her backpack. Sina tossed her kit back into it and then zipped it up before picking it up and slinging it onto her back. She wished she hadn't taken off Derecho's vest, but it was what it was. She looked towards Cass, "Coming or going?"

[Caspian Collins]

Cass was wise enough not to comment, after all, he hated pity parties, and wasn't about to give her one just out of respect of how much he hated it when people, he thought he knew, treated him like he was three!

He shifted how he was standing, slightly staking any weight off his prosthetic, silently pleased that he wouldn't be going on a hike that day after all, and rocked back slightly on his good leg. Just watching Sina and her dog, he knew he'd made the right decision to turn down his parents insistence that he should get a service dog. Anyway, he didn't think he'd fit into the category of needing one, as he was, technically, fully able to do every day things, and didn't have to worry about blood sugar levels.

He gave her a warm smile. I know a few people who would have kittens if they even thought I was going to be on the trails alone, so I'll follow you." That and he didn't want to leave her to walk back alone. Yeah, he was a bit of a worry-wart at times.

[Sina Aleardi]

Sina laughed, "I have a few of those too, you learn to ignore them after a while. Bubble wrap is no way to live your life." Although, she was beating a retreat today - But just for now. She'd be out later in the day. Just needed to sort out what was going on with her pump.

"Come on, then." She could feel the insulin working, and was able to do a decent job of pretending to be normal as she headed back towards the campus, "We will have to repeat introductions and stuff properly next time we meet. This isn't exactly how I make friends." She managed a grin, "And I will get you out for that walk sooner than later."

[Caspian Collins]

Cass laughed. "Trust me, if me living in one of those bubble things had been anoption, my parents would have taken it." Ok, he didn't know if that was entirely truthful, but he had a feeling it was pretty close to the truth.

He walked with her, trying his best to keep his stride as normal as possible. Oh, I could try and made a better impression next time." He joked. He grinned at the idea of a walk. "I'd appropriate that, thanks." As long as the ground wasn't too wet anyway, as this ground was difficult enough to walk on as it was without adding a more water to the equation.

[Sina Aleardi]

Sina grinned, "I'd sneak you a pin, then." But she probably wouldn't have met him, if he lived in a bubble. Bubbled children didn't get to attend boarding schools, especially ones that involved horses and not much pampering.

She nodded at his joke, "You should. Sneaking up on people is rude." She smiled at him, hoping he'd take the joke as intended, then considered, "What house are you in? I don't think I've seen you around Blue, at least."

[Caspian Collins]

Cass grinned. "I know now who to send a bat signal to should I ever need to break out of parental-prison." He laughed.

He laughed harder. "I'll make sure that I kick every stone in my path next time I decide to go on a walk." He replied, which wasn't an easy task. "I make more noise when on my crutches, but they aren't really designed for cross country kind of walking. I'm in the Red House... my parents probably thought I'd have an easier time getting around with less people to trip over or something. Or probably more that I don't have a chance of falling down stairs while talking to a girl." He shrugged with one arm, it was hard working out why his parents made decision these days.

[Sina Aleardi]

Sina chuckled as he gave a few reasons that he was in Red Ribbon, "That's fair enough. They are quieter, from what I've heard." She really hadn't cared about which house she was in, and had almost gone for Green simply due to it being her favorite color, but the look of the Blue Ribbon House had finally swayed her.

As they walked, Sina started feeling better, although she knew that could possibly be a short-term thing. Fixing highs always tended to cause her blood sugar to go a bit low with time, so it was better for her to head back and figure out what had happened to her pump. It was still relatively new equipment for her - even less so than Derecho - and she was still fine-tuning things for the winter season.