Thus Far and No Farther

[Avery Durand]

Her mom had helped her carry up the suitcases, and after a thorough goodbye, had left again for the airport, ready to head back home to, hopefully, a healthy mare and new foal. However, that was no longer much of Avery's concern, and she instead was faced with the task of emptying the two suitcases and her heavy backpack. The decoration of the room had made it clear that there was already a roommate in residence, leaving the bed closer to the door for Avery. She had tucked Saskia into the space between bed and wall, laying on a place cue while her human faced the door but was focused on the first suitcase. She had laid it on the bed, flat, and then unzipped it, finding that it was the one that contained mostly her clothes. She pulled open the dresser that was empty, and started on the task ahead of her, hoping to finish it in time to head down to the barn and make sure that Dolent's stall was ready for his arrival.

[Victoria Greco]

Tori's plans to go home for the summer, and do some hometown shows, had been slightly derailed: Poe was off his feed, so she decided that it was in his best interest to not change his surroundings just now, and Stella was being even brattier than normal, so maybe a couple of months of turn-out would do the mare some good. And it also had to do with the family coming to visit, and she really didn't want to be there to judged by her aunts and grandmothers, who all wanted her to be a prima ballerina.

She left the barn and headed back to her room, her thoughts on the fact that she would be getting a room mate sometime during the summer, probably being another good reason that she wasn't going away. At least with her on campus when the new girl arrived, they could work out how to work together before the stress of classes, and she was excited about having a dog in the room!

She jogged up the stairs and down the hall to her room. She pulled her key out, but as the door opened as she turned the handle, it told her that the room may not be as empty as when she had left it... well, that or there had been room inspections that she had forgotten about.

[Avery Durand]

Avery grumbled as she reached the t-shirts. Socks and underclothes had been easy, since they required no folding, but the shaking around had caused her t-shirts and tops to crumple out of their neatly folded stacks. Pulling out a bunch, she laid them flat and then dug around the other suitcase to pull out the hangers she'd brought. Starting to slide the shirts onto the hangers, she laid each onto the top of the dresser, ready to be hung into the wardrobe once she had all of them done.

[Victoria Greco]

Tori let the door swing open, though the grabbed it to that it didn't keep opening and maybe toppling something over, and entered the room that she had considered her own personal space for the last couple of years, and was now a shared space... that was going to take some getting used to. "Hi, welcome to the room." She said with a grin. "I'm Tori and, as you've already worked out, this is our room. i hear you have a service dog, which is really cool, one the cheerleaders who have just graduated had one too, so I know the your dog has a job to do and I'll make sure to ask before I pet." She pressed her lips together with a laugh, as she realised that she was talking without giving the other girl a chance to take a breath, let alone get a word in. "Sorry." She added with a laugh.

[Avery Durand]

Avery could hear something happening and turned to look at the door, smiling at the girl who entered - And who had immediately started speaking. Not sure how to break into the barrage of words, she just waited patiently for the girl to stop, raising an eyebrow as she seemed to go on. She caught maybe one word in ten, and that made no sense, especially having missed the beginning.

After the girl had finally stopped, Avery smiled easily at her, "I'm going to guess they didn't warn you." She pointed at the hearing aid she'd left in her ear, although she had turned it off in the quiet of the room. She remedied that quickly, while she continued talking, "I have no idea what you just said. But let's start over." She kept her eyes on her roommate's face, "I'm Avery, and it's nice to meet you. I'm Deaf and it would really help if you speak a bit slower and look at me when you're talking, and let me know before you start, or we can text if that's easier for you." She paused there, waiting to see what sort of reaction she'd be getting.

[Victoria Greco]

Tori could feel her cheeks flush, and then the colour drain away just as quickly as she opened and closed her mouth a couple of times, wondering if she should just jump into the hole she seemed to have just dug for herself.

"I'm sorry." She apologised, signing at the same time. "I'm Tori, welcome." She gave a nervous laugh. The fact that she was unsure of this newness, was why she had entered the way she had. "What is your dog's name?" At least her being able to talk in sign language as fluently as she did English and Italian would finally come in handy.

[Avery Durand]

Avery grinned as the girl started signing, and dropped speech completely. Apparently she'd gotten quite lucky in her roommate, and she was glad of it. In response to Tori's introduction, she responded by fingerspelling her own name again for the girl's benefit, and then added her name sign, the sign for "A" and then "horse". She hadn't been surprised at all when Stephen had shared it with her, and was glad to keep using it here. Then, as Tori asked about the dog, Avery smiled, Her name is Saskia, 'Key'. She used the sign for key with her family, and had no qualms about using it with her new roommate either. How did you learn Sign?

[Victoria Greco]

She tested out the name Avery had given her, just made it easier for her to remember later.I love your name. She signed back, her father used the LIS sign for beautiful for her when they were talking. You can call me T. She was so used to talking while she was signing, just because she felt she'd look like an idiot when talking to her father on the phone and just signing, if anyone else happened to walk passed. She nodded at the dog's name, knowing that she'd probably have to have that repeated a few times before it went to memory.

She smiled at the question. My dad is deaf. I learned to sign, before I talked. Which is probably where her love of classical music came from, as the house was always filled with music, as it broke the silence. Do you have a horse?

[Avery Durand]

Avery nodded at Tori's initial, although she knew she probably wouldn't need it. It was already a great stroke of luck that her roommate happened to know sign, it was pretty unlikely that there would be many more students around. But still, it was good to know.

She smiled slightly at the girl's explanation, Then you've been doing it longer than I have! I only learned after my infection. She touched her ears briefly, clarifying what she meant. At Tori's question about a horse, she nodded again, I do, a thoroughbred named Dolent. What about you?

[Victoria Greco]

Tori grinned. I have a KWPN named Stella and a Quarter horse, Poe. She replied. Poe helps with my need for speed. Ok, the gelding didn't need the extra explanation, but she sometimes felt guilty for having two horses.

Did your horse arrive with you? She was going to ask if Avery would like someone to show her around the trails, but then she remembered that not everyone, herself included, had horses that arrived on campus the same time they did.

[Avery Durand]

Avery grinned at that, Awesome, good for variety! It will be weird, I rode Dolent at home, but also helped with my parents' horses a lot. They own a small breeding ranch for quarter horses, and my dad always had two or three trained outriding horses for the racetrack too. She wanted to ask about Poe's lineage, since that would be interesting, but that could always be a topic for further conversation later.

At the question about Dolent's arrival, she shook her head, No, he's traveling with a horse transporter, he should be here in two days. They had decided to delay his arrival an extra day just to give Avery time to make sure everything was settled. I can't wait for him to come see, though! The pastures already look amazing, he'll like it.

[Victoria Greco]

Tori's eyebrows shot up at what Avery was saying; it sounded like a wonderful place to grow up! That sounds like it would have been busy. She said.

She gave a sympathetic smile about her horse arriving later. I was here a week before mine arrived. Poe had come up lame before I traveled, so they both stayed home until he was sound again. She just didn't mention that it had been one of the hardest weeks of her life, or had felt like it. Mine seem to like it here. Though it's easy to please Poe. He loves attention. And her mare was a cow no matter where she was.

She looked over to where the dog was lying down. I don't know if you've been told, but Key doesn't have to be on a lead when you're out on the trails. It's the one place on campus where he can run free, so to speak.

[Avery Durand]

Avery laughed at that, Busy is an understatement! My mom barely had the time to come down with me, one of our mares was due to foal.

She paid close attention to Tori's story, frowning, Poor Poe! But I'm glad they like it here, I'm sure Dolent will be happy too. He's always up for an adventure. She couldn't imagine having to leave a horse behind when they weren't feeling well, but she knew that if it had happened, her family would have cared for Dolent well. The same was hopefully the case for Tori.

She smiled at the information about the trails, That's good to know, thank you. I did get some information about that as we were discussing accommodations, but I'm sure the plan will have to be adjusted as I settle in. It'll be good to have an area where she can be a dog, though.

Considering all of the questions she had, Avery picked one that seemed pretty innocuous for the beginning, So what does everyone do who's on campus when there's no classes? Is there anything organized or such?

[Victoria Greco]

Tori could sympathise with the busy parents thing, though hers were busy for reasons other than work.

She nodded. I think I found it harder to be away from them, than hey were with no work. Avery's horse sounded a lot like Poe, being up for adventure, though she could guessed the other girl's horse wasn't as lazy as her own.

I'm happy to act as a trail guide, when you're ready for some exploration. She had a feeling that the barn managers would require Avery to have a riding companion the first couple of times out, they were a little over-protective at times.

She smiled. We get the run of the place. Sometimes the teachers hold clinics that we can attend and there can be shows toward the end. But we're pretty much left on our own. As long as we don't break the rules. It seemed that remembering the normal rules were still applied was what some people struggled with the most.

[Avery Durand]

Avery grinned at the offer of a tour guide, That'd be great, thank you!. And the information about how summer ran meant that they'd have plenty of time to ride. After she got her stuff put away, that was. She'd caught sight of the suitcases on her bed as they were chatting, and felt guilty about leaving them any longer. With a frown, she turned her attention back to Tori, I think I should get this stuff put away before I go explore any further, though. What time does the cafeteria open? I'll have to be sure to be done by then.