Greeting the Sun

[Kekona Hanson]

Kona had slipped out of her room early that morning, stopping downstairs only long enough to fill a thermos with hot chocolate, and then headed out of the building entirely. While there was a few early risers out and about, nobody bothered her as she crossed the quiet street that ran through Blue Ridge's campus and ducked through the rails of the Pasture 5 fence. Despite the darkness, since the sun wasn't up yet, practice made it familiar enough to be easy.

Once she was in the pasture, which was one not commonly occupied by more than one horse overnight, she settled against the fencepost at the corner of the pasture. She enjoyed the quiet time here, nestled into a soft sweater and sipping her cocoa. Finally, after a few minutes of sitting quietly, she opened the case she'd brought out with her and pulled out her flute.

It was a lot nicer, she thought, to practice out here where only the few horses could hear, and it seemed to be far enough away from the dorms that nobody noticed - Or at least, they hadn't complained. After a minute of warming up, she launched into a familiar song, one she didn't need sheet music for. This was her time to just play, not to practice seriously, after all. She got lost in the music, playing the songs she had memorized, in the order that suited her.

[Caspian Collins]

Cass had never been the kind of person to just remain in bed once he was awake, wallow in self-pity, but not lie around twiddling his thumbs. After fitting his prosthetic, he dressed up warm, grabbed his favourite cane, along with the backpack that held all of his camera gear and headed out of the House.

Making his way to the trails, he headed up to a place he knew would be great for some early morning photos, and give him a good workout while he was there. He hadn't gone too far before he stopped and took his camera out, taking random photos as he walked along. He didn't think they would have any real use once he got them on his laptop, but they caught his eye at the time.

After he'd got his photos, he headed back toward the buildings. He paused as a sound caught his attention, and he made his way toward it. A smile played on his lips as he saw a girl playing the flute. Slipping into the pasture beside hers, he moved to where he could get a good photo of her. Holding his camera, pleased that he had his zoom lens on there, he made sure to turn off the flash and lifted it up to look through the viewfinder, adjusted the lens till it was zoomed in enough to get a clear shot of her - good thing she wasn't moving around - and depressed the shutter button.

Now, feeling like a complete stalker, he exited the pasture and started whistling as he approached hers. "Now, either the campus has a rat problem that they haven't been too honest about, or you're planning for a bigger target." He said with a smile.

[Kekona Hanson]

Kona always got very engrossed in what she was playing, and the fact that someone managed to approach her without her noticing wasn't a big surprise. However, the whistling did get her attention, and she looked up, lowering her flute and smiling at the boy who stood there, "Didn't they tell you about the cow problem when they were giving you the tour?"

[Caspian Collins]

Cass' eyebrow shot up. When he'd asked the question, her reply was probably the last thing he was expecting. "Ah, makes sense why we were warned about the cows." He said with a nod. He gave her a smile as he turned serious again. "You play beautifully, and I'm pleased I was out here to listen." He told her, and he meant it.

[Kekona Hanson]

Kona grinned at the compliment, "Thank you!" She nodded at the camera around his neck, "Making use of the morning light?" Realizing that she didn't even know this boy's name, she added, "I'm Kona, by the way. I've seen you around but I don't think we've ever talked before." Someone with a sense of humor and an early riser? She could always stand to know more of those people.

[Caspian Collins]

Cass smiled at her thanks, which grew deeper at the nod toward his camera. "It was either make use of what nature gives me, or remain in bed until the rest of the student body deems it to be a suitable tome to get up." He said with a chuckle.

He bowed his head to her introduction. "I'm Cass. I think we have a horse in the same barn." Now she mentioned it, he did remember seeing her around the barn from time to time. "Your horse hasn't picked up any new bad habits lately? I only ask because Slick tends to share his secrets with other horses, and a lot of their people aren't so happy about what he seems to share."

[Kekona Hanson]

Kona laughed, "No, Casper wouldn't be bothered to get up to trouble. It's too much effort!" She thought about the name, "He's that pretty dun with the black and white mane, right?" She could remember that striking horse. "But if he ever does get up to nonsense, I'll know who to blame!"