Reckless Endangerment (Leonardo)

[daine6]

Finally, a free day! Chris wouldn't deny it, he was tired. Blue Ridge was completely different from anywhere he'd ever schooled at, and he wasn't too happy with the demands of the academically inclined parts of the school. It just wasn't fair, he reflected as he brushed dirt off the sleek black body belonging to his huge gelding, it just wasn't fair that his sister got the academic smarts. He shared a few classes with his younger sibling, and he'd seen that she was flying through the schoolwork while he struggled… but he wasn't about to ask her for help. That'd give her blackmail material for months, if not years!

His reflections of the past few weeks continued as he went through the motions of tacking the horse up and leading him from the barn and towards the trails. Chris chanced a glance towards the dorms as he led the horse past, not quite hoping his sister would be riding, but wishing she would all the same. Since starting BRRA, it seemed to the teen as though he and his little sis were drifting apart some. They'd always been close, but now it was as though they rarely stopped to see one another.

Chris shrugged a moment later as he reached a lone tree a few hundred yards before the start of the trail. He took a moment to set the reins over Steele's head before using the tree to vault onto the saddle, climbing up a few limbs and leaping over the tall horses back. With a grin that bordered on maniacal, Chris gathered the reins. He'd taken a walk down the river trail a few days ago, and off the trail, crossing the river… well, he wanted to explore the unforgiving wilderness. There was a spot a few miles down that he thought was open enough, between a few trees, that Steele could jump the river and cross over into uncharted territory.

"Yawh!" Chris let out a wild whoop as he heeled Steele's sides, leaning forwards so as to not be taken by surprise when the horse bolted straight into a gallop towards the trailhead and then thundered down the trail.

[Leonardo Jacobs]

The boy’s footsteps were consistent as he walked quite unobtrusively through the mass chaos of the courtyard. It seemed everyone was spending time with their buds, catching up or displaying public affection. The thought caused the boy to frown slightly. He really wasn’t the type to even think about that. Still, his face remained ever so thoughtful as he reflected upon the events throughout the day. He’d had an okay lesson with the flighty mare today, but that was probably because the herbs he’d been using from the Herbal Remedies class. The boy was quite glad he’d taken that class as it had greatly improved Avi’s mood swings.

She was a mare and while Leo had little to no experience with woman, he somehow managed to understand his horse. Avi definitely had quite the attitude. Leo shook his head slightly as he recalled her earlier little temper tantrum. She’d practically attempted to bulldoze her stall door down before he had stepped in and told her in a firm voice to quite it. She knew Leo’s firm voice, and it certainly did stop her though he rarely ever used it. The boy quirked his lips slightly, remembering what his plan had been for the free day.

A trail ride certainly sounded great as he hadn’t actually been on any of the trails quite yet. Changing his course to the White Oak Barn, Leo entered in. His jeans would work as he wasn’t going to any shows and he had kept a pair of paddock boots in his tack box. The box was a creaky old thing, though he’d been fixing it every time it broke. He didn’t like to rely on his grandparent’s money as much as his sister did, so he preferred to do things himself. Grabbing a bag of peppermints he’d gotten earlier, Leo took out one and clasped it in his hand.

It melted quickly, but not quick enough to make too much of a mess. Leo smiled softly as the mare approached the entrance of the stall, lowering her head to lip up her treat. She enjoyed peppermints quite a bit and Leo liked to surprise the horse each time. She knew she got a treat when he came however. Leo couldn’t help but spoil his horse a little bit. Taking her out of the stall and tacking her up, Leo experienced only a little difficulty with her before he placed his helmet on his head and slipped on her bridle.

The seventeen year old easily pulled himself on off the mounting block and they set off toward the trails. He’d gotten a quite detailed map of BRRA when he’d arrived so he knew the general area. The signs there certainly helped as well. Avi pawed slightly, her ears pricked and alert now they were in a new place. She didn’t like creeping into forests one bit. Still, Leo was curious to see the waterfall and steered her toward the trail that took him there. A few moments of walking and trotting, Leo gave her reassuring pats on the neck as they advanced. She was behaving quite well…

Leo shrugged and lowered his guard a bit mistakenly. The sound of quickly approaching hoofbeats and then a horse coming out of the middle of nowhere cause Avi to jump. Then, she ran. Unlike others, Leo did not get surprised often and he knew what Avi was like. This time however, he’d let his guard down a bit. Finally able to shorten the reins, Leo firmly pulled her nose to his knee causing the mare to make tiny circles at a very fast speed until she stopped. There, he slowly let her loose, but kept his senses alert. His eyes glanced over the other rider, rising a bit curiously now as to why they were thundering through. Whatever the reason was, the boy on the other horse’s back seemed to be having a lot of fun.

[daine6]

He loved galloping with the huge gelding. Chris loved the wind hitting his face and the sound of the hoofbeats at they slapped the ground. He enjoyed the thrill of the run, the speed, the intensity... His yell was lost to the wind as he ruged the big black horse on, and he felt steele respond in kind to his urging as the horse stretched out to his fullest and strained to go even faster...

Steele wasn't the type of horse who ran with ears pricked. No, any time he did anything than consisted of speed or intense concentration, the animal tended to pin his ears flat against his skull. Chris couldn't even see his horses ears as the short, pulled mane flew through the air as much as it could. The teen leaned low over the black furred neck, keeping his weight from sitting directly in the saddle, and let the horse go.

He loved it. As the horse took the turns in the trail, leaning to and fro into each turn, Chris went with him. The sound of another set of hoofbeats joining his own mounts, though, had him pause slightly in his urging, and he glanced to the side to see another horse and rider join their gallop. At first, Chris was under the misconception that the other had joined willingly, but upon seeing the other boy try to stop his horse... well, that misconception went out the window.

His hands tightened on the reins and he sat up quickly, sitting deep in the saddle. Chris knew very well what it was like for a horse to bolt. It wasa scary, at first, upon the realization that your control was gone, but upon gaining it back, it wasn't so bad.

"Whoa... whoa boy, easy Steele..." he chanted over and over, feeling Steele trying to fight him, but the horses training was excellent and wouldn't allow him to fight too long. Plus, the horse was a bit tired after the long gallop. Steele slowled slowly, going from a gallop to a hand-gallop, then a canter and trot until finally he stood still, sides heaving for air. His blue-black coat glistened with slimy sweat and foam, even with the chill in the air.

"Come on, let's go check on whoever that was..." Chris turned the horse and prodded him into a walk back to where the other boy had stopped. A wide grin was on Christopger's face, refusing to leave, and he let Steele stop and rest as he drew nearer. "Hey, you ok? Didn't mean to startle you, didn't know anyone was on the trail. Name's Chris, by the way. Care for a riding partner?" He asked/said very quickly, not really giving the other a chance to reply before going right into another round of exuberant speech, "So, who're you? Haven't I seen you in a class or two? Come on, let's go. If we hurry, we can get in several miles before it starts getting dark!" Chris said, speaking quickly as adrenalin pumped through his body. The idea that the other boy may not want a riding partner didn't even cross his mind.

[Leonardo Jacobs]

Leo was most certainly the opposite of his quite adrenaline junkie sister. Of course, he did enjoy a little fun ride at times, but he preferred to have both feet planted quite firmly on the ground. This being un legitimately of course due to the fact he loved riding more than life at times. In some ways, the boy was a bit like his mare. Like Avi was flighty, Leo could break. While he didn’t break his vocals on a rollercoaster, he certainly didn’t enjoy them one bit or any other surprising, unexpected movements. Avi, being the horse she was, was quite famous for this which in turn trained her quite well due to the boy’s obvious dislike of being on scary things.

Leo held the mare in his grip for quite a while until he felt her tensing muscles relax and her legs stop moving. Avi snorted and tossed her head slightly as he finally let go and pat her neck. “Calm down girl...” Leo’s low voice came out soft and gentle, immediately loosening the mare’s tenseness even more. The boy shook his head slightly; he had lost count of how many times the mare had spooked. Still, she was Avi and his little baby from the start so he tended to treat the black mare as a child that constantly needed hints to behave.

The brunette’s attention switched half from his horse to the boy sitting on his fast steed that was now approaching them. He offered the boy a shy grin, wondering what he was going to say. The bright grin on the boy’s face caused Leo to feel quite calm with meeting a new person fortunately and Avi stayed calm as well. He shook his head as the boy apologized “It’s fine. She was bound to spook anyway…” The brunette let out a little half chuckle and raised his brow as the other began to speak quite rapidly.

Face going askew at trying to pick everything the boy saying, Leo picked out his name and something about being riding partners. Not having much time to answer Chris’s question, the boy simply nodded quickly as he went on. An amused smile slowly began to cross Leo’s lips as he watched the boy speak, somewhat resembling someone on a sugar high. “I’m Leo.” Leo smiled softly and nodded at the thought of seeing Chris in class. He’d certainly seen him somewhere. Finally, as the boy announced they best be hurrying, Leo simply nodded quickly and pushed Avi up to a trot. He’d need to get her complete attention before even daring to attempt such a gallop he’d seen the boy going with earlier. He soon realized that he’d just gotten a riding partner, but that was fine. He hadn’t met much people anyway… Perhaps this particularly interesting trail ride would hold something fun.

[daine6]

Chris laughed aloud as he thought of his sister. He missed the girl, he really did. Ever since coming to BRRA, he and ashleigh hadn't been able to spend much time together and they hadn't ridden together once since arriving, and the boy knew, he just knew that Ash would have loved the run he'd just finished. Even though she would have probably ranted and raved about the dangers, he knew in his heart that she'd have had just as much fun as he'd had.

He watched curiously as the other boy calmed the horse, a mare, down. Chris hoped the boy wasn't too upset, but at his words, he grinned widely, retuning the shy smile with one of his own, though he wasn't shy at all.

Chris grinned in excitement as the othre boy trotted to catch up, and he slowed down to a walk for a few minutes, letting the horses catch their breath. "Leo, huh... doesn't that mean 'Lion'?" He questioned before shrugging and pointing down the trail, taking charge of the ride without really meaning to, it was just his personality. "Alright, here's what we're gonna do..." He said before lowering his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. Now that he had a 'partner in crime'... "I walked the trail the other day... about another mile or two, there's a small deer trail that veers off into the woods..."

[Leonardo Jacobs]

Already, from the first impression he’d gotten from the rather energetic boy; Leo realized he wasn’t getting out of this somewhat of a thrill ride. He paused on this thought, wondering if he actually didn’t want to go riding in a crazy fashion. Leo sighed, realizing he was quite curious as to how it would go. Chris seemed to be a very interesting individual, especially his habit of talking so much. Leo like talkative people; they always seemed to be able to deal with his quiet personality a lot better than the ones that demanded some sort of rapid conversation.

He hand never been able to carry such a thing; and this in turn had gotten him thought of as snobbish. Leo was certainly not rich by any means, other than his grandparents but he knew that money was not his. It was simply a gift to go to BRRA, but otherwise he’d dealt with more struggles than more people. Still, despite his issues in life, it hadn’t turned him rock hard as it had done his sister; rather he’d closed more up in a quieter way. It made him gentle and helpful, but he never let others help him.

Leo gave the other boy a thankful smile as he slowed to let them catch up. Avi really would run like she was in the Kentucky Derby if he ever let her loose as he’d seen Chris doing with his horse. He had always had to hold the mare in a some sort of collectiveness in the even slowest of gallops or he would face losing control. As many times as that happened, Leo still got spooked the same way he always did when that happened. Still, over time, he’d slowly learnt how to deal with such situations and calm Avi down.

The boy’s eyes flitted to Chris as he took a guess what Leo’s name went. “Um, yeah, something like that.” Leo full out grinned in amusement, finding this boy quite funny. He had mumbled out his answer as fast as possible before the boy began again. When he did however, Leo noted how quickly the boy accepted him as a riding partner as if they’d known each other for a long time. He smiled at this, being happy to be a guy as he’d seen his sister deal with harder issues in fitting in with the other girls. Leo’s eyebrows raised as the boy’s voice quieted as he went onto tell him the game plan. The boy’s eyes fell down to Avi’s twitching ears, figuring another spook out of her wouldn’t hurt. He nodded hesitantly, giving Chris the way so he could show him where they were both going. “Into the woods we go…” Leo smiled, a bit embarrassed with his small attempt at being funny.