Scratching Post {Leo}

[Luka Ingersleben]

Luka walked up to his dorm room after all of his classes had let out, ready to just relax for a little bit. He let himself into the room that he shared with no one just yet and was greeted at the door by Jethro, who wound around his ankles, his fuzzy tail held up in a question mark. Luka closed the door behind him and walked over to the bed that he had claimed, dropping his backpack onto it and then bending down to pick up the large, fuzzy blue cat. He settled Jethro on his lap and scratched the cat's ears. As the adult began purring and kneading at Luka's leg, the boy smiled, continuing with his work, "Das magst du, ja?" He knew that the cat occupied his time while the boy was away with very important cat-things, such as sleeping, but when Luka came home, it was petting time.

The cat continued purring as Luka kicked off his shoes and shifted his position on the bed. Now he was leaning back against the pillows, with the blue smoke cat on his lap. Jethro had his eyes closed in bliss, and the end of his tail flicked to and fro.

[Leonardo Jacobs]

Leo looked nervously down at the ground as he thought of a roommate. Usually being pretty good in these situations, the boy did have a bit of trouble adjusting to reaching a level above the first social awkwardness. So far, it had been pretty good. Avi had behaved on her way down to her stall in which he had left her munching on a carrot. Hopefully the mare would be nice to the other horses, though he knew that wouldn’t happen that easily. Leo winced at the thought of someone’s horse getting kicked; he would have to be extra careful here.

The boy’s face slowly looked up to the beautiful Yellow Ribbon House. The garden in front had been well manicured and it had a classical look to it. He grinned at the thought of living in this for the rest of his high school career. It would certainly be a nice place, even if it wasn’t the vineyard stone house he was used to. Cautiously, Leo peeked his head in and saw that there was no one on the first floor. It looked as if it was empty for the most part. Happily, the boy looked around for the stairs.

Finally finding them, Leo dragged his suitcase up, sweating by the time he made it to the second floor. A small group of girls stared at him, a giggle ringing through them. Leo blushed before running up the last flight of stairs to the hopefully male’s dormitories. He then pulled his bag along, easily reaching his dorm and fumbling for the key. After turning it the wrong way once and then unlocking it, it took him a while to slide it out before opening the door. The boy inside nearly freaked the crap out of Leo. He jumped and shook his head in embarrassment. “Sorry, excuse me…. I didn’t think you would be in at this time. My name is Leo…” his voice was shy as he rolled his suitcase in and shut the door behind him. He looked at his scuffed shoes before looking back up at his new roommate “I believe we’re roommates.” he explained, hoping the boy already knew this.

[Luka Ingersleben]

Luka heard the door open and whipped his head around, glancing at the newcomer with surprise in his eyes. He could see that the other boy had a similar reaction to his, and felt his heart racing from the scare it had given him. The cat on his lap regarded the newcomer and his bags, blinking quietly, then stood and stretched before stepping off of Luka's lap. Luka moved to perch on the edge of his bed, "Em... I wasn't exactly expecting anyone as well." He glanced around the room, thinking that, at the least, it looked clean, "I'm Luka." He looked at the boy that was to be his roommate as Jethro jumped off of the bed and wound around Leo's ankles, purring loudly. Luka frowned, "Sorry, the kater is affectionate, his name is Jethro." He hoped that the boy didn't mind the sometimes-affectionate cat.

As the boy ventured a guess that they were roommates, Luka nodded, "It appears to seem like that." He looked around the room, unsure of what to say, trying to think of something. Finally happening upon something, he asked, "What kind of style do you ride?"

[Leonardo Jacobs]

Blue orbs looked somewhat meekly over the new boy, the surprise still in his eyes. Leo looked at the ground, giving it a determined stare. He could do this. He could attempt at not being awkward and making friends. The seventeen year old looked up at the boy once more as he shared the same shock at his arrival. Leo gave him an apologetic look for scaring him. He didn’t mind getting spooked himself, but other people getting spooked by him wasn’t fair in his eyes. Still, the boy gave the other the same small awkward smile before he nodded at the boy’s name.

The sound of the boy’s accent raised small interest in Leo’s head, wondering where the boy had come from before registering it as German. The boy nodded in acknowledgement of his name before running a hand quietly through his hair “Nice to meet you Luka.” he said in shy politeness before making another surprised face as something very soft rubbed between his ankles. Leo glanced down, seeing a very cute looking cat. He wasn’t as shy with animals as he was humans. He smiled softly at the creature, happy that his roommate had a pet. That would certainly lift his spirits.

The boy shook his head at Luka’s apology for the cat, running the animal’s name through his mind. Leo bend his body down to give the feline and soft scratch before standing back up “No worries. I love kitties.” he said in quiet voice yet again as the silence in the room grew. The boy’s eyes searched around the room, happy to see it clean. It would be good to have a roommate that didn’t pig out. Leo tuned his attention back to Luka as he asked out of the blue what discipline he did. Leo smiled, happy to have something to talk about “I’m a dressage rider.” Leo looked up at the boy, a new curious look overlooking his shyness “How about you?” he asked, wondering if they boy was an English rider as well.

[Luka Ingersleben]

Luka smiled slightly as Leo said that he liked cats as well. He released a breath that he didn't realize he had been holding, perhaps due to the fact that he was unsure about how his pet would be received. Now, though, there was nothing to worry about, since Leo seemed sincere in his assurance that he liked animals.

As he heard that Leo rode dressage, Luka's face broke into a smile, and he laughed slightly. What luck he was having with a roommate! First, Leo didn't mind cats, and he seemed to be about as shy as Luka himself, and now this. They even rode the same discipline! Realizing he hadn't answered apart from laughing, he replied, still smiling slightly, "I ride dressur, dressage, as well." He tried to explain his outburst, "I wasn't expecting my roommate to be my competition at the same time, I'm sorry." He kept smiling, though, as he watched Leo, "Do you have a favorite rasse, breed for dressage?" He frowned, "And please, forgive me if I slip into German, I'm still adjusting to speaking English all of the time." The fact that he spoke German to his horses didn't help, but that could wait for another explanation, later.

[Leonardo Jacobs]

Growing up on a farm for the boy had always meant being around animals. Cats, dogs, lizards, horses – you name it. Leo had no problems with any of these things except for the horse flies and spiders. While he was a boy, there still was the certain fear imputed in all humans to be afraid of spiders. Still, he put on a great show when around one until it actually crawled near him. Cats, however, he loved. To him their share of affection nearly equaled up to as much affection from dogs. They either loved you or hated you. Leo smiled at the cat below him, he was happy to see his roommate had an animal.

Leo raised a brow as his answer received as small laugh. The boy blushed, wondering if Luka thought that his dressage discipline was unmanly or something. He let out a breath of relief as the boy explained he also rode dressage. At that, a smile spread over the brunette’s lips. Yes, Luka was competition, but the boy was not as competitive as the others. Perhaps they could help each other with the sport. He shook his head at the boy’s apology “It’s fine. I think it’s great that we both do dressage.” he said with his soft chuckle.

Leo looked at Luka thoughtfully as he asked if he had a favorite rasse, wondering what that was before he said what it meant. The boy smiled, wondering if he did before shaking his head “Well… If I did… It would probably be a Lusitano or Friesian, but I have Thoroughbred who can do just as well. I guess it all depends on how the horse moves.” he said, quietly, thinking as he spoke. It was the longest thing he probably said all day. Leo looked at the boy “Do you have a horse here?” he asked before chuckling as the boy apologized for his German-English. “It’s fine. Maybe I’ll learn something from it too.” he said, being optimistic about the whole thing. Having a foreign roommate definitely classified as exciting in Leo’s head.

[Luka Ingersleben]

Luka smiled at his new roommate. It seemed that they would get along well enough, at least for the first part of their sharing a room. He could see that Leo was smiling as well, and as the boy responded with a chuckle, he nodded, "Perhaps there would be a chance for us to help each other as well, or just practice, at the least."

He could see Leo's confusion, but as he clarified, he could see the other boy's face clear up. He listened to his roommate speak, interested in what he was saying. He called to mind pictures of the horse breeds in competitions he had seen, nodding slightly, "Both fine breeds." As he heard about the Thoroughbred, he frowned slightly, "I haven't seen too many Thoroughbreds, but they have always been more of an American breed, but I agree, with the right training and flexibility, most horses would be able to do well." As Leo asked about his own horses, Luka's smile returned, "I have three, two Zweibrueker and one Gypsy. I'm not sure how the Gypsy is going to do in competitions, I got him recently as a birthday present from my parents, and his behavior remains to be seen." He smiled at his roommate's optimism about him adjusting to a new language, "I can try to teach you, if you want, but I'm no good at teaching, fair warning there."

[Leonardo Jacobs]

Leo looked over the room once more, a rare excitement coming over his mind. He hadn’t been this eager to be part of something in nearly three years. He was at an actual equestrian academy. Whether this was something that needed to be classified as believable or unbelievable, the boy made a dutiful promise to screw it up. He had only two years left of his high school experience and he was to help his father, then he needed to do his best. This included getting along with his roommate. By the looks of it, Leo realized he wouldn’t have a lot of trouble doing that. He actually liked his roommate in the few moment of meeting him.

Still, he wasn’t completely comfortable with the other boy yet, and his obvious shyness showed through his small expressions and actions. Leo gave the boy yet another affirmative nod as he explained how they could possibly help each other and practice. That didn’t sound like such a bad idea. The brunette looked up “I would definitely benefit from that.” he said with a small grin, letting his easy going side show a bit. Leo raised his brows as the boy shared out that he hadn’t seen many Thoroughbreds. Self-realization hit as he figured that if the boy was German, he probably wouldn’t have seen too many. The brunette made a thoughtful face at that. It was interesting to realize how different other people’s sights differed from his.

Leo’s interest was caught as the Luka explained what horse breeds he used for dressage. A curious look filled the boy’s eyes “Wow… I’ve actually never seen a Zweibrueker before….” he said thoughtfully, wondering what type of horse it was. He nodded at the boy’s talk of his new horse “That’s nice… Avi is my only horse, she isn’t the most obedient, but it all pays off in the show ring.” he said with a soft smile at the thought of his beloved mare. Leo outright laughed at the boy’s warning of teaching “Yet another thing in common between us.” he responded, beginning to like his roommate very much.

[Luka Ingersleben]

Luka watched his roommate as the other boy looked around the room, glad that there didn’t seem to be anything against his liking thus far. He could tell that the other guy was holding back a bit, but reckoned that that could just be nerves. The boy was new to the school, after all, and Luka remembered feeling nervous when he had first arrived. He smiled as the boy accepted his idea of helping each other out, “I know I would, it’s hard to be objective about your own riding sometimes.” He saw the surprise on the boy’s face and grinned slightly, “We have our own horses, no need to import too many fast ones.”

As the boy admitted that he’d never seen Zweibrueker before either, Luka smiled, “They’re only special in one regard. I bet you’ve seen some German warmblood breed before, you’ll know what they look like.” He shrugged, “It’s hard to explain, they’re only considered Zweibrueker because they have the brand from the right stud book.”

As Leo started talking about his mare, Luka listened, quite interested. He knew of un-obedient horses, with Xheva, but it was always interesting to talk to other owners of such horses, “So she at least knows to pretend to behave in the show ring?” As he heard that the other boy didn’t consider his teaching to be the best either, he smiled, “Fair point.”

[Leonardo Jacobs]

Leo was shy most certainly, but he didn’t get nervous too much. He was more of a quiet, hard rock. The boy had been through enough of his share throughout his life, and he had turned into a better person afterwards. He wished he could’ve said the same thing about his little sister, but of course, he couldn’t fix everything. Leo had never been the one in the spotlight, he actually got quite nervous about that more than anything else. Coming to a brand new school under the pressure of meeting the person he’d be living with for the rest of his high school experience certainly freaked him a little more than usual.

Still, after getting more relaxed into the swing of things and realizing his roommate had a cat, he was beginning to get the feeling of comfort. Leo nodded, quite agreeing with the boy’s response to work together on dressage. Having another set of eyes to see him and horse work together certainly sounded very beneficial to his riding career. As Luka went on to talk about the horses in his country, Leo laughed. “I realize.” he said quite thoughtfully.

The image of beautiful German Warmbloods swiveled through the brunette’s head. He had never had enough money to purchase a purebred warmblood, but Avi was perfect for him. He nodded slightly at the boy’s explanation. “I guess I’ll just have to see for myself one day.” Leo smiled, happy at the prospect of training with someone. It was sure a relief to know his roommate would most likely be in his classes as well. He chuckled slightly at the boy’s question on Avi. “Well… More like she flaunts herself in the show ring. She’s quite…prideful when she has attention on her good days. On her bad, shows are pretty much out of the question.” The mare did like attention from humans, just not from anything that could be considered scary. Leo looked carefully at Luka “How long have you been here?” he asked curiously wondering if the boy knew a bit more about the school than he did.