Where does the time go? (open)

[Gabriel Reese]

Gabriel smiled as he gently pushed North's head away from his arm, where the horse had made a game out of shoving against him. It had been a few months since the Thoroughbred had been gelded, and he'd done his time in the stallion barn, healing from the ordeal and 'forgetting' his stud-qualities. Today was the day that Gabe had been waiting for, the day that North was to be moved from the stallion barn into the co-ed mare/gelding barn. The horse had lost all interest in mares and didn't act like he'd ever even been a breeding stud anymore.

"Where does the time go, North...? It seems like just yesterday you were that unruly colt I picked up at the auction..." Gabe muttered softly, casting a fond glance at the large racing-bred animal. "Seven short years and you've gone from an unruly creature to a well-groomed and well-mannered stallion in high demand to a laid-back and gentle gelding."

Gabriel sighed as he stopped in front of the stall that North was to use. "You make me feel old. You're seven this year and I'll be twenty-five..." The man looped the lead over the stall door and glanced this way and that. No one else was close enough to the duo that they'd be in the way of anyone. He pulled a peppermint from his pocket and offered it to the animal before pulling a curry from his jacket pocket and starting to brush the thick winter coat of the gelding.

[Delilah Wren Cellos]

Everything had gone smoothly in the barn today, so she had decided to use her lunch break to visit the White Oak barn. She hadn't set foot in the well maintained barn since she had met with Ms. Carr on her first day at Blue Ridge. The day that she had been promoted to barn manager. A small smile crept over her face as she remembered the unexpected job offer. Someone had believed in her. Someone knew she was worth something. Just the thought had her holding her head a little higher.

But today she wasn't at the White Oak barn to speak with the head barn manager. She had decided today she would familiarize herself with the Academy owned horses that resided in the other barn. Even though she didn't work in the White Oak barn, she decided it would be good to know about all of the school horses in case a student asked her to match them with a school horse. There was always a chance that the best matched horse for a student wasn't in her barn.

The brunette walked down the barn aisle, peeking in on different stalls and spending a few minutes by each of the academy owned mounts. She smiled as a chestnut stuck its head out and let her plant a kiss on the velvety muzzle. "What a sweetheart," she cooed, rubbing the chestnut's forehead affectionately. She couldn't keep the grin off of her face as she slowly moved from stall to stall. There was nothing like being in a well kept barn with such wonderful horses. It reminded her of home. When home was still home. When her father was still alive. She let out a sigh, running her fingers through the ends of her hair. She tried not to think about her past as much as possible. Her life was wonderful now, and she didn't need depression, or worse, her addiction, resurfacing.

As she crossed down the barn aisle, she spotted a man that quickly reminded her exactly why her life was great. She grinned, walking up behind the handsome man, nodding as she heard him comment about his age. "Sheesh, you are getting old," she teased, moving to stand next to him and nudging his shoulder with her's.

[Gabriel Reese]

Gabriel let a content smile slip across his lips when the gelding raised his large head in the air and curled his upper lip in response to the vigorous brushing being done at the underside of his neck. North had always loved a good grooming session, and even if this wasn't going to be a full out body-groom, he was definately showing his appreciation when his owner got to his itchy spots.

"Stay here a minute, bud." The man said, setting the brush down on the stall door and walking off towards the tack room where North's tack had already been moved. He grabbed one of the horses stable-blankets. It was cold, very cold, and North had always been blanketed. Gabe smirked. His horse was very spoiled...

As he made his way back towards where he'd left the equine, his grin dropped into a frown. "North! Drop it!" He spoke sharply, as though reprimanding a dog, but the tone and words did the trick and the playful gelding released the curry-comb he'd been slinging through the air. It flew a few feet before dropping to the cement aisle. Gabriel shook his head, exasperatedly, yet fondness shone in his eyes (along with a bit of humor). "You... animal..." He said, stooping to pick up the brush and replace it on top of the stall door. "Leave it alone and let me get this on you."

It was an interesting process, trying to blanket the unruly, high-spirited horse. North was feeling good, and soon made a game of sidestepping and reaching around to grip the fabric in his teeth, playing his own rendition of tug-o-war (or possibly 'exasperate-your-owner') with Gabriel.

"Horse!" Gabe's tone was low, heavy laden with annoyance after fifteen minutes of unsuccessfully trying to get the blanket on and buckled before the horse shook it off or pulled it off. The man threw his arms up and stepped back, half-glaring and half-smiling at how dumb his horse looked, with a stable-blanket half-hanging off his body. Gabe would swear North was laughing at him.

He sighed, then grinned, then laughed. He couldn't be upset, it was just so... North. "'Course I'd buy the quirky one." Gabriel stepped back up to the horse and scratched the underside of the neck again, looking over his shoulder when the horses attention seemed to land on something behind him.

"Delilah, hey!" He said, turning around fully as he caught sight of her coming up behind him. He gave her a smile, eyes lighting up in pleasure. He hadn't seen her in a while, as he'd gone to visit his family for Christmas and over holidays, when he'd been gone, work had seemed to just pile up. He'd been busy and had barely had time to get out and do much... until now. Gabriel grabbed her in a quick hug, then released her and stepped back, looking down at her. "You really think so?" He questioned, more seriously than he'd intended. He quickly covered it with an offhanded, "You know, if I'm getting old, so are you."

[Delilah Wren Cellos]

Delilah couldn't help but laugh as she caught the last bit of Gabe's fight with the unruly Thoroughbred. That's what he got for getting such a high energy horse! She grinned, looking over the newly gelded horse. He was a pretty boy, and his personality certainly was... entertaining. If she didn't already have her hands full with the silly cremello stallion, she wouldn't mind owning a horse like North. But if she bought a horse like him now, she was certain she'd go mad. Some days, she wasn't sure how she stayed sane with just one crazy horse. Although she had been considering getting another mount since she couldn't ride with others since Char was a stallion. But luckily, she was allowed to ride any of the academy mounts that she fancied.

She grinned again as the man turned around and scooped her up in his arms. She took in a deep breath, breathing in his scent. It felt like a life time since they'd been together with both of them being so busy. She'd gone home to visit her uncle, the only family who seemed to have any interest in her. Her mother didn't even know she'd been in the area. But then again, her mother never even tried to find her when she'd left home with Char at age seventeen. So why did it surprise her that they hadn't spoken in years?

As he released her and seemed so upset by her teasing, she offered a warm smile, shaking her head and batting her hand in the air once. "Nah, of course not!" She paused, her eyes widening as he called her old as well. "Well, that's not true! I'm a year younger than you. I'll only be twenty four," she informed him, sticking her tongue out at him like a little girl before laughing softly. She looked past him, letting her gaze focus on the half on blanket on his big horse. "Gabe, you're so old you're losing your vision! That's not how you put it on," she giggled teasingly before walking up to North and reaching out to rub his forehead. "Hey there, handsome. I'm gonna help your silly owner, okay?"

Delilah studied the horse's expression before leaning down to plant a kiss on his muzzle. Slowly, she moved to his side, letting her hand run down his neck as she approached his side. "Good boy," she cooed softly, reaching to straighten out the blanket on his back, glancing over to see how he would react.

[Gabriel Reese]

"That's just a year younger…" Gabe muttered good-naturedly, casting another smile in her direction. He enjoyed their bantering; it added an element in their relationship that a lot of people out there didn't have. Out in the world, there were more than a few people who couldn't get along for their teasing, and Gabriel was more than glad that he and Delilah were stuck in the small percentage that they were. They were best friends and more, and that, in his eyes, was so much more than 'just a good thing'. They, at least, could bicker with each other and tease each other without one or the other really getting upset.

He glowered at North when Delilah brought his attention back to the half-blanketed gelding, crossing his arms over his chest and stepping away from the horse a few feet in mock-disgust when the animal nosed at him curiously. "He's being a brat." Gabe refused to acknowledge the horse with even a scratch, and North, after a moment, turned his head to Delilah, shoving at her elbow with his nose, looking, for all it was worth, like he was trying to beg for attention. "If you can get that blanket on him, you can have him." Gabe said half-heartedly, trying to maintain his look of annoyance and failing miserably. He cracked a grin when Delilah attempted to kiss North's muzzle, as the horse seemed to have other plans and took her leaning towards him as an invitation to shove his head in her face and snort.

The horse stood fairly still for her to get a grip on the blanket, and once she had it, he slung his head around and snatched a mouthful of the fabric like he'd been doing with Gabriel just moments earlier. In a quick motion, North had the blanket slung off him completely. It dangled, dragging the barn aisle as he slung his head up and down, not letting go of the material. Gabriel hid his amusement for all of three seconds before leaning on the stall door, chuckling. "If horses could smile, he'd be grinning like a Cheshire cat."