Breathe (open)

[Ω-Admin-Cara-Ω]

2 AM and I'm still awake, writing a song
If I get it all down on paper, it's no longer inside of me,
Threatening the life it belongs to
And I feel like I'm naked in front of the crowd
Cause these words are my diary, screaming out loud
And I know that you'll use them, however you want to

But you can't jump the track, we're like cars on a cable,
And life's like an hourglass, glued to the table
No one can find the rewind button, boys,
So cradle your head in your hands,
And breathe... just breathe,
Oh breathe, just breathe

"Breathe (2 AM)" - Anna Nalick

Cara headed out to the pastures early that morning with a red halter and lead in her hand. The pretty little halter had been made specially for the mare and was rimmed with a golden cord - the mare's stable colours of red and gold - and the lead rope had the same gold cord wound through it. In her other hand, the young student held a paper bag that contained a handful of homemade horse treats.

"Bonjour, beau." She greeted the little horse as she entered the pasture and the mare looked up but didn't move. "Allumer." She said as she rustled the bag in her hand. A smiled touched her lips as the mare's ears pricked forward at the nose and Phoenix walked over to see what the human was holding. "Ici." She took a couple of the treats from the bag and offered them to the mare, who lipped them up happily. Her eyes weren't as bright as the girl knew they used to be, but her little horse had taken so many steps in the right direction since arriving her a month ago. Slowly lifting her other arm, she slipped the halter over the mare's nose and then fastened it on the side of her face.

Leading the mare from the pasture, she took her down to the round pen, allowing the mare to move at her own pace so that she didn't feel rushed or pressured.

Walking into the pen, Cara removed the lead rope and let the mare run away from her as she walked into the centre of the pen. She wasn't planning on doing a join-up, but she would see what was going to transpire from whatever happened in her. "Ecouter, Phoenix." She sang and grinned as the mare came to a halt and looked in her direction. "Marcher sur." The mare moved forward in a walk, not a very forward walk, but a walk nonetheless.

Translation:
Bonjour, beau - Morning beautiful
Allumer - Come on
Ici - Here
Ecouter, Phoenix - Listen, Phoenix
Marcher sur - Walk on

[Onzyy]

Chuck was just wondering around the academy. He didn't have much to do, apart from the fact that he was trying his utmost best to find out about Cara's horse, Phoenix and what happened to her when she left the academy.

Just by chance he happened to stumble across the round pen, and even more than chance, Cara and Phoenix were in the pen. She spoke fluent French, something that he never bothered to do. His arm was still in a cast from his accident, but only another two or three weeks until it came off.

Stopping at the pen he risked a look inside. He was surprised at the progress the mare had made. She was wearing a halter, and was walking stiffly. Last time he saw her, the mare wouldn't even approach the girl. For now, he would stand and watch, and would only speak if Cara or the mare noticed him.

[Ω-Admin-Cara-Ω]

The young student in the centre of the ring was in her bubble and the only other thing inside her bubble was the mare who was walking around the track. "Trotter sur." She sang and clapped her hands softly as the mare bounced forward into a trot. She grinned from ear to ear as she watched the little mare trot around the ring. Her smile vanished though as the mare lost her impulsion and threw her head into the air in terror. "Changement." The words left her lips in the same sing-song tone as they had been since the girl had started calling out commands and she nodded as the mare wheeled around on her haunches and trotted off in the other direction.

The bubble around the girl had vanished and the rest of the world resurfaced as she looked over to the part of the ring that had spooked her precious mare. "Bonjour, M Basse." She said when she recognized the man on the other side of the fence. "Position." She called to the mare and nodded a the mare pranced to a square halt. "Très bon, peu l'un." She made a motion with her hands as though pulling the mare to her with a rope.

With a simple snort, Phoenix crossed the sand and pushed her nose into the girl's chest and released a heavy sigh.

Translation:
Trot on
Change
Stand
Very good, little one

[Onzyy]

Easy Phoenix, said Chuck as the mare shied away from him as stood outside the pen. "Hullo Cara, I see you've made some progress with her." Chuck watched the mare. She was still slightly dull-eyed but the brightness would come back as the mare started trusting more.

Just then his cell phone rang, but thankfully it was silent so the mare didn't have to spook at any unknown sound. Chuck checked the caller ID and saw that it was Stella. Finally she had found something.

Stella, finally. Please tell me you have good news.
I don't if it's good. The poor horse went through a lot. I've e-mailed through the lot of info that I have, came the answer
Thank you. I really do appreciate everything you do for me.
Yeah, yeah. I'll you when I'm the area.

Chuck sighed deeply. It seemed that Phoenix was just the victim in the whole story. "Well Cara, it seems as if I have news regarding Phoenix."

[Ω-Admin-Cara-Ω]

"Merci, Monsieur." Cara replied to the man's compliment without the normal fake modesty that a lot of teenagers use. She worked circles up and down the mare's ears as she heard the man speak into his cellphone. She lifted her head from the mare as Mr Bass spoke to her. "De votre voix, je peux dire qu'il ne peut pas être bon." She ducked her head as she realized that she was still speaking in French. "Please forgive me, Sir. The news isn't good?" Even though it was like a fist had closed over her heart, she kept herself relaxed as she didn't want to upset the mare.

Translation:
Thank you, Sir
From your voice, I can tell it may not be good.

OOC: Now I read this, I'm guessing that this was what your PM was about. Whatever happened to Phoe, you can go wild with.

[Onzyy]

Chuck laughed when Cara realized she was speaking French to him. "It's okay. I never bothered to learn the language when I was at school." His face fell again when he had to speak about the atrocities that Phoenix had to face.

"No, I'm afraid it isn't good news. It took a lot just to get the information. The saying about money talks all to true in this case. I haven't read everything yet, I got in bits and pieces as Stella got it. I actually have some of it here, I was hoping to run into you."

He handed her the paper that had the first lot of info on. It read:

The people the mare was sold to from Blue Ridge didn't agree with her behavior. She was accepting at first, but then she went 'wild'. They bought in an old cowboy who still used the old methods. They starved her and yet the mare still put up a fight. The cowboy said she was good for one thing and that was dog food.

So instead of canning her, they sold her to a family in Wyoming. The mare wouldn't accept any rider, or none stayed on long enough. The Parkers wanted their money back but the old family had disappeared off the face of the earth. Instead of selling her they left her in a paddock with a donkey. She colicked several times, and they counted their losses and sold her to the Newells.

"That's all I have right now. The rest was emailed to me today. As you can she hasn't had it easy."

[Ω-Admin-Cara-Ω]

Cara walked forward and took the paper off the man, she wasn't offended or hurt when the mare chose to remain in the safety of the centre of the pen. Her eyes glanced over the words on the paper, knowing that they were now ingrained in her memory. "Oh mon Dieu!." She gasped as she finished reading, folded the paper in half and handed it back. "Her life has never been easy, Sir. I just help her learn that not everything is the same. That not every human being is going to hurt her."

She walked over to the horse and ran her hands down either side of the mare's face. "So, we're right back to square one. You're once more a rogue horse that no one can ride. The question is... Fera vous me permets d'êtes votre partenaire encore?" She had never been but a rider on the mare's back, the two of them were a team - once they were known as the dream team - but it was up to the mare if they would be a team once more.

She turned back to Mr Bass once more. "If I may, Sir, I would like to ride Wind Whistler as my equestrian team mount." She knew that the Fell pony had a reputation for being stroppy, but she knew that being used all the time would help him become focused. "If you would rather I ride a horse, I will ride whatever mount you wish for me to ride." That was what she was used to anyway, someone pointing her toward an equine and her riding.

Translation:
Oh my God
Will you let me be your partner again?

[Onzyy]

Chuck nodded at Cara's response. "Ride any horse that you feel comfortable with. It's not my choice about which horse you should ride."

Chuck had a troubled mind that was filled with various issues. "I'll get the rest of the info to you as soon as I can, that is if you want it. Also I'll be calling a team training session soon, so just look out for that."

[Ω-Admin-Cara-Ω]

Ride any horse she felt comfortable with? She felt more comfortable around horses then she did any human being, which is what made her able to ride anything she was pointed at. Cara moved her left foot back and gave the man a graceful curtsy. "I thank you, Sir." She said humbly.

She nodded as the man said that he would be calling a training session at some point. Not that she would outwardly admit it to anything, she was looking forward to getting down to some real training again.

"Marcher sur." She said and took a step away from the mare as she walked off. "Hors." She said and nodded as the mare moved to the outside track. She still kept half her attention on the man outside the pen in case he had anything else to add.

[Onzyy]

Chuck decided to leave the girl and horse in peace. He turned around and left. Maybe he would go visit Smacks now. Who knew that the gelding needed it. Yet his thoughts would not be put to rest at the thought of Phoenix.

[Ω-Admin-Cara-Ω]

Cara watched the man walk away from the round pen and she turned her complete attention to the mare walking around the track. "Trotter sur." She called in the same sing-song voice she used with the mare.

She leaned back on her heels as she watched the mare trotting around, she loved watching the mare move. Fortunately whatever had happened to her while they were apart hadn't ruined the mare's fluid movement. "Galop!" She breathed and her face lit up as the mare instantly moved forward into a smooth canter. She allowed the mare to canter around a couple of times before she gave the next instruction. "Changement." She watched as the mare smoothly turned on her haunches and continued at a canter in the other direction.

"Trotter." She sang out slowly as the mare had gone in the other direction three laps. The mare, like her, had been trained to obey so she would run until she could run no more and the young student could see that the horse was tiring. "Marcher." She could see the thankfulness in the flick of the mare's ears as she dropped back to a walk.

"Position." She sang slowly and the mare stopped moving and looked in her direction, waiting for the next instruction. "Ici." She untied the lead from around her tiny waist and clipped it onto the halter when the mare arrived at her side. "Nous permettre de sortir et vous pouvez avoir du repos." She kissed the mare on the nose before leading her out of the pen, talking her out to her pasture and slipping the halter off the mare's head she left her in peace.

Translation:
Trot on
Canter
Change
Trot
Walk
Stand
Here
Let's get out of here and you can have some rest