Raindrops. (Sami)

[Jackson Meelly]

It had been so nice looking when he had looked out this window this morning, but now the weather was just going downhill. Letting out a deep sigh, Jackson jogged the last couple steps to his dorm's door. Using the key card to get in, he flung the door open and stepped out of the fine drizzle. It was like the whole world was punishing him for getting up so early. At least he lived on the first floor. His long strides quickly took him to his door where he was relieved to find that his roommate hadn't moved in yet. He unlocked the door and looked around. It was a mess. Kicking things out of the way, he searched for the bag that held his riding gear. Opting for a minimal boots and jeans, he wiggled his way out of his jogging shorts and pulled the worn jeans on over his slender hips. His calves and thighs were as lean as a runners, he was used to running miles a day just to get out of the house. Here, he did it to keep from getting bored. He glanced at the pile of books he had on his desk and frowned. Leaning over, he grabbed the Business Management book, sighing. "Well, I guess I better take something with me, seeing as I won't be doing much outside..." Jacks glanced around, grabbed a waterproof jacket, pulled his arms through and threw up the hood. Feeling around in the pocket, his fingers found his car keys. The heavy metal felt good in his hand as he shoved his book into his backpack along with a couple notebooks and headed out the door with it. Slinging the bag onto his shoulder, he took the path to the student parking.

The rain just wouldn't stop today. After that drive to the barn, Jackson was in a more sour mood than he had been before the gym. Pulling up the driveway, the black muscle car quieted, as Jackson took his foot off the gas. Horses of all colors and disciplines peered out from their run-ins when the noisy engine cut off. Jack glanced around the parking lot from his dry car seat, wondering where all the other students were. There were plenty of cars, but not enough. He shrugged and pulled his backpack from behind his seat. Running his hand through his blond locks, he pulled his hood up again and made a run for it. The rain pelted his face, even as he ducked his head to avoid getting soaked. Dodging a puddle, he made it to the barn door in more or less one piece and leaned against the hard wood of the stall walls. Closing his eyes for a minute, he inhaled deeply, savoring the smell of leather and horse and hay. A smile danced across his face until he heard another voice coming around the corner. It was what looked like two students, but he couldn't be sure. They may have been grads. Jackson, true to his nature, ducked his head again, brushing the hood off of his head quickly and avoided eye contact. The two walked away without even noticing him. He grimaced, hoping he could be a bit more outgoing in a new environment, but it looked like that wasn't going to workout today. He chalked it up to the rain and nasty weather and strode down the aisle of the barn.

It was warmer in here than it had been in the rain, and the quiet background noise of horses moving around and breathing was like a lullaby. Shrugging his backpack back up onto his shoulder, Jackson wandered over to a stall that had a big stallion in it. He peered in, leaning just close enough to see the name tag. "Huh... Who are you, big guy?" He whispered low. The horse huffed loudly and swung his head around to look at Jacks. His ears were back and he stamped his hoof, warning the boy to stay where he was. Lifting an eyebrow Jackson continued on his way, wandering the aisle and peering into the empty stalls.

ooc;
Word Count; 689
Character; Jackson Meelly
For; Samantha Griffin

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[Samantha Griffin]

Samantha had big plans for the day, it had started with a trip to the gym and a coffee of course. Despite Damian’s recent offers of showers at his place the girl decided to head home and change as well before heading out to the barn. Her jeans were dark and fitted, they slipped into her tall boots with ease. She was sporting a blue long sleeved shirt covered by her barn jacket, a scarf was wrapped around her neck and her hair fell naturally down her back. It wasn’t her usual barn attire but it was appropriate for what she was doing, her intentions today were to get Indie clipped – well partially. The horse was a little hairy and she was worried that he might start getting overly warm with the weather and more frequent workouts. She would start with a blanket clip, letting him keep his legs hairy and a large portion of his back as well as most of his face. She had spoken to Damian and picked up a hood for the horse to wear along with a new cooler when she stopped at the tack store. Samantha was well aware that the horse wasn’t hers and she didn’t need to buy him things but she didn’t mind. Coolers and neck hoods were things she could wash and use on another horse eventually – she liked shopping way to much anyways. So with keys in hand and umbrella in the other the girl stepped out into the rain frowning slightly and headed to her vehicle. The drive to the farm wasn’t long yes Damian’s was closer and she might take him up on the whole shower thing once classes started getting more demanding. For now she hoped Indie had been pulled in or his blanket was nice and waterproof. Parking the car was easy there were other cars in the lot but it was far from packed, umbrella up and stuff in hand she locked the doors behind her and headed towards the shelter of the barn. Sami put down her umbrella and left it hanging just outside the door to try a little.

Heading down the isle she spotted Indie and smiled relieved, someone had brought him in for her when the rain started. Possibly Damian as he was aware Sami planned on clipping the horse today, or perhaps it was just chance. No matter the case she was thankful and slipped to the tack room to grab clippers. Taking her time she put the clippers together and brought the cooler with her, she would try it on the horse after he was all clipped and fancy looking. Samantha had planned to lunge him after to check him out from the ground, she had ridden him a few times on the flat – she had yet to jump him and was excited to do so. Forcing her mind to focus on the oiling of the blades before her the girl sighed. It was amazing how easily she was distracted or put off track it was shameful, something she usually kept to herself. Unless she was on a horse or writing a test her mind was rarely on what it should be, it wasn’t a huge issue she was capable of focusing and functioning she had made it to age 20, drove a car, was in university with decent marks thus far. Whatever her deal Samantha functioned, it wasn’t always conventional or simple but it worked for her. Heading back to the barns isle she took note of plug ins, she was going to use her big clippers to get things done quickly and was going to need a power source. Selecting an empty stall she plugged the clippers into the socket and ran her couple meter long extension cord – with the flip of a switch the blades came to life and she smiled. Turning them off again she placed the cooler on the ground and let the clippers sit gently on top. Heading to Indie’s stall she smiled to the big gelding as he stood munching on some hay, slipping into the stall she offered him her hand to smell before going about undoing his blanket and peeling it off. It was a good weight that would be fine even after he was clipped as he was starting to sweat under it now in turnout sometimes.

“Hey bud lets get you moved and all fancied up.”

Slipping the halter hanging outside of Indies stall over his head was easy, the horse was sweet on the ground and had great manners he followed Samantha like a lamb as she lead him to the stall she had prepared a couple of stalls down from the one he was in. The horse was big and a pretty bay, just what Sami liked in her horses. She stopped him in the aisle way for a second and looked him over for what must have been the umpteenth time. Something about the horse reminded her of a horse she knew a few years back but she couldn’t quite place it. No matter what the horse stood looking at her with large patient eyes, smiling to him she dropped a kiss on his nose before leading him on again. Horses were so much easier than people, the huge animal followed her willingly and stopped as she did. There was a guy peeking his head in the stall Samantha had intended upon using. Smiling she wasn’t certain what to do, she didn’t want to scare the crap out of him when he finally turned around but she didn’t want to spend all day waiting for him to leave as he pleased. She had lots to do and this clipping session had been scheduled into her day accordingly. Her tone was slightly uneasy, a little awkward and uncertain. It was a typical meeting with someone her own age she had never seen before, she wasn’t rude or anything probably mostly shy.

“Hey sorry, I um. I kind of need that stall.”

ooc: not my best work but it shall do.

[Jackson Meelly]

Jackson kept wandering down the aisle, peering into each stall, checking out the horses. They were all so nicely muscled and well-fed. This place was a dream compared to some of the barns he had started out at. It was amazing that he had even been able to get into this place. A small smile formed as he leaned against a stall not far from where another, he assumed student, was getting her horse ready. He watched her from there, wondering what horse she was leasing. After a minute, he remembered he should be looking for Millie, his lease. He wondered if the chestnut mare was outside in the rain. He looked up and down the aisle, wondering if her stall was somewhere around here. Footsteps told him that the girl was walking away. Good, he really wasn't up for a conversation with the opposite gender right now. He always felt so awkward around girls that weren't in his family. It took a bit of warming up to them, and even then it was hard to tell what they wanted or what they thought about him. He hunched his shoulders, giving the forest green backpack a shrug to keep it from falling off his left shoulder. A couple strides took him closer to a chestnut in a stall and he peered at the name tag, reading his lease's name. She stood quietly, munching some hay from the net in the far corner. Her back was to him and he thanked all the heavens that she wasn't still outside. He had wanted to work with her today, at least to get to know how she acted on the ground. He clicked softly to her and watched as her ears hardly twitch at the sound. "So it's going to be like that, huh?" he said to her softly. Instead of going into the stall and talking to her though, Jackson moved away from the stall. Maybe there was some treats in the tack room to win her over.

He strode toward the opposite end of the barn, passing the girl. He kept his head down, trying to avoid eye contact. It wasn't that he was rude or a creep, he just wasn't outgoing. People didn't understand that. He desperately wished she wouldn't think anything of him. Sighing, he peeked into one of the empty grooming stalls near the tack room. She had her stuff in there. Just as he was about to turn around, a voice asked politely asked him to move. Jumping about ten feet out of his skin, Jackson whirled around, not too fast, so as not to scare her horse, but enough that she could definitely tell that she had startled him. He gasped and brought his hand to his head, running it through his blond hair. "I'm... I'm sorry. You scared me," he chuckled as his hand slid through his hair and rested on the back of his neck. "Right, I was just... Just going to the tack room." He quickly said, not knowing why or if she even cared. Ducking his head so his hair fell around his eyes, he slipped out of her way and made his way over to the tack room. Flustered, he looked around, not really knowing what he was looking for but wanting to look busy. He strode over to the cabinet that was labeled Millie and opened it, searching for those treats. Finding some mints in a bag, he grabbed two and headed back to her stall. But before he went to do that, he decided to try to save face with the girl. Who knew when they would be in the same room together again, and he wanted a friend. So he stopped at the stall, leaning against the wood and placing his hand on the metal bars. "Hey, sorry about that. You just really startled me.... I'm Jacks, by the way." He smiled at her, hoping she wouldn't think he was a jerk for his earlier reaction. "He yours? He's a nice lookin' guy." He cleared his throat after his last statement, not sure what to do next.

ooc;
Word Count; 689
Character; Jackson Meelly
For; Samantha Griffin

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[Samantha Griffin]

She didn’t mean to scare him, let alone terrify him. His reaction though it wasn’t too quickly did make Indie flinch a little, it gave Samantha’s heart a little kick start too. She drew in a deep breath and smiled apologetically. She was already awkward enough with strangers the last thing she needed to be worrying about was scaring them half to death. She looked down to the floor sheepishly as he stumbled over his words, self frustration ran through her like wild fire but the horses nose on her back was comforting. The gelding was merely interested in getting in the new stall but Samantha took it as a rock in a way. Looking up to the boy she smiled and shook her head, her words were quiet and nervous.

“No sorry that was my fault, I kind of snuck up behind you.”

Once the boy was on his way and out of hers Samantha laid a hand on the geldings neck before leading him into the stall, Indie stood quietly tied in the stall as Samantha sorted out the clippers. The horse was clean, she had made sure of it before even starting as anything less than a clean horse would make her clippers very angry and the job slow and painful for them both. She had drawn up a modified blanket clip, leaving the horse his legs, half his head and lots of his back clipped – some hair to hold up against the chill that still hung in the air sometimes. Samantha couldn’t wait till actual summertime when tee shirts and shorts were back in the wearable section of her closet. Summer was wonderful in so many ways, it was her favourite season by default and Samantha was more than ready for it, heat and all. Spring was a tolerable time of year as well, so long as the rain didn’t get too comfortable and the cold stayed far from being icy. Eyes wandered the aisle way as she added the final touches to the clippers, they were plugged in and set to the length she wanted. Turning them on she watched Indie who just flipped an ear in her direction, he didn’t seem bothered by the noise at all. Spraying the lub and cooling spray on them as they were running she felt the blades move a little smoother in her hands. Sneaking in the stall she was quiet with him though the gelding didn’t mind the clippers at all she took her time.

His hair fell away with ease, smile lit her features as the color underneath wasn’t totally muted. He maintained some warmth to this coat – not much but enough for Samantha to be happy. The worst thing was a chestnut who clipped out orange like a pumpkin - Sami hated it and hated clipping Cooper at home for that reason. Indie on the other hand was going to look quite smart with his new doo. Moving down his neck the hair fell to the floor and he snorted with ease, smile lit her features as she tried to picture what he was going to look like. Mind on task wouldn’t last long and it fell even shorter when the guy she had scared the crap out of returned – with fear of having him come at her in anger she looked to the horse for a moment before making eye contact. His words were apologetic and Samantha released a silent exhale in relief, smiling she nodded – understanding totally of course. It happens to everyone, though his introduction and question were un expected she didn’t mind at all. Had her hands not been covered in hair and sweat she might have tried to shake Jacks hand but instead she just smiled, her own words were warm and welcoming in her Samantha way.

“It’s fine, and nice to meet you Jacks – I’m Sami and this is Indie. He is the horse I am leasing right now, so not mine but kind of mine... What about you, have a horse from home or one of the school horses to work with?”

[Jackson Meelly]

He shoved his hands deeper into his coat pocket playing with the mint's crinkly wrapper. As she started to talk, Jackson relaxed and released the mint and drew his hand out of his pocket. She had a kind and welcoming demeanor about her, something quiet but interesting. He nodded and grinned at her description of her lease. not mine but kind of mine, exactly how he would describe Millie.

Truthfully, he was delighted to have a care horse here at school. It had been a long time since he was allowed to work with a horse that he could pretend was his. Most of the owners at his barn back home used him like what he was, an exercise rider and stable hand. They didn't stop to think that what he was doing was good for their horse, they just reprimanded him for what ever he was doing. Horse owners were way to particular about their animals.

Nah, no horses at home. Just my lease, Millie. She's down there, he shrugged in the direction of her stall. I'm trying to win her over with some mints I found in the tack room... Is it alright if I bring her over to the grooming stall next to you? Jackson leaned over to glance into the other empty stall as he spoke, noting the fact that it was empty. Hopefully Sami would let him bring the mare down here. She also needed a clipping but Jacks wasn't sure how she would react to it. Clipping wasn't his favorite thing to do, but the school required it and it was good for the horses here because they were constantly being used. Besides, who wants to wear a thick fur coat when it was getting so hot out?

ooc; blah, sorry for the short post, when sami replies, you can act like jackson left to get millie
Word Count; 295
Character; Jackson Meelly
For; Samantha Griffin

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[Samantha Griffin]

Standing there before the stranger horse in hand wasn’t as awkward or stressful as it could have been. Samantha could have been away from the barn all alone with this stranger, but luck was apparently on her side though mostly because she kept it on a short leash. The girls luck usually seemed to run out at the worst of times, though standing with Indie Samantha felt calm, cool and collected – for the most part. The gelding was being a pretty good boy, the clippers were buzzing and his coat was peeling away like the skin on an apple. The coat under the long winter protection made the girl smile, it was short and shimmering and looked pretty fantastic if she did say so herself. While she had clipped before she wasn’t perfect so Sami didn’t leave the horses coat totally line free but what she did leave on him would be easy enough to fix up. The humming of the clippers was like music to her ears, despite how awkward or nervous she might have been in the past or without her horse this whole barn and clipping ordeal was her saving grace in more than one way. She kept her hand steady as she continued to watch the hair fall away from the horse’s now short and fresh coat, Indie was being a total gem for the ordeal the odd flinch every now and then as the clippers hit somewhere ticklish spot but besides that the chewing motion made with his jaw released tension and made the girl smile.

“Nice, she’s the chestnut mare yah? I think I saw her last time I was here. Oh please do help yourself to the grooming stall Indie and I don’t mind sharing space at all."

Samantha watched the boy walk away and returned her attention to Indie who was starting to fuss a little. Continuing quickly with the clipping she wanted to get as much done as she could before the horse started to really object. He was holding it together so far as she went up his neck and close to his face, she had decided to modify a blanket clip of sorts. Well she was clipping his neck, body half a head but leaving his legs for now. He could wait till the weather got a little better to go totally naked. The transition might be nicer on the horse if he didn’t have to stand shivering the first night out there all clipped up. She made certain to keep a straight line where she stopped at his legs with some chalk, the white powder came up easily against his dark clean coat and the clippers slid along effortlessly. Humming as she worked the girl scolded Indie for pawing gently before she dropped a kiss on his nose, deciding both clippers and the horse needed a break she run the clippers through with some cleaner and cooler before setting them down to cool a little. Looking back over her handy work a smile lit her features. It was far from done, but most of his neck and part of his body were done and her lines were all drawn.

[Jackson Meelly]

She accepted his request of using the adjoining empty stall and Jackson nodded his head with a quiet thanks and started off in the direction of Millie's stall. As he reached her stall, he saw that she was still standing with her back to the door so he made a kissing noise to alert her to his presence. Her ears twitched and she nickered, turning halfway to look at Jackson. He reached into his pocket and crinkled the wrapper on the mint. Millie nickered again and turned all the way around. She leaned toward Jackson as he pulled it out of his pocket and unwrapped it. The chestnut mare wuffed softly, lipping his jacket pocket. He laughed softly to her and put his flat hand under her nose. Her velvety nose found the treat and he smiled as she inhaled it. With his other hand he slowly patted her cheek. Searching for her halter, he found it, along with a lead rope and slipped into the stall to halter her. She backed up, swinging her head down to lip at some hay on the floor. Come on, girl. Let's get you clipped. It's too humid to be this hairy. He leaned down and slipped an arm under her neck to lift her head up. The mare complied and he deftly slipped the halter over her nose and ears. With a snap, he clipped the latch and gave her a scratch behind the ears. He walked her out of the stall and down the aisle to the one next to Indie and Sami.

He glanced at the two as he passed, wondering who Sami was. She seemed nice but he wasn't one to ask many questions. He lengthened his stride and reached the stall door. Sliding open the door, he pulled Millie in. The mare nickered to Indie, walking a broad circle around the edge of the stall to look over the divider at her neighbor. He gently tugged her lead and automatically reached for a crosstie but remembered that Damian was adamantly against them. He shook his head to himself and stared at the rope in his hand. He didn't feel comfortable tying the mare to the stall, but he did it anyway. Patting her neck, he moved along her body with his hand, getting her used to him. He really hadn't had much time to work with her so far, classes were kicking his butt. You're a good girl, huh? So pretty... He talked softly to her. Glancing over at Sami, he hesitated before asking her a question. So... Where are you from? Anywhere close? He looked back at Millie as he asked it, patting her back and massaging her shoulder a bit. He smiled as she sighed, a sign she was relaxed. He nodded at Sami's answer and excused himself for a moment. Quickly, he closed the stall door and ducked into the tackroom to grab supplied. He came out with a grooming kit and some clippers, which he put just inside the stall. Millie was contentedly sniffing at the ground, hardly restricted by the lead rope at all.

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