Summer Days

[Marcel Toulouse]

Marc had already finished his barn work for the day, but decided to do his course work down here. Too cramped to work inside on a beautiful day like today. He sat on the grass, trying to focus on the book filled with inane babble about Russian history, how Ivan the Terrible killed this person or that person, or Catherine the Great's triumphs, but it all seemed to run together in his head. He sighed, finding his eyes once more focused on Mori, who was munching grass, not paying much heed to anything. Books were not that fascinating to Marc, and these "elective" courses he had to take to graduate were lame. He did not mind learning about horses as much, useful things, like training or barn management or emergency first aid, but he saw no point in learning about long dead monarchs from a regime that no longer existed.

Giving up for the moment he stands up, stretching, and digs a carrot piece or two out of his back pocket. "Hey, Mori. Least you'll never have to bother learning that crap, huh?" Marc says, as Mori comes over, having observed the treats being pulled out. Marc gives the big stallion a friendly pat on the neck, letting him have the carrot pieces. Horses were something solid, a good way of life, the only one Marc knew, and he was glad he had Mori here to keep him grounded. It kept him from throwing books or tearing up papers, knowing the horses did not care what he learned from books as long as he had a kind word, a treat, and was a fair leader. And it kept him in school. Some of the things he learned would mean the difference between life and death for a horse in a bad situation. The Associates Degree was more to show the humans what he knew, but the knowledge was for the horses.

He had been in Harrisbury longer than anywhere else. Over 6 years. It had made a world of difference to him, and this was now his home. Even when he got frustrated he knew he had a place here. It helped to know, even though he had few real friends around. Mori nudged him with his giant nose, an unabashed begging for more food, or at least more attention. "If I gave you as much food as you wanted, you would be fatter than a roasting pig!" he laughs, pushing Mori's nose away. It was hard to focus on studies when summer was such a fun time to be around the horses, especially Mori. Good thing he was only taking a light course load, 2 classes. Not that it made the Russian History an easier, he thinks, sighing again.

[whirleybird86]

Hannah slowly walked out of her staff housing, wearing riding breeches, a polo shirt with the school logo on it, and tall boots she was ready to get some work done. She had on her large aviator shades, had her earbuds in while listening to her ipod. Usually she would fix herself a cup of coffee and take it with her to the barn, but she was too impatient to fix it, so she just heated up some water and fixed some hot green tea. At least her teeth weren't going to be stained. She yawned, and checked her phone. She didn't have any prior engagements like staff meetings, lessons, so this gave her a chance to check up on Firefly. She had given birth to two healthy foals, well a colt and a filly, and they were doing so great! Firefly was being a wonderful mother, and she happy to carry on the conformation of the lovely mare.

She took a sip of her tea as she reached the stallion barn, and she yawned again. She was working with a project horse that the owner had brought in for training. She had seen him once, but never really got to mess with him. She lifted her aviators and finished her tea. She put the mug in her office, and put her hands in her pockets. She looked down at her iPod and a hot fast song started to play and she snapped her fingers and she did a side step and sort of danced when she thought no one was looking. She stopped and slowly moved her hips side to side. She got to the stallion's stall, and reached for his halter. He perked his ears and walked to her. She patted his neck, and led him out. He got a little quick, so she made him stop and she backed him up. Need to work on the ground manners.

[Marcel Toulouse]

Marc watched Hannah from a distance, continuing to stand next to Mori, who had gone back to eating in his paddock. He saw the little dance step as she moved down the barn. He nearly laughed out loud. But who was he to judge? He was sure he had done the same thing some mornings when half asleep listening to his iPod full blast. Though he hoped he didn't look quite so girly. He supposed she was the trainer helping out. Marc really only worked with his own horse, except the normal, daily, everyday handling like turning out/in, feeding, etc. He knew the horse she was leading had a bit of a fresh attitude about personal space and being respectful of the human, so unintentionally Marc tensed when he saw Hannah grabbing him out of his stall.

Then he saw Hannah controlling him well and backing him up to keep him from getting too quick. It tended to be the curse with stallions, constantly trying to lead and be in charge, getting quick, challenging the human. Not that Marc loved Mori or his other charges any less because of it, but they did take a firm hand. They needed to know who was the leader. He puzzled over who she could be, realizing he really did not see many people at the stallion barn. Kind of isolating, being in a place minors did not come, because where there were no fosters, no teachers or instructors came either. Which is why he figured she was a trainer.

Before she got too far away, without even realizing he existed (which happened more often than he liked to think about) he decided to be polite and say hello. He takes a few steps towards her and starts talking. "Hey there. I'm Marc. I work here," he says indicating the Stallion Barn. "Anything I can help you with?" He asks hesitantly, not wanting her to think he is accusing her of being under-qualified. Just trying to be helpful. He had already been told once this month he was rude when not introducing himself properly to others around. No need to make the same mistake twice. Mori continues to eat grass, blatantly paying no heed to the other stud. He clearly believes he is far superior and has no need to feel jealous or alarmed at this other intruder's presence, or the fact his owner had gone towards him.

[whirleybird86]

Hannah stroked the black stallion's neck and spoke soft works to him and looked at his eyes. She snorted and shook his head and his ears went all over the place. Listening to the sounds around him, and also listening to what Hannah was saying to him. She gently ran her hands over his back, and down his backside. His swished his tail and looked back at her. Hannah watched his behavior as she gently touched him in some parts, and watched how he would react. Storm, the stallion was a magnificent horse but his previous owners had abuse him, starved him and then abandoned him. Saving Grace acquired him from the humane society after they brought him back to an ideal weight. The owner of Saving Grace assigned him to Hannah, and honestly he is the second stallion that Hannah has ever worked with. So far it's not so bad.

She was working with Storm when she heard a voice over nearby and she looked over her shoulder. She had seen him around the stables sometimes, but never really introduced herself to him. She stepped away from storm and gave him a friendly smile and extended her hand, " Nice to meet you Marc, I'm Hannah. I work here as well as a trainer. Actually... I don't need help at the moment, but I will holler if I do, thank you," she said giving him another smile and grabbed Storm's lead. She led him in a small area next to the barn, and did some exercises with him.

[Dr. Heather Pawelski]

ooc: Hope you guys don't mind me joining

Walking Thor down the isle heather grumbled silently to herself. Oh the woes of owning a stallion. One of the mare's had come into heat in the main barn so she had moved all of her things over here for the week. Thor was a perfect gentleman of course, but the mare's stall was right by the crossties and Heather really didn't want to deal with the mare's flirting, then kicking, then flirting again attitude. She huffed. Walking Thor all the way to the stallion barn was just a pain in the neck. It really wasn't an issue, but she was annoyed with it.

When she looked down the isle she saw Hannah talking to a young man as she got Storm out, her new trainee. She was handling the young stud quite well and Heather was impressed to say the least. Not wanting to intrude she tacked Thor up in a different isle. She had already had to move so what was the big deal? There was something familiar about that young man as well and Heather didn't want to admit that she forgot his name or something, so she figured she would just wait. Where had she seen him before?! She racked her brains, but she just couldn't figure it out.

Thor was tacked quite quickly and she sweeped up. When she walked around the corner to go to the arena they were still there talking. Well, there's no getting out of this now, Heather thought. "Hey Hannah. Is this Storm?" Laughing she looked at the nixy stud. "Storm meet the god of thunder, Thor." Heather had dropped her stud's reins and was letting him ground tie next to her. He stood quietly. Then she turned to the young man. She wasn't worried about Thor. He would behave, she knew it. "Hello young man. I feel as though I've seen you before... You wouldn't happen to be enrolled at the community college would you?" As hard as she tried she couldn't pull a name out of her head for him. It was like it eluded her and teased her. Mentally she grumbled over this. She had never been good with names. "I teach physics and calculus at the college. My degree is in Nuclear Physics, but unfortunately the college doesn't have an actual class for that...yet." A sparkle shown in her eyes. She wanted to institute a nuclear physics course so badly!

[Marcel Toulouse]

Marc shrugs, not really wanting to go back to school work. An unruly stallion would have been a welcome distraction. "Okay, have fun then" he says as Hannah heads towards the small arena to do some exercises. He drags out some more treats and a brush for Mori, rather than going back to his books, though the animal's sleek hide and well padded body clearly states he is not in need of extra food or attention. He returns his attention to the barn atmosphere that is rapidly getting busier as Heather walks out with Thor. He recognized her, as most students will recognize professors long after the professors have forgotten. That is the hard part about large class sizes.

"Hello Professor. I am enrolled in the college. I think I took your calculus class when I first enrolled." It was one of those courses required for veterinary sciences, if one was even considering pursuing that avenue. So since math made sense (numbers did not require lots of reading to understand, and there was always a correct answer that could be figured) he had figured he would take that as one of his first college courses. If he was actually intending to go to Veterinary school he would also have to take Physics, but as of now that was not in his plans. "Sounds like an interesting course." He says about the Nuclear Physics, though it sounded more challenging than anything he was likely to take.

He felt a little awkward, realizing his Professor rode where he worked, and at what had been his home for so long. What if she knew his past? Not that it was a secret, but sometimes he was a bit ashamed of it. He certainly did not run around telling his college friends he had been a Foster at the ranch. Not that they really asked. They were more interested in the moment. Studying, drinking, and girls seemed to be the run of the mill conversations in his crowd, and most didn't even know he worked p here. "Nice stud." Marc adds, indicating Thor, briefly changing the topic of school at hand.

[whirleybird86]

Hannah smiled seeing Heather and she patted Storm's neck, " Yes, this is my new charge, Storm. The owners surrendered him, so he came here after the shelter got him to a better weight," she said. She hooked a lunge line to Storm and led him off. " I'll see you two after I'm done with him," she said and led him to the small training arena.

Once in the arena, she got him used to her touch on his body, and was careful when she got low onto his legs. Storm had been pretty testy with his previous handler, and he can be mean and try and bite. That's just probably the stud in him, but also he wasn't treated very well by the previous owner, so he has a hard time trusting humans. She softly spoke to him to calm his nerves, and she very slowly ran his hands down his legs and his muscles flexed. He was getting tense, and he needed to calm down so that neither of them would get hurt. " Hey Storm, you're okay. I won't hurt you," she said softly and stood back up and ran her hands around his stomach. This made him spook and he took off around the ring and bucked. Well, that was progress. She sighed and watched him get it out of his system. Storm snorted and bucked high into the air.

[Dr. Heather Pawelski]

So that's where she had met him! The name definitely did ring a bell now, though she doubted she had spent much time with him. That was the Calc I class and it was a large lecture class. She never had time to learn all the students names. Heather could see though that even though her passion was research it didn't seem like school was his favorite, so she hastily moved to the change in subject he had provided.

"Thanks." Heather smiled when she looked at Thor, "I bred and trained him myself. Best cutting lines in the state and he's got the record to prove it." Affectionately she rubbed his face with the palm of her hand and he leaned into her carress. Laughing lightly she moved to Thor's side and cinched him up. She never tightened the girth all the way while tacking, but rather waited until she was able to get on.

Heather swung onto him easily then. She knew it really wasn't policy to mount a horse in the barn, but she was a scientist. She tried to break the rules every day she did research. Plus the owner really hadn't had Heather and Thor in mind when they made that rule. Thor was as safe and probably safer than any lesson horse in the right hands, and Heather was an accomplished rider that could handle most anything. "Why don't we go join Hannah?" She nodded to the training pen where Hannah was working storm and walked Thor out of the barn calmly.

[Marcel Toulouse]

Marcel tried to ignore the blatant disregard for the rules that his Professor showed. Really wasn't his place to tell others what to do with their own horses. But no horse was safe enough to mount in a barn. Horses, despite their good intentions and wonderful qualities, were big, sometimes spooky, and quite likely dangerous, animals if not treated with respect and caution. Stallions even more so. But who was he to parrot these things, some of which he had learned the hard way? He gives Mori a last pat, and turns back to his books. "Have a good ride."

He turns back to the 3rd chapter of his history book, as Mori goes back to the green grass of his paddock. Marcel reads the words, taking notes. Even if he doesn't, the work has to get done. Years ago he would possibly of shrugged it off, not done it. But he really wanted this. To be able to be a horse professional, not just muck stalls and get by for the rest of his life.

[whirleybird86]

Calmly, Hannah stood in the center of the ring and watched Storm pitch a fit. She first of all did not to be the one to give in and go reprimand a horse for being disobedient. Her method sometimes was to let the horse throw a tantrum and then let the horse come to her if it so chooses. This gave her the chance to read the horse's body language, look at it's expressions, and let it know where she was. The only thing attached to Storm was his leather halter for the time being, Hannah figured he would freak out, so she left any rope off of him. She put on her gloves and rested her hands on her sides, and watched Storm. Storm trotted around the arena, with his head held high, and he neighed loudly for anyone to come and let him out. He bucked a few more times, and he stopped in his tracks and snorted as he looked at Hannah.

Hannah looked at and thought he was done. She took two steps forward, and he backed up into the gate. She stopped and looked at him. Storm snorted and pinned his ears back and charged at her full force. Hannah's first reaction was to panic and run, who wouldn't when they see a full grown stallion charging at them?! Hannah made fists and slowly closed her eyes. Having faith that he would not plow her over. If Markus were here he would have run in and pulled her out of the way. He would say that she was crazy and stubborn as always. She heard the thundering hooves stop, and a burst of hot air hit her face. She looked up and saw Storm standing there. His eyes wide with fear, but he just looked at her.

[Dr. Heather Pawelski]

Heather rode Thor calmly out to the round pen to watch Hannah. What she saw there completely rocked her. Storm stood above Hannah with his big nostrils breathing down onto her. Ideally she would have called out to Marcel, but she didn't want to spook the large stud now standing over her friend. Biting her lip she knew she didn't have much time to figure out what to do. Surely the commotion would have alerted Marcel anyway and he would be here in a few minutes, but what if Hannah didn't have a few minutes. A million scenarios ran through her scatter brained mind.

Taking a deep breathe she did what she thought was best. With an easy push she walked Thor over next to the round pen and clucked softly to get the other stallion's attention. Thor's ears twitched knowing he couldn't move any farther forward and was slightly irked. Heather patted him calmly on the neck to ask him to stay put. Heather was hoping the other stallion would take Thor's presence as a threat and come over to posture to him. She knew Thor would stay put for so many stallions had been at the cuttings that he was used to such displays. However, just in case she kept her hand firmly on his whithers and her reins held high. This was the quite signal to cutting horses. It told them to stop and unhook. She hoped the same would work for the posturing.

Heather's eyes flicked from Hannah to the stallion to Thor and then back again. She clucked softly again and begged for the stallion to move away from Hannah. "Hannah, when he moves, climb the gate." Heather said the words as calmly and levelly as she could, so the words did not seem out of place, harsh, threatening, or worried to the stallion.

[Marcel Toulouse]

Marc had heard something going on that didn't sound right. Whether it was the stomping hooves or snorting that had gotten his attention he couldn't say, but he dropped his books and walked briskly but calmly down the path to the round pen. Running would not help if there was a touchy situation going on. What he sees when he gets there makes him nervous. What was she thinking? No lunge whip or lunge line? He would have at least taken a lunge whip to keep the horse from charging in or over her. He knew she was a trainer, and he should let her handle this, but he couldn't help being nervous.

Marcel saw Thor, posed by his owner at the edge. Not sure that presenting a fight to the stud was a great idea with Hannah in there in the way. He might lash out, show off, and either on purpose or inadvertently kick Hannah on the way. He positions himself next to the gate, figuring if the stallion wanted escape, he would still be aiming for the gate. Maybe he would think Marcel would let him out. He pulled some rope from his pocket, that he'd gotten in the habit of carrying, and fashioned a quick rope halter. It was easier to apply pressure with a rope halter than a leather halter, and if he could slip it on it might offer some control...

Then again, he might want to ask Hannah what she wanted of the spectators. She was the trainer after all. It was ultimately up to her, how she wanted them to respond, as it was ultimately up to her to work with this horse, via order of the owners. So, pausing, not lifting his head in case it seem a challenge to the beast, he says softly. "Hannah, anything you'd like us to do, to help in this situation? Or do you got it?" He doesn't want to interfere, but he also doesn't want anyone hurt. He wished he'd insisted earlier on going with her to give her a hand. Maybe then, they wouldn't be standing in this position.