To the rail [Mr. Jenner/Open]

[courtree]

gonna stand t

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Her breath was seen in the cold air as she walk her way down the path towards the far paddock. Crisp gravel crunch under the girls boots, stuffing her digits into her jacket pocket, the rope halter looped through her arm, hunkering her head down a little into the colorful scarf, as if that might make her a little warmer. Pale pools admired the view before her, everything looking untouched as a light frost cover the ground, fences, almost everything. Days like today didn't happen very often. Seems most of the time rain and wind prevent people from being outside, which is a shame seeing as winter was always one of Josh's favorite seasons. Well, was.

A light sigh escape her lips, the intake of cold air making her feel more awake then before as she reach the gate of her purpose. She gaze into the paddock, the stud colt standing atop the small shavings pile in the middle, resting a hind pillar, a light smile coming to her features before she made a low whistle, the blanketed colt already staring at her made a light whinny. Shades was never one to be loud or obnoxious, he seemed to have grown up really fast. Not only mentally, but physically too. At only four the horse stood at 15.3 hands high and was wider then a brick shit house. It was odd to see the two together, Josh standing at 5' zip and weighing in just over a hundred and five pounds, Shades could do serious damage if he wanted. One of the perks of raising your own horse though, you knew them inside and out, knew their quirks, habits, everything.

The horse walk lazily towards the gate just as Josh slipped in the pen, a hand going to the horses forehead for a quick rub. She slip the well used black rope halter over his head, opening the gate for the two to go through, not bothering to close it. She made her way back up the path, the paint following just to the side of her. Opening the large barn door, she brought the colt inside, tying him in the cross ties. She pulled the sleazy off, his heavy blankets, and the equally heavy turnout, the horses hood coming off with it as well. Underneath, the colt look as if he had stepped out of the show pen, glossy pelt reminding her of summer and making her miss it. She go to the tack room, going to the homemade box stuffed in the corner, opening and grabbing a fine bristled brush. She sweep over the colts pelt, a more glossy shine coming to it as she do so.

She spend little time on the paints coat, making her way back to the tack room and finding the large cutting saddle, pads on top, the croaker bit hanging over the horn. Hauling it out, she set the saddle down horn first, pulling the pad out and placing it on the colts back. Picking up the saddle, she heave it onto the horses back, the saddle landing smoothly as she adjust it and the pad accordingly, assuring it wasn't too high on the paints withers, or too far back, resting behind his shoulders. Flipping both the back and front cinch down, she pull it under the horse, the ladigo slipping through easily and going around three times before she adjust it snugly, moving onto the back cinch, and simply fastening it up snug to the colts belly. She bend down to grab the bridle, slinging the long split reins evenly and she hang it around the horn. All the while, the colt stood motionless, swiveling an ear here and there as the girl move easily around him. Puling the sport boots from the box, she snug them onto the colts legs, assuring all four were secure and would stay in place.

She pull the bridle off the horn, unlatching the cross ties from the horses halter, slipping it off and replacing it with the advanced bit. The paint lick his lips happily, the sound of the rolling port making him perk his ears. Personality was something this horses didn't lack. Josh had just recently moved the horse up into a more advanced bit, knowing even in a snaffle he hardly needed encouragement from her hands, so with something more advanced in his mouth, Josh was simply testing him. If he became hard mouthed in it, then she would go back to a snaffle and soften him up, but lately the horse had worked wonders in the bit, though this would be the first day since her accident that she had worked cows on him with it in. Let's hope things went smoothly....

She enter the indoor, paint in tow, sliding the door closed behind her. Walking to the middle, she throw a stirrup over the horn, pulling at the cinch, adjusting it a little more. She throw one rein over the colts neck, letting the other fall to the sod, "Stand" she tell the horse as she walk towards the far end of the arena, the door leading outside to the chutes. She step outside, the cold air making her thankful that the barn was somewhat heated. She go to the back chutes, the twenty head huddled together, heads turning to stare. She open the small gate, climbing over the fences in with the steers, moving behind the front one, just enough to send it forward and out through the gate. She step in front of the rest of the group, blocking them from following. Depending on how long she worked the one cow, she might need another, but for now, the one would be suffice.

She trail behind the cow, locking it the the small pen that led to the indoor. She climb back over the fence, following the path that led back to the door she came through. The warm air from inside was welcoming as she step through, going to the bigger sliding door and pulling it open, the red steer darting through and into the arena. The colts ears instantly perked up, nares flaring and quivering as he lightly nicker. This would also be his first time on cows since their accident. She walk back towards her horse, flipping the rein over his neck, rubbing his shoulder before stepping into the stirrup and swinging herself onto the horses back. She insure her reins were that of the same length and set to work warming up, allowing the steer to settle himself. She walk at the opposite end of where the steer was not wanting to disturb him, and immediately the colts head went into work mode. She work him laterally, asking for felxion into his chest and side to side, keeping his forward movement in the same direction, doing this at a walk, trot and lope then switching directions. She lope him into a few slides, asking for a turn-around, the colt spinning effortlessly, gaining speed as she cluck to him with each step. She remove her leg, allowing the other to lightly bump into the colts side, and just like that he stop, licking his lips all the while. Her gaze drifted momentarily to the steer at the other end.

"Josh! Listen to me Josh, can you say something?! Josh!" "Let her breath, just back off." "Sha-..Shades" "Oh thank god! He's fine baby, he's fine...."

For the first time in a really long time, the small red head was scared.

NOTES: Hmm.. voila!
OUTFIT: clickky
WORDS: one two zero zero
MUSE: meh -.-
CREDIT: NOTHING_PERSONAL@CAUTION 2.0
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[Daniel Christian Jenner]

Sweat dripped from his forehead and stung his eyes, the sun glared down on him and blinded everyone who dared to venture into it, casting mirages of water across the desert. Everyone who looked out on it in the group longed to be able to jump into a cool crisp lake, unfortunately, they had all long since learned the lesson of the tricks the desert played on the mind. They kept themselves in good spirits by thinking of home and the family and friends that waited back on peaceful shores. Most couldn't wait for their time to be up so they could go home, but not Pvt. Daniel Jenner. The army had become his life, and he looked forward to continuing to serve his country. Oh sure, he missed his family, but there was nothing quite like the thrill and accomplishment of being in the arm.

They trudged on into the desert, every step bringing them just a little closer to the town where they knew they would meet their next brush with death. What they weren't expecting, though, was the call from someone in the ranks shouting "get down" and hardly a moment later gunfire erupted out of the buildings. All around them rockets started exploding in the sand, launched from within. Everyone hit the sand, returning fire, knowing they were sitting ducks out there. Slowly they advanced, several injured but still pressing on. When they finally and painstakingly made it in, they thought they were perhaps out of the worse of it, until the unthinkable happened.

Something exploded, sending tiny bits of shrapnel everywhere. Daniel was one of those who got the brunt of the explosion. He was thrown back away, bits of glass and metal embedded in him. The pain was unbearable. He closed his eyes in agony and just when he thought couldn't take it anymore, he heard his name. The voice was feminine, young, no older than 16. His sister. His eyes opened and around him were four white walls, the glow of an alarm clock. He was home. You were doing it again, Danny.

[/s] she said as he focused on her. These nightmares were a disaster, and he rarely slept through the night because of them.

Sorry. he said as he sat up and glanced around him. This house they were living in, it was definitely a fixer upper, and being that they'd only been here a few weeks and it was winter... and well, there wasn't heat in most of the house, he, his sister, and their dog all slept on the floor in the one room with a heater, and he tended to unintentionally wake the both of them whenever this happened. Are you going out again?[/s] she asked, to which he nodded and stood up. I'll be back before you leave for school.

Running was his way of shaking off the horrific memories of the war... or at least the less violent. The other was to get himself wasted and start a fight, he'd found running to be the best alternative to getting himself thrown in jail for beating the hell out of some guy. As soon as he stepped out into the cold air of the very early morning, he felt better. There was no memory of the war that he could associate with being this cold. After a quick glance down at the dog he started out, no real destination in mind. It was 2:00 when he started out, and by the time he returned, it was nearly 5:00, just in time to take a quick shower, get himself ready for the day, get his sister up and ready in time for school, take her there, then head out to work with the horses.

Today was probably not very likely to be a very good day, mostly because of the vivid memories lingering in the back of his mind, nevertheless, working with any of his five horses always seemed to help with that. They made him relax because he knew if he didn't he would only stress the horse out more. He worked each horse in turn, before taking Sandy out and tacking her up. The mare was very well mannered and very willing, except on bad days when she decided to throw a temper tantrum.

It was the western saddle today for the paint. He was far too tired and unsettled to do any real work with her, so he decided on a trail ride which would hopefully be completely uneventful. It didn't take long to get the horse tacked up and ready to go, so he lead her out of the barn and down towards the trails. He stopped, though, by the western arena where a girl astride a horse that was quite large in comparison to her, seemed to be cautiously eyeing a steer at the other end of the arena. He'd done his fair share of western riding, but to be perfectly honest he was more of a horse starter than a competitive rider, and he really wasn't all that superb at anything involving cows, never really had been. Nevertheless, he was fascinated, and decided to watch a moment. Just because he wasn't much good at the event didn't mean he couldn't appreciate the work that went into it.

Sandy was just as interested as Danny, and the two of them stood watching, waiting for the other pair to do their thing, though Danny wondered if she was going to at all. For some reason or another, she just didn't seem all that sure of herself. Perhaps they were new to this particular event or something... or maybe she just got herself all stressed out and nervous all the time. Whatever it was, he wanted to see if she would do it at all and if she did, how well she did it. He knew all too well what it was like to have to keep doing something even if the prospect scared you to death. He was a soldier, that was what they did every day. Unfortunately for him, doing that had nearly killed him and he was lucky to be alive. If he could have, he would have gone right back out there and finished out his final three years at least, maybe more... but they wouldn't let him back in, not after the numerous psychological break downs he'd had after the bomb. He couldn't help the flashbacks, and he couldn't control himself during them. As much as he hated to admit it, them refusing to let him back out there was the best thing they could have done for him.[/size][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[courtree]

gonna stand t

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She pull a ragged breath in, the colt beneath her seeming to sense her nerves snorted and shook his head, pulling it down wards and grabbing at the bit, pulling the girls arms with it. She gave him a light bump back up, "Yea, I know" she spoke, her tone quieter then usual as she eye the steer for only a moment longer, her gaze going back ahead of her. Hands drop the reins onto the horses neck, digits reaching into her jacket pocket, pulling out the small bright yellow iPod, skull candy headphones wrapped around. She stuff the ear buds in, blocking outside noise, just like her father had told her to do years ago. "Just forget about everything around you, and dance to the music", the memory of him telling her making the girl lightly smile. That's what he referred to cutting as, dancing. Scrolling down, she picked a Florence and the Machines song, "Dog days are over" and she stuff the iPod back into her pocket, zipping it up till it hit the headphones cord, assuring it wouldn't come out.

Picking up the reins, she apply light leg to the colts side, and he obediently moved off of it, making their way towards the cow. The steer at the other end perked up, ears pointed in their direction looking as if it was already going to move off the little pressure they were forcing onto it. The steer flinch as if he was going to faint to the left, Shades was ready to follow, but Josh quickly pulled the horse up, heart beating furiously feeling as if it might burst from her chest. The colt shook his head in protest and once again pulled at the reins, taking a step forward. She close her eyes momentarily, listening to the music, taking a quiet breath in she drop her hands and leg the horse up, the colt more then willing to move forward. She deepen her seat, hand wrapping around the tall slender horn knowing no matter how smooth the colts movements and switchbacks were, the extra help to stay seated was needed. Any other horse she would two hand them, but Shades knew his job better then the girl herself did. If she tried to two hand him, it would only interfere and hinder his performance.

They two pushed into the steers space, the red cow darting to the left, and just like that, Shades hunkered down on his rump and pushed to the side, mirroring the steers every move, the colts head always turned into the cow, watching every flinch the cow made, ready to push back and mimic the steer. The colt pushed farther past the cows shoulder to get him to turn back, and sure enough the red did, and the colt followed, Josh only adding light encouragement from her legs if he seemed a little lazy, though one would never guess he was lazy just by looking at him, it was more of a feel. They cut the steer back and forth for only a moment, Josh pulled up on the reins, allowing the steer to go right to the wall and up it before allowing the colt to follow, side by side with the cow the raced up the wall, and just as the colt got ahead he ducked into the wall. The girls heart raced and immediately her hands pulled the colt up, the steer slipping by them, the paint slightly prancing, breathing heavily still thinking he had to work.

You idiot! Get over it...just let it go, you gotta get over it sooner or later thoughts run through her head, the flash of that black steer toppling over her yet again, just like it had almost a year ago. Just thinking about it made the girls sides hurt, the scars running along her ribcage always a reminder of how stupid she was to compete in working cow horse. Her dad was all for cutting, back as soon as Josh had mentioned she had entered a working cow horse competition he immediately grew pissed. She backed out of it of course, not wanting to upset her dad, but after he passed away, she yet again entered it, as if punishment to him, and herself. Shades was only a beefy three year old at the time, and she was working him with two hands, only lightly, and as soon as they went to turn into the wall to push the cow back, the steer obviously had different thoughts, and toppled over Josh and Shades. The colt went down, Josh's leg pinned underneath, and next thing you knew, the black steer was scrambling to get over, breaking five ribs, three on the right side facing the cow, and two on the left, the impact of the cow on her right putting enough pressure to break two on her left. Not to mention a broken collar bone and a hairline fractured hip. Everything after that went dark.

Last time. She push the memories aside, moving her the colt back towards the red steer now at the other end. As it dart back up the wall, she push Shades, the colt breaking into a full out sprint neck and neck with the steer. The paint push past the steer, hind end bunching beneath him as he slide a good eight feet before turning into the wall, Josh simply adding leg and leaving her hand on the colts neck with the reins, other gripping the horn. The steer also turn into the wall, and just like that, the flawless movement was performed. They raced back to catch up with the steer, sliding another eight or so feet into the wall, the steer once again turning into the wall. Going to the inside of the red steer now, they moved it off the wall, pushing it into a circle, staying to the outside of it all the while, before switching leads at top speed and pushing the steer in the opposite direction, completing another circle opposite to the other. She cooed easily to the colt, and he hunkered down and slid to a stop, back rounded as he got under himself. She backed him a few steps just to encourage the roundness, and then she let her reins drop.

The colt puffed out a breath, and Josh couldn't help but lightly laugh to herself as she pull out the headphones and stuff them into her pocket. It felt good to laugh, it was the first time she had done it since as far back as she could remember and now it seemed she couldn't stop. Her laugh bubbled out as she bend down to rub the colts warm shoulder, the horses ears swiveling to her sound, a sigh of content coming from the paint. Maybe that was it, relief, her laughter was simply her way of showing the relief and contentment she now felt. Whatever it was, it felt good. She leg the colt up, and he step into a lazy walk, cooling down. Maybe they should head for a trail ride, just to cool down. Maybe.

NOTES: Zip.
OUTFIT: clickky
WORDS: one one nine one
MUSE: I'm sitting above my parents indoor watching the junior cutters, and its retardedly cute. Though if my dad knew I was up here and not helping, he would bitch slap me... :3
CREDIT: NOTHING_PERSONAL@CAUTION 2.0
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[Daniel Christian Jenner]

Soldiers were always happy to be home, on safer shores. They were always glad to be surrounded by family and friends. As soon as they set foot back on the soil of the united States their lives became a fairy tale of happiness... or so the media liked you to believe. The truth of the matter was, though, that often the hell they experienced over seas followed them home. So many of them were traumatized by the things that they went through that they would never truly be home again. That was how danny felt. He was back, but he wasn't home. It was as if he had lost a part of himself over there in the sands of the desert, as if with every bullet he fired a piece of him went with it, never to be returned. Home was gone now, there was no such thing. He had given everything, risked his life even, defending this country that he loved, but on returning, he found that somehow maybe he didn't quite love this country so much as he had before.

They said that soldiers had only one wish, to come home... but those that said it had no idea what that really meant. To someone like Danny, it meant that he was going to spend the rest of his life longing for what he had before, and no amount of therapy or specialists could ever bring that back. He was irreversibly changed. Home was a thing of the past. Sometimes that longing ache got to be too much, and many who felt it ended their lives because the pain of it all was just too much to handle. He would never admit it, but many many times he was tempted to do it. It would be easy, he'd pulled the trigger so many times to kill others that doing it to kill himself shouldn't be that hard... but he never did. He wasn't sure why he never did... perhaps because of his sister, perhaps because it really wasn't so easy as he thought... but whatever the reason, he hadn't yet, and odds were against him ever doing it... but that didn't mean he didn't often consider it... after all, if he had no place in this world anymore, what was the point in sticking around? It was a horrible thought, but it wasn't one that he could help.

Luckily for him, he was better at managing the PTSD than a lot of people, so most people in society didn't know about it. Everyone in his home town had eventually found out because of a certain incident that had unfolded, and that was part of why he had decided to sell most of the horses except for a few of his favorites and the best color throwers and move to the other side of the country. When you were trying to escape from your past but everyone knew about it, you just couldn't get away. It had been a small town where everyone knew everyone, and that translated into everyone pitying him and trying to get him to talk about it and never leaving him alone about it... some people even decided that they should bring him and his sister dinners... and that was the end of it. Yes, he had a problem, a psychological disorder, if you will, but that did not mean he was diseased or somehow incapable of taking care of things himself.

He hadn't wanted to suggest moving to his sister, but she knew him well enough to see that it was bothering him. The more people tried to reach out to him the more irritable he became until she finally told him that if he wanted to get away from this she was fine with moving somewhere else. A few of her friends had moved to Addison, and danny knew they were known for their equine facilities, so they agreed to move there and start fresh. They sold essentially everything except one of their stallions, two of the mares, and two of the foals, and of course Danny's dog and his sister's dog came with them. other than that, they left everything of their old life behind, packed their clothing and other such thing into suitcases in the back of the pickup, horses and tack in the trailer, the dogs in the back seat, and the two of them in the front, and set off for their new lives.

Now they were here... living in their little slightly run down house, slowly working on restoring it back to it's previous condition. Sure, they could have afforded something that didn't need so much work, but the more physical labor Danny had to do the better. Whenever he was worn out he was less likely to have another one of his "episodes" and that was just better for everyone. They always took so much out of him, and he hated knowing that he could potentially hurt someone, so he preferred to have something to work on in his spare time. That was part of the reason he had decided to continue his parents legacy of breeding colored thoroughbreds. They were antsy and irritable, and it often took a lot out of you just to walk them from their stall to the track... that and he had always liked the stallion and two mares, and he needed some young ones to bring up if he was going to stay in the business, so those were the five that came with them.

He continued watching the girl in the arena as she and her horse carried on with their practice. He knew enough about western riding to know that they were pretty good, but not enough to know just how good. He was more of a long and lanky thoroughbred kind of person as opposed to the more compact and stout quarter horse look that the paint she was riding appeared to have, but that didn't mean he couldn't admire a more stocky horse. Sandy, on the other hand, was less impressed with the other horse and rider and tossed her head impatiently, but otherwise didn't fuss much. Danny just patted her neck and kept her where she was. It wasn't considered good manners to watch someone then leave without saying something, or at least that what he'd been taught before shipping off to the army. "He's a nice horse." he said with a nod as the girl neared him while walking the horse around the arena, tightening his hold on the mare as she started to prance slightly as the other horse neared. Though she was the oldest of his posse, she definitely wasn't lacking in spirit or energy, a trait Danny hoped she would pass on to her offspring.

((Super crappy post... sorry it took so ridiculously long ))

[courtree]

gonna stand t

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The laughter continue to bubble out of her, the relief it had on her was truly remarkable. To feel this...light, it felt like forever ago that she actually felt like nothing could bring her down, like nothing could top this feeling. And for now, she would hold onto it, for as long as she could. She walk the colt over to the far end, opening the door that would lead out to the chutes, and no sooner was the steer already trotting their way, pausing before the two, evidentially cautious of the two. She move the colt out of the way and just like that, the steer bolted past them and out the door. She close the door and move around the arena yet again.

The colt move out slowly, knowing his work was finished, she let the reins fall to his neck, stretching her back out, throwing her arms out to either side as she do so, that content smile still on her lips, the occasional laugh bubbling out every so often. As the colt move along the far wall, a mans voice was heard and Josh couldn't help but flinch at first. How long had he been there? Did he watch? Oh god, the look on her face when memories from her accident came back. He probably thought something terrible about her, but evidently he liked her horse. "Uh...thanks" she spoke, her tone surprisingly friendlier then she imagined it would be. No doubt due to the performance her horse just gave. She caught herself smiling at the boy, nothing dramatic just simply an easy smile, but a smile nonetheless, and this too was odd for her. It seemed there were a lot of firsts happening today.

She swing her leg over the back of the colt, pulling her other foot out before she hit the ground, a light thud being made as she do so. Moving to the arena door, she pull it lightly, being sure as to not spook the horse that was outside of it, "I'm done in here though if your on your way in..?" she asked, not really knowing if the boy was going in or not.

NOTES: No problem. Sorry for the crap post though xD
OUTFIT: clickky
WORDS: three six five
MUSE: Starring at a blank wall.
CREDIT: NOTHING_PERSONAL@CAUTION 2.0
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