Timber Creek Stables ᵃᶰ ᵃᵈᵛᵃᶰᶜᵉᵈ ʳᵒᶫᵉᵖᶫᵃʸ discussion

Axel led Catherine into the barn, able to hear the neighing of all the horses, and more prominently the sounds of his own horse, Faroth, who was desperate to escape the stable. "You have horse riding class today, yeah? You made any friends there yet?" he asked as he led the way to Faroth's stall. He hoped Faroth wasn't too upset. He usually was here earlier, but after class he got called in for a shift at the coffee shop and since that was paying rent for him and Faroth, he had to go for the extra cash and avoid being fired. "Will you be okay? Do you want me to walk to the class with you with Faroth? I gotta let him out of his stall soon or he's gonna break the door down again."

Catherine stuck close to her brother as they walked into the barn. "Yes. No," she said, quietly to him. She didn't know if her could hear her over the noise that his horse Faroth was making. She watched as the large stallion kicked at his stall door. "I'll be ok. Yes, I want you to come with me," she said looking up at her brother with wide eyes. She hoped his horse didn't break down the door again. That would mean that her brother would have to pay for another new one.

Axel moved quickly to the stall when Faroth kicked it, glancing at Catherine before saying, "Here, stay right here so you don't get hurt." he moved into the stall as Faroth pranced around nervously, whinnying loudly as Axel moved towards him, shushing him calmly as he reached for his head, gently blowing into his nostrils so he could get his scent and relax. It took a few moments, but Faroth eventually stilled, his flanks heaving as he panted. "Good boy.....good boy." Axel soothed, stroking Faroth's head. "Alright, Catherine. You can come in now. He's calm."

Catherine walked slowly into the stall once Axel said that it was alright for her to come in. She slowly approached Faroth, holding out her hand for him to smell as she came into his space. She liked her brother's horse sometimes and sometimes not. His rearing and whinnying made her afraid for her brother and for the horse.

Faroth snorted when she approached, but sniffed her hand and relaxed when she was near again, his tail flicking back and forth.

"Oh, poor Faroth." Axel cooed, stroking the horse's head lovingly. "I'm sorry I didn't come sooner, I was working to keep a roof over all three of our heads, a roof I know you don't like but I've nowhere else to keep you." he murmured softly. He looked at Catherine. "Want to pass me his bridle? As soon as I have it on him we can go, unless you'd like to feed him a carrot first?"

"I want to feed him a carrot first," Catherine said as she reached into her pocket and pulled one out. She held out her hand, her palm flat, so that Faroth could take the carrot from her. When he did, she giggled as his lips tickled her palm and then rubbed his nose gently before she left the stall and brought back his bridle. "Here you go Axel."

As always, Faroth was extremely gentle when it came to Catherine and delicately lipped the carrot from her hand to crunch in his powerful jaws. He nickered softly when she rubbed his nose, eyes warm as he looked down at the tiny companion of his new master. He looked up again when Axel accepted the bridle from Catherine and nickered again nervously. "Shh....its alright, Faroth. Its just your bridle. You aren't getting a saddle. We're just going to walk Catherine to class." he soothed, stroking his nose calmly before gently sliding the bridle onto his face. "There we are...nice and easy." He moved to lead Faroth out of the stall. "You wanna ride Faroth to where your class is being held?" he asked her with a smile.

Catherine looked up at Axel hopefully. "Will he let me ride him?" she asked. She knew that her brother's horse had been mistreated and hated it when a saddle was put on him but she'd never ridden bareback before and she didn't know if Faroth would let her. She kept petting his nose as she looked at her brother.

"Oh yes, I'm sure he won't mind. You just have to be gentle, like I know you can be." Axel reassured, urging to still his nervous prancing. He moved to pick Catherine up under her arms. "Ally-oop!" he said, swinging her up and onto Faroth's back, waiting for a moment before setting her on his back, ready to yank her off if Faroth wasn't ready. Faroth whinnied nervously and Axel tensed, but Faroth calmed after a moment and relaxed with a soft noise. "Good boy, Faroth." he soothed, running his hand along his flank. "Alright, just hold onto his mane, don't tense up and he won't bounce you off. Its like riding with a saddle, a really thin one. Move with the horse and you will be fine." he reassured. He'd been riding Faroth bareback for nearly two years now, afterall.

Catherine squealed and giggled when Axel lifted her up and put her on Faroth's back. She tried not to wriggle as she got used to the strange sensation of not having a saddle between her and a horse. She leaned forward slightly and tangled her fingers in his mane. When she was ready, she looked at Axel and said, "Ok. I'm ready."

Axel held onto the lead to make sure Faroth wouldn't bolt, and smiled up at her. "Alright then, be careful not to pull on his mane." he said, giving the last necessary warning. He slowly led Faroth out of the stall, pausing when they were out to see if Catherine was alright with being on his back saddleless so far.

Catherine thought it was a strange feeling to be riding bareback. It was interesting too became she could feel his powerful muscles moving with every step. "I won't pull on him," she promised Axel. She unwound one of her hands and stroked Faroth's neck. "Good boy," she told him in a soft voice, watching his ears flick back to catch her words.

"I'm certain you won't." Axel said with a smile. "You're a very good rider. If Faroth is fine with you riding him, then there is no horse you won't be able to ride." he glanced over his shoulder at her, then turned to lead Faroth slowly across the barn. He kept glancing over his shoulder at Faroth to make sure both he and Catherine were okay.

Catherine grinned at her brother when he looked back at her, showing some of her earlier happiness that she'd had before their parents had died. "You really think so, Axel?" she asked him as they exited the barn. She kept one hand holding onto Faroth's mane and used the other to keep stroking his neck.

"I don't think so, Catherine. I know so. Being able to ride a flighty horse, more particularly a traumatized one, and not have him buck says a lot about the rider, you know." Axel said as they walked. He kept at a slow pace since she was inexperienced with bareback riding. He certainly didn't want her to fall off. She was hurting enough as it was emotionally.

"Oh," she said softly. Then she leaned down and hugged Faroth around the neck as best she could given her small size. As she sat back up, she watched some birds flying overhead and wondered if Axel would let her ride his horse again sometime, if he was having a good day. As they drew closer to the small group of other children, Catherine seemed to retreat into herself.

Faroth snorted, his tail flicking and making Axel look behind himself at the horse, then at Catherine. Seeing her retreat into herself, he stopped and moved to her. "Catherine? Is everything alright?" he asked softly, looking concerned.

Catherine only nodded her head. Even a year after her parents death, she didn't talk to anyone other than Axel unless she had to. And even then it was a struggle to get her to talk in class. She kept her head bowed as she looked at Farorh's shoulders. "I want to get down now," she told her brother quietly, holding her arms out to him so that he could get her off of the large horse.

Axel looked worried as he moved to lift her down off Faroth. He wasn't sure what to do. He had thought that perhaps after a year she would move on but she seemed awful stuck in the past. While he of course still felt that sharp pain in his heart when he thought of their parents, he had been able to move on, especially with Faroth and Catherine in his care. But he honestly didn't know how else to help Catherine. He'd tried giving her space, being her rock and shoulder to cry on and everything else under the sun but it just seemed to have no affect and it was making him start to wonder if perhaps she just wanted to be alone and was doing this to achieve that. "You know....if you don't like the classes and being around others, you don't have to go. Faroth lets you ride him, so if you like horses you can ride him til I get money for you to get your own. I don't want you to be hurting anymore and I don't know what else to do after a whe year of trying. I guess I'm like those other relatives said, a useless brother....in sorry I haven't been able to help you...maybe one of our aunts or uncles will be able to do a better job." He hung his head and stared at the ground as Faroth nuzzled him with a soft nicker.

Catherine's eyes widened as she listened to what Axel was saying. He wanted her to leave? She didn't want to live with anyone else. He was her brother! She moved forward and wrapped her arms around his waist. "I don't want to live with anyone else, Axel. I want to live with you." Her eyes welled up with tears as she lifted her head to look up at him. "Don't make me leave, Axel. Don't make me leave," she told him. "I'll trying harder, Axel. Just don't make me leave."

Axel shook his head and patted her hair. "Catherine....I don't wish to make you leave. I just don't know what else I can do anymore.....nothing I've done has helped you, and I don't want you to be hurting, especially if someone else would know best how to make you feel better." he said softly, kneeling to wrap her in a hug. "I love you with my heart, soul and every last microscopic cell in my body, that is why it kills me to see you so sad and alone like this. I want to help you, but I don't know what else to do." he murmured, feeling tears well up in his own eyes as he closed them.

Catherine buried her face in her brother's neck as silent tears fell down her cheeks. "I'm just not ready for friends, Axel, and I'm not alone. I have you and Faroth and Rebel and Kai," she said, naming their two Australian Shepard puppies. "I talk more to you now," she pointed out. In the first few months after they had lost their parents, she hadn't spoken at all.

Axel crushed her to his chest, just hugging her. "But you're still hurting." he murmured softly. "You're still hurting and I haven't been able to help. That's why I signed you up for the horse lessons. Because it brought back you. You looked happier. But you always retreat into yourself and it has me so worried, but I don't know what else to do." he said softly. He knew there had been plenty of their relatives against his adopting his sister, some of the more chief ones being 'he's only a boy himself, how will he know how to help her? Much less take care of her?' and it was now that he was wondering if perhaps they were right and he had no idea how to help her afterall and was only making things worse.

Catherine listened to her brother and felt Faroth, nudging her head with his nose, wondering what was going on between them. "I still hurt because I miss them, Axel. The anniversary is in a couple of days." Fresh tears spilled from her eyes. "I am getting better. It's just hard seeing everyone talking about what they did with their parents and not being able to talk about anything like that."

Axel couldn't help but smile when he saw Faroth lipping at Catherine's hair and reached up to gently push his nose away. "She'll give you a carrot later." he said, then looked down at her. "Why not talk about the stuff we do together? I know I'm no mom and dad but it would be something...yeah?" he offered softly, his thumb moving to brush the tears from her cheeks. "I know their anniversary is soon, and its going to be a hard day, but I know we'll be okay. Because they'll want us to be able to move on. Not forget, but move on. Because above everything else, what is the one thing they've always wanted us to be? Happy." he said, standing and ruffling her hair. "If we're not happy, they aren't happy, remember?"

Catherine nodded her head and wiped the rest of her tears from her face with the back of her hands. "Ok, Axel," she said. "I can be happy for them." It might take her a little while, but she was going to try and be happy for their parents. She didn't want them to be sad. She dug in her pocket and handed Faroth another carrot. "I'm ready to go to my lesson now," she told her brother.

Axel smiled as he watched Faroth lip the carrot gently from her hand. "Don't be happy just for them, silly. You need to also be happy for yourself." he murmured, ruffling her hair again. "I love you more than anything else. I never want you to be upset, but I know that's an impossibility in the world we live in. Instead, I strive to see you as happy as often as possible."

Catherine fixed her hair and shot Axel an exasperated look. "Stop messing up my hair," she told him as she started to finger comb it into a ponytail. "I love you too, Axel," she said, giving him another hug. She looked over at the small gathering of other children and took a deep breath. "Can we have pizza for dinner tonight after my lesson?" she asked him.

Axel laughed and moved to stick his hands in his pockets. "Sorry." he said, smiling in amusement. "And no, we had pizza last night, we gotta eat healthier. I'll cook us something." He moved to grab Faroth's lead. "I'm going to take him for a run on a trail. I've got my phone on me so if you need anything just let me know, okay?"

"Aww," Catherine said, looking disappointed. "What are you going to make?" She walked over to Faroth and stroked his nose and neck before giving him a kiss on his cheek. "You take care of my brother, Faroth," she told the big animal before turning to face Axel. "Ok." Then she started forward to head to the small grou gathered.

"Mmm...probably spaghetti?" Axel said after a moment. "Or, I could look up how to make pizza and we can do it ourselves? That could be fun." Faroth nickered softly as he looked at her, his tail flicking back and forth.

"Can we do French bread pizza? I saw something about it in the Internet and it looks really good. Then, we don't have to worry about making pizza dough," Cathering suggested as she turned to walk backwards. "Spaghetti is good too."

Axel smiled. "Of course! I've seen that and it does look pretty tasty. We can go shopping for ingredients together after your class." he said, laughing when Faroth let out a confused nicker at her walking backwards.

Catherine smiled. "Ok! I get to push the cart!" she called to him and then turned around and fast walked over to the group just in time for their lesson to start. She was smiling and feeling happier than she had in a long time. Now it was just a matter of her staying happy.

Axel chuckled. "Of course." he said, stumbling forward when Faroth nudged him and whinnied. "Alright, alright, we'll go now. I just wanted to walk her here, you silly little horse." he said, stroking his nose with a chuckle. "Let's go then." he moved to swing himself onto his back carefully and gently nudged him with his feet against his flanks. He knew flicking the reins often upset Faroth since he'd had a whip used on him in the past.