Julie and Duke at the stables

Julie walked out of the resteraunt she worked at and bolted down the street. After 15 minutes of constant running she finally got to her destination - the stables. She ran down the driveway and over to the paddock, she jumped onto the first rail of the paddock fence and whistled and called"Duke!"
Suddenly hooves thundered through the paddock and a gorgeous red dun lusitano gelding galloped up to Julie. He hung his head low, throwing it in the air and then stopping dead in his tracks, his nose touching Julie's forhead.
Julie laughed softly and held out the apple she was holding, to him and the gelding gobbled it down then nickered to Julie, wodnering if she had anything else
"i;'ve got nothing"she said, holding up her hands and then she climbed up the paddock fence and sat on it as Duke trotted off to prance around the paddock

Jared walked through the stables, whistling tunefully to himself as he strode down the messy aisle. He ran a hand through his dirty blonde hair and a loud whinny filled his ears. Looking around, he caught sight of his gorgeous palomino Quarter Horse gelding, Spakanuraeth. That was his show name of course, but everyone called him Spak. He smiled and walked out from under the large amount of shelter, into the light and towards the paddock. Jared smiled as the gelding eagerly leaned his head over the strong, wooden fence and stretched his muzzle out. He watched as the gelding's lip curled back in irritation as he couldn't quite reach his owner, pulling it back and tucking it into his chest. Jared walked a bit closer and swung himself up onto the top rail of the fence and slid down inside the paddock, gently rubbed Spakanuraeth's nose with his finger before pulling out a cube of sugar and placing it under his muzzle. He stroked his neck with his free hand and watched as the horse gobbled it down greedily, then nudged his chest, expecting more.

Duke looked over at the next paddock and when he saw Jared he neighed in fright and turned around, galloping back over to Julie for protection. He didn't know the person so he was instantly frightened of him. Duke buried his head in Julie's arms with a soft, frightened nicker

Jared glanced at the horse whom was galloping towards his own and his gaze settled on him for a moment before it drifted back to his palomino, Spakanuraeth that stood infront of him, nudging him gently. He pulled out a few pony oats and stroked the horse's pelt gently, grabbing a handful of his white mane and swung himself up onto his high back and squeezed his sides, askng for a canter.
Spakanuraeth neighed and gave a delighted rear before starting to canter around the paddock with his ears pricked alertively. He whinnied and tossed his long mane as the wind whipped through the parts Jared wasn't clutching and smiled to himself, nickering to the passing horses in greeting.

Duke shied away as he noticed Jared suddenly move and Julie jumped down from the fence and walked over to the gelding, settling him down"it's alright, boy"she murmured softly, patting him gently. She then glanced over at where the trails started and she walked towards the paddock gate with Duke following her very closely.. She then unlocked the gate and opened it, walking out with the gelding behind her. She then walked towards the trails. She wouldn't ride him not with other people around. She'd walk through the trails with him following and then get on him later, when they were by themselves.

Jared watched the interesting pair for a minute or two. There was a girl walking out of the paddock with her horse following closely behind her without any encouragement or guidance. He smiled, bonded, he thought and turned his concentration back to riding his horse, clicking his tongue for a faster pace as he had slowed down to a trot.
Spakanuraeth tossed his head and snorted at Jared's commands, ignoring them. He whinnied and trotted closer to the fence where the pair Jared has been watching walked. The gelding pressed his chest firmly against the wooden fence and halted, jerking his head back making Jared's head bash into his neck. He stretched his neck out over to them and nickered towards the horse, ears pricked curiously.
Jared winced as his face collided harshly with the hairline of Spak's neck. He clutched his nose and felt dripping, cupping it so the blood wouldn't rush onto the horse or his clothes. The boy thought his nose was broken.

When Duke heard the nicker he stopped and looked back at the gelding. He then noticed the guy on the gelding and he took a step forward, towards Julie who was already next to him, comforting him.
Julie then sighed and grabbed hold of Duke's halter and started walking towards the gelding and the guy. She could feel Duke pulling roughly, but also trying not to hurt her. Once she got to the gelding and the guy Duke was going phsyco but she managed to keep ahold of him"are you alright?"she asked Jared as she calmed her gelding down, she wondered what had happened..

Jared winced as he feel blood rushing out from his nose, his eyes flickering to the girl and her gelding for a brief moment. "Yerh.. fine," He muttered and took his hand slowly away from his nose. The boy glanced at the puddle of blood in his hand which was just about overfilled and quickly dismounted, rushing over to the stables. He was in search for a tissue or handkercheif and he eventually found a tissue box and wiped his nose and hands, then washed them.
Spakanuraeth snorted and watched as his owner diappeared within the stables. He hadn't intended to hurt him, or startle the shy gelding.

Julie let go of Duke who settled as soon as Jared left and she ran after Jared"that doesn;t look alright.. shouldn't you go and see someone about it? it could be broken.."she didn;t mean to sound pushy, she was just worried..

Duke looked at Spak and pricked his ears, lowering his head slightly, not sure of the gelding. He flicked his tail and snorted softly..

Jared held a tissue lightly to his nose, shaking his head. "Nar. I think I'll be alright. Besides, there aren't many people around here that are trained in medicine and the next hospital is about an hour away, it should stop bleeding soon," He told hr with a faint smile, his eyes drifting back to his horse.
Spakanuraeth whinnied and swished his tail as he waited patiently for his owner to come back, looking over at the other horse. He lowered his head slightly and nickered.

Julie sighed softly"okay.."she replied then glanced over at Duke who was looking at her expectantly now. She looked back at Jared"i'm sorry"she said"but i really should get going."she waved slightly, not wanting to leave him but she had to take Duke out for training. She turned around and ran off, towards the trails and she whistled and Duke imediately turned and galloped after her and the two disappeared into the trees. Julie felt guilty for leaving Jared alone but she needed to train Duke.. She hadn't for three days now and he was getting frisky..

Jared nodded, he didn't mind if she left. He walked into the bathroom and put his head in the sink for a minute, watching as the blood lessened each time it dripped. Finally, it stopped. But his nose was still sore. He walked back out to the paddock and watched Julie and Duke for a while before walking over to Spakanuraeth, stroking his face gently.
Spakanuraeth nickered and nudged Jared's chest apologetically, flicking his ears back as he looked at the gelding that he had tried to socialize with. He seemed a bit anti-social.

one and a half hours later Duke galloped back to the stables with Julie on his back. He bucked playfully but she managed to stay on. Julie jumped off the gelding as they reached Duke's paddock and Duke skidded to a stop. Julie unlocked the paddock gate and opened it and Duke galloped in, throwing his head in the air and bucking playfully. He was always energetic and after his training.. Even though they were hard workouts.

Jared had been lathering Spakanuraeth up with soap suds as he looked up, hearing the sound of hoovs clashing against concrete and saw Duke and Julie. He turned his attention back to washing his horse, he hadn't even asked the girl's name yet. Slack, the boy thought with a uiet chuckle at his own thoughts.
Spakanuraeth swished his unlathered tail with a delighted snort. As the soap suds rolled down his coat, it made it tickle. He whinnied out with horsey laughter and shook his coat, getting a little soap over Jared.

Julie smiled and shut the paddock gate, locking it and she watched him for a moment before she turned around and walked into the stables and into the feed room. She got a biscuit of hay and walked back out and threw it into Duke's paddock then she jumped the fence and went and checked on his water as the gelding came up to eat.

Jared chuckled as his horse shook, a few bubbles planted themselves in his hair and on his shirt. He pressed his lips into a tight line and walked over to the hose and grabbing it, turning it on. Walking towards Spak, he kept the hose down carefully. Jared slowly raised it onto the horse's beautiful palomino coat and started washing the soap suds off.
Spakanuraeth snorted pleasureably and rested his hind hoof with ease, one of his ears flopping down lazily. His eyes drifted to all the horses who runned around in the paddock freely.

Julie walked back, jumping the fence and she walked over to Spak and Jared"hey again"she said"how's your nose?" She glanced back at Duke who was eating as well as watching her closely.

Jared turned off the hose and lowered it, glancing up at Julie. "Hey, uh.. yeah. I'm fine now," He told her, running a hand through his soapy hair with a light chuckle. "I'm Jared by the way and this is Spakanuraeth, Spak for short," The boy said politely, taking his hand out of his hand to meet hers halfway.
Spakanuraeth nickered and turned his head around, looking at the girl.

Julie smiled"it's nice to meet you, Jared"she said, reaching out to shake his hand then she petted Spak"and you too, Spak. I'm Julie, by the way and that's my gelding, Duke."she smiled sadly as memories of when she first got Duke...abused and frightened..

Jared shook Julie's hand firmly but in a gentle way. After a couple of greeting shakes, he dropped her hand and let his hand fall back to his sides, glancing over the girl quickly, then back over to the gelding she called 'Duke'. He nodded, he looked frightened or shy. It was probably because of his history. The boy took notice of the sad expression she carried across her stunning features and decided not to question it.
Spak snorted and pricked his ears to the fullest, listening carefully.

Julie recovered quickly and she looked back at Jared with a smile"Don't take it to heart if he runs away.. He's not very good with others.."she said, trying her best to cover her emotions. She didn't like to show any bad emotions... Mainly because it made people question her.

Jared watched her quick recovery and blinked in surprise, nodding to her statements. He used to own a horse like that, Democratical, before he passed away due to breaking a leg. The boy chewed his lip and looked down at Julie, "So, do you rent a cabin here or go home?" He asked, trying to pick up a conversation.
Spakanuraeth whinnied and pawed the ground, shaking his coat.

Julie sighed softly"I'm actually living with some girl who was looking for a house mate who'd pay rent. I don't know her very well because i'm always working or down here with Duke.."she replied"What about you?"

Jared listened carefully, he wondered what it was like for her but shook the thought away and answered, carefully choosing his choice of words, "I live at home with my Dad, but he is normally always out from 6:00am to 10:00pm so I rarely see him and if I do, he is always busy. We get along, but its a little awkward, ever since my Mum passed," He told her, jaw clenching. He struggled not to show any emotion over his face, folding his arms across his chest.

Julie looked at the ground. She didn't know what it felt like to lose a parent but she knew she wouldn't care if her parents died... But it was different for Jared"i'm sorry.."she said softly, now feeling a little awkward.