Angelina Bryan || 15 || Female || M : Indirect People

Angie kept dead silent in the back of the little Toyota, chin tucked in and left leg splayed at a diagonal angle to keep her stump from getting too painfully jostled. Her arms were crossed tightly across her chest, almost in a defensive position, and she swayed back and forth in a near loopy motion with the swerves and bumps with the road. As her mother pulled alongside a well-worn truck, Angie shrank deeper into herself and stared hard at the back of the passenger's seat.

"Angelina, come on out," the woman told her firmly, parking and gesturing to her second passenger -- Angie's father -- to get the rolling suitcase out of the trunk. The man sighed heavily and obeyed with a mumbled, "Yes, dear."

Angie remained in her defiant position for another few moments before getting out and lurching her way forward towards the lunch room. With her hair down to hide both her hearing aid and her sour expression, the girl scribbled down her name, picked up a map, and lurhced away again.

"Angie!" her father called, jogging awkwardly with the suitcase bumping and bouncing behind him. "Angie, wait!"

Angie did not wait.

She was perfectly capable of finding a cabin on her own, thank you very much. Hers happened to be the nearest to the main buildings, which caused her scowl to deepen. No doubt, her adopted parents had made sure she was nearest to the nurse's office.

"It's not like I'm so weak I'll drop dead walking," she snapped suddenly. All of this -- moving in with a new, permanent family, hyppotherapy, a riding camp -- it was beginning to snowball into one, hulking avalanche of emotion. Both parents stopped, shared a look, and moved on. In a matter-of-fact way, her mother said, "Of course not."

There was hesitancy. Angie knew it. She was not weak, and she was going to prove it to them if it was the last thing she did. And she would start by pulling her own weight.

Taking the suitcase from her father's hands, she lugged it across the uneven terrain and into the cabin, not allowing any signs of struggle to present themselves. She managed to get it up the wheelchair ramp and into the cabin itself, sliding it underneath one of the beds and crossing her arms again.

Not long after, her parents had left. She was finally alone. Well, for now, anyways. Determined not to be caught off guard, Angie refused to lay down on the inviting bed and instead practiced walking "right". Slow, controlled. She didn't want to be the "different" girl.

After another clump of time had passed, Angelina sat on the edge of the bed and stared at the opposite wall, listening to the faint whinnies of unseen horses and the chatter of others arriving, their perfect footsteps ringing in her ears.

Bandit || 4 || Mare || Thoroughbred || M : Other Horses

The red dun tobiano shifted in her stall, muscles tense and legs splayed slightly. Her ears flicked back and forth, straining for signs of human approach. She needed to run. To move. Kicking halfheartedly against the back wall of the stall which already had several indentations at kicking level, Bandit pushed forward and pressed her chest and front legs against the door, neck and head reaching far out the door. Swinging her head both ways, she released a testing whinny. It sounded dead outside the barn.

In the past couple of days, humans had been in and out of the stables quite frequently. Sure, it was early, but she needed to go out now. The pent up frustration and energy from the time during her recovery and subsequent removal from the racetrack was still very much alive.

Trying to strain harder, she could hear footsteps at one of the buildings not too far off from the barn, yet far enough that those pathetic two-legged creatures either couldn't hear or wouldn't respond. Pinning her ears, Bandit released a frustrated sort of growling huff and turned to observe the shuffling of the other horses around her.

It then occurred to the young mare that the door leading to the strip of a runway was open. Whether it was intentional or someone had forgotten, Bandit took advantage of it and pushed it open. She strode from the stall and walked along the railing, her legs stretching out as far as they would go. It only took her a few movements to reach the end of it, but she didn't return to the stall. The barn at which she had raced hadn't had this luxury, and it was one of the few things she would thank her current owners for.

She turned her gaze to the source of the sounds. More humans were arriving. New ones. She didn't recognize their rhythms. One was coming up, perhaps to let them out. Or, who knows, to try and ride, maybe. Bandit snorted softly and shifted her gaze away once more.

Chicago || 5 || Stallion || Vanner-Paint || M : Open

Chicago's closed eyes opened briefly at Bandit's annoyed cries. Peronally, he found the lack of morning rides confusing as well. Usually, this was the time he'd be taken to a corral or a round pen to be run around in endless circles. The only part of those sessions he enjoyed was the canter that he was allowed to move into afterwards.

He shut his eyes again and rocked backwards slightly, heaving a sigh. There was an odd feel to the air this morning, almost tense. Was a human tense? Afraid? He couldn't quite tell, obviously since there were off across the way, but he could tell there were some new arrivals. The tire sounds alone were evidence of that.

Chico moved his muzzle and half his face out to peer over at the other horses. Slowly, he asked, "What do you think is going on?"

He wasn't sure who would respond. Arashi and Bandit were now both outside, and he couldn't see all of the horses. His deep red and white coat twitched as flies began to appear, causing him to swing his tail in mild irritation, before he moved to his water bucket. It was almost empty, but, then again, the humans were acting strange today.

I realized I never established any affiliations for him, so if you want to do something PM me ;-;

Kendric

17 || Male || Rider || M:Open

The entire car ride Kendric had held a white knuckle grip on the steering wheel. He had his drivers license for a little over a year now, but his mother always freaked out about the little things. So far, the drive had been completely silent, it had often been filled with: Oh you should be an inch closer to the curb, now you're too close to the curb, do you want to hit it and pop the tire? TELL ME WHEN YOUR CHANGING LANES! That stop was too rough. He didn’t want to have another argument about it right before he left for camp, and was determined to drive perfectly. It was ruined when he ran over a pothole a few feet from the camp entrance, not seeing it in time to move.

His mother threw herself dramatically forward in her seat, and opened her mouth to make a comment on how he should’ve seen it sooner. He didn’t reply, letting her chatter on, and made the turn down the Camps driveway. Once the camp itself came into view he let out an audible sigh and found a spot to park. Kendric immediately jumped out of the car, swinging his legs out of the side of his mother’s blue truck and jumping down.

He was dressed in a black and white flannel, he wore his work boots, and pulled the ends up his jeans over the top of them. His curtained hair was styled so it swooped back and was out of his face. Kendric no longer wore any chains around his neck, nor rings, he was in what he liked to call his ‘horse clothes’, nothing too fancy, but also something he would be comfortable wearing and working in.

He closed the car door, wincing as it slammed, “Watch my truck!” his mother called, appearing from the passengers side. “It was an accident!” He yelled back, opening up the door to the truck behind him, he reached into the back to grab his bag, and tugged the thing out. Swinging the single strap over one of his shoulders and being careful to close the door without a noise.

Kendric gave one last glance towards his mother, and tossed her the keys, nearly walking off with them. He turned to walk to the check-in area and he heard her voice screech for him once more. “Where do you think you're going without saying goodbye!”

He spun around, heel digging into the ground as he stalked back over to her, his mother’s arms extended and she pursued her lips together as he approached. Kendric gave her an awkward pat on the back as she wrapped her arms around him, being oddly affectionate before he pulled away. “Alright...see you later,” he nodded, heading quickly away from his mother. It was then that he noticed that a few others had already arrived, and was glad none seemed to notice the awkward exchange. He was just ready for camp to start.