when all you gotta keep is strong ;; [Ray]

[Kennedy [JACKSON]]

move along, move along just to make it through

The red diesel truck rumbled into the parking lot. The boy rolled his eyes at the amount of sound the thing made. It was obnoxiously loud, and a little attention drawing for someone who rather liked to lay low. He shook his head a little as he jumped down. The pair of horses in the trailer snorted, kicking impatiently at the walls. It had been a long trip, and the pair was restless, but they could wait just a little longer. Kennedy had realized, half way through, in one of those epiphany thoughts, that he hadn't brought a first aid kit, and his horses, particularly Spook, were forever getting themselves hurt. So he figured he needed to throw one together. He hated mooching off of other people, although he didn't mind in the slightest when other people did it to him. He was a little funny that way. Just because it was ok for someone else to do, didn't mean Kennedy himself could do it. It was just a difference in his standards for other people and himself. It wasn't that he thought highly of himself. Completely the opposite. He had higher standards for hismelf, though, and almost because he needed to make up for not being as good as everyone else, or something to that effect.

His hands were shoved in the pockets of his jeans, his cowboy boots clopping lightly on the pavement as he strode across the parking lot. Of course, with the trailer, he'd had to park in back, so it was a bit of a hike, but he didn't mind. He rather liked walking, no matter where he was, be it around the barn or in the middle of town. It was just....nice. Relaxing, calming. And definitely a relief after who knew how many hours in that damn truck.

He pulled open the door, shaking a few strands of hair out of his eyes as he stepped into the tack shop. He glanced around, taking a few moments to get his bearings and trying to get the lay of the. It looked like first aid stuff was way in the back. He started to make his way through the store, pausing to look at this breast collar, and that bit. He liked to browse through horse things, although he hated shopping for anything else. The leather smell was heaven. He loved horses. Anything about them, everything about them. They were just great. He smiled as he finally hit the aisle with all the medicines. Without hesitation, he grabbed a bucket thing to put it all in, then royal blue bandages and tape. Then he began to examine all the ointments and salves. He liked doing th is stuff. Horse shopping was always fun. Some might have thought him ridiculous, but he didn't think so at all. Besides, his horses put out every effort for him. They deserved the best, didn't they?

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word count; 486
tag; ray
notes; none. =)

[remy thomson <3]

remy thomson !!

Remy swiftly scopped up her keys from the island in her kitchen and slipped on her beige coat, zipping it over a light colored sweater and faded blue jeans, her old brown boots visible under the ends of her pants. Her long blond hair had been put back in a pony tail, her bangs hanging in her blue-green eyes, and her golden locks gently waved down her back. Her family was no where in sight as she got ready to head out, though she heard the steady tapping noise of her mother typing on the computer. Remy sighed; her mother was an author and in the middle of her latest book, which ment she would ignore everyone all day and stay at her computer until the late hours of night, way past anyone's bedtime. Everyone else seemed to be already out, and her mother wouldn't notice her absence, so Remy slipped out quietly. She rushed to her red jeep cherokee, barely noticing that both her step-father's and step-sister's cars were missing; it was just her old jeep and her mother's newer sporty honda in garage.

As soon as she was in her car, Remy flipped on both the heater and the radio. She hated silence while she was driving, it unsettled her, so she usually listened to music of some form when she was driving. Today her plan was simple, head to the local take shop and then go to Autumn Hills to work with her horses. Remy hummed softly along with the music as she drove into town and into the tack shop's parking lot. Her eyes scanned the lot, looking for an open space. She noticed the horse trailer towards the back and she wondered for a moment if they belonged to another boarder going to Autumn Hills. Remy always wondered this with interest since her best friend's family owned the farm. Besides being a loyal friend, Remy also boarded her two horses there and liked meeting the newcommers. Thinking of her two horses, Remy quickly parked and got out of the car to make the walk up to the tack shop.

Like always, as soon as she stepped inside Remy paused to inhale deeply. She just loved the scent of leather that was a trademark to tack shops. The blond girl dreamed of being set loose in here with a credit card, her blue-green eyes scanning over the beautiful saddles that she imagined riding in. However, she already had good working tack and new saddles didn't fit in her budget. Remy was here to buy a new halter for her Arabian filly since the two year old had a knack for breaking hers, and a lunge line to train said filly with. It wasn't hard to find what she needed and soon Remy had a lunge line and red halter, which she thought would look striking against her filly's black fur, in hand and she found herself wandering around, browsing. She headed toward the back, where the first aid stuff was, and she noticed a boy about her age, maybe older, but she had never seen him before. Though she was generally shy Remy stepped forward, intent on indroducing herself with a kind smile. "Hi, I'm Remy Thomson. Do you have an injured horse?" Her blue-green eyes looked pointedly at his bucket filled with bandages and medicines and her soft voice had a tint of concern in it at the thought of a hurt animal. Remy flickered her eyes to his face, wondering if she seemed noisey or something.

ooc: ugh, not very good.

[Kennedy [JACKSON]]

move along, move along just to make it through

The boy glanced up as a voice spoke, not quite sure whether the person, a girl, was speaking to him or not. He glanced up, taking in her appearance with a quick blue-eyed glance. She was a pretty thing, he noted, but not gorgeously done up or anything. He liked that. Simple was good. He might even have gone so far as to say plain was good, but he'd never really seen a girl that he would have described as plain, so he couldn't say for sure. A small smile tinged his lips. "Oh no, but I'm sure it won't be long. It's been a while since the last injury. I'm just stocking up so it's handy when I need it. I left my first aid kit at home" he explained with a smile.

He juggled things around for a minute until he had everything gathered in one arm, then offered a hand. "I'm Kennedy Jackson, by the way" he added with a smile and a small nod. "Headed to Autumn Hills, actually" he added, not sure why he felt the need to explain.

Kennedy wasn't naturally a talkitive person, but, on occasion, he could be. Generally he was ust polite, and he considered this being polite, surface-y banter, although normally he could be polite in a lot less words. Still, he felt like he ought to explain. It was a little random, to be gathering things in the medical aisle, and not have an injured horse. And she seemed a little worried. More than she needed to be. His horses injured themselves all the time, it felt like. Especially T. He seemed to get into trouble all the time, fighting with other horses or getting tangled in barbed wire and the list went on. Kennedy cringed to even think about how many injuries his dear paint stud had sustained. And of course, in the long run, all those injuries added up to quite a bit of money, even if they didn't require veterinary care. Bandages and salves and the whole nine yards could get pricey. Still, it was a price Kennedy was more than willing to pay. He didn't cheap out when it came to his horses. He loved them way too much. They were basically his life, especially now that his mom was declining at such a rapid rate. He heaved a slight sigh at the thought of his mother.

It hurt, to leave her alone like that. But still, he knew a time would come when she would have to take care of herself. It wasn't as if she needed him anyway, not like he'd been doing that much for her to begin with. Still, it felt better being there. She had assured him, though, that he needed to do his own thing, "chase his own dreams," had been her exact words. And she had told him, quite firmly, really, not to worry about her. She'd be fine, eventually. She just needed time. Kennedy wasn't so sure about that, but, for her sake, he was willing to go along. He sort of thought that maybe she needed that time alone. He couldn't be sure, of co urse, but he thought maybe she just needed some time to find herself again, so to speak.

He shook his head, pulling himself out of his musings. He offered a small, sheepish smile, figuring he'd probably looked pretty spacey. Now he'd done it. She probably thought he was some weird psyco with serious mental issues. He wasn't, and the thought made him laugh inwardly a little bit. The thought was a little ridiculous. Not like he'd ever been mental in his life. Well, not any more than the next person, at any rate. He was one of those people who figured that everybody was a little crazy. Nobody was really normal, were they? He shook his head. Dang, maybe he really was mental. I mean, really, who honestly had thoughts like this in the middle of a tack shop talking to a gorgeous blond girl? Seriously.....

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word count; 675
tag; Remy. =)
notes; bahaha, sorry, i sorta ramble on ab out nothing.

[remy thomson <3]

remy thomson !!

Remy had always been shy, her sister being more like her mother personality wise, as in she was always gushing forward to talk to people whether she knew them or not. So, talking to this strange boy would have been something her younger sister would have done without hesitation, and to be truthful, Remy was quite suprirsed she talked to him at all, let alone ask a noisey question. To her relief, he smiled instead of wearing an annoyed expression. Her smile grew a bit larger, if only because she had been spared from what could have been an embarssing encounter if the boy had choosen to shrug her off. She nodded knowingly as he explained. Horses spooked quite easily, so there was always a chance for one to injure themself. Remy was lucky that her two horses were usually calm; though her two year old was a bit spunky at times, she had yet to hurt herself. An inward shudder passed through the blonde girl as she imagined one of her two precious horses cutting themselves or hurting one of their delicate legs. Yeah, that was an experience she would rather avoid.

As the boy offered his hand, Remy copied, reaching forward to shake hands with the boy as he introduced himself. Kennedy Jackson. Nice name, one that wasn't that common, at least to her ears. Her name wasn't exactly common either, she reminded herself. Where had her mother gotten the idea to name her Remy anyway? Remy would probably never understand how her mother's mind worked - she was a brilliant auther, but she always seemed to be silly, almost child-like in her impulsive ideas that she quickly lost interest in. Though she felt a regret about her father, Remy thought it was good her mother found Richard. Richard was nice, older, responisble. She hadn't put up a fuss when she heard of their engagment, even when she learned she would be getting two step-siblings, Annabelle and Wes. So far the two had been ok, and both were riders as well, though Remy thought Wes was much more serious and devoted...

She was brought back from her wandering thoughts with a snap as she heard Kennedy continue. Autumn Hills! Remy's blue-green eyes widened with slight surprise and her smile grew warmer. Something they had in common. "I ride at Autumn Hills too; I board my two horses there. I'm friends with the farm's owners. What disiplines to you ride?" She paused, wondering why she felt the need to point out her friendship with Amy. This boy probably hasn't met the Halls yet, which ment he probably had no idea who she was talking about. She opened her mouth to speak again, suddenly remembering the trailer in the parking lot. "So, is that your trailer in the parking lot?" Again, she hoped she wasn't being too noisey. She barely knew this boy and Remy was afraid she would scare him off with her uncharacteristic ramble of questions. She ran her hand through her golden hair, hoping he didn't mind all of her questions.

ooc: sorry it took so long - this was really bad too

[Kennedy [JACKSON]]

move along, move along just to make it through

Kennedy smiled slightly as he watched the girls reaction to Autumn Hills. "I ride at Autumn Hills too; I board my two horses there. I'm friends with the farm's owners. What disiplines to you ride?" Kennedy turned back to scanning the shelves, but it was apparent his attention was still with the girl. Kennedy was one of those people who could be doing just about anything and still make you feel like you had his undivided attention. Umm, reining mostly he said, pulling a dewormed off the shelf. The box had reminded him that he hadn't dewormed his horses very recently and he probably ought to get onto that. He glanced at the girl with a small smile. "I rope some, too, but I don't compete. Just in the reining. You?" he asked, shoving the box of dewormer in with the rest of his stuff.

"So, is that your trailer in the parking lot?" He smiled slightly. "Well unless there's more than one it is." He said with a slight nod. "Did you need anything?" he asked. "'Cause I'm ready to head up and check out unless you were getting something." He smiled, his silvery blue eyes twinkling slightly.

Kennedy wasn't an overly talkative person, but he was friendly, in his way. A gentleman in every respect of the word. He liked making other people feel comfortable, even when he was out of his element. It gave him satisfaction, for whatever reason, to serve other people, help them out. He liked having friends, and he liked girls, but he wasn't the sort to lead them on. He was very up front in that regard. He did his best to avoid leading people on, letting them believe there was more there than there actually was. He hated hurting people, and he hated seeing people hurt. It killed him inside, and he automatically got a bit of a save the world complex and felt like he just had to make them feel better.

He glanced at the girl expectantly, waiting for her response to his statement. He didn't come across at all impatient. Kennedy was also an especially patient person, which could be nice sometimes and a bit annoying at others. He felt no hurry whatsoever. No matter what was going on, he just ambled along, completely relaxed. Which, at times when you needed to hurry, Kennedy was just mozying along. But often it was just nice. He was a relaxing person to be around, just because he himself was so relaxed and go-with-the-flow. He took anything that came perfectly in stride and seemed to never have a care in the world. Unless he as competing. That was about the only time a person would ever see Kennedy rushing around, or sometimes even, dare I say it, stressed out. Otherwise, he was just totally cool with whatever came at him.

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word count; 478
tag; Remy. =)
notes; blah, now it's my turn for a terrible post. =/

[remy thomson <3]

remy thomson !!

She watched as he turned back to the shelves, though it was clear he wasn't ignoring her. She nodded as he explained that he mostly did reining along with some robing. Both western disiplines; though she didn't know how to do either one of the types of riding he talked about, Remy did her fair share of western riding. "I ride western too, though just for fun. I show my one horse in eventing a bit as well," she said in response to his question. She thought it was interesting that he did riding that was different then the kind she was used to. She had seen people do both reining and robing, and both seemed complicated to her. Though I guess people who were as used to western riding as she was to combined training would claim that dressage was just as complicated and confusing. It all depended on what you were used to. As Kennedy searched picked up another box, dewormer it looked like, Remy used the pause in talking to wonder if her horse, Geronimo, had ever done reining. Gerry had been bred on a Quarter Horse breeding/training farm, and she didn't get until he was five, so she guessed it was possible.

She looked up as Kennedy spoke again, both answering her question, which nodded in response, and then asking if she was finished here. She wondered for a moment if she was getting on his nerves - after all, they didn't really know each other and she had kind of just jumped forward. Though this thought didn't cross her face and Remy just nodded and smiled faintly. She held up the red halter and lunge line she had bought to work with her filly Nikki. "Yeah, I've got everything I need." Remy started to walk toward the check-out, slowing so he could fall in beside her if he wanted. She didn't want to make it seem like he had to walk with her if he didn't want. Still she felt the need to ask another question, for whatever reason, and it felt odd to her that she was talking so much with a person she barely knew. Maybe it was a sign that she had to get out more, I don't know. She had been spending a lot of time home lately.

"So, how many horses do you have out in that trailer? They didn't seem to be making much noise, at least when I passed them." Of course, Remy couldn't help but ask a question about his horses. She did feel most comfortable when talking about equines. She slid her blue-green eyes to his face, looking to see if he had grown tired of her questions yet.

ooc: wow, I posted a full month after I promised. I'm very sorry. And I gave you an awful post to reply to.

[Kennedy [JACKSON]]

move along, move along just to make it through

He nodded slightly when she said that she had everything she needed. He turned and began to make his way toward the front, to the check out counters.

"So, how many horses do you have out in that trailer? They didn't seem to be making much noise, at least when I passed them." He chuckled slightly. "I'm impressed, then" he said, sounding amused, for some reason. "They were both kicking up quite a ruckus when I left. Disappointed I wasn't letting them out, I'm sure" he said with a slight shake of his head. "But just two. My seven year old paint stud, T, and then a two year old palomino filly, Tuesday" he said with a slight nod and an affectionate smile. "They're pretty good kids" he said.

They had hit the checkouts and he let his hand slide toward Remy's lower back, gently nudging her ahead of him. It wasn't weird, or creepy, like he was just trying to touch her or something. If anything, it was gentlemanly, the way he nudged her ahead and then drew his hand away, not wanting to leave the impression that he was just trying to get his hands on her, because that wasn't his intent at all.

"What about you?" he asked curiously as they waited in line. "How many horses do you have?" he asked. Again, it was apparent how little he liked to talk about himself, and how easily he maneuvered the conversation away from himself.

It wasn't so much that he was shy or anything, he just didn't like talking about himself. He didn't like people to get the impression that he was just conceited or liked talking about himself or something, because that was far from the truth. It seemed easiest to just stay on the quiet side. It was better to be thought shy than conceited, as far as Kennedy was concerned, anyway.

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word count; 315
tag; Remy. =)
notes; Ugh. Again, this sucks. Sorry.

[remy thomson <3]

remy thomson !!

She smiled faintly at his surprise to his horse's calmness. She nodded understandingly as Kennedy explained his horses' ruckus. Her own horses don't particularly enjoy being in the trailer, but Gerry had been in it enough he knew how to behave. Still, he couldn't always hide his impatience with being in an enclosed place. Nikki had looked quite overwhelmed when Remy had bought her, which led her to believe the young horse had never been in one of those things - which was quite possible. Still, the Arabian hadn't put up as much fuss as Remy would expect, her soft neighs put aside. Both of her horses were always so happy to finally escape the trailer that they usually backed up with too much enthusiasm and she had to hurry to grap hold onto their lead ropes or halters, something. Of course, Remy had only transported Nikki twice, which didn't give her enough information to fully guess what her filly thought of it.

When they reached the check out, Remy was surprised when she felt Kennedy's hand on her back, guiding her forward in front of him. Her experience with boys may be limited at best, but Remy knew enough that he wasn't trying anything, and she noticed his hand didn't linger - he was very polite about pulling it back. And, it was nice of him to allow her to get in line in front of him. Remy turned her head slightly as Kennedy asked about her horses after telling her a bit about his. Her blue-green eyes softened as she thought of her two horses. "Well, I have a Quarter Horse stallion named Geronimo. He's eight. My newest horse is a two year old Arabian filly. Her name is Nikki."

She nodded barely, smiling as she gave Kennedy the short describtion of her horses. She noticed a slight similarity between their horses - both she and Kennedy had a stallion along with a filly. That was odd. She might have to ask for training tips since she had never actually trained a horse on her own before - well, Nikki had at least been broken to wear a saddle and bit, and she had been ridden once or twice. The filly hadn't actually been that bad when Remy rode her those few times, but it was so obvious she was still immature to riding. Remy had had to be careful to give very clear signals that the horse would understand, while still being soft with her hands - she could only imagine how sensitive Nikki's soft mouth was.

Soon enough it was her turn in line and Remy handed the halter and lunge line to the sales clerk and handed the amount she owed. After getting her change, Remy grabbed the bag and stepped back to wait for Kennedy to pay for all of his medical supplies. She stood paitently, at a loss about what to talk about now.

ooc: eh

[Kennedy [JACKSON]]

move along, move along just to make it through

Kennedy nodded a bit as she told about her horses. He had to smile at the name Geronimo. He rather liked that. It reminded him of TNT, for some reason...Then again, maybe not. Still, the names matched, somehow, although Kennedy couldn't really have told you exactly how.

"An Arab, huh?" he said, sounding slightly curious. He'd seen them before, obviously, as there had been several at his mom's barn that she ran back home, but he'd never really been around them. Nick, his reining trainer, had scoffed at Arabs, although Kennedy had never really figured out why. He had mentioned something about being fine boned and light, but Kennedy never really had figured out why he disliked Arabians so. The ones that had been at the barn, though, had been pretty high strung. His mother had told him they were miserable to work with. He had to smile a bit, though. He probably would have been a hard headed, miserable horse to work with too, if he had had the same riders as the poor Arabs. He shook his head mildly as he set his stuff down on the counter.

The check out lady looked bored as she monotonously scanned the stuff over the scanner and finally gave him his total. Inwardly he winced at the bill. It had been a long time since he had spent that much money at once. But oh well. It needed to be done.

He glanced up as he grabbed the bag that held all the stuff, his gaze drifting to Remy again. "I guess we're headed to Autumn Hills then?" he asked as he made his way toward the door. "Did you drive? Care to lead me out?" he asked, laughing a little uncomfortably. "I'll probably get lost" he said with a slight roll of his blue eyes.

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word count; 302
tag; Remy. =)
notes; Shall we start a new thread somewhere? THe barn maybe?

[remy thomson <3]

remy thomson !!

Nodding as Kennedy asked about the Arab, Remy let her mind wander as he went through check-out. Knowing that some people had no patience for Arabians and quickly wrote them off as too high-spirited, the blonde couldn't help but wonder if Kennedy had similar views on the breed. It was true that Nikki was quite a spazz at times; she is more energetic than solid as a rock Geronimo, but then again she is only two, not even an adult by horse standards. She was pretty filled out, but still immature. Remy always had to work to keep the filly's mind focused; the black horse was constantly chewing at the bit, or would get distracted by a squirrel no where near them. It was actually pretty funny to watch the Arab's little black ears twisting each way, going much faster than Remy would ever have thought possible. Still, she knew that a horse that got distracted easily probably wasn't the safest; that was something she would have to work with Nikki.

Waiting quietly for the check out lady to finish up Kennedy's stuff, Remy ran her bangs back from her blue-green eyes and smiled when Kennedy was ready to go. She fell into step beside him as they walked to the front doors and she reached forward to push the door open, a gust of wind instantly meeting her. Turning her head as she heard the boy's voice, Remy nodded in response. "Yeah, sure. I need to exercise my horses sometime today and was going to head over there anyway," she replied as she started toward the parking lot. "My car is that red jeep cherokee, over there." Remy gestured to her old jeep as she spoke, which parked a few spaces down from the red truck and trailer she assumed was Kennedy's. Starting toward the cars, Remy reached into her pocked to retrieve her keys and to unlock the jeep. Looking over at Kennedy, her hand on the jeep's door, she asked, "So, you'll just follow me to the stables?" She knew the way to Autumn Hill like she knew the back of her hand, she could get there no problem.

ooc: wow, I'm horrible at getting replies back - sorry. um, we can move to barn if you want