[home at last]

[D E M O N //]

Here we go for the hundredth time hand grenade pins in every line, a small growl escaped his lips as he slammed his pale hand down on the alarm clock. He half stood half fell out of bed waking up to the white walls of his bedroom. As he proceeded to slump across the room he tripped over all the crap that was laying on the floor. Shoes, books, papers, dirty laundry. To anyone else it might just be a pigstie. But to him, it was home, and he wouldn't want it any other way. After all, he knew where to find everything. Well, what he needed, but that pretty much consisted of his riding boots which were easy, on his feet. What else did he need in life? As long as his future involved horses he was happy.

Pulling on the first thing that caught his eye Daniel did not pay attention to how many times he had word them since they had last been washed. But it wasn't like he had anyone to impress anyway. After all, no expectations, no reputation, no let down. That was the way that his life was. And it seemed unlikely that this was going to change at any point. And that was the way he wanted it. He was who he was, and no one was going to change that. He didn't want to be what other people wanted from him, but who he wanted to be. Though at times he found himself disapointed by the lack of respect he seemed to manage. But he just had to suck it up and move on.

For someone who didn't care about what people thought about him Tiger was extremely selfconsious about what people thought about him. Always analyzing a situation he knew what people thought about him, or at least what they let show. Or rather, what he thought they did. He was always slightly paranoid and just assumed that everyone was out to get him, even if they were not nececerly. But he couldn't always help it. It seemed that only animals seemed to be able to look past his outer appearance.

Unfortunatly he had to change stables because his could pull together the funds to stay open. Driving slowly along the road his horse in the trailer behind him Tiger pulled into the parking lot stopping as he looked around. The property was gorgeous and he was sure that Dose would be happy here once he settled in. But who knew how long that would take. Dose had never been moved before so Daniel wasn't sure how his thoroughbred would adapt to the change.

He walked into the office looking for who he should talk to about his stallion.

[DJ]

Hope sighed and looked upward as she pressed the phone to her ear. "Sure," she commented lightly to the woman on the other line. When the door opened, she looked to the boy and smiled, holding up one finger and asking him to wait one moment.

"Yes, I understand that, but that's not a healthy relation with her or her horse." She rolled her eyes and prepared to end the conversation. "Sure. Friday afternoon. 3:30." She scribbled the date on a sticky note and said good bye before hanging up and rolling her eyes one last time.

She ran a few fingers through her hair and looked up at the boy. "Hey. Sorry about the long phone conversation. The client has been having issues with a daughter and her horse and I'm using the word 'issues' lightly." She smiled and stood up from her office chair, holding her hand out.

"I'm Hope Levin, barn owner and manager of Elysium. How may I help you?" She looked the boy over, to herself of course, not wanting to look disapproving, but a bit confused with the boy's outfit, not looking quite barn or rider appropriate.

[D E M O N //]

It seemed so odd to be at a stable that wasn't the one he was used to. He had been riding at the same place since he had started nine years ago. He was almost eighteen now and he could beleive that he had ben riding that long, but it was true. Every day since the day he first set foot into the barn, he couldn't live without horses in his life. He was ready willing and able to get up, coming in, and feed his horse before school in the morning. It wasn't like it made much of a difference, it seemed unlikely that the bags under his eyes were ever going to go away no matter what the circumstances.

Sure, he hadn't had to get up early until more recently since he had found his true passion. No, there was no need for him to take care of the school horses at his old barn. Sure, he would hang out in the stalls, sit there doing his homework. What ever he could do at the stable he did. No of course, he had a lot more responicbility there having a horse of his own. But he was perfectly content to take it on. He always took recponcibility for himself and his own actions and had no problem taking care of someone else a well.

Overdose had been born at the barn that he rode at. The thoroughbred mare went into labor late at night after everyone had left, well, almost everyone. She gave birth early, before they had expected and there were no extra persuasions taken to make sure that she was okay. It was good for the mare's owner that one paticular teen had absolutely no life and was still hanging around the barn at about midnight. Sure, it might have been abnormal, but he hated being at home. After Daniel called the vet and the mare's owners the disgruntled and exhausted team arrived just in time to see the small colt struggle to his feet for the first time.

As the colt grew so did his personality. From the begining he always had more energy then one might think that something so small could hold. From the minute he could stand he was running around, showing off, and just having ball. Now, everyone thought that it was just to cute, until it came time to saddle break him. The only one who had the petience to work with him was Daniel, and as the years past they developed a closer bond, well, more he felt closer to the stallion, but the bay couldn't really care who was on his back.

Running his hand through his unkempt hair Daniel didn't pay attention to what the woman was saying on the phone. It was none of his business, and frankly, he couldn't care less. "Uh, I just got here and I was wondering where I could keep my stallion, Dose."

[DJ]

"Uh, sure." Unimpressed by the boy's lack of greeting and introduction, she looked through the small stack of papers on the desk in front of her. She wasn't even positive who this boy was, but she looked through her papers hoping there was some sort of a new boarder or something, just to refer to, having no idea who the horse was, either.

She coughed lightly. Because she could, really; she certainly didn't need to because her throat was uncomfortable or anything. She looked up to the boy's face again, not remembering talking to him on the phone or anything.

Was she just drawing a blank, or loosing papers? Or had she never seen this boy before? "May I ask your name?" She bit her lip, feeling stupid.

[D E M O N //]

As he heard her cough slightly he could tell that he had not left a very good first impression on her, but he had long since given up on that, so he didn't really care. All he wanted to do was get his horse settled and make sure that he was okay. After all, that was all that mattered to him. After all, Dose was his best friend, and the only reason he could bring himself to get up in the morning. It was just something about sitting in the saddle that left him feeling alive. As the two of them moved toggether he felt free, and he could feel the blood running in his veins. It was all that he was living for.

In Daniel's eyes the stallion was a horse with serious potential. So everyone else he was just a ball of attitude. Sure, he couldn't deny that. After all, he probably ended up in the dirt more often then he managed to stay in the saddle. But that wasn't a big deal to Daniel. So what, his clothes got a little dirty. True, some day he was probably going to get himself seriously injured, or killed, but that hadn't happened yet.

"Daniel Thomas, I called over a few weeks ago to see if you guys had an empty stall, not sure who I talked to but they said you had an available stall and that I could bring my stallion over today."

[DJ]

"Well, I don't think I was the one you talked to, but how about we settle the stallion in, and then I can give you a tour around? If you like and if you have time." Thinking of a stallion, she assumed he's be eighteen years old, but wanted to ask, just to make sure. "You're eighteen, yes?" She wasn't good about turning down a client, but wanted to keep everyone safe.

She smiled again, and looked down to the papers again, flipping through the horse's files, show dates, and other papers, knowing she needed to work a few of the other horses at the stable, as well as her own mare, Dazzle, but could ask Jared on short notice to work them if she was taken by a new horse.

"Well, let's go unload him. Would he rather a stall or paddock for the day? I can put him in a far round pen for turnout if you'd like. For now." She lead Daniel out the door and down the aisle to the front parking lot.

OOC//::// If you'd like to finish up this post, then make a new post in the aisle for unloading and settling him in, I'll respond to that. Or if you want to skip that, I don't care. Whatever works.

[D E M O N //]

"In a month or so," he answered. He wasn't the least bit excited for his birthday. Big deal, he' be eighteen, what did that mean anyway? That he could vote. But frankly, Daniel had no intention of voting, and honestly, to him it was just another year of his tortured existance. It wasn't like he was going to do anything specail for his birthday. It wasn't like he had any friends to do it with.

He'd probably do exactly the same thing he did every other day. Get through the school day and run to the stable as quickly as possible. Groom exersize and care for his horse, the same exact thing he did everyday, but he wouldn't want it any other way.

Daniel nodded his head slightly as he listened to the woman speak. "Not like I have anything else to do," he said with a small smile. It might be nice to not wander around aimlessly trying to figure out where the tack room was. "Paddock," he said again. Sure, he might have come off as slightly rude, but then again, didn't he always? Of course, he didn't mean to, it just had something to do with him saying everything with the least amount of words possible.