a time apart (Cyril)

[Audrey Price]

Audrey walked into the stables, ready to see her sweet Athena, a beautiful mare paint she had picked up a few years ago. When she came back to Kalispell she didn't have a place to stay, she'd been here two weeks and she was still in a hotel, so she had no where to keep her horse and in desperate need to keep her close, Audrey had decided to donate Athena to the Bellefonte's Equestrian Club. So Athena was close, Audrey could see her anytime she wanted to and today she needed it.

Audrey was dying just sitting her hotel rom, searching for an apartment. she had nothing to do, her poor German Shepherd, Zeus, was so stir crazy, he needed a yard to run around in. He was driving Audrey crazy with the pacing and the sitting, staring at the door. She constantly played with him but he's a big pup and he had a lot of energy, after their morning runs he'd sleep for about an hour and then he was ready to run again.

So she decided to get out, go outside and wonder around but the more she walked the streets of Kalispell and the more she remembered her life here, the more she remembered what happened when she left this place. Images of her parents and her brother and her ex-fiancé kept flashing through her mind and it was driving her crazy. She wanted to just saddle Athena and take off but she wasn't sure she was allowed to do that since she wasn't a part of the school at all. But even if she couldn't she still wanted to see her. She'd missed her horse in the last two weeks, very much.

as they neared the stables she told Zeus to sit and wait outside, which he did, but he laid down, knowing I would be longer than a few minutes. I walked inside taking in a deep breath and all the comforting smells of the stables. She walked over to Athena immediately and offered her a slice of apple then fed her a carrot before stroking her neck and mane. "I miss you girl." she leaned her head into the horses neck and sighed.

[Cyril Kingsley]

"I could do some crunches up here, what do you think Sphinx?" Cyril asked his cat as he sat on one of the wooden support beam inside the stables. He was up here trying to fix a hole in the roof that had been cause by one of the kinds on accident. He understood all too well about powers getting out of control from time to time and thankfully only the roof had been hurt in the process. Cyril and all his handiness had gotten right to work fixing up the hole in the roof while his barn cat sat on the beam watching him. She let out a meow in response to her owners question, staring at him, and was actually trying to communicate something else.

She was hungry and while her food bowl was filled it was time for her special treat that Cyril had always given her. Cyril of course was caught up in his work fixing the hole in the roof and had forgotten about his purrty cat's treat time. Cyril hummed to himself while he worked until he heard someone coming into the stables, not noticing him. How could they when he was so high off the ground and a few support beams away from where the person was. He tilted his head for a moment, not really recognizing who this woman was as she fed a horse some treats. He of course knew who the horse was, a new one that the stables had just received. He didn't know all the details behind why they got a new horse and was just happy to have more horses to look after and love.

The way the women spoke clearly gave away that she had some connection to the horse, and the sight warmed his heart. He figured he would say as silent as he could while he worked on the roof to allow the women to have her private moment. Sphinx had different plans however. She let out another meow but was ignored by Cyril who moved went back to fixing up the hole. So Sphinx did a very cat like thing, she pushed the box of nails Cyril had been using off the support beam and sent them crashing to the ground. Cyril saw this and tried to grab a hold of the nails, but missed and ended up hanging upside down by his legs that had thankfully clung tightly to the beam so he didn't end up falling on his head.

He probably would have used his power to help himself out, but at the moment he kind of just tried to smile and play off his little mishap there as he looked at the women who would have lightly now notice that he was in there because of the sound of the nails hitting the ground. "Hello there. Anything I can help you with Miss?" Cyril asked, being friendly as ever.

[Audrey Price]

Audrey gave Athena another carrot before she walked back to her car, Zeus running up beside her, and grabbed a bucket with some grooming supplies. As she walked back to her horse Zeus' ears perked up like he'd heard something, but Audrey didn't. "Stay Zeus." the dog sighed heavily, Audrey thought she even heard a groan from the 7 month old puppy too. But he did as he was told, laying back down in the dirt. He was such a well behaved dog, and not for free either. Audrey had spent hours and hours training this dog, and it was paying off. He followed almost every command she gave him but he could be stubborn, but he was down to defying her only a handful of times a day. She smiled at the dog, she had gotten him because he reminded her of the dog her brother used to have. "Good boy." she tossed him a carrot which he ate graciously, the weird dog loved carrots. probably because he had always gotten into the stash she kept around for Athena while they were traveling.

She walked inside to the sweet horse that awaited her. Athena neighed quietly and huffed in happiness as her owner got closer. she spoiled the mare with some more apple and set the bucket in the corner, picking out a soft brush. She started brushing the horse and talking to her about all the thoughts going through her head. Audrey knew the horse couldn't respond but it was the easiest way to get things off her chest and out of her head. "I know, you don't know this place Athena, but I used to go to school here. it's a good place, it helped me through a lot. But it was never home for me, and it probably never will be, but it helped forget a lot before I ever came here, and really i'm just hoping it will help me again."

She sighed, leaning into the horse again for comfort. She stood there for a minute just breathing deeply. she stood up straight and wiped the tears off her face. "I really miss them too Athena." she whispered before putting away the brush. She checked Athena's hooves and they didn't need to be picked so she grabbed a comb and started on Athena's mane. she tucked the comb in her pocket and stepped up on the stool she'd found and started braiding.

Out of nowhere she heard something fall and hit the ground startling her and Athena. As she looked up to see what had fallen she saw a human body falling too. Surprise kept her rooted in the spot, thankfully he caught a support beam with his legs, because clearly Audrey was not the person to be quick in an emergency. He hung there upside down. she chuckled a little bit at his question. "No, but it sure looks like you do. or is this how you usually introduce yourself?" she turned back to Athena and calmed her down, stroking her on the neck. Zeus came bounding into the stables, not happy his owner was talking to someone he didn't know. he stood in front of Audrey protectively, showing his teeth. "Zeus, down boy." the dog stood up and started wagging his tail.

[Cyril Kingsley]

Cyril was more so thankful that he did not spoke the horse or the apparent former owner of said horse that she was talking to. Well, just because she gave the horse to the school did not mean she was no longer the owner. She could have simply been paying to keep the horse here and the school would more than likely allow that for a former student of the school. Or she could donate it too, there were all sorts of options. He shoved all those options away for the moment so he could focus on the conversation now. Using one hand to pull down; up from her point of view, his shirt when it slid down due to him being upside down. Waving with his free hand he not bothered at all by her chuckle, since he was in a odd position to be talking to someone.

"Oh, I'm fine. Just hanging around." Cyril said, unable to avoid using that little pun there and was immediately snickering. Ah, he felt the god of puns sometimes. "I didn't even introduce myself, where are my manner?" Cyril asked himself as he was reminded that he didn't actually say who he was and just started talking to her. "Cyril Elias Kingsley. The Stable Hand here at Bellefonte Academy and the person in charge of the Equestrian Club. At your services." Cyril said in his proper gentleman way as he extended a hand out to her. Only to pull it back slightly when the dog stepped in front of her and started to growl. Sphinx arched her back and hissed in response but she remained up on the support beam. She was no fool to hope down and face the dog, at least so long as it didn't come any closer and try to hurt Cyril.

The women simply told the dog to be good and it deal; Cyril was very impressed by good training when it came to animals. In his work as a vet he could recall seeing it all from the bad trainers, to the great ones. "He is a very beautiful animal. Very healthy looking." Cyril pointed out as his vet training kicked in a little, even as he hung upside down still. Cyril’s blue eyes looking over the dog and then drifting over to the horse. "Your horse is pretty healthy too. I checked her out myself a little while after she was dropped off here." Cyril added as he nodded his head a few times before looking back to the women and grinning again. Blood rushing to his brain all the while.

[Audrey Price]

Audrey smiled at the man hanging upside down. She was surprised he hadn't fixed that yet, but it was entertaining none the less, even when he waved and pulled up his shirt. She laughed at his pun, trying to restrain herself and failing. She loved ridiculous, cheesy jokes like that, it was something that would probably always be able to make her laugh. And laughing was something Audrey didn't do that much anymore.

Zeus had calmed, he was still wagging his tail where he sat, mixing dust and other things into the air. he stared at the cat happily, probably wanting to play, he loved cats, but he didn't understand why they didn't love him. He also didn't understand that he was already nearly 70 pounds and still a big clumsy goof that knocked little cats all over the place. "Nice to meet you. I'm Audrey, this is Zeus." she motioned to the dog who was just as happy as ever now that he didn't have to be concerned for his owners safety. she walked over to shake Cyril's hand.

"Why thank you." she smiled. Her pets were her life, her best friends. It was important that she keep them happy and healthy. They deserved it just as much as humans did. The cat seemed to be very unhappy with Zeus and that still made Audrey smile. "You seem to have a very protective cat there." she had never been a cat person, always preferring dogs or horses. They seemed better company to her, and easier to exercise with than a cat. "Oh, are you a vet too?" she asked simply. she didn't see why else he would be checking her horse or notice how healthy they look. The thought also comforted her because now she knew that she was leaving Athena in good hands.

[Cyril Kingsley]

Cyril had actually forgotten about the fact that he was still hanging upside down; at least he forgot it on some level. He still knew that he was not right side up, but he didn't mind it do much at the moment. It was always nice to see the world from a different point of view; it kept things fresh and not boring. The grin on his face grew even wider as she laughed at his pun; he absolutely loved it when people laughed at his puns. So now here was a beautiful woman who laughed at his puns and liked animals? She was certainly scoring points in his book.

Sphinx however did not want anything to do with this women or her beast, all the feline cared about was getting her treat. A treat that she had yet to get so was already moving to where Cyril had the hammer, planning on knocking that to the ground as well. "Nice to meet you Audrey, and nice to meet you as well Zeus. You are a very good dog." Cyril said as he shook Audrey's hand. He was tempted to pull her hand to his lips and kiss it but he figured he save that for later. It was very nice to meet her, especially if she was in fact the caring owning of the horse. He always liked to see owners come and visit their animals. It really showed the bond between human and animal and he loved it.

"You are wel-" Cyril started to say but the sound of the hammer hitting the floor caused him to jump a little. He glared up at his cat, but now the blood was really running to brain so he had to sit up. Doing a quick sit-up and grabbing a hold of the beam, then proceeding to drop down and hang from it by his hands. After hanging from it for a little while he dropped to the ground, happy that the drop was not really that big of a deal for a man of his height. "Sphinx? She just does not like really any animal down here besides horses. Territorial and all." Cyril said as he gave a small shrug in regards to the cat. He was more so focused on moving to collect up the spilled nails and the dropped hammer. There was a question then, one that had him perking up and acting as if he was slightly bashful.

"I am, yes. I used to have my own vet clinic of sorts back home, but o=moved here for my little sis, and just stuck around for the job with the horses." Cyril responded back, feeling a little odd like he told too much about himself. "I take it that you are Athena's owner and not just a woman who really likes this horse, right?" Cyril asked after a moment, going back to gathering the fallen items.

[Audrey Price]

After Audrey shook hands with Cyril she went back to Athena and started to braid her mane again, Zeus close behind her, not going to leave her side now that someone new was around. He was so protective of his owner, something that Audrey greatly appreciated, she needed the protection now that she was on her own, and vulnerable. Zeus and Athena got along really well too, the pup walked up and rubbed his head against the horses front leg gently. Athena leaned her head down and rubbed it against the Zeus's body. They truly were best friends.

Audrey smiled at the love between her two animals, it warmed her heart to know she had raised them practically from birth and that was why they were the way they were. "It's very nice to meet you as well." Audrey smiled politely and Zeus wagged his tail and let his tongue hang out. She hadn't really kept up with people after she left Kalispell so she didn't really have any friends when she came back into town, so it was nice for her to be meeting someone new.

The sound of the hammer falling made Audrey jump in surprise a little bit, and Zeus looked around for the source of the loud noise, ready to defend his family, Athena just sighed heavily. Audrey rolled her eyes at her two animals, they acted like humans sometimes. "It may not seem like it, but Zeus tries to be friends with everyone, even the animals don't want anything to do with him. And let me tell you, it is not easy getting the smell of skunk off of a dogs coat." Audrey thought back to the camping trip they'd been on a couple of months ago. Curious Zeus saw an animal he'd never seen before, and just had to know what it was, but the skunk wanted nothing to do with the dog and when Zeus went to smell the new animals butt he was sprayed with an awful stench. She had bathed him twice and still had no luck with the smell. The next day she tried everything she could. Eventually the smell came out, but it was a long process and Zeus learned his lesson, thankfully.

She gave him a confused look. "Vet clinic of sorts? What does that entail?" the sentence might have been harmless but to an over worrisome Audrey it seemed concerning. "Why yes I am her owner. Or was, I donated her to the Equestrian Club, which i'm sure you know since you said you were in charge of that." she patted Athena on the neck softly, kindly. She kept braiding the horses mane, knowing if she kept stopping it would take her forever, and she still had to braid the horses tail.

[Cyril Kingsley]

Cyril grinned, practically wiggling a little bit as if he had a tail that was wagging like crazy at meeting someone new. Someone that was not only new but was also a pretty lady who clearly had a lot of love for horses and her dog. He didn't know if such feelings carried over to other animals, but he was not overly concerned about it at the moment. All that mattered right now was that the women did not need any help, that her dog didn't attack Sphinx, and that he gave Sphinx her treat. He had finally caught onto what it was his cat was trying to get his attention for when the hammer fell. He was just thankful no one freaked out, but then again most of the other horses here were used to worse due to living on the school grounds of mutants.

Cyril managed to get everything cleaned up off of the ground as Audrey spoke to him about how friendly Zeus was. He could not help but to start to laugh when she pointed out how hard it was to clean skunk out of a dog's coat. Yes, he knew all too well how that went. A memory of having to assure someone that their dog was not going to die and with the right bath a few times the smell would go away after being sprayed by a skunk. It was always funny to hear stories of what pets got themselves into, even if some of the stories were a little more concerning. Especially when they involved wild animals that could hurt a dog pretty bad if they were not careful. "Well at least you won't have to worry about him being the one to start a fight with someone else pet." Cyril pointed out and that was a good thing in his opinion.

"Sphinx is more likely to scratch or go for the kill. Horses seem to be the only animal she likes." Cyril said as he moved to put his tools in a nearby tack box. Then holding up his hands to let Sphinx know he was going to catch her. Most of the time Sphinx would get down her own way, but she did like to cuddle up with her master a lot. So when his arms opened up to her she jumped down and landed in his arms with ease. The feline already starting to purr because she knew yummy treats were going to be coming soon. The question had Cyril going still for a moment as he had to recall the kinds of things he did. "I did a range from diagnosing problems, amputation, birth, spay and neuter, medical checkups, and a bit of personal house halls." Cyril said as he tried to recall it all. He had done a lot, even grooming because he just enjoyed all aspects of taking care of animals.

"I handle pretty much everything for the horses here to certain levels, but I do answer to a boss who was probably the one who handle you handing your horse over to the club." Cyril said since he was not responsible for such a transaction. He just made sure the action was completed and took care of the horse from there. "She is a fine horse. She has been rather kind to me already even with being in this new environment. I understand it must be a stressful time for you both. How are you holding up?" Cyril said, and then asked the question that was nagging in the back of his mind. With how she spoke and how close to the horse she was, he was trying to get a feel for how she was taking the separation.

[Audrey Price]

Audrey was almost finished with Athena's mane, and then she would move on to her tail. she loved braiding her horses hair, it was calming, a time to just relax and breath, the horse would stand completely still while her owner braided, which made the whole process so much easier. Audrey hadn't really done this in a while, she usually braided ribbon in the mane as well, but she hadn't forgotten the ribbon in the car and after she had started, she didn't feel like starting over after walking all the way to the car to get the ribbon.

"That's true, although other animals sure try to fight with him sometimes." she smiled down at her puppy who looked up happily. he was in heaven right now with his two favorite beings. He was such a good dog, Audrey couldn't imagine him hurting anyone, but she knew all too well that he would. If Audrey was being threatened in anyway, the dog turned deadly. She had only seen him attack someone once, and that was some guy that tried to rob them while they were camping one night. Zeus almost took the man's arm off before called him off and the man ran away. they had packed up camp that night and haven't been back there since.

"Well she won't have to worry about Zeus, he wont chase after her, but he will get in her business if she gets close." Audrey smiled. she loved her puppy but sometimes he could be a big goof sometimes. "Good thing she likes horses, other wise she would probably be mad at you for working here."Audrey smiled again. That cat seemed like he probably had a pretty cute personality. Audrey moved on to Athena's tail as Cyril did something with his cat, she wasn't sure what, but she also wasn't nosey so she didn't pay too much attention to it. "Oh, well you seem well versed, I believe my Athena is in good hands." she offered him a kind smile, hoping she hadn't offended him any way by questioning him, she was just protective of her animal and wanted her to be in the best care.

Audrey had always taken care of her animals, all of them on her own. It was a way to keep control in her life, everything was so unpredictable, her life was a perfect example, but her animals, that was something that would be constant, and that was a constant she would always have control of, no matter what. she nodded as he talked about having a boss and not really knowing she was the one to donate Athena, and she smiled proudly as he told her that Athena had been kind to him. "She's a great judge of character, so if she likes you, then you can't be too bad." Audrey teased a little, but recovered quickly, feeling guilty at having a good moment when her life was in turmoil. "Me? Oh, I'm hanging in there, it's hard, I've been with her, within walking distance of her, every day for four years. She and Zeus are the only ones I tell my secrets too. I suppose I'm going through a little bit of separation anxiety but it helps to know that I can come see her when ever I want." Audrey hoped she hadn't offered too much to the kind stranger.

[Cyril Kingsley]

Cyril stroked his purrty kitty after having caught her, watching Audrey as she went to work on braiding her horse’s mane. Cyril personally never actually took the time to brain a horse mane, well maybe a few stands of their mane here and there. He just always preferred the wild and natural look to horses, but then again he was very much the kind of guy that like to watch cowboy movies. He didn't really understand why everyone wasted so many bullets and why no one had really good aim, but he enjoyed them. Plus he didn't even know how to shoot a gun so he figured he could not judge such movies too harshly. "I bet, not all animals like the friendly types." Cyril said with a small nod.

Mammals were a lot like humans in the fact that they all had their own personality and the personalities they liked to be around. "Then I worry for him. She is known to scratch but I figure she will remain high off the ground to avoid confutation. Unless he starts sniffing all of his stuff, then I'm going to have to put her away so she does not attack him." Cyril said as he rubbed under Sphinx's chin. The cat might have been calm and relaxed now that he was holding her but Cyril knew all too well that she was the kind of animal that you just didn't have around other animals. Cyril chuckled as Audrey pointed out that it was a good thing that Sphinx did like horses, and Cyril was very thankful to that. He would not deny that if Sphinx didn't get along with the horses then he would have gotten rid of her because his love of horses far surpassed his love of animals in general.

"She is in wonderfur hands." Cyril said, snickering at his bad pun. He only said it because he still had Sphinx's in his arms which did mean his hands were full of fur at the moment. He was only slightly bothered that she asked for what sort of work he did as a vey but understood. He would have asked the same and did his best to understand that she was not meaning it to sound like she doubted what he did as a vet. At least, he was hoping that he was assuming well of her but he just met her so he really didn't know. There was also the fact that she was smiling which was a good thing and made him feel less like she meant it as any form of insult or test. He moved away then, not too far but had to get Sphinx her treat before she ended up biting him. It was not fun at all to get bit or scratched by a cat. "Too bad, huh?" Cyril asked with a chuckle, teasing right back. Yes, this woman certainly was earning points in his book and he liked her well enough.

He then asked how she was doing as he grabbed a few small treats out of a bag and handed them to Sphinx who seemed to have made herself comfortable in his arms. Cyril felt for Audrey in a way that more so tied into his relationship with his sister. He was used to being so close to her but it did help that he could go visit her. Perhaps not every day but from time to time had been enough thus far for him. "Well like you said, feel free to come visit her anytime you like. She is in good hands and then perhaps one day when things settle down for you, you can take her back." Cyril said, suggesting a possibly at the end. He didn’t see any reason why BA would not return the horse to her if she really wanted it back.