candy mountain ;; [jensen&open!]

[poppies]

Pulling into the driveway of the new barn she caught the sights of horses roaming in the pastures. Shawna, was seventeen and hoping to live life good by herself. Of course her parents would be sending her money to take care of herself and pay for her apartment rent. Other than thay? It was they who were paying for board for the two horses while at Pinewood. Before she left they told her no funny buisness and that they'd expect and e-mail or a phone call at least once a week. However, that would happen because Shawna was a little girl in their eyes and if she didn't follow then she'd go home.

Dressed in a navy and white striped cami she didn't look like a rider at all. Sunglasses were covering her eyes, only because her emerald eyes didn't wanna look anyone in the face. A pair of jean shorts hugged her thin legs and paddock boots were dressed neatly onto her feet. Other than that the two horses in the trailer were moving around with nerves. Re-phrase that, Juniper moved with nerves and Rocky probably wasn't moving at all and was still sleeping.

Opening the left door first to the trailer it was for the handsome palomino gelding. Walking to the front of the trailer she opened the door, rubbed his nose, un-tied the lead rope and put it over his neck and then walked to the back. Undoing the butt bar she patted the gelding's rump. Carefully he found his footing and stumbled off the trailer. Looking around with curiousity he nudged Shawna to see what they were doing here. Stroking his neck she tied him to the side of the trailer and then closed his door.

Finally it was the moment of truth to see how Juniper would do getting off the trailer. Sliding the two bolts she looked in to see a hind leg coming her way, skittering out of the way she sighed. Undoing the lead line quickly she got the mare out of the trailer before she killed herself, once off the mare took a half rear and then looked around. Fully alert to the situation she saw Rocky standing still and obediently and her muscles settled a bit. Closing both doors she knew her tack had arrived an hour ago when her brother dropped off her stuff.

Two stalls made next to each other would hold both horses. Untying the gelding she lead both horses into the barn and let Rocky loose. Immediately he took a chunk of his hay net and then laid down. Juniper however stood in the middle with sweat pouring down her neck. It was how the mare reacted to moving into the Redwood place on her first day. From her bloodlines the mare was perfect, if she were purebred she'd be even more amazing in anyone elses eyes.

To Shawna the two horses were amazing, Juniper was a great jumper and excelled in all that was English. Rocky, from what she had witnessed, was excelling in roping and trail. He was also learning the ropes to halter and western pleasure. Juniper paced in her stall and began to look at Shawna with worried eyes but once she saw the carrot in her hand the mare calmed a little. "It's gonna be okay. Just settle down, nothing is gonna hurt you."

Patting her neck she went to grab the rest of her equipment. Her two tack trunks were already infront of the horse's stalls and both had the horse's names on them along with Shawna's initals. She wasn't spoiled, but her family was wealthy because of their occupations. Shawna herself had made a few five figures when she did some jumping classes with Juniper earlier in the winter.

Moving to a new place was nerve racking for Shawna and Juniper. Rocky however settled in immediately because the gelding had been moved from barn to barn as a younger horse. At least that was what the Redwood family though, his attitude was perfect and well he was just a real angel. Words to describe Juniper was like Shawna but also very fragile. Well for all Shawna knew she could possibly make new friends that day, minute, second, mill-second. Ah who knew.

[shadowsfial]

Everything seemed to be starting off well this morning. The cats were doing well and almost all of the feeding was already done. Jensen smiled sliding his hand along the chain link fence till his hand met with the paw of one of the big cats, a leopard named Misha. Kneeling down he slipped a few fingers through the fence and scratched the cat behind her ear. "Hello Misha." He placed his nose against hers then stood up and walked over sliding the large amount of raw meat into her cage.

Jensen only watched her eat for a moment then walked back to the house. it was a lot of work dealing with the big cats but it was worth it to him. He took a quick shower then headed downstairs to find his keys. He was planning on checking out the Pinewood Stable today and hopefully bring his horse in there. He was waiting to find a suitable place to board the stallion before he brought him down from another stable. Heading out the front door he grabbed his leather jacket then slipped it on just as he reached the door of his 2008 Viper. Sliding into the front seat he turned the key bringing the car to life. Flipping through some Cd's before he clipped his seat belt on he sighed as AFI's love like winter began to play.

It wasn't that long of a drive to the stable though Jensen wished it could have been a bit longer. It seemed that this place was well known because of all the business. There were so many horses that it looked like a horse ranch at first. Sliding out of the car he shut the door quietly then walked into the large stable. It was nice, better than he expected. As he walked down a few rows he stroked a few horses as they poked their heads out for his attention. Turning down another way he spotted someone with two horses and it seemed like she had just come here.

Jensen, being solitary, was just going to walk by and act like she wasn't there, well he just wasn't going to say anything. As he came closer he kept his eyes down, well at least most of the time. He glanced up seeing the two wonderful looking horses. Though he was trying to keep quiet his brain didn't have time to stop himself. "Thats a lovely pair of horses." He was going to cut off but he didn't want to sound stupid, though he didn't know why he cared.

Jensen stood still in the middle of she isle looking at the two horses then he finally looked at Shawna. He never really looked at her till just then, she was nice looking. He looked away silently at some of the other stalls. Why did I have to open my big mouth? He wanted to curse at himself but he just stayed quiet and looked back at the two horses. He wondered how long it would be till he brought his stally in. Death would probably like it here. He glanced back at some of the other stalls then back at Shawna not changing his facial expression one bit. Just a poker face nothing more, nothing less.

[poppies]

Turning her attention she saw a man. Possibly her age or maybe a tag bit older than her but his facial expression told his own story. Turning to look at the two horses she herself couldn't agree more, the gelding and the mare were both a cute couple. All though Juniper was nasty in her personality and stuff it made up in her looks and her beautiful abilities. Rocky had no real talent except for being just an awesome companion and riding horse.

"Thanks." Putting her hand out for a shake she offered a small smile and then spoke once more. "I'm Shawna Redwood." Her last name rung no bells in anyones head unless they were from Kentucky and really needed a lawyer. Sometimes her mother went to New York or California for a case but it was rare. Also her father was only well known in the case of selling western horses and some racehorses that scattered in Kentucky. Nothing to big but she wasn't famous or anything at all.

Moving some hair out of her face she let her smile draw back into a regular facial expression. Taking a glance at the man she saw his potential down falls and his positives. Quirks for him was his pale skin, it wasn't something she was attracted to because she herself liked guys who settled their skin to match their attitude. Shawna's was palely tanned from being at the beach last summer and it had managed to stay.

His positives, or the goodies in the bag, was that he had that small fleck of self confidence in his appearance. All though it might not match the inside and his personality it defidently showed on his facial features. Then again Shawna always looked like the girl about to beat people up until they looked at her personality. Instead of her physical features found below the neck and in other places.

Looking once more at his face he had those bright blue eyes, she called them a rare albino. It wasn't uncommon or to common to find those type of eyes but Shawna had a tint in hers like that. All though hers were an emerald green and pretty light if you looked close enough. Her mother had brown eyes as well as her father, her brother had blue. Mommy dearest was blonde and daddy had dirty blonde hair, same with her brother. Her hair was brunette, really dark, and she had green eyes.

It just didn't seem to fit into her family genetics. But sure enough she got the passionate feeling for horses, or it might just follow that guideline. All girls want a pony as a little kid and grow out of it, yet Shawna managed to stick with it. Probably because her parents pushed her hard to stay in shape and keep a strong bond with them. Also her horse Popsicle taught her a great lesson each time he bucked her off.

Turning back to the present she offered one more generous smile to the man and then turned around for a moment to hang the halters on their rightful hooks. Rocky's was leather with his name etched into a gold plate on the side. Juniper had a nylon break away because she always managed to snags hers. All though the mare did have a more professional one just like Rocky's with her name etched in a gold plate.

[shadowsfial]

That little red flag was up in his head telling him to leave but he ignored it... for once. HE mearly nodded at first then watched as she extended her hand. He waited a moment then shook he hand gently. "Nice to meet you Miss Redwood. I'm Jensen La Tour." It may be strange for him to be saying Miss but he was just raised that way. He let his hand slip from hers then he shoved them into his jacket pockets.

Jensen would have smiled back if he wasn't so locked up inside, so he just kind of relaxed a bit. She seemed nice, but you never know, one minute they could be fine the next they could be trying to cut you in half... That was a story better left unthought about. Every feeling that he sent off was mostly cold, well until now that he was a bit relaxed. The way he looked sent most people walking away, he kind of looked dead inside most of the time though he was living and breathing.

Her smile was great, at least to him. He never saw people smile much since he was always cooped up at home working with the big cats. He almost never had time off, well until now, allot of the cats were being shipped off to zoo's and breeding facilities so he only had about 5 cats now. With his newly opened schedule he didn't know what to do with his time. At least coming to the stable brang something positive. He was actually talking to a human rather than a cat.

Though he was hiding it well he thought she looked good. She had a kind personality, so far, she had gorgeous green eyes, one of his favorite colors, and she had a nice figure. He looked down momentarily and scratched the back of his head then looked up watching her hand up the two horses halters. It was kind of strange that the first day he came here that someone new just happened to be moving their horses it, at least it was strange to him. He sighed and watched her smile again then he went ahead and gave a small smirk just to lighten up a bit.

HE finally decided to stop being a hermit and talk, not his strongest thing but at least he would get an acquaintance. "So... When did you get here? If you don't want to answer you don't have to... and I can leave if you don't feel like having anyone around." He was cursing himself out in his head. He was horrible at conversations. He put his head in his hand and sighed shaking his head lightly. Great... now she is going to think I am a retard or something...

[poppies]

Miss Redwood My goodness, she hadn't heard anyone call her that except for her brother when he was kidding or when well judges called her name. It was more professional sounding, professional was what Shawna liked. No idea why the girl liked it but she did, after all she wanted to have fun but be serious at the same time. Her mind was jumbled, why? She was at that age where things weren't fully developed and...if you think its puberty then think back to when she was fourteen. Other than that she was just in that middle stage of her life.

"Slow down." Giggling a little she sounded like a kid before she gave a small cough. With that a loud squeal entered her ears, turning around she saw the palomino gelding calling for some tender loving care. Smiling she walked over to the next stall and scratched his nose. Stall guard fit nicely for him, it was a nice blue plaid, and it hugged his chest as he stood there. Juniper had a pink plaid one that she was afraid of but incase she wanted to run it came in handy.

Turning back to the man she now knew as Jensen, she smiled. Rocky kept nudging her back before stealing a horse cookie out of her back pocket. "I probably just pulled in the driveway to this place about..." Looking at her watch it read a little after ten o' clock. "I'd say twenty minutes ago." Suddenly she was pushed a little, maybe a few inches, from where she stood. Rocky nickered to her and stood there bobbing his head.

Shawna turned around and wagged her finger at him, his ears fully alert it looked like he was ready to take her finger as a tasty treat. Instead he just stood there and then looked at the stranger. Nickering the people friendly gelding wanted some more attention, as you could say he was like a sponge. He continued to absorb the attention and then it was gone and he needed more.

Riding him was just like that, he absorbed the information he was taught and kept it there. His entire body however absorbed what happened and forgot how to do it. Shawna had learned about it after the fifth time she rode him and tried to get him to turn on his front legs. He stumbled and she almost fell off from being mis-placed.

Looking at Jensen she once more took in his features before registering them fully. Rocky just seemed to look at this stranger as a person with treats and wanting to pet him. Juniper was standing in the shadows of her stall with her rump towards the stall entrance. After a few days the mare would calm down and she'd be biting at people and possibly making a hole in the stall. However, she was a good mare once out of her stall and the pasture. Well she was only good when under saddle, sort of.

[shadowsfial]

Jensen was making a complete fool out of himself with only minutes of talking. Go figure. The poor guy was so anti social that it made conversations almost impossible. He shook his head keeping his head in his hand. Nice going stupid. He finally pulled his hand away from his face when he heard the gelding screaming for attention.

He gave a small smirk watching the gelding nudge her continuously till he got his prize. Persistent isn't he? He crossed his arms out of nervousness though he didn't know why. So she had just barely gotten here. Wow. Guess you don't know anyone then... He didn't know why he said that. It was a rather stupid thing to say.

Evidently the gelding wasn't pleased and Shawna was pushed forward a bit. He shook his head watching the horse get a small scolding. Jensen ended up walking over to the gelding and stroked his neck gently then he looked over into the mare's stall. Is she always like that? He looked back at Shawna. He tried not to make it obvious but he looked her over but you never know. Some people can catch it.

Jensen hadn't talk to someone this much or as long as this since he was 15. He looked down after a moment and stopped petting the gelding then gave a small sigh before looking up putting his poker face back on. The one that it was almost impossible to tell what he was feeling or thinking. At least now he wasn't blubbering as much as he was at first. How long are you planning to stay around here? He was interested but he wasn't going to make it seem that way. He leaned against the wall now looking down at his shoes.

[poppies]

Watching Jensen stroke the gelding she smiled. Shawna hadn't seen to many people over the age of twelve walk up and stroke the gelding's neck. Ecspecially with a gentle touch, most people patted his neck and he just grunted a little with some displeasure. Turning to look at Juniper, when Jensen spoke she walked over to the mare's stall. Bending her neck she pinned her ears and squealed. Pawing the ground she looked at Shawna and gave a low pitched nicker, like a stallion.

"She's nervous is all. However, she lunges at strangers." Looking at Jensen she had a straight face on. "Abuse was in her past." It was a delicate subject, so was any other abuse case. After all Rocky in his past had been whipped into training, his spirit had been crushed. Caught off the planes after escaping from his pen as a colt, he was beaten. Juniper had her own scars, some were bullets in her hooves that were stuck for the ages.

Standing in the middle of the stall where the sunlight was stained against her coat it told the tail. Her mane was recently pulled and was a bit fuzzy like a Fjord but not straight. Her tail was shorter than most horses and still growing. Hooves were in a new condition but it hadn't been easy to touch them the first few months of ownership. Her haunches had some whip wounds that were still healing. Lastly her beautiful brown dappled coat glimmered with care.

Smiling at the mare she took out a carrot and held it on her hand. Juniper stretched her neck but was unsucessful in reaching, taking a few steps she took the carrott and then allowed Shawna to scratch her nose. "Good girl." Stroking her neck, withdrawing her hand the mare took notice of the stranger and half reared. Retreating to the back of her stall she kicked out her back legs.

"I just wanna say she isn't a manly horse. And as for my stay, I may stay for life or I might stay here for a few years or months. Who knows." Smiling at Jensen she couldn't help but get a warm spot in her heart. Abuse horses were just her favorite and they were always a great challenge also. Rocky and Juniper were both great examples, however Rocky was gentle and Juniper was in the works.

[shadowsfial]

Jensen nodded knowing that some horses were just skittish by nature but when the subject of abuse came up he frowned. He shook his head then looked dover at the mare. Thats rough... He had seen many abused animals in the past and they all had a bad ending. Well all but one that he knew.

Even the word abuse made his skin feel hot. He wanted to beat some since into people who could be that heartless to teach them a lesson. Watching the mare stand in the ray of light all the scars on her body told a sad story but gratefully she hadn't been sent to a slaughter farm. She was saved by the lovely Shawna.

When the mare began to spook he backed away to the opposite side to giver her some space, so not to make her more stressed than she already was. It was kind of you to take her in. She is lucky to have you. He looked back at the mare and stood silent for a moment in thought.

Pulling back to the present he looked back at Shawna. So I am guessing that your stay depends on something? This girl really was turning out to be the kind type. She took in abused horses after all, the ones that usually had the worst problems and yet she didn't care. Jensen admired her for that. Jensen had only ever had one horse and that was Death. Death was born from his mothers mare but sadly Death was left an orphan after the birth and Jensen took over the role of parent. Jensen smiled at the thought of the stallion, he was more human like than a horse. Smart as hell too.

Jensen rubbed the back of his neck then looked down at his watch. He didn't have anywhere to go he just had a habit of looking at it since he used to be so busy. Everything seemed to be changing drastically again and it was leaving him further in the dumps than before.

[poppies]

Sweat had started to dry on the mare's haunches, legs, and her neck which was somewhat a good thing. It didn't mean that Juniper was as stressed as she had been. Rocky just didn't do anything bad from what she had seen, however he had bucked her off the first time she got on his back. Looking at Jense she smiled and decided to just talk. "Well Juniper was a gift from my brother, he thought I needed my own horse. I've been sort of scared since my last horse. Also, Rocky was a horse that my father bought and decided I needed a trail horse."

Walking back to the palomino's stall she scratched his nose before bending over, and unlatching the tack trunk. Inside was a variety of things. Sliding the small kit that held her extra grooming supplies she grabbed a fly mask and shut the trunk. Juniper didn't allow the horrible thing on her so Shawna lathered fly spray on the mare and it seemed to work. Sliding the bolt she looked at the gelding and strapped the thing on. He had two, one was a joke and it had those huge eyes printed on the outside. The other was was used for a horseshow when she was showing herself and her horses off.

However, now Rocky looked like a big blue eyed horse. Truth was it was kinda of cute. Juniper was being weaned onto the poor fly mask slowly as well as a fly sheet to cover her body when it got really bad out. "Well my stay depends on how Juniper turns about and see how long my parents will pay for baording." So if it depended on Juniper it might be a year or so, maybe longer. As for boarding fees it would depend on if Shawna won her own money in horseshows and also if her parents kept the horse buisness going. And her mom's rediculous lawyer fees continued to come in steadily.

On parent fees it could be forever and she could move down there. Shawna after all was moving into a new place that looked pretty suite. Her horseshows for the fall were starting up in three weeks and Rocky had some western classes out in Colorado and a horse race for him as well. Juniper had a hunter and a few jumper classes to attend in New York in a month and Shawna was thinking of withdrawing. Who knew it all depended.

[shadowsfial]

Jensen shook his head. Even if they were gifts she was still kind to keep them. Most people would give up on a horse and considered them hopeless. These two horses were really lucky to have Shawna even if she didn't think so.

He felt weird just standing around talking though he wouldn't admit it. The anti social soul was trying to go back into the dark and hide like always. His mind was scrambling for words that never fit together properly but he just managed along. I bet she is going to turn out well. He nodded then looked down at the floor not having much else to say really.

A great deal of his life was spent at home sue to his own will. That means that he basically screwed himself up but oh well. He felt that his life was going fine... sort of. So... What type of job are you looking into? It was the only other logical question he could pull up. He thought that she might be wanting to work with horses, though that was all he could figure since he just met her. It seemed that a lot of girls in their younger years always wanted a horse and most of them grew out of it. He never really cared much for horses till Death came along. That lanky, little Frisian colt that always made you laugh because of how clumsy he was.

He looked around for a moment at the stalls again and nodded at his own thoughts. I think this would be a great place to board Death The stallion was down in OK. where is aunt now lived with her son. It was a nice place, though Jensen would have rather had him up here but with the risk of a big cat getting out he didn't want his horse getting eaten alive.

[poppies]

Scratching Rocky's nose she took interest into each word that Jensen spoke to her. For some reason she had that feeling he would be seeing a lot of her around, and same for her. They could be friends, or pals. Possibly just two people who text messaged on an off and didn't see faces again. Who knew. "Well I've picked a job up as a groom here. Photographer for some small site that wants horse pictures. Besides that I also wanna be a vet intern maybe." Thinking of her vet internship that could have been hers easily back home she had forgot. Dr. Richars was suppose to get her an application form for a West Virginia school.

College was another option that she had decided to pick out of, yet she decided to wait maybe a year before going. Realzing that she hadn't answered what Jensen had said about Juniper turning a new leaf she chuckled at that thought. "Well her past was sketchy but I collected all I needed. So far, in four months. I've gotten as far as her bucking problem and some of her trust issue." It was true.

The first night that Shawna tried to get on the mare's back, bareback and alone in her stall. Juniper tossed her heels and broke three of the girl's fingers. No matter what each day she free longed her for at least an hour or even more and gained some trust. Either just standing in the middle of the paddock and watching the mare or approaching her with a treat and trying to stroke her neck. She had been persistant, and it had paid off when she had first rode her. Until, she was bucked off instantly. Into the dirt, but it didn't happen anymore.

[shadowsfial]

Her carrier choices were nice, and they all involved animals. When she mentioned a vet intern he smirked a little surprised though it wasn't hard to believe. With the vet intern... are you wanting to get into large animals or small? Jensen kind of knew where he was going with this. He had to deliver medications and such to his big cats at home and if she wanted to get some training he would be happy to have her come. He could use the help at times... and the company.

I know a few vets and I am sure I could try and get you a part time job... or.... He cut off then just shook his head. He wasn't going to ask that yet. Four months? It wasn't that long of a time to get a horse in that bad of a mind state under control. You worked wonders on her. He looked back at the mare and gave another small smirk. He could imagine what that horse would be like in only a few more months. Maybe she still wouldn't like other people but she probably wouldn't be as fearful.

Looking back so Shawna he sighed lightly. You have had your hands full with her hu? He knew that it was a lot of work to turn an animal around. Especially when they had been through so much, but in the end it was all worth it. Thats why he chose to keep the family's big cat sanctuary open. Many of the big cats that came in were treated wrongly and they needed to gain someones trust again before they could move on to a permanent home. Sure some of them kept their bad attitudes and such but they were far better than when the came in.

Jensen looked down feeling his phone in his pocket vibrate lightly. Pulling it from his dark pockets he read the message quickly then put the phone away. Luckily it was nothing serious he didn't want to leave. It was merely the vet sending him a message saying that the Isis had been given her dosage of calcium for the day. He was worried about that little cub, she had weak bones but she was getting better. That was always a good sign. Looking back up at Shawna his facial expression had now changed. It was no longer that cold face with no reading. It was now warm and welcoming.

[poppies]

Juniper had nightmares. Each time the mare dozed into a soft sleep she always woke up with a sweat or something wrong with her. Usually it was Shawna who woke her up and sent her back into a calmer sleep, one that probably had carrot shaped clouds. Green pastures with all you could eat and the perfect person to give her love and attention. Yet, in the past month or so Shawna hadn't had to sedate the mare or wake her from a night terror. All though night terrors had reached out to Shawna recently.

"My goals for her at to make her a steady and trustworthy trali horse, I'm planning on taking her out on a lead line with Rocky in a couple of days. After I investigate. But in another four months she'll be doing better." Her words were full of satisfaction and they were up beat. To Shawna, gentling Juniper was like gentling a wild stallion. Fresh and not knowing of their full surroundings in a new place, full of energy and their minds telling them to flee.

Snapping her fingers softly the mare turned to look at her with a childish expression. Ears were pricked forward and her nostrils opened and closed softly. Unlatching the stall door she realized that she was delaying her future questions, the ones about being a vet intern. Usually she didn't blow things off like that but she wanted to. Her brother had taught her that living in the future wasn't good. Living in the present allowed you to have real fun and express yourself more.

[shadowsfial]

Jensen noted that she had skipped the vet intern thing completely but it didn't bother him. It wasn't in his place to say any more about it any way. It was nice that she was going to keep working with Juniper and he knew that the horse was going to turn out well.

I know that your hard work is going to pay off Miss Redwood. He smiled lightly then looked over at Juniper. You try not to be so harsh, k? He said it lowly to the mare then smirked before looking down at his shoes.

Jensen often lived in the past, that was where his mind was set most of the time. He rarely thought of the future unless it was someone Else's. He was going through a list of vets in his mind trying to remember some numbers to give her to help her out. Remembering one he pulled a note pad out of his jacket pocket and wrote the name and number of the vet down. This guy would probably be happy to have the help. He works with large and exotic animals mostly so he really could use a hand every now and then. You could learn a lot from him. He handed her the sheet of paper.

That was Jensen's personal vet. The guy worked with tons of animals and traveled all over since he was best in his profession. Jensen would call him more often than any other vet when something was wrong with one of the cats. He figured that would be a thrill for Shawna if she actually took up on the offer.