OUTOFMYWAY!

_{Sooo... the thrilling storyline starts. Hohboy. These were all done in the end 2017 during the great INSPIRATION and have been sitting in my sta.sh ever since, waiting to have their stories written out for them. I'm so sorry. But there you have it folks.
Story time.}

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There was a fierce nip in the air when Yan exited the staff housing, hair still wet from the shower. Autumn had definitely come to EMS at last, with its grey, miserable days, gruelling storms and colourful leaves.
Yan pulled his jumper closer around his shoulders as a chilly gust of wind made the leaves dance wildly in the courtyard. Everyone was glad if they could work the horses in the indoor arena in this weather. Only Diego didn’t care. He never did when it came to weather. Come hell or high water he would be found outside.
The sound of a car pulling up to the parking lot made Yan’s head shoot up. A quick glance at his watch told him that Misha was early. It was baffling to Yan how he always did that. He had never seen the man be late for anything.
With a smile on his lips Yan made his way over to the area that they used for visitor parking. Misha had already gotten out of the car, the gravel crunching under his feet as he came towards Yan.
“You do know that you risk catching a cold if you run around with wet hair in this
weather?”, he said by way of greeting, his ever present smirk already in place.
“I do know that, but no need to worry, I don’t get sick that easily”, Yan replied, returning the half hug Misha offered. “So, are you ready to see the stable without any emergencies ruining your day?”
Misha chuckled and fell into step beside Yan, hands buried in his pockets. “Well, I wouldn’t say ruined.. But, yeah as long as I don’t have to get too close to any of the horses I’m good.”
“Oh, we’ll get you there in due time, don’t worry.”
“Thanks, but no thanks.”
They walked over to the stable, stopping in front of the wide main doors.
“Then I’ll spare you this one I guess. You can marvel at it from the outside, though, if you want. It was rebuilt after a fire burned it down a couple of years ago.”
“Shit, the stable burned down? That’s terrible, I’m sorry, man.”
Yan shoved his hands into his pockets, shoulders raised, his eyes staring beyond what was there now at something that happened in the past.
“Yeah, it was pretty bad. I’m just thankful no one died.”
Yan’s suddenly absent expression worried Misha. He put a hand on his shoulder.
“Hey, you okay?”
Yan’s head snapped up as if startled out of a trance. Immediately the smile was back on his lips.
“Huh? Oh, yeah, sorry. I zoned out there for a little.”
Misha’s frown didn’t disappear, however, and he didn’t step back.
“You know, you don’t-”
A sudden shout accompanied by a commotion from inside the stable interrupted him. Both their heads snapped around towards the thunderous beating of hooves on concrete that turned deafening very rapidly. A big, brown stallion came skidding around the corner, his hooves slipping on the smooth ground.
“What the…” Another shout cut Yan off.
“MOVE! GET OUT OF THE WAY!!”
The stallion exploded towards the tall stable doors with such force that the small person on his back had to hold on tightly to not be thrown off. Her bright, colourful hair immediately identified her as Rikke and, Yan did a double take, she was riding Cheveyo?
Quickly Yan and Misha leapt apart, away from the flailing legs that only barely missed them when the stallion thundered by.
Yan landed easily, his first gaze flitted towards Misha. His friend was still staggering backwards, pushed by the force of Cheve’s heavy body. Yan started forward.
“Mish, you okay?” When Misha nodded, breathless and with ruffled hair, Yan spun around and called after Rikke.
“Rikke! What are you doing?!” She only shot him a cocky grin over her shoulder as they disappeared down the path towards the forest. Yan stared after her, dumbfounded.
“Goddamnit”, he murmured under his breath and turned back to Misha.
“What the hell was that?” he said, running a hand through his curly hair. Yan just shrugged, speechless.
“No idea, but this is going to be trouble.”


As it turned out, Yan was right.
When Rikke and Cheve came trotting back into the yard, both hyped up and overjoyed - Rikke’s cheeks shone bright red from the chilly winds - Erin was already waiting for them, arms crossed in front of her chest, her lips pressed into a thin line.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Erin immediately snarled when Rikke was within earshot.
“We went for a little hack through the woods. Nothing big”, Rikke grinned, sliding down from Cheve’s back and landing deftly on her feet.
If she wasn’t so mad at her right now, Erin would be impressed by Rikke’s progress over the last few months.
But she was very mad, so she huffed out an incredulous laugh.
“Nothing big? Are you freaking kidding me?”
Rikke just looked at her blankly, and Erin shook her head, gesturing towards Cheve.
“You took a horse without asking, a stallion you are not supposed to even touch, you took him out into the forest without a saddle, without a helmet. No one knew where you were, what you were doing and if something had happened no one would be any wiser. But it’s nothing big?!”
The corners of Rikke’s mouth twitched downwards, her expression turning somewhat contrite. Not enough for Erin’s liking.
“You could have gotten hurt. You both could have gotten hurt! Cheve could have thrown you and bolted, he could have been anywhere by now. He could have misstepped and broken a leg, for crying out loud!”
“Yeah, but it didn’t happen! Everything went well, nothing happened.”
Rikke rolled her eyes and Erin had to scrounge together the last bit of self restraint she still had, to not take her by the shoulders and shake her until her teeth rattled.
“That is not the point, Rikke! You can’t just go around taking horses like you damn well please.”
“The students do it all the time, too.”
“The students are students here and only take the horses they were assigned to take. And they don’t take them out for breakneck rides around the forest. Without a helmet no less. You’ve been living here for over a year, you should know better by now. You have a responsibility for these horses, don’t you understand?”
Rikkes mouth was set in a thin line, but she didn’t say anything anymore. Erin sighed, trying to keep her frustration out of her voice.
“You will not take any horse without permission again, did I make myself clear?”
“Sure did”, Rikke mumbled under her breath, still not looking at Erin.
“What was that?” Erin’s voice was cold as ice.
“Yes, Ma’am!” Rikke said, but it was obvious she didn’t care about the lecture.
Erin huffed. “Don’t do it again. Now go, take care of Cheve or he’s gonna be sick next.”
Without another look back, Rikke slumped off into the stables.
Erin stayed behind, following the pair with her eyes. A nasty feeling clawed in the pit of her stomach that this was far from over.





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Tools and Info

Programme: Paint Tool SAI & Adobe Photoshop CS5
Tools: Wacom Bamboo Pen
Time: about 3 hours