Serenity, Sweet Serenity (OPEN)

"Hey fella." Sienna laughed as she neared her beautiful black horse, Phantom. He whinnied as she began to saddle him up. "Ready for a ride?" She asked. She slung her knapsack on her shoulders, adjusting the straps so it wouldn't fall off as she was riding. Placing her foot in the stirrup, she hoisted herself onto his back, positioning herself as comfortably as possible in the saddle, wrapped the reins around her hand, and kicked into his side. Phantom took off at a slow and steady walk, causing Sienna to kick him harder. He began to trot, and one more kick sent him galloping along. They rode down the dirt path leading away from the farm, out towards the woods.

Trees whizzed past as Sienna urged Phantom on. A jutting branch covered in leaves smacked Sienna right in the face, causing her face to throb and her hazel eyes to tear up. "Woah." She said, ordering Phantom to stop when they came to a small river in the middle of the forest. After she dismounted Phantom, she lead him to the water, where he drank happily.

As soon as he was full of liquid, she tied Phantom to a large log with the long lead she had brought. This way he could walk around a bit, get water, and not be constrained to sitting in one place. She shed her coat and kicked off her worn-out white and black sneakers. Now she wore a pair of jean shorts slightly above the knee and a form-fitting navy blue tee. With a deep breath, she ran for the water's edge, plugged her tear-drop shaped nose, and plunged beneath the surface, sending a shower of water droplets everywhere. Her eyes opened slowly, but she couldn't see much. She swam around under the surface for a bit, then bobbed back up to draw a quick breath.

Floating there in the sweet serenity of the woods was calming to Sienna. She floated on her back, paddling towards Phantom slowly with her arms. a mockingjay in the distance sang a short, five-note song, and Sienna sighed. It was times like these that she wished her voice was beautiful enough that the Mockingjays would listen to it. She waded out of the river and onto the bank, seating herself next to Phantom. He laid down next to her, and she laid against his side, stroking his muzzle, listening to the subtle bubbling of the slow-moving river.

(This seems quite fun )
Duncan walked down a dirt road with his ukelele across his back. He was almost running. He was going off to the river that his father and he used to swim in every evening, this was the first time in ages.
He took his ukulele and started to strum it softly, humming a soft tune. A mockingjay floated next to the ukulele as he walked and he smiled at it. "Slowly sleeping, come to your senses," he sang to it. It repeated his tune and so did another, till it dragged on and on. It followed him till he reached the edge of the river.
He looked across and saw a girl laying down. Walking around, he stood above her and tilted his head down to see her clearly.
"What exactly are you doing here all alone?"

Sienna was startled by the voice of a young boy. Her eyes flew open and she lurched to a sitting position, scaring Phantom slightly, and clapped her hand over her beating heart. Phantom whinnied worriedly, and she tried to soothe her horse by stroking his nose and speaking soft, gentle words. After the look of fear in Phantom's eyes had faded, she turned to glare at the boy. The first thing she noticed about him was his vibrant yellow hair that swooped to the side. "You nearly gave me a heart attack!" she snapped at him, running her fingers through her light blonde hair and and forcefully breathing in and out to bring her speeding heart rate down a bit. Suddenly it dawned on her that he had asked a question, so she answered shortly, "I enjoy it here. And why do you come out?" She walked over to the river, waiting for the boy to respond, and dipped her feet into the chilled water. She watched as the light blue water rolled over her feet.

He started to laugh at her out burst. "Hey, you're the one listening tothe mockingjays sing my song." he smiled and sat down at the edge of the rover. He stuck his feet in and looked at the horse and then back at the girl. "I'm guessing from the horse is that you're probably from the rich part of the district."
Duncan laid his ukulele next to him and thought about her question. "I think of this river as more of a home then I do my own." he looked back at her horse and sighed. "Ive only seen a horse twice. Once at the printing shop and one at the capital building. This is new to me."

"Really? Well, Phantom's my best friend. I can't imagine life without him." Sienna murmured, placing a hand on his neck and running her fingers through his slightly tangled, jet black mane. It reminded her that she needed to brush his mane out when she got home. "He's a Gypsy Vanner." She commented, to no one in particular. "Magnificent breed, really. I love the hair around the hooves..." She trailed off, unconsciously rubbing his neck now. She could feel the pulse of his heart, pumping gallons and gallons of blood through his large, muscular body. Imagine what a job that would be, pumping blood all day through an animal that weighs about half a ton. She snapped back into the present, her strange thoughts scattered. "I forgot to ask, what's your name?" She turned to face the boy, her hazel eyes looking up at him inquiringly.

He chuckled at her dazed off face. "Really into horses, huh?" he laughed. "I'm more into music. Can't live without my guitar and uke." he strummed the ukelele from the ground and smiled to himself. "My dad bought me my uke when I was 10. It was my last present from him. But a least I can share it with the mockingjays."
He kicked his feet around in the water and looked up to ask for her name. But right when he was going to, she did.
"The names Duncan, Duncan Fretra. Nice to meet you." he smiled warmly.

Sienna merely shrugged as he stated, "Nice to meet you." "We'll see." She said simply. "The name's Sienna Emerson, in case you were wondering. My father owns one of the biggest farms and ranches in District 10." She stated proudly, flipping her long hair behind her shoulder. Duncan Fretra... what a strange name. She thought, scanning him quickly. His hair was an unnatural yellow color, and the bangs swooped to the side. It also flipped out right at his cheeks, where it ended. His face was cherubic; it had a few characteristics that, blended together, make a face look more youthful then the person really is. Slight dimples, full cheeks, wide eyes, and a button nose all played part in this facade. He had a couple of piercings, which Sienna winced at the sight of. She never had her body pierced because it looked far too painful. Poking decorative shards of metal into her skin wasn't something she considered 'beautiful'. Then again, she ventured, Panem is a crazy place. He was rather tall, but gangly, with oddly thick arms, one of which had a small tattoo of a bird, the species unidentifiable by herself. To her, it looked like it might take flight and soar right of his wrist. The realism was amazing. It was something her mother would've been able to draw, only better, if she was still here... Her eyed narrowed. "If you wore more crazy clothes, you could be a Capitol Citizen." She said, a twinge of accusation mixed in with her words.

Without waiting for his response to come, she neatly put her glasses into her knapsack and dove in to the water. The freezing cold water numbed her skin quickly, forcing more air out than usual. Her lungs felt like they were frozen in carcasses of ice. To free them, she broke the surface of the water and drew a deep breath. Her lungs felt as thought they had thawed, and she bobbed back under. This section of the river wasn't too deep. With one hand outstretched, she felt the bed of the river for anything that might be interesting or a treasure of any sorts. Without her glasses on, seeing underwater was impossible, so she trusted her sense of touch more than anything. Her hand patted something smooth to the touch yet solid. She closed her hand around it. It was about the size of a quarter and lighter than one. She kicked off the rocky bottom and pushed herself out of the river. She gracefully sat back down in her spot, cuddling next to Phantom for warmth. Unfolding her glasses, she placed them on her face, and the world suddenly gained clarity, as if a heavy fog had been lifted.

She uncurled her frozen fingers to find a little shell, round with a swirl to it. She smiled and held it up to the sun. It wasn't exactly pretty, but she liked it. The way the sunlight glinted off the surface of her shell made her happy.

When she set the little shell in the grass, a small, slimy head popped out of it. A snail. She grinned and picked it up slowly, flattening her hand out and placing it in her palm. The slippery body poked out yet again, antenna wriggling around, and crawled across her hand. She remembered how she and Edward used to collect these snails all the time when they were kids... before Ma died. She sighed and let it crawl off her hand and into the grass, where it slowly made its way towards the water.

"We'll see?" he scoffed, "Do I look like that bad of a guy?" he murmured to himself the last part. He didn't want to sound modest. But she beat him to that when she talked about her father. He had to cringe at that. He didn't usually like the rich kids in the district: too skimpy, stuck up.
"Yeah, the name Emerson floats in my memory. I think my father mentioned it once or twice. But I don't remember it that well, living with my aunt now and all. She doesn't let me leave the house that much."
He looked down at himself after she criticized his look. "What, just because of my lip ring?" he sighed and looked at where she was staring. He lifted up his arm and rolled up his sleeve. "The tattoo is just a sign you know, nothing more." He called after her as she jumped into the water.
The water splashed him when she jumped in. Duncan wiped the water off his ukulele and smiled at the mockingjay from before. He strummed the ukulele and sang to it and started to harmonize with it.
"When the world gets too heavy put it on my back," he sang to it, "I'll be your levy."
He watched as she came out of the water and stopped playing so he could just listen to the birds.
I don't like this girl. She seems like a rich goody-two-shoes. I should leave while I get the chance. he thought. But for some reason, his legs wouldn't move.
He pulled his hand through his bright blonde hair and sighed, leaning back and looking up at the sky. Looks like I'll have to share my secret place with a spoiled district kid.

((Gotta love a love-hate relationship! :3))

Sienna ran her fingers through her damp hair, stealing sideways glances at Duncan. The scrutiny on his face was a look of judgement, and she realized it was towards her. She rolled her eyes and laughed cooly. As if I care. She thought venomously. Usually she didn't care, but this time... maybe she did. Her mind began to battle itself, the two different sides of her personality clashing at full force. She was choosing between caring what Duncan thought and not caring what he thought about her.

Why should she care? She thought about it for a few seconds. Most of the time, she didn't care when she was being judged. The girls at school always gossiped about her behind her back, and sometimes she caught snippets of what they said about her. She was called weird, strange, freaky, awkward, ugly, and loads of other things. But something bugged her about Duncan. His first showing of kindness towards her made her almost WANT for him to like her. See, with the other girls--and sometimes guys--, they didn't give her a chance to show herself. Sure, they probably wouldn't like who she showed them, but Duncan seemed to be open to her, to want to get to know her. She continued to fight herself until there wasn't any fight left in her, then she locked her hands and rest them behind her head, leaning against Phantom, her gaze flickering yet again occasionally over to Duncan.

His ukelele was quite beautifully crafted, for what she knew to be beautiful in the musical world. The wood was glinting in the sun, the strings calling for someone to play. Oh how she wish she was musically inclined in some way. Even if it was just playing one instrument, having one ounce of singing ability. But, alas, she wasn't. She sighed to herself, then once again her attention flitted over to Duncan's instruments. She raised her eyebrows slightly and asked, "Is that ukelele just for show, or can you actually play it?" She unlocked her hands, patted her horse softly, then scooted slightly closer to Duncan, waiting for him to play something.

((I know ahaha x])
He stared at her with a look of surprise then smiled softly. "Well, yeah. If I couldn't, why would I bring it around?"
He looked at her more closely then at her hands. No calases, he thought, that means no guitar practice.
"Don' you play an instrument?" he asked while bringing the ukulele into his arms. "Isn't like the upper people in the districts thing to play?"
He tuned the uke for a minute and then strummed it to hear if it made a difference. "Perfect." he muttered. He flicked his wrist once then more faster then before.

Sienna's face fell as he asked. "Er... no. I can't. But my brother, Edward, can." She looked longingly at his hands as he easily strummed the guitar. Why can't I do that? Why? She asked herself angrily. "I'm not much of a virtuoso. But that doesn't mean I have no talent." She said quickly, holding her head up a bit higher. She crossed her legs indian style and listened as he played. He was magnificent. It just wasn't fair that someone could play like that while she couldn't even play at all. Uncrossing her legs, she laid down in the grass, on her back, the green grass like a cushiony pillow around her entire body. With a deep sigh of contentment she closed her eyes, letting his beautiful music wrap itself around her. Phantom, feeling lonely, picked himself up off the ground and plodded over to where Sienna laid, carefully laid himself next to her, bent his neck so he was looking at her, and plopped his muzzle on her stomach. "Oof!" She gasped, the air whoosing from her lungs. "Silly boy." She giggled when she realized it was her horse. She lifted his head off of her, repositioned, and laid with her back against his side, sitting in a slightly inclined position.

He laughed at the horse and slid the ukulele to the ground. Duncan looked at her, trying to at least seem happy.
"Haven't you ever thought about leaving district 10? I mean, don't you ever feel trapped?" he flipped his hair over a little.
"I've always wanted to go somewhere farther then here to play my music. Share it with someone else." But I guess you count he thought happily.
Duncan was never allowed to have friends. His aunt, a cold women, would never let him leave at all but for work and school. The games had taken his best friend the year before, so now his aunt had no one of his friends to like.

His question took her back a little. Sure, District 10 was far from the most monitored District. That would be the upper, rich Districts, 1, 2, 3, and maybe 4. But they still could've been overheard. She instinctively looked around herself, even up in the sky, in the trees, and everywhere else. She didn't want to be heard.

Life was better in those Upper Districts... in a sense. They had everything they needed, everything they wanted. But they were like bacteria under the Capitol's microscope, always being watched, always under close surveillance. Not only that, but they were pets to the Capitol. They did everything to please the Capitol. The upper Districts were even twisted to believe that the Games were okay, that they should volunteer to go to gain fame and fortune. You can become rich and famous. All you have to do is slaughter innocent children and we'll praise you. She thought to herself, disgusted with the mentality of them. Of course, wasn't everyone? Well, let me rephrase. Wasn't every sane person?

She realized she must look like a fool sitting there, thinking, so she whispered, "Sometimes. But the risk is too great." She sighed deeply, twiddling a long blade of light green grass between her forefinger and her thumb. She looked up at him and smiled. "I think all of Panem would love to hear your music."

Sienna's stomach interrupted with a loud grumble. She slapped a hand across her stomach and laughed. She looked up at the sky. It was already pretty late in the afternoon, and she had gotten there in the morning. How long have I been here? She thought. "I'm a bit hungry. Maybe we could go grab a bite to eat." She pulled her bag towards her and fumbled through it, tossing the contents around as if they were ingredients to a salad. She located her wallet, one Edward had crafted for her, and opened it up. Inside were several gleaming coins. "I think I have enough to buy something decent." She shrugged, stuffing back in to the bottom of her knapsack and tugging on the cords that made the opening close. She picked herself off the ground, urging Phantom to stand. "What do you say?" She asked quickly, turning to face Duncan.

"I guess so. Sometimes I think the world doesn't know enough about music." he murmured. He had been singing and playing for as long as he could remember. His mother as well as him, he could always remember her voice. Even if it was from so long ago.
He was startled that she would ask. "Go out to eat?" he asked a bit shocked. He put his ukulele in his bag and pushed his hand through his hair. "Sure, I guess. But I'm not getting on a horse." he pointed at Phantom. "I don't know, it wouldn't feel right." he gave a shivered laugh and stood up.
Duncan rummaged through his bag, looking for his wallet. Taking out his spare jacket, he pulled his wallet out of the pocket.
"Only a few coins.."

Sienna laughed weakly. "Don't worry, I wouldn't ask you to. I'll just lead him. But we'll have to stop by my home so I can put him away in his stall." She said, more to herself than to Duncan. When he held out his meager amount of coins, she said, "I'll give you whatever you need. I just hope you're not a big eater." Whether this was a joke or not wasn't very apparent in the way Sienna had said it. She slung her tattered blue knapsack onto her back. She then walked over to Phantom, exchanged his longer lead for the smaller, and wound up the longer one and stored it in her knapsack. She located her sneakers and coat and slipped into those as well.

Sienna didn't really feel like leaving. The book she had packed to read, she never even opened it. She always read here... it felt like breaking the law. Oh well. You're hungry. Besides, you should be getting home soon, anyway. You've got chores to do. She convinced herself that it was okay to leave without reading, so, with Phantom's lead in her hand, she walked to Duncan.

Phantom nuzzled Sienna as she led him closer to where Duncan stood. Sienna laughed and pushed his face away from hers. She patted him on the cheek and whispered in his ear, "Love you to, boy." She looked up at Duncan, and asked, "Are you ready to go?"

He nodded slowly and looked at the horse. "your family has to see tattered up me? Oh joy." he sarcastically laughed. Duncan looked up the trail and shoved his money in his pocket."Me? A big eater? By the look of me, you can tell I'm pretty skinny."
You will probably never see this girl ever agin, so calm it. he thought to himself. But.. I don't want to go home. Aunt is home and she'll do worse to you then before you had that limp for leaving.
He shook his head and got back into reality. He looked at her and the horse nd nodded. "Yeah, ready to go."

She smiled slightly. "Alright. Let's go." She tugged twice on Phantom's lead and he neighed, his huge hooves trampling the earth beneath him as he began to walk. She turned over her left shoulder and beckoned for Duncan to follow her with a large wave of her arm.

As they walked further away from the river, the sound of it died down until it wasn't even there. The only sounds in the peaceful and quiet forest were the thud of Phantom's hooves, the rustle of the crisp leaves on trees in the slight breeze, and the call of a mockingjay in the distance. It tweeted it's melody, which another bird resounded. After the second had finished, not another bird sang it, but it echoed through the forest, slowly evaporating, just as the sound of the river behind them had.

Sienna turned to Duncan, who she realized must be feeling rather uncomfortable now that they hadn't said anything for about fifteen minutes. Sienna herself didn't mind too much; she would much rather seize the opportunity and ponder on her own thoughts. Despite her need for the thinking time she missed by the river since Duncan arrived, she decided to say something to the quirky boy. "So, what happened to your parents? You mentioned living with your Aunt, and it got me wondering what happened to them." she minutely cocked her head to the side and looked at him with an inquiring gaze

He jogged over to her and slowed as he stood besides her. After he had adjusted his bags strap a little, he started walking at a more steady pace. With one large gulp of air, he felt as if his legs were moving themselves.

He looked down at his shoes and watched as the leaves crunched under him. He hadn't been outside in days and it felt amazing. But to be with another person was new. But it didn't matter to him, just the feeling brought back his senses.

He twitched at the mention of his parents. He hadn't told nothing about them since they died. "Well," he started, rubbing the back of his neck, "My parents used to be like high society people. Very close with the capital. I used to be very spoiled back then of course because they would give us money for my parents to buy things.
"My parents were so happy and such that my mothers sister, who is the aunt I live with right now, got a little bit- what's the word?- jealous." he shook his head a little bit. "She committed a crime later on and blamed it all on my parents. They were killed without another word."
he tried to keep a normal face and looked away from her.

As Duncan looked away with a pained expression on his face, Sienna began to wish she hadn't asked him about his parents. For some people, it felt good to get grief and pain off their chest by sharing their story with someone else. But for Duncan, maybe it was too soon. Walking alongside Duncan, who wouldn't make eye contact with her, Sienna had no idea how to approach him.

In a way, she could be empathetic. Her mother had died years ago. But his experience was totally different. Her mother was killed doing something she loved, surrounded by those she loved. Duncan lost not one, but two parents because of jealous relatives whom he probably strongly disliked now. Her pain was that of loss. The feelings she had leftover were sorrow and sadness. Duncan felt the same loss, and his feelings were not only sorrowful, but most likely hatred towards his Aunt. Sure, Sienna felt a little bitter towards her father for the way he abused her after her mother's death, but it was a totally different bitter than Duncan's. Duncan's Aunt caused his parent's death.

After mulling over her options on how to comfort him, she reached a hand out towards him and touched his bony shoulder lightly, her palm brushing the rough material of his clothing. "I can't say I fully understand," She began tenderly, "because I don't." Biting her lip, she searched for the right words. "I'm not one to be super profound and sympathetic when it comes to other people's problems, but you need to remember that your parents are in a better place--away from the terrors of the Capitol--watching over you. They'll always be with you, right here." She touched a shaking finger to his chest, right over his heart.

Letting her hand fall back to her side, she realized their pace had slowed down substantially. She tried to pick up the pace, glancing at Duncan every now and then to see if he looked any better. She only hoped her words had helped, and that for once she was actually able to say something heartfelt without looking like a complete idiot.

"REN LOCKWOOD! COME BACK HERE!" Ren's mother shouted as he ran out the door, past the barn. He had once again forgotten to lock the door on the chicken coop the previous night. There weren't any problems with it until last night, when the coyotes got quite a handsome snack.
Ren's mother wasn't just mad. She was furious.
"DON'T BOTHER COMING HOME TONIGHT!" She shouted as he kept running. He slowed down to a stop, and looked back at his mother.
"What?!" He shouted back, making sure he heard her correctly.
"You heard me, Ren! I told you before that if you screwed up again, you weren't welcome in this house! Come back in a few days when you've done some thinking about your actions! And so help me if you miss school!"
Ren knew his mother was being serious, and she had a point. Ren was careless with his chores, and more often than not, there were consequences for his actions. Losing all of the chickens, however, was by far his worst offense. Not only would the family lose money because of the lack of eggs to sell, but now they didn't have any chickens to take to slaughter when they were too old.
He decided to run into the barn and grab his bow and arrow, since he would need food. He wasn't the best hunter, but could bring down small animals if he needed to. He also grabbed a blanket off the shelf that the family used for calving.
Ren ran into the woods behind the barn, and continued for a few miles before stopping to see where he was. He had ran southeast, away from District 7. He lived about 10 miles away from the forest separating the two, and he often snuck into those woods when he felt rebellious.
But now he was heading in the opposite direction, the way he took to get to the town square for Reapings, and for the selling of the farm's goods.
Ren's stomach growled, and he decided to hunt for food. He scaled a large oak tree and sat on one of the branches, waiting for something to walk by. He figured he could take down a rabbit or two, if they happened to come by.
The sound of leaves crunching piqued his senses, and he turned his head to the source of the noise. He was slightly disappointed when he heard the heaviness of the feet walking on the ground. Whatever it was, it would be too big for him to take down with one arrow. It almost sounded like a horse.
But then, he was surprised when he heard a voice:
"So, what happened to your parents? You mentioned living with your Aunt, and it got me wondering what happened to them."
It was a girl's voice, and a boy's voice replied, all while the hooves of the horse continued to plod down the earth. Ren peeked through the leaves and got a glimpse of the pair. The guy had bright yellow hair, which reminded Ren of the crazy hair colors of Capitol folks. The blonde girl, however, was rather pretty. She was leading the horse, and Ren assumed her family must be well-to-do to have a nice horse like that.
The boy was telling the girl about his parents, and she gave him awkward, yet heartfelt, words of sympathy.
"Well, I should be friendly." Ren said to himself as he leaped out of the tree, landing on his feet with a quiet thud.

Duncan smiled at her and closed his eyes, taking it in. He grabbed her head and shook it gently. "Thank you. I don't think I've talked to anyone in a really long time actually. Now I'm... Feeling a little better."
His body twitched as heard a big thud. He gripped her hand by accident but then quickly let go, hoping no one had seen him.
He looked up to see a brown haired boy. A much taller brown haired boy. He took a step back. Looking back at Sienna, he covered his bag behind his back and tilted hisnhead ever so sightly.
"What an enterance," he laughed a bit, "or were you evesdropping?"

"Glad I could help." She said with a thin smile. She was watching the way he seemed to be relieved of a large weight, as if it was lifted off his shoulders. Then, out of nowhere, a loud thump sounded in front of them. Sienna squealed, jumping quite high. As if by reflex, Duncan reached for her hand and squeezed it. She looked down at her hand, then back up at Duncan, shocked.

Her gaze fell on a young boy that, based on looks, was slightly older than she herself. His hair was dirty blonde, like light dirt, and was fairly short and clean-cut. His handsome blue eyes were a royal blue color, fitting in with his light skin tone very nicely. He stood quite a bit taller than Sienna. Sienna quickly glanced at his physique. Well-muscled body with thick arms and legs, in a good way, of course.

Raising her eyebrows, she put all her weight on one side of her body, hands on hips. She narrowed her eyes, her fuzzy eyebrows looking even more thick as she did so. "Hmph." She grunted, eyeing him a bit differently than she had before. At first she was looking over him to see what he looked like. Now she was looking for what set him apart from the rest of District 10, if anything.

Sienna opened her mouth, but Duncan beat her to the chase. "What an entrance," He laughed quickly and dryly, a way she would before she blurted an accusation. Sure enough, his next utterance was, "or were you eavesdropping?" Great minds think alike. She thought to herself. Curiosity called her attention back to the strange boy. She watched to see the way he reacted to his conclusion, waiting for him to say something.

"I was not dropping eaves, thank you." Ren said, eying up the two strangers, "The name's Ren Lockwood. My mom kicked me out for a couple of days, so I was up in the tree waiting for game. I happened to find you two instead."
Ren strode forward a bit, then nodded his head towards the girl's horse.
"Nice horse, by the way. A Gypsy Vanner, right?"

"Another novie richy I find? So many in one day." he laughed bitterly. "But at least one of them is kind." he looked at Sienna with a kind smile.
He grunted distastefully at the boy. "Neve asked for your name..." he muttered to himself. "Duncan," he introduced himself, "Duncan Fretra."
"Nice horse by the way, a gypsy vanner?" Ren said to Sienna. Duncan growled and looked at his feet angrily. Well now she's going to run off with this guy. he thought. One things for sure, he knows a lot more about horses then I do.
He brushed past Ren and kept walking, slinging his ukulele into his arms and started to play as he strolled on. Better get moving before I just dissapoint myself...

The boy's knowledge of horses surprised Sienna. "Yeah, he is indeed. Magnificent breed, the Gypsy Vanner." She said shortly, turning to pat Phantom's shoulder. His thick muscles rippled underneath his short, black coat. He whinnied softly, snorting at Ren. Whether it was friendly or hostile, Sienna couldn't tell.

"Ren Lockwood, you say? Never heard of the Lockwood's." She commented, still stroking her horse. She let her hand fall limp at her side. As she was attempting to lock Ren in conversation, she noticed a rather glum looking Duncan plodding away from them out of the corner of her eye. His head was drooping, and he strummed a rather sad tune on his ukulele. "Come on, then." She grumbled impatiently to Ren, seizing his hand and tugging him towards Duncan. Phanthom trotted along behind, now panting slightly as they followed Duncan.

She let go of Ren as soon as she was next to Duncan. He seemed to be purposefully avoiding her gaze. A few insults danced along the tip of her tongue, but she decided not to share them. Instead, she just matched his pace, eyes flicking all around her until they rested on Ren. "Where'd you pick up the knowledge on horses? Do you actually like them, or is it just a way to pick up girls?" Her fist curled into a tight ball. "I'd advise you not to say anything if it's the latter." She said menacingly. It was really getting annoying to her how many guys would use those sort of things to win a girl's heart. They quickly scanned through a book or memorized a few lines to impress girls when they really didn't care about the subject. At all. She locked her eyes on him and waited for a response.