pulled into the earth

It’s too bad you won’t be getting anymore answers.

"And why not?"

"Mhm… absolutely…" Eve looked him over once again, not a hint of emotion in her gaze. "You’re welcome."

"You don't actually seem too happy about my choice in dress."

Despite his nonchalant attitude Clay had taken the time to learn the powers of each student and resident at St. Clair’s. So the laugh from Lucas only earned a grin from him. “Is it something I would have had to have been there for or was she making fun of me?” 

"No, no, she wasn't making fun of you. It was about her latest bowel movement." He laughs and then adds, "I promise it was funny."

"Well. Can’t blame me for trying." He still found himself eying the plate almost longingly, even as it was pulled away. It wasn’t like he couldn’t get his own food. Henry was just being lazy. And, if he were being honest with himself, maybe he was trying to branch out and talk to other people. Since he was hungry and saw the food just sitting there, he figured —- hey, why not kill two birds with one stone. “I just wanted to help. Letting things go to waste is a damn shame.” That was mostly a joke, because he never cared about whether things went to waste before. He never had to. “Think of me as your resident human garbage disposal.” For food, at least. Not for actual garbage. 

Lucas lets out a laugh. "Okay, if I have any leftovers, I'll give them to you. Are you sure you don't want to just go get your own plate of food?"

Jonny raised an eyebrow at Lucas and looked between him and the mare skeptically. “She made a comment?!” He grinned and pointed at the horse. “Are you kidding me, right now?” Ducking under the cross ties that held the stallion, he walked over to Lucas and Eyre. Jonny rubbed her grey forehead as he examined Lucas and began laughing, “Do you mean you can understand her? And talk to her? Can she understand me?” 

He chuckles. "Yes, I can communicate with her, but no, she can't understand you. She recognizes common words you say as familiar noises, however. Like 'food' and 'Eyre.'" He pats the horse's neck affectionately. "Do you have any carrots or apples I can feed her?"

"Well right then, if you’re sure.

"I am sure. Besides, I look like less asocial with you here," he says holding up the book he was reading.

Jonny was grooming one of the big stallions they used for pleasure ridding when Lucas came in. He’d seen the boy around of course, knew he was the younger brother of the pretty English teacher up at the school, but he was so much younger than Jonny that he didn’t know the boy well. Nor, he realised, did he know what Lucas’ ability was. The students were allowed to take the horses out during the day, ride wherever they wanted, they were only asked to be back before dark and to un-tack the horse if one of the stablehands wasn’t there.

He heard Lucas chuckle and looked over to see him leading one of the grey mares out of her stall and chuckling to himself. Jonny grinned and called to him, “You can’t laugh like that and then say ‘never mind,’ what’s the joke, hmm?”

Lucas stop walking and tries to think of how to translate the joke into something Jonathan would understand. "She made a comment about how filthy she made the floor in her stall because her meal earlier." A poop joke.

Rose brushes a horse’s mane carefully, smiling all the while. When Lucas walks in, she watches him, smiling. As he begins to laugh, Rosalie does the same, even though she doesn’t know what’s funny. She walks over, but not too close just in case, and holds her hand out to pet the horse’s forehead. “Pretty.”

w

Lucas smiles at Rosalie. "Yeah." He looks toward the horse she was bushing. "Were you going riding too?"

"Uh thanks, sorry again for bothering you." 

"You're not bothering me. I'm not really doing anything."

"Good. I found a pond near the edge of the grounds within the forest. With the snow yesterday and today, I’m hoping it froze over. If so I’m going to get everyone to go skating with me. I just wanted to check it out first to make sure."

"Oh, excellent. I'm sure there's an easier way to check if it's frozen rather than walk all the way out to the pond. Did you check to see if the temperature outside is low enough?"

"If you’re just going to complain you can turn around. I didn’t force you to follow me"

"Okay, okay, I'll stop complaining. So where are we going?"