The Fire Horse (On Hold)

Chapter•5/47•Labsent Hardaway

The girl was beautiful. I tried my hardest to tune out Grant when he talked about her looks. Her hair is fair, falling in a protective curtain framing her face. Hints of pale ginger mixed with the blondish brown. I try not to stare at her to long which may be the hardest task of my life. Her lips curve into a shy smile as she tells me her name.
Its a beautiful name. Fits her so well, even though I barely know her.
"Labsent" I blurt because I'm to mesmerized to remember to speak. My cheeks blush from embarrassment but luckily for me its to dark to tell.
"I like that" She says, her voice like honey.
"So Labsent" She tests out the name.
"Where are you from?"
Everyone on Skarsmouth was born in Skarsmouth, no one wants to come here. Well, accept for my parents. I'm guessing she asks because of the thick accent.
"Over that way by the North Atlantic and the North Sea" I gesture. She nods.
"I'm from that way" She points toward the road. I stiffle a laugh.
"So your a Flame?" She asks curiously. I could talk forever about being a Flame, and being stuck with with Grant for many hours of the day but I don't want to talk about myself. I do anyway because I have a feeling she may be one too. Judging by the way a purely wild Fire stallion is willingly following her away from his herd.
"Yeah, Western division"
"Who's your horse?"
I'm guessing she would recognize the name, she is a stablehand.
"Her names Thiz" A warmth enters my voice when I say her name.
"I've seen her, beautiful mare" She comments.
No ones ever called her beautiful. I tell her this.
"Why not?" She looks puzzled.
"Because of her scars" I point out obviously, getting lost in the conversation.
"Poor thing really, didn't it happen when she was just a filly?"
I still remember that night. Vividly. She had been doused into the ocean, revenge for whatever petty thing we did to the Waves, the Water horse finatics. A terrible thing for a Fire horse. What a terrible thing...
"Labsent? Labsent? Are you alright?" A voice draws me back to reality. Her eyes are full of concern.
"I'm fine. Really I am" She doesn't look convinced. She touches my arm with her hand and gives me a grin. The barn is strides away but I don't want this moment to be over.
"Here" I offer, gesturing toward the barn.
"We'll help get him settled"
She nods gratefully. Her stallion tenses as we try to get him into the barn. With Justin's help we make it through to the metal in forced stalls. There is hardly any regular horses here and they're kept in the east barn. We have this one to ourselves. She throws slabs of meat in with him. Its weird to think she's the one who feeds my mare when I can't. I lean over an empty stall door, admiring from afar.
"Lay off Lab" Grant appears beside me.
"Whatever do you mean Grant?" I say in a forced innocence.
"Cass. Stay away from her. I don't want Rob to get the wrong idea that we like her and actually consider making her a Flame" His teeth are clenched. Goes to flirting with the cute stablehand to hating her.
"Dude, I can't make some friends outside of the gang?"
"Anyone but her"
"Grant listen to yourself, I actually enjoyed talking with her. I'm not smitten relaxed bro"
He grunts and wanders off. By the dark crescents under his eyes I'm guessing he's to tired to argue.
"What did he want?" Cass asks as I walk up to her.
"You know the usual, just being a douche"
She laughs. A magical sound, mesmerizing even. The stallion seems to have calmed. He is happily eating in his stall. This, is also magical, we've seen this horse before and he is not a force to be reckoned with. We try to take his herd members and he sets us alight.
"I should go" She says, not moving.
"Want me to drive you?" I offer, trying to steal more time with her.
"I have my own truck"
"Ohhh, okay. Will I see you for the party on Monday?" I should've known she had her own truck! I saw her driving it. Stupid Labsent you idiot!
"What party?"
"We go down to the fields with the horses and well be drunken idiots for the night to celebrate the start of this years games" I explain. Her brow is furrowed
"I'll see"
With that she walks out. I don't blame her, its three in the morning. I slip my phone out of my pocket.
'GOODNIGHT' I send. She replies a minute later.
'GOODNIGHT LABSENT ILL SEE YOU TUESDAY'
Made up her mind that fast? I dont blame her for this either, Grant is obnoxious enough for all of us. The stallion is burning his share into mine. I lean over the stall. He's not three feet from me. Now one foot. Now inches from my face.
"Do you remember me?" I ask. He snorts, an amusing noise. I take a step back and raise the bottom of my shirt. The skin is scarred with pink and white intertwining each other.
"I surely do" I mumble. He rears his head. Leaving a streak of fire in the air. My eyes droop with exhaustion and my body pleads for sleep. My place isn't to far. I walk, half concerned I'll fall asleep at the wheel. Its a few doors down, an inn. Its mostly for tourists coming to see the games. Our side only has one. I go around back of the tan bricked building. Ivy crawling up the stones. I hual myself up the coppery rusted ladder. My muscles ache by the time I throw myself into my room window. I don't want to wake the inn owners, they'll have my head if I disturb any costumers. I don't know if I live in a room, or some sort of furnished closet. No one comes to pick up towels our give me free stuff. Well, no one does that for the other rooms either. I guess they felt bad for me, an eighteen year old boy living on the streets. We don't get paid to be in the games, just to win. I roll onto the small single bed in the corner. Its two rooms, a bedroom and a bathroom. Its rough carpet that burns at my bare feet. I yank my boots off but don't bother changing.
"Its alright dear. Calm down. No, don't cry dear, don't cry" Mother pleads. I stop waling and let her speak, her voice quivering.
"You'll be okay. Labsent. Listen. You will be alright on your own. We just can't keep you okay?" Her words were foreign. Why couldn't there eight year old son stay with his parents? Father was hovering over me, examining my flaws. I looked more like mother. I'm thankful for this. I hate this man even more when I remember I'm his child. He scoffs.
"Let him go Chyrl. He'll die, he'll live up to him now. You knows its dangerous to keep him"
Then, dad leaves. We and mum are alone together for the first time in months.
"Honey, your dangerous. And you can never be a Wave"
Her words struck me like lightening. But she continued like thunder.
"The fire is in you Labsent. You don't belong here. You never have and you never will. Find happiness my darling. The Water isn't an enemey, remember that"
That was the last thing mother had said to me before pushing me through a gap in the gate toward the Fire side of the island.
"Water isn't the enemy"
I had believed her. I had tolerated the Waves and their horses. But two years ago they tortured my mare. Now the undying hatred is real. And whenever I see the pride of my life's scars I'm reminded of why I hate them. I never understood what they ment when they said I was dangerous.
But that didnt matter because they abandoned their son.