The Girl In That Hooded Jacket

From Horse to Boy

Lucien was smirking to the side, watching their ride turn from an animal into a human without so much as a double take. Like it was nothing new. All she could do was watch the pair of dark, almost black eyes as they stared out at her from the thick clouds of mist that had appeared as the stallion had vanished. She felt like she'd seen him before, but knew that he hadn't been in one of her classes on earth. No, she concluded that she must have seen him sometime since yesterday, when she fell. Her mind was going a million miles per hour, with thoughts fighting for the title "most important". What kind of horse is THAT?, Oh... That's why they were talking about him like he could understand., He's so handsome, in a 'I don't need other people' sort of way, So, is he more horse or does he take after his man side?, but the thought that won the immediate battle was this. When he shifts from one shape to another,..... Does he keep his clothes? But it was too late to turn around now, or even close her eyes, because the mist was rapidly dispersing. In the next heartbeat she was left to stare at a, thankfully, fully clothed boy. He wore a pair of dark brown pants, held up by a plain leather belt. A stiff, button up, long sleeved, green shirt embroidered with an intricate brown stallion rearing across a third of the chest covered his upper half. His boots came to his knees, a mini belt encircling each ankle. He shifted uncomfortably and slid his hands into his pockets. Only then did she recognize that motion of his, the way he slightly puffed his chest out staring straight at her, hiding any semblance of nerves, and, after a second, him. He'd been standing outside the barn yesterday evening. And he'd magically disappeared when they'd rounded the corner. She didn't know how to react. Shocked probably. Out of reflex, she reached for her hood to hide her face, but didn't find it. She was still in the overly baggy shirt of Lucien's. Reaching down, she made to stick her hands in the pockets of the pants she wore, but found that she would have had to double over to touch the bottom of the enormous pockets. Instead she folded her arms across her chest and leaned against the stable door frame. "So, what do you think?" Lucien asked, motioning with a hand. He'd already handed off the saddle to one of the stable hands and was making his way over to Faith, Dristan close on his heels. Without waiting for a reply from her he answered his question himself, saying, "I know! He looks better as a horse doesn't he?" He received a hard smack on the back of the head. "Sorry!" he said ruefully, turning to Dristan with a smile. "Calm yourself, you just turned back and you're already abusing me!" They followed Sybbyl across the square, Faith following behind them. She could feel the eyes of the many people in the courtyard watching her and she walked a little closer to the two boys in front of her. Although she didn't appreciate the company of Lucien and Dristan, she still felt safer and more guarded when she was with them. They trudged up the small flight of stairs into the enormous building across the square from the stables. From what she'd seen of the outside, the inside was even more.... Grand. The ceiling, a high arching abyss, was bedecked in an assortment of brick and gold tiles that traced intricate patterns around the pillars that lined the room. In addition to the large brick cylinders around the outside three lined the curved ceiling down the middle, splitting the room in two. This effect was only added to by the fact that there was a row of benches, backs facing each other down the center, between the stones that supported the ceiling. They walked farther into the room and she hunched her shoulders a little, trying to hide herself and half succeeding because of the generous amount of fabric she was wearing. The hunting cap felt like a weight on her head as she inched still a little closer to the two boys. The huge space made her feel naked and exposed. Suddenly they stopped, leaving Faith to try, unsuccessfully, to stop herself from running into Dristan. The group had stopped at the far end of the hall, and Lucien turned to confront them. "Me and the little lady 're going straight up to Hearst. You're welcome to come, but I doubt you'll find anything interesting going on." He smiled mischievously and shooed Dristan aside so he could get to Faith. It was stupid, but for a second she'd imagined that Lucien had been talking about him and Dristan, instead of her and she'd panicked Judas a little inside at the thought. After all, where was she supposed to go? Alas, Lucien skewed her hat, messing up her hair even more underneath, and motioned for her to follow. She about turned the other direction and ran for it, but after thinking for a second, decided that a bad day and a demeaning nickname weren't enough to justify her risking her pride. Besides, if she wasn't caught before she made it five steps, she'd probably trip before she made it ten. She sighed and plodded after the over gown child, who was disappearing through a door to their right. When she finally caught up to him, he stood at the base of a flight of stairs. And as soon as they cleared the sixth flight and kept going, she had a hunch that this was going to take a while... She was right. 

AN: Sorry it took so long. And that it's not that interesting. But, none the less, I hope you enjoy!