Head injury woes...[done]

[akia]

Almost…there…

The pounding had gotten worse as he and Jenn rode into town. Hiki could feel Aso turning for the worse and tried to keep a fast, steady pace, but Aso always seemed to slow the mare down., just because he didn’t want his head to feel any worse than it already did. He sighed, once he saw the hospital in sight and looked back towards Jenn and Brownie, giving the pair a small smile, even if it was forced.

Once he found the tie-up post, Aso dismounted, grabbing onto Hiki’s reins. The mare tossed her head at the new thing in front of her, nostrils flaring, the whites of her eyes showing a bit, before Aso started to whisper to her in Japanese, saying words that meant calm down and hush. The mare quieted after a few moments, and a couple of pets on the neck and muzzle, before she was tied up to the post, loosely, just in case something freaked her out and she balked.

“Well…time to see if I can get looked at,” Aso said, laughing lightly, rubbing the back of his head before wincing. Ouch…hit a sore spot. He walked inside the hospital, waiting for Jenn before continuing, and went up to the front desk, asking if he could be seen soon. The receptionist asked questions, and Aso answered them quickly, before being told the next doctor could see him in ten to twenty minutes. Not bad, but it was probably a slow day. He looked towards the waiting room and chose a few seats by the window, where he could watch Hiki and Brownie.

He sat, and patted the seat next to him.

“I’m sorry that this has taken up your time, I’m sure you rather be riding that trail,” he said, leaning back in the seat to get comfortable.

[jenn;;]

jenn continued to follow aso and hiki and led them towards the hospital. it hadn't taken them long at all, nearly ten minutes or so from the trails. as aso hooked up his horse hiki jenn took the time to get some energy out of brownie. she had him trot for a bit in the empty parking lot and turned him in circles. it was like lunging but without being on the ground you were on the back of the horse. she changed directions not long after starting and then went about the same time she had on the other side. for now, brownie would be happy. later she would make up for not having a good run out of him today.

after her mini workout she tied brownie at a nearby post by hiki. within reaching distance of each other but on seperate sides of the pole. jenn wasn't she how the two would react when their owner's weren't around and it was better safe than sorry. she still had to get to know brownie and didn't want to learn the hard way. as she could see so far, he was really good with other horses and enjoyed a playful greeting rather than a dominance stand-off. jenn hurried in after aso who was talking with the receptionist. she stood by aso and then walked him along to the seat in the waiting room. right towards the seat that jenn had spotted when she first walked in. this would be good so that they could keep an eye on their horses until they were done.

jenn looked at the side table that sat next to her and glanced at a cooking magazine. she picked it up but quickly realized horse illustrated was right underneath it. she used to read these magazines all of the time. she had a subscription and always pinned the posters on her walls in her room. they were probably still there to this day, back in colorado. jenn put it on her lap and flipped through the pages. when aso apologized jenn felt a bit guilty and wanted him to know that this was her choice to tag along. aso don't worry about it there are plenty of days to ride that pony than there are to help a friend out.

[/b] she said and smiled then nudged him with her shoulder. she truly hoped he would be okay. he'd probably just get a few pain killers and that'd be it.[/blockquote][/blockquote][/blockquote][/size]

[akia]

Glancing over towards Jenn, he noticed that she was looking through the magazines, first picking up the cooking magazine and then the horse magazine. He had never heard of the titles of the magazines, probably because they were located in America only, but he was interested. He grabbed at the cooking magazine that Jenn tossed aside, flipping through it. The articles in this issue were talking about the organic foods out there and why they were better over the regular grown produce. He sighed lightly, before Jenn said something, and he turned his attention to her.

Friend? Already they were friends? Aso didn’t mind, since it was good to know someone when you were new. “True, but you were looking forward to it. But, I appreciate your generosity,” he replied, smiling at her, nudging her back with his elbow. He wondered if they would have to wait long, being that when someone said you’d have to wait at least ten minutes in a hospital, you’d have to wait an hour or more. But, as he scanned the area, he had a feeling that they’d be seen a lot sooner than he thought. So, to kill time, he flipped through the cooking magazine, looking at different recipes that he could try out once he got home. Oh, that chicken fillet with peppers looked good.

“Aso..To-o..zawah?” a nurse called. Aso cringed. Did she just pause when it came to saying his name? He sighed and got up. He didn’t know if Jenn was going to come in with him or stay there, so he took one look at her, giving her the choice, before he followed the nurse into another room. He jumped up onto the examination table, swinging his legs back and forth, waiting for the doctor to come in.

[jenn;;]

jenn glanced over every once in a while to spy on what aso was looking at. almost everything these days was organic. there were even super markets that had nothing but organic, sugar free, hi cholestorel foods. boring! what happened to zingers and twinkies?! where'd they all go! these thoughts continued going through her head until aso replied to her previous response. she smiled as he nudged her back with his elbow and giggled a little bit. it wasn't normal for her to meet someone so fast and be able to get to know them so quickly. aso must've just been an exception. he was so nice and had the same interests that jenn had.

it was then when the nurse came walking in, stuttering over aso's last name. she chuckled and grinned a little bit and watch aso get up, catching the hint of whether she wanted to come or not. funny how she could read expressions like that. but she nodded to him to continue in without her. i think i'll keep an eye on the horses.

[/b] she smiled and watched him enter the back of the room where all the examination tables were. it was then when she hoped and prayed that he would be okay with whatever injury he had. she glanced out at the horses. hiki was grazing on some grass and brownie was stretching his nose out trying to read her. it was a bound-to-be failure but he wouldn't quit. brownie was like that. he loved other horses, which sometimes got him in trouble.

finally jenn's thoughts caught the most of her. she remembered the other day when jason pulled over on the side of the road and walked up asking for a rope. then there was aso who she had only met not even an hour ago. she couldn't be falling for two seperate guys could she? plus, she wanted aso to just be a friend. same with jason. she had her fair share of boyfriends and each had turned out to be a complete failure so far. her longest relationship ended in about three months. she really thought he was the one too. but now they weren't even friends. who knew what he was doing these days. probably out partying and making babies. but it was his choice, not hers. she didn't want another boyfriend. not for a while. she had moved here to focus on the horses and that was what she would do. she wouldn't get caught up in another relationship failure.[/blockquote][/blockquote][/blockquote][/size]

[akia]

While the humans were inside the hospital, Hiki was munching on the grass that surrounded the post. Yeah, she knew it was bad for her, as the grass could get caught in her bit, but she was careful about it. Her eyes raised as Brownie reached out towards her. She lifted her spotted head, giving him a tiny snort, and tapping his muzzle with her own. As long as another horse was around, she’d stay calm and quiet. She let out a sigh of content and put her head down, before a child, walking by with her mother, saw the two horses. “Oh, look mommy look!” she squealed. Hiki raised her head again, a few blades of grass sticking out of her mouth as the child came closer, dragging her mother behind her.

“Honey, careful, they might bite,” “Oh mommy! They’re so cute!” Hiki flicked her ears towards the two and stretched her head out as far as the reins would let her, before she lipped at the girl’s hand. The girl laughed, her hand tickled by Hiki’s whiskers and velvet lips. The child and her mother stuck around for a bit, giving attention to both Hiki and Brownie, before they left. “Bye bye horsies!!” the girl said, waving.

Inside the examination room, Aso found himself explaining his situation to three different people before the doctor came to see him. He did a couple of tests, heard Aso’s explanation of the pain he felt and then told him he’d have to do a quick cat-scan. Aso sighed, knowing this was going to be costly, but gave in, knowing he’d worry Jenn if he didn’t. Once he removed all of his earrings, and rings, plus changing into some scrubs, he was soon taken to the cat-scan room, and lay down upon the bed.

Ugh…he hated hospitals. The smell, the I.V.’s, the everything! While he was in the machine, he thought about Hiki, Brownie and Jenn. Hiki came to mind since she put him in here once again. He couldn’t blame her though, since it was a personality flaw that she had since they met, and he was used to it. He blamed himself for being stupid enough to not ride without a helmet. Brownie came to mind, only because he was a very handsome horse. He wondered what it was like to ride the gelding. Jenn, because she took the time out of her day to help Aso, even if Hiki came back, and to take him to the hospital. He could see a friendship forming, one that he hoped would last a long time.

Once they got the results, which was another twenty minutes, it was confirmed that Aso wasn’t suffering from a concussion, but would be having slight headaches for the next week or so. They wrote out a prescription for pain pills, and the length of time he’d have to take them, and sent him out after he changed. He was pulling on his shirt when he walked through the door, and slipping his last earring in at the same time. He caught sight of Jenn, waved the prescription in the air and walked over.

“So it seems, I landed in a good position so I didn’t get a concussion. I’m just going to have headaches for a bit, but they gave me this, so I should be fine. I can’t ride for two weeks though..” he muttered. That would be bad for Hiki. He wondered if pasture time would give her the exercise she might need, but highly doubted it. The next thought that came to his head was that Jenn could help him out, but he thought that would be asking too much, so he kept it to himself. Maybe if he lunged Hiki instead…

“Do you know if they have a lunge line at the stable?”

[jenn;;]

about ten minutes passed until jenn glanced out the window at the horses again. a little girl had been near hiki's post and her mother watched carefully as she let her little girl go up to a horse they didn't even know. something she would never let her child do once she was a mother. but she watched carefully and hiki and brownie both behaved themselves. she watched carefully to make sure the girl and mother stayed away from brownie's ears. she never knew what happened to brownie but he would not let anyone touch his ears, not even her. he usually would freak out and rear up and all of the above. jenn knew she would never know what happened, and it was just something she would have to deal with and have patience with.

once the girl and her mother left jenn glanced at the door that aso had entered into. it had been about twenty minutes so far and the magazine was pretty boring. so she decided she'd step outside with the horses. she walked out in her jeans and pink top. when brownie realized jenn was coming over he whinnied and tossed his head up and down, stretching his nose out as far as he could towards jenn. she nickered at her and jenn felt a burst of love go through her through brownie. you silly pony!

[/i] she said and eyed the sunset. it was going to be gorgeous tonight but it was also a hint that riding would have to wait until tomorrow morning. sorry no more riding today bud.[/i] she said and patted the gelding's neck.

she walked near hiki and also stroked her fuzzy muzzle. she seemed like a truly sweet mare with the occasional freak attack. jenn couldn't blame her through, some horses were just like that. she spent about twenty more minutes outside with the horses before walking back inside, hoping she wouldn't have to wait much longer. she hated waiting. jenn sat in the same spot she was earlier and watched as an older woman rushed in with a young boy, probably about three years old. he has a huge bump on his toe and i don't know what it's from! please help! the lady said, sitting the child on the counter and showing the people at the front desk the bump. from what jenn could see, the boy acted fine. she couldn't spot a huge bump.

just then aso walked back out and jenn stood up with a huge smile on her face, thankful she wouldn't have to wait any longer. she wanted to hug him when she found out he wasn't severally hurt, but she held herself back and patted him on his shoulder instead. well i'm glad you didn't get too badly hurt.[/i] she said and listened once again when he couldn't ride. and you're gonna listen to them?[/i] jenn laughed a little. she never listened to what the doctors said. she waited for his next question. of course we have a lunge line.[/i] she giggled and began to walk out the door towards the horses again. she didn't want to be in the hospital anymore, and she was sure aso didn't want to either.[/blockquote][/blockquote][/blockquote][/size]

[akia]

Aso laughed as he walked outside with Jenn. “Why wouldn’t I? Kidding, I usually don’t but for once I will, just because I know the consequences of not,” he said and thought back to when he had his back injury. They said no riding or doing anything until he was fully recovered, but he went off in the night to see Hiki and rode her bareback a couple of times, which split his stitches open and he had to go back in. So, since then, he decided it was best to listen to professionals once in awhile. Yet, once in awhile was the loop hole there.

Once he caught sight of Hiki, the mare let out a loud whinny, her ears forward and nostrils flaring. It seemed she was happy to see that he was alright and she stretched her neck out to give him a tiny nip of happiness on his arm. “Ouch, sheesh, don’t do that,” he muttered and scratched her forehead lightly before turning to Jenn. From what she said, the barn had a lunge line, which was good, but he’d have to find it. He decided to look for it on his own tomorrow and realized he had to get to the Tailgate soon, to sign up for his job and to get his hours. He rubbed the mares muzzle as he looked up at the sky, noticing it was getting late. The doctors words echoed in his head and he knew it’d be a bad idea to take Hiki out once it got dark. She’d get a panic attack at the nearest leaf on a tree.

“I guess we should walk them back…” he whispered, and untied Hiki’s reins from the post. The mare let out a sigh and backed up when Aso told her to, holding the reins in his left hand, while he lightly put pressure on her chest. “Good girl Hiki…maybe when we get back I can give you an apple or something,” he said, scratching behind the horse’s ear. He looked towards Jenn and gave her a smile small. “Hey, thanks again for everything Jenn,” he said. “Maybe next time we can just ride together or with friends instead of having to worry about going to the hospital,” He let out another laugh, glad to know he wasn’t going to be terminally ill.

“Shall we get going?” he asked, making sure he had a good grip on Hiki’s reins.

[jenn;;]

brownie nickered once again as jenn approached the two horses. he eyed aso and nickered to him as well. he began to pace his hindquarters back and forth, still showing quite a bit of energy in him. jenn eyed the sky. it was getting pretty dark. they would have to walk fast to get to the barn if they didn't want to walk in the dark. of course jenn didn't want to walk but she had been in a great mood anyways, and why stop now? jenn untied the gelding's reins and pulled him around the post towards aso and hiki, her two new friends. she smiled at the thought. she couldn't wait to get to know aso even better than she already did. maybe when his head didn't hurt anymore. she chuckled at the idea.

she began to walk at a somewhat fast pace back towards the way they had come. the trees hung over the trail like a fairy tale and then jenn thought of how beautiful shady lane really was. there were trees almost everywhere and flowers of every sorts of different colors surrounding the bases of all the trees. they were mostly big trees too, especially the ones around the creek. then there were the occasional boulders. the trails were covered pretty well with the big rocks. the skies in shady lane were nearly almost clear all the time in the summertime. in the winter, it was a bit more cloudy and more cold, of course, but summer was always the season that everyone looked forward to at shady lane, and she couldn't blame them.

jenn blushed slightly when aso thanked her once again. she was sick of saying it was no problem but didn't bother to say anything back this time. she just smiled at him. yea, let's get back to the barn. i'm sure brownie wants this saddle off of him. it's almost past his dinnertime.

[/i] she chuckled and clucked for him to walk on towards the trail. she walked between brownie and hiki so that her and aso would be able to have a conversation on their way back. do you have any other horses besides hiki?[/i] she asked then brownie nudged her back. jenn giggled and pushed his nose away, trying to get him out of her face. sure he needed love too, but tomorrow would be all about him. you could garauntee it.[/blockquote][/blockquote][/blockquote][/size]

[akia]

As they walked, Aso noticed the pain in his head was subsiding, which was a good sign. In his back pocket, it almost felt like the hospital was burning a hole through his jeans, and he mentally signed. It came to be around a good $150 just for walking in, getting the cat-scan, and a prescription. Hopefully once he secured his job that would be paid off in a snap! Ugh..money…he had so little of it now, but he wasn’t going to let it stop him. That was his main reason for immigrating, not only to grow up, but to show his parents he could take care of himself. Thinking of them suddenly brought back a feeling of homesickness, but it disappeared quickly. He wondered how his sister was doing. Was she still getting A’s? Was his brother still inspired to become a baseball player? Did that old woman die yet? Oh that wasn’t nice. Aso smiled for a moment, before being jerked out of his thoughts.

Do you have any other horses besides Hiki?

Aso glanced at Jenn and to Hiki, grinning. “Nah, Hiki is the only horse for me. We’ve been through so much in so little time. Did you know she was the first horse I ever rode? Ha, back in Tennessee, when I was working at a different stable, my first experience on the back of a horse was amazing because of her. She’s my life,” he explained, his fingers finding Hiki’s neck and scratching at her favorite spot.

The mare picked up her pace and walked quickly, making a circle around Aso, before she settled down and slowly walked beside him. “Hm? What was that? Something scare you again?” he asked the horse, letting out a tiny sigh. The sooner they got to the barn, the sooner Hiki could be settled down, munching on dinner and sleeping. The poor girl must be tired. Aso glanced at Jenn. “Is Brownie your only horse?” he asked, staring at the gelding beside her.

[jenn;;]

the barn was in site now. all they would have to do now is go down the hill and there they'd be, back where they had come from. the trees surrounded the four of them, keeping the horses cool with the shade, even though it was nearly nighttime. it was still hot, and poor brownie with the saddle on needed to get it off and be given a few treats. jenn had discovered the brownie loved peppermints. the first time she sees him in the morning he gets a peppermint, and if jenn doesn't have one or doesn't give him one, he'll act up. jenn discovered this and has since made sure to start off brownie's day with a peppermint. he always chewed them and shook his head up and down, then sniffed for some more.

jenn listened as aso told her a short story of how hiki was his first horse. how often did that happen? not too often did the first horse you ever ride end up being the first horse you ever own. she wondered if he had ridden any horse besides hiki. surely he has. it'd be crazy if he didn't. she found it obvious that they both loved each other. hiki paid very close attention to her master and aso respected the mare, even though she gave him headaches for the next two weeks. jenn smiled at the thought. it was funny how hearts were dedicated and given away so easily. jenn hadn't fallen completely in love with brownie quite yet. after all she only owned him for the past three days or so. but her love was growing deeper and deeper, and she believed brownie's was too.

there was a few moments of silence as they all continued walking, until aso broke the silence. is brownie your only horse? jenn rolled her eyes, not out of disrespect, but more out of frustration. unfortunately.

[/i] she said and patted brownie's black chest. don't get me wrong, i love brownie. but it would sure be nice to get a good young working horse that i could show on.[/i] she said, smiling at brownie like she was trying to say no hard feelings. brownie shook her mane, causing his forelock to land on and behind his ears. jenn laughed and put the black forelock back on his forehead. she loved brownie, but she missed the shows. [/blockquote][/blockquote][/blockquote][/size]

[akia]

Seeing the barn ahead, Hiki’s pace started to increase slightly, her ears perked forward, anticipating the rest she was going to get, the hay she was going to munch on, the soft floor under her hooves. Aso pulled back on the reins, telling her softly to “whoa”, and scratched her neck. As the night fell around the four of them, the attack of mosquitoes started. Not only was Aso bothered, but Hiki was as well, slapping her tail against her rump, shaking her head to free herself from the nuisances. He glanced over towards Jenn and nodded at what she said.

“Hm…” he trailed off for a moment, letting the quiet return around them. “You never know, Brownie might turn out to be the horse you could show on. Maybe a bit of team work and bonding would help,” he suggested, wondering if that could solve a bit of Jenn’s problem. For him, Hiki was his horse now, and he wasn’t willing to part with her, unless something drastic happened. Drastic being a horrible injury or death. Otherwise, he’d stick and work with the mare, figuring out her strengths, and her weaknesses. It was just how he was.

Once down the hill, Aso pulled the reins over Hiki’s head, and walked her in a circle to let Brownie and Jenn go ahead into the barn first. Hiki was a good following horse, and he wasn’t sure if Brownie was the leader type or not, but just to be safe. As soon as he entered the barn, he walked Hiki over to her stall, leading her in, closing the sliding door behind him. The mare put her head down, while he loosened her girth, took that off, took her saddle and saddle pad off. He opened the door a bit, squeezing through it and closed it behind him. He’d get the bridle when he got back from putting the tack away, which took like two seconds for him.

Coming back into the stall, he un-did the chin strap of the bridle, before slipping it off of Hiki. The mare tossed her head gratefully and turned to her bucket, glad it was full of food. Aso patted her on the shoulder, walked out of the stall, closed and locked it. God, now for the hard part of his day. He put the bridle away, and stretched his arms over his head. Might as well say bye now…

He looked for Jenn and when he found her, he gave her another smile. “I had a good time today, even if I did injure myself. But, I must get going now, work calls. It was great meeting you, you were amazing to hang out with,” he got quiet for a minute, before speaking again. “Like I said earlier, hopefully our next encounter would be a better one,”

[jenn;;]

brownie wasn't like hiki. hiki wanted to get to the barn, and quickly, but when brownie spotted the barn he slowed down and pulled his ears back. jenn clucked for him to continue walking, even if it was really slow. we'll get a good run in tomorrow brownie i promise.

[/i] she whispered to the gelding, hoping aso wouldn't hear. she made him feel enough guilt as it was. she didn't want him to feel more guilty. brownie continued walking though and once he got to the barn he took the lead inside and jenn led him straight to the cross ties. she glanced behind her at aso and hiki and made sure they knew where they were going. she smiled, but didn't say a word.

once in the crossties jenn grabbed the halter that she had left hanging up and threw it over her shoulder. she quickly removed the bridle, hoping not to touch his ears. a success. she put his purple halter on then latched the crossties to the sides of his halter. she went to the tack room and hung up the bridle then went back to brownie. she unlatched the girth on both sides then threw it over on top of the saddle. on in one movement she removed both the pad and the saddle and the girth then put them away in the tack room where they were supposed to be. she grabbed a brush and hoof pick quickly and brushed down where the saddle had been. then she quickly picked his hooves to make sure there weren't any rocks or dirt that might hurt brownie.

then aso came over. he must've finished with hiki already. she smiled as she listened closely to what he had to say. she stood next to brownie's neck and stroked his shoulder. it was great to meet you too aso! good luck at your new job![/i] she said, with a little giggle in her voice. and no worries, i'm sure we'll run into each other again.[/i] she said. but just in case she pulled a business card from her purse that was hanging on a hook nearby and gave it to him. call or text me whenever you want.[/i] she said and then unlatched brownie's crossties, latched the lead rope to the halter, and began to walk him outside. she smiled at aso and then brought brownie outside to his paddock. she grabbed a treat from her pocket and gave it to him quickly. peppermints were his favorite. she smiled and then he trotted up to his food. now, it was time to get home.[/blockquote][/blockquote]

i'm gonna put this thread in the archives.[/blockquote][/size]