The Dorm Lawn: Monday afternoon

[vkandis-son.livejournal.com]

It was cold enough that Karal was bundled in a long cloak, and it was weird enough that he'd spent most of the day with Trenor - first hiding in the stables and then on a long, rambling ride around the island.

Now Trenor was grazing on the front lawn while Karal sat on the picnic table, holding his lead and staring vaguely off into space.

[ooc: Open of course, but may be subject to flurries of SP and unexpected moments of AFK.]

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[vkandis-son.livejournal.com]

Trenor lifted his head, ears flicking forward and back as he considered her, then he began walking twoards her, nose outstretched.

That got Karal's attention, and he hopped off the picnic table, ready to stop Trenor if necessary. "He won't hurt you."

[iseewhatyoumean.livejournal.com]

Eyes still wide, Cassandra hesitantly extended a hand palm up. It was quite odd, really. She was used to knowing about intentions and threats simply by looking, but she didn't really know what Trenor's movements signified. She heard Karal, of course, but since she wasn't paying him much attention at the moment.

[vkandis-son.livejournal.com]

Trenor's ear went straight forward and he nosed her palm, whuffling gently as he searched for treats, long whiskers quite possibly tickling.

Karal moved to stand by his neck, smiling a little, but stayed silent.

[ack, getting dragged to meeting!]

[iseewhatyoumean.livejournal.com]

Even in Trenor's gentle exploration Cassandra could feel his contained strength. Her eyes were still wide as she shifted her gaze slightly to look at Karal. "What should I do?" she asked helplessly.

[vkandis-son.livejournal.com]

"He likes to have his nose stroked, just gently, or you can rub his forehead," he replied, still amazed that someone could have had so little contact with a horse.

Trenor was still exploring her palm - treats could be well hidden, after all - and he blew out a short breath.

[iseewhatyoumean.livejournal.com]

Sadly Cassandra didn't know she was supposed to have hidden treats in her hand, and had come unprepared. Still, she did have a hand free which she hesitantly stroked down Trenor's nose.

"He's very big," she told Karal. Not that she had any idea if he was big for a horse, just that he was bigger than she was.

[vkandis-son.livejournal.com]

With a happy sigh, Trenor dropped his head a little, ears flopping sideways. "He's a nice size," Karal replied, running a hand down Trenor's neck. "Not as big as the horse he shares the stables with, though. His name's Trenor, though he'll answer to anything if he thinks there might be a treat or a pat for him."

[iseewhatyoumean.livejournal.com]

"He seems nice," Cassandra decided. Then she nodded to Karal, really noticing him for the first time. "Hi again."

[vkandis-son.livejournal.com]

"Hello," he said, giving her a warm smile. "And he is. He's been with me for a long time." Trenor gave her hand another little nudge, then returned to grazing. "How are you doing?"

[iseewhatyoumean.livejournal.com]

"Seems like he's a good friend, then," she nodded in approval.

"I'm..." she considered. "Not as bad as I could be?" Bart had died, after all.

[vkandis-son.livejournal.com]

Karal nodded, resting an arm over Trenor's withers, prompting the horse to nibble his shoe. "He is," he said quietly. "It's hard to know, sometimes, how to feel. How to react, after such a terrible thing."

[iseewhatyoumean.livejournal.com]

"Yeah," Cassandra drew a deep breath and let it slowly out. "I... feel like I should have done more." But she knew there was nothing more she could have done.

[vkandis-son.livejournal.com]

"Cassandra, there was nothing more you could have done. Nothing more any of us could have done." Karal ran his fingers through Trenor's mane. "I know how easy it is to say what if, what if I'd worked just that little bit harder, read that little bit faster, but it won't help." He looked up. "Trust me, I know. It's a very common reaction."

[iseewhatyoumean.livejournal.com]

"I know," and she did. But that didn't make it any easier to accept. "It's just..." she trailed off.

"I knew him. Or... someone like him. Before I came here."

[vkandis-son.livejournal.com]

"I'm sorry," he said softly, eyes sympathetic as he watched her. "May I ask who he was?"

[iseewhatyoumean.livejournal.com]

"Bart? He was... himself. But... different. A hero. 'Kid Flash'."

[vkandis-son.livejournal.com]

"A hero," he repeated quietly, sudden sadness creeping up on him. "The Bart you knew, was he...older?" Alternate dimensions and realities and timelines were sending his thoughts into a whirl, but he didn't let it show.

[iseewhatyoumean.livejournal.com]

"Not... not really, maybe a little. But more... mature. He'd seen more, been hurt more, lost more." Cassandra swallowed, "But he was still funny."

[vkandis-son.livejournal.com]

It made Karal smile, just a little, even as it made his heart hurt. "That is what many have said of," he hesitated, "of our Bart. I regret that I didn't know him."

[iseewhatyoumean.livejournal.com]

Cassandra nodded, "I wish I had known him better."

[vkandis-son.livejournal.com]

"But maybe," Karal looked up into the sky, then reached out to rest his hand on Trenor's shoulder. "Knowing he's alive, out there somewhere, a hero, can be a comfort. It means he's not truly gone from the world."

[iseewhatyoumean.livejournal.com]

"I... hadn't thought of it that way," Cassandra admitted.