Me and Polo. :D :D {Can You Hear Me?} **Mature Content**

"SLOAN!" The urgent shout reached his ears, and Sloan forgot about counting instantly - wheeling around and scrambling back to the barn entrance. He dropped to his knees so suddenly that he skidded a few feet, and reached the girl's side just as she was scrambling free of the wreckage. He helped claw through the last few pieces of wood barring her way, and then suddenly, she fell still. Sloan's breath caught in his throat, but he willed himself not to panic.
"Hang in there..." He muttered urgently as he slipped his hands under her armpits - hoisting her up and dragging her backwards away from the burning barn. His lungs burned, and pain gnawed at every bone and muscle in his body. All over his face and arms, angry red burns were apparent - the worst of which leaked an ugly clear liquid. Sloan could smell his own flesh burning, and an image of himself being cooked on a spit leaped unbidden into his mind. He gagged, and for a second he was sure he would vomit - but then the moment passed, and he continued dragging the girl to safety. His legs shook violently, and he staggered under his weight, but he willed himself to be brave.
Finally, Sloan found a sheltered spot beside a stout, bush-like tree, and laid the unconscious girl at its base.
Resourceful as ever, he pulled a small hip flask from his pocket, then sat beside the girl - supporting her head in the nook of his arm, and tilting it back slightly - then placing the bottle gently against her lips. Wriggling the small nozzle between her lips, he poured a few drops of water into the girl's mouth, then tapped her cheek gently. "C'mon, drink, it'll help." He insisted, tapping her lightly again.

Rosa choked on the water and her eyes fluttered open. She looked up at Sloan with a slight moan. She hissed when she moved her right leg and then clamped her eyes shut again. "Where's mom?" She muttered, obviously in a dream of some sort. "We have to go find her." She begged, her eyes shut as she curled her body up in Sloan's arms. Completely unaware of what she was doing.
Rosa stretched slightly and her eyes slipped open again. "W-what are you doing?" She asked Sloan, her eyes narrowed slightly as she feigned sleep. "Where's Gray?"

((Haha, that was the suckiest post I have ever seen in my whole life of lives! ))

((Hey, watch it! XD Considering how much better your posts are than mine, that could be insulting. Haha!

Just kidding. But seriously - it was fine. Don't beat yourself up. ))

"Chill, you're fine." Sloan soothed, using the same low, slow monotone he always used when calming a frightened horse. "As far as I know, all the horses have gone. They got spooked, but I'm sure they'll find their way home. They're pretty smart creatures..." He paused a moment, then gnawed his lip anxiously and added as an afterthought. "I just hope my Dart sticks with the herd..." He gave a shudder, then shook off the terrible thought.
"Don't worry. The yard I work at isn't far from here. We can borrow some horses, and ride out to look for them first thing tomorrow. For now, just relax, and drink some water."
He offered the flask to her, smiling reassuringly.
He was glad he had this girl to look after. It was the only thing motivating him not to pass out there and then... Even so, it was getting increasingly difficult to ignore the damage to his own body.

"You have a cellphone?" Rosa muttered and closed her eyes again as it felt like they were forced shut. She took the water with a shaky hand and swallowed some before taking another breath of fresh air. She knew there had to be burns on her legs. New ones at least. She knew that on her left arm there would be some new ones... not so sure about her right. Someday she'd have to tell Sloan how much courage it took her to go in there after him. Her mind had been telling her not to the whole entire time, but she did anyways. She laid her head back on his arm again with a soft sigh. Gray was all he had left and now she didn't even know where he was. She knew he'd come back, but whether or not he could was another thing.

((Bahah. Well thanks. ))

((You're welcome. ))

"Yeah, but there isn't much credit left on it." Sloan replied hesitantly.
All the same, he reached into his pocket and withdrew the cellphone. Although scuffed, it didn't seem to have suffered too much damage - thankfully - and appeared to be in working order.
"Keep drinking that water." Sloan ordered - the bossy, authoritative tone returning to his voice as his shock gradually subsided, and he began to think clearly. His tendency to constantly 'teach' and correct everybody generally made him rather unpopular - since people didn't appreciate that - but Sloan couldn't help it. It was simply the way he was...
"Can you move your legs?" He asked, squeezing the girl's shoulder slightly to get her attention. "And fingers?"
He knew it was important to keep her focused, and to make sure that she hadn't broken anything.

((Talk about a bad post... XD ))

Rosa nodded and wiggled her fingers with a wince, feeling the burning sensation through them. She swallowed hard and moved her left leg, which moved fine she could bend it all the way. She then tried to move her right leg and buried her face in Sloan's arm to hold in her scream. She found herself panting from the pain that shot through her whole body, just because she moved that one leg. She clawed at him and then stopped and laid still. Hoping he had enough credit to call 911.

((Hahaha, we're having a bad day I think. ))

((We seem to be doing that a lot lately... Oh well. I don't know about you, but I'm having fun, so it's all good! XD Haha!))

"Hey, it's okay. It's okay..." Sloan soothed, gently stroking the girl's hair - treating her like a horse yet again.
"Now listen closely, okay? I want you to pay close attention, and answer my questions as best you can, right?"
"First, does your leg feel numb or tingly at all?"
"Second - on a scale of one to ten, with one being mild and ten being unbearable, how would you rate your pain?"
"Lastly, do you feel any pain in your head, neck or back?"
He watched her intently, waiting for her reply, and hoping that the leg was not broken... Or if it was, not badly.

Rosa nodded and pushed her brown hair out of her eyes before looking up at him again.
"Tingly yes, by the-" She winced and groaned slightly, "knee."
"Scale of one to ten, nine and a half." She sassed slightly with a raised eyebrow, "Only when I move it otherwise it's a six." She told him, being more serious.
"Head is throbbing, neck no, back sore." She replied, her replies would short because she wasn't used to talking this much to one person in particular.

((I am too. I like these charries! way better then the others we tried. then again I shouldn't jinx it. XD))

"Oookay." Sloan crooned, "Good girl - you're a tough one." The pitch of his voice lifted slightly to praise her, and then he shifted around until he was crouched next to her right leg. "Alright, this could hurt, but I want you to try to focus, okay, and tell me when you start feeling pain."
He took two fingers, and pressed gently on her thigh - then began gradually moving down toward her knee. He applied gentle pressure to each spot, waiting for her to tell him when he reached a tender spot.

((Yay! Haha! I do, too!! Really nice to do a horse/human RP... I've hardly ever done these before! O.o
No jinxing! *Touches wood*

Sorry for the short replies, but I think for the moment we need lots of short posts, rather than a few long ones, since we have a lot of interacting and responding going on.
*Nods wisely to validate excuse*))

Rosa held her breath most of the way until he reached right above her knee. Then she let out a low groan.
When he pressed a little harder she hissed, "SLOAN!" And tried to yank her leg away from him.
"That hurt." She told him, grinding her teeth to keep from screaming from the pain.
She didn't want a broken leg either, maybe it was just dislocated from the knee? She shrugged mentally and waited for him to continue.

((Haha, yes short posts for now because they're interacting. ))

"I don't appreciate being yelled at." Sloan informed her stiffly - the warmth in his eyes dying like a flame snuffed out by a breath of air. "I'm hardly in top form myself, you know, Princess."
He managed to curb his tongue then - resisting the urge to unleash more sarcasm only with a massive effort. "Just break with it a little longer, okay?"
He managed to get some kindness into his voice, but it was no longer sincere. He helped because he felt he had to - not because he wanted to.
Skipping over her knee, Sloan began pressing gently against her lower leg. "Tell me when it hurts - or if you can't feel it." He ordered softly - slowly working his way downwards toward her ankle.

"Just leave me alone okay? I'll be fine on my own, I can tell you don't want to help me anyways." Rosa hissed at him before scooting away from him and looking at the ground. Her leg was burning like crazy but she didn't show it. Her expression turned bitter and somewhat spiteful.
"And don't ever, call me Princess, again." She swallowed thickly and forced the tears to leave from her eyes. That word only brought back memories of her father, and she didn't want them where they were she wanted them to stay in the ground, where he was.

((Oooh a little bit of angernesss going on!!!!!))

((^^ 'Break' in my last post was supposed to be 'bear'. Friggin typos.
And yess... Angerness. XD ))

"Okay then." Sloan replied casually. He was not one to deal with kids' hissy fits. If she wanted to be a drama queen she could go ahead, but if she thought he was going to insist on waiting around to help her after she'd told him to go away - she was sorely mistaken. She was banking on the fact that he was a 'good guy', who would feel terrible if somebody was killed or badly hurt, and he could have prevented it.
Well, unfortunately, he just didn't care enough for that. If it was horses, he cared. With people - not so much. He had never really gotten along with them, anyway. Somehow, he always seemed to say the wrong thing, no matter how hard he tried.
Oh well - enough dwelling on it. She had told him to leave her alone, and that was exactly what he planned to do.
Sloan straightened, slipped his cellphone back into his pocket, then turned his back on the girl and walked off. Truthfully, he barely had the strength to put one foot in front of the other, but he refused to show any weakness. Not now. Not ever.

Rosa-Leigh watched him walk away and her stubbornness took over as she sat there trying not to huff. She watched after the 'man' with quite a disgust building up. At least he could walk, whereas he just left here there to be stuck, stuck as a rock. That didn't make any sense but she didn't care, at the moment nothing made sense. She was glad when rain started to gently fall again, slowly devouring the barn fire.
She glanced around for Gray, the big black stallion was no where to be seen. She shook her head and leaned back against the stump behind her. So Sloan had a dark side to himself also? He just liked showing his more then she did. She'd rather not bother with people at all. But he had to butt in and make it seem like he cared then walk away, leaving her completely alone and stranded. And he hadn't even called 911. She wanted to call after him but her pride blocked the way when her voice tried to rise.

((Awww, I just realized that they can't even date either. Bah! Ah well. We'll really have to move on for a long time if that will be the plan. XD))

((MWAhahaha... *Coughs* All depends whether they're creepy enough to embrace the age difference. XD Hehe! It isn't too bad, really. If Rosa is about to turn 18, and Sloan has just turned 21, say... That makes it only about 3 years. No train smash, right?
That being said - if it were me - I'd be creeped out. XD LMAO!))

Sloan continued walking until he was out of sight.
Then, he took out his cellphone, and dialled 911. He may have been cold-hearted and a little callous, but he wasn't as much of a scumbag as he'd have himself believe. He still couldn't leave the girl to die... Especially after she had come back into the fire to save him. Not that he would even have been in that fire in the first place if she hadn't called for help.
"Selfish, ungrateful little-" Sloan began muttering to himself, but he broke off as the line crackled into life.
He explained the situation to the speaker on the other end of the line, and thanked her kindly when she agreed to send over an ambulance as soon as possible.
With a sigh, Sloan flipped his phone closed, then slid it back into his pocket.
He had basic first aid training... He could probably help a lot if he wasn't so darn stubborn. He supposed he probably should, but after all the attitude the girl had given him-
I'm acting more like a kid than she is. He realised suddenly, eyes stretching wide in surprise.
Sloan cursed under his breath, then turned around and hurriedly retraced his steps to the girl.
"Shut up." He advised in a low growl as he arrived - dropping into a crouch beside her injured leg again. "Now listen - I'm going to cut your pant leg off at the knee so I can see where you're hurt. It'll be less painful than trying to roll it up, so.." He shrugged vaguely, trailing off into silence, then pulled out a small pocket knife, and began carefully cutting away at the material.

Rosa studied him for a moment before looking down at the ground next to her. She almost asked him why he came back, then decided that would be far too cheesy a question so she held it in.
She simply laid there and let him do what he was doing. She didn't flinch, didn't move, just sat there. She didn't want him to think she was weak, so she would act as strong as she could.
Her brown eyes were dull and blank, they didn't hold the least bit of emotion.


((Doyyy sorry that was short. X())

Once he'd cut most of the way around the leg of the trousers, Sloan ripped the material free, and pulled it gently away from the girl's leg.
He applied gently pressure to a specific point above her knee to deaden the pain slightly, then softly ran his hand over the knee - feeling for abnormalities. It was very swollen, and perhaps even a little misshapen... There were lacerations on the skin, too, but only minor cuts and bruises. He could see no evidence of bone piercing skill.
"I think it may be broken, or perhaps fractured..." He informed her hesitantly, "But it doesn't seem too bad. It hasn't punctured your skin - so you're lucky... Well, as lucky as a person in your situation can be." He offered a grim smile, then shrugged and got to his feet.
Without offering an explanation for his actions, he limped over to the smouldering wreckage of the barn and selected some of the safest-looking planks he could find.
He returned to the girl's side, and found one roughly the same length as her leg.
I need to bind it with something... He thought, glancing around uncertainly.
Finally, his eyes came to rest on his own shirt. It was mostly torn to ribbons, anyway.
Shrugging vaguely, Sloan popped the few remaining buttons open - then slipped it off and shook it out. He tried not to notice how much blood soaked the back of it... He didn't want to think about how injured he might be at that moment...
Instead, he found a clean section and ripped it free, then set to work binding the girl's leg to the plank - working in silence, and trying not to feel the cold rain stinging his bare back - nor the feeling of slightly warmer, stickier liquid trickling sickeningly over his flesh. He didn't need to know how cut up his back must have been...

Rosa-Leigh nodded but was silent. She didn't want to say anything wrong and be left alone again. Though if she was left alone again she was pretty determined to walk if she had to. She watched Sloan with sharp eyes, seeing every movement he moved.
When he finished cutting the pant leg off she winced slightly before leaning back. When he left she almost reached out for him but stopped herself. Her pride mostly got in the way. She waited for him to come back and then saw him with the wood she knew what he was going to do.
Her eyes widened when he started to unbutton his shirt and widened even more when he took it off. She shook her head, slightly appalled with herself and looked down at the ground beside her. She bit her lip and tried not to look back up at his perfectly sculpted muscles. He was too old for her anyways. She would be eighteen in a week but he seemed to be quite a bit older then her. From what she had heard her was somewhere around twenty-one. Rosa almost wanted to slam her head against the tree, what had happened that she was thinking like this?

((Tehe. Erm, and my dad is 17 years older then my mom. Odd I know. But love does strange things...))

((Hehe! Naaaw, that's actually sweet. XD Somehow, with adults, it's okay. Hehe!))

"Sorry." Sloan mumbled self consciously as he noticed the girl averting her gaze - clearly uncomfortable. "I just couldn't think of anything else, so..." Shrugging helplessly, he trailed off - then winced painfully as he felt the wounds on his back rip open again with the movement.
"I called for an ambulance." He said quietly, "Sorry for flipping out like that before, I guess I was out of line... I can be a little too quick to act at times, and far too slow to think."
He offered a slight smile, then sat down on the ground beside the girl, leaning back on his hands so he wouldn't have to round his sore back.
"What's your name, by the way? You seem somehow familiar... Like I should recognise you."
He turned his head, staring intently at her with sharp hazel eyes.
He watched her a while, then winced and turned away - groaning softly. He could feel the pain more clearly now that he didn't have something to occupy himself with, and Hell did it hurt!
He felt bile rising in his throat, and gulped uncomfortably - taking a deep breath, and willing himself not to be sick.
That was when his vision began to get hazy, and a frightening thought struck Sloan. That incurable terror that, if he should close his eyes, he might never open them again.
"Will you talk to me...?" Sloan asked quietly, his tone almost pleading. "Just... Distract me... Until the ambulance gets here. Please..."
He trailed off, glancing self consciously away as his pride cringed away from his pitiful words.
You're weak and pathetic, Sloan Terse. He scolded himself bitterly, But rather week and pathetic than proud and dead. Better to live a slave than die a hero, right...? Hm. I'd make a terrible soldier. Thank goodness I wasn't around in the days of the war.
The thoughts were random and pointless, but they calmed him slightly, and this helped Sloan to keep his wits about him - ears straining for the sound of an approaching siren.

"I'm Rosa-Leigh, I've been here for a while..." She trailed off when she saw him wince and then shifted slightly so she could see his back. She swallowed hard and her eyes widened.
"Damn." She muttered under her breath. That looked like it really hurt.
When he practically begged her to talk to him she raised her eyebrows slightly but did as he wanted. "So, uh, how long have you been riding?" She asked him, a somewhat confused tone to her voice before she said, "I've been riding all my life, ever since I can remember at least. For all I know I got freakin' amnesia when I was like 12 and I've only been riding since I was 11. But then again, things like that happen when you're people like me." She rambled and then let out a soft, unamused chuckle. "That wasn't even funny, and didn't make any sense." She muttered before biting her lip. This was really hard, how the hell was someone who never talked to anyone supposed to keep talking to someone who was in complete pain and begging her to talk to him.
"I'm going to be 18 in a week." She forced a crooked smile and then tilted her head to the side. "Not that that's a big deal for you, but it is for me."

((Haha, sorrry about the shortness, I have to go start school and do some until you reply. XD Sneeeeakyy me!))

((Hehe! I posted during school! Sneaky us. ))

"Hm, that's a long time." Sloan replied - releasing a soft sigh of relief as the distraction of speaking dulled his pain. It had always been this way for him... As long as he kept himself busy, the pain couldn't catch up to him. "I've been riding about ten years..." He trailed off, then frowned thoughtfully. "You really got amnesia?" He asked in faint surprise. "That's rough... My Dad had pretty bad amnesia just before he died. By the end of it, he didn't even know who I was." He trailed off, lost in thought, then hurriedly distracted himself again as the pain began to sink in. "So what discipline do you ride? Ever done any competing?"

((Okay... THAT was short. XD But I have no muse today. :3 Sorry!))

"Actually I was kidding about the amnesia..." Rosa informed him softly, very softly actually. She hadn't have brought it up if she had known about his father. Too late now.
"Cross country with Gray believe it or not." She replied to his last question. She stole another glance at his back and shuddered slightly when she saw his wounds. She heard a soft crack and her eyes narrowed. She looked around and didn't see anything. She shrugged and then heard it again. She looked up to see a branch above Sloan hanging by barely anything. Rosa gasped before jumping to her feet with a hiss, her leg was killing her but she'd be fine. "Sloan move!" She screeched before shoving him out of harms way. The branch landed only inches away from Sloan, she was practically laying on top of him and her leg started burning but she rolled off and pushed herself up to sit beside him. It had seemed like everything went in slow motion. She waited for him to respond, somewhat surprised she had actually been able to move him like that.

((haha, by far my cheesiest post. XD))

((Hey! For your information, cheese is EPIC, missy! And so was the post! Cheesy always works well in RPs...))

"Ah, I see-" Sloan began, but he broke off instantly as a soft creaking sound reached his ears. He frowned slightly, but before the sound could register - Rosa's voice broke through his thoughts.
She shouted a warning, but before he'd even had time to comprehend it, she somehow managed to spring off the ground, and tackle him.
Sloan grunted in surprise, feeling himself tumble sideways from the force of the tackle - just in time to see a branch crash down where he had been sitting moments before. He stared in wide-eyed shock at it, his heart beating so fast and hard that he could hear it vibrating in his eardrums.
Finally, he managed to look away, and that was when he realised that Rosa was practically lying on top of him. For some reason, this fact made him painfully aware of the absence of his shirt. He tended to be rather shy around girls at the best of times - never mind when one was lying against his bare chest...
But thankfully, Rosa rolled aside before Sloan had too much time to obsessed about it.
"I- I-" He stammered helplessly, his voice high-pitched from shock and awkwardness. He cleared his throat gruffly, then slowly heaved himself into a sitting position with a pained wince.
"Th-thanks." He managed, his voice deeper, and slightly steadier this time. "You really saved me there..." He chuckled nervously, then glanced toward Rosa.
Biting his lip against the pain in his back and arm, Sloan reached out to her, and gently helped her to sit up. "Are you okay...?" He asked - seeming honestly concerned, which was somewhat rare for him.

Rosa huffed slightly and looked over at Sloan, "Y-yeah, I-I'm fine." Her leg was burning with pain, but she wasn't going to tell him that. She figured the ambulance hadn't arrived yet because of all the damage that had been done. She wished they'd hurry up though because the silence that followed her words was quite deafening.
She leaned back on her hands and promised herself to never show emotions around Sloan again. Not bad ones at least. She'd not cry, and she'd not complain. She'd simply be silent. Silence was the easiest way after all. Silence is golden. That was a good motto. She glanced over at him with her deep brown eyes before looking away and biting her lip, he was rather attractive... not that she noticed or anything.

((Sorry its short. But eh, it's something to work with. Dahhh, hahahaha. I'm sorry had to add that last sentence in there. Coulldn't help myself. XD))

((Haha! Such brilliance! ))

"Nah, you're not." Sloan replied, a faint smile lifting his lips, and his expression softening into something between pity and admiration.
"Let me have a look at that leg."
He straightened with a wince - trying to ignore the fact that his back felt as though somebody were lashing it with a hundred thorned whips.
He crouched beside Rosa's leg, and added his flushed cheeks to the list of things to ignore. It was silly to feel so awkward, but he was always like this... It was why he got on better with horses.
Shaking his thoughts aside, he gently straightened the splint on Rosa's leg - pressing softly just above her knee in an attempt to lessen the pain.
"There, it just got knocked a little skew." He consoled her quietly, glancing up with a faint smile, then hurriedly glancing away again as he met those brilliant brown eyes that he had seen hovering over him just a few minutes before.
"I think I hear the ambulance..." He announced, clearing his throat gruffly and gazing into the distance - cheeks burning more than ever.
But sure enough, there came the distant sound of a siren. He didn't think he'd ever been more relieved to hear something in his entire life.