Eryss sat up as she heard her mother's final words, "You mean...?" She was cut off by the sound of a closing door. She rubbed the sleep from her eye, and proceeded to get dressed. She had never really come in contact with horses before, only pet them on a handful of times. There weren't many in Chicago, and the ones she did see she saw across the fence, as she would be cleaning up the streets for her community service hours.
She finally made her way down the stairs, slowly but surely. She could hear her mother talking to her grandfather, who owned the ranch that Eryss and her mother had come to live just a few short weeks ago. "I know a horse will be good for her. They always kept me out of trouble. I can't have her in trouble with the law again - the judge said one more incident, and she'd be in juvy." Her mother's voice was quiet and worried. Eryss was angered that she would bring up her less-than-ideal past with her grandfather. Sure, she had stolen a few things here and there, but she never thought it would get bad enough to the point where her mother wanted her out of the big city. Her grandfather's voice came next, "If you say so. She has to take care of it. I mean it, I don't have time to mess with yet another horse on top of all the head of cattle. You can teach her how to ride, too. I'll go with you to the auction, might be fun." Her mother agreed with his terms, and Eryss finally made her way all the way down the stairs when the two were finished speaking.
It was a decent drive to the auction house, as everything in the small town was very wide-spread. Eryss hated it. She loved city life, loved having everything in walking distance. She sat in the back seat of the truck, trailer in tow, with headphones in her ears. They were loud enough to drown out anything around her, and that's how she liked it. In her own world. Away from this place she would never call home.
When the family arrived at the auction place, Eryss' mother asked her to leave the music, and she angerly agreed. She had to listen to these fools now? Was it not punishment enough to watch? Her grandfather grabbed a number from the office, registered, and they began walking through the yard. The aisle was lined with many steel panels, holding many types of horses. Skinny, fat, clearly lame, and clearly crazy. Eryss spotted a horse she found fancy to the eye. A beautiful paint, with striking markings. He seemed to have hobbles on his feet, so Eryss' mother obliged when the girl asked to enter the pen. She reached out a hand to stroke the horse's face. Just as quickly as she could blink, the huge paint pinned his ears and struck his teeth into Eryss' hand. "Ow! You stupid bear!" She yanked her hand away, storming out of the pen. "I don't want a horse. We need to leave, I'm fine with my laptop and my phone. We are wasting our time." Eryss was furious, and even began to make her way through the crowd, on her way back to the truck. Her mother and grandfather shouted behind her, trying to catch up. Suddenly, a whinny caught Eryss' attention.
It was a smaller gelding, buckskin with a splashed white face. He was sabino, and had white markings that looked as if someone had blown white paint onto him from underneath his belly. His black points were stunning, and matched his deep, longing eyes. Eryss stopped in front of the panels holding the horse, breath lost from her lungs. The two sat there, looking at eachother square in the eye, neither moving an inch. Eryss' family came up behind her shortly, grabbing her shoulder. They began lecturing, but saw that she was no longer listening. The grandfather walked up to the panels, where a small card was placed. "2 years old, Quarter horse. He ain't even broke yet, we can't get him. You wanna ride, don't ya? Well won't be riding him for at least six months. If he's even socialized.
Without another word, Eryss walked into the pen. She reached out a hand, and the buckskin accepted her touch. They seemed connected, as if nothing could seperate them. "This one." Eryss spoke, finally, her words soft, but meaningful. "I want this horse, and no other." The mother and her father looked at each other, back to the horse, then to each other. "Okay, let's get a seat. We will wait for him to walk out," the grandfather stated. Mother was clearly skeptical, but agreed. Eryss' left the pen, and followed the two others to their seats in the grandstand, her mind full of the buckskin she had seen.