Colt never had this much free time in the mornings. Up at the crack of dawn to get ready for the day and get a hearty breakfast if he didn’t dawdle, then out to help check on and feed the animals – a time consuming process in itself. On weekdays he’d sometimes get time to brush Butterscotch’s mane out before he had to set off to school, Sunshine following along the fence and barking almost in encouragement for the day before Colt disappeared down the beaten path. The same routine every day ever since he was old enough to start helping on the ranch, the only real change being when the second youngest – his younger sister – started helping in the mornings as well just last year. It was hard to break a habit so ingrained into you, and as such Colt found himself rising with the sun even in Caelbury. It was an odd feeling, waking up in a bed and place so completely different than your own. The blankets missed the well-worn feel of the covers that were hand sewn by his grandmother back home, there was no noise of [i]life[/i] within the thick walls of the dorms, even the air felt stale on his tongue and dead without the slightest breeze. Yet with no chores to do or even Sunshine to curl up beside him in bed with his wagging tail and puppy dog eyes there was no reason for him to get up. Colt couldn’t help but wonder if Sunshine was missing him as much as he missed the old dog right now, if he even understood where Colt had gone or that he’d be back in ten long, long months’ time. Colt found he didn’t like having all this time. A soft chirping was what finally broke Colt’s melancholy musings enough for the broad youth to pull himself up and out of bed wearing only his pajama bottoms, leaving the bed unmade as he ventured toward the closed window. The chirping was not coming from outside as one might initially suspect, but from a small box placed in front of it and filled halfway up with warm straw that had been used to pack some of his more delicate belongings. Yet instead of containing the picture frames it once had instead the straw nestled around what seemed to almost be a puffball of feathers and sass, the little brown bird making further chirps on seeing Colt looking down upon him. Irritated, almost. The rancher couldn’t help but smile, just a slight upturn at the corner of his lips. The indignant expression of the bird wasn’t a sight the shirtless Colt was unfamiliar with. His family often took in animals that were hurt or needed temporary homes, and birds like this one were exactly one of them. To say that Colt couldn’t resist bringing it in when he found the little creature on the grounds during the school’s little “picnic” –if a feast of a gathering could be called that – was an understatement. He kept the thing carefully hidden in his room, away from the prying eyes of a roommate he hadn’t even met yet. It was a textbook sprained wing; it would be up and about in no time, but until then… Well, until then at least Colt had something to keep his mind on during the mornings. Animals to feed and take care of, a roommate to avoid, and maybe he could finally cement how to properly do up that blasted uniform’s tie before he went out. --- The dark tie hung loosely over Colt’s shoulders as he finally made his way to the beginning of the year assembly, crinkled where it was tied repeatedly and then undone an equal amount of times. Somehow he had misplaced the diagram of how to do the blasted thing up while unpacking, and just his luck was that he couldn’t remember the proper motions. Something about over and under and feed the tongue – why couldn’t he just wear a clip on? Fancy rich snobs. Colt ran a hand through his messy, dirty blonde hair in a clear sign of aggravation as his gaze racked over those already gathered in the hall. There were some people he recognized, not from any friendly familiarity but purely the distant acknowledgement of seeing the same face plastered across papers or smiling the same [i]too[/i] perfect smile at every TV camera pointed at them. And here he was, a farm boy that couldn’t even tie part of the uniform up, not knowing a single person and with no household name or talent to speak of. Really, who’s bright idea was it for him to come here? Right, his parent’s, who wanted nothing more than a perfect college-bound boy. Huffing in irritation Rodeo tried to shove the thought to the back of his mind and picked an empty seat next to the front aisle, a perfect place to get out first once these people were finished spewing their empty words. He slouched in the seat, arms crossed and suppressing a glower at the stage for his patented neutral expression. He had to admit, the school had one thing down pat – everyone here was model gorgeous, at least on the student council. Colt [i]was[/i] paying attention to the words they spoke as well, if only to not stand out more than necessary if it contained relevant information, but he couldn’t deny that Caelbury had some beautiful girls. He was almost sorry when they were exchanged for the Principal to do his speech. Soon enough it was over though, and Colt found himself rising up with his bookbag flung over his shoulder and striding along to the main building for homeroom. Now Colt didn’t consider himself directionally challenged in any way, but it was a little overwhelming to really be in the halls of what would be his school for the next ten months and surrounded by people who could buy out his entire family just on a whim. Humbling, and a little infuriating. He couldn’t help but mumble pardons to anyone who he so much as brushed against, working his way using the signs on the walls toward the Freshman homeroom he was assigned. At one intersection he gave pause, studying the signs as bodies moved around him. “Lost?” Colt tilted his head to look to the voice, a slightly older boy smiling gently to him. The rancher rolled his jaw briefly, sizing him up almost instinctively before giving a short nod. “Lookin’ for my homeroom” He replied simply, to which the other boy grinned wider. “Ah, I know that feeling – I was late to class my first year here. Got scolded in front of everyone. Best not have a repeat of that, huh? What homeroom do you have?” The dark haired boy moved closer, glancing at the piece of paper Colt provided to him with the information of his schedule written down. “Ooo, lucky, you get Ms. Kendrick. Her homeroom is down that way.” He gestured to Colt’s left, the rancher’s blue gaze sliding to follow down the hallway. “All the way near the end.” “Thanks.” Colt rumbled simply, folding his schedule up once more. He gave a short nod to the other boy before venturing that way, finding little else in the conversation. The other seemed to disagree, as he called after him. “And hey, Kendrick is pretty cool but you might want to do your tie up just in case!” The rancher just huffed under his breath, but didn’t bother turning around to acknowledge him further. Don’t get Colt wrong, he was grateful for the help, but he wasn’t about to wander back to him with his tail between his legs and ask for further help on how to tie a simple article of clothing! Still, with the warning on his heels Colt brought his calloused fingers up to once more work at the tie. It couldn’t be as hard as he was making it out to be. Even with that thought in his mind Colt still didn’t have the damn thing done up by the time he strode into Ms. Kendrick’s homeroom, but on the plus side he [i]did[/i] manage to undo the knot he had made. He gave only a brief glance to the teacher at her desk, surprisingly young and – like he thought earlier about Caelbury – attractive. Colt appeared to be the first one here, no doubt most of the other freshmen attempting to navigate the halls without their own personal guiding arrow. “Ma’am,” Colt nodded his head respectfully to Ms. Kendrick before moving to a seat in a middle row, but more importantly beside an open window. If he was going to be here he at least could get a view of the pristinely manicured – [i]unnatural[/i] -lands of Caelbury, right?