Thread: The Way I Am || Kveria/Altheras

There was a long silence following Luke's confession where Sebastien wasn't entirely certain what to say. He shifted in his seat before leaning forward to pour himself a second half glass of champagne it was less to do with wanting to wash the thoughts away with that pleasant bubbly feeling, and more to do with busying his hands while he thought of a way to respond. He was buying himself time. Look.... he started, more than a little awkwardly as he swirled the last mouthful in the bottom of the flute. It doesn't matter what happened in the past. You can spend the rest of the day settling in, but tomorrow I want you to set up some sort of system of education, whether you decide to go to a university or work via corrospondance at home. Put all of that behind you and begin to make goals, go somewhere with your life. He paused again, savoured that last mouthful and looked down at his hands with the perfectly manicured fingernails and the soft skin that had seen only a base amount of work. Hands that would never have to know what it was like to get dirty, hands that would never see a correctional facility or a rehabilitation program. Hands that knew what it meant when Luke had mentioned being enslaved by the man who had provided him with illicit substances. Using emotional and physical abuse to control someone would generally count as slavery, manipulation, conditioning, or what have you. Sebastien had known that it was wrong all that time, but he was too scared, felt too worthless and empty to do anything about it. These were the things he was going to have a hard time explaining to his brother, though he did feel like he owed Luke an explanation for the way he'd changed over all those years. One day, maybe. But for now, it still made his blood run cold to think of how he would rather be doing something else, how he didn't care about Egnesse Financial and Investments or how it was going to expand to include this, that, and the other thing. He just wanted to be an artist that was it. He wanted to be a graphic designer, maybe even a concept artist for movies and video games since he did have an eye for detail and the scenes he'd produced in his dwindling spare time were actually quite breath-taking. There would be no time for that after this new addition to the business, however he had a strong feeling that his father was going to put him in charge of it to test his abilities and his loyalty. Tomorrow afternoon I am scheduled for my riding lesson. Sebastien stated, matter-of-factly, as he tried to make himself even more accessible, though it was plain to see how uncomfortable he was getting. If you have interest and have set up a meeting in the educational institute of your choosing, I would like you to come along. He realised that it had probably been a long time since Luke had been around horses it was something that Sebastien had always done, riding, and something he still enjoyed. He owned an imported Hanoverian mare, dappled grey in colour, who had shown up to the Grand Prix level internationally coming upon her really had been a fluke and at the time Sebastien had been considering giving up riding to have more free time, but when the lovely mare registered as Her Highness , commanded his presence, he answered. He willingly enslaved himself to her charm and forfeited nearly eighty thousand dollars for the horse whose back he couldn't see over, who jumped five feet like flying came naturally to her, with an attitude as long as his limousine. He paid to have her imported, then paid almost two thousand dollars a month to board her in the highest class facility he could easily access. Occasionally he was able to find time to do more than just ride her in lessons he took her to shows once in a while, and since he'd owned her, he'd had her bred three times, always producing perfect little princesses with their mother's flashy looks, attitude and aptitude. The oldest of the three was six, already competing in the 4'6 jumpers in Germany. The second, a three-year-old, was owned by a young lady at the same stable, and had just started under saddle that year, heading steadily for their first Level One Dressage test, skipping the Training Level entirely. The youngest was a year and a half, and Sebastien thought about keeping her until Egnesse began to get wildly popular now he was just looking for the right buyer. Besides his art, Sebastien had a passion for his riding, and it was something that his father saw as an elite sport, something that only the rich and prestigious were good enough for, so he'd been allowed to keep it. He turned his head, glancing at Luke out of the corner of his eye and wet his lips briefly. You wouldn't have to ride if you didn't want to, and my coach doesn't generally take on beginners but if it's something you would like to attempt, I wouldn't mind instructing you myself. Horses are excellent for healing, I assume you are aware. He still sat up straight with his head held high, his voice still held that crisp bite to it, and his expression stayed mostly neutral except for a slight softness in his eyes. He'd never liked teaching lessons, never had the patience for beginner riders and old schoolmaster horses that knew to slowly stretch their heads down and pull the reins out of the rider's inexperienced hands. He hated repeatedly telling someone to keep their heels down but not deep like a Hunter heel, to keep their back straight but fluid, to keep their elbows bent but hands forward, and For God's sake, keep your damned eyes up! Watch where the Hell you're going! He'd taken over lessons for three days when one of the coaches was in the hospital with a bad flu he'd sworn up and down that he would never do it again. For Luke, he would make an exception.