Jedidiah "Jed" Winchester D10 [FIN]

All things come to an end, whether it's a cowboy in a land full of ice or a family heartbroken for their loss, everything burns out eventually.

That's why he's at the stables with the horse. A huff from it's lips and he's already broken on the inside, but deep down he knew it would end. They don't carry titles like the Emberstatts or Lowes do. A hand goes to the horse's cheek with a caress that would no longer be from the owner that raised him. Lost in the atmosphere, unable to breath the air that desperately is needed to survive. The crash comes in a bounty of tears and anger as his hand smacks a wooden post, spooking all of the horses that huff into the air. A sigh falls from the boy's lips as he doesn't dare move a single inch from the post he leans up against now. The voice finds it's way into his head again, like an echoing of silence.

"Did you ever dream of life being different, Caine?"

"No, I reckon this is how life is. Us working on the ranch until we're old and frail and have kids of our own to do it."

"That'd be nice, wouldn't it."

That would have been nice for them. An ending to a life that was meant to be perfect with people that they loved, not heartache and an icy mountain top. Dreams don't exist in their world, all of those just burn up in the atmosphere. No one deserved a happy ending in their world, only tragic beginnings. Closing his eyes, he can still feel the breeze of the perfect days upon his skin. Those have gone and past with only a dead body remaining as the last piece of those days. That is how it will die in the end. With a body, that meant so much to everyone, but left a piece of brokenness behind.

One day, they'll be normal again, but for now they mourn the loss of Caine Winchester.

Abel, Caine's horse, huffs from the stall as it's head touches his shoulder comforting. A piece of Caine was still there, in the damn horse that had caused him so much trouble the past few days. Escaping the stalls, in order to go to the district building where peacekeepers tried to send the horse to be made into glue or something of the sort. All of the pressure was put upon his shoulders, holding up the earth that Caine and him had held up together. Mostly Caine, but that was a time that was a short time ago. Even though, it felt like it was a lifetime ago since Caine's been in their presence.

Rough calloused hands rub up and down Abel's face in a comforting manner. Arms toned from hard labor of running a ranch over the years of his childhood. Muscles that are relaxed as he leans forward onto the stall door. Biceps flexed in a way to hold himself up from completely leaning on the wooden stall door attached with metal to keep the horse inside the stall. A sigh falls from his lips as he stands with a relaxed, but stressed state. None of his other brothers were in the stall with him, too late for them to be out at this time. Toned legs that were holding him up from falling on the ground. Large feet planted firmly upon the ground as he stares from Abel to his own horse across the way, Solomon, who was way more rowdy than Abel was.

A little like himself, if he were to be honest with himself. Blue eyes as cold as the ice that Caine's body currently resides on, look over to Solomon with comfort, but sorrow deep down. Brown hair that curls like the wind has blown through it once more on the day where a glass bowl decided Caine's death. A light stubble that he's too lazy to shave, but also makes him look older and some of the party kids enjoy to see, especially in bed at the crack of dawn. Small ears that listen to the sound of neighing from Solomon as his own hand comforts the horse. Life sucks for now, but he'd move on. He always has been good at that. Moving on from things that his heart settles on.

All things come to an end after all.

Sounds of music from all sorts of types echoes in his ears as he enters the party held in honor of Caine Winchester by students from their school. None of them knew him. Every blank face out here only wanted two things, sex and to drink until the night is forgotten. Unlike Caine Winchester, no one wanted to remember the night, only the morning where bleary eyed teens wake to satisfied minds. There's no words upon his lips as his friends drag him to some drinking game that makes him take a shot every twenty minutes or so if he didn't try hard enough. The taste of liquid courage makes his blood boil in a want to lose control because anything was better than thinking about his dead brother now.

Heavy breaths, pretty girls and handsome boys, music blaring in his ears, and alcohol in his veins. This was better than being stuck in a constant rhythm of ranch duties and being in Caine's shadow of a life that was now gone. Mind numbing sounds that echo across his temples as the lights mix into a blur and the music echoes like angels singing from the heavens above. All of it blends into a warmth that fills his body unlike his dead brother's icy chill that was left like a scar upon the mind. All things come to an end, but the scars still stick to the mind forever.

His mind numbs to a silence as he moves in time with the beat, vision blurring into a black with only certain things flashing before him. Questions about Caine. A girl's name. Someone dancing with him. A bedroom. Clothes thrown upon the ground. There's black again, but morning comes with an ache in the head where the scar of Caine was. A pounding of the head and lack of clothes told him what happened. Eyes glancing to a body laying restfully next to him and on the floor near him. Parties were never calm, always crazier than expected. A whisper of morning falls from the form next to him. A rolling of eyes as he steps out to the crack of dawn, slipping on his clothes. A friend climbing up the stairs as he passes them with a small smile. No one cares too much because they knew he was close to Caine, but not close enough for them to be seen as inseparable.

"Mornin'" The grumble comes from his lips as his friend slows to a stop at the top of the stairs and then moves back to him with a chuckle upon her lips. Fingers run through his hair as he gives a small smile back. She turns her nose up at him like he smells, which doesn't surprise him. The alcohol was still on his breath and the smell of sweat was still in his skin, but he'd get home early enough for Ma and Pa to not notice. Her voice rings in the air as he stretches slightly, cracking some joints in his arms.

"Jed, you smell bud. Also, I don't want to know what you did behind those closed doors. Just get a shower when you get home." A chuckle falls from his lips as he nods, pushing past her with another grumble from the pain in his head. She always seemed to be the kind of person to stick their neck out for him. Even though, he didn't deserve someone like that. A troublemaker in the making as a kid, he always tried pushing the buttons of his family. Questioning Caine's judgement and disobeying his parent's words, even though they were right half of the time.

There was always a thrill to seeking trouble that lays under his skin. As a kid, Caine and him always went to the damned stream and caused trouble there. Games of cowboys and bandits in their eyes as they chased one another around. That's the only time they spent together, except the silent nights in the same room. Small talk between one another, until his brother fell asleep, so he could sneak out from his careful eyes. His brother never questioned the smell of alcohol on his breath when he'd come home or the messed up hair from other activities. Neither of them cared to share, Caine was just happy to have him in his life.

Jed was happy too, until Aeson Kight stabbed his weapon into Caine's cold body.

School was never either of their thing, with Jed preferring trouble to learning, while Caine preferred ranching to school. Jed was always getting into trouble. Whether it was between his parents or school, he always did what he wanted. As a teen, growing up, he followed his parents orders and even did ranching like Caine, but he wasn't as into it like his brother. Only wanting a horse like his brother as a young age, he raised Solomon like his best friend, but they had a friendship that was more about mutual benefit than actual friends. Solomon listened fairly well, as long as he got an apple afterwards. Jed never forgot the apple for his horse.

The walk home was cold and dusty like always at the crack of dawn. Dust brewing for the day like the winds that turned the trees Caine slept in. The morning always brought a certain cheerfulness into his step, even with the annoying pounding in his head. Every morning reminded him of the silence that he enjoyed, but the silence was getting too much since Caine's small words disappeared. Their room is quiet with a silence that doesn't fix his aching chest, but with time he'll be okay. He doesn't blame Aeson. Living was what everyone wanted, even awful people like Aeson. A sigh falls from his lips as he arrives at home with a hot shower and a relaxing day going back into bed.

Just another few hours and he'll have to be up again to do Caine's duties. Another thing for him to hold up on his own, his brothers would help, but everything was doubled for him now. This wasn't what he wanted. Like the sarcasm of the night talking with Caine about life in the future, it'd be nice to be a rancher, but he hated the ranching life. Everyone ended up going to that, but he didn't care about it. All he did it for was because his mother would have his head if he didn't. A sigh falls from his lips as the feeling of cold and warmth mix in his memories. All he could do was groan at his own head stuck on Caine Winchester's death.

"I need another drink."

All things come to an end, just like the fun life he was living.

Everything burns out like a candlelight in the wind.

All he can do is sleep it off and wake up with a fake smile and ignore the tiredness in his eyes.

After all, Caine left him with a new world to carry upon his shoulders.

All he could do was pray it doesn't crush him in the end.