(Open) Slow Spinning Redemption

[Jacquelyn Noelle Daniels]

"What the hell kind of racehorse is that?" had been the question asked of the young girl crouched down in the cross ties beside a tall black horse's leg, carefully running her hand down his lover leg. The horse definitely didn't look like he belonged in this barn, and truthfully, he probably didn't, but when this girl got an idea in her head there was no changing her mind. she was convinced that one day this horse would be sound and he would race, and they would prove everyone wrong. For now though, he probably would have fit in better at the other barn. He stood lazily in the cross ties, his eyes nearly closed, letting the ties hold up his big head as if he were sedated, but there were no drugs coursing through his veins. The inquirer was met with any icy glare that was just about cold enough to make hell freeze over. A damn well trained one. She snarled back at him, I'd like to see you get one of your without drugs and still be a fantastic runner. The man was skeptical, clearly, and decided to have another go at it. "What's he clocking?" he asked with one of those high and mighty smug smirks fancy trainers were known to have. He's not yet, she retorted just as viciously as before, Don't you know a lame horse when you see one? Unsure of how to respond the man just moved along, unwilling to deal with the snappy 21 year old.

Idiot. she mumbled to herself as she grabbed the leg wrap and started wrapping the left leg tightly. He still had the plaster cast on his right front leg and still walked terribly awkwardly and with a limp, and the vet was still skeptical that he would make a full recovery, but if it was possible to will broken bones into mending, she would definitely do it. Just you wait Vin She said to the horse as she continued wrapping the leg, One of these days you'll be better and we'll blow them all away, won't we? She finished the leg and straightened up, unclipping the cross ties and putting his lead rope back on the halter. I know you hate walking with that thing, but it's Doctor's orders. she added, stepping out of the cross ties and leading him along with her. They had removed the full leg length cast a few weeks ago and now he was only casted up to his knee, but it was plain to see that he was annoyed by it still.

Jacq took him out of the race barn and down to the gate to get out of the racing area. She didn't trust those ornery racehorses, and the last thing she wanted was for Vin to get kicked by one of them. He couldn't go far with his leg being broken and all, but he needed the exercise, and he couldn't like being locked up in a stall all day, so she usually just took him down to the outdoor arena and let him graze on the grass around the outside while she watched the other riders. To be perfectly honest, she had never ridden a horse. Before watching Vin break down she'd never even been remotely interested in horses.. but now, she was sure she would be riding one day, and the more she watched the more prepared she would be when Vin was sound. Granted she would be in a racing saddle and all... but they all had the same basics to them... or at least it looked that way.

When the pair reached the outdoor arena, she stopped and plopped down in the grass, holding the end of the lead loosely while the big horse grazed around her. Sure, maybe sitting at the feet of a four year old thoroughbred wasn't a very good idea, but what did she know? She'd never been around horses until a year ago, and the majority of that time was spent constantly in a veterinary barn. She'd only been at an actual barn for a month now, and it wasn't like she was exactly all that friendly towards people, so no one had seen fit to advise her on the proper etiquette when around horses. Not that Vin would ever step on her or spook at something, but all the same, you could never be too sure. She had a lot to learn about this world she had immersed herself into, and so far, she was practically failing the class.

[pennbarclay]

Reply coming soon!

[pennbarclay]

I stroked Lola’s neck, feeling the mare relax under the light pressure I was applying. Her training was coming along well, I had probably been aiming a little high when I had entered her in the second level of dressage, rather than the first, but she had blown them away anyway, drawing some attention to herself by some prospective buyers. But I hadn’t agreed to anything yet, she still had a long way to go and I wasn’t planning on selling her yet. She was rideable, I’d even put a beginner on the mare, but to become even more of a contender in the show ring, she still had a lot to be left desired. Letting my hand drop, I picked up her saddle, lifting it easily onto her back, quickly and efficiently fastening the girth, checking it several times before I was satisfied that it was sitting right and that it was tight enough that the saddle wouldn’t slip the moment I got into it.

The bridle was next, the Dutch Warmblood took the bit easily, she didn’t even lift her head to avoid having me slide the piece of cold metal into her mouth. I guess I spent enough time with all three of my horses, they had learnt quickly that behaving meant they were rewarded for it later, even Lola, and I had only had her about a month and a half. Horses, and cars, the two elements in my life that I probably only ever spent time around, people weren’t a big part of it. People who walked into the mechanic’s to get their cars fixed, sure, and if someone wanted to buy a horse off me, but otherwise, I didn’t usually go seeking out people to talk to. I’d actually had someone approach me about riding lessons, of all things, just after the show. Apparently they had seen me during the show, and heard about my work on Sin in the last Western, and wanted me to give their kid lessons. My automatic response had been ‘I train horses, not people’, and wouldn’t hear any more of it. I didn’t communicate with people well, especially people I hadn’t initiated conversation with, so the whole experience would have been painful for the both of us.

Lola was ready to go, so I led her out of the barn, towards the arena I had planned on using. I would’ve picked the indoor, but because of the cooler weather, there were already a few people using it, making it far too crowded for my liking. I liked the quiet. I took my time, not in a rush to get down there, I had all day if I felt like it, I would ride Sin later and go down to the track to get Dash’s training session done in the evening. Though, when I came in sight of the outdoor arena, a young woman sitting at the feet of a Thoroughbred, a horse I had seen before, characterised clearly with a cast on one of its legs, caught my eye. I had seen the pair before, whilst down in the race barn with Dash, I hadn’t avoided them on purpose, as I knew a lot of the people who haunted that barn did, I’d heard her temper down the aisle more than once, I really just avoided everyone, unless I had reason to talk to them.

I stopped Lola a good few paces away from the pair, rechecking her girth, you could never be too careful about these sorts of things. My dad and I may not have ever spoken much during my childhood, but he had made sure he drummed horse sense into me, you were working with animals, not machines, they had minds of their own and tended to use them, and it could end in disaster if you weren’t careful enough. And even being careful, it could still end badly. This is probably what led me to end up saying something to the slender brunette sitting on the grass, dangerously close to her young horse’s hooves. “You really shouldn’t sit there,” I said, keeping it simple, focusing on Lola’s tack rather than the person I was speaking to.

Tagged Jacquelyn
Words 702
Outfit Click
Tunes Circle The Drain - Katy Perry
Notes Whoo, done.

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[Jacquelyn Noelle Daniels]

Jacq was definitely a very bitter young lady. She hated the life she had been forced into by the system that had betrayed her. Social services were supposed to protect kids like her, and unfortunately, it had failed to do so and essentially put her into the very situation they claimed to save children from. Unfortunately for everyone around her, that had made her completely bitter towards everyone, especially people who seemed to have such a perfect life. She wasn't entirely sure why she was so bitter towards everyone, but she really was. The only one she had no issue with was her horse. The two of them were a lot alike. Both of them had been broken by the system they lived in, both of them were beaten into doing what someone else wanted, and both of them were really just misunderstood and looking for someone who got where they were coming from.

She had been sitting and watching those practicing in the arena for about ten minutes, when suddenly the sound of grass being torn up beside her suddenly ceased. She tore her attention away from the rider in the arena and looked up at at Vin, then in the direction he was now looking. A few feet away from them was a rider checking over his horse, no doubt before going into the arena to practice. He was probably another one of those rich guys who bought only the best horses and sent the no good ones to auction. He was probably just like Vin's old owner who wouldn't give the horse a second chance at life. Because she had developed such a dislike for people she always assumed the worst of them. She couldn't really be blamed though, all her life she had been subjected to some of the worst of humanity, she really didn't know any different.

She looked away from him and back to the arena but no sooner had she done so than he spoke. Seeing as she was the only one sitting within the vicinity, she could only assume that he was talking to her. Of course, being told what she should or shouldn't to never went over well with her, especially now that she had spent three years behind bars where she was constantly told what to do and not doing so immediately ended with undesirable consequences. Now that she had her freedom back, she wasn't about to drop everything and hop to obeying orders from anyone. Sure, he wasn't exactly barking out an order at her, but as before mentioned she tended to jump to conclusions and assume the worst of everyone. Yes your majesty. She growled, not bothering to look at him or even considering his statement to be wise advice. Having lost interest in the other horse and the man with him, the black thoroughbred went back to grazing contently. They were an odd pair, but they were a good pair.

[pennbarclay]

I let out an inaudible sigh, tightening Lola’s girth strap a little more. I remembered one of the reasons I didn’t really interact with people much. Offer them advice, good advice at that, and they were likely to bite your head off. Maybe my father had been a very smart man when he decided communicating wasn’t his favourite pastime either, maybe he had actually caught on to something with it. But, I didn’t want to be like him, despite him being my father, I felt no connection to the man at all. Perhaps, if my mother was still alive, there would be something there, but since she had passed away we had drifted apart, his grief had hardened him into silence and ceased any sort of affection he might have once showed.

I shrugged. “Okay, suit yourself. Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” I answered, falling silent again immediately after I had spoken. Maybe that was the one thing about myself that differed between me and my father...despite the fact I didn’t talk much, I did have the habit of letting things pop out, no matter how small, when I felt that something really needed to be said. I wasn’t sure why the younger woman was acting so defensive, it wasn’t like I was being rude, or intimidating. The only time I ever looked intimidating, was when my anger ‘issues’ took over, and then, I couldn’t really stop myself. Luckily, I hadn’t had one of those moments in quite a long time, since nothing had happened to provoke me yet...though it took a lot to get it out of me.

Finished with Lola’s saddle, I leant against the fence, waiting for the other rider already in the arena to finish their session. I preferred to work my horses alone, from a mixture of my own nature, and a lot of the time it was just easier, no distractions, and a little less that could go wrong and cause one injury. It was different with Dash, however, I only trained the racer, I didn’t ride him, I had a jockey for that, since I was too tall myself anyway. I told him what I wanted done, and clocked his time, then did all of his care back at the race barn. If I couldn’t ride him, then I was going to do his everyday care, rather than let a groom handle it, like most of the racehorse owners did. I always found it better to have some sort of bond with my horses, I got more out of them when they actually wanted to try, and I needed to bond, to interact, with something, and the animals were better than human beings, in my opinion.

Tagged Jacquelyn
Words 454
Outfit Click
Tunes Folkin' Around - Panic! At The Disco
Notes Eh, that sucked.

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[Jacquelyn Noelle Daniels]

He really hadn't done anything to make her so defensive... there were countless people she had encountered long before him who turned her into the bitter person she was now. Most people, it seemed, that she had come across had absolutely no intention of giving their advice or what have you for her own good. From the foster home she ran away from, to the abusive boyfriend she kept running back to, to the prison inmates she couldn't escape from, it seemed there was no one out there who she could count on to not hurt her. Whether she realized it or not, being defensive to the point of being overly so was her way of protecting herself from getting hurt again. Since been hurt was all she had never known, she really didn't know any better than to give people a chance, so she shut them down before they had a chance to power up.

His comment was met with a deeper scowl. She hated it when people degraded her with their high and mighty comments. He may not have been doing just that, but in her mind that was what it came across as. She had reached such a level of mistrust in people that she could hardly think a single positive thought about anyone she didn't know. In a way it was her making up excuses to not trust them, a terrible attempt at finding some form of foundation to base her hate on. She was really digging herself a social grave from which there would be no return if she didn't stop this runaway train in its tracks soon. Unfortunately she didn't know how to stop it, and even if she did, at this point, she had no reason to do so.

I'd hardly call that a warning. she muttered, glaring daggers into his back as he leaned against the fence. If looks could kill, he'd definitely have been dead by now... then again, so would just about everyone in the area. She had no idea that she was her own problem. No one would give her a reason to trust them when she constantly looked like she would like nothing more than to kill them. It was a big circle of trouble that she couldn't get out of and it just kept taking her deeper and deeper down the drain. The more people looked down on her the less amiable she became, the less amiable she became the more people looked down on her and so on and so forth. She was trapped in this cycle of doom with nowhere to go. All the while she secretly hoped there was someone somewhere who she could rely on, but she buried that hope as best she could, afraid it would only be destroyed if she were to ever let it grow. After all, in 21 years no one had showed her so much as a glimmer of reason to let it, so why should someone all of a sudden come out of the woodwork and give her one? If there was one thing she'd learned it was that nothing was free, it all came with a price, and right now not only did she not know how to find it, she also didn't know if she was willing to pay for it... so for now, she was going to stay bitter and defensive. She was like a horse that had been cornered in a stall and beaten into submission; she didn't know how to not be the way she was anymore.

[pennbarclay]

( Drop the ball, watch it fall far below )

I didn’t turn back to look at her when she spoke again. I knew the slightest thing could set me off, so I concentrated on the horse and rider already in the arena, keeping myself relaxed, calm. I had never been to any sort of anger management class or whatever crap they said was good for my sort of problem, I had just learnt to deal with it over the years. A few years ago and I would snap at the slightest thing, now I could hold myself back, stay calm, not fly into a rage over the smallest slight. Most people wouldn’t pick it as coming from me, if they had ever dealt with me. I was quiet, I never seemed phased. I guessed my techniques were working then.

“The average Thoroughbred weighs around one thousand pounds,” I started, reaching out to the side to pat Lola as she nudged at my shoulder, asking for attention. I still didn’t turn to look at her; I figured she would probably just get even more defensive if I stared directly at her to speak. Plus, if I was going to say a lot to someone I didn’t know, I usually preferred no eye contact. Not that it happened a lot, getting this much speech out of me was a rare feat that not everyone could do, not even people I would possibly count as friends.

I rubbed the back of my neck, still following the rider with my eyes. “That’s one thousand pounds of pure muscle, bone and power behind one kick. Even with that cast on his leg, if something spooks him enough, he will panic. They’re flight animals by nature, he’ll try to run, lash out. One kick, and there’s no way you’re going to be able to get out of the way, sitting there. One kick, can be fatal, or leave you with extremely serious injury, at the least,” I said, tones a little flat, matter of fact. I had to wonder how much she actually knew about horses, I had seen her in the race barn a lot, but had assumed that she had been around horses a lot, like most of the people who occupied the barn. But perhaps I had been wrong.

I surprised myself with how much I had actually said to her. Not in an unpleasant way, I was working on interacting more. I wouldn’t admit it, but I didn’t want to be like my father. I just really had nobody to help with it; I was by myself most of the time, working on cars, or with my horses. I would speak to them, sure, but it wasn’t the same when they couldn’t speak back, couldn’t encourage me to talk. I wasn’t sure if she was even listening to me now, but I didn’t want to turn back to look, having the feeling that anything that seemed like I was being threatening would be a bad idea. So I kept my relaxed stance against the fence, waiting, watching.

Tagged Jacquelyn
Words 506
Outfit Click
Muse Let This Go - Paramore
Notes Ehhh.

[Jacquelyn Noelle Daniels]

It really didn't matter what he said, Jacquelyn was going to be pissed off either way. She just looked for reasons to not like someone, and she would latch on to the slightest little thing and dwell on that until they managed to somehow change her mind about them, which was an exceedingly difficult thing to do. Once she got something in her head getting it out was near impossible. Sure, she really didn't know the first thing about horses, though you wouldn't know it from how well taken care of the horse was. To her, he was the most important thing in the world and she would do anything to make sure he was alright, she was an afterthought, that was obvious enough, considering she spent everything on him and practically nothing on herself. Heck, if she had to go hungry to make sure he didn't, she most certainly would.

She typically would have had some smart remark in return if he hadn't continued after his comment about the weight of the horse. She wasn't stupid, she could have guessed the weight of the horse if she didn't already know it. She had spent so much time at the vet that if there was some fact about the horse that she didn't know then it was probably something no one else knew either. As far as horse sense went, though, she definitely didn't know much of anything. She was about to respond to his comment about the weight when he continued, linking his "warning" with the weight. Now that what he had said initially actually made sense, she wasn't really sure what to say to him anymore. Not that she actually had to say something, but not saying something, in her mind, meant that she was just going to give up and let him "win."

Yeah and if something spooks that horse enough she said motioning to the horse in the arena, despite the fact that he had his back turned to her, it dumps its rider and steps all over him, or kicks him in the head, or better yet, throws him into the fence and cripples him for life. Though she wasn't all that intelligent when it came to horses, and she hadn't ever gone to high school, she could hold her own when it came to defending herself, since she sort of did it all the time, even when she didn't really need to. If she ever did get an education she would probably do well as a lawyer or something of that nature. Unfortunately, she had absolutely no plans of ever going to any sort of school... besides, her grades wouldn't be good enough to get her any sort of degree. Odds were she wouldn't ever make much of anything of herself unless, in the very off chance, she was right about Vince and he would race again and be a winner... but the odds of that were very slim.

[pennbarclay]

( Drop the ball, watch it fall far below )

I waited for her to say something straight away, but the words didn’t come for a few more moments. I was thankful that my back was turned from her at the time, because a grin suddenly spread across my face at her next sentence. Wow Penn, you’re really outdoing yourself today, the thought ran through my head, but I didn’t mind. Instead, I nodded, still not turning my head towards her yet, knowing she would probably take offense to the smile on my face. Not that I meant it in a bad way, of course, but I had the feeling she would take it the wrong way.

“Yeah, it could,” I agreed, stretching my arms lightly as I spoke. Lola wasn’t fazed by the movement, ignoring the movement in her reins to reach down and begin grazing as she waited for me to finally take her into the ring. “But that would be considered an unavoidable accident, the only thing that can really stop that is to simply not ride. However, you can avoid everything I just said by not sitting at his feet,” I continued, finally managing to wipe the smile off my face, replacing it with a calmer, more sombre expression, turning my head a fraction to look at Jacquelyn.

I proceeded to shrug. “Just trying to help,” I said, watching out of the corner of my eye for her reaction, thought it wouldn’t surprise me if it was something along the lines off “I don’t need your help”.

Tagged Jacquelyn
Words 251
Outfit Click
Muse Franklin - Paramore
Notes I am aware that was suckage. Muse flew out the window when the parents and siblings got home...it'll be better next time xD

[Jacquelyn Noelle Daniels]

Jacquelyn was definitely resentful towards anyone who tried to help her. she was convinced that unless she asked for help, she didn't need it, and anyone who offered help without her asking was belittling her by assuming she was incapable of doing things herself. Really, that was never the case, but she couldn't help the way she felt. She'd spent most of her life doing everything herself and had gotten it into her head that she was capable of doing everything herself. That was probably why she was struggling to get by so much. She worked all hours of the day and still didn't have much of anything to live on. Paying off the vet bill was slow going, but she was getting there. She could hardly wait for that day to come so she could then at least maybe afford some cheap apartment and get out of the cold at night.

She knew this guy was probably right, but she sure as hell wasn't going to take his advice while he was there to see her do so. The last thing she wanted was for him to think he might have aided her in some way and decide she somehow owed him for it. So instead of responding the way she knew was wise, she just rolled her eyes and stayed right where she was. Whatever you say, she said with disdain just dripping from each word. It was relatively clear that she'd gone through something to make her so hateful. It wasn't the sort of "I'm better than you" air that a lot of people had these days, it was a wary and untrusting sort of hate, though the difference was difficult to determine, and could easily be mistaken for the other. Truth be told, she would really like for someone with a little more horse sense than her to help her, but she wasn't going to ask for help from anyone unless she knew she could trust them.

Unfortunately, having met so many bad people in her life she had started to wonder if there were really any good ones left. Though she would never admit it, she was just afraid that everyone out there was just like all the people who had hurt her, especially men. So far, she hadn't met and gotten to know any male who had the decency to treat her right, and she was coming to the conclusion that none of them ever would. Subconsciously, she had decided that the best way to protect herself was to drive everyone away with her bitterness. She was like the caterpillar with thorns, volatile and so defensive. A pretty thing just waiting for the day she could crawl out of her cocoon and not have to hide behind that ugly exterior. It was just too bad she hadn't a clue how to do that.

[pennbarclay]

( Drop the ball, watch it fall far below )

Maybe a change in the topic of conversation would cool her off a little. I certainly hadn’t meant to cause her to become so defensive. It wasn’t the brat-ish sort of defensive I was used to receiving when you give a word of advice to a lot of the riders in the barn...though I didn’t know if I would put her in the ‘younger’ riders category, she looked to be in her early twenties, at least...but a more wary, mistrustful sort. I may not talk to people much and my social skills were at a near zero, but I spent most of my time listening, observing, so the tones of her voice made it evident to me.

I had never really had a reason to not trust anyone. I may not have had the best relationship with my father, but it certainly wasn’t terrible either. I had learnt to fend for myself, I just didn’t depend on anyone. I supposed that might change if I were to actually find someone...not that I saw that happening any time soon, I didn’t have time for most of the female occupants of Addison, although some definitely had made passes at me, so I hazarded a guess that it would still be just me for a good while longer. At least I had my horses and their training to keep me occupied, and my work. Both were fairly solitary pastimes, when I thought about it, but I wasn’t sure if I would have it any other way, to be honest.

Running a hand through my short-ish crop of dark hair, I glanced over at the pair, taking in the horse’s leg cast again. “What happened to him?” I asked, tones fairly casual, not too probing. I could only try, right?

Tagged Jacquelyn
Words 296
Outfit Click
Muse Something In The Water - Brooke Fraser
Notes *prods Penn* Gahhh.