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Post by mitchellclose on Jan 14, 2011 22:38:15 GMT -8
  sometimes i feel as cold as steel and broken like i'm never gonna heal
i see a light, a little grace, a little faith unfurls
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“Just a breeze today, I want to take things easy, they’re not used to the track, or the barn, don’t want to put too much pressure on them,” I instructed the exercise rider sitting atop Eight, the big bay gelding underneath him anxious to get out there and run. Preferably, I would have wanted to wait to interview any prospective riders more in depth before I asked them to ride, but a few of the Thoroughbred racers I had brought to Addison with me were all jumpy, too full of energy for me to want to risk leaving them in their stalls or the pastures without at least a small workout for the day. So, I had asked around until I found at least one rider who wanted a mount that morning, and found myself at the track, wanting to keep an eye on things.
Sky, my gorgeous little dark haired one year old, slept soundly in her favourite position, curled up against my chest, head using my right shoulder as a pillow, as I balanced her with well practiced ease with one arm, the opposite hand sitting lightly on her back while I wasn’t using it, just in case. I had felt bad, having to wake her up this morning to bring her to Crossfire with me, but here, I had nobody I knew or trusted yet, since I had only arrived the night before, to look after her for an hour or two while I went to the barn, at least back at the Close Racing barns, I had that. But I wasn’t going to regret moving here, no, I still had them back there, within a call’s reach, if I was desperate.
No regrets, that’s what I lived by. I had to, else the reason for my existence would be my biggest regret. A day didn’t go by where I didn’t miss Beth terribly, but I didn’t regret having Sky. I couldn’t even wish that she had decided to terminate her pregnancy, else I wouldn’t have this small, beautiful child in my arms right now, and then where would I be? I tried to only focus on the good things, and it had gotten me through the past year, the first year without Beth, and the first year of Sky’s life, without me feeling like I was going to lose it. I had stopped wearing my wedding ring long ago, on Beth’s request that I didn’t continue wearing it too long after she was gone. You know, I never would have pictured a time in our lives that we would ever discuss her passing before it happened, but we had both known it was a high chance of happening, and she had accepted it long before I had, I think. I had, instead, clung to the hope that there was a chance of her surviving, even though it was slim.
I made my way to the bleachers, easing my body down onto an empty stretch of seat when I had reached them, careful not to jostle Skyla too much while I did, the last thing I wanted was to wake her up suddenly and have her crying because of it. I looked out at the track, brow slightly creased in concentration. I couldn’t say I was happy with the rider I’d managed to get for the morning, who, after all that, was only available to ride one of my lot before he had to leave, but it wasn’t terrible, so it was going to have to do, until I found regular riders, which was my next step after getting settled in.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - [/font][/center] Tagged Open
Words 604
Outfit Mitch; Skyla
Muse Quicksand - Incubus
Notes Need food D:
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Post by willowryker on Jan 14, 2011 23:29:13 GMT -8
Willow was in a mood, she and Ryker had gotten into a fuss, as brother and sister they were pretty close, so when they fought it really upset her. She knew she shouldn't have accepted the man's request, but one of the other male jockey's had made a comment earlier that morning and had been standing there glaring at her, daring her to. It was stupid, and in hindsight she probably would regret this.
She had stalked out to the track. A light breeze, ya, she figured that much, just because she was a chick didn't make her incompetent. She just nodded and took the horse out onto the track. He jigged a trot a little and she asked for the walk. She let him walk out, like a runner would do to stretch, shaking his nervous jittery limbs before he'd nimbly make his way to the start. The horse walked on stilts. She noticed the jerk from before, he was talking to his regular trainer and was riding that stallion that was... well highly bred but not much more than a pedigree.
She figured he'd be doing a breeze too so she wouldn't have to worry. She'd do the normal furlongs and be done before he got a chance to piss her off. She was shaking with the thrill of a run in the saddle. The horse moved into a trot and she started to post it awkwardly, then when he was ready, she asked for a nice easy canter. He went to shoot off, but she quickly got him back. She, like a fool, hadn't thought he would have tried to take off like that, even with the cloudy dark skies and the wind blowing so cold it would make a grizzly bear want to run a marathon to stay warm. She was letting her thoughts cloud her mind, she thought. Then told herself to shut up and start riding or Mr. Jerk-Face wouldn't have to do anything at all to embarrass her, she'd beat him to it.
She was just meeting the end of their little breeze when he started to pull on the reins. She was confused. Then she heard the thunder of hooves coming up. What the-? Was he crazy? she thought as the other horse blazed pass, burning ground like money in a rich mans pocket. Like a shot Eight grabbed the bit and followed chase. Damn it! She thought, gritting her teeth and grabbing the reins. Grabbing the reins was making it more difficult to run, but he was still trying for it, even when he was already lathered with a light sheen of sweat. "WHOA!" she said, feeling furious. The horse was galloping and what ever she said was lost in the mind. "Damn it," she thought, crouching over him and giving him his lead. She was doing more damage than good holding him back. She let him gallop the few strides between her and the other horse, he easily ate up the length. As soon as he hit the other horse and looking at him with victory she made him slow into a canter, trotted him normally out, then hopped off the horse and stalked over to the Jockey. He didn't have much chance to talk. She grabbed him by the shirt cuff and decked him in the face.
"Bitch-!"
"You fucking asshole! You did that on purpose! You knew the horse would take the challenge you slimy little creep!" she said furious, her eyes lit and her face red with temper. The other jockey's trainer was walking up.
Eight danced excitedly. She pat his sweaty neck, releasing his girth a little so he could at least catch his wind. She kept a hand on him at all times, to keep him calm and make sure he didn't do what she wanted to do, stomp the creep into the dirt and laugh at him.
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Post by mitchellclose on Jan 15, 2011 5:15:10 GMT -8
sometimes i feel as cold as steel and broken like i'm never gonna heal
i see a light, a little grace, a little faith unfurls
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I wasn’t going to deny that I was sceptical about this. The young blonde woman who I had asked to ride for me had seemed a bit distracted when I had asked her to ride for me. Not how I usually want to be hiring people, but as I said, I was desperate for a temporary rider. My sources in the racing circuit here had mentioned a rider I’d hired before, Jo Eastman, was in town, so I was thinking of contacting her when I could, see if she could ride any of them for me, she’d ridden Eight and Nate before, so I knew she could handle the two.
I watched Eight and Willow go out on to the track, he was ready to go, I could tell from here. I occasionally rode some of mine at practices, since I was too tall to actually be a jockey, and the height of exercise riders didn’t matter too much, but that had been put to a stop when Beth had fallen pregnant, I knew full well that even a practice run could be dangerous, and I couldn’t risk that anymore. Eight almost snatched the bit from her, luckily she pulled him in quickly before he took off, which settled the sudden flash of worry that hit me at the sight. Maybe this wouldn’t be too bad.
I saw the horse blazing up the track behind them when they were nearly done before either of them realised. “Shit,” I muttered, almost jumping to my feet, before remembering that Sky was still sleeping soundly, bless her, and I moved more slowly, frowning as I watched the jockey ride the stallion up behind my gelding, I could tell the move was deliberate from where I was standing, he didn’t exactly make it subtle.
As I predicted, Eight snatched the bit off her, taking the challenge the other horse and rider presented, and by that point I was cursing softly under my breath, trying in vain not to wake up my daughter as I expressed just how pissed off I was to myself. I didn’t get this angry often, but these sort of situations were an exception in my book. I moved from the bleachers down to where the two were now standing, just in time to see Willow grab the other rider and punch him in the face. Eight was covered in sweat, fired up, neither of which he was ready for just yet, and I didn’t even want to think about what injuries he might have just picked up.
“What the hell is going on here?” I demanded when I approached them, shooting both an angry glare. I didn’t yell, but the tone of my voice sure did convey my exact feelings to both of them. And, if either of them woke Sky up, they were going to be in more shit than they already were. “You. If my horse comes off any worse for wear after your little stunt, you’ll be the one paying for the damages, that is, if I don’t decide to have you charged first, and don’t for a second think I won’t. If you had any idea who I am, how much that horse is worth, in sentimental value as well as money, you would have thought twice about that fucking idiot move,” I said to the other rider, still not raising my voice. Sometimes, quiet anger was more intimidating than a rage. I wasn’t wrong either, I had the influence to be able to ruin whatever career this man had, but I probably wouldn’t act on it, I wasn’t that sort of person, unless I had major reason to warn others off.
“And you,” I said, turning to Willow. “If you knew you were going to have your head in the clouds the whole ride, you shouldn’t have taken it. That’s just as dangerous for you and my horse as that prick is,” I continued, gesturing at the other rider. Thankfully, Sky hadn’t even stirred through my whole spiel.
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Words 673
Outfit Mitch; Skyla
Muse Last Kiss - Taylor Swift
Notes Now, he normally doesn't get this mad xD
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Post by willowryker on Jan 15, 2011 9:06:03 GMT -8
Willow didn't say anything the whole time, she didn't smile she didn't change her facial features, as much as she desperately wanted to rub it in. So when he turned on her she felt her jaw drop. "ME! Damn it if I had stopped him at a stand still that horse would have still taken the challenge!" Which might not be a bad thing, a lot of heart goes a long ways on a race track. "And my head was NOT in the clouds when I was riding, when I started out ya, but not when you get on the track and your whole body is moving with the horse or suffer the consequences," she said, standing up tall, in her rage, to meet his length surprisingly well.
"This fucking idiot has been on my case ever since I got-"
"Wait a second, me on your case?! You've been making those remarks and implying with your behavior," the jockey said.
"Behavior?" Willow asked confused now, what were they talking about again?
"Ya, always looking at me like that," the Jockey said, his eyes were blazing. And soon his cheek was as well.
"Creep, you fucking slimy little creep, as if," Willow said quietly, angrily before she turned to walk away.
The other trainer was speechless. But his eyes held contained anger that was looking like he was itching to just sink his teeth in his next victim... the jockey.
Willow stalked herself all the way past the bleachers, through the paddocks and into the barn. She grabbed the grooming kit and walked to Diva's stall, quickly brushing the horse. "Fuck men, their all pricks, all of them," she grumbled. The filly turn and nudged her gently, as if telling her to cheer up. Willow's harsh features softened and she smiled a little. "I guess your right. Ok, lets get this going before anyone else decides to pick on Willow."
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Post by mitchellclose on Jan 19, 2011 2:30:18 GMT -8
sometimes i feel as cold as steel and broken like i'm never gonna heal
i see a light, a little grace, a little faith unfurls
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I guess I was probably expecting Willow to blow up when I made the rounds on her. But quite frankly, I was too irritated with the whole situation to care right now. I was exhausted, I hadn’t stopped travelling until last night, and it wasn’t exactly easy with a one year old in tow. Then again, I was tired all the time now, something that had been happening since Sky was born. I guess, before all this, I might have been nicer about the whole situations as well, but I had been to hell and back over the past two years, and was now far past that point.
I didn’t get to say anything in return before the other jockey interjected, obviously making an attempt to try and cover himself. I turned to the man, raising my eyebrows slightly, a bemused expression crossing my face. “Even if that was actually the case, that gives you no right to endanger my horse or his rider,” I said, having to lunge unexpectedly for Eight’s reins when Willow dropped them, slapping the rider across the face before turning on her heel and storming off. I watched her retreating back for a moment, before turning to the trainer, giving him a curt nod of my head.
I led the Thoroughbred back to the barn, one handed, since I had to keep a hold on Sky with the other hand. Luckily Eight wasn’t one of my most feisty horses, and right now, he walked along beside me fairly well, getting a little antsy in a few places but otherwise, followed me without much fuss. Getting him back to his stall, I was left the task of tethering him, which was more difficult one handed, but I managed it after a few moments of fumbling, I’d gotten a little rusty since I hadn’t really had to do it myself whilst holding Skyla in a while, having people back home who were willing to help out.
I had gotten to his saddle when Sky finally started to wake up against my shoulder, wriggling impatiently for a few moments before finally opening her eyes, opening her mouth to begin the start of what I suppose was about to be a loud, hungry wail. I had to stop with the saddle, to attempt to calm the child before she screamed the whole barn down, sighing as I rubbed her on the back, talking to her quietly. “I’m sorry sweetie, but I have to finish up here before I can get you breakfast.”
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Words 423
Outfit Mitch; Skyla
Muse Come Around - Counting Crows
Notes Well, that sorta sucked >.>
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Post by willowryker on Jan 19, 2011 16:27:10 GMT -8
Willow sighed from her brushing as she finally came to her furiously outraged senses. Sitting there watching Father and child, while father had the child and the horse to take care of. She was being a selfish... bitch. It was beyond rude of her to act that way, and she wondered if that had really been the other Jockey's intentions? At any rate she did a stupid thing. She was about to walk over when he said something about his daughter being hungry. She paused, then turned and walked toward her locked trunks. She popped it open and pulled out her bag before she walked back over, this time not pausing by Diva but continuing over to Mr. Close and his daughter.
"Excuse me, I have a banana and some pudding?" She offered, knowing she owed him a whole lot more than just a banana and some pudding. "If you don't mind she could have some?" she offered, pulling out a little thing of tapioca pudding and a banana. She also had a pb and j sandwich if the kid was still hungry. "I keep a lot of food handy, you never know when you have to babysit," she said. Which was true, sometimes she'd get stuck with some random little kid at the zoo, abandoned by her cousin when he had to go operate... some things. Just like her brother.
She paused, looking up at him with her blue eyes. "Listen.... What I said.. what I did- I'm sorry, that was very unperfessional of me, and I can't believe I let that guy get to me. I know you probably won't take me back as a jockey, but could you at least forgive me?" she asked. She also forgot to mention leaving the poor horse there... she should say something about that as well. "And sorry for leaving Eight like that. I might have only ridden him once, but that horse has more heart than half the horse's I've ridden, and even if he didn't have the heart I'd say he has the stamina and the speed to make up for it." Obviously being compared to that crappy track rat that had pulled the move wasn't much, but if she were in a race up against Eight she'd be.. cautious.
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Post by mitchellclose on Jan 28, 2011 15:54:39 GMT -8
sometimes i feel as cold as steel and broken like i'm never gonna heal
i see a light, a little grace, a little faith unfurls
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I was too focused on Sky, not really paying attention to much around me now. This was one of the times I desperately wanted Beth to still be here, the times when I felt like I was drowning under all the pressure, to keep up with my business, to raise Sky, to keep myself sane. But sometimes it just didn’t feel like it was working. My earlier explosion at the jockeys had been out of character, surely, even though one of them really had deserved it. I guessed I was just tired, stressed, trying to find my bearings in this new place.
I heard a familiar voice address me from over my shoulder, Skylar craning her neck over it to see who was talking, crying momentarily forgotten as she inspected the newcomer with childish interest. I turned to look at Willow, loosening my grip on Sky so she could comfortably twist herself around at her own leisure. I looked at the banana and tapioca pudding she offered towards me, considering for a moment before giving in as Sky reached out for the banana. “Thanks,” I answered, accepting the food she offered me, seating myself on a small wooden bench sitting in between Eight and Nate’s stalls, beginning to peel the banana for my daughter.
I listened to her speak as I slowly peeled the banana, tearing a chunk off of it and offering it to Sky, who took it quite happily, immediately placing the fruit in her mouth. I had the feeling she was teething, which meant more sleepless nights for me. Joy. I shrugged. “You just have to learn to take it all on the chin, plenty of people are going to do their best to psych you out. Ignore it, or it’s not going to get you anywhere,” I answered, not as a berating, but more as a word of advice.
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Words 313
Outfit Mitch; Skyla
Muse American Honey - Lady Antebellum
Notes *hums*
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