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Post by larkeh; on Feb 13, 2008 11:23:49 GMT -5
Nathanial Flynn, who was in fact no kid, but rather a very tall man of twenty years, and for that matter the new trainer at Hunting Hill. Since he'd lost his last job he'd been quite down, nothing could compare to training those horses, particularly his beloved FlightSpeed. He'd probably never see that horse in person again, which made the young man rather depressed, but he wouldn't dare tell that to anyone. How pitiful to be blue over losing a horse, but he was more than just another horse. He was special, he was a winner of two triple crown jewels, but Nathanial put those thoughts aside. All it did was sadden him.
At first glance one might think Nathanial to be fifteen, but he wasn't as young as he did appear. It was just his face that made people think that, his face that was indeed quite boyish. If he had any musical talent he'd be a fabulous member for a boy band, but alas he had none. Dressed in a sunny orange polo shirt with the characteristic Ralph Lauren logo on it, a pair of light washed work jeans, and a black blazer he looked much more adult. Black and white plaid slip on shoes were on his huge feet and a pair of aviator sunglasses kept the bright winter sun from his eyes. He really didn't look like a trainer of champion racers, but then again he didn't much act like one either.
No, anyone who'd just met Nathanial would never guess he was the Nathanial Owens Flynn. That was part of the reason people liked him; he didn't brag. He'd only mentioned one of his horses, and even then not mentioned his two biggest wins, stating only his second place win in the Kentucky Derby on his job application. Unless he'd been googled no one really knew the things he'd accomplished, but that was ok with him. He didn't like people knowing all that much about him. He liked to be judged for who he was as a person, not what he'd done. He liked for people to know that he loved peanut butter and football and cooking, not all that other stuff.
Nathanial's eyes focused on one of the horses breezing on the track. The blurry streak was on the far side of the track, coming up on the turn. Nathanial's head cocked as he stared at the horse, an exercise rider crouched over his whithers moving with the horse pushing him on. Though he held no stop watch, his hazel eyes watched the horse race over the dirt, seconds ticking off in his head. He nodded his head a bit, the horse had covered the last furlong in a decent twelve seconds and change. Certainly nothing to complain about in his mind.
He crossed his arms across his chest as the horse finished off his run. The jockey moved the horse from the inner rail to get out of the way of the other horses getting their work out. The strong rider pulled the horse down to a canter with quite a bit of effort and then to a trot. Nathanial had once been able to ride like that on a tiny exercise saddle, he'd even been training to apply for an apprentice jockey's license and then he'd grown almost a foot taller and had to give up that dream. He'd moved on, made a name for himself, and now he was ready to see what life brought him next.
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Post by Confuzzled on Feb 13, 2008 13:03:03 GMT -5
The horse that had just moments before been at the opposite end of the track was quickly drawing near to the young man. The dark bay mare stood at about 16.2hh and looked to be in tip top shop, although you could tell that with out being near to her by the way she ran. The horse came around the turn at a top speed and as she slowed it became obvious they were at the end of their run. The mare reluctantly dropped to a more controlled canter and then a trot, moving out of the way of the other riders on the decent sized track.
The rider leaned forward on the mare and gave her very sweaty neck a firm pat "That's a girl" the rider mumbled quietly, no one unless extremely close by able to hear the words. The rider swung it's foot over the horse and hit the ground gracefully before tossing the reins over the horse's head, catching them on the other side. The rider that at first had appeared to be a young boy due to lack of figure hidden beneath a sweat jacket was now obviously not a boy as the blond girl removed of her helmet, revealing blond hair pulled up into a neat bun.
The short girl obviously warm from her run removed of her jacket to reveal a tight fitting black t-shirt that clung to every curve, now she most definitely did not look like a boy. Not realizing she had an audience she moved to the head of the mare and leaned over, planting a little kiss on her flaring nostrils. In public she wasn't one to show much emotion or attachment to horses, they were after all her job and when you were working you didn't run around kissing and hugging fellow employers. She smiled and again gave the mare a firm pat on the neck as she slipped her arm through th reins and headed toward her exit off the track, her helmet and riding crop held in the opposite arm.
The young woman was new around the stables but she certainly wasn't new in the world of horses. August Jones, or more known by the general public as Aj Jones, was a very talented jockey, having been in the winning circle countless times. That wasn't her only claim to fame though, she was also the slightly (though not really) rebellious daughter of Howard Jones, a rather well known breeder in the world of horse racing. Together the two of them had been unstoppable with Howard's well bred horses and his daughters ability to get any horse to do as she pleased.
The blond walked with a bit of a limp as she headed off of the track, she'd been trying to hide it though everyone had noticed it. Just last night she'd been thrown from her own Filly and had had her leg momentarily squished. It wasn't horribly messed up, just a little sore, and bruised. It wasn't that she was embarrassed over the incident as it could have happened to anyone, she was more afraid that if she was caught limping she would be considered unable to ride for a while, and she couldn't be having that.
The girl paused on her way out, shoving a few loose strands of blond hair back off of her slightly damp face, that ride had indeed warmed her up quite a bit. After fixing her hair she was sort of on a roll and she subtly adjusted her bra and then her shirt and then her pants, having come to realize everything had been a little thrown off after riding. She moved forward again, the horse trailing behind her, still breathing heavily...
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Post by larkeh; on Feb 13, 2008 17:22:19 GMT -5
Nathanial watched quietly, not even sure why his eyes didn't deviate from the boy on the horse. The boy patted the mare's neck before jumping from her back. The mare was in lovely form, tall and had the muscles of a colt. As a matter of fact he'd thought her to be such, but once she'd slowed he'd realized it was a mare. Though he'd never admit it he had a bias toward male horses, but when he saw a mare like that he had to question whether his opinion had any base to it.
His eyes still clung to the rider as he... hold on that was no he. That was a she. A quite attractive one at that he realized with a grin. He loved blonds, it was a weird fetish of his. He cracked his knuckles trying to find something to distract himself as she slipped out of the jacket, but paused once it was off, leaving the petite girl in a tight black tee shirt. His Adam's apple bobbed and he had to tear his eyes away, things coming to mind that shouldn't be.
Nathanial started to stride off in the direction of the barn before he stopped, his hands sliding into his pockets. He swallowed and then slowly he turned and ambled over to where she was. "Hi," he started offering a friendly smile, pushing his sunglasses up into his hair. He kept his eyes on her face, which required a lot of effort. He'd never disrespect a woman like that though, staring at her body while talking.
He tore his eyes from her face, that really was gorgeous anyway and not that much less tempting for the young man. "Is she yours," he questioned looking at the mare, wondering what had come over him that he'd even decided to speak to her in the first place. He was sort of awkward with people in general, and then you put him with a pretty girl and he just turned into a blubbering idiot. Once he got used to someone he wasn't so odd to be around, in fact he was rather charismatic and fun to be around. He just had to get out of that stage first.
He felt like the jolly green giant standing next to her, minus the green thing. He had to be a good foot taller than the petite woman, possibly even more so. He was so busy thinking how freakishly tall he was he didn't even realize that there was a tree he needed to duck under. "Ow," he yelped as his forehead made contact with a rather sturdy branch that didn't even flinch. On the other hand Nathanial jumped back in surprise, knocking the lanky man to the ground.
He looked up at the girl with a laugh, starting to feel less nervy. He certainly hadn't left the best first impression though. "I feel like the world's biggest idiot now," he said with a charming smile though his cheeks were red, rubbing the bump that was already starting to form. "An idiot named Nate Flynn," he introduced himself, using the nickname for reasons even he didn't know. He extended a hand to her in greeting before he moved to get to his feet.
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Post by Confuzzled on Feb 13, 2008 18:16:14 GMT -5
Blue eyes fell on the young man that seemed to be coming her way, oh dear lord, hopefully it wasn't someone that was going to yell at her for something else she'd gone and done. She was a bit paranoid after today when she'd been trying to be helpful and tacked up a horse for one of the exorcise riders, she'd assumed the the young rider would tighten the girth when they got to the track but he hadn't... The saddle had completely slid to the side when his foot had met the stirrup and he'd fallen onto his back on the ground which had spooked the horse and sent it off. Of course men didn't appreciate embarrassments like that and the young woman had gotten an earful from the rider. She was now rather paranoid that she was going to be yelled at again, though she couldn't quite put her finger on why she would be yelled at.
Eyes drug subtly over the young man as he said a rather awkward Hi and she smiled, her eyes coming to settle on his face. Well apparently he wasn't going to yell, that was a relief. She smiled "Hello" she said, raising an eyebrow, she wasn't sure what the point of that had been. She supposed he was just being friendly, but why to her, there were tons of people around that he could have started pointless conversation with. She didn't really have time to waste but she wasn't going to be rude. She continued walking, if he really wanted to talk he could tag along, she really needed to get the mare put up and the next horse tacked up. She'd volunteered to work a couple of the horses and she wasn't going to let anything get in the way of that. She slipped her gloves off her hands as she walked, shifting them to one hand so she could use the other to wipe the back of her hand across her forehead.
Blond locks flew from side to side as the young woman shook her head "Nope, I'm just riding her" she said with a smile, glancing towards the mare "Wished she was mine though. She's just amazing" she laughed, figuring the man had seen. It registered now that maybe he'd been watching her ride which meant he was probably just interested in the horse. She was slightly relieved by this, figuring he wouldn't stick around for too long so she was able to ride the next horse, a gelding.
The young woman continue on, walking beside the young man but even she didn't notice the branch, not that she would have hit it as she was quite a bit shorter then the man, standing at a small 5'1. She winced as his head ran right into it and he fell back, landing on the ground. This spooked the horse slightly and the mare jumped off to the side but it wasn't a big spook and the girl hardly even seemed to notice it, her eyes still wide over the fact that he'd run right into a tree. He mumbled a simple ow as he lay on the ground and she couldn't help but breaking into slight laughter, the whole thing had been completely priceless.
The blond moved towards him and extended a strong arm, her hand reaching out for his to help him up. She listened as he introduced himself, still laughing. She shook his hand and she pulled him to her feet despite her small size. She was strong, that was for sure, she had to be when dealing with some of the crazy horses she was presented with. Once he was to his feet she got control of her laughter and a broad grin spread across her lips "Aj Jones" she said as an introduction. She'd become so used to the nickname Aj that it was usually what she introduced herself as. Slowly she extended a hand out and gently touched the bump on his head "We should probably take care of that" she said with a laugh, giving a firm nod.
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Post by larkeh; on Feb 13, 2008 20:40:40 GMT -5
Nathanial looked up at the little blond with a dumb grin taking her hand for assistance. His hand completely swallowed hers, being much larger than she. She was strong, able to pull the thin framed, but still very tall and therefore heavy man to his feet. She was a jockey though and having ridden those horses before he knew just how strong they were. Still it was amazing to him that the tiny little jockeys could hold back such power. All he had to do was clock them and then decide what needed to be done to make them faster. They were the ones doing the real work.
AJ was a cute name he couldn't help but think, and he wondered what is stood for. He laughed after a moment, "I can't actually promise my name is Nate to be quite honest. I just got hit on the head after all." He pulled a black wallet from his back pocket, flipping it open, "Hey look, I am Nathanial Flynn after all," he said with a big smile, pointing to his name on his ID. He put it back in his pocket and laughed a bit.
He shook his head when she said they needed to take care of his bump. "Don't worry about me, I'm ok," he said with a nod of his own. He plucked his smashed sunglasses off his head and looked at them for a moment before shaking his head. They'd been expensive too. He headed in the direction of the barn, the blond slightly behind him. Once inside he tossed them in a trash can, they were of little use to him now.
Nathanial sat down on a bale of hay once the blond girl had disappeared, off to do whatever it was jockeys did around here. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to do exactly either to be quite honest. No one had told him and he had yet to run into the other trainer he'd been told worked there, so he couldn't ask her.
When the girl reappeared from wherever she'd gone, now with a different horse, he stood. "Mind if I clock you two and actually do my job," he asked curiously, a hand seeking something in his pocket. He smiled when he located what he was seeking, pulling out an old-fashioned stop watch. He held it up with a smile, waiting to see if the girl answered his question positively.
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Post by Confuzzled on Feb 13, 2008 21:11:02 GMT -5
The young woman chuckled a little bit when he said you couldn't actually be sure if he was who he said he was. She watched amusedly as he pulled his wallet from his pocket and looked at his ID, Nathaniel Flynn was the name, for some reason it rang some sort of bell in the young Jockeys head. She frowned thoughtfully and then slowly smiled "Hey! you're like... a really good trainer" she said with a firm nod. The name had sounded so familiar because one of the jockeys that worked around her fathers barn had worked with the young trainer before. The jockey had been quite talented too and August was suddenly more excited about meeting this young man then she had been before. It wasn't that she was some fame crazy girl, no, it was that this guy got good effects with horses and she loved to surround herself with those kind of people, hoping they'd rub off on her and somehow make her better.
The young man excused the bump on his head with a simpe I'll be fine. Guys were all the same weren't they? Couldn't admit that something could actually be wrong with them. She was partly the same way though so she decided not to say anything, glancing down at her leg. He walked off in the direction of the barn and she followed behind, forcing to hide her limp, actually doing much better then she had been earlier, it was probably the pain killer she'd taken before she'd gotten on the big mare. The man wandered into the barn and plopped down on a stray bale of hay. She gave him a brief smile as she walked past, heading to some cross ties in the center of the barn. She removed of the bridle and replaced it with the leather halter and hooked her into the cross ties.
Aj untacked the horse in record time though she wished there was a groom around so she didn't have to waste time doing it herself. Oh well. She set the light saddle aside on a saddle rack, laying the bridle across it before moving back to the horse with a brush in hand. She rain the hard brush over the horse's sweaty coat and then unclipped her from the cross ties, tossing the brush aside. She grabbed the lead rope, leading the mare to a stall at the end of the barn where she left her in a stall. She returned to the cross ties with a chestnut gelding and she tacked him up with speed before she headed out of the barn, being stopped by the man.
August laughed a little bit and nodded "Sure. That could be helpful" She said with a smile, nodding her head in the direction of the track. She turned and started out of the barn. The gelding was not quite as calm as the mare was and Aj was having a fun time keeping him from running over the top of her but she hardly even seemed to notice, able to carry on a conversation as if the horse wasn't jumping around like a crazy. She knew she'd need a little help getting on the thing but for now the gelding's antics weren't bothering her..
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Post by larkeh; on Feb 14, 2008 21:02:23 GMT -5
Nathanial shrugged a bit when she recognized his name off his ID. He hadn't thought about the fact that his full name was on the ID. He was known by his full name in the racing world, including his middle name of Owens, which most people thought was actually another last name. "That's what they say," he said with another casual shrug. In his mind his success was a matter of mere luck or karma or something. Why should he have success when hundreds of other trainers struggled for years. He couldn't be that much better, at least not in his mind...
Nathanial grinned when AJ accepted his offer and he started out with her to the track, the grey gelding separating them. He looked the gelding over, guessing him to be a three year old. Depending on what he'd done on the track last year, if he'd done anything at all, he should probably be set toward an allowance race. That is if he'd broken his maiden.
The horse seemed quite wired, giving the petite exercise rider a hard time, trying to get to the track no doubt. Nathanial always had appreciated a horse with a passion for running. Someone had once told him his job was cruel, forcing horses to run just to earn a buck, but how could you look at this horse and say he was mistreated? Racing was in his blood and in his mind taking that away from him would be the cruel thing to do.
Once they'd reached the track he moved to the other side of the horse, waiting until the girl was ready to mount. "Need a leg up," he offered, knowing she would need it. He leaned over and cupped her knee, lifting the tiny woman with ease. "There you go," he said with a smile once she was on and settled in the little exercise saddle, that was small but not as small as the racing saddles.
"Are you going to breeze him," he asked, feeling odd since he normally called the shots. However in this case he didn't know anything about the horse's training regimen. At the gap in the rail he patted the horse's flank and moved aside as she moved onto the track. He stood silently with his arms crossed over his chest, looking quite thoughtful as she and the horse moved away around the mile long track.
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Post by Confuzzled on Feb 14, 2008 22:05:11 GMT -5
August shoved her helmet onto her blond head as they headed out to the track and when they reached it she slipped her arm through the reins and buckled the helmet in place. She looked towards the young man when he offered her a leg up and she nodded thankfully "Yes Please" she said with a little bit of a smile, reaching up to gather the reins, holding her crop in the same hand. She was easily lifted onto the horse and she slipped her feet into the stirrups, gathering up on the reins.
Aj gave a simple nod at his next words and smiled, nudging her heels into the horse, not that it was needed, he was already all over the place and didn't really need any encouragement when it came to moving forward. It was only a matter of seconds before they took off around the track, the horse not needed to be encouraged in any way whatsoever, obviously born to run...
ooc| Bleh! short. Lame xD
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Post by larkeh; on Feb 15, 2008 20:59:01 GMT -5
Nathanial watched quietly as AJ and the chestnut moved around the track, warming up at a trot. The young woman looked good perched atop the racehorse's back on the little exercise saddle, posting gracefully. He still missed getting to ride his dad's horses for their morning workouts on Saturdays when he'd been younger. He still rode, just in English or occasionally western tack and even then he had to put the stirrups on the very last notch just to keep his legs in a normal position. He often wished he wasn't so tall, but what was he supposed to do?
He snapped from his musings when she turned the horse to the inner rail. She moved the horse up into a gallop, Nathanial's eyes on the gelding the whole time, waiting until she signaled to him to start clocking them. At her signal he pushed the silver button in, watching as the horse kicked into a different gear.
The horse sped around the far side, slowly gaining speed. By the fourth furlong he'd run off some of his steam and slowed some for the fifth furlong she breezed him. He stopped the watch and nodded his head a bit as the girl slowed the horse back down. He gave a slightly disappointed shrug and once she was back off the track he gave only a slight smile. "Sixty-one and change," he informed her. The time wasn't too bad, but it was a tad slower than Nathanial would like.
OOC: Short, sorry.
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Post by Confuzzled on Feb 16, 2008 1:00:48 GMT -5
August rose and fell easily to the trot, holding the horse back, her hands firmly grasping the reins. The gelding really just wanted to run and was having none of this trotting. He tossed his head, trying to get his point across but the blond didn't seem to be getting it. Oh she got it but she wasn't going to give in, he needed to be warmed up first weather he wanted to believe it or not. They trotted a decent distance before she nudged her heels into the gelding's sides, he didn't need to be asked twice and off he went.
The young woman kept him back slightly, not letting him fully go just yet, still keeping some sort of control over the horse. He wasn't liking it which was made obvious by his ears pinned back in agitation, wanting to run, wanting to be free. Finally she let him have his head and he picked up speed, his mane blowing in the slight breeze. August, bent over his withers, shook her head a little bit, this horse was an odd one. He lived to run and yet she'd been on horse's ten times faster that at first seemed like they wanted nothing to do with the track.
Gently the girl tapped the horse with her riding crop and he picked up a fast gallop. August glanced over towards the tall man and gave the signal before full attention went back to the run. Off they went around the track.
As August slowed the horse she glanced over and caught the disappointed shrug, a frown slowly coming to her face. Well it hadn't been that bad, had it. She breathed in deeply, reminding herself it really didn't matter all too much. She listened to his words and gave a simple nod, slowly the horse to a walk with a inward sigh. The gelding willingly slowed and halted when he was asked. August swung off the horse, landing with a graceful thud.
Reins were tossed over the gelding's head and August caught them. She looked towards the man and smiled briefly. Eyes moved to the horse and she gave him a firm pat on the neck "This was the last one" she said, not sure if he was listening or if she was just speaking to herself but either way the words had escaped her. She wasn't sure what her plan was now, figured she'd just head home to her cat as he was probably dramatically waiting her arrival.
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Post by larkeh; on Feb 16, 2008 10:51:25 GMT -5
It wasn't so much that the horse had clocked in a bit slow, but more that Nathanial was contemplating over what the horse was more suited for. He'd originally thought the horse might be a good distance runner with those muscles, but after he'd clocked their time he'd realized that may not be the case. It wasn't that big of a deal that the horse couldn't run the classic distances, but Nathanial was hoping to find a horse to set toward the Triple Crown.
There was nothing more thrilling in the young man's mind than watching those races. Mark Martin, the man he used to train for, had been quite generous in allowing Nathanial to join him in one of the owner's boxes when FlightSpeed had been racing in the Triple Crown. Of course he didn't necessarily expect that from all the people he trained for, though his new boss seemed quite friendly. Still just watching a horse that in a way he'd considered his own, though of course he knew he couldn't foot the bill, had brought a certain sense of pride to the young man. Knowing he'd picked that horse from a stable full of yearling auctions and promised Mark that the horse would win big, and having been right about the whole thing. It was just so thrilling to see that in action. He'd heard before that people only got to work with horses like that once, but he certainly hoped not. If his whole career was pretty much doomed for the rest of his life he might as well go back to college and find a regular job, but he couldn't exactly see himself doing anything other than training, so unless he got really desperate he was going to stick with it.
He looked to the jockeys face and noticed she seemed quite crestfallen. It hadn't been her fault the horse had slowed and blown the last furlong. He shook his head as he stared down at her, "It's not so bad," he said with a half smile. "He'll just make a nice sprinter is all," he added with a knowing nod. He figured if the horse got out of the gate quick and settled into second or third for the first couple furlongs and then was asked to give his all he'd win by several lengths. Not all horses were the same in regard to their running style and he didn't expect every horse to run a mile and a half. As long as the horse wasn't completely hopeless he thought they deserved to at least try.
He nodded his head when she said that the gelding was her last ride for the day. Nathanial had showed up to work at dawn same as most everyone else and had asked a couple of the jockeys if he could clock their works. A few had accepted and a couple had informed him they weren't going to even gallop that day. It was now late morning and like most racing stables people were starting to leave, headed off to home or another job or whatever. Meanwhile the eventers and other people that boarded or worked here in that division of the stable were just now showing up. Personally Nathanial had to admit he didn't half mind waking up early if he got the rest of the day off. Or at least he hadn't minded when he'd lived with his dad and had friends nearby to hang with. Now he wasn't sure what to do. Go home and stare out the window of his apartment? He wasn't a big TV person and he could only find entertainment from the computer for a few hours at best.
He sighed deeply when the three of them got back to the barn. "I'll untack him if you want," he offered, figuring she'd probably want to go on home or change before heading to wherever she spent her day. He'd noticed she'd not seemed too enthused about having to take care of the last horse, but it seemed the one stable hand he'd seen buzzing around was quite busy. If she accepted he'd cross-tie the horse and untack and groom him. Before she left he turned around, "Hey, if you haven't eaten yet, you wanna get breakfast with me," he asked curiously. He didn't intend it as a date, though he still couldn't help but find the girl attractive, however he was quite positive she had no interest in him. He was fine with that, sure a tad disappointed, but what guy wouldn't be? They could just be friends, which was the only manner in which the offer was extended, and he figured she'd picked up on that. He just really didn't want to sit alone in a diner where everyone that passed gave him that, 'you poor thing' look and who better to eat with than a jockey that shared his passion for the sport of kings?
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Post by Confuzzled on Feb 16, 2008 11:51:01 GMT -5
August headed back towards the barn, removing of her helmet as she went, her arm looped through the reins. It wasn't exactly that she'd been disappointed with the run, it was the fact that he'd seemed disappointed with the run. She knew it wasn't her fault and yet she felt like it was. She hadn't actually been asking the full potential of the horse, that was for sure, and now she was kind of regretting it. Oh well. It wasn't even her horse. It wasn't even one she was going to race. It didn't matter. He must have caught onto her slightly disappointed as he mumbled a few words of encouragement. She moved her head back to look up and him, smiling briefly "I know" she said with a bit of a nod when he told her it wasn't so bad.
They headed back to the barn, walking side by side. August was slightly taken with how tall the man actually was. He towered over her small five foot form. It was simply insane. Sure she'd known people taller then her, heck EVERYONE was taller then her, even quite a lot of the jockeys she'd met but this guy was... like A giant or something. She knew in reality he wasn't actually that tall. Everyone seemed so much taller next to her small size. She figured that he was probably taller then her employer, Beau, and at the time that guy had seemed tall too. It was about now that she was wishing she was taller then she was, she hated not being able to have eye contact when conversing with someone. Sure, she could have eye contact but it took more effort then necessary.
As they reached the barn the man asked if she'd like him to untack the horse and she gave a little shrug "Sure" she smiled a little bit and handed the reins over "Thanks" she said with a bit of a smile. She moved towards the tack room, now she could just head out. She had no plans for the rest of her day but she was sure she'd come up with some. She slipped into the tack room and grabbed her large hot pink messenger bag that she'd abandoned behind one of the tack boxes, a good hiding spot. The messenger bag carried her life and there was no way she was going to have it stolen. She slipped the bag over her shoulder and wandered back out, pausing as he spoke. He was offering breakfast. Blue eyes fell to look down at herself in a dirty black t-shirt and riding pants with dusty boots. She wasn't exactly fit for going and sitting around non-horse people. She was about to decline when she remember she had an extra shirt in her bag and probably some jeans in her car. She nodded "Sure" she said with a little bit of a smile.
The young woman moved towards one of the hay bales and set her back down on it, flipping it up. She looked inside the huge bag filled with, well, her life. She pulled out a light pink t-shirt "I have a change of clothes so we're good" she said with a little bit of a laugh, holding the shirt up. She glanced over to see how the untacking of the horse was coming along and she smiled, she had time to change "So i'll change then. Where do you want to go?" she asked curiously. She'd been here for nearly a week and still didn't know where everything was yet, she hoped he'd be more helpful then she. She pushed the bag aside on the hay bale and glanced around to make sure there was no one that she was going to scar for life or something. She removed of the dirty black shirt and tossed it aside, replacing it with the pink one that had a all black form of a horse on the front. This shirt, like the black one fit to her form, clinging to her and showing off every curve, and it became apparent she probably was a bit of a show off even while being completely clothed.
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Post by larkeh; on Feb 16, 2008 14:40:42 GMT -5
Nathanial reached for the halter that had been hung over a hook nearby. Like the other leather halters that adorned the horses in the stable this one had an engraved gold plate with the horse's name on it. "Rupert," he questioned with a bit of a laugh as he slipped the halter over the horse's ears. The horse didn't really look like a Rupert to him, but someone must have thought so when they'd named the gelding.
He stepped into the tack room and placed everything in its place before returning to the horse. He curried his coat, working the light bit of caked sweat from his chestnut back. He tossed the comb into the grooming bucket, "Good," he said when she told him she would change. He pulled out a hoof pick and leaned down, cleaning the caked dirt from the gelding's hoof.
He stood back to his full height and caught sight of her pulling her shirt off and before he could stop himself his eyes gravitated to her. He gulped and like any straight man he found himself staring, not even meaning to. Once he realized what he was doing he turned away, cursing under his breath as he started on the next hoof. Within a couple minutes he had the horse looking quite sharp and he unhooked the horse, hunting for his stall. He located the one that was marked with "King Rupert". He smiled a bit at the name that sounded both cheesy and regal all at the same time.
He headed back down the aisle to where the petite blond was sitting, waiting on him. She had a shirt on now, but it was tight just like the last one and he sighed. He thought for a moment of where to go and ran a hand along his jawline. "I'm not sure where anything is in this town so I have no idea. I assume there's something somewhere, but if all else fails I suppose I can cook," he said with a shrug.
He was quite modest about his cooking, completely undermining the fact that he was an excellent chef. A lot of people said it was weird that he was a guy that enjoyed cooking, but he couldn't help it. To him it was fun, plus you got to eat once you were done. He probably never could have made it as a jockey now that he thought about it, the young man was rather fond of food and eating. He'd met a few jockeys that didn't have to take extreme measures just to keep their weight down, but a lot of them did turn to not eating or purging before races.
Nathanial started out of the barn with the petite woman next to him. "You're not scared of motorcycles are you," he asked as he started toward the parking lot, nodding a bit at the bike sitting among the cars. He'd originally bought it back in high school to look cool, and he'd just kept it since it was cheaper to buy gas for it than a car. It was a black Suzuki, a few years old, but it didn't look too bad. There was a dent on the tank but it was just where a car door had once hit it, and aside from a few little scratches it was in good condition. He grabbed an extra helmet he always kept just in case and grinned, not sure if she'd agree to riding on a motorcycle.
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Post by Confuzzled on Feb 16, 2008 15:29:39 GMT -5
While he finished up the horse's feet August slipped away to her car where she indeed did have an extra pair of jeans. She lived in an apartment and yet her car still managed to look like she was living out of it. It was rather disastrous, papers, shoes, clothes, cds, horse stuff scattered every which way. She leaned into the backseat of her car and grabbed hold of some light washed skinny leg jeans, nodding. There was a little green mark on the leg from where a horse had nibbled but as she brought the pants to her face she decided they'd work find as they hardly smelled. She glanced around but there were a few people here and there and she figured she probably shouldn't be changing in public anymore. She shrugged, tossing the pants over her shoulder before leaning back into the car, digging around through piles of pointless junk on the ground until she found what she was looking for, a pair of black pointy toed pumps. After gathering what she wanted to wear she wandered back to the tackroom where she changed.
By the time Nathaniel had finished and returned August was sitting on a bale of hay, waiting for him. Her appearance had changed quite a bit from just moments before. Her hair that had been held back in a neat bun was now loose, falling over her shoulders and into her face. The black jodhpurs had been replaced with skinny leg jeans that sat on her hips and clung to her legs all the way down to the black pointy toed shoes. The pink shirt was still in place showing off her thin form. She'd been accused of being a slut in the past but she loved to remind people with a smile on her face that she was completely fully clothed. Golden hoops earrings were stuck through her ears and only obvious when she pushed her hair back off her shoulder. She'd like completely transformed from horsewoman to total hottie in about three minutes.
The young woman stood as he came over and she grabbed her messenger bag, slipping it over her shoulder. She rose to her feet, smiling at him when he asked if she was scared of motorcycles. She laughed a little bit, rolling blue eyes "Scared of motorcycles? are you serious" she said, still laughing as she followed him out of the barn. She nodded over to her black Camry parked just a little ways from the barn "I'm just going to grab my jacket" she said with a grin, wandering over to her car. Her warmth from her ride was wearing off and the cool winter air was getting to her small body again. She grabbed a black leather jacket and pulled it on, heading back over to the motorcycle, grabbing the helmet being offered to her. She grinned "Why thank you" she said, slipping the helmet onto her head and buckling it into place. She slipped her bag over her head so it wouldn't go anywhere on the ride and she sat herself down on the bike behind him. Her arms wrapped around his middle and a grin spread her lips, actually sort of looking forward to the ride.
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Post by larkeh; on Feb 16, 2008 16:52:45 GMT -5
Nathanial's grin widened when she asked if he was kidding about her being afraid of motorcycles. She did seem like the sort to like them, in fact he was almost surprised she didn't own one. He personally didn't look like the type to ride around on a motorcycle, in fact he appeared sort of preppy in an expensive polo shirt and a blazer. He wasn't really like that though, he only dressed that way to look good for work. On Sundays, his day off from work, he usually just wore an old tee shirt and sneakers rather than his current attire. Still he was hardly "bad" enough to fit in with your average motorcycle people. He had no ponytail or chaps and he didn't smoke either.
He pulled his black helmet on, plain and not really decorated the same as the one he offered to the blond. He swung his leg over the bike, kicking up the kickstand and balancing the cycle from tipping over with his feet. He revved the engine as she climbed on behind him, putting her arms around his waist. He certainly couldn't complain about that. He hit the gas and moved his feet up, making a quick turn to drive out of the parking lot.
Within a minute they'd hit the road, Nathanial was driving fast, but not as fast as he would if he were by himself. He loved the feel of the wind blasting against him. Galloping a horse had a similar effect, but the smoother quicker speed of a bike was more invigorating in a way. He was almost disappointed when he got back into town where the speed limit wasn't as high. He slowed down quite a bit and turned down a street where he knew there was a diner, the only one in town according to the phone book. Indeed he spotted a place called Georgie's and he slowed to a stop, taking advantage of the fact that all the traffic on the road was parked.
A large crowd of people stood on the walk outside, obviously waiting for a table. A pair of elderly men had set up a game of checkers making it obvious that this was indeed a very small town. Nathanial laughed a bit and his stomach growled. He didn't really want to wait an hour just to get a table. He turned to the young woman sitting behind him, "I don't really want to wait that long. You think you could stand my cooking," he asked with a shrug. He hated to just drive her back to the stable and he knew there were no other restaurants in the area that served breakfast.
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