{open} All work and no play

[torres]

This was no classy show of an equine's ability to preform. It wasn't a horse showing off because he knew he was good. It was by no means intentional... at all. This was a fiery display of the high strung, temperamental, strong willed, and irritable character of a thoroughbred racehorse. The tall chestnut snorted angrily, his hooves barely touching the earth before lifting off again. It was a familiar dance to those who were regulars at horse races. There was hardly a racehorse in existence who hadn't done it several times, and Media Puzzle was no exception. At four years old, he was as wild and high spirited as any thoroughbred, and the last thing he wanted to do was listen to the rider on his back. Were the reins not held so tightly that he was prevented from lowering his head, he would have unseated his rider a long time ago with a sharp and unforgiving buck.

As it were, he was forced to keep down at a walk, though it was a very high strung walk. Finally the horse had reached his wit's end, and his front hooves lifted off the ground and a fierce whinny blasted from his mouth. Ever calm, and expectant, his rider gave a quick pull to the left, unsettling the horse's balance and forcing him to go back down on all fours or risk falling over onto his side. The animal was far less than pleased with the situation, but before he could try anything else, he was being turned in a tight circle, preventing him from attempting another stunt like the one he had just pulled. With an irritated snort he yielded and came to a stop, though he was clearly quite unhappy with this. He could have kept running around that track all day were it not for this blasted human on his back.

Satisfied that he had regained control of his mount, Tristan Morgan kicked his feet out of the stirrups and jumped lightly down from the horse's back, and looked over at his trainer standing at the rail. Unfortunately, Anthony didn't look impressed. A few curse words in several different languages ran through Tristan's mind...what did it take to impress this guy? At the rate he was going he was going to be an apprentice for the rest of his life and never see the dirt of a real track beneath his horse's feet. With a heavy sigh, he walked back over to the rail, leading the temperamental horse with him. Well? He asked Anthony who honestly looked bored out of his mind, and probably was. Anthony was always bored unless he was the one out riding or when he was with his wife... or fixing the issues between Charlie and Sebastian.

Anthony just looked up at him, leaning casually on the rail. Not great, but good... could be better.

[/s] That was about the last thing Tristan wanted to hear. He wasn't all that great at handling criticism, and it seemed like that was all he got from Anthony. and what do you suggest? Tristan asked, trying to keep himself in check. If there was one thing he knew, it was that jockeys had to be level headed at all times, and since Anthony was his trainer, he had to listen to what he said and do his best to take his advice. Unfortunately for Tristan, Anthony nodded towards a small gray horse tacked to be ridden on the track. Ride him.[/s] was all he said, a tiny hint of amusement playing across his face. Tristan's eyes widened slightly, and a long string of curse words ensued, not one in the same language as another. Are you crazy? He asked in disbelief when he had finally run out of curses, You can hardly ride that horse, and you expect me to?

Tristan was completely out of luck today. Anthony's expression remained serious with that hint of amusement. That's what I said isn't it?[/s] Anthony responded with a shrug as if it was no big deal. Besides, what are you worried about? That horse isn't nearly as big as Puzzle, and he's so sedate just standing over there.[/s] Tristan's look of disbelief transformed into a scowl. Everyone who had heard of "Shadow of a Doubt" knew that horse was an angel off the track but hell to handle on the dirt. The little gray was not so fondly referred to as "the wolf in lamb's clothing" in the horse racing world. Tristan knew better than to argue. He passed Puzzle's reins into Anthony's hands and walked towards the small gray horse which was currently half asleep. He took hold of the animal's reins and swung up onto his back, knowing he was going to get himself killed doing this. Doubt hardly tolerated Anthony riding him on the track, other riders were just a no go at all.

He hesitated a brief moment before taking the animal out on to the track. He made it about out to the middle of the track before the wolf part came out. With an enraged squeal Doubt lurched to the left before bolting forward. He was checked quickly by Tristan who barely managed to keep his seat, but the fight was nowhere near over. The moment he was checked from running forwards, his front hooves left the earth and he jerked back to the right while at the same time moving back several steps. Anthony knew quite well that Tristan wouldn't last long on Doubt... hell only on the best days could he himself last more than a half hour astride the animal. It was like trying to ride a champion bucking horse. No one knew why Doubt seemed so angry on the track. He hadn't ever been mistreated, but that was just the way it was.

The fight lasted about five minutes, the horse winning the entire time, before Tristan was thrown. He landed heavily on his right shoulder, wincing painfully, and staying put as the wind was knocked out of him. The moment Tristan had been unseated, Doubt took off like a shot down the track. Tristan sat up and groaned, how was he supposed to catch that horse now. Puzzle was too high strung to act as a ponying horse... that thought was suddenly interrupted as out of the corner of his eye he saw Anthony spring up nimbly onto Puzzle's back and set the horse out at a light gallop. Puzzle fought him for about thirty seconds before leveling out nicely, at which point Anthony gave him more rein as Doubt came charging up along side them. As if he had planned this whole thing, Anthony eased Puzzle out towards the outside, forcing Doubt to the outside until he was running right on the outside rail. He reached down, caught the furious gray's reins, turned Puzzle towards the gate on the track, and brought both horses off the track. The moment Doubt had left the track he calmed, and stood placidly as if nothing had happened.

Tristan shot a glare at Anthony and got up, brushing the dirt off. Alright you proved your point. He muttered as Anthony jumped down off of Puzzle. No I didn't.[/s] Anthony said, that amusement playing across his face again as he handed Doubt's reins to Tristan. Ride him.[/s] He repeated much to Tristan's dismay. The nineteen year old knew he was going to hardly be able to move come the end of this workout. Still, he did as he was instructed. They repeated this process about ten times before Anthony finally informed Tristan that they were finished for today and started back towards the stable with Doubt following behind him at his own free will. Tristan glared at Anthony's turned back, then looked at Puzzle who was fairly worn out by now. Look what trouble you've gone and gotten us in Puzzle... you made me look like an idiot back there.

Of course the horse didn't respond, and Tristan sighed heavily, taking note of the blood that was slowly seeping through his shirt. It wasn't anything serious... just a lot of blood for a little cut, he would live. He was currently too worn out to walk back to the stable, and so slumped down onto the bench which had been made for the rail birds when this track had been in working order. Not many people even knew about this track anymore. As far as he knew, Alex, Anthony, and himself were the only ones who ever really came out here. It was a shame really... he could tell the place had been pretty spectacular back in the day, and he had to wonder why it had been abandoned. Liability insurance was the most likely answer... people and horses got hurt a lot in racing, but it was a risk they were all willing to take. Unfortunately for the owners of the track, their willingness to get hurt was expensive, and many tracks went out of business because of it.

Alex and Anthony had beat out quite a path to the track since they both regularly came up there to work their horses, and he was curious to know whether or not many other people had bothered to stray from the main path to the narrower path that strayed off and lead to the track. He could tell you know that he would have if he hadn't already known about this track... but then again, that was just Tristan, and everybody knew he was at least slightly insane.[/center][/size]

[alyci]

Hollywood, dressed in her everyday, Chucks and jeans, led Paranoia towards Pinewood Trail. The mare was saddled up, and prancing. The mare hadn't worn a saddle in months, let alone been ridden. She was obviously anxious about where she was being led. Her teeth against the bit, she allowed herself to be led, flaring her big grey nostrils as she smelled the forest.
The mares deep brown eyes were wide as she watched the scenery arond her. Her long eyelashes fluttered as she blinked, and turned to watch Hollywood swing herself into the saddle. The purple Chucks were soon met by her velvet, grey nose. Her salt and peppered coat twitched as she felt the reins tighten, and flicked her ears once back towards the pasture, where her foal was.
Schizo was reaching five months, and Hollywood felt that he would be fine with Star to watch over him. The mare treated him like her own. And Paranoia needed a ride, bad. Holl had taken Star out, but really missed her regular mount. Her thighs tightened as she kicked the mare into a steady walk, having a plan for the day.
Saddle-bags bounced on the mares sides as she walked, water and a sandwich tucked away. On the other side, her camera and cellphone. Her plan was to give the mare an easy ride along the trail, and take her to the regularly deserted race track. She had never run into anyone there, though it was obvious someone else rode on the track.
Paranoia pulled at the bit, quickly growing bored with this slow and steady pace. Hollywood smiled, and relaxed her hold on the mares stride, keeping her at a trot, not wanting her to tire before they got to their destination.
Hollywood's mind was focused on her horse. She rarely was distracted by boys, or drama. If anything, it was school and work that took her attention away from her mare and colt. The girl was seen as a bit of an outcast, not hanging out with other people, or partying. A few times, she was asked if she was adopted, since she was nothing like her older siblings. It was always awkward to reply, yes.
The pair road in silence, Hollywood not taking the time to croon to her horse like she often did. Paranoia enjoyed stretching her legs, while Hollywood soaked in the beauty of the trail, sometimes stopping the horse to take a picture. A few times she had to dismount to get a closer shot of a flower, or tree that zoom just didn't justify.
After what felt like an house, they reached the track. Something was off though. She wasn't sure what. As she neared, she saw fresh hoof prints in the dirt, and realized that someone else was here. That shouldn't stop her though. This was public property, and she had as much right to be here as anyone else. She dismounted, and led Paranoia towards the tracks. Little tufts of grass growing along the wall caught her eye. She started to wonder about the history of this place, and planned on asking around.
As she thought about who to ask, she spotted someone, and stopped. Paranoia saw them too, and snorted, pawing at the ground a bit. She sniffed the air, curious about the stranger. Hollywood bit her lip, not sure what to do. She was a rather shy girl, and didn't really want to ride infront of a stranger, but she couldn't not do it, and she couldn't ask him to leave.
She decided to suck it up, and just ride like she planned, maybe he would feel just as awkward and go on his way.

[torres]

Tristan was beginning to think that it was pure luck that he and Puzzle had won that race... either that or racing in the part of the world where he came from was exceedingly different from the racing over here. He was working so much harder here and seemed to be making much less progress than he thought he would be. He didn't doubt that Anthony was a good trainer... hell in Tristan's opinion, Anthony was one of the greatest jockeys there was... or at least he used to be before the injury that temporarily put an end to his career. He also didn't doubt that he would make it as a jockey someday. I mean really... he'd already won a race, and he couldn't even legally ride then. Besides, Damien had been a jockey before he decided he liked business better, Jason had been a jockey up until the very moment he died from an accident... he was pretty sure he could make it as a jockey too. It ran in the family.

For a moment, he let his mind drift from where he was currently back to when he had still lived in England. The day Jason had been killed had been a nightmare for Tristan. He'd been there... he'd seen it happen. He wasn't exactly haunted by the event, but it did affect him a lot every day. I mean really... one minute Jason had been there, and the next second he was motionless on the ground. It was a horrific event to be sure, and Tristan knew he wouldn't ever get over it.

Years earlier... nearly 15, when Tristan was only two years old, their dad had been in a racing accident and had sustained such head-injuries that he never regained consciousness. They did everything they could to keep him alive, but nothing worked. Their mother never went to the track again after that. She would watch Jason's race replays only if she knew there were no accidents in the race, and she didn't want to hear about the accidents either. If Jason got hurt, she didn't want to know until after he got back from the hospital, and even then she didn't want to know how it happened. She had been truly traumatized by the event.

Then Jason... he hadn't even been in a race when he was killed. It was a young horse, a two year old that hadn't ever been raced. He was just working it at the home track when the horse broke his cannon bone and went head over heels, and fell on Damien. Tristan stood there watching in horror as his brother was crushed. He'd seen plenty of falls through his life, and he knew that when the horse landed on the rider like that... the rider probably wasn't going to be getting up. Tristan was the first one there, and he caught the terrified horse's reins, kneeling down beside Jason who was already unconscious. He didn't know what to say or do. He hadn't seen the accident his dad had been in, but from what he did know, this was almost the exact thing being replayed all over again.

As it were, just like their father years earlier, Jason never regained consciousness, and the colt was euthanized. It was a horrible tragedy, and though he would never tell anyone, every time Tristan got on a horse he was terrified that the same thing was going to happen to him. He couldn't really be blamed for that... Jason wasn't just his brother and his trainer... he was his best friend, and the closest thing he had to a father figure. Watching him die was the worst thing Tristan could ever imagine happening... and it had happened. For a while he didn't do anything. He left Puzzle to be taken care of by the stable hands, and just avoided the barn all together. Then, just when they were about to send in the official scratch for Media Puzzle, Tristan came back, and, with Damien's permission of course... use Damien's name and signed on as the jockey and ran the race. No one knew except the two brothers.

Tristan jumped slightly when Puzzle snorted suddenly and rather loudly. He had been caught off guard by something coming up the trail. Tristan turned to look, wincing as he did so, and noticed the girl and her horse. He hadn't ever seen them before, but then again, he really didn't know anyone around the stable. He was always much too busy riding and training... and if he wasn't riding and training... he was sitting somewhere in pain from riding and training, just like now. His life was always busy, and when it wasn't busy, Anthony would find a way to make it busy. Tristan had a horrible feeling that Anthony knew he had some sort of fear about the track and he was overworking him deliberately to make him get over it. So far the method hadn't worked too well, though some days Tristan was so tired he couldn't even think about getting in an accident, so he supposed in that way it had worked.

He sighed and stood up slowly... realizing how much pain he really was in... and walked over to Puzzle, taking the reins. Though Puzzle really wasn't dangerous, he didn't like strangers, and when there was another horse nearing the track, that meant there was going to be a race, and he would get all antsy again. Puzzle I swear to God it you try to pull anything right now I'll kill you. Tristan muttered to the horse who was eying the stranger and her mount. Tristan was normally exceedingly friendly and out going, but it was a little difficult to be like that when you were in as much pain as he was at the moment. Still... he would try. Good evening miss. He said with a smile, which still held a bit of the pain in it despite his best attempts to not show it. She sort of looked like she didn't really want another human to be around, and he had a feeling that he'd be limping back to the stable in a few minutes, so he might as well enjoy standing still while he still could.

[alyci]

Hollywood started chewing on her liprings when she saw him turn around. She wasn't really looking at him, just his antsy horse. As the other person moved, her attention moved to him, and she noticed his pained movements. She looked him over quickly, and noticed blood coming through his shirt. Her eyes grew wide, as her drive to take care of someone was turned on. Blood didn't scare her. Getting hurt wasn't a big deal. But seeing someone else in pain, was something she couldn't stand.
She bit her lip. She didn't know this person, she couldn't just start taking care of him, even though she really wanted to. She was slightly struggling not to say anything. Actually, not slightly, she was.
Paranoia was obviously excited to see another horse, and chewed at the bit, knowing better than to pull. It was then that Hollywood was thankful for her grandfather. He had trained his grandchildren's horses so well. Star was a grouchy mare, but she still did what she was told. Rebel, Star's brother, was the perfect stallion, and of course, George had gotten his hands on him. Paranoia was the only Mustang in the family, and the first one he had trained. Hollywood's willingness to help only made him more interested in training her. The little girl had been there the entire time, with every bite and buck, Hollywood wanted to help.
Hollywood heard him say something to her, and it took her a moment to realize he had been talking to her. "Huh? Oh, uh, hi." she mumbled, starting to blush. Miss? She hadn't been called 'Miss' by anyone but little kids and older people. "Are you ok?" she asked, refering to the pain that was evident in his eyes. So, she could read people's eyes fairly well. It aggrivated family members, but tended to astonish strangers. She looked him over again, not able to keep her eyes off of the blood in his shirt.

[torres]

Tristan loved the sport of horse racing. All down the lines of his family there was someone somehow involved in it. His grandfather was a jockey, his uncle was a trainer, his dad was a jockey until he died, Jason was a jockey until he died, Damien was a jockey until he decided to go into business and avoid all the pain that was involved in horse racing, and now Tristan was fixing to be a jockey as well. He'd been a rider his whole life, though he'd never done anything overly spectacular until he finally talked his mom into letting him go to the races with Damien and Jason. From the moment those horses broke out of the gate, Tristan knew that was what he wanted to do with his life. There was nothing so surreal as a horse as powerful as that racing down the track with nothing to stop him. It was a level of freedom that most people wouldn't ever know, and that in its self made it even better.

He couldn't count the number of times he'd gotten himself hurt riding on the track. He'd broken his arm, fractured his wrist, cracked a few ribs, and if you combined all the blood he had lost from all the cuts and gashes he'd earned, it would be enough transfusions for over a year. Some called him reckless, some unlucky... but Tristan didn't care. He would endure every bit of pain that he had to in order to carry on with the Oliver/Morgan legacy. Horses were his life, and he prided himself on being Puzzle's trainer. Tough temperamental, like every thoroughbred, and a pain in the neck most of the time, Puzzle was an extremely talented horse. No horse had ever run in the Melbourne Cup as their maiden race before Puzzle, and he'd just run away from the rest of the field which was far more experienced than he was. It was without a doubt the most amazing thing Tristan had ever experienced.

He tightened his grip on the reins as Puzzle started to fidget. The horse certainly was a handful... he seemed to have endless energy and had nothing better to do with it than to drive Tristan insane. He could tell that she wasn't exactly comfortable with the situation, and she seemed somehow enthralled with the blood that had stained his formerly gray shirt with an unsightly crimson splotch. Also aside from the blood, he was filthy. He'd come off so many times that he was simply covered in dirt, not to mention sweat. His hair, he knew looked less than appealing thanks to the helmet he'd been wearing... but really none of that made a difference to him. He knew it probably made a difference to other people, since they all seemed to believe that appearance was everything. Sure, maybe it was when you were at some fancy event or something... but out here on the track where it was normally just him and his horse, he didn't really care too much.

He glanced at his arm where the blood stain was, then looked back at the girl, It's not but a scratch... He said with good humor, looks worse than it is really. Just took a bit of a fall is all, you can expect that with racehorses. Of course "a bit of a fall" was sort of a huge understatement. Being thrown from Doubt was always much worse than just "a bit of a fall." That horse knew how to inflict the most pain possible when he wanted to. He was a terror on the track, and anyone who could help it would steer clear of him as long as his hooves are on the dirt of the track... unless of course it's Anthony who somehow managed to win the horse's favor and is essentially the only human who can ride him without being given hell the entire time. How he managed it, Tristan would really like to know.

It was like some sort of weird Lovasz thing... Andrew might as well be a horse whisperer, and Anthony... well aside from Alex's horse, he could handle any horse he wanted to on the track and bring out their best possible performance. As far as Tristan knew, Anthony hadn't ever been out of the money no matter what horse, no matter what distance, no matter what race or location... every horse he rode had the best performance of their life. There really was no way to explain it... so Tristan just accepted it, and prided himself on the fact that he was being trained by the greatest jockey there was. He could only hope that maybe someday he could win one more race... getting to be as good as Anthony wasn't something he foresaw in his future. He would just be happy with getting out on the track with Puzzle again. He wanted to race, not just train on this old forsaken track. He wanted to feel the rush of competition, the thrill of the other horses, hear the roar of the crowd, but burst of adrenaline... he didn't get any of that here.

Tristan couldn't help but notice how the other horse stood so obediently and didn't even so much as pull at the bit... quite the opposite of Puzzle who was straining against the bit. He supposed that was just the difference between a thoroughbred and other breeds of horses. He loved thoroughbreds, they were without a doubt the greatest sort of horse in his opinion, but sometimes he wished that Puzzle was just a little more docile. He had more quirks than Tristan wanted to attempt to count, and he was always causing some sort of problem. From attempting to bite the person saddling him when the cinch was tightened to always being angry when he was pulled down to a slower pace. From hating strangers with a fiery passion to practically breaking out of his stall when he got too bored. Media Puzzle was certainly a problem horse... but he was a young racehorse, what more would you expect?

[alyci]

Hollywood smiled softly, her eyes showing the worry and care that she could never hide. "If you say so." she said, tilting her head to the side a bit. She looked the boy over again, he looked rough. Really rough. But besides that, he was attractive. She blushed a bit, looking down. Why? Why would she do that? That was too obvious. She looked back up, he eyes on his horse. "He's gorgeous." she said, her eyes taking in the glory of the Thoroughbred. Star and Rebel were the only Thoroughbreds she'd ever gotten a good look at. The breed was beautiful, difficult, but beautiful. Their spirit was beautiful. They were wild, and their desire to run interested her. She'd always wanted to race one, but Star didn't behave well enough for her to consider it, and Ashley told her it was out of the question on Rebel.
She wasn't a fan of being the youngest of her siblings, even if they weren't even really related. They always told her what to do, making her feel like the red headed stepchild. Of course, Delphinium made it obvious that she didn't like the girl, especially for what she felt she did to her parents. Needless to say, Delphinium was a selfish girl, and a bit of a bitch. Hollywood tended to ignore what the other girl said though.
She looked back at him. "I'm sorry, I'm rude. "I'm Hollywood." she said, taking a step foreward to offer him a hand. She could feel herself relaxing a bit, but her eyes of course returned to the blood on his shirt. She didn't believe him about the cut. Paranoia was getting a bit bored, and nibbled on sleeve of her shirt, making her giggle a bit. The mare stopped when Hollywood turned her head to look at her. She turned her big grey head away, as if she hadn't done a thing. The mare was quite comical, full of personality. She kept Hollywood on her toes, making sure she didn't cause trouble at the stable, or with the grooms. She'd bit a couple, for no apparent reason. She'd also managed to escape her stall a few times.

[torres]

Tristan had always been said to have been slightly crazy... possibly a bit off his rocker... and they meant it literally too. I'm not one to speculate, and perhaps it's all true, but for his sake, we should assume that it is simply rumor. So where, it has been asked, did these rumors find their foundation? Easy enough to answer that. Tristan had been a problem child all of his early years. He was always causing trouble in school, he could never focus on anything, and he had so much energy it was almost impossible to rein him in. He drove his teachers very nearly insane, and was kicked out of three schools in one year alone. By the time he reached middle school, there was hardly a school in the area that would take him, and when they finally found one, he didn't last there for very long. Finally, his parents had been forced to give up on his education. If he wasn't causing trouble, he was "day dreaming" about where he would rather be. Even when he actually did his work, he still failed.

ADHD? Yes... very much so. They tried the whole medication treatment deal... it was a no go. Tristan wasn't fond of taking medication, and he almost always forgot to take it anyway, and it was too much of a hassle to try to keep track of whether or not he had taken it. They tried therapy... that ended in a drastic failure to launch. He could never pay attention to what the therapist was saying... much too boring for his liking, and it didn't take the therapist long to inform his parents that he was "untreatable." They tried everything they could possibly think of, and it all ended up going absolutely nowhere. That was when the crazy rumors started. If he was untreatable, the issue had to be more than just an attention deficit disorder. So naturally people came to the conclusion that he was mentally incapable of functioning like a normal human being.

His parents were just about ready to send him off to a mental institution to see if they could do anything for him, but that was when he found the one thing that he could focus on enough to balance it all out. He was constantly steaming with energy and about ready to explode, and when he found horse racing, he found something he could channel all that energy into. He had Jason to thank for that. From the first time Tristan galloped a horse on the track there seemed to be an instant change in him. He seemed able to control himself more, to keep his mind in one place for longer than thirty seconds. As soon as he started training as a jockey, he leveled out to be a perfectly normal person, and there was rarely any signs of ADHD in him. Of course, the rumors didn't end there... oh no, they were far from extinguished.

It was said that any man willing to perch so perilously on the back of an animal more than twice your size catapulting down the track at 45 miles an hour just had to be crazy. The truth was, though, that horse racing was what saved Tristan from going and being declared insane. It was like he could transfer his massive amounts of energy into the horse he was riding, and after having done so he could breathe and function like a normal human being again. It was perhaps that which would propel him forward in the racing world. Any man that could psychologically give his building energy to an animal was bound to do well, and with as much energy as Tristan was capable of building up, there was no doubt that he would be bringing home a lot of winners in his racing years.

Of course I do Tristan replied, I've hurt myself a right bit more than this out on the track. It won't kill me. It wasn't easy being a jockey, that was for sure. Every day he risked killing himself out there. Not only was the charging down the track at top speed dangerous, but the high strung adrenaline rushed horses he rode were dangerous too. He was basically putting his life on the line every time he went out there... but it was what he lived for. Racing was his passion... his life. He couldn't imagine himself ever doing anything else. He lived and breathed for the thrill of a racehorse under him surging forward with unrestrained energy. No one really understood horse power until they'd ridden a racehorse... and Tristan got to do that every day. It was a sort of raw power that there was no match for. You could have all the fast cars in the world, but none of them could ever match a racehorse's amazing ability to blow you away every time you rode.

He's a pain in the ass, He responded when she said Puzzle was gorgeous, but he is pretty good looking, I'll give him that. There weren't many racehorses that weren't a pain. It had been said of Secretariat that he was hell to handle and a terror to ride... if that was what made a horse great, then Puzzle was well on his way to being the greatest racehorse on the face of the earth. He was a wild thing, that was for sure... manners weren't even on his list of qualities, but then again, that was true of most race horses. Tristan Morgan. he said with a nod, and also stepped forward slightly, reaching out his left hand to meet hers, while keeping his right back a bit further to prevent Puzzle from moving any closer. The horse didn't like strangers, and there was no telling what he might do. He was an unpredictable brat, and he could cause a good amount of trouble when he wasn't getting his way, and right now he wasn't getting his way at all.

[/size]