[open] A Horse and His Girl

[Phoenix Zima]

There was never anything as majestic as a friesian stallion running freely across a pasture. His thick neck arched, his long legs stretching out in a perfectly smooth stride as his feathered black hooves struck the ground in a rhythmic gait. Prince Caspian, known more fondly as Casper, was just that horse this morning. He was big, and he was beautiful, proud and imposing, kingly and strong. He was the picture perfect horse for his breed. When he galloped, the ground seemed to shake with the tremendous force applied to it when each hoof struck the earth. His stride was naturally collected, and his headset was naturally held where most dressage horses were trained to hold it. There was a certain majestic elegance about the horse. He looked like the sort of animal that you would see only featured in "Dream Horse" calendars, the ones that you look at and think "that is so edited." But I promise you, the only editor of this horse was God... and Phoenix Zima was the maintainer of the natural beauty of the stallion.

The big horse kicked up his heels as his high spirits showed through. Casper was indeed a beautiful horse, no one would deny that. Suddenly, his hooves stopped in their beat and all four hit the ground at the same time, digging into the earth and bringing him to a sliding stop, his head snapped towards the direction of the barns. For a moment he stood perfectly still except for an excited quivering in his muscles. Then, all of a sudden he started forwards again, only this time picking up his long graceful trot. He moved up to the top of the hill, and stopped there, looking down on the barns, his ears pricked, his brown eyes large and inquisitive as he peered down at the seemingly tiny human standing down at the pasture gate calling him. For a moment he just stood there, as if debating whether or not he was going to come or make her come chase him for an hour before letting her catch him.

Finally, after his indecision was over, he started towards the gate at a high strung walk which quickly became a slow trot before breaking into a full gallop again, his long unruly hair tangling in the wind created by him rushing by. It was beautiful now, but when Phoenix was struggling for hours to get the long hair untangled it certainly wouldn't be so beautiful. She let their manes grow long because it looked better. She was a firm believer in the outside looking like the inside, and in her opinion, her horse was the most beautiful creature inwardly, and his outward appearance should reflect that.. and of course, Casper's most certainly did. As he neared the girl, he slowed to a walk, snorting wildly and tossing his head as he did so. As he stopped in front of Phoenix, a smile creeped slowly onto her face... the sort of smile that no one with the exception of Ice and Casper had ever seen.

Hey there beautiful boy. Phoenix murmured to the horse as she stepped up to him. Even though she was 5'11" the 17 hand horse towered over her, making her look much smaller than she was. As she stepped up to the giant animal, she kept her left hand just slightly out of the horse's view, and reached up with her right, stoking his neck softly, causing him to relax and lower his head to a height where she could reach it. Once he had done that, she quickly and deftly slipped a halter on him, and got it buckled just in time for him to lift his head back up quickly and take two steps back... but it was too late for him. He'd been caught. Casper was still quiet young, and his favorite game was "you can't catch me unless I want you to" so Phoenix had to come up with different ways to catch him every time she put him in the pasture. He learned fast, and she could never use the same method twice in one week.

Casper never fought her once he was caught though. He'd been trained much too well for that. Even though he was plenty big enough to push her around and act up, he wouldn't do it. Besides, Phoenix hadn't really been herself since the accident. At first it had been simply because she thought she had lost Ice... but since Parker had saved the horse instead of signing the papers to have him put down like Phoenix had asked him to, that wasn't her reason anymore. She still couldn't ride Ice, even though he was back. He needed a bit more healing time and rehab before he would be ready for that. Even on Casper though, they hadn't jumped higher than 3' and normally they would jump 4' at least. They had also stayed away from anything vaguely resembling cross-country, and even just on the pole oxers, Phoenix would get quite nervous on the approach. Casper didn't understand any of what was going on, but like any horse, he could tell she wasn't quite right, and so wasn't quite as bad as he normally would be.

You're clever Casper, but not that clever. She said, reaching up and straightening his forelock before giving a light tug on the lead and starting up towards the barn. People generally stayed away from Phoenix, considering her tendency to be unkind towards everyone, so the silence in the barn didn't bother her in the least as they arrived there. She never expected people to come around when she was there, she'd brought it upon herself, and she didn't care. She was deliberately unkind, and intentionally pushed people away. She didn't want anyone to know her, she didn't want to let anyone in. So she pushed everyone away. It was just something that had been a habit of hers since before she could remember. The last thing she wanted was to let someone in just to have them abandon her again. She only had one friend in this world, and that was because he was exactly like her and would never do that to her. He'd been there most of her life, and was like an older brother to her. If anyone asked about her family, she would only tell them that Ice, Casper, and Parker were her family. That was it. Her horses and her only friend... they were the only family she had, and probably the only one she ever would have.

Once she reached the barn, she clipped Casper in the cross ties, and set about with the grooming. First things first... the never ending chore of getting every last snarl out of his mane. It was going to take her forever, but there was nothing she would rather do. These horses were her life, and she would rather spend hours preening them to perfection than sitting in a stuffy class room with a bunch of people who think they're smart. With her horse in front of her, a mane comb in her hand, and her ipod playing somewhat loudly in her ears, Phoenix completely drifted off into her own little world where perfection could, in fact, exist, and she was completely oblivious to the real world. She had all her focus on her horse and the task at hand with perhaps a tiny bit of it on the music in her head... there was no way she was going to notice anyone coming in or going out, not unless they somehow managed to break her concentration... which was nearly impossible. This was Phoenix's life, and she wouldn't change it for the world.

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[Sebastian Kings]

everyone knows i'm in

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Easy now Sebastian King sighed as he fought to keep control of the prancing, snorting animal beneath him. It was a game of give and take, he would give the horse rein, and she would take off, scooting about the arena, he would take it back and she would toss her head and threaten to rear. If she did in fact try to kick Sebastian out of his saddle, he was prepared, although he would probably lose the fight. FrostBite was the most impossible, irritating and infuriating horse Sebastian had ever had to deal with. But with her astounding ability, combined with her bloodlines, build, and beauty, she was a rare find in the horse world, and would prove herself to be a perfect partner in both the dressage and jumping ring. That is, if you could tame her.

The fight continued for the rest of their ride. Sebastian surprisingly managed to stay on the crazy gray warmblood. But he was tiring fast. So was Frost by the looks of it as she began to simmer down just slightly. At first sign of compliance on the horse’s part, Sebastian chose to end the ride on the only good note they’d had so far. He would try again tomorrow he decided, but he wouldn’t give up. Sebastian Kings wasn’t a quitter. Mares. he muttered, as he leapt from the top of her 17 hand frame. Sebastian was a noted womanizer, and had faith that he could turn any woman into putty in his hands. But apparently his powers didn’t work on horses, because this bitch saw right through him…

Sebastian lead Frost out of the arena and into the barn, he received a few passing nods and more “Hi, Sebastian…”s than he should receive from his female students and barn mates than a married man should get, but he shrugged them off casually. Sebastian definitely loved to be the center of attention, but his heart belonged to his wife, Chey. The two of them ran this stable together, raised a son, and had another baby on the way. Chey was always busy, running the stable and home at once. While Sebastian helped as much as he could, lessons and training took up much of his time. He was Pinewood’s top English instructor and currently had 6 horses on his riding list. Life was busy, but it was happy and full of love and laughter. Sebastian had never known such a life. He was at peace with his past. He was with the love of his life and their family was growing daily. His friends were there for him. Yes, this was the life, a far cry from his old life…

Parties, ladies, drugs and alcohol… Sebastian lived the life he’d dreamed of as a teenager. He was a notorious party boy and ladies man. This lifestyle is fine in small doses, but years of life without a purpose grew tiresome and wore Sebastian out. He finally came crawling back to Pinewood, tired, utterly alone and with his heart on his sleeve. Luckily he got a second chance, at love and at life. Today, if Sebastian sees a person like the one he used to be, he feels sorry for them… Sebastian cross tied his horse across from a huge Friesian stallion, he knew as one of the boarders here. The young woman meticulously grooming the great black horse was his owner, but Sebastian had never formally met her.

Sebastian quickly stripped the mare of her tack, taking it to the tack room. He glanced at the girl, who kept her focus on the horse’s gleaming dark coat. Sebastian kept one eye on Frost, knowing the mischievous mare could cause trouble if left unattended. Sebastian put away his tack in his trunk and brought out a kit of brushes. After shutting the door, he hung up his helmet on his hook and changed from his riding clothes to jeans and a fresh t-shirt, he pulled on his hoodie as well, as the winter wind was chilly today. Seb exited the tack room with his brush kit and headed back down the aisle, rolling his eyes as Frost began to paw the ground in her impatience. Just as he passed her, the girl grooming Prince Caspian dropped her brush and it skittered across the floor. Frost spooked slightly, snorting in distaste. Seb smiled and bent to pick up the fallen body brush. He offered the girl a grin as he handed it back to her.

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joining us will be Just Seb and Pheonix I guess??
we are located Barn Aisle
my post is Doneski.
the banner is by Moi.
the template is by Me again.
word count is seven-five-two.. pathetic.
anything I've forgotten? Trying to find muse.. Failing I think..

[Phoenix Zima]

Honestly, most people hadn't actually met Phoenix personally. Most everyone knew who she was though. Rumors had flown about her, same as everyone else. Whether it be from her partying to her fittingly fiery temper, or from her exceptional riding skills to the fall she took on Ice, there was plenty to gossip about. Phoenix was anything but shy, and it hadn't even taken her a month to break Pinewood in to the terror that she was. Of course, her debut night she ended up sleeping with some girl's fiance. Of course the girl got all pissed and all that jazz... as if Phoenix actually cared. She took joy out of other people's misery, and even more so when she knew that she had inflicted it. Men were so easy to get, and girls were so easy to piss off... it was all just a little game for her, and she quite enjoyed torturing complete strangers by destroying relationships. Evil? It had been rumored... and was very possibly true.

Ever since the accident, any time she really even thought about Cross Country or large jumps, all she could imagine was coming up over that bank and seeing that kid there. It was a freak accident... a coincidence... the odds of something like that happening were quite slim, but she figured if it happened once it could happen again. Of course, the odds of it happening twice to one person were even worse than the odds of it happening at all... but even so, her mind seemed stuck on the incident and she just couldn't get over it. The trauma of thinking she had lost Ice had been rather intense, and all things considered, it was somewhat of a miracle that she hadn't killed herself with alcohol poisoning or something of that sort with how much alcohol she had consumed during those two weeks when in her mind her first love had been dead. For Phoenix, losing Ice would have been like losing an actual family member. She'd had that horse a long time, and aside from abandonment, he was the only consistent thing in her life.

Everything was just so vividly stuck in her head. She could count the strides, feel the rush, hear the desperate scream of the child's mother, see the terror on the child's face, feel the falter in Ice's stride, hear the crash of bone connecting with the solid wood of the oxer, feel the pain and the panic as she turned to see her horse bloodied and battered lying on the ground, struggling to get up. Yes, Phoenix Zima was afraid... for once in her life she actually knew fear, and that fear actually had some affect on her in more than one way. Since she had pushed everyone away from her though, she now had no one to turn to for help... no one to ask. Sure... there was always Parker... but she could already imagine him saying something along the lines of "get over it" or something else equally as insensitive. She knew him well... he wasn't an emotional or sympathetic person most of the time. So she was just going to have to work it out on her own... or just hope that it would go away with time.

Without her realizing it, she had gotten to thinking about it again, and everything else just sort of blocked out. She had very nearly removed every knot in Casper's mane when she simply stopped and stood with the comb in the horse's mane, her other hand holding the long black lock of hair she was working on. She stood there like that for several moments, the accident replaying in her mind over and over again. The look of disdain on her face faded slowly into a passive and almost non-responsive expression as she stood, starring at nothing in particular, and not at all processing what she was seeing. For a bit Casper stood patiently, but his patience would only last so long... he was young after all, and was definitely nowhere near as forgiving as Ice was, and he would simply not tolerate standing there wile Phoenix's attention and focus drifted away.

A large and heavy black hind hoof lifted and struck the wall forcefully with impatience, the hollow sound of hoof on wood startling Phoenix back into the present and causing her to jump slightly, dropping the brush in the process of doing so. For a moment, her composure was lost, and the passive stare faded and in its place all those bottled up emotions and fear showed through in her expression. She looked up slightly, taking a deep breath as she did so, then turned to retrieve the fallen brush. As she turned though, she was slightly surprised to see the one and only Sebastian Kings standing there with that overly charming grin of his, offering her the brush. Did she know him? No... but she knew enough about him. The man was damn fine, but completely off limits, even for Phoenix. While she certainly wouldn't mind screwing around with him and his relationship, he happened to be married to the barn manager, and the last thing she needed was to get kicked out. This was the only decent stable in town, and Ice and Casper deserved a place like this. So she wasn't even going to try to make a move on Sebastian. Her horses needs came before her own wants.

As soon as she realized that she was out of the Phoenix Zone, her expression changed instantly back into the unwelcoming scowl that people knew her for. Thanks. she growled, taking the brush with absolutely no actual gratitude in her actions or in her voice. Phoenix didn't do gratitude... the same way she didn't do most things that people found socially acceptable. Overall, she was just not the sort of person that people found easy to get along with, and she certainly wasn't fun to hang out with. Pissing people off was her specialty, and if she had to be the biggest bitch in town to do it, then God help her, she certainly would be. May God have mercy on Pinewood.