thoughts from the past: open

[nova]

TAKE A BREATH TAKE IT DEEP CALM YOURSELF HE SAYS TO ME IF YOU
PLAY YOU PLAY FOR KEEPS TAKE THE GUN AND COUNT TO THREE • • •
& i'm sweating now moving slow no time to think my turn to go
AND YOU CAN SEE MY HEART BEATING
YOU CAN SEE IT THROUGH MY CHEST

The early morning air was cool, and there was a light fog as Nova walked into the barn, running a hand through her still damp hair. She hadn't been able to dry it fully before she had come out here, but it didn't really bother her. The young woman's mind was on something completely different as she walked down the corridor, stopping in front of one of the middle stalls. The shiny plate on the stall door read Vindicated, and sure enough, the bright chestnut gelding was itching his shoulder on one of the back walls. Nova smiled at Vinny as he nickered happily at her, walking up and sticking his head into her hands. The gelding snorted quietly, sensing that something was wrong with his rider.

Nova scratched the spot between her horse's ears, sighing softly. She had gotten a letter in the mail from her father today, and it had been the last thing she expected. Today was the anniversary of her mother's death so many years ago, but the memories still felt fresh in Nova's mind. The letter had been long, but it was still just about her father's life, how he missed her, how he still hadn't gotten remarried, and plenty of other things that Nova didn't actually care about. She had cut her ties with her father long ago, and wasn't really interested in reconnecting them. Her aunt and uncle stayed out of it, knowing that if Nova wanted to talk about it, she would come to them, of which she didn't really want to.

These thoughts fled from her mind as Vinny gently rubbed his cheek against her palms, snapping her back to reality. Patting his neck, Nova grabbed his blue halter and opened his stall, clipping it onto him and connecting it to the cross ties. She grabbed her grooming kit and began running a curry comb over Vinny's coat, putting all of her focus into the task so her mind wouldn't go back to other topics she didn't want to think about. As Nova finished brushing her horse, she grabbed her hoof pick and began picking his hooves, happy that Vinny was at least behaving himself. As she started combing through his mane and tail, Nova glanced to the chestnut gelding who was watching her with his dark, amber eyes. "What do you think Vin? Should I write back to him?" she asked, grabbing a sugar cube from her pocket and giving it to him. Vinny tossed his head happily, munching on his treat.

"I mean, why did he decide all of a sudden to write me? Does he want something, or is there something more?" Nova let out an exasperated sigh, "Why am I even asking you these questions? It's not like you're going to answer me," she said, smiling a bit as Vinny snorted indignantly. Nova shook her head, "It doesn't even matter," she mumbled, patting Vinny's neck, "You're probably the only one that gets me Vin...and you can't even talk." The gelding stomped his foot, lifting his lip up and shaking his head happily. Nova chuckled and scratched his nose, unclasping him from the cross ties and attaching his lead rope to him, leading him out into the pasture. Once she removed his halter, the gelding took off, galloping full speed along the fence line, whinnying to the other horses as he stopped by them to graze.

Nova headed back into the stable, hanging up Vinny's tack and moving to his stall. She mucked it out, putting down fresh bedding and making sure to fill his water bucket and hay net. She disposed of the dirty bedding then went to get Vinny's food. She put the mix into his bucket then closed his stall door, checking the time on her iPod. She had managed to get done in half an hour, a new record for her. Grabbing Vinny's halter and lead rope, she went out to get the gelding from the field. As she entered the pasture, Nova shook her head with a smile as she watched Vinny paw the ground before lowering to his knees, then rolling over, covering his coat in a mixture of dried dirt and mud. When he noticed Nova, he whinnied and trotted over to her happily, following her like a dog as she lead him back into the barn. After another grooming, Nova put him back in his stall, letting him rest for a bit and get something to eat before she would work with him. As she waited, she headed outside, leaning against the side of the stables, zoning out as her mind wandered back to her father's letter.

words826ish
tagged Open
notes N/A

template PANIC! ITS LAUZ @ CAUTION

[hayleynicolex3]

A horse is the projection of peoples' dreams about themselves - strong, powerful, beautiful - and it has the capability of giving us escape from our mundane existence.

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Marissa couldn’t get to Pinewood fast enough…
College life was really taking a toll on her lately. She had always been fairly good at school when she actually applied herself. School just came easy to her in the past years. But all last night she was up writing an essay paper for her English class that was due at 3 p.m. She got no sleep last night whatsoever and almost considered not getting out of bed to attend her math and biology classes. Luckily the classes were only one hour, and luckily she didn’t have her English class that day, and only had to turn in her paper. A chance to escape and relieve stress was severely needed after such a horrible week. College wasn’t hard per se but it definitely wasn’t easy, and she definitely had to apply herself if she wanted to get anywhere near her masters in medical. Marissa drove down the road, almost close to Pinewood. Her Ford diesel truck rumbled beneath her as the tires crunched down the gravel drive of the stable. Rissa’s heart fluttered within her ribcage as she parked in her regular spot under the large tree. She couldn’t wait to see Nixon, her beautiful gelding. After her accident with Prince it was good to arrive and ready to ride a horse that she knew would always keep her safe without a doubt in her mind. Turning off the ignition her slim body landed on the ground, her boots crunching under the small grey rocks. Marissa was dressed rather casual today; her black Ariat boots, a plain black V-neck, blue jeans, and of course her locket that she never took off. Half way skipping into the barn, she made her way down to the stall of her horse. Nixon was carefully engraved in the plate on his stall door; she ran her fingers across it and smiled. [/size]

Nixon whinnied excitedly in the wooden stall…
At the sight of his owner who he loved with all his heart. “Hey there my handsome boy.” Marissa said smiling and hugging the gentle giant’s neck. The dapple grey rested his head just over her shoulder, returning his part of the warm embrace. Marissa recalled the moment of her accident. Even if it was a month ago, she could still remember it as if it was yesterday. Prince was always a horse that worried, well, everyone he came in contact with. He was a stallion and he played the role very well. Marissa was always worried to bring him around other horses, and she kind of avoided everyone else when it came down to riding him. It was a normal Saturday, and they were doing their morning routine. Just warming up in the Western Practice Ring. As she jogged him around the outer-corners of the ring, in a millisecond of time he pinned his ears back and was immediately in the air. All four hooves were airborne and so was Marissa, the powerful stallion had thrown her. The last thing that she remembers was flying right into the fence and it was lights out for her. She woke up in the hospital three days later, in a slight coma. Good thing for her she didn’t break anything and there was no severe damage. Only a slight sprained wrist and a couple bruised ribs. Other than that, Marissa was up and going along with her life after she was released two days later. She was forbidden to ride Prince ever again. It was almost heartbreaking. Marissa and Prince had a connection, and she was the only one who got through to him, or so it seemed. A week later she was going across ads for horses, not really interested in buying just yet, when she came across Nixon. He was perfect. Next thing she knew he was in this very stall nibbling her hair. The inseparable bond that Nix and Marissa had was unmistakable to everyone. He was rightfully hers now, a therapy horse if you will. And she could put all her heart and soul into his hand… well, hooves, without even thinking twice. [/size]

Marissa gathered Nixon’s grooming kit from the tack room…[/size]
And took it back to his stall. She started out with the curry brush and brushed all the dirt off the horse, if there was any. She then brushed him off again for the finishing touches on his coat. Every day he got a full groom. It was Marissa’s pet peeve to have a dirty horse. Before and after you ride it is almost a rule in her book to clean off your horse. Taking her comb she got the one tangle that was in the gorgeous dapple grey’s mane. Going to the rear-end of the horse she untied the wrap she had done yesterday and also undid the braid revealing a wavy, beautiful, dark grey tail. Finishing off the pampering she picked out his hooves and left him with a kiss. Marissa then filled Nixon’s hay net full of his lunch and headed back the tack room. Grabbing her small blue bucket she headed out to get some water out of the fresh water spout. As she rounded the corner again she almost ran into a stranger leaning against the stables. Thankfully for the both of them only a bit of water dropped between them. “Oh my, I’m so sorry.” Marissa laughed nervously for a second. “I didn’t see you there… I’m Marissa, nice to meet you. I don’t think I’ve seen you around…” She said smiling at this new stranger. Rissa loved making new friends. She wasn’t so much of a people-person as she was an animal-person. But most people around the stables here were like that anyway. And it was always nice to get to know people.

Word count: 1000ish
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[nova]

TAKE A BREATH TAKE IT DEEP CALM YOURSELF HE SAYS TO ME IF YOU
PLAY YOU PLAY FOR KEEPS TAKE THE GUN AND COUNT TO THREE • • •
& i'm sweating now moving slow no time to think my turn to go
AND YOU CAN SEE MY HEART BEATING
YOU CAN SEE IT THROUGH MY CHEST

Nova had been in a world of her own, her thoughts seeming to mold together as she simply zoned out. She was still pondering over her father's letter, but it wasn't a main concern anymore. For a few moments, Nova thought she had heard someone, but it was all fuzzy because she wasn't truly listening or concentrating. Her mind just moved from subject to subject, flowing like a slow moving river. She thought about many different topics, the move, school, work, and other small things. Her aunt and uncle had been worried about her when they told her about moving, but Nova had taken everything very well. She was of course sad to see most of the horses she had grown up with go, but she had Vinny, and he was all she really needed. They had talked about possibly buying a new horse if things went well, but Nova wasn't quite sure how that would work out yet. Another concern about Nova was that she would get into the wrong crowds again, but she assured them that she wouldn't be doing anything of the sort ever again. Her younger days had been fun, but now that she was able to look back on it as just another time in her life, Nova could see how it had nearly ruined her dreams of accomplishing everything that she had wanted to. Nova continued on these thoughts, reflecting on things that had happened in the past, but her mind was jerked back to reality, however, when she felt someone bump into her.

“Oh my, I'm so sorry,” said the girl that had bumped into her, “I didn’t see you there… I’m Marissa, nice to meet you. I don’t think I’ve seen you around…” It took a moment before Nova even registered what the other girl was saying to her. “It's alright,” she said with a small smile, still trying to put her thoughts back in order. She glanced over Marissa, who seemed to be the same age as her, give or take a year. “My name's Nova,” she introduced herself, finally able to think more clearly, “I'm new here, just moved in a few days ago.” She realized that Marissa seemed to be in the middle of caring for her horse, so turned and walked with her back into the barn. Vinny was looking out of his stall at the new horse, but when he spotted Nova he neighed happily and kicked some hay around in his stall, ready to get out and blow off some pent up energy. Nova smiled and paused by his stall, looking over to Marissa's horse, “Wow, he's beautiful,” she commented, having always loved dapple grays. Vinny snorted, resting his head on Nova's shoulder, his warm, chocolate brown eyes looking to Marissa as he perked his ears. “This is Vinny,” Nova said, patting the bright chestnut's nose. As a greeting, the gelding tossed his head up and down, letting out an excited whinny before calming again.

Grabbing his blue halter, Nova slipped it on over Vinny's head, leading him out of his stall and into a set of cross ties. The gelding shook his head and backed up a step before settling back down and standing calmly for his rider. Nova ran a soft brush over his coat once, just making sure he still looked clean and didn't have any unneeded dust or dirt on his hide. She walked into the tack room, grabbing Vinny's tack from there and bringing it back. She figured they would just blow off steam, and maybe jump a small fence or two, but nothing that would require a dressage or jumping saddle. She placed his white saddle pad and dark brown saddle on his back, adjusting it a bit to make sure it was in the right position before moving to buckle the girth into place. Nova made sure that the girth fit snugly around Vinny, not wanting him to be uncomfortable. As she worked, Vinny looked around, watching Nova for a bit before looking ahead again, whinnying to Nixon and Marissa, apparently feeling very social today. Nova just chuckled, moving around front after she finished with the saddle and unclasping the cross ties and then Vinny's halter, placing his bridle over his head. The gelding took the bit without a fuss, taking a moment to chew on the metal before going quiet again. After making sure everything was correct, Nova leaned down and grabbed Vinny's left leg, picking it up and leaning back to help him stretch before they rode. She did the same with his other leg before moving to put his halter away. In the meantime Vinny moved passed Nova to greet everyone now that he wasn't clipped to the cross ties. Nova turned and grabbed his reins, pulling him back before he could say hi, she was used to being careful around other horses, considering some didn't necessarily get along well with others, and she didn't know how Marissa's horse would act. “Sorry about that,” Nova apologized for Vinny, knowing the gelding tended to act like he had rocks for a brain.

words900ishtagged Open notes N/A
template PANIC! ITS LAUZ @ CAUTION

[hayleynicolex3]

A horse is the projection of peoples' dreams about themselves - strong, powerful, beautiful - and it has the capability of giving us escape from our mundane existence.

[/size]

Marissa could tell Nova had a lot on her mind…
She was fairly good at reading people. Since thirteen she had mingled with a lot of interesting and misleading people. Now it was like second nature when it came to figuring out the majority of how people were. The rehab center had a lot to do with it, and she could pick a face out in a crowd that had once been a user. A user of any kind of drug, or an alcoholic, or even someone that suffered from mild depression. She had gone through all of that and more. Nova looked like a nice girl, one who didn’t open up to people right up front though. Not exactly secretive but someone who she would have to definitely earn her trust. Marissa was looking for good friends, considering she never had a best friend. Besides Nixon, she wasn’t exactly close to anyone or anything. Which sometimes she didn’t mind, it gave her less to worry about. Nixon wasn’t exactly capable of spreading secrets or backstabbing her. He was a great listener, because he had to be. “Pretty name.” Marissa said with a smile as the girl introduced herself. “Yeah, I kind of am too I guess. I’ve only been here for a couple months.” She replied. A lot of people were new at Pinewood this year. It was nice to know that people were in the same boat as her. Not so nerve-racking. [/size]

Marissa walked towards Nixon’s stall…[/size]
Hoping in the back of her mind that her new acquaintance would follow. The water bucket was getting heavy and if she didn’t get it to Nixon soon they both wouldn’t be so lucky about not getting water on them this time. As she walked passed a beautiful chestnut’s stall she saw that Nova had stopped. It was her horse and he was gorgeous. She took a quick look at his name plate, it read Vinny. Filling Nix’s water bucket she heard from the other stall that Nova thought Nixon was beautiful. “I could surely say the same about Vinny!” Marissa replied as she stepped outside the stall and looked at him once again. She wasn’t one to really like chestnut horses. They were plain to her and she liked more exotic colors like paints and greys. But the color on Vinny was outstanding and her heart melted at the sight of his perfect structure. It was almost time for Nixon’s warm up and he was getting anxious. Slipping the red halter over his head she tied him up to his stall door. Marissa wasn’t much a fan for cross ties. It was faster for her to just tie a quick release knot. She hurried to the tack room to gather his stuff and came back putting a red saddle blanket on him and his black English saddle snuggly on top. Securing the girth around him, she gave him a quick pat on the belly. She took the halter off of him and slipped on his black bridle. [/size]

As Vinny tried to sneak in a quick greeting…[/size]
Nixon leaned his head forward, neck stretched out for a quick sniff. When Nova pulled the chestnut back, Nixon put his head down in disappointment. She understood that she could possibly be concerned at how the horses would act towards each other. It had taken Marissa forever to get used to the fact that she didn’t have to avoid all living creatures with Nix as she had to with Prince. It was nice having a gentle horse. “Oh no worries there.” Marissa said with a slight laugh. “Nixon here wouldn’t hurt a fly.” She patted the horse’s neck and he nuzzled her shoulder. She didn’t exactly know what was going to happen next. If they were going to go ride together in the same place or even if Nova enjoyed the company as much as Marissa did. The lack of a social life she had was starting to annoy her. Obviously they weren’t automatically best friends now just because they had said a couple sentences to each other. But at least they were close enough to know each other’s names. That’s the farthest that Marissa had gotten so far from being here. Nixon nibbled Marissa’s hair, forcing her to come back to reality. “Oh, right. Sorry about that bud.” She started walking out to the English practice ring and realized that if she wanted to get to know someone more they were going to have to talk. “Do you.. Uhm.. want to accompany me and Nixon in the practice ring for a warm up? Or do you already have something else planned?” She asked kind of nervously. Normally Marissa wasn’t that shy. But ever since she moved she kind of lost her inner-social-butterfly.


Word count: 900ish
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