this ain't a fairy tale [open]

[Anastasia Scar]

A light mist hung over the lush fields and wrapped around the barn. Pale golden light from the rising sun filtered through the denser fog in the sky just enough so that the dark shapes of grazing horses could be seen grazing along the fence as a small red pickup pulled in the driveway. Lighter equines were invisible in this mist, at least to human eyes. The red truck pulled up beside the barn and idled for a moment before the engine cut off. A few seconds later a girl opened the drivers side door and hopped down. Pushing a loose strand of blond hair from her brown eyes she slammed the door then went around and grabbed a bucket out of the passenger side. The bucket contained a curry comb, stiff brush, soft brush, hoof pick, mane and tail comb and various other grooming tools. It also held a bag of carrot sticks. Swinging the bucket at her side the girl moved toward the barn, pushing open the doors to a chorus of hungry nickers. Her lips curled into a smile as she let her gaze rest for moment on each large head before she finally found the one she was looking for; Sky. The paint mare was chewing on the latch on her stall and for the hundredth time the girl was thankful she had asked the stable to install an extra safety latch on her horse's door. Sky had a knack for escaping. Luckily the new latch seemed to be holding up rather well despite the thousand pound animal leaning on the door and the equine's attempts at opening it.

Stopping at Sky's door Ana was pleased when her horse stopped chewing on the latch and nuzzled the top of her head. Of course, Ana had always been more interesting then escape but it always made her feel special when her horse chose her over food, friends or even freedom. Setting the bucket on the floor she grabbed the halter from its hook on the wall and slipped it over Sky's head, hooking it so it fit snugly. Some horses could be led with too big halters or ropes around their necks but not Sky. Ana's horse needed a properly fitting halter and a lead rope. Sometimes she even needed a chain. Suppressing a yawn the girl pulled out her cell and checked the time again. Five am. It was early but Ana liked to be alone with the horses and the only time that happened in a barn this big was before everyone was up in the morning. Clipping a lead rope to Sky's halter she unlatched the door and opened it with one hand using the other to guide her mare into the isle way. Dropping the lead on the floor she looked pointedly at it then at Sky before walking around the paint horse to grab a stiff brush from the bucket. The only reason she left the lead rope on the ground was that she had taught Sky to ground tie when the mare was a yearling and it was something they worked on daily. She never left Sky alone when ground tied. Then again, she never left Sky alone when she was tied period.

Pulling the brush over the mare's ivory hide she sighed. Even when she was up all night Sky still managed to get herself covered in dirt. It was a trick every white horse managed to pull especially when their owners needed them to be sparkling clean. After removing most of the dirt with the stiff brush she cleaned it on the stall door then dropped it back in the bucket replacing it with the soft brush. After running that over Sky a few times she sighed. It just wasn't going to cut it today. A bath was inevitable. That didn't mean she couldn't put it off though. Running the brush over the mare's hide a few more times she finally put it away and took out the comb. It didn't take long to untangle Sky's silky mane or her long tail but Ana took longer then she should so as not to start on the hoofs too soon. It was a task she dreaded as well as one that had to be done as many as four times a day on Sky. The paint had a knack for getting things stuck in her feet and she went lame far quicker then most horses. Before even grabbing the hoof pick Ana led the horse to one of the wall rings and secured her on a very short rope. Now she took the pick and leaned down to run her fingers over Sky's scarred front leg. The mare had gotten into barbed wire the year before and though the damage had not been severe in any way Sky absolutely hated having those legs handled. The back ones she was fine with but she would extremely disliked the front ones to be handled. Carefully Ana tried to pick up the leg. The reaction was immediate and predictable. The mare's head shot up, her ears pinned, eyes rolled back in her head and she yanked the hoof out of Ana's grasp. Sighing the girl took a step back and waited until her horse had calmed before moving forward to try again.

words :: dont feel like counting...
notes :: ehh...i dont like it.
music :: ana playlist

[Anastasia Scar]

finished...

[Zadie Pierce]

Zadie lay there in bed, fast asleep. It was about six oclock in the morning, and she wouldn't normally get up and out of the house until about eight, unless she was going to a competition or if something important was happening. Then she took in a deep sharp breath and shot up, sitting in the middle of the bed at the sound of her mobile phone vibrating heavily against the table. 'Urghh. she grumbled and flopped back into bed, laying there with her head slumped on the pillow. Who the hell is texting me at this time in the morning? she thought to herself. Rolling over she reached out blindly in the dark, scrabbling for her mobile before grasping it with her hands and unlocking it. The text read - Hey Zadie. Just letting you know that Gunner is here. We have put him in one of the stables for you, you might want to go round and see him. Immediately Zadie slammed her phone back down on the table and jumped out of bed, whipping her curtains open and trying to find any clothes she could. As usual it was the pair of baggy jeans left on the bedroom floor from the night before and a strappy top she just grabbed out of her drawer. Picking up her phone again she shoved it in her pocket and ran her fingers through her hair, a poor excuse for brushing it. It didn't really need brushing though, Zadie rarely did it. She ran out of the house as fast as she could, not even bothering to lace up her boots.

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Zadie pulled up in her huge black Land Rover, screeching the brakes and sending dust flying into the misty air wildly as she stopped. Her driving wasn't that brilliant, she enarly lost her license through speeding tickets and being pulled over by the police. She jumped out, slamming the door heavily and running over towards the large barn. Zadie felt like she was going to burst, she was so excited about her new horse. She had never owned a stallion before, it had always been mares. Her heavy boots were loud on the concrete floor as she burst through the door, her eyes running up the inside of the barn to catch a glimpse of her new boy. There he was! He was a paint stallion, tri-coloured. He was mainly brown, with minimal white markings and a black mane and tail. He was beautiful. He looked quite wound up though, perhaps it was because he needed to settle into a new home, he had only been here for about an hour. Gunner was pacing around his stall impatiently, snorting and calling to the mare in the stall opposite. She saw another girl in the there with the mare, and smiled at her, not saying anything and speed-walking past her over towards her new baby. That was unusual for Zadie, she normally made conversation with everyone, she was quite an outgoing person, but she was too excited. Besides, she could say hi later. She approached his door quietly, she didn't want to go running up and making him anxious. Reaching out, Zadie let her hand lay flat so he could get a good sniff. Gunner reached forward slowly giving Zadies hand a good sniff before taking his nose and nudging her head with quite a force. Zadie was knocked off balance slightly but laughed and came back to the door. She took hold of the lock and pulled it back, swinging the door open towards her and then pulling it shut as she entered the stall, just incase Gunner was to make a bolt for freedom. 'Hey boy. she said quietly as she entered, trying to calm the stallion down a bit. He was still pacing around, but he stopped and looked at her as she spoke. Zadie moved towards him quietly reaching out her hands. Gunner wasn't keen on this advance and flattened his ears back, raising his head high into the air agressively and backing away. Zadie then stopped and put her hands down and waited for Gunner to come towards her, and soon enough, he did. She ran her hands softly over his muscular frame, making sure he hadn't caught any injuries whilst being transported here. Zadie smiled as he seemed to be in good condition, and she couldn't wait to ride him. But she thought that she would leave him alone for a bit to let him settle in. She gave him a big pat and then walked away slowly, exiting his stall and making sure the kick-bolt was secure, he wasn't gong anywhere.

Zadie turned around to face the other girl, and smiled. 'Hey, sorry for not introducing myself. I'm Zadie. Zadie Pierce.' She reached out her hand in a friendly way, offering it for this girl to shake. She ran her fingers through her hair once again, pulling it away from her face. 'He's my new stallion, London Gunner. I was pretty excited to meet him.' Zadie turned to glance at Gunner again who was still pacing around, but he seemed to be calming down a bit, which was good. He was making quite a bit of noise which was quite embarrassing, but Zadie didn't care. She was becoming fond of this new stallion already even though he looked like he was going to be a bit of a handful!

Word count.x 904
Muse.x Good!
Comments.x None!

[Anastasia Scar]

By the time she had managed to get Sky's hoof cleaned out Ana was sweaty, frustrated and just about ready to quit. But she knew she couldn't leave a rock in any of the horse's other feet. This time though, instead of trying Sky's front hoof she moved back to dig the dirt out of her rear hoofs. That was easy enough. Ana had been handling the mare's hoofs ever since she was born. The front ones were the problem. After she had made sure Sky's feet were fine she slowly moved around to the front of her horse. Before she could stoop down to pick up the mare's hoof she heard the doors open again. Groaning she stood on tip toe to peer over Sky's back. Another girl was walking quickly down the isle and though she smiled distractedly in Ana's direction she did not introduce herself and seemed thoroughly engrossed in the stallion in the stall across from Sky's. Good, hopefully she wouldn't notice Sky's behavior then. Leaning down she ran her hand along the mare's leg and went to pick up the hoof. Just at that moment the stallion let out a shrill whinny and Sky's head shot up from where she had been trying to sink her teeth into Ana's back. Taking advantage of the mare's momentary distraction Ana got the hoof off the ground and cleaned it in record time. Just as she slowly set it on the floor she felt hot breath on her neck and turned to find that Sky had managed to pull the end of her slipknot so that the lead rope sat uselessly on the floor. Now free, and without the order to stand tied, Sky bolted away from Ana's grasping hands and across the isle to shove her head over the stallion's stall door. Luckily the girl had just left the stall and bolted it.

Dropping the hoof pick in the bucket Ana leaped forward to snatch Sky's lead from the floor and yank her horse away from the stall. Staring straight at Sky's eyes she took on a very serious tone. "No Sky." Then, "NO!" Louder this time as the mare had tried to drag Ana back to the stall. Finally the horse let out a loud snort and shifted her weight to one hoof. Turning Ana smiled at the other girl. Zadie. It was an unusual name and one Ana had never heard before but she liked it. "Hi Zadie, I'm Anastasia Scar but most people call me Ana." Shaking the other girl's hand firmly she gave another yank on Sky's lead as the mare tried to sneakily inch toward the stall. "And this crazy girl is A Hat Full Of Sky. Or Sky." Turning an appreciative eye on the stallion Ana grinned. He was definitely a fine looking animal. Almost a full hand shorter then Sky's sixteen hands but he wasn't tiny. He looked full paint as well, while Sky was only half. The mare poked her nose under Ana's arm, sticking her head out and eying Zadie with interest. Reaching over with her other hand Ana stroked her beloved mare's nose. Gunner was certainly a spectacular stallion and Ana was jealous, she had always wanted a stallion after all, but she was quite happy with her blue eyed, half paint, giant of a crazy mare. "He is beautiful. Sorry about Sky by the way. She can be a bit of a handful but I love her to death." Planting a kiss on the mare's forehead she ignored Sky's impatient nudges on her side. She was definitely ready for breakfast but Ana wanted to talk a little longer. She had no real friends here since she had just moved in a few days ago and had spent most of her time at the barn. It would be nice to have a horse savvy friend to hang out with.

words :: 667
notes :: ew....i dont like it. sorry it took so long too, iv been really busy.
music :: ana playlist

[Anastasia Scar]

sorry it took so long...and is so short. im busy and low on muse x.x