Cross Thoroughbred Racing Facility

[Story]

<sub>"Thank you for calling," Adam said gratefully, furrowing his eyebrows as he accepted the lead rope, again giving thanks. He clipped the lead rope on. "I expect it's going to be a long night," He commented, jaw working anxiously at the gum. He was definitely going to need this now. Stress would only have his heartburn increasing, which would be fun. No, the important thing was focusing on Celestial Zephyr. In Adam's eyes, it wasn't his accomplishments that he viewed and loved the stallion for, it was just how much they'd been through. Adam had helped raise this colt up when his dam had rejected him unexpectedly. He'd chosen him and purchased him with his own winnings. The horse had grown into a powerful stallion with confidence, rather than the nervous young thing he'd once been. "He's a tough horse. He survived the thieves. He can do this." He spoke aloud, as much to convince himself as the others if they cared.

Alexander eventually entered the stables with The Mighty Fitz. His normally pale face was only further paled after the shock of slipping from Fitz's back during an evening ride. He had a small concussion, but it wasn't much to worry about. The Russian walked down the stable aisle, shooting a glance at the group surrounding Zeph. He didn't acknowledge them, though, merely leading his colt off to the crossties. He hadn't spoken to Skya in a while. They hadn't gone to Russia as they'd talked about. Things hadn't been well since he pinned her to the wall.

Miguel was sitting in the bunkhouse near the fireplace. He was busy building a fire, determined to brightened the gloom and ward off the chill that had entered the bunkhouse when everyone left. He eventually got a roaring fire going, tempted to break out a few hotdogs to roast over the fire. That sounded fun. "That's something to do when you have company. Not by yourself."</sub>

[Deleted]

_{Skya giggled when Culver sniffed her sleeve, drooping his head as she fixated her gaze on a big roan and a little blonde Russian. Her head cocked to the side and she pursed her lips, eyes curious. He looked odd, at least to her. "You ight, Russia?" She quizzed, giving Culver a bit more of the rope to wander a few steps, which he took advantage of as he searched for remnants of feed. His nostrils flared as he sniffed around like a search dog, ears perked and twitching as his newly trimmed hoof stomped forward next to his head, before the others followed closely behind. He picked his head up and was offered a sugar cube by Skya, which he gladly took. So much for all the work spent when she had something he could munch on all along! "Don't be greedy." She murmured as the stallion lipped at her back pocket, pushing his nose away. The stud responded with a slap of his recently braided tail, huffing and standing still, bored eyes on the accompanying horse and jockey momentarily before he lost interest.}

[Horse]

<sub>Sadie's blue eyes had a worried light, glinting in the dim light of the stables. She let out a sigh and leaned back against one of the column's as she watched the scene unfolding. She nodded when he thanked her, just happy to help out. She cleared her throat and nodded slowly. "He'll be fine... I'm sure... Anything I can do?" She asked quietly, gaze flickering to her boyfriend's features, studying his expression with that intense gaze of hers. She was worried about the cherry bay stallion, but she was pretty positive that Celestial Zephyr would pull through.

Sunkissed Lullaby's ears flicked towards the trio of humans, nickering lowly, wondering what was going on down the way. She snorted softly and pawed at her stall door, wanting out to go out to the pasture. She circled once and flicked her ebony, thick tail and snorted again.</sub>

[Story]

<sub>Alexander lifted his head from where he'd bent to feel The Mighty Fitz's legs. His silvery eyes were still a touch dull, enough to be classified as gray in the gloom. "I am fine. I lost stirrup while riding and fell. I have small concussion." He was telling only half of the truth. He had indeed fallen while riding, receiving a little concussion. However, he hadn't lost a stirrup. He'd had a dizzy spell while riding and passed out, falling in the process. It was attributed to the medication he was on that kept his moods balanced so he wouldn't have one of his turns. "I am just a touch dizzy," He admitted stiffly, shifting. He wasn't sure if Skya had returned to trusting him or if she was still wary. He'd been distancing everyone for months now, focusing only on racing. It made things a touch easier for him to bear, this way.

"Not that I know of...I just need the vet to come and check on him..." Adam responded quietly, glancing up. "Thank you, everyone. I appreciate the help. I'm going to stay up for the rest of the night to make sure he's alright. I'm supposed to go down to the track at four thirty but if someone would be able to sit with him and make sure he's alright while I'm gone, I'd really appreciate it..." he said quietly, leading Celestial Zephyr down the stable aisle. "Poor boyo." He murmured.</sub>

[Horse]

<sub>Sadie nodded slowly, folding her arms across her chest. She sighed quietly once more. "Yeah, I'll be able to." She hadn't been planning to go to the track anyway. She was going to focus on getting back to the top of her game before she even considered getting more mounts. She frowned faintly for a moment, seeming distracted. She was low on money at the moment, but she'd make it worse. She always did. She shook her head to clear it and smoothed the hem of her shirt. She breathed softly through her nose and looked at the ground for a moment.

A few minutes later, the vet pulled up into the parking lot. The vet took a moment to gather his things before hurrying to the stables. He appeared near the entrance, kind, silver eyes taking in the scene as he raked a hair through his graying hair.</sub>

[Spotify]

_{Ever shifted her weight and leaned against the cool wood that held in the mare."Let me know when you're gonna put it up for auction. Sounds like a good foal and I could use one. I'm selling Rebel, she's one of the four horses I rescued about four months. She's the last to go and she'll get a nice price. I'll only have Devious and Lyric. Soon though it will be just Lyric. My mom wants to buy Devious from me for breeding and I told her yeah. So I could use another horse."she said, ducking her head as she realized she was rambling. "Sorry about my rambling... You probably don't care..but seriously let me know."she said, embarrassed. "And it doesn't. Concern me, I mean."she glanced at him,"I bet. You're always pretty busy, huh? Wouldn't it be just nice to relax and forget about this place just alittle while?"she had no idea where this was going, probably right down the toilet. She wasn't good at talking about that kind of stuff.}

[Story]

<sub>Aiden shook his head at once. "I guess I understand the stress that my dad went through now. This place led him to drinking, too, I think. Well, that and getting married. He didn't care about my mom. He just wanted a son to follow in his footsteps. I'm learning from him though. I'm just skipping the whole 'pursuit of love and a family' thing. It's wishful thinking in this day and age." He said dryly. "I'll let you know when Frayed Heart drops her foal. That won't happen until the spring anyway." He pointed out with a sigh. "I'm trying to track down Shadow's current owners though. He, um...I guess his owners went out of business and sold him without telling me. I've got to find him. I'll either get him back or hopefully find his new owners..."

Adam glanced toward Sadie and frowned slightly. "Yeah..." Since she was pretty much done racing anyway, it'd be best that way, right? Zeph knew her and vice versa. But still...it felt wrong to just leave Zeph there. "Eh...if I lose a mount or two, what'd it matter? I need to stay for Zeph. Never mind..." He said quietly, shooting her an apologetic look. He relaxed when he spotted the vet. "I think he's colicking..." He offered the thought.</sub>

[Deleted]

_{Skya shrugged, nodding understandingly. "Ah. Happens. Want me to take care of Fitz for you so you can sit down until your concussion wears off and you feel better?" She offered heartily, busying herself with checking on the outcome of Culver's braided tail and rubbing him down. His head turned as she began to rub his side, shaking out his mane and then studying Fitz and Sasha with perked ears. He took a step forward, not too strained by the lead rope since it still had a bit of wandering length for him. A few more small steps though, and it'd start tugging, which he didn't notice as he began to head their way, but his direction was changed almost immediately as the lead rope pulled his head around and he ended up facing Skya again in a matter of seconds, sighing in defeat as he ambled up to her. He lipped at the hand that held the rope, but eventually just stood there unblinkingly, wondering when she was going to put him in his stall with feed.}

[Horse]

<sub>Sadie just shrugged and nodded, eyebrows raising a tad when he shot her an apologetic look. She didn't blame him, she would have done the same thing. She glanced over when the vet came in, studying the older man's features for but a moment before she looked at the ground. She'd likely stay up with Adam, she didn't want to leave her boyfriend or the stallion in case things went south. Her eyes squinted slightly as she looked back up, wondering what the vet would have to say about the ailing Triple Crown Winner.

The vet set his things down and nodded, eyes studying the lines of the cherry bay stallion. "I think it might be... Good thing you have him up and walking. Does he feel hot or anything? Would you bring him here please?" The vet asked softly, eyebrows furrowing for just a moment.</sub>

[Spotify]

_{Ever nodded as she listened, it was shocking, but Ever actually was a good listener."Have you ever thought that maybe that's what you need? A love and a family?You're not your dad and plus you seem like the type of person that wants those things and from what I can tell you'd make a good husband and even better father."she said, shrugging her shoulder. Unlike me.. I'm the exact opposite. I wouldn't be a good mother. Ever thought bitterly. She frowned and glanced up at the mare,"Thanks."she nodded to the mare and than shifted her gaze to Aiden,"Do you have any idea where he might be? Like state wise?"she asked, tilting her just the slightest.}