Racing Heartbeats

[Ravenbelle]

Jamison

Name: Jameson "James" Barken
Age: 28
Height: 5'8 (172 cm)
Personality: Very comedic and honest. He's a good guy and a skilled rider in both western and english style. He's well off, as a well-known racehorse trainer, but he doesn't act high and mighty. He's really down to earth and loves horses to death, especially the pair he owns for himself, Malachi and Lizeya.

Lizeya

Name: Lizeya
Age: 7 years old (a horse's life span is about 27)
Gender: Mare
Personality: Lizeya has been through no shortage of hardships in her life. Her history is long and a bit tragic. She has become a shy and easily spooked horse, but it would be a lie to say she is without hope yet.
Breed: Arabian
Height in hands: 14 (142 cm)
Description: Lizeya is wall-eyed and beautifully so. her blue eyes are very observant. She has chestnut stockings and a light brown coat with chestnut spots around her right eye. her long mane and tail are dark brown with white highlights, most prominent in her tail.

It's been three days. Before the soft bedding and the weird stomach aches adjusting to new feed and the crooning voices and pitiful stares, she had been somewhere...darker. But still more predictable than this place. Here, the walls weren't too different as they still confined her too a small space to sway in, trying to keep her weight off off each par of hooves at a time. But in the other place, the place she had once called home, the mare had been traumatized, transforming what had once been a strong horse into a frightful, timid filly of a mare. And from her point of view, she was the only thing to blame. The humans seemed to have a lot of different opinions on her situation, but she was just... confused. There was no one who really knew what had happened to her, not even the other horses who were with her now, in the stalls surrounding hers. She hadn't told them anything, but they were unnervingly nice to her, encouraging her to eat and telling her where she was. Lizeya now knew she had been taken into that rattly trailer in the dark and brought to the Patina Animal Rescue Shelter.

There hasn't been a lot going on here, but everything was so new and different and terrifying. anyone who came into her cell had to tie her up because she was afraid they'd hurt her like she had been hurt in her old home. Their hands, which used to scare her so much now rub strangely comforting gel onto her burns and adjust the very weird booties on her hooves. And then they leave and she doesn't pay attention to what they were telling her.
Today it's morning. And she hates mornings. The horses who live on either side of her always give her weird looks because she wakes up more afraid than ever. She gets nightmares a lot. And apparently that's pretty rare. Even in a shelter. So even in a place full of misfits and strangers, she's the weird one. All she remembers was being forced to walk into this dark metal thing that took her far away from the place she called home. It was burning that night and by the time she was taken away, screaming and panicking, the whole barn was on fire. There was a lot of pain that night. Now there's just a bunch of aching.

But the morning came and went, bringing feed and water she barely touched and more ointment. She tried her hardest to keep away from everyone. And then someone new came in with one of the workers in the late afternoon. Both men stopped in front of her stall. She sort of cowered on the back wall, watching them carefully. One was short and balding with a plaid shirt on and glasses. She'd seen him around but never learned his name. The other one was new. He had tanner skin, wild, dark hair and kinder eyes. She didn't trust him one bit. He was smiling at her.

~~~

James watched the mare closely. She was beautiful despite the burn marks found mostly on her right side and rump and a tiny one on her left cheek. There was something he saw in her wall-eyes that he knew would be perfect. He had to drive a while to get here, but she was going to be worth it. His wife was pregnant with a baby girl and he knew she wanted a mare for her to grow up with. Sure this one was a bit on the timid side, but he had all the time in the world to help her. He couldn't resist a horse in need. His own gelding needed a buddy anyway. James wasn't planning on a female originally, but what his wife says usually goes. Lizeya, as the man beside him had called her, would be his choice. He didn't even need to step inside her stall or say a word to tell. He didn't want to scare her before he had to anyway. And with a nod to the man with the glasses, they were off to the office to sign papers of adoption. He bought her all the things she'd need, including the new feed she was adjusting to and brought it to his truck. He had to insist that he pay for her, even though the shelter had tried to give away the newest horse because of her injuries and abscesses. Thanks to the poultices they had fitted her with, Lizeya should be able to walk well without them in about 5 days. And because of the vet bills, they needed the money more than he did, even with a daughter coming in 3 months.

Now comes the hard part. Bringing her home. He knew this would be terrifying and painful for her, but once she was home, he intended to make everything as comfortable for her as possible. The employee had offered to help, but he said he didn't want to freak her out that much. So with her new, blue harness and lead rope in hand, James slowly entered her stall.
~~

Ever since the new guy showed up, the other horses have been making a racket. At least in her head. Apparently when he had walked away from her stall and towards the end of the hall, Sewall (the gelding closest to the office) had heard that he was going to adopt her. Some of the most mareish horses were insulted about not being picked and many were excited for her, but Liz was just scared. She was going to be taken somewhere new again? She had never been moved so much in her life! She hadn't even really gotten used to the shelter and now he was going to cart her away? She had no idea what he would be like or what he would do. Lizeya tried to tune it all out and ignore them, shaking her head back and forth and pacing just a little.
When he showed up in front of her stall again with a harness, she froze. Staring at him with wide, frightened eyes, Lizeya backed up as he walked in slowly like a cat stalking its prey. Liz whined and kept stepping backwards until she hit a corner. She whined. He was a bit farther than arms length away now and she was breathing hard with her ears pinned back all the way.

Calm down, it'll be--
He's not going to hurt you--
You'll be fine--
Just breathe--

Lizeya couldn't listen to them! What do they know?! She had no clue what he was going to do and he was closer now. The mare closed her eyes and squealed, pressing herself back against the corner even though her hooves were screaming at her.

"Sssshhh...It's alright."

She opened her eyes slowly, staring at the man who was speaking to her now instead of moving toward her.

"I'm not going to hurt you, I promise."

Well I'm not going to let my guard down over that. That's what the vet said and she was lying. She huffed.

"Please. I know you don't trust me and I don't expect you to, but I can help you if you come with me. My name is James. This is going to be tough Lizeya, but you'll make it. You've been through a lot, I know. So I know you can do this. I'm going to bring you with me. And things will be better."

She didn't really have a choice anyway. So when he approached again, she pulled her head up really high to try to keep him from reaching her head. She was scared he would hit her and she held her breath with her eyes closed. But nothing happened. He was standing really close to her, but he didn't lay a finger on her. He just looked up at her kindly and waited. Liz was confused and lowered her head just slightly. Which was when he got a chance to slip the harness over her ears and clip it on. She squealed and pulled back, yanked on the rope, but he held her tight and tried to calm her down with a gentle voice.

~~

It killed him to see her so afraid of everyone, especially him and from there it was difficult to get her into his trailer. She was whinnying, but couldn't rear back because of her aching hooves. He knew he couldn't keep her from resisting, but he had to get her home. It was with no shortage of apologies that he forced the mare into his trailer with a bit of help and shut the door swiftly. He was going to make up for all this as much as he possibly could.

...

He got her home when the sun was setting and Skye, his 4 year old son, was the first one to meet him outside, jumping up and down by the driver's side window. He was so excited to see the new arrival but James was less optimistic about Lizeya's reaction to newcomers. Especially ones this fragile and loud. She had stopped kicking at the metal since he was sure that hurt her, but that didn't mean she was any less nervous to be here. His wife waited byt he front door, hands on their growing child. He smiled, sent his son back inside and said they'd all go say hi in the morning, when she'd be able to see them all better before nightfall. He told them he'd be right in for dinner and then let the door close before sighing and walking back to the exit of the trailer. He knew he was going to put her in an empty stall by the entrance to the barn so she would only have his other horse in the stall beside hers. Hopefully she'd be more comfortable that way.

~~

The whole ride in another trailer was just as nerve-wracking as the first, even thought this time it wasn't as dark outside. When she was pulled in, screaming and kicking again, the door slammed and freaked her out. Trailers are loud and she began the journey still kicking and trying to get them to take her out. She could hardly move in it and every pothole in the road hurt her so bad, especially when she bumped against the side, where her burn left her exposed skin red and blistered. She had only forced herself to calm down when there weren't many cars around any more and she could see more trees than buildings on each side of the road. It was a relatively long journey and this time, she was conscious through all of it, so she waited and wondered why James had come all this way to come and get such a worthless horse.
When the truck finally stopped and she heard James, a little voice and a door closing, the man who adopted her came walking toward the trailer again. She contemplated making a run for it, but there was no use. She had nowhere to go and her hooves were killing her. So when he came inside to get her, Lizeya kept as far away from him as possible, huffing a few times as she started walking out again. She cooperated much better this time, but still kept her distance from James as much as he could with him walking on her left side. She didn't even try to stop and graze. She just watched him warily, wondering if he always smiled like that. He led her to a white barn with a blue roof, calmly stopping at the half-open door. Liz could hear someone in there and there were a few other horses in there too.

"Oh. Angela's still here." James said, though he didn't seem to be speaking to her this time. She hung back and listened, ears flicking back and forth. James opened the door wider and Lizeya backed up a bunch when the noise freaked her out. She gasped and scooted back until James held the rope tight at the end, waiting for her to get used to the sight before her and the lack of the loud noise of the barn door.
There was only one other mare in there. Besides that, they were all male and one human girl was just heading out of a stall at the end, one hand still holding an empty feed bucket. Apparently they'd all just been fed. Lizeya gulped and stepped forward cautiously.

"You just got done, Angela?"

"Yep! I left some feed in the empty stall for your newcomer. Hope she feels better soon." She smiled, with a bit of hay still in her hair as she came toward the entrance. Liz kept away from her too. She put the bucket in a room in the middle and then James gave her money with another exchange Liz didn't catch and then the girl walked away. Lizeya was still as far as she could get from the chattering horses. By now, some of them had noticed her and the others were muzzle-deep in feed buckets.

"C'mon Lizeya. Welcome home." James said and Liz gulped again, hesitating as he had to pull a few times to get her all the way in her new stall. The horse beside her seemed very aware of what was going on. She was just really anxious.

 

[Shelby]

Malachi

Malachi

Name: Malachi
Age: Six years
Gender: Gelding
Breed: Thoroughbred
Personality: Though he can be quite the stubborn horse, and maybe even a little hotheaded, especially if he doesn't get his way with something, he can be a bit of a sweetheart when he wants to be. Or, rather, he can be nice to anyone for that matter. The only one he is typically a 'sweetheart' for is for Jame's son and his wife, and maybe even Angela though he loves to pester her so because he knows that he can. Though it would take a lot of trust for him to be able to be nice, or even a bit playful, with someone, given how reserved he can be. He is, though, quite expressive and will voice his discomfort about anything. He has a bit of a hard time trying to spread his attention and time with James, however he tries his best to not let it bother him too much when he has to pay attention to other horses.

"Oh. Angela's still here."

The voice alone caused Malachi to pick his head up from his feed bucket and perk his ears up to point them in the direction in which the voice had come from. James... Finally he was back! Where he went, the thoroughbred could not say, however it would be a bit of a lie to say that Malachi hadn't pouted over the fact that his owner hadn't been around for the day. No, he didn't have separation anxiety or anything of the like, and, most of the time, when James did leave he always knew that it was for a good cause and he was usually generally calm about the matter. After all, with James being who he was, often being asked to train another horse to race or even just boarding a horse until their owner was able to come back, so Malachi had become used to having to share his time with the man. However, generally, when moments like that arose the man wouldn't promise that he'd take Malachi so that they could go and have a good run, such as he had said the day before to the thoroughbred.

However, things hadn't worked out, apparently. And instead of seeing James that morning after being fed with his tack, he saw Angela what that smile she generally held upon her lips before she walked over to his stall and pet the middle of his face. Of course Malachi was used to the girl, however he had become a bit sour over the fact because if she was here, than that obviously meant that James wasn't and he wouldn't be back for a while. So he had pouted for the majority of the day, Angela calling him out on it on a few particular occasions throughout the day, though there had been those few moments when he wanted to be particularly playful and push the girl around, pushing his head against her back in order to get her to move was what he called playful to her, which resulted in a few empty scoldings, but, again, the two would normally do that with one another while she was here. Malachi pushing her around, though still being relatively gentle, and her usually sighing and commenting on what a pain he was before she would go tend to the other horses that James may or may not have there.

Unfortunately there were others thoroughbreds there: thee other geldings --one bay with one white sock on his hind left leg named Black Jack, one solid chestnut colored one called Joker, and one other chestnut colored one with four socks on his legs, as well as a white marking on his forehead, named Bingo--, and one mare --a grey colored thoroughbred named Blue Indego--, that James was training/boarding up for the time being. However, these four had been around before, a familiar sight to Malachi, though that didn't mean he had to enjoy their company all that well.

Okay, so maybe he wasn't that good with sharing, especially when it came to his attention that James would give him, but he knew how important the job was to James, so he tried his best to not complain about it.

When the door to the barn was finally beginning to open, Malachi peeked his head up from his stall, leaving some of his feed still uneaten while he looked towards the little bit of light that shone though, though it didn't give much of a change given the lights that were already on in the building. But... Something seemed off. There was another smell, another horse smell, and as soon as he came more into the building, mostly still staying by the entrance with a lead rope in his hands, Malachi turned his eyes to see that the rope had, in fact, been attached to another horse. Another mare. But it didn't seem as if she would be here temporarily like the others, seeing as normally the other owners would come into the barn along with James. This one was alone though.

He narrowed his eyes a bit, flicking one of his ears back as a little more chatter from two of the thoroughbreds that also peeked their heads out. "A new one?" Black Jack called out.

Malachi ignored the talk, however, and watched the exchange between James and Angela before the girl walked off. Soon James started pulling the mare into the stall right next to his, to which Malachi noticed the resistance that came from her. She seemed nervous, as if she didn't want to be here... Maybe like she thought someone was going to hurt her.

"Come on, Lizeya. Welcome home." So she wasn't only here temporarily. This was her home. He had gotten another horse, and, honestly, Malachi didn't know how to take it.

------

James closed the stall door behind him, one hand still holding onto the rope while the other held onto the door, pulling it shut until he heard a 'click' indicating that latch had fallen, locking the door for the time being. Okay, good. "Easy girl, I'm not here to hurt you. You're safe here, trust me." Again he smiled towards Lizeya, hoping that his words were reaching her and meant something. Though, he knew, that after being through the traumatic experience that the man at the shelter had told him about, saying that they saved her from a burning barn, he knew that he wasn't going to be able to gain her trust so easily, and he didn't blame how spooked she was either.

Looking down at the floor to see that Angela had done what he asked in putting down a little more hay in her stall so that she had a little more padding, he nodded his head to himself before dropping the rope from his hands and slowly started to approach Lizeya. "I'm only going to take the halter off, okay? Maybe you'll be able to relax a little more without it." He reached his hands forward and grabbed onto the halter, biting his lip as he unclasped the side of it before slipping it off. Just be gentle, no sudden movements that may scare her.... When he had gotten it off, he gathered up the rope in his hands before taking a few steps back, his lower back bumping against the stall door. "Now, just make yourself comfortable and you'll be fine. You may even really like it here."

With a grin, he turned back, reached over to unlatch the door, and then opened it back up before he closed it. Again he gave another glance to the new mare, still catching that note of fear that she held in her eyes. Hopefully, she would be able to lose that look and trust him soon.

-------


"Hey buddy." All throughout the time that James had been in the stall with the mare, Malachi continued to stare, listening to him speak to her until he finally came out of the stall and went over the next to come look at him. Oh, look at that smile, that innocent look that James presented across his lips. When the man reached his hand forward in order to, no doubt, run his hand up and down the middle of his face, Malachi snorted, pulled his ears back, and turned his head in another direction. Oh no. He wasn't letting him in that easily. "Ah, come on Malachi, don't be like that. It was only one day." Another snort came from Malachi, and when James tried to reach out for him again the thoroughbred turned his whole body away from the man, his backside facing him now.

Nevertheless, there was still a chuckle coming from James. "Alright, alright, I get it. I'll make it up to you, I promise." When Malachi felt a pat on his backside, he turned his head to look at the man. "But I do want you to watch over Lizeya, okay? You know, make her feel comfortable, show here that there isn't anything to worry about while she's here... I want you two to be close, seeing as she'll be here just as long as you will be." Another snort. What, so now he was going to have to look over another horse? "Glad you're agreeing to it." And with that, he could hear James start to walk off down towards the other horses that were in the barn for the time being.

So, be nice and presentable for the newcomer? Malachi's ears flickered at the thought before he turned himself around again and peeked his head out of his stall, his head pointing in the direction to where Lizeya was. "Well, you heard him. Feel comfortable here, there's nothing to worry about, you'll be safe, blah blah blah..." He grimaced to himself, his consoling and greeting skills just in a general lack since he normally didn't do things like that. "...Who are you? Where did you come from?" Maybe try a different approach, he figured, to be a little nicer.

 

[Ravenbelle]

Lizeya started walking toward the farthest corner of the stall facing away from them all, though her ears told them she was listening. Her stall door clicked shut and she sighed, knowing that for some reason, he was still in her space. James dropped her lead rope and started stepping toward her, so she looked back at him and pinned her ears back. There was no way to avoid him, really. She was in a square cell she couldn't smash or jump her way out of. She was always, always trapped. Her blue eyes widened and she tried to move away from him, but there was no space behind her and her hooves, stuck in epsom salt booties, weren't going to help her move too quickly away for now. She huffed at him before he told her what he wanted to do. It would be nice to get this thing off her face, but she still didn't want him to touch her. She started to pull her head up and away from him again, but he new her trick and his hands held the halter tight before she could get away. Lizeya squealed, closed her eyes and backed up away from him as soon as the halter clip opened and let her pull her head out. Her rump hit the wall and she winced, ears back again since that was one of the burned areas on her skin.

But after that, James got out of her stall again, gave her a few more false hopes, then moved on to the next horse. She retreated to the farthest corner from them all and bowed her head a little. She knew there was food and water here for her, but she didn't want any. She was tired after such a long day. But she still tried to listen to what was going on around her. At least for now. She learned that the dark horse beside her was named Malachi and James seemed closest to him, despite how Malachi was treating him. James sure was chipper for a human male. She didn't like that he'd given Malachi her name or a suggestion to watch over her. She didn't want anyone's help. She just wanted to be left alone and not stared at. But it's not like she had a choice anyway.
The gray mare across from her had noticed her, but didn't greet her. She spoke instead to the bay horse beside her and across from Malachi. Liz could hear her, but didn't make it obvious that she could.

Do you see the marks on her skin? Are those burns?
Looks like it. The gelding only looked up at her between mouthfuls of feed.
And she has booties. On all four hooves! Dang, what'd she do? James must have adopted her. Maybe from a shelter.
Mhm.

Lizeya stopped listening after that. They were pretty much just like the other horses at the animal rescue center. Even the gelding beside her. He was insensitive at first and she only spared him a glance before looking away again. her body wanted to close her eyes, get some sleep and reprieve from the events of today. But she knew that there would be no reprieve. Only bad memories. so even when Malachi tried to make a tiny bit of effort to ask about her, she didn't reply at all. She was sure he didn't really care about her anyway.

--

Once James had greeted every feeding horse, he headed toward the barn door again and smiled back at everyone. His gaze lingered of course, on Malachi and Lizeya. he was glad they were here together. The mare would come around nicely and his family would be here in the morning to see her. For now, Emily and Skye were waiting for him. It was his turn to get dinner.
"Goodnight." He waved to the horses and closed the barn door behind him before heading home with a satisfied smile on his face.

 

[Shelby]

When he received no answer from the mare, Malachi couldn't help but tilt his ears back before he shook his head and turned to look away from her. Alright, fine then. She didn't want to talk, and he wasn't about to make her, or converse with her any longer. Not that he thought he would get much from her anyway, but still. Nevertheless, he couldn't help but steal another look at the newcomer, her presence a mystery to him, as well as the other horses in the barn, however he could care less about their opinion about the matter. They weren't the ones that lived here. He picked his head up, snorted, and then turned his eyes to look away again. Don't stare, he told himself, because not only would it be odd, but he didn't want to seem as if he was that interested in her, even though he was, despite his earlier and still there reservations about her presence.

He didn't understand why she seemed to frightful of everything, however he did notice the marks that covered parts of her body, as well as the boots on her hooves and legs. It seemed as if she had a rough life, her eyes, what he had seem of them, stricken with a sort of fear that he didn't understand. Yes, he realized, that the other thoroughbreds were more than likely correct with their matters of James having probably got her from a shelter because no person would give a horse up like that in that sort of condition, nor would one even show that. But what happened to her? What made her to be like this and what kind of home, or situation, did she come from? He wanted to ask her, but he kept the words and bay and decided to just leave her be. Again he reminded himself that she probably wouldn't answer anyway, and it wasn't like they were close enough for him to ask such a personal question.

"Maybe James' is trying to replace you," Joker's voice rang out, his head poking out of his stall as little pellets of oats stuck to his mouth, after James closed the doors to the barn and left. His attention was pointed to Malachi, to which the dark bay thoroughbred pinned his ears back and gave a snort. "I mean, think about it," Joker continued on, loud enough so that he knew full well that the mare could hear as well. "He, out of no were, got another horse, and there's no doubt that he'll put a lot of attention into her. I mean, look at the state that she's in; he has to pay a lot of attention to her." Believe it or not, the thought worried Malachi, but he wouldn't let the others know of that.

"Oh, quiet," Malachi spoke back, shaking his head as he turned a circle in his stall. "You don't know anything about James or why he brought her here. I doubt if I'm being replaced because what would he replace me for?"

Another snort came from Joker. "Well, I'd still be worried." The other thoroughbreds in the barn looked back and forth between the conversation, their attention now turned to Malachi, but instead of responding to the comment merely shook his head again and turned back to his feed. It would just be best to ignore them he knew, but he still couldn't shake the gelding's words. Replacement...

But why would James try and replace him, especially with a horse in such a state? There was a doubt in Malachi's mind that Lizeya raced which was what Malachi did, though not as often as the other thoroughbreds in the barn did. He was more of a sprinter runner, only really having the stamina to go shorter distances, but he did like to burst into spurts to run to his full capacity. He wasn't a distance runner, but he was quick, however it would be a lie to say that he had been doing his best in the past races that he had been in. Coming in fourth and the second in the last two, it wasn't the best records, but it also wasn't the worst. He had just been... Distracted recently. Yeah, that was it. He pawed at the ground at the thought, it being much too unsettling for him.

---

When the sound of the door opening and closing, Emily turned only to see Skye running in the direction where the noise came from before the 'oof' sound came from James, indicating that Skye had, once again, pounced on his father. Nevertheless, she couldn't help but smile at the thought, picturing it in her mind as she had seen it so many times before she looked down at her stomach and rubbed her hands against it. Only a few more months, and then they would be blessed with another child. Believe it or not though, she found herself a little more nervous about this one, but it mostly had a lot to do with Skye. Already was he so much like his father, and while he already knew that he was going to get a little sister and said that he was completely fine, and even really happy, about it, she wondered if the same attitude would be sported after she was finally here. It would be a lot different, and she almost felt bad that she would have to split her time between her two babies.

But, Skye was growing up, as saddening of a thought as that was. At least for a few more years she would have another baby to look after as her little boy slowly grew into the person he was to be later in life.

Picking her head up, Emily's smile brightened when she saw the two walk into the kitchen, Skye in James' arms before he was set back down to the ground. Emily stood from her seat before walking over to James and giving him a peck on the lips before stepping back and raising her brows as she gave a little sigh. "So, how is she? Are you sure she's going to be fine in the barn tonight with all the other horses in there? She looked very skittish getting out of the trailer. I just hope those marks will heal on her quickly."

 

[Ravenbelle]

She heard Malachi give up on getting anything out of her. She didn't have to turn back to tell. She simply kept her head bowed in the corner and tried to sleep. At least he had been less persistent about it than the mares at the shelter. They were always trying to 'help' and she she didn't deserve that. Don't they see that? All of them? Though none of the other horses were close enough to be able to touch her, she didn't want them trying to 'help'
either. Surely they didn't all belong to James, right? He seemed to have the closest bond with Malachi. This bunch of athletic horses weren't a real family, a real herd...were they?

She shook her head, trying to pry herself away from that stupid dream. She would never have a family. She needed to get that through her thick skull and watch her back. She just wanted to sleep. Maybe if she's lucky, she won't have another nightmare. She was trying to fool herself, but she'd try anything if she could just forget about all of this for awhile. She ignored her feed. So she should have been able to ignore the other horses. But of them was particularly loud, making her ears flick for a moment. It was all to tease Malachi, surely. And it seemed her suspicion was confirmed about Malachi being the only one that James kept for himself, but she still felt like flinching at the words the thoroughbred spoke loudly. She didn't want attention and she didn't want special treatment. She had once wanted to go home, but now she doesn't even know where home is anymore.

Only when the teasing boy had nothing left to bother Malachi with did the dark bay use Lizeya's method and ignore them. He surely didn't have much to worry about. She was worthless. Maybe even worthless enough to slaughter. She just hoped she could avoid that thought well enough to sleep now. And though she tried standing still, breathing deeply, calming down and pushing away the dark memories, nothing worked. Her mind was still whirring away, trying to make sense of everything, set a new goal even. She didn't even know what she wanted anymore. To be left alone or to be taken in or to be scared or angry...
Her blue eyes watered and she lowered her head a little closer to the ground. Even then, after everyone had fallen silent, it took her a long time to fall into a fitful sleep until morning.

---

James smiled into the sweet kiss his wife stood to bestow upon his lips. He held her hands in his while Skye pulled out a chair at the table. Emily had made some meatloaf and it smelled so good. He was starving. He had been on a bit of a trip to get to the shelter and as soon as he saw Lizeya, he knew she would belong here. He was worried about her of course though, just like his kind wife.

"She'll be alright. She's strong, I can tell. She just has some settling in to do. She's not as aggressive as she is scared. I'm sure we could have Skye see her tomorrow. And Bella." He smiled down at their unborn baby girl and let go of one of Emily's hands to place his on her round middle.
"You hungry in there? So am I?" He chuckled and Emily beamed. Oh how they loved each other so.

With that, the beautiful family settled down to dinner and and later to bed. James had a lot of work ahead of him with Liz, and Emily with taking care of Bella and Skye, but they would make it. And they would love it.

 

[Shelby]

When he had finally finished his feed, Malachi only flicked his ears in the direction of the other horses at the sound of their voices neighing about, speaking among one another. To be honest, it was still a surprise to see them conversing so easily with one another, mostly because there were other thoroughbreds that would periodically come into the stalls of the barn with their owners wanting James' help with training that would never speak to one another and would keep to themselves. But, apparently, despite their racing and competitive blood, at least they were generally friendly. When they weren't competing against one another that was, however, if he had been hearing correctly, none of these horses competed against each other, nor were the chances of that happening large. They all trained and competed in different events, or rather in different turfs and lengths that worked best for them. That, he figured, probably but an ease in the tension between all of them.

Eventually he drowned them out though and flicked one of his ears to point in the direction of the new mare, obviously a permanent residence at this place now. She was interesting, Malachi thought, but he couldn't figure out why. He couldn't deny the slight apprehension towards the mare if only because of Joker's remark of her being a replacement to him. Though he was trying to convince himself otherwise, the words still rang through his thoughts, bothering him. Why did James need to find another horse to bring here? For Skye maybe? Generally James didn't let Skye ride on him, though the few times that it had happened Malachi had to keep a mind on the fact that he was much smaller than James, and much lighter. It was irritating though, he couldn't deny, because he couldn't have just sprinted and took off any of those times like he could with James, but, always, he relented and just dealt with it. The kid was pretty rambunctious as well, but, at times, when he was able to see the little boy he couldn't deny the slight amusement in seeing him.

So maybe he did get Lizeya for Sky, or even Emily. Just so that they could have a leisure riding horse. Except, why would he get one as frightened as she was? That thought alone made him wonder, again, what had happened to her to put her in such a state. Apparently it wasn't something little, if the scars adorning her body were any indication of it, but would could it have been?

The thoroughbred snorted to himself lightly as he shook his head. Just stop worrying about it, he told himself as he dipped his head a bit, pivoting his ears to point normally again. Just rest, and leave things be until the morning. And with that thought, he slowly slipped into sleep.


He woke with a start that morning, a sudden sound rousing him from his wake as he quickly picked his head up. His eyes instantly looked out towards the thoroughbreds on the other side of the stall, all of them still seeming to be asleep for the moment, or maybe half asleep. No, it couldn't have been them. But then... Malachi turned his attention to the stall that stood beside him, his eyes peering at the new mare as he looked t her frame. Slight trembles seemed to run through her body, something frantic in her eyes. Had she been the one to make the noise? He took a breath calming himself down before he turned his body to face the direction of her stall. "Are you... Okay?" He questioned, his ears pointed back slightly. "Was that you?"

But before she was really able to answer, one of the doors to the barn opened to reveal the light of the sun to shine into the space. The sight roused the other horses from their sleep, however none of them seemed too happy about the matter. "Morning! Rise and shine!" Came James' voice, and from what Malachi could see the man was grinning as he walked into the barn.

---

James overlooked all of the horses with a quick glance, just to make sure that for the moment everything looked fine, which it all did, but after the short little assessment he walked over to Lizeya's stall and leaned against the door of it, leaning over a bit. "Hey," he spoke, soothingly for the time being so as not to scare her. "How was your night?" Something seemed off about her, that much he could tell. He frowned a bit at the sight, furrowing his brows as he leaned over to check on her feed. It was still there, so, obviously, she hadn't eaten any of it during the night. He sighed a bit before shaking his head and turning to look at Malachi who, after making eye contact with the thoroughbred, snorted and turned his head to look in the other direction. Always the stubborn horse. He listened to the other horses give little snorts as well, indicating that he was going to have to let some of them out to stretch their legs, as well as feed them before he got into any of the work that he would have to. He'd bring Skye and Emily out after the tedious chores that he had to get done.

But he quickly put his attention back to Lizeya, braving himself a bit as he opened the lock to the door and opened it up to walk him, closing it behind him as he just stood there. Easy, he told himself as he took a step closer to her, putting out a hand to her. Maybe she wouldn't flinch. Maybe she wouldn't try to pull away.

 

[Ravenbelle]

He never said a word to me. He was never talking to me. Only to Her. I only saw Her once. She was lovely, but then she was gone. And He was never the same. Micah stopped being addicted to be and started being addicted to Her. So when He had no choice but to stay here, He hated me. And Her. And I was always lonely. Tonight he looks different, but the same. Ever since She left, He was haggard and angry. Always angry, but he's let that go tonight. And now...He just looks empty. He made his own pyre. He burned for her. I watched him from the back of my prison cell as he arranged the old hay lying around. And then he was holding a burning match, staring at me right outside the stall. Then he dropped it.

Flames.
Everywhere. melting his screams down and licking at me. I screamed too. Screamed so loud that i have no words left!

Lizeya woke with a loud whimper, an understatement compared to how she'd screamed in her memory nightmare. Unaware of where she was for a moment, the disoriented mare panted with wide eyes and trembled with fear. It was only when she heard hooves and a newly familiar voice that she realized what was going on. Back in the present, she shook her head and regained her most recent memories of the night before. She was someplace new. A new barn, new horses, and this gelding who was apparently curious enough to question about her well-being. She wouldn't have answered Malachi anyway, but the sun cut in and distracted them both. Lizeya, still jumpy from her night, squealed and backed up to the far corner, watching the visitor warily. James. That's right. She took a deep breath and lowered her head, flicking her ears back to his loud greeting. Could he be any more irritating?

She hoped that he would let her calm down by ignoring her, but of course whatever she hopes for is always the opposite of what she gets. So the man paid her special attention, leaning over and speaking to her when his own horse rejected his eye contact. She followed his lead unintentionally, and kept her blue eyes to the wall, wincing away the last bits of flashbacks out of her mind. Why can't she just erase them? They only ever cause her pain, not even including the way her healing cuts sting and her hooves hurt throughout her waking hours. She never has any peace, not that she deserves it. But James couldn't give her a fraction of a break?

Despite the calls for attention from the other horses in the barn, James still opened her stall. Liz snapped her head up, put her ears back and stared at him with a clear warning in her eyes. He didn't go for her feed bucket, so she knew he was coming for her, hand out and waiting for her reaction. He stepped closer. She leaned against the wall behind her. Didn't he understand this at least?! It was obvious that he shouldn't come any closer! She huffed when he took a half-step closer still. Lizeya had enough. She glared at him and lifted her leg to stomp, but that would hurt her hoof, so she set it down again, ears flat against her crest.

Don't come closer.

--

James stood stock still in the mare's stall now, hand out and eyes pleading. what else could he do to make a connection? But she rejected it, less fearfully than yesterday, unfortunately. She doesn't trust him at all. So he sighed and backed up. At least he could take a hint. He knew this morning that she would have hurt him if he moved any closer. What had happened to her before he came in this morning? Was it something he'd done? He had hope that maybe if he brought his family over to see her later, it might soften her up. They would be unlike the dead man the police had found in the barn she'd been rescued from. So James backed out of her stall without looking away from her, taking the full bucket out with him with a sigh.

After giving out breakfast and letting some of the horses out, he would have to call the vet about coming down to replace the poultices on Lizeya's hooves. Or hopefully take them off completely if she was healing well enough. For now though, she just hoped she'd be hungry enough for breakfast, despite having to adjust to new feed.

 

[Shelby]

Again, Malachi found himself confused as to why the mare was acting in such a fearful way, given the fact that James was merely trying to be nice to her; to try and get her to believe and see that he would do nothing to hurt her. In all honesty, the lack of interest from the mare irked Malachi, especially when she pulled her ears back and went to stomp her hoof against the ground but thought against it. What, he wondered, had happened to her to make her out to be so skittish? He grunted himself as he watched James take the hint and backed out of the stall, taking the full feed bucket with him to more than likely fill it up with fresh feed for the mare. She didn't deserve it, he gelding believed, as he pointed his ears back and lowered his head a bit as his eyes continued to stare at the mare, not with the way she was acting.

But things had come into full swing of the morning routine shortly after. James went to check on the rest of the occupants of the barn, giving them their morning feed and allowing them to eat, giving Malachi"s bucket of feed last. The other horses chattered lightly about with one another as they chomped on their food, Black Jack even trying to start a conversation with Malachi, though he ignored the gelding and continued on with his own food, noticing, still, that Lizeya had not touched hers. Sooner or later she would, he convinced himself, unless she would rather starve herself. But, should that dire situation come to play, he knew that James would call in reinforcements, or even the vet, to make sure that she got some sort of food into her system just to keep her alive. When the feed had all been eaten, James having walked around the barn, peeking into the stalls to see if he needed to change and clean any of them that morning or afternoon, he started to let them- Joker and Bingo- out in the large pasture in the back since those were the ones he would be working with today. They were all friendly with one another, well enough anyway, so there was no need to separate them all given how they would probably separate themselves, Malachi had seen as such with these thoroughbreds, but should a confrontation ever arise there were other paddocks that James would but them in, had done so before with other horses that had come to these lands.

"Alright, Malachi," James sounded as he headed over to his stall, Malachi perking his attention to the man as he leaned his head forward a bit. "Time to let you out for a little bit." Finally, now, he allowed the man to rub his hand along his face, hoping to soften the blow with the mare earlier that morning. The man seemed pleased with the thought, a grin stretching across his lips before he opened the stall and hooked the halter around Malachi"s head and started to lead him with the lead rope attached to it. "So you're finally being sociable with me? And here I thought the two horses I owned were going to ignore me for the rest of my days." A soft snort came from Malachi as he shook his head, James looking at the gelding as he smiled a little softer now.

He led Malachi into one of the open pastures before he took the halter off from the geldings head. Malachi shook his head again before he started to turn in circles, stretching his legs a bit before he sent a hopeful look over to James. So, would he now actually get to do some training? "I"ll come and get you in a little bit; gotta take care of the other horses first, and I gotta call the vet." Malachi flicked his ears at that, turning his head as he swished his tail against his backside. "What have I told you about patience?" But, regardless, Malachi could hear the lighthearted joking coming from the mans tone before he heard him start to walk away.


--

After leaving Malachi in the pasture with the other horses, James turned back and ran a hand through his hair, mentally going through a checklist of the things he had to do for the rest of the day: get a little training in with Black Jack and Joker, as well as Malachi, call the vet, and let the family see the new mare he had adopted. His mouth tipped into a bit of a frown at the thought of allowing Sky and Emily and their unborn baby girl near the mare, especially so soon when it was obvious that she was not taking a liking to him. No, he wouldn't allow her to hurt his family, knowing that he would keep the stable door closed so that they wouldn't be able to get in there and so that she wouldn't be able to come out, but still, he figured that this was not a way he wanted them to meet Lizeya. But maybe she was better around kids, he reasoned with himself. Maybe she would grow to be a little more calm if she saw Sky. It was worth a shot, however he would rather them see her later on, after the vet was to, hopefully, come and check on the bandages around her hooves.

Pulling his phone out of his pocket, James dialed the number of the vet he used with the horses, tilting the phone up to his ear as he listened to the ringing. When he finally got a hold of someone he smiled to himself, a hand on his hip, as he started to absentmindedly start to pace around as he spoke with the woman on the phone. When the call ended he pocketed his phone back and nodded to himself lightly. Two o'clock that afternoon; the vet said that she would be there then. The man looked down at his watch before peeking up at the house. He had enough time to work on one of the horses for the time being as he waited.

"Joker!" He called out as he walked back to the pasture, whistling shortly after. The thoroughbred came trotting over to the gate, and after harnessing him with the halter, James led him back to the barn so that he could saddle him up and get him to work.

---

While she knew she had her time yesterday with training with James, Blue Indigo, or Blue for short, hated being stuck in the stables like she was. Not that these were bad stalls, actually she thought them to be nicer tan the ones her owners had. These were more spacious, more free and she could see so much more other than the three walls that surrounded her and the area of the long barn that she was only able to see with her head sticking out of the stall. This place was nice, herself having been here a few times before while her owners were away, just as they were now, but instead of James simply holding her for boarding, now they had her here for training. All the more better, in her eyes.

Nevertheless, she snorted lightly to herself as she started to pace the inside of the stall. "Will you quit moving so much? You're making me nervous." She perked her ears to attention at the sound of Bingo's voice, her head tilting a bit before she laughed.

"Oh please. Like my moving around is actually making you nervous. You're a race horse; you have to be used to things like this." She stuck her head up, almost a bit proudly, as she turned to look at the gelding.

"Not in a barn I'm not." She heard the gelding stomp his hoof on the ground. "Besides, you're making too much noise; I'm trying to sleep."

Blue rolled her eyes, but decided to not comment on the matter and instead turned her attention to the other mare that was stuck in the barn, the wide eyes fearful one she liked to think of her as. Or, as Joker had put it last night, Malachi"s supposed replacement. She was interesting, or at least she had to have an interesting back story to herself and Blue found herself overly curious about the matter. Perhaps it was merely for the fact that there was nothing else to do and she found herself in the barn with two horses that did not seem to want to talk, but she wanted the mare to speak more. "What"s your story?" She called out, tilting her head again as she stepped a little closer to the stall door. "Everyone has one, and I feel as if you have a very interesting one. I mean, one doesn't become afraid of everything without a reason, no? So what happened to you?"