First day on the job (Open)

[Pasture Puff]

Mallory hooked her thumbs into the back pockets of her jeans, humming to herself as she walked past the empty school building and towards the stables. Her alarm hadn’t gone off, and she’d only had time to scrub her face and brush her hair before she ducked out the door. Mallory wriggled her toes, hoping no one would notice her mismatched socks. She’d gotten dressed in the dark, and had put on whatever she could pull out of her bag.

Shaking her head, Mallory saw that the stables were right ahead. The gate was shut, and so she boosted herself up, and shimmied over. There was a loud rip, and Mallory let out a strangled shriek. She grabbed the gate so she didn’t land on her butt, and groaned when she saw her white knickers showing through a neat hole on the bottom of her jeans. She jerked her sweater down, and self-consciously crossing her arms, headed over to the first row of stables.

Mallory snuck a peek into one of the looseboxes, and quickly jumped back when a horse poked its head out over the door. She gave a shaky laugh, feeling a little stupid for looking like such a chicken. It one of the biggest horses Mallory had ever seen, and she blew out a breath. “Hey there,” she murmured, creeping closer as the horse stomped impatiently. “You’re not going to bite my head off now are you boy?”

OOC: It's only like 6 o' clock in the morning

[Cara]

Cara sat at the desk in her dorm room, carefully reading through the essay she had just written for Art History - she was finding the course a little dull but there wasn't a lot she could do about it as she wasn't going to drop the course. She gave a satisfied nod as she put down the red pen she was holding. The beautifully written essay was now covered in various red marks of where she had missed things out or had been writing faster than she would keep up with and had made the off punctuation error. She would write up the finished copy tonight.

Rising from the desk chair, she brushed down the beige jodhpurs she was already wearing, topped off with an eggshell blue polo shirt and a lilac zipped fleece jacket over the top. She slipped her feet into the paddock boots she had cleaned the night before and slipped out of the room.

The rest of Dakota Halls were enveloped in silence so she silently made her was down the hallway, down the stairs and out the front door. She knew that it wasn't normal for most teens to be awake at this time, but unless she got in an early start, she wouldn't have time to fit everything into her already hectic schedule.

Taking the long way to the stables, she walked past the pastures to check on Missy. Happy that the chestnut mare was contentedly grazing, she continued on her way. She was desperate to check on Rain and foal as well as Risk, but she knew her first point of call was going to be to check on Truss. She would give the mare a groom, take her into the pasture, give both mares their breakfast and then come back to clean the stall. She knew that the college had stable hands, but Cara had always been one to pull her own weight.

The gate was still closed when she arrived at the stables, but placing her hands on the top, she easily vaulted over it. With a grimace of pain as she went over the gate, she landed neatly on her feet and massaged the left side of her collarbone as she walked into the stables.

She was a little surprised to see a woman already in the stables, but trying to blend into the shadows she slipped past and walked on down. She may have succeeded too, had her cover not been blown when the grey Hosltiner stuck her head over the stall door and let out a rumbling whinny to say hello to her owner.

[Pasture Puff]

Mallory had been daydreaming when one of the horses suddenly let out a loud whinny. She looked up in time to see a small, dark-haired girl loitering about. Mallory frowned, pretending to be busy tying her shoe, while she spied on the girl. Her imagination got the better of her, and she pictured everything from espionage to a secret liaison. ‘Get a grip you idiot,’ she told herself. ‘This isn’t some Nancy Drew novel.’

She straightened up, and pushing aside the fluttering feeling in her stomach, walked over towards the dark-haired girl. The girl was older than she first looked, fashionably thin, and wearing clothes that were probably straight out of a riding catalogue.

Mallory swallowed hard. “Oh hi there,” she said brightly, as if she’d only just noticed that there was someone else there. A friendly looking grey horse was watching them from its box, and Mallory smiled wistfully. She would probably never be lucky enough to have a horse of her own! “Is she yours?” she asked, her blue eyes sparkling with excitement. “She’s so beautiful.”

[Cara]

At the sound of the woman's voice, Cara shot a traitorous look toward her horse and shook her head as the mare just bobbed her head up and down as though she were telling the girl to hurry up. "Good morning, Ma'am." She said in her soft tones. Happy to be back on English soil where her clipped accent no long made her stand out from other people.

She looked down at the mare who was now pushing against her door as she stretched out toward the humans. "Yes, Ma'am." She replied. "That she is. What are you doing, you silly goose?" Shaking her head toward the horse, she gave the woman a respectful bow of her head. "If you will excuse my intrusion, I will get to work." Status didn't matter to her. Others that she had schooled with would have looked at the woman, seen her as hired help and treated her as such. To Cara though, this woman was her elder and needed to be treated with the same respect that she would give any and every other adult.

She continued down to the mare's stall and rubbed Truss' pretty forehead as the mare thrust her head into the girl's chest as thought they hadn't seen each other for weeks, not just one night. With a shake of her head, she grabbed the halter, slipped into the stall, fitted the halter into place, led the grey out of her stall and over to a set of cross-ties.

Leaving the mare, she slipped into the tack room and grabbed the mare's pink and purple grooming kit. She then began to work on the Holstiner's body and legs, getting rid of any of the stable stains that the mare had obtained over night.

[Pasture Puff]

Mallory blinked and took a step back. She hovered helplessly while the girl disappeared. Something told Mallory she had been the one intruding. Was the girl annoyed with her? She couldn’t tell.

The girl was suddenly there again, but before Mallory could do anything she had gone once more. It seemed the girl had totally forgotten about Mallory, and part of her thought it would be best to just go. But another part of her was even more scared about messing up. Squashing her panic, Mallory wandered over and tapped the girl on the shoulder. “Um, excuse me?” she ventured. “I...well...uh.” She broke off suddenly, not really knowing what she was supposed to say.

She couldn’t tell if the girl had been being sarcastic before. Mallory hated that she sounded exactly like someone who had grown up on an estate, but there wasn’t any need to be funny about it. Composing herself, she pushed the hair out of her face and tried not to look like she was on the verge of tears. “It’s my first day,” she admitted, trying to catch the other girl’s eye, “and I’m kind of lost.”

[Cara]

Cara's complete attention was on the mare that she was grooming, she pushed all her strength into massaging the mare's shoulder loosening the pressure as she felt the mare's muscles soften under her hands. She jumped as she felt a hand on her shoulder and leaned against the horse to stop herself from squeaking.

She turned and listened to the woman, her eyes sympathetic as she nodded her head. "I can help you how ever I can." She said softly with a ghost of a smile. "If you will excuse me for just a moment, I just need to run her outside." She removed the cross-ties and clipped the lead rope back into place.

It didn't take too long to take Truss out to the pasture and release her into the field with Missy. The two mare looked at each other, shared a breath to say hello and wandered off to graze in their own spots. The girl made sure the gate was fastened before she headed back into the stables. "How may I be of service, Ma'am?" She asked. She knew that the mare's needed their breakfast, but she also knew that this woman needed her help and it wasn't in her nature to leave someone standing.

[Pasture Puff]

Mallory nodded, and waited while the girl went and turned her horse out. She picked absentmindedly at a loose splinter of wood with her nail. Something dug into her finger, and she yelped, pulling back her hand. There was only a tiny dot of blood, but she still felt faintly sick. She had skipped breakfast, and she thought of the nice crisp-looking apples she’d run past in her rush to get out the door. Scowling, Mallory shoved her hands into her pocket and pretended not to notice the knot in her stomach.

The girl walked around the corner, and Mallory slumped with relief. It seemed like she’d been standing there for ages, and she had been starting to panic. The girl watched her expectantly, and Mallory only shrugged her shoulders, trying to look like it was no big deal. “I guess someone forgot I was starting today that’s all,” she exclaimed, and rolled her eyes.

If she’d been back on the estate she would have called the girl a toff. But even if she did seem a little out there, Mallory decided she was being genuinely nice. ‘Maybe I should do the same,’ she thought suddenly, and wondered where that had come from. Although, as she looked the girl up and down, she realised maybe, it wouldn't be such a bad idea. “Oh, and just call me Mal” she told the girl, and grinned. "You’re making me feel like some old bag with all this ‘Yes Ma-am’. Can’t be much older than you now can I?”

[Cara]

Cara nodded her head in thought. "With all the new students that are arriving, I'm not too surprised that the administration have overlooked a new member of their staff." Her eyes scanned the woman, she wasn't dressed as though she were here to clean out stalls, so she pegged her down as a groom.

The girl nodded in the direction of the tack room. "Each of the horses have their own grooming kits." She explained. "I am sure that no one would complain if you had their horses nicely groomed before lessons." She gave a tiny smile and ducked her head slightly.

Her eyes strayed over to the feed room, she knew that her mare would be waiting for their breakfast, and then she had the rest of her equine charges to tend to. "Again, if you will excuse me, I need to go and fix breakfast for my girls. I will be in the feed room should you need my assistance." She walked away, but had only gone two steps as she turned with a sharp breath. "I am called Cara." With a bow of her head, she turned back and walked into the feed room where she began mixing the mares' feed into their own buckets.

[Onzy]

It wasn't every day that the barn manager was late. It wasn't every evening that he forgot to set the alarm. Waking up a half an hour later than usual, had caused the male to rush around trying to do everything in record time. His two eating machines, Bobby and Luna, were happily asleep, the day that he was late. Usually they were the ones that woke him up, but not this morning. Glancing outside he saw that the weather could not be relied upon, so he donned his usual black breeches, tall boots and a long sleeved polo shirt in maroon. Bobby. Luna. Come! he called to the English Sheepdog and Collie. He had learn't that these dogs were not to be left alone anywhere.

Quinn made his way down to the barn, and remembered that a new groom was also arriving today. Brilliant, he thought. The person was already most likely there and here was the barn manager looking like he had just stepped out of bed. Hold that thought. I did just step out of bed, he thought to himself. Eager heads poked over the stall doors, and Quinn whistled to himself. They would be hungry as well. At least the stable hands were handing out feed, and some were already mucking out stalls. Quinn nodded to each one. The two dogs followed him until they smelt something and went racing around one of the empty paddocks.

Seeing a figure standing close to the feed room, Quinn walked over. She appeared to have met one of the students already, and now it was Quinn's turn. Hello miss. Quinn Carlisle. I'm the barn manager. You must be the new groom? he asked her in Scottish vocals.

[Pasture Puff]

“I guess I’ll see you around then” Mallory shouted suddenly, and waved. Cara ducked out of sight, and before she could thank the girl for her help, she was gone. Mallory bit the inside of her cheek, and tried not to laugh. She’d never met anyone so high-energy before. It was no wonder the girl was so skinny!

Mallory shook her head. It was so peaceful here this early in the morning. The gangs of kids that hung out at the estate were always there making a racket and causing trouble. Mallory never wanted to go back. She hated the thought of having to go visit her mum in her dingy flat where the cold water tap was broken in the bathroom, and the front windows got smashed every Saturday night.

There was the heavy sound of boots behind her, and she glanced over her shoulder, her blue eyes sparkling. Mallory watched the young man approach, thinking with a twitch of her lips as she took in his jodhpurs and shirt, that he was much fitter than she’d imagined. Turning to face him, she took an involuntary step backwards when he stopped right in front of her.

Mallory pushed her blond hair back out her face and smiled brightly up at him. His own hair looked a bit bedraggled, and she hoped with a sort of sinking feeling, that it hadn’t been because of her that he’d rushed here. “Hi,” she squeaked out, before she could stop herself.

Groaning inwardly, Mallory swallowed hard, and tried to think that this was just some guy like the hundreds she talked to back at the estate. Her stomach fluttered, and she felt like she was going to faint. ‘Oh please don’t faint, not here in front of him,’ she thought frantically. But she had to say something! “I’m Mallory Stevens,” she blurted, and sighed with relief that at least that had come out normally. She pointed to her tee-shirt with its horse-head logo in the corner and grinned, “The girl from the animal sanctuary.”

[Cara]

Cara had the mares' buckets set out on the bench and carefully filled them with what they needed. Each had two scoops of muesli and a scoop of alfalfa cubes. To the bucket labeled Missy she also added a selection of fresh green veges, kelp, soaked nettle, echinacea, garlic and cider vinegar. Each of these were helping to restore the mare's skin condition. To Truss' bucket, she added some cut up carrot as well as echinacea, garlic and cider vinegar.

She heard the voice of a male, whom she recognize the voice belonging to the manager. Throwing a few more things into the buckets; dried mint into Missy's and a tablespoon of honey into each of them, she picked them up and headed out of the feed room, slipped past the adults and walked out to the pastures.

Out in the field, she caught the attention of the two mare and put the buckets down on opposite sides of the field so that the mare's wouldn't annoy each other while they were eating and so that there was less chance of the chestnut getting spooked by the other horse and not eating her feed - which Truss would gladly finish off for her.

When both mares were happily eating, Cara headed back into the barn and set to work mucking out the stalls that belonged to her two mares. The stable hands who had, once upon a time, given her strange looks when she was in here doing what they were paid to do would now just take it in their stride that hers were two boxes that didn't need to be touched - also meaning that it was work they didn't have to do. She had no idea what the stable manager thought of her cleaning her own stalls, nor was she really that worried about what he thought of it either.

[Onzy]

Well pleasure to meet you Miss.Stevens Quinn said with a smile. Please come to the barn office, then we can discuss your duties, he added. He held out his arm, and proceeded to walk slightly ahead of Mallory. His walk held a noticeable limp, and his back started is usually aching when he spent too much time in the cold. Even an autumn chill could have him out for a few days. Some days, Quinn felt like he had too much metal in his body. Pins held his right leg together. Pins held his back together. He was surprised that he didn't have something in his head as well. Once in the office, Quinn filled up the the kettle and put it on. Coffee? he asked the female. Horse posters covered the walls. First Aid books for horses stood on shelves, and a filing cabinet held all information on the horses that he stabled. Well, first off. One student, Cara-Jean Kitchi, looks after her own horses. The other students rely on us to do that for them. Quinn added the hot water to his cup, and he breathed in the strong scents. Quinn turned to face Mallory while waiting. You are assigned to five horses. The stable hands take care of the mucking out, feeding etc. During shows we get pretty busy plaiting and such. Most students come help out during then. A schedule is pinned up outside the office and updated regularly. When you finished with your horses your time is your own. Any questions? he finished his speech. He took a sip of his coffee and savoured the taste.

[Pasture Puff]

Mallory scrunched up her nose. “Nah, I hate coffee, too blimin’ American” she said without thinking, and instantly squirmed at her rudeness. Her stomach was churning and her mouth was dry. Everything here made her feel so out of place. At least back at Birmingham, most of the kids she knew had grown up on the estate. Here it was going to feel like every time she opened her mouth she was going to look like some stupid chav.

‘It’s not like I’m here for my brains’ she thought sarcastically. But even so, she still felt a twinge of self-consciousness, and she crossed her arms. Her blouse pulled tight over her chest, and Mallory shrugged her shoulders, tugging at one sleeve to pull it down.

Quinn was looking at her now, and Mallory blushed. She flipped the tail end of her braid over her shoulder and tried to look unbothered. “Should be alright,” she said and tried to smile confidently. “Got enough people around here to bother anyways if I get stuck."