Lorenzo Biancci | 27 | ET | Gemini | Astrid

Lorenzo waved to some riders as he entered the barn, a friendly smile on his face. "Buenos dias," he greeted cheerfully, petting horses as he passed their stalls. The short Spanish man was abuzz with excitement, even more than usual. He kept replaying the events of last night's match, when Liverpool won 2-1 with a nail-biting finish. Salah had scored the winning goal when it went to extra time, at 92:33 to be exact.

He shook his head slightly as he emerged from the tackroom, burdened by various tack items. He must concentrate. Swiftly grooming and tacking up Gemini, he swung onto the red roan's back with ease, the gripped reins loose in his grasp. The gelding stood calmly, awaiting his owner's next request.

The sturdy man clucked Gem into a trot, posting neatly to the horse's upbeat pace. He raised a hand in greeting to Astrid, although it was unlikely that she would see him. She was always focused on the cross-country course. He guided Gemini to one of the many trails, only slowing when they entered the cool, dark forest.

Alexander Littlewood | 19 | Payton

Alex winced dramatically at the various clothing items that were being thrown out with the ease of a seasoned professional. "Are you sure that was necessary?" he asked tentatively, with half-closed eyes.

He rolled his eyes at her childish kiss, as if to say, "heavens forbid." Smiling, he tossed a skimpy purple dress with orange polka dots at his crazy friend. He actually wasn't surprised at the strange and crazy clothes she had, by now acclimatised to her volatile taste and moods. "Wear that," he commented, forcing away the grin that kept forcing its way to his face. "It'll look perfect."

Kholo Mzi | 33 | D / NHCI | Dash, Jay

Kholo emerged from the feedroom, finally finished with writing up a feeding table. It would help the new stable hands to settle in , as well making her life much easier. Normally she would be up at dawn, making sure that every horse had the right amount. She would still probably wake up then, but it would be a choice.

Suddenly seeing the broken figure of Dash, her cheery walk faltered. A worried look appearing in her eyes, she softened at the sight of the previously strong man being propped up by his younger brother. And he clearly needed it, by the looks of it. Speeding up, she arrived at the stall beside them in almost no time. "What happened?" she asked maternally. "Jay messaged me saying that you were hurt -" She glanced away, tentatively petting the dozy Clydesdale in the stall.

Astrid Elliot | 27 | XC | Bjorn | SH: Raven | M: Open

Astrid turned Bjorn down the right side of the track and saw Lorenzo. She waved gently but knew it was too late. Astrid shook her head gently then focused on the buckskins head.

Bjorn cleared a few more jumps with no issue. `` Good boy!`` Astrid praised as they reached the end of the course. She steered him out on of the gates and down the nearby trail that the man had taken. `` He shouldn't have gone too far.`` Astrid told herself.

Astrid slowed Bjorn down to a steady trot and asked him to keep a look out for a guy on a horse. `` Alright Bjorn-o. Lets find these people.``

Sandra Proudstorm | 18 | Show Jumping | Moonstone River "Silver" | M: Open

-Sandra would be leading her mare out of the barn, Silver being tacked up and ready to go as the mare playfully threw her head up with the swish of her well brushed tail as the mare was feeling quite extra today which caused the dark haired woman to giggle a bit at her dappled mare's sillyness while they were heading towards the jumping arena to practice for the fun of it and to see if there is anything that both her & Silver could work on at least-

-Sandra opened the arena gate before leading the mare inside, turning her around first then closes the gate while locking it then she turned the mare around again before leading her over to the center of the arena. The young woman slowed the mare to a halt as she quietly said stand which was a voice command, the dapple grey mare stood still while her rider got on her back. She grathered her reins a bit then moves Silver forward into a walk to just walk her along the fence line a few times before moving her up to a trot-

Dajana | SJCT | Cam, Open

Dajana saw the man out of her periferal, but hadn't fully realized that he was watching her ride because of how fast she'd cantered by, the mare's sass evident in every bounding step onward. She figured he was moving somewhere else, to a hidden millionth arena she had yet to discover.

She sat back, compressing her core and tightening her grip on the tack as she pushed her heel down, allowing the mare's gigantic jump to push her out of the tack, then allowing herself to sit back down as she landed on the other side, the mare squealing and leaping into a series of bucks and broncs. Dajana giggled--she loved the ride. Behaved horses were extremely boring to her. She liked the thrill of the green showjumpers.

To her surprise, she heard his voice, some kind of accented expression, and turned her head to look at him while the mare was still trying to remove her. She stayed well-seated, very used to the mare's antics by this point. As the mare finally settled down, Dajana walked her over to the gate, since they were done with their lesson anyway.

"Hallo," she said with an exuberant energy, full of enthusiasm. That was how the Danish greeted one another, and she was nearly certain the Americans did too. "Who are you?" She said it in a very nonchalant way, as a fluent speaker would say, 'how's it going,' or, 'what's your name?' All the while, the mare was flicking her head, trying hard to get someone's attention.

Emily | Eventing | Noah, Tim, Tristan

Emily sat there for a few more minutes before she heard commotion in the barn. Even through the pain, she realized how morbid it was to be laying there. How pitiful she probably looked. She could hardly help herself, though. In a few hours, she'd never see Mya again. Surely they'd bury her somewhere on the property and that would be the last of it. She hated to say it, but she wished it had been Magik. He was seasoned, older, more ready. Mya had been energetic, excited to live life, thrilled to do anything at any moment.

The sounds of the stable resumed, as life goes on entropically, but soon she heard a voice that made her heart drop. Noah.

"Hey Tim! I can't believe I haven't seen you since you've been back!"

His words made something deep within her fill with even more resentment that she swept under the rug to deal with later. She heard Tristan's office door swing open, and suddenly the barn got quiet.

"Noah, I need to have a chat--"

"What'd I do?"

"I'll handle it," Emily said in a soft voice. If it wasn't obvious by the tears streaming down her cheeks, it was obvious by the sound of her voice how truly, unreasonably broken she was.

Noah's face softened. "Emily? What happened? What aren't you telling me?"

"Let's go for a walk," she said in that same broken voice. And outside they went, Noah not even questioning the rationality of the fact that the legless female had asked to go for a walk.

Laurence | DCT | Samantha

"Top eventer, huh?" Laurence's richly-toned voice echoed out across the aisle. He had been taking in the situation from inside one of his horses' stalls, staying so meekly silent they hadn't even noticed he was there. It was a special skill that had served him right many, many times.

"Care to go for a hack with me? You know, since top eventers hang out with top eventers. And, because they like to remind everyone around them that they are, indeed, top eventers. It's not annoying at all, it definitely gives them the respect they deserve."

He crossed his muscular arms across a cross-country riding vest, a bridle in his hand. A massive gray stallion peeked out from behind his rider, resting his muzzle on Laurence's nicely-styled hair, playing with it in a silly way. He looked back to his horse in a moment of adoration, chuckling. He then looked back to Samantha. "I'll meet you outside in ten minutes." The way he spoke, there was no option. She would see him outside in ten minutes. It was a statement, not a suggestion.