Post by S u N f r O s t ~ on Aug 12, 2011 11:37:27 GMT -5
Amber Black and Axis Mundae
Sillenia and Krystal Yhate
It was early morning, the usual time of morning for workouts. Amber looked out at the busy turf track and shook her head, relieved that the horses she had brought along for today's workout wouldn't let the outside noise affect them. She looked back, seeing her mount being led out side by side with another horse, Krystal leading them. Krystal looked up at Amber with an even stare, her mouth a tight line. Amber looked at Sillenia, who appeared to be straining against the reins Krystal held tightly held in her hands. Sillenia must be having a headstrong day she realized in sudden understanding, and sympathetically walked over to Krystal to grab Axia's reins. Krystal shot a grateful glance at her before turning and half wrestling Sill away. She then mounted up, and her firm seat soon took complete control of the bay three year old. Sill snorted her disagreement and annoyance, but remained still at last.
Amber turned to Axia now, the black filly excitedly shifting and ready to go. She looked out at the track with a bold challenge in her eyes, daring the other horses to make eye contact or match her stride for stride already. Amber smiled gently, admiring the filly's attitude. It was so much like her mother's when she had been two - ready to take on the world. She swung up onto the two year old thoroughbred's back, and with a nod at Krystal they were off. They stepped hoof on the dirt track and then quickly transferred over to the turf. Sill was dual surface; she looked out at the dirt track, and pulled forward, expecting to be worked now], but Krystal firmly rode her onto the turf.
Now the dark bay daughter of Grand Silence was becoming hard to contain; she pulled and fought Krystal's hold. With a quiet snarl, Krystal glanced at Amber, and the message was clear; can we just get on with the galloping? Amber shook her head, and Krystal glared before cuing Sill for a canter instead of a gallop. Amber followed her with a sigh. Whenever Sill was being so pushy, Krystal had to use her full strength of will to stay on the filly's back, and a lot of muscle to prevent Sill from breaking through her hold. As infuriating as the filly could be, though, Amber knew that Krystal appreciated her temper. It was quite an enigmatic relationship.
The turf track was quieter than the main one, but still busy. A horse galloped by on the inside. Ahead, Krystal snarled as Sill shot forward, and quickly, forcefully brought the filly back under control. Axia stiffened, wondering if she should run, but then chose to focus more on the turf under her hooves, and continued to canter forward. Amber smirked, loving her filly's attitude even more, and chose this warm up opportunity as a chance to think over the fields in the Unicorn Horn series.
Axia had come up, debatedly, as lucky; she was only facing one other horse in the field, Silent Fury. He had won in impressive fashion in his maiden last week. Axia, however, had last raced three weeks ago, and won her maiden start against fresh two year olds. She had been working steadily towards a Unicorn Horn appearance. Silent Fury was by Grand Silence, and out of Rising Fury. The lines were fantastic, but that was why Amber had chosen Sillenia to be their workout partner. Both horses were by Grand Silence, and Amber was hoping to simulate the field as much as possible. She had ridden Wild Kiss against Silent Fury recently, which had gleaned some intelligence. And eight furlongs, the distance of the race, was Axia's favorite distance. She would make a race of it, that much was for sure.
Sill's field consisted of Born To Soar and Cry Out Chaos. Born To Soar had been the top two year old filly in the division last year; however, Amber knew that Sill stood a fantastic chance. She had won the Juvenile Turf against colts, while the other filly had won her own top-notch race in the Juvenile Fillies, against her own gender and on dirt. Sill had faced a tougher field, in Amber's opinion - however, there was no doubting the other filly's talent, as she had won against competitive fields in the Youth Challenge series. It would be a tough race. Cry Out Chaos was five years old, experienced and fast. Amber liked the older mare almost as much as Born To Soar. She hoped that Sill wasn't in over her head in the upcoming race. That would be horribly upsetting to Krystal, who loved her filly dearly.
Amber let Axia go a bit faster, and they drew up alongside Sill and Krystal. Krystal cast a playfully agonized look at Amber, while Sill ignored the competition and continued to fight for her freedom, her eyes burning with willpower. Amber smirked, petting her filly's neck. Krystal glared, and Amber smiled sweetly back, before nodding. Krystal's glare turned into a smirk, and she instantly cued for a gallop, intending to leave Axia in the dust. But the filly responded quickly; as Sill galloped away, Axia tore after her, rage burning in her eyes. Axia had recognized a challenge; she would not back down from such an obvious ploy. She flew forward, charging up to Sill's shoulder, and straining to get beyond it.
Sill glared at Axia and continued to pull and pull, gradually gaining more and more speed in the sudden release of her hold. But as she gained in speed, so did Axia. The two fillies now glared at each other; a rivalry had been created in a brief span of a couple seconds. Axia pushed harder, her hooves flying off of the turf. Sill leaped forward, stretching her neck on the outside of Axia. But a turn was coming, and Krystal needed more speed to make sure they didn't lose ground. She urged Sill, and the filly gradually gave a bit more, edging ahead of Axia as they rocketed through the turn. Axia was a bit uneasy with a horse on her outside; at two, she wasn't used to the hustle-bustle of race traffic yet. Amber kept her calmly going though, and by the time they came off of the turn they were neck to neck again.
There was barely any time before the wire; Sill charged forward on the outside as they came off the turn, and Axia quailed. She was bold and daring, but even that couldn't substitute for experience, and it was quite an experience to have a horse's body slamming past you as you finished a turn. Amber tried to keep the filly going, but Axia faltered. It was all Sill needed to roar forward. By the time Amber had restored Axia's morale, they were under the wire, and Sill was three lengths in front. Amber sighed, but patted Axia. The filly had learned something out there today, something important and valuable. She would not falter again.
It took Krystal ages to pull Sill up, but when she came back, sweat dripping down her brow, her face gleamed with confidence. Amber smiled back, the two women sharing in their sudden knowledge. Their mounts were ready for the Unicorn Horn Series.
