beautiful life xx open

[TERRANCE D'AMICO xx]

xx It was a cool morning, the temperature no greater than 50 degrees. There was a strong breeze, which made it all the more chilly. But as the day went by it should warm up, saying as its only 4:30 A.M. in the morning. There was not a cloud to be seen, nothing but infinite blue sky. Today was to be a beautiful day. Terrance had grown accostum to starting his days with such early hours. Ever since this barn had been signed over to his name, his alarm clock went off usually at four in the morning. Sometimes, had he had a rough night or something of the such, he'd sleep in till eight and let the stablehands and manager care for everything at the academy. But unlike most judge Terrance, he is very active among the barn, and doesn't sit back and let the money come in while everyone else does all the work. He has his own horses as well, deals with the financial issues, and on his easy days, even helps out with the barn chores. Of course we could always add on to that list, but Terrance never bothers to prove himself to anyone.

xx The shrill beeping of the alarm clock woke Terrance up with a start. Lying beneath a pile of stirred up sheets and bed comforter, Terrance yawned and ran a hand down his face to try and rid of the drowsiness from his eyes. After a moment of staring at the cieling, half asleep, he rolled out of the bed and headed out of his room. He did the usual; coffee, shower, then finally got ready for the day. After about a half hour of morning routine, Terrance stepped outside and started for the barn. A pair of worn blue jeans clad his legs, and a black t-shirt that fit rather tightly around each muscle in his arms and chest. This was his barn attire, much different from the wardrobe he wore for more eventful things.

xx At his heels jogged a tri-colored Shetland Sheepdog, widely known as Noah. He knew this property just as well as Terrance knew it, if better. Together both walked into the barn which was still dark inside. Lights were switched on, and the doors were pushed open. Slowly, the day was coming together. Eager snorts of equines filled the once silent and sleepy atmosphere. Seeing as Terrance was the first one up, he'd do the morning feed. The first stop was Amadeo, Terrance's own equine, a rowdy three year old stallion with a dangerous attitude. He paced his stall back and fourth, the gentle rays of sunlight dancing down through his stall bars, causing the bay sheen of his coat to glimmer in the dim glow. Terrance distributed the correct amount of grain to the stud, and continued to the row of stalls till it was finished. By that time, it was at least now 5 in the morning.

xx The temperture had already began to rise. Terrance had turned out Amadeo and Jemma, dam and son just as equally headstrong to face the new day. Amadeo was surely a spiting image of his dam, and his sire, who had once been kept here at Wild River Academy, but sadly passed away from a serious illness. Terrance now found himself seated in the chair of his office, which sat right beside the tackroom with a connecting door. He left it open, as it normally was. He filed through vet and farrier bills, suprised to see how much the prices were increasing with each boarder that came along. He wrote off the checks and sealed them in an envelope, ready for the mail. Noah rested contently beneath the desk, moving his head everytime he heard a horses whinny from the stalls. Terrance kept busy with paperwork, the months expenses kept rising and rising with each paper he read. Oh well, they'd manage, Wild River aways did prevail strongly.

[KACIA MARKOVICA XX]

.x..x.

Typical Morning. Everything started out same for the greek beauty. A purring woke her at sunrise, a brush of a furry tail across her cheek caused her to stir from her gentle sleep as the feline who belonged to the human found herself a comfortable place on the bed. It was just half past six when her alarm had started to go off and the annoying sound rang out all around the room and the blonde girl stirred, her eyes closed again but the sound was impossible to sleep over and she eventually sat up and turned it off. But she would have to be out of bed soon otherwise she would go right on back to bed again, she knew herself all too well.


She dragged herself out of her bed and across the laminate wooden flooring in her bedroom while she went on over to her bathroom and pulled on the shower as the hot water came down she undressed and got in. She had always been quite good in the mornings, and she always got a shower and washed her hair. It only took her about five minutes and she got out with a towel wrapped around her body and her head. She made her way back to her room where she picked out todays clothes which consisted of some low hipster jeans, a nice plain white thin strapped top and then she'd probably throw her chaps on over the top. Today she was going to see if they had any jobs open, it gave her something to do while she studied.


Within more minutes she was dressed and she was ready to go out, but instead she sat down at her dresser and she pulled her hair back into a low side held pony tail. Sure it was still wet but it would dry in a beautiful wavy style. She then added some diamonate stud earings and a lick of eye lash mascara. She then got up and walked to where she could supply herself with some toast and fed the cat. Then she was ready after drinking some tea. She collected her yard boots and slipped them and her jacket, then the bag in the hallway before she took her car keys and got into the car and drove towards the stable.


Pulling the Nissan into the car park of the stables she collected everything she needed. Yes she was unusually early for her, but if she wanted to catch Terrance or the yard manager she would have to be. She had never met the owner, so she was nervous if that was to be the fact. With everything tucked into the lounge she went to the office and she noticed the door open. She cleared her throat almost silently and she knocked gently, taking a step inside at the sight of the man. Oh god this must be the owner. She looked down before looking up, placing her hands together infront of her hips and she smiled. "Hi.... I'm Kacia Markovic, i was wondering if you have any part time or full time jobs available?"

[/color] Her greek accent shining right through.


[/blockquote][/size]

[[.Angela Vedetta.]]

Early to bed, early to rise. The early bird gets the worm. All those morning phrases parents use to wake one's child in the morning. Unfortunately, they don't always work so well, especially if you're on your own. Telling yourself those things aren't quite as motivating as a mother's sweet voice or a father's protective force as he rips the covers off of you, causing you to shiver. That didn't seem to work, either, now. Kicking the covers off, reaching for the alarm and bringing your hand down hard on top. There was no motivation there. You would often find yourself pulling the covers back on if you were not so disciplined. It was tempting, yes. It always it, but what about work? No, not necessarily a job, but responsibility? Especially in a place such as Wild River Academy.

With a deep sigh, covers spread all over the bed except for where she lay, the young female found herself rolling out of bed. If she had been half asleep, she was more awake, now, at the thud of her feet against the floor. An instinct to catch one's self before harm. It got your heart pumping and helped in opening your eyes a little wider. So, just as anyone else, the girl went through her own usual routine. Probably a little more time was spent than a male would have, but oh well.

As she managed to get herself mostly awake, she took one last glance at her clock. It was one she'd brought from home, and it still had that nasty habit of changing the alarm times. All she could do was shake her head as she saw that the time was currently 5:00A.M. in the morning. Not exactly what she'd placed as her awakening time, but she would get over it. She was dressed in her usual attire of her favorite jean jacket, a white shirt, and blue jeans. She wasn't ready for riding, exactly, but ready to go check up on her horse. It was their first night here and she wanted to make sure he'd adjusted well.

It didn't take long to reach the barn. Even if it wasn't quite as cold as it was in the early morning, she still shivered slightly. She'd never been one to like the cold in any way, unless she was too hot. Still, though, she tried not to let it show as she walked inside. The lights were on and she could hear the echo of footsteps. Who else was in the barn wasn't any of her business, though. She headed straight for her dark bay gelding, Thorello Torenzio. It looked as if he'd been fed, already. That was good.

In response to seeing his rider, Thorello tossed his head and released a loud snort. He walked to the stall door as the girl held up her hand for her gelding to sniff. He took in a big whiff before nudging her hand. He then went back over to his feed. She didn't blame him, either. She'd rather spend time with an inanimate object than someone who was quiet. What was the difference?

It took a moment of fiddling for Angela to open the stall door. She stepped inside, carefully watching Thor. He only flicked ears back to listen, but she knew him better than that. He had a habit of taking advantage of her novice actions. He seemed to always find joy in her chasing after him or calling his name. It was like a game to him, but she didn't find it quite as fun. She never did. It was always ebmarrasing. He only made her look like a fool.

Today was the perfect day to do so, too. Angela had her horse's lead rope in her hand, ready to hook it onto his halter and lead him out. As she neared him, though, he tossed his head high and moved around her. He rolled his eyes in mock fear of the thin-framed monster that reached for his head. In one swift movement, hooves lashed out followed by a shrill scream. With a thud, Angela landed against the stall wall. Thor watched her with pricked ears, wondering why she'd yelled so loudly when he hadn't even touched her. It was a mystery to him. He'd play with her like that all the time. It looked as though she still hadn't gotten used to his tricks.

[TERRANCE D'AMICO xx]

xx The summer was approaching quickly, and that meant one thing. An increase of boarders and teenagers. Wild River was a popular place to spend time at during the summer months, it seemed. Terrance was pleased with that, though. The kids that rode here weren't like the rest. They weren't disrespectful or rude, and most of them kept out of trouble. They knew that Terrance wouldn't take much nonsense, that's for sure. Vincent, Terrance's father, had cared for his students just about as much as he cared for his own son. If any of them needed to talk, he'd always be there. Many kids went to him for advice, and Terrance hoped he could follow in his fathers footsteps. It was a hard task, but it was worth the try.

xx Terrance stopped worrying about the month's expenses and moved on to something a bit more enjoyable. Searching for the newest addition of Wild River's lesson horses. The horse needed to be sturdy, and well trained. This horse would be more of a pleasure ride, one you could take out on the trails for hours at a time. Thinking about trails, Terrance realized it'd been awhile sense he'd taken his own horses out for a good hack. He was loosing his focus. It was too early to try and be focusing on work like this. He closed the Horse Classified website he'd been scanning through on the computer, and shut it off.

xx As he heard footsteps in the barn, he looked through the door, in time to see a thin blonde haired girl step into the office. Terrance offered her a smile, noticing she seemed rather nervous. He listened to her question and returned it with a nod. "I'm pretty sure we do...

[/color] He said, as he flipped through a white binder with a label on the side which read "Employment." There was an application left, and he took it out and handed it to the girl. On it were questions of her experience, hours desired, so on and so fourth. He stood up out of the chair and walked around the desk to the front, leaning against it and holding out a hand in greeting. "Terrance D'amico, owner of Wild River. What kind of position would you be interested in?"[/color] Terrance asked, in a thick Australian accent which sounded just like his fathers. for there was more than just a job as a stablehand. He was more in need of an excersicer who could give the lesson horses a good work out, and maybe even some of the boarders horses if they went away for awhile. He heard another set of footsteps outside the office, and the happy greeting of an equine. Must be one of the boarders. Most didn't come in this early, though. Terrance gestured for Kacia to follow him, as he headed outside the office. Just at the same time, he heard a scream, and a lot of shuffling going on inside a stall. He hurried up his pace a bit, over to Thor's stall. That gelding was really lived up to his breed's reputation. Seeing Angela looking rather flustered against the stall wall, he pulled her away from Thor just to be sure he didn't try and pull anything else. "You alright? He didn't hurt you, did he?"[/color] Terrance eyed Thor, giving him a rather stern look, not very amused by his antics. He turned to look at Kacia, and gave her the 'one moment' signal with his hand. Hopefully this wouldn't change her opinion on the job, she should be used to dealing with slightly crazy horses. [/blockquote][/size]

[KACIA MARKOVICA XX]

.x..x.

Kacia's face seem to appear much more relaxed, or at least her expression did when the attractive young man behind the desk looked up with a soft look on his face, thankfully. She hadn't wanted to intrude where she had not been wanted, but while the door was open she had seen it as inviting, but she had been wrong in the past and she hadn't wanted to make a bad first impression which of course would be far from good seen as she was wanting to apply for a job here at the very pretigious riding school in australia.


When the man spoke she smiled. Thank god. Why was she so nervous? She didn't really know why to be truthful, maybe it was because she just wanted to get the job more than she thought. It had just been an idea at first, then she had spoken to someone about it but she had at firth thought that she would feel slightly alienated because most of the stable girls here were in their mid teen years or early teen years from fourteen to sixteen, it was probably because they could work better hours because they lived here at the riding school and attended the boarding school. She didn't want to be an odd one out, but hopefully she had seen someone else working who looked far older than herself, and she knew everyone. So why on earth was she worrying?


Oh my god, it was Terrance D'amico. For a minute she felt slightly bewildered. She didn't know why, it was probably because he was rather famous around these parts and very well known in the equine industry through his and his father's work and competing as well as their very famous riding school. She tried not to let it show and she just smiled, a white straight smile which was a result of wearing braces in her younger years. She had always taken pride in her appearance but had never thrown on a face load of make-up just to come down to the barn. it simply just was not needed.


Taking a silent deep breath she smiled again before she spoke. "Hi, its nice to meet you, finally."

[/color] SHe said as she stepped towards his desk with a smile and then continued what she was orginally going to say before she had thought twice and found it much more polite to greet him. "Well i was wanting a job which was much more horse based, Stable hand, exerciser, that sort of thing."[/color] She explained as she took an application form and took a look at it.


Just then though, there was a lot of noise from the stable yard and a yell, it didn't sound all too great so as Terrance directed himself towards it, of course she did too, and they walked much quicker. Following him she saw a girl against the door and she gasped. "Is she okay?"[/color] She asked, concern clear in her voice. She quickly made sure the horse was inside by spreading her arms apart to indicate she wasn't going to be barged past and it was her personal space and he wasn't to come near, at that point she shut the stable door and bolted it, turning quickly to glance at the girl and Terrance. "Is there anything i can do to help"?[/color]


[/blockquote][/size]

[[.Angela Vedetta.]]

More than anything she was scared. Everything had happened so suddenly. It took her a moment to realize the thudding sound that grew louder and louder was the sound of footsteps, not her heart. She was still dazed as a man entered the stall, pulling her to her feet and moving her away from her horse. She was still so focused on Thor, though, that she nearly missed the man's words. As a girl appeared, too, blocking Thor from an escape that probably wouldn't have happened anyway, she finally blinked a few times before answering in a shaky breath.

"I'm... fine... He does that alot." Her words were slightly exhausted, but she was gaining the feeling in her legs again and standing straight, somewhat. She then looked to the man who'd helped her, then to the girl as she spoke. She looked confused as she replied, "I'll get over it... It was my fault... I'm sorry." Yes, a habit she'd developed as a young child. Those two simple words of "I'm sorry" have always been with her.

Inside the stall, Thor looked upset as people suddenly started coming near the stall. That didn't used to happen. He would play a trick on her and she would fall over, as usual. Everyone knew he was never up to any good with the novice daughter of his former rider. Still, though, he didn't worry over it for long. As someone blocked his path, he snorted and moved back over to his feed, lipping at it.

As for Angela, she was left embarassed again by her precious gelding. She moved away slightly from the man and watched her horse move away, now unamused with the rush. Her lips parted once more to repeat her last final words, but she quickly shut them. She knew it wasn't the most professional thing to say. Especially when you say it over and over again. She knew better than that, and yet it drove her crazy inside just to keep quiet. That feeling of guilt, even if it wasn't her fault, loomed over her like a dark shadow. At least, that's what it seemed like.

[TERRANCE D'AMICO xx]

xx Other horses in nearby stalls paced back and fourth anxiously, tossing their heads and nickering gently. Amadeo, the young Lusitano, even kicked at the stall board. Terrance let it go, knowing that trying to get Amadeo to behave was a useless cause. He just wanted to make sure Angela was alright. Thor needed some training, by a serious professional who trained only Arabians. Arabians were a hard breed to figure out, especially at a young age. Terrance wasn't too fond of them himself. He'd actually broken an arb and chipped a rib by falling off one once, all because the young stallion had heard the tractor start and took off down the ring. Terrance had only been seven years old. His father liked them, though, finding their history to be of high interest. He admired their endurance, too.

xx Terrance had let his hand rest on Angela's shoulder, kind of a habit of his, a protective brotherly or fatherly action. He looked over her once to make sure nothing looked out of the ordinary. She seemed alright, maybe just a bit dazed. A sympathetic smile crossed Terrance's lips, a warming one that was enough to warm anyones heart in the slightest way. It was comforting, too. He turned to look at Kacia for a moment, nodding his head as she asked if Angela was okay. For the short time Thor had bene here at Wild River, only the most experienced handlers could turn him out when Angela wasn't here. Sometimes horses could be more dangerous than anyone expected. Turning his dark brown eyes back onto Angela, he patted her shoulder lightly before removing his hand. "It's not your fault, no need to apologize. I've watched Thor here enough to know that he's unpredictable. Just watch out, I'd hate to see you get hurt when no one's around."

[/color] Terrance warned her. It's a good thing he and Kacia were around. Normally no one is this early, except for Terrance, but sometimes he's out around town picking up feed and what not.

xx He closed the stall door to Thor's stall and locked it, giving the gelding one more displeasing stare. He turned to both of the girls, a reassuring smile still resting peacefully on his lips. His attention was turned to Kacia for the moment, wanting to know if she'd take the job. "So, what about that job? You can go ahead and start today, if you'd like. Maybe Angela here can show you around the barn, introduce you to some of the horses."[/color] He could tell Angela was uncomfortable with what had just happened, so he was trying to move on and make it no big deal. He always made sure he learned each name of the students that boarded here as soon as the first arrived. Some had been here longer than others, but still, even the new ones he seemed to remember their names and faces. Well, wasn't that a great way to start the morning? The littile inncodent had woken up anything that had once been sleeping in the barn.[/size][/blockquote]

[KACIA MARKOVICA XX]

.x..x.

Her beautiful green eyes must have shown sympathy for the girl as it couldn't have been helped, she knew what it was like all too well to be on the recieving end of a horses temper tantrum for she had been with horses all her life and from an early age she had grown to realise they could be very unpredictable no matter how much you thought you knew them, at the end of the day they all had their own minds, and being so big they could really throw their weight around whenever they pleased. One had to work with one to really get the best from them, which is why Kacia had never owned more than two horses at a time, and that had been hard enough as it was.


Taking two steps back she waited, watching as Terrance displayed a very caring side. She turned her head to look away, she knew how it could be when people stood and watched, and it was even worse when the horse was your own. Kacia tried to mind her own business, but she leant Angela a white friendly smile none the less. She admired her for getting up and carrying on, after a knock like that ti could knock your confidence very easily, even with the most experienced and hardest of people it could knock your for an hour or two. No one could really deny that, just not everyone showed it.


Rrunning her hand over her jacket she straightened it out, her head shooting up as terrance began to speak towards her, but she looked confused, he had given her an application form but appeared to be trusting her already to start. It wasn't as if she didn't know what she was doing, it was just she hadn't expected to start straight away. Most of the horses she had got to know, talking to their owners and just speaking to the staff about the others, but there was still a lot she would need to know about them all, a tour and speak wouldn't go a miss, but before that she'd really like to talk it all over with terrance.


"Well, if you wouldn't mind, if you could possiblely find the time i'd like to talk to you about it all first before i start, to get some things cleared up. But of course i can understand if you are too busy."

[/color] She said. She did want to get into it straight away, but she would like to be clear of everything she was doing first, all of the horses, how many there was, what her job would consist of, what horses to ride, when to ride them, if she should watch for anything. Above all, she needed to fill in the form and hand it back to him. But she could understand, she might have to wait for all of that and just get on with it.


[/blockquote][/size]

[[.Angela Vedetta.]]

Angela wouldn't look either of the two in the face. She would look toward Thor, or toward the ground. Having Terrance's hand on her should was both uncomfortable and comforting. As he pat her shoulder, removed his hand and then spoke, she politely looked toward him. When he finished she looked away once more. This had happened so many times. She bit her lip hard and tried to make in unnoticeable. She was on the brink of tears just like any other time something like this happened. She didn't know why, either. She was just always a cry baby, she figured. Sniffling over the smallest of things, but she walked toward his stall as Terrance spoke to the other girl. She faced away from them and looked toward her horse, trying her hardest not to let a single tear fall.

Thor, inside, raised his head from his feed. He watched Terrance bolt his door shut and flicked his tail in annoyance. He looked toward his rider as she neared, then returned to nibbling at his feed. He could care less what anyone thought, it seemed. He acted almost like any other high school bad boy would, looking as if it were only a joke between friends and wondering why he got the blame. He was well trained, yes, but his rider was not. Was it really his fault?