Post by Ripley on Dec 22, 2015 14:09:08 GMT -5
Rumors of Hauntings
A sharp neigh woke Ripley from a dead sleep, jerking her from dreams of a picnic with Keller. Her green eyes snapped open in panic when she couldn't immediately unwind her arms and situp. Her chest heaved frantically under her thin cotton t-shirt until she finally realized that her right arm was trapped underneath Brooks and unfortunately, very much asleep. She growled when she shook it loose of arm, rubbing her prickling skin with her left hand. Brooks murmured something, but he didn't wake up.
Another neigh drew Ripley's attention. She sighed and forced herself out of the warm bed. Her toes curled when she walked across the chilly filly, but her worries were elsewhere. The towering bedroom window faced four medium sized paddocks, all of which were occupied by Witch Creek's racing mares and fillies. Nocturnal Runaway's silver hide gleamed in the late moonlight as she sidled nervously up and down the fence line. Every now and then Coveted Faith's raven colored body crossed paths with the dappled mare. Both horses looked highly on edge and ill at ease.
She didn't immediately make a break from the house. Too often the thoroughbreds got nervous about a flying piece of hay or some coyote in the fields. Lethal Dose, Miss Josephine and Taboo stood with their heads craning over the white fence rails. Tabs was using the bulkier mares as horse shields. Lee tossed her head and circled, black tail whipping furiously over her powerful hind end. Lee's agitation convinced Ripley to head downstairs. She quickly yanked on a pair of her muck boots and snuck down the hallway. It was probably nothing. She wasn't about to wake Keller over a rogue hay flake.
Ennie's shrieking whinny soared through the air and lifted the hair on Ripley's arms. The Furious Passion daughter really had a dramatic side to her. Ripley knew what she was going to find before she even rounded the circular porch.
The moon left Enrapture's golden hide a plain charcoal gray, but the filly looked anything but normal. Her hooves thundered over the ground like gun shots and every stride was pierced by a snort. Her thick black mane flew backward and she ran long and low, almost parallel to the ground. She was gorgeous in full flight, but her running was not a normal thing. Ripley put her fingers to her lips and let out a high pitched whistle. Every head from Lee's to Artemis' Glory in the paddock turned toward the house.
Enrapture spun on her heels, framed by the low moon in a half-rear. She looked savage and half-crazy. Ripley whistled again and shouted, "Ennie! Let's go!" The filly landed on all fours and shifted about as if she wasn't exactly sure what to do next. Ripley didn't give her much of a choice though. The lithe woman leaped from the porch and stalked to the fence line. Artemis and Swing Dancer nickered at her in greeting, their mouths moving as if they expected a kernel of grain or the usual peppermints that Ripley carried. However, their begging attempts drew to a halt when Enrapture went from a stand still to a gallop.
Ripley held her breath as the mare screamed toward the fence line. Ennie looked fierce tonight, otherworldly, but as soon as her ears went up, Ripley knew she was done. Ripley huffed and marched to the gate when Enrapture slid to a halt, her lean frame pulsating with every big breath she took. "Easy Ennie."
The filly's dark shoved Ripley with her dark muzzle, her eyes gleaming with excitement. "You're going to wake everyone up," Ripley chastised. "You're a mess mare."
Indeed, she was. Her body was coated with mud and Ripley was sure there were burdock vines wrapped in the filly's tail. Her paddock was just a bit larger than the others and reached the edge of the creek that encircled the barn and paddocks. Ennie was prone to these dramatics which was why she was kept alone. Ripley wasn't about to risk Awestruck or the others because Ennie had a random hair of energy. "Relax," Ripley commanded when the filly bolted through the gate. Ripley yanked the lead rope, pulling the skittish horse around to face her. Enrapture pinned her ears, but didn't dare go after Ripley. That was the one lesson taught by Malcolm that stuck good and hard.
Ennie visibly deflated underneath Ripley's hard look and hung her head. She licked her lips and huffed, instantly becoming a mellow horse. However, this appearance was not about to get her turned out. "You've lost your pasture privileges for tonight. Sorry." Ripley softened her words by rubbing underneath Enrapture's black forelock. "You're a piece of work, but at least you make up for it."
A hooting owl broke up the silence as Ripley led the way from the paddocks to the barn. The mares and fillies nickered after her, but Ripley was in no mood to socialize. Three hours later she would be dealing with these same fillies and a bunch of morning gallops. One problem child was bad enough.
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"What did you do to the girls? They're all grumpy as cats." Malcolm asked hawkishly when he entered Ripley's office. The woman merely lifted an eyebrow, icing Mal's words with only a look.
"What did I do?" she asked. "Nothing actually. Enrapture's seeing ghosts again."
Mal rolled his eyes and smirked. "Really? Ghosts again? Did she catch some of Taboo's crazy?"
Ripley snickered and shook her head. "No. Taboo was busy hiding between Lethal Dose and Miss Josephine. She'd outrun both of them if it came down to something attacking with that jackrabbit speed of hers. Luckily, all the two years old are all separated and somewhere else. I don't need Ennie freaking them out."
"Speaking of two year olds," Mal said as he eased his way into a chair. "What do you think of Sunrise's loss?"
"I'm trying not to think of it at all. I have no clue where the winner came from. Nice horse obviously because she won, but I fully expected a better result. Sunrise isn't speed crazy so I have no idea where that came from. Maybe it was the other horse, but at least David figured to let her lope along and save a little for the end. Next time we'll go shorter and he won't let her run off."
Her fierce words didn't surprise him. He knew Ripley had expected better than fourth for Apache Sunrise. The filly was as much a favorite in the barn as Luna de Soltera, but likely would be a bit more slow into form on the track. He didn't dare mention that out of fear Ripley might tear his ears off. Any way, Ripley probably knew that herself and just felt like griping.
"We'll move on," Ripley insisted. "We've got other plans. Luna and Cas have to work out at Green Horse Fields tomorrow. I like our chances for the Unicorn Horn. Intrepid wants revenge on us with their Ensignia and I welcome them to try. I like the colt, maybe a future stud prospect."
"Really, Ripley?" Mal huffed. "The colt's made one start and you're tagging him as a stud prospect. Every horse out there is a stud prospect. They all have great pedigrees."
"I like mine best," Ripley said with a wink. She tossed her pen in the desk drawer. "How's Noc doing?"
"Good really. She's got such a nice attitude these days. I think we'll start to see some good things from her."
Ripley hummed and climbed to her feet, suddenly itching to be in the main barn with her horses. "Trust me to take a Night Stalker and put her on the turf. I'd like to remind people that once upon a time she was one of the top contenders for the Turf Tiara before Impress The Moonlight ran with it. I wonder what would have happened if we ran in the final leg. Noc was tired after the second, so maybe nothing would have happened.
Malcolm and Ripley were met with a chorus of nickers and snorts when they appeared in the hall. Sun King tossed his head and stomped his hooves when he wasn't immediately granted affection. Ripley stood in front of the stall and simply looked at the horse. He was a big guy with a glowing chestnut hide and he was unmarked. He was broad in the shoulder, deep in the chest and longbodied. He didn't look like a speedy horse, but he was. Unlike Mastermind, Sun King had finished second in his Sprinter Crown races. He'd made his name as a miler and was sitting pretty going into the year in spite of the loss to sprinter king Demonic Desires--a future Hall of Famer himself. "You know, Mal, this is my first true homebred. Mastermind and The Devil's Hourglass were both an ARS combination, but this one, he's mine. I'd like to see what he can do at four."
"You know what he's going to do," Mal said from over her shoulder. Ripley stepped up to King and smiled when he rested his chin on her shoulder. He wasn't a sweetheart by any means. He wasn't her baby like Mastermind or her little angel Hourglass. He was a businesslike creature who loved to race and loved to beat his competition into the ground. The loss was apt to get his goat and make him run even harder next out.
"We're not running him in the miles or sprints this year after January. Nine and ten furlongs all the way. He's like his mom. We haven't even seen the best of him yet. Let them try to catch him after he cruises around the track. Let them try to close into him when he hasn't even really started. Nope, I think King will make a perfect distance horse, just like Sunny."
"Those are big game plans," Mal said slowly. "You think he's ready?"
"Is that really a question?" Ripley asked as she turned. King bobbed his head and drew a smirk from Malcolm. "Sorry I asked."
