Tsornin; Break Me If You Can.

[Matabon]

[ooc]old post that i just found[/ooc]
Godolphin had been a dirt track the day before, although now all it resembled was a deep sloppy mess. It was early on a Sunday morning, around five, and the fog hung like thick velvet over the track, making it d**n near impossible to see. The air was calm and heavy, the moisture almost visible as the air glided over the stables, leaving a layer of dew upon the grass and drops sliding off the early spring pedals of the yellow and red tulips.
Ben stood silently, one arm rested on the rail as the other pulled up the hood of his dark gray sweatshirt over his dirty blond hair, before it slid back into his wrangler jeans. He was Godolphin's main stable hand, but he was a friend way before that, and normally he would not have gotten up so early on his day off, especially on a morning such as this one. Yet Ben's sharp blue eyes were alert, a light of excitement and anticipation dancing behind them as he waited, his boots scuffing impatiently in the wet grass beneath them. "Dammit Matty what is taking so long?" he muttered under his breath, as he turned once more to look down the fog covered track, squinting to make out something in the swirling gray mass, but finding nothing.
Finally he thought he heard something. Sight was useless, he knew that as he turned his head and yes, he heard something, far off but coming quickly to wards him. The soft splashes of steady hooves in the mud. He quickly leaned down and picked up an electric lantern at his feet, flicking the switch it sputtered into life, giving off a bright orange glow as he held it up. Ducking under the rail he walked partway onto the track, his boots squelching in the mud as he went and, finally stopping, he held the lantern aloft.
Matty leaned over Tor's neck, relying only on the young two-year olds wit and confidence as they thundered easy through the sloppy track, the mud spraying up the chestnut's sides and chest, coating the both of them. Sweat mingled with excitement as the pair finally spotted the lantern far off in the distance. Matty leaned closer to Tor's neck as he pulled on the reins, chewing anxiously at the bit as they galloped the final furlong. Matty felt totally invincible upon the thoroughbreds back, his powerful hind end and confident strides eating away at the mud as he battled through the nasty rain that had just started to pick up, his ears flat back and tail snapping in the wind. The calm air had picked up into a harsh wind, like a fire that had been stoked, it came to life.
Tor, his ears back, fought against the headwind, a lathered sweat forming on his copper rain-drenched pelt. Matty hung on, her fingers wrapped in Tsornin's mane, which cut and stung her hands as the fine hairs dug into old cuts that had re-opened in the dampness. The rain pommeled them, making vision difficult in the already impenetrable fog as Matty leaned back and pulled up the colt, who with puffing sides was brought down to an easy jog, the lantern bogging through the mist to wards them. Matty slid off, pulling the reins over Tor's head as Ben through a cooler over him, and taking his reins from Matty, the trio started to walk back to the barns.
Heads bent they silently splashed through the mud, the sound of steel upon cobblestone audible every time Tor placed down a hoof. At last they reached the Main Barn, and throwing wide the door, they scrambled inside, Tor pushing and shoving to get in first. He liked a challenge, the danger, but the cold rain had sunk into his bones, the chill starting to get to him, and he had had enough. It was bright inside, compares to the gloomy morning sky, and the warmth and light seemed to flow over all three of them as they got inside, and shutting the door, closed out the gray dread outside."Good boy Tor. Hold still." Matty cooed as Ben laughed and shook his head, removing the cooler and peeling off the chestnut's tack in the isle way. "Only you Matty. Only you would go out there in the middle of a storm." he laughed as he hosed the mud off the tack and hung it to dry in the warm barn. "Hey, I didn't think it would get that bad. Anyways, it will only make him stronger." she commented as she peeled off his mask. Underneath was a stunning white blaze, and bright chestnut coat, but it looked almost fake compares to the rest of him. Etched around where the mask had been was clear and clean, but the rest of him was soaked in mud, dripples running down his ivory blaze, leaving behind a dark trail, and dripping off his hocks and mane. Matty laughed and removed her goggles, her face just like his, and shaking her head, walked him into the wash rack. She turned on the hot water, letting in run for awhile until it was the right temperature. She hosed him off, Tor's eyes closed as the steam rolled along his dirty coat, the mud splashing onto the rubber-matted floor and disappearing down the drain. Matty washed away all the sweat and mud, warming up Tor's muscles and making him relax as he drifted off, the chill being chased away.
She quickly scraped off the water and put two coolers on him, before throwing on a heavy blanket and doing up the straps. "You were such a good boy. Why can't you always be like that?" Matty said as she gave him a scratch behind the ears and he leaned into it, his big brown eyes watching her, waiting. "Yes yes, I almost forgot. Here you go." Matty grinned as she pulled out a big fat apple. Tor's ears pricked and he stomped the ground, giving his head a shake and making the wash rack ties jingle and bang until Matty let him take a big bite, the juice dribbling down his chin as he munched away.
Unclipping him she bribed him back to the stall with the other half of apple, before closing the door and throwing it in his bucket. Ben returned with a steaming bran mash, dumping that in his bucket as well. "Alright, let's go get warmed up before we get sick. My clothes are drenched." he mumbled, hoping Matty would permit some time off on a nasty day like this.
"Alright, but if the sun comes out, we're working Cj." She commented, before tossing her helmet and wet jacket in the tack room, and grabbing her raincoat as they dived out the door and sprinted to the house. "So was he good?" Ben asked as they tossed their wet coats on the hook once inside.
"Couldn't have been better." she laughed.