THIS IS CAV'S POST

Ambrose Light & Proclamation

Nick was simply just too busy with the number of juveniles already hitting the tracks and practicing that he couldn't spare the time to drive out with her to pick up, not one, but two more juveniles that would be racing under the IRS silks. She wasn't really complaining though because if she was being honest, this was a perfect opportunity to meet up with Cole. She swore the man moved as slow as molasses in picking up social cues, but that hadn't deterred her. She was naturally shy anyways, but she did know that she liked the head trainer at Valkyrie Stables.

She parked her truck, the trailer behind it empty and ready for when they departed, but it looks like they had a workout scheduled for this morning. Which would work out perfectly. She could report back to Nick on her observations. She climbed out of the vehicle and looked around for a moment before heading in the direction of the track. She probably should have signed in somewhere, but she was eager to see the goings on of the track and hoping to catch a glimpse of other horses hard at work. Or a certain trainer. Yeah, that'd be nice too.

She was smiling as she leaned against the rail and watched. Oh, she might even see Requeim's baby....She scanned the track, trying to determine if any of the horses looked familiar.

Everything had gone to shit and it wasn't even halfway through the morning yet, which meant Cole wasn't in the sunniest of moods. There'd been a loose horse to catch straight off, Hal was out sick (likely with a killer hangover and some foreign model in her bed, knowing her), and there had been an influx of sales horses to get settled along with the daily work. Ironically, Masquerade would likely have been on the track if things had gone smoothly, and Cole would have been waiting rather professionally in the barn when the ambassador from Intrepid showed up.

As it was, Cole was taken quite by surprise when he saw a figure walking down the path from the car park, and he cursed when he checked his watch. The grey colt Nephilim was just leaving the track, snorting and prancing as Savita guided the colt off the track toward the barn - right by Beth, as she had leaned against the railing close enough for Cole to identify. He felt a smile inadvertently coming to his face, as it tended to when he saw the woman - and luckily, this time, there was no young upstart to catch him at it. He quickly dialed on his phone as he started across the training track toward her, giving a quick order to finish readying the two horses who were being shipped. He hung up just as he reached her, ducking under the railing with a roguish grin. "Didn't expect you to be coming," he said, and he couldn't help but hope she'd gone out of her way to see him. It wasn't necessarily either of their jobs to go off picking up horses, after all. Not unless they wanted to. He gestured up toward the barn, where the retreating tail of the colt could still be seen. He started walking, knowing she'd follow alongside. "That's your Seraphim colt. He's a nice goer," he said, then inwardly cringed. While she was likely interested, that wasn't really the point - he was so terrible at small talk. "But anyway... how have you been?"

cavallo

She watched the dark grey colt as he moved past her towards the barn. He was definitely a big, burly thing and she was amused to see his rider thoroughly showing him who was boss, so to speak. She couldn't help but feel that he looked oddly familiar, but then again she had a hand in birthing a lot of foals so the likelihood that she knew the colt was high, but everything just blurred together - especially when the foals were shipped off to their new homes as yearlings. She was so focused on trying to place the colt that she didn't even see the very man she had been looking for approaching her. She startled a bit, but then collected herself quickly and offered him an easy-going smile. "Well, I hope my coming is a nice pleasant surprise rather than an unpleasant one." She joked a bit, but a slight blush formed on her cheeks. Way to go, Beth...

Hearing him talk about the grey she'd been trying to place was a welcomed distraction. "Ohhh. So that's Seraphim's firstborn? Man, he turned out to be a beast." She moved easily to fall into step with the VS head trainer, smiling over at him all the same. She was pleased to just be out and about and having Cole for company was just a huge plus - in her own personal opinion. He probed then to ask how she was and her smile only widened. He'd always been terrible at the small talk, but she'd found that it only endeared him to her all the more. "Been busy as hell with the new year. Shipping off horses after the sale and somehow we still bring more in, hence why I'm here today. Nick was excited to pick up the grey dirt sprinter colt, but I'm biased. I have to say I've been looking forward to bringing this Alloutte filly, but yeah... How have you been doing? I feel like you're the only trainer here." She joked as they approached the barn.

Kenren

Cole was pretty oblivious sometimes, but he did notice the pinkening of Beth's cheeks when she noticed him. Though they both had incredibly hectic lives, he knew that she enjoyed his company and he enjoyed hers, though it seemed like he'd never had the time to follow that trail. Everything moved so... slowly, with those working in the industry. Too slowly and then much too fast, at times. He listened as they walked along, much more his forte than actually speaking, and he grimaced a bit at her last comment. "You're not wrong. Minske was about the only actual assistant I had, but he's spearheading the effort at Perennial now so we're still looking for a replacement. I feel like I haven't sat down for weeks." While it could have sounded like a complaint, there was no small amount of pride in his son creeping in there as well. While he seriously missed being able to delegate some of his duties off, he was glad Minske was getting a chance to branch off on his own.

They reached the barn just as the grooms were bringing the juveniles out, and Cole flipped a silent gesture to stand the two of them up for inspection on the pavement. Even with legs and halters wrapped for travel, the quality of the two animals was unmistakable. "I do have to agree with you. The colt is nice and he's well built, but the filly has a little extra something. She's got a lot of her mother's way of going." He'd worked with Allouette Divine when she was this age, and while the filly was still stamped by her sire, she had the shoulder and bright eye of her successful dam. Not for the first time he envied Intrepid the chance to race her.

cavallo

She raised a brow at Cole's revelation about his son branching off. "More competition for us then?" She smirked but nodded. "Good for him. I'm sure he'll do well for himself, having learned from the best." She gave the compliment easily to the seasoned trainer. She had been removed from the racing side of things for some time now, swamped in foals and broodmares, but she could still discern quality. It was a necessity for her job. Plus, she still enjoyed going to the races and seeing the foals she'd help bring into this world flourish on the tracks. It gave her work a sense of meaning. "Plans to hire on some help then?" She'd managed to ask, just as the two horses stood before her. She inhaled in wonder and appreciation, seeing them both for the first time.

"Well damn Cole. Those are some fine looking horses." She stepped forward and felt along the grey colt's legs, up until the wraps. His ears pinned back for a moment, but Beth was quick to nip that in the bud with a light pat on his neck. "He seems to be pretty confident, that's for sure and he's got great legs and body lines. Not too bad for a last minute pick up." She was teasing Cole. The colt was certainly impressive to look at and already she was eager to see him in motion. She had a good feeling about him. She patted the colt's neck again and then moved to look at the bay filly. She was just stunning...and dancing in place practically as she looked at them with intelligence and craftiness in her eyes.

"She's lively." She smirked and moved forward a bit to draw closer and inspect the filly and she was immediately nudged by an inquisitive horse head into her side. "Fearless, you are, but you have something special about you, don't ya?" She scratched the filly's neck and she was rewarded with a shake of her head and a shrill whinny of enjoyment. She laughed and stepped back to give Cole her full attention. "You sure you wanna sell this one." She smirked. Not that it was actually up for debate. Beth was most certainly coming home with two horses and if all went well, maybe a date on her social calendar too.

Kenren