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[jillaroo]

A bell tinkled over the door as Victoria stepped inside the small shop. There was the wonderful smell of leather, and her eyes were drawn to the flash of buckles. Victoria poked around in a bin of brushes, and found herself standing in front of a row of halters. Her eyes widened as she saw some of the prices, and she wondered how far she could stretch her allowance.

She fingered a leather halter, brushing her thumb over the blank brass plate. Her thoughts strayed to Percy, and she wondered what it would look like on the chestnut. But he’s not mine, she told herself, and disappointment flared in her chest. Even though she would never admit it to herself, she realised she would miss the horse when he was gone.

“Can I help you?” A voice asked from behind her, and Victoria jumped in surprise. Her cheeks burned, and she turned to see a blond girl around her own age smiling broadly at her. “Oh.. uh.. no I was just looking, for an um.. friend,” she stammered as she gently replaced the halter back on its hook.

The girl nodded and turned to straighten up a nylon halter. “Well if you need any help with sizing, I’ll just be out back. We got a new shipment of saddles in and we’re one person short so I’m flat out at the moment.” The girl rolled her eyes, and Victoria grinned in spite of herself. From somewhere at the front of the store a buzzer went, and the girl’s face brightened. “I knew I’d forgotten something,” she said mysteriously, and she hurried off without another word, leaving Victoria staring open-mouthed after her.

[.Rissa.]

Z.ack B.radley

A '98 Chevy pick-up quietly pulled into an empty parking space at the tack shop. With the purchase of a first horse, he needed tack and supplies. Granted, he should have been a bit more prepared, but Zack happened to be the biggest procrastinator on the planet... which explained why he worked at the academy as a custodian. He liked most of the kids though, they were all pretty cool, and most of the staff members were nice.

The twenty-two year old got out of his truck, "Stay," he told the lab/hound mutt sitting in the front seat. The black pooch tilted it's head as a quiet whimper escaped. He didn't want to wait in the vehicle by himself. To show he wasn't happy, he let out a bark as his owner opened the door and entered the building.

Zack was glad it was cooler in the store. He had the windows down becuase the A/C went out last summer and he never had the cash to get it fixed. Luckily, the money he bought the tack with was funded by the academy. After all, it was horse stuff, and he didn't take advantage of people, but he knew how to get what he wanted by toying with their minds, and Miss Clarkson was a sweet, innocent, girl to do that to. As he first stepped in, no one was anywhere in sight. He saw some saddles in the back and started walking to them, never imagining there could be so many different kinds, "Okay, I'm gonna need some help." he said out loud to himself, his arms crossing in front of his chest.

[Ω-Admin-Cara-Ω]

Katherine pulled her Subaru Legacy into a parking space outside the town's tack store. She had gone to the auctions, looking for more competition type horses for the school. Instead, she had returned with a grey horse who was ready for retirement. She was planning to use him for adults so he would need his own gear, that and she needed to pick up some extra brushed, halters and leads.

The bell above the door jingled as she walked through, the air instantly cooled as the door swung closed behind her. She grinned as she saw some large buckets by the door and picked up a stack of three. They were great for water and would work as a basket to carry things in while she was shopping.

Selecting out the grooming items, halters and leads didn't take long - of course making sure that she had ones that coordinated with each other. She then headed to the back of the store, to where the saddles were kept.

"Okay, I'm gonna need some help."

"What type of saddle are you looking at getting." The barn manager asked as she stood beside Zack, also looking at each of the saddles.

[jillaroo]

Victoria was browsing through a collection of tail shampoos, when the bell over the door tinkled and there was the heavy sound of boots in the aisle over. She stood on tiptoes, trying to peer between the stacks of saddle soap, but she couldn’t see anything through the packed shelves.

Chewing on her bottom lip, she returned to browsing, pausing as she deliberated between two different brands of shampoo. Deciding it would be best to go with the more expensive one; she tucked a bottle under her arm and headed for the back of the store. She lingered by the halters, feeling a tug of regret. Victoria sighed. She had to face facts. Percy would never be hers.

Victoria shook her head. It was her mother who paid all the bills, and with a final glance back, she headed up towards the sales section. She stopped short when she heard the soft murmur of voices. At first she thought it was the sales assistant helping whoever had come in before, but then she turned a corner. The two stood looking at a wall of saddles, and she immediately recognised the tall, slender woman. She felt her heart sink, and she took a deep breath, wanting nothing more than the floor to open up and swallow her.

Victoria hovered uncertainly, wanting to start off on the right foot with the woman, but not sure where to start. "Apparently the Courbette Vision is a good all-purpose saddle if you don’t mind paying for it. It was featured in the latest edition of Bridle Path and the reviewer seemed to have only good things to say about it,” she shyly ventured. She knew it was rude to interrupt adults while they were talking, but the sales assistant was still off somewhere, and it was only her opinion.

[.Rissa.]

Z.ack B.radley

For some odd reason, the man hadn't heard the clicking of english riding boots behind him and he about jumped out of his shirt as a woman's voice spoke. He quickly turned around betting it was a worker from the store. He felt a rush of color flood to his scruffy face seeing a logo on the woman's shirt that she worked for the academy, "Sorry," he apologized, "I didn't hear anyone coming." His eyebrows rose in responce to her question. His face was very expressive with how he was thinking, so he was a horrible liar. But before he could actually get around to answering, a short girl seemed to appear out of nowhere and talk about some kind of saddle he had never even heard of. He didn't know any brand names of any sort.

His emeber eyes turned to the woman, he had no idea what anyone was talking about. He just nodded his head, "Thanks," he offered her a friendly smile, "All-purpose sounds good." It never occured to him to ask what style of riding it was used for.

[Ω-Admin-Cara-Ω]

Katherine looked up as a girl offered her opinion on a brand of saddle. "Thank you for that, Victoria." She said with a warm smile. Being senior barn manager, she made her business to know all of the riding students at the school, especially those who had horses in the barns. "I'm looking at getting a Wintec 2000 all-purpose for the gelding I got from the auction." She shifted the weight of the buckets in her hand. "Oh, and a few other things." She stepped forward and scooped up the saddle she was after - a brown one, with an extra-wide gullet - before taking a step back. "Have you found what you are after, Victoria?" She looked at the saddle that was over one arm and pictured the gelding, thinking about the correct colour he needed to go with his gear.

While waiting for the student's answer, she stepped to the left and looked through the saddle blankets until she found the perfect one to go on the gelding's back, a medium purple blanket with purple and yellow piping. She then found a purple bridle for the gelding to wear as well and a snaffle bit. His days of being a competition mount were over so there was no need for Guardian to have a bridle that matched the colour of his saddle.

[jillaroo]

Victoria thought the man looked rather lost. He stared helplessly at the saddles, and she wondered if he knew anything about horses. She was about to point him in the right direction when Miss Carr’s question caught her off guard. The woman sounded casual enough, but Victoria felt her stomach clench.

Ever since that disastrous day last week, she hadn’t stopped worrying. Victoria tried to force the thought out of her mind as she glanced over at Miss Carr. She’d overheard two girls chatting about her in Math class, but she didn’t seem all that strict to Victoria. In fact as she smiled at Victoria, she looked like the kind of person who would understand just what she was going through, the kind of person who might be able to help.

Victoria nodded. “I uh just needed to pick up a couple of things... but I saw this really neat halter I think would look great on Percy. Mum would kill me if she caught me spending my allowance on a horse that's only going to get sold. Especially Percy, he’s such a handful and no one even wants to look at him. It’s not fair no one likes him. I wish he was mine.” It all came out in a jumbled mess before she could stop it, and Victoria knew she would never forget that moment even if she lived to be a hundred.