a lunchdate with paperwork [open]

[symphony]

Tally Cremer, Selena Hassen and Terrence Whitlan

Tally sat at a table near the window of the cafe, two of her workers sitting across from her and a steaming cup of coffee sitting on the table amidst the many pieces of paperwork she had brought with her. Selena and Terry were deep in conversation about tomorrow's races, most of which contained entries from Tally's immense number of racers, while the trainer herself focused on her training schedules for the next few days, occasionally asking Selena for her opinion on one horse or another. Tally knew what each one was like to ride, her goal being to take out each of them herself at least once a week, but there were some that Selena had ridden more recently than Tally had, and she liked to have a second opinion on the matter anyway.

It was half past twelve, she noticed - only half an hour into the afternoon, though she had been up for nine or so hours already. Darren had left only ten or so minutes ago, after giving his opinion on where to run some of their more successful racers in the next few weeks. He had agreed with her on focusing Netta more on Juveniles like the Queen Elizabeth than open-age Features, though it was more than likely the promising filly would run in the highest-level races avaliable, if she was fit enough for them. So far, she had yet to hit her peak, having run second in a maiden a few weeks ago.

In addition to the busy racing schedule, Tally had hired several new people to keep up with the maintenance around the stables, especially in the mornings. They would be there and around the track to help with saddling and unsaddling, mucking out and grooming, and all kinds of small jobs that would allow her riders to get more horses through workouts in the mornings. One in particular was of interest to her - Sonya, a teenage girl who would be working part-time in mornings before school and some afternoons and weekends. Tally had met her once briefly, and as far as she could tell the girl had been very keen to start work.

She would have to find a suitable mount to test out Terry's riding skills sometime this week, she realised, scanning her lists. She would get a rough idea when they began work with the yearlings that afternoon; her eight or so youngsters were recieving further tuition in the subject of saddles and riders today, so she had asked Terry and Selena to stay at the stables for the day to help. They really had only come down to the cafe for lunch, as none of them had felt like making it themselves, and so sandwiches were on their way from the front.

[flatcreek]

John Stokes & Lynn Smith

John stood up from his desk in his office, which was covered in paperwork, mostly entry forms for upcomming races. He stepped out of his office, looking for Lynn and Sarah to see if they wanted to go eat some lunch or get a cup of coffee at the cafe. He walked across the aisle to the lounge, where they were hanging out, talking about who knows what. He opened the door, looking in and seeing that they were on the couch. "Want to go get some lunch?" he called. Sarah and Lynn looked up from their conversation. "Sure," replied Lynn as Sarah nodded. The two women stood up and followed him out the door. John made a short stop to grab some entry forms to work on at the cafe as they passed the office.

The horses nickered as the trio walked past, looking for food. "Sorry, guys," called Lynn as they walked past. They made the short walk to the cafe with Lynn and Sarah talking about the two year olds. They had been doing well this year, with only two horses left to break their maidens. Dev and Jenna had been at the mercy of He's A Pirate in their first two starts-Jenna would be in a turf sprint maiden and Dev in a turf distance maiden next starts. They wouldn't be facing the son of Daemon and Hoist The Colours until they were ready.

He pulled open the the door to the cafe, holding it for Sarah and Lynn, then walked in. The opening of the cafe had been a blessing for him. Coffee and food close to the track. John glanced around as he walked into the cafe, spotting Tally and Selena of Kings Park, along with somebody he didn't know, just as Lynn spotted them. "Hey, Tally, Selena. It's been a while since I've seen you guys," she called. John looked over at her. "Your ususal, Lynn?" Once Lynn got to talking, she wouldn't be leaving for a while. She nodded, and John and Sarah walked up to order.

Once they had placed their orders, Sarah and John walked back over to Lynn, who had sat down at the table next to the Kings Park group. "Hi, Tally, Selena. How's Kings Park doing?" He nodded to the man sitting by Selena. Sarah nodded to everyone in greeting.

[symphony]

Tally Cremer, Selena Hassen and Terrence Whitlan

Tally had just handed the workout schedule for the next morning to her two companions - Selena was curious to see who she would be riding, and she might as well be prepared - when she heard a familiar voice call out across the cafe. Her head shot up from the paperwork with surprise as she glanced over at the door to confirm her suspicions - standing there were three Flat Creek people; John and Sarah, who she had seen around just that morning but been too busy to stop and speak to, and Lynn, who she hadn't seen since the sale of Flat Creek. "Lynn!" she called right back, unable to hide the surprise in her voice or the grin that spread across her face as she gestured at the table next to them, inviting all three to join them. "I didn't know you were back at Flat Creek!"

"Hey John, Sarah," she greeted them as they joined the gathering, Selena echoing her greetings while Terry simply nodded. "We're going pretty well; I've got some new staff coming in soon- Oh!" she gestured at Terry. "Sorry, this is Terry, one of our new exercise riders." She could only grin at her absentmindedness; already, she had gotten used to having the quiet youth following her around as he observed everything that needed to be done in the mornings. "Everything's well at Flat Creek, I hope? Lynn hasn't bought it back, has she?" Her tone was light and joking on her last question, though she was curious as to why Lynn was with them. She hadn't seen the other woman since she sold to John; as far as Tally knew, Lynn hadn't been to visit the stable she had founded or anything in the past few years.

[flatcreek]

John Stokes, Lynn Smith & Sarah Mutain

Lynn grinned when she saw the surprise in Tally's face. One of the things that Flat Creek loved to do was surprise the other stables. It kept everybody on their toes, for sure. "Yeah, I'm back as of yesterday." She sat down at the table Tally had motioned to. Last time she had been at the track, there hadn't been a cafe. You had to drive into town to eat and get coffee.

John and Lynn nodded to Terry, while Sarah said, "Hi, Terry," Sarah and John sat down at the table Lynn was at, relaxing in the peace and quiet, compared to the track. John nodded. "We're doing well. We only have two two year olds left to break their maidens, Jenna and Dev. We're expecting them to graduate before long." Lynn grinned at the next question. "I tried, but he wouldn't. No, I'm back as assistant trainer." She paused, "I stayed away so I wouldn't go crazy, plus my two boys are getting to that age that they needed me around. Now, I just drive them crazy." She knew that her presence would make several people wonder, since she hadn't been around for three years.

[symphony]

Tally Cremer, Selena Hassen and Terrence Whitlan

Tally had to think for a second to recall the Flat Creek two year olds she had seen around recently. She knew of Conquistador - how could she forget Sola's first foal - Dev was Devil I Am, who everyone knew to look out for, and Mindset had certainly made an impression on her at some point, but the others she couldn't place. She'd been quite busy with her own stable, too busy to properly study other stable's affairs. Knowing Selena though, the girl probably knew every single one of them.

She grinned as Lynn explained everything. "Well, it's great to have you back, Lynn," she said, sipping at her coffee. "I've been hearing quite a bit about this year's two year olds, especially from you lot; though I think there's a touch of something going around my stable at the moment, seeing as none of mine were looking too keen to run in anything last week." Out of their eight maiden runners, only Phonetica had managed to win her first start, and almost all of their two year olds had been kept out of the maidens following those. Tally had been happy with all of their debuts; it often took a race or two for them to find their form, after all.

Tally stopped for a moment to thank the waitress that brought over a plate of sandwiches for her and her workers, the latter also thanking the waitress as they each grabbed a sandwich. "Tally, you've still got Jay on Pie," Selena brought up as she handed the workout sheet back to the trainer, taking a bite of her sandwich as Tally sighed. Nothing was ever easy.

"I really don't see what his problem is with Pie," she said, glancing at her schedule, trying to figure out who she could swap around. All her riders were full though, and she didn't want to do any drastic changes. Most of them she had given mounts that they rode regularly, seeing as they knew those horses best.

[flatcreek]

John Stokes, Lynn Smith & Sarah Mutain

"Thanks," said Lynn as she sipped her Coke. John listened as Tally talked about her two year olds. He'd noticed that they weren't in any of the recent maiden races. "That's no good. They're doing better, I hope?" He made a mental note to keep an eye on the Flat Creek horses-this time of year they didn't need any of them to get sick.

"Apollo's doing well. Broke his maiden last week, pretty impressivly, too," Sarah commented to Tally. John nodded. "He's growing up well, impressive to look at. I heard that Sola had her Daemon foal the other day. How's it looking?" He asked, nodding to the waitress when she commented that their food would be out in a few minutes.

They watched as Selena commented that Tally had Jay on Pie again. "Which one's Pie, again?" Sarah asked Selena. "Is he that gray Charlie x Reema colt?" Sarah was the bloodline guru of the barn. She had become very involved in the breeding side of things lately, throwing out her ideas for crosses.

[symphony]

Tally Cremer, Selena Hassen and Terrence Whitlan

"Yeah, it wasn't much more than a cold, and we got rid of it pretty quickly," Tally told John. "Most of them we just pulled out as a precaution. Spirit and Sails were the only two to come down with it properly, but they're back to normal already." She was almost certain that of all the horses in the barn, the two worst ones had chosen to get sick. Both of them hated vets; Sails had made several attempts to either run away or damage herself on anything she could find, and Spirit had loved playing the role of your typical aggressive stallion.

At Sarah's mention of Echo, Tally couldn't help but grin. No one outside of King's Park had seen that little speed demon yet, and if she had her way, no one would until her first race. "We got another Apollo, believe it or not," Tally said with a laugh. "A big bay filly, with stockings to spare and a white face. You'd think she was a paint. We've named her Eidolon." That was all she was saying for now, however much she could go on about the filly given the chance. The world would have to wait for this one.

Selena nodded in answer to Sarah's question, beating Tally to it. "His full name is Pioneer; he ran third to Phantom Menace in his maiden a couple of weeks ago," she informed them as she picked up another sandwich. "He adores Jay, but the affection is a little onesided," Tally explained further, Selena nodding along in agreement.

[flatcreek]

John Stokes, Lynn Smith & Sarah Mutain

John nodded. "That's good. The last thing we need is everyone getting sick this time of year." Nobody wanted sick horses this time of year, when it was setting the tone for the entire season. He was thankful that Tally had kept her two year olds out for the week, since he sure didn't want Apollo or Dev getting sick. John took a sip of his diet coke as he thought and listened to the conversation.

"She sounds adorable," said Sarah. Personally, she didn't think any horse could match Apollo, but Echo was probably as close as Kings Park could get, from the sound of it. "Does she have an attitude?" asked John, knowing how the Daemons could be. The Rocket babies had their moments, but the Daemons were typically worse.

They made room for their food when the waitress approached with their food. They thanked her and started eating. Sarah nodded. "I though so. The Charlie babies are a lot of fun to be around, usually. We're expecting quite a bit from our two year this year." Seth was such a sweetheart. That cross appeared to be a good one, so far. Lynn grinned. "I'm glad we don't have that problem with anyone. If we did I'd be telling them to get over it and ride the horse." John nodded. "What are you doing this afternoon? Besides paperwork," he said glancing at his and Tally's piles.[/size]

[symphony]

Tally Cremer, Selena Hassen and Terrence Whitlan

"She's very bossy, we've found," Tally answered Sarah, choosing her words carefully. "And very curious. Poor Sola isn't quite sure what to make of her." Echo could always be found leading her dam all over the paddock, with not an inch of fear showing for anything. The filly had heart, another reason Tally was looking forward to her career.

Sighing, the trainer took another sip of her coffee, giving up on her work for now and pushing papers into an untidy stack. "I'm planning to do some work with the yearlings this afternoon, and then I think someone will be taking Foxwedge for a walk; that colt has been annoying me all morning."

[flatcreek]

John Stokes, Lynn Smith & Sarah Mutain

Sarah nodded. "We'll have to keep an eye out for her. How's Sola been doing off the track?" she asked, after finishing her salad. Lynn smiled and said, "Our crop is looking pretty good so far, too. The Devil's Food baby is sure a looker." The smokey black colt would be a force to be reckoned with on the track, based on his sibling's performances.

"It's about the same over at Flat Creek. We're going to attempt to work with Always A Challenge and Forceful." At John's reply, Sarah grimced, not looking forward to working with the two yearlings.

[symphony]

Tally Cremer, Selena Hassen and Terrence Whitlan

"Sola's gotten fat," Tally said with a laugh, recalling the days when the chestnut had been racing. GI, at the height of her career, only steps away from the Hall of Fame. She was still the best horse the stable had ever seen - though from the looks of things, Vanquished was out to take her mother's title. "She filled out pretty quickly once we took her out of training, as they do, and I'll admit that she doesn't get quite as much work as she should these days." Both Tally and Selena took the mare out quite regularly, the trainer knew; but still, the chestnut didn't get much further than the front pasture most days. Not that Sola minded, no, the champion was quite content with being a paddock ornament these days, along with her stunning foals. First the twins, then Otto (who had been ignored by the public for the most part), and now the flashy Eidolon. Who would be next?

"More devil colts?" Tally guessed at the mention of two yearlings she was only vaguely familiar with. From the look on Sarah's face, it seemed Flat Creek had developed a habit for breeding the more volatile horses around the track.

[flatcreek]

John Stokes, Lynn Smith & Sarah Mutain

Sarah and Lynn laughed at Tally's comment about Sola. John simply nodded and added, "London and Laugh have too." The two mares had given Flat Creek it's main rise to the top and now their foals were working on keeping up the tradition. They didn't get out a whole lot, but whenever they had time, the riders liked to take them out. Sarah nodded in agreement with Tally. "We've had more of that with London, since Laugh's so competive. We just put her out next to one of the younger horses and off she goes!"

John nodded. "Yeah, twins, sired by Rocket, out of Devil's Food. They aren't quite as bad as Dev, but there's two of them, so it's about as bad. Al's more brawn and Oscar's more the brains and they're both evil."