In lala land [Vincent]

[zosime]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=width,500,true]

[atrb=background,http://i.imgur.com/wAIQb.png] She was still damp from her shower. Her hair was held up in a ponytail but that wasn't what she cared about. She loved her horse but at the same time, she was relieved that she no longer smelled like a sickening mixture of horse sweat and soap. Now, she only smelled like vanilla sugar. Hell if she knew what that was. She was curled up in an overstuffed chair, burrowed beneath a blanket that Vincent had gotten her for Christmas. She seemed to be busy, fiddling with her wedding ring and reading a book that was titled 'The Horse Whisperer.' Her thoughts were racing. Soon, she'd be entering a competition with Hiwa. For the first time, no less. It was a simple enough event but still, it made her nervous. She shifted in her chair and yawned, stretching her arms above her head. Her first horse, Honey, had been left back on her father's ranch in the United States. Her second horse, Thunder, whom had been a wild mustang when Zosime had purchased her from an auction, had been sold. Her husband had made her sell it when the frightened filly had attempted to trample her. She began to chew on the corner of her thumb. Where Honey would have made a great addition to any family, being the even-tempered darling that she was, Thunder was far too wild and unpredictable. At the time, Zosime thought she could do it. She had the money, and she had been raised on a ranch that specialized in the capture and gentling of mustangs. Although her intentions were pure, she had also come to realize, with Vincent's help, that she had been rather foolhardy back then. She had feared that a slaughterhouse would get the poor thing and in the end, Zosime only sold her on the condition she would go to a loving home that knew how to handle her. It had taken a while, but they had found what they felt was a proper home for her. Most people had been smart and not even bothered with the wild filly. On occasion, slaughterhouses had offered and each time, they had been answered with a swift 'NO.' Hiwa was a lot like Honey, except for in one respect. Just before she swung up into that saddle or started leading him around, he had to show off. In most cases, it involved something like prancing in place or rearing but on rare occasions, he would forget that he was far larger than her own 5'6'' and one hundred and twenty pounds. In short, she had a stallion that was 16.0hh and weighed over a thousand pounds that wanted to start a shoving match. Once more, her thoughts drifted, only this time they traveled down a dangerous, depressing path. She began to think about her husband's heart attack and the cause behind it. Because she had blamed him for a choice her twin brother had made, he had become too stressed, which had led to the heart attack. It had been a while and so far, he seemed to be in the clear. She wasn't used to this feeling of constant worry. She tried to tell herself that with them being on different teams, it might be a good thing. After all, what she wanted was independence. She wanted to stop relying on her husband every time things went south for the winter. Of course, it also had its downsides. Their love life had taken a tumble because they were both living in the dorms and with them being on different teams and whatnot, they were usually separated and competing, much like the rest of the student body. Usually, she wasn't sure how to react so she just went with the best thing she could think of. She didn't speak much and when she wasn't spending time with her horse or focusing on her classwork, she was reveling in what little time she had with Vincent. Speaking of Vincent, they were supposed to meet here. The lounge was neutral territory or at least, she liked to think so. A sigh left her lips, and she tilted her head back, trying to sort through the mass of shit that had collected in her head. The only good news was that she wasn't working nonstop, just to pay bills. Naturally, Vincent had helped her with that as well. Where he had come from money, in her family's experiencing, capturing and domesticating wild horses wasn't exactly a lucrative business. She wondered if feeling relief over the fact her husband was able to support her was a sign that she was taking advantage of him. Had his father been right about her being a desperate whore that was only out for the family's money STAFF POSITIONS Even though she and her father-in-law were on good terms now, she still couldn't get his cruel words out of her head. Had he simply assumed that because she wasn't loaded, she had targeted Vincent STAFF POSITIONS Up until Vincent had told her, she hadn't had the faintest idea. Even if she had, what she felt for her husband was about as real as it could possibly get. Lately, they had been talking about looking for a house to buy. Zosime wondered if that would mean she would have to stop riding, but she knew in her heart of hearts that it wasn't so. Vincent wasn't the type to take away her passion. How had she gotten so lucky STAFF POSITIONS In that moment, she didn't know nor did she care. Vincent was running a bit late but all things considered, she wasn't in a huge hurry or anything. It wasn't often that she got to curl up and read a book without worrying that her entire world would fall down around her. She shifted yet again in the chair and set the book down in her lap, yawning. Without thinking, she began to admire her own wedding ring. She took it off and traced the tip of her finger along the engraving that Vincent had carved into the ring himself. Her pale gaze flitted to the door, half-hoping he would breeze through it with that grace of his that she had come to know and love.

[Vincent Cordova]

God this class was taking forever!! Vince couldn’t help but look at the clock every few minutes. He’d had a test to take in this class but had finished a good twenty minutes before the class was to let out. And the teacher was being a pain about letting them leave once they were done rather than wait for the bell. He looked at his watch again. It had only been a couple of minutes but it seemed like an eternity when he had somewhere he would rather be. See, Vince was meeting his wife in the lounge after class. Well after this test being he knew it wouldn’t take him long. All those hours of studying paid off a bit but that wasn’t helping him get out any faster thanks to the teacher and the bell wanting to take its sweet time ringing.

His thoughts drifted as he sat there with his head propped up on his hand. Of course he thought of one thing lately. Spending time with Zosime. Being on separate teams, they hadn’t had much time to be together between classes, work and competitions. Sometimes they didn’t even get to train together, especially when the teams wanted to practice altogether. As a result, the sex life they’d had while they were dating tended to dwindle. Sure they still did things together, but that was few and far between lately. And he knew during exam time it would only be getting worse!

Boy was he ever going to have to make this up to Zosime. Being late was one thing – a thing which he couldn’t stand mind you – and being stuck in class had already made him a good thirty minutes late! Finally the bell rang. Grabbing his backpack and walking out the door, Vince made his way to the lounge. Usually he dropped off his books at his locker or the dorm room beforehand but this time he didn’t even bother with that. Opening the door to the lounge, he saw Zo sitting there already, waiting on him. “Sorry I’m late, babe,” he said, making his way over to sit beside her. He leaned over and gave her a kiss hello, just like he usually did upon meeting her, no matter the place.

[zosime]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=width,500,true]

[atrb=background,http://i.imgur.com/wAIQb.png] At the sight of her husband, she perked up. "Hey to you, too!" She chirped, kissing him back as a playful grin curved her lips. Standing up, she moved closer to him then perched in his lap, nestling against him with her body still cocooned in the blanket and the book still in hand. She rubbed her eyes and yawned. "So, James texted me earlier. He told me that Bluebell almost got trampled on by a horse." She chuckled and played with her husband's fingers, having already put her ring back on. She was glad she had Vince, and they had certainly had their fair share of ups and downs and then some. "I also started looking into houses. I'm getting sick of the dorm." She muttered, her lower lip jutting out briefly as she began to pout. "I'm debating on entering the upcoming show. It shouldn't be that hard, right STAFF POSITIONS " She chuckled and resumed playing with his fingers whilst chewing on the inside of her cheek. With him there, she already felt calmer; happier. "Right...so, uh...for the house, I was thinking three or four bedroom with enough of a yard to buy a barn and everything we need to transfer our horses over there. The commute will probably be a bitch as far as school goes, but I figure it's better to take our horses with us when we leave the dorms, you know STAFF POSITIONS " Her fingers tapped idly against her leg as she started thinking about other things. This was the typical Zosime for you but usually, you got used to it. "So, what do you think STAFF POSITIONS " She finally concluded, deciding to let him give his thoughts on the matter while also trying to figure out the best way to tell him that she had taken up a job, much like the one she had held at AEA.

[Vincent Cordova]

"Hey to you, too!" Zo said, perking up at the sight of him just as she always did that characteristic playful grin on her face as she returned his kiss. Standing up, she moved closer to him then perched in his lap, nestling against him with her body still cocooned in the blanket, her book still in hand. "So, James texted me earlier. He told me that Bluebell almost got trampled on by a horse," she added, rubbing her eyes with a yawn. ”Well that’s not a good thing,” he replied. He knew how much his wife loved that cat and how she’d wanted to bring her with them but the no pets rule kept them from doing that. She chuckled and played with her husband's fingers.

He smiled. Vince was so glad he had her in his life. Sure they had ups and downs, fights and good times, but what married couple didn’t

STAFF POSITIONS

Some thought they’d married too young but he didn’t think that was the case at all. "I also started looking into houses,” she said after a moment. ”Oh

STAFF POSITIONS

” he replied, holding her hand in his. ”I'm getting sick of the dorm." He had to smile at that comment. He had been sick of living in the dorms for a while now but hadn’t said anything. ”You and me both, love,” he said. It wasn’t as practical as he had thought it would be living together on campus. For one thing, the rooms were small and at 5’11 he wasn’t exactly a tiny guy. ”Find any good ones

STAFF POSITIONS

he asked her.

"I'm debating on entering the upcoming show. It shouldn't be that hard, right

STAFF POSITIONS

" Zo said, changing the subject for a few minutes. She chuckled, resuming playing with his fingers. Vince thought a minute. ”Honestly, I hadn’t given much thought to entering myself,” he said. ”I haven’t entered a show since the accident with Lily. If you want to, go ahead.” Vince had been debating getting back into show jumping and competing but with his medical problems – a heart attack at 20 and messing his back up in the accident that took the life of his beloved horse Lily - his doctors always advised against it. But then when had he ever listened to them

STAFF POSITIONS

"Right...so, uh...for the house, I was thinking three or four bedroom with enough of a yard to buy a barn and everything we need to transfer our horses over there. The commute will probably be a bitch as far as school goes, but I figure it's better to take our horses with us when we leave the dorms, you know

STAFF POSITIONS

" she said finally. "So, what do you think

STAFF POSITIONS

" ”I think that’s a good size place to shoot for,” Vince replied. That gave them a good size home for if they decided to have kids or not. Not that he was against them having kids, just he wasn’t really ready for that step yet. ”We’d have to invest in a trailer for the horses though. I don’t think my car will haul three horses in the back seat.” Of course he was joking.

[zosime]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=width,500,true]

[atrb=background,http://i.imgur.com/wAIQb.png] She blinked and fiddled with the pages of her book. "Four horses." She said softly, glancing up at him as her cheeks began to flush. "Papa brought me a AQHAxFriesian, named Wreaking Havoc. Papa trained him in trail and barrel racin'. He wants you to know that if you try to ride 'im, he'll kick your ass." She gave a grin and shifted in his lap, kissing his chin. Her pale gaze sparkled with mirth. "He was kiddin', 'course." Well, she thought he was but then again, she couldn't be sure. Zeb could tell, but Zosi couldn't. At the mere thought of her dead twin, pain jabbed icy needles at her heart. He had committed suicide shortly after she and Vince had gotten married, which had been about two or three years ago. It had been after graduation from AEA but before their acceptance into HA. She sniffled quietly and then cleared her throat. He had brought up Lily, and she blinked. Honey, the horse she had owned when she and Vince had first met, was currently being used as a brood mare on her father's farm. The colt that had been the product of Honey and Vince's stallion was still in training at her father's farm. According to her father, the spunky colt was a slow learner. "So Vince, how is your younger brother doing STAFF POSITIONS " She queried, finally realizing that with all the commotion, she hadn't really had a chance to talk with her husband about much of anything.