The Fire Horse (On Hold)

Chapter •25/⅞.²•

Pyro rears is excitement underneath me. My reins were short and he gives his head a lurch, the bit yanking his mouth. My balance is thrown and I see his glassy eyes getting smaller.
"Oof" I grunt.
"You okay princess?" Grant asks, trotting up beside me. I give him a hard stare and heave myself back on Pyro. I give the reins a tug as he kicks the ground. A few strangers stare at me. Pyros a hand taller then most if theirs, with gives me pride. The racing starts in a few minutes, me and Pyro are in the fourth wave. I give his neck a pat and urge him into a trot. I do small circles and whoa him a few times. I loosen and tighten his reins, wanting to be able to trust him enough to have to not always have a taut bit. I stare at the track in front of me. The ground is rubbley red clay. Pyros ear flick toward it.
"Just wait bud" I chuckle. We watch five fire horses gallop the strip. One-bright orange is in the lead but gave to fast of a start, she'll get tired before the stretch is up. I dismount when they're a quarter way through. We've been training all day. I've fallen three times. One person has died.

I cluck Pyro on. His head is held high and he looks around curiously. I tie his reins to a bar of an empty stall. Theres no closed walls, just bars of iron and crossrails. Pyros gives a whinny and I flick at his nose. We have over half an hour. I take an iron halter and attempt to slide it over his bridle. He lifts his head.
"You're not a giraffe!" I remind him. He raises his face a foot over my head. I narrow my eyes in protest. After minutes of struggle I hear a familiar voice.
"Need a little help with that?" He coos.
"Clay!" I throw my arms over him in embrace.
"You came!" I giggle. His eyes graze Pyro.
"He's tall" Clay points out. I nod and pat his neck. Clay gingerly takes the halter and puts it around his muzzle, whispering and cooing to him. I admire this.
"What heat are you in?" He asks.
"Fourth"
I slip the saddle and saddlepad off his back and grab a steel bucket of brushes. His withers spark in protest.
"Aye" I warn. Clay helps me groom him, his pelt dotted with soot and ash even though I brushed him this morning. Clay tells me about Galligur and Ria-I laugh.
"Cass" An enchanting voice calls. I turn my head and smile.
"Lab"
Labsent meets Clays eye.
"Lab, Clay. Clay, Lab" I say awkwardly. Labsents eyes are cold and Clay looks slightly confused. Pyro snorts and throws his head up, breaking the eye contact. Labsent brushes soot off his jacket and pats Pyros rump. Pyro swishes his tail at him playfully.
"Have you competed yet?" I ask.
"Nah, Rob wants me to judge the western newbies"
Pyro smacks his lips at Clay, who flinches.
I lift Pyros ash filled hoof and scrape out the char with a special hoofpick.
"You might want to head over to the track soon, that's were the other racers are" Labsent says.
"I still have forty minutes till I race" I say, switching hooves.
"Youre gonna wanna scope out the competition first"
Is he really giving me advice? Or at least trying to?
Clay and Lab are awkwardly silent but I'm content scraping poop out of my horses foot.
"Meet up with you after your race K?" Lab whispers. I nod without turning my head.
"Take care of her" Labsent says to Pyro seriously.
"Who's he?" Clay asks with disgust. I stand up and stand behind Pyro, beginning to braid the top of his fire red tail.
"He's a Flame, stop being so defensive"
"I don't like how he looked at you"
"You don't like how anyone looks at me" I point out. I finish the braid and get the groming kit from Phillips tack box. I get a metal stool and park it next to Pyros mane.
"I can take care of myself Clay. I'm not a little girl anymore, I can kick some ass"
A smile plays on his lips.
I take the comb and put all of his mane on on side. He protests slightly but only cause he's being touched more then he'd like. I get the scissors and trim the bottom of his long, thick hair. Clay sits on a beam and watches me. I hum and Pyro flicks his ears toward me.
Pyro suddenly curves his eck, causing me to cut a huge chunk. The side of his head hits me and sends me off balance. I give a grunt and help !myself up, giving his halter a disproving yank.
"Sorry C" A peppy voice calls. I hear the thundering of hooves on the cement floor. Phillip anchors Corra a few feet away. She's not tacked or groomed and looks like a farm horse when they're brought from the field.
"Jumping starts in an hour, its not like it matters much though, I'm already a Flame"
"On Phil this is Clay my friend"
"Hey are you using my scissors!" He scolds playfully.
"I'm almost done" I quickly finish the trim and hand them to the blonde haired teen.
Pyro flicks his mane testingly. It's a mere four inches where as his previous mane was over a foot. I begin to braid his mane into little bundles, being extra cautious that it won't blind me like last time.