Electrically Charged

Chapter 8: Fog

Cecily groaned as she rolled out of bed. She hadn't slept much that night and was definitely feeling it now. Her brain was already working a million miles a minute trying to process her cross country course before she had even gotten her breeches on. She tried to take deep breaths and calm down her already speeding pulse. 

It was like this every time she went cross country. Her body knew to expect the adrenaline that was to come later on in the morning. And the little ounce of worry was always there. As an eventer Cecily knew she had to be aware of the danger every time she left the starting box. These were solid obstacles she was asking her horse to jump. And yes, Steel was a natural born jumper with careful feet and a clever mind, but that wasn't going to take away all the danger. She trusted her horse more than anything or anyone else she knew, but she also knew that cross country had its explainable, unpredictable dangers that couldn't be avoided. Both her and Steel loved it though. Her heart sang for speed and the feeling of flying and Steel pricked his ears up and surged forward under her. She knew he loved to go cross country and she borrowed bravery from him. 

Today was especially bad since it would be her first time going Training. The jumps were higher, the combinations tougher, the drops steeper, the course longer. But she trusted her horse and she trusted her body to do its job. She climbed into her truck and drove to the show barns to feed Steel.

People were already milling about when Cecily arrived. Cross country didn't start for another hour and yet people were already  on their horses. The very excitable prelim horses tossed their heads and jigged as their riders tried to hold them still enough for the people on the ground to give the rider a last boot polish or hand them their cross country watch. Lewis was announcing time again and Cecily couldn't help but smile at his upbeat personality even at 7:00 am. Tossing Steel his flakes of alfalfa, Cecily wandered over to her trailer to check that all her cross country stuff was together. Her ride wasn't for another three hours, but she was going to have to be on 45 minutes before to warm up properly. 

Next she went in search of food. She bought herself a breakfast burrito and a warm tea before looking around for somewhere to sit. It was already a decent 65 degrees, not unusual for California. The low lying fog was still covering the cross country course as Cecily looked across the wide stretch of grass and trees. It was like the calm before the storm. Everything was peaceful for now. Before the announcing, the radio calls back and forth, the galloping horses, the inevitable falls, the hectic warm up ring and all the riders running here and there trying to prepare for their ride. 

"Cecily!"

A voice broke her train of thought and she turned her head. Blue reflection pools gazed into hers and dark curls framed his face. 

"Hey Will," Cecily replied. 

"Come with me," he beckoned walking off into the grass. 

Cecily sighed and resigned herself to following him. He walked a couple paces before finding a big prelim table and hoisting himself onto it. The table overlooked the whole cross country course and the surrounding forest. Cecily climbed up next to him and sat down. Quietly they sat and ate their burritos. He offered her some of his muffin, which she took. 

"I can't believe you crazy ass horse people jump these things," Will said tapping the jump they were sitting on.

"Well your disbelief is about to become reality in about 20 minutes," Cecily told him. "Which also means we should move unless you want to be an obstacle."

She slid off the jump and walked over to the training fence a decent distance from the prelim table. She climbed back on that jump and Will copied her, making himself comfortable by her side.