Wings, a Wand and Faerie Dust?

[Victoria Greco]

Tori jumped out of the Academy van that brought her into town and pulled the broken hoof pick from her bag as she walked toward the tack and feed store. She was annoyed that the hoof pick had to break, and even more annoyed that she had been stepped on by Stella in the process. She wasn't annoyed at the mare, just that she had let it happen.

She looked down at the glittery handle she was holding, the metal part had been thrown in the bin already, but she wanted the handle so that she could try and find a replacement the exact colour, though she was worried that she would be able to get one with glitter, but she was sure she could live with that. Walking down to look at the grooming equipment, she felt like she had just walked into heaven, and didn't know what to look at first, even if she had come in on a mission.

[Gladys Madoc]

Gladys whistled softly as she wandered down the street, peering with interest into every window that she passed. It was the first time that she had actually been into the town of Blue Ridge, and one thing was for certain; while the town was not a great deal bigger than her home village back in Wales, the two places could not have been more different- and Gladys was loving every moment of it. She had spent the vast majority of her life in one small village, and to suddenly find herself in an entirely new country was not so much of a shock to the system as some might have expected. After all, the Welsh girl bounced back well.

On a whim, she walked into the Tack and Feed shop... or store, she supposed, since they were in America. It wasn't as if she had a horse which she needed to buy anything for, but there was never any harm in just browsing a little...

[Victoria Greco]

On route to the grooming supplies, Tori's attention was caught by a shelf of jewelry, and the sight of a beautiful snaffle bit bracelet caught her eye. Pulling her phone from her pocket, she put a video call through to her father. Hi padre She signed when he answered. Do you think madre would like this? She carefully picked up the delicate bracelet, sealed in a display box. She nodded as she read his reply while replacing the box. Thanks for your help. Love you. Talk later. She waved before ending the call. She spent a little longer looking at the jewelry, and made her way to the grooming gear.

[Gladys Madoc]

Making her way inside, Gladys honestly did not know where to look. There were so many things, all over the place, that she really had no clue as to where to start, so she simply decided to walk in a straight line until she saw something which caught her attention... that is, caught her attention more than everything else. A tactic which succeeded for all of five yards. There was some rather nice jewellery on display, and the dark haired girl spent some time in examining it, before regretfully deciding that she really couldn't afford it. Continuing, and completely failing to pay attention to where she was going, the Welsh girl nearly had a heart attack as she walked into someone. "Oh, I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed.

[Victoria Greco]

With the handle of the broken pick in one hand and a selection of others in a similar colour in the other, Tori nearly lost all of them when someone walked into her. "Hey, watch it!" She snapped, and instantly felt guilty for doing so when the girl gave an apology. "Sorry, it's been one of those days." She said with a smile. "This place seems to be great for distracting people."

[Gladys Madoc]

Gladys immediately began to panic as the other girl snapped at her and she took a step back, ready to run for her life, but the brunette seemed to calm down when Gladys apologised, which obviously she was going to do- it was just basic good manners! Still, people did have off days- Gladys should know, she had them frequently- and so she smiled in acceptance of the girl's apology. "Don't worry about it; we all have days like that." the Welsh girl responded in her soft, lilting voice.

[Victoria Greco]

If there was any moment that Tori wished she could go back in time and have a do-over, now would be it; as she hated the fact that she had snapped at another girl, for nothing more than not looking where she was going. However, what she could do, was push on, and hopefully walk out of here with a friend. "And one of those days, I am having!" She said with a head shake. "The pick that matches the rest of my kit broke, and none of them have have the right amount of pink or glitter!" She said, knowing that if she stomped her foot right then, she'd sound like a real brat, so she held back the need. "So, the decision is, do I get an almost the same colour hoof pick, or get a whole new grooming kit?" She wasn't completely serious. If she was going to replace the whole kit, she would get it from the place the one she had came from.

[Gladys Madoc]

Gladys smiled in sympathy, feeling a little awkward and not entirely sure what to say. She didn't even know this girl's name and yet here she was talking about her day and about to offer advice on a subject which she was completely and utterly unqualified to even think about. Gladys owned neither horse nor grooming kit, would not have the faintest idea of how to go about purchasing such a thing, hadn't even known that they came in different colours and hence she was for once utterly flummoxed. "That must be annoying." she ventured cautiously. "Um... How close to breaking is the rest of it?"

[Victoria Greco]

The words from the dark haired girl were all Tori needed to plant her feet firmly back on Earth, and remind her that she wasn't with the girls back home, who would get a new grooming kit if they got a mark on one of the many brushes that they never touched. "There's nothing wrong with the rest of the kit." She said with a laugh. "I just like my things to be matchy, matchy." She pulled a face. The joys of the life of the rich and famous... not that she was famous.

[Gladys Madoc]

Gladys was a trifle confused, to say the least, but she laughed all the same, figuring that it was probably the safest option considering that it didn't involve her actually saying anything intelligent. She herself possessed neither horse nor grooming kit and so she probably wasn't qualified to comment on when you needed a new one, but matchy matchy was boring anyway! Contrast was so definitely the way to go. Feeling like she needed to say something but not wanting to launch herself into one of her monologues, Gladys compromised with a smile and an "Oh."

[Victoria Greco]

The monosyllabic answer made her feel a little embarrassed and Tori could feel her cheeks heat up, and she suddenly wished that she had lied and just said the entire kit needed replacing, but then that would make her need to only replace the pick void, as she should be replacing the whole kit. "I guess my other option would be to start a new kit, and make it rainbow themed?" She joked.

[Gladys Madoc]

Gladys grinned at the other girl's joke. "Sure, you could do that." she agreed. "Would it help if you got a different pick and then kept it in a different place? So it didn't look... out of place?" Honestly, Gladys couldn't care less whether her things matched; so long as they did what she needed them to do, she was entirely satisfied.

She knew that she recognised the brunette from somewhere, presumably school, but she was damned if she knew who she was. For some reason, Gladys wanted to call her Vicky, but that was probably wrong- she frequently was, after all.

[Victoria Greco]

Tori shook her head. "If I did that though, I'd likely forget to pick it up when grabbing the kit if I'm running late." And she wasn't always known for being early. She pursed her lips as she once again looked at what was available and finally picked up the one that was closest to the colour she needed, but quickly discarded it again when it felt horrible in her hand, as it was obviously designed for someone with a much smaller hand. "Ok, looks like I'm going for black." Sure, it would stand out like a sore thumb, but it wouldn't clash with the rest of the kit.

She looked at the other girl. "You're in my government class, but I'm sorry I can't place your name." They shared a riding class, as the girl's accent was something that set her apart from the others. "I'm Tori." She offered, in case the other girl was having the same problem putting a name to her face.

[Gladys Madoc]

Gladys tilted her head and raised one shoulder in a gesture of helplessness. She was not at all acquainted with the problems which the other brunette apparently suffered from; she had neither kit nor even horse of her own, and as such, she considered that all her experience of the matter was, as it were, at one remove, and, unfortunately, things looked likely to remain that way for the foreseeable future, at least unless her father won the lottery which, considering that she had never known him to buy a ticket, would be a miracle indeed. "Black's a really practical colour." she agreed with a soft smile, glad that the issue seemed to have been resolved without her input.

"I am." she agreed with a grin. "My name's Gladys; it's really nice to meet you. Have you been riding long? I have, well, at least sort of, but you seem to be way better than me- have you got your own horse? Sorry, stupid question, of course you have... I'll just shut up." She gave the other girl a slightly sheepish grin and turned her gaze to survey a nearby shelf of things which she wouldn't have a clue how to use. Something to do with Western riding, according to the sign on the shelf...

[Victoria Greco]

Tori picked up two black hoofpicks, as one always needed a spare.

She returned the girl's grin, her eyebrows rising as Gladys spoke, just waiting for her to finish before answering. "I have two. My mare I do eventing, and my gelding is a barrel racer. I've been riding since I was eight or something." She shrugged. "You ride a school horse, right? She was sure that the gelding she had seen the girl on was owned by the academy, but she could be wrong. She doubted it, but there was always a chance.