Pass the love around (Lahja)

[Kamillia Engel]

Kamillia had taken a taxi to the stables where she boarded her horses. Titan and Amelia had been boarded there for about three years now; she was quite satisfied with the stable. It was nice, it was clean, and they took care of her horses when she couldn’t. She wished she could have her horses live in her own backyard but, her gramps didn’t seem like he liked that idea. She was extremely grateful to her parents that they kept paying for the boarding fees. However, she still wished her parents would give her more than just money. Wishful thinking, of course, but that wasn’t really something she wanted to think about at the moment.

Stepping out of the taxi, with her grey skinny jeans on, and a heavy jacket; she had her hair up in the pony tail. She wasn’t there to ride the horses, just to spend some time with them. She made it a point to see them every day. Even though she didn’t live with them, didn’t mean they still weren’t her babies.

Walking through the yard, it seemed like such a long walk to get to the privately owned horses, which were on one side of the land. It was a good thing that Kam was used to walking, and used to the physical labor. Walking down to the barn where Titan and Amelia lived, she walked through the entrance of the barn. Smiling at the horses that poked their heads out of their stall to see how had walked in. She said ‘hi’ as she walked past them, petting them for a second before moving on. She liked giving her attention to all of the horses, even if they weren’t hers.

[Lahja Morgan]

Lahja smiled softly as she rhythmically flicked the soft bristled brush across Aliyana's coat, humming quietly under her breath. The mare had already been groomed once today by Connor, but Lahja liked to spend as much time as she could around the horses in a non-work setting a grooming was the perfect way to bond with them while also keeping some of the bitter chill off. Small flecks of dust scattered into the air, dancing lazily one the air currents in the stall, and Lahja ran a hand over the heavily swollen stomach of the grey Andalusian. She was due to foal in six weeks now and was being kept closely monitored in case she went into labour early, but so far Aliyana seemed quite content to be taking it easy and relaxing under the quiet fuss of her owner.

Once Lahja was done with brushing out the mare's coat, she carefully replaced the rug over the soon-to-be mum's back and fastened it up, making sure there was hay and water in the stall before letting herself back out so she could go for a check around the stables. The dead of winter meant that business was much quieter than it was in the summer, and whilst that was of course problematic it also gave Lahja a chance to be able to actually act as a horse-woman not not just as an accountant and business manager.

Once she made sure that all the horses in the carriage barn were settled and eating quietly, Lahja made her way over to the livery barn. The majority of the owners did all of the day-to-day care of the horses themselves, but Lahja considered it essential to make frequent checks to ensure that all of the horses were being cared for as they should be. Any mistreatment or uncaring ways would not be able to evade her very experienced eye. Stepping into the barn, Lahja smiled softly as she saw that Kamillia was already there and greeting the horses. “Hello Kamillia, it is good to see you. Will you be riding today?” It was a general enquiry, but also a planning one. If Kamillia would be riding then Lahja would take her horses into the covered outdoor arena to work them, leaving the indoor arena free for the student. “Titan was a bit quiet at breakfast this morning; I think he might be feeling the cold a little bit more than usual.”

[Kamillia Engel]

One thing Kam knew she wanted in the future was to own a farm. She wanted this kind of life, to be surrounded by animals, animals that ended up being her only close friends. The question was, how was she supposed to get to this point? It would be easier if she had parents who supported her, but as it was, she didn’t even want her parents to pay for anything of hers, yet they had to. It was pride that got in her way, and even if she talked to her parents about her dreams, she was sure that they would just laugh in her face. If only she could figure out how to get the money herself…


Kamillia always made sure to take care of her horses, at least most of the caring. She felt like she needed to care for them as much as she could, considering she couldn’t always see them. It saddens her heart, not being able to walk out the door to see them. One of these days though, she would be able to do that, she promised herself, and her horses. Kam turned to see Lahja, the stable owner, “Oh! Hi Lahja, I think I will be. Just to get them to warm up a bit, and to spend some time with them. Winter break is almost over, so I won’t be able to come around as much as a really want to..” She had school work, and work, and she was even trying to find a second job, she just didn’t have the time, and she felt awful about that. “Oh? Was he…” She wondered if he was mad at her… It was something she always worried about. “I’ll talk to him, see if I can’t figure out what’s on his mind. If anything I’ll take him out for a ride first. Thank you.”

Looking at the other horses, “How are the other horses doing?” She moved to Titan’s stall, she could only dream of owning as many horses, or even animals as Lahja did.

[Lahja Morgan]

Kamillia had never been a problem around the stables, and over the years Lahja had gotten to know the girl and her horses rather well. She had always been polite and well spoken, and took good care of her horses as much as possible, and for that Lahja respected her. It was very difficult, trying to balance a school life with being a horse owner, but Lahja did what she could to help. After all, she had been in much the same position herself when she had been a student at Hammel.

Smiling softly, Lahja gave a nod of her head. “That makes sense. The indoor arena will be free for the next hour and a half or so. I have to work Kaaos, but I can take him in the outdoor arena. The cool air on his back will do him the world of good.” The fiery chestnut stallion always tended to work better in the outdoor ring anyway; he seemed to get bored so very quickly inside. Which was a shame, since the indoor ring was better protected from the elements and had the better footing and equipment.

Reaching over the nearest stall door, Lahja rubbed Baby on her shoulder. Baby was a skittery little Arabian mare owned by a lady who owned a sandwich shop in town, but despite her nervous nature the mare always seemed to enjoy a little fuss and attention. “I'm sure it's nothing serious, he would have let you know if it was.” Lahja deeply envied Kamilla's ability... But then again, she wasn't sure if she wanted to know what her horses thought about her half the time. “Everyone else is doing fine. With the size of her stomach I am fairly sure Eisbiber is going to give birth to an elephant, but both she and Aliyana are well. The vet is coming out tomorrow to give them both a check over. They're due very soon, now.”

[Kamillia Engel]

Kam was never the type of person to respect authority figures, but Lahja was more like a friend than an authority figure. She wasn’t sure how that happened, it just had. If she had to guess, it would probably be because of the fact that Kamillia looked up to Lahja, maybe it was out of envy she did so. But there were only two adults she respected, her gramps, and Lahja. She didn’t even respect her own parents, who could she? But that was a different story.

Nodding at her suggestion, “thanks, I won’t work him that long, and I will probably go trail riding with Amelia afterwards.” Amelia liked to go down the trails more than working out, where Titan liked the challenge of making Kamillia work. “Is there anything you need help doing around the stables?” Kam almost always asked, she loved he stable life, and she loved taking care of animals. She also had nothing better to do, she didn’t have any plans, and it wasn’t like she could go to the skate park…

“I guess you’re right. But even though we can talk to each other, they don’t always tell me everything.” It was like having a teenager, sometimes they talked, other times they didn’t. And just like a parent, when they didn’t talk Kam felt horrible inside, like she had done something wrong. However she just let them be till they talked to her, which was the right thing to do right? Kam looked at Lahja as she brought up her pregnant mares, “Do you think I could… Well… watch one of the births?” If it was too much of a hassle than it was okay. She never seen a horse being born, and it was an experience she wanted to have.

[Lahja Morgan]

Lahja had always tried her best to look out for the kids at Hammel that she came into contact with. She looked back on her own days there with fond memories, and especially since her son had attended there, her relationship with the school had grown. Most of her best and most respected part-time workers were Hammel kids, and she held a great admiration for the few of them that had their own horses boarded at her farm. She had severely struggled balancing horse ownership with school work, and it never failed to impress her to see just how easily some of these kids seemed to manage it.

“It's a beautiful day for it, I'm sure she'd love to get out on the trails.” Lahja had taken the Standardbred team for a drive out that morning, when the world was still sleepy and quiet, and she was sure that they had all benefited from the fresh mountain air. “If you have time later, I'm sure Maestro would appreciate a thorough groom. He's started shedding out his winter coat and he looks like a pompom at the moment. If you don't have the time don't worry about it, though. I can ask Clement to do it tomorrow otherwise.”

Kam's statement about her horses caused Lahja to chuckle softly, her fingertips lightly scratching Baby under her mane. “Sounds just like my son. Just because he phones often, I know he actually tells me very little.” It was a very sore subject for the brunette, but she had to try to joke about it otherwise she was fairly certain she would be constantly in tears. “I don't see why not, if circumstances allow. They can be quite difficult and foal in the middle of the night, but if it is during the day while you are not in school I will give you a call so you can come down and see it.”

[Kamillia Engel]

Kamillia finally made her way over to Titan, patting him on the neck when he poked his head out of the stall to greet her. She didn’t think she knew very many people who had actually had horses board here. Then again she only came here to spend time with the horses, not people. Lahja would be seeing more of her, and probably others come summer. “I have to say that I’m sorry I haven’t been around as often… I had to get two jobs to help pay for my car.” Her gramps was helping her yeah, but to keep it less complicated she didn’t go into details about how her gramps paid for the car, but she had to pay for the parts to get is tuned up since it was a classic car. “Oh no I would love to groom him. I like spending time with the other horses, and I have time to spare today.” She patted Titan on the neck again, and kissed his nose.



Kam chuckled, “Yup, I can believe that. Especially when it comes to males, they are never very talkative.” She gave Titan a look, and his ears turned toward her because he knew she was talking about him. She beamed at the answer she got from Lahja, “Oh thank you so much! That is so great.” It was awesome that she would let Kam witness the birth of a foal. ‘I don’t get what’s so great about a foal.’ Titan grumbled, Kam shook her head at the horse, “Oh stop whinning…” She went through her bag and took out an apple, “Here poopypants.” Titan gladly accepted the treat. “Can I ask you a question?”

[Lahja Morgan]

“It's okay, I know it is tough for all of you around exam seasons. I promise they are both being well looked after when you can't make it up here.” That was what full board was for, after all. Some people just didn't have the time to fully take care of their horses, and that was why they paid extra for someone else to care for them. Sure it made extra work for the farm staff, but it also made extra money for the farm, so it definitely wasn't a bad arrangement. “I hope the jobs are going well for you, at least.”

Lahja chuckled softly at Kam's obvious excitement about the foal, giving Baby a gentle scratch behind the ears. “Only if it wont get in the way of school time, though... But if you can't make it, I'm sure I should be able to record it for you.” Whilst Lahja knew that seeing it via a camera was in no way the same as actually being there, she knew that school work was far more important. The internet was there forever, but school days were fleeting. “Of course, dear. You can ask me anything you like.”

[Kamillia Engel]

“yeah, I’m excited to finally graduate.. I feel so lost in high school… Like I’m surrounded by idiots..” She rolled her eyes a bit, all the people she knew around Hammel she felt were so immature and it kind of disgusted her… She had no real connections to anyone at hammel outside her best friend Axelle but she really wasn’t sure how that ended up happening either… She smiled a little from the woman’s reassurance that her horses were in good hands. “I know that you take care of them, and I really do trust your stables. But it’s just not the same… I miss them so much, and I love taking care of them, I really do wish I had all the time in the world for them..” It would make it so much easier if she had her own stables… so she could see them everyday even when she wanted to go straight home after work and pass out… “Sometimes I wonder if I made the right choice in getting horses.. I feel like they could do better than a school student who doesn’t even know what she wants to do in life..” She felt so lost..

Sighing at the mention of jobs, “I guess they are? I mean it’s a source of money… But between school and two jobs, I rarely have time for myself… And it just gets overwhelming.” Much less have time for dating.. God what was she thinking? How could she even think about asking Adam out when she didn’t even have that type of time on her hands…

Nodding to Lahja’s agreement, and grinned, “thank you so much!” She realized any type of birthing process was kind of nasty, but she was alright with nasty… She watched all types of horror movies. And r rated movies. “How did you get the stables started? Was there some type of process you had t go through, or did you just have like a ton of money and just built it..?”

[Lahja Morgan]

Lahja gave Kam an understanding smile and a slight nod of her head. “I can relate to that; I felt much the same in school. It is difficult, but the end is in sight now, and you’ll never have to look at that place again if you don’t want to.” When Lahja left Hammel she hadn’t really had any plans to go back, but then Jeff had manifested and she had found herself gradually spending more and more time there, volunteering at events and taking some of the horses there in summer to give drives to the kids who had no home to go back to. That had tapered off slightly since Jeff had graduated, but she still made the effort when time allowed. Lahja could however completely understand Kam’s frustration. “I know it’s difficult, but once you graduate you should have more time to spend with them. You know better than anyone just how much your horses like you, and they are very forgiving animals. They have a much better life than most, and they are healthy and happy. You’re doing a great job with them.”

A lack of time was another thing that Lahja could completely sympathise with. There simply were not enough hours in the day, and that was a stressful feeling for anyone. Even more so for a young girl who was still trying to find her way in the world. “Once your exams are over your workload should calm down a little at least, yes? It is important to always try to make time for yourself, even if it is just an hour before bed to relax and unwind a bit. Constantly working too hard all the time isn’t good for anyone, physically or mentally.” Perhaps one day Lahja would listen to her own advice.

“You’re very welcome. Anyone with an interest in horses should get to see a foal being born at least once. It’s a wonderful experience.” A little messy, sure, but still a miracle. At Kam’s next question Lahja gave a small smile, gently scratching Baby’s muzzle. “I was very lucky; my parents were sheep farmers and I inherited the farm from them. I sold a lot of the flock and most of the shepherd equipment, and used the money from that and the money left to me to build up the stables. It was incredibly expensive and very hard work, but I don’t regret any of it. Why do you ask?”

[Kamillia Engel]

Kamillia smiled, it was nice to have someone who she could relate to her about school. A lot of people liked high school because of the drama, and the people they made friends with. Kam always made friends with people outside of Hammel, she didn’t have too many friends she had classes with. Most of the reason was because she didn’t like drama, she couldn’t stand it, and so many people in high school were fakes who talked behind their friends backs. Kam wasn’t like that, and she never will be, if she didn’t like someone she wouldn’t be friend with them, and everything she had to say bad about one of her friends she said it to their face, most of the time in a loving way. “Thanks, Lahja, that means a lot to me..” especially when it came from her, if Kam had a mentor/role model it would be Lahja.

Kam nodded, she felt bad that she was just venting now, “Heh.. Thanks, I’m sorry for venting…” It wasn’t like Kamillia to complain, or vented, she just rolled with the punches, and took it with pride. She felt like no one wanted to hear her complain about personal matters. “You’re right… I’m planning on getting into some hobbies I can do like in my room that won’t involve the computer or tv.” She chuckled, something that didn’t require thought, that way she would unwind and it won’t frustrate her. Yet something that wasn’t watching tv or playing video games.

Patting Titan on the neck, “If only you weren’t a gelding..” She was joking, she knew she wouldn’t be able to take care of a foal… Though she would like to own a young horse one of these days, maybe, she would have to see where her life goes. “I have just been thinking about my future… and how I would go about getting a stables, or ranch. Sorry if I was being personal…”

[Lahja Morgan]

Even though her schedule was fairly manic and her time very precious to her, Lahja had all the time in the world to help out the kids at the stables when they needed it. Even if it was just something as simple as answering a question about equine care or throwing some hay to their horse if they couldn’t get up due to an exam, Lahja did all she could to help them out. She could so very easily remember her own time at school, when every second she could scrape with her pony was so very precious, but how difficult those moments could be to fit in around assignments, classes, examinations and homework. It was tough, being a horsey kid, so she did what she could to help out. “Any time, Kamillia. You can always get hold of me whenever you need me, for yourself or for your horses.”

Giving a dismissive wave of her hand at Kam’s apology for venting, Lahja smiled softly at the young girl. “No need for apologies; it’s good to get it out sometimes. My horses are probably glad they can’t understand me, the amount I chatter to them.” Lahja chuckled softly, giving Baby’s ear an affectionate rub before shifting to lean against the stall door. “Have you considered sewing or customising clothes? It can take a little while to get the hang of it, but it’s worth it when you’ve been able to make something you like… and stabbing at fabric with needles is excellent stress relief.”

Giving a soft nod of her head as Kam explained her question, Lahja’s smile was warm with understanding. “It’s not personal at all, I was just curious about why you asked. Getting and running a farm does involve a huge amount of money; it isn’t really something you can just do without good funding behind you. I’m not saying it’s not possible, but it is hard work. If you have a way to get the finances, however, I don’t think you would regret it. I wouldn’t wish for any other life.” As true as that was, to this day it still hurt like a thousand knives every time she thought about just how much she had lost to get to this point in her life.

[Kamillia Engel]

Kamillia could not express how much she was grateful for Lahja’s help, and for her understanding. A lot of people heard she had horses, and that she housed them at a stable that was not her own and assumed that Kamillia did not care for her horses. Kam never took kindly to people who accused her of not caring for her animals. She did as much as she could, and she was pretty sure all of her pets knew she cared for them with all her heart. “Thanks, That means a lot to me.” She gave the woman a gentle smile, Lahja was one of very few adults she looked up to, in a way the woman was Kam’s role model.


Chuckling, Kam knew that thought all too well, “Yeah, I’m pretty sure Titan here always rolls his eyes when I start chattering to him.” It was Captain that was more likely to want to hear everything Kam had to say. Captain was a stereotypical girl, wanting to hear all the gossip from Kam, and tell Kam her own gossip. It always amazed Kam how much Captain could talk… “I haven’t actually thought about that. That’s something I will have to try, with graduating high school I won’t have activity clubs after school.” Auto club was one she had, she wondered if Axelle would mind if Kam hung around the garage as an extra hand. “ I’m going to have more free time.. ”

“right, I guess I’m just still trying to figure out what I even want to do as a career. Because at one time I thought about being a vet cause I thought I would be good at it. But man, now I’m thinking that maybe there is something else I want to do.. Something that could be more exciting, and enjoying for me.. I don’t know..” having to work with sick animals was kind of depressing for Kam, yeah she knew she could help a lot of animals, but she could help them by donating to animal charities.. She just felt like she wanted something more out of life… Titan neighed, and pushed his head into Kam’s chest, wanting to get out of his stall, he was getting antsy. “Oh… I guess I should actually go and exercise Titan. Thanks for the talk.” She gave titan a pat, then went to go get Titan’s bridle and saddle.

(ooc: wrap?)