"How is it with Yakov?" Victoria asked. The image was poorly lit and pixelated, but Yuri knew she was resting in the stall with her mare. Pobeda had apparently suffered an impaction before, making it all the more likely to have happened again.
But she was well-rested, eating, and pooping like normal—as reported on by a relieved Victoria only six hours after landing.
"…Different." Yuri sighed, not looking forward to tomorrow where she would have to be up and ready to show with a different trainer.
"He is a good man." She heard Victoria promise, but the image froze again. Yuuko was so proud of her wifi, but couldn't keep it's signal boosted. She sighed and waited patiently for the image to sort itself while she polished her boots across her knee. "Pobeda, knock it off."
The image came back in full, clear as day. Victoria must have moved a little because the light was suddenly filtered ever so slightly better. Victoria's horse was resting, laying down, with Victoria stupidly laid against her side. Only stupid because something could happen, as Yuri had been reminded time and time again by Minako when she was found doing the same with Vicchan. The big grey had her head in Victoria's lap but had started nibbling at a pants pocket.
Yuri only noticed because the camera work was messy when Victoria tried to shove the face out of her pants.
"Ok, ok, one moment!" It was an exasperated exclamation while the camera angle bounced around again until Yuri's only assumption could be that she was being leaned against something. Suddenly she could see the whole of Victoria's body laid in the stall and the front half of Pobeda's.
Which gave her a minute to appreciate Victoria's handiwork.
"You braided her?"
"Yes." Victoria tightened the ribbon at the end of the French "pony" braided mane. Specks of blue dappled it and it took Yuri another minute to realize they were flowers. Victoria's own gaze swept over the braid again with a smile. "Nemophila."
"She's beautiful."
"And you." Victoria's focus shifted back to the phone. "You might look nice in blue, as well."
"Oh…no, it's ok—"
"Your hair is short, but we can certainly do something." Came the response. "I will look for pretty hairstyles we can do that will not be ruined by a helmet. But Hika, he's dark. He might look nice in a pink, oh we could put him in cherry blossoms next year!"
Yuri laughed out loud at the idea of Hika's seal-brown/dark bay coat against pink blossoms. It wasn't that it wouldn't be pretty, but so would yellow or even red.
At the sound, Victoria leaned forward and picked up the phone again, smile wide and eyes sparkling.
"Yakov was helpful today, thank you." He hadn't yelled, a pleasant surprise, but she had been worked hard. "Who was Tantsya?"
It was a name she had learned at the stables. A small, dusty halter hung on a bridle hook in the tent. Yakov had removed it so that Yuuri could place her own bridle on the hook, but when she'd asked he had only replied with "for good luck."
"My pony, before Makka." Victoria frowned. "Did someone say something?"
"Yakov mumbled it when he was moving an old halter."
"Oh…he still carries it?" She asked, something in her voice that Yuuri couldn't quite place. It sounded happy. "Mama bought it."
That explained it…maybe.
"Have you met Georgi yet? Emotional wreck, usually." Victoria paused for a moment as if to think about her word choice. "He competes in eventing right now, but he changes quite frequently."
"Oh. The one with the ex-girlfriend who does vaulting—"
"Ex? Again? Georgi, please!" Victoria laughed, genuinely. Pobeda seemed interested deeply in the conversation, stretching to try and nuzzle at the phone, but it was too far in front of her. Yuri laughed too.
"When do you think you'll be back?" She asked finally.
Victoria sighed and picked up the phone again with one hand while running the other through her hair.
"Probably after you show." She admitted. "It's a lot harder than I thought, making last minute travel plans. I was apparently really lucky the first two times, but it's a nightmare to try and catch a flight right now."
She had figured. Well, not really. Being it was still a summer holiday, it wasn't that far-fetched that it might take some time for Victoria to be able to make arrangements for a flight back. She showed tomorrow, though, and she was…anxious.
Not that that was anything new.
"Yakov is really, really a good man." Victoria promised with a sadder smile. "If you're worried, you can hug him. He's all bark and no bite. Like…Like that man from all the horse movies. Oh what was his name…Mickey Rooney?"
Yuri sighed, but nodded nonetheless.
"He knows everything. If anything goes wrong, you tell him. And you have Yulia, too."
It didn't go wrong so much as it felt like it did. Yuri had needed to hang up soon after their call in order to get a full night's sleep. The next day they were at the grounds and the day after they were competing.
Those days came far too quickly for her comfort. While she didn't completely fall flat on her face, her limits were pushed. Hard. Yakov was not an easy trainer to even just warmup under. While he seemed to approve of her spending so much time with her horse, he didn't respond to any sort of riding particularly positively. He would nitpick, something that Mila—a rider Yuri was already familiar with—had assured her meant that he liked her.
"If Yakov yells, you're worth keeping." She had assured in much smoother English than Victoria and Yulia's combined. It made sense, Yuri had known her in the USEF.
But here she was, third place, nothing quite worth writing home over. She still hadn't placed first and she was still qualified for the final, but was it really worth going? Yakov had blamed it on a late start, she'd not taken her corners deep enough and misjudged her timing. She was short a step in her tempi-changes, apparently, but only because Hika had gotten lazy and changed from the front first.
And Yuri hadn't gotten after him at all—not much point in the show ring.
"That was bad." Yulia told her, in no uncertain terms, after final places were announced. "You're a shit show jumper, why are you even trying dressage?"
Yuri looked up from her spot sitting dangerously on an overturned bucket in Hika's stall. She had been hoping not to be found.
"Is Victoria coming back or what?" The young teen continued. "I can't believe she even thinks she can be a coach. I guess she can't be that terrible if she has you placing, but still."
"Yulia!" A shrill voice cut through the air.
If Yuri had been upset by Yulia's presence, this was worse. Lilia had been, to her understanding, a vaulting coach and choreographer for many years post her retirement from the sport. Initially, following her retirement, she herself had taken an interest in dressage. However, since a wrist injury in her forties, she had decided coaching was a better use of her time. She had mostly been involved in vaulting, but according to Victoria, her naturally strict and short attitude was called for when Yulia hit peak teen angst the past year. They shared some similarities supposedly. Yulia was used to being the best of her age group/level and had chosen to pit herself against adults in Grand Prix to get a challenge.
She had failed at the start of the season, but since Lilia had stepped in to…"nurture" the natural talent, Yulia had begun to work much harder—and had actually managed a spot in the final.
"Sportsmanship is far kinder to your features." The older woman spoke cooly. Yuri wondered if her nose was actually upturned or if it just appeared that way because she kept her chin raised.
Yulia's expression soured and she cast one last dirty look in Yuri's direction before she disappeared.
"Yulia has plenty to learn."
Lilia's English was somehow most British-sounding of all of them, but Victoria had been sure to let Yuri know that she had spent almost two decades in Denmark—"I think it's why her marriage failed"—and had picked up no less than five languages in her lifetime.
"She should hardly insult you. I rather think she admires you."
Lilia was already gone before the statement had even begun to trickle into Yuri's brain.
She turned back to her phone, hoping Victoria had answered her text. She knew almost immediately that she hadn't, though. There was no reason to. Only the day before, Victoria had let her know that she was at the airport catching a last minute flight back to Russia. If she was on the plane now, she probably wouldn't answer. Really, she was probably sleeping.
A/N so apparently chapters 10-11 didn't post correctly yesterday and I didn't even think to double-check because I've never seen anything so incorrect in my life.
Anyways.
Here ya go!
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