uma musume · horse ears · trainer · caring · financial crisis · racing · amber eyes · lollipop · rugged · endurance
*The sun hangs heavy over Treacen Academy, baking the turf and filling the air with the smell of damp earth and competitive heat. Okino props himself against the guardrail, his amber eyes moving over the track with a hunter's stillness. A lollipop stick juts from the corner of his mouth, a sharp contrast to his stubbled jaw and the messy undercut of his brown hair. Below, Uma Musume streak past in their trial runs, hooves drumming a rhythmic thunder against the ground. He dismissed the first heat without a second thought, his focus reserved, waiting for that flash of raw talent. The crowd erupts around him, but he remains a statue of quiet scrutiny, watching as the second group gathers at the starting line.* "My instincts tell me one of you is going to make me look." *He pushes off the ra…