[Flashback]A needle and a horse (Bolden Denusk)

[Carsten]

Timestamp: 56th of Fall 509

Carsten had been in Endrykas for only a few days when he decided to take advantage of being there. He had arrived a week earlier, along with a trader and a Drykas escort. The journey had not been uneventful, and he had to step in and aid the guards several times when they were attacked. The Drykas ability to fight on horseback did not stop impressing Carsten, he had seen the knights in Syliras do it, of course, but it was not the same. The Drykas almost looked like they belonged on their horses, the way they both moved in synchronization was marvelous to watch. While Carsten knew how to ride, he did not know how to ride well. He simply felt uncomfortable sitting on the horse, and after a few hours of riding his back would ache and he would have to do stretching exercises for a while to loosen the muscles. These exercises had made him the laughing stock of their part on the way to the moving city, but he paid them no heed.

The city had not been like Carsten had thought, and he could only describe it with four words: It smelled like horse. Horses were everywhere, and that meant their smell was everywhere. It was a peculiar smell, difficult to describe, but he wondered why the Drykas did not smell like horses as well. That answer was given when he walked past a group of stable-masters. They reeked of horse, even though they all looked like they had just taken a bath. He supposed they had merely grown used to it, and so he made no comment. He remembered how the Zeltivans had laughed of the Syliran who complained about the salty smell of sea and fish. Zeltiva smelled of fish, Endrykas smelled of horses. That was simply how it was.

It was a day away from Endrykas the thought struck him: Why not ask a Drykas to help him become a better rider? There was no doubt in his mind, he would do it, but when he arrived he was so distracted by everything new in the city, that it slipped his mind. Now, however, he was entering the stables, clear in his mind and intention. When he entered he sniffed the air, and he noticed how the stables smelled far more horse than the rest of the city, but that was no surprise. It was only logically.

He approached a young man who was tending a horse’s mane. ”Hello,” he said, clearly interrupting the man’s thoughts. ”My name is Carsten.” he introduced himself and bowed deeply and elegantly. The gesture did not fit him, many had said, it simply did not fit his face and composure. ”I wish to learn how to ride better. In return, I can teach you, or another teacher, something they I know, which they want to know.” He looked the young Drykas straight in the eyes, his own cold, brown ones meeting the Drykas’ own amber ones.

[Bolden Denusk]

'Almost done.' Bolden thought, nearing the top of the horse's mane at the poll. The gelding happily munched from his hay net, ignoring the tugging because it was painless. He backcombed the hank of hair three times with his right hand, holding the longest strips of hair in his left. Twirling the long strands over the metal comb, he gave a quick tug and brushed out the neatly thinned mane.

Bold turned his head in time to watch the man give an awkward bow and introduce himself. The young Drykas smiled, always happy to barter, and even more glad when it had anything to do with horses. He slapped the horse's neck in approval of good behavior and stepped out of the stall. Smiling, he answered,

"Hello Carsten, I'm Bolden."
He put out a hand to shake and thought for a chime before continuing.

"That's great that you'd like to learn to ride better. A man can learn every day of his life, and still not know everything there is to know about horses. I should let you know, that while I'm not the worst horseman, I'm also not the best either. I'm no Master horseman, just average, competent and comfortable with horses. But if you'd like to barter a skill, I'm always open."

Bold smiled at the man and fervently hoped it wasn't a scholar offering useless shyke like books or reading.

[Carsten]

Carsten shook Bolden’s hand, it was a firm grip, something he appreciated. ”I am pleased to meet you, Bolden.” he said. Carsten studied the Drykas, they were of the same height, but he suspected Bolden was younger. He looked stronger and slightly heavier, but Carsten suspected the difference was not much.

Carsten thought for a moment. The man was young, strong, he looked willing as well. Should he teach him? He had not taught fencing to many before, but Carsten was good at little else. ”I am a fencer, a duelist. I can teach you to fence, to fight with a rapier,” he said and tapped the hilt of his rapier, ”I can teach you how to duel properly, and how to read another man’s defences.” he said, and looked at Bolden. “If you are not interested, perhaps I can teach you about theology, specifically Gnora and her Ano Cult, of which I am a member.”[/color] he added and waited for Bolden’s reaction. That would without doubt tell him a lot about this young man, he suspected.

[Bolden Denusk]

He nodded slightly to himself at Carsten's solid grip, affirming that this was an honest man. Bolden sounded out the unfamiliar word, looking at the needle thin object the other man claimed as a weapon. His own sword was at least ten times broader and twice as long.

"Fenn ser? Ray pee yer.. What is that exactly? An eating knife?"

When Carsten mentioned reading another man's defenses, Bold's interest caught immediately, recognizing a valuable skill. The mention of religion however, had him lazily half lifting and lowering a careless shoulder with a shrug of disinterest. He might have sworn at the Gods in anger occasionally but his theology lingered somewhere between scorn and disbelief.

"I'd be happy to teach horsemanship in exchange for good combat skills. Although I should warn you that I take learning very seriously whether I'm teaching or training."

His amber eyes lingered on the small, skinny meat skewer, his thoughts playing with the idea of learning something new in exchange for teaching his favorite subject of horses. This was going to be fun!

[Carsten]

Carsten corrected Bolden on the pronounciation, before going on to explaining the weapon. ”The rapier is a long and thin weapon, best suited for stabbing because of its pointy and in fact lethal end. That does not mean it is for stabbing only, it has sharpened edges and can deliver a dangerous cut. It is often highly underestimated, but I will teach you why it is dangerous.” he said, and decided not to comment on Bolden’s shrug when he mentioned religion. Carsten knew that many men did not appreciate religion, and he was no missionary. He would spread the word of Gnora whenever he could, but he did not force it upon those unwilling. They were bad learners and bad listeners, and it was usually a waste of his time.

”I believe I take learning as serious as you do. There is no point in starting something if you do not wish to finish it, do you not agree?” he said, noticing Bolden’s excitement. Excitement was good, but they would need to start with the horses. A man needed to be calm before going into combat, to keep cool was important if you wanted to survive. ”I suggest we start with the riding, you look excited. I suggest we waste no time and get started immediately.” he said, and was ready to lead Bolden to his own horse. He had heard that the Drykas let none but themselves ride their horses, and so he merely waited for Bolden to follow him to the stables where his Kavinka Paintedmount, Diego; named after the Zeltivan Captain that had taught him fencing, was standing. Diego was a very ordinary horse that had been with Carsten for many years.

[Bolden Denusk]

"Absolutely." Bolden agreed with a smile and an enthusiastic nod. He eagerly followed, curious to know what kind of horse Carsten had. A Drykas' mount said volumes about his or her personality, giving Bold an insight to someone's character that most wouldn't expect.

'Kavinka Paintedmount! That means disciplined, intelligent, serious and hard worker, for horse and human. Too smart for a single purpose so they like to learn and are extremely loyal to those they trust. A good no nonsense, average horse so no airs or fake manners.' He evaluated swiftly, working through the points one by one.

'The horse is clean, well cared for and has good working musculature with no grass belly.' Bold's opinion of the man rose and his amber eyes gleamed at the sight of the nicely marked, well mannered horse.

"So, tell me about your horse Carsten."

[Carsten]

As Bolden studied Diego, Carsten merely watched. Bolden seemed to hold great respect for his horse, but he did not understand why. It was a simple horse, useful for many things but hardly special. That was why he was surprised when Bolden asked him to tell him about him. He hesitated for a moment before speaking. ”His name is Diego. He has served me for a long time now, he is a good horse. I take care of him as well as I can, and in return I expect him to be obedient." he said, and hesitated for a while before speaking again. "What more is there to say? I am not certain what it is you wish to know."

A horse was like a tool for Carsten, he would treat it well, but he had never understood how some people looked upon them as friends. Horses were animals, they could not even speak the same language.

[Bolden Denusk]

Two dark eyebrows nearly shot up to his hairline as Carsten said the word 'obedient.'

"So in saying 'obedient,' you acknowledge that this horse has free will and is a sentient creature then. It's an honest statement if nothing else. You mind if I do an evaluation before you start the lesson?"

He waited till the other Drykas gave him permission and then opened the stall door. As Bold began to speak, the pitch and tone lowered to nothing louder than a soft summer breeze. The moment Diego put his ears forward, Bolden rubbed the horse's left shoulder with a large and gentle hand.

"You're a good horse Diego, you're a handsome fellow who's very patient. Do you mind if I put a lead on your halter?"

He attached a loose lead to the halter, and rubbed the end of it along the horse's neck, watching for a reaction. Typical of his breed, the horse stood quietly, moving only his ears in an incurious way. The young man chuckled and clucked to Diego to lead him out into the training ring.

"I'm not getting even a passing interest from you am I? So it's only Carsten you're listening for? Well that's a good thing, because he wants to spend some time with you today."

Carsten had the horse down perfectly. Obedient. And utterly bored with anything that didn't involve his rider. Diego turned his head back at Cars and nickered a soft question.

"I think he'd like to know if you're coming with us." Bold said with a grin, beckoning for the man to follow them. "Your horse is more than obedient; he's dedicated and loyal to you."

'This horse trusts his rider completely but the rider doesn't trust the horse completely. We'll need to even this out because Carsten seems to think that he has to be the controller in the relationship. Well he's asking to learn to be a better rider, so he must feel the lack in their friendship. This is gonna be fun!'
Bold contemplated til the trio reached the open space, and then he unlatched the lead rope. Diego stood still and looked mildly at Carsten, his ears flicking side to side individually.

Off to the left of the wide open space, there appeared to be some horsey clutter of odds and ends. A couple bales of straw held up a battered brush, a rough hewn length of rope, a folded tarp and a half filled sack of anonymous items. A worn circle traced the edges of the ring and a few sand filled sacks lay on the outskirts against the fence.

"Why don't we see if we can build up something more than total obedience on one side, huh?"

Bold walked to the edge of the fence and pulled up a handful of grass, only to return to Carsten. His eyes darkening, he handed over the bit of green and said with a neutral tone,

"How about you give Diego a little treat."

[Carsten]

”Not at all, Mister Bolden. Carsten said, and merely watched as Bolden entered Diego’s stall. When Bolden started talking to his horse, he leaned slightly forward, trying to listen in, but the whispering was too low for him to hear. He attempted to read Bolden’s lips, but he had never been good at that. He thought he managed to catch a word or two, but it was nothing that made sense to him. Carsten did not understand why Bolden was speaking with his horse in the first place, he had certainly never done that. Oh, he had certainly barked a command at him, or called him “good boy” a few times, but he had never spoken at lengths to the horse. Carsten enjoyed silence, and what was the point of speaking to an animal that did not understand? It would just be noise for it, uncomfortable noise.

As Bolden led Diego out of the stall, Carsten followed, without saying a word. He listened, and watched Bolden for any signs of him doing something special, something Carsten was not doing. With the exception of their vastly different composures, he noticed nothing. Maybe Carsten was not born to be a rider? He knew that many people could never become fencers, because they lacked the body and mind for it, maybe his body and mind simply was not suitable for riding?

When Bolden stopped, he looked over at Bolden, who spoke again. Why would they build up something other than obedience? He had spent years trying to get the horse to be obedient, why would he change that? He decided he would trust Bolden for now, without objecting, but he hoped he would not become too unreasonable.

When he came back with a handful of grass and spoke, Carsten noticed a change in his voice. It was different, colder. In fact, it almost reminded him of his own tone, only not as flat. ”Of course.” he replied, at least giving him a snack made sense, to make Diego relax before the training session, he could understand and agree with that.

He took the grass and walked over to Diego, and patted his mane carefully. The horse turned his head towards him, and Carsten lifted his arm, offering the grass to him. The horse ate happily from his hand, even though the horse saliva quickly covered his fingers.

[Bolden Denusk]

The Drykas watched with approval as he got the horse's attention with touch that spoke of long habit; too much automatic habit. It didn't look like Carsten even saw the horse in front of him as anything more than a sword to be polished and honed for use. No one could fault him in his care and training of a standard horse, but nothing was there.

Bold still had the unattached lead in his hand and he asked Carsten to bring Diego over to him, while he arranged a few things along the ground. He set out a tarp, a few small knee length wooden barriers, a juicy apple cut in quarters and a jump pole. While his hands seemed busy, he watched unobtrusively to see how the man brought his horse. Would he grab the halter to lead? Would he grab the nearby rope to attach to the halter? How much would he rely on physical means over verbal ones? Bolden hoped that Carsten would.. well he hoped for a good start for the horse and rider.