Horse shopping (Caoin)

by **Bolden Denusk** on November 26th, 2011, 6:11 pm

Bolden couldn't be happier in times likes this. It was bliss to be out in the open air, talking about his favorite subject and in the company of a lovely rider and her strider. He smiled broadly, the sun turning his gaze to a light amber color.

The setting was almost hypnotically pleasing with the wide and unvarying landscape. The grasses bent gently in the mild breeze, resembling the ceaseless movements and pattern of ocean waves. A curlew cried out for its mate and received an answer a chime later. The lazy autumn sun gave everything a warm golden sheen, even gilding the hides of the striders that looked like they were swimming across the plains.

"Muireann... hmm...Muireann." Said Bolden, searching for the reason the name sounded faintly familiar.

"Ah yes, she was beautifully ribbed up--like your Liath here! I remember the Sunstorm Ankal offered a small fortune to buy her every breeding season and each time he was politely turned down." He chuckled over the memory fondly.

"Ciarán, wasn't he the grullo stallion? Liath has his coat and head. Gorgeous animal."

The young Drykas remained quiet for a few chimes, listening to Caoin and the rise and fall of the playful breeze. It was so quiet and peaceful out here, he didn't want it to end anytime soon.

"I could claim a third of my... family's herds, but for reasons I'd rather not talk about, it wouldn't be.. right." Bold shrugged and looked down at Nightwind. The stallion had cooled off well and still moving lively, so there was nothing to worry about concerning that.

"Yea it was kind of noisy back there. I'm Bolden."

OOC :

by **Caoin** on November 27th, 2011, 9:38 pm

Syna’s light lit up the world around the two riders and their mounts. Golden rays of sunlight glinting off of everything they touched that could possibly produce a sheen, from bits of metal to the sweat of their bodies. The sea of grass rolled across the Cyphrus region like the waves of the Suvan sea, fuzzy seeds spiraling up into the sky like the spray of sea foam, carried by the wind to distant places. Anyone would be hard pressed not to enjoy the beauty of nature that surrounded Caoin and Bolden, the end product of all that the gods and goddesses governed. The Drykas woman was thrilled in that moment to have met Bolden and his strider; it had given her an excuse to do something exciting and had provided her with good company. She listened to the man’s voice as he spoke, recalling memories of his time amongst the Sunstorms. Apparently, their Ankal had greatly desired Liath’s dam, which wasn’t surprising. It was likely that both the Sunstorm Ankal and her own father had coveted the other’s prize mares equally; she could imagine the men attempting to work out deals, and neither wanting to sell their mares. One hand rose to stifle a giggle at the story and her personal thoughts.

“Yes, he was,” she responded to answer his question, “And yes, Liath is very much like his father, in more ways than one. Both stubborn as can be, and protective, let me tell you. I never thought a horse could be so protective of a rider.” The girl shook her head, eyeing her mount incredulously. “Though, if I remember rightly, Nightwind’s sire and dam were equally as impressive and sought after. I know I’ve heard their names mentioned before,” the woman commented, trying to remember if she had ever seen either strider before. She was sure that she had, but the memory of the event eluded her, like a word that was just on the tip of the tongue. Shaking the thought off and pushing it to the back of her mind, she turned her attention back to the present. Her interest was piqued by Bolden’s mention of his family’s herds, and his unwillingness to go into detail about the reasons why he didn’t feel right about claiming a third of their horses. Caoin understood that feeling though, the feeling of not wanting to divulge things that were personal and she was willing to respect his privacy. Caoin would never own any of the horses from her family’s herd unless she paid for the right to own them, the only exception to that was Liath, and that was only because he had chosen her. The closest she would ever come to owning any of her family’s property or livestock would be through her husband, whoever that turned out to be.

She turned the conversation away from the topic he didn’t wish to discuss as she finally got his name, “Bolden, hmm?” She said the name aloud herself, listening to the way it sounded as it rolled off her tongue. “That’s a nice name, very masculine and yet refined,” she complimented. The term “bold” implied courage, while the last part softened the name just enough to make it pleasant to the ears. It was a good, solid name. Well thought out in her opinion. “I like it,” she added finally with a curt nod and a slight smile. As she declared her unneeded approval of Bolden’s name, she could feel Liath beginning to slow beneath her. Sure, he was cooling down in the gentle breezes that washed over them, but he was also tiring from both the run and the walk that they had taken that morning. Turning to look at Bolden, her head tilted to the side slightly as she reached up to scratch lightly at the back of her head. “Do you think we could find a place to rest for a bit,” she asked with an apologetic smile, “Poor Liath, he and I rode a bit this morning and I know he needs a little bit of a rest after that and the run. I don’t want him to overdo it since we still have to get him home.” It was a logical concern; she still had to take into account the return trip that she and the strider would have to make in order to get home to her family’s pavilion. It would be nice if they could find a spot for the horses to graze, perhaps with a nearby creek or something as well, someplace Caoin could dip her feet. Boots weren’t the coolest, most breathable articles of clothing to wear.

“If we could find some water, the horses could drink and we’d have some place to take a dip ourselves,” Caoin offered up the suggestion, to see what Bolden’s take on it would be. She reached up to give a gentle tug at Liath’s mane, “What do you think, hmm? Feel like a light snack and a cool drink of water,” she asked of the strider. The horse responded with a snort and a gentle tossing of his head. If they could find a source of water, it should be warm enough that it wouldn’t shock the horse’s systems, but still cool enough to provide some relief. That was if they could find water of course. That was the thing about traversing the Sea of Grass, Endrykas had to keep a constant supply of water, because there wasn’t always a ready source of natural water available, at least, not one large enough to supply an entire city. It wasn’t a huge problem, since the city tried to follow a run that took them near to natural water sources as often as possible. It was always nice to have a natural supply of water to supplement the usage of their kept supply. It was even nicer to have a natural supply of water to take a dip in every now and then. Who didn’t enjoy a nice swim or a splash (if the water wasn’t deep enough for swimming)?

MizNo Word Count1016

by **Bolden Denusk** on November 28th, 2011, 11:40 pm

Humor sparkled in her gaze and Bold noticed her chestnut eyes were the exact color of not just his hair, but Nightwind's coat too.

"Yea Nightwind's coat color is gorgeous.." His sentence trailed off as he smiled, pointedly looked at her eyes, then down at his strider's coat, and then back to her chocolate colored eyes.

He listened to her voice, soft and pleasingly quiet. Bold knew very few people that could keep up a conversation without silencing nature sounds around them. Caoin seemed pensive and overly quiet after his herd comment and wondered why. After a few drawn out chimes, he realized his blunder.

'Way to fit both feet in your mouth at the same time bonehead! She's a girl and can't get the same herd rights as you! And what do you do about that? You rub it in her nose how you at least have a choice in the matter. Caoin's all nice to you and your strider and you just act like any of the bad things in all of Cyphrus only happen to you. Smooth, real smooth.'

Bolden castigated himself for the comment and kept his mouth shut for a while, just listening. The chime he noticed Liath's breathing increase, his rider mentioned a drink and a rest. He nodded in full agreement and replied,

"I think there's a small waterway not far from here that's good for a drink and a rest. It's a fairly clear area so we can keep an ear and eye out for any trouble, just in case."

He turned his strider a little to the east and the scent of water nearby, had Nightwind pick up his pace a bit. A fair sized clearing opened up near the water which gave a good view in all directions. Bolden swung his legs over, brought them together and jumped down off Nightwind.

"We should be able to hear and see even the slightest chance of danger for clicks and clicks out here. Not to mention all the water birds are a great warning system of predators."

Bold loosened the girth strap on the yvas and unhooked the water canteen to refill it. While the strider drank, he looked around, in a better mood now. It was a fine day, he'd had a good ride, met a gorgeous horse, spent time with a pretty girl and was about to have some dried meat to snack on. He didn't need to be rich in coin or have more possessions than he could count. Bold's needs were fairly simple and this situation fully qualified as a great day.

"I have some extra dried venison if you're hungry." He smiled and offered a piece to Caoin.

by **Caoin** on December 20th, 2011, 4:56 am

NoteMy apologies for taking so long to respond. I've been so burnt out after the NaNo thing that I needed a break from Caoin for a bit.

The awkward silence that came at the mention of Bolden’s unwanted inheritance remained in the back of her mind and Caoin soon came to realize that her fellow Drykas probably had interpreted her silence and mood in the wrong way. After they had stopped and their striders had been taken care of and allowed to wander down to the water for a drink, Bolden offered her some dried venison and she politely, and with a certain amount of eagerness to appease a belly she had noticed was empty, accepted the offer. Venison happened to be one of her favorite red meats and she chewed on a piece of the dried meat thoughtfully before starting up conversation again.

“I didn’t mean to make you feel awkward before. I know my rights to property are not as great as my brother’s would have been, and while it is frustrating, I can’t really complain. I think in the end it’s better to earn what you get,” she seemed very adamant about this way of thinking. The idea of wanting to earn her place and work for her wealth. “In the end, I know I’ll feel as if I’ve accomplished more and done more to prove myself as a capable Drykas woman,” she continued to explain. The more she thought about it over time, the more she began to realize that it was more than just wanting to prove herself worthy in her father’s eyes, and more than just wanting to avoid marrying for the sake of providing an heir. Then again, the entire matter was a complicated one that made her heart churn like the sea in a storm. Before she even realized what she was saying, she continued her thoughts aloud, “Though, perhaps I might better do that by accepting my father’s wishes to marry a suitable he...” The woman trailed off as realization finally came to her and she stopped herself from finishing that last word.