Completed Galloping Goofballs (Asher)

[Jaye]

Spring, 1rst, 513 AV

Jaye moved alongside Ashers strider gently bumping his left leg with her side as they moved through the deep grass. Friends since birth Jaye and Asher spent much of their time together. When one was given tasks they almost always sought each other out for company and this task was no different. Jaye had been instructed to keep an eye on the west flank of the herd and had quickly sought out Asher and Karne to help. Though Jaye was only a year old she was as large as Karne though much more gangly and awkward than the older stallion and moved with far less grace than his more experienced pace.

The herd was swollen with newborns and as they began to move their way through the herd to the far side Jaye couldn't help but copy Karnes stoic walk. Irritably snapping at newborns that stumbled across their path. Children... she complained irritably to herself as she strutted. Their parents should really teach them to respect their elders she grumbled to herself irritably as she pinned her ears when another one neared.

She could feel the amused glances of the mothers who watched her react to the yearlings and scowled back at them tipping her nose in the air. Don't they know I am going to be the most powerful mount one day. I'll have a warrior much more powerful than any of them ever will.

Asher had been telling her stories of late. Stories of the knights in Syliras and their mighty steeds, though he was quick to exclaim that none could be as good as their Striders.They stories had captivated both youth and they found themselves playing at steed and knight more and more frequently. Though Asher talked frequently about leaving Jaye shrugged it off. He could never leave her.

By the time they reached the other side of the herd many mothers had lost patience with Jaye's attitude and she had chased by many pinned ears. What would be red cheeks in her human form were disguised by her black coat but her gait and unusual reliance on Karne betrayed her humiliation.

Taking her clothes between her teeth from the open bag strapped to Karne Jaye shifted into her human form. Not yet tanned from Summer Syna her skin was a very faint bronze that betrayed her flushing face immediately. Twisting her hair up and quickly braiding it into a loose knot at the side of her neck, as was habit in honour of her Drykas heritage, she secured it with leather bands refusing to meet Ashers face. Pulling on her white silk dress, worn only for protection and decency, she finally looked at Asher.

She had hit her growth spurt earlier than Asher and was much taller and lankier than him. As she moved over beside Karne stroking his muzzle she huffed heavily and looked down at Asher slightly. "What. I know you're going to say something. So just say it." She blurted cheeks burning.

OOCThere was no information on Karnes height or gender ;p So let me know if I got anything wrong or you want me to amend something. I took some freedom with what he has been saying since they have been friends for so long but let me know if someone isn't very HIM or anything you want me to change. You can absolutely take license with Jaye as well ;p I'll let you know if you put something in a post she wouldn't do or say.

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[Asher Nightrunner]

Asher walked behind the herd, his head held high with the pride of a Drykas male coming of age. It wasn't unusual for Asher to get pulled into Jaye's tasks, he had involved her in his as well. He walked along side, giving a few of the younglings a tap on the rear to keep up with the others. His bow rested on his shoulder while his arrows were tide onto Karne's, his beloved strider, back. If he needed it, Karne would come running. They shared the bond of many Drykas before them, the brotherhood between man and strider. A link that few outsiders understood. Jaye walked along side Karne, bumbing against him with her stride. Though she had grown taller, she had yet to broaden out. Karne snorted as Jaye bite and snapped at the yearlings. He found it funny that it wasn't that long ago that Jaye was that size, now she matched him in height. It wouldn't be long till she matched him in width as well, he looked over to his rider then back to Jaye. Those two had been friends for as long as he could remember. Thus he protected her like his own foal.

Asher twisted and rolled some of the long planes grass that he had plucked ealier, his mother braided them into bands for his hair when he was younger. An art he had always admired for its simplicity, though he never learned to do it himself. Asher walked back to them as Jaye shifted back to her human form behind Karne. She had grown to be a beautiful woman, though not fully developed like most, she still caught Asher's eye. Though he would never admit to it. "If you make the mothers angry, they'll never accept you. You need to be more patient with the children" he signed, knowing that the yearlings annoyed her because they got in her way. "Even though your dreams are different, they want nothing more then their children to grow up. It takes time" he signed. He climbed on top of Karne, now looking down at Jaye. He smiled a childish smile and dropped the grass clippings on top of her.

[Jaye]

Spring, 1rst, 513 AV

Jaye had never caught any of his glances, nor would she understand their meaning if she had. Much younger than him mentally sexuality was non-existent yet and she viewed him simply as a child like herself.

"I'm not making them angry. I am gaining respect and moving up the herd. I only have another year you know, before I'll be stuck firmly in the hierarchy." She replied arrogantly. Asher would never understand, his strider commanded respect easily he had never seen a horse have to struggle their way up the hierarchy that she did. Beyond her dreams and their games of knighthood and power her main focus was moving up the hierarchy, a shadow of human politics. However, Jaye had never experienced human politics. The only thing she knew, the only thing she had experienced was this. This which would dominate her world until she was two years old.

"Even though your dreams are different, they want nothing more then their children to grow up. It takes time" Jaye rolled her eyes at Asher when he sighed. "Yes. Because you're the epitome of patience." Jaye turned her gaze up at Asher and huffed slightly, a very horse-like expression that looked odd on the human face.

As the grass clippings fell, dusting her face she gazed through the mask of green at Asher before shaking her head and batting at her face half smiling despite herself. Reaching out Jaye grabbed his hand and hauled him off the horses back and into the grass. "Brat!" She teased tearing out a handfuls of grass to smother his face. She still played like a yearling, rough and in excess.

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[Asher Nightrunner]

"I never said I was. But its something you have to learn. You cant be aggressive when crafting leather, it will rip and fall apart if you aren't careful" he said. He was pulled down into the grass and was rained down upon. His bow falling to his side. He spat and wiggled, pushing her onto her back. He rolled over and pushed himself up, he ran towards the yearlings. Karne watching the two play like the children they were. Asher zigged in and out of the yearlings, before tripping over his own two feet and rolling. He came to a stop with his face pointed up towards Syna. Her light shining down upon his face. He tilted his head back, waiting for Jaye who would surely chase after him. He rolled onto his stomach and pushed up. He dusted himself off. He looked at Jaye as she ran towards him. He would wait for her, then take off again. Running back towards Karne. He enjoyed spending this time with her. Playing like children even though he was a man now. Or at least in his mind he was. He was planning out his trip, he would make his way to Syliras and begin his training in Leatherworking, then he would return and craft all of Endrykas the finest leather armor and yva's ever seen. He would make a name for himself that he was sure of. He had zoned out, completely forgetting about the herd he was watching or the girl cantering towards him.

Karne watched from behind, slowly trotting towards the two. He slowed to eat grass, knowing the two wouldn't hurt each other to bad. They shared in their bumps and bruises, but nothing had ever come from it. Just growing pains as Asher's parents would sometimes say. Though he was never quite sure what they meant. He figured it was normal for their children to get hurt while playing. He slowly picked his trot back up, and joined the other horses. Not to far from the two humans.

[Jaye]

Spring, 1rst, 513 AV

Ever since he had started on this leather working mania he had begun to relate everything to it and it quickly wore on Jaye's nerves. "Well a herd isn't leather." She replied. Though the subtleties of similes evaded her Kelvic mind she was still certain that one was nothing like the other.

Jaye writhed while he wrestled with her. Arms and legs wiry from running she was a strong powerful girl but she could hardly compare to the strength of a budding man and was easily flipped onto her back. She used her legs as much as her hands, as was natural to her in her other form and caught Ashers shin when rolled off of her making him stumble as he made his retreat.

Ignoring the Striders gaze Jaye took off after Asher, close on his heels as he dashed between startled yearlings. Jaye was far less gentle and barged into the yearlings sides as if she were still a horse herself, pushing them out of her way. The other yearlings were her direct competition, the other horses that were fighting to push their way into the herd and Jaye had seen what happened to horses who were exposed as week. Asher sometimes seemed so clueless, Jaye marveled, he had no idea how brutal his gorgeous creatures could be. How brutal she had seen his very own Strider be on occasion.

Distracted from her thoughts when Asher went tumbling Jaye couldn't help but double over in a fit of laughter herself and fell tripping into the back end of a skittish colt. Tail pinning to his rump and ears laid back the colt bolted into another yearling soon causing a wave of fear to spread over the colts as each leaped into another when startled.

As prey animals the horses quickly rebelled against the intrusion kicking out at each other blindly and stirring up the older horses in the herd. Jaye rose from the hard ground rubbing her sore arms and legs as she frantically looked about the scene unfolding. The yearlings had taken off into the deeper realm of the large herd agitating the elder horses until several had broken off into a canter behind the yearlings.

"Uh oh..." the Kelvic murmured under her breath as the fever of fear caught on and an epidemic wave rose among the vast herd turning them back toward the tents that were Endrykas. "What do we do?" She asked herself feeling her own instinctual panic rise. Signing her distress toward Asher while her eyes still gazed at the hind legs of the retreating horses she was alarmed when she finally turned to face him.

He had been in the thickest grouping of colts and fillies several meters from her and as the panic had spread to the colts and fillies that had wandered further afield they had begun to pelt toward the herd...pelting directly for him.

The Sea of Grass was vast and expansive but a fearful horse took the straightest line for safety Jaye knew from her own experiences of fear, and they wouldn't hesitate to trample an unmoving boy in their way.

"Watch out!" Jaye yelled waving her hands to catch Ashers attention. "Watch out!" She repeated, over and over waving at the horses that bore down on them, nostrils flaring with fear as they looked wildly around them, trying to locate the predator.
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[Asher Nightrunner]

The loud roar of hooves pounding against the ground roared in his ears. They were heading straight towards him, the massive herd in an unstoppable rage towards him. He turned and darted running in the same direction as the horses. He jumped out landing on the ground hard. He covered his head as the smaller herd. He whistled out to Karne, who made his way towards him. When he arrived Asher mounted up and looked towards Jaye. "What happened?" he asked having no time to sign it out. He grumbled slightly, as Karne trotted over to Jaye. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her up onto Karne. He clicked with his tongue and Karne took off after the herd. "Hold on, we have to get in front of them" he said. Karne galloped as fast as the muscled horse could. He pulled up not far behind the herd. They were all panicking, galloping through the fields towards the camp. "What did you do?" he asked, his voice panicked but not angry. He hoped that none of the yearlings would be seriously hurt, he would never hear it down from his father. That made him worried. He clicked his tongue again, trying to encourage Karne to speed up. But with both of them on his back, it was a bit harder. The hooves beating against the ground sounded like a great storm roaring through the fields. He feared the worse, loosing any of the yearlings would not only get him in trouble. But Jaye as well. A serious look spread across his face. Karne had managed to pull up along side the herd now. Matching them stride for stride. "Be calm young ones" he said, calling out to the herd that paid him no mind. He grumbled, "stupid horses don't they know who I am?" he mumbled under his breath.

[Jaye]

Spring, 1rst, 513 AV

Jaye watched in horror, chest constricted with horror as the outskirts of the herd dove around him. Just missing a hand or a foot several times she didn't realize she had been holding her breath, chest swollen with air, until he rose from his fetal position and waves Karne over.

"What happened?" He queried as Karne with him atop bound over to them. It was a question that didn't need answering. Whatever had happened...needed to be stopped. Grabbing his forearm as he grabbed hers she let the momentum carry her backward behind him as he pulled her up. It was an easy maneuver, learned at a young age among the Drykas whose unique saddles didn't have stirrups for climbing aboard.

As Karne surged forward, his powerful legs thundering against the ground as he fought to catch up with the herd Jaye tightened her grip around Asher. Having rarely ridden she bounced like a heavy awkward sack of potatoes, only her grip and desperation held her in place. Her hands and arms began to go numb with the effort as they approached the other horses and her lower back ached each time she landed too heavily on Karnes back.

"Petch Ash!" Jaye scowled as she held his back tighter pressing her chest and stomach against his back. Her arms and legs were shaking with the effort of holding herself aboard. The grass moved beneath her eyes in a swelling sea of green that made her stomach heave restlessly. Ironic that I of all people would get sea sick on horse back she thought wretchedly to herself.

It was impossible Jaye realized quickly. Impossible for Karne to carry them both and surpass the herd. Biting her lip she wondered frantically at the situation. The jarring pain of each leap and the swelling sickness in her stomach left little room for thought despite her attempts.

"Bye..." She breathed past Ash's ear as she released her arms from around his waist. There was nothing else to do. They had to stop the horses. As the wind and jarring strides knocked her off the horse Jaye felt her chest ache with fear. She had never fallen from a moving horse before and as she hit the ground the air was sucked from her lungs by the wavering grass strands. She felt herself move in slow motion, mind spinning frantically. Her shoulder hit first, collapsing under the pressure and her body spun, out of her control, over the grass. She was fortunate the grass lay so thickly over the ground absorbing the shock of her fall and though she lay breathless and prone nothing was broken or permanently injured.

Indulging for a moment Jaye lay still staring at the spinning clouds above her eyes. Like fireflies her mind and eyes spun and danced. Ugh...I think I'm going to- she thought just as the hot acrid bile rose up her stomach. Tilting her head she felt it escape from her parched lips, wind having stolen their moisture during the ride. The bile poured over the bent and broken grass making Jaye's back and stomach heave with the effort.

Ugh... the smell made her stomach recoil further but her only meal was already spread before her. Inspiring dry heaves, her stomach ached with the effort of puking air. "Oh goddess..." She murmured to herself whimpering as she straightened herself, crawling away from the bile.

Must focus... she scolded herself, I need to save the city! Thoughts valiant she grinned inwardly proud of her focus. This moment was exactly as she had daydreamed for years. Jaye to the rescue!...Didn't you CAUSE the stampede? A part of her scolded her conscious mind only to be banished to the depths of her mind. The voice didn't deserve her attention.

As she calmed her racing heart the lines of many webs came into sight. She had seen them for as long as she could remember and focusing on them came as naturally as shifting the depth of her sight. Some, faded with age or weakness while others were bright enough to inspire a migraine if she peered too closely. Joining with the web itself was far less simple. A tactile person, very aware of her own bodies presence and weight leaving it behind was always a struggle even in the calmest of situations.

Taking deep breathes to calm herself further she felt the tips of broken blades tickle her shin and kicked them away haphazardly. Her tangled hair obscured her vision and distracted her further. "There will always be something to distract you. Fixing them wont help you. You must learn to ignore the distractions." Her fathers voice whispered in her memory and she closed her eyes for a moment before opening them and reaching out to take a strand. As a physical person the act of reaching out helped her link the mental shift from her body to the strand.

Slowly her awareness of the grass tickling her shin faded, her tangled mess of hair no longer obscured her vision. She wasn't seeking information from the web and as she fell into a blinding pool of white and blue she slid through the thread. Her body collapsed against the grass, she was grateful for the smooth surface that would make it less painful for her to return to her body.

Propelling herself faster than the horses hooves pounded against the ground Jaye slid into the mentalities of those webbers linked into the threads that attached themselves to hers. "The horses. They are coming for you. North side. Help. Stop them." She sent. Thinking of the words sent her mentality back to her body. Words linked so strongly with her lips she immediately thought of moving them. Her words quickly dispatched into their minds before she was sucked back into her own body by her lack of focus she hit her own mind with such force she felt herself heave again.
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[Asher Nightrunner]

"Bye" and then her embrace was gone. He turned his head as she fell to the ground. Was she trying to get herself hurt?. "HYAH!" Asher yelled out, kicking into Karnes sides. The horse galloped in response, not free from the extra weight restricting his back legs. His powerful stride moved freely. Massive hooves pounded against the ground, kicking up dirt and grass. He raced along side the yearlings, each falling behind as the full grown strider marched ahead of them. Asher pulled in front, trying to curve the yearlings to the side and turn away from the camp. The yearling reacted but not in the way he wanted. Some turned, then separated running in two different directions. While others continued their rampage towards the camp. "Petch" he mumbled under his breath. He had no time to look back towards Jaye. To see if his childhood friend was alright. He had to make a decision now.

Karne turned his powerful body, taking off after the larger group that had turned with him. He charged after them, Asher clinging to his back. He hoped that his friend had a plan, that she didn't let go for no reason. He trusted her and for now, that's all her could do. Karne rushed into the group of yearlings now running away. He snorted in protest, catching the attention of the younglings. He bumped and pushed against him, his muscles pushing the yearlings getting them to obey him. Asher felt the way Karne moved. They way be forced his power onto the younglings. He thought back to not bells before, when Jaye was pushing her way around the yearlings. He sighed and shook his head.

No time to think, just to react. Karne now had the attention of the yearlings, Asher turned with him. Running them in circles, which got smaller with each repeat until they had calmed down. Asher jumped off Karne and began running back towards Jaye. He stopped quickly, turning towards Karne and signed "Take them to their mothers!" Karne nodded and pushed some of the yearlings forward, the rest following behind him like the alpha he was. When Asher had returned to Jaye's side. "Are you okay?" he asked quickly, placing his hand on her back. "I've managed to stop one herd. Karne's taking them back to their mothers." he mumbled, "Why did you let go!? You could have gotten hurt" he scolded, though his voice had more worry then anger.

[Jaye]

Spring, 1rst, 513 AV

As Jaye slid back into her body she could feel Ashers broad hand squarely in the center of her back. Turning to assure him that she was alright as her Djed swarmed back into her body she vomited, the liquid spilling over Ashers boots. Blushing brightly Jaye wiped at her mouth the taste of her vomit making her wretch again.

"S-sorry..." She apologize ruefully. His boots were a durable leather and could be cleaned but she was familiar from many irritable days how much he loathed cleaning and scrubbing. In a place where things stayed clean for only moments she could see his distaste for such a trivial and transient. She could see the dirt storm beginning to settle as several Drykas rounded the horses up from all directions, calming them and turning them away from the city.

"Worth it. I was fetching them." She nodded at the large group proudly. Her clothes were covered in dirt and dust, large clods hanging onto them from vomit that had trickled back towards her wetting her clothes. All she could smell was the rancid acidity of vomit and it made her nostrils flare distastefully.

The group of Drykas were barely recognizable but she recognized the horses gait and movements just as she recognized her fathers walk, or a friends unique hair piece. Though fashion or appearance was of little consequence to the Kelvic she was very aware of body movements, as was demanded of her by her animal half.

What she recognized made her heart swell with pride. Her father, on his strider, walking toward them. As he approached her proud grin faded in deference to the grim line that painted his. Like the firm horizon, eternally present no matter what one did to run from it, he stared down at her.

"What happened?" His voice was soft and dangerously quiet. Wincing Jaye stared at the ground not trusting her own words, "I called for you...and you came. I knew I couldn't do it on my own." She added quickly placing a tentative tug of a smile on the edge of her lips. He was always warning her of the danger of her own independence. A horse without a herd is a lump of flesh that shall soon not be moving at all, She remembered.

"Before that..." Her smiled fell off a cliff and soon she was frowning at her father.

"Who cares? I fixed it!"

"You forced several Drykas out of their jobs to help you, distressed some very young horses that could have easily hurt themselves, you..."

"I get it..." Jaye grumbled scuffing the ground in irritation. Her bare dun body glowed in the sunlight and as she twitched under her fathers gaze the reeds of grass along her back almost appeared to move in the wind.
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[Asher Nightrunner]

The young Drykas sighed as his boots were covered in bile. He looked around as the other Drykas gathered the remaining horses, calming them and leading them back to their herd. They had taken care of the problem, but now people would wonder what happened. He wasn't looking forward to answering the load of questions that would be flung his way. "I guess it was" he signed acknowledging the Drykas that had joined them. He had forgotten about Jaye's ability to connect with the web, something he never learned to do.

Jaye's father approached them. Asher stood next to her, feeling her aura change to one of pride. She was proud of what she had done, reaching out to the others to help them. Even though she was the one that caused the problem in the first place. Though he couldn't blame it all on her. If it wasn't for their horseplay it wouldn't have happened in the first place. Karne strode back over to them, he stood behind Jaye and Asher looking upon her father. Asher looked at Jayes face, he watched her once proud smile fade into nothing as her father had a more serious look on her face. Her father held a huge amount of respect in Asher, though he didn't like the suddenness in his friends mood change. He felt as if a storm was about to ride into camp and rain down for bells.

Then he spoke, asking her what happened. He noticed her turn her eyes down out of the corner of his eye. She defended herself but it lacked confidence. She didn't seem to be as sure of her self as she was two chimes ago. Then her father spoke again, sending what little confidence she had to the grave. Asher's mouth was drawn in a firm line. Even if it was her father, he didn't like anyone attacking his friend. He didn't like anyone talking down to her, it made him angry.

"Enough!" he shouted out, his gaze meeting her fathers. "It was my fault. I startled one of the yearlings and they darted" he added, moving in front of Jaye. As if to shield her from her fathers words with his own body. "If it wasn't for Jaye then things could have gotten a lot worse. No one got hurt and everything's fine" he signed the last bit. Trying to hide the anger in his voice. Though he respected her father. He wouldn't let anyone hurt Jaye, if they wanted to try they would have to go through him.