Riding is Exercise

[Oryani]

Summer 44th, 514 AV

”Come here, you little…” Oryani muttered spitefully at the horse, hands grasping the halter that was supposed to go around its head. She took a step forward and the horse danced back, before spinning to try and get its hindquarters facing the Chatakwe. That was not what she wanted. Standing behind a horse was a very, very unsafe thing… with an incredible probability of being kicked. And if a horse really wanted to kick you, you’d break a few ribs to say the least. If they weren’t aiming for your head. So she danced around to follow it, trying to get ever closer but failing miserably. If there was something she wasn’t experienced with… it was badly behaved horses. Khal had never done this, and all Striders were utterly devoted to their bonded. They might have a little fun and games at times (her stallion certainly had), but they were never this persistent.

Finally she had the horse pinned against one of the side fences, where there was no backing away. Quickly she darted in, looping one arm under the horse’s neck, tossing the lead over the withers, and slipping the halter over the face to sit comfortably in the general places a bridle would. She did up the last few straps, lucky to find no other resistance at this point, and collected the lead rein. ”Happy now?” she asked, but the mare just looked at her balefully, as if having a halter on was the worst possible thing. Oryani snorted and began leading the mare where she wanted the horse to go… in the direction of the exit. Apparently someone had paid for this one, though hadn’t been able to truly be ready for having a ‘horse in the family’ until now… so the mare had stayed in the pens.

She handed the horse over to her boss Reylil, before dashing over to split up two horses that were notorious for biting each other. She’d spotted them on her way there, getting closer and closer, and knew that an intervention would be needed before long… so she might as well deal with it before anything happened. Only ten days previously, one had gotten an actual wound from their snaps and bites and kicks, and they’d had to tie them up on opposite sides of the pens to stop the commotion. Reylil was dying for the day one or both of them would be sold.

She got there just in time to see the first bite, before she shoved herself in between the two heads, ignoring the curled lips and bared teeth (which always looked incredibly odd on a horse) and hoping that she didn’t get hit in the crossfire. She wrapped her arms around one of the stallion’s necks, like she had with the halter, and pushed him away at an angle, so the heads swung away and they were unable to bite each other anymore. For just this reason the two always wore halters, for better control to get them out of these fights, so she grabbed part of that and started leading one, a Zavian, away. The second, a plain old mixed, tried to follow after to snap at the Zavian’s hindquarters, so she let go and dragged that one away too, with a sharp ”No.” She always hated dealing with two horses at once. There were never enough of you if any problems arose.

She got them a safe distance away, to turn around to hear Reylil calling her name. She saw the woman –who she now knew to be a half-Chatakwe, though had never confronted her about this- leading a horse, plainly trying to keep it from going at a full trot in any random direction. It didn’t look skittish or spooked, just… bouncy. Which was an odd thing.

”Oryani, I want you to ride… him. He has energy, too much, need to run around. Go out, around city… too much trouble right now.” The horse, true to her word, tried to drag away to bite at something but she tugged the head back. Most horses were rather well behaved when being led, but this one seemed to be an exception. Oryani frowned at her boss instead, a little surprised by the request. It was an odd one, and though she could easily ride around the city with no problems, she also had never been asked to do this before. However she quickly recovered, suddenly seeing the possibility, and grinned. Despite working with horses all day she rarely rode, as that wasn’t her job… but here was a chance to do it again. She missed riding with Khal terribly, and it was one of the only problems (other than the language) she had with this city. But even if she left… there would never be any more Khal.

”Okay,” she said rather happily, taking the chestnut stallion when offered. ”Tack?” she asked, considering the complication. Some horses weren’t good with riding bareback, but she hated saddles. She preferred Yvas, after using them all her life. However, there were no Yvas in Taloba. Actually, no one knew what they were. ”Saddle if want, bridle need…. No knee commands.” Oryani nodded at the instructions and led the chestnut over to the shack where a small selection of tack was kept, to keep it out of the rain. It was for employee’s use, and buyers who wanted to try riding the horse first, as tack itself wasn’t sold here, meaning that bridles and saddles were shared.

The horse constantly pulled and tugged on its lead, straining to get to one thing or another. She hadn’t even bothered to ask the stallion’s name, which was a bit of a mistake. Instead she came up with one. ”Strain, your name is Strain,” she announced to herself, Pavi always feeling better on her tongue than Common. They reached the shed and she quickly switched halter for bridle, then led Strain over to the nearest gate. The horse looked excited at the prospect of leaving the pen, and she was in the same boat, happy to go on a ride with however annoying a horse.

She opened the door first, leaving it open before leading the chestnut out and closing it again. Closing it was a pain, since the fence gate was so long… and she didn’t want to let go and allow this bouncy horse to run away. She had no idea what it would do with such a prospect of freedom… though her best guess would be that the stallion would run, run, and run… before finding a juicy patch of grass to nibble on.

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- Pavi - Common -

[Oryani]

When they were out and a good few meters away from the fence, Oryani mounted up, swinging one leg up over Strain’s back whilst gripping the last handful of hairs along the mane. She adjusted her seat, finding an odd combination of bones in strange places that made it rather uncomfortable bareback. Still, she shifted around a little until she found the right niche, though it was a little further forward than she was used to. She gripped the reins easily, used to this part, before nudging the stallion with her heels lightly. The horse set off at a walk, though it was easy to see he wanted to trot or gallop. She didn’t think there was enough open space in Taloba to ever gallop, though, so that wasn’t going to happen. Instead, she nudged once more and headed off at a trot.

The instant change in gait was rather startling, since she’d never ridden on a horse this bony, or with such an odd trot. She bounced like a novice over the first few steps, before eventually finding a rhythm and moving with the horse, avoiding the pain in her backside from sitting limp on a trotting horse. Every rider knew how silly that was… and painful. The area ahead of her looked rather open, so she went at a faster trot, to satiate the needs of her mount. She had to remind herself that this ride wasn’t just for herself, to satisfy her love and need for riding, but rather for the chestnut himself… who simply needed the exercise.

Since her workplace was on the edge of the market, going out the side she had gone through didn’t lead her to the crowded and crazy area full of vendors. Instead she found herself in a small patch of forest, huge tree trunks spread widely apart, though the only buildings were small and out of the way. She continued on, closing her eyes occasionally when the path was clear just to enjoy the feel of the place, the feel of her movements on a horse. Riding… she was riding again, and she loved it.

Vaguely, she considered Reylil’s decision on allowing her to do this. She was a trusted employee, sure… but what if she hadn’t been? What if she decided to steal the horse and ride out of Taloba, never to be seen again. She’d certainly get a free horse out of it. However… she’d probably die on the way back to the shore, and how would she find a boat back across that water to the Sea, and her home? She had no clue. Sometimes it amazed her how she’d gotten here, and sometimes she thought it would be plain impossible to get back. She’d never make it alone, considering this place was as dangerous as the Sea of Grass. On the way here, she’d been ‘protected’ by six giant snakes… though even those traits hadn’t saved them from a Fang of Myrian warriors. They’d ended up as dead as anything that went through the jungle unprepared for too long.

There was, of course, the concept of being trusted. She was trusted, at least in her opinion. She hadn’t done anything stupid before now to have Reylil not trust her. She’d helped with the horses, groomed them, washed them, fed them. Ridden a few of them, now including strain here. She liked trust. So few Myrians trusted ‘barbarians’, though they had good reason. She liked the feeling of trust, and she didn’t think she’d abandon Reylil’s so easily, considering. In fact… Oryani couldn’t think of another person here, in Taloba (excluding Alaril) who trusted her. She barely knew anyone.

As she was riding, she passed by one of the Myrian longhouses. She’d always been interested in those, finding them so similar to her clan pavilions… except they were ruled by females, of course. Something she greatly appreciated. This one was oddly built into the side of a tree and hill. On one end there was a large bulge in the ground, and on top of it the tree. The bulge looked flat on one side, though it may have been the fact that the building had been constructed smoothly against it, with no seams. The tree had spread out, however, roots stretching out to curl along walls and reach for the earth below. A few looked like they had gone through the ceiling. This was more proof that the city of Taloba was unmovable… if you wanted to move that house, you’d have to move the tree too. She wondered what it would look like on the inside, roots poking through your roof, and one dirt wall at the end. She’d never seen inside those things anyways… they were available to family or family friends only. She wasn’t either of those here… she had no family, and she barely had any friends. There was only Alaril to keep her company.

She looked up from her pang of loneliness to realize that Strain had stopped, and was now munching on some rather green grass. The only reason she’d truly noticed was because she’d practically fallen out of her seat because of it. She needed to pay more attention, and not wallow in her bad luck and lack of friendship. She’d been lucky, in all honesty, to get here. If luck hadn’t been with her, she probably would have died. ”Up,” she hissed at the chestnut, dragging his head up with the bridle. There was some resistance at first, as the stallion got one last mouthful of grass, but he finally lifted his heavy head, staring at her with an almost skeptical expression. “You wanted exercise… so move!” she snapped at him, sounding more irritated than she truly was. She kicked her heels into his flanks again and set them off moving. If Strain had stopped moving, it probably meant that he’d had enough… which meant her ride was about half-over. Sad… she wanted to keep going, it was so relaxing, and… grounding.

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- Pavi - Common -

[Oryani]

When Oryani felt like taking one more step would mean she was lost, she wheeled Strain around, pulling on the left rain hard, but hopefully not too hard to hurt his mouth. It was hard to judge with a new horse, so all she could do was base it off what she knew of Khal’s reactions. The chestnut had been rather happy during their jaunt around the place, often trying to move faster, but eventually slowing down and going with the flow. It seemed that her efforts had not gone to waist, and all had been relatively successful. She knew that none of the horses sold at Hooves n’ Horns got as much exercise as one regularly ridden, so she hoped this had been a good day for the stallion. A day to get out, smell the roses, and explore a little. She hoped that whoever bought this one would respect his… excitement, and need for a lot of movement. Sadly, horses weren’t as popular here as they were in the Sea, due to the dense area. There were also other options, like the similar Ashta and Tskanna, or even those giant tigers that some Myrian warriors rode. Those had been… intimidating.

She tried to imagine herself riding one of those, but it didn’t turn out well. She had no idea how one would seat themselves on something like that, or how odd it would be having all the hair either. She felt like it would probably try to bite your head off if the chance came… the tigers were certainly big enough to. Some she’d seen could probably get you in half without a second thought. The Myrians prided them, and for a good reason… they were scary and powerful and incredibly practical for the situations they were designed for.

She returned to the horse pens rather quickly, feeling almost sad that her riding for the day was done. She didn’t know how long she’d been out, but she still wished it had been longer. She’d ridden all day before, day after day after day… and though there were negative side effects (like legs that wanted to fall off), she loved it all the same. The wind through your hair, the horse beneath you, the movement and the utter speed… riding was what it meant to be a Drykas, and… sometimes she felt like she was losing that part of herself. The Drykas part, the horse part. She wasn’t as much of a Drykas as she had been, rarely riding, without a Strider. Without a family or clan or pavilion or tent. She hadn’t moved all season, and it was strange, living so long in the same place. Sometimes she felt itchy, or wanted to move. It hadn’t been too long, though… but she hated to think what she’d be like after the two season mark, or the three, or… a lot of things.

She dismounted, sliding lightly off Strain’s back to grab the reins from the side. She unbolted the gate, led the stallion through, before closing it again, repeating the earlier process in reverse. She brought him to the shed and pulled the bridle off, deciding to keep the halter off as well. He was supposed to be wandering free in the pens anyways, and that generally meant no halter. If need be, she could always put it on later. When she was finished, with bridle stowed away, she allowed Strain to wander off with a pat on the shoulder. “Fun ride!” she told him, smiling happily, though knowing her words weren’t understood. When the horse didn’t seem to move she gave him a light shove on the shoulder, before walking away herself.

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- Pavi - Common -

[Voodoo]

Your Powers Grow

Oryani

Experience :

Horsemanship: +3
Observation: +3
Socialization: +1
Riding: +2

Lore :

Job: Adding Riding to the List
Reylil: A Trusting Employer

Comments :

I love how you describe in detail handling a horse. You clearly have been around them before, and it shows in your writing. Well done. If you have any questions, PM me.