Flashback [Windhelm Stables] Banter's Canter

[Numia]

Fall 16 515 AV

My second day as a squire! Numia sprinted across the training grounds towards her patron Sera Jyness. Her chest heaved and her breathing was labored, but she ran to her patron, bouncing forward with a hop and delivering a punch to Jyness’ shin-guards. Tink! Numia had been instructed to practice unarmed combat, she was having fun but her patron had a dismal look upon her face that said the Pycon was performing poorly. Numia skidded across the dirt and tried to realign herself, but her patron intervened. “Alright, I think that’s enough for today. I’m going to have to find you a proper Pycon tutor. In the mean-time, I have something else in mind.” Jyness pointed her thumb at the exit to the training grounds. Numia brightened, sore from the conditioning she had imparted upon herself but still shining through.

“Yes, lead the way Sera!” Numia said, falling into line behind her patron and trying her best to look stoic despite failing miserably. Numia was greener than green, she may as well have been a page at this point. Still, the knighthood saw fit to induct her as a squire from the get-go, much to the chagrin of her patron Jyness who had already warned the Pycon of carelessness and recklessness. “Sera Jyness, what are we doing next?” Numia asked.

Jyness was quick to respond. “I have already put in the papers for you to acquire a riding dog. I have a feeling you will like the steed I have picked out for you. We are heading over to get you acquainted, and once I have taught you to ride we will go on our very first patrol - I want to shape you up for that within two weeks.” Jyness didn’t pause or smile, she simply answered the question. Jyness had compassion, but when it came to training she was the no-nonsense type. Numia was careful not to mince her words around her patron.

A riding dog? I’m to ride a dog, not a horse? “Why not a horse, Sera?”

As the two of them walked, Jyness spoke informatively. “A horse is too large for a Pycon to control properly I’m told.” Numia was surprised she didn’t think of that first. After several chimes of walking through the dark hallways of Stormhold castle, Numia ended up at the castle gates. From there, it was a short walk to the Windhelm Stables with her patron. Numia could hear the stomping and snorting of many horses as the two of them walked down the hall riddled with stable pens. The smell of horses was always foul but it didn’t bother her too much. The two of them stopped at a pen labeled with the number ‘22’ which Numia noticed was some sort of organizational numbering system.

[Numia]

From her height, she could see under the door but all she saw was a form of dried grass. However, what she could hear was far different. A creature much smaller than a horse huffed and moved towards the door. She heard it sit patiently, a whapping motion stirring the hay about. Numia watched as Jyness unlatched the door and pulled the wooden frame forward, unleashing the beast. Expecting an unruly animal, Numia was pleasantly surprised when the creature didn’t dash forward to escape, instead it looked up at Jyness, then down at Numia, who managed to muster only a single word. “Hello,” the Pycon said.

“His name is Banter, I’m told.” The dog’s ears flickered when he heard his name, still wagging his tail and looking to Jyness patiently for orders. “He should have been taught just like a horse with the same commands, maybe a few more riderless ones since he’s a dog.” Jyness tensed, resolute. “Say as I say, and be firm and commanding Numia. I will show you how to dress him in tack.” Jyness looked to the dog. “Walk, Banter!” the knight ordered, and the dog obediently walked to Jyness’ side and followed her over to the tack rack which was much lower than the others, presumably so Pycon could use it Numia thought.

“He seems much more calm than I envisioned.” Numia had never met a trained dog before, only mutts and unruly pets. This dog was no pet, it was well trained and had a resolute look to it befitting of the knights. Numia memorized the command ‘walk’ and waited for Jyness to offer more instruction. Jyness knelt down and pulled the tack from the wall, starting with the small Pycon-sized saddle which hung limply. “I must confess, whenever I help Pycon, I feel as if I am working with the dolls from my childhood because of all the big things made to be small. I have seen what your kind can do with my own eyes, but there are many who would underestimate you and that is perhaps your greatest strength.”

Numia thought about what her patron said as the knight affixed the small saddle to Banter’s back. She didn’t like being compared to a doll, be she understood what the knight was trying to say. Numia was small, humans could overlook her and underestimate her. Some of her kind were as strong as humans she was told, though she felt extremely weak compared to the larger races. Still, the knighthood would help Numia to overcome that someday. “Thank you, Sera.”

[Numia]

“Alright Numia, thread the straps through the buckle under his chest. I need you to get used to handling him. Obeying the orders of her superior, Numia went underneath the dog and grabbed a hanging strap. She brought it over to the hanging buckle and pushed it into the slot, pulling it through all the way until the buckle was flat against the dog’s chest. There was still a lot of slack left over, and she hadn’t done anything with buckles before. “This is very new to me, what do I do with the remaining length of strap?”

Jyness had been affixing the halter, the reins, and the bit to Banter’s head. The dog willfully accepted the stick, the sloppy sound of his tongue lolling around on it as it clicked against his teeth “That goes from the center of his chest up to the halter on his neck. It’s called the leg.” Numia came out from underneath him between his front legs, and Jyness gave the dog another command. “Down.” Jyness instructed. The dog hesitated a moment, but laid itself flat against the ground with its paws in front of itself. So, he was trained with the height of a Pycon in mind as well? Numia put the strap through the buckle on his neck, except this one had a metal prong that seemed to go through the strap like a belt buckle. The dog craned its neck as if from experience to allow the Pycon to finish the strap, and as Numia backed away to gaze over the properly saddled dog it looked at her expectantly.

Looking to her patron for further orders, Sera Jyness gave the Pycon a nod which she understood as encouragement to climb into the saddle. Reluctant not to pull on his hair too much, Numia grabbed big clumps of his hair and pulled herself up and over. Then, standing on the saddle she thought of her position above the dog, gripping the horn of the saddle in case the dog decided to move. This, Numia knew, was probably going to be difficult. The Pycon leaned forward and grabbed the dangling reins, stretching her arms out slowly to reach them and retracting them once she had them secure within her hands. There weren’t any places for feet like the humans had, but Numia was too small for that anyway.

[Numia]

Getting her wits about her, Numia pulled on the reins again. However, it wasn’t uniform and Banter quickly did a sharp turn full-sprint. Numia tried to lean back, but instead she fell with the momentum of the turn. It was at this point her body left the saddle, forcing her to let go of the reins as she was thrown a good two feet off the energetic animal. Numia huddled into a ball to protect her clay as she sailed through the air. When she hit the ground, she rolled jarringly and her elbow spikes became bent, sending a surge of pain through both of her arms that she felt within her nexus.

Disoriented and in pain, Numia fought to stand up, dancing around on her legs which felt like disobedient snakes when she managed to stand upon them. The dog knew immediately that it had lost its rider, so it turned around and came back to sniff the Pycon with a hint of concern. Finally coming down from the overwhelming sensations, Numia saw both Jyness and the dog standing over her. “That’ll heal, right?” Jyness asked, worried about the damaged spikes.

“Y-yeah.” Numia said. She concentrated, slowly reforming them to how they were prior. Stretching her clay felt awkward, but having her clay forcefully stretched, bent, or broken off was painful. After about ten ticks, she was almost good as new although the elbow spikes were now shorter. Brushing herself off, she had a distant look as she looked to Jyness for criticism since she felt as if she had failed horribly. “How did I do?” Numia's voice had a hint of marked shallowness to it.

[Numia]

Jyness smirked, “you did fine. Just be careful where you’re putting your weight next time and get used to being in the saddle. Are you ready to try again?” It was the typical Jyness style of teaching, always rushing the mundane but filled with cautioned discipline for the arcane. To Numia though, it was encouraging. Jyness stepped back, cupping her chin and watching the Pycon as if taking private notes about her progress.

Numia was surprised that Banter in all this time had not made a single squeak, squeal, growl, or bark. He was the most quiet and kind animal Numia had ever met. It was almost as if she was the pet, and he was the overseer. It was nice that the dog she would be training with was so well-trained and kind in disposition, even if Numia was terrible at this. Numia sighed, in due time.


Numia looked to Jyness again before turning to Banter. “Alright, down Banter.” The dog knelt on the ground again, waiting patiently for the Pycon. Numia climbed his fur and got back in the saddle, but this time with the resolve that she was going to be careful about how she leaned to indicate speed and how she used the reins. “Walk.” the Pycon ordered. Banter stood and began to walk. Numia pulled on the reins lightly this time, making sure she was leaning back a little bit to keep the dog at a slow pace as she got used to directing him. She wasn’t quite one with the animal yet, but as Banter chewed noisily on his bit in adjustment she knew she was making progress.

As Numia steered the dog down the hall again, she began to take him to the outdoor arena which was luckily empty. Jyness followed in tow, a gentle smile on her face as she watched the budding Pycon finally learn to ride her steed. Numia knew better by now than to try and have Banter run or walk faster, instead she took things slow and steady so she could get used to turning him. She yanked on the reins to make Banter turn in place, getting used to the sudden movements and distributing her weight. It was a careful balance, but Numia felt cheerful that she wasn’t failing.

No, she was soaring.

[Okara]

Grades and Awards   Numia Experience Unarmed Combat 1 Observation 1 Riding 4 Lores Riding: Commands for a Dog Riding: Putting Tack on a Dog Riding: Mounting Banter: A Kind Dog for Training Jyness Tiber: A Patient Teacher Shield Points +1 (threading with patron) +5 (training solo) Notes This was a fun training thread, I enjoyed Numia’s failures with the dog and her perseverance through them. I love the playfulness of Numia’s character that comes through in your writing. Please edit your post in your grade request to reflect that it has been graded. PM me with any questions.