Horses and Carrots(Tebridiar)

[Jarhal Treeshadow]

Really, him calling the yvas a saddle was saying a bit too much. Jarhal walked over to where he had left his personal one on the ground, and fit it onto Topher within very little time. His yvas in particular was of simple and sturdy construction, like most of what he owned, and the only bit of decoration was that the two handles on the top were the smaller points of deer horns carved to fit the purpose. Below those side handles were simple cord loops with dull green beads for tying on smaller bags and the like.

Climbing up himself by catching one of the smooth horns, he immediately seemed to 'fit' the horse in a way beyond describing. It wasn't a matter of riding skill, the two just simply seemed meant for one another.There was a magic to the bond between a Drykas and a Strider that couldn't be easily explained, but it was hard not to see when presented with it.

"I think you get the general idea of it, you'll take to it immediately." He said as he trotted his strider in a figure-eight, then strafe sideways back to where he had mounted himself. Topher seemed eager to do more, really, but Jarhal craved a long ride across the Sea of Grass today and that would have to come later.

Getting off as easily as he got on, the yvas itself being not too much more complicated than merely riding with a pallet, he presented his horse to her again.

"See, it's really nothing special. Though, I'd appreciate if you ever wanted to talk to Topher yourself and see what he thinks of the whole thing..." He paused, rubbing the back of his head and smiling uncertainly, "Uh, if.. kelvic can uhm... do that sort of thing...?"

[Tebridiar]

Tebridiar did seem to appreciate the saddle.

It didn’t look to uncomfortable, just like a bit of decoration. And the horse didn’t seem to mind it. Tebridiar concentrated her gaze on the way it sat on the muscles, not digging in but just sort of draped across it, if something as sturdy looking as the Yvas can drape…

“I can have a look at him. And in my horse form, I can even talk to him, much like how you talk to a person. But they aren’t as complicated in language as us. Its mainly a yes or no type of thing with the animals. But I can see, yes.” Tebridiar replied, happy to do so. She had came out here to transform anyway, and as Jarhal already knew she was a Kelvic, and seemed welcoming enough, she told him she would be back in two seconds and she dashed behind some cover, quickly taking her clothes off.

Then, she changed.

Everything was a bit hazy and dizzy for a few moments, the ground seemed to wibble and wobble in funny ways… but she, as usual, quickly came round and trotted over. She was a beautiful strider… a glossy, red coat, wavy dark red main, and piercing blue eyes.

She looked at him as if to say “Hey, its me!”

[Jarhal Treeshadow]

Knowing what a Kelvic was and seeing it for yourself were two quite different things, and Jarhal could not help but feel a little weirded-out. He tried to hide it, not wanting to hurt the girl's feelings, but it was difficult. The world was rather comfortable with the thought that animals were animals and humans were humans, the line never really blurred. But here, nature seemed to pop in and out to level Jarhal should have admired, but could not help but feel a little taken aback by.

Shaking his head, he looked her over as he would any other horse before he could stop himself. That was a woman, not a horse! A certain amount of respect had to be maintained, he figured. He couldn't imagine actually riding a kelvic, that would feel... weird.

"Well, you're certainly a beautiful horse. No doubting that." He said, completely unsure if she could actually understand what he was saying as a horse. Did it matter, though? "You better mind your manners, Topher."

Topher, meanwhile, seemed less hesitant than his hunting rider, but immensely curious. Curious about this new horse that still seemed familiar, wondering if she must be bonded to that nice female human that was riding him a little while ago. His curiosity still held strong after a bit, but he also seemed to grow more bold. If Topher were a man he would be hitting on her about now, and not in a cute subtle way either. There was no denying that this strider was a cocky one, knowing full well how pretty he was.

[Tebridiar]

Everything looked crystal clear now, her eyes could see all.

She tried to look pleased with herself at Jarhals comment. People did tend to stop and stare when she was in her horse form, she was captiving… strange. A little too curious, a little too aware, maybe. To be a horse.

She slowly approached Topher, giving him a look. Even though she could understand horses a little better in her human form, in this form she could read everything about the Strider. His expression, if he was trying to say something, his body language, his mood.

He seemed very happy to see her…

Was that a good or a bad thing?

She walked over and gave him a polite and friendly nuzzle. He was probably slightly smaller than her, but he more than made up for it in personality. He cheekily flicked her hair with his face, giving a happy little neigh.

Tebridiar pretended to look disapproving, but deep down she was happy to be communicating with a horse again. He practically radiated pride, like the Drykas, and he was strong but young at heart. He looked healthy, and he seemed very content.

[Jarhal Treeshadow]

Jarhal decided to just leave the horses to their business, walking over to squat down beside Chural. They both looked on with similar expressions of curiousity, quite unable to get more than a general impression of what the horses were discussing. At first he thought being a kelvic would be interesting, hunting as an animal, but now he thought that with his luck he'd have been some kind of cow or rat.

"Have you outrun a big grass snake?" The pureblood strider asked in his equine way, and then did not wait for an answer. "I have. It was pretty scary, but I'm brave."

Topher was young indeed, and in some ways more drykus than Jarhal. He flaunted what he had, boasting about it, and hid very little even to strangers. It was tough to tell whether Topher took a shining to Tebridiar in particular or if he was like this to all horses he had time to socialize with. As much as a horse could, he spoke rather quickly and jumped from subject to subject like an excited kid. It might give some headaches.

"You have nice legs, do you race? Don't race the dog, it cheats." Topher gave a snort, casting a baleful glare at Chural, and then resumed prancing. "Where is your human? Do you have a human? You should get a human, they're fun."

[Tebridiar]

Tebridiars laughed internally at the cheeky horse.

"You are pushing your boundaries, are you not?" She said to him. "My legs are nice, yes. Swift, and strong, very fast... but I take it thats not what you are getting at..." She whinnied and gave a light flick with her back legs while she showed off a little bit.

"I don't have a human, not yet, anyway." She tried to explain. Would a horse understand? They weren't totally basic... but they might not be able to grasp everything she told him. "Topher, I am not fully a horse. Though sometimes I wish I was. I am also a human... I can, um... switch between two forms?"

She fidgeted, wondering how far his logic would take him now.

"My race, they are called Kelvics? I don't know if you understand what that means. I'm different, thats all that matters. Though I can understand you fine!" She tried to reassure him.

She didn't want him to think she was freaky...

[Jarhal Treeshadow]

Jarhal the Boring Human sat cross-legged and scratched at his cheek. What in the cataclysm could they be talking about? He hoped his strider wasn't making a fool of himself. Looking down to Chural, he considered briefly just how animals communicated, anyhow. Could a dog understand a horse? A crow understand an eagle? A snail understand a mosquito? No, that's just silly. They probably understood each other as well as he understand some foreigner speaking his foreigner-tongue.

Meanwhile, Topher paused a moment and scuffed the ground with his hoof. The action had a strangely coy feel to it. It looked out-of-place, like a glassbeak trying to look gentle.

"Oh, I don't care what breed you are..." He began, hesitantly if such a word could be attributed to horse-talk. It seemed like he had either not understood the rest of what she said, or simply ignored most of it. He was an aggravating individual, that much should be certain. "Well, when you do look for a human don't just let anybody ride you! You've got to make them work for it, or you lose the game. I ran my human into a big rock once, but he just got back up. Then I tossed him into a creek, but that just cooled him off. See how it works?"

Topher seemed to enjoy talking about the "game", without a doubt mischievously plotting more ways to test his rider right that moment. Everything in the world seemed more a game than anything to him, showing just how young he still was even for a strider. Getting anything remotely 'helpful' out of the strider was doubtful at best.

[Tebridiar]

Tebridiar snorted in a sort of giggly fashion.

“I have my human. She is the only one who gets to ride me.” Tebridiar would have blushed if she could, but luckily for her, horses couldn’t really do that. “She will be my bondmate, I think.”

But had Tebridiar made her work for that bond?

“I didn’t really make myself seem, well… difficult. It just sort of happened. I feel an attachment to her, it just makes sense really.” She must be confusing the poor horse. She figured it would soon be time for her to get going.

“Look, Topher, I think Im going to have to go now. But if Im ever in the paddock, Ill drop on by and have a little chat with you. Its nice to catch up with the animals I identify with.” This language might be a little sophisticated for him, so with a little toss of her mane she trotted off to transform.

She dizzily emerged to meet Jarhal in her human form, taking his hand warmly.

“Thank you, Jarhal. Thanks for this, its been amazing. I might get myself a horse one day, it feels wonderful to ride.” Tebridiar was walking away when she remembered. “Oh, and that Topher of yours, he’s quite the flirt!”

[Mixcoatl]

The Lord of the Hunt is Pleased! The Lord of the Hunt showers you with gifts in joyous celebration! Tebridiar Experience +1 Riding Lore Admiring the Beauty of Striders Jarhal (Basic) A Strider's Bioluminescence Jarhal Experience +1 Teaching Lore Kelvic (Basic) Tebridiar (Basic) Topher's Flirty Nature Additional Notes: Jarhal, Drykas are close to their Striders because their Striders are their ancestors. If a Drykas was tied to the web during their life, their soul finds it extremely difficult to leave the Sea of Grass, meaning that they are reincarnated again as either a Drykas or a Strider. The reason certain Striders bond with certain people is because those Striders were related to the people in their pasts lives. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, don't hesitate to PM me.