Closed Of horses and stablehands (Nayato)

[Reed]

Date: 7th of Spring, 520 A.V.

Reed stood with a group of squires at the stables, awaiting his turn on one of the massive warhorses the knights rode. A nervousness boiled in his belly as he looked at the beasts. Growing up in Sunberth hadn’t granted him much experience with horses. His first experience had been when the knights came in, charging into the slavers camp, trampling men left and right. Since then, he’d held a distinct wariness of the animals, and had been loathed to begin this part of his training thought he took it on the chin like everything else. Fortunately for him, it was to be ponies again he saw as some knights led out the smaller horses into rows for the squires to practice saddling and mounting properly. Kaer stood aside from the knights bringing in the ponies, watching him carefully.

Going to one of the unoccupied horses, Reed took the saddle from the attending knight and slung it over the back of the pony. “Now make sure you buckle it securely across the belly, here and here” the woman stated, guiding his eyes to the straps with her hands. “Yes Sera” Reed nodded as he followed her gaze and knelt to secure the buckles. The horse wasn’t particularly tall compared to Reed so he had to get down on a knee to secure the properly but once that was doon, he stood up straight to await further instruction. Are you sure you’re not a kelvic, a dog or something? Shut up.

“Step on the stirrup here and swing yourself other. Don’t worry about Kerri, she is as even tempered as they come.” The woman said, tapping on one of the horizontal pieces of metal hanging from the leather saddle. “Yes Sera.” Reed put his foot through the slot and swung his other leg over. The pony snorted and pawed at the ground but avoided shifting needlessly. His other foot took a while to find the other stirrup, but once it did, the knight nodded approvingly. “Good, now remember, her sides are very sensitive so avoid squeezing her with your legs. Trust that she is going to carry you on your own just fine. She’s not going to throw you if you squeeze her, she’s as even tempered as they come, but be gentle with her okay. She only needs a nudge to get her where you want to go.”

Reed nodded and chewed his lip. “Yes Sera. How do I get her… Kerri to go where I’m wanting?” Reed asked, grasping the pommel of the saddle uncertainly. The knight took his hands away from it and placed them on the straps running from the pony’s mouth. He grasped them gingerly. “Don’t grasp these too tight, just hold them loosely in your hands and try keeping your balance while I guide you around the yard. Once you’ve got more experience just keeping upright on the back of a horse, we’ll see about you navigating by yourself.” The woman chuckled, petting the nose of the horse for a few moments before she started walking, the pony obediently following behind. Reed lurched off balance when the pony started moving but managed to keep his seat just barely. Fortunately, he was not in full plate or he would have been on his ass by now. Instead, he had only his own awkwardness in the saddle to blame as he tried to stay right side up on the back of this beast. Gripping the reins firmly, he looks around for a familiar face among the squires. Maybe Galina would be able to identify with his plight and offer him some pointers for keeping astride this animal. Unfortunately, he did not see Coen, but he did see an odd-looking man whom didn’t seem quite human, riding right next to him. “Please tell me you know something about these beasts that I don’t?” He asked quietly, leaning as far as he dared in the saddle towards the man. If asked to clarify, he would ask again, louder this time, much to the amusement of the knight guiding his pony.

[Nayato]

7th of Spring, 520 A.V.

Before the group riding session began, Nayato wandered around Windmount Stables with a mortar bowl and pestle in hand. Riding was something he'd done in his life, he'd sat atop one before when his tribe moved across the desert. But he never really controlled the creatures, mostly just letting the horse take him wherever they wanted like Feathered Prince gliding with wanderlust through the skies.

A fully armored Knight turned to look at the Chaktawe Squire when he approached the horse stalls. Nayato was just as fully armored, wearing a rented suit of full plate that Squires to borrow. The Knight glanced towards the mortar with a raised brow. "Are you lost, squire...?" The Knight said with a long pause, waiting to be given the Squires name. "Squire Nayato, Ser. And no, I'm here for the group lesson."

Ser Ulliver of Windmount Stables gave a chuckle, then turned from the pony in the stall. "It seems to me like you'd gotten lost on your way to make ...eggs?... in a kitchen, Squire. Is that eggs I smell." Nayato nodded, using the pestle to mix the eggs with the soft cheese already in the bowl. It quickly formed into a nicely viscus slop after a few rotations. "I'm making something for a friend, Ser. Just in case I need it."

Ser Ulliver seemed genuinely confused by Nayato, but was curious enough to watch as the Squire set a backpack down onto the ground. Nayato fished around through the backpack, garbing a handful of goat lard and buckwheat flour from within their individual to throw them into the mortar.

He pressed the pestle into the mortar, than began mash everything into a thick dough. He held the pestle club in his mouth as he took off a gauntlet he wore, precariously lifting Khopesh sword out from its sheath with the same hand he held the bowl, then ran the back of his hand along the blade to cut himself. It wasn't a deep wound, he just needed some of his blood.

Nayato held the back of his hand over the bowl to drip blood into the bowl, then garbed the pestle from his mouth to mix the blood into the dough turning the dough into a faintly maroon color. He licked the back of his hand to both clean and gather more blood before eating all of the blood dough in the mortar.

The Spiritist-Squire had just begun the process of creating Soulmist, though would need to concentrate on it later. He gave another lick to the back of his hand before putting the glove back on, and putting the mortar and pestle away into the backpack.

***

"Are you done?" Ser Ulliver asked the Squire rhetorically with a tone of sated amusement while pressing a heavy woolen blanket into Nayato's arms after he'd put his backpack on. "Since you are here, you can saddle up on Wigby the Mountain Pony." Nayato glanced to the pony within the stall. He stood beside Wigby, then unfurled the blanket over the back of the pony. "I assume I put this right here since this is where the saddle will go?" Nayato asked, not knowing if their was any secret tips behind the art of blanket placement. He'd never know if he didn't ask it.

Ser Ulliver gave the Squire a constantly amused chuckle. "Unless you want swamp crotch from a saddle soaked in horse sweat, use a saddle pad. They are important in keeping our horses safe from US. We ask a lot from our mounts as knights by going into battles with us, patrolling with us, and guiding us to safety. Imagine riding hard for days, doing your best on Wigby here to keep him safe from danger only to find open wound saddle sores rubbed deep into his back. I hope you'd feel like an right Petcher in that moment."

The Knight tone shifted as he looked at the pony. "I've already gotten his reins in order. You just need to go grab a saddle, Squire. Hop to it." Ser Ulliver motioned a thumb towards the direction of a tack room at the end of this line of stalls. "Yes, Ser!" Nayato responded before taking off into a small jog towards the tack room, his armor clattering with each footfall of his boots. He grabbed one of the many saddles hanging from racks, then hurried back to the stall.

"Make sure to flatten down the blanket of any wrinkles before you saddle up." The Knight responded while turning towards other Squires that started to show up. "Squire Nayato, a stable hand will guide you along with the others into the training area." Ser Ulliver then left to get his students ready, though called back with one last bit of advice. "Remember, the least we can do is treat our mounts lives with respect."

Nayato lifted the saddle to place it further up onto the ponies rear end, moving it out of the way for to adjust the saddle blanket. He run his hand along it to smooth out any wrinkles as he was told, then once that was done he placed the saddle into place atop the blanket.

The Stable Hand watched Nayato crouched down to reach for the first of two girths hanging unfastened each of the ponies sides. He brought them together to fasten the saddle firmly in place, then did the same with the second set of buckles. He grabbed the saddle horn, shifting the saddle to test it.... and the saddle turned a few inches.

"If you mount up with the saddle like that, you will fall off."

The Stable Hand appeared to be a younger human in their twenties with a bald head. Nayato readjusted the saddle before fiddling with the straps again until it was good enough. He reached up to grab the saddle horn while lifting a boot into the stirrup. It took him a moment, but he managed to swing a leg over to sit firmly onto the saddle.

***

By the time the classes began, Nayato found himself in much the same situation as Reed. Just a squire atop a pony guided by an instructor. There was a faint squint of recognition in the Chaktawe's obsidian eyes when he glanced towards the other Squire. He'd at least encounter the Akalak in passing during their volunteer work some days earlier.

Nayato leaned over to whisper back to the man, "Have you ever heard the story of the Bird who sought a Horse in the desert?" Nayato asked, with a half smirk on his lips. "Bird flew over all of the grain of sand in the desert seven times, but couldn't find a Horse.... then one day Bird decided to land. And do you know what Bird did once it landed?"

Nayato nodded at Reed before adjusting his rear on the saddle, keeping himself from leaning to far as he held the reins in both of his gauntlet covered hands. "The bird picked up a single grain of sand, then decided to name it 'Goat'. Thus, never really ever finding what it was looking for in the first place..."

Nayato then gave Reed a firm nod as he sat upright on the saddle again. "My friend, I hope that was the advice you were looking for."

Almost as soon as the story had finished, Ser Ulliver joined the group of Squires while riding atop a Tiaden Warhorse. The Knight's eyes examining the prospective cavalry members. He then called out to everyone in a authoritative tone,

"Today I just want you Saddle-Sitters to get comfortable with the idea of riding. The guides will help you all crawl until you can walk on your own. Ride in circles within the fenced boundaries of the training area. All of your ponies are well trained, so if anything goes wrong... its Your fault. So be careful. "

[Reed]

Reed stiffened. Sitting up straight in the saddle, he looked away from the stranger. “Huh” he muttered under his breath, before turning to regard the man again. “Are you making fun of me?” He asked in a low voice, his eyes darting towards their superiors. If he was perceptive, he would notice Reed’s knuckles going white where they gripped the reins, and the deeper maroon of his cheeks. Merdem for once didn’t chime in, but he could feel his brother’s inclinations. For once, theirs aligned, and that troubling thought was one he didn’t have much time for as the situation required his complete focus.

Even if he wasn’t having much input on the direction of the horse, keeping astride the beast was proving to be more difficult than he expected. He’d never ridden anything in his life, so the feeling of being carried along was a disconcerting one. Reed shifted slightly to make the crotch sit more comfortably, and the horse whickered, startling him. Chewing his lip, he looked around at the other squires to see how many noticed, and then glanced at the strange looking man again. “You’re not from around here are..” He stopped, considering what he wanted to ask, continuing “I just mean, you are not strictly human are you?”

As he asked that, a squire fell off his saddle to the side of him, and Reed gripped the horse’s flanks with his thighs reflexively. The horse nickered and tensed at the movement but kept the sedate pace they had set for the training exercise. Reed sighed with relief and relaxed his grip on the horse. Leaning forward as far as he dared, he whispered. “Sorry about that.” He suppressed the urge to scratch the animal along the neck, fearing that might be some signal he didn’t know about. Instead, he very warily kept his position astride the animal, trying his hardest to model his form after his peers, but still feeling unsatisfied with his bearing. After the Ser helped the squire back onto his horse, he looked at the rest of the group before speaking loud enough for everyone to hear.

“Remember to be gentle with these horses, they are incredibly sensitive to your touch. If your too aggressive, you are going to get thrown. Simple as that.” The Ser said before gesturing them to continue the planned route around the paddock. Feeling more than a bit self-conscious of his weight on the beast, he tried holding his legs farther apart so they only barely grazed the horse’s flanks, but he couldn’t hold that position for long before he was forced to rest his legs again. The horse just nickered and continued to plod along much to Reed’s relief. Looking back at the man, he shrugged. “Never saw myself on one of these to be honest.”