[Flashback] Meeting her Strider

by **Raine Swifthooves** on September 4th, 2011, 12:08 pm

Timestamp: 90 of Fall 506 AV
Location: Amethyst Pavilion
Objective: Meeting her Strider

The sun heated up the Sea of Grass, though "sea" was an overstatement as the usually almost man high grass was grazed down before the winter to make sure that the herds of horses and cattle could eat the far more nutritious grass that would soon start to grow. The weather was pleasant even at this time of the year as the constant moving around Cyphrus kept Endrykas in a constant mild weather without snow.

It was on this cool autumn day that Raine helped her husband Skyler and a few others in her new clan to look after a group of yearlings, Striders and Semes all walked together in herds but sadly this yearling herd had more Semes than Striders. The previous year had been harsh, a large wild fire had burnt the lands and had swept past the Amethyst clan and the smoke had killed many but the Striders had been closest to the fire and among the dead was several new born Striders.

Raine admired the strong lithe forms that mingled around her, their powerful muscles could easily be used to crush the puny humans but instead the horses accepted and appreciated the two legged. The woman always found that amazing and now in her new family her respect and admiration for these magnificent animals grew larger by the day.

"Relax love, they will not trample you." Skyler laughed at her but with warmth in his eyes.

"I know," Raine said but still was a bit tense. "They are just very big up close." Raine had of course always had horses around as they pulled the carts and was a large part of the Drykas lives. But she had always concentrated on her pottery so this experience was new for her and looked at the horses with respect and kept close to Skyler.

On the outskirts of the small herd a beautiful dun stallion grazed, he kept to himself and didn't seem so keen to socialize, Skyler noticed which horse that had caught Raine's attention. "That stallion is a loner, he's always kept to himself, we've tried to find him a rider but he doesn't seem so interested."

Raine couldn't stop looking at the stallion, he was a brilliant shade of light golden his legs and muzzle were black and at the knees he had faint stripes. He swatted away flies with a ebony tail and his mane was just as dark except a part of it that was a light beige colour and he was already quite muscular.

"It seems you have a rival Sky," a young man laughed and the rest of the group joined in. "Be careful or you might loose her."

The dun stallion noticed Raine's attention and for a short moment their eyes met then the magic broke as the stallion snorted and dismissively turned around. Raine sighed slightly before joining Skyler as he checked a mare for any injuries or ticks, she was training to become a horsewoman fitting to live in the Amethyst clan and she intended to be just as good as any born member of the clan.

"You can easily check for injuries by simply petting the horse in question," Skyler said and gently stroked the black mare, scratching her under her throat and she nickered quietly and lowered her head. "Now you try."

Raine stroke her hands over the mare, checking her hooves, legs, back and head, she eased up a knot in the white mane and scratched her on her forehead and grinned happily as the mare sniffed Raine's brown hair and then blew hot air in the woman's face.

"She likes me Sky," Raine almost forgot to keep calm among the half wild yearlings as she hugged her husband in joy. As she finished with the mare her gaze returned to the dun stallion again she really wanted to gain his trust, carefully she inched closer to him always keeping to his side so she wouldn't surprise him. The stallion looked at her, his intelligent brown eyes seemed to measure Raine as she continued to slowly walk closer. He didn't move he just watched her, nostrils flaring to take in her scent.

by **Raine Swifthooves** on September 4th, 2011, 4:41 pm

Timestamp: 90 of Fall 506 AV
Location: Amethyst Pavilion
Objective: Meeting her Strider

She stopped an arms lengths distance and realised the yearling was quite large too at least 15 hands high and not yet full grown. Raine reached out her hand but didn't try to pet the horse instead she waited for him to move. The stallion snorted and reared his head then without further warning he shot his head forward as fast as lightning and snapped his teeth inches from her fingers.

Raine twitched and used all her willpower to not flinch away from the attack, if he tested her she was not going to fail. The stallion scraped his hoof but he didn't seem quite as annoyed anymore, slowly he lowered his head, nostrils wide as he sniffed her palms. Feathery light he pressed his muzzle against her hand before snorting and raising his head again but he stood still when Raine stroke his neck and back.

"Great work Raine," a woman said looking at the dun stallion. "Yeah he usually won't let a newcomer come close," another continued. Raine smiled, her chest tight with happiness as the yearling let her check his hooves and scratch his neck.

"Maybe he will bond with you love," Skyler said as the Drykas started moving back to camp.

After her first meeting with the dun stallion Raine continued to care for him, he would still try to scare her but as he learned that she wouldn't back down he eventually stopped with that. Raine worked with the stallion on the plains whenever she had time, trying to create a bond between them she made sure that he knew her scent, and she had a bristled brush that she used to groom him for that purpose.

by **Raine Swifthooves** on September 4th, 2011, 4:53 pm

Timestamp: 88 of Fall 507 AV
Location: Amethyst Pavilion
Objective: Meeting her Strider

She had no intention of riding the dun horse as he had only recently turned two besides to ride a Strider that hadn't chosen it's rider was practically impossible. But as it turned out that would change one day. Skyler was out on a hunt and could not train her in horsemanship so Raine took a day off with the stallion and now they were taking a walk nearby the herds. The stallion had been grazing peacefully around Raine who'd been lying in the grass when he cast his head up, flared his nostrils and pawed the grass covered earth.

Raine who knew to trust the instincts of a horse, especially a Strider, rose quickly and scanned the waves of grass that softly bent to the wind. Normally it would be impossible to see an enemy in the grass but in the fall it was grazed down so short that Raine could see the back of a Glassbeak stalking towards them.

Fear filled her heart and pumped through her veins and before she could think her body acted and started running towards the stallion that had nervously stepped back a bit. With relative ease she pushed off against the stallions withers and jumped up on his back.

The stallion whinnied in surprise and cast his head but when Raine urged him he broke into a gallop towards the camp, clasping on for dear life with her legs Raine held onto handfuls of black mane so as to not fall of by the speed alone. An angry growl followed the pair as they hurried for safety, the stallion slowly gained some distance to the Glassbeak using the magic of the web.

Many heads turned in surprise as the dun stallion galloped at a breakneck speed into camp with a terrified Raine clasping onto his back. With effort Raine straightened her posture and sat down onto the stallion's back using her entire body to try and stop the horse, finally after passing through almost the entire camp he broke off into a trot and eventually halted.

Gasping for air Raine sat still on the Strider's back a few moments before she glided off and stood leaning against the horse's heaving sides, her knees shaking in relief and shock. "Are you okay Raine?" A woman broke the silence and walked up to Raine looking worried. "Y...yeah I think," Raine stammered and took a few deep breaths before turning her attention to the stallion.

"Is he okay?" She asked the woman beside her, while she stroke his sweaty neck. "He's fine Raine, he's just tired and needs a good rubbing down. But how could you ride him? Did he choose you?"

Raine looked confused, "I don't know, a Glassbeak tried to sneak up on us, I just reacted and he didn't object." "Then you can be sure he has chosen you," the woman smiled and hugged Raine tightly. "I'm so glad for you Raine to finally get a Strider and soon your eligible to get your own windmarks. Now groom him real good will you, and be careful that he doesn't get to drink water that is too cold lest he can get sick."

The stallion drank long and good from a bucket of water as Raine brushed him, careful to get all sweat and dirt from his coat. When she was done the dun stallion surprised her greatly by butting his head against her chest, she scratched him on his withers and in response he rested his large head on her shoulder and relaxed.

Maybe he had chosen her after all Raine thought with a smile and laughed as the stallion chewed on her long hair, "stop it Bolero." Raine said and pulled her hair from his teeth, then she realised what she'd said. She'd called him Bolero, she didn't even know why she'd chosen that name but as she repeated it the stallion dipped his head and sniffed her hand before raising his head and looked her in the eye.

Raine took it as a sign, "so Bolero I guess you have a name now boy. I hope you'll like it."

by **Quixotic** on October 6th, 2011, 8:57 am

Thread Award!

Hello there Rhaine, Lariat’s asked me to take a look at this thread because life’s still doing its best to devour him and you’ve been patiently waiting for a month so here I am. That said, let’s crack on with the xp shall we?

Rhaine

Skills

Horsemanship + 3
Observation + 1
Riding + 2

Lores

Horses are bigger up close than you might think
Basic knowledge of how to check a horse for injuries
Showing no fear in front of a Strider
A strider’s instincts are best relied upon

Other Notes :

That's all from me, if there're any problems just PM me and we'll see what we can do.