Mule's in the Stable [Closed]

[Alea Davenport]

The man made his choice and left, leaving Alea alone in the stables. She led his mule into an empty stall before getting back to her regular chores.There had been something she'd been wanting to try, but the other Frostfawns didn't think she was ready for it. But she'd watched them do it, and she didn't see what could be so hard about it.

She chose a horse almost at random, though one that had been out in the muck that day, and led it to the grooming station. She gathered some grooming supplies, and got ready to start. She'd show those Frostfawn. Today, she would clean a horse's hooves! (But not her Gilding's. she wasn't insane, at least not yet.) Holding a pick in one hand, she crouched down, and put her hand on the horse's ankle.

She pulled upward, trying to get the horse to reveal the underside of its hoof. The hoof didn't budge. Alea frowned in confusion. She had seen others do this dozens of times. They just lifted the hoof like it was nothing! It could not be that hard! She tugged again, a little more insistently. Nothing. Becoming frustrated, she put both hands on the hoof and pulled with all her might. The horse snorted, but there was no other perceptible effect.

Alea wasn't one to give up, especially when faced with the impossible. She spent a good half a bell, tugging on that horse's foot. She even tried each of the other hooves, in case this one was just stuck... But not such luck. Finally, she realized that she would have to admit defeat. There was obviously some trick to this that the other Frostfawn wouldn't tell her. It was probably a family secret, that only real members of the hold were privileged to learn.

Sighing with defeat, she put the horse back in its stall. She still had to feed the animals. She got to work pitchforking hay into the feeding troughs, going down the row. It was nice monotonous work, and gave her a chance to not have to think about anything. It was nice to let her mind wander. When she finished filling all of the troughs in the stables with hay (several bells later), she stretched vigorously. She found a carrot from a stash that was kept to give the animals an occasional treat, and she fed it to the horse whose hoof she had failed to pick. She decided to reward it for being a good sport, even though she had no reason to believe he would let her clean his hooves in the future.

[Valkyrie]

Thread Award Alea Davenport : Experience 3 Animal Husbandry 1 Writing 1 Investigation Lore Nonverbal Communication: Signaling for Payment Nonverbal Communication: Using One’s Eyes Grooming: Using a Curry Comb Other N/A Notes: This was an interesting thread and seeing how Alea communicated nonverbally was really cool. It’s too bad this ended up getting abandoned, but oh well. The investigation was for the effort it took to figure out what Perrin wanted. Due to inactivity I will not be grading for Perrin. Perrin, if you should return to us please PM me and I will provide a grade. Please send me a PM if you have any questions or concerns.