Closed Mid-morning Musings [Levhanti]

[Yousef]

5th day of Spring, 513 AV Ninth bell of the day The sun crept into view early in the morning, it shone down on the city of Avanthal. Frost sparkled in the pale rays of the early morning sun, catching a traveling figure under its shimmer of colors. The young man blinked back at the glimmering display and stayed under its flickering colors for a moment, silently marveling its beauty. He paused from walking to stretch his arms and legs, he’d been walking for a while now. The White Elk Stables was still out of sight though, so he pressed on further, a hint of worry evident in his face. The cold air embraced his bundled up form, making his skin prickle. Usually that was enough to make him scowl and curse the weather but he had other things to worry about today. He didn’t want to be late for his first day in the job. Yousef wanted Lusina to see he was capable of taking care of his horse, he was determined to prove himself. Though admittedly, he wasn’t that familiar with horses. He was familiar with his horse yes, but that’s as far as his knowledge goes. He knew basic grooming, head and torso and hooves. And he knew a little bit about stabling. But that wouldn’t be enough to last him with Hassan, especially if he wanted to travel further with him. Maybe Lusina was right… The Benshira continued to fret, creasing his eyebrows and rubbing the back of his neck absentmindedly. He took deep sharp breaths and plowed through the snow. Soon enough he could see the Stables, its broad form wasn’t hard to spot from where he was and he made his way to its doors. Gingerly he pulled them open and stepped inside. He felt like a child on his first day of school and he probably looked the part. Some of the grooms stared at him but quickly returned to what they were doing. Yousef took small unsure steps inside, glancing at the elk and horses and their grooms. He brushed the snow off his coat and made his way into the inner part of the warm Stables. He stopped at the far end of the stables where the riding gear for horses hung, it was a good distance from the other groom’s earshot. The Benshira let out a breath of air and removed his hood. He raked his hands through his curls and twisted the headgear in his hands. I don’t know what to do… where do I start?! Should I ask the others for help…? A horse’s neigh interrupted his worried thoughts and he stared at the animal, it stared back at him with its large black eyes. His gaze softens and he smiles fondly at the horse, it shook its head slightly and blinked a few times before giving out another impatient nicker. Slowly he approached it. “Hello there” he said in a voice that wast just above a whisper. Yousef removed his gloves and extended his hands to the horse’s muzzle. The horse smelled his hands then it rubbed its muzzle against his palm, its breath felt warm against his skin. “You’re an affectionate one aren’t you?” he felt relieved, at least there was somebody there who acknowledged his presence. I wonder if horses here only understand Vani… Would it make sense if I spoke to it in Common? He pondered on it for a while, then decided to give it a try. “So, what does a guy have to do to get some help around here?” he immediately felt ridiculous after blurting it out. Pfft, as if horses could talk back, I’m really loosing it. Yousef continued to rub the horse as he leaned against its stable. OOCI apologize for the delay of this thread! Things came up the past few days. Thank you for the patience.

[Levhanti]

Levhanti Was just about to finish grooming the first horse of the day when he noticed a new face walk in. He was obviously very nervous, but everyone else seemed to ignore him after only a moment of interest. Levhanti leaned over to another groom a stall away.

"Who is that?"

The man glared at him over the back of his horse. "Don't you ever pay attention. He's the new groom."

Levhanti nodded and turned back to finish brushing off the horse he was working on. Realizing the conversation was over, the other groom went back to working on his own horse. As Levhanti brushed the last of the straw from the horses coat he attached the lead line to the horse. He paused before pulling him out of the stall, and instead shut the door behind him. He reached out to gently run his hand up and down the horses neck.

"Just give me a minute."

Levhanti turned away from the horse and jogged quickly over to the newcomer. He stopped a short distance away, watching him talking with a horse. He watched the Benshira's face carefully, but he truly seemed to enjoy being with the horse, so Levhanti let himself relax. He smiled as he closed the rest of the distance.

"Hello there!" A small pause as he realized the man had been speaking common a second ago. "Hello there. My name is Levhanti. How are you?"

OOCThere is no need to apologize. I am sorry I didn't get back until today, but I was on duty yesterday.

[Yousef]

Still leaning against the horse’s stall, Yousef rubbed its muzzle absentmindedly, letting his thoughts drift to his sick companion. He noticed the mare’s eyes widen as it twitched its ears, somebody’s coming—the animal’s body language told him so. He turned around just in time to face the arriving man, it was one of the grooms of the stable. The groom greeted him and introduced himself as Levhanti, Yousef wondered if the man had heard him talking to the mare, he hoped not though. “Good morning Abi, my name is Yousef, I’m, um, doing well. Thank you.” Yousef greeted the man with a bow of his head and a polite smile. He wondered why Levhanti had approached him, but then again he probably drew attention to himself because of his physical appearance. Yousef sucked on his inner cheek, pondering to himself if he could ask this man for help. Levhanti had an air of friendliness around him, although his eyes looked more curious than concerned, it seemed to him anyway. Finally, he decided to ask for help. “Well, um, I’m sort of new,” He began uncertainly, tucking one un-gloved hand into the pocket of his coat. “And I would very much appreciate it if you could, well, sort of show me the ropes around here… but of course if you are too busy I’d understand, I’d hate to waste your time.” He blurted out the last part so fast that he wondered if the Vantha had understood him.

[Levhanti]

Levhanti listened patiently, and carefully, trying to make sure he understood. Levhanti could be seen working a couple of words over in his head, and muttering to himself. It was easier to remember the words he knew if he spoke them himself.

Mental note to self, learn fluent common before leaving.

Levhanti smiled at the nervous man before him. At first he could understand most of what he was saying, when he introduced himself at least. But Levhanti soon lost track of the conversation, especially when he spoke so quickly at the end that Levhanti was stuck blinking and staring. Levhanti composed himself quickly and took a moment to actually look at Yousef. Spoken language was important, but body language worked just as well sometimes. At least in this case it sufficed. Levhanti smiled at Yousef as he turned to a nearby shelf.

"I am sorry. My common is not great. You need help? I will help, but please speak more slowly."

Levhanti turned back with a stiff brush. He used the brush to gesture towards the horse before holding the handle out to Yousef. "You know how to groom a horse?"

[Yousef]

“Ah, I’m sorry! It’s just that, I’m not from Avanthal and I hardly understand Vani…” he began in an apologetic tone, shifting his weight from one leg to another as he tried to compose himself. “My, uhm, accent is a bit thick sometimes… Shiber is very different from Common you see…” His hands continued to twist the hood he’d taken off earlier but once he noticed that the Vantha was staring at him oddly, he momentarily stopped his fidgeting and shoved the headgear into one of the many pockets of his coat. “I will try to speak as clearly as possible, though, so thank you for helping me.” Yousef’s gaze followed the Vantha as he turned back and handed him a stiff brush. “You know how to groom a horse?” inquired Levhanti. A wistful smile found its way to Yousef’s face as he reached for the brush’s handle, “I know a bit of grooming, but not much. My horse actually hates having his mane being fussed about. It’s hard to do anything with such a stubborn stallion.” He chuckled lightly as he recalled his sick horse. Realizing that he’d strayed off the topic, Yousef cleared his throat and took a sidelong glance at the mare beside them, “I hope this one isn’t as fussy…”

[Levhanti]

Levhanti smiled brightly as the newcomer seemed to relax a bit. "Do not worry. I like to help. And besides, I am also helping the horses."

Levhanti turned back to the shelf and retrieved a brush for himself, and then a pair of odd shaped tools. Each was a half circle made of icestone with a strap across the backside. The rounded edge was full of bumps, though closer inspection as Levhanti handed one to Yousef would see that each individual bump was smoothed down so no rough edges could be found. The tool was called a curry, and Levhanti would happily answer if asked. Levhanti slipped his left hand though the strap, and holding the brush in his right, began to rub down the horse.

First Levhanti would rub the horse down over a small area with the curry, and the bumps would not only feel good to the horse, but would work the dirt and mud out from beneath the horses hair. Especially necessary for the thick haired horses in Avanthal. Then Levhanti would follow with the brush, removing the dirt and brushing down the horses coat. Little by little, from rear to front, Levhanti brushed down the horse on one side. Working on the legs caused the horse to shy a little, but Levhanti always paused to let the horse settle before continuing. He finished with the front of the horses neck, and once he was done, there was an obvious difference between the side of the horse that Levhanti had brushed down and the other side.

Levhanti straightened back up and took a look at his work before turning back to Yousef. "You understand?" Levhanti moved silently to the other side of the horse, motioning for Yousef to do the next side. He would correct as necessary, but he trusted the man would have no trouble. Once Levhanti had deemed his work satisfactory, Levhanti would take his brush and return to the rear of the horse. Starting from the bottom, he would brush through the horses tail, slowly moving upwards.

"Always start at the bottom. For the tail, you are not finished brushing until the brush moves freely from beginning to end."

Once the tail was finished, Levhanti moved up to the mane. He gestured and pointed as he spoke, hoping the additions would help get his point across.

"For the mane, start in the back, away from the head. The closer to a horses's head, the more nervous the horse. But, if you start in the back and work forward, the horse knows it is coming and is more at ease."

Once the mane and tail were finished, he returned to the shelf to replace the brush and returned with one more tool. This one was like a dull spike, easily bigger the Levhanti's hand. The tip was dull, though, and there was a grip attached to the other side. Levhanti motioned Yousef to come with him as he returned to the rear of the horse. Levhanti reached down to grab one of the horses legs just above the hoof.

"Pull gently, or the horse will be frightened..."

As Levhanti pulled on the horses leg, the horse shifted his weight to allow Levhanti to see the bottom of it's hoof. Levhanti used the little pick to take dirt out from a hollow in the horses hoof. Once it was clear, Levhanti used the pick to gently poke around.

"Look for soft area or areas turning white. It is a sign of fungus, and is bad."

Letting the horses hoof fall back to place, Levhanti quickly moved through the rest, ending in front of the horse. Levhanti straightened and smiled up at the mare, gently rubbing it's nose.

"You are such a good girl. You are going to have a lot of fun out riding today. But I am going to have to take your new friend away for now. He isn't ready for the yet."

Levhanti smiled up at the horse, and then turned back to Yousef.

"That is everything you need to do for grooming. Will you try one by yourself?"