Completed Two Riders (Ohirin)

[Jabari Dreamchaser]

- 37th of Summer, 513 AV -

37 days. Had it really only been a little over a month since he left The White Isle? So much had happened in that time. But, Jabari did not come to The Nykshela Quarries to think about any of that. He came to feel the wind in his hair and forget, for a moment at least, the worries of the world. It was a necessary selfishness. How could one hope to continue a journey such as his without the occasional pause for rest and relaxation?

With a soft kissing sound, Jabari asked the Gildling underneath him to enter a canter. Yes, he asked. The mare let him know early on in their relationship that she wasn't a pet to be ordered around, but rather a friend to be treated with respect. They were made for each other, as Jabari wasn't the type to bark commands at anyone or anything. Along the shores of Mura, the two had learned to trust each other.

In truth the horse did most of the work as Jabari was only a novice rider, and had little experience with the care of animals. He did his best to pay attention to her wants and needs, but had much to learn. Fortunately, his traveling companion had plenty of patience.

The red stone laborers had called it a day earlier in the afternoon and the central path was rather clear for the time being.

It was a nice day for riding.

[Ohirin]

Ohirin had decided to go out on his strider just a half bell before he had taken off into the country side of the Nykshela Quarries. He was running his horse around in the countryside, something that needed to be done from time to time to keep his horse in good condition. It was a beautiful day and Ohirin planed to make the most of it. Ohirin leaned forward as he snapped his heels into his horses flank to pull it into a run. He started muttering to his horse in Pavi.

It didn't take long for Ohirin to see the other man on horseback, the man was surprisingly small in Ohirin's opinion but seemed to have about the same level of skill with the horse as Ohirin did. Ohirin saw the man speed the horse up and he continued to have his horse run at full pace, looking to catch up with the other rider. As Ohirin got closer he shouted out to the other rider to stop, simply wising to talk to him.

OOCThanks for being patient, I've had a lot to do with culminating tasks and exam study. I will be done this school year officially in two weeks and will have no trouble posting more quickly than this.

[Jabari Dreamchaser]

Lost in the enjoyment of the day, it took Jabari a moment to realize someone was trying to get his attention. Rubbing a hand along the side of the Gildling's neck, the teenager asked his companion to slow down. The pair of them eased into a natural gait and turned to face the owner of the shouts.

Approaching the duo, sat one of the largest men Jabari had ever seen. Part of the teenager wondered if he was in some type of trouble simply from the imposing stature of the Drykas. But an amateur amount of detective work showed that the stranger wore no armor nor symbols of authority. Perhaps the giants of the world simply enjoyed the wind in their hair as well.

"Hello there."

Jabari called out with a welcoming tone as the Strider and his rider caught up to them. Unsure why the muscled horseman had sought to get his attention, the Vantha continued conversationally.

"Nice day for riding."

OOCNo worries at all on reply times. Real life responsibilities come first. Take as much time you need.

[Ohirin]

Ohirin and his strider quickly caught up with the horse and rider once they slowed down. At that time Ohirin also realized two things; first, and probably most important, the person he thought was a man at a distance was clearly a teenager younger than Ohirin himself and also that his call might have frightened the boy. He felt glad that he had left his sword back at the little camp he had made just outside of the city. The kid seemed to be very calm when Ohirin got close enough to talk to him so he assumed the boy could tell he wasn't a threat. Ohirin quickly slowed his horse with a pull on the reigns and a command in Pavi.

The boy greeted him in a friendly tone, but seemed a little nervous about having Ohirin approach him, and the nerves were understandable. Ohirin was almost unsure as to why he had called out to the boy himself however now he could see a slight shimmer to the horses coat and decided that that had probably caught his attention even at the distance he was. Ohirin quickly responded to the boys second statement agreeing that it was a nice day before asking his own question and his introduction to this very small boy that sat on a horse before him. "What kind of horse ya got there? My name's Ohirin, by the way."

[Jabari Dreamchaser]

"A pleasure to meet you Ohirin. I am Jabari Dreamchaser." Oh good, the newcomer was indeed out for a ride as well. What language was he speaking though? The words sounded strange to the untrained ears of the youth.

"She is a Gildling." Jabari leaned forward to run a palm gently over the mare's side affectionately. "And yours?"

Noticing that Ohirin's horse outweighed his in a similar fashion as Drykas to Vantha, Jabari became inquisitive. Just how large did the inhabitants of Mizahar get? Feeling the sun on his face, he turned towards the horizon and looked longingly. "Shall we continue our conversation while giving our companions a chance to stretch?"

With that, Jabari made the same soft kissing sound from earlier and the creature beneath him returned to a canter.

"So Ohirin. Where are you from? I don't believe I've heard that language before." He continued speaking conversationally, dark brown eyes accompanying his calmness.

[Ohirin]

Ohirin heard the boys name and did his best to try to remember it. Jabari was truly small in stature compared to Ohirin, and his horse was small compared to Ailin. It really did make sense though, a smaller person would require a smaller horse. Ohirin took a moment to rearrange his feet in the stirrups while listening to the boy answer his question. The horse was a Gildling, a type of horse Ohirin had heard of but never seen before. He quickly responded to his companions question, "He is a strider, straight from the plains of Cyprus." He was truly proud of his horse, a true sign of being a man on the plains.

When the boy asked to keep moving Ohirin was happy to keep going. While the boy made a soft kissing sound to get his horse going, Ohirin gave a smack in the sides with his feet and another quick command in Pavi. He quickly caught up to the man and passed him, taking a moment to get the right speed to keep up with the boy he was riding with. The second question, which was more or less answered from the first question, was answered just as quickly and with a bit more volume to accommodate the sound of horses. "I'm a Drykas, from the plains of Cyprus. I speak Pavi to my horse, just the way I was raised."

OOCThis will be my last point until Thursday of next week, thank you for being patient

[Jabari Dreamchaser]

Strider. Drykas. Pavi. The plains of Cyprus. Mentally, Jabari did his best impersonation of a sponge, attempting to soak up all the information. Though, with knowledge came more questions. Are all Strider's the same buckskin color? Are all Drykas so large? Is Pavi hard to learn? What is the best way to get to Cyprus and it's plains? The teenager probably would have begun his cordial interrogation of Ohirin on the spot, if not for the audible sigh the Gildgling beneath him made.

The Vantha thought he understood, or rather, guessed at an understanding. Each new day brought more lessons on the physical and emotional treatment of the equine soul. He assumed she was bored with the current pace, and might decide to speed up soon, with or without his consent. Turning to face the Drykas, Jabari called out. "Ohirin from the plains of Cyprus. We have traveled some distance and the day grows long. What say we race back to the clearing, just before the gates?"

It was a friendly challenge and his tone indicated such. In all honestly, Jabari wasn't sure just how long the Gildling who carried him would wait before taking it upon herself to set a new pace. The teenager would have felt at least a little awkward if he came off as HER pet, although that might have very well been the creature's thought process all the while.

[Ohirin]

Ohirin kept his horse going at a pace even with Jabari's horse. He wasn't really paying much attention at the time and was enjoying the ride, It was a wonderfully familiar feeling that Ohirin hadn't had in a while. He had ridden from Zeltiva to Nyka, but that wasn't a relaxing ride it was travel. Riding was something that almost always made Ohirin feel calm. He was almost lost to the world until the boy riding next to him asked to speed up the pace that they were riding at, suggesting a race back to a clearing near the gates of the city. Ohirin looked to face the boy, with a small crooked smile on his face. It never crossed his mind that the smaller pair would be lighter and probably faster, nor did he care, he just enjoyed competition. "Alright Jabari, a race to the clearing just outside the gate." Ohirin said, an audible competitive tone in his voice rivaling the friendly one of Jabari. The clearing outside the gates was not far from where Ohirin had set up his tent and would, in fact, be very convenient for Ohirin. Ohirin turned his horse around and faced back down the trail they had just passed down. "A good clean race." Ohirin muttered just a bit louder than he would have liked. Of course Ohirin didn't know what he would do if the boy did cheat. Ohirin remained silent and smiling, waiting for the kid to join him.

[Jabari Dreamchaser]

Gildling pulled up next to Strider while the Vantha spoke. "Right then. How about we go on three once everyone is ready?" Jabari did a mental check of his riding position in preparation for the competition, making sure he was safely secure in both saddle and stirrup. Massaging the reins out of habit and strengthening his grip, he could hear his equine companion's breathing below and imagined she was looking forward to this. Once he felt quite ready, Jabari turned to the Drykas to verify they too were prepared. Confident that a clean race had indeed been established, the adopted son of The White Isle began to count down. "One. Two. THREE!"

Once that last syllable had left his mouth, the mare beneath Jabari was off. He could feel her muscles tense as the sound of hoofs hitting ground started to fill his ears. Each tick that passed, the wind blew harder and harder against the teenagers face announcing an ever increasing speed. Blurry images began to occupy his peripheral vision while Jabari kept his head focused forward towards the road ahead. It had been sometime since he had ridden so fast and it was a struggle to hold on. Still though, he somehow managed to avoid falling, adjusting his posture accordingly whenever concern began to creep into consciousness.

Somewhere along that road, he found freedom. It lasted but a handful of moments, but those few ticks were bliss. The hardships of the past 37 days could not keep pace with Jabari; they were left behind at the starting line. And then, as if a mother waking her child from slumber, the gates of Nyka appeared and brought the Chaser of Dreams back to the present. The wind had softened and everything grew still.

He remembered that this had been a race, and began to look around for his competitor. Was Ohirin behind Jabari or were Drykas and Strider already at the gates? As the euphoria settled, so too did his vision as Jabari tracked down Ohirin's location.

[Ohirin]

Ohirin sat and silently agreed with his opponent, preparing himself to take off at the boys chosen mark. He put his feet in his stirrups, making sure they were solidly in place before he would have to take off against his small opponent. When he looked over he could see his opponent doing the same. The race would be interesting, Ohirin was sure. When Jabari turned to Ohirin just before starting the race, Ohirin met him with a nod signaling that he was ready. As the boy reached three and started off Ohirin took off at the same time. Ohirin got his horse going quickly and got two or three strides off quickly to get ahead of his opponent but quickly started to fall behind the smaller, quicker pair. Falling behind his opponent made Ohirin upset, but he quickly forgot about that as his peripheral vision started to blur and the thrill of speed caught up to him. He was calm, riding tended to do that to him, and he stopped focusing on the race. He was quickly snapped back to reality when he nearly fell of off his horse and found out that at some point he had drifted to the other side of Jabari, and the boy seemed to be lost and almost confused as to where Ohirin had gone. Although a few paces behind his opponent Ohirin wouldn't give up his one advantage, his opponent not knowing where he was. Ohirin made sure he was comfortably on his horse before sending full out to try to pass his opponent. He didn't pass Jabari, and he didn't win the race, but Ohirin was happy. "Good race Jabari, it was close." Ohirin said to the boy, before getting off his horse.