Solo Learning to Ride

[Marcus Ahysen]

Timestamp: 35th of Summer, 513 AV Location: Southern Trade Post - The Lakeside Stables Marcus was both excited and nervous. He was on his way to the stables for his first riding lesson. A few days ago he had purchased a new horse, as well as a lot of other supplies, in preparation for the mission he had been assigned to. It required long distance travel, by horseback, and Marcus did not know the first thing about horse back riding. The stablemaster had assured him that Natalia was a well behaved horse, and that she should be easy to learn on, but Marcus was still nervous. Somewhere, in the back of his mind, he vaguely remembered hearing that Gildings were troublemakers. The stablemaster was waiting for him when he arrived, along with both his animals, Natalia and Belch. Belch was a mule he had purchased to pull a cart, and nothing more. He was not overly interested in the animal, and wasn't certain why it was being involved in the lesson. At least, he wasn't certain until he saw the cart and it dawned on him that he had no idea how to hook the horse to it. "Good ta see ya again. Today you gonna learn ta groom and put on the saddle, and iffin we have some time, I'll put you on 'er back and walk you around a bit ta let you get the feel for 'er. An I'll show you how to 'ook Belch 'ere up to that cart ya bought." Marcus frowned and shook his head. Something wasn't right. "Groom and saddle? No, I need to learn to ride." "I know ya do. Learning to care for yer horse is an important part o riding. No need ta rush things." "No, no. I need to learn everything. Today."[/] "Everything? Ha! Mister, aint a trainer in Miza'ar that could teach ya everything ya need ta know 'bout riding in one day." [shadow=blue]"No, you don't understand. I am an Agent of the Black Sun. I leave on a mission to Nyka in five days, I do not have time to take it slow. Today is the only day I have for this. If you cannot teach me everything in one day, then give me the crash course." It was the instructor's turn to frown that time. What Marcus was asking was a bit ridiculous. Learning to ride was an art, and even though he was a simple man, he took his art very seriously. But.. Marcus had dropped his title, and to directly defy a member of the Black Sun, even a low ranking member, was never a good idea. "Alright.. I'll give ya the basics, but you still need ta learn to groom yer horse first. If ye got a dirty horse, that can lead to an unhealthy horse, and ya don't want yer 'orse goin lame on ya, do ya?" Marcus considered the man's words, and in the end he consented. He supposed learning to care for his horse would probably be a good idea. He did spend two hundred mizas on her, after all, and he did not want that investment going to waste. He would have preferred to spend the entire day learning to ride, but agreed to take the grooming lessons as well.