Closed Horsing Around [Shijara]

[Adi Skyglow]

22nd of Spring
514 AV
13th Bell

Her horse had spent more than enough time tied up next to her house. It was time for Adi to figure out stabling for Myaris, now that she had a somewhat steady source of income.

So she set off from her new cottage on her mother's borrowed horse. One day Adi was intent on returning Myaris to Avanthal and her family, though before that could happen she needed to secure a life for herself here in Riverfall. She'd be a Kuvan and maybe even rich, able to give back to her parents somehow. Alas, that day was not today and would most likely not happen for-at the very least-another few seasons. Some day, though, she thought with a smile. I'll bring home Myaris and money for my parents, and I'll apologize to them for everything I've put them through. I really miss my family and having a home with people who I love and who love me back. Hell, I'm starting to think I'm never going to get that again. I'm sure there are a wide variety of single men in Riverfall, but I don't want to end up alone for the rest of my life.

When she was about halfway there, Adi dismounted from her horse and scratched her nose, taking Myaris' reins. It would be nice to walk the rest of the way, she decided. She spent a few chimes thinking about the things it would be possible to do with a great deal of money. Maybe some day she'd have enough to help her father do the remodel in his carving shop he'd always wanted.

The young Vantha was snapped out of her reverie by an unusual feeling from the bottom of her boot-she'd stepped on a small, circular object. Lifting her foot up from whatever it was, she picked it up and examined it carefully.

It turned out to be a slightly dirty silver miza, bringing a smile to Adi's face and a tinge of brightness to her violet eyes. With the bottom hem of her shirt, she cleaned off the miza and slipped it into her bag. My lucky day!

It was only a few chimes worth of walking from the miza's location to the stables, where she was relieved to see a few empty stalls.The stables seemed wonderfully kept on the outside-hopefully the fact that they had enough money to take care of the outside meant Myaris would be well cared for inside. She made her way to the front of the barn, where she looked around for anyone who looked like they knew what they were doing.

Adi wasn't disappointed. Soon, a woman noticed she was standing there and waved her and Myaris over. "Need a place to keep yer horse a spell?" asked the woman. Adi nodded, and inquired about the prices for keeping a horse there. It turned out to be five silver mizas a day-after some quick math, Adi determined it'd be 34 gold and 5 silver to keep Myaris there for the rest of the season. She gladly counted out the money to the woman and slid the pile of gold gems over. "Take good care of her, will you? She's my mother's horse, and I'm just borrowing her."

After her business with the woman was done, she turned around to face Myaris, where she gave the white mare the best equivalent of a hug that was humanly possible. "Mya, this is just for a little while. Soon I'll be able to take you back home."

She remained like that for several chimes.

Ledger34.5 GM for boarding until the end of the season

[Shijara]

22nd of Spring, 514 A.V
The Sanctuary

A lean horse stood by her side faithfully, its onyx mane blowing in the wind, as dark and as wild as the hair of the woman leading it. The tan and black Ekytolian desertbred trotted across the grass, perfectly in place next to the Chaktawe, although surely they both stood out as they headed towards the Sanctuary. Shijara lead the animal slowly, enjoying the walk. She had heard a few things about the place, mostly in passing when in town, and wanted to see what it was about. The wind blew softly, and she ran a hand along her horse's neck. It turned its head nibble at her locks. Shijara laughed and pulled away.

When the stables came into view, Shijara noticed another woman there. Was she saying good bye? Shi looked over at her own animal. This place was indeed nice. Perhaps it wouldn't have been a bad idea if she kept her own steed there as well. Her eyes scanned the room. The woman who must have been the one handling the stable walked over and smiled, "Keeping your horse here too?"

"Oh, I'm not sure." It was true. Shijara didn't know if or when she would be leaving Riverfall, and didn't know if she should commit to a stall.

"Alright then. Let me know if you change your mind. Beautiful animal. Not many of those around here."

Shijara thanked the woman, her mind distracted with similar thoughts. Some of the horses around were gorgeous breeds she had never seen before. The Vantha from earlier seemed to have a white horse, and she found herself wandering over to where the stranger stood, "Very pretty."

"This is..." Shi went to motion to her stallion, but paused, not sure if she should call him by his Tawna name or not. She decided for the translation instead, as it would be easier to pronounce for most, "Oasis. Does yours have a name?"

[Adi Skyglow]

With a last pat, the young Vantha released her grip on Myaris and turned to face the other woman, braid hitting her neck with a soft thump as she moved. Adi offered her a small smile.

"Oasis...? It suits your horse." replied Adi, though she paused briefly after saying 'suits', unsure if the other woman's animal was male or female. Whatever its gender, it was a beautiful and exotic horse-the woman was exotic herself, black eyes clearly marking her as Chaktawe. Adi found she was becoming more and more at ease when meeting unfamiliar people, though she supposed it helped that she felt settled in to the city now. And she was herself exotic for the primarily male population of Riverfall, not only as a woman, but as a Vantha.

It took her a tick to remember that the woman had asked her a question. Oops. "Oh! Yes, this is Myaris. She's my mother's horse and a wonderful companion. Unfortunately, she's spent too long tied up outside my home," added the Vantha, a short laugh punctuating the sentence.

"Keeping your horse here?" she asked after a brief pause, uncertain of where to steer the conversation next-though she felt compelled to keep their talk going. The woman felt intriguing to her, and realizing this surprised Adi. She was almost never interested by a conversation-though the last few times she'd had the feeling that talking with someone would be interesting, it had turned out for the better, netting her several new acquaintances and absolutely no other type of relationship.

Her left hand went to the back of her neck and rubbed the ever-present mark of Ice Reaving that rested there nervously. Part of the young Vantha's mind was convinced she would make a fool out of herself speaking to the Chaktawe in front of her. People skills were not her best skills.

[Shijara]

Shijara eyed the Vantha's horse, smiling. Horses were so pretty to her. They amazed her really. Shijara let her eyes trail down the animal's form, all the way to the hooves, "Selling, unfortunately." Shi's voice took on a wistful sadness, and she ran a loving hand down Oasis' neck. I think he deserves someone who knows more than I do. I wanted to come here and see..."

"I heard the Sanctuary is a good place. I think I'll ride him a bit. I don't know if I'm ready to say goodbye just yet." Shijara shrugged, before trying to lighten the mood she had brought upon the conversation, "Would you like to come with me? Maybe have a little race?"

Shijara was grinning and gave a brief chuckle. She loved a good game, and making friends in the process was always fun. Her uncle would be shaking his head if he could see her now, maybe ruffle her hair. She had been like that, even as a child. She would play with any Benshiran they stumbled upon, even with the language barrier. She hoped this woman would be open to companionship.

Shijara held out her hand, "I'm Shijara. It's nice to meet you and M... Myrias." Shi stuggled with the name only briefly. Oasis took a few curious steps forward, dark eyes turning to get a good look at the Vantha. He shook his mane casually, snorting.

OOCSo short! D:

[Adi Skyglow]

OOCIt happens! Makes for quicker posting, though.

Adi's eyes took on a blue hue when the woman explained why she was here. It was never fun parting with a person or thing you cared about, and to the Vantha, it seemed like she genuinely cared for her horse.

But at the suggestion of a race, her eyes brightened pink with excitement, effectively distracting her from the Chaktawe's plight. "I'd love to race with you. It's been too long since I rode Myaris anywhere," she blurted out, nearly forgetting that the woman had a name. Sheepishly, Adi grinned at the woman in front of her, pink eyes meeting the other's black. "Shijara? You have a lovely name. I'm Adi."

She found herself purposely leaving off the "from the Skyglow hold" that would usually accompany an introduction to another Vantha. It seemed to be more of a formality than anything. Besides, Shijara hadn't given a last name, so Adi had no particular reason to.

When the Chaktawe woman extended a hand out, the Vantha woman grimaced before motioning to her right hand. "I'm sorry, but I broke my arm recently and it hasn't quite healed yet. I hope you'll understand if I don't shake your hand." Instead, Adi offered her a smile before turning back to the woman who she'd boarded Myaris with and asked her if it was alright to take her horse on a ride before she was stuck in a stall for a while. The woman gave her approval, and the Skyglow grinned excitedly, patting the white mare with her good hand. Even better was the offer of a real set of tack for her ride, as long as Adi returned it when she was done. Her ride to Riverfall was done bareback, with makeshift reins of rope instead of real ones. This would be a welcome change, though it'd been a while since the young Vantha had to tack up a horse.

When the woman who was in charge of the stables today returned with a saddle, blanket, and bridle for her to borrow, Adi started the process of tacking her horse by putting the blanket in the middle of her back. The saddle went on top of that. There was a strap on the saddle that Adi buckled under her horse's belly. Putting a bridle on Myaris was a bit trickier, but made easier with the mare's good temperament. The metal bit went in her mouth, and the necessary straps were fixed.

She led Myaris a few paces towards a large well-worn stone that was set about halfway in the ground and used it to mount her horse, swinging one leg over Myaris' back. The task was made easier with the help of the rock.

"Are you coming, Shi?"

[Shijara]

Shijara took no offense to not being able to shake the woman's hand. A moment of concern flashed across her features and she nodded in respect. "Sorry to hear that." The Chaktawe took a some small steps back so Adi could settle things with her own horse and set everything up. When the woman got the okay, she started readying Myaris and a buzz of eagerness tickled Shi. They were really going to do this. A race. The petite, black eyed woman tried not to glow. She was a just a dose of competitive sometimes.

Oasis was waiting patiently and as Shijara went to stand next to her animal, she cast glances over at the Vantha, watching what she did. She tried to be nonchalant about observing how the horse was being tacked, the blanket, the bridle. Shijara went about admiring her own horse's workings, having received assistance before leaving by a nice Akalak. Shijara was beginning to understand more of what he had done, and was admiring and remembering how tight each buckle was and why.

Huh, interesting. Oasis didn't seem to mind her poking and prodding, just sniffed at her every now and then when she got close enough. Shi absentmindedly patted the horse's side undoing one of the buckles to see how it connected with everything else. She retied it quickly afterwards, feeling how it rested.

"Are you coming, Shi?"

Adi had since completed her task and pulled her from her thoughts. She was learning how things worked, was all. Shijara spun around quickly, hair swishing in response. Shijara beamed, ready. "I'll be asking you that question soon enough." A playful response. A friendly one. Perhaps today would be a good way to meet someone new. Grabbing Oasis by the reigns, Shi lead the stallion a few feet away from Myaris, placing one hand on the saddle and lifting her small leg high enough to reach the stirrup. For a moment, Shijara felt the pull of her muscles being stretched, but not painfully so and she grunted as she pushed off, swinging her other leg around and onto the other side of the saddle.

"Ha! Who says I need help?" The Akalak in Riverfall had insisted on assisting her. After all, the Chaktawe was such a small woman... but of course, she refused. Where was the fun in that? Patting Oasis, Shi's dark eyes met Adi's colorful ones. "Are you ready?" Feet in stirrups and reigns in hands, Shi barely waited for the Vantha to respond and then she was off.

[Adi Skyglow]

Oh, Adi was ready, alright.

She whooped in response and tapped her heels to the white mare's sides, a gentle nudge all she needed to get going. Myaris wasn't the fastest horse in the world-definitely not the fastest horse in Cyphrus-but she had a great deal of endurance. This race struck her as a race of opposites more than anything else-a pair from the sandy reaches of Eyktol, and a pair from the snowy wasteland that was Taldera. Of course, Adi had little pride in her homeland, but she was determined to trot a victory circle around Shijara and her horse.

Wind flowed through her hair, deep black in direct contrast with the snowy white that was Myaris. If Shijara chose to look over at her, she would notice that Adi was grinning, magenta eyes closed slightly to keep from getting irritated by her hair or the wind. The Vantha let herself enjoy the sensation of warm sun and cool wind on her face for a brief moment before she turned her focus back to what her opponent was doing.

Myaris and Oasis were close-though Team Taldera was slightly behind Team Eyktol. Adi had confidence in her mount, though, and she was sure that by the end of this race around Riverfall she would rein-ha!-supreme.

It occured to her then she had no idea where they were going.

"Where's the finish line?" Adi called out, bringing one hand and the reins in it to cup a hand over her mouth in an attempt to project the sound of her voice.

Adi's Thoughts.
"Common."
"Vani."
"PC/NPC Common."

[Shijara]

The steady rush of wind pushed Shijara's dark curls backwards, her black and tan horse charging forward. The race would be fun, and this Adi girl already seemed to be a personality type Shi could get along with. Already the Vantha was willing to hop on board with friendly suggestions made by a complete stranger. She was open to fun, and the Chaktawe liked her willingness. We could be similar and come from opposite ends of Mizahar. Now we just have to beat her, Oasis. Shijara grinned and looked behind her.

The Vantha was close behind. Shijara noted the bright pink of Adi's eyes. A color she did not know the word for in Common. Myrias was a lovely horse, white and strong. But the animal was big, bulky. A stocky mare bred for the snows of winter. Perhaps the extra weight would keep Shijara in the lead. They raced forward before the sound of Adi's yell caught her attention. Where was the finish line?

Wait... Where was the finish line? Shijara laughed as her horse raced on. They had been so ready to go, they hadn't set a destination. Such could be used as a metaphor for Shi's personality as a whole, but she looked around, pointing to a very tall tree in the distance. It seemed bigger than the others next to it, easily noticeable, and Shijara cried out, "That tree. Do you see it?" The goal was far enough that the race would still be equal. It was perfect.

Urging Oasis to keep up the pace, Shijara turned her head, black hair whipping wildly. She childishly and playfully stuck her tongue out at the other girl, the action followed by an instant grin. "Hey Adi!," she taunted, "Are you coming?"

The beating of hooves was loud as Shi bounced up and down, going with the motion as she yelled. She could feel the power of Oasis beneath her and it was amazing. She turned her eyes to the tree. To her goal.