Music for the Road (Kayuqtuq)

[Sayana]

Summer 37, 515 AV

Sayana watched the bubbling pot as her eggs floated around in it. They should be ready now, shouldn’t they? She pursed her lips in contemplation and then decided to do one last check of her belongings. Daggers, Lakan, backpack with her waterskin, food for lunch including bread and cheese and dried apples… She had also managed to snag some fresh carrots and some other vegetables that Remi needed to use up. Today she was wearing her beige pants for a change but still had a nice red top on. As an afterthought, Sayana quickly slipped her finger cymbals, tambourine and shakers into the bag. Just as soon as the eggs were ready, she’d be off.

She gave them about one more chime and then took the pot from the hearth. She had another bowl full of cold water and she carefully ladled out the eggs and dumped them into it. After letting them thoroughly cool, the shells came off easily and she placed the half dozen eggs into a second bowl. Pausing, Sayana looked at the bland eggs. Then she quickly got some of her mustard seed and chopped it finely while crushing it at the same time. After she sprinkled it on the eggs she also added some salt. That would have to do. At last she carefully packed the bowl into her backpack along with the rest of the food and set off for the Windmount Stables.

She could smell the fragrant stables long before she arrived but she was getting fairly familiar with the place. She had agreed to meet a rather new bard at the stables to teach her some riding and hopefully make it all the way to Mithryn Outpost. Kay was her name, and she was working at the Rearing Stallion too. Sayana first paid one of the stable hands the ten gold mizas to rent a horse with all its gear, and then selected a young coppery brown stallion.

The Eypharian kept a look out for her bard companion as she went to gather up barding for the horse. There was the saddle, the blanket for underneath the saddle, the bridle, and of course the halter that the stallion already wore. The day looked hot and crisp but hopefully they would have a nice breeze once they got on the road.

Receipt10 gm for the horse rental. The food is assumed to be included in the seasonal expenses.

[Kayuqtuq Snowsong]

Kayuqtuq was buzzing with excitement.

She had been on a horse when she was little, and though it was just a pony ride, loved it. And a dancer at the Rearing Stallion had offered to take her off to the Mithryn Outpost for a day.

Her eyes were bright happy yellow. I wonder what kind of horse I will ride!

To people on the streets, she seemed like a child, skipping around.

It had taken her forever to pack, but she had taken her lute, waterskin, and backpack, which she had filled with some food Remi had let her sample last night. A piece of cheese, some bread, and a few pieces of beef jerky Kayuqtuq had found in her cupboards.

The musky smell of the stables reached her, and she started walking faster. A worker bumped into her, and glared t her. Kayuqtuq gulped. "How much to rent horse for day? And what kind would you recommend?"

"10 Gm. Considering your size, I'd recommend a Mountain Pony." He sneered. "But you could probably fit on a smaller Frostmarch. I know one that could probably fit you."

Kayuqtuq gave out a happy sigh."Is Frostmarch suited to beginning riders?"He nodded. "I'm from Avanthal, so that would be treat. I'll take." She placed 10 golden Mizas in his hand. "I'll get her for you. Her name is Morwen's Blizzard. Blizzard for short."

While the stable hand got her the horse, she kept her eyes peeled for Sayana. She knew she had a ton of arms, and that was definitely going to help when it came to finding her. Just as Blizzard began to approach, she spotted a woman with one, two, six arms. It had to be her.

The stable hand handed her the rope to Blizzard, who was tall and white, and placed her hands in it like he had. She took off slowly towards Sayana, who appeared to be holding gear for her horse, and smiled at her. "You must be Sayana. I am Kayuqtuq, and is Blizzard." Her eyes shifted to an excited light green.

OOCI take lessons IRL, so feel free to ask me if you do not know something.

[Sayana]

It wasn’t long after that Sayana spotted the bard from the Rearing Stallion. The woman already had a horse picked out and was approaching Sayana with a smile. The Eypharian beamed back in return. “Blizzard. Fitting name.” She commented with a gesture to the white horse. “This one’s name is Cinnamon. Wait no, Chestnut. Yeah, definitely Chestnut.” She gave a smile and a pat to the stallion’s neck as it snorted. It almost sounded akin to an eye roll.

“So you’ll need to grab some things to saddle the horse,” Sayana explained. “There’s the saddle, the saddle blanket, and the bridle.” She first lifted the saddle in her mid hands, then gestured to the saddle pad she held in her lows and finally raised the bridle that she held in her left high hand. All while holding the lead of the halter with her free right high. “No need to grab them all at once,” she added realizing Kayuqtuq’s disability. “The pad or blanket comes first.”

There were various pieces of equipment lining the walls where Sayana had situated herself, and clearly this area in the stables was a good place to saddle one’s horse. Despite having the extra hands, Sayana set down the heavy saddle and proceeded to demonstrate how to put on the saddle pad. “Just hold each end, front and back, right smack in the middle and line it up so the middle runs along the center of the horse’s back,” the Eypharian explained as she lifted the pad up and over her stallion and made sure it was straight and comfortable.

“Then the saddle, the same way. Just make sure the saddle horn is at the front.” She tapped the horn with a high hand as she hefted it up with her mids. Partway through, she realized the stirrups were dangling so she flipped them up with her low hands before placing the saddle upon her mount. She paused to make sure that Kayuqtuq was following along alright and then impatiently launched into the next part.

“Now, you see that long strap dangling there? That’s the… It’s got a name but I forget what it is. But you take that and wrap it under the horse’s belly to strap it here in this buckle.” As she explained she pointed to the girth and pulled it under her mount and secured it in place. She did a quick check to make sure both saddles were firm but not too tight.

“As for the bridles… oh I’ll just do them real quick.” She said hastily and got to work on taking off the halters to put on the bridles. She started with her own horse and slipped the bit into his mouth, pushing gently till the stallion opened his mouth and got it settled in place. The other straps she did a couple at a time using her high and mid hands. Frankly, it had taken her a while to get comfortable putting on the bridles and she was still a bit nervous about the horse biting down on her. Secondly, she didn’t really know how to teach that part to the bard. But most importantly, she was anxious to get going.

“Alright, now for the fun part,” the Eypharian said with a grin. She flipped the stirrups down and readied herself on the left side of the horse, glancing over to Kayuqtuq to begin explaining. “Stand on the left side and put your left foot in the stirrup. Then kick off, or push off from the ground as you straighten your leg.” Smiling broadly, she did as she instructed and kicked off firmly with her right foot before straightening her other leg and swinging her right over the horse’s back.

OOCSorry if it sounds rushed, Sayana is horribly impatient to get going. I hope I caught all the important aspects.

[Kayuqtuq Snowsong]

Kayuqtuq eagerly got started as Sayana's instruction began. Her eyes flickered a joyful pink for a second as Sayana told her to get the pad.

She grabbed one hanging on a nearby rack, and put it on right in the middle. Blizzard snorted loudly and she rubbed her nose.

Kayuqtuq then lifted a heavy saddle, and panting, her eyes flashing an exhausted brown, placed it on Blizzard's back. Sayana gestured at the belt thingy, and told her to attach it.

She stooped down to grab it, and attached it to the buckle at the top. Sayana checked both saddles, and did their bridles, and Kayuqtuq's heart started beating faster as Sayana told her to get on.

Kayuqtuq lifted her foot as high as it could go, but it still wouldn't get in the stirrup. She couldn't even reach the saddle horn.

"Can I have a few hands here?"

[Sayana]

Sayana watched the bard to make sure she was following along. The Eypharian was quite excited to get going herself and hoped she hadn’t overlooked anything. There was a flash of pink that caught her eye and for a moment Sayana thought she had been mistaken. But when she met the bard’s gaze again she could see her bright pink eyes. Once the saddle had been put on, Sayana was about to comment when she met Kay’s eyes again and they were brown. Had it been the light? Had she just thought she had seen the bright pink colour?

While mounted on the horse, the Eypharian looked behind her and noticed that the bard was having trouble. She slipped off by swinging a leg over and sliding down, then approached Kayuqtuq. They actually stood at a similar height, yet when Sayana glanced over to her own horse she realized that she tended to pick out smaller ones to ride. Maybe it was due to riding Katelyn’s pony when she was first learning, or relearning in Syliras. And maybe the dancer just had a little more flexibility to reach the higher stirrups. Regardless, Sayana went over to the stirrups of Kay’s horse and adjusted the nearer on to hang a bit lower.

“This will probably help to get on initially, but you’ll want to adjust it again once you’re on. Otherwise it won’t be a comfortable ride.” Sayana explained. “And if you’re still having trouble reaching, you can use my knee. Make sure to put your right foot on my knee and then your left in the stirrup.” Accordingly, Sayana bent down to provide a make-shift stool using her bent leg and gestured for Kay to get on. It was at this point that she really was glad to have brought her beige pants rather than wearing her usual performance clothes.

“By the way, you have beautiful eyes,” the Eypharian commented trying to sound subtle. She hoped with the comment she might reveal whether the bard’s eyes were brown or if they had actually been pink earlier. She was careful to watch and also to see if Kayuqtuq shied away from the comment as if hiding some truth about her eyes.

She led the horses out of the stables on foot deciding that it would be easier than to try to teach Kay how to maneuver in the tight quarters. Soon she was back on her own horse after reaching high with one foot and kicking off the ground with the other. “Ready for the basics of starting, stopping and turning?”

[Kayuqtuq Snowsong]

Kayuqtuq was relieved when Sayana came and adjusted the stirrup for her stirrups. "Thanks. I think will be fine."

She struggled a little bit getting on, but holding onto the saddle tight, she managed to get on.

Her eyes exploded bright pink again, and she held on tight to the mane of Blizzard as Sayana complimented her eyes, though clearly trying to figure out how they changed.

"Thank you. All people from homeland have changing eyes too."

As Sayana asked if she was ready, she nodded.

Here we go...

[Sayana]

Sayana smiled as the bard confirmed her suspicions. The woman’s eyes swiftly turned bright pink again and the dancer couldn’t help but stare curiously into them. “That’s fascinating,” she spoke softly with a bit of awe in her voice. Once they were both mounted on their horses, Sayana gave a nudge of her knees to get the horse walking forwards and the stopped right alongside Kayuqtuq with a gentle pull of both the reins.

“So to move forwards, you can either squeeze your knees inwards to nudge your horse forwards. Or, if the horse isn’t responding, you can give a little kick with your heels.” Sayana explained. She demonstrated with a quick kick and then immediately sat back in her seat and pulled the reins to stop.

“Then to stop, you want to pull both the reins back equally. If you pull one rein a lot more than the other, then you’ll get your horse to turn.” She demonstrated again by pulling the left rein hard and giving a nudge to her horse to start walking. Her mount turned around so that she was once more facing Kayuqtuq. “Sound good? It’ll be easier with your horse simply following mine. We’ll go at a walking pace through the streets and once we’re past the gate I can show you a trot.”

The Eypharian wheeled her horse around and headed off at a simple walk in the direction of the main gate. “So do your eyes change colour at random? Or can you pick what colour whenever you feel like it?” Sayana asked curiously once they were moving. “And do you mind if I take out some instruments? I really need to work on my finger cymbals so I can get better at using them while dancing.”

She dug into her backpack and pulled out two pairs of finger cymbals. They were small shiny things that make a high ringing sound when played. She adjusted her grip to hold the saddle horn with her lows, the reins with her mids and the finger cymbals with her high hands. With the slow plodding of the hooves, she started composing a rhythmic pattern that complimented the steady hoof beats. Ching-a-ching-ching, ching-a-ching ching ching. Every so often she looked back to see how Kayuqtuq was doing. The music upon horseback seemed to draw eyes from the crowded streets. It was a mixed blessing. Some people moved out of the way because they could hear the pair coming, but others further blocked the streets due to being curious and watching.

[Kayuqtuq Snowsong]

Kayuqtuq gave an affectionate rub to Blizzard to conceal her small laugh. Sayana’s reaction to her eyes was nothing out of the ordinary, but still surprised her every time. She was still waiting for the day when a non-Vantha would recognize why her eyes changed.

“Got it. Nudge make move, kick if not work.” Kay watched her demonstrate carefully, looking for details that might help. “And pull back to stop. I think am ready.”

She gave a nudge to Blizzard, and the mare started walking. The pace was strange, and she tensed up a little, but relaxed as she got used to it. Her eyes shifted to a bright, aurora pink with joy. She steered herself slowly, relocating to the other side of Sayana to get a good view of her.

Her arms were fascinating, the way they worked in conjunction, the way they moved. They must be great for dancing. And imagine a drummer with six arms!

“My eyes? Not random, really, more like one colour match one emotion. Sometimes mix together, or colours ripple."

Kay smiled as the dancer got out her little disks of metal. They were unfamiliar to her, but she had seen discs that were bigger in the market. She wondered how they were played.

“I no mind. Music is always fine.” She peered over at Sayana, curious to how they were played.

Ching-a-ching-ching

They pushed together, making a light cling. Kayuqtuq’s eyes turned light blue in realization. Those might sound good made out of wood.
As they plodded along, she bobbed her head to the beat, matching it up with an imaginary piece in her head. For a second, her hand darted back for a quill out of habit, but she snatched it back.

The silence of no conversation was torture for Kayuqtuq. In an attempt to fill it, she made a remark to Sayana. “So, where are you from?"

OOCSo sorry for the wait!

[Sayana]

When Sayana looked back to see how Kayuqtuq was doing, she saw that her eyes had gone back to the bright pink. The bard seemed to be managing well enough. The horses also seemed to like being together and it made it easier to lead her own mount onwards, thus encouraging the other to follow. Yet Kayuqtuq managed to get her horse to walk side by side with Sayana’s so she must have been confident enough with the steering.

It was curious to think that the bard’s eyes would change colour based on her mood. So would that mean if one was in a bad mood, everyone would know? As long as they knew your colours? It put a whole different meaning to showing your true colours. The Eypharian mused over it as she played the finger cymbals. Then in the midst of playing she saw the vantha’s eyes shift to blue. What did that mean? It was enough to break her concentration with the rhythm and it immediately came undone.

With another nudge of her knees and a gentle tug of the reins, Sayana resumed her clinking of the finger cymbals. The hardest part was multi-tasking without losing the beat and the rhythm of the music. But that was also the most important part too. Since if she couldn’t maintain the solid pattern, she wouldn’t be able to dance to it at the same time. Perhaps her continuous ‘chings’ of the instrument and her focused concentration was boring Kayuqtuq, because the bard eventually spoke up.

By now her concentration was broken once more, so she simply made up for it with a flourish. China-a-ling-a-ling. With a smile she set down the finger cymbals and replied to Kayuqtuq. “I’m from the southern deserts of Eyktol,” she spoke proudly. “And specifically the grand city of Ahnatep.” With a flourish of her arms, she gestured to where Syna hung in the sky. “Beautiful Syna blesses the city with her heat and radiance, while Makutsi brings life and nurtures the hardy plants and animals. It is a wonderful place, yet even still you can explore parts of the city that were ruined by the Valterrain.”

As they neared the gates, Sayana finished her ‘bravado’ and nodded to the knights standing watch. “Once we’re on the open road, we’ll want to move into a trot,” she explained. “It’s a little faster than a simple walk and a good kick or two with your heels should get your horse moving. Mind you, it can be bumpy so see if you can rock with your horse rather than against it. And if nothing else, you can always stand up slightly in your stirrups to lessen the bumping.” She demonstrated briefly after the explanation by rising up off her saddle just an inch or two.

“But first, tell me about your homeland. Or are you from Syliras?”

[Karin]

XP Award!

Name: Sayana

XP Award:

• Cooking +1
• Instrument, finger cymblas: +1
• Interrogation: +1
• Planning: +1
• Riding, Horse: +2
• Teaching: +4

Lore:

• Kayuqtuq: Is a similar height to Sayana.
• Vantha: Have eyes that change colour according to their emotion.

Notes: None!

Name: Kayuqtuq Snowsong

XP Award:

• Composition: +1
• Horsemanship: +1
• Observation: +1
• Planning: +1
• Riding, Horse: +3

Lore:

• Asking for help: Getting recommendations.
• Horse, Frostmarch: Suitable for beginners.
• Riding, Horse: Adjust the stirrups to mount
• Riding, Horse: How to make basic movements

Notes: None!

General comments: I am a beginner grader, so if you have any queries, or suggestions, or indeed think I have missed something out: please don't hesitate to PM me!

Nice thread you two, although it was a shame that it was cut short. I especially liked the image of Sayana riding through the streets playing her instrument!