Learning To Ride

[Mayra]

21st of Autumn, 515AV
9th Bell, 30th Chime, Morning
Blackwater Camp

It had only been a few days since Mayra had been there, but now the halfbreed hesitated when Dravite's camp came into view. The last time she had come in search of a warm meal she had met Dravite's second wife for the first time. But no Dravite. It wasn't that she wanted to avoid the other woman, but suddenly she had reservations about waltzing into his camp again.

Txiro had taken her pause as the perfect chance to drop his head, pulling up what grass he could on the trampled lane that stretched between the camps. What wasn't smashed by foot traffic had already been torn up by the other beast's passing through, so the pack pony wasn't finding much. "Hey." Mayra clicked at the horse, stretching to stuff her foot in the way of his nose as she pulled up. She was expected the horse to struggle against her pulling his head back, but instead the pony complied, stepping forward onto her foot.

"Chopre he randi!" Mayra threw her weight into the pony's shoulder until he gave way to the pressure, stepping aside. "Imbecile." She muttered, wiggling her toes. She knew Txiro was large for a pony, but perhaps he hadn't stepped completely on her, because the pain quickly receded to the dull pressure of a bruise. Why am I doing this? She groaned to herself, already cranky first thing in the morning.

"Dravite!" She snapped, catching sight of the man upon reaching his camp. Loosening her grip on Txiro's leadrope, she waved at him. At least he was here this time. If anyone had the patience to teach her, he probably would. Sticking out her lower lip like a child, Mayra pretended to pout as she transformed her wave into a sign. Curious. It was a not the sign she needed, but Mayra didn't know the sign for help, but she hoped it would work well enough to catch his attention. "Help me."

Once the man approached her, Mayra would loose the pity facade. Her face transforming back into the emotionless rock, a slight squint as she gauged his reaction. The barbarian wasn't particularly kind in her choice of horse, er, pony. And of course he wouldn't assume Txiro was ill or hurt, because she had used that trick last time and it worked very well. But the chance of him coming to that conclusion again, let alone on his own, was slim. So she would just put her proposal out front. Perhaps the horselord would be kind today, as she was slowly discovering he could be. But not always.

"You're going to teach me to ride him, today." She demanded, keeping her words soft but disallowing any expression to cross her face. I can't make it in this city on foot any longer. The explanation formed in her head, but the half-Zith decided to remain quiet, still uncertain about what today's mood was for the crazy man. If he was in a relatively good mood, which she had only seen twice then she was in luck. But then again perhaps she was not as close to the barbarian as she assumed she was.

Common | Tawna | Pavi "Speech" Sign | PC/NPC "Speech" Sign

[Dravite]

Dravite was knelt near Kimba, his favourite of the goats he had purchased early on in the summer. He set a bucket of water down for the animals and gave her a pat before getting to work, rubbing his hands together to warm them before he began milking the doe. She bleated dumbly, uninterested in the bucket of water and kicked his hand away. Her kids were taking more than she could produce, leaving little to none for the man to take.

The horse lord growled and pushed the goat off on her way before dragging another one in, hoping for a little more luck. After getting a little less than a few mouthfuls in the jar, he gently squeezed the last of the milk from the animal's udders and let her go on her way. The Blackwater pavilion was still in mourning and all the chores that his wives usually did were suddenly left to him. To say the least, the man had no patience for anyone today, animal or otherwise.

"Sorry, Yuki," he frowned while handing the quarter jar of milk to Raven's wife, "that's all I was able to get today."
"Should be enough for me to whip something up," the woman smiled kindly, holding the horse lord's hand for a few long ticks.

"Dravite!" A familiar voice summoned and the man looked away from Yuki to walk out of camp, an amused smile twisting his features as he saw Mayra struggling with her pony; what was that stupid thing’s name? Dog meat, about all it was good for.

The smile was short lived, however, as the man recalled the dinner they had shared with one of Pearl's workmates that left him with a few questions for the godless woman. Still, this wasn't the time, he reminded himself and dried his hands on a rag before tossing it back towards camp.

He wore a tired looking pairs of leather pants that didn't fit very well, hanging off his bony hips; still struggling to put on what he had lost during the summer after the blood poisoning that had fought hard to take him. He plucked a white shirt off the line and slipped into it, tucking the front into his pants so that it might hold them up a little better. Ride, he signed, "that fat little thing," the watchman pointed, "Mayra no ride, Mayra hold on," he laughed, imagining that riding the pony would be much like trying to fit a saddle to a pig.

Wait, he waved and disappeared into camp for a moment to fetch a bucket of water and a couple of carrots. There was a yvas slung over his left shoulder and knot of rope tucked under the other. "Hold, follow," he commanded, pushing the rope into the woman's arms before walking down the street towards the closest gate. "Leave pony!" He called without looking back.

Dravite led Mayra out into the fields where a lot of the Drykas left their animals to mingle and run wild. With fingers raised to his lips, Dravite summoned Cree with a high pitched whistle and the stallion came trotting up to them quickly, used to this routine; whistle, water, hide and seek with a treat. The large stallion sniffed out one of the carrots in no time and before long, a few of the other Blackwater horses joined them. Once all the carrots were gone, the watchman singled Vicious, Bones, and his Strider from the mix but when the Bloodbane snapped at the foreign woman unexpectedly, Dravite yelled sent the mare on her way.

Man-eater, he signed the words as well as speaking the in Pavi before explaining in common, "blood thirsty."

He couldn't recall if he had ever taught Mayra how to put a yvas on a horse, but now seemed as good a time to find out. Setting the leather strap and handle in the woman's grasp, he pointed to Cree, signalling for her to give it a go, trusting that the buckskin stallion wouldn't put up too much of a fight. When he put the bucket in front of Bones, she lowered her head and the rope he had given to Mayra to hold was quickly put use around the mare's neck, keeping her from re-joining the herd. "Ride easy, just there," he waved with his left hand, pointing out towards the lake.

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[Mayra]

Mayr'a eyebrows dug into the bridge of her nose when Dravite told her to leave Txiro. Mad that he thought her pony was a joke, even though it was true. Quietly, Mayra followed the man, hanging back as his horses aproached him. Her eyes narrowes slihgtly at how sickly he looked, but Mayra didn't push it. From what she had seen a few days ago, no one in the Blackwater Pavilion was doing terribly well. And it wasn't to say she was either, but then again, Mayra had never really thrived in Endrykas.

The horses seemed harmless enough after a few ticks and Mayra took the few steps forward to stand beside her friead, reaching out for the only horse she knew, his Strider. Cree was content with ignoring her in favor of the carrots, but out of the corner of her eye, she saw the approach of a horse she didn't know. Before Mayra had a chance to reach towards the beast, a sudden clap of teeth near her arm made her jump back.

"What the Hai! Awahtoklo!" She cursed at the horse, and Dravite reacted immediately shooing the beast away.

"Bloodthirsty?" Mayra's colorless orbs widened in surprise and she skirted to the other-side of Dravite, not sure if she could take him seriously or if he was just messing with her again. But Dravite was already set to work, which she appreciated as she took the leather thing from his hands. It was some sort of saddle, if she remembered correctly.

Although he pointed towards Cree, which she would have been more comfortable with, the horse simply walked away. Done with this carrots, the beast seemed to do whatever he wanted, not bothering to listen to Dravite at all. But the Drykas barely noticed, looping Bones with a rope, and bringing her to a standstill in front of Mayra. After handing her the rope, Dravite simple step back and instructed her to ride in a certain direction. For a second, Mayra hesitated, not really sure what to do. But after realizing it was her request, she stepped forward with a little bit of confidence. Draping the heavy leather band over the horse, she tried hooking the rope on her elbow to hold Bones in place.

Although Mayra wasn't quite sure how to handle both, the rope ended up pulling the mare's head towards her, to which the beast adjusted, moving her body away from the girl. "No." Mayra scolded in Pavi, hoping the horse understood better, stepping forward to catch up to the horse's body, which the loose Yvas was now hanging off of. But she was still unconsciously pulling the rope and the horse kept turning. It took her a few spins before she realized how reactive the horse was to simple pressures. Before she was certain the Drykas was laughing at her, she glared at the man to make sure he wouldn't, of course that may not stop him.

Finally giving the rope some slack, she hesitantly reached under the horse to grab the other strap of the Yvas, pulling it back towards the buckle. That was self-explanatory enough. But Mayra didn't tighten the Yvas very much, hesitant about hurting the beast. So when she confidently draped the rope over the handles and reached for one to hoist herself up, the Yvas slid with her tug, turning the strap upside-down on the now annoyed horse, and depositing Mayra on the ground. For a moment Marya pouted before bouncing back up, ready for another bout of laughter.

"How the Hai do I get this thing on?" She grabbed the Yvas, trying to straighten it out on the horse so she didn't have to show Dravite her red cheeks of embarrassment.

Common | Tawna | Pavi "Speech" Sign | PC/NPC "Speech" Sign

[Dravite]

Watching Mayra brought a smile to the man's face at a time that didn't seem right to wear such; it was comforting but left him conflicted. She turned to give him the stink-eye and see to it that Dravite didn't dare laugh, he knew that look well, if only because Belkaia seemed to have mastered it from a young age. When Mayra finally fixed the yvas, the watchman stepped forward and did up the breast strap to make sure the leather belt wouldn't turn again; he didn't often use the extra pieces of leather but seen as he was working with a beginner, Dravite decided that it was best to take every precaution possible.

He gave Mayra a leg up and took a fistful of the mare's hair to stop her from moving. "Lean back," he encouraged; Mayra's form a little hunched like most beginners, "fall heavy on front," he explained, "strong horse for pulling." He knew he probably wasn't making much sense, but when Bones finally got going Mayra would realise what he meant. The mare wasn't as smooth to ride as his Strider, but once she got up to a gallop there was almost no difference.

Dravite whistled for Cree to join them and decided to climb up onto the stallion in order to keep up with Mayra; he would be no good stood where he was to watch her race off towards the horizon with little idea as to what she should be doing. First he went over the basics, stop, go, turn, and then encouraged the woman to give it a try, coaxing Cree forwards with a light squeeze of his legs and the click of his tongue against the roof of his mouth. Of course, Bones was still in training, so any order the man issued was quickly picked up by the mare and followed through on. He would have to be quiet, Dravite thought, and let Mayra take the lead if he was to give her a chance at learning any of this herself.

"Don't let go," he pointed to the yvas, "relax; horse sense Mayra's tension," he watched as Bones did her best to do as the novice rider instructed, "watch ears," he gestured toward the mare's head, "ears back, horse listens to Mayra but not focus."

When he felt that the woman had found her feet, Dravite got Cree to progress from his gentle walk into a light trot, something the mixed blood would be able to keep up with easily enough. The ever competitive stallion didn't like to be held back but Dravite purposely made sure that he was in order for Mayra to stay ahead of him so that he could keep an eye on her form and race after the mare his friend rode in case she decided to bolt on her, "turn, slow, faster," we're the majority of the commands he offered the woman and each time she got one of them right he smiled, though he never let her see that. Most of Dravite's teachers growing up had been strict and therefore the man felt that he needed to be the same.

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[Mayra]

At first, Mayra didn't understand why she had to keep her back straight, or at least she didn't realize the difference it would make, until Bones reacted to the small squeeze in her knees. The horse started, and even at the walk, she realized that hunching would quickly deposit her on the ground.

Re-positioning her hands on the leather strap so she had a better hold. She followed Dravite's basic directions. Knuckles white on the leather as she trid her best not to scream in terror. Why did humans think it smart to ride these dumb creatures? Stop seemed simple, just a tug back on the yvas. But the actual execution of it was not so easy. The horse, although having an idea of what the tug meant, decided she didn't need to listen to the halfbreed on her back. Just like Txiro, the dumb beast had a mind of its own. Was it a behavior? Or was she missing something. Aggravating, Mayra tugged a little harder, calling out a whoa, as seh had seen others do.

I'm in charge. She settled hte thought in her mind, and did it once more. This time, Bones stopped. Perhaps it was a behavior.

Once more Mayra squeezed her knees slightly, and the horse went forward once more. Deciding to test out the commands that Dravite was teaching her, she gripped the yvas and squeezed only her left knee in, tucking her ankle up. The horse didn't need much encouragment before the mare was turning to the left. A small satisfactory grin danced on the edge of her cheeks, and she did the same with her other knee.

"Hey-hey!" She laughed, glad the horse was actually listening to her. As Bones turned back in the same direction as Cree, the giddy half-Zith flashed a grin at Dravite. "Not so hard." She said, over-confident, before deciding she wanted to impress him. Tapping her heels on the horses side once more, Bones lurched forward, and Mayra shrieked suddenly.

Athough bones didn't go very fast, the trot was unsettling. More than unsettling, Bones was going to throw her off. Jolting back and forth, Mayra scrambled for a hold, squeezing her knees for grip out of reaction and then Bones seemed to be flying forward.

The horse lurched forward in response, and Mayra tugged on the yvas immediately, forcing the horse back down to a stop. Groaning Mayra took a moment to collect herself. It was a damn trot. Could she not handle that.

"This is the worst. Why would anyone do this." She grumbled, taking an aggravated breathe. Dravite reminded her to not be tense, and Mayra struggled to comply. Comfort on a horse would perhaps not be possible. But it would have to be if she was going to make it to Eyktol.

Of course it didn't help that Dravite was being an ass. By the time she cuaght up to his trot, she gently tried to position the horse further away from his in the case of her loosing control, which would almost be a garuntee. But after a few chimes of riding, she was getting a little more understanding.

"You know, it would help if you told me where we are going." She gestured towards the lake, not really sure if there was a destination. To avoid getting too close to Cree, she nudged Bones slightly to the left. Of course her nudge wasn't the best and Bones turned dramatically away, the horse already probably very annoyed with Mayra's indescision and general lack of control. Mayra tried to turn her back, but the mare ignored her. Turning in a full circle the horse moved to trail Cree. Again, Mayra tried to move her a little away, but the mare seemed more intent on keeping pace with her companion rather than listening to her incompetent rider.

Mayra sighed in defeat. Horses were dumb. "I need to talk to you, as well." She muttered, angry at not being able to fully control the horse and also a little worried that he would know what she had been planning for the past few days. She would only pretend Endrykas was safe for so long.

Common | Tawna | Pavi "Speech" Sign | PC/NPC "Speech" Sign

[Dravite]

He couldn’t help but laugh at Mayra and how unsettled the woman was by an innocent little trot. “Hold on!” He would encourage teasingly, though he kept a close eye to make sure she wasn’t dislodged from the horse’s back; taking a fall while learning to ride could be really off putting and he wanted to remain close in order to see that Mayra didn’t have to go through such.

“Not far,” he raised a lazy limb to point towards the distance, nowhere in particular, but if she wanted to assume the lake he would let her, “Bad to train horse same thing,” he tried to explain, “Get off different area, get on different area. Horse very smart, will remember; horse get lazy,” like people, he thought.

After a time, Dravite started showing off and riding with no hands, holding them out like a eagle’s wings while the breeze whipped by and Cree continued to trot about. Every now and then he would squeeze with his legs in order to get the stallion to slow or speed up, turn this way or that, or even come to a complete stop, “Mayra will learn quickly,” he offered, “Mayra ride good horse.”

When the mixed blood admitted that she needed to speak with him, Dravite’s curiosity was piqued. His eyes said first that he was listening, fixed on the woman with the wild, black hair. He ordered his mount to slow and gently steered the Strider towards Bones so that the two walked side by side, Mayra and Dravite’s knees almost touching. “What?” He asked, before realising he could do better than that, “What does Mayra need to say?”

Before the woman could even answer, he felt as if he knew; she was going, or planning something and it seemed she would need to be able to ride in order to get there, wherever there was, after all, Mayra always seemed to have a hidden agenda. Dravite averted his gaze, lost in thought for a few short chimes while the woman seemed to gather her own thoughts and then spoke again.

He knew that he would not be able to accompany her anywhere, not with a family to look after, but he could offer her some help, a food parcel perhaps? Maybe even one of his horses to use, though if Mayra was leaving it meant she probably wasn’t going to return his animal any time soon. “Mayra should buy horse,” he said then before she could open her mouth to speak, “Mayra buy Dravite’s horse,” he nudged the mare she was riding with his the toe of his boot, “Bones easy to ride, Mayra will like.”
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[Mayra]

Once the shenanigans had ceased, Mayra gulped, trying to figure out how she would say it. Her attention was particially distracted by trying not to run into Dravite. She knew the horse was smart enough not to run into another one, but she didn't particularly favor not having control over where she was going either.

Two seasons ago and she would have had absolutely no issue telling Dravite she was leaving. Perhaps she wouldn't have even minded spitting a few unfavorable names out with it, but perhaps the barbarian didn't quite deserve such a departing from her. Rubbing her lips together, the half-breed's black eyes flitted across the grass beside them before she decided how to say it. She had to find her mother's tribe, and now she could. It was as simple as that. That was her purpose all along. When the half-Zith turned to speak her reasons, Dravite was looking away.

The halfbreed huffed irritabley. She hated this emotional shyke-fest. But Dravite was speaking, offering her his horse. And although Mayra was fully prepared to deny it, she stopped. Perhaps Bones would get her father than Txiro ever could. In fact, it was almost garunteed that a proper horse would get her farther than a pack pony could. But was he offering the horse becuase he knew what she was going to say? "I'm leaving." She stated, not answering his question, but instead waiting for his reaction.

She almost expected a cheer of joy, as it seemed that he had been waiting for this moment for three seasons. Yet, she really, truly hoped he wouldn't. But she also couldn't imagine the horselord as showing any sign of dampering emotion, of which she only saw once, and very likely, never again. Perhaps no reaction was better than any reaction. Mayra ran two fingers across her brows to smooth them out. Reaching out she nudged his leg with her foot.

"But hey, I'll take your dumb beast." She tried the pitiful joke, attempting to avoid the reaction she dreaded. "She might get me to my mother's tribe alive." A empty chuckle followed, and she realized she had never told the barbarian why she was travelling through, and the laugh quickly ceased. Dravite, a very curious man, would perhaps not notice the weird sentence, or understand it. Mayra squinted back towards the lake. Yet another reaction to wait for.

Common | Tawna | Pavi "Speech" Sign | PC/NPC "Speech" Sign

[Dravite]

So he had been right, Mayra was going and sure enough she meant to leave soon; probably before winter. Dravite was quiet for a time but felt an odd sensation settle low in his gut where he could have sworn his organs flipped and wrapped up tightly in on themselves. He didn’t exactly know when it had happened; the exact moment he had come to respect and even admire Mayra’s determination and will to go on alone, suffering a good three or so seasons with the moving city that didn’t take kindly to strangers, even the friendly ones.

He didn’t know what to say and so, for a long while, he said nothing, right up until the woman mentioned her mother’s tribe. Instantly Dravite thought of the desert people they used to run into around this time of season for trade, if not a little later; was that where she was going? Will you return then? After you find your people? his stare seemed to ask, though he didn’t hold the woman’s gaze long. Did he really want Mayra to come back after he had worked so hard to try and convince her that she had no place here?

Dravite closed his eyes and sighed to himself, “Then Dravite will give Mayra fair price,” he waved to the horse, he had thought to bid her up and make a killing, but now he would treat Mayra just as he would any other friend; a Drykas friend that was.

He looked thoughtful, “Bones have foal come spring, Mayra pay mare and foal, later Dravite buy foal back.” He had intended to keep the foal, it would be the first of Cree’s offspring, but entrusting the mare to Mayra seemed right; she wouldn’t ride her into the ground or undo all of the hard work he had put into her. Slowly, Dravite made some calculations in his head, drumming his fingers against his thigh as he counted before he finally came up with a price. “Two forty,” he said, “Mayra safe with Bones.”

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[Mayra]

"Two-forty?" Mayra exclaimed. "Here, I though you would just give her for free. I thought we were friends." She mock pouted, thinking how much she had in her purse at home. She had more gold than she ever knew what to do with, but if the halfbreed was being smart, she would need it for the travel. The travel itself was a doom she didn't particularly want to think about. Perhaps she was overly optimistic to think that she would make it to Eyktol alone, but Mayra didn't know much about surviving on her own enough to realize her own doom.

Instead the half-Chaktawe tested the man's price. "Two-hundred." She argued, not really expecting anything out of it. She knew nothing of horses or their price, and that much Dravite knew. But Mayra also knew she wasn't going to come back. For a moment, she paniced. She wasn't going to come back. Even though she couldn't understand the barbarians, Endrykas had quickly made her forget about Kalea, she ever forgot about Eyktol. Yet, seh knew that her ultimate goal was Eyktol. If she could make it down there, it would be miracle enough.

The bottom line was, he wasn't getting his foal back. "Maybe two-ten." She backtracked, unsure about her bargaining skills.

Common | Tawna | Pavi "Speech" Sign | PC/NPC "Speech" Sign

[Dravite]

The horses came to a stop under a low spoken command the horse lord gave them and when he looked at Mayra he smiled, though the gesture seemed almost sad. Dravite lowered his gaze and shook his head, smiling still, this time he looked amused, “Two forty,” he was adamant, “Foal half Strider,” he tried to explain, which was a lot more valuable to him than the Coloursplash mare he had worked on since spring, “Two forty,” he nodded again, sure that was the best he could do; after all, he had recently been negotiating a deal to pay over twice that amount for a single mare, the man felt he was being fair.

Dravite felt a little numb, almost detached from the situation; it was hard to be a businessman when his mind was elsewhere, far away in the desert he knew Mayra was headed for. He had never ventured down that far and would have no way of knowing whether or not Mayra made the trip safely unless she was riding Bones, a horse he could follow in the web. Suddenly it seemed important to him to secure the deal, “Two twenty and something trade,” he offered then, “Drykas trade goods not gold, what Mayra give?”

Of course, Mayra had nothing the man wanted, but he would give her the opportunity to learn the ways of his people right before it seemed she would have no need for them; still, the desert people were somewhat kind and often liked to barter their goods in trade too, though it had been a long time since Dravite had needed to deal with any of them. In fact, his best recollection of the desert people was of the small children he once played alongside as a boy while his parents and pavilion made their deals around the fire and shared a meal, garnished with the exotic spices the people of Eyktol carried with them while they told stories about the Tsana.
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