PM to join Riding and Relaxation

[Quzon]

Nineteenth Day of Winter, 517 A.V.

"How you doing, Zokoztli?" Quzon mused in his native Myrian language to his midnight colored Seme stallion. "I only ask because I'm not doing so well... we're out here because I just need to clear my head for a bit. Grow used to seeing the world without color."

He and his horse were on a small trip towards the Wolf Creek Cross Country Equestrian Training Course. The scroll that everyone received when entering Riverfall said the Training Course was near some place called 'The Sanctuary'. And while he would no doubt want to see it, Quzon simply wanted to visit the course. However, they both quickly became waylaid once he spotted a leather strap dragging along the ground that obviously needed to be attached to the harness. This realization caused him to park the cart in the middle of the road leading away from the city since he needed to fix it.

He ran his palm along the side of Zokoztli's neck as he stood along side the Seme. As Quzon ran his hand along the horses sides, he specifically started to trace his fingers along all the lengths of leather that made up carts harness to find the one buckle that was undone.

Quzon was no Drykas, nor was he taught by them during his stay with the horse clans for a few seasons. He was simply a person self-teaching himself how to care for his mount while trying to remember how they originally strapped up the horse for him when he bought the cart.

After reaching down to pick up the leather strap that was dragging on the ground, he continued to look for the empty buckle. "Where does this go?" It took him a moment to realize that it was one of the traces that needed to be connected to the sides of the breast collar. It had become undone since the collar rode to low on the horses chest, and with each step, Zokoztli had managed to pull the trace out from where it was bound because the low strap was bothering him.

"Sorry about that. I was too worried about it choking you. Why was I worried? You are stronger than I." Quzon chuckled as he buckled the trace directly into the breast collar again, this time making sure the collar was higher on the horses chest, but not near to tight at the neck. He moved to stand in front of Zoko to massage a hand down the horses nose.

His other hand slowly lifted to guide Zoko's mouth open as he looked into its mouth to look at the bit. "Ah. You know better..." He spoke as he started to adjust the bit so that it rested on top of the horses tongue. "Stop moving your tongue over it. You know it hurts every time you do it."

Once everything was fixed, he got back onto his cart. He took up both reigns in his hand then shifted them to motivate the horse into moving onward. "Kekek." He used the random sound that the horse knew as a sign to go. The trundling of wooden wheels, the soft creaking of leather, and the ambient sounds of hooves stomping along the ground.

All of those sounds formed the melody that accompanied Quzon as he guided his horse to pull the simple three person cart towards his destination. The cart itself was nothing special, just a simple rectangular flat bed surrounded by a frame on two large wheels. It was big enough to sit three people in the back of it.

That is, it would have been able to sit three people... The cart lacked any place to sit which meant Quzon had to get crafty in regards to his seating while driving it. He used a large chest that he'd bought both as his cart's throne and a handy means of storage. It was true that the chest would take up space, but he did not have plans to cart people around. Quzon only wore a simple loincloth, choosing to keep his armor and weapons in the chest, except for his handax that laid at his side.

The ride to the start of the training course was a slow one, but a relaxing one. Quzon had no reason to make Zokoztli go any faster than a steady trot. And neither did he want to tire the horse out before reaching the track. He kept his eyes out for any more issues as he studied how the breaching moved where it was strapped around the horses rear end while the cart moved forward.

Once the horse and rider had managed to make it to the start of The Novice Trail of the Training course. Quzon tugged at the reigns again as he guided his horse to an empty area where he could park his cart; the breaching lines pressing against the horses rear end that acted like breaks to halt the carts movement.

Once they came to a full stop, Quzon slid his ax into the back of the belt he wore for that purpose alone, and dismounted the cart again to slowly work on removing the cart harness so he could ride Zokoztli.

He'd only brought the cart to better his knowledge of the strap-work because practice meant perfection. It took him a few chimes, but he managed to remove the cart harnesses that left Zokoztli in only the bit, bridle, and saddle as he stored the harness away into the chest.

oocDear Reader,

I know a minuscule amount about horses, but nothing about driving. If you know about horses/carts and see that I'm detailing something wrong, throw a pm my way.

[Salara Kel'Halavath]

Only the tip of her tail twitched every other tick or two as the cougar patiently watched the burrow for some sign of emergence. Day old scat and old scrapings at the entrance gave her hope the residents were still within. She’d found the new rabbit warren a few days ago hidden within briar brambles in the forest fringe at the edge of the country course. Today she had come out early to see if she could catch a fresh meal knowing any successful effort would be appreciated as these warrens with their hidden holes were dangerous for the horses and riders; but it was also important that her predatory presence didn’t interfere with those who’d come to enjoy the trails.

Her sharp ears heard the underground scrambling first as she gently flexed muscles and shifted her feet in readiness. The first motion was the peek of a quivering pink nose sampling the downwind air at the burrow’s hole. Then a forward step hop as the beedy-eyed brown hare moved through the bramble tunnel. Steady. Steady. Salara had learned to wait until her prey moved farther from the burrow, preferably past her own waiting spot otherwise it would just leap back to safety and the hunt would be over for a few days until the small minded critters forgot about her.

The Kelvic could feel her pulse begin to beat harder as anticipation grew with the warm gamey scent filling her nostrils. If the wind didn’t change… The rabbit’s confidence seemed to grow as it moved farther along the briar path, ears wiggling about as it sampled young buds and leaves. It finally passed the cougar’s position, nearly clearing the brambles. Not yet. The rodent stopped perhaps sensing some danger or just wary and experienced. It looked across the area ahead maybe for the shadow of an avian, scented the air and, as the cougar’s breath held, the rabbit stilled to listen.

Three step/hops beyond the safety of the briar patch it ducked its head to nibble at a blade of sweet grass as the great cat’s muscles bunched pushing her body low and fast at her prey. Almost too fast as she shot beyond her target which had immediately darted away at an angle. Scrabbling to correct her momentum in tail whipping fashion the cougar leapt after, hard on the chase of the now panic-stricken rabbit dodging and leaping for its life. If it could keep ahead, Salara knew that it would soon circle back keeping tight to the range of its habitat so she tried to stay within the inner ring of their chase.

Cutting that distance led her close again as she snaked a paw out to knock the rabbit’s feet out from under it. The critter squealed as it tumbled cottontail over ears before gaining it’s feet and darting away in a different direction. Growling enthusiastically the Kelvic’s paws dug in kicking turf back as she redirected her course. Zipping back and forth she followed the terrified animal, hoping to catch the pattern of its escape before it changed again. Miscalculating a dodge, the cougar leapt to the right as the rabbit darted left in an uncharacteristic straight beeline as it escaped right between the wheels of a cart.

Turning about, the Kelvic’s gold hued eyes widened in shock, having been too focused on her quarry to realize how closely she’d come to the track or notice a robustly built man and his stocky horse. Her immediate reaction was to shift in a shimmer of glittering sparks, half crouched, holding her hands high palms forward in warding hope that she wouldn’t be trampled by a panic'd horse or bashed by it’s owner.

x

From Wymez <3

[Quzon]

It went without saying that Zokoztli noticed Salara's presence far before Quzon did. In fact, when the Seme started to swish its tail around rapidly, stomp its hooves like thunder against the ground, and tilt its ears instantly flat back along its head, did Quzon then turn from leaning over the cart to after store his items away to see the cougar charging towards the wagon at a breakneck speed.

Zokoztli started contorting its body to try and keep an eye on the danger in a terrified manner. Quzon also reacted on pure instinct and panic. His hand swiftly reaching back to grasp his hand-ax to grip it just below the ax-head, and swung it downward in a heavy arc in attempt to jam it into the creatures skull where it resided right there in front of him. The weapon was already in transit towards Salara's face when she transformed into her human form. "Skurak!" The Myrian exclaimed harshly as he moved his arm to the side to force himself to miss his attack and avoid hitting the naked Kelvic woman.

Quzon wanted to yell at the woman, but he now had a panicked horse to deal with. He pointed the ax head at the Kelvic with an agitated glare. "You, not move." His voice spoke out deeply with a sense of anger. His blood was pulsing now after having listened to the combat option of his fight or flight response.

The pale Myrian returned his hand ax to its place on his belt, then reached to take hold of the reins in one hand as his other patted down Zokoztli's neck. "Everything is alright, Zoko. She is nothing to fear."

Quzon owned the Seme for about two years and spoke to it constantly in Myrian. It knew Quzon to be its general caretaker, if nothing else. Half of all the basic commands Zokoztli responded to were words in Myrian. That meant he spoke to the horse in Myrian as he didn't know how to stop its panic, but projected his own personal ideas of dealing with fear onto the horse.

Quzon dealt with fear through action. Which meant that he needed to distract Zokoztli from looking at the kelvic. He lifted his booted foot up to place it into the stirrup and lift himself, swinging his other leg over the saddle to mount it. "Walk." He spoke out while using his lower legs to squeeze lightly behind Zoko's girth area.

Zokoztli responded to the call to action like he normally would. The horse shifted its head forward to attempted to get further away from the danger by walking away. The Seme was a tense ball of muscle that Quzon had no clue how to calm. The only option he could think of was to shift the reins to walk the horse in a slow circle.

Round, round, round, again, and again.

He was stuck walking Zokoztli in an endless circle to try to work out some of the anxiety. As he rounded another bend, Quzon bade sure to keep slight gentle pressure on the rein so that they were up, but not pulled taut. He then motioned his left hand to shift at the rein while his left calf softly patted at the horses side as a cue for it to turn.

Needless to say, Quzon was stuck in the loop for a few chimes before he turned to start talking to the Kelvic who got him into this situation. "Do you wish, want get killed?" Unlike how he spoke in Myrian, his common was a heap of shyte when spoken quickly. That was why each of his words were spoken slowly with a distinctly Taloban accent. "Kotakbil Female, what your name?"

[Kavala]

The Konti Healer didn't mind taking a mob of one and two year old colts out to run the novice course of the Wolf Creek Equestrian Training Course. She had a mixed group today... two colts just having turned two - one of which she was riding - and three long yearlings that had been born early and were smarter than most. The five chattered loudly as they trotted excitedly along, glad to get out and take some lessons from their Mistress. They took advantage of Kavala's special gods-granted gift allowing them speech in her presence. Trotting along in a loose bunch as many as would fit abreast on the trail at a time, they rough housed like all young horses did. Flanks were nipped, playful kicks were thrown, and there was a smattering of horse taunts that the young stallions often challenged each other with. To someone hearing them approach it would sound like a group of riders, not a singular Konti out with a bunch of loose stallions. Outings like this were important for the young horses. It helped Kavala decide which she'd save for breeding and which she'd keep training for The Kuvay'Nas. The special ones she'd reserve back for some of the horses for sale at The Sanctuary or for officers in the Akalak guard. The ones that fell short of brains she'd geld to ensure their lives were longer and happier than they would be as young stallions.

Thus far this bunch had made the cut and were allowed out. Four of the horses had not a stitch of tack on them. They followed the Konti on the biggest stallion of the bunch like a pack of oversized hounds. Kavala had no head gear on her stallion either... a shimmery black colt though he did wear a modified Yvas that mainly held a pack she carried for emergencies. The Konti herself was dressed in black leathers much like the Akalak wore and carried an overly long lung whip that was at least five feet long. She had her high boots on and her translucent white hair caught up in a high ponytail. Light and flexible, the whip wasn't used to beat the horses. Instead it was used as an extension of her arm to guide the horse under her and reach out and correct the other horses when they were doing something wrong.

When the mob turned a corner and came into full view of the beginning of the course, Kavala half-halted the colt between her thighs as the others passed her and ranged out around the worried Seme and his rider. Loosely gathering around the big horse, the colts were almost as large as it was, though their bones weren't fused from their finished growth nor where they nearly as wise.

Several gave the naked woman a good sniff but other than that dismissed her immediately. Kelvics were frequent on the Sanctuary grounds and they'd seen predators before. Wearing human skin, Kelvics weren't much of a threat to them and only if she shifted and presented them with a cat form would they divide and decide to run or circle her. And as far as their training had progressed, their likely hood of circling and confronting the big cat was fairly high.

"Hello there. Problems?" Kavala said, shifting the horse under her forward an walking the colt up to the circling Seme. The man was a stranger but she could tell he was struggling. The Kelvic she'd seen before. Kavala reached out and placed a hand on the Seme's neck as she brought the colt into tandum motion with the big horse beside him. She looked deeply into the big horse's eye. "Easy... easy..." The Konti said, noting immediately that the Seme's rider wasn't that experienced by the way he was sitting.

Kavala, having met Salara before, offered her a smile as she did so. "Salara, I think this big fellow thinks you are going to eat him. Why don't you stand up and say something nice to prove you're fairly unthreatening..." The Konti urged, still circling her colt in tandum with the Seme until he would calm to a stop if his rider let him.

[Salara Kel'Halavath]

She saw it quite clearly in his eyes before the ax whistled past her head. It was The End - embedded by the bladed edge then likely bashed to mush beneath the hooves of the black stallion. But thanks be to Kelwin, the man covered more in body art than cloth was at least experienced enough to redirect his swing even if he seemed somewhat lacking in horse control. The great beast pranced and pounded around in its fit so Salara was easily inclined to stay put as commanded, although she sidled somewhat closer to the cart wheel in case she needed to dunk behind to get out of the way.

The man somehow managed to pull himself astride, which was a sight leaving even less to her imagination as their solid muscles seemed to merge black fur against pale flesh. Almost unconsciously, a soft hum emanated from her throat that shadowed the un-common language he spoke to calm the horse through their circular path.

Soon though, her efforts to recognize dialect were engaged as he turned some of his attention back to her. ‘Do you wish, want get killed?’ Head cocked inquisitively Salara took a tick to understand his deeply accented words and yet another as her brain tried to translate what a ‘Kotabil’ was. The delay lingered as the sound of a group of chatty fellows turned her attention with a gasp to find a small herd of horses approaching.

She understood better when she recognized the black clad rider as the woman who had saved her life last season. Fingers lifted to the small star-like scar upon her throat, “Healer Kavala.” Then she shied as a couple of the young horses stepped rather close blowing grassy scented snorts upon her before, to her extreme relief, turning away. She wasn’t accustomed to being so disregarded by the hooved kind and it took a moment for her to recover from that as well.

Showing yourself to be of quick wit today aren’t you, she thought to herself sarcastically.

Watching the interaction between the pair of riders and remembering her shock at being able to speak within her fur in the Konti’s presence, the Kelvic curiously wondered if the man’s horse would speak; but Kavala seemed to know its thoughts regardless. Taking the woman quite literally, Salara stepped clear from the safety of the wagon. Feeling the center of attention from way too many eyes, she cleared her throat self-consciously, a hand reached out then turned to nervously twitch across her stomach instead, “So sorry, ahhh... horse. You are way too big for me to e….ahhhh.” Probably not the best to even allude to with this audience she thought with a blink.

Pleading eyes raised to the black horse’s rider, “I wasn’t paying attention and if either of you had done me in it would have been my own fault. I’m Salara and it is nice to meet you…,” she remembered she was supposed to be talking to his horse, “...both.” The Kelvic couldn’t help but turn her gaze to see if her response was acceptable to the group as well, “Nice to meet you all,” her husky voice added politely as she wondered at how awkward this all felt.

x

From Wymez <3