[Sanctuary] The Making of a Partnership (Vahn)

[Kavala]

Timestamp: 40th of Spring, 510 AV
Location: Sanctuary
Purpose: Warhorse Training

There were things in her life she didn't want to talk about. Recently, too, there were things in her life she was running away form. Vahn wasn't one of those things she wanted to loose a grip on though. Part of her wondered, silently, in the tiny confines of the back of her mind and the shadows in her heart, if she invested time and effort into Vahn if he'd leave her like so many of the other kelvics had left. Would he take what he needed and move on? Would he seek the bondmate Kavala was never quite suitable enough to be for any of them? Kavala knew Vahn would stick by her side as he agreed for a while at least, perhaps a season or two. And she trusted his word. But nevertheless it was a small worry, a nagging hurt, that had started to fester along with all the other doubts in her mind that came from the circumstances of her life at the moment.

Being a new mother didn't help either. Sleeplessness. Restlessness. Even depression struck her often. Kavala fought through it, renewing her training as her body adjusted, allowing her to transform from a slightly fluffy Konti with too much weight back to the slim creature she'd once been. It was a slow road though... one she worked through as time allowed.

Time allowed now. Tasival was even now asleep in a basket hung safely on the fence well shaded from the sun even as Kavala slipped through the rails and entered the big arena. Worry time was over. Training time was now. A yvas was slung over her shoulders and she wore loose pants in the style of the drykas and her customary sleeveless tunic in preparation. Vahn needed to be made into a warhorse. His battle with the bandits and then with Raiha had proven that to her. He had the athleticism. He had the strength. Now he needed the training, and so much of it that it was automatic. Kavala had to turn him from a dangerous herd stallion acting on instinct to a well-honed warhorse that was as deadly as he was fit.

It would be a struggle. It always was, for any horse, but especially for Vahn who was far more a thinking creature than most horses were. And while they were doing it, Kavala would teach him all she could to make sure no one ever bound him. When she was done, no rope would ever hold him. No fence would stop him. No barn would contain him. When she got through teaching him what he needed to know to survive, fire wouldn't spook him, smoke wouldn't slow him down, and loud noises or swords swinging - even the press of battle and other bodies - wouldn't phase him one bit. She would forge him, mold him, and sculpt him into something ferocious. And in doing so, she'd be teaching herself how to teach all the offspring even now the mares of Sanctuary were dropping. This generation wasn't his, of course, but next years crop would be. And in three years the fillies of this birth cycle would be part of his herd. So all that she taught him would go to protecting them, strengthening them, making them into something she'd always desired.

Something new. Something ferocious. Something Mizahar had never seen before.

And so Kavala walked to the center of the arena and waited. "Vahn..." She called, summoning him. He wouldn't be far. No arena gates were open. The whole complex was sealed. His first test would be to get into Sanctuary itself from the pasture and then into the arena to meet with her. And he could do it any way he thought possible except by shifting.

[Vahn Gremio]

erked up to catch the calling of his name, mouthful of fresh grass chewed between his teeth. Swallowing his bite of his meal, he looked about for anyone who might have called for him. It was rare for someone to come out to the pasture, seeing as how most of the other kelvics within Sanctuary were of a more predatory nature and possibly preferred hunting grounds where they could kill. At least, that was Vahn's thoughts, since the only other kelvic he had truly met was Mao, and she certainly did not seem to be one to enjoy a run upon the pastures...

Taking another bite of fresh greens, Vahn galloped towards where he had heard the call for his presence, hooves beating upon the wet grass and dirt and leaving imprints in the mud. Vahn hated mud, it prevented him from running to his full extent, but after a short while he felt the firm ground, devoid of the morning dew that had made the pasture a muddy mess and ran like the wind.

He came to the gates of Sanctuary, only to find them closed. Changing to his naked human form, he walked up to the gates to open them...and was surprised to find them locked. Why would someone lock him out of his new home? Unless...was this a prank of Mao's, or someone telling him he was unwanted? Or was this some sort of test to check his abilities, his resolve and cunning to remain within this safe haven?

The gate was not overly tall, and he could possibly jump over it in his natural form...but it would also be possible to simply climb over it. Would that be considered cheating, using his arms and legs to stumble ungraciously over the gates like a tresspassing thief?

Pondering to himself, he decided to try it the most natural way possible: jump. Transforming back into his horse form, Vahn trotted back a bit and began to pick up speed, charging towards the gate. Once he hit his full speed, he leapt as his as possible, his hooves barely clearing the top of the gates. He kept running, ready to leap over any other hurdle that came his way, his eyes constantly looking for the voice that had called him.

[Kavala]

She was standing in the middle of the arena watching. When he took the jump she was surprised. Vahn was a heavy horse, not a lithe sleek mare who was as fast as she was athletic. He was built for power and defense, but that he could jump and was willing too told her volumes.

As he galloped forward, Kavala nodded, walking towards the gate. She waved her hands, to ward him off, not wanting him to jump into the arena as well. Vahn had to be smarter than the average horse if he was going to be impossible to contain. With a glance at her child who was still sleeping comfortably in the shade of the veranda, Kavala stepped forward and spoke loud enough so Vahn could hear her over his hoofbeats on the cobbles and his rapid breathing from the exertion over the gate.

"Don't jump the arena. Lets talk about gates. You are a horse, but you won't always have the room or the ability to jump something. The gate is locked with a chain so your hands will do you no good. So where is it vulnerable?" Her teaching started now. Each word she would say to him from now on would hold a lesson. Horses tended to think linerally. But Vahn was a kelvic, so she knew he was capable of more. "People will fixate on where the gate opens, the lock, how it swings, but the truth is a gate's most vulnerable point isn't where it meets the fence at the latch. It's real vulnerability is at its hinges where it attaches to the fence. A well placed kick upwards can shove the gate high enough often to get the hinges free and then this fixed part of the gate will swing free. That way if you are trying to get away, you can take other horses with you that might not be able to jump so high. Give it a try..." She said firmly, standing back so he couldn't hurt her.

She'd stand quietly and watch, to see if he could unhinge the gate as a horse and get into the arena. It was a skill only a crazy woman would teach a horse because often confining animals is important. But Kavala wanted Vahn to be a warhorse, and such things fought, got captured, got stolen, or otherwise ran into trouble. She'd teach him all about trouble, daily now, and then help him figure out how to get out of it.

In fact, she had a present for him. Kavala had a small knife in her pocket, manufactured with a loop in its wooden handle that could be braided into Vahn's mane. It was small enough he could carry it easily, but large enough that if he needed to switch and have a weapon, he had one always at hand and could slash through any rope that bound him if he could indeed get his hands on his knife. That would be her next lesson, just as soon as he pushed through and managed to make it into the arena.

[Vahn Gremio]

Vahn listened to her instructions and nodded while in his horse form. She was right, he had been relying on his humanoid form far too much recently. It was as if he had finally found uses for that form, yet had forgotten what he truly was. He was a horse first, a human second, and she wanted to see how well he could perform as a horse. He supposed she wanted him to train now, and that was fine by him. This task seemed simple enough...

Facing so that his hindquarters were placed in front of the gate, he brought his hooves up and tucked into his body before shoving them backwards with all of his might. Unfortunately, he did not hit the hinges, for he had no idea what a hinge was. All he knew was that she wanted him to open the door by kicking it, and kick he did. When his hooves would collide with the gate, it would be his pure power and physique opening it, not aiming for the weakness of the door. After all, this thing was a simple item made by the hands of two-legs. How sturdy could it be compared to the real thing, an actual tree?

(Sorry for the delay...)