Becoming a Rider

Log Info

• Title: Becoming a Rider

• Characters: Aelwyn, Lucius

• Place: H03: Malifre Stables

• Summary: As promised, Lucius teaches Aelwyn how to ride a horse. Aelwyn overcomes some initial struggles and acquires proficiency with basic riding commands. They set off together for a walk on horseback along the Eldwyn, with Lucius beginning to recount a family legend about the Owlknight.

Under the azure blue skies, a calm breeze drifts through a yard adjoining the Malifre Stables, lessening the earthy odors of hay and manure and trampled grass. A wooden split-rail fence surrounds the yard, tall enough to prevent an untrained horse from jumping over. In the distance, the Eldwyn meanders through the countryside.

Lucius emerges from the stables, leading a chestnut palfrey by the reins. He closes the gate behind him as he enters the yard, pausing a moment to flash an easy grin at Aelwyn. "Shall we begin?" His face is flushed with anticipation. Nearby, Thunder stands at the ready. His ears twitch when Lucius leads another horse into the yard, but he waits patiently for his rider's commands.

It was bit of a culture shock. Not that the ruddy sith-makar was unadjusted to traveling with horses - quite the opposite in fact - but he had quite never been to such large stable before for any longer period of time. And there he was. Wading in the mixture of mud, manure and trampled grass.

The Dragoon could barely be more excited, even if he tried to hide it under his easygoing poise.

"Naturally, Rider. One shall never be more ready." Aelwyn replies with a flash of his teeth; adjusting his new leather cloak; hanging off one shoulder. It had fur lining. It looked very fresh and cut out for him - and what better way to break it in. "Though... how..." He asks, as he steps closer towards the horse. "... how does one begin?"

"Excellent question! Not to worry, I'll guide you through everything step by step." After leading the palfrey alongside Aelwyn, Lucius halts. "First, the mount. One foot in the stirrup, grab the horn, and then pull down —" he gestures to the saddle horn, "— jump up and swing over," he points to his other leg on the ground. "The higher you jump, the safer the mount, so don't hold anything back. And don't worry about the saddle sliding or falling off. I'll hold it down from the other side to keep the saddle in place. Once you're mounted and comfortable, I'll hand you the reins." As he explains, Lucius turns and adjusts some of the saddle straps, before moving to the other side.

GAME: Aelwyn rolls athletics: (1)+8: 9 (EPIC FAIL)

Aelwyn looks towards Lucius with keen orange eyes, listening intently. His teeth flash wide then though. "Tch, this one has jumped on larger creatures." He rumbles as he slides his hand over the saddle; his glaive had been set aside a bit further distance. "And some of them were really wild." His tail flicks behind him.

The draconian grabs the saddle and carefully slides his clawed toes through the stirrup - which took some manevouring, before he looks up. Only one way up. He takes in a deep breath - and with a glorious, confident swing, he starts to hoist himself up - and the horse suddenly startles. Perhaps he was too eager or perhaps those claws grazed something; but the Dragoon is sent flying, all the way onto his back into the manure.

"... hrrr..." A faint voice growls. "... this one is glad this does not stink worse..."

"Whoa, easy!" Lucius stiffens as the palfrey lurches forward. He looks over just in time to see Aelwyn fall back on the other side of the horse and hear the makari thump into the earth. "Aelwyn, are you all right?" His voice rings with concern as Lucius doubles back to help Aelwyn up and brushes the manure from his back, as best as he can.

"I've never seen a horse panic like that out of nowhere," he confesses. "It looked like a freak accident to me. Not your fault in the slightest." Lucius scratches his head. "Why don't you give this to your horse? It'll soothe the nerves and clear up any misunderstandings. After that, we can have another go at the mount." He reaches into his cloak and offers a small sugar cube to Aelwyn on an open palm.

The usually polished makari did not really look up to his usual standard. Then again, with the help of Lucius wiping off most of the manure from his cloak and scales - he didn't seem to mind it so much. "Nothing broken, Rider." He flashes his teeth. "This one was not aware horses buck like that."

The draconian picks up the offered sugar cube and eyes it curiously, while he adjusts the collar of his cloak. The wear was obviously not something he was adjusted to. "... sugar?" He asks with a curious tilt of his head, looking at Lucius. "Riders spoil their mounts?" His lips curl upwards a touch; but he does - very carefully - move closer towards the horse; fingers holding out the cube to the mount. "Like this? Should this one say something?"

"Not if you ask Thunder. He probably thinks I starve him." Lucius grins, and Thunder's ears perk up again, but the stallion has yet to reach the limits of his patience and remains still. As Aelwyn approaches the palfrey, he holds out his empty palm again in the same gesture. "It's safer to feed from your palm, unless you want the horse to bite off your fingers. Uh, never mind that," he adds quickly, "palfreys are bred to be gentle, and this one won't bite. And free to say a word or two of encouragement. Sugar cubes are a language of their own, though, and every horse in the world knows the meaning." Meanwhile, Lucius checks the saddle straps and makes a couple more minute adjustments.

Aelwyn flips up the cube and grabs it in his palm instead. "Hmmh. Advice appreciated." The responds. He raises his hand up and carefully places it onto the side of the horse. "Looker," The ruddy sith-makar starts with a low rumble. "How about this one and they will take a ride together?" He offers up the sugar. "Barter for the cube."

The sith-makar may not be very well versed with animal handling. He sways his tail behind him and looks over towards Lucius. "Rider seems to know his horses. Has he ridden anything else?" He asks, with a flick of his tongue. "Or been interested in riding anything else?"

Lucius shakes his head. "The bond between Thunder and I formed through years of training and constantly being in each other's company. It's hard to imagine bonding like this with another horse, much less a beast of an altogether different nature." As Aelwyn's tail sways, realization dawns on Lucius' face. "Oh, when you mount, please be sure that your tail doesn't hit your horse by accident. My apologies, I should have told you this before your first attempt." He smiles reassuringly at Aelwyn and moves to the opposite side of the palfrey to prepare again. "You can do this! Whenever you're ready."

GAME: Aelwyn rolls athletics: (17)+8: 25

Aelwyn looks over towards his tail. Ah. That dastardly sneak. "Tch, this wasn't even thinking about it." He coils it around his neck, rumbling a little bit as he pats the horse's side. Breathing in deep, he once again maneuvers his feet into the stirrup.

And with a sudden heave, he lands right onto the saddle, the horse being completely nonplussed by the sudden added weight. "Hnh." He starts; lowering his tail. There was a thrum in his chest, as he looks down at Lucius. "Does this always feel like this, Rider?" He asks, his tailtip wiggling atop. "As if one were..." He clicks his tongue, trying to find the word for it. "About to dive?"

Lucius breathes a small sigh of relief as Aelwyn's second mount goes smoothly. "Well done!" He grins up at the sith-makar. "It can take some time to get used to the feeling of sitting in a saddle, but it shouldn't feel like you're about to fall off." He pauses. "This is how I was taught: your ears, shoulders, hips, and heels should form a straight line." He traces an imaginary line down Aelwyn's side.

"The next step is holding the reins. The length of the reins is such that the rider can hold them comfortably while maintaining a little slack." To demonstrate, Lucius holds his arms in front of him, the elbows bent downward at a loose angle. "And when you're ready, I'll show you how to take your first steps on horseback." He pauses again to allow Aelwyn to ask more questions if any.

Aelwyn had very little trouble following the instructions - he did have a sense of body control after all - but there was still a bit of shifting as he straightens out as instructed. His orange eyes also move over to look at his tail, to make sure it doesn't go wandering off again.

The sith-makar adjusts the reins in his hands, trying to sit still. "This one believes he is ready," He says, "What should this one..." He hoists up the rains slightly. "Do with these?" He glances at Thunder, then back towards Lucius. "If they have ridden so long, are these even necessary?"

"If I recall, the reins are most useful for stopping and turning. Horses are very intelligent and can be trained by touch and verbal commands alone, but having reins can be very useful." Lucius gestures to Thunder. "I don't use reins, but only out of necessity. I need my hands during combat, and Thunder himself knows what to do. Horses are very intelligent and can be trained by touch and verbal commands alone, so for experienced riders, reins might not be necessary."

"When you ride, your horse will respond to the smallest gestures. To walk forward, look where you want to go and gently close your legs. To stop, lightly squeeze the reins. If you'd like to turn, first turn your body in the direction you want to turn, and then relax the reins in the same hand. To turn left, turn your body left and then relax your left hand. Same thing for right turns." Lucius gives Aelwyn another encouraging smile. "I'll walk beside you, but know that there is little risk of things going haywire. Remember to keep calm and make steady movements. Confidence is your friend, panic your worst enemy."

Aelwyn listens to Lucius quite intently, trying to remember all the various gestures and movements. He gave few vague motions in the air, as he committed the motions into memory. "Sounds like dancing, this one suspects Rider would be quite the partner on the stage." He flashes his teeth at the other man. Leaning further down from the saddle, he looks Lucius close into the eye. "Rider is a very good teacher, this one finds."

Speaking of confidence, the ruddy sith-makar leans away then and repicks up his poise. Taking in a bit of a deep breath, he gives his muddy covered head a small nod. "This one will try taking a step forward." He warns Lucius; before slowly squeezing his legs together.

"Thank you, that's very kind of you to say." As Aelwyn and the palfrey take their first steps together, Lucius keeps pace alongside, with a watchful eye on the pair. But Aelwyn appears to have everything under control by himself, and Lucius grins. "Excellent! You're a natural at this." He applauds softly, so as to not startle the palfrey. "Try stopping or turning, if you'd like." He repeats a brief summary of the previous instructions. "You got this!"

Aelwyn does as he is told; trying to shift the hold of his reins and turning the horse. It took him a few tries to figure out the way he had to lean and how much to relax - but as Lucius said, horses are intelligent animals. Even if its current rider may sometimes not be.

"Tch, Rider will make this one blush at this rate. And this one cannot even blush." The ruddy sith-makar calls out to the human, looking like he was thoroughly enjoying himself. Even if they were just walking. He grabs the reins into one hand and he gestures with his hand towards Lucius. "This one used to hear so many stories of cavaliers and their steeds." He suddenly says; tail moving around his saddle. "And this one hopes to ride with one someday."

Lucius favors Aelwyn with a knowing smile. "It was those very stories that inspired me to train and become a cavalier." As the makari practices his turns and moves, Lucius beams with delight. "It's true, though, you're a very quick learner. As for a ride together, it doesn't have to be someday if it can be today. How'd you feel about a short ride along the Eldwyn?"

Aelwyn exposes his teeth. "The nice ones of the legend, or the more..." He clicks his tongue, "The ones with more rogueish cavaliers?" He asks, slowly sliding his tail. "This one admits he leans more towards the latter." There's a flash of his teeth as he straightens more up on the saddle, sliding his hand along the mane of the horse he was riding on.

Then Lucius' offer makes him stop and he looks at him with surprise. "Rider thinks this one can?" He asks - but then his lips just flat out disappear from the row of his sharp teeth. "This one would gladly!"

"I have no doubts at all about your readiness. If anything, the experience would only further accelerate your improvement." With this affirmation, Lucius summons Thunder to his side. The stallion immediately begins to sniff at his rider's hands, and with a resigned smile Lucius reaches inside his cloak for another sugar cube. "You are, in theory, a trained warhorse. Behave yourself," he addresses his steed in mock admonition.

"As for your other question, Aelwyn, the Myrrish legends seem to concern themselves largely with the cavaliers of Good. It's too bad that I hardly know any stories of the more rogueish cavaliers who you prefer." Lucius swings onto his saddle, and as Thunder walks toward the gate, he turns around to face Aelwyn again. "Perhaps we might trade cavalier stories during our ride? You must know many such legends, but the one I'm thinking of is not widely known. It's about the Owlknight, a legendary figure of whom my family claims to be direct descendants."

Aelwyn curiously looks at the interaction, carefully leaning towards the horse he was riding. His hand moves to pat along the side of its neck; moving to ruffle its ear absently. "Tch, soldiers need to show a little emotion under all the armor, don't they? Why fight otherwise?"

The ruddy sith-makar carefully leads his horse around Lucius while he gets up on the saddle. He lets out a low amused rumble. "The cavalier stories this one heard - they tended to perhaps focus more on the good, bad, and the rough inbetween. Tangled up in their values," The Dragoon straightens up. "Sometimes on the field, very often in the sheets." He rumbles and flicks his tail towards the side. "Perhaps not the kind Rider wishes to hear."

Hearing about the Owlknight though, he soon attempts to catch up to Lucius. It takes a few times to get the pace right - though his horse was more than content just following Thunder. "Owlknight? Tch, Rider's family must be famous for its cavaliers then?"

Lucius laughs. "I'm not sure about that. My father is a respected blacksmith, and my mother's poetry is mightier than any lance I could ever learn to wield, but I don't know if any of my forebears were cavaliers like the legendary Owlknight. Truth to be told, it's more of a family legend. I couldn't find any mention of such a cavalier other than the stories that my parents recounted when I was still a boy."

He leans down to unlatch and open the gate, holding it open for Aelwyn to follow. "So, the Owlknight. Our legend begins at the height of the Millennium Kingdom, an age of light and joy where the forces of Good reigned as far as the eye could see. Even so, pockets of evil cloaked themselves in shadowed lands. There was one such being, a fell knight of terrible power, who ruled over a dark and mighty keep. Among his many slaves was a boy who dreamed of freedom, a dream that began with a nightmare. A /knight/mare." In spite of himself, Lucius grins. "Confined in the dungeons, the boy was prone to waking up with awful screaming fits. One night, out of pity for the child, the keeper of the keys allowed the boy to wander through the rest of the silent castle to regain his composure. And it was on that night, with his first glimpse of the night sky through an open window, that the boy began to dream..."

Aelwyn bows his head towards Lucius, before he moves on through the gate. Towards the road. Towards the terrible freedom, and the endless possibilities. At least that's how it felt to the first time rider. "A boy who was a slave?" The draconian asks with curiosity. "How would they keep a boy who cried in the night?" The Dragoon asks, as he slowly settles into the ride with Lucius - tail whipping eagerly as the pair head off down the road.