Closed Something New

[Khara]

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Khara felt her eyes close at the gentle touch against her forehead, a soft content sigh following the sensation. Saying that nothing would be able to hurt them seemed like a bit of a stretch but right then Khara wanted nothing more than to fully believe it. With their admissions the night before everything had changed, even the last few days of Fall and their absolute misery seemed so far away and unable to touch her. Winter wasn't supposed to be a season that anyone in Wind Reach looked forward to, but if this was how it was going to start, then Khara could hardly wait for it to begin in earnest.

Still, it was the sputter from Smoke that finally coaxed the girl to fully loosen her hold on Zhol. As Khara looked past him she couldn't help but wonder just how intelligent the mare was - she certainly seemed to be looking at the two humans with a mixture of amusement and impatience. Can horses even look amused? Khara mused before returning her golden gaze to Zhol.

"What was it you said about smushing?" She asked with a mischievous smile that faded into uncertainty. That didn't sound right at all.

Khara shrugged off the mistake and her smile returned. It was held for a tick or two until she slowly slid her arms away from where they had wound around Zhol's body and quickly ensnared one of his hands in hers. A few quick steps, tugging the horse boy gently behind her, were taken towards Smoke.

Try as hard as she could to avoid it, the baffled expression slowly seeped it's way back onto her. A nervous nibble at her lower lip was only halted as she spoke. "So, how am I supposed to do this? Getting up there, I means."

"Nari" | "Common" | "Pavi"

[Zhol]

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She was holding his hand. Holding his hand and leading him around. For several moments, every other thought and notion evaporated from his head, and that fact, that feeling, that sensation filled it utterly. Her tiny, elegant fingers wrapped around his; the cool of her chilled digits nestled amongst the warmth of his. The tiny waves of reassurance and joy that washed through him every time Khara tightened her grip slightly, little reminders of what was happening, and why. Forget kissing, forget holding her in his arms; could he spend an eternity experiencing this instead? Could he spend forever feeling connected, clung to, like it would take the strength of a hundred horses to rip them apart?

"If we were using a proper saddle," Zhol explained slowly, trying not to over-use terminology that Khara might not recognise, "There would be straps of leather with little loops of iron hanging from them for you to hook your feet through, called stirrups. When you mount a saddled horse, you can use the stirrups as a step: put your foot in, lift yourself up, and swing your leg over the other horse."

He could see how alarmed Khara seemed at the premise of that feat of acrobatics; with a horse as large as Smoke especially, that looked like an impossible challenge for her petite but graceful legs. Without stirrups, the amount of distance that needed to be climbed must have seemed utterly insurmountable: Khara could barely even reach Smoke's back, let alone pull herself up there.

"Because we don't have that though... see that pile of rocks?" He gestured across to a small mound opposite the exit of the stables. He wasn't sure what it was intended to be originally, but he and the other stable workers had appropriated it as a mounting block, particularly when their student for the day was one of the Yasi. Zhol had seen wooden constructions intended for this task, and part of him wondered about talking to Hansi about having such a thing crafted; but for now, the rocks would have to do.

"What I'm going to do is hold Smoke steady. You're going to clamber up on those rocks, climb onto her back, and then I'll climb up after you." He offered her hand a little squeeze. "Don't worry. I know it sounds scary, but I will be right here the entire time."

"Pavi" | "Common" | "Nari" | "Symenos"
Dad Thoughts | Dinah Thoughts | Khara Thoughts
...
This template was made by Khara. She has failed this city, and will soon be visited by a sexy man in a hood.

[Khara]

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She attempted to picture what Zhol was describing, then tried and utterly failed to not appear as terrified of trying to accomplish such a thing, and ended up fidgeting more than normal. The saddle that he was speaking of sure didn't sound like any she was used to. Of course, her knowledge of such things were limited and she supposed, after all, that a saddle for a Wind Eagle would have to be different than that for a horse.

It didn't seem to matter though, since they weren't using one, and Khara forced the jumbled mental image out of her head. Rocks though? Climbing? That she could do. Maybe. The squeeze that Zhol gave her hand certainly made her feel like she could do it.

"O-Okay," she chirped softly as Khara tried to muster up the little bit of courage it would take to push past whatever hesitations her mind was trying to come up with.

Her hand finally slipped from his once they were close enough and Khara took a deep breath and nodded to herself. Right. Just climbing. Some measly little rocks and then a... Not so measly horse. Without hurting her. Or me. Right. The rock pile looked easy enough but no sooner than Khara went to get her footing on one of the lower ones than it came loose, causing her to stumble and nearly fall back. A quick push with one leg gave her a small hop back away from the stones as they tumbled to the ground on the side she had attempted to scale. A sheepish glance was given to Zhol before Khara tried again, choosing her footing much more carefully.

Her second attempt was better, though it still took her a few ticks to finally get to the top of it. Khara blamed it more on the fact she was nervous overall than being bested by some silly rocks. The height it granted her wasn't as much as Khara would have liked, but it was going to have to do.

She cast Zhol an uncertain look as she gently reached out and placed her hands against Smoke's back. The question of if it was okay or if she was in any danger of hurting the mare went unspoken as she caught the confident look that Zhol gave her. That too was a silly thought, Khara realized. That one tiny Inarta could hurt such an animal by simply putting their weight upon her.

Khara considered making a small jump of it, like one would if they were trying to sit on a wall but she wasn't sure if the effect would be too jarring for the horse. The mental image of herself falling backwards off of Smoke was enough to dissuade her entirely. Odds were Zhol would catch her, but that would potentially injure his arm even further and she just... Couldn't. That left her with the option of slowly shifting her weight forward, balancing every so precariously on one leg on the pile of rocks while the other gently moved to the horse's back, knee placed as gently as possible. Khara didn't trust herself to look at Zhol in that moment, he would no doubt be encouraging but she needed to focus. Come on, Sparrow, just a little push... Her foot that remained on the rocks went from flat to toe a few times as she counted in her head, One... Two... Three!

It was only a little hop all things considered but it was more than enough for Khara to push up with her arms and boost herself with her knee enough to have her other leg leave the rock pile. There was a moment of pure panic as she realized just how entirely ungraceful the whole maneuver probably looked but there was no helping it now. Jumping from rock to rock was easy, climbing a cliff face was challenging, but getting onto a horse was just entirely mind-boggling.

Somehow though, she managed to stay on top of Smoke, quickly readjusting so her legs moved to either side of the animal rather than where they had been temporarily caught somewhat under her as she knelt on Smoke's back. That worry about hurting the mare came through again but still, Khara couldn't help but feel relatively pleased with herself once she was situated.

She looked over at Zhol, a mix of pride, confusion, surprise and astonishment taking over her all in the same moment. "I'm on a horse!" She exclaimed in wonder, only to blush horribly a tick later as she realized her outburst. "D-did I do okay? I...I didn't hurt her did I?"

Concern finally took over as Khara leaned forward and gently ran her fingers against Smoke's neck. "Sorry, I'm not so graceful sometimes."

"Nari" | "Common" | "Pavi"

[Zhol]

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A grateful hand stroked and patted it's way down the side of Smoke's neck, thankful for how calmly the mare had stood while Khara clambered on. Quickly and carefully he coiled the lead rope into a bundle; he thought about nestling it into the crook of Khara's legs himself, but a sudden flash of realisation followed by a burning wave of embarrassment suggested that wasn't the best idea. Instead he took hold of Khara's hand and pressed it to his lips, kissing against the backs of her fingers. "You did perfect," he assured, his smile easily broadening.

One last bit of adjustment with Smoke's tack later, and he handed Khara a bundle of lead rope and reins. "Hold these for me?" he asked, gently closing Khara's fingers around them, before taking a few long strides to circle around behind Smoke. Any other day, he would simply have vaulted effortlessly onto the horse, but between his arm and the nervous other occupant of the horse's back, such things seemed unwise.

Instead, he took a few short steps backwards and then sprang forward, one foot on the mound of rocks, then the other, a hand on Smoke's back for balance, and then a springing leap that swung him onto the mare's back. A few shuffles and he nestled himself in position, arms reaching to wrap around Khara's body, encouraging her to lean comfortably back against him. With his nose he nuzzled aside Khara's hair, settling a gentle but eager kiss against the side of her neck; his injured arm settled comfortably across her legs, the other one teasing the lead rope out of Khara's hands, and passing it to his injured arm's idle fingers.

"I'm going to need your help," he lied. "I won't be able to use the reins properly with my arm injured, so I'm going to need you to hold them. It'll be easy, I promise."

"Pavi" | "Common" | "Nari" | "Symenos"
Dad Thoughts | Dinah Thoughts | Khara Thoughts
...
This template was made by Khara. She has failed this city, and will soon be visited by a sexy man in a hood.

[Khara]

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He made it look so easy! One moment Zhol had been handing her a bundle of rope and leather and the next she knew he was sitting perfectly content behind her. With an injured arm no less! As much as some part of her wanted to be self conscious about the struggle it had taken to even get her close to being atop the horse, the rest was awed. Which was foolish, she knew it. Anyone else and she probably would have thought nothing of it, but this wasn't anyone, this was Zhol and suddenly thousands of questions of how he did such a thing came to mind. How did he learn to do it? Who had taught him? How long did it take before he could do such a thing with such ease?

So many questions and all that she could do was lean back against him as Zhol's arms settled around her and let out a slow breath. The way she had to sit on the horse was entirely unfamiliar and somewhat uncomfortable but the bits that felt strange were at least easily distracted from by the feeling of Zhol behind her. For a tick or two she wondered if it would be at all possible to simply pull her legs up under her or in front of her somehow and lean back against him more. A subtle shift from Smoke, however, quickly seemed to prove how impossible that would be as she felt rather unsteady even sitting how you were supposed to.

That particular sensation was more than enough to bring her back from entirely losing herself in daydream and whimsy. She became once more aware of the slight weight of the reins in her hands and tried to cast a glance over her shoulder at Zhol, but wasn't entirely successful.

"What do I have to? What needs do I do?" She cringed as soon as the words left her, knowing the phrase was wrong but nerves kept her from figuring out how to reword it and instead left her fumbling with the reins and shrinking back against Zhol.

"Nari" | "Common" | "Pavi"

[Zhol]

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"All you need to do is help us point the right way," he assured. Part of him was uncomfortable with the note of anxiety in Khara's voice, but he knew it would pass in a few moments, as soon as they were under way, and she realised that she was doing the right thing

He made a show of moving his head to peer over her shoulder at her hands, brushing his cheek against hers far more than he needed to. Carefully, he adjusted the position of the reins in her hands: held loosely in front of her as if she were gripping the back of a chair, the leather emerging from between her last two fingers rather than wrapping the whole way around her hand. "Hold them nice and loose," he explained, easing her arms so they rested casually against her thighs. "When we're going in a straight line, you don't need to do anything. if we need to turn a particular way, you just tug gently on that side; if we need to stop, you tug back on both sides at once. It in turn tugs on the headgear that Smoke is wearing, and let's her know that's the way we want to go. I'll be using my legs to tell her what to do too. You're not in total control, you're just helping."

He planted a gentle kiss on her cheek, before a quick tap of his left leg, and then a quick tap of both steered Smoke to the right and ushered her into a slow walk, her vast body rocking beneath them. "It's okay," he said quietly, keeping his head close beside Khara's so she could hear every gentle word. "You're not going to fall. Smoke's neck is in the way if you fall forwards, my legs are in the way if you slip sideways, and I'm in the way if you fall back. Just keep your hips nice and loose, lean back against me as much as you want, try not to tense up -"

Another tap of his heels, and their pace quickened from a slow walk to a comfortable, swaying amble. "- and just keep pointing us in the right way. You will be great at this. Just relax, and everything will be okay. I promise."

"Pavi" | "Common" | "Nari" | "Symenos"
Dad Thoughts | Dinah Thoughts | Khara Thoughts
...
This template was made by Khara. She has failed this city, and will soon be visited by a sexy man in a hood.

[Khara]

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Khara wasn't sure why her mind had been fully convinced that once they had started moving it would feel just the same as the time she had been lucky enough to ride an Eagle. Of course, that whole situation had been very, very different. For an instant she was filled with a flair of panic about the possibility that Smoke was a Kelvic, but the silly notion that Zhol wouldn't have said anything about that fled almost immediately. She filled the void the errant thought had left by repeating the instructions he gave her; Okay, tug in the direction we need to go, tug both to stop - how hard do I tug? Just a little bit? A careful test was given to the reins and Khara felt herself remember to breathe as Smoke seemed to follow the direction with as much care as the girl had put into the slight pull. That... that's easy. I can do this.

One word pierced her internal rambling. Relax. It was an instruction that always kept popping up it seemed, no matter the task at hand. She couldn't exactly blame anyone for emphasizing it, though. Khara had never exactly been known for having a calm demeanor, after all.

It took a small handful of chimes before she finally began to actually allow the tension in her arms and legs to ease. The pace was slow as they made their way, more from what she guessed was Zhol keeping the ride as easy as possible as it was quickly apparent that the thin layer of snow on the road was causing no problem at all to the horse's movements.Closed, that was how the Sanikas Pass was described in Winter and Khara supposed that later in the Season it would live up to that, but for now it seemed Morwen had almost forgotten about Skyinarta; maybe she just felt bad for what had all happened to Wind Reach the year prior.

Khara let out a slow breath and watched as it clouded in the air, a sigh mixed of relief and contentment as she allowed herself to lean fully back against Zhol. He said she could, after all. Every so often she would feel her entire body flinch at some unexpected sensation that came from a slightly different step that Smoke was forced to take, there was still a hint of anxiety that crept up in anticipation of every gentle tug she gave on the reins but overall she had to admit that she genuinely felt happy, excited, and far too amused at the fact she hadn't fallen off yet - despite Zhol's assurances.

"W-we should do this more," Khara finally managed to say. "You're right, it's not so difficult. Not when I have you to help, at least."

"Nari" | "Common" | "Pavi"

[Zhol]

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Zhol's injured arm, still resting comfortably across Khara's abdomen, offered a gentle extra squeeze of comfort as she leant back into him. Zhol had seen two people share a horse before. He had done so himself even, a few rides for confidence with frightened Yasi who would need to become better acquainted with Wind Reach's four-legged residents for their future obligations to the city. He had imagined this, riding with Khara, more times than he cared to count. Yet, what he had never expected was the sheer comfort, the sheer sense of peace he felt being here with her, like this. It wasn't just the fact that she was leaning against him, though he could not imagine another sensation as blissful as this. It wasn't the prospect of her riding, elated as he was to be able to share an actual part of his life with her. It was the togetherness; the cooperation; they were not individuals engaged in the same task, the way that they were on the archery range; this was them, together; acting together; succeeding together.

He couldn't help stealing another kiss against her cheek, nor could he help nuzzling his way into her scarf to sneak those gentle kisses down her jawline and onto the sensitive skin of her neck. "I would like that," he said softly, not even trying to keep his smile of genuine joy from gracing his features.

He didn't give voice to the possibilities that swam through his mind. What more could they share, like this? He hoped everything. He hoped that every day would begin as this one had, her eyes being the first thing that his eyes saw. He hoped that every day would be filled with the way he felt now: overjoyed to be with her, overjoyed to be together, overjoyed that Khara knew that the heart thundering away in his chest belonged exclusively to her. He hoped that every day would end the way that yesterday had, drifting gently off into sleep that was guaranteed to be dreamless, because no fiction could possibly be more wonderful than the reality asleep in his arms.

"I would love that, very much."

He didn't tell her how much he loved her. He didn't tell her how happy he was. He didn't tell her how much he wished this moment would never end. He didn't need to. No doubt there would be worries eventually, irrational fears, nervous moments; but for now he was utterly content to keep those sentiments to himself. There was plenty of time to tell her later.

They had plenty of forever left.

"Pavi" | "Common" | "Nari" | "Symenos"
Dad Thoughts | Dinah Thoughts | Khara Thoughts
...
This template was made by Khara. She has failed this city, and will soon be visited by a sexy man in a hood.

[Verilian]

Grade in progress.

[Verilian]

. Thread Award Zhol +2 Flirting +1 Acrobatics +2 Teaching Lores: Waking with Khara What is too much or too little? The Distracting Powers of a Kiss Nari: I love you Acrobatics Technique: One Armed Dressing Confessing the cause of an Injury The Simple Joy of Riding with the One you Love Khara +1 Observation +2 Flirting +1 Horsemanship +2 Riding Lores: Fear of Waking in an Unfamiliar Bed Relief of Realizing where you Are Being Kissed into Distraction Pavi: Sign for Affection The Happiness of Love Smoke: Solo's Mother Dame - Horse Mother Sire - Horse Father Smoke - Half Avanthalian Sleigh Horse Horsemanship - Brushing a Horse The Basics of Horse Coloration Riding - Mounting a Horse Riding - How to Hold Reins Riding - Basics of Steering a Horse Notes: Ah, the part about the brushing brought me back to my days at the ranch. Good thread. Not a lot of skills I could award, but if you feel I missed anything, please feel free to PM me. Good thread, and keep writing! Also, please edit your post in the request thread to reflect that it has been graded.