42 Spring 517
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"Okay, girl. We can do this. Hey now, look me in the eyes. We can do this, you hear?"
The great brown eyes of the horse turned to stare at Aladari passively. She could almost feel the eyes of the horse passing straight through her, focusing on something in the distance, or nothing at all. Aladari tried to focus the mare's eyes on her own by using her palms to tilt her head gently in her direction.
She only succeeded in recieving a hot snort of air in the face as the mare careened her head back and away from the Vantha. She tromped away, her heavy hooves kicking up clods of dirt from the damp morning earth. Aladari muttered a few heavy curses under her breath, but that and her dark eyes were the only signs of distress.
She had had the horse for almost a season now, but she still couldn't adjust. She thought it would be helpful, if she were to live so far from town, to have a horse to ride who wasn't half-man. However, the idea had proved much more difficult and much less convenient than she had anticipated. The mare did not care to be ridden, nor did she enjoy carrying supplies on her back. Instead, she rather preferred to munch on things that she wasn't supposed to eat- like hair or tarps. In a more immediate sense, it seemed the mare preferred to busy herself with rolling in mud and dirt.
Aladari closed her eyes, immune to all perception of the horse except the mucking sound that her rolling made and the feeling of the hot sun berating her skin. Without looking, Aladari began to bargain with the horse quietly and desperately.
"Please," She began, "All I need is one bell riding practice. That's it! Just one bell for me, and then the whole rest of the day is all for you, you see?" Aladari opened her eyes hopefully only to spot the mare laying calmly in a mud puddle. Well, at least she's paying attention.
"Good." She cooed in the way a mother might talk to a child who had just counted to five for the first time. "There's no need for us to fight. You can be you, and I can be me, and we can go our separate ways. It's just this once- just for a moment- I need you to work with me. Can you do that?"
The mare blinked slowly a few times, as if processing the information. Then, with a sudden huff of what could have been determination, rose to her feet and flicked her tail up and around.
Unfortunately, though this was mistaken for determination, it was actually the mare's way of saying that she was done resting, and ready to play again. So, upon rising and flicking her tail, she turned around and kicked off from the ground, gifting Aladari with a wonderful shower of dirt.
"Ah yeah, petch you too!"
The great brown eyes of the horse turned to stare at Aladari passively. She could almost feel the eyes of the horse passing straight through her, focusing on something in the distance, or nothing at all. Aladari tried to focus the mare's eyes on her own by using her palms to tilt her head gently in her direction.
She only succeeded in recieving a hot snort of air in the face as the mare careened her head back and away from the Vantha. She tromped away, her heavy hooves kicking up clods of dirt from the damp morning earth. Aladari muttered a few heavy curses under her breath, but that and her dark eyes were the only signs of distress.
She had had the horse for almost a season now, but she still couldn't adjust. She thought it would be helpful, if she were to live so far from town, to have a horse to ride who wasn't half-man. However, the idea had proved much more difficult and much less convenient than she had anticipated. The mare did not care to be ridden, nor did she enjoy carrying supplies on her back. Instead, she rather preferred to munch on things that she wasn't supposed to eat- like hair or tarps. In a more immediate sense, it seemed the mare preferred to busy herself with rolling in mud and dirt.
Aladari closed her eyes, immune to all perception of the horse except the mucking sound that her rolling made and the feeling of the hot sun berating her skin. Without looking, Aladari began to bargain with the horse quietly and desperately.
"Please," She began, "All I need is one bell riding practice. That's it! Just one bell for me, and then the whole rest of the day is all for you, you see?" Aladari opened her eyes hopefully only to spot the mare laying calmly in a mud puddle. Well, at least she's paying attention.
"Good." She cooed in the way a mother might talk to a child who had just counted to five for the first time. "There's no need for us to fight. You can be you, and I can be me, and we can go our separate ways. It's just this once- just for a moment- I need you to work with me. Can you do that?"
The mare blinked slowly a few times, as if processing the information. Then, with a sudden huff of what could have been determination, rose to her feet and flicked her tail up and around.
Unfortunately, though this was mistaken for determination, it was actually the mare's way of saying that she was done resting, and ready to play again. So, upon rising and flicking her tail, she turned around and kicked off from the ground, gifting Aladari with a wonderful shower of dirt.
"Ah yeah, petch you too!"