Closed Horse's and a Viper (Viper)

[Ginchoeri]

Gin gasped as she was pulled up onto Aeyon's back. There was so much pull in Viper's helping hand she almost fell off the other side. She quickly grabbed Viper's seemingly sturdy torso and centered her balance with the help of his steadyness.

When they started moving she did not really mind. She listened to Aeyon's hoofs slamming to the ground. She laughed a little bit, so this is what it felt like, feeling the breath of a horse as if it was not yours. To feel the ground under you without touching it. Feeling the heat coming of a horses fur on the insides of your thighs. It was so different to her.

When Viper told her to hold on tight, naturally she tightened her grip on his torso with her arms and held on firmly with her hands on his shirt. She let her thighs tighten when Aeyon's speed increased, her head on Viper's back looking to the side. When she felt she most likely would not fall off for how hard she was holding on to Viper, she leaned back a little bit, looking at what was happening around her.

It was so different to see this as a human on a horse rather then as a horse. Of course, height was the number one difference, but also, she noticed more when she did not have to looked where she was going. Excitement filled her as she laughed. She liked it, she almost did not believe it. It felt the same, but different all at the same time.

"WOOOOOO!" she let out a cry as she leaned back more, her back in an arch, letting the exhileration of an almost falling sensation coarse through her. Amazingly her cloak hood had not fallen off. She leaned back in and tighted her grip laughing wildly. She was getting sweaty, but she did not care. She knew she would be sore when all was said and done, but again she did not care. This was almost like the freedom of running out here herself.

So close to it in fact that she wanted to test something else. She quickly took an arm from around Viper's torso and pull her cloak hood down only to quickly put her arm back the way it was. She let the wind flow through her hair, and this took the cake. She was in heaven, she started laughing again. Loving this amazing new experience. Ha! A horse riding a horse! Who said it could not be done?!

[Viper]

He thought about letting out a yowl of his own, when Gin had beat him to the punch. He couldn't help but laugh as the trio thrundered across the plains. It wasn't long before they approached the edge of a small platue. Pulling back on the reigns some, he let her hands go and reached around with one hand behind her back to steady her as Aeyan reared up on his hind legs. What lay before them was a wide winding river, snaking it's way through the endless grasslands.

He paused for a moment taking in the sight, before encouraging Aeyan on down the slope and toward the river. Bringing both hands forward again, they bolt once more and for the river. Across the fields, grazing animals look up to watch the passersby as they speed past. It didn't take long before they made it to the waters edge. Bringing his strider to halt, he turns around a bit toward Gin who has removed her cloak to reveal her long white hair. He had to admit it was a rather striking visual. He paused for just a moment before he said, "We're here."

Carefully, he dismounts in a way so as not to push her off, before holding his hand out to help her down. "Out of idle curiousity...have ya had any breakfast?" He finishes with a smile as he waits for her.

[Ginchoeri]

Gin smiles at him taking his hand and somewhat gracefully falls into him as she get off Aeyon's back. She was giggling and still giddy from the ride. She almost forgot he had asked her a question. She looked at him and thought about it for a moment, "I had a light breakfast, though I could always eat more." she smiled again. She was so bright and vibrant when she smiled, and her blue eyes shone in the early morning sunlight.

She looked at the river and took a deep breath, stepping back from Viper's arms. She slipped her cloak off, revealing her blue dress to be long sleaved. She placed the cloak over the saddle in a way it would not fall. Then Gin spun around and looked at her surroundings in almost awe. "I have not been this far from the city in a long time. Not since I got here." She stated it as if she should be out here everyday of her life. "I guess fear kept me from ever coming out this far."

Gin turned back to him, looking into his green eyes and tilting her head. It was a cute gesture, that took place before she spoke again, "and you come here almost everyday?" She untilted her head, flashing another bright smile, "It is so beautiful here. I am glad you allowed me to come with you."

Gin felt a nudge on her shoulder and she chuckled as she turned around and placed a hand on Aeyon's muzzle. "And thank you too, for showing me such a great time." She kissed the horses nose and giggled, "It was so exhilerating and wonderful, a completely different experience for me. Though I must say, my legs are starting to feel a bit weak." she nuzzled the horse as a breeze swept her hair up showing the back of her neck and part of a deep scar. Four pieces of a bigger picture could be seen, but soon the breeze died and her hair settled down again.

[Viper]

As Gin fell into him, he couldn't help but look into her blue eyes as she stared into his. He soon let her go, but smiled as he did so. "Good. Because I haven't eaten yet, and I'd rather not eat by myself with you just staring at me." Viper said laughingly, as he walked over to his backpack and pulled out some fishing line. While doing so he looked back at her just in time to catch sight of a rather gnarly looking scar going down her back starting from her neck. Now that must have an interesting story behind it, he thought to himself. He'd probably ask about it a lil later.

Turning back around, he then pulled out an arrow from his quiver. After securing the line tightly to the end, he set it aside and walked over to the other side of a boulder. He crouched down next to a small circle made of stones as he listened to her remarks on the beauty of the place. After gathering some nearby brush and sticks together to build a fire, he picked up his arrow and turned back to face Gin.

"Oh you're welcome. Glad ya like it. So...ready to go get breakfast?" He nodded toward the river as he walked on past. "Come on." He beckoned pleasantly. As they walked, his mind drifted toward an earlier comment she had made. "Hey Gin, I'm curious about something. Don't take this the wrong way or anything but, generally speaking...non Drykas are not usually welcome out here in the Sea of Grass. I mean obviously they can use the trade routes already set up, but I'm sure by now you know we usually like outsiders to stay away from everywhere else. You do realize that normally to do otherwise is...let's say hazerdous to your health right?"

He kept walking, but glanced back at her to see her reaction. "Don't worry, you're perfectly safe with me. I'm not so staunch on that rule... obviously, unless the outsider is doing something to harm Cyphrus lands in some way. But, you also said you don't know how to ride...yet you mentioned that you've come out this far before if not for a long time." He found the woman to be pleasant enough, but the more he thought about it, these many oddities were starting to baffle him. That is unless his previous theory was accurate. He wasn't racist at all, but at the same point he didn't like the idea that he was being lied to.

As he kept speaking, he pulled his bow off from around his chest and gently placed the arrow in its proper position. "Sorry I'm kind of rambling...but I guess my actual question is, how in Cyphrus did you manage to get this far out without a horse, and without being noticed by a Drykas hunting party, or some of the local wildlife which would quite readily turn you into their next meal?" When he finished, they had reached the rivers edge. He turned around on his heel to face Gin, his bow now half pulled back though aimed at the floor as he waited her response. His facial expression was neutral. (Some might call it a poker face)

[Ginchoeri]

Gin had turned around, seeing the fishing pole and looked, if not, a little worried. She had never had fish to eat before. She had always assumed that as a horse, all she should eat are wild grasses an berries. This was starting to look bad, she did not know how her body would react to suddenly eating fish and she was sure she would not like the outcome. She had to tell him.

She looked a little nervous as she followed him. When she heard him speak,
"Hey Gin, I'm curious about something. Don't take this the wrong way or anything but, generally speaking...non Drykas are not usually welcome out here in the Sea of Grass. I mean obviously they can use the trade routes already set up, but I'm sure by now you know we usually like outsiders to stay away from everywhere else. You do realize that normally to do otherwise is...let's say hazerdous to your health right?.... Don't worry, you're perfectly safe with me. I'm not so staunch on that rule... obviously, unless the outsider is doing something to harm Cyphrus lands in some way. But, you also said you don't know how to ride...yet you mentioned that you've come out this far before if not for a long time." there was a pause in her step but she continued walking and responed with a nod, "I know first hand how dangerous it is." She whispered, though it was just loud enough for Viper to hear most likely. She walked with her head down, trying to figure out how to explain it all to him, without completely overdoing it.

"Sorry I'm kind of rambling...but I guess my actual question is, how in Cyphrus did you manage to get this far out without a horse, and without being noticed by a Drykas hunting party, or some of the local wildlife which would quite readily turn you into their next meal?" There it was, the question she had known would be coming. but still.. how to answer it? She had no clue.

She guessed it was probably time to be straight with him, he would find out either way. Her fingers twisted together as she tried to formulate what to say. "I... " she looked back up and looked at Viper. "I... must say.. that I have not been exactly straight with you. Though, many Drykas figure it out by now that I am deffinately not normal by their standards." Her eyes flitted around nervously, as if what she was about to say had to be an absolute secret. "You see..." she looked and sounded as if it pained her to say it. "I am... a kelvic.. A horse kelvic to... be exact. S...so it is not that ... a Drykas hunting party has not seen me or that the wild life has miraculously not taken an interst in me. Ahaha far from it." She put and emphasis on the word far to make a point. "No... It is just that... as a horse.. I did not feel I needed to learn how to ride one.. but I realized today.. that I do need to learn. It could save me one day." she looked embarassed head to toe, not exactly sure what else to say.

She watched as the words she said sunk in within Viper's head. She was scared that by ommiting the truth, she had lost some trust with him, but she waited to see what he would do next.

[Viper]

His head tilted to the side ever so slightly as a wide smile broke onto his face. "Heh, ya I figured as much. Forgive me, but you'll need to mask the clues a lil better if your trying to keep it a secret." He chuckled lightly at her seeming worry about who she was. "Besides, take pride in who you are! I don't see how there is anything to be ashamed of being a Kelvic. Anymore than I am ashamed of being a Drykas and not a Kelvic or some other race. By the gods, you picked a great place to stay as a horse Kelvic too. As for learning to ride well, I suppose I could teach ya some time if you really wanted to learn." He tried to be encouraging with his words.

"Now...where was I?... Oh! Right! Breakfast!" Turning toward the river, he scanned the waters surface for a while before noting a slight disturbance at the top of the calm, slow moving river. Bringing, he bow up, he took careful aim for a moment before he loosed his arrow. The arrow streaked through the sky as he prayed he didn't miss in front of Gin here. Much to his good luck, as the arrow plunged into the water, the end suddenly came back up out of the water indicating a successful hit! He let out the breath he had been holding this whole time, grateful to not be embarrassed by a miss. Taking hold of the fishing line he had attacked to the end of the arrow, he began to pull in his catch.

Suddenly his mind drifted back toward Gin. Wait a minute...as a horse, it would be doubtful she would find fish very appetizing. Well, at least the fish was only half the meal. A few seconds later, a medium sized fish came into view. Grabbing the end of the arrow, he pulled the skewered fish out of the water and displayed it to Gin. "Presto! Breakfast..well mine anyway. Now it's time to go get your breakfast." He thought about going for a second fish, but it was doubtful he would be so lucky as to nail a second one on the first try. As it was he almost couldn't believe he got this one as easily as he did.

Walking past her once more, he nodded his head toward an area a little further down stream. "I figure you might like something...a lil more vegetarian yes?" He finished with a playful smirk. He made his way quickly down a lightly traveled trail that had begun to develop with his constant travel across it, till he reached an area covered in berry bushes. As he began to pick a few for both her and his horse, his eye caught sight of another bush nearby.

Pulling from his knowledge of local flora, he decided to give her a quick tip for the day. Pointing toward it he said, "Ya see that bush right there? The one with the little green berries? Don't ever eat them if you come across them. They're poisonous. However, you can take the leaves and put them in hot water to make a pleasant hot tea. It's just the berries themselves you got to be wary of." Satisfied he had collected enough berries, he walked back toward Gin. Holding out her portion of breakfast for the morning, he said. "Here ya go."

As they began to walk back, he turned toward her and asked somewhat cautiously. "If you don't mind my asking...I uh...noticed a nice sized scar earlier runnin' down the back of your neck. Do you mind if I ask how ya came by that?"

[Ginchoeri]

Gin smiled at his comments on being proud of yourself for who you are. She appreciated talk like that, and did not reject that view on life, but she had her reasons for not being comfortable with herself. These reasons were things she thought Viper would think trivial and she normally found it hard to explain to people anyways. So she decided that she would not talk about it with him. Not quite yet anyways. Cause if you could tell someone everything about yourself in one day, would that not be boring?

She grinned at the fantastic display Viper put out for her when he shot an arrow into the river, and by luck hitting a fish squarely. "Magnificent shot, though not very practical from what I know about fishing." Gin chuckled. And though she did not eat fish, she had seen others hunt for them. She figured Viper was just trying to show off, which she honestly did not mind at all.

She followed him and watched as he picked some delisious and juicy looking berries. His wise words on a berry bush not to far away from them caught her attention, she put the words to memory, filing them away in a safe place where hopefully she would not forget about this poisonous green berry. But also remembering about the leaf that could maybe one day help quench her thirst.

She took the berries in her cupped hands and walked carfully, trying not to spill them on the ground. Not that that did her any good, cause the instant she knew that he knew about the scar she stopped dead in her tracks and dropped them all. She looked at him with pure surprise, realizing just how much attention he must have been giving her.

She started to stutter, "W...well.. i...it is... a very gruesome story.. are you sure.. that you ... I mean... " she looked at the ground, kneeling down to start picking up the berries she had dropped. "I.. mean.. I almost died.... because of it.." Fear, as the memories came back to her, was writen all over her face. Gin was really just absent mindedly picking up the berries that were to be her food.

[Viper]

He sudden shift in mood caught him by surprise. Apparently he had stumbled onto another secret. Judging from her flustered expression, the story seemed to be about a rather tramatic event. He felt like he would be prying into her personal life to much, so he wouldn't push the subject. "No it's fine. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry. It's none of my business anyway." Kneeling down, he helped her with the berries before standing back up and staring at her curiously. She was obviously quite distressed. He was about to bring a hand up to her chin to raise her gaze from the ground to his eyes, when he suddenly heard an unsettling sound...

Snapping his head toward the nervous neighing of Aeyan, he eyes narrow as he quickly scans the horizon. A snap of a twig dangerously close by in the tall grass caused his heart to start racing. In a hushed tone, he firmly and as calmly as he could grabbed her hand and said, "Gin, quickly follow me. And stay close! We got trouble!" Without wasting another moment, he darted toward his horse and more importantly the swords that still lay strapped to the saddle.

The gap between them closed quickly, when out from cover attacked a wolf. It barked loudly as it charged Viper, who quickly drew his sword and started swinging wildly at the beast in an attempt to keep it at bay. The predator held it's ground, trying to find a hole in Viper's defense that it could bring to bear it's incredibly shapr teeth when a couple more wolves sprung out of the grass moving toward Aeyan.

Aeyan began to kick just as wildly with his back hoof trying to keep the other two wolves at bay as he neighed and whinnied angrily. Many concerns suddenly flashed through Viper's mind. What was he thinking bringing out Gin to this especially knowing she wasn't armed? Could Aeyan hold on long enough for him to get rid of this first attacker...? The gods have a cruel sense of humor if they would allow this to happen to such people and creatures. The first attacking wolf suddenly tripped when his foot sunk into a gopher hole. "Perfect! The window I needed!"

Not thinking of himself, he dropped his sword and quickly grabbed his bow and arrow. Arming the weapon he turned in place toward Aeyan and let the arrow fly to the predator attacking his best friend! The arrow once again flew straight and true, right into the side of the only one he had a shot at. He couldn't tell if it was going to be a death dealing blow or not, but it was enough to cause it to yelp in pain. And enough for Aeyan to turn and land a solid kick to the other wolf's chest now that it had no partner to keep him distracted. This action did however, open Viper up to the first attacking wolf, who having since recovered was only more angry.

Before Viper could retrieve his sword and deal with it once more, the animal lunged through the air at Viper int his chest in an attempt to grab hold of his neck. Lucky for him, Viper got an arm up to block his attacker. The impact however, sent him tumbling to the ground with the wolf snarling fiercely as it instead clamped down on his forearm....

[Ginchoeri]

For a short while Gin had no clue what was going on. Viper had suddenly taken her hand and dragged her back to the camp. She felt Aeyon's nervousness even before she could see or hear him. If only felt real though when she heard, his frantic huffs and pounding of hooves on the ground.

When the first wolf came out she froze. Resisting the urge to scream she made herself think. Just as she was starting to turn around she saw a pair of wolves come out of the shrubs and attack Aeyon. Now she was determined, she knew they could not take care of all three wolves on their own. She would have to help, she just hoped she would be in time.

Knowing Viper would most likely be preoccupied, Gin quickly stripped out of her clothing right out in the open. Safety was more important then her reputation at the moment. She turned back around to see Viper still fighting the first one. She was about 6 horse lengths away. She took a few quick steps forward, stopped and changed. Morphing took second, and in that time between her sighting him and morphing, he had miraculously shot one of the predators with his bow and arrow.

Gin left Aeyon to the other two wolves, cause the first one was now attacking Viper. Gin did not even think, her white bulk went flying towards their forms, and she whinied with a fury unlike she had ever done before. Right before her body rammed into their struggling, it slammed into Viper keeping its strong teeth dug into his forearm, and she reared up and slammed down, slamming her hoof towards its shoulder. A cracking sound along with a sloching sound could be heard her hoof split its broke its bone, ripping skin open with the force of the blow. Blood exploding from the creatures shoulder, all over Gin's pure while pelt. She neighed and put all her weight downward, forcing the creature to howl and let go of Viper's arm.

Before it could get up again, not that it really could, she trotted around and then back over and slammed her hoof down on its head and trachea more than once, making sure to collapse the throat, draw blood, and possibly break the spinal cord where the neck and the head meet. She did what she was doing not knowing truely that she was going overboard, she just wanted the damn thing dead. She was scared and she wanted this over with.

When she was sure she had thuroughly killed it. She turned her horse body and trotted back away from the wolf. She was covered in blood. Her white pelt tainted with the deed she had just done. The other two wolves were scampering off in retreat and now Gin was to excited to stop. She tramped around in circle, letting her body deal with the shock in its own way. She let out excited whinies and neighs, and tossed her head, a true display of her wild side, a bit of herself she had locked away unknowingly.

She was doing all this about 4 horse lengths away from Viper, who she suspected was watching, but she did not care for some reason. She continued her display with wild emotions.

[Viper]

Sitting flat on his back fighting to free his arm, and almost completely prone to the predator's attack. Viper's eyes widen for a moment as he prayed for th animal to make some sort of mistake he could take advantage of. But it never did come. Before he could think of anything to do to free himself, Gin, now in her horse form, smashed into the would be assailant, driving it back. No sooner had he gotten back to his feet than the wolf lay dead on the floor, its head partially crushed, and it's body broken.

Using his sword for a brace, he pulled himself back to his feet still watching Gin as she thrashed about in a circle not to far away from him. He didn't say anything for a while, deciding instead to just take in the spectacle of this beautiful creature reveling in wild side she seemed so eager to sequester just a moment before. With his left hand holding his sword, he smiled in her direction and finally said proudly, "Well you make not like being a Kelvic...But I'm thanking the gods you are one! Thanks...I owe ya one." He let out a pained laugh before turning back to Aeyan.

A sigh of relief soon escaped him as he saw his friend unharmed. Walking over he grabbed the reigns of his still nervous strider. "Easy boy. They're gone now. You two beat 'em. You did good!" Running a hand gently along Aeyan's neck to calm him, Viper was about to lead him toward Gin when he heard a whining sound not from from where they were. Turning his head toward the direction of the sound, he could make out the wolf he had shot earlier trying to drag itself away from the scene. It's other companion having since abandoned it. Releasing Aeyan, he walked over to where is was. From the distance Gin could make out Viper raising his sword into the air and bringing the blade down on the dieing animal.

He drug the beast back to where the other one lay before looking back at Gin. When she finally began to calm down he said, "Hey uh...if your going to change back...you uh, might want to follow me back to the river first and clean off." Ironically he used his own bloodied right hand to point out all the blood on her own pure white fur.

He smiled as he picked up his bow from the floor and then put away his sword. Finally noticing her dress which had been so hurriedly cast aside, he wiped his hand clean of blood before reaching down to pick it up. Folding it neatly and laying it over the saddle on Aeyan, he said, "Shall we?"