Completed [Windmount Stables] A day at the Stables

[Crypt]

75th of Fall, 512 AV (Morning, the eighth bell) The sunlight streaming in through the sole window in his room woke him up. Syna's light had first emerged from the horizon about a bell before, and now it was gently illuminating Syliras, bathing the city of the Knights in gentle shades of orange and an odd hint of aquamarine, probably due to the hue of the walls. It had rained the night before, and so the morning air coming from the open window was fresh and clean. Crypt took a deep breath, scratching at the stubble covering her chin, blinking his eyes rapidly, and finally came to full awareness. He looked to Maras, who was still sleeping, and gave him a hard poke in the flank. The Cyphrus Strider glared at him, having been woken up painfully. With a snort, he got up and shook his head to clear the cobwebs, then waited for Crypt to finish everything and escort him to the Stables, where he would graze. Crypt dug into his backpack, pulling out two apples, raisins wrapped up in paper and his waterskin. He frowned as he shook it, feeling the water shift inside. It would run out today, and he would have to refill it soon. Turning to Hisoka, he gently nudged her, trying to wake her up, but failed to observe any response in her small lupine body. Frowning slightly, he contemplated using some of the water in his waterskin to wake her up, but he hit on an excellent idea that wouldn't do any harm. Time to wake Hisoka up for breakfast before we go for work. The fun way. Crypt threw back the covers and turned the still-sleeping wolf on his bed over, revealing her furry belly. With a mischievous grin on his face, Crypt commenced Operation: Wake up Hisoka by tickling her with his fingers.

[Hisoka]

Hisoka woke up, disorientated by the sun light streaming through the windows,
and ticklish. Wriggling helplessly under his hands as he tickled her, she shifted and
grabbed his hands, panting heavily from the exertion of changing forms so quickly.

"No.. tickling", she wheezed out.

She sat there, regaining her breath, her eyes closed. Yawning slightly, she
blinked, and looked up at him. If she had been in her lupine form, her ears would
have been perked up.

"Work today?"

She sniffed, smelling food in the streets below. Her stomach growled.

[Crypt]

Crypt pulled out the last loaf of bread and stared at it. He would have to go down to the tavern for meals from now on - not that he hadn't done so before, but he preferred the relative peace and quiet of his room to the boisterous atmosphere of the Rearing Stallion. The Drykas picked up Hisoka's clothing from where it lay on the floor, tossing it to her. “Here, put these on. I'll have breakfast ready in a moment.” Holding a knife in his left hand, he cut out two thick slices of bread, then slathered them with honey from a small jar. Sprinkling the bread with the raisins, he took one of the slices of bread and held it out to Hisoka after she had finished dressing herself. “Here, have some breakfast. It isn't much, not to mention the lack of meat, but we'll be doing light duties for the rest of the morning, so it'll be sufficient.”

[Hisoka]

Clothed, Hisoka took the bread, sniffed it, and took a bite. Tasting the sweetness
of the honey and raisins, she began to 'wolf it down'.
After finishing, she licked her lips, rummaged around her bag, and found her
waterskin. Feeling the lightness of it, she frowned slightly.

"Where to find water?" she said, looking at him inquiringly.

[Crypt]

“Here, take mine. We'll have to refill both later. The Stables should have a place to fill them up. If not, there are wells around Syliras.” Crypt bit a chunk off his slice of bread, savouring the simple, but sweet, meal. Once he had finished, he brushed the crumbs off his pants, and stood up, walking towards the door. Maras obediently trotted after him. Opening the door, he looked to Hisoka. “Coming, Hisoka?”

[Hisoka]

Hisoka took a small gulp of water from his waterskin and jumped up to follow him.

"Coming!"

[Crypt]

Timeskip - Location: Windmount Stables The Windmount Stables was quite possibly one of Crypt's most favourite places in all of Syliras. It was a giant green space right in the middle of the City, and was much less crowded than the other parts, having wide open spaces for horses to graze and have a run or two, maybe roll around in the grass. “Serena! Over here!” Crypt shouted, waving at the female owner of the Stables. She walked over to them and smiled warmly at Hisoka, looking over her with an appraising eye. “Well, Crypt, how'd you ever land her? Saved her from a Ravok slaver? My, you work fast.” As Crypt sputtered at what Serena said, she turned to Hisoka, stretching an open hand to her. “My name's Serena Windmount, one of the people that run this place. You'll be starting out here at one gold miza a day, helping Crypt with his duties. Hopefully you'll learn fast. If there's anything you need, just tell me or cousin Ulliver over there.” She pointed over her shoulder to a man who appeared to be teaching someone to ride a horse properly.

[Hisoka]

Hisoka took Serena's offered hand, shaking it hesitantly, and peered up
at the woman who seemed so dominant in her territory.

"Horses... not scared of me?"

It had occurred, in a surprisingly human way, that Hisoka had realized that 'prey'
animals became instinctively nervous around her, even in her human form.
Gazing at the horses in the field, she saw a few sent her on the breeze.

[Crypt]

Serena raised an eyebrow. “Afraid? Of a new, inexperienced groom like you? Don't worry! You'll be dealing with the older, more mature horses for the rest of Fall. They'll be more steady and less likely to be jumping around. You'll do fine, I'm sure. Just follow what Crypt does, and you'll be fine. First off, you'll be taking old Aewin there for a nice walk in the pasture. She's survived everything from wolves to the Djed storms, and nothing can faze her. You'll be grooming her later, so try to get used to her.” Serena walked off in the direction of a young teenager who was struggling with his stubborn horse. Crypt turned towards Hisoka. “Quite friendly, eh? She has a soft spot for young boys and girls, just like you and me. Well, time to teach you to ride! Go over to Aewin over there - she's the brown mare with white spots all over grazing. Try giving her this sugar cube, it'll make her like you more. Oh, and don't worry. She'll ignore the wolf scent, since she can see you're a human. Just walk over, and try to get her used to you.” He placed the sugar cube in her hand and nudged her over to Aewin.

[Hisoka]

Glancing back at Crypt, Hisoka did as she was told.
"Female...lady...? Lady is friendly... Master wrong though...Not human, wolf
who can take human shape," she thought to herself.

As she approached the mare, she moved slowly, as to not startle it.
She gave a quite whistle, and the mare turned her head to the side to look at
Hisoka with large, long-lashed, brown eyes. Hisoka lowered her gaze,
not wanting to engage in the primal fight for dominance between animals.
She took a cautious step towards Aewin, and when the mare did nothing, she
stood in front of her.

Having learned this from her time at her mother's Master's home, she leaned
forward and blew into the mare's nose, the horse equivalent to a greeting.
When Aewin returned the favour, Hisoka grinned and opened her hand flat, and
in her palm, she offered the mare a sugar cube.
Aewin sniffed at the sugar cube and then enthusiastically licked up her treat.

Hisoka turned to Crypt, a grin lighting up her face.
"Look Master!", she exclaimed, as she began making
gestures to her hand and Aewin.