Completed [Windmount Stables] Water and Hay

[Hisoka]

75th of Fall, 512 AV - fourteenth bell

Hisoka followed Crypt as he lead her to an area for their break. She looked around as they walked, committing their path to her mind for later. She really did not need a break, for being a Kelvic, she had her wolf's stamina. As they passed a few stalls, she noticed that there were empty troughs. Glancing at Crypt, she slipped away as he walked on, not noticing that she was not following him.

Looking around, she saw some grooms, carrying some buckets of water. Walking up to them hesitantly, she offered a shy smile. "H-hello.. I.. I am new... and ...Serena..? Serena said told me and Crypt to fill the troughs and feed the horses hay..", she said, hoping that these humans would not be angry with her. To her surprise, they grinned at her, sighing with relief. "Finally!", on of them exclaimed, placing the bucket he was carrying on the ground with a soft thud, "My arms felt like they were about to fall of!" He stretched his arms, while the other looked her up and down. This one looked down at her thoughtfully. "Are you sure you'll be able to handle it?", his tone with a hint of doubtfulness. Instead of answering, she picked up the bucket the other stable hand had put down, lifting it with the ease of any man. She looked at him with a more open smile, nodding. "Yes", she replied simply, heading over to one of the stalls while the one who had spoken watched her, eyes slightly widened.

When she reached the first stall, she lifted the bucket a bit higher, careful to not spill it's contents, and tipped the water into the trough. After it was full, she moved to the next, repeating her movements. After the bucket was empty, she turned back to the stable hands, only to find them replaced by a filled bucket. Shrugging in a very human fashion, she place the empty bucket on the ground, and took the filled one. Again, she filled empty troughs, and again she found a filled bucket, almost like magic, though as she listened, she heard the footsteps of one of the men.

After she had filled six troughs, she heard Crypt's voice. Realizing she had left him, without telling him she called back, saying that she would continue working. She did not hear his reply, but then, she had moved on, still filling the troughs.

[Hisoka]

...about half a bell later....

She had not heard Crypt's voice, so she continued her task, until all of the troughs were filled. By then, she was a bit tired, but not enough that she needed to rest. She placed the final bucket, now empty, at the end of the row of stalls, only to fined the man who had doubted her, waiting for her. Making a gesture to follow him, he trotted off, his legs carrying him at a pace that required her to move at a trot to keep up.

Finally catching up with him, she saw that they had arrived at the bales of hay. Indicating that she was to carry them over to the stalls, she lifted as much as she could possibly carry, and followed him to some empty stalls. He demonstrated how to lay out the hay for bedding in one of the empty stalls, spreading a layer of the dry stalks across the floor. He explained to her in a quiet voice that this was what they did to make it easier to clean the stalls, and to give the horses more comfort.

Then, he showed her the right amount of hay to place in the manger, instead of putting the hay in till it was completely full. "We don't want them to get too fat.", he told her with a laugh. They continued to work companionably, working efficiently with their combined strength.

[Hisoka]

The stable hand and Hisoka continued to fill the mangers with hay. When all the empty stalls were laid with fresh hay and their mangers replenished, he brought her to a stall where another groom had just led a mare out of. Hisoka wrinkled her nose slightly at the stench that arose from the dirtied hay. The man gave her a cloth to cover her nose and mouth, handed her a rake, and demonstrated the method of removing the old hay. He raked the musty smelling hay it into a pile, then using a wide shovel to lift it into what he called a "wheelbarrow". Then, she followed him to where they dumped it, a stinking mass that he claimed became earth that people used to grow plants.

After that, they brought the wheelbarrow back to the stall, raking and shoveling until there was no more hay. Then they got a bucket of water, dumping some of it onto the floor. The stable hand explained that this was very important, otherwise, the horse could become very sick, or it could lice. Hisoka shuddered at the thought, for she had had that experience when she had been younger, and she did not want to remember the little creatures that had made their home her fur.

After that, she cleaned vigorously. She noticed that the stench of the stall had lessened by the time they had finished. Since it was still damp, they moved onto the next stall, repeating the process. They continued this until the fifteenth bell came. When it did, Hisoka turned at the sound of someone calling her name. She saw that it was Serena, and she waved.
When Serena reached them, she nodded to the stable hand. "I see you've been teaching her, thanks Stefan.", she told him. Turning to Hisoka, she said, "Good thing I found you, Crypt has been quite worried about you.", she gestured over her shoulder with a thumb to where Crypt stood. Drawing Hisoka's attention back towards her, she continued. "He seems to think that you should stay with him, but from what I've seen, you should be able to handle at least this much." Serena handed her the box of brushed Crypt had given Hisoka earlier, and pointed to a stall. "You go over there and apply what he's taught you, and take care of the horse in that stall. Then you are free to go for the day."
Hisoka looked up at her, trying to process everything she had said to her. "Well? What are you waiting for? Get to it!"

La Fin