Solo A morning ride

[Rahni Sunstream]

41st Day of Spring, 513AV -------------------------------- Rahni hobbled carefully out of her parents’ Pavilion, not looking back. It was still early, the sun too low in the sky for many of the others to be awake, but she nodded at the few familiar faces wandering around as she limped across the grass, using her stick to steady herself. It didn’t take long, just a few minutes really, before her whistles caught Mantis’s attention and the dark palomino cantered over to her, nuzzling her face affectionately as she rubbed one slim palm through his mane. “Hey there boy.” She murmured into the horse’s neck,“You ready to go for a ride?” He nickered pleasantly and, smiling at the horse, she proceeded in the painful, laborious task of going to where she’d left his tack the day before, and saddling him. It was a slow process for, while she knew easily where every piece went and how it fit together, she needed both hands to lift the yvas and pad, and that also meant that she had no hand spare to hold her stick. Positioning herself with her back to a tree, she carefully bent and – ignoring the way the dull throb turned into a searing burn down her ankle – hoisted the pad onto the horse’s back. She patted him, murmuring sweet words in his ear and glaring savagely at the boy – she vaguely recalled his name as Tavik – who moved as if to help her. The yvas was next and, once it was on Mantis’s back, her fingers easily slid through the buckles and knots, tightening the grip around his withers with practiced ease and leaving her fingers enlaced with his pale mane after finally tying the accompanying breast collar into place. She stayed there for a moment, leaning into him with her eyes closed, hair already sweaty with exertion, before carefully maneuvering herself onto the ground, stretching her leg out in front of her with an internal sigh of relief. She was, Rahni thought wryly, almost certainly the only one of her people pathetic enough to need a break after just saddling a horse. Mantis nudged her face, as if to tell her no, she was fine. She was doing just fine. “Tell that to my parents, sweetie” She muttered, her voice sour as she recalled their last fight the night before. Her mother thought she should stop riding alone, always go with someone else – “Perhaps that nice young man, what’s his name? T something? I’m sure he’d love to go with you.” – and her father who, although he never said it aloud, seemed under the impression that she should have been up and running from day one. She sighed again, pushing the thoughts out of the way to save them for another, rainier day. The sun was clearly shining now, higher and brighter in the sky and Rahni had no idea how long she’d been sitting there for but if she wanted a morning ride – and she made an effort to have one each day – then she’d have to go then. Right away. Just after she could find the will to push her knee up and stand. Rahni wrapped her fingers around her knee, digging them into that strange patch of unresponsive, unfeeling skin just below her kneecap. The scar tissue was delicate under her trousers and she imagined it crinkling at her touch. Closing her eyes briefly, she carefully slid her other leg up under her body into a half-crouch. She counted to three and pulled herself up, grabbing hold of a branch and then her stick – propped up against the tree – for balance. For a moment she just stood there, breathing hard, harsh breaths through her nose. She waited but nothing happened, no immediate collapse or sudden pain. Mantis’s soft neigh of approval caught her attention and, as he turned to present her with his side, she lurched forwards, leaving her staff where it was against the tree, before hauling herself up into the seat. It took a few seconds to get comfortable, a few more to ensure Mantis was the same, but then, with a click of her tongue, she was off.

[Rahni Sunstream]

She rode hard and fast, the feeling of wind rushing through her hair and the knowledge that, like this, she could move freely and gracefully spurred her on for several yards, until the Pavilion was out of sight and it was just her and Mantis under the rapidly-lightening sky. The path Rahni had chosen was a familiar one and Mantis seemed to remember it too, his hooves hitting the ground with sure-footed grace as she gently nudged him one way and the other, using her good foot, position on the yvas, and her hands to guide him through the tall grass. Sense finally caught up with her once the thrill of speed had died, and they slowed to a canter then a brief trot and finally a placid walk through the grass, the yellow-green plants obscuring the ground around them from view. She was careful not to go too far, of course. Her mother’s words rang in her ears and the assumption that there was nothing she could do, no way to defend herself, should something happen made her wince and run her fingers, for the countless time, soothingly through Mantis’s mane. He would need a brush when they returned home, she decided. The longer hairs were already getting tangled in the wind and she didn’t even want to know the state his hooves would be in by now, the dirt filled bog they’d ran through only moments ago flickering through her mind “We’re going to have to make you beautiful again when we get home, aren't we darling?” She added, aloud. Bearing that in mind, Rahni have Mantis a little nudge of encouragement, bringing them back to a brisk trot which, with her leg throbbing with each bump, flowed neatly into a slow but smooth canter. This was the pace she preferred. Moving with enough speed to get somewhere, but not so much you couldn’t look around and appreciate your surroundings, it was the perfect compromise. She rode like that for far less time than she would have liked, the sun having barely finished its ascent before Mantis came to a graceful stop and the two turned back. They didn’t canter this time, not all the way, just enough of the distance so that they would arrive in time, and from there the two – horse and rider – continued at a walk. Rahni took the time to undo the windswept excuse for a braid and re-plait it, twisting the strands this way and that, turning the mess of hairs into a relatively neat, practical style at the base of her neck. It was slow work, the occasional turn in her path made her drop a hand back to the grip, only after urging Mantis in the right direction could she bring it back to her hair, but she was still finished just before they returned home.

[Rahni Sunstream]

The first thing Rahni did when she got back was lead Mantis to the handily placed tree and the second thing she did was dismount. The inelegant fall would certainly not have passed for a success to anyone else save a beginner, but she had managed to tumble to the ground and land in relative comfort and on her feet so, for Rahni, it was an accomplishment worthy of the thirty or so seconds it took to get her breath back. Once rested, she straightened her spine and turned her attention to Mantis. The horse was already cooled down, the walk at the end of the ride having seen to that, so the first thing for her to do was remove the yvas. They were always easier to remove than place, particularly when she remembered to undo the breast collar while still on his back and, for once, she had remembered. Rahni unbuckled the remaining straps and slid the heavy material off, putting it in its usual place before the soft, brightly coloured pad joined it. Rahni retreated briefly, her limps all the more obvious after so long sat in a saddle, but returned soon after with the brushes and clothes necessary to groom her horse. “Told you we’d make you beautiful, gorgeous” She crooned, brushing down on his coat. She continued until it gleamed, getting lost in the easy, repetitive motion and again propping herself up against the tree when she needed use of both her hands. She checked his hooves, removing the little pebbles and lumps of dirt that had stuck themselves around the frog, then wiped the bottoms of his legs down to clear off the splashes of mud and dried dirt. Finished with the more necessary parts of the grooming, Rahni tended to his mane, more for vanities sake than any other. She combed it out carefully, cleaning up the small amount of dirt left until it was its natural white-gold, then braiding it, starting with Mantis’s forelock and then working her way down the mane, weaving tiny pieces of indigo ribbon into the braid. Once finished, Rahni repeated the process with his tail, crouching down awkwardly to get to the bottom strands and having to be nosed up by Mantis upon finishing, when she had sat down in exhaustion after finishing. With a final kiss on the horse's neck, she picked up her staff and headed back to the Pavilion, wondering if there was any way her parents hadn't noticed she was gone yet and, if they had, she could avoid another argument.

[Limey]

Skill and Lore Rewards Skills Lore Observation 2 Mantis: Bug Name, Horse's Affection Horsemanship 3 On With The Yvas (Eventually) Riding 2 More To A Horse Than Just Riding It Returning Home... Reluctantly Additional Notes : Welcome to Mizahar! Good first post, love, I did like your writing style. Not much actually HAPPENED here, but there was a lot going on, if you catch my meaning. You explored something of Rahni's family life, her injury and thus her past, her passion for Mantis... yeah, a good start. I liked it, overall, and look forward to more. Any questions or queries, please PM me.