To Live is to Run

[Naiya]

Rue

Rue thought for a moment before answering. "I have a yvas at home, but I can ride bareback... If he'll let me." She glanced at her new horse who snorted at her almost like he was chiding her for being silly. It made Rue laugh, really laugh, a mixture of excitement and joy that burst from her lips.

She had really begun to believe what her father had said, that no strider would pick a girl born of dishonor. But this horse, beautiful as he was, didn't seem to mind at all. Maybe he had some flaw too, and they were a matched set.

"Let's go get bramble, we can ride to my pavilion." Rue said with a grin.

Nightsong

[Silverrain]

Silverrain hopped a bit, feeding off of Rue's excitement, and gave the girl a hug-on-the-fly, embracing and releasing as she ran off through the camp where she had left Bramble to graze. She wasn't the best rider, but she loved doing it, and there was something really appealing about going along with a friend's first ride with her Strider.

Finding Bramble having only wandered a few feet from where she had been left, Silverrain called out, "Bramble, we've got a new friend to ride with." Her hands gestured excitedly to the mare, whose attention was now on her.

The Drykas vaulted onto the mare's back, hand on the yvas and Bramble caught some of the infectious energy, huffing playfully and stomping about. Silverrain leaned forward to hug the strider's neck and then at back up, peering through the camp to try to spot Rue.

"Listen, Bramble, he's a pretty handsome fellow, so don't you lose your head."

[Naiya]

Rue

When Silverrain hugged her, she was stunned for only a moment before she returned the hug, then Silverrain was gone and Rue was left with her horse. A horse who really needed a name.

It only took her a second to realize that her horse was way too big for her to just climb up on to, so she was going to have to try and muscle her way onto his back.

"You just hold still, and trust me, alright?" Rue told him, as she approached his side. She had to reach her arms up above her head to get a hold of his back, and when she jumped and caught her weight on her arms she realized that those were some muscles she would have to work on if she was going to be riding a horse so big. She pulled herself up onto his back as quickly and carefully as she could. He shook himself when she was seated, like holding still had been such a struggle, he was just as excited as she was.

"Come on, boy, let's go." She held onto him with her calves, leaning slightly forward over his shoulders and neck so that she didn't lose her balance and fall backwards off him as he jumped into motion.

She used her legs to guide him in the direction she wanted to go, putting pressure on the side opposite if which way she wanted him to move. He hadn't had the training to understand it, but it seemed to work, maybe something to do with the fact that he was bonded to her.

He was wonderful. With a smooth stride and powerful control he was fast but didn't knock her out of her seat. She had to slow him down as they moved through the city but when she caught sight of the open grass she couldn't help but urge him into a little faster pace.

They turned through the space between pavilions that would let them out and suddenly were free to race through the grass. They ran a large circle around Bramble and Silverrain were there waiting for them. "Lets run!" Rue called to them, taking off into the open grass with a happy shout.

Nightsong

[Silverrain]

Silverrain watched Rue and her Strider make a large circle and Bramble was shifting her weight impatiently. When Rue shouted and took off, Silverrain grinned, broad and impish as ever. An sharp set of cries sprung from her lips and Bramble took off after the other pair.

The wind nearly took the red scarf from Silverrain's head and she pulled it off, letting her mass of hair and braids fling haphazardly about. The scarf she tucked into the yvas. Leaning down over Bramble's neck, she urged the mare forward, whispering, "Let's catch these new shoots."

Whooping as a playful warning, the pair came up behind Rue. Grouse were scared up by the stomping hooves and Silverrain laughed and pointed. The ride was, simply, bliss. She rarely took the time to revel in this, the very core of what it was to be Drykas, to run the plains, to feel the wind above and a Strider, strong and sure, below. This was what it meant to live.

[Naiya]

Rue

Wind pressed against her lake water, parting around her but always there was more to take it's place. When they heard a playful shout from the others her strider called back a playful, teasing sound. He was holding back, keeping them close, friends they would not leave behind. It made Rue wonder how quickly he could really run, and whether or not it was a good idea to test him at so young an age.

She admired the way Silverrain and Bramble seemed so in sync with each other, and she knew that there was a lot of training ahead of her before she would share that with her strider.

Hoof beats pounded around her and she laughed with delight at the experience, this was what it meant to be Drykas. The spirit of the pounding hooves and wind tossed hair, the freedom of a horse that would have no other but you.

They curved around taking the long way back to Rue's pavilion, but still the ride was over too quickly. They ate up ground like a wildfire spreading across the grass, with thundering hooves and the roar of the wind Rue imagined for a moment that they were a fire devouring the ground before them, a force to be reckoned with. Wildfire, quick and dangerous, but beautiful in it's own way. "What do you think, boy, is that your name?" She thought his head bobbed an affirmative.

Rue slowed as they approached the pavilion but without knowing where she was going, silverrain did not see the curve of the pavilion as familiar, or the horses as long time friends and she sped forward with thundering steps.

Rue couldn't help but to laugh again as she called for her to stop, that this was the end of their trip. She swung her leg over his back and slipped down his side as they stopped, hopping once to gain her balance. "Wildfire, huh?" He nickered softly and Rue grinned, it was definitely a nice fit.

Nightsong

[Praetorian]

Your Diligence Has Been Rewarded! Rue Nightsong Bodybuilding +2 XP Running +1 XP Observation +2 XP Socialization +2 XP Riding: Horse +2 XP Rumble, Rumble, Tumble Rue Silverrain Crimsonsky: Bonded to a Beautiful Mare The Bond: Wildfire Bargaining for the Bond Silverrain Riding: Horse +3 XP Socialization +1 XP Observation +1 XP Tumblin' Rue Maybe I'll Marry a Horseman... Racing with Rue Notes : Remember that the more detail you put into your post, the more you'll get out of it. Good story, you two! Have any questions, comments, or concerns? Feel free to message me.