Closed [Windmount Stables] A Pleasant Stroll.

[Archailist]

7th of Summer, 514.

Arch hated riding. He hated it more or less because it seemed so wrong on so many different levels that it was better not to think about it at all. It was something that he felt he more or less had to do if he was going to become a knight. Thankfully, once he became a knight, he hopefully wouldn't have to do it any more. He could just walk to the battlefield rather than ride there on the back of a dog or a horse. Not to say that he didn't like dogs - he loved his riding mount, but he just didn't like the concept of riding as a whole. He treated his mount as he would a normal companion for the most part. And would only ride him when he absolutely had to. This was not one of these cases though - this was training. He needed to learn how to ride if he wanted to ever become a knight, even his patron had given him a stern lecture on such things. So, he would learn. If only to appease them and nothing else.

Even standing next to the squirrels mount, Xarex, made him feel uncomfortable as he held the odd-shaped reigns and fiddled with them gently, making the dogs head turn in time. Of course Xarex had been bought trained - to respond to the reigns and to feel comfortable with the Pycon's measly weight resting atop the strange saddle that had been affixed to his back. The dog had everything that a normal horse might, except for the blinders. He didn't need damn blinders. He had a bit and a saddle, and a halter, tack and all the rest of it. He was dressed up just like a horse, but he obviously wasn't. Being a horse wouldn't have made his take on riding any less serious. He was a squirrel. Squirrels didn't ride horses, they made their own way around the city and around the forest. They could run. And if they couldn't run, they'd keep on running until they built enough endurance and enough strength to keep running as long as it took them. They didn't give up and settle for riding on another animals back like a lazy... human.

Of course the squirrel occasionally rode peoples shoulders or heads, but that was different to riding a dog or a horse. Even as the squirrel grabbed onto the dogs saddle with one paw and heaved himself up onto the back with the other, he felt the strange shifts in the dogs back as it learned to accustom itself to the weight. These dogs were apparently trained to be accustomed anyway - taking small children or Pycons around. He struggled to find his way onto the dog regardless, taking his time trying to push one leg over the saddle and straddle the damn thing. Climbing a wall was one but climbing onto a living creature was entirely different. And even when he finally did find his place on the dogs back, the Pycon felt uncomfortable. The base of his tail squished against the base of the saddle and the reigns refused to work the way he wanted - as in, pulling them and trying to move them forwards wouldn't make the dog follow and move forwards. How the heck was he supposed to move the dog anyway?

After a while, the Pycon decided to simply stand there and wait. Xarex didn't seem to mind, because he just stood there as well, never really picking the right moment to move. Not until the Pycon actually told him where to go. "Forwards!" That didn't work. "Go forwards, Xarex. Xarex, move. Please?" Now he was just getting pathetic and he knew it. And so he just stopped trying altogether and turned to watch the other people and their horses - some commoners, and some squires and knights - wandering about with their horses, completely oblivious to the small Pycon currently completely lost on the back of a damn dog while they merrily trotted out of the stables, and then out of the gates as well. Damn show-offs.

[Oriah]

Exhausted.

The squire's mind could think of little else but motionlessness. Just the feeling of not moving. Or, perhaps, of lying down and not moving. Both of which appealed heavily to her as she made her way to the city gates. Syna was making slow descent back down into the hills and with her went Oriah's own energy reserves as well.

The entire day from start to finish had felt more taxing that the entire season of Spring combined. From the moment she had begun making her way into the city she was already exerting herself, practicing her sword thrusts and shield parries, then vice versa, non stop until she had arrived at the gates and evoked more than a few raised eyebrows. Some of the guards and towns folk had come to associate her with the mysterious Chaktawe knight though and only smiled sympathetically.

It wasn't easy, having the bulk of one's training out in the Bronze woods with nothing but one cryptic comment after another to go on.

But, praise be Yahal, the day was finally coming to an end. Once she got back to the barracks at the outpost she could at least take a real bath and rest on a real bed. Granted, said "bath" was just a quick dousing in a metal tub, and said "bed" was little more than a cot or straw mattress on the ground. But to someone who had been sleeping on hard, cold ground for entire fortnights they would feel like miraculous blessings.

Oriah had been lost in her weariness-induced reverie about baths and beds that she almost completely missed the strangest sight she had yet to lay eyes on. At first she had only seen glimpses of the dog behind blurs of passing legs and feet. But then on closer inspection the Benshira realized, with round eyed amazement, that someone was actually sitting on the dog.

A...squirrel, no less.

At some point Pie's warm muzzle bumped into her shoulder. Oriah blinked in surprise and looked back with an apologetic smile, stroking her piebald horse's neck with one hand as the other gently held the reigns. She hadn't even realized she had stopped moving, so surprised had she been by the spotting of a squirrel riding a canine. The squire considered just walking by, eyes focused on the road for politeness's sake. But then she looked again and was struck by two things: one, the squirrel seemed to be no ordinary squirrel, evidenced by more than just the fact of it being on a dog, and two, it actually appeared...distressed?

Oriah glanced about and began to perhaps understand a little of the strange duo's situation. It was evening rush, with everyone eager to get home, enjoy a hot supper, and rest their weary feet. To her, it mattered little, meaning only a few chimes worth of delay. To the small one and its dog, however, it meant a stampede of feet, hooves, and wheels that held enough power to trample their easily overlooked forms.

No sooner had she thought this than a merchant with a sizable wagon of fruit block of her vision. Straining to see, Oriah ducked up and down, left and right, but could no longer see the small figure. Then, suddenly, a small commotion broke out behind her and Pie. One of the more inexperienced riders had fallen off their horse, who was now rushing forward through the crowd with a terrified roll of its eyes. It wasn't galloping but it was going fast enough that several people cried out in surprise and stumbled out of the way.

And, to Oriah's utter dismay, she could the horse was heading straight for the dog and its squirrel rider.

Not bothering to think much more at that point, the Benshira led Pie calmly forward and stopped. The runaway horse reared its head once it reached their stationary forms, but a combination of Oriah's gentle hushes and Pie's familiar, kin-like sight ended up doing the trick. She hand't the faintest idea what she was doing, only copied what she'd seen handlers do at the stables. Suffice to say it was an immense relief that she and Pie managed to somehow delay the horse long enough for its flustered rider to come trotting up and regain possession of the reigns.

Once this matter was quickly settled, the squire turned back to address the peculiar pair. She didn't quite know what to say or how to say it, at once intimidated and fascinated by that which she'd never seen before, but did her best nonetheless to emit her warmest regards.

"Hello, I am Squire Azari of the Green Company, though you may just call me Oriah," she began, eyes knit with concern and curiosity. "Are you and your friend alright?"

[Archailist]

My Words | Your Words | My Thoughts

Once again, the squirrel was left to lament on the problems with being a Pycon-knight. One of the main ones being his size - and even with his lack of talent riding and directing his "mount" through a city, the huge destriers that the Knights all rode, and the various other larger horses used by various other folk would make long trips and patrols near-impossible. If he had the skill and the talent to be able to control his dog around the crowds then maybe he would have some better chance. Or even better, if he could be allowed to make his own way through these damnable crowds without having to rely on a dog to guide him. He was perfectly fine with running through the city by himself, and if anything, the more people around would give the squirrel a quicker and easier route via their heads towards where he needed to go. But no - he had to rely on a beast of burden to carry him through the busy streets, in the hopes that he wouldn't be accidentally crushed in the process.

It seemed like there couldn't be a worse time for his worst nightmare to become reality. The first clue were the yells and shouts of people, although he could only see their legs and the occasional stumbling man that flicked into his view and left it again, amongst all of the commotion. Damnable carts and their horses blocking yet more of the streets. He'd never make his way out of the city - heck, he'd never make it out of the Windmount Region at this rate. He'd be lucky to survive, if he didn't move.

The cart jerked and rumbled out of the way as the driver gave a hasty yell and tugged on the horses currently dragging it along, bringing about an even worse scene. Runaway horses - that was all the squirrel needed at this moment. He could barely get his dog to respond to his commands and yet at least he wasn't the only one - if the rider, who seemed about as competent in riding as the Pycon himself, could be believed through the look on his face alone. The man was flailing his arms but it only made the situation worse, and it turned out that the squirrel doing the same himself still had no effect on Xarex. The dog was happy to stand there without even looking at the mounting danger - and he couldn't just abandon the dog and run off, as much as he wanted to. They'd traveled the length of the Wildlands to return to Syliras.. even if the dog and he hadn't really founded much of a bond on the exploration, there was something there.

He was about to just try and kick the dog into motion when a mysterious person - who he could only assume was a stablehand of the Windmount Stables, given he hadn't seen her up until that moment - jumped right up to help and saved the squirrels life. It all happened so quickly, he didn't even have time to make sense of it all. The crowds took even less time to return to their normal duties; as soon as the horse was under control and led out of the path, all of the other riders returned at full-force with their stomping and their huge carts and their rushed barging. He didn't care about any of that any more, though. He had the pair to thank - and just before he could, and would have made a grievous error by insulting the squire and naming her a civilian, she introduced himself. Oh, so another squire. Oriah.. Azari. He'd heard of stranger names on a human, after all. Different cultures would often embrace different names, whether they were inhabited by humans or not. He always found that strange - although, these humans didn't even choose their own names. That was strange enough as it was.

"Pleasure to meet you, uhm, Oriah! My name is Squire Archailist. Thanks for dealing with that.. beast. Afraid I'm having a bit of trouble getting Xarex to respond to me... today." The last part was added in hastily but he often had trouble with it. Just getting the dog to move was hard, let alone controlling the dog as he wallowed about and sent so many bumps up the squirrels spine that he could swear that within a matter of chimes, he'd lost another inch of height. Even when he tried to wave the reigns to move his head around, and draw the muzzle a little closer to the neck, it did absolutely nothing. Wasn't that how they signaled the dog to move forwards? Was he doing it wrong?

[Oriah]

Oriah tried not to gawk and somewhat succeeded, but it was impossible to hide the glimmer of her growing astonishment. For the love of Yahal, what was there not to be surprised by?

She'd seen some strange things during her travels, from ghosts to multi-colored Dormouse guardians to cold and calculating harlots, but this...this was something else entirely. As it turned out the squirrel's name was Archailist. He gave off a male-like quality in demeanor and he was also a squire. And if it wasn't enough that he, on top of everything else, was also riding a dog, Squire Archailist appeared up close not to be a true squirrel after all.

He was made of clay.

At least, that was what Oriah assumed. Her new acquaintance looked very much like a little statue; clay was abundant in the Ekytol and pottery the most common craft amongst her people so the assumption was made based on familiarity. Granted, she'd never seen a statue move or talk or ride dogs, but it was the best comparison she could make with her limited knowledge.

Whatever it was that made up the other squire's body was unlike any clay Oriah had ever seen. It was gray in color with tints of brown, giving off the impression of fur without actually being fur. His little eyes were more dulled than the glassiness of real squirrels, too, and appeared to have no eyelids.

The Benshira had about a thousand questions pushing and shoving for space in her mind. What would a being like Archailist eat, for one? And how was it that he moved and talked with an ease and naturalness that matched her own? Did he have weaponry all squires were required to learn? How did he even fight? Was he nimble like a squirrel or just similar in appearance?

So many questions but the crowded main street of Syliras was just about the least ideal place for in depth conversation. Right now, their priority ought to be getting out past the walls. It was safer and more quiet out there.

"The pleasure is mine as well," the Benshira replied congenially, "and I was happy to do so."

Ah, so the dog had a name! Xarex, what a content looking fellow. She could certainly see why Archailist was having trouble. Xarex the Dog looked completely satisfied with just standing there, watching all the interesting sights pass by in typical canine eagerness. Oriah wondered if tempting Xarex with some meat or bones might do the trick but dismissed the idea almost immediately. It had to be Archailist in control, after all, otherwise the entire point was defeated. And besides it wouldn't bode well for the small squire if Xarex became excited and started jumping around in expectation of treats.

"Why will he not move today?" she asked, both puzzled and concerned. "Perhaps we could put him in Pie's saddlebag and we could leave the gates together, then see if he will move outside. He seems very distracted by all the sounds and sights."

[Archailist]

My Words | Your Words | My Thoughts

Archailist couldn't help but smile at Squire Azari's polite nature. After all, there were far too many of the gruffer squires and knights roaming about the place - or maybe it was just that they all seemed to gravitate towards the squirrel. Mostly because they thought he'd be easy prey - although all of them were sorely mistaken, and he made sure that they knew it well. It was enough that he actually didn't mind the bit of staring he got from her. It was common after all, that people stared at a squirrel, or a talking squirrel, or a squirrel made out of clay, or a talking squirrel made out of clay. All of those things were reason to stare. However, the worst was when he was riding a dog. Because a talking squirrel made out of clay riding a tiny dog was, on average, just taking things a little too far.

Xarex himself was a bit of an odd mount as well. A Sykanis - well-knon for their energy and yet the dog wasn't doing anything. Perhaps he was confused by the smells and the sights, just as Oriah had suggested, but he wasn't so sure about putting the dog away inside the saddle-bags of a horse. It just seemed even more ridiculous. On the other hand, perhaps it would be a break for both of them. The squirrel didn't exactly want to ride the dog, but.. he had to, because he wanted to be a knight. And the knights commanded that he ride a dog. He never knew for what reason, but they did, and so he would. No matter how much he hated it. "I think I can get him to move.. uhm.. he just needs a bit of encouragement or something." He wasn't very learned in the role of dog-rider, or horse-rider, or rider of anything - but he could make a few guesses here and there on small things. And he knew at least a few basics in the field. So, he tried to give a gentle squeeze to the dogs sides and a tug on the reins, to spur him on.

"Come on, Xarex!" Perhaps he'd said something wrong at that moment. Because it was as if everything had cleared.. and the dog suddenly bolted forwards faster than the squirrel could even react. It was a good job he had his feet planted firmly in the stirrups, otherwise he might have just fallen straight off - but the force and the wind buffeting him while the dog sprinted forwards and ducked right underneath a carriage passing through, made keeping a level head near-impossible. The very limit came at staying on the dog while he lurched and bounded round from the Windmount Stables and directly into the Nettle District. Thankfully a runaway horse was treated as a much bigger problem than a runaway dog, because very few people noticed the dog at all until they heard the squirrel yelling at the top of his lungs. "OUT OF THE WAAAY!" He tried pulling at the reins but nothing happened - if anything, it made the run rather erratic as the dog swung left and right, but continued at full force.

He may have been a small dog, but he was by no means a slow one. The few scattered horses and many people clambering through the gates to the city were mere blurs as the dog wound nimbly between legs, around wheels and over crates in his race against.. time itself, it seemed. Dear lord...

[Oriah]

One moment they were politely conversing, discussing the issue of what to do with the clay squire's immovable mount. Then the next both squirrel and dog were speeding down the crowded street with a trail of surprised stares and shouts left in their immediate wake.

"Blessed Yahal," Oriah prayed under her breath as she placed one foot in Pie's saddle.

Heaving herself required a good deal of effort. She was still smarting from her ruthless training earlier that day, her muscles decrying every vigorous motion she made. It took one or two tries but eventually the Benshira was able to mount up and grab hold of the reins.

"Please, make way!" she beseeched the crowd. "Squire of the Order on urgent business. I need to go after that dog!"

The good citizens of Syliras more or less heeded her. There was no way of knowing for sure if the desperate looking lass on her piebald horse was telling the truth, but the name of the Order carried enough weight that people preferred to be err on the side of caution and movec just enough so the pair could trot through.

Oriah offered a slew of rushed thank you's before she egged Pie on. She wasn't nearly experienced enough of a rider to be galloping full speed through a crowded street, but her worry for the other squire and his unpredictable mount was great enough that she at least tried to trot at a quicker pace than usual. It was almost impossible to see Xarex or Archailist anymore, so the occasional shout or grunt of surprise was all she had to rely on.

It hurt to be in the saddle. Every bump and turn made her battered body protest. The squire was pretty certain this had also been part of her patron's plan, the necessity of having to ride all the way back. Sera Mora may not have anticipated the added presence of a talking squirrel and his canine steed, but there was no chance the Chaktawe hadn't foreseen the difficulty Oriah would face in coming back. Part of the instructions had been to attend training with another squire and knight, but the second half hadn't come till much later when the session was mostly finished.

To Oriah's surprise, she was to spend a handful of nights at Mithryn. It made sense, given Mora's continued absence on some important mission or other, to ensure her squire retained access to proper training. What didn't make much sense however was why Oriah had to go to the outpost that very same day. She could have easily stayed put within the city, training with Wynn and Ser Varner until her patron returned.

But no...Sera Mora made it a point never to let things be easy. Oriah could already guess what the Chaktawe's reasoning would be. Probably something to do with acquainting oneself with how traveling on horseback feels after a brutal battle.

It seemed appropriate anyway, and while the Benshira could clearly see the merit in such a lesson, her mind reeled with reluctance at the very thought of having to ride all that distance in her current state. Not that she could do much about it. If her patron said she had to be in Mithryn by nightfall, then that was exactly what she was going to do.

That, and there was every likelihood she would bump into the blue-eyed, raven haired squire that haunted her dreams night after night.

It had become a regular routine, banishing thoughts of Marrick when they arose at the most inappropriate of times. But perhaps banish was too strong a word. She merely brushed them back with a gentle push so that they would still be there when her tasks were done. The lass would never, ever be able to rid herself of such distractions completely. Couldn't even if she wanted to.

"Whoa, easy there Squire Azari. What's the rush?"

The sudden greeting forced Oriah to snap back to focus. She and Pie had reached the front gates and were being addressed by one of the usual guards.

"A squirrel," the squire tried to explain through a haze of urgency and exhaustion. "Riding a dog...have you seen them?"

[Archailist]

My Words | Your Words | My Thoughts

He could barely hear a few yells after him as the squirrel was carried off onto the road. But honestly, he didn't know where the dog was running. He wasn't controlling Xarex, not by any stretch.. so where he was he running off towards? Did he want to escape into the wild, did he want to run to the Mithryn Outpost.. dear lord, did he want to run all the way back to Nyka and the strange man that he'd bought the riding dog from?

The answer came barely a few ticks later when the squirrel found his tight grip suddenly removed, while the dog stopped suddenly. In fact, the squirrel was thrown forwards and right over Xarex's head, to land on his face. He stayed there for a few moments with a crumped muzzle lodged in the dirt before he finally brought himself up again and tried to straighten himself out - and wipe the dirt off his front and legs. The castle wasn't very far in the distance.. he was on the road.. and the dog was nearby, trying to roll in the grass lining either side of the road with the big saddle still on his back. Of course, his reins and the stirrups clattered about noisily but Xarex didn't seem to care in the slightest. One day, he swore, he'd find a way to get that dog to follow his commands.. but for now, he felt absolutely no reason to stop him and try to ride the dog back to the stables. Petch it all.

After a few moments of simple staring, he just sat himself down on the floor near to the rolling dog and set his chin on both paws. How was he ever going to get to becoming a knight. He had most of the combat skills - he had enough of the acrobatic talent, no doubt. He had plenty of combat and more to receive from that unfriendly Pycon hanging around at the Pits. And he had his patron in the Training Grounds to show him what little the Akalak could. And he had countless other people to train with - he had Weaponmasters, he had commoners he could meet with, he had an arsenal of weaponry at his disposal. In all regards, he should have been a Master. He had every bit of potential and opportunity to be one. But unless he could get somewhere with his dog, he wasn't even going to make it to the rank of Knight, let alone being high enough to be respected. He wanted to run a team of people. He wanted to be part of a chain of command where he wasn't on the bottom. True enough, he could boss around the pages and immensely enjoyed every opportunity he had for it. But he wanted to be in charge of people that mattered!

"Damnit..." He turned back to the dog again and shook his head when Xarex rolled onto his back, lifted his head a ways and cocked it in that strange puppy-pose, with wide eyes. "Don't give me that stare! You're the one being horrible to me!" He couldn't even obey simple commands. Like go, and stop. It wasn't Arch's fault.. he couldn't even get to grips with how to make the dog go at a steady pace. Maybe he should have chosen a different dog.. one that was less energetic and hyper. But he was stuck with Xarex now. "Come on. I guess we'd better get you back to the Windmount Stables, shouldn't we." He wasn't riding the dog again though. He grabbed the reins and pulled them forwards, over the dogs head so that he could use them as a makeshift lead. Even as he began walking, though.. the dog was nuzzling into his paw, and refusing to even walk at a normal pace. Nudging against his side, nuzzling here and there, making a scene. He'd already given up on the dog, but damn.. he was really pushing himself now. Maybe he should just leave Xarex in the stables for a week and refuse to ride him at all. That'd teach the dog to try and listen a little more.

[Oriah]

The guard looked at her with a sort of bemused expression before clearing his throat and scratching his head. Oriah guessed he didn't get asked these kinds of questions often at the gates.

"Umm," he stalled, scanning the ground around them as if Arch and Xarex might happen to be lying about somewhere. "Sorry, squire. Can't say I have."

Oriah held back a sigh of disappointment and smiled at the guard. He'd always been polite to her, even after she'd joined the Order and became outranked by him leagues and leagues. And it wasn't his fault he hadn't seen two small figures amidst the bustling crowd.

"No apologies needed, Ser," the Benshira responded.

She was just about to trot awkwardly off with Pie, hands fumbling with the reins while her feet tried to squeeze the mare's sides at the same time, when another throat-clearing cough caught her attention.

"I haven't seen a squirrel riding a dog," the guard amended, "but I have seen Squire Archailist struggling with his seemingly untrainable steed somewhere over there.

He pointed at some distant landmark. Oriah followed his finger and squinted hard. After a few ticks of adjusting and re-adjusting, she could finally make out two tiny figures moving back toward the city.

"Thank you, Ser!" the squire beamed.

The knight nodded his head and ushered her to move along, which she eagerly obliged. With Pie trotting beneath her it took the lass no time at all to reach Archailist and his puppy eyed mount. The former looked rather miserable but determined all the same. Oriah suspected she'd feel very much the same way if her horse was as playful as Xarex.

"Hello again," she greeted as she dismounted her mare. Oriah was still clumsy with the stirrups and whole process of getting on or getting off, so it took a while before she was finally back on the ground.

The squire held onto Pie's reins and watched with an amused smile as Xarex wagged his tail. A puppy through and through. Some dogs took to training like ducks to water, while others never quite seemed to get it at all. Oriah suspected Xarex was currently the second type, but that wouldn't make sense if he was simply not the proper breed, given all four of them now belonged to the Order. Someone somewhere amongst the higher ranks would have made sure Xarex was fit for duty.

It made the Benshira wonder who Archailist's patron was, but she figured they'd have plenty of time for conversation later. Right now, the main priority was figuring out why the squirrel was headed back for the city.

"Trying to get back to the gates?" Oriah asked, deciding a straightforward approach was better.

She thought for a moment before adding, "You know, I think I know of someone at Mithryn who could help you train with Xarex. She has helped me in the past, as I am not the most...er, graceful of riders."

Oriah looked to Archailist and his happy go lucky companion. "Would you perhaps like to come with me to the outpost? We can try to help each other improve." She patted Pie's flank lightly but affectionately. "I could use plenty of practice myself!"

[Archailist]

My Words | Your Words | My Thoughts

The squirrel had completely given up hope by the time that Oriah arrived. He'd braved many problems all across the Region but there was a stubborn dog at his side that he couldn't even ride around. He couldn't even control what he supposed was meant to be his dog.. but then again, he never really wanted to. He just needed to.. in order to become a Knight. If only there was something that could be done, someone to find to help him. He had his patron, but that was just for the occasional trip and the few patrols they had around the city and then again, around the surrounding areas. Perhaps he should ask Oriah to help him with his riding.. she seemed to have a pretty good hold on her mount, even if it was larger than several squirrels standing on each-others shoulders and seemed about as content to let someone ride on it as a fish in water... unlike a certain mount that he glared at before continuing on his very slow, trudging walk.

"Hello, again." His voice had been reduced to more of a monotonous mutter at that point. He had to hold back Xarex from jumping on the girl.. at least the dog liked someone. Sometimes, Arch wondered if his own mount hated him for all the times he'd been thrown off the dog, and all the times he'd tried to tell him to do something.. and he'd either done nothing at all, or the exact opposite. "I'm going to get back to the gates.. put Xarex back in the stables and probably go back to the dorms. I've got some things to clean." Hopefully he'd do a better job of cleaning than he would of riding a dog.. and being a knight. Even though he knew that he was just beginning to ride, the repetition and the constant work put into his riding was a simple chore, where the combat was always new and exciting. Sometimes it got a bit more exciting.. when he found something new about his dog and immediately began to explore it. But it never went very far.. and then the squirrel was back to simply riding on the back of the dog, and nothing more.

All of that changed with Oriah's next few magical words. "Help? Mithryn?!" He couldn't believe his own ears. Someone that could actually help him.. goodness knew he'd end up riding to see her three times a day for the rest of the season given how far he'd come already, but that wasn't the squirrels problem. All of his previous worries were washed away at the opportunity to enhance himself - and there he was, practically hopping over Xarex's back and landing on the saddle. However, he nearly fell off the thing straight afterwards.. he still needed to get the hang of finding the right grip, after all. And getting to know the ways around his own dog. "What're we waiting for? We should go there right now!"

The one thing that actually stopped the squirrel from riding off that second was the sheer shock of the other squires confession. After all.. she had utter control over her horse. She'd shown utter control over a horse she'd never even met, in order to actually save Arch's life! Surely, she couldn't be as bad as he was. He could barely tell Xarex to go forwards on some occasions. "You're incredibly graceful! Much more so than me.. and my patron." Ser Iros was never a man of grace. He was a man of strength - and he pushed that through with iron nails hammered in with his own fist. He was a big man who rode a big horse, used big weapons.. grace was the Pycons field of expertise. The elegance of acrobatically leaping around attacks, before launching oneself at the opponent in a brutal combination of attacks... that was grace. The Akalak preferred to stand with his shield and spear, and poke his enemies to death. Never moving unless he needed to.

[Oriah]

Oriah found her expression beginning to mirror Archailist's own. The squirrel squire had transformed from morose and defeated to ecstatic and hopeful upon the very mention of help existing at Mithryn.

She laughed merrily at his enthusiasm. Even Xarex seemed to pick up on his handler's burst of joy and began wagging his tail furiously. "Well, we don't have to wait another tick longer."

Her smile turned into a flush however as Archailist insisted upon her grace when it came to her own mount.

"Oh, no, I'm afraid it isn't me who is the graceful one, but sweet Pie here," she counter-insisted. "I am very lucky to have such a patient and helpful companion like her."

And no truer truth could be said of that. Pie was a gentle mare with no inclination to startle the horse-weary Benshira. Oriah had had a rather traumatic experience in her childhood with one particular, stubborn horse and feared the animals deeply ever since. It had taken a good while before she'd warmed up to them again. Learning to ride one being a dead set requirement for knighthood certainly helped, too.

All in all, she was ever grateful that the Order had lent her such a docile creature to learn with. Oriah wasn't quite sure if she would have come so far as to befriend one--aside from Kiter of course--if Pie had been any less tender.

The Benshira tugged gently on the mare's reins to begin moving once more. Only to remember at the last tick a much smaller, grounded problem concerning Archailist and his disobedient puppy. "Ah, I almost forgot," she noted, looking down at Xarex's eager face. "What shall we do with this happy pup?"

An idea sparked in her head. Reaching into her pack, Oriah pulled out the sack of jerked venison she had won early from her training with Wynn and Ser Varner. She withdrew her hand from the sack to display a strip of dried meat and, ripping it into smaller portions, handed a piece to her fellow squire.

"Maybe this will help encourage Xarex?" she hazarded.

Assuming Xarex's breed was not so dissimilar to other canines and their voracious appetites, Oriah hoped just the smell alone could entice the hyper animal.

Unable to help herself, the squire ate a piece herself, relishing the taste and presence of food in her mouth. It had been a long, hard day; her stomach had been grumbling noisily only chimes before. Never did she think she'd be thankful for Ser Varner's eccentric ideas.

As they walked on, making slow progress along the path toward Mithryn, with or without Xarex's full cooperation, Oriah found herself pondering.

"I hope you don't mind me asking," she began, trying to find the right words to phrase her question, "But where do your people come from? I have never seen anyone like you before."

She looked down at the remains of shredded jerky in her hands and offered a small grin. "I would willingly share my prize food with you," Oriah explained, "But I get the feeling your tastes may not run the same as mine."