Upon the back of a beast [Fox]

[Apakai]

The final Cycle of Melora, in the Season of Winter, Era I of the Celestial Mandate, Era XV Post Fractum

Apakai’s head tilted back as he closed his eyes. He allowed his lungs to fill with the cold air as the birds chirped loudly around him. The wind rose up slightly from behind him, throwing his loose hair around his face. He could smell it too, the leaves would be changing very soon. Spring would be upon the town of Natura quickly.

He drank it all in.

Winter.

Apakai had walked outside of the town in search of a suitable area. He found it here, in the wilds of the Centripax heartland. An open field, slightly elevated and showered with sunlight.

He lowered his head once again and opened his eyes. It was still there, waiting. The beast. It would not retreat. Nor would Apakai.

He exhaled, long and quiet, before speaking. “I suppose it is time for introductions. My name is Apakai. I am a former slave of the Horg Clan. I killed my master and became a free man. I am a very strong warrior.”

The beast looked back. Unmoving, unfrightened.

“You, I have decided, will be Thunderfoot.”

The horse stared back at his new owner blankly. It offered a slight snort, fog lifting from it’s nostrils. The huge Mellan had already been bridled and saddled, proving the convenience of the wealth of information that could be found in the Naturan Library. The human had spent the last cycle reading everything he could on horsemanship. Now, all that was left was to put that knowledge to the test.

“I see you are a large, glorious creature. However, in here…” Apakai poked at his chest, “I am equally as large.”

The simple statement was all that Apakai offered the animal. The human sighed, and took a step towards the creature.

[Fox]

An open field, in the last brightenings of winter. Open and yet still covered in snow, with a slight covering but nonethless there.

And there, in the field, was Thunderfoot. A name given to the beast by Apakai, not by itself. But there Thunderfoot stood, and looked at the human with an expression that told of its thoughts on its new owner. The eyes that looked at Apakai did so with an expression of interest, but of belief that he was... or was likely to be... found wanting. He would not be able to tame this beast, not be able to ride it. No, not at all.

Thunderfoot looked at Apakai, and as he took a step forward the horse slowly, and deliberately, took a step backwards.

"Shall we dance?" it seemed to say, the misting fog coming out as it snorted in apparent derision. For surely, it seemed to have an almost human personality. This was not, of course, true, but it was what seemed to be. So Apakai stepped forward, one step.

.....and the horse stepped backwards... one step.

[Apakai]

Apakai had put together a simple plan as to how he would tame the huge horse:

Take things one step at a time.

Obviously, that plan was getting nowhere. Thunderfoot seemed to revel in the fact.

Apakai walked slowly around the horse, the beast turning a circle with him. He wasn’t going to do this from behind, either.

Familiarity first, Apakai decided, then we will move on.

The human turned around and walked around for a few paces, then stopped. With his back to Thunderfoot, he stretched his arms wide, throwing his head back in an over-exaggerated yawn. He patted his stomach, and said, “Wow… I’m hungry.”

He squatted down, and started searching the ground. He poked around for several moments before standing back up.

He turned so that the steed could see him, and shoved a couple of unhealthy, albeit green, blades of grass into his mouth. He smiled as he chewed, a tiny bit of dirt clinging to his lip. “Mmmmmm…” he said, his eyes rolling back, seemingly blissful and satisfied by the meal.

He looked back at Thunderfoot. His eyes widened in mock surprise as he said, “Oh! I’m sorry! Are you hungry too?”

The kemite held out his hand, a hearty handful of green grass resting in his palm.

“You can have some, if you'd like.” Once again, the human took a single step toward the steed. There, he stopped and waited.

"No tricks, great Thunderfoot. Whenever you are ready..."

[Fox]

Chewing grass seemed to work better than stepping forward and Thunderfoot watched him with an apparently intrigued expression. He chewed and the horse watched him, quizzicaly.

And then, as he held out his hand, the horse stepped backwards, slightly, ears twitching. Then, though, Thunderfoot stopped and watched Apakai before stepping forwards, towards Apakai with a slightly twitchy expression.

Should Apakai move, even slightly, then Thunderfoot would step back, throwing his head back and snorting, but then would step forward again, ears twitching.

Eventually, after two or three full minutes of the forwards/backwards dance, Thunderfoot stepped forwards and started eating the grass out of Apakai's hand, chewing softly against his palm.

[Apakai]

Apakai laughed as Thunderfoot's whiskers brushed against his palm. He wasn't ticklish, of course, but he was triumphant. He was very pleased with himself, and his new friend.

He raised his other arm and started stroking the horses face. Slow at first, and then with building enthusiasm as he eventually moved to scratching the mellan behind the ears. He patted Thunderfoot lovingly on the head before taking a step back and looking him over.

Thunderfoot was in excellent condition. He needed brushed, of course, but other than that the horse was extremely healthy. The man looked at the saddle, already in place, before looking the horse in the eyes once again.

"That is your saddle. It is larger than most, just like you." He pointed at the saddle for the horses sake before going on. "I must check to see if it is secured. Then we will begin."

He took a few steps forward before stopping. He retraced his steps and stood in front of Thunderfoot, hopefully, one last time.

"I promise to be gentle, great one," he said, before his brow wrinkled, his eyes pleading. "Please do the same."

He walked towards the horse. When he reached the saddle, (if he reached the saddle) he would check it momentarily, and then tighten the straps and collar, if needed. If all was well, he would place his foot into the stirrup, and hoist himself onto Thunderfoot's back.

[Fox]

The saddle...... well that was just a little too much right now. Thunderfoot looked at Apakai and stepped away. To the side... to the side... just backwards a little and to the side some more. Thunderfoot seemed ill inclined towards allowing the saddle.

But perserverence was a great thing and eventually the saddle slipped on. Thunderfoot looked at Apakai and seemed to regard him with some consideration... was Thunderfoot going to throw this small and strange creature off his back, or would he allow it? That was, of course, a big decision.

But Apakai was smart... he did not immediately get onto the horse. Instead, he checked the saddle, checked that everything was alright and then, only then did he put his foot into the stirrup.

... and the horse waited... until the EXACT moment that Apakai was off balance and then, reared up and dropped the irritating burden to the floor.

Then stepped away a few more steps, and watched Apakai from a distance.

[Apakai]

Ouch

Apakai sat up, his head a bit fuzzy from the fall. He slowly got to his feet, using his fingers to brush some snow out of his hair.

He attempted to stand tall and proud in front of the horse once again, but the look of amusement in Thunderfoot's eyes dropped his shoulders a bit. A worthy opponent, Apakai found himself thinking, and one I have obviously underestimated. He looked at the mellan and bowed slightly.

End of round one: Thunderfoot - 1, Apakai - 0.

He smiled, attempting a weak laugh. "You got me... hehe... that was a good one."

Apakai had hoped it would have been much easier than this, but he was honestly happy, in a way. He would have a strong horse, in both body and will. It was probably best that the horse would be hard to train, although he wasn't happy about the bruises he had already accumulated in the first few moments. It would probably get worse by the end of the day, but no, this was a good thing.

Apakai kept telling himself this over and over again as he walked a few steps towards Thunderfoot once again. "We will do it your way, then. I won't try to get on your saddle yet, Great One. Shall we walk?"

Apakai walked a few more steps, and patted the mellan on the nose, and massaged it's face once again, just like before. However, this time he looked the steed straight in the eye, and said in the rough, simple Orkish language, "Apakai not weak. Apakai will ride Thunderfoot."

Not quite yet, however. First, he would build rapport with the animal. Still holding the straps, he began to walk, hoping that the mellan would follow. They would make a few rounds around the clearing before moving on.

[Fox]

Walking around the clearing was much more to Thunderfoot's liking and he walked around with Apakai quite happily. It gave him time to get used to the saddle, of course, which was a good thing for the steed that would eventually become Apakai's.

The massage to the face was a pleasant experience and the horse snorted out in pleasure, steam escaping it's nostrils as it enjoyed the feeling, growing a fondness, perhaps, for Apakai as it did so.

And so it was that Thunderfoot walked around and around the clearing, walking with Apakai. Whether rightly or wrongly, there was a sense of Thunderfoot walking with Apakai rather than behind him. The steed kept pace and walked, matching speed together. Every now and then it let out a snort or a whinney, as though to remind Apakai that it was still there and with him.

After the third round around the clearing, Thunderfoot stopped and looked at Apakai. Calmly the steed looked at him and what was that? Was that a challenge in his eyes?

[Apakai]

Apakai stared back, the look of challenge not lost on the kemite.

"Apakai ride Thunderfoot, now?" he said, wondering now if the lack of riding thus far had been due to Apa's use of a language the steed did not understand. Odd, that the horse would speak Orc. He immediately laughed out loud, embarassed by his own foolishness.

Horses didn't talk.

Odd, that the horse understood Orc. Yes, that made much more sense. Apakai smiled.

He walked up to the mellan. "Yes. One way or another, the time is now," he said, mostly to himself. He looked at Thunderfoot, and realized how convenient it would be, now that he knew he could speak a language that the horse coudn't understand.

He patted the horse a few times before grabbing ahold of the straps. "Apakai climb Thunderfoot, now. Apakai sit on back" he said. He walked to the side of Thunderfoot. He was already sure of the fact that the saddle was tightened and correctly sitting atop the steeds back. Everything was ready.

He put his foot in the stirrup, and readied himself. Remembering the earlier tumble that the horse gifted him with, he shoved his foot in further, and twisted his hand around, the strap wrapping around his wrist. If the horse decided to rear up once again, Apakai would be ready, and hold on regardless. He would ride Thunderfoot this time.