Private Tales The Goblin, the Horse, and the Hair

[Kael]

The Restach Fields, or “Resties” as they were known, were a collection of fields and obstacles for training on horseback at the Dreadlord Academy, supposedly named after the original Proctor responsible. Kael had an examination coming up that required some time on a horse, and had booked some time to prepare. There was an issue, namely that all the horses seemed to hate Kael. He had managed to figure out how to ride a couple of them, but it was a constant battle to keep control. Kael suspected at some level they had an intuition that he wasn’t human, but who were the horses going to tell?

Kael picked Chestnut Charlie for the ride. He brought the creature an apple, but it wouldn’t take it from his hands. He sighed and left it on the ground before loading a quiver and slinging it over his shoulders. An audible crunch filled the room, and Kael sighed. He picked up a torch, coated with special powders and lit it before placing it in it’s holder. It let out a bright red light, more sparkle than flame. He hopped on to the beast’s saddle and waited. There was a pop, and the color of the flame turned green. Kael clicked his heels against the creature and they were off.

Kael rode and pulled an arrow from his quiver, knocking it to his bow. The first target came in sight, a wooden replica of a man in heavily rusted mail. The feathers of the bow kissed Kael’s cheek before releasing, and the arrow was off, into the helmet of the faux man. One down. Kael’s hand returned to the quiver, pulling another arrow as the horse galloped into a path between a small cluster of trees. His eyes darted between them, before finding the faux bandit in wait. Kael pulled and released the arrow, sailing another arrow into the neck of a would-be brigand. Two down. Kael needed to strike five lethal blows before the green flame was spent, but was aiming for at least eight. The pair exited the forest, turning a corner and hopping a small fence, gaining the height necessary to aim and fire at dummy hidden behind a mock-city wall. Three down.

Chestnut Charlie landed on the ground, then abruptly stopped. Kael was thrown to the ground. His muscles shrieked at him as he rolled to avoid breaking a bone. Kael took a deep breath and felt pain in his stomach. His ribs. Feth. Eyes darted to see if anyone else was at the Restie. He couldn’t be seen like this, weak. The other initiates would eat him alive, as was the human custom. His face went right, then left, and saw the distinct golden hair reflecting in the sun.

Avery.

 

[Avery]

Avery certainly knew how to ride a horse, much like any other Initiate that took to the skill well enough. Having just finished taking a lovely natured mare out for a brisk ride, she had dismounted and allowed the horse to graze a moment before walking her back towards the stables.

Her hair was weaved into an intricate braid, all artistry credited to her roommate Summer Taryden, and she was glad for the help as it certainly kept her hair from whipping about her face on her ride. Kitted out in riding gear borrowed from the Academy, the ill fitting jacket was slung over the saddle and threatening to slip off.

Dusting off the shoulder of the horse, she cooed some soothing words and let the beautiful creature gnaw at the long grass.

Turning around to look up at the sky, she raised a hand to cover her eyes to shield it from the sun. The clouds were all scattered thin and far, telling Avery the wind will reach them down here later in the evening at least.

There was movement in her peripherals, and she turned her head to spy what had caught her attention. "Kael?" She scrunched her facial features, uncertain if it truly were him from this distance but it certainly looked like him. "You alright?" Horse nearby, him on the ground, it did not take much to calculate what had happened.

 

[Kael]

Kress. She saw him. Her words indicated concern, but was it actually true? Humans hid there emotions well, guarding for the right moment to strike. The goblin could try to ignore her, but then she might come over. Or worse, call over a proctor. Or a medic . . . No. Kael had to deal with this head-on.

"I'm fine." He grunted. Kael began to roll himself upward and a screech escaped his breath. His head returned quickly to the ground. He let out a sigh.

"I'll be fine." He corrected himself, changing tense but not adding a timeline. "I just need to . . ." He focused for a minute. As a shapeshifter he was very in tune with his ever-changing anatomy. With a pulse of magic he felt out to his spine and realized it wasn't broken. A stroke of luck, or just an end to his bad-luck. Not all of his ribs had made it free however. Kael was a shapeshifter, the most talented in his tribe. Could he just force it into place? A sigh escaped his mouth. Showing weakness to a classmate was dangerous, but it was better than her getting help.

"My bag is over by gate three." He said to Avery. Great Marsh, how embarrassing. To suffer such from a bucking horse. "Can you grab the blue and green vials out of it? They're a couple poultices should have me right up."

 

[Avery]

She had begun walking over to him so that she wouldn't have to yell across the distance, but from where he laid on the ground, he asked her to retrieve his bag. She paused, turning to see where the gate was and gave Kael a reassuring smile. "Not a problem!"

Avery turned back to her horse, mounted up, and was on her way.

Minutes later, she would be making her way back towards her classmate. Not one to rifle through one's belongings, she instead got off her steed and walked the few feet towards Kael and gently laid his bag beside him. "You know, I know some simple healing. Or I can help take the edge off the pain. Proctor Urahil was actually quite informative about the human body, especially how we can trick the... oh, sorry. Rambling. How are you feeling?"

Perhaps she was not the best one for the job if he was feeling too poorly, afraid she may do more harm than good when it came to healing.

 

[Kael]

As the woman came over Kael was able to confirm it was indeed Avery. And she smiled at him? Was she smiling at him, or his predicament? She seemed to be earnest in her effort to help. Kael was naturally suspicious, but perhaps the blonde initiate was of a different breed.

As she cantered off Kael was left with Chestnut Charlie, just a few feet away. The beast looked over at Kael and whinnied in what felt a mocking fashion.

“Well what did I do to you?” Kael protested. The horse let out a huff, then turned and began to trot away. Kael sighed, pain rattling through his ribcage as breath went through. One more thing to do. Avery arrived shortly after Chestnut Charlie left, dropping Kael’s bag at his side.

“Thank you.” Kael responded to the gentle placement. He went through the bag, pulling out the blue and green vials with care. She mentioned Proctor Urahil, and if he were anyone else that would be the right move. Kael however, was a bit concerned about application of medical treatment. While he was extremely confident in his shapeshifting ability functionally, he wasn’t confident he’d perfectly replicated every internal structure of a human. What if his heart was two sizes too small, and his stomach a size too large? Kael had good enough answers to get by the academy so far, but it was always better not to be asked.

“I’ve been better.” Kael said as he pulled out a knife. He put it in his hand and looked over his stomach before deciding cutting himself was a bad idea.

“Can you cut my shirt?” He asked Avery , pain still evident in his voice as he handed over the knife. “I need to fix up a rib. Third up on my left. If I can fix that the rest is just bruises. Should heal on its own. No need to bother anybody else.” Could he avoid proper medical treatment again?

 

[Avery]

Avery's face flashed with concern.

"Cut i—" Her hands held the knife offered to her, looking at it first and then his shirt. Would it not be best to let her try to heal him? But he mentioned his ribs, and Avery was no medical expert. No, the Academy wanted her to manipulate pain than to alleviate it.

With a reserved sigh, Avery went to help her classmate. "This is... I didn't think I would ever have to do this!" Her hand shook, but she kept a firm hand in hopes that she wouldn't accidentally carve into him. One hand pulled the fabric from his flesh, slowing hacking away at it gingerly with the knife. All the while, Avery's face was scrunched with apprehension.

"If I accidentally cut you, do those vials heal that too?"

 

[Kael]

“Woah, hold on!” Kael reached out a hand and wrapped it just below @Avery’s wrist. His leather riding glove gripped firmly to stop her, but hopefully not enough to cause any pain. Why did she have the blade pointed down at his chest? Why did she not expect to do this sometime in her life? Wasn’t this a military academy? Did humans not do field dressing?

“You’re not going to cut me.” Kael said, trying to reassure. Pain still rung through voice, and she could probably hear a little concern, but he was trying. Kael released his grip slowly, bringing his hands to his shirt. “I’ll show you how to do this, and then we’ll go slow.” Kael said. He let out a breath, then made a pained smile.

“Start by pulling my shirt up, away from the ground as much as you can.” Kael would pinch at the fabric of his shirt and begin raising it. “Bring the knife under my shirt flat as if to lay on my chest. Stop about here.” Kael would point about three inches below the base of his neck. “Bring the point up to touch the shirt and turn the knife edge so it comes down. The push upwards to make the initial cut.” Kael motioned a fist as if holding a knife and raised it upwards deliberately. “Then slowly pull the knife downwards. Don’t use your strength, let the edge do the work.” The goblin dreadlord to be let out another large breath.

“If that all makes sense start whenever you’re ready. Don’t rush.” Another pained smile hit his face. “I’m obviously not going anywhere.”

 

[Avery]

Avery's face was fixed with hesitation and hesitation. She grimaced as Kael showed her the motions of not carving him up like a roast dinner, and as he left her to apply all that he instructed her with, Avery did everything slowly with apprehension.

Once done, she tossed aside the knife a few feet away.

"Ugh." She shuddered. "Kress. I would have rather practiced healing that to do that again." She whined.

The blonde initiate shook her hands to relieve the shakiness that seemed to settle in the bones after cutting up his shirt. "I am not fond of knives, to tell you the truth." She gave him a nervous smile. "I am much better on the archery range, actually." One of the best at the Academy, in fact.

She had always thought knives and blades to be Vittoria's domain when they were much younger.

 

[Kael]

Avery worked slowly. He could tell it made her uncomfortable, but she powered through it without error. Once the last strip of fabric was split she tossed his knife away from the pair. Kael held back a grimace at the treatment of his blade.

“I didn’t think there was a way to learn healing officially.” Kael responded, genuinely curious as he pulled a blue vial out of his pack. He popped the cork and poured it over the rib. “This should numb it up a bit.” He said to her. “Then I should be able to shift and just force the rib back together.” Kael thought on Avery’s statement of knives. It was a very intimate weapon, with a meaningful blow usually struck inside the distance of a warm embrace. One didn’t feel the drip if blood at forty paces.

“Avery, what do you want to do?” He asked. “After graduation I mean. Do you have an ideal assignment?”

 

[Avery]

Avery hummed, leaning back onto her legs as she kneeled before her classmate. "Oh, there is! Proctor Urahil has been walking me through some magical methods, but she teaches those that are interested how to do medical healing out on the field." Her eyes watched as Kael demonstrated his own way at healing himself. Perhaps this happened plenty of times, and how fortunate for him to have the ability to shift his bones into something good as new!

Then her eyes met his, staring at him a moment as she thought. "Well... there has been an interest in me to work with the Vigilite, but I truly would not mind going into the Guard either. I have no home or family that wants to claim me, so there is no option to return to that..." The quiet was comfortable, leaving her to smile as if that would be an answer as sufficient as could be. "And you? Hopes and dreams after this place?"

 

[Kael]

He looked at the blonde a moment, his eyes communicating some surprise. She had no home? Wasn’t she the pride of some minor noble house? And vigilite? The woman who just threw away his knife?

“If I’m honest, my first dream is simply to make it out of this place.” Kael said. In truth he was doing well enough. He expected to graduate, provided he wasn’t discovered. “But afterwards I expect assignment into the vigilite. If only because they’d prefer a shapeshifter under their own watch.”

Kael touched his rib and winced. The pain wasn’t completely gone, but greatly reduced. He clenched his fists, his teeth, and began to change from this broken form back to his normal human skin. The flesh and bone of his body moved like a clay, shifting ever so slightly until it was just so. Kael could feel immediate relief on his bones, though his muscles were still bruised and speaking to him.

“I think I did it.” Kael said, then began the process of getting up. It was less graceful than he’d prefer, and it still hurt, but there was no immediate splitting pain stopping him. He rose to a sit, now roughly eye level with the kneeling Avery. “I’ve only put the bone in place, but I can move.” He smiled, though Avery would see he was uncomfortable.

“When you said an interest in the Vigilite, did you mean there is an interest in the vigilite within you, or that someone has an interest in you going into the vigilite?”

 

[Avery]

"Oh, well... the Proctors have been working me to be a candidate. I have no other aspirations..." But she studied his face, could glimpse something was not all too right with him. Kael had always been kind to her and others, so much so that Avery believed him to be genuine. "I was given up to the Academy. This is all I have ever known and I am just a teensy bit afraid to leave."

She smiled, sheepishly.

"I will be receiving more training after Graduation. They want me for a specific job that is classified, but... it puts my magic to use, at least."

Avery shrugged, going to stand and offer him a hand to assist him to get onto his feet. "We really ought to get you to see Proctor Urahil. Proctor Perri can fix you up in seconds. To put it politely, I do not trust you to know the human anatomy well enough to have... put the bone in place. You could hurt yourself if it is all wrong!"

 

[Kael]

Given up to the academy. No other aspirations. Hmpf. The two were closer in kind than Kael expected. Was he afraid to leave? Kael really wanted out of this fething place, but he had probably been longer than thirty percent of his kind lived naturally. The average Initiate might have felt they'd been here forever, but it was more so when your life expectancy was halved.

"Proctor Urahil scares me." He said blankly. "And my anatomy isn't perfect. A consequence of moving your bones around, changing their density and size on a more-than daily basis. I doubt I'd look like a normal human under the knife." Kael continued. Avery might notice his use of the word 'human' over 'person'. Kael worked very hard not to make such slips, but he wasn't perfect.

"A form of the price I pay I guess." He suspected that his body would begin to fail in the next ten or fifteen years as a result. That would be a concern if he expected to live that long.

"I won't push you for any information on your assignment, but are you sure you don't need some experience with a knife? I'd be happy to give you some pointers if you could teach me how to keep a horse calm." The shapeshifter headed over to pick up his knife. The pain on him would still be apparent, as would be the 'can't let people see' mentality of a Dreadlord.

 

[Avery]

Avery raised a brow.

"I know how to use a knife."

Every Initiate did. The case with Avery was lack of confidence, wanting to shy away from greatness where Vittoria had embraced it. There was a nagging feeling inside her, and she debated whether to speak of it or leave it be.

"I was taught how to kill, not be gentle with a knife." She decided instead. Initiate Cathaior was a bright student, extremely powerful, but she shied away from developing on her capabilities. A knife was not her domain, but the bow and arrow was. Her eyes went to the bow left on the grass from where he fell. "How about you let me restring your bow and I can show you how to befriend any of the Academy horses?"

 

[Kael]

The shapeshifter was a bit confused. The blonde knew how to use a knife, and was practiced in healing, but couldn’t cut a piece of cloth without cutting a man? Something didn’t add up, but Kael decided it wasn’t his to unpack. Glancing over his shirt he decided it was unsalvageable and completed the cut from chest to neck as Avery spoke. Where an athletically built and bruised body was hinted at before, it was now more apparent.

“That would be.” He paused. “I’m sorry. I’m not very good at this. Thank you for your help is what I’m trying to say.” He let out a breath.

“I would appreciate your help with the bow and the horses, but I do not wish to abuse your good will.” He gave Avery an out, as Kael’s initial proposal of do a thing for Avery, Avery does a thing for Kael had been countered by Avery doing two things for Kael. Alternatively it was a chance for her to dictate terms or a favor, though it seemed Kael was already in the hole for that.

 

[Avery]

Avery let out a chuckle, moving past him to retrieve the bow. Luckily it was still in good condition, but the string did not have the same tautness as it should. "I leave the knives to Vittoria. Besides, I am a better eye with archery. Best in the class, if I do say so myself."

She grinned at him, just happy to have a simple conversation outside of the classes.

Out here, they were not being studied by their classmates. Out here, Avery did not need to hide from the Terrible Two.

"How about you? You decent with this?" She held up the bow. "Fixing this would only take a couple of minutes. You hurt yourself, and still hurting, do not lie, but to earn the trust of the horses is quite simple really. We will need to go to the kitchens for supplies though."

 

[Kael]

"Anywhere else I'd be pretty good, but here decent is probably the word for it." Kael responded. He moved his arms around in a stretch, feeling out what hurt, what didn't, and how much.

"I can hit within a centimeter of mark inside thirty paces or so, but beyond that I'm much spottier." He continued as he moved to his pack. He found some room and stuffed the shirt inside before putting it over his shoulders. He tried not to, but winced through the motion despite himself.

"I've got the Restach Three examination in a couple weeks and was hoping to get some practice in." He admitted. Avery would be familiar with the exam, and had probably bested it some time ago with their differing paths. She'd know it was essentially to deal a number of lethal blows on horseback within a minute and a half, with a course designed to test shot ability from different angles. It wasn't a test everyone took, but there were certainly more challenging feats at the academy.

"You said the kitchen?"

 

[Avery]

"Oh, that is easy!" She said of the Restach. It sounded as if he were truly on his way to being successful in his own exam, but they needed to handle the horses first.

"Yes, come along." Avery called for her horse to walk over, taking the reins once they met the blonde Initiate and guided them back to the stables.

She went through the usual steps in unsaddling, even going as far as to give the horse a nice rub down and a kiss on the nose as she promised to return with a treat. The way she spoke was exactly how she had spoken with Kael, and once ready, she would turn to see where he was. "Ready? This is my secret weapon to getting the horses to like me, no matter what."

Of course, Avery would have a better time with them. The amount of time she dedicated to running the Resties countless times were successful due to the secret she had been taught. A good, trusting horse was the first key to excelling in the exam.

 

[Kael]

Avery seemed excited at the mention of the exam. Passionate about archery, or horses, or both? The blonde told him to come along and mounted her horse, prompting Kael to look for his.

Just where did Chestnut Charlie go?

If took a moment, but Kael was able to spot the beast. He made his way over and the Horse stared at him, unmoving. Kael put up his hands in the universal gesture of 'I'm not about to stab you' and made his way closer. Kael grabbed the reins and jumped up to mount. Charlie was still. Kael clicked his boots at the horse's stomach and they were off. Only Charlie had decided to buck slightly every few canters. Force went up Kael's spine as the horse went up, then down onto his back as his pack fell from the air. Kael gritted his teeth and kept on the beast.

He would not let a horse ruin him.

Kael finally caught up with the girl and dismounted, trying to get Charlie in his proper place.

"Hunh?" He responded as Avery's voice rang out to him. She'd notice he'd just arrived, and missed her comforting ritual.

"I'm ready." He said, hopeful that he was.

 

[Avery]

Her smile wavered, noticing that they were definitely going to spend a lot more time than she initially thought to get him to be trusted by Charlie.

"Well, you do know how to take the gear off so... let's focus on gaining trust. Come along." She dusted off her hands on her thighs, the tight trousers serving well when it came to riding. Because she had done so well during her exam, the Academy signed off on Avery getting better gear than the usual standard issue given to the Initiates that could not afford their own custom gear. She was an investment, a show pony to pretty up and make others watch as she pranced around to make the Academy look good. In fact, the Evaluations were coming up, and Avery would be attending to open the day's events with a run meant to challenge her.

The kitchens were thankfully only ten minutes walk, and she took the side door through the herb garden than going inside where it was warm. She liked hiding away, being a ghost, and soon to be forgotten by anyone inside those halls. It meant no one would bother her, and that she could definitely not run into the Terrible Two.

"What do you think a treat for a horse would be, Kael?"

 

[Kael]

Kael followed Avery’s lead, but noted her indirect method of getting to the kitchen. He expected such things from Norah, or Naser, but not Avery. Was she used to taking extra rations? Or did she simply want to avoid the normal entrants? Maybe she was Vigilite material.

“A treat for a horse?” He said, and glanced around the kitchen. He grew up taming and feeding wolves and wargs raw meat. That didn’t seem to fly here. He looked around the kitchen for a possible answer.

“Oranges?” He decided on the citrus, as it seemed to be more heavily stocked.

 

[Avery]

Avery walked past the oranges. In fact, she walked past all the produce that had been delivered to the Academy kitchens. She smiled at the cooks, not getting in their way as she opened up a cabinet in the large pantry and retrieved a tin. Kael had followed her, and before they could get into trouble for overstaying, she gripped his arm and pulled him to follow her back out.

"Here. Open it." She would release his arm once outside, now leaving the herb garden and grinning. "Recognise those?"

In the tin would be six sugar cubes.

"It is a small treat, one I know Charlie will like. There are some horses that are not allowed this treat, so at most, give him two. We want him to like you, not to spoil him with such a delicacy." Avery flipped back her braided hair, an air of smugness about her. "Well? Brilliant, isn't it?"

 

[Kael]

Hand gripped his arm and pulled him out of the busy kitchen. The paid of initiates definitely garnered eyes, especially with Kael only wearing riding gloves and a backpack above the waist, but none of the kitchen staff had moved in response. He remembered his initial thought on meeting Avery, that of a rich noble. Had she bribed the kitchen for sugar cubes? He decided it unlikely, and remembered she said she had come from nothing.

The concept itself seemed sensible. A special treat, not too much. Kael knew a wolf fed too much prime mutton was unlikely to eat chicken. Sugar itself was odd, he found humans enjoyed it far more than he did.

“It seems sound.” He responded, his tone implying thinking it through. “For now I guess I’ll have to trust you.”

 

[Avery]

"In this circumstance? It can't hurt but to trust."

Avery had learned it from the Proctors that had overseen her training. To excel in everything was always the lesson and Avery passed with flying colours.

Once they returned, Avery paused before the door to Charlie's lodgings. She clicked her tongue in a melody that caught his attention, and he lifted his large head to sniff and push at her shoulder. The Initiate smiled and pressed her her lips against his nose in a sweet kiss. "He's a gorgeous one. Really likes attention and being fussed over. best way to figure out the best behaved horse is to ask the stable hands, or observe how they are with different riders. Here, come stand behind me and let him explore your scent on his own terms."

Her free hand reached behind and waved, indicating which side Kael should stand.

Charlie would sniff the sugar cubes first, smelling the Initiate over in search of the cubes.

"Do not give him a treat just yet."

 

[Kael]

It can’t hurt but to trust. Kael thought on those words. Did pain come from trust, or the breaking of trust rather? He dwelled on the concept for a moment before following the girl.

Charlie was gorgeous? Kael thought the creature just a horse, but Avery obviously saw something he didn’t. Perhaps that was why she was so much better with the beasts. Kael stood where Avery directed, and kept frighteningly still as Charlie eventually moved his focus from Avery to Kael. It sniffed about for a moment, then shook it’s head as it projected out a sneeze.

“Maybe this was a mistake.”