by Spoor, Garry
Mouthing off to Master Boraro was not the smartest thing to do as she stared at the pulsing vane in his head. Other instructors might have belittled her or ridiculed her in their class if she tried to be too smart, Master Boraro on the other hand was a simple man. He would just knock her upside the head, preferably with a mace or a large club. As it was he just turned and walked away.
“What crawled into his shorts this morning?” She mumbled as she handed Murphy his sword.
“Thanks” The boy replied, and this time she realized he meant it.
“Look, I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of the mud today, how about we just… you know… take it a little easy.”
“Yeah… okay.” Murphy nodded as he took his position. “You wanna… try attacking me for a change?”
“Are you sure?” She asked. She was a little surprised that he would even suggest such a thing.
“I could use some more practice defending myself.”
“Well… yeah, okay.” She said as she took her position, but before she could start, Murphy held up his hand.
“Hold on a second.” He said as he looked around the List, she was beginning to think that he had changed his mind.
There were cadets falling all over the place, sliding in the muck covered from head to toe in mud. This was defiantly not the environment for sword fighting as the rain fell constantly. Kile looked back over to Murphy to see what it was that he was waiting for and the big man had his eyes closed and was mumbling something under his breath. She had seen Morgan do this before, and realized that the cadet was using his edge. Her first thought was to defend herself but she decided to give Murphy the benefit of the doubt. It was a serious violation of the code for one hunter to use his edge against another, and even though they weren’t hunters yet, it still applied to cadets, and she couldn’t believe Murphy was willing to break that code. It was a one way ticket out of the academy.
She suddenly felt the ground beneath her feet harden and the mud began to dry. Where the rest of the field had been nearly six inches of mud, around where they stood, it was less than an inch. He looked up, smiled and nodded that he was ready. Kile launched her first attack.
She couldn’t say she learned a lot from Murphy, but it was a refreshing change to actually leave the List without having to go to the healers afterwards.
“You know Murphy, if you really want to practice your defense, you can always spar with us.” She told the big man as they set their swords back on the rack after the training session was over.
“Really?” He asked, there was a note of excitement in his voice, but it quickly died. Kile glanced over in the direction that Murphy was looking. Eric was standing beside the fence with Roger, and the two did not look very pleased.
“That might not be a good idea.” He added.
“Look Murphy, I don’t want to tell you your business or anything, but there were a few things that Master Boraro actually said that made sense, and one of them was that being a hunter meant being alone. That may not be exactly true, but it does mean that you’re going to have to make decisions for yourself.”
“Yeah, well… sometimes that’s easier said than done.” The big man said as he started to walk away.
“If you change your mind, we meet on the far side of the stable, just after the chores. You’re always welcome.”
“Thanks” He mumbled, and then turned and walked away.
She wasn’t sure what the others would say with her inviting Murphy to their sparring sessions that was if he even came. She never really had any problems with him, unless he was around Eric, and that was just the older boy’s influence.
Kile changed her uniform, retrieved her carrots from Big Joe and made her way to the stables. Assigned chores usually don’t start until after the supper shift, and that was still an hour away, but Kile had very little else to occupy her time, and if she could avoid the dining hall, that was even better.
The stables were quiet, and Luke was nowhere to be seen, of course now she knew that didn’t actually mean he wasn’t around. She decided that if he wanted to watch her there was little she could do about it, but it wasn’t going to stop her from doing what she usually did, so she made her round, greeting the horses one by one.
She looked over to where Grim was now watching her. She might have converted one individual today in the way of Murphy, maybe she could convert two.
“Good evening Grim.” She said as she separated the carrots and held one out to him.
Grim turned his nose up at the treat and then turned to look the other way.
“That’s it.” She said as she followed his head around and held the carrot under his nose again. “I can be as stubborn as you. I’m not moving until you take this.”
Grim gave a loud snort, spraying her with what she could only imagine was horse snot as he turned around in his stall, showing her his backside.
“Oh no you don’t” She said as she walked around the stall. “Give me one good reason why you won’t take my peace offering.”
-I don’t like carrots.-
The sudden response caught her off guard. His voice was hard and unforgiving but not nearly as loud as when he first spoke to her.
“You don’t?” She asked. She was under the impression that all horses liked carrots. “What do you like?”
He said nothing, and just stood there staring at her. At first she thought he was going back to his silent treatment.
-Apples-
“You like apples. I’m not sure if the cook has any but I can find out. You wait right here.” She said as she set the carrots down and ran back down to the kitchen.
“What… you need more of the carrots.” Big Joe said upon seeing her.
“No.” She said, catching her breath. “He doesn’t like carrots.”
“Not like carrots. What? He tells you this. Suppose he tell you what he does like.”
“Actually, he says he likes apples.”
“Apples?”
“If you have any.”
“I did. I don’t now.”
“Why not, what happen?” She asked.
“I make apple pie for the staff’s supper.” The cook replied with a shrug.
Kile wasn’t sure what bothered her more, that fact that he had no apples to give her, or the fact that the staff gets apple pie with their supper. Now what, she wondered, apples were apples. What difference could it make?
“May I have a piece of the pie then?” She asked.
“What? For your horse?”
“Why not.” She replied. It wasn’t like there was anything in the pie that the horse wouldn’t eat, and it was better than coming back with no apples at all.
“I tell you what. I give you two pieces, one for your horse and one for you.” Big Joe laughed as he sliced two pieces of pie and placed them on a platter, but only gave her one fork. She thanked him for the pie and quickly returned to the stables.
She was glad to see that Luke still wasn’t around; at least she didn’t think he was around. She wasn’t sure if he would understand her feeding pie to her horse, and she really didn’t know how to explain it.
“Apples.” She said as she pulled back the cover from the platter and showed Grim the two slices of pie.
He looked at them, then at her, then back at the pies.
-What is it?-
“Okay, they didn’t have any apples, but they did have apple pie.”
-Apple… pie?-
“Yeah, it’s made from apples. If you like apples, you’ll like this.” She said, although she wasn’t sure if that was true.
She gently picked up one of the slices and held it out to him. Grim sniffed it for a moment, then opened his rather large mouth and took the pie and her hand with one bit, although he actually didn’t bite down, he just sort of sucked the pie off, leaving her with a rather slimy hand.
“Glad you like it.” She said as she wiped her hand on her tunic.
-Apple pie.-
Grim said again, and
those words carried with it a strong feeling, this horse didn’t just like apple pie, he loved it.
Kile quickly scooped up the second piece of pie and held it out to Grim, who again swallowed it, whole.
“We’re going to have to work on your table manners.” She said, wiping her hand on her tunic again.
-More?-
“Oh come on, you had two slices.” She said as she set the platter aside. “I suppose I can’t tempt you with a carrot stick then?”
Grim snorted.
“Worth a try.” She said as she took a bite of the carrot.
-I… forgive you.-
“Really?”
-I said it didn’t I?-
“Yes… thank you Grim, and I am sorry about what I did.” She said.
-Then there is no need for you to come back here any more.-
There was a note of sadness, of loneliness in those words as he turned his head away from her. Had he actually been refusing to forgive her because he was afraid that she would stop visiting him?
“Don’t you want me to come back?” She asked him.
-There would be no point.-
“Couldn’t I just… come visit you?”
Grim turned to face her.
-Visit?-
“Well… yeah, you know, visit you. See how you’re doing. I can’t promise to bring you apple pies every day, but maybe once in a while, when I can get the cook to part with some.”
-Visit? I can’t stop you if you wish to visit-
As harsh as this horse was, she was beginning to understand him. He had lost everything to the vir, his freedom, his family, his land, the only thing he had left was his dignity, and he was holding onto that with all four hoofs. He would never let on that he enjoyed her visits, but she could see it in the images that came with his words.
“I better get my chores started.” She said.
***~~~***
6
“I am not looking forward to this.” Alex said as he slid the empty tray to one side, even when he was depressed he never lost his appetite. “Illusion doesn’t even listen to me, how am I going to put him through his paces?”
“His paces?” Kile asked.
“That’s right. You missed the first class didn’t you?” Carter said as he finished the last of his breakfast. “Master Pike wants to see how well we can control our mounts.”
“We’ve only just started riding, or I should you guys only started riding.” Kile replied.
“I don’t think it’s anything major, just a sort of, obstacle course to see how well we can ride, sort of an evaluation.”
“What kind of obstacle course?”
“Nothing too special, I wouldn’t think. A couple of jumps, maybe a hill or two, you know, the usual stuff.” Carter explained. “But you don’t have to worry about it. You still have to choose your mount.”
Kile wasn’t sure if she was looking forward to this day or not. Master Pike had informed her that new horses were being brought down from the north field for her to choose from. Although she was thrilled with the idea of choosing a more suitable mount, she did feel sorry for Grim. For some reason the Mountain pony had all but ignored her, the last two days. All the progress she had made in gaining his trust was for nothing. Luke had told her that if Grim wouldn’t allow her to ride him for the next class, then she would be forced to choose another horse and Grim would be sent to the Northern Province. The next class was today and Grim didn’t look as if he had changed his mind.
“Hey, Kile, you’re good with animals.” Alex stated, snapping her out of her thoughts.
“What? What do you mean by that?” She asked defensively. She shot a look at Daniel who just shook his head. Had Daniel been telling the guys about her edge? She felt kind of bad keeping it from them, but on the other hand she didn’t want to be teased about it either. It was one more thing about her that just didn’t fit in.
“I only meant that you work in the stables and seemed very comfortable around animals they just seemed to take to you.” Alex replied. “I was just wondering if you could, you know, give me some pointers or something. Tell me how to get on his good side. Let me know what I’m doing wrong.”
“Like I did so well with Grim.” She replied.
“That wasn’t your fault.” Daniel added. “That horse was just… well… evil.”
Evil? She wondered. Who was evil in their first encounter? She didn’t like the answer to that question.
“I’m not sure I’m the one you should be asking.”
“Please Kile. I’ve seen you with the horses in the stables and they really seem to like you.”
When had he seen her with the horses?
“Fine, okay.” She finally agreed. “I guess I can talk to him if you want.”
“Talk to… who?”
“YOU, I mean I can talk to you if you want.”
“Ooookay.” Alex said as he slowly got up from the table. “Looks like Kile girls out of it again.”
“Very funny.” She said as she grabbed her own tray and got up. “Why did you name him Illusion anyway, don’t you think it’s a bit of a give away?”
“First name that came to mind, it’s better than Dirk.”
“Hey, what’s wrong with Dirk?” Carter asked as he pushed past Alex and tossed his tray onto the counter.
“What is a Dirk?” Alex emphasized the word each time he used it, making it sound as if he was cursing.
“A Dirk happens to be a small sword, or a large dagger, depending on how you want to look at it.”
“A weapon, you named your horse after a weapon, how original.”
“Better than Illoooooosion.” Carter mocked.
“Dirk” Alex replied under his breath as they walked out of the Dining hall.
They headed toward the stables to retrieve their mounts for the coming class; Kile just went along for the walk. Her horse would be in the paddock just outside the western gate, although it wasn’t her horse yet. She still had to choose from the horses that had been brought in from the north field.
She leaned up again the rail and watched as the other cadets took advantage of the little time they had before class in a vain attempt to get better acquainted with their mounts. Most of theses cadets hadn’t seen their horses all week, not since the first class, even if it was their job to care for them. They just parked them in the stalls and forgot about them, expecting them to be there upon their returned. Horses were supposed to be the most important aspect of the Hunter, if they didn’t care for their mounts, what kind of Hunter would they turn out to be?
For the last week she had fed them, watered them and even brushed them down, although it wasn’t exactly part of her chores. She knew each one of these horses better than their owners would ever know them, and it pained her to see which owners each horse was saddled with.
She watched as the cadets tripped over each other and their equipment trying to saddle their mounts. It was easy to tell the difference between those that did know how to ride and those who didn’t. She could hear the complaints of not only the cadets, but the horses as well, and in some ways it amused her on how similar they both were. There was one rider having a little more trouble than any of the others as his horse started to shift from side to side and even attempted to buck him off when he finally did get settled into the saddle. She didn’t know the cadet, but she knew the horse, and the mare wasn’t usually this temperamental.
“Excuse me.” She said as she started to cross the field of cadets and horses. The cadets paid her little mind, the horses stopped as she passed. She had explained to them before that she couldn’t talk to them when there were other vir around, but it didn’t stop them from greeting her as she walked by.
“What do you want?” The boy asked from high atop his horse.
He was a tall thin gawky kid and although she had seen him around, she couldn’t place a name to the face, not that she really cared all that much about trying. The Horse, on the other hand, she did know by name. The gawky unkn
own kid had named her Sun Dancer, which, compared to some of the other names, wasn’t that bad, but of course that was her Vir name. Her true name, the name that Kile knew was Lionora. She was a quiet, polite horse, rather laid back when compared to some of the others, so for her to behave in such a manner, Kile knew there had to be a reason.
“You appear to be having some trouble.” She said as she got closer.
“What’s it to you?”
It was never easy, she thought as she ignored the tall thin gawky boy and took hold of the reigns to calm Lionora down. She ran her hand across the horse's nose and whispered in her ear so only she could hear.
“What’s the matter?”
-Pain-
It was a single word, but to Kile its meaning was strong.
“Where?” She asked.
-Side-
“What do you think you’re doing?” The boy asked as he tried to pull the reigns from her hand and move the horse away, but Lionora wasn’t obeying her rider, she was listening to Kile. By now a small group of cadets had gathered around them, everyone wanted to see what the strange girl was up to now. She was starting to get used to being a spectacle, she didn’t like it, but she was getting used to it.
“Which side?” Kile asked, keeping her voice down so as not to be heard.
“What? What are you talking about? What are you, some kind of nut, let go of my horse.”
-Left side-
Kile moved around to the left side of Lionora, never releasing her reigns, never giving control back the gawky cadet. She ran her hand down the horse’s side, sliding it under the saddle blanket and soon found the problem. A small metal fastener on the saddle had sheared off; leaving a sharp edge that was now sticking into the mare’s flesh. The wound was fresh, the blood was warm. Every time the rider shifted his weight it drove the metal shard deeper into the horse’s side, it was no wonder Lionora was in the state she was in. The rider, in his rush to get to the training field, obviously had never inspected his saddled before throwing it on the back of his horses. She slid her hand between the metal and Lionora’s side to keep the horse calm.