Flight Animals [Search!]

[‡§åkørü‡]

Keldraza sighed. The wind was high today, and it was making Azreiax spook at everything - throwing his head high, staring around and snorting nervously. He wasn't a calm horse to begin with, and she supposed she should have waited until it was quieter before she tried to work with him. Still, the idea had just been irresistible - absolutely irresistible. And it really wasn't going that badly, considering the weather. Yet her high expectations were leading to deep disappointment as the Shire spooked again and again, either at leaves blowing across his path or just the roar of the wind.

Finally Kel decided just to cut the training short. "Come here, sweetheart," she crooned, and the colt responded - more or less. He stared at her for a moment, and then walked slowly over to his owner, extending his nose for petting as he came closer. The girl gladly gave it; she stroked his muzzle lovingly and stepped close, kissing the little whorl in the middle of his forehead. "Hey, baby. It's okay. We're done for today, okay? You did good," she praised, stroking the soft cheeks. Azreiax snorted softly and nudged his head against her belly. He was slowly coming to trust her, or at least hold some affection for her, and this small gesture, his coming close to her for affection, meant so much to Keldraza that she could have cried. Stroking the soft face, the tall young woman smiled and detached the longe-line, replacing it with a shorter lead rope as she coiled the training lead and looped it over her shoulder. "Ready to go home, handsome?"

Azreiax snorted softly, tossing his head in what passed for a yes. His owner grinned and patted his neck, then turned toward home. They'd come over a mile to get here, just for the privacy. This horse was not like the others - he couldn't have any kind of distraction around at all or he'd get spooky. No doubt that was caused by the koxi attack a year ago. Kel still wondered what had happened to his owners - had they been eaten by the koxi, or merely crushed when the monsters destroyed their home? The horses had certainly been victims of both; it saddened her to think that her beloved colt could also have been one of those horses. She still had Applestar, that was true... but Applestar wasn't Azreiax. The mare didn't need her as much as this colt did. "Does she?" Kel murmured, brushing her hand lightly across the horse's soft neck. She wondered, idly, if he'd ever truly trust her - enough not to watch her whenever she was with him. Enough not to spook and bolt if she made a movement that was just a little too sudden. Enough, indeed, to let her ride him. It wouldn't happen for a couple of years yet, she was sure - but she'd keep working with him. At least he was learning - learning that she wouldn't hurt him, and that things would be okay. He got along decently with most of the other horses, which as good... he seemed to appreciate the security of a herd. Not that his owner blamed him, after what the poor horse had been through.

Consumed by these thoughts, Keldraza soon ceased paying attention to Azreiax himself, save for an occasional glance to make sure he was still reasonably calm. Calm, that is, except for the constant twitching of his ears and the sudden pauses to look around suspiciously, ears flicking uneasily. He spooked a few times, half-rearing, rolling his eyes so that the whites showed. Most of the time it was only something blowing across his path - a leaf, usually - or a hole in the ground. There was definitely a lot left to do with him.

But he wasn't the only thing she cared about. Simourvs, too, captured the girl's heart. She'd thought about them endlessly since they'd saved her - both the first time and the second. The second had moved (and thrilled) her so much that her parents were beginning to wonder what exactly was wrong with her. Fortunately, they still put it down to the koxi attack and her infatuation with Azreiax. Partly, however, it was the deep and intense longing to see another simourv - maybe even be searched and ride one. "But that's not going to happen, is it?" she muttered to herself, shaking her head and rubbing one hand along the crest of her horse's neck. "I'll stick with you for now, boy. I doubt the Eyrie is going to want someone like me to ride, now is it? It's much more worthwhile to work with you. Much more. Someday you'll trust me... and then I'll be able to ride you. We'll be perfect together," she whispered, gazing at the black creature walking beside her. He fixed one ear on her, listening to what she said. But he did nothing besides that, and when she'd finished talking he simply went back to focusing on his surroundings, afraid of being ambushed. Someday he'll trust me. He will.

[/center]

[Fox]

Ah, the feel of wind whipping through feathers and hair, sharply cold against wind-lashed cheeks and slowly turning fingers numb… There was nothing quite like it in the world. K’ean revelled in the feeling of flying and never tired of watching the scenery flash past way, way down below. It was a small pastime that kept both rider and simourv amused, as K’ean entertained them both by pointing out interesting sights along the way. The wingletmaster pair were just heading back from a short trip to K’ean’s family home to drop off a parcel, having seized the excuse to get out of Eyrie for a short couple of hours. As Wingletmasters they didn’t do nearly enough flying nowadays when before they’d been commuting back and forth between Eyrie and Itnala fairly regularly. K’ean had just caught sight of a lone figure in a field with a horse, when Seronaph’s attention-- which had been drawn by his rider-- latched on to the person.

Mine. That one.[/color]

K’ean needed no further explanation. Immediately, Seronaph dropped out of his straight glide to loop into a slow spiral, his shadow passing over the human figure and the equine one down below. ’Slowly Seph. Don’t want to scare the horse.’[/b] Animals, especially grazers, were easily spooked by the large simourvs, and K’ean wasn’t looking to get the girl (he could see vaguely that it was a girl now) trampled by a frightened horse. Seronaph’s grudging assent to his reasoning flowed back to his rider, and the red detoured off to land a little ways away, in the next field over. He was still glaringly visible; that was what happened when you were twenty-nine feet tall and red. But hopefully his proximity wouldn’t spook the creature with the girl. Too much.

With a grin, K’ean pushed his goggles up onto his head as he slid off Seronaph’s back. His boots landed in the turf with a mild ‘thud’, then he was strolling off in the girl’s direction with barely a glance backwards for his simourv. When he was within easy earshot, he called out, ”Hello there!” Trying to catch her attention, already figuring out how he would tell this girl that he was there to search her to stand for a clutch. Decisions, decisions. [/size]

[‡§åkørü‡]

Keldraza didn't even notice, until the shadow passed over her head, and for that she'd scorn herself for months. And even then, she immediately had her hands full with Azreiax - with a frightened whinny the Shire reared and lashed out with his forelegs. When he landed he snorted and crow-hopped nervously beside her, twisting his neck to watch the red menace descending in the next field. Unable to see past the dark neck, the girl instead did what she could to calm him, stroking his soft hide gently and murmuring reassuringly to him. "Shh. You're okay, sweetheart. You're fine. Shhh, shh. Calm down." Pulling the colt's head down so that he couldn't rear again, Keldraza rubbed her hand gently along his neck, quieting her spooking horse. He at last quieted, though he still watched the thing in the next field distrustfully.

As soon as she could see it, Keldraza caught her breath and held it, staring in awe. There was a great red simourv, standing in the next field, and his rider was advancing towards her. Her! Straight across the field. Uncertain that he could actually be heading in her direction, the trainer glanced around, looking for anyone else. There was no one in sight, and at last she was forced to accept the fact that a rider - a simourv rider - was headed straight for her. Thrilled, she allowed her normally serious face to brighten, and lifted a hand over her horse's back in a wave as he called 'hello there!'

"Hello yourself," she shouted back, careful not to be too loud in case she startled Azreiax. He was skittish as it was, snorting and prancing in place as he watched the rider's progress. Seeking to calm him, Keldraza stroked him more and murmured into his ear, "easy, boy. Eaaaaasy. He won't hurt you. You'll be fine." Speaking these calming words to her colt, Keldraza at last succeeded in quieting him even when the redrider drew near. "What brings you here?" she asked curiously. Her heart pounded against her ribs - he couldn't be searching her, could he? Could he? She didn't get searched. It didn't happen. He must be looking for someone or something else.

Yes, that was it. This redrider had lost an object or a person and he was going to ask if she'd seen it. That was all. Keldraza didn't want to get her hopes up, but despite her firm assurances to herself that there was no way she would actually be going to the Eyrie, that hope kept rising and rising. Now it was threatening to crush her and she could only stare at the rider, her eyes begging and pleading to be told she was the reason he was here and that she could go to the Eyrie. Please, she thought, oh, please... don't get my hopes up. Don't get YOUR hopes up, Kel, because he'll smash them into bits. He's lost someone. That's all. That's all...

[/center]

[Fox]

Despite their efforts to be as unfrightening as a large simourv and rider could be, they’d still managed to spook the horse. Damn. K’ean eyed the creature rather warily as he stopped a good distance away, not wanting to spook the colt further by approaching too fast. He did not have a good deal of experience with horses; his family had not ploughed the land or even owned a riding horse. They had been guards and hunters one and all, none of whom required a companion of the more equine variety. Still, K’ean knew enough that you shouldn’t walk past a horse from behind, and you shouldn’t approach one that was proven to be skittish. Instead, he turned to look at the girl standing by the horse’s head. Blandly, he observed her, noting the height and the apparent strength that she seemed to possess. She certainly wouldn’t be a bad candidate for the hatching. He’d seen worse, certainly.

K’ean hadn’t realised quite how long the silence between them had stretched before he decided to break it with a rather flippant remark. ”Not much. Was just passing through when my simourv wanted to stop.” He tilted his head absently as he looked at her again, blue eyes steady and faintly assessing. Mentally, he sent a query down to Seronaph, who was watching the proceedings from the next field with rather bored amber eyes. You’re certain it’s her, right? A snort met the question, loud even where K’ean stood. Who else would it be, mine? The horse?[/color] The man had to suppress a snort. Regardless, his mouth twitched into a small smile. Well, he’d certainly be an interesting addition to the ranks of the candidates, no?[/b]

Just ask her and get on with it, Mine. Attempting to be smart does not suit you.[/color]

Briefly, K’ean shook his head, as if to dispel the annoying voice that had existed in tandem with his own mental one for four years now. He shot another placating smile the girl’s way, just to be safe. ”That’s a handsome horse you’ve got there. I’m sorry if Seronaph and I spooked it.” He took a hesitant step closer. ”What’s his name?” A pause. ”Come to think of it, what’s your name? I’m Kean, and my red over there is Seronaph.” He sketched a bow, unfailingly polite even as his mind contemplated how to ask her. It always seemed so strangely abrupt to him, to ask someone out of the blue whether they were ready to abandon their old life in the hopes of bonding to a simourv. [/size]

[‡§åkørü‡]

Keldraza was unmistakably relieved when the redrider stopped a safe distance away, within easy earshot but far enough not to spook Azreiax further. As it was, the horse eyed the man nervously, snorting and tossing his beautiful convex head. One foreleg pawed rhythmically at the ground, marking the colt's agitation, and though he wasn't making any move to flee, the simourv in the next field had him close enough that if he spooked, Kel was going to be hauled at top speed across the plain.

Hearing the redrider's response to her question (it was belated but she hadn't even noticed), the horse lover smiled slightly and nodded. "Oh, okay." See? The red just wanted a break. That's all, Keldraza mocked herself. Stroking the colt's neck in a valiant effort to keep him calm, she stepped forward lightly, just enough so that she could see the rider better. Even from here she could see the small smile that appeared on his face; many years of watching horses' subtle signs had taught her to pick up on things like that. Curious, she tilted her head - what was he smiling about, exactly? A private joke between rider and simourv, maybe? Could simourvs even speak telepathically? She'd heard they could, but word of mouth was nothing to be relied upon.

'That's a handsome horse you've got there,' snapped her back to her senses. "Oh!" A pause, then, "thank you. I think so too. His name's Azreiax," she responded promptly, smiling. The horse in question watched suspiciously as the rider stepped closer, but did nothing. Wary eyes rested on the strange human; he spared no attention for his owner's gentle stroking. His owner, of course, wasn't paying that much attention to him at the moment - she was focused on the redrider, though she still had some basic awareness of her colt. "Oh. Hello, K'ean. My name's Keldraza."

This was followed by a slight bow, imitating the rider's though hers was deeper. Curtsying was for girly girls and Keldraza certainly wasn't one of those. Her sheer height and build said that, along with the careless spikes of dark hair that stuck up from her head. These were ruffled and waving in the wind, but she either didn't notice or didn't care. "Seronaph is majestic indeed," she murmured, unsure if the rider could hear her or not. It didn't matter - any simourv was lovely but this one in particular was big, bold, and absolutely awe-inspiring. Even from this distance she was sure the redrider could see her admiration, but for once she didn't care. It didn't matter if a rider saw how much she admired the big, beautiful simourv. Regular people? Maybe. But not a simourv.

And Azreiax simply didn't care.

[/center]

[Fox]

The girl was being quite hospitable; and obviously K'ean and his red were enough of a sight to have caught her fascination. He could see it in the way she watched him and Seronaph, with a certain wide-eyed amazement that didn't quite lend itself to anything so well as admiration. In the distance, Seronaph practically preened under the scrutiny. K'ean mentally shook his head at the vain creature he called his partner; flattery was the easiest way to get to the simourv. "A pleasure, Keldraza and Azreiax." A smile twitched at the fact he was greeting a horse. And then, sure enough, she complimented Seronaph in a completely honest, sincere manner. Before he could quite stop himself, K'ean let loose a bark of laughter.

Immediately, his hand rose to stifle it, but he couldn't disguise the highly amused smirk on his face. "Your flattery is well received, I'm sure." he commented, sarcasm aimed not at her but at his own simourv. "It'll fuel his ego, if nothing else." And sure enough, Seronaph's head rose and his amber eyes glared at his rider, though K'ean waved off the glower with a careless hand. With a huff of annoyance, the red turned his eyes onto Keldraza instead; she who had so respectfully complemented him, and who certainly displayed the proper attitude. Unlike some. Thank you, Keldraza. I apologise for my rider's uncouthness. I did not train him well.[/color] His snort didn't quite manage to cover the ensuing murmur of "Grouchy windbag.", but it did a fair job of it.

With a disdainful glance at His, Seronaph again spoke to Keldraza, paying as little heed to the protocol of speaking mentally to a stranger as he always did. In any case, my K'ean has been woefully slow in asking you what he needs to. Would you like to come to Eyrie with us, little one? Stand for the Lady Eceph's clutch?[/color] As an afterthought, he added, You could bring the horse too.[/color] [/size]