Thirteen: Horses

The night sky was wide open as we traveled south. The Khusuru were quick to act on Nassir's words once he said we would go with them. In a flash, the riders were off their horses and adjusting who and what was on each horse. Puko, wanting nothing to do with it, took to the sky again.

We didn't deal with many horses in the mountains. The rocky, slanted terrain wasn't great on their hooves and no one could afford one anyway. So I was pretty unfamiliar with the beasts as I was thrust in front of one by a small woman who still had her face wrappings on. Her clothes were light and colorful, just like the other riders. Up close I could see that she wore an eye-patch much like Kai's, but instead of a red star hers was emblazoned with a blue flower. She insisted something in her desert language but I just shook my head, looking at the large creature before me.

"She wants you to hold out a hand," Kai said from the horse pairing next to me. I could see he was having an easier time with his horse than I was with mine.

I looked down at the rider and she nodded curtly. Gingerly, I stuck my hand out toward the horse, wondering if it would bite me or not. But my rider grabbed my wrist and shoved my hand under the horse's nose. I stiffened as the horse sniffed me, then the rider pulled something from her pocket and put it on my palm. It was some kind of red root vegetable, and the horse was happy to eat it right out of my hand. Its long tongue lapping my skin for any remaining crumbs.

Kai laughed as the Khusuru woman rattled off several things in her language, pointing to different parts of the horse and making wild hand gestures, none of which I understood.

"You look like you've never ridden a horse," Kai said as he swept a leg up and over his own horse.

"That would be because I haven't." I took my palm back and wiped it on my cloak, not enjoying the feeling of horse drool on my palm. "I haven't even been this up close to Boxfield, and he was pretty friendly."

"All of Eberon's horses are quite docile," Schula said from my other side. "And his estate is gorgeous. We should go sometime, when this... when everything is resolved."

I looked over and she was already mounting her horse with ease as well. It shouldn't surprise me that someone as old as her had ridden before. Especially since her good friend's family breeds horses. Now, we just had to be able to get back into the Autumn lands safely. No big deal, we just had to defeat a mad king first and convince Baeleon not to kill me for being half elf.

I grimaced and turned my attention back to my horse, shoving those thoughts away. I rounded to the side where I could try to mount it. I could see myself slipping off with the blanket across the horse's back, but I imagine it was there for a reason. The Khusuru grabbed the horse's reign and swept her leg up and over its back with ease. I was surprised to see the horse didn't even flinch. Then, the rider helped me up and I just managed to settle myself on the horse without falling.

I looked around at the others and saw how they had been arranged. Nassir and I were the only ones with riders assisting us. Schula was taller than me and since she could ride she was given her own horse. Kai wasn't that big for a human but he was given a horse too. Nassir being blind I wasn't surprised he had a rider to assist him. I'm sure whatever magical tricks he used to walk only went so far for him if his feet weren't on the ground.

The leader of the Khusuru riders, who I learned was called Tali, made her rounds to each horse and it's riders to make sure no one was overloaded and the horses were comfortable. When she was done with her inspection, she wrapped her face back up and we began to ride.

The sensation was strange. I bobbed up and down on the horse's back, thankful for what cushion the blanket was providing. My rider had grabbed both of my hands and smacked them on her hips. I assumed I was supposed to hold on, so I did. It was probably for the best that I had something to hold on to, since I would surely fall off if I didn't. Then, she grabbed my knees and squeezed them against the horse. I assumed I should hold that pose too, so I tried.

The ride was swift. We didn't stop but we did rotate between riding fast and riding at a more moderate pace for the animals.

When we finally did stop, the riders got off and unfolded shallow leather trays. They were coated in wax and when water was poured in them the horses were able to drink without the tray losing water to the sand beneath it. I was impressed with the smooth speed of the ride, at least until I tried to climb down for the first time.

"Ugh," I moaned. My bottom was chaffed from smacking against the horse for hours. I managed to get off the horse myself but I fell in the process, earning laughter from the riders and smacking my back against the sand. I choked out a cry when I tried to close my legs together and they burned.

"Ow," I whined as I looked up at Schula who stood over me with a concerned look on her face.

"You'll heal pretty quick, but let me see if I can't help it in the mean time." Schula helped me to my feet and placed a hand on my sore thigh. Her fingers against my leg were heavenly, and from there her magic spread a coolness across my aching legs and backside. I didn't even care enough to be embarrassed. When she was done I just sank back onto the sand with a sigh of relief.

"Why do horses hurt? Why do people ride them?" I asked.

That earned me a chorus of giggles from the Khusuru as they watched my agony. Schula helped me sit back up and she sat down beside me.

"It doesn't hurt if you ride regularly, although I haven't ridden in a long time and I was sore too. I imagine you will recover faster than a human but not as fast as me or Nassir." She pointed to one of the riders who was leaning over her horse's leg, inspecting the hoof. "Do you see where her pants are padded on the backside? I imagine that helps quite a bit too."

I looked over to Nassir who had already been helped off his horse and he seemed just fine.

"It helps to be fae too," I mumbled.

I looked up and saw Puko gently make his way down to the ground again. He had flown over us since we left on horseback, and hadn't been down since. But now he was scoping out the horses and eyeing the water that had been set out for them.

"They will let him drink," Kai said, coming over to join us. "As long as the horses allow it anyway."

I nodded and watched Puko descend and cautiously approach the water. The horses looked at him briefly but then went right back to drinking. Puko happily joined them.

"So where exactly is this Khusuru tribe, and how far out of our way are they going to take us?" Schula asked.

Kai sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "Well, it's hard to say since they move around more than most of the other tribes, but generally speaking they are in the right direction to safely cross the desert to civilization. We're even making up days at a time by riding the horses, but it's hard to say what the shaman wants with you."

I bit the inside of my cheek. "The Mist walker, they wouldn't be mad that we killed, it, would they?"

Several of the Khusuru hissed nearby, making that strange sign over their chests that Tali made before.

Kai spit in the sand and laughed. "The sign against evil. The Khusuru, really most of the tribes, are pretty superstitious when it comes to the aoyi'ka."

"They don't seem to have a problem treating Wren like they treat the rest of us, despite thinking she's an aoyi'ka," Schula said.

Kai shrugged. "It's all a part of living with the nature. You won't find gods to worship out here. If you can't see it with your own eyes and touch it with your hands, they tribes don't pay a lot of attention to it."

"Yet curiously, they dive into magic. Or at least their shaman do." Nassir had come over to sit with us and he sank into the sand by Kai.

"Magic we can see the results of. At least the little bit of magic our shamans do," Kai looked up at the Khusuru rider who brought over water skins for us. He said something in the tribe tongue and the rider came to pass a skin to the rest of us as well.

"So the aoyi'ka are something to live with, and not fear?" Schula asked. "But the Mist walker was definitely something to stay away from."

Tali came over, making the sign over her chest with a frown. "Aoyi'ka such as this one..." she nodded to me. "Travel with humans and do not harm unless proverbed."

"Provoked," Kai corrected with a grin. "You mean provoked."

Tali shrugged, as if to say she didn't really care as long as her message was clear. "But we do not hold a grudge against the aoyi'ka for being what they are. The Bunjudaa ta simply existed as it was made to exist. It may prey on our lost ones, but we can be no more angry with it than we can be angry with the bone lizard for eating flies. That is simply what it does."

Nassir grinned wide. "That is the best explanation I have heard for a wraith in a long time."

"You are enjoying this," Schula accused with a grin.

"I am," Nassir said. "I spent a very long time in a very dark cave, trying to be weak and mourn my own existence."

He reached out and grabbed my hand, then Schula's then raised our fingers to his lips to kiss them. "Then I met two lovely people who brought me into the world again, and I am endlessly entertained. I have much to catch up on."

I couldn't stop myself from leaning forward and hugging Nassir. Schula must have had the same idea because she hugged us both and we all three fell over.

'Caw!' A fat black ball of feathers landed on top of us and Nassir laughed.

"You three are so strange," Kai murmured.

We untangled ourselves and I brushed sand off of my clothes, grimacing as I watched a little sink into the top of my boot.

"No stranger than you are to us," I teased Kai. I took my boot off and shook out all the sand I could.

Tali made a whistling sound and the riders all turned their heads to her. "The horses are watered, we ride on."

The Khusuru sprang into action quickly. The water trays were re-folded and whatever water was leftover was conserved back in a clay container and strapped to one of the horses with one rider.

I looked around for my rider, because without her I would never be able to tell which horse was ours to ride. My rider was small but emitted confidence and she had a yellow sash at her waist that helped me pick her out of the crowd. I approached her and we repeated our dance of getting me on the horse.

Tali did her rounds once more and again we were off, the horses sweeping us across the sands.