The Windcaster [Fantasy/Adventure | Featured | Complete ]

Chapter 5: Free At Last

They readied for departure early the following morning. Mommu prepared the carriers' equipment and gave them a thorough grooming.  He hummed to himself, lost in his own world as his brush went through the long, silky grey hairs of Kuri, the carrier. It nuzzled the boy with its soft nose, pert ears twitching nonstop. Mommu patted its neck and moved onto the flank hair, brushing rhythmically with expertise.

Ridding a carrier of any shed, dead hairs meant they were cleaner, had better circulation to prepare them for the long journey and were more relaxed and at ease. He gently untangled Kuri's curly, stubby tail hairs and brushed segmentally from the end to remove the knots.  It was one of the few tasks Mommu was good at, through years of training and doing extra work when Tia had decided to skive off to play with the Wind: a frequent occurrence in which Mommu had no say; Tia could be very persuasive when she had had her mind set on something.

He moved onto Enusat, Tia's carrier. Tia's short attention-span and lack of patience meant that the Master had purposefully given her a carrier with short, tight hair that required almost no grooming. Even so, Mommu had a feeling her other reason for not wanting to groom her carrier was she did not want to repeatedly be reminded of the possibility that one day she might travel away from Mooncliffe, when it was so clear that the Master did not deign her ready.

Whilst Kuri was gentle and soft, Enusat had a temperament that was difficult to read. Many things could disagree with the four-legged creature and Mommu was surprised that Enlil had not been one of those stimulants. He expertly brushed the hairs, which were white with patches of light brown, and the carrier swished its tail in contentment, its large dark eyes locked on him the whole time. With people he was familiar with, Enusat was friendly enough; with strangers it was unpredictable and might be violently hostile. Not unlike its owner, thought Mommu with a small sigh, closing his grey eyes briefly.

The boy went on to prepare Nutesh, the spare carrier. Aplaa, Master Anu's carrier, had been groomed first thing that morning. When they were all saddled and their travel bags hitched onto their flanks, he led the four of them out of the stables into the small front yard. The Master was singing to the Wind again, his pale blue cape flapping in the gentle breeze.

The words danced in the air. Mommu saw Tia shiver with delight as she hurried out, her own darker cape around her neck, two Caster staffs tucked beneath one arm and Mommu's travel cloak in her other hand. Enlil, wearing a villager's standard cloak, watched the carriers in anticipation as Mommu dressed in haste and grabbed his and Tia's staffs. The girl vaulted easily onto Enusat, patting the animal on the side of his neck. She adjusted her hood and before accepting her staff from Mommu, holding it across her chest in front of her proudly.

The sun had barely risen; birds had begun to chirp and the sky was stained a liquid gold. Mommu helped Enlil onto Nutesh, the black carrier, adjust the straps, and get the feeling of the saddle and reins. The new boy's legs were quaking slightly, whether in excitement or nerves, Mommu couldn't tell, but he knew Enlil had looked forward to riding Nutesh out of the neighbouring fields. He also knew Tia would have teased him if her focus hadn't been fully occupied by the Master's singing. Her face was filled with the same bliss every time she saw or heard Wind magic being used.

"You are telling another Master of our departure, are you not, Master?" she enquired, her eyelids fluttering open as the music ceased. Mommu led Aplaa to Master Anu, who gathered his cloak and staff and eased himself onto the carrier. He gave the young girl a small smile.

"You are improving in your Hearing, my dear."

"I've Heard even more, Master," she said eagerly, her eyes bright as she shifted her seat on Enusat. "It is the Master of Westersands. You are informing him of our route to Capital, via Kiramone and..." she frowned, trying to recall the sounds in her mind again, "...Londis?"