Shorter Than Me

2 Ecyn

Learn. Great advice, Captain.

I squeeze my legs in an attempt to get the horse to move and she does. I tense and she stops for some reason.

Oh, I'm pulling on the reins. I let them go slack, and she starts walking once more. I squeeze my legs again and she walks faster. I'm jostled a little as she speeds up and I don't like the feeling of her moving up and down beneath me. I speed up anyway. Captain Levi doesn't stop when he reaches the trees, but he slows down enough for me to ride right behind him. After a few minutes of riding, he stops. I pull on the reins in surprise, maybe a little too quickly because my horse jerks to a stop. I could swear Captain Levi rolled his eyes.

"The horses are used to their riders flying off their backs at random times. Follow me." He and his horse start moving through the trees again. I follow after a few seconds. "Now," he says suddenly. He flies off his horse and I scramble to follow him. I try a little too quickly and the cables are pulling me out of the saddle before my feet are free of the stirrups. It sets me off with a twist into the air and I struggle to regain control. When I finally do, I look around for Captain Levi. He's above me a few feet and a little to my right.

He's applauding.

"Congratulations, shortie, you just got killed by a titan. I guess you'll be happier now that you're half-chewed, half bitten off, and half-dead roasting in the stench of boiling dead bodies and floating in the stomach acid of your new best friend." His voice stabs me and I look down. "Next time try to consider the fact that you might possibly be attached to the horse in some way before you try to leave it."

I really like how that first part of that paragraph is worded. XD

He doesn't have the right to tell me this! He didn't even tell me how to ride a horse. "It's not my fault! You never told me how to do it! You didn't even tell me how to ride a horse!"

I see him swing toward me with an angry look on his face and instinctively move back to get away as my heartbeat speeds up.

"Stop." His voice is surprisingly monotone despite his expression and I obey him. He comes closer and I don't see the fist coming until there's no stopping it from hitting my cheekbone. The force shoves me back and I swing back and forth for a few seconds. He moves closer and grabs my shoulders. He pulls me to himself and I feel a jab in my stomach. His knee presses into me and he pulls me closer until his face is right in front of mine. "If you talk to me like that again, I will beat you senseless and demand your release from the Scouting Legion. Am I clear?"

"Yes, sir."

"Now get your a** back on that horse and practice ejecting one hundred times. If you say anything, you start over."

"Yes, sir."

He releases me with a kick and climbs to a few yards above me. Biting my lip, I drop back down, looking for the horse. I fall on top of her and make her walk a little. Then I make sure my feet are free of the stirrups and I fly off her. It's not that much different than jumping into it or just standing there, so by the tenth try I've mastered it, but I keep going. Captain Levi's orders. I look up at him occasionally just to find him staring, bored, at me. I look away quickly.

My cheek is tender to the touch and, though I can't see it, I know a bruise has developed. My stomach hurts too.

He couldn't have wasted five minutes of his life to teach me how to ride a horse, or remind me to remove my feet? Instead, he punches me and makes me practice my mistake a hundred times. He blamed me.