Lament of the Slave

Chapter 130: Back on the Road

"No! Head, between ears. Best place!" argued Pip with Lightfeather as the little squirrel tried to teach me how to ride a horse.

"Seriously. How many times do I have to tell you that humans can't sit on a horse's head?! We're too damn big for that."

"Get smaller."

The caretaker snorted. "Sure, like that would be easy." Then understanding flashed in her eyes, and she gave the little squirrel an amused look. "You'd love it if I were your size, wouldn't you, Pip? You'd crack me up, show me who's boss, huh?"

"N-no?" squeaked the squirrel, faltering.

"Oh, come on! You've told me several times."

As funny as I found their bickering, my focus was on my posture and the mare I was sitting on. Shortly after we left the barracks gates, Deckard showed up, apologizing for not making it sooner. A little late, but he took it upon himself to teach me the basics of riding a horse.

With my reins in his hands while my mare followed his horse, I did my best to take it all in. Deckard didn't instruct me for long, though.

Well, longer than I thought he was. A solid hour into the trip, when I checked the time, which seemed to fly by quickly while looking down on the world from horseback. However, an hour was enough for me to tell him that his guidance was no longer necessary.

No, I wasn't a born horse rider. It was the mare.

According to the cranky stableman who gave her to me in spite of his irritation, the calmest of all the horses under his care. I would also add the smartest and most caring. The mare, Jewel, carried herself with genuine care while she tried to guide me. Despite the absence of any intelligible words in her neighing, her intentions helped me learn how to sit properly in the saddle and carry myself to the rhythm of her gait. Jewel taught me how to let her know if I wanted to change direction, speed up, slow down, or stop altogether.

Then there was Pipsqueak, the little squirrel, trying to show me her riding skills and impart knowledge. It was fun and made my day. However, I learned more from the mare herself than from this chatty rascal.

Yet despite all that, riding the horse was somewhat nerve-wracking for me. At first, I couldn't put my finger on it. After all, I had no issue driving a car in the morning rush hour traffic of a busy city. Then, as we neared the fork in the road to Granhill lying beyond Esulmor, it slowly clicked in.

Holding the reins was different from holding the wheel and pressing the pedals. If I had to put it into words, one of the things that kept me in suspense was the lack of control while riding the horse.

That went hand in hand with the feeling that I was imposing my control over another living being, which made me sick. If it weren't for the mare assuring me it was okay, I would have felt like a slaver and probably given up on riding as such.

Her talking to me was where I found another difference from driving a car. When you talk to it, and I have talked to my father's car quite often, it never answers back. I'm sure if I called Jewel a piece of junk, she wouldn't take it lying down and might even throw me off.

But my ride was kind. And since I was being nice too, despite how I felt, she taught me with the patience of a mother how to ride in the saddle. What kind of car would do that?

"I can't understand why all the animals are so sweet to you," Lightfeather remarked when she had stopped arguing with Pipsqueak sitting on Jewel's head. Basically, ever since Deckard handed me the reins, this beast talker and her little friend have been riding alongside me. In fact, chatting with her about animal communication made the journey I first took in the cage under the tarp and back sleeping pass pleasantly by.