As Easy as Riding a Horse

After the necessary accouterments had been purchased and the new horse outfitted for riding, Haeddry was posed with the challenge of actually mounting his horse. He hadn't realized just how tall the horse was until he was staring up at it and examining every possible method of getting on.

"Have you got a problem?" Nyd asked, staring down at Haeddry from his saddle. There was the hint of his self-satisfied smirk in his eyes that made Haeddry hate him.

Haeddry wasn't short by most standards. Of course, someone form Rainor might argue that he was in fact quite petite, but for the rest of the world he was on the tall side of average. His challenge came from never having mounted a horse in his life but he would never admit that to Nydedrilar if he could avoid it. Haeddry hadn't watched Nyd mount up so he couldn't envision how to even begin the process. He imagined that the horse would kneel down for him to climb on and then stand up when he was secure but getting the horse to kneel seemed like an impossible task.

"It's hard to mount because my legs are sore...from so much walking," Haeddry said evasively, gripping the reins in both hands.

"First of all, put the reins behind the horse's neck," Nyd said, dismounting. He took the reins and switched their direction, draping them over the horse's long neck. "Get your leg up and hold the saddle."

"Which leg though?" Haeddry asked, putting his arms across the saddle.

"Idiot!" Nyd hissed, pulling him off the horse. "You look stupid and you're embarrassing me. "Don't lie over the saddle. Hold onto the saddle horn."

"What's that?" Haeddry latched onto the only vertical part of the saddle. "This?"

"Yes, that. Hold it with both hands and put your left leg in the stirrup," Nyd said. He grabbed Haeddry's leg and guided his foot into the stirrup when the mage hesitated.

"Hey! Let go!" Haeddry cried, kicking free. "What was that?"

"I'm trying to get you on your horse so we can leave. Can you let me help you?"

Setting his jaw, Haeddry faced the horse again. "Fine." He held onto the saddle horn and let Nyd put his foot in the stirrup.

"Good. Now stand up in the stirrup and swing your right leg over to the other side. Can you do that?" Nyd asked, standing back a pace.

"I think so..." Haeddry's eyes widened when he saw how high up he now was, standing on one foot in the saddle. "Here we go." He clutched the saddle horn for balance and settled both feet in the stirrups.

"Done? About time." Nyd returned to his horse and swung himself up in one perfect motion. "Practice that later. You're an idiot."

"My intelligence has nothing to do with how well or how poorly I mount a horse." Haeddry watched Nyd proceed towards the north gate of the town and waited for his own horse to follow. Nyd had gotten several yards away before Haeddry realized something must be wrong. "Why won't he go?"

Nyd looked back over his shoulder, reining in his horse. "He won't move?"

"No."

Nyd turned back, examining the horse with narrowed eyes. He stopped so he was beside the painted horse and his own mount nickered impatiently. "Maybe he was a farm horse. Perhaps he's never been ridden and he's just being uncooperative. Trust that selfish fat coward to sell us a horse that's not meant for riding."

"Maybe that's why he was in there with the cows?"

"Maybe," Nyd agreed, looping the reins over the front of Haeddry's horse. He gave them a solid pull and the animal did nothing. "Dammit. Push your heels into his flanks but don't pull your feet out of the stirrups. If he charges, you'll fall off."

"You want me to kick him?" Haeddry did as Nyd instructed but his horse remained stubbornly motionless. "This is a waste of about three hundred gold."

"Switch horses with me. I'll get him to move." Nyd dismounted and helped Haeddry out of the saddle. "Can you get on alright?" Nyd asked, watching Haeddry slowly get his boot into Nyd's stirrup.

"Yeah, I'm okay." Haeddry pulled himself up and held the reins loosely.

Nyd mounted the paint horse and dug his heels into the horse's sides. The animal backed up, neighing in protest. "No, let's go," he said, tapping his heels twice against the horse's flanks. The horse moved forward a step as though uncertain. Nyd raised a hand and brought it down hard over the horse's flank and finally it began walking.

"Good. Good horse." Nyd urged the horse into a faster trot and looked back at Haeddry. "Come on!"

"Now this one won't move!" Haeddry called, growing frustrated. "This is why I walk everywhere."

"Do you even know how to ride?" Nyd asked, circling around for the second time. "I know that my horse can move. I was just riding him. Give him a tap with your heels and he'll move."

Haeddry obeyed and the stallion began walking in a straight line. This worked fine until they came to the gate. Nyd turned left to leave the town but Haeddry's horse continued to walk without turning. "Nyd!" Haeddry called when the horse kept walking along the inner wall of the town. "I have a problem!"

Nyd wheeled about and was stopped by the guards. "Come on. I just came out of the town. My friend doesn't know how to ride a horse so I have to help him. Can you let me back through?"

The guards looked at each other and one of them shrugged. "We just saw him come out. Let him through."

The guards signaled Nyd to pass back into the town and he rode in to find Haeddry. "Use the reins to direct him," he called. He sighed, seeing that Haeddry's inability to ride was attracting attention, mainly in the form of unabashed giggling from the girls on errands for their mothers.

"How do I turn him around?" Haeddry called over his shoulder.

"Just keep pulling on the reins to the right and he'll eventually turn around." Nyd rolled his eyes when Haeddry, after finally getting the stallion to turn, kept turning so that they went in a wide circle.

"I'm going to forget everything that's happened since you paid for a horse and just lead you," Nyd said, taking the reins from Haeddry.

The mage would have been deeply insulted if he hadn't convinced himself that by leading his horse, Nyd was lowering himself. He went so far as to wave to the guards on their way out of town. The guards laughed behind their hands at the two riders, making Nydedrilar bristle angrily.

"Shouldn't I ride my own horse if you're just going to pull me along anyway?" Haeddry asked in a facetious, lilting tone. "You look odd anyway, riding that pretty horse. The black one suits you better. Much less pretty."

Nyd brought both horses to a sharp halt and got off. "Switch then."

"I need you to help me off," Haeddry said, smirking down at the swordsman.

Nyd grit his teeth but pulled Haeddry out of the saddle. "Get on your horse!"

For the third time, Haeddry got into the saddle and held his reins out for Nyd before the man had even mounted his own steed. Nyd snatched them out of Haeddry's hand and got onto his horse before starting them off again, glaring ahead at the road the whole time.