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Description

<-Previous Story | Next Story->
Horses: A5552 Swimmin' In Nog & 1883 MFS Duncan *
Rider: Kassia Feteke and Billy Dames *
Tack shown: Flying harness
*characters owned and created by Leigh-Fluer

References:

horse stock 16 | Ulvar-Stock
Maggie 76 | lumibear

Artist's Notes: This turned out so much better than I thought it was going to. Literally, this piece was 2 inches from disaster until the last 30 minutes when everything pulled together! I have two basic workflows when I create digital pictures, and I decided to be bold (read stupid) and merge them. HA. I underestimated my skills. But it turned out ok so I guess I can't complain.

Prompt: You have arrived at base camp, but this is still some work to be done before you are deemed fit to fight. Draw your nordanners and their riders taking part in a training session.

Story (1556 words)

Kassia’s bivouac was at the end of a long row of tents. She had the smallest one, but it meant that she could sleep alone and not share with a stranger. For this she was grateful. There were a lot of people milling about with their Nordanners, and she felt out of place and extremely shy.
She missed the Hunt Master, but she supposed he either hadn’t arrived or he was being stationed somewhere else.

Nog was “stabled” right next to her text, thankfully. A kind of white tape had been looped into tall stakes which were then driven into the ground, forming a kind of pen. Personally, Kassia thought that penning a winged horse was a little ridiculous, but she trusted Nog completely at this point. The mare was tired from their long flight and happy to graze while Kassia unharnessed her and took the contents of the saddlebags into the tent. She unrolled her sleeping roll onto the cot provided and stored her extra clothes in the little chest at its foot. There was enough room for the cot, the chest, and a tiny writing desk in the corner. When she pulled open the drawer, she was pleased to find writing implements and paper. Maybe this wouldn’t be as bad as she thought.

After supper (which was awful), Kassia walked back alone to her tent. Nog lifted her head and whinnied a greeting. Someone had dumped clean straw and a bucket of oats into her pen and the mare was well fed. “Guess I’d better groom you and then turn in,” Kassia said to the horse.

“Fine mare you got there,” a deep voice called out. She turned to see a tall man dressed in red. Behind him, a dark shape of a horse blotted out some of the stars.

“Thank you,” she said.

“A bit small for a Nordie, but she appears to be well-bred,” the man said.

“Thank you,” Kassia said again. “I don’t have a pedigree for her, though, so I have no idea.”

“They keep track of all Nordies born in the kingdom back at the royal castle,” the man said. “When you return, ask if they have any of her records. You should know what her linage is in case you decide to breed her.”

Kassia looked back at Nog. The mare’s liquid amber eyes were drooping with contentment, her ears lax with gravity. Breed her? The thought had never occurred to her before.

The man laughed. He had a pleasant laugh, and his dark eyes smiled. “We’re going to have the first of our mounted exercises tomorrow,” he said. “I’ve been here for a few weeks, so I’d be happy to take you through the motions, just until you’re comfortable here. Are you here for any specific kind of task?”

“Thank you, and patrolling,” Kassia said, pointing to Nog’s silken wings.

“Excellent,” the man said. “I believe you’re the only one here so far with a winged Nordie. It will be reassuring to know that someone can keep track of things from the air. Meet me at the red flag tomorrow, alright?” He swung aboard his dark horse, raised his hand in farewell, and then rode off.

“Is it just me, or are there… blue things in that horse’s mane?” Kassia said to Nog. The mare nickered gently and rubbed her forehead on Kassia’s shoulder.

The next morning was distinctly foggy with bright sunlight filtering down in silky rays through the waves of cloud. After cleaning herself up for the morning (a fresh change of clothes and underwear worked wonders for her morale), Kassia spent half an hour replacing the flying harness on Nog. To her credit, she remembered how to do most of it. There were a few buckles that puzzled her near the end, but after a few moment’s intense concentration, they fell together and the harness fit snugly to the mare’s body like a glove.

“Guess there’s no reason to use saddlebags,” Kassia muttered as she swung aboard. One of the interesting features of the flying harness was that the reins didn’t hang below the horse’s neck like regular tack. They were threaded through the bridle and three collars buckled onto Nog’s neck. This made steering the horse while in the air effortless, but the reins were useless so long as Nog’s feet touched the ground. Fortunately, Kassia was an expert horsewoman and really didn’t need the reins at all to guide her mare.

The man – dressed almost head to toe in red – was sitting on his horse by the red flag. In broad daylight, the horse was fully visible, and Kassia’s jaw dropped when she saw him. He was a tall, tall stallion, big-boned and powerful with a crested neck and clean, dry legs. The remarkable thing about him, though was his color. He was a beautiful grullo roan, but what caught her eye was the bright speckling of blue and green on his neck and shoulders, and the bright patches of blue in his mane and tail. He must be one of those mutations, Kassia thought. Aloud, she said, “Your horse is beautiful. What’s his name?”

“This is Duncan,” the man said, slapping the horse’s neck affectionately. “One of Rune Island’s best. I take it you’ve never seen a peafowl before,” he added, grinning.

Kassia shook her head.

“They’re rare. We’re sure lucky to have this boy. Alright then, so what we’re going to do is loop around this field here. Have you counted how many strides it takes for…? What’s your mare’s name?”

“Nog,” Kassia said.

“Nog… ok, so we’re going to loop this field, like I said, and I want you to count how many strides it takes for Nog to get airborne. If you need to get up into the air fast, this will be helpful to know,” the man said. “I’m Billy, by the way. You are?”

“Kassia. Kassia Feteke.”

Duncan not only looked good standing, he looked good galloping. Kassia couldn’t help but admire the big, bold way he leaped forward, his stride straight and true. Like Nog, he was intuitive to his rider’s wishes, and he barely needed the reins to guide him. A slight pang went through her chest as she remembered her gallant stallion, many months dead on the battlefield. He had been bold and courageous like this stallion, honest and true. If only…

As if she could sense her rider’s unhappy thoughts, Nog tilted her head and whinnied. Kassia looked down and caught the mare’s worried eye. Smiling faintly, she reached down and stroked her fingers through the thick mane on the mare’s neck.

I wonder what it would be like to own more Nordanners, Kassia thought. There was certainly something to it, that’s for sure. It didn’t seem like people could have just one – most of the people in the camp, even if they had only one with them, had others back home. Certainly, the idea of breeding Nog was attractive, and that thought caused Kassia to remember how much of a flirt her mare was. Dread sank into her stomach. If she wasn’t careful, Nog had the capacity to completely embarrass her. How could she have forgotten this?

“Now!” Billy shouted over Duncan’s whipping mane. “Start counting now! Get her into the air!”

As if she understood his words, Nog bolted into the air, leaping skyword with a tremendous spinal curve and a powerful buffet from her wings, now fully stretched. Gravity threw Kassia’s body almost flat against the mare’s neck and shoulders as the great wings smote the air again.

“Two strides!” Billy shouted up at her. “She made it up in two strides! What a feat!”

Kassia looked down at the ground rushing past. Nog had found the epicenter of an atmospheric convection which allowed her to stretch her wings and almost float in midair. Below them, Billy had Duncan at a full gallop. The stallion was making a fantastic effort to keep up – his dark head thrown up towards the sky and his ears pricked. For a brief moment, Kassia wondered if he wanted to fly, too.

“We need to find a way to signal each other!” she screamed downward into the wind. “We can’t talk this loud if we’re out patrolling!”

“Agreed!” Billy shouted back. “Come down! Let’s see how quickly she lands!”

Kassia nudged Nog and turned her back towards the camp. The mare extended her forelegs and stretched her wings on either side, tipping them so that the long flight feathers would drag and slow their descent a little. When the ground rushed up at them, Kassia thought for a brief moment that she was going to be sick, but the mare gave a little shake and leaped down. There was a jolt that clacked Kassia’s teeth together painfully (that was going to have to be remedied in the future) and then the great wings whipped up and around, folding neatly over Kassia’s legs.

Applause greeted them.

Aghast, Kassia stared at the line of people and Nordies who had gathered to watch them. Nog pricked her ears, whinnied, and then arched her neck flirtatiously, causing her owner to slap her palm into her forehead. “Oh, Nog!” Kassia groaned.

Billy was laughing again. “That was splendid!” he said. “C’mon, let’s get you two introduced to everyone else.”
Copyright, 2018 by Aliennor. All rights reserved.

Description

<-Previous Story | Next Story->
Horses: A5552 Swimmin' In Nog & 1883 MFS Duncan *
Rider: Kassia Feteke and Billy Dames *
Tack shown: Flying harness
*characters owned and created by Leigh-Fluer

References:

horse stock 16 | Ulvar-Stock
Maggie 76 | lumibear

Artist's Notes: This turned out so much better than I thought it was going to. Literally, this piece was 2 inches from disaster until the last 30 minutes when everything pulled together! I have two basic workflows when I create digital pictures, and I decided to be bold (read stupid) and merge them. HA. I underestimated my skills. But it turned out ok so I guess I can't complain.

Prompt: You have arrived at base camp, but this is still some work to be done before you are deemed fit to fight. Draw your nordanners and their riders taking part in a training session.

Story (1556 words)

Kassia’s bivouac was at the end of a long row of tents. She had the smallest one, but it meant that she could sleep alone and not share with a stranger. For this she was grateful. There were a lot of people milling about with their Nordanners, and she felt out of place and extremely shy.
She missed the Hunt Master, but she supposed he either hadn’t arrived or he was being stationed somewhere else.

Nog was “stabled” right next to her text, thankfully. A kind of white tape had been looped into tall stakes which were then driven into the ground, forming a kind of pen. Personally, Kassia thought that penning a winged horse was a little ridiculous, but she trusted Nog completely at this point. The mare was tired from their long flight and happy to graze while Kassia unharnessed her and took the contents of the saddlebags into the tent. She unrolled her sleeping roll onto the cot provided and stored her extra clothes in the little chest at its foot. There was enough room for the cot, the chest, and a tiny writing desk in the corner. When she pulled open the drawer, she was pleased to find writing implements and paper. Maybe this wouldn’t be as bad as she thought.

After supper (which was awful), Kassia walked back alone to her tent. Nog lifted her head and whinnied a greeting. Someone had dumped clean straw and a bucket of oats into her pen and the mare was well fed. “Guess I’d better groom you and then turn in,” Kassia said to the horse.

“Fine mare you got there,” a deep voice called out. She turned to see a tall man dressed in red. Behind him, a dark shape of a horse blotted out some of the stars.

“Thank you,” she said.

“A bit small for a Nordie, but she appears to be well-bred,” the man said.

“Thank you,” Kassia said again. “I don’t have a pedigree for her, though, so I have no idea.”

“They keep track of all Nordies born in the kingdom back at the royal castle,” the man said. “When you return, ask if they have any of her records. You should know what her linage is in case you decide to breed her.”

Kassia looked back at Nog. The mare’s liquid amber eyes were drooping with contentment, her ears lax with gravity. Breed her? The thought had never occurred to her before.

The man laughed. He had a pleasant laugh, and his dark eyes smiled. “We’re going to have the first of our mounted exercises tomorrow,” he said. “I’ve been here for a few weeks, so I’d be happy to take you through the motions, just until you’re comfortable here. Are you here for any specific kind of task?”

“Thank you, and patrolling,” Kassia said, pointing to Nog’s silken wings.

“Excellent,” the man said. “I believe you’re the only one here so far with a winged Nordie. It will be reassuring to know that someone can keep track of things from the air. Meet me at the red flag tomorrow, alright?” He swung aboard his dark horse, raised his hand in farewell, and then rode off.

“Is it just me, or are there… blue things in that horse’s mane?” Kassia said to Nog. The mare nickered gently and rubbed her forehead on Kassia’s shoulder.

The next morning was distinctly foggy with bright sunlight filtering down in silky rays through the waves of cloud. After cleaning herself up for the morning (a fresh change of clothes and underwear worked wonders for her morale), Kassia spent half an hour replacing the flying harness on Nog. To her credit, she remembered how to do most of it. There were a few buckles that puzzled her near the end, but after a few moment’s intense concentration, they fell together and the harness fit snugly to the mare’s body like a glove.

“Guess there’s no reason to use saddlebags,” Kassia muttered as she swung aboard. One of the interesting features of the flying harness was that the reins didn’t hang below the horse’s neck like regular tack. They were threaded through the bridle and three collars buckled onto Nog’s neck. This made steering the horse while in the air effortless, but the reins were useless so long as Nog’s feet touched the ground. Fortunately, Kassia was an expert horsewoman and really didn’t need the reins at all to guide her mare.

The man – dressed almost head to toe in red – was sitting on his horse by the red flag. In broad daylight, the horse was fully visible, and Kassia’s jaw dropped when she saw him. He was a tall, tall stallion, big-boned and powerful with a crested neck and clean, dry legs. The remarkable thing about him, though was his color. He was a beautiful grullo roan, but what caught her eye was the bright speckling of blue and green on his neck and shoulders, and the bright patches of blue in his mane and tail. He must be one of those mutations, Kassia thought. Aloud, she said, “Your horse is beautiful. What’s his name?”

“This is Duncan,” the man said, slapping the horse’s neck affectionately. “One of Rune Island’s best. I take it you’ve never seen a peafowl before,” he added, grinning.

Kassia shook her head.

“They’re rare. We’re sure lucky to have this boy. Alright then, so what we’re going to do is loop around this field here. Have you counted how many strides it takes for…? What’s your mare’s name?”

“Nog,” Kassia said.

“Nog… ok, so we’re going to loop this field, like I said, and I want you to count how many strides it takes for Nog to get airborne. If you need to get up into the air fast, this will be helpful to know,” the man said. “I’m Billy, by the way. You are?”

“Kassia. Kassia Feteke.”

Duncan not only looked good standing, he looked good galloping. Kassia couldn’t help but admire the big, bold way he leaped forward, his stride straight and true. Like Nog, he was intuitive to his rider’s wishes, and he barely needed the reins to guide him. A slight pang went through her chest as she remembered her gallant stallion, many months dead on the battlefield. He had been bold and courageous like this stallion, honest and true. If only…

As if she could sense her rider’s unhappy thoughts, Nog tilted her head and whinnied. Kassia looked down and caught the mare’s worried eye. Smiling faintly, she reached down and stroked her fingers through the thick mane on the mare’s neck.

I wonder what it would be like to own more Nordanners, Kassia thought. There was certainly something to it, that’s for sure. It didn’t seem like people could have just one – most of the people in the camp, even if they had only one with them, had others back home. Certainly, the idea of breeding Nog was attractive, and that thought caused Kassia to remember how much of a flirt her mare was. Dread sank into her stomach. If she wasn’t careful, Nog had the capacity to completely embarrass her. How could she have forgotten this?

“Now!” Billy shouted over Duncan’s whipping mane. “Start counting now! Get her into the air!”

As if she understood his words, Nog bolted into the air, leaping skyword with a tremendous spinal curve and a powerful buffet from her wings, now fully stretched. Gravity threw Kassia’s body almost flat against the mare’s neck and shoulders as the great wings smote the air again.

“Two strides!” Billy shouted up at her. “She made it up in two strides! What a feat!”

Kassia looked down at the ground rushing past. Nog had found the epicenter of an atmospheric convection which allowed her to stretch her wings and almost float in midair. Below them, Billy had Duncan at a full gallop. The stallion was making a fantastic effort to keep up – his dark head thrown up towards the sky and his ears pricked. For a brief moment, Kassia wondered if he wanted to fly, too.

“We need to find a way to signal each other!” she screamed downward into the wind. “We can’t talk this loud if we’re out patrolling!”

“Agreed!” Billy shouted back. “Come down! Let’s see how quickly she lands!”

Kassia nudged Nog and turned her back towards the camp. The mare extended her forelegs and stretched her wings on either side, tipping them so that the long flight feathers would drag and slow their descent a little. When the ground rushed up at them, Kassia thought for a brief moment that she was going to be sick, but the mare gave a little shake and leaped down. There was a jolt that clacked Kassia’s teeth together painfully (that was going to have to be remedied in the future) and then the great wings whipped up and around, folding neatly over Kassia’s legs.

Applause greeted them.

Aghast, Kassia stared at the line of people and Nordies who had gathered to watch them. Nog pricked her ears, whinnied, and then arched her neck flirtatiously, causing her owner to slap her palm into her forehead. “Oh, Nog!” Kassia groaned.

Billy was laughing again. “That was splendid!” he said. “C’mon, let’s get you two introduced to everyone else.”
Copyright, 2018 by Aliennor. All rights reserved.