Hunter's Academy (Veller) (10 page)

“I should be doing that.” She said, although she made no attempt to take the saddle from him. He had chosen to go to class rather th
an escort her back to her room so that she could change. Of course she had told him to go, but that wasn’t the point. If he had been a gentleman he would have ignored her wishes and stayed with her or something like that. Either way he had some blame in her getting stuck with this hairy monstrosity, she would just have to figure out how.

“I’ll saddle him today, we can go over the rest later.”

Daniel definitely knew his way around horses and could have probably saddled Kile’s mount with very little effort that was if the horse had been more cooperative. Every time he tried to throw the saddle on, the horse stepped out from under it. It was one of those old heavy saddles, not like the ones the hunters used today, so each repeated attempt wasn’t even as close as the last one.

“I think he’s doing it deliberately.” Daniel replied after the third try, dropping the saddle on the ground in order to catch his breath.

“I know he’s doing it deliberately.”

“Well, talk to him, make him understand.”

“You don’t think I’ve tried?” She replied as she attempted to hold the horse still for one last try, but the beast was just too strong for her and pushed her over as he sidestepped the saddle again.

“You can always go bareback.” Daniel suggested as he dropped the saddle.

Kile got up and dusted the dirt from her pants. There was probably some academy regulation about riding bareback, but if they hung around here too long fooling with the saddle, Master Pike would be returning with the rest of the cadets. She was determined to get on this horse one way or another.

“Doesn’t look like I have much of a choice.” She replied. “Just help me get on him.”

“Okay, come around to his left side.”

“Why, what difference does it make?”

“Don’t really know, but my father always says you should mount from the left side.”

“It’s like waiting on tables.” She mumbled to herself, “Serve on the left, remove from the right. I’m showing courtesy to a horse that ignores me.”

“Just get on before Master Pike and the others get too far ahead.”

Kile gripped a handful of
mane, and there was quite a bit to grab, as Daniel boosted her up. The horse unexpectedly lurched forward and she quickly lost her balance, tumbling off the back and landing hard on the ground. She looked up at the backside of the animal, and the horse turned its head to look at her. If she didn’t know better she would have sworn he laughed.

“Are you okay?” Daniel asked running to her side.

“Oh, just fine. If I’m not dumped on my ass at least once a week it just wouldn’t be the academy.”

“Look you can’t ride this thing.” Daniel said as he helped her to her feet. “Why don’t you take my horse and I’ll wait until the next shipment comes in. I already know how to ride, I won’t miss too much.”

It was a generous and extremely tempting offer as Kile looked from the black hairy mass that stood before her, to the sleek lines of the dapple gray, but she wasn’t going to be so easily defeated. She was the only cadet in the history of the entry exam that got that little ebony box out of the testing area. Even if it did major structural damage to the building and  no one knew she had done it, but she had a reputation to uphold, and she wasn’t going to let this lumbering beast get the better of her.

“You go on ahead.” She told Daniel. “I’ll be there shortly.”

“How?” He asked, “On foot.”

“Go, I’ll be along shortly.”

“Well… if you say so.” Daniel replied as he walked over to his mare and mounted up. He made it look so easy that it actually annoyed her.

“I’m not going fast, I’ll take my time.” He said as he turned toward the road. “You better catch up before I reach the others.”

He had just started when Kile stopped him.

“One moment.” She called out.

“Changed your mind?” Daniel grinned.

“Not likely.” She
said as she walked up beside him and stroked the noise of the mare. “May I have a word?”

“Of course you can.” Daniel replied a little confused.

“Not with you.” She told him, and then turned back to the horse. “Could I speak with you?”

-With me?-

The mare replied with a bit of confusion. She had never spoken to a vir before, or no vir had ever tried to speak with her, but she seemed actually delighted to speak.

“My name is Kile, what’s yours?”

-Cloud-

The mare replied, although Kile could tell that the mare didn’t really like th
at name.

“Cloud?” Kile repeated
as she looked up at Daniel. That wasn’t the mare’s name that was the name Daniel had given her. “Cloud?” She repeated.

“Well
… yeah… because she’s gray and all.” Daniel replied, trying to defend himself.

“Oh please that is so cliché, do you know how many
gray horses are named cloud?” She asked him. “Unless it’s a male horse, then they’re usually called Storm Cloud.” She said, turning back to the mare. “What is your name… your real name?”

-Miliea-

The mare answered, and this time there was a note of pride in her voice.

“If I can’t call her cloud, what should I call her?” Daniel asked.

“You should address her by her name, Miliea.”

Miliea
seamed to approve the sound of her name spoken out loud even by a vir.

“Miliea huh? I like it. Okay Miliea it is.”

“It’s not like you have much of a choice, it is her name. It would be like me meeting you and calling you Edward.”

“How was I supposed to know her name? In case you’ve forgotten, not everyone can speak with
horses.”

“Fine, now that we’ve gotten that
settled.” Kile said, as she turned back to the mare. “Miliea, what can you tell me about… him?” She asked, indicating the hairy four legged beast that stood in the paddock watching them suspiciously.

-Not much-

“Anything you could tell me, or show me would help.”

-He traveled with us. I know nothing more-

“How about a name?” Kile asked. “Did he have any names that you know of?”

-The men called him many things, some not so nice. He did respond to… Grim-

“Why doesn’t that surprise me?” Kile said as she stepped away. “Thank you Miliea, you guys get going, I’ll catch up.”

“Are you sure, I can stick around if you want.”

“No, I’ll be fine.” She reassured Daniel, but she wasn’t all that sure herself.

Daniel turned Miliea toward the road and they moved at a slow even pace. Kile watched them go and regretted not having taken
him up on his offer of claiming Miliea, she seemed like a pleasant enough horse.

“Grim.” She said as she turned around and the horse shook out his mane. “Look, I don’t know if you can understand me or not, because I don’t really know how this works, and at this moment I don’t really care. I’m
not having the best day of my life here and you’re not making it any easier, so how about we just get through today with no more problems and we can work it out later, what do you say?”

Grim said nothing as he stood there and stared at her, or at least she thought he was staring at her, it was
still difficult to tell under all that hair. She moved around to his left side, got two handfuls of mane and pulled herself up on his back, and he launched her clear over the other side with a well timed buck. She hit the ground again and stared up at him from the dirt. This was taking spirited to a whole new level.

“Enough.” She shouted as she got to her feet and turned on the horse. “You will calm down and let me ride you.”

Grim did seem to calm, for a moment, but she still didn’t trust the beast.

She
moved back around to his left side and didn’t hesitate as she grabbed two handfuls of mane and jumped. She laid a crossed his back for a few minutes, expecting to be thrown off, but this time Grim didn’t move.

“Now we’re getting somewhere.” She said as she swung her leg over and sat astride him with a little difficulty. He was a large horse with a wide flat back. If she had a blanket and pillow she could have made a bed
out of him, but she doubted he would let her.

“Go.” She commanded him, digging her
heels into his side.

Grim set off slowly.

“Come on. Let’s try to catch up with the others.” She told him.

He picked up his pace and moved with a strong steady gate. He was surprising
ly smooth for a large beast, but not very quiet as his great serving platter sized hoofs struck the ground.

“Well, I’ll be damned.” Daniel called out as he saw her coming up quickly. “I would never
have thought you could have done it. How did you…” But he stopped in mid sentence as she got closer, and his face when from excitement to concern. “Kile are you alright?” He called out to her.

Miliea staggered as Grim and Kile got closer. The mare sidestepped and tried to bolt. It was all that Daniel could do to keep his horse under control.

“Kile.” He yelled as she raced past him.

She didn’t hear him, she didn’t hear anything. She didn’t even realize what was happening, what she was doing.
The black tendrils of the Maligar had entwined them without her knowing about it, without her even trying. She had been so angry with Grim that she would have done anything for him to listen to her, and that’s exactly what she did. Grim wasn’t obeying her because he wanted to; Grim was obeying her because he had no choice. As the darkness began to engulf them, her identity began to merge with his.

She was no longer riding him across the
countryside, she was him, she was charging across the tundra, climbed the steep cliffs of the northern lands as she ran with the herd racing the cold north winds. There were so many of them, but so few. Once they had dominated the frozen highlands by the thousands, now there were but a few hundred left. The vir had seen to that. They were out in number today, and the herd was being pushed toward the open ravine. Dozens of them went over the edge, some chose to jump rather than be forced into servitude; others were just swept up in the stampede as they fell upon the rocks below, all in a vain attempt to avoid capture. She wasn’t as lucky as the ropes found their way around her neck. They would try to tame her, they would strip her of her dignity, she would become another beast of burden for the vir, but they would never break him.

Kile’s
identity snapped back into her head with such force that she had no idea what was happening. One moment she was running on the tundra toward the ravine, now she was running through the forest toward the lake. Grim had somehow managed to break the Maligar’s control. Before she could grasp what was going on, Grim slammed his feet into the ground, ducked his head and launched her over his shoulders. She flew a good twenty feet before hitting the water.

-NOBODY CONROLS ME-

The voice exploded in her head and it carried with it such vivid images of horses lying broken at the base of a ravine along with the pain and the torture that was inflicted upon him by the vir that Kile nearly lost what little breakfast she had.

“
Geez Kile, are you alright?” Daniel called as rode up to the lake's edge. He jumped down from his horse and waded into the water trying to help her out.

“Yes, I’m fine.” She lied as she pushed his hand aside.
She didn’t want anybody’s help at the moment, she didn’t want anybody to touch her. She didn’t want anybody to feel sorry for her. “Please, just… just go… just... leave me alone I’ll be fine.” She said as she reached the shore and fell to her knees on the river’s bank. Grim’s words still echoing in her head with such hatred, so much pain.

“Kile you’re not fine.”

“Probably not, but it's nothing you can fix, just… go find the others, I’ve got to find Grim.”

“Grim? Who’s Grim?”

“My horse.”

“What? You can’t go after him. That horse tried to kill you. He threw you in the lake.”

“That was my fault.” She said as she got to her feet. “Look, just go catch up with the others if you still can. I have to make sure Grim’s okay.”

“It’s not like he waited around to see if you
were okay.”

She climbed up the bank of the lake to where Miliea was standing, the horse
shied away from her.

“I’m so sorry.” She told her without getting any closer. “I didn’t mean for that to happen. I didn’t mean for any of it to happen.”

-He went back to the stone buildings-

“Thank you, and… I am sorry.” She said as started to walk back down the road, back toward the academy. It wouldn’t be too difficult to find, what with the towers of the city of
Azintar rising high above the tree line.

The walk was very humbling, not that she had to be any more humiliated th
an she already was. She was soaking wet, covered in mud and realized she only had one more uniform until the next laundry day, not to mention the fact that the last one was, at this moment, stinking up her cell. That was going to be a pleasant thing to return to she thought, but that really wasn’t what bothered her at the moment.