A chill wind swept through Estolad that sent Aloric shivering, cupping his hands together in front of his mouth to keep them warm. It had been cold weather the last few days, but Aloric would not be deterred in his resolve. Estolad may not have been the happiest place in Arda, and certainly not the place with the most agreeable climate, but it was the only place he needed to be right now. It's where he was to meet his instructor.

For some time it had been nagging at Aloric that he did not know how to ride horseback. Most of his traveling had been done on foot, making his long treks through forest and grasslands all the longer. It was time for that to be rectified. He had sent throughout Arda a simple request: he needed someone who could teach him the art of riding a horse. Payment would be included if the job was done correctly. Secretly he felt sorry for any poor soul that responded, not having much faith in his ability to master this feat. Yet somehow he had gotten a reply, and had been told through various correspondences that the place of meeting would be the small village of Estolad.

Sitting on a cold bench in one of the busier sectors of the village, Aloric was having a hard time keeping warm as he waited for the instructor. He didn't even know who to look for. He was growing tired of waiting in tense anxiety for the person, so he was about to get up and forget the entire idea when he saw a figure approaching. It was not, of course, an oddity to see a figure approaching, but something inside told Aloric that this might be the one he was looking for.

Usually, in the field of being a mercenary, you talked to your employer and then found out what you needed to do. This time she was given a request, through a rather large set of people, that somebody needed to learn the art of horse riding. Using that same network, she said to meet the client, Aloric, in Estolad. Anyways, she had a bounty to drop off there so she could do two things in one fell swoop. With that in mind, she had rode Pepper into town.

The mercenary dismounted at Kaima Inn, and let the stable hand keep track of the great horse for a few minutes while she strode through the town. She paused momentarily after she noted a shivering man on a bench. Charlotte, of course, was dressed in rather normal brown cloth pants for riding, and a rather standard green cotton shirt. Both costed near nothing to replace, which was why she had chosen them. Across her back just above her hips lay her sword, held horizontally from the efforts of a rather ingenious belt.

"You must be Aloric, that chain of people I had to contact to get to you was rather happy to give a quick description." Charlotte explained. The wind snatched her hair momentarily, and dragged it through the air. The bitter chill reached her, but thanks to her mother's favored choice of climate, it hardly touched her. On her left hand was a single leather glove, that couldn't offer much protection except to the elements. Her right hand was bare.

"I'm Charlotte, I heard you wanted to learn to ride a horse? Well, I'll see what I can do. It would be favorable, of course, to get yourself a mount. My Pepper is a little violent at times, she's a fully trained warhorse." Charlotte explained. She gave a slight wink, accompanied by a nod of her head. She offered him the ungloved hand to help him off the bench.

The young woman that stood before Aloric didn't so much as give him a moment to join in the conversation. She had indicated she had been given a description of him - a convenience Aloric had not received for her - and that she was the instructor he had requested. Her name was Charlotte and her war horse's name was Pepper. She extended her hand towards him, and he graciously accepted, the cold wind still biting at him, making him a little slower in thought and action. "I'm grateful that you responded to my request, I wasn't even sure who to expect. But yes, I need to learn to ride a horse. I figure I need to better myself, seeing as I can't do much of anything. Horseback riding seemed a good a place as any to start."

He paused to let himself catch his breath, rubbing his hands together for added warmth. He remembered that he kept his leather gloves in the pockets of his pants, and had against all reason not put them on yet. As he fumbled around for the gloves, he continued to stumble upon his words. "I, uh, haven't come across any place that would sell me a steed, but I figured they'd have some to rent here, if just for the day. I have no experience in buying a horse, so I wouldn't know what to look for."

Putting the warm gloves on finally, he felt he needed to give Charlotte all the facts. "And I'm afraid I'm a little clumsy. I may not be a very good learner. Hope you have the patience to deal with me." And he wasn't kidding. Paliath, a mentor he had met some time ago, had let him prance around on his pack horse, and the event had not ended well, with Aloric receiving more than a few cuts and bruises, and a broken bone in his left leg. Not to mention it left him completely horrified of being around horses for the years to come.

It was time to put an end to that. He was going out on a limb here, having someone he'd never met teach him how to control a beast he had a fear of, and he wasn't all too fond of company either. He knew there was no other way; he'd never pick this up on his own, he needed the help. He just solemnly hoped this Charlotte would go easy on him. He wouldn't be able to take the embarassment if things didn't go according to plan.

The chilling climate was almost unrecognised by Adeliâ, seeing that she was a fire-based entity. Several cold villagers tossed a glance her way, envious of the fire enveloping her hooves and streaming out of her heavily-breathing nostrils. Adeliâ's head was held low and her walking was slow and purposely labored. Her wings were folded and held at her sides. Perching on top of one of her shoulderblades was a bright blue-colored hawk that scanned the village with relative contentment. The equine tipped her head slightly to the left to spot a bread vendor selling her wares to an obviously chilled citizen of Estolad. After turning her head to face forward Adeliâ caught sight of an armored blonde-haired woman speaking to a shivering man. Her ears immediately perked forward and she fully lifted her head, eliminating her somber visage and replacing it with that of a strong, powerful Nightmare Pegasus. The hawk spread its wings and glided gracefully into the air. It eventually reached a high altitude and began to circle Estolad. Adeliâ arrived at the scene just in time to hear Charlotte say, "...a mount. My Pepper is a little violent at times, she's a fully trained warhorse." After than man replied, Adeliâ trotted up from behind the mercenary and stopped when she was standing perpendicular to the two people.

"So. This must be the amateur that's going to ride on my back today," she said, turning toward Aloric, "It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Adeliâ Mor'thesia." She bowed her head low toward the shapeshifter and opened her wings half way. "So, Charlotte, do you have the carrots you promised me in exchange for doing this? I also need a saddle. On my way here I couldn't find any pegasus saddles that don't cut into my wings."


{Aaah! Short post. No inspiration. This alone took me an hour to think up. >.<}

Ah, the carrots. Charlotte glanced to Adelia, and gave a quick smile. She gave a quick whistle, and ran a hand through her blonde hair. Her green eyes narrowed as she made out her black and white warhorse trotting through the mist. The warhorse had two saddles, including one specially designed for Adelia. The primary saddly, the one actually strapped to Pepper, had a saddle bag. Full of carrot shaped objects. The carrots, of course, had come from the number one supplier of Charlotte's vegetables, Vaughn. She really doubted he would ever forgive her. The warhorse stopped in front of Charlotte with an amused neigh at Adelia.

"Okay, I've got a saddle bag full of carrots, and a saddle for you, miss Adelia. Special cut to fit your wings." Charlotte explained. She gave a quick smile to the horse as well. That had been the valuable part of the deal, tracking down someone who sold nightmare proof saddles that were cut for pegasi was near impossible. But then again, near impossible was something that had never daunted her before.

"Okay, Aloric, this is Adelia, as she's already said. And the saddle was pretty tough, the guy who sold it had gone into deep seclusion. Had something to do with the rarity of buyers for his nightmare-pegasus saddles and to avoid taxes." Charlotte explained. The merc took the saddle off of Pepper, and presented it to Adelia. If the horse was pleased, the mercenary would just have to fix it, and show Aloric as she went. Pepper snorted in annoyance, this was her master, the one who groomed her and fed her carrots. Not the winged one's. Pepper, of course, twisted her head about to look at the saddlebag of carrots, and tried to nip at the bag to open it. The warhorse found this task impossible thanks to her neck.

It seemed that Aloric may have bitten off a little more than he could chew. He had bargained for some nice and friendly horseback lessons, and what he had gotten was a horse that had wings and could communicate. The nightmare pegasus had introduced herself politely, but Aloric was still skeptical. He didn't like the idea of riding something that could talk to him, it would make the experience slightly awkward. He sighed and told himself to never try anything like this again. It never worked out simply.

"Pleasure to meet you, Miss Adeliâ," he said warmly, making an attempt to smile. "I hope it's not too much trouble, you coming here to help me today. I'm uh- I'm a little clumsy."

As Charlotte transferred the saddle off of Pepper and held it up to Adeliâ, Aloric started to wonder how this was going to work. He didn't know the first thing about riding a horse - naturally - so he wasn't sure what to expect. But how hard could it be? Get up on the back of the horse, take the beast for a spin, and have it do whatever you wanted it to. All sounded pretty simple. Most of the more challenging things start that way. He situated his leather armor and prepared as best he could for his first lesson.


((Ditto what Adeliâ said, this one was a tough one to write))

{Brace yourself for a really short and bad post. Sorry. :(}

"Okay, I've got a saddle bag full of carrots, and a saddle for you, miss Adelia. Special cut to fit your wings," Charlotte said. Adeliâ studied the saddle the mercenary held up to her, and finally nodded in approval. "Perfect," the pegasus concluded, her attention dancing from the saddle back to Charlotte, "Then you may go ahead and put it on my back if you so choose."

"Okay, Aloric, this is Adelia, as she's already said. And the saddle was pretty tough, the guy who sold it had gone into deep seclusion. Had something to do with the rarity of buyers for his nightmare-pegasus saddles and to avoid taxes." Charlotte explained. "Pleasure to meet you, Miss Adeliâ. I hope it's not too much trouble, you coming here to help me today. I'm uh- I'm a little clumsy." Adeliâ made a snorting noise which vaguely resembled a chuckle. "Aloric, huh? Well than, let us begin."

{>.<}