The family that lived deep in the woods liked being self-sufficient. They depended on others as little as possible outside of their clan, and that included animals as well. No farm animals were kept at all; any meat desired for food getting caught by hunting, and anything else related to being an animal product could just be bought in town. The only creature kept by the isolated clan was an old mule that was used when there was a bigger order from town that needed transporting.

The adults preferred to wait for the old nag to keel over before getting a new one. To them, they only saw an extra body to feed and care for, and surely that was a waste of resources when they had a ‘perfectly fine’ mule still around!

Nok was less than convinced by this route of inaction. The mule was slow and getting slower every day. That meant longer trips to town, which meant time wasted with just traveling and the possibility of increased interactions with the townsfolk. Plus, they wouldn’t have anything ready as a replacement when the mule did finally pass. It would just be more efficient to have a new one ready to go. Nok preferred efficiency.

“I bet them limbara is faster than you now,” Nok huffed at the mule as the pair slowly walked into town. The mule gave a little snort and shook out her ratty mane. It was silly to be talking to an animal.. but he was just so frustrated! It felt like no one would listen to him. Even his sisters chose to agree with the adults rather than him, and they usually enjoyed raising fusses. All he had was the mule; and that didn’t truly count in his mind, either. It actually made him wish he had someone in town he could talk to, but the only people he had been able to tolerate had not been seen in a while, and he was not about to go actively seek out new conversation.

“The ol’ gal is looking kind of sad there, isn’t she, Nok?” a voice piped up nearby.

Nok paused and peeked out from under his hood, long bangs veiling his eyes as well. “Boren… Yeah.”

Boren was one of the local stable owners, and the one the mule had come from long ago. His violet hair was steadily becoming more gray than violet, but his thick beard remained surprisingly vibrant. “I don’t think you were even born yet when your da bought her from me,” he mused with a satisfied grin. “Glad to see you’ve been taking such good care of her. Might be time to look into a new one though.”

Nok snorted softly, but replied with nothing more than a nod of confirmation. Too bad his father wasn’t here. Perhaps Boren could have convinced him to get the replacement now.

Boren smirked lightly, used to Nok’s silence. “I do have some good mules in, but I also got this fresh brood of tamed quristine. They’re good pack animals, too.”

That caught Nok’s attention, and he raised his head curiously. “Tamed ones?” Quristine could be found in the wild, but they were shy and quick to run. They would have to catch a baby to tame one on their own, and those were even harder to find. “They good?”

Boren looked quite pleased with himself. “Of course they’re good. I have nothing but quality here, you know. Not gonna sully my name by selling poor stock. Do you want to come see them?”

Nok looked at the mule and chewed his lip. He could just look. That would be fine. He gave a nod, tied the mule to a hitch, and followed Boren into the stables.

The quristine was a sleek but powerful looking creature. They were often used in shows for people to breed and train and gussy up like dolls. Nok had no interest in how they looked though. As he stepped up to the booth gates, his eyes took in the firm musculatures and healthy coats and sturdy gaits. Honestly, they looked like they could carry more than the mules!

But.. they cost more than the mules, too. “What would you trade one for?” he asked, squinting over to Boren doubtfully. There was probably no way they could afford one. While he waited for an estimate, he was surprised to see one of the quristine approaching him. Its long horn was broken at the tip, and its fur was a bit tufted to show old wounds, yet it walked with its head up and eyes bright. “No one gonna show this one,” he observed, slowly reaching his hand out. The quristine hesitated a moment before dipping its head to nuzzle his hand lightly.

Boren watched the interaction with a smile. “You’re right. I got that one on a deal figuring someone would use it in a field since it looks sorry but is still strong otherwise. You want it?”

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As Nok walked out of town, he had his lips pressed nervously. On one side of him was the nag, huffing softly with the load of supplies it carried. That load was smaller than it should have been though, because on Nok’s other side was the scruffy looking quristine, trotting along as happy as could be while carrying a small load as well. He was sure to get an earful when he got home, but he knew this would be best for everyone.

(( word count: 916 ))