Welcome to Gaia! ::

As clear as it was that the boy took pride in his work, it was equally clear that his horse bore great love for him. Animals, Jack knew, were often better judges of character than any human. It seemed he had been right about young Rory after all. Any man whose animals were that affectionate were good in his book. He smiled, then appraised the beast with the eye of a seasoned horseman.

"He is a fine stallion," Jack agreed, and it was true. He looked to be well cared for, seemed to come from good stock; he would have to do a more thorough inspection to say for certain, but he would bet that Kettle was in the peak of health.

Aster, for his part, sidled up to the stall and thrust his nose at the stallion, sniffing him curiously.

If the stallion was amenable, Jack would give him a good scratch before nodding to the boy. "Lets have a look, then. I always have men in need of good horses."

Part of Jack missed the days when he still rode horses. They were simpler days, perhaps easier, and there was nothing that quite compared to the beauty of taking a fine horse through its paces, but he would not trade Astrophel for the world. Their bond went much deeper than anything that even the finest horse masters could achieve with their steeds. It was soul-deep.

He left Aster to commune with the horses as he saw fit and started down the line with Rory. "What do you train them for?" he asked. There was a world of difference between a plow horse, a warhorse, and a gentleman's (or lady's) mount. Or a carthorse and a circus horse. Or any number of other possibilities. Most were raised as workhorses or mounts. It took a certain kind of handling to make a horse fit for battle. But Her Majesty's Cavalry had need of all kinds and fresh blood was never a bad thing.

At the mention of trick riding, Jack perked right up. Now that was something that he had never managed to catch sight of. He had always wanted to, of course, but somehow, he always seemed to miss the opportunity. During his childhood, he suspected that his mother had deliberately kept him from it for feat he would attempt it himself. Well. She wasn't wrong.

"Let's see what you can do," he said with a grin.

"I leave it to you," he said. "You are the expert." Jack felt perhaps a little like a child going to the circus for the first time. He could not keep the grin off of his face as he crossed his arms and stood well enough out of Rory's way.

Even Astrophel seemed interested in what was going on, keeping his eyes fixed on the pair, his ears perked forward.

Jack watched the display with intense interest. While he was enjoying the aesthetics and admiring the athleticism of the performance, part of him was calculating the required mechanics and potential usefulness of such skill.

When Rory and his Kettle took their bows, he applauded them. "Bravo! A remarkable talent you have, young sir." He approached the pair. "What do you say to a new proposal? Your skills for mine?"

Though there was a great deal of boyish enthusiasm behind his desire to learn, he was also had practical reasons for gaining the knowledge. Those skills, he thought, could be adapted to horseback combat. Or in his case, Guardian-back. Spirits knew they would need all the added advantages they could get against the Wolves. Increased nimbleness could only help.

The Captain glanced sidelong at his Guardian - sure enough, the buck's ears were perked with keen interest. Astrophel did not display the same disdain for horses that other Guardians were known for, but he could be competitive and he loved his mischief. Jack suspected that he would be especially eager to show off to Idriss - another way to say "I'm a better Guardian than you are." Another taunt to goad her with, and doubtless cause Jordun grief.

"I think you will find him an enthusiastic student," he said. Though to be fair, Aster would probably appreciate the martial applications...eventually. "Besides! If it were easy, it would hardly be worth doing." He grinned unrepentantly. "What do you say?"

Jack raised a brow at the younger man's bluntness. He was always one to appreciate it when people were straightforward rather than dancing around a topic, but not many would openly admit to wanting his friendship just because he was in a high place. "Not planning to take advantage of me already, are you?" he asked, and there was an edge to the words that suggested Rory could be traipsing into dangerous territory.

The captain did not really think that Rory meant to abuse his proposed friendship, but he had been wrong about people before. It was not as though Jack was unwilling to help anyone in need - especially friends - but neither would he stand by and let his friendship be abused.