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 Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2011 9:51 pm
Okay, the patting was nice, but jack it all! That wasn't what he was trying to do. This was already hard enough without Christof completely missing the point. Ohhh. How did horses get riders on their back? He didn't know! How the heck was he supposed to do this when he grew up and later went to the other world? THIS WAS HARDDDDD!!!
Huffing, Calder thought a moment, and then turned his head about to gesturing with his muzzle at his back. A 'get on' motion though he wasn't sure if this was how horses did things or if Christof would even get it. He'd have to write home and ask. Then again, he could ask someone who actually OWNED horses, even though that idea bothered him.
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Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2011 10:00 pm
Perhaps he wasn't the best with animals, but Christof was certainly good at unspoken queues. It wanted him to.... get on it's back?? But... but that's how the real trampling happened! He had never been on a horse before, even with a saddle let alone...
But the dorms were far and the creature was proving to be exceptionally smart for a beast of burden. And so far it had failed to bite or trample him in the least bit. And the Undead Dorms were a long way off at the rate he was going... maybe... maybe... there was no harm in...
Swallowing, hands trembling, he gingerly stepped up to the creature's back, glancing around to make sure that yes... no one was around this time of night... and gingerly pulled himself up onto the creature's back.
Alright... alright, here he was. Now what? Did it involve kicking or...? Somehow he didn't think it was a good idea to kick a beast you are at the mercy of while perched precariously on it's back.
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Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2011 10:08 pm
Thank the pumpkin patch that no one was around to see this. It was awkward and strange enough without an audience. He needed to concentrate and not flip the hell out as much as he was anyways. Okay. Deep breathes. You have a rider on your back. Don't drop the rider!
Unlike Raziel, Christof was bigger, more awkward in his size and proportions, and not very confident. His nervousness just made Calder even more freaked out, and he tried not to just jerk up as he slowly moved one hoof out and the other and then rose up.
Okay. Standing. He managed not to throw Christof of. YAY!
Looking out, he saw how far off the undead dorms were and took a deep breath. Just....move slowly and ease into a gentle rhythm. Yeah. Uh....this should work okay...right?
Calder took a step, then another, and started to slowly move.
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Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2011 10:28 pm
The hunchback tried his best to keep his balance, finding the horse surprisingly... tactile? That wasn't the word. Sticky wasn't either. Just... not as slippery as he would have imagined. Not terribly comfortable, but he had sat in worst places and- OH GOD IT WAS MOVING. He huddled down, grabbing around it's neck to grip the tattered scarf wrapped there. Wait. What wild horse wore a scarf? He flinched immediately, legs convulsively kicking by accident as he sat upright in sudden realization.
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Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2011 10:35 pm
There was a reason why trust was highly important for a kelpie in these situation, and one point lied in the very scarf that Calder wore. The moment Christof flinched, panicked, and then gripped his scarf, Calder froze, eyes wide.
OH JACKIN LOVIN MARE ALMIGHTY!
And then, while holding the scarf, Christof kicked him!
Jerking, the kelpie kicked off and started to run. It wasn't something he had WANTED to do, but seeing as Christof more or less gave the command, he had little choice. The only blessing that was in Christof's favor was that kelpies had adhesive skin, causing riders to stick on. Unless Christof wanted him off, or Calder wanted to dump him, there was no way he could get off. The boy could let go and still stick right to the very spot as if suctioned on.
As for Calder, the only thought other than not dropping Christof was screaming that Christof had better steer him in the right direction or he was going to continue to run, run, run, run, run, until Christof stopped him or sent him colliding into a wall!
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Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2011 10:48 pm
What ever thought had just occurred to Christof was left behind in the dust cloud he imagined left behind them as suddenly they bolted into forever. A high pitched wail escaped his throat, eyes bulging as he held on for dear life- unlife? He held onto his Parts. The world span past at a faster speed than he had ever imagined, wind whipping by, his hair ruffling madly and... this... this was exhilarating! How was this even possible to move this fast? The ground was nothing but a dull gray and blue beneath them, and when the uneven creature turned to stare in fascination he didn't feel his seating budge. His heart was racing and- OH FEAR ALIVE A TREE! Instinctively he gripped the scarf, leaning to the side to try to wrench the beast out of it's way before it got them both killed. Stupid animal! Listen to your Mas-
The creature seemed to follow his direction, lurching around until they had a clearway of field ahead of them all the way towards the edge of the woods. His heart was racing, but not out of fear. He didn't know what he was feeling. But he wanted to go faster. It had worked the first time... this time he gave it an experimental kick.
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Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2011 10:55 pm
TREE! TREE! CHRISTOF FOR THE LOVE OF FEAR THERE IS A THREE AND IF YOU TURN ME INTO PIECES I'M GOING TO TRAMPLE WHATEVER PIECES THAT ARE STILL LEFT INTO -
Calder let out a loud whinny as the scarf was yanked and he pivoted, taking the indication he could move and doing so happily, twisting and turning around the tree so that they brushed by. All Christof had to do was point the way and leave the rest to him, but he hoped that Christof would at least get the point that he was steering!
It was then that they were headed to the fields and the woods past that, and he wondered why Christof was taking the longer way to the undead dorms. Then there was a hard push on his sides of a kick, and Calder was stunned. Did....was that a urge to go faster?!!
Well, he wasn't going full speed, and if Christof thought that was a brake command, he'd have to show him it wasn't. Breathing deep, Calder lowered his head a bit more and pushed harder, going into a full sprint as he started to go from running to full out racing. Try and see a horse do this and they'd be passed out far behind him.
What the heck was the Igor thinking? Wasn't he just flipping out moments ago just to get near him? Oh geez. He was probably getting sick now, wasn't he?
Calder turned his head enough to look over to his back.
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Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2011 11:00 pm
He had set his jaw against the bounce of Calder's movements, expression contorted into one of fierce determination, and, most horrifying of all, his mouth twisted into an eager smile. There was a couple fallen logs piled up ahead... would the creature throw him? Or would it jump? Only one way to find out.
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Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2011 11:10 pm
This....this was.....Christof was....was SMILING! He couldn't believe the look on the boil's face, and Calder would have continued staring if he knew that he could only spare a second to glance before looking ahead. There wasn't much time to think, but Calder was processing what was happening rather quickly. The Igor was really getting into riding, and far beyond panicking. In fact, he seemed set on going at full force and looking ahead, was leading them straight to a couple fallen logs.
So was Christof challenging him? Was he trying to see how far this random horse could go before he found it's limit? Well Christof. You aren't riding some ordinary barnyard mule.
Pride on the line, Calder set his eyes on the logs and pushed harder, letting out another whinny that said, in it's own way, GAME ON!
This wasn't Calder's first time hopping logs. He did it all the time back home and enjoying jumping. Still, from running to leaping, there was skill. A bad jump could ruin your legs and make a creature lame in an instant. He hoped that this time around, Christof wouldn't jerk him at any point and let him take the reigns for a moment, so to speak.
As the logs rushed in a blur of dark patterns, Calder kicked off and leaped, front half rising high and then back quarters kicking up. A high, hoping arch to make it and then just as he made it once, had to kick off and do one more time to avoid another cluster. Luckily they weren't high up, but it still required some talent. These were exactly the sort of obstacles he would have to face once he went out as an adult and lured riders onto his back and then raced to a river.
THIS WAS BETTER THAN SOME STUPID TRAINING DOLL!
Landing, Calder continued on running, speed a little less than before but returning quickly. His heart was pounding hard in his chest both from excitement and a uneasy fear that something bad might happen. He still wasn't sure about all of this, but ....but he was running and actually doing it!
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Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2011 12:00 am
The hunchback gave a holler of glee as they managed not to die. He had never experienced anything like this! Sure they had traveled by carriage to the school, and they had gone by train to that horrible Christmas place but- that was different. There had been distractions and they were inside a box all the same- this was... he didn't know what this was. But he liked it. He continued to lead the Kelpie this way and that, towards obstacles and around them, never once asking him to slow down. A small windy stream approached, just how far could this horse jump anyway? He kicked it forward, ready to find out.
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Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2011 12:21 am
Faster and faster and faster they pushed. Soon the fear started to vanish the more he got into the whole game of it. With the assurance that no matter which way he jerked, Christ would not and didn't want to come off, he was free to turn and twist and jump and dive and move in all directions and at whatever obstacles the Igor wanted to throw at him. Low hanging branches? Well he could just lower his body as best he could. Rocks or fallen logs? PASHAW! He could handle those, no sweat! Rising and dipping hills? He could take on a mountain with the adrenaline in his veins. Christof's determination and pure excitement was transmitted and received by the kelpie, who whinnied and neighed in turn, more used to just letting go and enjoying the simple pleasures then the patchwork was having.
Intoxicating to the point of being drunk on the ride was exactly the vile little tonic kelpies used to lure their rides into having a blast before -
And there was the stream, and it called, and Christof was happy to aim him right for it. While the Igor assumed he would leap over it like any other obstacle, Calder pumped harder and harder to race to it. WATER!
With a high whine, Calder raced to the water, leaped, and jumped into the water with a loud splash and a merry little neigh. YAYYYYYYYYY!!!!!
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Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2011 10:08 am
Suddenly, the thought that had occurred to him a long ways back finally managed to catch up again. Calder was a Kelpie. A sort of horse thing. And wore a scarf. And Kelpies liked to drown people. And Calder liked to drown people.
As the water splashed all around, he gave a frantic wail, twisting on his bearbacked seat in sudden panic.
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Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2011 10:13 am
For all the fun they were having, it seemed Christof might be afraid of water. Calder wasn't sure, but as he paddled in the water, he turned to see the Igor flipping pumpkins over being wet. Confused, he continued to paddle along, enjoying the cool water on his hot flank, before he huffed and made for the bank. It was a small river, not the best for swimming in this form anyways, and he heaved up onto the bank and on land once more. For as much as he wanted to jump back in, he wasn't about to ruin Christof's chipper mood.
On shore, he looked down at the water, leaning down to drink as he waited for whatever else the Igor wanted to do. The smell of water was intoxicating to him, but there were reasons why Christof wasn't dead at the moment. Part of it was drownings lessons, another was the scarf he was holding, and another part was that despite being strong, the undead didn't look very appetizing. There were certain things that appealed to Calder's palette, and a lumpy Igor was not one of them.
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Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2011 12:55 pm
Christof's breathing slowed and he relaxed a bit when it seemed the kelpie wasn't about to try to drown him- it would be a difficult thing to drown an undead, but even so it wasn't a pleasant process. Gingerly, he gave his friend a pat to the shoulder, shifting in his seat to try to dislodge his legs, but still they were trapped firmly, despite the water soaking through his pajama bottoms.
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Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2011 12:59 pm
It was probably one of the few conversations they had that was going well and yet, for the first time between them, had involved no talking. The pat was well received, and while Calder was catching his breath, he shook his head a moment to flick some water and then finished drinking. Done, he stood up and looked back, wondering what Christof was wanting to do next. They all had class in the morning, but with the way things were going, Calder wasn't against another run around.
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