Welcome to Gaia! ::

Aliya nodded and gently ushered Feng out of the way (only because she was closer than Ryu).

"This may seem cruel at first," she told them, taking a handful of the horse's mane, "but believe me - the horse doesn't feel it."

And she put her other hand on the horse's flank and in a combination of pulling herself on the mane, pushing herself up on the flank, and a quick spring of her legs, she was up and sitting comfortably, legs spread wide to accomodate the girth of the horse.

"Once you're up, sit still," she added, lowering herself gently off the horse's left side once again. "Sit very still. How you sit is how the horse will know what you want to do, whether it's go, stop, turn, or jump. Any excess movement could get you in a dangerous situation where you have no control. Of course, once you're used to the commands and riding in general, you won't have to worry about it ... but for now, worry."

And she moved out of the way to let the twins try.



Elros raised one eyebrow and knelt so that he would be at least a slightly bit closer to Lin's height. "Then what you're saying," he murmured softly, "is that your father forbade you to bug people, and so you're looking for anyone who isn't working so that you won't be bugging them?"

"Well...." Lin couldn't really get away with twisting words when she had none to twist.

Besides she learnt that people like Elros and Valdemar were too observate, if such a thing existed.

"I was looking for you," she grinned.

"It's a bit odd when naturally you don't have legs and it's just one body part from the waist down," Ryu replied back.

"Large horse," Feng murmured, but she didn't much as much, unlike Ryu she had to learn dance, which meant she had to be flexible.

It was mildly more comfortable than being in a split.

Aliya grinned. "Just you wait," she giggled mischievously. "You're lucky you're sleeping in the river ... because you're going to have some nasty blisters that will make you never want to sit again by the time the day is done. Then you'll be uncomfortable."



A chuckle erupted from Elros's chest, and he laughed at Lin, at her blunt honesty. "Well then," he chuckled deeply, "just what did you want to do?"

Though he was curious to know why she had singled him out.

"Oh, uhm..." Lin thought about it, which was interesting because she hadn't thought that far ahead in advance.

After all a little girl must deal with things one at a time doesn't one know.

"Well... sometimes I play, or sometimes I hear a story."

Feng looked down, it looked like a long ways up from where she sat, and she wasn't as sure about jumping off a horse as she was a fence, but if they could avoid the blisters, after all she liked her tail and her butt very much as it was.

Ryu nodded as he slid off the horse slowly, otherwise he just might end up on his butt. Feng followed though it was a bit hard getting one's leg over the side and back down.

Aliya grinned. "Just put your hands as they were going up, and slide down on your belly," she told them. "Land on your tiptoes and then gently down on your heels ... it absorbs most of the shock of hitting the ground, and eventually you won't feel it."



Elros blinked at her. "Not little like you are, no," he replied softly, "but for my kind, yes I was small."

He sat on the ground and leaned against the wall so that he could remain closer to her height and keep comfortable.

"What kind of story would you like to hear about the past?" he asked her softly. "Anything in particular?"

She didn't really know that much history, nor did she know anything about the large events. Lin didn't even know how far back Elros knew about the world.

"Well, I don't know enough to know what exactly I want to know."