You do. [ as he rises to collect the platters, he allows his tail to brush against cyno's shoulder. a moment of grace, here and at last. ] Go put on some clothes. I'm looking forward to stretching my legs for the first time in a while.
[ the brush of his tail is warm, and eases cyno's mood, but it is brief, and soon enough he's rising to his feet, touching his fingertips to tighnari's back as he passes behind him. ]
[ leaving behind on tighnari's skin a spot of sunburst warmth.
he clears the trays, and begins his own preparations. a cloak and hood for his head, hise ears carefully pinned back. a long, woven skirt so that his tail will not show. gardener's clothes that he had asked for as he spent so much time working with plants. he takes his bow. the dagger's sheathed and hidden beneath the folds of his cloak, just added insurance, though he suspects that cyno will be on guard today. he is that sort of man. tighnari finds that he trusts him. of course he would.
he checking his bowstring by the time cyno emerges again. ]
Did you know that your hardworking household staff have been housing and feeding horses here at your palace all this time?
[ cyno, of course, wears his usual garb, his shorts and shendyt, collar and bolero top, though he leaves his helm behind today, in favor of his jackal-eared cloak. he's slinging his polearm over his back as he emerges.. and sighs. ]
Yes, I'm aware.
[ brat fox. ]
I prefer walking. It's what I'm used to. We'll take the horses, today. [ and, approaching tighnari, he frowns, lifting a hand to smooth his fingers along one of his pinned back ears. ] Isn't that uncomfortable?
[ he's familiar with the horses at the palace insofar as he knows what they are, and that they are fellow living creatures existing within the same general space. he observes the spotted patterns of the horse's coat, dappled like freckles across white, and thinks of cyno's hair.
he rings the horse with abject curiosity. the horse eyes him back. ]
She's a fearless one. [ tighnari says with no little approval as he circles back, his nod a satisfactory thing. ] I've met horses who scented what I am, and immediately decide to bolt. What's her name?
[ having two hands but no knowledge of where to put them, tighnari observes the process - saddle cloth, saddle, straps, bit and bridle. ]
She's beautiful. [ the horse deigns to sniff his outstretched hand, and then allows him to smooth back the puff of her dark mane. ] Did you name her yourself?
[ grace. he thinks it suits her. cyno looks over his work once more, to be sure that all the buckles are secure and snug, but not too snug, before he's taking the reins to lead her out of the stables. ]
[ a mounting block, huh. tighnari's scan shows just one object in the vicinity that fits that description. he brings the little low set of wooden steps over, hefting its weight in his hands before adjusting it by hanan's side. ]
It does make more sense than people jumping every time they need to climb onto a horse's back. Is there anything I should do?
[ hanan stands obediently still as cyno mounts her, slowly enough to be able to direct tighnari. left foot in the stirrup, grabbing the cantle in his right hand and the reins in his left, and springing deftly up into the saddle. though cyno self-admittedly does not ride as often as he walks, he is nevertheless quite comfortable on the horse's back. he tends to get along better with animals, than with people, and there's clear trust between he and hanan.
he slips down from the saddle again, after the demonstration, and gestures for tighnari to step onto the mounting block. ]
Give it a try. Spring up with your momentum, don't climb with your arms. I'll make sure you don't fall.
[ the tall prick of his ears sway in a nod as he considers the distance between the ground and hanan's back. he had scaled trees far taller. tighnari's hands mimic that of cyno's movements - a foot in the stirrup, one hand on the cantle, the other on the reins, and hauls himself up in a delicate arc.
tighnari adjusts himself on the horse's back with a bright glint of his eyes, then looks down, and grins. the mounting block remains untouched. ]
Falling off a horse? Couldn't be me. But I'm sure you've had first-hand experience, right?
[ what does he see in this brat, again?? cyno scoffs under his breath. ]
Of course not. I've never fallen off. I was only trying to look out for you.
[ the worst fox. carefully and quickly, cyno swings himself up into the saddle behind tighnari, reaching around his body to take the reins from his hands. ]
[ cyno's a warm, sun-kissed weight pressed into his back. he carefully adjusts his skirts so that his tail wraps around him and out of the way, but lets himself lean back for a moment to gauge his balance with cyno in place. the world seems smaller for it. ]
Thank you, Cyno. Don't pout - I can feel you without seeing you. You just wanted to catch me while I fell.
[ he's admitting to nothing. with his heels pressed to hanan's sides, cyno starts her into a walk, to get tighnari accustomed to the movement of the horse beneath him. ]
We won't gallop today, that'll come later, but we'll still be moving quickly, so try to get used to her movements, and moving with her.
[ they sleep together every night, but cyno does not think they've ever been quite this close. tighnari is warm, and he smells sweet and familiar. he smells like home. ]
[ hanan lurches forward. tighnari's suddenly thankful for cyno's ever-steady presence behind him, his thighs squeezing around her sides as he braces against cyno's chest. soon enough, the rhythm becomes clear. his tail is a flickering thing against his side, an idle presence as he soaks in the novelty of this experience. ]
I see. There's more to it than just sitting on her. You say moving with her - is it a swaying motion, or more of an up-and-down? What's the most efficient?
Yes, you have to keep your body loose, but strong, and hug her with your legs. Sitting like deadweight will make things difficult for you both.
[ clicking his tongue, hanan moves into a smooth, easy trot, and cyno demonstrates with his body, his hips moving gently forward, then back again, as hanan eases into a lap around the pasture. cyno's chin hovers over tighnari's shoulder, his chest pressing to his back, and he finds that his heart has kicked up into his throat, a little. he's not used to being so close to someone, like this. to being so close to tighnari. ]
Forward and back, more up and down the faster she moves.
[ more than just the sound of hanan's clopping hooves, tighnari hears the sound of cyno's heart beats. like the drumbeats of war, they set tighnari's skin aflame, the pace of which dictates the sway of his body and the pounding of his own heart. cyno is wrapped around him like a small furnace, shield and weapon both against the uncertain sway of the world. he feels the curl of cyno's breath against his neck like a gentle caress.
tighnari's ears, which had been pinned back, presses against the back of his skull.he is suddenly glad he is facing forwrad. ]
- right. [ he mutters, and sets himself to matching cyno's sway. it's something to focus on. ] I can see why people complain of exhaustion despite an entire day on a horse's back. There's quite a bit of exertion than I thought there would be.
[ cyno hadn't thought this through, when he'd said tighnari would ride with him.
it's not the first time he's felt a warm tension between them. he'd felt it their first night together. he'd felt it again, when he was teaching tighnari the bow, cradling his body and posturing his arms. he feels it now, pressed close as they are, their bodies swaying together, his nose full of tighnari's scent, his pleasant voice so close. he'd have to be a fool to deny the sensuousness of the moment, and the way it makes his stomach tighten, heat flooding his skin beneath his cloak.
cyno swallows it all down. it's inappropriate. ]
Yes, it is not so easy as sitting on her back like a sack of peaches.
[ even his voice sounds tight to his own ears. cyno takes a deep breath, steadies himself, and turns hanan toward the pasture's exit, to get them on the road at last. ]
You're like to be sore by the time we reach the city.
[ it takes the edge off, to sigh. he had been hoping to stretch his legs, has he not? cyno's hands hold the reins in front of him, and tighnari can't help but reach out for them, gloved fingers first curling over cyno's wrist, and then to the reins themselves.
[ a distraction, despite the fact that tighnari's fingers, even gloved, leave a tingle behind on his wrist. cyno frowns, but soon assents. as he'd said, tighnari is a quick learner, and they're not moving too quickly. the pasture doors are opened for them to pass through, and they're onto the road now. cyno slackens his grip, and eases the reins into tighnari's hands. ]
Be gentle, Hanan is very responsive, even to very subtle commands.
[ with his hands on tighnari's wrists, cyno gives a gentle tug to the right, and hanan moves immediately with the curve of the road. ]
[ hanan curves to cyno's silent command, and tighnari marvels at it. he allows cyno to hold him there as he gets used to the weight of the reins and hanan's movements, watching carefully to see her lilt and tilt down the well-trodden path. around them, the forests of vissudha hill begin to swallow the visible palace - before long, they are alone in the jungle, heading for the outlying villages below the hill. ]
She's a marvel. [ he says, after a breath, ] It's as if she can read your mind from the minute gestures alone. Have you had her since she was young?
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I'll be quick.
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he clears the trays, and begins his own preparations. a cloak and hood for his head, hise ears carefully pinned back. a long, woven skirt so that his tail will not show. gardener's clothes that he had asked for as he spent so much time working with plants. he takes his bow. the dagger's sheathed and hidden beneath the folds of his cloak, just added insurance, though he suspects that cyno will be on guard today. he is that sort of man. tighnari finds that he trusts him. of course he would.
he checking his bowstring by the time cyno emerges again. ]
Did you know that your hardworking household staff have been housing and feeding horses here at your palace all this time?
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Yes, I'm aware.
[ brat fox. ]
I prefer walking. It's what I'm used to. We'll take the horses, today. [ and, approaching tighnari, he frowns, lifting a hand to smooth his fingers along one of his pinned back ears. ] Isn't that uncomfortable?
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No, I'm used to it. I'm more concerned about the noise in the city; the crowds are unpleasant. That - and I don't know how to ride a horse.
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You'll ride with me, then, and we'll make it a point to teach you, soon. Come on.
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[ through the estate they go, cyno's gait brisk, the scent of horses strong as they arrive in the stables. ]
It isn't easy as it looks, no, but you're a quick learner. Riding a horse is not a passive activity, you need to move with the animal.
[ and cyno leads him toward his favored horse, a pale, dark-maned keheilan, sturdy and strong as she is elegant. ]
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he rings the horse with abject curiosity. the horse eyes him back. ]
She's a fearless one. [ tighnari says with no little approval as he circles back, his nod a satisfactory thing. ] I've met horses who scented what I am, and immediately decide to bolt. What's her name?
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[ cyno could call for someone to prepare the horse, but unsurprisingly, he chooses to do it himself, saddling her up carefully, neatly. ]
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She's beautiful. [ the horse deigns to sniff his outstretched hand, and then allows him to smooth back the puff of her dark mane. ] Did you name her yourself?
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[ grace. he thinks it suits her. cyno looks over his work once more, to be sure that all the buckles are secure and snug, but not too snug, before he's taking the reins to lead her out of the stables. ]
Grab that mounting block and bring it with us.
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It does make more sense than people jumping every time they need to climb onto a horse's back. Is there anything I should do?
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[ hanan stands obediently still as cyno mounts her, slowly enough to be able to direct tighnari. left foot in the stirrup, grabbing the cantle in his right hand and the reins in his left, and springing deftly up into the saddle. though cyno self-admittedly does not ride as often as he walks, he is nevertheless quite comfortable on the horse's back. he tends to get along better with animals, than with people, and there's clear trust between he and hanan.
he slips down from the saddle again, after the demonstration, and gestures for tighnari to step onto the mounting block. ]
Give it a try. Spring up with your momentum, don't climb with your arms. I'll make sure you don't fall.
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tighnari adjusts himself on the horse's back with a bright glint of his eyes, then looks down, and grins. the mounting block remains untouched. ]
Falling off a horse? Couldn't be me. But I'm sure you've had first-hand experience, right?
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Of course not. I've never fallen off. I was only trying to look out for you.
[ the worst fox. carefully and quickly, cyno swings himself up into the saddle behind tighnari, reaching around his body to take the reins from his hands. ]
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Thank you, Cyno. Don't pout - I can feel you without seeing you. You just wanted to catch me while I fell.
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[ he's admitting to nothing. with his heels pressed to hanan's sides, cyno starts her into a walk, to get tighnari accustomed to the movement of the horse beneath him. ]
We won't gallop today, that'll come later, but we'll still be moving quickly, so try to get used to her movements, and moving with her.
[ they sleep together every night, but cyno does not think they've ever been quite this close. tighnari is warm, and he smells sweet and familiar. he smells like home. ]
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I see. There's more to it than just sitting on her. You say moving with her - is it a swaying motion, or more of an up-and-down? What's the most efficient?
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[ clicking his tongue, hanan moves into a smooth, easy trot, and cyno demonstrates with his body, his hips moving gently forward, then back again, as hanan eases into a lap around the pasture. cyno's chin hovers over tighnari's shoulder, his chest pressing to his back, and he finds that his heart has kicked up into his throat, a little. he's not used to being so close to someone, like this. to being so close to tighnari. ]
Forward and back, more up and down the faster she moves.
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tighnari's ears, which had been pinned back, presses against the back of his skull.he is suddenly glad he is facing forwrad. ]
- right. [ he mutters, and sets himself to matching cyno's sway. it's something to focus on. ] I can see why people complain of exhaustion despite an entire day on a horse's back. There's quite a bit of exertion than I thought there would be.
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it's not the first time he's felt a warm tension between them. he'd felt it their first night together. he'd felt it again, when he was teaching tighnari the bow, cradling his body and posturing his arms. he feels it now, pressed close as they are, their bodies swaying together, his nose full of tighnari's scent, his pleasant voice so close. he'd have to be a fool to deny the sensuousness of the moment, and the way it makes his stomach tighten, heat flooding his skin beneath his cloak.
cyno swallows it all down. it's inappropriate. ]
Yes, it is not so easy as sitting on her back like a sack of peaches.
[ even his voice sounds tight to his own ears. cyno takes a deep breath, steadies himself, and turns hanan toward the pasture's exit, to get them on the road at last. ]
You're like to be sore by the time we reach the city.
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[ it takes the edge off, to sigh. he had been hoping to stretch his legs, has he not? cyno's hands hold the reins in front of him, and tighnari can't help but reach out for them, gloved fingers first curling over cyno's wrist, and then to the reins themselves.
it's a distraction. it will have to do. ]
May I?
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Be gentle, Hanan is very responsive, even to very subtle commands.
[ with his hands on tighnari's wrists, cyno gives a gentle tug to the right, and hanan moves immediately with the curve of the road. ]
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She's a marvel. [ he says, after a breath, ] It's as if she can read your mind from the minute gestures alone. Have you had her since she was young?
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