An awkward silence filled the room and the only sounds I could hear were that of the war beasts breathing.
It didn't bother me so much, having gotten used to his presence. I was perfectly content. I found something I never thought I would, someone who didn't like it when I made jokes about hurting myself.
It seemed like it was something so small that it shouldn't have mattered. Yet, For some reason just thinking about it still made me feel flushed.
After a while, Finlo let out a long sigh and stood up. “Well, I'll look into the poison later, I still have chores to do. Since you're here anyway though you should feed Frits. She hasn't eaten in a while. Stubborn horse probably thought you died, wouldn't let anyone else go near her.”
I caught myself staring at him for a moment before quickly following him so that he could close the gate that separated the beasts from the horses.
It was clear that something still haunted him. ‘My dark joke probably made some of those memories resurface, that would explain why he got so quiet all of the sudden.’
He could still smile and laugh, and he had even become strong, being able to fight in a way I could have never imagined. ‘Whatever your past was, I guess you're doing alright now. I'm glad…’
As crazy strong as everyone around me was, my brothers, my parents, and even my younger sister, at that moment he felt more like a giant than any of them. Even if we weren't the same, it gave me hope knowing that he overcame similar challenges.
Walking out of the stables, he put one hand in a pocket, slouching over. With his other hand he waved, lifting it up without turning around as his way of saying “See you later.”
“See you soon…” I whispered.
…
After our encounter had finally ended, I felt a wave of exhaustion crash into me. Even though it was a good encounter, it wore me out. A part of me wanted to just lay down on one of the hay bails and fall asleep.
‘No, there's something I have to do first…’
I looked down the wide walkway to the far end where Fritz was, changing my focus. ‘She really hasn't eaten since I got sick? That can't be healthy for a horse…’
I felt bad for her, but my mind still continued drifting back to Finlo. ‘Maybe I should just ask him to teach me instead of Mara. Even if that procedure gave him strength, his skills are in a league of their own too.’
It was a fun thought, but it would never happen, so I let it quickly pass from my mind. I was so tired I couldn't focus on anything, and instead my mind kept wandering back and forth between Various things until I got close enough to hear Fritz breathing.
She… Wasn't a normal horse. There were times where it would seem like she would meditate, taking in long deep breaths and standing perfectly still for hours without any deviation.
‘Fritz… Hope she's not mad at me for being gone so long…’ Just as I thought her name she neighed, and I could hear her rear, kicking her stall door with her front legs. “I've been gone awhile huh.” ‘I hope that's an exciting kick, and not an angry one.’
I turned to A wooden sign with her name on it, “Fritz.” I said, reading it out loud. She was the smallest of all the horses, and as such she was called a runt… Just like me.
She wasn't good at pulling plows, or steady enough for mounted archery either. I guess it would be more accurate to say she was too quick and unpredictable to sync up with.
She was as fast as lightning and could run for miles on end without getting tired. Sure she wasn't as large as the other horses, but honestly I wasn't fully convinced she was actually that much weaker than them, even if that was the assumption.
No one really knew for sure. The one time they hooked her up to a plow, she wouldn't pull it. When they hit her with the whip, she didn't even flinch, instead letting out a low pitched growl.
I laughed just thinking about it. ‘Not a normal horse at all.’
Frits poked her head out of the stall and looked at me as if to confirm I was actually back. When she saw me she neighed happily. It was a huge relief. “I missed you too.” I said softly, but just as the words left my mouth she turned and went back into her stall kneeling on the ground so that I couldn't even see her. “Hey! Fritz!” I pouted. “You're supposed to be happy to see me!”
She scoffed at me, which was weird coming from a horse, but just as hurtful for some reason.
“Fine, what if I give you some bananas?”
She scoffed again.
“What if I… Cover them in honey?”
She fell silent. Even my mouth was watering. Neither of those were things we would give to horses, but she loved them, and honestly I didn't care much about what was “Proper.” Especially as it related to what I would feed my horse.
Taking her silence as a positive answer I snuck up to the loft above the horses stalls. I kept some things up there just in case I wanted to give her a treat. Everything that grew in the cold climate around the castle was unique.
The bees that we got honey from were all wild, and they were probably 5 times larger than normal bees. The honey they made had an extremely low melting temperature, so if it was cold out all I had to do was hold the jar with my bare hands and it would melt into a smooth liquid in no time.
The things I called bananas were a bit different as well. They were small individually, and only ripened when they were cooked. It didn't exactly make a whole lot of sense to me, but I didn't care enough to find out more. I was more concerned with where I would hide them, so that other people wouldn't steal them… Something that happened all too often unfortunately.
It only took me a moment to remember every individual location. That was the first real test I had given my memory since the incident, but I was able to quickly recall with 100% confidence all 8 locations throughout the stable.
The fact that my memory was as sharp as ever was a relief that I didn't realize I needed. The fact was that I had a tough encounter with a monster, and had blacked out several times on top of running what was probably a pretty dangerously high fever. I was glad none of that affected my brain, at least as far as I could tell.
If anything, I seemed even sharper. Turning to Fritz who was staring at me at this point, drool coming from her mouth and stomach growling, I jumped and pushed myself up to peek over the stall door.
“Sit tight, I'll go get everything for you. But you have to forgive me in exchange ok?”
She rolled her eyes at me, letting out a puff of air.
An awkward silence filled the room and the only sounds I could hear were that of the war beasts breathing.
It didn't bother me so much, having gotten used to his presence. I was perfectly content. I found something I never thought I would, someone who didn't like it when I made jokes about hurting myself.
It seemed like it was something so small that it shouldn't have mattered. Yet, For some reason just thinking about it still made me feel flushed.
After a while, Finlo let out a long sigh and stood up. “Well, I'll look into the poison later, I still have chores to do. Since you're here anyway though you should feed Frits. She hasn't eaten in a while. Stubborn horse probably thought you died, wouldn't let anyone else go near her.”
I caught myself staring at him for a moment before quickly following him so that he could close the gate that separated the beasts from the horses.
It was clear that something still haunted him. ‘My dark joke probably made some of those memories resurface, that would explain why he got so quiet all of the sudden.’
He could still smile and laugh, and he had even become strong, being able to fight in a way I could have never imagined. ‘Whatever your past was, I guess you're doing alright now. I'm glad…’
As crazy strong as everyone around me was, my brothers, my parents, and even my younger sister, at that moment he felt more like a giant than any of them. Even if we weren't the same, it gave me hope knowing that he overcame similar challenges.
Walking out of the stables, he put one hand in a pocket, slouching over. With his other hand he waved, lifting it up without turning around as his way of saying “See you later.”
“See you soon…” I whispered.
…
After our encounter had finally ended, I felt a wave of exhaustion crash into me. Even though it was a good encounter, it wore me out. A part of me wanted to just lay down on one of the hay bails and fall asleep.
‘No, there's something I have to do first…’
I looked down the wide walkway to the far end where Fritz was, changing my focus. ‘She really hasn't eaten since I got sick? That can't be healthy for a horse…’
I felt bad for her, but my mind still continued drifting back to Finlo. ‘Maybe I should just ask him to teach me instead of Mara. Even if that procedure gave him strength, his skills are in a league of their own too.’
It was a fun thought, but it would never happen, so I let it quickly pass from my mind. I was so tired I couldn't focus on anything, and instead my mind kept wandering back and forth between Various things until I got close enough to hear Fritz breathing.
She… Wasn't a normal horse. There were times where it would seem like she would meditate, taking in long deep breaths and standing perfectly still for hours without any deviation.
‘Fritz… Hope she's not mad at me for being gone so long…’ Just as I thought her name she neighed, and I could hear her rear, kicking her stall door with her front legs. “I've been gone awhile huh.” ‘I hope that's an exciting kick, and not an angry one.’
I turned to A wooden sign with her name on it, “Fritz.” I said, reading it out loud. She was the smallest of all the horses, and as such she was called a runt… Just like me.
She wasn't good at pulling plows, or steady enough for mounted archery either. I guess it would be more accurate to say she was too quick and unpredictable to sync up with.
She was as fast as lightning and could run for miles on end without getting tired. Sure she wasn't as large as the other horses, but honestly I wasn't fully convinced she was actually that much weaker than them, even if that was the assumption.
No one really knew for sure. The one time they hooked her up to a plow, she wouldn't pull it. When they hit her with the whip, she didn't even flinch, instead letting out a low pitched growl.
I laughed just thinking about it. ‘Not a normal horse at all.’
Frits poked her head out of the stall and looked at me as if to confirm I was actually back. When she saw me she neighed happily. It was a huge relief. “I missed you too.” I said softly, but just as the words left my mouth she turned and went back into her stall kneeling on the ground so that I couldn't even see her. “Hey! Fritz!” I pouted. “You're supposed to be happy to see me!”
She scoffed at me, which was weird coming from a horse, but just as hurtful for some reason.
“Fine, what if I give you some bananas?”
She scoffed again.
“What if I… Cover them in honey?”
She fell silent. Even my mouth was watering. Neither of those were things we would give to horses, but she loved them, and honestly I didn't care much about what was “Proper.” Especially as it related to what I would feed my horse.
Taking her silence as a positive answer I snuck up to the loft above the horses stalls. I kept some things up there just in case I wanted to give her a treat. Everything that grew in the cold climate around the castle was unique.
The bees that we got honey from were all wild, and they were probably 5 times larger than normal bees. The honey they made had an extremely low melting temperature, so if it was cold out all I had to do was hold the jar with my bare hands and it would melt into a smooth liquid in no time.
The things I called bananas were a bit different as well. They were small individually, and only ripened when they were cooked. It didn't exactly make a whole lot of sense to me, but I didn't care enough to find out more. I was more concerned with where I would hide them, so that other people wouldn't steal them… Something that happened all too often unfortunately.
It only took me a moment to remember every individual location. That was the first real test I had given my memory since the incident, but I was able to quickly recall with 100% confidence all 8 locations throughout the stable.
The fact that my memory was as sharp as ever was a relief that I didn't realize I needed. The fact was that I had a tough encounter with a monster, and had blacked out several times on top of running what was probably a pretty dangerously high fever. I was glad none of that affected my brain, at least as far as I could tell.
If anything, I seemed even sharper. Turning to Fritz who was staring at me at this point, drool coming from her mouth and stomach growling, I jumped and pushed myself up to peek over the stall door.
“Sit tight, I'll go get everything for you. But you have to forgive me in exchange ok?”
She rolled her eyes at me, letting out a puff of air.
