"I.. really don't like horses."
Soterra shook her head. "It's probably best I just ride with you. I'd just get thrown off the back of one here."

"All it takes is practice." Archon chimed in whimsically on the back of the grumpy horse who didn't seem to mind his presence more than it minded being brought out of the stable. He kept her calm with a gentle stroke behind the ears and a careful hand at her reins.

"I'll have you know I've been practicing since I was 7.."

"And I since I was 110 and still hardly a conscious entity. Really, it's not a matter of years. There is a.. er level a finesse to it. You have to bond with the animal of your choosing."

"I don't bond with anyone." Soterra scoffed at that, climbing on the back of Cypress' horse.

"And that in itself is large and large the issue." Archon shook his head. "Ah well. As they say, you cannot simply lead horse to water."
The wily horse snorted in displeasure at that and started out of the stable of its own accord.

(lol her problem is she's riding bareback lets pretend the saddle was already on then xD)

Cypress finished adjusting the bridle, the horse (he didn't know if it had a name and he hadnt bothered to call it anything but 'horse') took the bit easily. The stallion was well mannered and well taught which made him the commanders usual ride.

The vampire hooked his boot into the stirrup and seated himself infront of Soterra, with a small flick of the reins the horse followed after Archon's mare.

(lol somebody please ask Cypress abt the horse's name xD I want to name it, but cypress as a character usually doesn't name his stuff. like at all. so he needs a prompt.)

(Don't worry, Archon will. And yeah that was my assumption that the saddles were just next to the stables and implied to have been put on)

"So, Cypress, does your friend here have a name? Betsy here wants to know." He said with a wink, the black mare under him giving an annoyed whinny as if Archon had just spilled a secret of hers.
"Oh, what? You didn't want me to introduce you to him? Now that makes no logical sense. If you had affections for him, it would be prudent to just-"
The mare tried to kick him off at that just for Arc to grip onto the saddle.
"Really now, this is very unreasonable behavior for a lady like yourself. If you insist on it, then fine, I will not attempt to play matchmaker."

Soterra just blinked at this, facepalming.
Why did they get stuck with this guy..

(god it was 92 earlier and now there are 60mph winds outside. I just had to run out and grab a bunch of stuff to stop getting rained on >.> oops. And then my DNS had a problem and i lost my reply >.>)

The commander eyed the black mare warily. He was glad he didn't have to ride that. He felt Soterra shift behind him, and assumed she made an expression of exasperation. Cypress would have too-- if he didn't have to guide his horse.

"I... don't know his name, I don't believe he has one." The vampire replied, guiding the stallion in question around a traders cart and a nasty looking hole in the road where a stone got dislodged.

(wtf
Kinda glad I live in the desert now to avoid the nonsense of tornado/hurricane season
Stay safe)
"Have you asked him by chance?"
Archon followed behind him, guiding the mare with ease aside from a few brief stops here and there for her to nip at passerbys and graze along the way. "Actually, maybe that might be a bit more difficult for you, I would guess. There is the issue of language barrier and everything and I've only met one other man who claimed he could speak to animals. A tribesman, and quite good at it actually. But not in the same direct ways I employ.."
He sighed. "Well, I have a bad habit of digressing.. But if there's no way to know it by asking, have you ever given any thought to giving him one?"

"I-- no?" Cypress seemed genuinely confused by the concept, snapping the reins a little bit to speed up now that they were mostly free of the crowd.

Archon was floored that he hadn't even considered it.
"How can you place your trust in a beast that you don't even give time of day?!"

"It's just that. A beast."
Soterra shook her head.

"Hardly, hardly. You could say the same of man or any other natives to these lands.. Especially now with all these pointless killing." Archon sighed, resting a hand on the mare's head. "I find most animals to be far more predictable and reliable in temperament anyways."

"Names don't matter." Cypress snapped, the stallion-- picking up on his ornery mood-- picked up the pace.

"Having a name doesn't make it any more competent, or any less competent. Just like a man, yes we are all beasts, but we have names do we not? Does that change the person? Hardly. I trust this horse because he's well behaved and mannered. It's an unnecessary title of affection-- I pick things based on performance, not because they look nice or have a nice name. But if you insist on giving him some sort of designation, I suppose his name is Gneiss." The commander finished, spurring the horse along, obviously not wanting to talk about it more.

He thought the horses dark grey and dappled white coat looked like a stone called Gneiss they'd find in the mountains when he was a child. It was an ornamental stone, but as of late it had been mined up solely for the purpose of making gravestones with it.

(Gneiss is pronounced like the word 'nice')

(sorry we were cooking xD)

(totally fine, I was a family gathering and have been having issues with my phone)

"Gneiss, huh? I like that." Soterra rested a hand on Cypress' shoulder to keep herself stable as the horse picked up the pace.

"Seems fair enough.. Gneiss. Yes, I can tell just by looking at him he seems content with your assessment. Seems you two are much of like minds."

Glancing over his shoulder Cypress addressed the tiefling "Are you comparing me to a horse?" the vampire asked. Gneiss let out a soft snicker-- like he was laughing. Of course Cypress didn't really mean it as a serious question, just finding a bit of personal amusement in it.