* Niam Henka*
"I can't do anything about your swords, but I can give you this." Grandpa handed me and Tsuki a dagger.
The dagger had native, horse designs over its hardwood handle and sheath. The blade was curved with a pointy, sharp tip. Tsuki's blade was smaller and lighter than mine. It was also lighter in color.
"These daggers are forged the second a foal is born. The color and engravings depend on the foal's appearance. In our family, whoever has that dagger is responsible for the respective horse. In case the horse is injured, kill it with the knife, then break the blade and bury them together. If the blade breaks first, kill the horse and bury both."
'An interesting tradition. This tradition makes the owner of both the dagger and the horse take really good care of both."
"We haven't even learned to ride yet. Why do you give us the horses already?" Tsuki asked.
"They won't let you ride on them if you don't show them any proof." Grandpa responded.
"The horses?" Tsuki asked confused.
"Of course! Hahaha!"
Grandpa led us into the stables. My uncle nowhere in sight, probably out, guarding the farm.
"Let me enter first. I will bring them out. They have been staying here since you two arrived. They're probably mad."
Grandpa entered the stable and exited a few minutes later. In both hands, he held the ropes of 2 horses. One male and one female horse. The male horse was pitch-black except his legs that were a dark-grey shade. The female horse was completely grey, similar to Tsuki's hair color.
*NEIGH!*
The male horse stood on its hind legs and neighed in annoyance. It dragged my grandpa forward and almost trampled on us if we were still normal humans. The female horse was calm and started to look for fresh grass it could eat.
"You see. This one is a bit of a problem. It's 2 years old and hasn't behaved since it was old enough to be ridden on. The other horse is barely old enough to ride on, but I fear when you do ride it, it won't go as fast as you want to." Grandpa explained while being dragged around by the black horse.
"Isn't there any other horse you can give us?" I asked, not wanting to deal with rebellious horses.
"Why would I give you another horse? Having you learn to deal with a problematic horse is the best way to learn and build a good relationship with it."
Grandpa had trained his children in the art of combat for years. He was very knowledgeable in the art of teaching, but I still couldn't let go of the feeling that he made up the horse-riding learning method.
After grandpa managed to calm the black horse down and have him eat wheat, I approached the black horse with the dagger in hand. The horse ignored me at first, but after it saw the dagger, it went feral. It rushed at me and tried knocking me over, yet a foolish act like that was easy to deal with. My enhanced reaction speed allowed me to dodge him almost instantly. Yet, the horse didn't care. Instead of turning around and trying to trample over me again, the horse lifted his hind legs and threw them at me. The speed in which its legs moved towards me was worrying. If I had let myself get hit, I would've surely suffered some bone fractures.
"Calm down now. I could easily kill..."
'I can't do that, can I?' I was annoyed.
I needed to arm myself with patience and try to crush whatever ego that horse had.
*Tsuki Shizukana*
I approached the grey horse. It was eating grass and didn't seem to mind me. I pet the horse and brushed it, trying to gain its trust.
When the horse finally focused on me, I showed it the dagger, and as if it was a human, it rolled its eyes.
'Did the dagger annoy him?' I asked myself.
After my seemingly failed attempt, I looked over to Niam. Niam dodged the black horse's charges and occasionally jumped on its back. The black horse would then jump backwards, trying to crush Niam which never worked.
I was thankful for receiving the dagger Niam's grandpa gave me. I couldn't imagine having to deal with the other horse.
***
After a long day, Nima's grandpa brought the horses back into the stables. Even after hours, Niam and I weren't able to manage to get the horses to listen to us. He would always get attacked by the black horse, while I was just ignored by the grey one.
"Any ideas?" Niam asked.
We sat on the front porch of Niam's grandpa's house and drank tea. It was dark, only a gaslight on our table and several candles inside the house lit up the environment.
We stargazed while we discussed our possible approaches. 'Does he think I know more about horses than him?'
"I can't give you any advice. I don't know what I would've done if I were in your place. Having to deal with a violent horse like that would only have me laying on the ground with cracked ribs and a smashed face."
"I haven't had the time to really observe you and the grey one. What wasn't working for you?" Niam asked for specifics.
"It just ignored me. It saw the dagger, it even let me sit on it, but it wouldn't walk the way I wanted it to."
["It's really unlikely, but..."] Niam stopped.
["What?"]
["I think grandpa doesn't want us to leave."]
["Why is that?"]
["He is simply too heartbroken. He misses the people he lost during the impact. But now that a grandson came to him, alive, with a woman, he might hope to see the usual development..."]
'The usual development? Hmm... What does he mean?' I wondered while my face got warmer. 'Does he think of us like that?! OMG! He didn't even approach me...'
["...of course these are all speculations and unlikely to be true, especially the last part. I doubt that grandpa would want to see his grandson with a woman at a time like this."]
'Oh...'
["Yeaaaah, I think so too. Maybe he really wants us to establish a strong bond with the horses as soon as possible."]
"Are you tired? You look exhausted."
"It's not that." I replied. "But yes, I'm tired. I will go to sleep. Second door on the top floor, right?"
"Yes. [Be careful around my uncle.]" He warned me.
["I will. Goodnight."]
I stood up to leave. I looked at Niam one more time. He was watching the countless stars, yet the biggest and brightest object in the night sky was the moon, he completely ignored it. The nearest and easiest one to reach was just like a rock on a dirt road, not of meaning. It told one a lot about his character. He focused on the seeable yet unknown. The present was just a distraction and a mean to reach what was to come.
'I'm just a weapon to him, aren't I?'
I walked to the stairs and blew out the candles I passed just like Niam's grandpa told us to do. I went up the wooden stairs.
"Niam's father is a merciless killer, did you know that?" A voice spoke out.
It was Nima's uncle who revealed himself from the darkness.
"What are you talking about?"
"His father committed dozens of war-crimes. Back in the 3rd World War, he would have pow's fight him in a one-on-one fight for their lives, with swords, of course."
"And?"
"He is like that too, isn't he? I felt it when I fought him."
I didn't respond. It was clear provocation. 'But it sounds more or less like him too...'
"One day, he will turn on you. When you're useless and in his way. Then, pshhk! Throat cut." He said while making a cutting motion in front of my neck.
I quickly made my way into the room.
'Salan ability. I need to use it!' A knock on my door pulled me away from my thoughts.
"Rest as much as you can."
Niam walked to his room. I felt calmer after that.
'My Salan ability won't betray me. I believe what it told me about Niam.'