*Tsuki Shizukana*
"Mhhh, I don't know what to name you. Help me out, maybe?"
The grey horse distanced itself from Niam and the black stallion. Niam was on the stallion's back. The horse jumped, kicked and tried biting Niam multiple times, but Niam wouldn't let go.
'I'm lucky, I don't have to deal with that horse. I can't imagine what it's like having a horse you want to tame, try to kill you, or at least injure you in a way you will never be able to ride anything ever again.
"He must've name the stallion already, you know. Usually, the stallion would throw itself on the ground, trying to crush Niam, but this time, he wasn't doing that." I talked to the grey horse.
*Neigh*
"Can't really expect a reply from a horse now, can I?"
The horse walked closer to me, demanding to be petted. It's silver-grey coat was soft, it's moves graceful. There wasn't a name I had in mind that fit that horse. THe horse turned its head and locked its eyes with mine. And at that moment, all I could think of was, "Gin. I will call you Gin. Gin for silver, like your coat."
Whatever I expected to happen after I named the horse, didn't happen. I thought that would be enough, but when I sat on Gin and tried to steer him into a direction, he wouldn't listen.
***
I didn't interrupt Niam's attempt to tame the black stallion. But when I saw that they both sat next to each other exhausted, I went over to him.
Niam still sat on top of the exhausted stallion, most likely thinking of other ways to achieve our goal.
"How did it go for you?" He asked.
"Well, Gin still doesn't listen to me." I answered.
"Gin as in silver, correct?"
"Yeah..." I said hesitantly.
"Fits well."
"And?" I asked expectant.
"Ganko." Niam answered.
"Pfff.... Hahahahahah!"
I tried to hold my laugh in, but I couldn't. 'All this time, I thought he would name his horse something like Yami or Kage, as in darkness and shadow. But Ganko? As in stubborn?! Hahahahah.'
I couldn't stop laughing. Even Ganko was confused and maybe mildly hurt. Niam on the other hand looked amused by my reaction. He didn't join me in laughing though.
"Have you calmed down, Tsuki? You eyes and face became red."
"Haha... man. Niam, I can't believe it. Of all the names you could've given your horse, you chose stubborn?"
"Hmm, I did as I said."
"We might as well call it a day, don't you think?"
"Yes. Do me a favor, bring Ganko back into the stable."
"But wouldn't..."
"He wouldn't dare. He is too exhausted also."
"Mmm, okay."
Niam stood up and walked into the direction of his grandpa's house. Ganko, the black stallion, stared at Niam until he was gone. Then, Ganko looked at me. I took a step back until he managed to get back on his feet.
It suddenly walked towards me. Not sure what to do, I reinforced my arms and shoulders with Mana. Ganko stood in front of me, towering over me. He lowered his head and... 'What is he doing?'
I expected some kind of attack. But when it never came even after a minute, I reached for his head. Surprisingly, he let me touch him.
My eyes went wide from surprise. The horse that had Niam struggling was now being pet by me. It felt unreal.
I stood next to Ganko, reached with my arm under his neck and pulled him closer to me. I then walked towards the stable. Ganko followed, not resisting in any way.
***
"Niam! Where is Niam?" I asked.
"Upstairs. What happened?" Niam's uncle asked.
'I know I shouldn't tell him anything, because even Niam said he couldn't be trusted. But I still need to tell him, they were his horses in some way.
"The black stallion listens to me." I answered.
"Impossible!"
He slammed his fist into the table, breaking it in the process.
'What is going on?!'
"What?" I asked.
"Are you lying to me, kid?! Tell me the truth! Did that damn horse really listen to you?!" He spat in anger.
I felt intimidated, he was the one that beat Niam in a fight after all.
Veins popped on his temples and his face flushed red. Whatever he was talking about made him mad to no extent. I saw people be mad countless times, but this time, the level of anger Niam's uncle was on, wasn't comparable to anything I'd seen before.
I wondered if me "taming" Ganko had something to do with it, but I couldn't tell. My mind wandered and searched for an appropriate reason to be mad about.
To my luck, Niam and his grandpa were quick to come. All the while Niam's uncle had trashed half the living room.
["Calm down, you worthless piece of shit! How dare you drown in envy in front of this young girl?! She is your daughter's age, goddamnit! Behave!"]
*Pat*
Whatever Niam's grandpa said was followed with a backhanded slap across his uncle's face. Niam's uncle held his right cheek.
The situation seemed to have been escalated but Niam's guard was still up. Having spent weeks with him, his Mana became familiar to me. I felt his Mana mixed with various intentions. It differed everytime. One's Mana changes according to its use. And this time, his Mana was filled with uncertainty.
Niam had lost his very first battle against his uncle, and now that the situation brought him and his uncle on different sides again, he wasn't sure if things would end good for us.
The past few days were the most irritating days we had to go through. There was Niam's grandpa and uncle on one side and the horses on the other. No matter what Niam's grandpa said, it was still weird for him to just accept and offer his horses to us. It may've been possible we didn't know their value of family, but still, it was all weird.
"Grandpa, I don't think we want to stay here anymore." Niam informed.
His grandpa stood broad-shouldered in front of the uncle,he turned and showed us his empty eyes.
"Why would you want to leave?" He asked.
Niam, who stood a few meters in front of me, took a few steps back and turned his head to the side to speak.
["We are in a pinch. Let's try to stay awake tonight. We must leave in the morning."]
["I tamed Ganko. He let me ride him. We ride on him."]
["You did? Really? All right, that makes things easier. From this point forward you must stay next to me, they've both gone mad."]
The grandpa's losses weighed on his mind. It was clear that he tried to replace his children with us, his mind had broken long before we had arrived. Both grandpa and uncle had lost some of their sanity. 'They're an unwanted risk.' Is what Niam would've said if not for the situation we were in.
"You are right grandpa, I'm sorry. Let me make it up for you. Me and Tsuki will prepare breakfast for you tomorrow. What do you say?"
"That sounds nice. You know where to find all the pans and plates, right?"
"Yes. I thought about making you some improvised Onigiri, a typical Japanese dish."
The grandpa smiled and dragged the uncle with him upstairs. The thick, Mana filled atmosphere returned to normal and Niam's Mana vanished from our surroundings.
["Why can't anyone be normal?"] Niam questioned.
The irony behind his words...