"Hmmm." Kip turned his gaze to the zeta standing beside him, his eyes lighting up as he thought of a solution. "Syri, why don't you come and watch as I stable Tryst? It will show you some of what we do, so you won't have too big of a day tomorrow. How does that sound? You down?"
Syri readily nodded his head. He would take every opportunity to learn about his duties.
"Great. Follow me, then," Kip said as he crossed the common room and entered the opposing hallway.
"Are you the new guy?" Ibbi asked as he looked up at the zeta who was walking beside him. Syri turned to look at the small omega and nodded his head in reply. "I'm Ibbimon, but you can call me Ibbi!" The boy introduced himself lively with a smile.
"I'm Syri," the zeta answered softly as the two bowed at each other in greeting.
"Nice to meet you, Syri! I'll be working with you in the stables. There are ten of us all together, but you won't have to meet everyone until tomorrow. We don't want to overload you just yet." Ibbi smiled up at the zeta as he talked to the quiet pink-haired who smiled slightly and nodded in response. "Kip is the prince's vorst's main caretaker, and Tryst's main caretaker is not here today, so Kip is the best one to stable the captain's vorst."
Syri nodded as he took in the information. The three had exited the corridor and were now making their way to the royal stables. The beta, zeta, and omega walked over the soft dirt as they crossed the expansive courtyard and approached the impressive stables.
"Hoiii! Kip!! Ibbi!" A feminine voice called out as the three reached the entrance to the massive steed housing.
"Bevy!" Kip waved as he quickly reached the alpha holding the brown vorst's reins.
"Thanks for coming," the female alpha said to the beta as she handed Kip the reins. "Calix isn't here, so we thought you would be the best to bring Tryst in."
"Mm," Kip sounded in agreement. "Thanks for getting me." The beta turned from the alpha and began stroking his hand on the vorst's muzzle. "Hiya, Tryst. How ya doing, buddy? Looks like you've had a long day. Why don't we get you all cleaned and ready to rest, hm?" Kip's voice was gentle as he slowly began leading the vorst into the stables. "How was his condition when he came in, Bev?" The beta inquired of the alpha as he brought Tryst to a large stall positioned toward the end of the long hall.
"Both he and the prince were exhausted," Bevy answered as she, Ibbi, and Syri slowly followed the beta and vorst.
"The prince came in with Tryst?" Ibbi inquired of the alpha as he cocked his head to the side.
Syri let out a silent breath of relief as he heard the alpha's words. He's back.
"Mm. The captain ran alongside Tryst in his wolf form," Bevy added.
"Wow. That's...unusual," Ibbi commented as Kip successfully led Tryst into the wide stall.
"Ibbi, grab the bucket, will you?" Kip requested of the omega as he began removing the vorst's saddle.
"Sure thing!" The omega whirled around and ran off toward the entrance while Kip finished removing the saddle and brought it out of the stall. Bevy took the saddle from the beta, so Kip could remove the bridle. Syri watched every step with intent as Kip took the bit out of the vorst's mouth and slipped the bridle off Tryst's muzzle.
It was only a few moments until Ibbi returned with two buckets of water in each hand.
"Thanks for prepping the stall," Kip thanked the omega as Ibbi brought the first bucket inside the stall for the steed to quench his thirst. Ibbi beamed at the compliment and readily took the bridle from the beta's hands. Syri watched as Ibbi exited the stall with the bridle while Bevy came with two brushes."Syri, wanna help me brush him off?" Kip inquired of the zeta as Bevy handed him a brush.
"Sure," Syri answered with a nod as the alpha handed him the second brush. The zeta followed the beta's motion to enter the stall and came to stand beside Kip who had begun to run his brush along the steed's thick fur.
"Follow my motions, go slowly and gently, and go in one direction," Kip instructed the zeta as Syri watched the beta intently. After observing Kip's brushstrokes for a few moments, Syri lifted his brush and began gently bringing it along the vorst's side. "Good, good," Kip voiced in approval of the zeta. "You can go a little bit faster," the beta instructed as Tryst lifted his head from the bucket, leaving it empty.
Syri heeded Kip's comment and lightly increased the speed of his strokes. After a good while, the steed had been brushed, and Syri exited the stall while Bevy entered with a longer brush and bucket of soapy water. Soon, a trail of buckets lined the outside of the stalls as the alpha and beta cleaned the vorst. Ibbi then went in and cleaned the stall as Kip and Bevy dried the steed before Syri and the beta did another round of brushing the vorst's fur.
An ample supply of hay was placed inside the stall, and a thin piece of fabric was draped over the steed to help him continue to dry before the four sat to catch their breaths. The four had gathered in a room designated for the workers and were drinking refreshing cups of water while they rested. Syri looked around the break room to see several empty chairs. "Where are the others?" The zeta inquired of the beta who was sitting next to him.
"They are with the first half of steeds in the fields. There are so many that we have to rotate them for field time. You will work with Bevy, Ibbi, Calix, and me tomorrow when we take our half of the steeds to the field in the morning," Kip answered before going on to explain, "There are five of us on each team, and there are five vorst. The evening team has three; we have two. They are quite a handful when they're riled up. But I doubt they'll be too much to handle in the morning. Both Tryst and Ajax have had a busy past few days."
"Oh, tell me about it!" Ibbi joined in. "I had never saddled Tryst so fast in my life! Calix was working like lightning just to get Tryst to the captain on time."
"Same!" Bevy responded with a huff. "If Ajax was not the best steed in the world, it would have been impossible to get him ready in time."
Syri's brows furrowed as he looked at the four in slight confusion. Kip let out a small chuckle when he saw Syri's expression. "The prince and captain needed Tryst and Ajax for something urgent, so we had to saddle them in record time," the beta explained. "As soon as their steeds were ready, the prince and captain took off like bolts of lightning."
"I wonder what was so urgent," Bevy contemplated before taking another drink from her cup.
Syri pursed his lips as he realized the prince's efforts in order to go and save him. The zeta understood at that moment how hard Jae had tried to keep him safe. 'How will I truly be able to pay you back, Prince? You have done too much for me...'