Despite growing up in rural New England, where it's hard to throw a stick without hitting a horse, that had just never been a part of her life. Even after living in Abraxas for over a year, and having to ride due to necessity, she's stuck with renting a mount when need be or just doubling up with someone else. But it had reached a point where that just wasn't viable, and after a series of conversations and proper lessons, she now has her own horse.
Sort of.
In actuality, Nadine now has a pony. A hardy and good sized pony, but a pony all the same. Julie had helped pick the animal out, being far more knowledgeable about horses and Nadine's needs in that regard. And a good thing, as the round little dappled mare named Dumpling is not at all what Nadine would have picked out for herself.
Now the pair are in the yard area behind the inn and stables as Nadine attempts to get comfortable with her new hoofed companion. Thankfully, Dumpling had come with tack - a simple saddle that was a good size for Nadine and a bridle already fitted to the pony. Another thing to be thankful for is that Nadine knows enough experienced horse people who can teach her how to put it all on and take it all off.
For the moment, though, Nadine is focusing on one important aspect of horsemanship. Getting on and off the horse. She's dressed for the activity, wearing her leather pants and boots and a plain white cotton shirt. And while she wishes there was a more private place to do this, it probably won't be too bad.
"Alright..." She awkwardly pats the little mare's nose. "Guess we better get used to each other, huh? You are cute..."
And supposedly very calm mannered and steady. Keeping the reins in her hand, Nadine positions herself at Dumpling's side and grabs the front bit of the saddle - she can't remember what it's called - and holds tight to steady herself as she lifts up her left foot to slip it into the stirrup. Which she can do, she finds, with how short the pony is. It's by no means a smooth step up, but she can get her foot in the stirrup.
"Okay. I can do this. I've seen Geralt and Julie do this dozens of times." It's just like stepping up...a really big step. And swinging one leg over at the top of it. Piece of cake.
Except not. Nadine manages the big step up...and ends up on her middle, draped over Dumpling's back. To the pony's credit, she doesn't move beyond glancing over her shoulder to look placidly at Nadine's rear end. At least she can scramble the rest of the way on, but it isn't pretty. There's a good deal of squirming and pulling herself and struggling to get her leg over and settled properly. But she manages it, and after a few minutes is sitting upright in the saddle with a heavy sigh.
The voice comes from the back step of the inn, where Sylvain had stepped out from a few moments earlier, just in time to see that mostly-successful attempt in mounting a horse. Other than the amusement lingering in his gaze, however, his expression only shows a friendly smile, his posture relaxed and at ease as he steps down and crosses the yard to greet... the pony.
"Hello, darling, aren't you pretty?" Hands stroke in an affectionate pet before there's a nudge of a muzzle at one of his pockets, getting a chuckle from him as he fishes out a pair of sugar cubes and offers them as a treat. "And clever, too."
The pony greeted, he glances up to cast a playful grin at the woman currently perched on her back. "You need a hand?"
"Oh...uh...it's a mechanical vehicle. No horses involved."
Nadine's look is a slightly sheepish one. But they can't all come from places where horses are the normal mode of transportation. And better to look like an idiot now, in the safety of the yard of the inn, then struggle when she finds herself in a difficult position. Again.
Dumpling seems quite happy with the attention, though true to her steady nature remains right where she's standing. Nadine certainly has no intention of actually going anywhere, she's still mastering mounting and dismounting without a stepping aide.
"And thanks, but I have to get used to doing this myself. I'm not a horse person, I'm still learning everything. This is basically homework."
She'd made a promise, after all. She can't keep relying on other people and their horses. It's just not feasible anymore.
Huh. Interesting. Sounds like something Jayce would make - not that he knows a whole lot about machines yet. His world was still very strictly in the 'horses' era. Well. Them and wyverns.
He gives Dumpling another affectionate pat before stepping back and inclining his head at her with a smile. "Well. You successfully made it up there, so you're doing better than some. Were you just practicing mounting and dismounting or are familiar with, uh, where to go from there?"
Please tell him someone has taught you how to make it go?
"Oh no, I can do the in between part. I've just always had someone boost me up or used something to climb on. And help me down."
There's a sheepish note to this admission. Nadine's been here well over a year, she ought to have learned this a long time ago. But she's learning it now. While she doubts she'll ever be any sort of skilled horsewoman, she's determined to master the basics.
"And I guess we're bonding...I just bought her a few days ago. She's a little too big to be a kid's pony, but she's pretty me-sized."
She gives the pony a pat on the neck.
"I'm Nadine. The healer with the clinic down the street."
"You know, when you're first learning, there's no reason you can't use your surroundings to your advantage." He casts her a warm smile before glancing around the yard. "It'll get easier with practice, of course - most things do - but I'll be completely honest, when I was first figuring out how to do this, I always tried to find things that made it not quite so big a haul to get up there. Like a step or the fence or a tree stump or something."
Granted, he'd been pretty little, but he didn't think the advice would hurt.
Although when the woman introduces herself his eyes light up in recognition. "Oh! Claude's mentioned you before! A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Nadine. I'm Sylvain."
"Yeah...yeah, there's nothing wrong with that when you're first learning." Nadine nods.
"I first started learning about a year ago." She's well beyond the point where she ought to be struggling, but it had always been something done when she needed to. And half the time she could just ride double with someone much more experienced, who could hoist her up and help her down.
Until something happened and her inability to mount a horse led to three people dying. Bandits - or at least armed robbers - but still. Once her lack of ability had a body count, it was time to seriously learn how to handle a mount herself.
"Oh!" Nadine also smiles in recognition. "Yeah, Claude's mentioned you. It's good to meet you."
Sylvain just shrugs at her explanation about the length of time she's been learning. "Everyone learns at their own pace. And you look perfectly comfortable up there, so none of that went to waste. I've known people who've been riding for years and they still look like they're going to slide right off the first wrong step their mount takes."
Nadine's smile has him looking playfully horrified, however, a hand held over his heart. "Shit, did he? Trust me, I'm sure whatever he claimed was greatly exaggerated."
"Thankfully I'm not too far off the ground." But Nadine does need to practice both steps, so she grabs the front of the saddle to keep herself steady and swings one leg over so she's sitting perched sideways in the saddle. It really isn't very far to the ground and she slides down with a small groan.
Well. That didn't go too badly. She'd hate to wipe out in front of an audience. Even one that's proving to be very supportive and non-judgmental.
"And don't worry about it, your name just came up when we were talking different schools of magic. I'm a healer by trade, but I dabble in Academic Magic."
He hums as he watches her, hand stroking the pony's neck to steady her just in case. His hands twitch, ready in case Nadine looked unbalanced, but she dismounts with ease and he flashes her a bright grin when she successfully manages it.
"Good job! See? You'll be an expert in no time."
The mention of magic has him cocking his head to the side, because he's surprised he came up under that topic at all. "Huh. I admit, all the magic in this place is still confusing as anything to me. I didn't dabble in it much back home, just some basics in black magic and white magic. Mostly for emergencies, one way or another."
"We were just sort of comparing different schools of magic, and how magic here and in your world is different and similar. And how magic can be handy in emergencies and things like that. He mentioned other people from his world being here."
Much of it in the context of Academic Magic, and what spells Nadine has learned so far. And how none of them are healing spells. But she'll tackle those when she feels ready. Her spells are practical ones that come in handy in daily life, which is what she's focused on.
Once upon a time she'd had the idea to focus on magic, but...certain events made her rethink that idea.
"Don't worry, no claims were made about your specific magical prowess."
That just makes him snicker as he shakes his head. "Well, that's probably a good thing, because I'm not sure I have any magical prowess. And yeah, the magic here is very different from what we knew back home."
He lifts a hand, calling up the flicker of white magic he knows how to channel and there's a faint glow around his hand, warm and soothing, but he douses it again, because he has nowhere to channel it to at the moment.
"Most of what I learned came from watching others cast it, or in emergency situations on a battlefield. Back in school, I only took the basic introductory class and never pursued it much further. Martial training kept me more than busy. Maybe how they teach it in Thorne is more with how I'm familiar with training magic, but the Free Cities seem to take a pretty unique stance on it even for this place."
He pauses and then glances over at her curiously. "I don't actually know what they use for healing magics in this place, I'm not sure I've even seen anyone wielding it. Do you know what it's like?"
"Yeah, they look at magic as an outdated and old fashioned system. I was in Thorne, for a while, when I first came here. That's where I started learning magic - it's not common in my world. Most people didn't even believe it was real."
As she talks, Nadine turns to begin untacking Dumpling, another thing she's familiarizing herself with.
"I haven't learned any healing spells myself, yet, but the ones in my book are cast the same was as any Academic spell. There's an incantation and specific elements that need to be in place for it to work. And healing spells are a little more complicated than the basics."
The basics covering what she knows and has more or less mastered. While none of the spells she knows are particularly powerful, they're useful.
He nods, thinking that over. "This might sound like a silly question, but are there people who teach that sort of thing here in Cadens or is that only in Thorne? It might be a little outdated, but that doesn't mean it's not still useful."
Especially when it comes to things like healing. If they're heading into a war, that's going to be imminently necessary anyway.
"I know they have schools and more official training for it in Thorne, but I hadn't considered what was available here in the Free Cities until now. Granted, I've been mostly stumbling face-first into what I've learned so far anyway."
"Not really. The Free Cities really emphasize relying on technology, not magic. I got some weird looks when I used magic during the search and rescue in Libertas. And most mages who move here move here for a reason." It's not the first time she's been asked this question. It would be a lot easier if there were any magic teachers around, but if there are...they aren't advertising.
"But you can find books, sometimes. That's how I've been studying it, I have an instructional book. But just the one, I'm afraid, and it's pretty basic." Once she finishes it...well, she'll have to try and track down a more advanced book, she supposes.
"You might have better luck just asking other Summoned, if you want to explore magic. A lot of them know a lot about it."
Sylvain gives a quiet sigh, raking his fingers through his hair as he frowns. "I can understand some of their reasoning, but can their technology really do the same - or as much - as a healer could with their magic, when it comes to someone wounded? I feel like you should have a better system in place before tossing out the old ways, otherwise what's the point?"
He knows firsthand what a skilled healer could accomplish, despite how dire a wound could be. He hadn't seen much evidence of that even in Libertas, even though he had fallen back on some of his white magic at the most dire times.
"I guess I will see if I can find some books, then. Claude would probably know where to find some." He muses that thoughtfully, because their room is always cluttered with books these days, he swears, every time he finds Claude he's surrounded by at least ten new ones. "But asking around to the other Summoned isn't a bad idea either. Especially since some in the other Factions might have more information on how to go about it."
He watches as she works at untacking her pony, a smile returning to play at his lips. "You're pretty good at this part, clearly. I'll let you finish with her, but if you ever need help when it comes to this sort of knowledge, at least, I'd be happy to help if you need some." He gives Dumpling another fond pat.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
nadine_he_loves) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
abraxaslogs2022-11-15 06:15 pm
Cadens, Outside Mag's Inn, Open
Despite growing up in rural New England, where it's hard to throw a stick without hitting a horse, that had just never been a part of her life. Even after living in Abraxas for over a year, and having to ride due to necessity, she's stuck with renting a mount when need be or just doubling up with someone else. But it had reached a point where that just wasn't viable, and after a series of conversations and proper lessons, she now has her own horse.
Sort of.
In actuality, Nadine now has a pony. A hardy and good sized pony, but a pony all the same. Julie had helped pick the animal out, being far more knowledgeable about horses and Nadine's needs in that regard. And a good thing, as the round little dappled mare named Dumpling is not at all what Nadine would have picked out for herself.
Now the pair are in the yard area behind the inn and stables as Nadine attempts to get comfortable with her new hoofed companion. Thankfully, Dumpling had come with tack - a simple saddle that was a good size for Nadine and a bridle already fitted to the pony. Another thing to be thankful for is that Nadine knows enough experienced horse people who can teach her how to put it all on and take it all off.
For the moment, though, Nadine is focusing on one important aspect of horsemanship. Getting on and off the horse. She's dressed for the activity, wearing her leather pants and boots and a plain white cotton shirt. And while she wishes there was a more private place to do this, it probably won't be too bad.
"Alright..." She awkwardly pats the little mare's nose. "Guess we better get used to each other, huh? You are cute..."
And supposedly very calm mannered and steady. Keeping the reins in her hand, Nadine positions herself at Dumpling's side and grabs the front bit of the saddle - she can't remember what it's called - and holds tight to steady herself as she lifts up her left foot to slip it into the stirrup. Which she can do, she finds, with how short the pony is. It's by no means a smooth step up, but she can get her foot in the stirrup.
"Okay. I can do this. I've seen Geralt and Julie do this dozens of times." It's just like stepping up...a really big step. And swinging one leg over at the top of it. Piece of cake.
Except not. Nadine manages the big step up...and ends up on her middle, draped over Dumpling's back. To the pony's credit, she doesn't move beyond glancing over her shoulder to look placidly at Nadine's rear end. At least she can scramble the rest of the way on, but it isn't pretty. There's a good deal of squirming and pulling herself and struggling to get her leg over and settled properly. But she manages it, and after a few minutes is sitting upright in the saddle with a heavy sigh.
"Why hasn't this world invented cars yet?"
no subject
The voice comes from the back step of the inn, where Sylvain had stepped out from a few moments earlier, just in time to see that mostly-successful attempt in mounting a horse. Other than the amusement lingering in his gaze, however, his expression only shows a friendly smile, his posture relaxed and at ease as he steps down and crosses the yard to greet... the pony.
"Hello, darling, aren't you pretty?" Hands stroke in an affectionate pet before there's a nudge of a muzzle at one of his pockets, getting a chuckle from him as he fishes out a pair of sugar cubes and offers them as a treat. "And clever, too."
The pony greeted, he glances up to cast a playful grin at the woman currently perched on her back. "You need a hand?"
no subject
Nadine's look is a slightly sheepish one. But they can't all come from places where horses are the normal mode of transportation. And better to look like an idiot now, in the safety of the yard of the inn, then struggle when she finds herself in a difficult position. Again.
Dumpling seems quite happy with the attention, though true to her steady nature remains right where she's standing. Nadine certainly has no intention of actually going anywhere, she's still mastering mounting and dismounting without a stepping aide.
"And thanks, but I have to get used to doing this myself. I'm not a horse person, I'm still learning everything. This is basically homework."
She'd made a promise, after all. She can't keep relying on other people and their horses. It's just not feasible anymore.
"Thankfully Dumpling is very patient."
no subject
He gives Dumpling another affectionate pat before stepping back and inclining his head at her with a smile. "Well. You successfully made it up there, so you're doing better than some. Were you just practicing mounting and dismounting or are familiar with, uh, where to go from there?"
Please tell him someone has taught you how to make it go?
no subject
There's a sheepish note to this admission. Nadine's been here well over a year, she ought to have learned this a long time ago. But she's learning it now. While she doubts she'll ever be any sort of skilled horsewoman, she's determined to master the basics.
"And I guess we're bonding...I just bought her a few days ago. She's a little too big to be a kid's pony, but she's pretty me-sized."
She gives the pony a pat on the neck.
"I'm Nadine. The healer with the clinic down the street."
no subject
Granted, he'd been pretty little, but he didn't think the advice would hurt.
Although when the woman introduces herself his eyes light up in recognition. "Oh! Claude's mentioned you before! A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Nadine. I'm Sylvain."
no subject
"I first started learning about a year ago." She's well beyond the point where she ought to be struggling, but it had always been something done when she needed to. And half the time she could just ride double with someone much more experienced, who could hoist her up and help her down.
Until something happened and her inability to mount a horse led to three people dying. Bandits - or at least armed robbers - but still. Once her lack of ability had a body count, it was time to seriously learn how to handle a mount herself.
"Oh!" Nadine also smiles in recognition. "Yeah, Claude's mentioned you. It's good to meet you."
no subject
Nadine's smile has him looking playfully horrified, however, a hand held over his heart. "Shit, did he? Trust me, I'm sure whatever he claimed was greatly exaggerated."
no subject
Well. That didn't go too badly. She'd hate to wipe out in front of an audience. Even one that's proving to be very supportive and non-judgmental.
"And don't worry about it, your name just came up when we were talking different schools of magic. I'm a healer by trade, but I dabble in Academic Magic."
no subject
"Good job! See? You'll be an expert in no time."
The mention of magic has him cocking his head to the side, because he's surprised he came up under that topic at all. "Huh. I admit, all the magic in this place is still confusing as anything to me. I didn't dabble in it much back home, just some basics in black magic and white magic. Mostly for emergencies, one way or another."
no subject
Much of it in the context of Academic Magic, and what spells Nadine has learned so far. And how none of them are healing spells. But she'll tackle those when she feels ready. Her spells are practical ones that come in handy in daily life, which is what she's focused on.
Once upon a time she'd had the idea to focus on magic, but...certain events made her rethink that idea.
"Don't worry, no claims were made about your specific magical prowess."
no subject
He lifts a hand, calling up the flicker of white magic he knows how to channel and there's a faint glow around his hand, warm and soothing, but he douses it again, because he has nowhere to channel it to at the moment.
"Most of what I learned came from watching others cast it, or in emergency situations on a battlefield. Back in school, I only took the basic introductory class and never pursued it much further. Martial training kept me more than busy. Maybe how they teach it in Thorne is more with how I'm familiar with training magic, but the Free Cities seem to take a pretty unique stance on it even for this place."
He pauses and then glances over at her curiously. "I don't actually know what they use for healing magics in this place, I'm not sure I've even seen anyone wielding it. Do you know what it's like?"
no subject
As she talks, Nadine turns to begin untacking Dumpling, another thing she's familiarizing herself with.
"I haven't learned any healing spells myself, yet, but the ones in my book are cast the same was as any Academic spell. There's an incantation and specific elements that need to be in place for it to work. And healing spells are a little more complicated than the basics."
The basics covering what she knows and has more or less mastered. While none of the spells she knows are particularly powerful, they're useful.
no subject
Especially when it comes to things like healing. If they're heading into a war, that's going to be imminently necessary anyway.
"I know they have schools and more official training for it in Thorne, but I hadn't considered what was available here in the Free Cities until now. Granted, I've been mostly stumbling face-first into what I've learned so far anyway."
no subject
"But you can find books, sometimes. That's how I've been studying it, I have an instructional book. But just the one, I'm afraid, and it's pretty basic." Once she finishes it...well, she'll have to try and track down a more advanced book, she supposes.
"You might have better luck just asking other Summoned, if you want to explore magic. A lot of them know a lot about it."
no subject
He knows firsthand what a skilled healer could accomplish, despite how dire a wound could be. He hadn't seen much evidence of that even in Libertas, even though he had fallen back on some of his white magic at the most dire times.
"I guess I will see if I can find some books, then. Claude would probably know where to find some." He muses that thoughtfully, because their room is always cluttered with books these days, he swears, every time he finds Claude he's surrounded by at least ten new ones. "But asking around to the other Summoned isn't a bad idea either. Especially since some in the other Factions might have more information on how to go about it."
He watches as she works at untacking her pony, a smile returning to play at his lips. "You're pretty good at this part, clearly. I'll let you finish with her, but if you ever need help when it comes to this sort of knowledge, at least, I'd be happy to help if you need some." He gives Dumpling another fond pat.