Horses, Harts, and Halla

Allandra had thanked Master Dennet for the gift of the very fine chestnut mare, a small token of his willingness to help once a few...conditions had been met.

There's always something...came the tired thought, with as little annoyance as possible. Still, its not like she could have simply demanded the horses right there. Well, she -could- have, but she already had a tough enough time with these shems flip-flopping between her being some Chosen of their Maker and wanting to call her knife-ear and telling her to clean something up.

Still, she eyed the horse, it was a magnificent beast. A lot bigger than she was used to. The legs were strong and sure, eyes clear, teeth sound.

The scouts had cared for the creature back at camp until they had returned to Haven, where it was stabled.

Thusly, that was where Allandra found herself now, out at the stables, in the snow, staring up to meet the mare's dark gaze. The horse, though mostly calm, pranced a bit every now and then, turning a wary eye to the dark wolf that sat at the Dalish elf's feet.

"You're beautiful, but you're rather big, you know." She whispered to the horse finally, reaching up to pet the patch of white on her face. The horse snorted in response, almost skeptically. Laughing lightly, Allandra hadn't noticed someone join her at the stables.

"That horse is worth a small fortune to most Ferelden families. Don't see a beast like that unless you're a knight who's won a few tournies." Allandra started slightly, turning her blue eyes to the man next to her. Cullen offered a lopsided smile and a chuckle.

"I did not mean to frighten you." He dipped his head towards the Dalish. Allandra returned the smile with a small one of her own. For a shem, he didn't seem terrible. The Commander was larger than most humans she had seen – the armor didn't really help any. Even so, the golden 'curly' hair ( the nickname Varric had dubbed Cullen with rather did amuse Allandra ) softened him some, and his smile was rather pleasing.

Allandra cast a look down to her wolf companion, who simply stood and nudged Cullen in greeting. Bloody animal, you've turned into a fine watchdog you have, she thought with some annoyed amusement. Cullen, to his credit, gave the hunting beast a scratch behind the ears before the wolf returned to its mistress' side.

"It – you didn't, not really. I was simply...getting to know her." Allandra replied, clearing her throat. Wouldn't do to let him know he HAD startled her, even slightly. Cullen followed her gaze back up to the horse, who he offered a hand to. The horse sniffed said offered hand, nudging it slightly with her nose. "She's a fine beast. It was good of the horsemaster to gift her to me."

"Have you named her?"

"No."

"All good horses need a name." Cullen chuckled. The sound sent a funny little shiver down Allandra's spine.

The Dalish huntress cleared her throat, eyeing the mare again. Something must have given her away, as Cullen propped an elbow on the fence, turning towards the Herald.

" Have you ever ridden before?" He asked her, eyeing the Dalish as if studying her. It made her nervous, but there was that funny tingle again. That needed to go away.

Allandra, not one to back down, propped an elbow of her own on the stable fence, and eyed him in turn. Honey brown met blue, and the elf quirked a brow.

"Of -course- I've ridden before, Commander. What gives you the idea I hadn't?"

Commander Cullen shrugged. "You seemed a bit wary, is all."

Allandra blinked. They had spoken a few times, certainly, and Allandra couldn't honestly say she hadn't enjoyed talking with the human – even if most of the conversations ended with Allandra getting a good chuckle at Cullen's expense – but it continued to surprise her how he never spoke down to her, as most humans did to elves. He spoke to her with respect, as an equal.

Brown locks brushed Allandra's face as she tilted her head, chewing her lip in thought. "She's...bigger than anything I've ridden. Well – certainly bigger than most halla. Harts have the height of the mare, but not the..." she frowned; the Herald had not intended on admitting this to the commander. Even so, her thought trailed off, and she gestured with her arms for the width.

"Not quite the bulk of the horse?" He offered.

"Yes, that."

"Mm. The only way to get used to it is to ride her, really. If you're frightened, she'll know it."

A brow raised again, Allandra making a new appraisal of Cullen. "I did not realize you were so studied in...horses." Mischief tugged at her lips, making a grin. "Perhaps you should have hired on as horsemaster, hm?"

The comment earned a laugh from Cullen, and Allandra found herself laughing in turn. He had a nice laugh, she mused. "I think I really am better suited where I am, Herald. But you should try riding her around the grounds a bit, get to know her that way, rather than with a fence between you."

"Would you join me?" The words blurted out before she could stop herself, but she could not take it back now.

Cullen took a turn to tilt his head curiously. "I—If you like, Herald." He fidgeted, which again amused Allandra, and put her back at ease. At the Herald's feet, her hunting wolf eyed the two curiously, tail wagging. Finally, the wolf trotted off a ways before claiming a spot on a boulder not far away from the pair.

The stableboy must have heard, because two horses were brought out of the pens. Allandra's mare, and a larger black stallion. The small elf, petite as she was, let her eyes widen at the size of the stallion, which stood even bigger than her mare.

"How much bigger do they get?" She stood next to the mare, eyeing the saddle with some skepticism. With a deep breath to brace herself, she put foot in stirrup, and managed to hoist herself up into the saddle.

She noticed Cullen watching – how had he gotten mounted on that giant horse so fast? – and got a nod in return.

"There are some horses, I've heard, that can get nearly a head or two bigger than mine. But they are farther north." He replied, waiting patiently as she settled in, adjusting the bow and quiver at her back, then the daggers at her side. "Did they show you how to handle the reins?"

She shook her head. Cullen nudged his stallion over closer, leaning over to adjust her hands, all the while instructing her how they were suppose to be used. It was hard not to notice just how close they were – a fact that Allandra quickly squashed like a bug, forcing herself to pay attention to what he was explaining instead.

Several nods and questions later, he leaned away, settling back into his own saddle. A small frown formed at Allandra's lips; it shouldn't have been so cold with him sitting back where he was suppose to be.

"So, to get them going, a gentle nudge with your ankle like so usually does the trick. Or with the reins. Its all in how you train them to respond." If he noticed her frowning, Cullen didn't say so. Rather, he demonstrated what he meant, and the large stallion started trotting obediently.

Allandra followed suit, nuding the brown mare with her heels – and yelped, slinging forward to wrap her arms around the beast's neck as she took off into a run. Mentally, the Dalish cursed the bloody beast for being to used to human's and not listening. In vain the poor Herald tugged at the reins in a futile effort to get her to stop or slow down or -something-.

It took a few minutes, but the blasted beast finally trotted herself to a happy halt. Not far behind her, a second set of hooves slowed to a halt as well, echoed by the amused sound of laughter. Allandra glared over her shoulder at Cullen. The laughing fades soon enough, and the quiet that replaces it is deafening.

Creators save me, I am not going to gush over the shem, Allandra snapped to herself. Ugh, she was fully grown, marked with her vallaslin, not an unmarked da'len of the clan. She should know better.

"It seems your girl is rather excitable. You two suit each other." He remarked, chuckling a bit; Cullen's amusement only rose when she continued to shoot looks of irritation at him. The glares broke when Allandra took a moment to look around – her mare hadn't gone far, at least. They were down in a valley just a distance from Haven.

Hopefully Cassandra does not send a search party for me, a voice whispered in her mind.

Finally, she righted herself, and took hold of the reins as he had shown her before. "Are you going to laugh at me all day, or tell me what I did wrong..?" Her ears twitched lightly under her hair, and she fought in vain to force down a blush of embarassment. Allandra's sharp eyes followed his every move as he dismounted, tying his horse off to a nearby tree. Snow crunched under his heavy plate boots as he walked towards her.

"The reins control the horse. You give to much slack, they'll take it for freedom, and run. Here," he replied finally, holding a hand up for the reins. Once Allandra understood what he wanted, she released the leather strips.

A gentle tug was all it took, and Cullen had the mare walking behind him. "She has to understand who is in charge – who is leading her. If you give her the lead, she will take you wherever she wills, and it probably won't be where you want to go at all." The former templar led the brown mare around in a circle, and she stepped behind quietly.

Allandra was quiet for a time. With her hands free and Cullen guiding the horse, she was free to get a feel for how the horse really moved. There was a slight bounce, a rhythm she finally found as the beast walked which, as she got used to it, wasn't terribly different from a halla's patient gait.

"A hart or a halla would still be better suited. More nimble than your horses," she muttered at last, breaking the comfortable silence the two shared. "Not so frightened of wolves either."

From his position in front of the mare, Cullen cast a quick look over his shoulder to Allandra. "Really now?"

"Mm – well, as long as they are introduced to the wolf, of course. They do not like wild ones. Few clans now raise wolves now. Some do, of course. The halla are also smaller, more suited to us. They are nimbler, and they know their way through a forest. They are friends of the People, and..." she trailed off, shaking her head to loose the thoughts.

She looked over just in time to catch a look from the golden-haired commander, once the dalish couldn't quite decipher. "Ma serranas – Thank you, Commander, for helping me with horse-riding. Perhaps I should try again."

"Cullen, if you please, Herald." He offered her a smile then, not the lopsided awkward smiles she had seen before, but something different. A bit softer, a bit more sincere.

Allandra could not help but find herself a bit more relaxed then. She was getting to know the templar – former, she had to remind herself – and was finding, more and more, that she rather enjoyed his company. As he handed her back the reins, their hands brushed briefly, and there again was that funny little tingle again.

Maybe she didn't mind it so much after all.

"Allandra, then. If you please, Cullen." She gave a small nod of thanks, situating the leather strips. A bird caw drew her attention away, pulling her gaze upwards to a sky bathed in reds and deep blues. "Perhaps we should ride back now? I am sure Cassandra has scoured all of haven for the both of us twice over by now."

There was a thump nearby as Cullen reseated himself on his stallion. "As you like. It is probably best we head back anyway, before it gets dark." This time, Allandra gave a small nudge, and kept a good hold on the reins, and her horse trotted a bit more obediently this time.

The pair rode on for a few minutes in silence, silently enjoying the company of the other. Of course, the Herald was bracing herself for the beast to try to take off in another run at any second.

"Have you given any thought to a name for her?" Cullen asked at last, curiously.

Allandra thought for a moment, head tilted as the last rays of light danced across her face.

"I have." She nodded, a twinkle in her eye and a grin at her lips again. "Samahl."

Cullen blinked, mulling the word over. "Sam—Samahl? What does that mean? If I may ask."

Allandra took a turn to laugh. "Perhaps I shall tell you if you beat me back to Haven." With a wink, this time she nudged her horse to a gallop, and then yelped as she clung to the horse the rest of the way up the path.

Cullen blinked, shook his head, and nudged his horse into a gallop. Surely, he could beat the Herald back to Haven, at the least.

Right?

Fin

It has been a while since I really wrote anything, but Inquisition has had me rather inspired. So here's a little ficlet, inspired by my Dalish Inquisitor receiving the horse from Horsemaster Dennet. I thought 'what would the difference be between riding a halla and a horse?'

Slight spoiler: One of the Codex entries mentions how some of the Dalish used to have wolf companions. One of my favorite specialty rogue classes in Origins was Ranger, so I was rather sad it wasn't brought into Inquisition. Thusly, I have a headcanon that my Inquisitor, being a huntress, had a wolf companion.

Ma Serannas – thank you, appreciative

Samahl – Laughter

- all translations come from here.