Disclaimer: It's probably quite clear that I have no ownership claims to the characters, world, etc. I'm simply playing in the world Ms. Pierce created.
Author's Notes: Written for the LJ community tammy-drabbles, prompt #42 – "firsts."
"Before the Fall"
They say it takes a few good falls to make a rider.
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"All right. Get on."
The look Miri turned on her would have rivaled a deer's, caught in the hunter's sight. "But I never—"
The girl caught the saddle full in the stomach. Her hands flew out, luckily grabbing fistfuls of mane. Buri let go of the trainee's leg—ever so useful a body part for unprecedented boosting—and it groped around before catching in a stirrup. Then the other swung up and over, dragging awkwardly across the pony's rump. When the animal shifted its weight the girl flinched, but she held on with a grim set to her mouth. She pushed herself into sitting upright.
"Right. Both feet in the stirrups? Good. Pick up the reins, keep your butt in that saddle, and you'll be fine as long as you remember everything I told you."
With that last instruction, Buri gave the pony a hearty slap on the hindquarters. The gods-be-damned beast flung its head up, tucked its haunches under itself, and jumped off with a squeal loud enough to wake the dead. She watched the retreating behind of the pony for a moment before looking down at the girl, sprawled and scowling, in the dirt at her feet.
She sighed.
"We have a lot of work to do."
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