Disclaimer: I don't own anything that Tamora Pierce does.
Summary: This is about Tobe and his life after he has finished serving Kel for four years. He is now 15 years old and will be trained by Stefan in his wild magic. After he has finished his training, he will join up with the Queen's Riders. There will be romance, but it will not be between Tobe and someone else; it won't play a very big part in the story, but I decided to add it. The PG-13 is just for some scrambles with raiders, no sexual content. I might be writing another story about a character from this work, to show their point of view and their story.
Two people on horseback plodded into the yard in front of the stables. They both dismounted. A tall, brown-haired and muscular woman walked over to the shorter blond boy. She clapped a hand on his shoulder. "Nervous?" she asked the boy, hazel eyes worried.
The boy looked at her, blue eyes affronted. "No," he said defiantly. He ran his fingers through his blond hair. It was newly trimmed to the tops of his ears, and close-cut everywhere below that.
Kel, the tall companion of the boy, looked at him and shrugged. They both walked into the stables. Kel whistled a short tune as the boy, Tobeis Boon, looked around at all the horses stabled here.
A portly man with straw-like hair and bulging eyes climbed nimbly down from the loft. He inclined his head a bit at the sight of the lady knight. "Afternoon, miss. Is this the boy you writ me about?"
Keladry nodded. "Indeed he is." She nudged Tobe with her foot, signaling for him to introduce himself.
"Tobeis Boon, sir," he said quickly.
"I ain't a sir, Tobeis, just Stefan."
Tobe nodded, and said, "And I'm just Tobe, Stefan."
Kel grinned. "Well, I suppose I had best be leaving you now." The boy nodded, and then hugged his tall companion.
"'Bye, Lady," he said sadly.
"G'bye, Tobe," she said simply. The boy noticed she had a sad note to her voice, and her smile was slightly artificial. She walked away, with a final wave to Tobe, gathering up the horse he was riding, Peachblossom, and her other mount, Hoshi.
Stefan interrupted Tobe of his quiet bereavement by walking up to him.
"Well, first of all, we gotta find you a place t' stay," he said. "I can git you a room in the palace or you can bunk in the lofts or summat."
Tobe nodded up at Stefan, who was a bit taller than his own five feet and six inches. "I'll stay up in the lofts, if it's all the same to you." The hostler nodded.
"Well, take your self and your pack up there and set up. Do you have a pallet to sleep on?"
"Yes," Tobe replied with a grunt as he lifted up his pack that held his belongings. Slinging the pack around his shoulders, he ascended the ladder.
Head poking up through the ceiling entrance to the loft, he saw mountains of hay. He climbed fully in and dumped his pack, and walked around, trying to find a clear space to lay his bedroll and belongings.
Finding a suitable place, he unrolled his bedroll and placed his basket and the head of it. The basket-pack had his clothing, teeth cleaning kit, and other necessities in it, as well as a few personal belongings. That done, the boy walked over to the ladder, descended, and stood a few feet away from Stefan, a bit unsure of what to do with himself.
'I think this is known as an awkward situation,' the boy thought to himself, chewing on his lip.
The hostler nodded at him. "Help me muck out the stables?" he requested. Tobe acquiesced, getting right down into that nitty-gritty, an all too-familiar job.
"I s'pose you know why ye are here," the hostler said, mumbling slightly.
"Yes," replied the fifteen-year old. "I'm to work here until I can join the Riders in the fall. Till then you'll teach me my wild magic with horses." The hostler nodded.
"Right. We'll do stable work in the mornings, and I'll learn you some magic in the evenings."
Tobe nodded. Inside he was gamboling with joy. While he had learned basic skill and control when serving Kel, he had always longed to know the full extent of his power. Now he would.
The afternoon passed, and when it was done and they had their evening meal, Stefan beckoned Tobe over to an empty stable. "Now sit here, boy, and get comf'torble. We're gonna be sittin' here for a while." Tobe did as he was bid. "I'm gonna teach you meditation. It frees the mind and orders it around, like, so it's an important first step. Breathe in, slow, and out, slow, emptying your mind. Arrange yerself, and don't think of nothin.'"
Now, as we all know, if someone tells you not to think of something, you immediately think of it. Don't think about pink elephants! Don't!
Aha. You just thought of them didn't you? Shame on you.
And that was why it was hard for Tobe to think of nothing. Odd thoughts tumbled in his mind, memories, speculations; speculations such as, "Hey, isn't nothing something? After all, it's there, kind of, even though it's not…Wait."
Poor boy. Pity him.
He tried. He really did. A valiant effort was made to think of nothing, even if nothing is something. He managed it for a few minutes, but then lost it. This went on and on.
"I reckon we're done now, young sir. We've been at it for near an hour or so."
'Praise ye, Mithros, lord of Sun,' Tobe thought, thankful to get away from the something-nothing concept.
It had been an eventful day.
Author's note: Hello, this is my first fanfic! I've had it in my head for a while, and I finally got the nerve to write it down. I would really, really appreciate it if you reviewed; don't spare me either. If it's terrible, tell me. Point out what's wrong with it. It would really help. Thanks! (I also like compliments.)