"Okay, Y'asabu, I know we haven't gotten… along these years, but we'll have to work together for the sake of the clan, okay?"
Y'asabu merely snorted and turned his back on Inzo, earning a groan of dismay from the young Sangheili.
They only had three days before the race, and Y'asabu didn't seem willing to cooperate. He didn't know if it was to spite him, or he simply didn't like him. Inzo was starting to think it was a combination of both factors.
The council had decreed it last night, apparently on suggestion from his father. Inzo still had a hard time believing it, considering Thel hadn't been very keen on him approaching the Hundara at all until he learned to be 'more patient'. Apparently, Inzo himself had more chances of being accepted by Y'asabu in so little time, being directly related to the Hudara's master, than a complete stranger.
The House of 'Vadam counted on him, and he was not going to let them down.
Inzo wondered if this was how his father felt in his youth.
"Come on, Y'asabu!" Inzo cried out at the Hundara's rear in dismay, from a considerable distance. "Is this because you don't like me?"
Y'asabu gave a snort, apparently a sort of positive reply, and lay down on the ground to take a small break.
Inzo took a few tentative steps forward. "Well, could you open your maw and tell me what's wrong?"
This time, Y'asabu lifted his head and spread out his mandibles, but no sound came out. Apparently he took it the literal way.
"That doesn't help!"
Y'asabu lay his head down again.
"Dad's going to kill me…"Inzo thought in dismay. This was pretty ironic; all his life he had wanted to prove that he was capable of riding an Hundara, and now that he had the chance it seemed that fate had other ideas and made everything possible to pull him further from it.
He had learned that he should never try to get on top of a Hundara without its permission, or the consequences could be deadly. Zyko once told him it happened to one of his brothers when he recklessly attempted to mount a yet untrained Hundara, and dishonored himself in the process upon receiving a sharp swipe from the talons.
Speaking of Zyko, he didn't speak much about his clan's Hundara, or who would ride her, but he guessed it was natural. Usually, the clans never talked about the Hundara they'd enter the race with or its rider, to avoid giving their opponents any hints. The mount was revealed a few weeks before the race, but not the rider's name.
He tried to remember Khysan's advice.
Never let them smell fear or insecurity, or they'll interpret it as weakness and take advantage of it.
It was easier said than done, though, considering Y'asabu has quite the fearsome reputation.
He wished Hannah were here to give him some moral support, or at the very least play that instrument from before to keep him distracted while he got on top of him.
Or…
"Hey, Y'asabu." Inzo called out to the black Hundara. "Did you like the instrument Hannah was playing?"
Y'asabu lifted his head, interested.
"Well, she's going to participate in the race." Inzo said. "And I imagine she's going to take that instrument with her to play it for her horse. Wouldn't you like to hear it again?"
Sadly, it seemed this wasn't enough of a reason to motivate him, since he lay his head down back on the ground, snorting.
"Okay, negotiating didn't work, I better think of something else…" Inzo muttered under his breath as he wandered around the corral, warily glancing over at Y'asabu in case he decided to give him a fright.
He had to find a way to convince him to let him ride him, at least for this race. He didn't know why his father changed his mind out of sudden, but he would not let this chance go to waste if it meant he could prove himself to him, and to the whole clan. If only he could find a way... he overheard something going on around the stalls, and noted a few of the younger warriors were chatting amongst themselves, but they looked… worried.
Curious, Inzo approached. "What's going on?"
"Did you hear, Inzo?" a young female, who was naturally shorter than him, inquired. "House of 'Kazum has entered Khaxe for the race."
Inzo gulped internally. "Khaxe? You mean the white Hundara with blood red eyes and an attitude that matches?"
"That one." A slightly older Sangheili stated.
Khaze was almost as famous as Y'asabu, if not a bit more. She was a large white Hundara-the rarest color of all-with eyes as red as… human blood. The reason of her notoriety was different, however; thought she had never been able to truly compete against Y'asabu's speed, she was a very endurable Hundara, and had a cunning intelligence.
But the worst part was her temper: she was very aggressive, even for a Hundara. She could not be handled by hand, because she'd tear the whole limb off, and she killed whatever was in sight. Only a few Sangheili from the House of 'Kazum had been fortunate enough to ride her and live to tell the tale.
Inzo remembered seeing her as a child, during a past Race, exchanging snarls and growls with Y'asabu. It seemed like they had a mutual dislike of each other, maybe because the houses they belonged to were also rivals in many things.
However, Inzo sometimes heard the Elders discuss about the head of House 'Kazum asking the Arbiter to breed Y'asabu and Khaxe to obtain a 'perfect' Hundara, a combination of both bloodlines. Apparently, the Elders had dividing opinions (how unusual) about the matter; one half thought that perhaps breeding Y'asabu would mellow him out to some extent, while the other agreed with Thel that doing so would only give the House of K'azum a potential advantage over their clan.
This gave him an idea. Y'asabu was very proud, especially when it came to competing against her in particular, and he would not bear to lose against her under any circumstances.
Leaving his brethren to keep talking about the other racers, he returned to Y'asabu's corral, and as always he didn't receive even a glance of acknowledgement.
"Hey, Y'asabu, guess what?" he said, chiming his voice the way he had heard Hannah and the others talk when they wanted something from another person. "Do you know who will be competing in the race?
Y'asabu snorted, uninterested.
"Okay, so you're not interested? Too bad, perhaps this year Khaze will win the race." He made sure to pronounce the white Hundara's name loud enough for him to hear.
Inzo got the reaction he wanted: Y'asabu lifted his head with a growl when he heard his rival's name.
"That's right, Khaze the albino will race, and without you there, she'll probably win the race, and you probably understand what they're going to say afterwards."
Y'asabu got on his feet and stamped his wide talons on the ground, hissing angrily. Inzo grinned internally, now he had something to work on, he just needed to pick the right words to persuade him.
"You're not the only one who wants to prove something here. I want to prove to my clan, and my father, that I'm as capable as anyone! And you don't want to lose against Khaze under any circumstances. If you think about it, it'll suit us both to win this race. Afterwards, we can go back to hating each other, what do you say?"
Y'asabu had been staring at him intently as he spoke, not moving an inch. A while later, he turned and sat down in a posture to allow the rider to…
Wait, did this mean….?
Tentatively, Inzo made his way into the fence, and Y'asabu didn't show any signs of aggression, which gave the young Sangheili enough confidence to walk closer to and closer to the Hundara. By the time he was next to Y'asabu, he made sure not to show his uncertainty. This didn't seem like a prank; Y'asabu did not prank like this, he went straight for the kill.
Y'asabu still didn't make any aggressive moves. Finally, Inzo gathered all the courage he had and mounted the animal, not doubting it for a second. As soon as he felt Inzo's weight, Y'asabu rose back to his feet. Inzo's brethren soon saw what was happening, and approached the fence in utter shock and awe, surprised that Y'asabu had allowed anyone other than Thel on his back. A few were even wagering amongst themselves about how long he would last on Y'asabu's back.
Inzo knew Y'asabu was taller than the average Hundara, but he never truly knew how much until now. Whatever feeling of fulfillment he had, though, soon diminished when he realized that Y'asabu would use no bridle; it wasn't used because usually the riders were experienced enough to know how to . He'd have to figure out how to command him with the legs.
"Okay, how was it…" Inzo thought, recalling the tiny bits of instructions he had heard from the Hundara cavalry unit teachers. "To make them walk, a slight touch with the legs…"
As he touched Y'asabu's sides as gently as he could, however, the Hundara suddenly spread out his wings with a shriek and started running; Inzo barely had time to grab unto his neck, nearly losing his balance. Y'asabu tucked his wings closer to his body and ran around the corral. The other Sangheili were soon cheering, though a few laughed when they realized Inzo wasn't really dominating; it was the other way around.
"Y-Y'asabu, I didn't want you to run! I wanted you to walk!" Inzo cried out in shock as he clung to the black Hundara.
Y'asabu ignored him, and noticed the gate of the corral was open; Inzo had been so nervous he forgot to close it. Before anyone could even try to do something about it, Y'asabu had already dashed through the gate and into the valley; panicking, some of the guards in turn ran towards stationed Ghosts.
Inzo knew how fast Hundara were usually from his rides with Et'ze, but this wasn't Et'ze; this was Y'asabu, the four times winner of the Race. He ran even faster now in the open, almost to the point of knocking Inzo down, and by then had
"How do I make you stop!" Inzo yelled, desperately trying to recall what the teacher said about the 'stop' command. After a few more seconds of running, he managed to remember he was supposed to give a quick pressure in the sides.
Unfortunately, Inzo forgot to get a hold of himself; as soon as Y'asabu stopped he flew forward and fell unto the ground with a hard thud. Groaning in pain, Inzo barely managed to lift himself off the ground, his side sore. Adding insult to injury, Y'asabu seemed to be amused by what just transpired, and gave a strange guttural sound that almost sounded like laughter.
"Oh, shut up."
If there was something Ino hated it was whenever her son got hurt. Though their culture and way of life based around combat and swordsmanship implied that he got hurt every now and then during training or sparring, Ino hated when this happened to Inzo despite knowing it was bound to happen.
Still, like all Sangheili mothers, she didn't pamper too much on her son to avoid turning him into what humans call a 'momma's boy', and her ways to show her motherly love were subtle. One of those moments was when she tended to Inzo's wounds, or minor bruises as he often called them. On this occasion, it was two large bruises on his arm and leg for falling from Y'asabu's back, but thankfully he hadn't broken any bones.
"It wasn't that bad, mother, really." Inzo insisted, wincing very slightly when Ino gently touched his arm. "But I'd thank you if you didn't do that, it still hurts."
"What were you thinking?" Ino chided him in a gentle voice, though her grip on his arm had gotten a bit tighter instead of releasing it, like he just asked. This let him know she was not happy about what he did.
"Mother, the race is in three days, I had to see if Y'asabu would accept me as his rider. It wasn't that bad, except maybe his sides seem to be more sensitive than Et'ze's."
If I were for her, she wouldn't even let Inzo near that creature.
In fact, she wasn't happy that Thel had suggested to the Elders that Inzo be the one to represent the clan in the Race. She worried enough back when it was him who raced, praying to the Gods that he'd make it back alive. And now it was her only child who'd be risking his life in that competition, but he was inexperienced in Hundara riding, he couldn't even make Y'asabu walk normally, how was he supposed to control him in the middle of the desert with no help?
Yet, Thel had faith in him. He had seen something she had yet to notice; he always had that sort of wisdom. Most of the decisions he made worked out one way or another, over the years he used this gift well and wisely. If he thought Inzo was ready, then she respected his decision.
It didn't mean she had to like it, though.
"Son, are you certain about this?" she asked her child, genuinely gentler this time, as she carefully pressed the healing device on Inzo's arm.
"Well, this time he didn't attack me, so I think I can handle him." Inzo responded.
"That race might cost your life if you're not experience enough, are you really sure you want to?"
"Even if I didn't, the whole House is counting on me, mother. It's the first time father actually trusts me on something."
"Don't say that, Inzo, your father loves you."
"As far as I know, there's a difference between loving and trusting."
"I cannot afford to disappoint him, mother, not after he's finally giving me a chance." Inzo sighed sadly. "Even in the very remote chance I actually win, it still will be nothing compared to all the feats father has done."
Ino placed the healing device aside for the time being, and embraced Inzo. She perfectly knew how he felt for having Thel Vadam' as his father; all the expectations for him were higher than usual, particularly from Thel's part. Ino understood why her son had that need to 'hold a candle'(as humans said)to his father's name. Though Thel and Inzo had grown a bit distant from each other lately, the former to avoid showing favoritism and the latter because he wanted to be out of his father's shadow, she knew they still loved and respected each other.
"Have I ever told you about the time you were born?"
"Must we really talk about that, mother?" Inzo whispered, blushing of embarrassment.
"You hatched before time; you were small and frail. Most in the clan thought you wouldn't make it, some Elders even considered putting you down, but your father never doubted you'd survive. He said you were a warrior, that you would live."
For some reason, that tale did make him feel somewhat better. "Think I will make it? In the Race, I mean."
"Thel believes in you, so I'm certain you will, my son." Ino smiled, stroking her son's head, managing to worry her uncertainty. She decided to change the subject before he could notice. "By the way, I've heard you and that female human are becoming rather close."
"What can I sat? Hannah is nice, though she does have quite a character. She's a very good rider too."
"Are those… horses fast?"
"Not as fast as an Hundara, but yes. Hannah's is very fast, though I don't know if she'll be able to keep up with Y'asabu… I just hope Y'asabu won't try to eat that horse, or Hannah will kill me."
"Are you that afraid of a human's wrath?"
"Believe me, mother, if you had seen Hannah's temper in action, you would agree with me."
