"Sah––the boy looked with hesitant fright at me, shrinking away.
"He'll listen," Tavington answered smartly. "Now, the round pen…"
Turning his attention back to me, William met me with an unreadable face. He was cold; there was no clear-felt anger or upset that I could find, yet no reasonable warmth or empathy either. I did not have time to puzzle over the matter, for he turned and left before I was given the chance.
Looking back at the boy, I could feel him shake as he reluctantly set his rake aside and started toward my stall. By the time he reached me, the poor lad was so terrified, he could barely form words.
"H-h.." he stared up at me with wide, dark eyes, nervously darting from my face to the ground as he wrung his small, dark, dirt-caked hands with growing anxiety.
I looked down at the child with a mixture of pity and curiosity. I had never seen a dark human up close; his hair was different, rough, and tightly wound to his scalp, yet the look of fear was all too familiar. I couldn't blame him for any wrongdoing. Slowly, I dropped my head and nudged the stableboy's chest. He leapt back, startled, but I kept still, pricking my ears forward at him.
Still unsure, the boy returned my gesture with a sideways glance; he wouldn't move and time was not in our favor. I was more than sure that if we waited much longer, the colonel would not be of a tolerable mind. However, force would not work in the current predicament.
With a grunt, I craned forward once more and bumped the boy's hand, holding my muzzle to his palm until I could feel him soften and relax.
"Good," the child rubbed my nose as his confidence began to return.
Stepping into my stall, he squeaked when I butted him lightly, hurrying him along to get to the pen.
The heat had started to climb when we stepped out of the stables; the child was unfazed, but I immediately fought the urge to disobey and lie down for a roll.
"Are you lost?" someone from my far right called.
The boy and I turned; William was striding toward us, his imposing form growing clearer with every measured step.
"No sah–– " the child quaked. "I'm sorry sah…."
Tavington pursed his lips, but for his bluff, I could see a gentle glint in his eyes and relaxed in turn.
"Well, let me take him from here; he's a might big for you," William commented, giving the barest hint of a weary smile.
"Thank you," The stableboy handed the reins to my master, pleasantly surprised by his reaction.
"All right, off with you," Tavington nodded at the distant stables and the child rushed off, lost amongst the tents.
"Come on," the colonel acknowledged me with the brief request before leading me in silence to the round pen, entering the enclosure beside me.
Turning to acknowledge him, I snorted, realizing that my master had already taken a step away from my shoulder and turned half-way from me. Upset once more, I lowered my head and pinned my ears; but as I watched, his form loosened, shoulders dropping as he hung his head. This was not a proud man. Still, he held his hands in fists, maintaining an air of defense. He was still wearing the torn waistcoat, and it added more to his state when he finally turned to face me.
"What do you want?" the colonel's voice was angry, but his eyes stung of something else; I stepped back, uncertain, and eyed him down the the front of my nose.
With no response, Tavington inhaled, closing his eyes momentarily before he met my gaze. His face was stern, but more furrowed than I would normally note in his disposition; a pain I knew nothing of, flickered in his eyes, pulled at his jaw, and flexed his hands before dying as soon as it appeared.
"I have a chance here," he murmured, more to himself than I, averting his eyes momentarily. "It's the only one left." He looked back up to me, aged years in the single moment of grief. "There's nothing back in England. Everything I have, will have, is here." He finished before letting out a harsh laugh. "You really are my only possession of worth. Ironic, isn't it? You and my commission. Nothing short of nothing."
I whined; surely I was more than nothing!
"You could just as easily be taken in a raid, and my commission? A bloody sheet of paper.." he finished with a snarl that had me backing up once more.
A raid? I had no inclination as to what such things were, but from the sound of my master's voice, they did not seem to be pleasant things. But… would he allow such a thing to happen?
My mood sank further. What if I had only traveled here to be passed around like a pack-mule?
"I need you to work with me." William called me back; his threatening countenance was gone, but the look of sincerity that replaced it was no more comfort. "It's the only way. I will give you the best, when I am able. Not now, but when this is over; if we make it to see the end of this ridiculous rebellion."
Though I listened, I kept my distance, appearing disinterested in his one-sided conversation; my master was still upset, and I did not want to contend with his potentially irrational mood.
After a long moment of babble, Tavington fell silent, looking pensively just past my left ear.
"I shouldn't have been so hasty with you. That was my folly." He spoke slowly, holding his hand out to me. "We'll start differently; you must follow my instructions, but I will also need your input."
It was an honest offer; brash as he was, my master had not lied to me yet. Hesitantly, I stepped forward and accepted his hand, resting my chin in his palm, flicking a fly of my side with my tail. Tavington's expression softened and he rubbed circles leisurely on my face and neck. For a moment, the beast and man were gone; we were both together in the pen.
