* * *
The air in the stables was fragrant with the unique scent of horses mixed with straw and hay. Elena watched her father wordlessly turn on more lights while Miles drafted Ivan to help him drag a stool from the tack room up to the door of the largest stall. The adult Vorkosigans and Lady Vorpatril had retired to the sitting room for conversation and coffee. There wasn't really an extreme need for Sergeant Bothari to come along but a faint look of alarm had crossed his normally taciturn face at the thought of the three of them alone with the horses.
Despite her father's slightly dampening presence, Elena found herself getting excited about seeing the young foal. Although she wasn't as enamored of horses as Miles, the complex animals still gave her a thrill.
The foal's mother, a comfortable-looking mare named Constance snuffled wetly and thrust her muzzle over the stall door, searching for hands holding food.
Miles, perched on tiptoe on the stool, stroked her absently, much more interested in the spindly legged creature at her side. He made clucking noises at the baby horse, trying to coax him nearer.
"If we had some food, maybe it would come closer," Ivan suggested. He looked only marginally interested.
"He's not an 'it'" Miles corrected with a long-suffering tone. "He's a him and his name is Mouse."
Elena grinned and went to grab the sugar cubes from a shelf on the back wall. "You should have seen him when he was first born. He was much smaller then. That's why General Piotr let us name him Mouse.
"Oh," Ivan said, looking slightly bored or maybe disappointed that the name wasn't more noble sounding, but he followed their lead anyway and took a few sugar cubes to offer as a bribe for Mouse to head towards them.
The three of them had just convinced Mouse that the food they held might be worth moving away from his comfortable spot in the straw for, when Sergeant Bothari glanced at his chromo and said calmly, "Alright, It's time to go in. Bedtime."
"Okay," Miles rolled his eyes, but didn't surprisingly didn't plead for anymore time. Elena supposed that was because he knew he could come here just about every day. Ivan simply shrugged and wiped his sugar coated palm on his pant leg, leaving a sticky trail on the formally pristine fabric.
Elena fed her sugar cubes to Constance, who took it upon herself to lick the proferred hand clean.
Then she followed everybody inside.
The air in the stables was fragrant with the unique scent of horses mixed with straw and hay. Elena watched her father wordlessly turn on more lights while Miles drafted Ivan to help him drag a stool from the tack room up to the door of the largest stall. The adult Vorkosigans and Lady Vorpatril had retired to the sitting room for conversation and coffee. There wasn't really an extreme need for Sergeant Bothari to come along but a faint look of alarm had crossed his normally taciturn face at the thought of the three of them alone with the horses.
Despite her father's slightly dampening presence, Elena found herself getting excited about seeing the young foal. Although she wasn't as enamored of horses as Miles, the complex animals still gave her a thrill.
The foal's mother, a comfortable-looking mare named Constance snuffled wetly and thrust her muzzle over the stall door, searching for hands holding food.
Miles, perched on tiptoe on the stool, stroked her absently, much more interested in the spindly legged creature at her side. He made clucking noises at the baby horse, trying to coax him nearer.
"If we had some food, maybe it would come closer," Ivan suggested. He looked only marginally interested.
"He's not an 'it'" Miles corrected with a long-suffering tone. "He's a him and his name is Mouse."
Elena grinned and went to grab the sugar cubes from a shelf on the back wall. "You should have seen him when he was first born. He was much smaller then. That's why General Piotr let us name him Mouse.
"Oh," Ivan said, looking slightly bored or maybe disappointed that the name wasn't more noble sounding, but he followed their lead anyway and took a few sugar cubes to offer as a bribe for Mouse to head towards them.
The three of them had just convinced Mouse that the food they held might be worth moving away from his comfortable spot in the straw for, when Sergeant Bothari glanced at his chromo and said calmly, "Alright, It's time to go in. Bedtime."
"Okay," Miles rolled his eyes, but didn't surprisingly didn't plead for anymore time. Elena supposed that was because he knew he could come here just about every day. Ivan simply shrugged and wiped his sugar coated palm on his pant leg, leaving a sticky trail on the formally pristine fabric.
Elena fed her sugar cubes to Constance, who took it upon herself to lick the proferred hand clean.
Then she followed everybody inside.
