"Marianne! You look awfully chipper today."
The priestess turned to the direction she'd heard the voice coming from.
"Hilda," she started. "It's good to see you."
The pink-haired girl ran to her and wrapped her arms around her.
"Um, Hilda…" Marianne said, turning red in the face.
"Shh! I was looking for you yesterday, and I couldn't find you anywhere. The least you could do is give me a hug."
"Oh… Alright, I suppose I could," the priestess agreed, as she requited her hug with a smile on her face.
Hilda, satisfied, released her. "Where were you yesterday, anyways?"
"Oh! I had a lot of fun. I was out, riding A-" Marianne stopped, realizing what she'd said.
"Riding a, what?" Hilda prodded.
"It's… a secret."
"Riding… a secret?" Hilda said, surprised. "Wow, Marianne, are you saying-"
Marianne turned bright red. "Stop right there! It's not what it sounded like."
"Then what was it?"
"I was… riding on Ashe."
Marianne made her way through the camp, searching for her archer friend. She'd turned over the dining tents, the training grounds, and the blacksmithy and still couldn't find him. Her luck finally turned when she saw him at the lookout.
"Um, Ashe…" she began. "Are you busy? Is now an okay time to speak with you?"
Ashe turned, and looked from his post to where she was.
"Marianne, hello!" he greeted. "Now's a fine time, but I'm still on lookout duty for a little while longer. Can we talk right here?"
"Yes, that will do," she agreed, standing beside the window that Ashe was looking out of. "Um… how do I put this… Remember when we said it might be a fun secret?"
Ashe nodded, and smiled as he looked at her. "What about it?"
"I may have… let it slip," she confided, embarrassed. "I'm sorry- I accidentally spoke of it with Hilda today. I'm sorry if you wanted to keep that a secret…"
"It's okay," Ashe said, hiding the nervousness on his face. "I don't mind it."
"You don't?" she affirmed. "Oh, that makes the next part of this easier, then…"
"Next part?" Ashe turned from where he was watching to face her.
"Hilda… she wants to try it too. Riding on you. Do you think… you could meet her later today?"
Ashe's loungewear was quite comfortable, but since Marianne and him began their little excursions, it had begun to felt like a uniform of sorts. It was odd- he hadn't expected anyone other than Marianne to meet him like this, and he'd wondered if things would be awkward when Hilda arrived.
"Hey, Ashe!"
Ashe jolted a bit, as he was not expecting the girl to sneak up on him like that. He turned to his right, and saw Hilda in her yellow loungewear.
Yup, this is really happening, he thought to himself.
"Um… hello, Hilda. I heard from Marianne, that…"
"Yup!" Hilda affirmed. "Why do you look so nervous?"
"I just, um… I wasn't expecting to have a new rider today, ha…"
Hilda gave him a playful jab on the shoulder. "Hey, don't worry so much. I'm sure this'll be fun. If you can get Marianne to smile like that, I'm sure you know what you're doing, right?"
Ashe blushed a little. Hilda sure knew how to get to him.
"Okay? Let's get started! I brought gear."
The archer watched as she opened her bag and pulled out a various set of objects. The reins, the stirrups, the… crop? That was new.
"Oh, is that..?" Ashe asked, pointing at the crop she'd picked up.
"A crop? Yeah!" she said, throwing a wink his way. "I thought it'd be helpful. It'll be okay if I have it, right?"
"Um, sure..!" Ashe agreed, though it did make him nervous.
"Good. Now get down, Ashe! I'll get all your gear set up for you."
Ashe bent his knees, and placed them on the ground. He leaned forward, putting his hands on the ground in front of him, in the crawling position. He turned his eyes to Hilda, then-
Surprise overcame him as she sat down on his back without a warning. His back lowered, for a second, not expecting the extra weight to join him so soon. She swung one of her legs over to the other side of him, and it had begun. Hilda had now mounted Ashe. He turned to face forward, nervous about the girl's confidence atop him.
"Open up!" she said, reaching in front of him with the bit.
When Ashe opened his mouth as she asked, she shoved it into his mouth, and pushed the bottom of his jaw up, as though she were locking it there. He waited idly as she laid the stirrups across his back. He felt her weight shift as she leaned to the left, and picked her crop up off the ground. Once she was sitting up straight again, she slipped her feet into the stirrups, then pulled them towards his torso- gripping his upper body with her legs and thighs. The bit in his mouth tightened against him as she picked up the reins.
"Okay, I'm ready to go. Time to see what this is about!" she said, smacking his ass with the crop. "Mush!"
The sting of the leather on his butt sprang him forward, and he began to trot with Hilda seated on him. She hadn't looked it to him, but she was heavier than Marianne was. Maybe I should have expected some hidden muscle weight, seeing as she always swings an axe around… he thought to himself.
Hilda held the reins less loosely than Marianne did, too- on each step forward, he could feel them becoming a bit taught. Was she playing with them up there?
The girl lifted the reins up and down, in rhythm with Ashe's trot.
"Marianne was right, you are a comfortable ride."
Ashe trotted forward, and spoke through the bit. "Fank you."
Hilda swatted his butt with the crop, and he continued on. Did… did she do that because he spoke?
"Let's go… to the hills," she said, pulling the reins to the right.
This way led through the forest, but he'd not seen hills this way before. He hesitated, stopping before continuing on the turn.
"Mush, Ashe!" she said, swatting him with the crop again.
It stung, but he didn't budge. "Um, I fink thish way is muddy."
"What, you can't handle a little mud?" she pouted. "You know, Marianne said you were nice and obedient. Can't you show me some of that?"
Blushing, Ashe continued, down into the wooded area. He was right- the ground down here was still a bit wet from the rain a few days prior, and he stopped where his hands began to get muddy.
"Am I going to have to do all this work just to ride you?" Hilda whined. "Are you not used to me? Hmm. Maybe it'd be better if I took a bit of my own time to break you in- for how I ride. Come on, let's go back to the road."
She pulled the reins and spun him back to where they'd come from. He climbed back up the side path they'd gone down, and it was here that going up proved to be a bit of a challenge. He was not accustomed to a heavier weight than Marianne, and Hilda was not having it.
"I see why Marianne thinks this is fun, but you've still got some work to do, Ashe," Hilda said, sounding a bit let down. "Tell you what. I'll help train you today, and if you do well, we'll ride to the hills next time, okay?"
Ashe lowered his head.
"Aw, don't be down, Ashe, I'm enjoying myself up here! I just want to give you a bit of practice is all. We'll start off easy. When I crack the reins, you go forward, okay?"
He'd known this already, but it seemed Hilda wanted him to go through it with her. He looked ahead, and waited for the cue. He was surprised when the crack of the reins was a harsher feeling on his face- not gentle like he'd come to expect with Marianne. But he crawled forward, carrying Hilda on his back as he did.
"Good. Now just do this for a while."
Hilda hummed to herself, playing with the reins a bit, and getting comfortable where she sat. "It's nice to go on a walk without having to walk," she commented.
He was glad that she was enjoying herself, but he was still not quite used to the feeling of Hilda's butt sitting on his upper back where Marianne's usually was. She felt more confident, brash, and in control- where Marianne's posture and gestures were guiding him, Hilda's were pushing him.
"Okay, Ashe," Hilda began again, "So how am I going to establish control here? Can you think of something?"
Tired, and speaking through a bit, he began to speak. "Uhm, mahbe-"
"Wait!" Hilda said, tapping his side with the crop. "If I'm to give you orders, it'd be best if you don't talk back, right?"
He wondered how she could sound flirty saying that, but she did.
"Uhm, okae-"
His speech was interrupted by a stinging sensation, as she smacked the crop on his shoulder.
"No talk! You just listen, got it?" She said. "I'll smack you with this if you speak, okay?"
The archer continued on, in silence.
"Good! Now mush!" she commanded, cracking the reins unnecessarily.
This is… certainly different than Marianne's riding, he thought to himself. The sting of the crop could still be felt, as could Hilda weighing down on him. Still, he continued on- he could at least maintain this pace.
"Hmm… how to train you next… I'm going to get a good feel for steering you, if that's okay."
It was immediately clear that she didn't care if it was okay with him or not. Ashe felt himself being pulled to the right, leading him off the road. Then, an even stronger pull to the left. Hilda really was packing some hidden muscle underneath that "girly girl" appearance she put on.
"Great, Ashe! You're doing better already. Now, let's get you really trained."
The archer gulped as he wondered what was next.
"When I hit you with the crop, run! It'll be like me saying 'Mush!' without me having to say anything. You got it?" she asked, before continuing all too quickly, "Ready, set-"
Even though he was expecting it, the sting of the crop still managed to catch him off guard. Luckily for Hilda, that was a large help in getting him moving faster. She sat tall atop him, impressed with his improved pace.
"This is going pretty well, but don't slow down, Ashe!"
The weight was beginning to catch up to him. The feeling of her thighs and legs grabbing him left him no room of his own, and he continued on, struggling to maintain the speed she'd spurred him to. After a few seconds, he slowed down, until he was back at a crawl.
"What? That's all you've got for me?" Hilda asked from on top of him. "Ashe, I know you're a strong guy. Let's try again, okay?"
Though he was panting, he liked being called strong... He crawled forward, until he felt the swat once more- and he sprang to action.
"Great work, Ashe! But you can still do more!" she cheered. "When I swat again, really run for me!"
Ashe had no time to prepare before she swatted him again. But Hilda had expected him to go faster, so… he'd just have to. Exhausting his body, he crawled even faster, much to the delight of the girl seated on his back.
"Amazing job, Ashe! Just twenty more seconds, and you pass!" she said.
Twenty seconds? But my arms are about to give up!
With a few more cheers from Hilda, and some hard fighting from Ashe, they maintained his speed.
"Ten, nine, eight, sev-AH!"
With no strength left in his arms, Ashe tumbled to the ground, Hilda with him. She sat on him there, unmoved by his effort.
"So close, Ashe. But c'mon. Up you go- I'll give you another try."
She pulled the reins up, offering Ashe no time to recuperate. But Ashe couldn't lift himself off the ground.
"Alright, lazybones. You can take a little rest, but I'm not getting off of you."
Hilda pulled her feet out from under him, slipped out of the stirrups, and extended her legs beside him. Ashe could see her calves and shoes in front of him, as she sat outstretched.
While he was taking a moment to breathe, the feeling of her butt on top of him became noticeable. It was nicely shaped and soft against him, even if she was a bit heavier than he was expecting her to be. However, the sensation was different enough that he could likely tell the difference between Hilda and Marianne with that alone.
"Ashe, you've had a break. Let's get going, now," Hilda said, pulling the reins.
Ashe mustered the strength he had and rose back off the ground. Satisfied, Hilda put her feet back into the stirrups, and crossed them under his chest again.
"Attaboy. You did a good job with your first training," she said, cracking the reins to start him again. "We'll take the rest of this ride easy as a reward. Sound good?"
Ashe obeyed, crawling forward. After resting on the ground, he'd gained just enough energy to carry Hilda again. She'd proven to be a demanding rider- though her flattery of him had prevented him from seeing it that way until now. At least she said she'd take it easy on him from here on out.
"We'll go to the waterfront, as you did with Marianne your first time. Then back. You can do that, right?"
Wow, Marianne told her about a lot, didn't she?
From here, he was about halfway to the waterfront. His head lowered a bit.
"Don't worry, I'll go easy on you, Ashe. We've got all day for this, after all!"
After what must have been two hours of riding, the gate finally came into stone throwing distance. More than ready to reach the finish line, the archer quickly became determined to reach it.
"Oh, ready to go, are you Ashe?" Hilda chimed. "Don't run yet- remember who's in charge here. But I can help you. Wait for my command! And..!"
With a swat, Ashe found the energy to dash to the gate. After a few moments of her riding him at a rushed speed, Hilda had at last ridden him there, and he felt accomplished as she pulled him to a stop.
"Alright, Ashe! We finally made it. You did well!" she applauded, as she dropped the reins to ruffle his hair with her hands.
Hilda's hand felt good on his head, especially after she'd made him work for it. He felt the girl's legs release him, as she slipped out of the stirrups. The weight of her left his back, as she dismounted and stood up in front of him. She'd been there for a long time- but her dismount made a good reward.
"Despite a few issues at first, I think you're good at this!" she applauded, leaning down to face him. "And since you're putting in so much effort," she said, as though she was preparing a surprise- "I'd like to ride you again!"
He removed the bit from his mouth. Tired, he didn't know how to respond yet, exactly, as Hilda'd been a real challenge compared to Marianne.
"Again?" he asked.
"Yes, Ashe! You're so strong, obedient, and determined- it's a real treat to train you! So we'll be doing this again, okay? I'll make you into an even stronger mount!"
Ashe's face turned red as it grew a smile. Hilda really knew how to give a compliment- she'd made "obedient" feel like a badge of honor.
"Okay, if you'd like to…"
"Definitely! We've got to go to the hills, right? You'll look forward to that, won't you?" she chimed, with a wink.
"Y-yeah!"