"Hey, Ashe!" Hilda called out.
"Oh, Hilda," he responded, sheepishly pointing his gaze away.
"I've been having a bit of a bad day, and I'd like to go for a ride if you don't mind helping me blow off some steam. Are you prepared?"
"Huh? Right now?!" Ashe asked. Usually he'd been given the day's notice before being called on for a ride. Luckily he had an excuse. "Um, I'm actually meeting with Marianne today, so…"
"Oh, perfect! You'll already be set up then. I'll meet you later. I can wait for Marianne to get her turn." With a wink and a wave, she left him.
A polite smile came across Ashe's face as he waved back. Both of them, back to back..? Today is going to be a long day… the archer thought to himself.
Ashe stood by the gate, performing stretch exercises as he waited for Marianne to show. If he was going to tackle this, he'd best be prepared to do so. At least his easier jockey was up first… He'd need to conserve stamina, if it was possible. After he felt adequately stretched, he relaxed his body.
"Hello, Ashe," the priestess greeted, a warm smile on her face. "Are you done stretching? You looked focused, so I didn't want to interrupt you…"
"Marianne! Um, yes, I'm done stretching. Thank you for waiting."
"Of course! I could certainly be patient after all you've done for me."
Ashe loved feeling the appreciation she offered him. Perhaps this was why he kept coming back, despite the exhausting nature of this routine… "Of course. You're a good friend," Ashe offered, reaffirming her.
"Oh, thank you," Marianne responded. "You're a good friend too. You know, I've had a lot of fun with you. It's very relaxing to go on a ride."
"Really?" Ashe said. "I am curious what it's like."
"Oh, well… it's quite comfortable, and pleasant. It's like I'm talking with a close friend, and going on a stroll through the forest, but more relaxing since my legs don't get tired."
He nodded. "That does sound nice."
"I've been meaning to ask… what's it like being ridden by Hilda and I?"
Ashe turned red. "Um, well, it's similar… I'm happy that you, or Hilda, get to have some fun with me… It's nice to work for someone else."
Marianne seemed somber at his response. What was his response missing?
"And… it makes me feel happy being trusted by you up there. You always take us to nice places, too. There's a lot of reasons I like it."
Success! The smile spread back across her face. "I'm glad to hear you say that. It's nice that you enjoy being trusted. I'll pay more attention to you today."
"If you're still curious, we could switch places," Ashe offered, hoping for a break. Hilda probably wouldn't entertain that idea, but maybe Marianne would go for it?
"Um," Marianne paused. Seemed she didn't like the idea, but didn't know how to respond. "I'm not sure if I'd be much fun that way… I think I like how our roles are now, with you as the mount and me as the rider. I'm sorry."
"That's fine. I'm happy with staying as the mount…"
After conceding to Marianne, he took position on the ground. Marianne brought her supplies towards him, and began setting him up with the gear- placing the stirrups, connecting the bit and reins… and it was from here that Ashe spotted something new. She'd acquired a crop, now, too, and her shoes had something attached at the back.
"Um, are you wearing spurs?" He asked.
"Oh, these! I forgot to tell you," she responded. "Hilda told me you enjoyed the ride with her, and that she had a crop. I said to her that I wondered if you'd let us use spurs, and Hilda said it was a good idea, and that you'd 'totally' go for it. So I brought them!"
She seems excited to use them, but… "Hilda said that?"
"Mhm."
"Okay, then…" Ashe said, glad they at least hadn't caught him by surprise.
"Alright, we're almost ready," Marianne said. "Just one last thing. Open your mouth, please."
Ashe did so, and watched her as she gently placed the bit inside his mouth. He clamped down on it, and felt Marianne pick up the stirrups. Shortly after, she lifted one of her legs over his back, and sat down on top of him.
"Let's go!" Marianne said, cracking the reins.
Ashe started off to a trot on the dirt road outside the gate. He'd become familiar with Marianne being seated on him- after having Hilda up there, it was actually quite comfortable to have Marianne back. She was gentler than the pink haired girl, and weighed less on his back.
THWACK!
A jolt of a sharp pain hit him as she smacked his rear with the crop. He ran faster in response, to Marianne's delight.
"Hilda said you loved the crop!" she exclaimed, as he crawled faster.
Uh oh… he thought.
THWACK!
Ashe moved faster, as the crop had pushed him on. Hilda said what?! To avoid further punishment, he kept the pace as best he could, though it was all he could manage to keep it. After a few paces, he slowed back down, hoping she'd been satisfied.
"She was right, wasn't she?" Marianne commented, as he slowed down. "Hehe!"
THWACK!
Ashe jolted forward abruptly, dashing for a few more paces. Marianne swung harder than Hilda, which was a nasty surprise. No doubt Hilda'd told her to do that… He was relieved when she pulled him to a stop.
"Okay," Marianne said. "Hilda said it was a lot of fun, so I was curious to try it for myself. But let's go at a relaxing speed for now, okay? We'll do more dashes later."
Ashe felt her heels kick his sides as she tapped her spurs into him. Resuming his trot, he wondered if Marianne was really going to be the easier ride to deal with today. The sweat on his eyebrows made the answer feel apparent. But she'd said she'd like to relax now… so he was probably through the tough part.
Marianne sat atop him, taking in the outside air. She'd been cooped up today in their war meeting, and it was a huge relief to be outside now. Hearing a few birds chirping to each other, she smiled, and shortly after found herself humming back. She abruptly stopped when she remembered Ashe, underneath her, could hear it.
Ashe became concerned. He didn't want Marianne to become closed off again. So he pulled out the bit to speak.
Marianne responded first. "Oh? You've stopped. Is everything alright?"
"Why'd you stop humming?" he asked.
He felt Marianne's waist shift as she leaned back. "Oh, that… I'm sorry, I got embarrassed."
"You don't need to feel that way. I thought it sounded nice."
"Oh!" Marianne turned red. "Okay. Maybe I will again, then… Thank you."
"If you feel like it, please do," Ashe said.
He placed the bit back into his mouth and waited for her command. When she kicked her heels into his sides once more, he resumed their trot. Marianne pulled him to the side with the reins, an idea popping into her mind.
This is a new route, Ashe thought. Ahead, he saw a field. The grass below him felt nice against his hands and knees. He saw a grasshopper jump from one sprig of grass to a cluster of weeds. The air was nice and fresh here, and he could hear a soft breeze. Marianne knew some nice places in the wilderness.
It was here that Ashe heard Marianne begin to hum again, though quietly at first. She still seemed a bit shy about it, but it had started.
"This field is nice, isn't it Ashe?" she asked.
He nodded in response. She reached down and petted his head through his hair as they strolled.
"I'll show you a nice spot I found. Giddyup!"
Feeling her cracking the reins on him, Ashe was no longer strolling. He increased his pace as she commanded and followed her cues to turn left, and right, through the field. She rode underneath an apple tree, and to their surprise, an apple fell just in front of them.
"Oh!" she said, pulling Ashe to a stop. "I think the tree wanted us to have this. Would you pick it up?"
The mount lifted his hand off the ground, and picked up the apple. It felt fresh, and it was a vibrant red color. It looked delicious, and his stomach grumbled looking at it.
"Please, pass it here!" Marianne said. "I love apples when they're fresh off the tree… They're so sweet, and refreshing."
Reluctantly, he lifted his hand up and passed his jockey her juicy red fruit. He tinged with jealousy as he heard her bite into it, ever so gently- still being careful to eat politely. As he stood still, Marianne sitting on top of his chest, he wondered if she could feel his stomach grumbling. He felt her pet his head again.
"Mm! Thank you, Ashe. Can we resume?" she asked, kicking the spurs to start him again.
Forcing himself to get over the apple, he crawled forward. Luckily, while she had the fruit in hand, she didn't want him to go too fast, for fear of dropping it. So he trotted forward, until she pulled him to a stop.
"I'll leave it here. I'm sure a squirrel would be happy to find this."
Ashe looked over his right shoulder, and saw that she'd only eaten about half of it. Though she was steering him to the left, he remained still, looking at it. She didn't seem to notice where his attention was.
"No, Ashe, I'm steering you left," she said. "Left. Giddyup!"
Marianne, please notice I'm looking at the apple!
She kicked the spurs into his sides. Though it stung, he remained, desperate for a bite of this apple.
"Ashe. Why aren't you listening to me?" she complained. "Left!"
THWACK!
The archer flinched as he was swatted, but still his gaze was on her fruit. I'm looking right at it…
"Oh, I see," Marianne said. "Would you like to try the apple?"
He nodded, glad she'd finally understood his plight.
"Okay. But we're almost to the spot I wanted to show you… Hmm…" she considered, though Ashe's stomach grumbled beneath her. "I've got it! If you can get there quickly, I'll give you the rest as a reward!"
Eager to start, Ashe ran forward without hesitation. Marianne pulled back immediately.
"Woah, Ashe! Hold a moment!" she said, finally getting him to stop. "I wasn't ready. But since you're so eager to run…"
THWACK!
Marianne smacked him as hard as she could, which spurred him with great speed. He ran again, this time maintaining a gallop while turning to the left, then to the right… He maintained pace, much to his rider's delight.
"Hehehe!" she giggled, "Earn your apple, Ashe!"
THWACK!
The mount ran as hard as he could, hitting the turns with record pace. Marianne bounced a little bit on top of him, clutching the reins firmly, having the time of her life as she rode like the wind. Finally, he reached the destination- a creek of sorts- and she pulled him to a stop.
"Very good, Ashe!" she commended. "Here you go!"
Lowering the apple in front of him, Marianne waited for him to hold it before removing his bit for him. After he'd taken a bite, she hopped off his back and sat beside the creek.
"It's delicious, isn't it?" Marianne said with a wide smile. "You worked hard for it."
Ashe nodded. "Yes! And I did. It was worth it," he said, taking another bite."
He sat down, and looked at their surroundings. Within these grassy plains was the creek she'd led them to. Upon further examination, he noticed a set of small waterfalls, where crayfish could be seen through the water.
"This spot is pretty, Marianne."
"Isn't it?" she asked. "I've always loved crayfish. They have such interesting lives. Would you like to meet one?"
"Um, sure!" Ashe said, taking another munch.
He watched her reach into the water, and saw a crayfish move into her hand. Lifting it out, she brought it close to his eyes.
"Crayfish talk in whispers, so you have to get close to hear them," she said.
Ashe blushed a little as Marianne's face came closer to his, and they listened to the crustacean.
"I… think I actually hear it!"
Marianne beamed at him. "Oh, really? That's wonderful! What did it say?"
"I… can't make out the words."
"Oh. Well, most people can't hear them at all," Marianne said. "He'd like to be back in the water now. Goodbye, friend!"
Ashe watched her as she gently lowered the creature back into the creek. She was truly a sight to behold when it came to handling animals. And the murmurs he just heard… Perhaps Marianne was rubbing off on him?
The two sat and watched the crayfish for another minute. The archer finished off the delectable fruit they'd found. The priestess hummed for a moment, but became shy and quieted down again.
Taking another moment before rising to her feet, Marianne spoke. "Alright. I've enjoyed our excursion, but we should probably head back now…"
She walked in front of Ashe, and squatted down in front of him to place the bit back in his mouth. Ashe obliged, but still watched the water as it flowed. He enjoyed the sound of the water. Marianne walked behind him, and pushed on his shoulders, so that he'd be on his hands and knees. When she'd pushed him down, she mounted him, and slipped her feet back into the stirrups. She pulled the reins until he was facing the direction they'd come from.
"Giddyup!" the girl yelled, kicking his midsection with her heels.
Though he was halfway done with his first jockey, he was only a quarter of the way done with the riding today. He allowed the priestess to steer him gently, enjoying his time with the graceful rider while he had it…