~~~~~Chapter 3~~~~~
The sun shined down warmly on Royan's face. It was a perfect day to fly.
"Ready to go, Royan?" Gabe called from inside the workshop.
Oh. Right he thought Gonna be pulling a cart all day and not flying, of all days.
"I'm coming", Royan said through a yawn.
He sat up and stretched out his neck and wings.
Gabe came over to Royan and put the tack on the same way as the day before.
The cart was already packed and ready beside the workshop, but it had a second cart attached to the back of it with same amount of crates.
He saw Kita leading Epona away from the barn fully tacked up with a saddle and bridle. She looked tiny beside Epona.
"Let's get ya hooked up", said Gabe as he went over to the carts. Royan followed and positioned himself in front just like Epona would be. There were two long wooden poles attached to the front of the cart with two straps on each. Gabe lifted one up to Royan's shoulder and clipped one strap to the metal ring and the other one to the collar, and did the same on the other side. Royan had to hold his tail underneath the cart which he wasn't too comfortable with, and the poles kept rubbing up against his side and hitting his elbows.
Kita handed Gabe the reins of Epona. She went over to Royan clambered up on his back as Gabe mounted Epona.
"Okay, we're all set", said Gabe clicking his tongue and nudging Epona into a walk.
Royan took a step and put his weight into the collar. It pressed against his shoulders. The metal rings were rubbing a lot more than the ones on his saddle. He took a few more steps and the weight of the cart eased up a little. He liked to wave his tail side to side when walking, but it kept getting caught on the wheels. And he had to keep his wings directly up to avoid rubbing on the poles. The ground was a bit uneven so the cart bounced from side to side throwing off his gait. He didn't know how Epona could tolerate this.
"How far away is the village?" Royan asked.
"About two days", Gabe called back.
Up ahead he spotted what seemed to be a trail wide enough for the cart. When they reached it the cart was bouncing a lot less and it rolled along easier. The wheels kept rolling over his tail so eventually he just had to drag it. He thought the tip of his tail would be completely purple by the time they got there.
The poles were rubbing and shifting and kept getting caught on his scales. He growled low and tossed his head.
"What's wrong?" Kita asked.
"The poles" Royan said, "they're rubbing and giving me splinters, and I think the tip of my tail is purple."
The cart hit a bump and one single scale caught on the pole and lifted, pulling the thin skin underneath. He growled much louder this time.
"There're covers for the poles in the front of the cart if that'll help", said Gabe.
Kita stood on his back and walked down his spine while Royan was in motion. Royan bumped his hip up to give her a boost and she leaped from his hips and into the cart. She moved things around for a minute until she hopped out onto the ground with thick leather sheets with three buckles on each. Kita jogged up beside Royan and wrapped one around the pole and fastened it and did the same for the other one. After she finished she climbed back up on Royan's back.
"How's that?" she asked.
"Better", he answered. His scales were catching a lot less and the leather was soft, the tips kept hitting his elbows though.
Suddenly, Epona stopped in her tracks. She swiveled her ears and looked around. Her nostrils flared. Royan pricked his ears to listen as well. There was commotion a little ways away, but he couldn't make it out.
Epona started tossing her head and side stepping.
"Woah, easy girl", Gabe said trying to calm her down. She started rearing up and pawing the ground.
"Somethin's spooking her", Gabe said, "Let's speed up and get away from this area to calm her down."
Gabe edged her into a canter. Royan cantered as well.
She winnied and bolted into a gallop. Royan pushed his legs to catch up with them, but the cart was holding him back.
Epona went out of sight. Royan continued to run as fast as he could.
After a few minutes he found Epona stopped with Gaberiel still on. They were both out of breath. Epona hung her head low.
"You good?" Kita asked.
"Yeah, we're fine", Gabe said, "I don't know what got her so spooked, she's always chill in the woods."
"I did hear a little commotion a little ways away, but I couldn't make it out", said Royan.
Gabe looked up at the setting sun. "We'll walk a little further and then settle down for the night."
And so they did. Royan kept trying to figure out what he had heard. It was large. Could've been a bear, but he just didn't know.