"You expect us to ride fucking horses?"
"Yes..." Dewar replied, stroking one of the mounts' muzzle. "And how did you imagine traveling around this world?"
"By car..." She said, then shook her head. "Shit, I forgot…"
"I'm sorry... But unfortunately, not here..." Dewar replied with a slight smile.
"Fuck..." Revy added after a second, still covering her face with her hand. "I've never ridden a horse in my life... I can't even imagine it, and you Rock?" She asked, removing her hand from her face, only to see him cautiously approach Dewar.
"Neither do I..." He replied, his voice unsure. "But, I guess we have no other choice." He added, taking the reins of a dark brown horse with a white line on its nose from the smiling Dewar's hand. Revy sighed, but unfortunately for her, she had to agree with him. No matter how much she doesn't wanted to, she had to learn how to ride a horse.
"These are young mares..." Dewar said, walking up to her and extending his hand with the reins towards her. Behind him stood a black horse, with a muscular build, but a little shorter than the one Rock had chosen. The only thing that stood out from the sea of black fur was a white spot between the animal's eyes. "They should warm up to you quickly..." Dewar finished. Revy sighed again, then took the reins from Dewar's hand.
Revy fell to the ground with a thud, although the thick grass helped cushion the fall, it was still painful for both her body and her pride.
"For the fuck's sake!" She shouted without getting up from the ground, but only pointing her finger at the horse walking around her. "This fucking animal doesn't want to cooperate with me at all!"
"Revy..." Rock spoke in a calm voice, bringing his mount to a stop next to her. "You shouldn't fight a horse..." Revy just snorted when she heard him.
"He's right..." Dewar added after a while, approaching her while leading her horse. "Although young, these horses are already accustomed to saddles and to the rider on their back... Now it is the rider who must get used to riding the horse." Revy looked at the horse behind Dewar with distaste. She saw the black mare staring deeply at her, waiting for what she would do. Revy sighed and pushed herself into a sitting position.
This was her another fall, after so many drastic encounters with the ground, she felt every muscle fiber on her back, but her pride did not allow her to stop there. Sitting still, she stretched, hissing in pain, then looked ahead, seeing Rock stopping his horse. Although he was still inept at it, in the last three hours he had managed to master horse riding better than she had. She watched as he, still slightly sloppily, stopped his horse and then slowly descended to the ground, trying not to fall off. Even though he did it all very uncertainly and his shoe got stuck in the stirrup for a moment, he finally managed to stand on his feet. Still, Revy was trying her best not to laugh as she watched him struggle with gravity. Once he had both feet firmly on the ground, he headed towards her, and the dark brown mare followed faithfully. Rock stood in front of her and extended his hand towards her.
"I see you've already became friends with your mount..." She said sarcastically, grabbing his hand and pulling herself up. "My horse, on the other hand, doesn't want to cooperate with me..."
"He probably needs to get used to you..." Rock replied calmly, even though the dark brown mare put her muzzle on his shoulder and blew in his ear and he tried unsuccessfully to shoo her away. Revy snorted at the behavior of her partner and his mount.
"Fuck... On the one hand, I'm angry that my horse is so meansuch an asshole, on the other hand, I'm glad he's not as clingy as yours..." Dewar just laughed when he heard this.
"The relationship between the rider and the horse is very important..." The dwarf said, handing her the reins of the black mare. "After all, you are sitting in a place where a horse would be attacked by a wolf... The horse is a game for predators, so it will value safety over food... The horse must know that it can trust you." Dewar finished his speech, standing next to Rock and watching Revy with him.
"Yes, yes... How many times have I heard that from you today? Answer is too many..." She replied nonchalantly, turning towards the black mare, then put her foot in the stirrup and, grabbing the saddle, pulled herself onto the horse's back. The number of falls had one advantage. She has mastered mounting a horse to perfection. Once on top, she gently stroked the mare's neck and grabbed the reins. "By the way..." She turned to Dewar. "Should we come this far in one day... We shouldn't... I don't know... Study with you slowlly or something..." She said, moving slowly. Rock, hearing her question, also looked at the dwarf, who only scratched his head.
"There is truth in that... But we don't have eternity, so the sooner you learn to ride bearably, the better..." Revy just snorted when she heard this, but continued to ride forward on her horse, slowly gaining speed. Dewar and Rock watched her carefully as she passed the rays of the setting sun faster and faster and with more and more certainty.
"She's doing better and better..." Rock commented, watching his partner while trying to shoo his horse away. Dewar first grunted at Rock's comment, then laughed at the horse's behavior.
"This mare must love going on a rides... And she got accostumed you."
"You think so?"
"Yes... Both mares come from those thugs you two took care of... And they didn't look too happy when I took them to the stables... Plus, they seemed to be indifferent to the fate of their former masters, so I thing they didn't liked them much..."
"I see..." Rock replied after a moment of thought and then stroked the horse's head. "Sorry... That's enough for today, tomorrow we'll ride more..." He said to the mare, who, as if understanding what he was saying, snorted with obvious irritation and turned her head away. Dewar just laughed.
"She's a good mare... But she obviously doesn't like being told no..." The dwarf said with a smile and stroked the mare's head. Rock just nodded. "Do you have an idea for a name for her?"
"Not yet..." He replied after a moment's thought, looking at Dewar stroking his horse's side.
"A good horse like her deserves a good name... Keep that in mind." Rock just nodded, carefully remembering Dewar's comments. then they both turned their attention to Revy on her horse. Meanwhile, from a slow trot, she moved to a slow gallop, promising around the pen where they exercised. "This black mare is tempestuous... But she is also a good horse." When he said this, out of the blue, black horse suddenly stopped, flipping unprepared Revy over itself. Rock and Dewar both closed their eyes as Revy slid down the mare's neck and landed on her back in front of her with a thud, letting out a groan of pain as the black mare she had just been sitting on, neighed.
"I think Revy might be right about this mare being mean..." Rock commented, seeing the black horse's behavior.
"You may be right about that..." Dewar said, scratching his head. At the same time, the mare leaned towards Revy and licked her face. Dewar and Rock could only hear a string of curses and insults directed at the animal. Dewar just laughed, as if the horse's behavior had restored his faith. "They'll be fine..." He said after a while with a smile, Rock sighed in response.
"Maybe I'd better go calm her down before she fill that mare with bullets..."
"Yes... You better do that..." Dewar replied with a smile. Rock walked calmly forward. The dark brown mare, noticing his movement, turned her head towards him, but did not follow him, only watched him. Rock was getting closer to the lying Revy and the horse standing over her. He saw her wipe her face with the sleeve of her coat, while cursing the horse that was standing over her.
"You four-legged bastard! I swear I'll fuck you up! I'll turn you into fucking salami, you fucking jackass!" However, vulgarisms and threats did not impress her horse. From Rock's perspective, it looked downright comical. The dangerous Revy Two-Hands, the terror of Roanapur and the gunslinger of Lagoon Comapny, argues and insults the horse, which does not react to it. He probably would have had a different approach if she had started pointing her revolver at the animal, but fortunately, both of her revolvers were still in their holsters on her belt. Seeing that neither he nor the mare were in danger from Revy, he couldn't help but smile slighly as he approached her, but the most important thing was not to annoy her with that smile. Meanwhile, Revy uncovered her face and looked back at the black horse standing above her with a serious expression. "I swear to you... You'll throw me down again and I'll fucking kill you..." She said, wagging her finger at the horse. However, the mare didn't care and after a while she licked Revy's exposed face again, to which Revy reacted by screaming and using profanity again, while covering her face with her coat sleeve. However, the horse still did not pay attention to her reactions, but seeing Rock approaching, it neighed and happily ran away.
"You two really don't get along..." Rock said, bending down to Revy and extending his hand towards her again.
"Fuck off Rock..." She said with no trace of anger in her voice, grabbing his hand and pulling herself up. "I need a smoke..." She added, more out of habit, then anyting else.
"Didn't you say you weren't going to smoke in this life?"
"I already told you to fuck off Rock... I won't repeat myself..." She said without anger, rather boredly. And despite her words, she did not take the pack of cigarettes out of her pocket, which she decided to keep just in case. After a while, they both heard the dwarf's voice calling to them.
"The sun is setting, we're done for today... Grab the black mare and we'll take them to the stables..." Rock nodded.
"Alright." Rock replied, waving back to Dewar who was walking the brown horse to the stables. Revy just looked at Rock.
"How are you going to catch this black devil?" She asked with obvious surprise. "A horse can kill if someone approaches it the wrong way... Don't you remember that?" Rock, he scratched his head.
"Well I'm sure we'll think of something." He answered after a moment of thought.
"Fucking sure..." She replied, turning away from him and looking at the black mare running around them. She made two more circles around them and then, seeing that both Rock and Revy were watching her, she slowed down and approached them trustingly and let Revy grab the reins.
"That was easier than I thought..." Rock said, stroking the horse's head.
"Yeah..." Revy added, clutching the reins and gritting her teeth. "Because of this, I now have an even greater impression that this mare is just mean..." Rock just laughed with a hint of nervousness, stopping stroking the mare's muzzle, unable to fully disagree with Revy. After that, she shook her head and moved towards the stable, pulling the horse's reins. "Never mind... The sooner this black misfortune is out of my sight, the better..." Rock just laughed gently again, and the horse, despite some brutality in pulling it by the reins, remained visibly calm and serene, and calmly followed Revy's lead.
They walked to the other side of the fenced area, where there was a medium-sized wooden building. It was a stable. Rock and Revy, together with the black mare, went inside, where Dewar used a pitchfork to spread hay around the stalls where there were 6 other difrent horses and a mare ridden by Rock. The dwarf easily threw bales of hay over the gate to the stalls, which were not much lower than he himself.
"Get the mare to the stall and then take care of your horses…" He said as he stabbed the fork into another bale of hay before flipping it over to the stall with another horse. Reluctantly and somewhat tiredly, Revy led the black mare to the free stall, while Rock entered the stall next to it, where the dark brown mare he had previously ridden stood calmly, still wearing the saddle. Rock stood to the side of the horse, looking at the gear the horse was wearing, not knowing where to start. "You have to take off your saddle..." Dewar said with a smile, leaning on the stall gate.
"I know that..." Rock replied, scratching his head. "Just where do I start…" Dewar gently laughed at his question, but wasn't surprised by it.
"Yeah, just that..." Revy added, leaning out the stall she was standing in and looking at Dewar. "How are we supposed to do this?" Dewar nodded.
"Okay, listen to me, I'll tell you what to do..."
A moment later, Dewar began to explain to Rock how to remove the saddle and take care of the horse. The dark brown mare had a lot of patience for Rock, as well a gentle disposition that helped Rock stay calm. After a dozen or so minutes, the dark brown mare was free from the saddle, cleaned and fed. Right after that, Revy had to take care of the black mare, and even though Rock decided to help her, the task seemed more difficult than with the dark brown horse. The black mare was much more active than her peer, which made Revy tense up. However, as soon as Revy carefully entered the stall, the black mare calmed down and let Revy take care of herself. After another dozen or so minutes, the black mare was also freed from saddle, cleaned and fed.
"Fuck it... Taking care of horses is a fucking pain. I'm not surprised that people switched to cars..." Revy said, leaving the stable and brushing off the hay that had fallen on her while feeding the horse. The sun had long since set below the horizon, so the meadow in front of her was lit only by the glow of the rising moon.
"But there's a certain charm to it... You have to admit it..." Rock said as he left the stable with the lamp, closing it and joining Revy. She just snorted when she heard him.
"Rock... Tell me... Do you realize that you'll have to do this every day? Or at least as often as you ride a horse?" Rock's smile faded slightly upon hearing her words, but then it came back again.
"Maybe it won't be so bad... You know, with time we'll get used to it and get used to it." He said in a calm voice, looking at the stars above them. Revy just grimaced at his tireless optimism, then she saddened for a moment.
"I must say... That despite knowing that you died and lost everything you had before... You are incredibly positive..." Rock looked at her in surprise. "How do you do it? Do you come to terms with all this..."
"Revy…" Rock began calmly and tenderly. "I already told you... If I were on your..."
"You would do the same. Yes, I know… I've heard it before…" She interrupted him, avoiding his eyes so as not to be reminded of the moment of weakness from earlier. "But that's not what I mean..." She continued after a moment. "We've been here for less than two days and we know practically nothing about this world... How can you be an optimist in a world you don't know?" Rock looked down, sighed, then looked up at the sky again.
"I guess I can say that I have experience in this... Someone took me out of my world once and took me to a completely different one, unknown to me..." He said, still holding his head high and looking towards Revy with a smile.
"Fucking idiot..."
"But apart from that..." He continued, looking up at the stars, gaining her attention again. "Now there is no option to return... Whether I like this world or not, I live here now... And I guess I'm not desperate enough to see if after my next death I will go to another world, maybe one that suits me better... So all I have to do is accept this one, be happy that I am alive and move forward. That's the only option..." Revy closed her eyes, and after a second she also looked at the stars above her.
"I understand... Doesn't mean I like it..."
"Relax... It's easier the second time..."
"Go fuck yourself..." Rock just laughed lightly at her reaction to the taunt, but Revy herself didn't react to it and continued to look at the shining stars. "The only way is forward..." She said quietly to herself.
"Did you say something?"
"No..." She replied to Rock calmly, with a gentle smile, then turned her gaze towards the wooden, lighted building. "We should go back... The dwarf said he would make something for dinner, and I'm hungry as hell..." She then started taking steps towards the building.
"Yes you are right." Rock replied, following in her footsteps.
"Rock, by the way..." She said, continuing to walk forward. "Do you have any idea what we'll do next in this world?" Rock scratched the back of his head at the question.
"I haven't fully thought about it yet..." Revy just rolled her eyes, but Rock, who was walking behind her, wasn't able to see it. "I have experience in office work... Assuming there is such a job in this world, I could do it, at least to start with... You have experience with weapons, and Dewar thinks it could be useful." Revy just nodded as she listened to him and continued walking forward. "Also, Dewar mentioned hunters..."
"Yes, he told me about them too... He said they take contracts to hunt monsters, bandits and so on... Do you think it's for us?"
"Hard to say... I'll have to learn more about the hunters before I can tell." Revy just nodded in response. Soon they reached the door of the building.
Inside, Dewar welcomed them with dinner, the strong aroma of which they could smell from the doorway. There were two bowls of thick red stew with visible pieces of meat and small loaves of bread waiting for them on the table. Rock and Revy sat down at the table with Dewar. Revy, despite her initial doubts, took the spoon and scooped up the red substance and after smelling it, she put the spoon into her mouth. She couldn't tell if the food itself was good or if she was just that hungry, but that wasn't important right now. The most important thing was that she liked it and her stomach was empty. She didn't even think about asking what she was eating, although she could smell some meat and vegetables, she just wanted to fill her stomach properly for the first time since entering this world. After each spoon full of food, she took a piece of bread and bit it. Rock did the same, eating the food given to him equally greedily, stuffing himself with bread. Dewar looked at them with obvious satisfaction over his bowl, eating himself at a leisurely pace.
"I see you like it..." He said, putting the spoon next to the bowl aside for a moment and reaching for something, leaning back.
"Anyone would like it after a day of starving..." Revy said, wiping the red sauce off her face. Rock nodded in agreement as he continued eating. Dewar just laughed and put three cups and a bottle of golden drink on the table.
"There's some truth in that..." Said the dwarf, pouring the drink into cups and then giving two to his guests. Rock took the cup in his hand and smelled its contents. A strong, bitter, spicy smell hit him. However, it was so pleasant that he did not want to run away from the cup with his nose.
"It smells nice, what is it?" Rock asked, swirling the cup and looking at the liquid.
"Merot... A brew from mix of herbal roots..." Dewar said proudly, then lifted the cup and drank some of the contents. "It's a popular drink here." He added, wiping his mouth. Both Rock and Revy looked at him and then tried the drink in their cups. As soon as the liquid met their tongues, they felt a mild bitterness, followed by a delicate and refreshing sweetness.
"Wow..." Revy said, looking at the bottom of the cup. "It's weird... It's not bad, but it's weird."
"It's true..." Rock added after a moment. "It tastes a bit like spiced tea... But more intense and sweet..."
"I see you liked it..." Dewar said, taking another sip from his cup. Revy nodded reluctantly, not wanting to admit the dwarf was right. Rock, on the other hand, was less secretive in his opinion. And he clearly grunted in agreement with Dewar, taking another sip of his drink, and then went back to continuing his dinner. Some time later, as dinner was drawing to a close, Rock turned to Dewar.
"Could I ask you a question?" Dewar looked at him and nodded. "Me and Revy were wondering what we will do in this world... And you mentioned something about Hunters. Could you tell us more about them, what the job is like and so on..." Dewar leaned on the table and took a deep breath.
"Being a hunter is a pretty good job... Especially if you have some skills." The dwarf said, scratching his beard. "However, it is quite demanding..."
"Meaning?" Revy asked, putting the cup she was holding in her hand down on the table.
"If you want to make good money as a hunter, in addition to your fighting skills, you also need to have the perseverance to travel..." Rock and Revy looked at each other for a moment when they heard this, and then turned their eyes back to Dewar. "Two contracts can be several days apart and there may be no settlement there, so hunters often have to sleep under open sky, use what they brought with them or live off what they find along the way... And when they get there, they have to track down what they are hunting, prepare for a fight and not get killed..." Revy looked at Rock, who had an expression of concern on his face about what he heard, but he accepted this information much better than she could have expected. She spoke to Dewar immediately afterwards, turning her gaze back to him.
"Do Hunters die often?"
"Young and inexperienced hunters, yes. You often hear about young kids who have learned how to shoot a rifle and already think that they will get the best jobs and earn a fortune, only to not return after the first three jobs..." There was silence in the dining room . For Revy, what Dewar said was nothing unusual, in her previous life many novices ended up like this, especially those with more ego than brains. But still, she was worried about how Rock would react. Revy looked at him. She saw him staring at the table with concern on his face, then he lifted his head and looked at her. Their eyes met, and after a moment, seeing the worry on Revy's face, Rock nodded to show he was keeping up. Immediately they turned their eyes to Dewar, who began to speak again. "However, those who have a bit of common sense and know what they can do and what can't, can make a living in this profession, and with a bit of luck, earn a good fortune..." Rock and Revy, hearing this, looked at each other again, but now with more confidence in themselves.
"Dewar... We would like to become hunters..." The dwarf heard as he wanted to moisten his throat, lifting the cup to his lips, then looked towards Rock from whom he heard it. "Can you help us in this?" Dewar put his cup down on the table and scratched his head.
"I have some experience in a Hunter's work..." He said with a sigh, as if he wasn't sure how to react to their decision. "I can tell you what I know, which will allow you to survive as hunters... I also have books that contain knowledge useful for hunters, you can learn from them as much as you want... Besides, it is useful knowledge for life in this world..." Rock and Revy were happy upon hearing Dewar's decisions.
"Thanks Dewar..." Rock said on both his and Revy's behalf. The dwarf stood up and rubbed his hands with new found energy.
"Okay... We will start tomorrow, okay?" Rock and Revy nodded in agreement. "Great... See you in the morning..." Dewar said with some satisfaction before walking away from them.
"Revy…"
She heard a voice. It was Rock's voice. Quiet and calm.
"…Revy…"
However, it was subdued.
"… eyes, Revy…"
She wasn't sure what to do. Was it reality or a dream.
"…Revy…"
Having no other option, despite fear of reliving her memories, she opened her eyes. She was immediately blinded by a flash of light coming from the window. Rock was sitting by the bed, looking at her.
"Revy get up... We were supposed to start training today." He said in a calm yet stern voice. Revy looked at him in surprise.
"So it wasn't a nightmare this time..." She said quietly to herself.
Somewhere in the depths of the forest, a woman's voice could be heard from inside a cave. Immediately after a while, a dirty and tired woman emerged from the shadow of the cave. Seeing the grass in front of her, she threw herself at it as if she wanted to hug it.
"Finally... Finally outside, I thought I was going to fucking die in this hole..." She said, breathing heavily, and then looked around her. "But where the fuck am I..."