The Son Of Snakes

27 - The Divine Stallion

'Poor creature.' Nikolas thought as the horse nestled its head into his hand. It was probably one of the horses from a crashed chariot. Had it been injured?

No, Nikolas heard it. The poor horse's stomach was erratically growling like it hadn't eaten anything in days. Was King Sisyphus so cruel as to not feed the horses for the race?

"Stay here." Nikolas told the horse. "Let me find something."

Unfortunately, he had no food on him. But in a forest as dense as this, there had to be a few apples here and there. Nikolas took his hand off of the horse, hearing a small whine in response.

"Just a moment." Nikolas replied. "I'll be right back."

The horse watched as Nikolas walked to a tree, pulled out his staff, and started to smack the trunk. With no luck, he moved on to another tree, smacking it until an apple came loose and dropped to his feet. Nikolas picked it up, taking it over to the horse.

"Here." Nikolas gave the apple, which the horse ate up scrumptiously. Once again the horse nestled it's head into Nikolas' hand, already starting to feel better.

The owl which had been following Nikolas was now perched upon one of the trees, watching with interest. Era had gotten a little worried when she saw Nikolas fall, but luckily he seemed fine, if only a bit shaken.

But this horse interested her. Sure, it was weak, but it didn't seem to go to Nikolas because it wanted help. There seemed to be something else in it's motivations. Furthermore, she noticed the extra appendages of the horse.

Those wings. Horses did not usually have wings. This one was certainly an anomaly. One that was interested in her person of interest.

Interesting. While she wasn't usually one to get involved so directly, her curiosity got the better of her. As Nikolas went to forage more apples, she swooped down, landing on the horse's back.

The horse looked back at her, but didn't make a move. It recognized her friendliness. This horse seemed to portray a basic intelligence about the level of a human's.

It had been a while since she had done this, but for a goddess like her, this was easy. She focused on making sure the spell transferred from her to the owl, and then from the owl to the horse.

And then she started to chant. Inwardly, as to not gain suspicion from Ria and Melinoe, who both sat next to her as they waited in anticipation for the chariots to return.

The horse suddenly felt a surge of power go through him. A burst of energy that would last him long enough until they could get him some more food. The horse stood up strongly, causing Nikolas to turn towards him as he heard the crunching of grass.

The owl has already retreated back into the sky, and through it Era could feel the horse's thankfulness. With this, perhaps they still had a chance.

"You're back on your feet." Nikolas noted, patting the horse once again. "You feel alright?"

The horse nuzzled it's head against Nikolas' hand in response.

Nikolas nodded. "I am glad. You should go. Be free."

But the horse did not move. Instead, it nudged Nikolas' hand. Almost like it wanted to stay with him. To help him.

Nikolas didn't understand. He had only fed this horse one apple. Why was it so attached to him? He gave the horse respect, and expected it in return, but didn't expect this.

The horse didn't budge.

"Alright." Nikolas conceded. "I would like to win."

For them.