Four - mother freaking - AM...
This is the time for the sun to rise. This is the time for animals to rise. And this is the time for farmers and early workers to rise.
NOT a sleep deprived teenager who hates mornings.
I growled, arms crossed over my chest as I followed behind Damia - who I was extremely pissed off at by the way. He didn't even tell us where we were going, and it was even more confusing that he hadn't brought Mira with us. That told me we were definitely going to return to the stable, but what for? And why couldn't it have waited a couple more hours?!
Sanela yawned from her spot on my shoulder, rubbing her half lidded eyes with a cute pout "Are we there yet...?"
"Almost," Damia replied cheerfully, as if waking up at the crack of dawn didn't bother him in the slightest. I guess he'd be used to it by now, since he was a traveler. "Just be patient."
"'jUsT bE pAtIeNt.'" I mimicked, and he rolled his eyes.
I was being rude, I knew that. I had promised myself I'd have more of an open mind, and that I'd try to be nicer...
But how can I do that when I've had an idiot coo in my ear like a child to wake me up, and practically rip off my covers which had me freezing half to death?!
Am I being overdramatic? Probably.
I'm I gonna stop? Hell n—
"We're here."
Before I knew it, I had been pulled to the side and behind a tree. Damia placed a finger to his lips and poked his head around the trunk, grinning like a little kid as he gestured me to come look.
"What is it?"
"Horses." He whispered in excitement, pointing to a herd of different coloured steeds grazing a little ways away from us. I raised an eyebrow.
"You dragged us out here so you could spy on horses?"
"No. I dragged us out here so you can tame one."
I blinked "Sorry?"
"You," he poked my nose "Are going to go over there, jump on a horse, and tame it."
"Oh no! No way!" Some of the horses turned their heads in alarm, and we ducked behind the tree to not cause them any more alarm "Look, when you said we needed to get me a horse, I thought you meant rent one from the stable. Not catch one of my own! I mean, isn't that dangerous?!"
"Nah, it ain't that bad." The boy waved a hand, one eye closed with his tongue sticking out cheekily "I've done it many times, and look! I'm still fine."
Sanela and I shared a glance. 'Fine', he says....
"Well if you're so confident," I eyed him "Why don't you tame me a horse?"
"Because that ruins the whole purpose!" Damia whined "You're supposed to connect with your horse - form a bond with it. What's the point if someone does the hardest part for you? And it isn't even that hard in the first place!"
I growled and turned away, arms crossed in front of my chest with a scowl on my face. That's when I started to evaluate... the fastest way to travel around Hyrule was on horseback, and since Link had Epona he was probably pretty far off. I had to get there as soon as possible, but if the three of us took Mira the extra weight would tire her and we would have to take breaks more frequently. If I had a horse of my own, that wouldn't be an issue. Downside to that is that I might get a hoof in my face.
...
Dammit, there are more upsides to owning one!
"Okay, fiiiiine!" I groaned, turning around to face Damia "What do I do, o'mighty horse expert?"
—-
"KYAAH!"
"That's it, Y/N! Now hold onto it!"
"EASY FOR YOU TO SA- AGH!"
The horse I had captured gave one last powerful buck, which sent me flying and crashing into the grassy field. I had been attempting to catch a horse for awhile now, but so far they had only run away when hearing me coming, or bucked me off painfully when I did finally catch one. By this point my hind quarters was starting to get really sore, and I had been knocked down so many times that Hard-Knock Life had started playing in my head... great, even my own mind is mocking me. With a huff I slowly stood to my feet, brushing off any grass off my clothes before going to sneak up on the scattered herd again.
Almost...
Almost...
Al—
One nearby whinnied to alert, causing the others to run off in alarm.
"God f***ing dammit!!!"
Sanela gasped "Profanity!!"
"Y/N maybe you should—"
"Nope, don't wanna hear it Damia!" I silenced the Shiekah boy by holding up a hand over my shoulder, scowl on my face as I ranted under my breath "'Oh it isn't that hard' he says..."
I was waaay too pissed to hear him out as I jogged ahead of my temporary companions, hoping that I could still catch a horse with little experience and a sore buttocks. A gorgeous greyish teal coloured stallion stood grazing a little further away from the others, seemingly unaware of my approach as I locked onto him. My steps remained light while moving towards his rear end, hoping I could hop on without him noticing... I was so close...
And then I heard another whinny.
The stallion turned his head to look at me, his eyes wide in fear. He let out a loud frightful neigh as his hind legs lifted to kick me away.
"Y/N!"
Before the strike in my abdomen could happen I was scooped up with extreme speed and carried to a safe distance. When regaining my senses I had realised Damia was holding me, his arms under my back and knees as he panted for air. It amazed me how fast he acted to get me out of that situation.
"Okay," he sighed, releasing my legs so they landed firmly on the ground "So you've never done this before—"
"Well that's a given."
"Hey, I thought you said you had experience with horses!"
"I do! Horses, that were born in captivity! They've been around humans all their lives, so they weren't usually this paranoid!" I threw my hands up "Seriously, my unease should have been enough to tell you that this is new for me! Things like this don't come as naturally to me as they do for some people!" (*cough* Link *cough*)
Damia pursed his lips together and stepped away from me "I see your point... Okay, how about we try again,"
"Wh—"
"But, this time I'll stay by your side and walk you through it." He gave a smile "And if you get bucked again, I'll be there to catch you."
I was silent for a moment, before nodding "I guess support would help..."
"Then it's settled!" Damia took my hand and began leading me to the herd once again. Sanela fluttered between us, humming a sweet little tune as she did so. After a little bit of walking Damia's hand slipped from mine to replace itself on my shoulder, pushing me down with him until we were submerged in the tall grass.
