Tsuki ✔️COMPLETE

Chapter 18: Adventure's Eve

Kai and Sama headed out to the markets to buy warm clothes as soon as Rubi got back. Mimi wrote them a list to take with them and they bid their farewells. All the coins Sama had been lifting from people's pockets was enough for them to sort out their needs. Rubi was happy to have taken care of the food as it was what she did for her crew regardless.

In the stable stalls, they put up their mules for the night, giving them plenty of hay and oats to fuel them tomorrow. While they ate, Rubi went over Juda with a brush, kicking up the dust and dander in his hair into the air and making her sneeze. She talked to him while she did, remembering the horses back home.

Elegant, majestic creatures with sharp, defined heads, long, strong legs and their tails always held high like a flag. They had glossy coats in every solid colour she had ever seen on a horse, though the ones belonging to the royal palace tended to have white, swirling hair patterns on their undersides and white socks of various lengths. Their long tails and manes were sometimes streaked with white too.

As a child, she had many favourites that came and went. A beautiful steel-grey mare that turned white with age before her eyes as the years went by. A seal brown colt too wild and spirited for royal ceremonies but with a heart for running and jumping. They lost hours of the day together at high speeds, only slowing down to a trot when someone who would report back to her father came into view. He had a terrible fear that she would fall, and of course, she did several times, but he never found out.

She had truly loved riding horses when she was younger. Having this long-eared, stocky hybrid was the closest thing she had now, and she intended to love him wholeheartedly.

"Why are you so good and so cute? Tell me, you delightful, munching creature."

"Rubi, you really need to stop talking to that donkey." Kagemaru insisted. "He can't reply."

"He's a mule and he's perfect." Rubi retorted, scratching Juda's chin, his mouth full of hay. "And you'd reply if you could, wouldn't you? Yes, you would!"

"Should I name mine?" Mimi asked.

"No." Kagemaru said immediately.

"Yes." Rubi said at the same time, deliberately louder.

"I shall call her Jun. What will you call yours, Kagemaru?"

He ignored her, assembling the straps of the pack saddle for the next day. It looked like there was a lot of gear to carry, but it was the minimum Rubi would risk carrying. After talking with Indra's parents she had plotted a journey across the foothills between towns and villages where they could restock supplies when necessary. There would be anywhere from three to five days travel between stops, the terrain uneven and rocky.

Indra's parents had assured her the mules would have enough new greenery to graze on as they were far from picky eaters, though a bag of oats would be well received. But once they headed out though, they were on their own. They may not see a single soul between stops. There could be heavy snowfall, torrential rain. If they travelled on higher ground, there could be avalanches, rockfall or mudslides.

When Kai and Sama came back it was dark, and Rubi was hungry for their last dinner in the inn and apothecary. Sama showed her matching set of woollen hat, scarf and mittens to anyone who would look. The wool was so soft, stained indigo. Kai had a larger set of bright blue knits, textured with knitted-in leaf patterns. They were a close colour match to the stripes on his cheeks. Together they made a whole rainbow.

They all sat down for dinner together. The kitchen wafted delicious smells at them, teasing what was to come. Rubi and Mimi spread their lists out in front of them, checking and double-checking they had the right supplies and the right amount.