His and Sauls journey had lasted longer than both men had expected; with the addition of the unexpected foal they'd had to travel slower than they had planned and had even had to rest out in the hinterlands. They had found an old cabin, one that Saul professed to have lived in before, they had stayed the night and left early in the morning, making it to the pack in good time. The dark Stormbringer had been exhausted after their trek and had only just had the energy to stable his colt and make it back to his house where he collapsed and slept for hours.
Morning sunlight woke him, the soft light filtering through his misty window and falling across his eyes. He sighed happily and suddenly felt the weight on his chest. It wasn't too heavy, nor was it uncomfortable, it was actually welcome and familiar. His smile became fond and he raised his hand to his chest, stroking the curled up bundle of fur that was his best friend; Ciaran. "Good morning Ciar." He mumbled, Irish tones heavy with the fug of sleep that still hung over them. The cat yawned hugely and stretched, long, fluffy tail curling upwards, tickling Niernans shoulder. His yawn concluded and the cat lifted heavy grey-green eyes to his wolf partner, "Mornin'." He slurred. The cat was just as tired, the journey having taken it out of him too, despite sleeping most of the way back. The thought struck Niernan then and the wolf became very confused. He was well versed in the ways of cats, having been with Ciaran for a while now, but he couldn't understand how he slept so much. "Why are you so sleepy recently, Ciar?" He asked, features filled with innocent puzzlement. The looked up at him with all the weight of cat knowledge, which of course is everything, and mewled "'Cos it's summer, and it's hot. Cats don't do hot, we sleep. Only sensible thing to do." Niernan laughed then, making the cat rock wildly on his chest, "Of course Ciaran, I get it now." His laughter descended into small chuckled and he brought his hand up to fondle the cats ears, setting the large feline purring. "Do ya think you can manage to come with me to the stables today, I wanna play with Darcy for a bit?" He asked. Nier stepped up the fuss he was giving to the cat, so much so that Ciaran struggled to get his hum of ascent out between his chesty purrs.
His tail wagged frantically as he emerged from his house, Ciaran padding along beside him, fluffy tail held high like a banner. Nier patted the pocket of his shorts where he had a small apple hidden, he was going to try the apple himself, a little food experiment, but now he had Darcy he thought the little colt might like it. Cat and wolf kept pace as they strolled through the village, giving everyone they saw a fond or happy smile, not that many people were up and about this early in the morning, just the mad ones. He chuckled at his internal joke, but quickly stifled it, not wanting to offend anyone if they should think that he was laughing at them. While he walked he thought about how he would go about bonding with and training the little colt. Darcy was much too small to take anything on his back yet, maybe one of Grace's quoll pups, they were still quite small. He wasn't sure if they'd sit still long enough for his experiment to work but he'd ask Grace, see if she was willing to lend him a pup, or even come along and supervise the experiment. Once Darcy got older and bigger he could have Ciaran ride the foal, he thought it best to get the piebald used to having something on his back sooner rather than later.
The two friends rounded a corner and the stable hove into view. The building needed a little bit of work doing, but it was sound enough for the moment. He edged into the wooden structure, the smell of horse hitting him full on, it was almost a physical slap in the face. He stopped still for a moment and allowed his nose to get used to the musty, thick smell of horse. It seemed that his tiny colt had already smelled him as his white face was already peering through the slatted front of his stall. Nier grinned at that and had to make an effort to walk slowly and calmly over. He offered his paw to the horse to sniff, he had to bend down to do it, the young horses head only coming up to Niers thigh. Darcy lipped Niers hand, whickering quietly and pawing at the wood that blocked him from getting closer. The horse and wolf had already bonded a little on the journey to Vinatta, but Nier had been far too excited then, he had barely been able to contain his glee when Saul had pronounced the handsome colt his.
Nier took down the minuscule rope head collar and unlatched the stable door, calling Darcy to him with a few tongue clicks so he could put the collar on the horse. Darcy showed unease at the rope, having forgotten that it wasn't going to harm him already. Nier continued to cluck to Darcy, but the little draft foal refused to move, his face stubborn. It was then that Nier remembered the apple. He pulled the fruit from his pocket and held it just in front of the collar, Darcy moved then, willingly putting his head inside the rope in his efforts to reach the apple. The Irish wolf didn't want to waste the whole apple on just the head collar trick so he fastened the rope collar before biting a chunk off of the green orb and holding it out to the foal on his open palm. Darcy whinnied happily and chomped on the apple chunk, moving forward bullishly, looking for more. Nier chuckled, "Not yet little one." Nier gave Ciaran a smiling look then, pleased with his progress, this was when Darcy noticed the cat and moved forwards to sniff the feline, his curiosity obvious but his bravery odd for a horse so young. Ciaran was shocked and would normally have jumped back immediately, but he shared a glance with Nier and held his ground, allowing the foal to smell him and investigate. Darcy whickered again and nuzzled the cat, getting a return nuzzle from Ciaran. Nier felt pride swell in his chest as he watched his two 'kids' get along so well.
After Ciaran and Darcy finished bonding Nier decided that it was time to go for a walk, he wanted Darcy to get used to being led by him and having Ciaran walk alongside. He kept a loose grip on the lead rope, not wanting Darcy to feel trapped, he wouldn't force the horse to do anything but he wouldn't allow for silly behaviour. Lucky for Nier Darcy seemed content to be out of the stable and walking alongside his new wolf friend. The three of them simply walked for an hour or so, before the colt showed signs of tiring under the hot sun. Nier steered them to a shady copse of trees and stopped to rest, seating himself against the trunk of the tall, leafy tree. Ciaran scrambled up the trunk and led out on a branch, tail hanging down to brush Niernans ears. Darcy tossed his head a little and Nier let the rope go. He had a brief moment of fear, thinking the colt would dash off and he'd have to give chase, but Darcy simply pranced for a moment, flicked his tail and then proceeded to crop the grass, content to wander around and graze, his fuzzy tail flicking at invisible flies.
They remained like this for hours, briefly interrupted when Darcy seemed to remember that Niernan still had that apple and had cantered over to head butt the wolf. Nier had simply laughed and made the colt work for the apple, making him stay and come when called. He realised that he was training the colt, like a human would have trained a dog, but it seemed a good idea. The foal picked up on the idea quickly and soon Niernan was out of apple. The horse was persistently nudging his hand-paw now, snuffling at his pockets and lipping his shorts. Nier laughed and held the colts face affectionately, placing his nose against the foals for a second. "C'mon then, let's go back home." He heaved himself to his paws and called for Ciaran, the cat half falling, half scrambling down the tree to trot alongside Nier and Darcy. Nier thought that he didn't really need to have a hold of the lead rope anymore, but he gripped it anyway, the colt plodding along happily.
Nier wasn't sure if Darcy would go back into the stable and stay there, but as soon as they wandered back into the building the colt let out a whinny and got a response from Teme's filly. It seemed the two were friends and happy to see each other. Nier felt happier about leaving Darcy in the stable now, knowing he had a friend nearby. He closed the door on Darcy's stall, ensuring the bolt was pulled across, before reluctantly leaving the stable. A happy smile crossed his muzzle and he hummed as he and Ciaran strolled back to their house, the setting sun making the sky blaze with vibrant oranges, reds and the faintest hint of purple. Nier nodded and sighed, "Ah, I'd say that this was a very good day."
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