Between the Veil and Crown

Kylin 24

Marwick left earlier in the morning, headed to the villages to visit with Glae before the Elves had to return to their own kingdom. In his parting, he had left a renewed sense of an energy, an uplifting of spirits for both Amelia and Kylin.
When Marwick had vanished from view of Ameila's cottage, Kylin decided it was time to start on the mare that he had been sent. On his way out to the pasture, he snatched one of the surviving apples from the preservation process.
The piebald mare was right in the middle of the pasture. Her head snapped up immediately when she saw him approaching the fence. Every muscle her body indicated she was ready to run should Kylin approach too close. Kylin slipped himself through the gap, eyeing a tree not too far from the horse, but reasonably a comfortable distance away to avoid from her. He headed over to it as casually as possible.
But moving anywhere near her direction was apparently enough. She whipped around and took off, tail and head high in the air. Kylin continued to his targeted spot, not giving her even a glance. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her stop and look back to see if he was giving chase. When he settled himself at the base of the tree, she turned in his direction, ears flicking all directions as she tried to make what she could of it.
He pulled out his journal and began to pretend that he was more interested in it than her. Like how Marta used her journal to record her experiences with different flora of the Veil, he primarily documented his encounters with inhabitants of the Veil. He had not written down all the events surrounding the carnivorous flower yet. During his time of healing at the headquarters, he had avoided doing so because he was not yet ready to have it written down as a permanent reminder. He continued putting it off while at Amelia's, in part hoping that he would conveniently forget to do so. However, with the arrival of the mare, and Marwick's visit, he now was given the resolve and opportunity to do it.
Perhaps not full resolve, he admitted to himself. It was much easier to let himself get distracted by the piebald who believed herself to be sneaky while approaching him than it was figuring out the first sentence he wanted to put down.
As he started putting words down, he was aware of the mare getting close enough to peer over his shoulder. Still thinking that he had no clue she was as close as she was, her breath could now be felt on his neck.
After he finished a paragraph, he asked her, "Is there something you're looking for?"
This was very obviously a threat. She snorted hard and took off, tail high in the air. She only stopped when she realized he hadn't moved from his place. Confused, she watched him for a few moments before sneaking back over to inspect what he was doing.
She did this several times, taking off every he spoke to her. Kylin wasn't concerned about it. He knew eventually she would chill enough that she would stick around when he talked to her. His goal was only to get her used to him, and familiar with him, before he started any of the physical work.
Finally, she reached a point where the sound of his voice did not scare her off. Instead, she remained where she was, reaching her nose out in curiosity. He felt her muzzle touch his shoulder. He resisted the urge to touch her just then. Just a few more minutes, after she realized that he meant no harm.
Well, he certainly didn't mean harm.
For an reason unbeknownst to him, the mare opened her jaws and clamped down on his shoulder. He jerked back out of her mouth and she took off again, tossing her head and bucking in pure glee. He held his shoulder as he stared after her, not sure what to do next. This was certainly a new tactic he had seen from a horse. With the hand not clutching his shoulder, he felt around for the journal that he had dropped.
"You're just vicious, aren't you?" he called after the still gleefully bucking horse. It was then that he remembered the message from the horse master that Numier had given him: Good luck.
Grumbling under his breath, he settled himself back into his original position as he pondered what to do next.
The mare noticed that he had taken his attention off her, and began to sneak back towards him.
He saw her muzzle reaching out for his shoulder again. He shifted himself out of her reach and quickly shoved her head away. She flicked her ears back, annoyed, and attempted again. He responded in the same way.
Once again, she flicked her ears and tried again.
It was a tiring game, and Kylin had no chance to return to his journal. However, the encouraging thought was that she was not going for whatever was in her reach. Her target was solely his shoulder. Which meant she truly saw this as a game and was not going after him out of malice.
The time between her attempts began spacing out more noticeably. He took advantage of the increasing seconds of peace, using that time to pick up the apple beside him and slice it up. It was a slow process, as she usually didn't wait until he was finished with cutting out a slice. After the apple was cut up, and there was considerable time with the next gap, he offered her a slice.
Her ears instantly pricked up. She greedily took the slice from the palm of his hand, staring at him as she chewed. When he didn't immediately offer her more, she tried nosing his hand -without using her teeth this time- to indicate she was ready for more.
"When I'm good and ready," he informed her.
She kept her nose where it was, like a hunting dog pointing out prey. He went back to his journal, making sure that her teeth remained covered.
When he felt enough time had passed, he gave her another slice and rubbed her nose, then made her wait again. She had earned a few slices before she decided to return to her game. A decision, she found, that did not get her more slices.
By the time the apple was gone, Kylin felt assured that he had curbed the worst of her little biting game. He might have to start the process over again the next day, but maybe she would pick up quicker what was expected of her then.