Change of a ride (WoT FF)

Chapter 3

"Arrow is perfectly fine." He must have heard it enough times over the past two weeks to last him a lifetime. "We can keep going."

Moiraine was not being reasonable and his exasperation would be hitting the roof if there was a roof at the place they were camping at. Arrow lost a shoe in the second village they were checking, or rather five miles away from it and with her already weakened state twisted her leg enough for Moiraine to need to heal her. He would have protested but it was better to risk it rather than get completely stuck. It took a lot out of his Aes Sedai and she was tired even more after riding with him back, then getting camp very late in a space none of them would have chosen willingly. This did not make for a good and restful night. They were also rather late if Moiraine really intended to catch the merchant woman in the City of Tear.

"We can keep going" he admitted after releasing the mare's leg after checking if the new shoe and the leg itself were in good enough condition. "But haste would not deal her right." He decided not to comment on the deep purple shades that Moiraine managed somehow to cover with powder in the morning but not before he saw her. It was, anyways, for strangers' benefit only, for he could feel how deep her weariness seeped into her bones. "If we go to much," he continued, "Arrow might have too much and with you being out of options" a good enough euphemism even of Moiraine still growled at it "we need to rely on good old horsemanship. And you know it just as well as I do." He knew very well that she was more than just knowledgeable about horses. Her childhood took care of that. The fact she chose such as fine specimen as Arrow gave her enough credit in that regard.

She was seething. He could feel that how that perfect calm of the Aes Sedai settled on her face. He could work with that as long as she listened to his reason.

They managed to get to The City of Tear, or clone to it the next evening and he was glad. Moiraine's attitude improved when she was faced with a task instead of just travel. Now they needed to rest, wake up early and check as many places from her list as possible. This meant she was occupied with planning all evening and Lan had enough free rein to check the horses thoroughly. Cat Dancer was fit as fiddle, even though Lan would have liked to have some days to work with him without time constraints of Tear. Maybe they could stay for a longer while somewhere in Andor when they go back.

Arrow, on the other hand, was lame again. Not too much, probably nothing serious, not something that wouldn't go down after a good night's rest, but the leg was bothering her some. He was prepared. He collected some clay from the riverbank earlier, happy there was that opportunity. He put it, mixed with crushed herbs, on the fronts of Arrow and drenched it with water. This should help her heal faster. or at least carry them through another day. Arrow was a fine horse but getting older and even the One Power could not correct that.

His eyes met Moiraine's when he got up. There were tears in them and when he reached through the bond he could feel her sorrow crushing her in waves stronger with each heartbeat. She might have reached with the Power, risk healing, but that would mean resting longer, being later even with what they needed to do.

"There are good markets in Andor. The one in Far Madding is good enough too." She said with clipped voice. "Before that we need to visit a banker. Our coins are few as it is."

He nodded, glad she changed the topic a little – it meant her emotions redirected to a task and quieted. And they needed money, he had to admit. The purse was far from empty, but without supplementation it would be hard to find a good new horse they could afford outright. And a new horse was needed.

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Moiraine has been a little distracted all morning. She had to keep consulting her notes as she kept forgetting every little detail. Lan didn't comment on it, just decided to stay by her side instead of taking some time to himself. She was grateful for his silent support, as always.