The Believer

Chapter Thirteen: ...He Wore a Cloak

After settling a price for the potion, Casey and Helewis left the library, heading back into the city of Queeran to meet up with Thea and Wilky, which they did relatively easily considering the complexity of the city. Next, they had to settle the dispute of who would be riding with who. It was decided that Casey would ride with Helewis, the prisoner, to keep an eye on him, while Thea would ride with Wilky.

"So... how does this work?" Wilky asked Thea, as Thea struggled to mount the black horse, Tempest. Casey had found a place to get saddles and bridles, and showed them how to put them on the horses, but this didn't make matters any easier.

"You just... um, you just have to pull yourself up... like... this?" Thea finally heaved herself onto the horse, only to stare in terror down at the ground below. The fact that she was wearing a long dress and had to ride side saddle only made it worse. She felt like she was going to slip off. How did people do this so easily?

"Are you sure you know how to do this?" Wilky questioned suspiciously.

"I know exactly what I'm doing," Thea breathed, picking up the reins.

"Okay then! I trust you." Wilky replied, putting her foot into the stirrup and jumping up in one try, easily perching on the horse's back behind Thea. "Woahhh this is high," she said, giggling. "Cool!"

Casey rode Ditto up beside them, Helewis sitting calmly behind him.

"Alright, ready to go?" Casey asked.

"Yeah. Sure. Let's go." Thea muttered, kicking her heels into Tempest's sides, as she'd seen other people do. The horse remained immobile.

Casey laughed. "Like this." he nudged the horse, snapping the reins, and Ditto trotted off at a steady pace. Thea imitated him, and though it took a few failed attempts, they were soon trotting along beside Casey and Helewis.

"You're having a bit of trouble with this, aren't you?" Wilky asked Thea.

"Nope, nope, I'm fine. Been awhile since I've ridden, that's all."

They left Queeran behind, riding along at a faster pace than before. Thea began to get the hang of it after while, and realized that it was rather calming, with the rhythm of the horse's hooves on the ground, and the steady movement of the horse's back beneath her. Even the height didn't bother her as much.

Wilky, on the other hand, had been enjoying this since they started. She was loving the break from walking, and the speed at which they could now travel.

When the road got rougher, Wilky put her arms around Thea's waist and leaned her head on her shoulder. Thea squeaked and stiffened at first, but gradually relaxed, and didn't push her off. It didn't take long for Wilky to fall asleep, once the ride became smoother once more.

Meanwhile, Casey and Helewis led the way. Helewis would have also appreciated the break from walking, except for the fact that Casey seemed fond of showing off his riding skills, suddenly speeding up or causing the horse to jump into the air. Helewis was a good rider, but had always hated surprises of any kind.

They rode well into the evening, before starting to look for a place to camp for the night.

"I like riding horses," Wilky announced to Thea, upon waking up. "It's so much faster and I'm not tired at all! I mean, a little sore, but it's better than walking!"

Thea nodded a bit. "Sure. Yeah. It's great." she was trying to figure out how to bring the horse to a complete stop. She kept kicking it with her heels, but its response to this was a snort and a slight speeding up. "Stop, crift it, stop!" she exclaimed in frustration. Casey and Helewis, a bit behind them now, had already stopped and were dismounting. Leaving Helewis with Ditto, Casey began running over to them, amused at Thea's failure to control the horse.