Roleplay

Kassian helped Avery to the stables, careful to keep her upright as she walked. His expression fell a bit at the sight of Jaques. He seems absolutely divine company, the princeling thought with a tinge of sarcasm.

"Halfingers from the Northern shores, preferably," Kassian interjected. He met Jaques's dismissal of him with a slightly irritated noise. "We will be embarking on quite the journey. Do you perhaps have a line with wider hooves?" It was a sub-breed of the draft horse, but worth a try nonetheless.

As he spoke, the young royal set his eyes from Jaques and let them scan the stable' interior. For a pirate-lending business, it was in rather good condition; from the new wood planks to the smell of fresh hay. Kassian would have difficulty finding anything to critcize besides the owner's first impression. I can't even smell manure. Either he has a few stable-hands, or he spends most of his time among his horses.

Kassian seemed to stiffen a bit as Avery left his side, eyes narrowing a bit at Jaques's back as the girl shot him a nervous look. Seems I'm not the only one who finds him disarming, then... He made a mental note to be careful if the two ever encountered the horse-peddler again.

Shaking himself back to reality, the princeling gave a tsking noise, turning to view the huge line of stalls that stretched out in front of him. He could see a countless number of horses, both varied in build, color and breed; there werw even a few the royal would have difficulty placing a name too. The lot of them looked well cared for.

Does this man have anything I can criticize?

He snorted dismissively. Turning, Kassian folded his arms and began to scan the many countless horses, searching for a Halfinger with wide hooves. The task was easier said than done.

Settling on an angier looking, slick, black-coated horse, Kassian sat himself by the stall, careful not to get any straw on his ragged uniform. He folded his arms again and began to hum a sea shanty.

Now to wait for the two of them to return.

Kassian scowled softly in Jaques's direction.

"Yes, I did. He seems to come from a blue-blood line, sire. His coat is proof of royal heritage." Despite the horse's obvious temper problems, the princeling had been drawn to the fantastic looking steed. It held a bit of a sense of the home he was missing so sorely already. Let's just hope I haven't made a mistake in picking this particular steed. The last thing he needed was to be thrown into a pile of hay as soon as he mounted the majestic animal.

He soon hauled himself to his feet, using a free hand to prop his weight against a horse stall door. His thin legs crossed the distance between him and Jaques's tightly gripped saddle in matter of steps.

The prince took the gear out of the french boy's hands and turned defiantly to the horse. The animal gave a defiant snort, as if daring Kassian to try and saddle it. He narrowed his gaze with a horribly determined expression.

Approaching the stall with caution, he extended the saddle; only to have the horse butt it out of his hands and bite loudly at his fingers.

"Lovely..." His voice was rimmed in sarcasm.

"Well, I find him dashing," Kassian said indignately. His brow had furrowed at the sight of how quickly Avery had hooked up the horse with both the saddle and the accompanying bags. For not having left a boat in over a decade, I could almost assume she'd been a stablehand for a handful of years.

Shaking himself out of the stare, the princeling moved his head from side-to-side in a silent disagreement with himself. Hah! Nonsense. A pirate is nothing impressive.

Another glance at Avery. Even one that pretty.

Kassian cleared his throat and rolled his shoulders. "Besides! Who doesn't like a challenge? I've riden difficult steeds before. Just a bit of effort is all it takes to break them."

He peered through half-shut eyes at the mount. "I think I'll name him Blackfire," the royal decided proudly, crossing his arms. The horse— now named Blackfire— gave a confident snort, as if finding the name appropriate for it.

Both rider and horse seemed to share equally proud expressions with themselves. The two were a match made in heaven, surely, but the trip was going to be absolute hell for Avery. No chance in the Gods would the two make the fortnight long trip in peace.

He spoke in an equally powered whisper. His sharp voice carried from the stable-doors as the prince desperately tried to mount his horse, met with a difficult climb up the massive stallion's back. The steed was far taller than Kassian himself, and hard to scale, despite the footholds the saddle offered him.

It took a bit more fiddling for the young man to come out of the stables with his mount, both rider and beast's heads held high and mighty. It was a rather... odd sight. As if the pair wore the same expression.

"See? No challenge, for a prince! This stupid horse might as well be as docile as a rabbit—" Blackfire suddenly bucked, throwing Kassian to the paved stone road. He hit with a soft grunt.

"N-nevermind," the prince groaned, flipping over to his back and sitting up with a scowl. The horse gave a heaving whinny, as if to laugh.

After another perilous scaling of his impressive Halfinger, the royal gave an indignant noise, held just as high as before. He spoke in an authoritative whisper.

"As for his name, miss Avery— he is the color of witch flames. They happen to be the most impressive when they're ebony."