“Alright. Odd names, but it doesn’t really matter, I suppose.” Hunter said quietly as he hopped onto Ulysses’ back. “Alright, mount up and we’ll get started.” Marina and Kyle mounted their Pegasi and took a few practice steps.
“My mom takes me horseback riding all the time. I think I know what I’m doing.” Marina said with a sigh. Hunter shrugged.
“Go ahead, then.” He said motioning for her to try on her own. Marina gave him a defiant smile before taking a deep breath and kicking the horse gently. Jimmy took a few steps forward. She smiled as she kicked again and the horse went into a trot.
“See? I told you.” She said with a chuckle. Hunter blinked a few times.
“You know that we’re FLYING there, right?” He said with a raised eyebrow. “So, go ahead and fly.” Marina glanced at Hunter and then looked at Kyle for a second before looking back to Jimmy. She took a deep breath before pulling back on the mane of the horse. With a quick whinny it took off into the air. Marina screamed as Jimmy swished through the sky.
“LET ME DOWN! GO DOWN!” She yelled as Hunter and Kyle laughed. The horse finally gave into her demands and landed on the ground gently. She immediately slid off the horse laid down on her back. “Do we have to fly? I don’t want to fly. I could go without flying.” She said quietly, her hair a mess.
“You just need to get used to it.” Hunter said between laughs. He turned to Kyle. “Alright. Your turn.” He said nodding toward Petunia. Kyle sighed and leaned forward to whisper into his flying horse’s ear. After a brief moment, Petunia let out a snort and stamped her feet. Kyle pulled on the horse’s mane gently. It flapped its wings twice and floated in the air, slowly flapping. Kyle patted her on the neck and pulled her mane again and took off into the sky. Hunter watched with a raised eyebrow and a smile as Kyle flew gracefully through the air. “He’s a natural!” Hunter said with a laugh.
“He’s going awful fast, isn’t he?” Marina said nervously, still lying on the ground. “Don’t let him get hurt, Hunter.” She said, being overly concerned. Hunter rolled his eyes and went back to watching Kyle deftly zoom through the air before coming down to a soft landing right next to Marina.
“That…was awesome.” He said with a grin. He glanced down at Marina and smiled. He slid down off Petunia and helped Marina up. She stood on shaky legs and threw her arms around him.
“I don’t like flying. Can I fly on Petunia with you? Please? Jimmy is mean to me.” She said, glancing briefly at her Pegasus who let out a derisive snort.
“Marina, you should probably have your own Pegasus for this. It’s up to Kyle, though. It’s his quest.” Hunter said with a shrug. Kyle looked at Marina and sighed.
“Hunter is probably right. Sorry, babe.” He said, kissing her gently. She pouted slightly. “It’ll be okay, though. I’ll teach you. It’ll be fun.” He said with a grin. She glanced over at Jimmy who stamped his feet. “Come on. It’ll be fun.” He said, shaking her slightly. She rolled her eyes and smiled.
“Fine, but be nice.” She said kissing him on the chin. Kyle laughed and clapped his hands together.
“Wonderful! Let’s get started.” He said, mounting back up on Petunia. Hunter patted Ulysses on the neck.
“How about we call it quits for today? What do you think, bud?” He whispered into the horse’s ear. Ulysses seemed to nod and let out a happy whinny. “Good.” He turned to Kyle and Marina. “I’m going to go pack and get ready. I’ll see you tomorrow. Bright and early.” He said with a nod. He slid off Ulysses and led him back into the stables. With a wave, he said goodbye to Kyle and Marina and walked back to his cabin. He grabbed his bag and set it on his bed. He grabbed a couple of shirts and tossed them in his bag. He grabbed a pair of jeans out of his closet, but something caught his eye. Something that had fallen out of the pocket of his jeans. He bent down and picked it up. His heart dropped at the sight of it. It was Orion’s dog tag. He sighed as a small tear welled up in his eye. He wiped it away and promptly shoved it in his pocket. Shaking away the unhappy thoughts, he went back to packing. A few bandages, a canteen of water, some socks later he was done. He set his bag back on the ground and sat on his bed. He didn’t realize until now how lonely his cabin was. He was the only one in it. It felt homier when Orion was there, but he was gone now. He was alone again. He sighed and fell back on his bed. In a few moments, he was asleep.