OOC: You're wish is my command. =3
The day had gone by sooner than they expected. The chores the inn-lady had prepared for them where not that hard to do and they all got tucked in thightly at a decent hour. Worn out from the long walk as they were, most of the members from the traveling group flew to dreamland quite fast.
Except one. Dark's mind had started wandering off to places that had nothing to do with dreamland at all. He was running over today's adventures, how it had changed his life forever. He hadn't had much sleep since the day before yesterday, and the bed was cosy, but the thoughts kept him awake.
Annoyed as he was, he threw the blanket away and krept out his bed quietly. His roommates were sleeping deeply, their breathing was heavy and slow.
Dark grabbed his clothes and walked to the hallway. To not wake the others up, he got dressed there and rushed downstairs and, eventually, stood outside.
It was completely dark outside, but the streetlighting gave enough light to make a safe walk.
The freshness of the night's cold made Dark's mind clear again, and he inhaled the oxygen freely.
His easy state of mind was suddenly disrupted by a distant sound. Somewhere a horse was winnying and it's lonely cry was answered by another one. Remembering the promise he made with Mosquet, Dark followed the sound until he arrived at what seemed to be some sort of farm. In new Hylian was written above the intrance: Lon Lon Ranch.
"So this is where it all started, he?" He thought out loud. The sound of winnying horses was a lot clearer now. The fence was open and Dark followed the lantern-lit path until he arrived at a fenced meadow. In the grass horses were running, dashing, sleeping and grazing.
Dark tried to count them in the darkness. Those he could see were with about seven, and at the end there would be even more. He was so busy trying to pierce the darkness that he got sight of the dashing horse when it stopped right in front of him. Dark litterally fell back on the ground. Hitting the sand path hard. Both his hands, which he had used to for support were scratched open by the small rocks hidden in the sand. In the bright moonlight he saw how small drops of blood welled up from the minuscule wounds in his flesh. Dark groaned. Despite their size, they itched quite badly.
"Hey! Are you okay?" yelled a clear voice filled with worry not too far behind him. It was obviously a girl's voice and when he turned around he saw her hurrying towards him. The lantern in her hand was shaking from left to right as she ran.
When she held halt right in front of him, she grabbed his hands and looked at them with her lantern held high. "Ouch," she started. "That must not feal pleasant."
"That's the least you could say," Dark groaned back. In the light of her lantern, Dark could see that she was a little younger than him. Her rather sweet face was surrounded by thick ginger hair. Suddenly she looked up at his face and her big blue eyes met his. "Is there someplace else where you got hurt?" she asked him. Dark shook his head. The girl outed a sigh of relief to then turn around and dash at the horse that was still standing against the fence. "ARDANWEN!" She yelled at him. "HOW DARE YOU TO DO THAT TO A VISITOR?! He could have gotten hurt real badly." The only reaction she got from the horse was an annoyed snort.
She crossed her arms over her chest and stared at the horse.
Dark was wondering what to do next and he carefully crept closer, afraid that the horse might do another trick. But the black stallion did nothing but wait until he was close enough. Then he did something that Dark could not have exspected. The horse pressed his nose against Dark's chest.
Not understanding this gesture, Dark looked to the girl who said with a big smile: "He wants you to pet him, he's appologising." "Oh.." was all that Dark could say as he raised his hands and to slowly rub the horse's head and later his neck. The horse enjoyed it obviously.
"That's odd, this is probably one of the first times that he's let a stranger pet him that freely. I'm Malon by the way, and this -at that she petted the horse between his eyes- is Ardanwen, the most hotheaded horse in the whole ranch." "I'm Dark", he answered the girl, "and nice to meet you Ardanwen."
After they stood there for a while, Malon asked Dark if he had ever ridden a horse. Upon his headshake her smile grew even broader and she ordered him to not move a single muscle. She ran away and a few minutes later she got back with bridles, but no sadles. "What are you planning?" he asked her.
All het got was a mischievous wink and whistle. It didn't take long before a brown mare had answered her call. Malon put the bridles in place and helped Dark to do the same with Ardanwen. "I know this is a bit onorthodox," she said while climbing on the mare's back by using the fence as support, "but it's the easiest and most enjoyable way to see if you have talent or not."
"Why that?" Dark thought. There was absolutely no reason why he should try it now, but on the other hand, there was absolutely no reason why he shouldn't. So he tried to immitate Malon's movement. It took a few tries, but soon enough he was sitting on Ardanwen's broad, black back.
Malon dashed away as soon as she saw he was sitting comfortable. Ardanwen seemed to feel that Dark was a newbie so he did it slower, but as time passed his speed grew higher and higher. Near two o' clock in the morning Dark thought that the stallion was just trying to show off just how strong he was.
Dark clenched his legs against the horse's sides, afraid to fall off. But Malon's laughing worked contagious and soon enough even he carefully tried to enjoy riding.
"Are you sure you haven't ridden before? You're quite good." she said laying in the dew covered grass. Dark could clearly see her face due to the intense moonlight. He lay next to her, trying to get the adrenaline in his veins to run slower. Upon his silence, Malon got up straight and looked at him.
"What's wrong?" she asked him, confused by his puzzled expression.
Dark closed his eyes as he told her how strange it was that he discovered talents that he, an orphan, could have only dreamed of.
She smiled slightly as he told her a part of his past that he didn't seem to like telling. But even if they had only met a few hours ago, Malon felt as if they had known eachother for much longer. She turned away from his face and looked up to the pale moon. After sitting like that for a while, Dark got up straight too. "I should probably be going," he said," the others might have started to worry about me." Malon remained silent, she didn't want him to leave. It had been a long time since she had had someone with whom she could be like this. There weren't many riders in town, even though horses were the main thing in town. "Are you coming back tomorrow?" she suddenly asked, turning to him once more. Dark slowly shook his head and now it was his turn to look to the moon. "We will be leaving town for sure..." He had a nice voice to listen to, soft, but strong at the same time.
Malon's mind was racing as she guided him back to the gate. She was afraid to loose all contact with him if she didn't give him something that would remind him of her. It was a selfish way to think like that, but it was all she could think of at this moment. As he raised his hand to say his goodbyes, Malon suddenly shouted that he should come back before he left. He could bring along his whole crew if he wanted. She'd give them supplies for their journey so that they should not spend mounts of money on them. "And", she wispered, "I'm gonna ask my father if Ardanwen can come with you..."
Dark was surprised by this sudden gift. "I...you.. shouldn't.. don't... need..." he flustered, unable to make proper sentences. But all Malon did was smile at him, trying to hide her feelings from him.
OOC: Long part. Not good. I'm tired and going to bed. =o Next post can be either morning with Dark back in his bed, he might have woken someone up and told him that they had to go to lon lon ranch, or they wake up, see that Dark's not there . He will arrive very soon and tell them most things.
You may choose and borrow him if you need to.
