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Crystal looked over the horses carefully. They were all of the same caliber, strong and worthy of carrying any soldier westward of Rohan. She stopped in front of a chesnut stallion. She reached out her hand slowly. She could sense that the horse was restless and afraid. The horse had allowed someone to brush him and wash him, but there wasn't the familiar traces of a saddle or bareback riders upon the magnificant creatures back. Her hand slowly and softly touched the stallions nose.
The creature jumped back, but his head returned in curiousity. He was expecting something horrible, that much she could tell. The stallion hadn't been starved, that much she could tell as well. This animal had lost something in its life whether it had been a mate or a companion, a rider that had lost its life in a battle. She could feel the creatures need to be loved, to be taken out of the pen that it was forced to stay in. His large nose sniffed at her fingers. She rubbed his nose softly and slowly in an effort to not frighten him again.
"Dear stallion, you are a great stallion. I ask you to bear me on this journey. I shall make sure that you come to no harm my friend," Crystal whispered as she locked her eyes with the horses dark brown ones.
The horse's ears cocked and looked at her warily. She knew that the horse was unsure of her promise to him. She continued to stand still and waited. The stallion nayed softly and she unhooked the gate. She took down the saddle and saddled him quickly, only as an expert of horses could. She led the stallion out.
Atharen came up beside her and watched her.
"Are you sure you want to take out that one? He seems very skiddish," Atharen asked her. She looked over at the horse then back at Atharen. She smiled at him softly.
"This creature only needs another person that understands the way it feels to hurt," Crystal answered softly as she patted the horse's face. She had always been able to feel an animals' thoughts. It had been something, a gift, that her mother had and had passed on to her. She jumped up gracefully and sat in the saddle.
"Are we leaving or shall we be waiting for the enemies to catch us?"
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