Neko Shorts - 7. Prompt #372: The Lesson

Prompt #372--First Line: "Wait. You want me to do what now?"

The Lesson

"Wait. You want me to do what now?" Kayden looked up at him and the stable master.

The stable master was holding an odd jangle of metal and leather. Had the man held that out a few months earlier, Damien was sure Kayden would probably have taken off running. It probably looked too close to something he'd been tied up or beaten with when the hunters first enslaved him years ago. Now, however, Damien had seen the quick flicker of fear pass as the boy glanced over at him. Damien smiled reassuringly at him, feeling a sense of pride and pleasure wash over him that the young neko had come to trust him so much.

But Damien could see the thoughts crossing the boy's mind: what they wanted him to do with it just didn't seem right either. Damien suppressed his chuckle as he saw Kayden glance up into the dark eyes of his new horse, Arabella. The boy had been stroking her neck since they walked into the barn, having spent the last couple days becoming more familiar with her--grooming her, feeding her, petting her. But the idea of shoving a piece of metal into the horse's mouth apparently had Kayden thinking twice about the whole idea.

"You put this metal bit in her mouth and loop the bridle over her head and ears," Lance Cessel stated.

"In her mouth?" Kayden looked at Arabella uncertainly.

"I know you've seen Finn or Marcus or even me do it before," Lance continued, "so you know she won't bite you."

Damien saw Kayden cast his gaze over at him, silently asking if this was really necessary. Damien's lips twitched in amusement. "You have to know how to prepare her for riding, starting with the bridle, then the saddle. While most of the time, Finn or someone can do it for you, it's important to be able to do it yourself too."

Kayden's green eyes narrowed like he wasn't sure if Damien was telling him the truth. There was a snicker behind him, and Kayden's eyes caught the image of Finn, one of the grooms, whispering to Marcus, another stablehand. Damien watched the boy's face flush in embarrassment.

The duke cut his eyes over at the stable master. He didn't want to undercut Lance Cessel's authority over his grooms, but he wasn't going to take the boys embarrassing Kayden either. Fortunately, Lance understood without Damien having to say anything.

"Finn! Marcus! You two need to get out to the pasture and check the fences. I better not find any broken ones when I go out later," Lance warned.

The two stable hands straightened noticeably, obviously knowing they were being chastised and suitably dismissed. "Yes, sir."

Damien could see the odd flicker of longing and sadness in Kayden's eyes as he watched the two grooms disappear. He wasn't sure what had caused it though. He had thought that sending the boys away would make it easier on Kayden.

"Kitten? Are you okay?" Damien asked carefully.

"Don't worry about those two," the auburn-haired stable master said easily, trying to allay the boy's insecurities. "They're just horsing around."

Kayden's green eyes looked up and Damien was worried to see them glittering with unshed tears. The boy carefully took the bridle from Cessel, fiddling with it for a minute before he looked back up at Arabella. Damien's heart almost broke at the look of sheer misery in the boy's face, his soft black furry ears drooping dejectedly.

"Kayden, sweetheart, what's going on?" Damien asked worriedly.

"They're just so good," Kayden mumbled, and it took Damien a minute to figure out what he was talking about.

"Who? The grooms?"

Black wisps fell into the boy's face as he nodded.

Lance scoffed. "Them? They're okay riders, but you can't think--"

Kayden's head shot up. "They are," he insisted. "I've watched--" He suddenly stopped and bit his lip.

"You've been watching them, from that tree," Lance finished for him, smiling. "Master Kayden, they didn't start off knowing everything there was about horses either. How about you do your best to show them that you can do it too? I bet if you show you're willing to try and learn that they'll commend your efforts, even if you aren't perfect right away. Okay?"

Damien silently praised his stable master when his young lover looked back up hopefully. He could see the hope of earning the other boys' acceptance light his face. And as Kayden glanced at the bridle and back up at Arabella a new sense of determination and resolve flooded the boy's features.

The sleek black tail that had been wrapped meekly around the neko's leg when the grooms had been present, now flipped out and flicked twice as the boy apparently pondered exactly what to do with the bridle.

"Just--"Lance started, stepping forward to demonstrate, but Damien's hand shot out to the man's chest to stop him.

Cessel arched a brow at his lord curiously, and Damien just shook his head, warning him to back off. He had seen that look in Kayden's face before. Not often, but it had been there, usually when Kayden sensed a threat to Damien. It was the look that told Damien that his kitten was about to morph into a lion--that he was not going to back down.

Kayden seemed to grown another inch or two when he clenched his jaw and faced his horse. Arabella dipped her head at him, offering her submission and obedience to him. Even though the boy's hands were shaking, Damien watched as Kayden brought the metal bit to the large mouth of the horse. There was a tense moment when Arabella's teeth chomped down on the piece of metal and chewed on it, causing Kayden to yank his hand back for a second.

Damien resisted the instinct to jump in and help. Kayden wasn't in danger of getting hurt, he'd just been startled. He was impressed when Kayden lifted on his toes as Arabella dipped her head for him, and he was able to loop the bridle over her head.

"Good," Lance praised. "Very good. You two are in sync already."

The comments caused a smile to form on Kayden's face and he turned to Damien, clutching the reins. Damien soothingly stroked his hand over the back of his kitten's head, relaying how proud he was of the boy in his firm caress.

"Now, for the saddle," Lance turned, grabbing a thick piece of wool first. "First you put on this saddle pad. It keeps the saddle from rubbing and irritating her. Then the saddle goes on next."

Kayden took the thick pad of wool and slung it over Arabella's back like he knew what he was doing. Damien guessed that he had watched the grooms so often he probably did know what to do, but he was just nervous now that he was faced with doing it himself.

When he reached for the saddle, Damien resisted a smile when the boy struggled to lift it. Arabella wasn't the biggest horse, but there was no way that Kayden would be able to lift the bulky saddle onto her back. He waited a minute to see what Kayden would do. He smiled when Kayden carefully eyed Arabella's broad back, sizing up her height in comparison to his smaller stature. When the boy bit his lip and dropped the saddle back on the stand, Damien stepped forward to pick it up for him.

"It's alright, I'll get--" Damien started, but was stopped with a glare from the young neko who stepped by him, grabbing a nearby crate and softly setting it down next to Arabella.

She shifted restlessly, and Damien and Lance glanced at each other when Kayden instinctively reached to her thick neck, soothing and calming her with easy strokes and a series of clicks and purrs. Shit, maybe Kayden was more of a natural with horses than he'd thought.

Kayden then turned back to the cumbersome saddle, lifting it a little awkwardly, but Damien didn't move to help when he saw the fierce determination on the boy's face. Now that he had the added height of the crate, Kayden was able to loft the saddle over Arabella's back, taking a moment to settle it into place.

When he looked satisfied, he turned back to Damien and Cessel, a grin splitting his face. Damien could tell the boy was starting to feel more assured and confident with each step he took.

"Now, you put on the girth," Lance said, holding up a thick, padded leather strap."

Kayden took it, cocking his head slightly as if trying to remember something. Then he turned back to Arabella and started to buckle the girth to the saddle. After he'd done both sides, tugging firmly, like he'd apparently watched the grooms do many times, he patted Arabella again.

"Okay, good," Lance grinned, apparently very impressed by Kayden's effort. "Let's take her out to the training ring and get you on her."

"Come on, Bella," Kayden purred at the horse as he grabbed the reins. All three walked out to a small fenced in circle that had a path worn in the grass along the inside of the ring.

Damien briefly noticed that the two grooms were idling along the pasture fence. They were far enough away that Damien knew he wouldn't have to worry about them. Of course, once they saw their master and boss, they suddenly looked much busier checking out the fence.

Damien snorted his amusement at the stable boys as he turned back to Kayden and Arabella.

"Now before you mount her, you need--" Lance had started but stopped when he saw Kayden already reaching for the girth, rechecking the tightness. He looked at the boy in shock. "How did you know to do that?"

Kayden shrugged. "They do it," he said simply. Apparently, he'd watched the stable hands so carefully that he had picked up on everything the grooms had been doing. "I'm not sure why, but they always recheck and tighten this thing before they get on."

Cessel chuckled. "I see. Well, they do that because horses tend to puff out their bellies sometimes to keep you from tightening the girth when you first put it on. So you need to double check it, or the saddle will slide on you when you're riding."

Kayden nodded in understanding, still stroking the horse soothingly.

Damien stepped closer, knowing that there was no way that Kayden could get his foot in the stirrups to mount the much taller animal. "I'll help you up, you just grab the pommel and--"

Damien gasped as Kayden launched himself from the ground, swinging himself up over the back of the broad mare with feline grace. Both Damien and Cessel gaped up at the grinning neko as he settled himself in the saddle. His light weight did little to unsettle the mare under him.

"Shit, did you see that?" Damien heard voices faintly behind him, and he glanced back in amusement to see the two grooms gawking in shock. Damien allowed the smirk of pride to spread across his lips.

"Good," Damien grinned, patting Kayden's thigh. "Now I'm going to adjust the stirrups to fit you. Once we've done this, you'll know where to set them once you put the saddle on. Just remember which notch we set it to."

Kayden nodded, watching his master carefully.

"Okay," Damien took the reins, "Now, I'm going to lead her around the ring. You hold onto the pommel for now. You work on getting your balance, feeling her movement. Keep your back straight, heels down and back."

For a couple hours, Damien coached his young neko, gently correcting his seat, telling him commands to direct Arabella, how to use his legs to guide and direct her. It seemed that everything he said, he only had to say once. Kayden and Arabella seemed to meld into one fluid form, easily adjusting to each other's movement.

Damien had finally handed the reins over to Kayden, offering him guidance on how to manage and control her using the leather reins, in combination with his legs and body. Damien was impressed when Arabella easily responded to the neko's commands. Watching the boy brought a smile to his face as he walked over to stand next to Lance Cessel who was leaning on the fence.

Lance was shaking his head. "Fuck, I don't think I've ever seen anyone take to a horse like that," he said, then seemed to remember exactly who he was talking to. "Oh, uh, sir."

Damien snorted a laugh. "You're right. He does seem to be a natural at it. For as much as he was afraid of her, they are perfect for each other. Thank you for helping me to pick her out."

"No problem, my lord," Cessel grinned.

"I want to work with him as much as I can, but when I'm too busy, I want you to help him," Damien stated, his eyes locked on the stable master's and pierced him with the knowledge that Damien was trusting the man with something important--he was not to take the task lightly.

"I understand, sir," Lance nodded his assent. "Don't worry. With the way he's riding now, it won't be long before he's galloping along with you out to the southern plantations."

Damien grinned, patting the man on the back. "I hope so."

His smile faded quickly when he noticed Kayden lean forward toward the horse's neck. He felt Lance tense next to him as he straightened. Oh, shit, he mumbled as Arabella took the change in weight and balance to mean it was time to run.

Damien and Lance shot off the fence as the horse came barreling around the ring. Damien expected to see a terrified neko come flying off of the horse at any second, but instead he was shocked to see the look of pure bliss on the boy's face as Arabella galloped by them.

"Kayden!"

"Woah!" Lance shouted, trying to get the horse to stop.

Arabella faltered, confused momentarily at the conflicting signals from her master and the waving stable man. In the end, it appeared she went with her master and continued to race around the ring again.

Damien could feel his heart thundering in his chest, fearing for the boy's life should he come flying off the horse. His boots were pounding across the ring when he saw Kayden suddenly straighten, readjusting his seat in the saddle, pulling on the reins slightly. Arabella immediately slowed down and stopped.

"What the hell?" he heard Lance mumble beside him.

Damien gaped at the boy grinning down at him. "Kayden?"

"It felt like flying," Kayden sighed breathlessly.

"Shit, you scared the crap out of me," Damien grumbled, taking a hold of the reins. "I think that's enough for today."

"But--" the neko looked slightly disappointed.

"I don't think my heart can take much more of your flying," Damien stated.

When Kayden practically vaulted off of the horse, Damien jumped thinking the boy was falling. He'd grabbed Kayden as the boy landed easily on his feet.

"Did I not do well?" Kayden asked, cocking his head, looking a little upset that maybe his master was disappointed in him.

As Damien felt his heartbeat slowing back to a normal rhythm, he scooped Kayden up in his arms, holding him tightly. Fuck, he hadn't been that scared since... well, in a while. He pressed his lips to the boy's hair, next to his sensitive ear, causing it to flick in irritation.

"You did great, kitten," Damien said, receiving a wide grin from the neko.

Kayden wrapped his arms around Damien's neck, leaning in and demanding a kiss. Damien smiled briefly against the boy's lips, knowing that a few months ago Kayden would have never initiated such contact. Damien's tongue teased Kayden's bottom lip, seeking entrance. He sighed as the boy opened to him, and he delved into that hot, moist cavern. Their tongues danced together briefly before Damien pulled away, placing a kiss on Kayden's nose.

"How about you leave the flying to the birds for a while, okay, kitten?"