Fic: Horse Sense (Frostiron)

[bookishwench]

Tappere had lived in the royal stables since he was born. As a young foal, he had been in awe of the big warhorses. He had idolized Thor’s steed, Fryktløs, a stunning golden horse with a proud step. On the other hand, Sleipnir, the eight-legged mount of Odin himself, was intimidating, and Tappere steered clear of him whenever possible. The Warriors Three rode upon Hastighet, Modig, and Dyrebar, three identical white stallions, while Sif chose Daggry, a mare with feet like lightning.

But no one had chosen Tappere for a long time. He was a plain black horse with a white blaze, notable only for his tendency to buck off anyone who attempted to ride him. He had a poor attitude, and in return the stable master had no patience with him. Tappere began to scent danger when the man came near, and he feared the man might send him Away soon, never to return.

Then, one day, the prince with the dark mane had noticed him standing in his stall, quivering every time someone spoke. He spoke with the stable master, occasionally pointing at Tappere, who regarded him with curiosity. The man seemed rather angry, and he suddenly strode right towards Tappere, who shied away on instinct. Instead of yelling or an attempt to punish him, though, the man waved one hand gently near him, and a soft glow came from his fingers. It was pretty, and it made him feel that he wasn’t about to be hurt again. Snorting slightly, he stopped moving away, still on alert, but not as fearful.

The prince with the dark mane said something sharp, but not to him. It was to the stable master. The humans always made a lot of noises when they were together, far more than a horse would think polite, and Tappere and the others understood only a few of their sounds. There was one that meant stop, and another for go. He also understood “oats.” That was his favorite.

However, he did not understand any of the words that the prince was saying now. The stable master snorted at him like he was trying to get rid of a fly on his nose and waited until the prince’s back was turned, then made a rude face at him and walked away.

The prince remained by Tappere. He looked at the horse quizzically, then spoke, very softly.

“No fear.”

Tappere back up a little in surprise. He could understand the words, simple as they were.

“Safe. No hurt. Be calm.”

They were good words, of course, and he was pleased one of the humans had sense enough to be able to speak intelligibly. Still, he wasn’t ready to trust this one yet.

Many weeks passed, and Tappere found that the human prodigy could speak many words that he understood. Added to that, he smelled right. While he still had the strange, soapy smell most humans covered themselves with, he also smelled of green things like plants and leaves. Even better was what he didn’t smell like. Most humans Tappere met stank with a bitter odor of fear, some more than others, but it was always there. This one didn’t fear him. The other humans referred to him as Loki, but Tappere eventually started to call the man by a different name: Sugar Giver. He never came to visit Tappere without a nugget of the sweet white stuff in his pocket, and he would laugh when Tappere would nuzzle at his pockets until he gave it to him.

A few months on, Sugar Giver put a saddle on Tappere, and this time, he didn’t buck.

“Good. Safe. Sugar later again. Brave horse.”

Tappere snorted, but he didn’t fuss. This human had always kept his promises, and he did this time again, giving him an extra large lump of sugar when he took the saddle off again, patting his nose.

Tappere realized suddenly that he actually liked the human. He moved his nose against Sugar Giver’s neck and snorted in his mane with affection. Sugar Giver made the funny whickering noise humans did when they were happy.

“Thank you. Like you too.”

Tappere whinnied appreciatively. The saddle was put away, and that was all for the day.

The same procedure happened for several weeks until finally one day Sugar Giver patted his forehead gently and spoke to him.

“Ride now. No fear. Good horse. No hurt.”

Tappere was a little uneasy, but this time when the saddle went on, he stayed very still. Sugar Giver put one of his hooves in the stirrup and swung himself up onto the saddle, landing very gently. It felt odd, but Tappere was fine.

After a few seconds, though, he suddenly had a new name for Sugar Giver: Cold Rump. He neighed uncomfortably, trying to figure out why this one was so much colder than all the other humans he’d bucked off had been, but the man quietly murmured two of the human words he did understand.

“Whoa. Easy. Whoa.”

Tappere supposed the human couldn’t help it if he were cold. He tried to adjust to the temperature, wiggling a little, but not doing anything to make the man fall off.

“Good. Good horse. Good Tappere.”

He whinnied a little, then calmed down and stood still. It wasn’t bad once he was used to it. He felt a soft pat to his neck and snorted, shaking his head the way he’d seen humans do to say they were fine.

“Walk?”

Tappere felt gentle pressure from Sugar Giver’s boots on his ribs, and he moved. He wasn’t happy with the reins, but he still did as he was told, and after a short loop around the enclosure behind the barn, they stopped, and the man dismounted.

Rather than saying anything, Sugar Giver gave him an enormous lump of sugar that Tappere could swear had come from nowhere, then patted his sides. Tappere whinnied and nuzzled the man’s hand, letting him pet his nose and forelock.

“Friend. Good friend.”

Tappere was a little concerned to find Sugar Giver’s eyes were watery. Maybe he was sick? He snorted and decided it was time for both of them to rest, heading towards the barn on his own with Sugar Giver just behind him, still making that funny whicker humans had.

Walking progressed to running, then to galloping, and finally to wonderful, long rides through the forests far from the stables. Sugar Giver came to see him often, and while sometimes he prattled in those odd sounds humans made, just as often he spoke in a way Tappere could understand.

On a fine spring morning, just after a wonderful mash of oats (Tappere had tried to share his oats with Sugar Giver a few times, but he always politely refused), Sugar Giver arrived with his mouth stretched into that strange grimace that meant he was happy. Tappere was glad. He had not seen Sugar Giver for several days, and the last time, he had seemed nervous, tapping one of his front hooves against his own side as though he were nervous. Now, everything seemed fine again as Tappere greeted him, earning a nice chunk of sugar. The man looked at him thoughtfully.

“Other friend come. Good friend. My mate.”

Well, that explained everything! Sugar Giver had wanted a human mare, and he had found one! Good for him! Tappere cast a glance at Daggry, who was stabled on the other side of the barn. He was hoping she would find his suit acceptable someday. The man noticed, his mouth getting even wider.

“You too? Your mate?”

Tappere neighed and backed up, and Sugar Giver seemed to understand the situation.

“Soon. I ask.”

Tappere appreciated the thought. Perhaps Daggry would be able to understand him as well and that would impress her. He nuzzled Sugar Giver’s neck, earning a human whicker in response.

“Be good? Meet later. Ride.”

Tappere was wildly curious what his friend’s mare would be like, and he gave his agreement.

Later that day, Sugar Giver arrived at the stable again, greeting Tappere, but then walking down the row of stalls until he reached Nygelig’s stall. She was a very pretty mare, one that the human mare the others called Queen or Mother rode. He supposed Sugar Giver’s human mare would need her own mount and Nygelig would go with them. He liked Nygelig, though not the same way he liked Daggry. She was a gentle horse who had a steady gait and a sweet temperament. Tappere was sure she would be nice to Sugar Giver’s new mate.

Just then, Tappere smelled something bad. He reared up a little, snorting, and turned toward the stable door. Another human man stood there, one with a short, dark mane that was somehow also growing on his chin. He smelled like fear. A lot of it.

To his surprise, Sugar Giver walked over to him, immediately taking one of his hooves in his own and holding it. Tappere quirked his head to one side. Was this Sugar Giver’s new mate? He sniffed again and was puzzled. He hoped someone had explained to Sugar Giver how foals happened, because this wasn’t a mare. But Sugar Giver looked happy, and Tappere decided if the new mare was a new stallion instead, that was fine. For a human, he supposed he was handsome. As long as he made Sugar Giver happy, good.

Unfortunately, he still smelled like fear. Tappere tried to be very still so that the new human wouldn’t be frightened, but he still looked at him with big, brown eyes that darted one way and the other until they lighted on Sugar Giver. Then, Tappere saw his mouth split into the happy thing too. Well, that was good, too.

Sugar Giver and the new one began to make lots of noises together, not one of which Tappere understood. Their hooves moved, too, sometimes pointing at something, sometimes touching one another. The new one looked uncomfortable, but then Sugar Giver said something that made him turn a little pink and look pleased. Sugar Giver took Nygelig’s reins and led her back to her stall, and Tappere thought maybe they wouldn’t be going out today, but instead Sugar Giver led him out of his stall. He looked him in the eye and spoke very clearly but quietly.

“My mate.”

Tappere looked at the man, then back at Sugar Giver, showing he understood.

“Frightened.”

Tappere nodded.

“Remember I help? Help learn? Make not scared? You do same.”

Tappere did remember. Before Sugar Giver came, he had been frightened of the humans because they could be cruel, senseless beasts, not like horses. But Sugar Giver was as smart and kind as any horse, and yes, he had helped Tappere. If Sugar Giver’s mate needed help not to be frightened of horses, he would do whatever he could. He very gently nuzzled Sugar Giver’s neck.

“Thank you. Good friend.”

Sugar Giver mounted Tappere quickly, then reached a hoof down and said things to the other man. The new man put his own hoof in the stirrup and clumsily swung himself up. Tappere made sure he didn’t move.

Then Sugar Giver told him to go, and they left the barn, going at a slow walk. Tappere had no trouble with the weight of the two men, even though the new one sat in his saddle like a bag full of potatoes. He remembered how Sugar Giver had been with him and was very gentle, moving as smoothly as he could. He felt the man shift in the saddle, and Tappere knew Sugar Giver had wrapped his forelegs around him, holding him firmly in place as they went, but also the smacking noise of lips happened sometimes. Slowly, the new man began to smell less bad.

It took them longer than usual, but Sugar Giver led them to a clearing in the forest where they would run sometimes. For the next couple hours, Sugar Giver carefully taught the new man how to ride. Tappere made sure he didn’t fall, trying to keep him comfortable and doing as he was told. He wasn’t usually quite so obedient, and Sugar Giver had no problems with that, but today, Tappere could tell he was grateful for his help.

As the sun began to get lower, the new man unsteadily dismounted. Still, he had learned a lot in such a short time, especially for a humam. He also didn’t smell like fear at all anymore. Instead, as he was held in the circle of Sugar Giver’s forelegs, he seemed happy. The pair of humans pressed their mouths together many times, sometimes making low noises as though they were eating very nice oats. Tappere felt a little uncomfortable when the new man took off his cloak, throwing it on the ground, and Sugar Giver’s soon joined it. Tappere tipped his head to one side, regarding them, then decided it might be better to trot to the other side of the clearing for a little while to eat some grass. He occasionally looked up when they made a noise, which happened fairly often, but he was mostly confused by what he saw. They seemed to be enjoying themselves, though, whatever it was they were doing, so that was good.

Not too long after sundown, the humans picked up their coverings from the ground and put them back on, and Sugar Giver somehow produced another lump of sugar. He handed it to the new man and showed him how to give it to Tappere, who very politely took it from him. The new man looked happy and patted his nose, with Sugar Giver drawing his forelegs around him again and holding him close.

As they rode home, with Sugar Giver’s green light illuminating the road, Tappere decided he liked the new man. He was still a terrible rider, but he made Sugar Giver very happy, and that made Tappere happy. During the slow walk to the barn, Tappere decided he too deserved a horse name. He would call the new man Brown Eyes because his eyes were nearly as pretty as a horse’s.

The next morning, Sugar Giver arrived early at the barn and winked at Tappere. Just behind him was Sif. They walked over to Daggry’s stall and made lots of human talking noises, and in the end, they shook the hooves on their forelegs. To Tappere’s delight, Daggry and he were both let out of their stalls and sent to the enclosure. Sugar Giver whispered in his ear.

“Make promise. Keep promise.”

Tappere whinnied his appreciation, then trotted up to Daggry to see if she might be interested in a courtship. She was.

A little less than a year later, their foal was born. Sugar Giver and Brown Eyes, who now rode his own horse named Jarvis, were there when the little horse took her first steps in the world. They called her Glede. It was a lovely, bright, sunny day, filled with sugar lumps and good things. Tappere nuzzled his friend Sugar Giver and whinnied joyfully at all the wonders of the world.

“Well said, my friend,” Sugar Giver said, holding Brown Eyes’s hoof and pressing his mouth to his cheek. “Well said.”


A.N. If my Googling is correct, this is what the names mean in Norwegian:

Tappere - Valorous
Dyrebar – Precious
Sleipnir – apparently this literally translates to Slips?
Hastighet - Speed
Fryktløs - Fearless
Daggry - Dawn
Modig - Brave
Nygelig - Lovely
Glede - Joy