Page 19 of Scales of Time
The bird snuffled, and Kris kept petting her as Mori carefully put the saddle in place and moved smoothly to fasten it. It went in front of and behind the wings, and the front plate had a leather pad for the chest. The stirrup kind of arrangement began to make sense. When Mori backed off, he smiled. “That is better than I thought. If we can get you mounted, the other girls are ready to go.”
Kris nodded, and her beast raised her head. “Ready, baby girl?”
The bird straightened and nodded. Kris moved past Mori, boosted herself up to the saddle, and settled quickly. The release straps went over her thighs, and her legs were tucked forward and around the edge of the wings. The back of the bird was surprisingly wide.
Mori was staring. “Are you sure you haven’t ridden here before?”
“I have been on animals on my home world, but we ride quadrupeds.” She kept her voice low, and her steed sidled a little as she got used to the weight.
Mori made sure she was settled and got onto his own bird with a pack on his shoulders. “That was interesting. No wonder Aunt Yorness wants you around. I have never seen anyone tame a bird like that.”
“I needed a new hobby, and she is a sweetie. So, how do I steer?”
Mori chuckled. “My beast will lead, and yours will follow.”
“Oh. I hope this little girl keeps up.”
“Call out if she doesn’t.”
“The young ladies will hear a lot of curses if I go off track. They might shout.”
The girls laughed, and Kris mimicked their posture. There was no steering. The birds just took a direction and went that way.
She balanced with her legs bent, and Mori used his knees to coax his bird to turn around. A farm hand opened a gate, and they began to walk through the gate and toward a path that had an upward tilt. They were definitely travelling up a mountain.
Kris got into the rhythm of the bird walking, and her hips rolled and rocked with the movements. It was different on a biped. It was a rocking more than a rolling. Years of dance class were definitely coming in handy.
The trees and leaves had shimmering rainbows of colour. It was stunning. They travelled uphill for over an hour, and then, they stopped near a stream. Kris followed the others, unsnapped the ties to the saddle, swung her legs free, and lifted her leg up and over the back to slide off her side. She staggered, but her pretty bird turned her head and held her up.
“Thank you, Sweetie.” She stroked the feathers. “Pretty girl.”
Her steed chuckled and waggled her body a little.
Mori called out, “We are having some water and a snack before we go on further.”
Kris patted her bird and walked slowly to the others, sitting on a fallen log and accepting the food that Mori had. She scanned it and sighed. “Does anyone have a marked pack?”
Neelis paused halfway through. “Oh. I didn’t know what it meant.”
Kris passed Mori the pack. “Here you go.”
“Aren’t you hungry?”
“Do you want to haul a corpse down the mountain? I can’t consume about sixty percent of the food that you can. Food allergies. My throat closes, and my skin looks like I just got an acid burn.”
Neelis thrust the bag at her, “Here. Please.”
Kris chuckled. “No. Thank you. When your people eat, you secrete an enzyme I am also allergic to. So, I won’t risk it.”
Mori went and found another bag in the pack. “Lunch is also clearly marked.”
Havess asked, “How do you do anything?”
Kris shrugged. “I choose to live and do what I can to keep myself in that state. Your grandmother gave me this ring, and it detects items that my body will object to.”
Havess finished her snack, and Neelis slowly finished hers. Mori’s was long gone. Water wasn’t needed for the Kifessan. They weren’t water hogs like she was.
“Mori, is there any water in that pack?”