Well... this is awkward... (Caitylin)

[Sir Kenric]

This was the third time this week Kenric had to leave Arthur's daily training drills early. The first time, he had fallen and injured his ankle. Yesterday, he had been cut on his own sword during swordfighting practice. Today, however, wasn't his fault. They were training on horseback, and his horse, Arrow, had thrown a shoe. For anyone else, this would be a common place problem that could be easily fixed and would have him back in training within the hour. Not so for Kenric.

First he had fallen off of his horse when Arrow bucked. He hadn't been badly injured, but he was pretty bruised up, which meant that he was having more trouble than usual controlling his horse. And if he was honest with himself, he would have to admit that he wasn't really very good at controlling Arrow under the best of circumstances.

He had chosen the horse as his primary mount from his stables because he was the strongest, and the most mild-tempered. But the horse didn't take orders all that well, and Kenric wasn't very good at being authoritative enough with the horse. They just didn't have the connection between man and horse that other knights did.

Kenric was limping slightly as he tried to lead the angry horse to the stables. Between the two of them limping, and the horse fighting him with each step, it had taken twice as long to get to the stables as it usually would. It didn't look like Kenric was going to make it back for training today. Which meant he would probably be disciplined. Again.

"Come on, Arrow, won't you just move?" Kenric sighed, giving the horse's reins another tug. " We're almost there now. I'll give you a big juicy apple if you'll just come along. Please?"

The stable was only a few steps away by now, but Arrow had decided that he wasn't going to move another step. Even the promise of an apple didn't seem to entice the beast. With a heavy sigh, Kenric looked toward the stable. There were a few too many people milling about (and staring at the inept knight and his useless horse) for Kenric to leave Arrow there and go into the stables alone. He was about to ask a small boy who was passing by to fetch someone from the stables to help him out, when he saw someone walk out.

"You there!" he called. "My horse has thrown a shoe. Can you help?"



Tag: Caitylin
Timeline: Season 1
Setting: Just outside the stables, mid-morning

[Caitylin Roe]

The day had already been long and it was still morning. She'd mucked out the stalls, cleaned the paddocks, fed and watered all the horses, and already dealt with six people who'd come through looking for new mounts. Mostly she had to let them look, then turn them away because Amus was nowhere to be found and he'd of been mad as pig with a tooth ache if she'd handled any of his money. on top of all that, two mares had decided to drop their foals that morning.

Arm deep in afterbirth, she'd made sure both mares and their new colts were settled before leaving them be. Both new babies would make fine steeds to any rider when they were old enough. One was a dappled gray, sturdy-legged fellow with a white mane and dark face. The second was jet black, with long legs and a huge head. His mother was a Friesian named Terra. His father was Cat's favorite stallion, a white Andalusian named, Morock. One thing was for sure, this colt would be a sweet, strong horse when he grew up.

Wiping herself clean with a rag, she walked outside for a moment's breath. For now, things were quiet. No other mares were due anywhere near today (although Terra had been early), so she expected a moment of rest before Morock got himself into trouble.

What she got was was a knight calling to her the second she got out of the barn. The horse behind him was clearly very unhappy. He seemed to having trouble even getting the animal to move. Typical. The knights liked to profess themselves experts at everything, including horses, but few knew the front end from the back, let alone how to handle such a powerful animal.

Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, Cat forced a smile onto her face and strode up to the knight and his horse.

"Certainly. Let's just get him inside first."

She took the reins from him and set her shoulders in a way that allowed no argument. The one good thing that turning into a fox at night had brought her was an understanding of how animals spoke to one another. Body language was I portent, so even though she couldn't actually speak a word of horse, she was telling this one to move.

He put his head down and hobbled after her without complaint. She smiled to herself. Score one for her, zero for the horse and his master.

Wiping the smug off her face, she tied the horse to a pole on the outside of the barn and smiled pleasantly at the knight.

"if you'll just wait here, I'll be right back with the blacksmith."

And with that she disappeared around back. Hopefully she'd be able to find Amus too.

[Sir Kenric]

Even the stable hands thought he was a useless knight. Kenric could see it in the woman's eyes. She was clearly wondering how he came to be a knight when he couldn't even handle his horse. And if she had seen him trip, and fall from his horse earlier... well he could only imagine what she would think of him.

It was frustrating for Kenric, because he knew that he could do better than this. Sometimes he would go back to his estate and practice there, away from judgmental eyes. He was getting quite good at the crossbow, and his sword skills were improving greatly. And he rarely ever tripped there. But when everyone else was watching, somehow he just got nervous. It was like he could feel the weight of all the expectations, pressing on his shoulders, and suddenly, he fell apart.

"Thank you. Really," he said, following the girl. He couldn't help but notice that she was quite pretty, even with the dirt and sweat that came from working among the horses. She had a way with animals, and Arrow took to her instantly.

Kenric watched wordlessly as she tied the horse outside the barn, then sank down on a small bench nearby to wait for her to return. Maybe he could get some tips from her later on how to get Arrow to follow him so willingly.

[Caitylin Roe]

Leaving the knight to sit with his horse, Cat walked around the corner and to the end of the barn. The blacksmith was in his forge right where she expected to find him. Also as she expected, he was doing pretty much nothing. He did most of his work earlier in the morning when the cooler air helped combat the heat of molten metal. About a dozen new horse shoes of different sizes hung on pegs in the wall, some of them still cooling.

"Horse here who needs a new shoe."

The man rolled his eyes and put the ham he'd been eating aside. He quickly gathered up the supplies he'd need to fix the shoe and followed her out. When they reached the knight and his horse, the blacksmith immediately went to work. The horse was not enjoying it, but he put up with it well enough when Cat started feeding him sugar cubes as a distraction.

She glanced at his rider and shrugged. Hey if it worked, it worked. She wasn't sure if it was her place to ask, but he seemed so...opposite of what a knight should be. Cat found she was very curious about how he'd come to such a profession. Instead of asking directly, she took a less direct approach.

"So, how exactly did this happen?"

[Sir Kenric]

Kenric watched quietly from the bench, feeling utterly useless. While it wasn't unusual for a horse to throw a shoe during training, most knights could have it fixed and be back on the field in no time. Kenric had no idea how long he'd been gone at this point, just trying to drag Arrow to the stables, but he had a feeling he wasn't going to make it back in time to finish the training.

He was still quite young at this point, so his lack of experience could be excused, if not for the fact that the Prince was just about the same age. Worse, Kenric was pretty sure that the Lady Morgana would make a better knight than he did at this point. He'd seen the King's ward knock Prince Arthur flat on his back on many occasions.

When the girl spoke to him again, Kenric looked up at her, and although her question was perfectly reasonable, he imagined could almost see the judgment in her eyes, as though she was wondering how someone as hopeless as himself became a knight.

"There was something in the field, and I didn't see it in time to guide Arrow away from it," he explained. "I think one of the other knights lost a shield. He stepped on it, reared up, and I fell off."

He was still pretty bruised up from the fall, but he wasn't concerned about that. It wasn't unusual for even the best knights to end a battle with cuts and bruises.

"Truth is, I'm not all that good with horses. I fell off one when I was younger, and I never really got over it."

[Caitylin Roe]

Caitylin found it hard to believe that anyone, let alone a knight wouldn't notice a shield on the ground. Weren't they designed to protect the body and were therefore huge? Although this knight didn't seem as competent as most she had seen. Though he was a lot less arrogant. A man who was willing to admit his faults was a rare thing. Sure, plenty of men are aware of their shortcomings, but few will admit them.

He admitted to not being all that good with horses and she smiled. Horses were easy. Well, most horses were easy. She had no doubt he'd figure it out as time went on. H seemed willing to learn at least.

"I wouldn't worry too much," she said. "They say you're not a good rider until you've fallen off at least seven times."

She herself had fallen from a horse more times than she cared to count, though curiously not off of Morock, the absolute fussiest horse to ever exist. Though only time would tell with that one. He did enjoy seeing his riders in the dirt.

"Besides, failing is the first step at being good at something."

[Sir Kenric]

Kenric laughed in spite of himself. "If that's the case, I really should be an expert by now."

He couldn't quite explain what it was, but as soon as he set foot on the training field, and felt everyone looking at him, he always felt overtaken with nerves. Sometimes it was strong enough to bring him to his knees. It was the weight of all the expectations dragging him down with each step. Unlike some of the knights, Kenric did not believe himself to be privileged because he was a knight. Rather, it was a responsibility to live up to, and he wasn't always sure that he was worthy of it. How could he possibly live up to his father's legacy?

He smiled ruefully at the girl. "I know what you're thinking," he said. "I'm not all arrogant and sure of myself like the other knights. You're wondering how I even got to be a knight. Truth is, I'm not really a very good knight. They... well, some of the other knights... they call me... Sir Tripsalot."

[Caitylin Roe]

Cat listened to his speech about not being a very good knight and she shook her head. From what she understood of how knights were supposed to be, he seemed to fit the bill. Knights were supposed to be noble, sure, but with nobility also comes humility and that part he most definitely had down.

The last part though, the Sir Tripsalot made her burst out laughing. She immediately stopped herself, blushing.

"Sorry, sorry," she said. "I'm sure they're just doing it in jest. I guarantee all of them have had their own failures at one point or another."

Homin grumbled and pulled out another tool and began completely remove the shoe. He was not nearly as impressed with this clumsy knight as Cat was.

"This shoe is bent. Pay better attention. You're lucky you didn't hobble the horse."

With that, he stomped off with the original shoe to go find another one of the same size. Cat chewed her upper lip and watched him go. He was certainly straight forward. He didn't take crap and, for the most part, he didn't give it where it wasn't deserved. She had to admit that this knight wasn't exactly the most careful, but she hardly thought he deserved the harshness in the blacksmith's tone.

"Don't worry about him. He's that way with everyone."

Something about this knight was very disarming. She could never let herself lose sight of the fact that, in the end, it would be his job just like all the rest of the knights, to kill her were she to be discovered. Yet somehow, she felt almost comfortable with him.

"Besides, he's just jealous you get to live in the castle and he has to live in some stinky hovel in the lower town."

[Sir Kenric]

Kenric felt his cheeks flush red when she began to laugh. Maybe he was a bit ridiculous, really... a knight who was barely good for anything. Or at least, that was how he felt most of the time. He wasn't a strong rider, not particularly good at jousting or swordfighting, and he was known for tripping a bit too often. Even he would laugh at him, if he saw someone like him. And in fact... there was something sort of infectious about the stable girl's laughter even after she stopped hastily, and Kenric soon found himself laughing along, too.

"It is rather funny, I suppose," he said, smiling sheepishly. "And... well, it's true... most of them aren't perfect, either."

He stopped laughing and sighed, frowning at the other man's comments. He was right to lecture him, of course... he had been careless. He'd been so busy concentrating on what he had to do that he didn't even look where he was going. He did that far too often.

"He's right, really. I could have really injured the horse. If I don't get better at this, they're probably going to strip away my knighthood. I don't even know if they can do that, but they might make an exception in my case."