As Owen left Burrich turned to the new Wanderer, "Well, why don't we put all that energy of yours to work? I have to finish up a couple things here so why don't you run to the stables and saddle the horses for us. Midnight will be easy to find, he's black and bigger than any horse you've ever seen. His saddle and tack are in a closet next to his stall, you can't miss it. Be sure to groom him first though, he likes to roll around and the briars he picks up can be very uncomfortable for the old boy if you put a saddle on them. I should be there by the time you finish prepping the horses."

 

After Dautry had left Burrich went to his room and grabbed his weapons and a pack. He had decided to use the riding foray to start the boy's training and his pack contained a few useful tools for that. He called out for Storm as he left the inn and soon enough the giant gray wolf came around the corner of a building with Snowpaws following. Snowpaws still hadn't opened up to talk to him but she had consented to join them when they were together. He knew she was there only for Storm Hunter but he was still hoping she'd come to be friends with him as well.

 

By the time he got to the stable Speedy was outside standing between Midnight and another horse. "Good work," Burrich told him as he laid his saddlebags onto the horse. "The giant gray behind me is Storm Hunter. He thinks he's my big brother and he's just starting to realize I can take care of myself now. The black behind him with the white paws is Snowpaws. She's more his companion than mine so don't feel bad if she's a little anti-social. Now then, you ready to go?"

At Burrich’s mention of taking a ride, Speed re-focused. His love for riding was on par with his love of running. He could think of nothing more enjoyable than those two activities. As Burrich continued his instructions, the young wolfkin could hardly wait to leave the table. He couldn’t help but roll his eyes when the giant added, “Be sure to groom him first though…” as if an experienced horseman needed to be told that. With a smirk, he dashed out the door on a dead sprint to the stables. Laughing as he ran, he thought it hilarious. Groom my horse first. Ha! I bet he’d try to teach a fish to swim. Ha!

 

Before he even reached the stable, Speed heard Red nickering to him. He was looking forward to seeing his horse for the first time since he had entered the stedding, but he wanted to take a look at Burrich’s pony first. He had no problem picking out the giant mount and wouldn’t have had any trouble even without the horse’s apt name. The black was as large as he knew it would have to be in order to carry such a gigantic rider. Before he began the ritual of grooming and saddling, Speed walked confidently and calmly around Midnight in the stall, murmuring sweet nothings and patting him reassuringly as he looked him over in order to assure the horse that he knew what he was doing. Next, he put him on a lead and walked him in a circle, his expert eye examined every nuance of the great Dhurran’s movements to seek out any hint of a problem. While certainly not a racer, the big black giant could probably pull off a house and barely notice the strain.

 

Midnight looked to be in top form. Whoever was in charge of the stables certainly knew what they were doing.

 

Speed tied him near the tack room then went and took a look at Red. The sleek Tairen stallion was feeling restive after being cooped up all day with nothing to do and was obviously happy to see his best friend. His excited neighing was good to hear. Red reached his head over the stall gate, and the boy happily scratched the racehorse behind the ears. “You ready to go for a ride, boy? We’re gonna go for a trip with that big ol’ rascal over there and the huge fellow who matches him. No racing, now, you understand? We’re wanting to make friends, not embarrass anybody. So calm down, and we’ll get started shortly.”

 

The youngster moved with the confident comfort that only experienced hands could showcase as he first groomed, then saddled the big black horse. He relaxed the unfamiliar steed with his ongoing conversation, a steady stream of thought that served to calm any tension that might appear. Midnight, though, seemed to be very comfortable under Speed’s handling, and in a matter of minutes was ready to go despite Speed’s interested examination of the unusual equipment Burrich used.

 

Next up, Red pranced eagerly in anticipation of the upcoming trip as Speed led him out of the stall. A less experienced hand would have been intimidated by the vocal, energetic stallion, but Speed knew his business and understand that such an athletic horse had lots of energy to burn. Having trained him himself, he also knew that Red would never jerk away from him, and as visual proof to all who knew what to look for the lead rope never even pulled tight with all of the stallion’s antics. He was just a high-powered athlete eager to please his master.

 

First, Speed gave the sorrel stallion a thorough brushing to ensure he wouldn’t rub a sore spot, which also served to make his coat gleam. Next, he swiftly saddled him and then slung himself up onto his back to have a quick walkabout. After he burned off a bit of Red’s energy, he returned to the stable, dismounted, and led Midnight outside. He still had a few moments, so he lifted each of Midnight’s hooves to see if they were picked out before the ride.

 

By the time he had finished, Burrich appeared with a couple of big wolves who appeared completely uninterested in the proceedings. That suited Speed just fine. He was still getting used to the idea of befriending wolves, and was more than willing to take his time getting acquainted.

 

“Now then, you ready to go?"

 

“I was born ready, big guy,” Speed answered and suited his words with a fluid vault to Red’s back. “Where are we headed?” The young man couldn’t wait to get started with this new life of his. He expected it to be tough in the coming months when he had to learn about swords and other stuff he had no idea about, but so far he thought he was handling everything okay. He hoped that continued.

"We are headed out." Burrich laughed as he teased the boy. He really didn't have a destination in mind but was mainly just looking for an excuse to ride again. It had been too long since he'd found the time to truly work Midnight. He mounted and turned to head out of the Stedding.

 

They'd ridden for an hour so far when Burrich had an idea of how to begin the young Wanderer's training. So far he had let Speed do most of the talking, encouraging him with questions whenever he fell silent and mostly just letting him distract himself from their surroundings.

 

Burrich came to a halt and strung his bow. Tying a bright blue scarf around an arrow he shot it into a tree nearly four hundred yards away. Being unaccustomed to his enhanced vision and unaware of the power of a Two Rivers longbow, Burrich's in particular, Speed would probably guess it to have only flown half its actual distance. "You say you like to race huh? How about this, last one to that tree has to find and make dinner tonight. Oh, I know, you think you've an unfair advantage but let's just say I want to have some fun. Ready? Go!"

 

When he gave the word Speed was off and Burrich laughed aloud at the little joke he'd just played on him. As expected the boy was running his horse as though it was a short two hundred yard sprint when in reality it was much further. Had it been level ground, as it appeared from where they started, it still would have been twice what Dautry expected but the way the land rose and fell between here and the tree he'd shot it was probably closer to two thousand yards than it was to two hundred.

 

Red was indeed a fast and beautiful horse but sprinting as he was it wasn't long before he started to slow. Burrich meanwhile had kept Midnight to a steady constant pace. The giant stallion would never be able to keep pace with the smaller racehorse but he had stamina and endurance to spare. In a race on a track such as Dautry was used to Midnight wouldn't stand a chance but if Burrich ever had need to travel a great distance he knew midnight would serve him well. In fact he'd proven on several occasions that in the long haul Midnight would always beat a smaller horse.

 

Burrich waved as he passed Speed and Red, now just walking, and laughed at the scowl the boy cast him. When he got to the tree he unsaddled Midnight and tied him to a long lead so he could graze. Then he found a stump nearby and waited for his new student to catch up.

 

When he did Burrich waited for him to see to the horse then gestured for him to sit across from him. "That is your first lesson. Your eyesight has improved in both range and clarity. This results in things seeming much closer than they are until you get used to it. Thus the reason you were so easily deceived. The second lesson is that speed isn't always enough."

Red was off with a bound almost before “G-”, the sleek Tairen stallion throwing dirt high as his hooves bit into the ground. Speed felt Red’s muscles explode under him like bottled lightning. The ground was a blur under them, but something was wrong.

 

“WHOA!” Speed heaved back on the reins, and Red slid to a stop, digging deep grooves into the soil, his haunches so low he almost sat down. Both racers were panting with excitement and adrenalin, but Speed’s mind was still racing as he looked over the edge of the gully that he hadn’t noticed until it was almost too late. “Blood and ashes,” he swore softly but passionately.

 

Turning around, Burrich was nowhere to be seen. He and his heavy Dhurran had disappeared like hay after a long winter. What in the Creator’s name am I supposed to do now? he thought fervently. He pondered for several minutes without coming up with an answer to the riddle.

 

Somehow, Burrich had pulled a trick on him. The arrow still beckoned in the distance, the ribbon fluttering teasingly. He was sure that it had only flown 200 yards or so, but he had already run that far, and it was at least that far across the ravine to boot. Scratching his head in confusion, he saw Midnight emerge down in the gorge plodding along nonchalantly with Burrich sitting easily on the massive black’s back. Scowling, Speed could have sworn that Burrich laughed as he waved up at him.

 

With no choice but to try and find a way down, Speed retraced his steps and hunted for Burrich’s trail. The boy hadn’t spent much time in the forest, and so he wasn’t much of a tracker, but eventually he found where Midnight’s large hooves had torn loose some earth. The heavy horse’s tracks led him to the path Burrich had used, hidden behind an outcropping of aspens as it was.

 

The way down was steep, and Red didn’t care for it at all. The stallion nervously crept down the trail, cautiously following the switchbacks that zigzagged down the steep slope. In Tear, there weren’t any mountains, and Red had grown up running across the plains. It was going to take some time for the stallion to adjust to the mountainous terrain here near the stedding. Being an experienced horseman, Speed didn’t rush his mount, but let him make his own pace. To do otherwise would likely have seen both of them plummeting to the bottom, suffering serious injuries or worse. So the boy exercised patience while inside he seethed at being beaten.

 

When the duo finally emerged from the gorge, covered with sweat and dust, Red’s sides heaving with the unaccustomed climb, Speed found Burrich taking his ease on a stump. Midnight was cropping grass happily and looked none the worse for wear. The young wolfkin looked back to the other side of the gully with amazement. He was only about 400 yards from their starting point, a distance that Red had run in less than 17 seconds in a race about six months ago. The total distance they had covered though, with the long descent and climb, was probably a shade over a mile… he and Red had covered that distance in under two minutes lots of times. Of course that had been on a track, not the side of a Light cursed mountain. Shaking his head ruefully, Speed headed toward his teacher when he saw the big man gesture to him. I have a LOT to learn.

 

“That is your first lesson. Your eyesight has improved in both range and clarity. This results in things seeming much closer than they are until you get used to it. Thus the reason you were so easily deceived. The second lesson is that speed isn’t always enough.”

 

Listening avidly, Speed soaked up the instruction like dry dirt soaks up rain. “How do I get used to it? Is there anything I can do? Will it take long?” Pausing momentarily, he added with a shrug and a laugh, “I see what you mean about speed, too. Although if I had thought quicker, maybe you wouldn’t have beat me so bad. What do you want for supper? I better get started before it gets dark, or we‘ll both go hungry ‘cause I won‘t be able to see a thing.”

 

In the excitement of the ride and the race, and his concentration while helping Red climb the gorge’s steep sides, the boy hadn’t noticed that the sun had long since fallen out of the sky. If he had had a mirror, he would have been just as surprised that his golden eyes were shining like a beacon in the dark.

 

Burrich’s laugh was Speed’s first clue that the night’s lessons weren’t over yet.