Fiery Temper

Cassandra hit the ground as Justifiable Conflagration tossed her into the sand of the indoor arena. She’d had to work with the horse there as the beautiful mare frequently tried to bolt from the outdoor arena. The horse now let herself the handled and mounted, but any kind of command and there was a good chance of a rebellion. Given how the previous…well, Cass wouldn’t call them owners… the previous individuals with all the disdain that word could carry, had been cruel and the mare had learned to distrust and hate. 

“No, sika meni vähän paremmin.” Cass picked herself up as Justifiable Conflagration reared and bolted away. Though not nearly so far as before. Trust was going to be slow to build with this one, but the power the horse had was already unmistakable. 

"Hiljaa, Justice, en satuta sinua." Cass murmured, holding out a hand and waiting for the agitated mare to approach. The fiery creature had moved themselves as far away from Cassandra as she could, and was eyeing the demonkin with distrust and rage. "Tule kun olet valmis. Minä odotan."

It took time, but after awhile Justifiable Conflagration calmed at least enough their eyes didn’t indicate the desire to murder her immediately. 

The mare’s ears flicked forward and her hooves struck the sand as if testing to see how Cassandra would react. When the demonkin didn’t move, Justice tossed her head and took a tentative step towards Cass. 

"Tuolla, siinä se. Tule tänne, Justice.” Cass says softly, holding to her place. She wasn’t sure why the massive mare responded to Sulivari, but she did and that was good enough. It was novel, really. Her truly temperamental horse responded better to Sylvan, and the impulse was to default to that tongue. But it wasn’t the one that served the best just now. 

Justifiable Conflagration eyed Cass’s hand like it was a trap, but at the reassurance and Cass’s remaining still, finally walked over and nibbled… closer to bit… Cass’s fingers. 

Cass managed not to flinch as she slowly turned her hand to brush the horse’s nose. For all the bright red and orange color of the horse, their nose was simply pleasantly warm to the touch. No signs of fire or smoke. 

The mare accepted the pets for a moment, almost leaning into them as if they were a new and exciting treat. She then decided that was more than enough and bolted, knocking Cassandra to the ground hard. 

The demonkin barely managed to avoid getting trampled as she rolled and came to her feet, eyeing Justice with a calm amusement. “If you think you’re going to make me mad enough to lash out, you’re mistaken. I’ve done this before.” 

Justice snorts at this, if she could blow flame the demonkin figured she would have. The draft didn’t make a full break for it but they did move a good distance away. Stomping at the ground with their ears flattened back. 

“Don’t like Common, huh?” Cass mutters softly, switching back to Tulenkieli. “Olen yhä vähemmän pahoillani, että poltin sen tallin.” 

The horse seemed to calm slightly at the change of language, her ears still back but not as sharply. 

"Tässä nyt, yritetään tätä uudestaan. Tehdäänkö?" Cass pulls out a sugar cube, hoping it would buy her more time than the apple slice had. Justifiable Conflagration had reason to distrust people, so Cass could afford to be patient.  

“They won’t own another horse again.” Cass murmured. “They had an unfortunate accident. A fire. None of your old friends were hurt though. They’d all been purchased before the fire and delivered to their new homes. All the paperwork was in order, just like with you.” 

Justice snorted and stamped her hoof, though her ears pricked forward just a little. The mare didn’t like Common, but she seemed to understand something of what was said. 

“There, just have to mention your namesake. Is that it?” Cass offered out the sugar cube, moving slowly and deliberately. This time Justice seemed calm about things, or at least not blatantly hostile. 

“You going to let me on you?” 

Justifiable Conflagration almost nuzzled her but instead turned the gesture into a bite. The mare didn’t quite catch Cass’s fingers, but the way the horse flinched it was clear the kind of retaliation she expected. 

Rather than get mad, Cass turned her hand palm up in a gesture of placation. “No, Justice, that won’t happen here.”

The fiery mare eyed Cassandra warily and then reached towards the demonkin, this time letting herself be petted. 

After a few minutes of calm, Cassandra moved to mount the horse. The mare moved nervously, but didn’t fight her. 

Cass settled onto Justifiable Conflagration, adjusting her seat in the saddle and then squeezing the mare gently with her legs. The mare responded sharper than anticipated, but soon smoothed out their gait. 

“There, that’s a girl.” Cass said softly, making a few rounds around the arena before urging the horse to move a little faster. This was met with the mare rearing up, but only once before their ears flattened back as they settled into a faster pace. 

Cass simply let the mare go for a bit. Clearly the horse had feelings on the matter, but had only tried to toss her once. The demonkin could only hope the mare would settle in, and after a time they did, their stride proving massive and even. 

“Once we come to an understanding, you’re going to be quite the ride.” Cass patted the horse’s neck affectionately. 

The gesture proved a mistake as Justifiable Conflagration immediately spooked and launched Cassandra into the sand with a sizable amount of force before bolting to the far side of the arena. 

Cass took a moment to catch her breath and then stood slowly and carefully, allowing the horse space to calm down. Fortunately Justice didn’t seem inclined to overly stupid actions while upset. Just keep away from the human shaped figure in their vicinity. 

Cass waited until Justice was further away from the gate out into the pasture with a few of the other horses and then made her way slowly towards it. That was enough for the day, she figured, and the mare always seemed to do better with other horses around. 

The demonkin opened the gate, Justice’s ears immediately flicking in the direction of the sound as she came down from a rear poised to break a fencepost and regarded the opening and then Cassandra. The mare’s ears flicked again, her tail twitching as she considered the situation. 

Cass simply stepped back from the opening. "Ehkä seuraavan kerran kun näen vanhat omistajasi, tervehdän heitä veitsi kylkiluiden välissä." 

Justifiable Conflagration seemed to understand that well enough, and with a flick of their tail that seemed almost pleased, they bolted past Cassandra and out into the field to be with the several of the other horses in the stable.