"O'khasis? When did you go to O'khasis?" You asked Garroth, turning your horse to the side.

Garroth froze up. "It was a while ago. I was visiting. Yeah, visiting." Garroth motioned to the boarding villagers climbing the small bridge to the boat. "I'll tell you more on the boat."

"Okay." You nodded your head, then turned your head to face a voice.

"Horses, horses, splendid horses! Say, Alexander, can you make sure these horses get on the boat?" Chad said, loudly enough for you to hear.

Your lord took a step back from the man who was all up in her grill. "It's Aphmau. But okay. We were planning on bringing them on anyway."

"Excellent, Apmaow. Their stool will make great samples." Chad rushed onto the boat, past all of the other people who were going on.

"It's Aphmau!" She called after him as he ran off. Lord Aphmau cupped her hands around her mouth and turned in Travis's direction. "Travis! Can you help board the horses onto the ship?"

"Sure thing!" Travis replied, stepping off of his horse.

Garroth looked at you. "I'm going to go help Travis and Lord Aphmau," Garroth said.

"I want to help too." You jumped at the chance to keep (horse name). You were actually relieved to find out you didn't have to part with your new buddy.

"Sounds good, we'll even be able to finish the job faster." Garroth paused. "Do you need help getting off? It's a long way down, and I don't see a stool anywhere for you to land on."

"Um... I need a stool to get down?" You asked.

"Most of the time, yes. It is possible for very experienced riders to get off without a problem. But if I help you, you won't have to worry about twisting an ankle on the way down." Garroth explained.

"What about you? How will you get down?" You looked at Garroth to see his response.

"I'm tall. And there's a pretty sturdy rock here I can land on." Garroth said as he lifted his right leg and swung it over to the same side as his left, then stepped down off of his horse with no harm.

"Does that mean you're an experienced rider?" You asked him, wondering if you could end up doing the same.

"Nope. That means I'm lucky." Garroth replied to you, a hint of playfulness in his voice. He took the reins of his horse and tied them around the nearby branch of a tree, then came back to help you.

Garroth took your hands and placed them on his shoulders. You tensed up. "Okay, now swing your leg that's on the other side of us over the horse." Garroth instructed, not showing any signs that your physical contact was doing the same to him.

You did as instructed, leaving your left foot still in the stirrup and your right hovering because it couldn't reach the ground. Garroth held your weight, almost picking you up, then lowered you to the ground. "Thanks." You said, in awe that Garroth was just that strong.

From the moment you climbed off of your horse and hit the ground, your legs felt wobbly. No one had told you it would hurt this bad. Hopefully you weren't the only one who was saddle sore.

"No problem. Now let's grab the reins so that (horse name) here doesn't go running off." Garroth pulled the reins over your horse's head so that they were facing the front. He handed you the rope and you grabbed it tight.

You followed Garroth as he untied his horse from the tree and grabbed his brown reins.

"How do you think the horses will handle being on a rocking boat?" You started a conversation with Garroth as you both walked towards Travis and Lord Aphmau.

"It won't feel natural to them." Garroth shook his head. "They won't have anywhere o run. But I guess as long as Chad can get a lot of space for them to be tied in, everything will go fine."

"Are boat rides tough for you?"

"Not normally, it's more like I don't know how the horses will do. I love boat rides, I just haven't been on one in a while." Garroth answered you as he took another horse's reins in his hand.

***

You had helped load every horse onto the boat's deck. There ended up being an area in the back of the boat. There was something like a square room on top of the deck with a roof over the top, and open space where a fourth wall would've been. The horses had been fit together and tied up to some fence posts.

The boat set sail and had been on the sea for a little over a day now.

You -along with everyone else- were staying in the hull. The space under the deck was neat because it wasn't for cargo, and it had been prepared for people to stay in. Each wall had ten portholes that acted as windows, letting light into your bunk. The floor was made of polished wood and red twin sized beds lined the walls. A ladder led up to the deck, where the horses were.

It wasn't terrible having the horses on board. You only occasionally heard them whinnying to each other. You had already visited (horse name) a few times, just to check up on (him/her).

Many people had gotten sea sick, and spewed out over the side of the boat. You were on of the tolerant ones who hadn't been affected - not yet at least.

At the end of your section of the hull, there was a door. You could hear voices on the other side. You looked in through the window of the door and saw Travis and Lord Aphmau.

Travis was seated in a chair, looking at a blank book sprawled across the desk. Lord Aphmau was hovering over his shoulder, looking at a marked up paper that was beside the blank book.

You knocked on the door. "Can I come in?"

Lord Aphmau tore her gaze from the papers and looked through the window at you. "Sure ____."

You opened the door and walked in. "Am I intruding on anything?" You asked Travis and your lord.

"No, no. It's fine." Lord Aphmau answered.

"I'm actually just looking at a map that can get us to where we need to go." Travis added.

"That sounds important. Should I leave you guys alone?"

Travis started making marks on the paper next to him. "Maybe," he said, his answer distant.

Lord Aphmau looked at you. "You know, I saw Garroth on the deck with the horses if that's who you were looking for."

Your face heated up as you abandoned all hope that the lord had forgotten about you and Garroth. "Thanks," you said curtly, accepting Lord Aphmau's invitation for you to leave.