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WHO: Kain and OPEN!
WHAT: Riding, training, generalized brooding
WHEN: Now-ish, give or take? Or at least consider this taking place some while after he returned from the Erimond mission!
WHERE: Stables, Training Grounds, Library, Battlements... take your pick
NOTES: N/A

Stables and... Around (can be approached at any point!)

Seriously, though. Why horses? He's tried to tell himself they're no different than what he knows, but there are still differences from the chocobos that he's used to. Kain isn't entirely at ease around them just yet. So he's taken it in mind that he needs some riding practice.

He spends a little time thoughtfully eyeing the dracolisks that are there, he definitely has a curiosity about them given their appearance.

But for now, it's a standard horse. His style of riding was all learned on a bird so it's evident he doesn't quite know what he's doing as he rides a bit wildly around Skyhold.

Training Grounds

Pushing himself to get stronger is the only answer after what happened out the Western Approach. They'd met their main objective... but even still, Kain is beyond frustrated with himself, feeling a great deal of guilt over what happened. So, training. He gets to the grounds anyway, but even after he starts in with a jump, he lands and grimaces... Ugh, no, while it's improved for regular activity, his leg really isn't ready for anything like that. Whoops.

Library

Even after a good couple months here, Kain has realized he... still has a lot to learn about this world. Now is as good a time as any. So he's busy glancing through various books that catch his interest. Of course, it's noticeable that most of the titles in his stack are about dragons.

Tower/Battlements

By now, Kain has a usual spot he likes going to up along the battlements, a place with a great view of the mountains surrounding Skyhold. He often comes here to just think or get some solitude. At the moment, he's seated, staring off into the surroundings, a dragon scale in hand.

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"Right... I suppose that advice isn't too unlike what I'm used to. I'm trying to adjust... I'm much more accustomed to riding large birds." Well, and dragons as a boy, but that was so long ago, plus that's another creature entirely. He realizes that perhaps he's not been adapting quite as much as he's thought, still doing what he instinctively knows from chocobo riding. But everything about the horse is just different enough, the way you balance upon them, even their general temperaments.

Kain leans a hand forth to pat the horse as well. "I was told her name is Embrium... and that she's good at handling any sort of rider." Ha ha, yeah right. She seems to have a bit more of a mind of her own than he'd bargained for. That or she senses his uncertainty.

"...huh." Birds. That- that's a new one. He blinks up at the fella for a moment before going back to pett'n the poor mare's nose. "Aw, see, with a name like Embrium she's a kindly lady. But if you know much 'bout kindly ladies you know they also got their own mind. You don't just order 'em around. You ask all civil like."

He rubs the underside of Embrium's velvety muzzle, murmuring soft comforts. "Use the reigns gently. She's got a mouth up here, not a beak. Tug too hard and you might hurt her. Lemme see..."

Peek'n at the bit shows no real damage, just a little chaf'n. Noth'n a horse gnaw'n on it wouldn't do to themselves. "Ease up a li'l and scooch back in the saddle a bit. You want your weight to her middle."

Yep giant battle-ready birds. He can imagine it might seem just as unusual to the people here as the horses do to him. Kain can't help but smirk a little bit when he reminds him of the ways of kindly ladies. It just reminds him of home and Rosa's stubbornness, chasing after Cecil or sneaking aboard the airship when told otherwise. "All too true... you most certainly can't make a lady do anything she'd rather not. I've learned that from past experience."

Hm, right, going easier on the reigns. Kain nods, shifting his position yet again, but this time trying to take Mal's advice and not be so toward the front the way he'd been doing. "Like this?"

"Just about. I figure your birds, you sit all upfront cuz they only got the two legs? Seen a coupla birds like that up north, big things, all mean with talons and tiny heads. Seen small, crazy people rid'n them for money- lotta their weight's up by the base of the neck, yeah?" He pats Embrium's shoulder. "That ain't where you wanna be with a horse and it ain't how the saddles are suppost'a work."

Speak'n of- he keeps a hand on Embrium's neck and sidles up down to check the saddle- it's cinched in right and proper, not too tight, not too loose. Ain't half bad work. "Too far forward and you dig inta the shoulder, makes it uncomfortable for 'em to move. Too far back, you get where they don't got as much muscle to support you. Saddle's in the right place, just gotta get your weight t'where you're used to sitt'n in the middle."

"That sounds right, yes. The chocobos- our bird mounts- are easier to maneuver because of that, or it seems that way to me. The weight is all different." Not only are they lighter, the weight distribution is indeed not at all the same. Kain watches as Mal checks on the saddle... he'd had help with that part, so at least it was on right. He settles where he is in the new position, trying to get a feel for it, and stop himself from the mistaken "correcting" he'd been doing. It actually does feel more natural, even if it's against his old instincts.

"Well... this... feels much better. I can see now why she must have been getting impatient with me."

"There you go. See, he just needed someone with a li'l patience to point out a few things. Don't need to start fuss'n." This is to the mare, his hands still light and easy on her neck as he works his way back up to her front. "Awright now. Reigns? Give her a little breathing room and she'll walk you just fine. Want a ridealong? Make sure she don't get it into her head to wander off with you?"

The horse seems considerably calmer now, already her whole demeanor seems to have changed. Kain pats her affectionately, feeling better himself now that things are better sorted out. He's more careful with the reigns- something he hadn't even thought about until Mal pointed it out to him. He'd really been doing every aspect of his wrong.

"I'd appreciate that if you could. I'm Kain Highwind, by the way... if I can repay you for this someday, I will."

"No skin off my nose." He gives Embrium one last pat before walking around Sasha to haul himself up. For him Horses were like mabari to the average Fereldan. Easy to understand and work around, there was a little intuition and a lot of experience that went into it. "Captain Malcolm Reynolds. You can owe me a favor; not that I got much call to be ask'n for them but the world is gett'n kinda strange."

“Good to meet you, Captain.” He nods, as he gently urges the horse to start moving, trying to keep its pace nice and easy alongside Malcolm’s. He doesn’t see a shard, so he can assume the other man is a native, and definitely used to working with the world’s mounts. He’d come along at the right time for sure. “I suppose I’m among the world’s strangeness… but I intend to do what I can for the Inquisition and against the world’s latest threats.”

Mal and Sasha keep pace, mind'n the man's hold in his reigns his posture. Soldier fellow of some kind is Mal's best guess. Benefit of that is they only need tell'n on how to hold themselves once. Leastaways any good soldier only needs telling once. "You one'a them Rifter folk? Fell out of a hole in the sky, got yourself a bit of shine?"

"I am," Kain says with a nod, as he continues to remind himself to hold himself just so, but before long, the adjusted technique is becoming second nature enough he has to think less and less. He definitely does have that soldier's mentality. It also helps, having at least some sort of riding experience. "I fell into the mire, when I arrived... which is as unpleasant as it sounds." He makes a face. "I don't mind being here for the long term... I'd left my true home a while ago... I'm not so sure how I feel about the shard, though."

"Looks like we're in the same club." He wiggles his left hand, palm glowing since he's got no glove covering it. "Ain't that a fine thing."

And by fine he means why in the shit is this happening to them, but. Polite company. Or mostly polite company, he's just met the guy. "It itches, is how I'd say I feel about it."

"You as well? But you're not a rifter... right?" At least he doesn't think so, as far as he can tell. But then again, he'd heard something about others getting the shards as well... whatever that could mean, who can say?

Kain grimaces, nodding agreement. "It's a nuisance I'd sooner not have. This is my fighting hand." He holds his hand up a moment, giving it a glare as if it would listen to him and start behaving. "I hope at the very least, we'll be able to better understand them in time..."

"Nope. Fereldan, born and raised. Was in the wrong place at the wrong time and ended up with a bit of shine blown into me from something big what went down at Haven." He knows now what it was, but it don't make him all that much more comfortable.

"Yeah. I keep hear'n about the healers and magical folk pok'n at them and ask'n questions ry'n to sort out what's what."

“I’d heard about some people ending up with the shards… A truly bad example of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.” It’s bad enough to be stuck with one upon arrival, but it had to be some harsh luck, ending up with one as a native here.

Kain nods. “I only hope they can find the answers before anything terrible happens. I don’t trust this… thing.” He’s hated the shard since the moment it appeared, especially because of that initial pain.

"Just my luck." Other than the shard, the job went smooth. He probably shouldn't be all that surprised by it anymore. Something always ends up going sideways when he's not looking.

"Well my hand ain't melted off just yet, so I figure it'll be fine till it ain't, then we'll get answers or we'll have to get used to work'n with just the one."

That's true enough, and a fact that Kain realizes he ought to consider more closely. There hasn't been anything bad that's happened as a result of the shard... it hasn't even gotten painful in the way it did initially. Still, he'll probably never stop being wary of it.

"True enough, I doubt our hands are about to fall off or anything... I suppose it at least makes it easier to get around in the dark." That glowing is just bright enough, after all.

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