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The beach: Wednesday early morning

Karal had woken before dawn, feeling fidgety and restless. Morning prayers and meditation hadn't shaken it, so, once Trenor had finished his breakfast, Karal saddled him and they headed towards the ocean.

The moment they reached the beach, Karal gave him his head, Trenor leaping forward, restlessness left behind as they flashed across the sand, heading towards the rocks.

A bird suddenly exploded out of nowhere and Trenor propped, hooves digging in as he slid to a dramatic halt, shaking his head and snorting.

"Glory!" Heart pounding, Karal kept his seat and gently curbed him, patting his neck and talking soothingly. When they were both calm again, he turned them back the way they'd come.

It was cold enough that steam rose off Trenor's flanks and their breath fogged the air, but it made the world feel clean and crisp, and Karal was smiling as they walked up the beach.

[ooc: open of course!]

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It was too cold to swim, and River missed that. Still, she could always watch the waves move, even if it wasn't quite the same, and let her thoughts move with them, back and forth, most of them circling around Adah and their talk yesterday.

The sound of hooves cut through that however, and she smiled as she saw Trenor and Karal.

Karal smiled and drew Trenor to a halt, happy to see her. "Good morning to you, River."

"Cold morning, but good nontheless. Miss the swimming though." She reached out to pat Trenor's neck, her hands probably smelling of the apple she carried in her pocket.

Trenor's nostrils fluttered as he nosed her hands, certain she had treats she was keeping from him, making Karal laugh. "Even if I could swim well enough to go in on my own, I wouldn't in this weather. It's mild compared to a Karsite winter, but it's cold enough. How have you been?"

"Life is a complicated pattern of good and bad, all interlocked." She smiled a little. "The good have dominated recently, though. Should I be concerned about a change of luck?" Perhaps Adah and her obsession with blanace was beginning to influence her. "And you?" She pulled the apple out of her pocket holding it up in front of Trenor to tease him.

"I believe luck comes from faith combined with our actions towards others, so I fear that is a question only you can answer," he said thoughtfully, then began to dismount, feeling rude remaining mounted while they talked.

Trenor used the moment of distraction to stretch his neck out, lips wiggling as he tried to get the treat.

"Faith in what? And our actions combined and an average value calculated? They often differ depending who we interact with." She grinned. "See? More questions." She let Trenor have the apple, not wanting to tease the poor horse for too long.

Trenor's ear went forward and he crunched the apple happily, slobbering as he did so. Karal just sighed and shook his head. "You really are the most spoiled horse," he told him, before turning to River.

"Faith in whatever makes you strong, faith in the things you value above all else," he offered, not knowing the definitive answer. He wasn't certain there was a definitive answer. "There are those who say that good and bad are merely a series of calculations, and so long as one's good actions outnumber the bad, that's all that matters." His tone made it clear he didn't agree. "And I have known those who bemoan their bad luck when it's nothing more than the inevitable consequence of treating others badly."

River gently patted Trenor's forehead. "Something about him makes me want to spoil him," she said with a chuckle. "And that was my last apple."

"And what makes you strong? What is valuable? Increasing number of questions." She didn't mind though; Karal's way of taking the subject seriously was comforting somehow. "The strength of the goodness of your heart, I suppose. You would know that, wouldn't you?" Then she shook her head laughing. "Don't believe in the simplistic calculation of actions either."

"Me?" Karal was surprised, but willing to answer. He just need a moment to think. "Vkandis Sunlord, of course," he said with a small smile. "My faith in Him is above all else, but I have faith in my friends, as well. Both of those make me stronger. Valuable..." He stroked Trenor's neck, fingers sliding up under his mane. "If something makes the world better, then it's valuable, whether it's a kind word for someone who's sad, or a," he laughed, "a shoe thrown at you to keep you from sulking."

That last comment made River laugh. "Better not be a horse's shoe, as that might hurt." She added: "Meant you should also have faith in your own strength, the one of goodness. But then I have little patience with God."

He laughed again, looking sheepish. "I'm learning that, as well. And it woudln't be a horse shoe, I promise, Though some of Aravis' are rather pointy." Karal considered her, turning an idea over in his head. "Vkandis is different from the God who is most common here. He might not try your patience so much."

River smiled a little, knowing that Karal only wanted to help and that the trust in his God was quite honest. "A friend tried to explain the concept of his faith once, symbolised by a book. I tried to fix it and it turned to paper. Symbols don't work that way. But gods are still elusive."

He nodded, not wanting to push. "If you ever want to know of Vkandis Sunlord, I'd be happy to tell you about Him. I can't give you a copy of His book, though; The Writ is in Karsite, so it would only be marks on paper." He lifted one shoulder. "In the end, that's all it is. Faith lives in your heart and mind, not in a book."

"Requires trust." She tilted her head. "Not easy when you see through people's minds." Smiling a little at Karal, she added: "Sometimes I can't help it though, perhaps that is like faith in a god."

"Perhaps it is," he agreed, leaning against Trenor's shoulder. "It must be difficult to always see through people's minds."

River held out her hand towards Trenor again, although she had no more apples to offer. "Practising not to, but it's like blindfolding yourself." She smiled again. "Will you learn how to swim next summer?"

Pats were almost as good as treats, and Trenor nudged River's hand. "Molly has been teaching me," Karal said, feeling fidgety again all of a sudden. He shrugged it off. "I would like to learn to swim properly, though. She said there's a swimming pool, so we might be able to use that."

"That's a good plan," River replied. "And I'm sure Molly teaching you is enjoyable." She grinned.

"It is. Molly has always been kind to me, and very patient." He leaned forward, as if confiding a secret, and whispered, "The idea of swimming makes me slightly nervous."

"Part of the fascination," River replied, not surprised. "Water is devious. Strong and gentle, soft and hard." She looked out over the sea. "A surface reaching to the horizon hiding unseen depths." She turned back to Karal, smiling. "Being nervous is wise, unless it makes you retreat."

"I will persevere," he laughed, looking over Trenor's withers at the ocean. "I like it, love it, I think. Karse has no ocean. Glory, if I retreated from everything that made me nervous, I never would have made it out of my room!"

River chuckled. "Never took you for a coward," she said, then tilted her head. "What else made you nervous?"

"Many things, although," he smiled back at her, "not so many thing as there used to be. A result of being exposed to so many new and different things, I imagine."

River nodded slowly, her gaze moving out to sea again before turning inland, towards the preserve. "I need to go and find some acorns," she said.

He cocked his head. "Are you going to the Preserve?" he asked. "You could ride Trenor, if you liked, while I led him."

River's face lit up. "Would love that," she said turning back to Karal. "If Trenor won't mind." She chuckled. "On the other hand I've bribed him with apples."

"Trenor won't mind," he laughed, scratching under Trenor's bridle as he explained how to mount. "There's a rock if you need a boost, or I can give you a leg up."

River's only reply to that was to gracefully slip up on to Trenor's back, without any assistance. Then she leaned forward, patting the horse's neck.

Trenor turned his head to nuzzle River's knee, then poked Karal, who was staring, just a little. "That was most impressive!" he finally said. "You've ridden before?"

With a quiet click of his tongue, he began leading Trenor down the beach.

"No," River replied, clearly pleased to be doing it now though. "Sense the movement, before each step. Like listening." She leaned forward, pressing her ear against Trenor's neck.

When Karal smiled back at her, it was warm with approval. "That's how you ride well. You listen to what your horse is telling you. A horse cannot lie." Trenor dropped his head, stretching out his neck, ears flopping, obviously completely relaxed as they walked. "I think you might be a natural," he added quietly.

She was a natural when it came to many things, but there was no need to mention that. "A good thing about talking to animals. Less contradictory. Harder to understand sometimes because of it, though." She smiled happily to herself. "Need acorns for food for a dead vole skeleton."

He blinked, then just nodded in acceptance. "I'm certain we can find you some."

River just replied with a wide smile, enjoying being on horseback and thankful for Karal's offer to help. This was certainly a good start to the day.

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The beach: Wednesday early morning

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