A thief\'s horse

[Existentially Odd]

"No," he breathed affectionately, smiling down at her as he allowed himself to feel her awe anew, "these animals are often worth more than some farms, they\'re protected far too lovingly for that.  In truth, I should point out that it\'s very rare that any owners mistreat their horses, and certainly not more than once.  I don\'t hold with cruelty."

He took a left turn into another corridor, heading first for a stall in the south west corner, where a two year old filly - pure black, fifteen hands high and built for speed - lay waiting for viewing.  She had recently completed all her training and been put up for new owners - her sale was a little slower than some because she\'d suffered some unusual tendon growing pains that had delayed things, but she was a true beauty.

"Stealing?" he frowned quizzically.  "No, I can\'t say anything\'s been stolen from here in the near-ten years I\'ve been on the job.  Maybe not even before that.  It\'s just... always been the way - to protect the keep\'s horses.  All of them - for the lower level is just as well guarded, with the amount of people always coming and going there, don\'t you fear that.  If something were taken, I don\'t doubt the alarm would be raised swiftly and the response angry!" he chuckled.

Coming to a stop at their destination, he opened the stall door and led his guest inside, where the spirited horse within turned to face them immediately.  She huffed, stamping her hoof twice.  Gallagher clicked at her and she allowed him her head, so that he could walk her towards the lady for a pat (also so he could observe the two of them together - this horse had spirit and only a skilled rider would ear her respect).

"This young filly is two years old.  I think a good height for you.  Fully trained for gear and riding - runs like the wind when she wants to, but she has a stubborn head.  Like father, like daughter; she\'s bred from Lord Dagger\'s stallion, you see.  Owner\'s called her Stiletto, for she\'s as sharp as the man with as much heart as his mount."  He smiled at the animal, stroking her silky black coat and making soft noises subconsciously at her.  "What do you think?" he asked Elle.

[MissusHow]

"No stealing. That\'s good." the thief lord asserted shortly, her mind groaning. A good plan thwarted, but she hadn\'t done much planning, it was no large loss. They turned, entering one of the stalls that contained a black horse, groomed beautifully, but something about the eyes told Ara it was no stupid mare, oh no, this horse had fire as wild as Aras own in its eyes. Her thoughts were comfirmed by Gallaghers words, and the woman let a smile play about her lips when she heard Daggers name mentioned. She approached the horse, looking her over speculatively, as she had done earlier with Gallagher, and the horse seemed to do so likewise.

She was indeed a fine creature, her black coat glossy, and her mane chopped evenly, long tail hung elegantly, swishing occasionally. Ara approached it cautiously, and the horse thankfully seemed willing to wait. "Hello, sweet." the thief murmured holding the mares head in her hands and blowing softly with her nostrils onto its nose, teaching the horse her sent. Stiletto shook her head for a moment and stamped, uttering the occasional whinny, but Ara held fast, staring into the horses black eyes with her own until she finally returned the favor.

Finally Ara let go, steping back and bowing, a grinn on her face. Stiletto flicked her tail impatiently at her, snorting and stamping her foot. "I think she is the perfect mount for me." Ara admitted sheepishly, "You have a good eye for matching people to horses. All I\'m left wondering is if the horse will have me. In truth I\'ve made my choice, but I\'m not sure Stiletto has made hers." Ara paused, eyeing the mare with a raised eyebrow, "I\'d ask her myself, but I think I\'m not welcome to the privilege yet."

[Existentially Odd]

He chuckled, admiring her way with the animal and respecting the courtesy she demonstrated to Stiletto.  He could tell the show wasn\'t simply for his benefit, because of the patient way she stared into the dark, dark eyes, waiting for a response that would indicate to her the filly would bend to her wishes... eventually.  Gallagher thought that she would, but that Lady Elle might end up on her rump a time or two first.  Such was the game of building respect between horse and rider.

"Oh, I think she\'ll come around," he mused, scratching the filly\'s neck so that her hair was thoroughly rumpled and she shook her head, butting him gently with it.  He grinned as he shifted the balance of his weight onto his back foot, obediently smoothing her glossy neck over once more.  He gave his human companion a pointed look.  "She knows what she likes, at any rate. Don\'t hand over your heart just yet, though; we still have that... other option to investigate," he reminded her, dropping a wink and backing out of the stall.

In truth, he wasn\'t entirely certain the roan filly would be what the lady thought she wanted... but his opinion was that they\'d be better in partnership, in the long run.  The roan was bigger - sixteen hands - and more muscled (meaning she didn\'t run as swiftly) but she had endurance like a bloodhound and a steadier temperament.  She had her outbursts and moments of flicking tail and bolting - as any proud redhead was wont to do - but she took a lot longer to anger and she was a firm mount.  Something in him sensed that Elle was not always as steady as she ought to be - and bearing a horse of like spirit with her might not bring a predictable (and desirable) outcome to hand.  He headed for the next corridor over, and four stalls up, where their next option lay.

[MissusHow]

With a last curious glance at Stiletto, she followed Gallagher, trying to clear her mind of its decisiveness. Stiletto had made quite an impression, proving to be as wild as Ara herself, and she liked that well enough. The problem was taming such a horse, though she knew with enough patience she could, would she have enough time?

[Existentially Odd]

Gallagher smiled at Elle as he held the stall door open for her to enter, the glossy-coated chestnut looking curiously at them from the back corner of her space, then trotting over after deciding they might have a treat for her. He switched his attention to the horse after the half door was closed, running his hand along the beast\'s shoulders to her rump, where he scratched idly.
 
"This filly is barely a year old; she has good lineage but none so outstanding that her owners thought she deserved a name for it. That would be your honour. She\'s sixteen hands where Stiletto is fifteen and she won\'t run as fast but she\'ll last a lot longer because she has a steadier head and knows how to pace herself. She can be stubborn but I\'ve never had a problem with her refusing outright; she\'s wily enough that she knows if she drops her head and looks at me just right, she\'ll earn a bit of treacle in her chaff," he chuckled, nudging the horse\'s neck with a playful shoulder as he stepped closer to her head. "This girl\'s a thinker, she is - she\'ll come at you, working with her head, not her heart. Her temperament and physique will earn you a few more offers for foals than the other, I should imagine - if you want to consider that option.  \'Twill make a few extra gold if you do; the calmer the dam, the better the foal and this one\'s pretty to boot."
 
He eyed his human companion and dropped her a wink. "So what goes through your mind when you see the two, m\'lady? Do you want the black, rolling thunder or the strawberry lightning bolt to be yours?"

[MissusHow]

The thiefs\' mouth opened in a decisive way, about to declare Stiletto as her choice when the strawberrys eyes caught her own. Suddenly her mind went reeling, what had Gallagher said? \'Lord Daggers stalion?\'. He would surely want to know who had bought the mount that he had bred, the one he\'d perhaps even named. He would trace her down to Ara and she would be trapped between two alliases. Her mouth snapped shut, and her lips became thin, as she breathed out.

Her eyebrows creased in thought and she walked up to the strawberry, who had no name. Quickly she checked her over, she seemed a thoughtful sort of horse, and a patient one as well. And it wasn\'t even that, that compelled Ara to reach out and touch this horse as she had not touched the other. Her hand reached out and she stroked the horses velveteen nose, "You make me think, little redhead." she whispered, looking into its pensive eyes.

Finally she broke contact, and her mind was made up for the second time that day. "I think I\'m enough thunder to deafen several people out of this vincity." she jibbed lightly. "I\'ll take her, I\'m afraid I\'d not do Stilletto justice as a rider. How much will she be?" She paused to pull a strand of hair away from her face and looked at him squarely, her jaw set, "You don\'t seem like the kind that would cheat me out of my money, in fact quite the opposite, but I\'m not fool, and I\'ve been cheated more times than I can count, so if you do and I find out, you\'ll end up regreting it."

This last statement she said quietly, and politely, but her eyes crackled with hidden energy, and her position had changed from a relaxed one, to a slightly more tense one. It was a gamble, she had risked insulting him for the last time today,a nd she would probably regret it later, but her nature in itself prevented her from trusting even her own mother (though the chance would not come along to show itself).

[Existentially Odd]

He glowered at her, obviously upset by her blustering.  "You\'ll get a more than fair price, fear not," he answered, sounding disappointed with having to be succinct in his reply.  Truthfully, he had no intent of naming any price - what the owners asked for a horse was oft guided by his advice, yes, but they were the ultimate authority.  That she might blindly accuse him of setting out to deceive seemed both arrogant and preposterous and he felt justified in speaking with a far more clipped tone.

"Come with me to my office and I\'ll see what the owners have down as an asking price, before we get... carried away here," he said, forcing a smile and stepping around her so that he could exit the stable and head for his quarters.  He waited just beyond the half door for her, holding it open until she was out.

He lived in the rooms usually afforded the Stable Master - just down the walkway from where they were, in the north western corner of the building - but did business out of there too; he had a book case near his table that was filled with the books and ledgers he needed to keep on top of things.  The Stable Master didn\'t have to do a whole lot with Gallagher around.

[MissusHow]

Ara followed him with a last look at the horse, thinking on what Gallgher had said, and his tone. She felt guilty about her behavior, this man seemed, no, was the honest kind, and yet she still treated him as an enemy. The tight smile, and short tone he used was far different from the one he had greeted her with, and the loss of the original tone grieved her. Truly she had not meant harm, though that would mean nothing if he did not know it, and still what he did not know was probably better for him, lest he was used to carrying secrets with a weight of a piramid.

She was looking down at the ground in a sort of shame, planks littered with straw here and there, when her vision was interrupted with his shoes. A sudden inspiration made her look up and into his eyes, and touch him on the shoulder lightly, "You must forgive me for my treatment towards you, for it is unjust, but in my line of work naivité may cost me my life," she said quietly, holding his eyes for a heartbeat more and then removing her hand and looking away, not willing to wait for his reaction, or for him to put together the pieces of the puzzle, completed with her (obvious) clue.

Ara crossed her arms, and began examining her surroundings thoroughly, waiting for him to indicate where they were going. She began to examine a small nail to her left. She pretended to be concentrated upon the nail, feeling for his reaction.

[Existentially Odd]

He offered her a smile that showed one dimple as she apologised, curiosity lit with the allusion to \'her line of work\'.  Naivite could cost her her life?  that seemed truly dramatic - plus, there was the fact that she\'d been presenting herself as nothing more than a very active noble up until this point.  That she had a line to \'work\' at all surprised him.

Still, he settled for giving only an intrigued look as he closed the stable door and led her along the aisle between the two rows of much-larger-than-downstairs stables.  He didn\'t point out Lord Dagger\'s horses, nor the royal beasts, as they passed; something was beginning to suggest that the Lady was not one to be told such secrets to so flippantly.

He opened his door when they\'d finished their two minute journey to the very corner of the building, and gestured for her to come in after him.  There was a conservative little table just inside the room, with some chairs at it and he dragged one away for her to sit at - though he didn\'t do the proper thing and remain behind it until she sat.  Whether she chose to take the chair or just remain standing in his little living room - the kitchen area to the right and little lounge area to the left constituted most of the space; the two doors set in the far wall were closed on his bedroom and spare room - did not become apparent to him until he\'d walked over to the bookcase behind the main entrance.  After a brief run of his long fingers across the bound ledgers\' spines, he withdrew one and brought it to the table.

He sat unceremoniously, not looking at her as he found the page he was looking for.  "Sixty gold," he announced when he\'d found the correct parenting notes and the price that the owners were asking.  It was a very fair price in his opinion, considering the excellent quality of the animal and her illustrious background.  All that remained was whether the woman he was with thought the same.

[MissusHow]

She followed stiffly and sat down when indicated, looking around the room for to see if there was another exit. That located she turned to watch him shuffle through the papers in a business like way (to which she privately rolled her eyes at), and finally he named his price. Sixty gold. Did she even have that kind of money? She could feel a tiny seed of anger planted in her brain as she chewed on her lips. Sixty gold. Had she been a noble she would not have batted an eye...had she been a noble.

And this was why she felt hatred towards the noble kind. Oh sure, she played dress up once in awhile, and sometimes she played their games, and watched how they competed...and for what? Power, perhaps. But they did not know what to do with it. Neither would Ara, most likely, in that circumstance, but she was blatantly ignoring that fact, instead letting her little seed grow into vine.

The small movement of a mouse nearby brought her back to reality (she really /had/ to stop doing that). Sixty gold...sixty gold...she had enough saved up. But not enough for food for herself...she\'d have to eat off of the thieves pay. They wouldn\'t mind, in fact they\'d probably welcome the change. And so would she. "I\'ve got it. And that should be fine...I won\'t pretend to bargain, she\'s a fine horse, and I\'ve no real idea of what she\'s worth. It\'s a deal. Where do I pay? Right here? I\'ve got to go get the money."

[Existentially Odd]

He blinked a little at her rapid fire questions, then chuckled slightly.  "Well, you can do that - but the usual thing is to organise for you to exchange the money directly with the owners, when you fill in and sign the deed.  That way there\'s only one guard escort needed - to accompany you and then them, once the deed and money are exchanged," he smiled blandly.
 
Most people didn\'t feel comfortable walking around carrying the likes of sixty gold and insisted that a guard accompany them on their business dealings - if they didn\'t already employ an escort privately, of course.  He wondered if the lady before him would be of the latter persuasion... it sounded about right, in his opinion.

[MissusHow]

Ara raised her hand to twirl her hair thoughtfully. A guard? Certainly not. And she would definitely not meet the owners. Word got around quickly around the nobles (or so she heard from her spies), and the wrong words to teh wrong person...the captain of the guard hearing from the right mouth...Lord Dagger finding out about the lady that looked so much like lady "Eleanor" the merchants daughter who surely could not afford such a fine beast.

"I\'d prefer to pay it here, if that\'s not a problem. Gossip travels fast, and I don\'t want to be the center of attention in the inner keep... It\'s just not for me." she told him, mangling a wry smile at her last comment. No, it certainly was not for her to be the center of attention. Unless she was hanging on the noose or close to it. The smile lingered on her face for awhile longer, "It won\'t be a problem, right? I\'ll send a...note of apollogy." she continued in an airy manner, planning to hire a scribe. She\'d even buy an official looking seal, if she found one.

She paused a moment longer, before having another thought...if these nobles could hold their toungues, perhaps she could meet them. It never hurt to have alliances in the right places...then again, it was a double edged sword to deal with nobles....she shrugged the idea off, not considering it worth the trouble.

[Existentially Odd]

"As you wish," he answered demurely, the twinkle that had left his eyes when she\'d insinuated he would cheat her beginning to return now. The lady had been secretive and somewhat... inconsistent in her discussions with him thus far; now it was time for him to really put her to the test (even though he knew not what issue he was forcing was... he just got the feeling that she wasn\'t all that she seemed. What that made her though, he had no clue either!).
 
"Shall I send a guard with you now, then? Or will you need some time to gather your funds? I will need a short reprieve to visit the owners and collect the deed from them on your behalf anyway, but it shouldn\'t take any longer than an hour, I would imagine. Lady Arbon is not in good health these days so I can almost assure you that she will be in residence and willing to complete the paperwork with me, whereupon I shall return hither and ready your registration. I... am right in assuming you\'ll be stabling the filly here so we will have to complete an owner\'s registration form and a stabling and tack agreement?" he asked, genuinely interested in the answer to this line of questioning.
 
To register her horse\'s name, she would have to provide her details - name, date of birth, address - and negotiate the terms of the horse\'s staying in the stables. Of course, she might insist that she was going to stable the filly on an outlying farm - the only alternative to leaving the horse exactly where she was currently - so she could skip the formality of registering with the stables. Then, she would only need to provide her name on the deed of ownership. Looking her over, however, she didn\'t look like she had any contacts beyond the city\'s limits and he guessed she\'d have to leave the horse at the stables. Meaning she\'d have to register (a policy instigated by his boss over five years ago, because they had too many untrustworthy types stabling horses for short visits and then leaving - with the horse - without paying, and there was no address or even a full name by which to track them down - or circulate amongst the guards for when they went visiting nearby provences) and either buy or rent the rest of the riding gear she would need to make her horse a worthwhile investment.

[MissusHow]

"I\'ll be collecting my funds, and I won\'t need a guard in the future. I\'m capable of taking care of myself." she told him rapidly, inwardly cringing at the thought of a guard spending any time with her at all. "It should take me less than an hour to get the money, so there\'s no problem with the whole deed...thing." she told him airily, waving her hand trivialy.

"And yes, I will be stabling her here. I\'ve no place to put it, but am I to understand that if I pay in advance she will be properly fed? I wont bother dancing around the subject, but I know nothing about keeping horses, just know how to ride one, and not even very well...it would be folly to leave its care to me." she told him seriously. And it was true, she had learned how to feed thieves, murderes, and the poor from her own experience on the streets, but she had not time, and no patience to learn how to feed a horse.

"I /think/ that I may have gear of my own. It depends on what my...friends... find in their closests. I\'m sure it will be adequate enough." she continued in a business like way, staring at the sealing and watchign a spider make its web. Her hand finished twisting her hair, and she turned back to him with a questionable smile, "Is that allright?" she asked demurely, fluttering her eyelashes slightly.

[Existentially Odd]

He grinned, not surprised by her response.  The lady seemed entirely... wily.  It would be an interesting thing indeed, watching her fill paperwork out.

"Well, that sounds fine.  For this floor you\'re looking at stabling fees of five gold and upward for a month - that will take care of food, grooming and preparation whenever you declare you want a ride.  We appreciate some notice if you know in advance you\'ll want her prepared, but understand that that can\'t always happen.  We\'ll repond with extreme haste, whenever you require it.  Now, you\'ll pay up to two gold a month downstairs for pretty much the same service, though that floor isn\'t as secure as this one - not that it\'s unsafe, per se, it just holds a lot more horses, and has lots more traffic wandering through it.  The hands down there are always kept so busy that we don\'t make any promises about spotting imposters.  Mind you, we haven\'t lost an animal from down there to any but dishonest owners, either," he assured her, his dimples flashing.

He didn\'t point out that the horses downstairs were worth a lot less than the ones upstairs, for that would be insulting the generic beasts they housed below.  Everything worth stealing was kept in the area with greater security, though, and he certainly hoped that the lady would realise that her horse was one of the privileged without him spelling it out for her.  He was confident she was smart enough to discern that for herself.