Brynleigh was in Bree. She was even in the Prancing Pony, still. Ry knew it, but amusingly, the two seemed to keep missing one another. Sometimes, if word of mouth was to be believed, by mere moments. He knew now that the woman sought him in kind. It was only a matter of time...
Early one morning, just after the sun had risen, he came to the stables, thinking he might find her attending her chores there. Alas, the woman had either been by early, else she was attending horses elsewhere that day, or on some other errand.
There was Jack, though. The grand old pibald stallion, peering at Ryheric and having been let out of his stall that morning to roam, whether by Brynleigh mere moments before or by one of the other stable hands was impossible to say. He approached the man, upbeat and friendly. Ryheric gave the stallion a lopsided grin and reached up to meet the beast's affectionate headbutt against his chest with a greeting rub against his neck.
"Bet she ain't challenged them ol' legs 'f yers all this time huh? Pro'lly ye ain't been on a proper run since I were takin' ye last. Gettin' lazy ol' man..."
Jack snuffed good-naturedly. Placid and at ease, belying the power Ryheric knew all good horses had, neatly tucked away in the presence of men. He did not consider much what he said next to the beast. Ryheric a creature of immediacy, and prone to bouts of recklessness.
"C'mon... There's someone else I know who ain't gone for a decent run for ages!"
He was pleased to find Jack quite eagerly followed him, at least far enough from the Prancing Pony that he might not be accused of horse theft. There, he mounted the stallion and set him off at a warming canter, towards Combe. He chose to stay off the road, keeping him to the grassy hills among the trees, glistening with dew in the new day.
Once they arrived, Ryheric left Jack in the trees with a conspiratory wink the stallion seemed to inherently understand to mean he should wait, and out of sight - for he did so without prompting. By mere luck, Ry thought, not understanding the uncanny intelligence of Jack or horses of his ilk.
Ryheric entered the Comb and Wattle Inn. It was a sleepy morning, but Ryheric's target was right there, where she always was.
Hatty the Hen. Upon her perch on the stool, snoozing away. The white hen was old and arthritic, her scaly legs swollen and gnarled, claws too long. Her body was a mass of lumpy weight and feathers. The thin membrane of her eyes was closed as she snoozed away.
Ryheric approached and with some care, took a hold of the chicken, large hands keeping her wings unnecessarily pressed to the sides. She was quite tame and didn't kick up a fuss. Though she did wake up and gave an indignant "BOKBOK! BOK." as she looked around her surroundings.
"Shhh c'mon Hatty, 's time t'get some wind rushin' through them feathers darlin'!"
....
Not long after, Ryheric had Hatty with him, atop Jack, racing through the green fields of Breeland around Combe and Archet, to the edge of the Chetwood. The sight was, of course, rather ridiculous as the cowled Dark Bard rode with a white, windswept hen, wings splayed and feathers rippling and fanning wildly, upon a spoiled old stallion whose prime years were behind him, puffing and panting as Ryheric put him through his paces and exercised him as if there were a job of great purpose to be done.
In the end, Ryheric left Hatty with Jack, as the two seemed to have become quite attached to one another during their little adventure.
He returned Brynleigh's stallion to the stable by the Prancing Pony where he and Hatty both stayed in the stall, both of them tuckered out in their old age from the exhilarating change of scenery.
Ryheric stole away, thoroughly amused at what Brynleigh might think when she came upon her horse, properly exercised, with a sleeping chicken roosting on his back.
"See ye again soon, ol' Jack... Don't do anythin' I wouldn' do, Hattygirl."
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Hatty's Gallivant
Submitted by Ryheric on June 7th, 2023
