Waste of Polo Mints {Zeak}

[Ruth Hosker-Thornhill]

Most people wouldn’t be able to get up at half six every morning, jump in a cold shower and eat a piece of toast before going to ride a wayward mare for an hour and a half and still be back home before their absence was noted. And yet Ruth had been doing it for the past four days, and would continue for another week. The mare was a young one, who went by the name Calico. To put it simply she was a nuisance and Ruth despised her. Ruth’s neighbour normally rode her daily but Cali had thrown her owner from the saddle not long ago, breaking her arm and ankle. This brought about a problem- Cali needed to be ridden. She was young and it would be easy for her to put on weight even in a few weeks. Plus Mrs Trovsky didn’t want to break the morning-riding routine she had been keeping up with for months. Much to Ruth’s annoyance Trovsky had decided to call upon ‘that nice tall girl who keeps to herself’ and offered her good money to ride Cali while she was home for the holidays. There are reasons for people keeping to themselves… It was difficult for Ruth not to grit her teeth and snap at the woman. But that would have been rude, and the neighbour was nice; just ignorant and naïve. So the Ravenclaw accepted the responsibility. She needed the money anyway. The little jobs she did at the weekends in the town nearby when she was at home didn’t get much money in. And she did enjoy horse riding; she was pretty good at it and used to compete as a kid, before deciding that the industry was shallow and ridiculous altogether. After attending Hogwarts and focussing on her studies she had less time to ride, so gave it up altogether.

But here she was riding again. As she shoved the bit aggressively into Cali’s mouth, narrowly avoiding her gnashing teeth, she hissed through her own angrily. Sure, Ruth enjoyed horse riding. When the horse was a nice and did what she asked when she asked, and did not attempt to throw her from the saddle into a tree, or ram her into the stable walls whenever she tried to tighten the girth from the ground. Not that she liked her horses to be complete pushovers of course; it was nice when the horse had spirit and challenged Ruth that tiny bit. But Cali was just plain rude and Ruth was not happy about the morning riding arrangement.
Lifting one leg high she slipped it into the stirrup on her side and pulled on the saddle, hoisting her body up Cali’s side until she could swing her leg over the other side and sit in the seat. Immediately the horse began to play up. When Ruth swung her leg over she shifted suddenly to the sight, almost throwing her rider off balance. After slapping her neck for this deliberate trick Ruth attempted to tighten the girth of her saddle while on the horse. Normally this would take seconds without trouble; but not with Cali. The mare breathed out, pushing her belly until it strained the girth and made it impossible for Ruth to tighten it to the appropriate notch. “Oi, fatty!” Ruth scowled at the creature. She waited for a few moments until Cali couldn’t breath out anymore and had to go back to her normal position- and then Ruth pulled hard on the strap around the horse’s belly, making sure it was as tight as possible.

It didn’t take much longer for Ruth to get Cali trotting in an almost straight line away from the stables. Ruth lived in the countryside because the peace was recommended by the doctor to make her mother’s illness easier to deal with and avoid any harm to others living very close. This gave her more than a few riding routes to pick from. She decided to go with the longest one. It swept over a few fields that were relatively flat before cutting across the side of a forest area, going down a harsh dip in the land and coming up again steadily, before coming around over the fields and back home once more. It was a route she enjoyed despite Cali’s irritating habits and it didn’t take long for her to slip into a casual mode and urge on a gentle canter in the horse beneath her. Despite the mare’s disobedient character she too enjoyed a good, long run and for the time being was behaving herself.

It was nearing seven thirty when Ruth reached the dense trees that marked the start of the forest-area. The two approached it at a steady canter. The Ravenclaw was enjoying the fresh morning chill on her face and the feel of Cali’s sturdy- and for now quite safe- bulk beneath her legs. She wasn’t paying attention to her surroundings and it came as a shock to her when, upon entering the first layer of trees, Cali became startled by something and reared suddenly. Ruth was taken completely unawares and slipped- almost gracefully, but not quite- from the saddle. She fell with her full weight into the mud below, the grass around her still wet with morning dew. Her cream jodhpurs were dirtied instantly and her long black riding boots only made the fall even more uncomfortable. “Fatty! You insolent waste of polo mints, get your big bum back here!” She roared angrily at the mare, her eyes blazing. In truth Calico had stopped after her rider had fallen and now stood a little way off, a mischievous glint in her dark eyes, nuzzling happily into a tree. Wait- no- that wasn’t a tree. It was a boy. With her eyes still angry and her long hair a mess Ruth pulled herself up from the ground and stared at the boy before her. “You! You scared the beast?” She snapped, her tone unforgiving. “Thank you. Thanks very much. I’ll be taking this now.” Here Ruth went to snatch at Cali’s reigns. She grasped them between her fingers and pulled, hard. “Cali! Now.” But the mare was stubborn and refused to obey. Instead, she gently lifted her nose and nudged the boy’s cheek affectionately. Ruth was amazed- the former finger-biting, arm-nibbling aggressive mare had been replaced by this soft little pony. It made her feel sick.

[Zeak Nitesh G2]

“I still don’t see why I had to get up at the crack of dawn and get ready to come here,” Zeak stated once again as the car continued its bouncing way along the gravel road. He “looked” nonchalantly out the window as the scenery rolled by, his hand resting lightly against his chin propping his head up. Zeak couldn’t help but smirk as he heard his mother’s exasperated sigh, “Because Zeak, Ted is an old friend of your fathers and he really likes to see you guys.” Zeak rolled his eyes, even though they were sightless they seemed to pick up on habits that other eyes had also. “See us? Ted usually takes one look, makes some offhand comment about my height and Shaylie’s growing looks and then he and dad go off and do their thing leaving me and Shaylie to tend to our own devices.” Zeak could almost hear Chelsea’s frown crease her face, “Oh stop being dramatic, it won’t turn out like that.”

Shaylie snorted in the seat next to Zeak, Chelsea turned around to look at her daughter, “And what’s that suppose to mean?” Still grinning Zeak turned to face his mother knowing that he had her trapped now, “Here’s what’s going to happen mom. We are going to pull up to Ted’s ranch and get out of the car. Ted will come running to us and he and dad will enter into a backbreaking hug with lots of laughing and back slapping. Ted will then turn his attention to you and remark at how beautiful you still remain and if dad doesn’t watch out he just might steal you from him. Then it will be Shaylie’s turn with the exact quote of: Holy geezers Shaylie, you grow prettier each day, just like your mom. Then Ted will turn to me, remark about how I am growing like a weed and then hold up three to six fingers for me to guess.” Zeak still wore his grin as he finished up, “And after all of that he and dad will move away, arms around each other’s shoulder and then you will tell me and Shaylie to run along and play.”

The silence that followed was only broken by Shaylie’s violent snickering as she attempted to hold back her laughter. After a few seconds his father began to speak, his voiced was laced with amusement as he too was trying to hold back laughter, “Zeak, stop using your mind powers on your mother, she doesn’t like being reminded that your smarter than her. We can’t let woman know that we actually have a thought process, you’re gonna ruin years of hard work from previous generations of males.” Shaylie could no longer contain her laughter and burst out loudly, Zeak heard his mother turn back to the front and mutter under her breath, “I swear my family has been abducted and replaced by looneys.” The drive from this point was short and they soon pulled up to Ted’s ranch, as per Zeak’s prediction they all climbed out of the guard and gathered in a group a few feet away.

Zeak felt Shaylie’s arm drape around his shoulder as Ted came running toward the family. Once again Zeak’s predictions came true as Ted and Michael Nitesh entered into a crushing hug. Ted than turned his attention to Chelsea and remarked on her beauty and his plans to steal her away from Michael. Shaylie was next to reserve her statement, Holy Geezers included, and then it was Zeak’s turn. Zeak felt Shaylie’s fingers tap against his shoulder, four taps, perfect. “Zeak! Boy you are growing like a weed. How man fi….” “Four fingers, Ted, your holding up four fingers.” Zeak stated assured in his knowledge thanks to Shaylie. As always Ted’s amazed voice responded, “Wow, I swear. How do you do that?” Zeak grinned, “Dad say’s I have mind powers but I’m not suppose to flaunt them cause it would be showing the female population that male’s can actually think and therefore ruin all the plans laid by previous male generations.”

Ted’s booming laughter filled the air, “Right you are boy, right you are.” With that Ted turned back to Michael and the two left the area, arms draped around one another’s shoulders. Zeak nearly mouthed the words as his mother stated that the two should go and occupy themselves while the grownup caught up. “You wanna go see the horses?” Asked Shaylie as she removed her arm and began to walk toward the stables. Zeak shook his head, “No, I think I’ll go poke around in the forest for a bit, see you.” Zeak waved in the direction of his sister and then set off. It wasn’t hard to find the forest, the smell of fresh wood and moss was quite easy to follow. Zeak had been in this forest twice now, so he hadn’t completely mapped it out yet, but he was working on it. He reached down and touched the fallen log, the start of his long begun map of the forest.

Zeak moved slowly, it was crucial that he memorize ever step he made in any direction, if he got lost in the woods because he forgot a single step, it could be disastrous. Still, Zeak wasn’t that worried, he knew that the forest lay Northwest of Ted’s ranch, if he ever got lost he could always resort to his wand and use the compass spell to find his way back to the ranch. Zeak moved ever deeper into the forest, it was still quite early in the morning and Zeak was already quite deep. He reached a juncture that he had been hoping to find, this was a part of the trail that bent around steep hill. Zeak was on the higher path overlooking the path that ran along the bottom edge of the hill. The sight was amazing to look at, but Zeak enjoyed feeling the breeze blowing through his hair as he stood on the edge. Being blind had its occasional drawbacks, even though Zeak knew how far away the edge was with the help of his stick he wasn’t able to test its durability. The last time he had reached this spot it had held his weight perfectly, but he had grown heavier and the edge had eroded a bit.

The second Zeak planted his foot on the edge it gave way, he pin wheeled his arms to try and keep his balance but it was too late. Zeak toppled over the edge and began to roll and slide down the steep grade. It went on for many moments before Zeak came to rest at the bottom of the hill coughing up dirt. “Ow…” he remarked as he rubbed his knee, it was scratched and had taken the brunt of the damage. He quickly checked himself, aside from a few cuts and scrapes he was alright. He had dropped his cane though during the descent, “Crap..” He stated and began to walk around, testing with his foot trying to locate the cane. Zeak stepped around the edge of a tree and onto the lower path but jumped back immediately in fright as the sound of a flurry and the loud neighing of a horse hit him. A lot of sounds reached him, but it wasn’t hard for him to figure out that the rider of the horse had fallen off. “Oh! I’m so sorry, I wasn’t paying attention. Are you alright?”

He looked up curiously as he felt the proximity of the horse close to him, he didn’t know how well behaved this horse was and was kind of nervous at its closeness but then felt it nuzzle him gently, dispelling his fears. The rider began to speak, clearly a girl, and Zeak turned his attention back to her. “Yea, it was me. I’m very sorry.” He turned slightly and pointed up the hill at the path, “I fell from up there and wasn’t paying attention when I stepped out onto the path.” Zeak could tell the girl was quite annoyed with him as she snatched up the reins of the horse and tried to tug her away, he fought back a grin, knowing that that might infuriate the girl more. “You know that old saying, you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink.” He reached up and touched the horses snout gently as she continued to nuzzle his cheek, refusing to move. Zeak knew he was overstepping a bound here, but he needed her help, or else he would have to resort to magic. “Um. You by chance don’t happen to see a cane anywhere around here? It’s got a rubber padded dragon’s head handle, I dropped it during my fall and I can’t find it.”

[Ruth Hosker-Thornhill]

Eugh. The stupid, stupid horse. Normally Ruth got on well with most animals. They enjoyed her quiet (normally calm) presence and the way she seemed to know exactly where to stroke, scratch or rub. And in turn she liked their warmth and the knowledge that they couldn’t talk- Ruth got irritated easily when people talked. Most people just didn’t know when to shut up, and knowing when to hold your tongue was a skill she greatly respected. But this ridiculous horse was… well, ridiculous! Cali would not shift, despite Ruth’s angry eyes and harsh tugs on the reigns. What was it that was making her so stubborn? With a frown Ruth turned her eyes to the boy the dumb mare was now nudging gently and scowled as she saw him. He was young, male, and above all dirty. Three reasons that even further angered Ruth. His clothes were sprinkled with fresh dirty and grass stains. Ruth forgot that she too was now covered in some mud after her fall from Cali. With a sigh she threw Cali’s reigns away from her and allowed the mare to nuzzle into the boy’s shoulder, fed up. “Do I look alright?!” She hissed at the kid, rubbing her shoulder blade, which was slightly sore from the fall. Ruth was thin but not so impossibly fragile that she couldn’t stand a fall from a horse. However she was in a bad mood now, a result of the boy catching her at a weak moment and of course Cali’s stubborn behaviour, which made her look like a bad rider.

With her hand still on her shoulder blade Ruth didn’t notice the odd way that the intruder acknowledged the horse beside his head. Had she of looked she may have realised that he was blind earlier- but she didn’t, and when he gave an explanation she continued in a manner that he may have taken to be rude. “Obviously you weren’t paying attention. Most people can see their surroundings and stop themselves falling into a horse you know…” Her lips held the scowl. This deepened further as the kid’s next words reached her ears. Oh, god. He was talking. Ruth had only just been thinking about how people- boys especially- became irritating when they didn’t know how to stop talking. And now this boy was giving her some stupid lecture about how to look after a horse? “Right, thanks for that. If I want a horse to drink then I can bloody well make it drink.” The fact that she didn’t know the boy and probably would never see him again made her forget any polite tone or even respect for his apology. Instead her voice was still harsh and grumpy; most people would leave her alone and be better off for it.

The kid’s next words made her eyes widen slightly. He had caused her fall from the saddle only moments before, but now he wanted her help? She looked at him with incredulous eyes. As she did so, she finally realised something. The way in which he looked at her- or at least, cocked his head to the sound of her voice. He had an air about him that reminded Ruth of her mother and the lost manner she held when she wandered from room to room. But Claudia had Dementia and didn’t know who or where she was. This boy was blind. It was obvious now and Ruth was quiet for a moment, the silence stretching out awkwardly. She didn’t know how to react now. She felt the need to apologise for her words- and especially for the comments about being able to see, being able to look at her. She stood up straighter and somehow managed to organise her thoughts for a moment, dispelling the ones telling her to look after her hurt shoulder. “Cali.” Her voice was calmer and almost nicer. She gave one tug on the Calico’s reigns and- amazingly- the beast plodded reluctantly her way. It took just moments for Ruth to tie the mare to a nearby branch securely. It was unlikely that Cali would bolt- she was disobedient, but enjoyed the company of other’s too much to run away from Ruth and the odd boy.

“Right. Err…” Another momentary silence. “A dragon head cane, you said?” She glanced around and immediately spotted the thing. It was just a few feet from the where the boy stood and it felt odd that Ruth had to point out the cane when it was so close to him. But she lifted it from the ground and brushed off a few leaves, before handing it to him. As she did so she wondered – how would he know she was giving it to him? But to her surprise he took it fairly easily from her hands. Must have heard my movements or something… She had no idea. Now calmer, Ruth found the boy interesting. She had honestly never met anyone blind and because it was so unfamiliar to her, she was determined to learn. “I… I’m Ruth.” Her introduction was hesitant, something that Ruth herself rarely was. She did feel silly now. Especially after having tied Cali up, expecting to go on a hunt for a cane for ten or so minutes- when she could have just picked the boy’s cane right up. Looking at him again she noted something familiar about his face, but passed the notion off. It was unlikely that he went to her school; she would have known if someone who lived near her was also a student at Hogwarts after all. As for having met him anywhere else, it was also unlikely as Ruth spent most of her time in the countryside by her home and with Claudia, or at Hogwarts.
After the boy’s introduction in return Ruth cocked her head slightly, an idea in mind. “You, uh, want to ride Cali? She’s gone oddly docile. I don’t know if you can ride, but I could lead if not…” The proposal was random and out of the blue. But the Ravenclaw really did not feel like getting back on Calico for a short while and felt as though she had to show the boy that she wasn’t a harsh, rude girl- surely the first impression he must have had.

((Feel free to G-mode Ruth helping Zeak onto Cali and them setting off, or whatever you fancy. (: ))