Chapter Text
She-Who-Wanders hated the new horse that White-Hair had rode in on. He who had no name beyond the ones the two-legged gave him. It rubbed her the wrong way, like a burr under her tack and she gave no room for the uppity creature.
'If you stare hard enough, perhaps he would combust in fire, She-Who-Wanders.' He-of-the-Melodies stated amused from the other side of the tree she was latched to. He was another who Roach was hesitant on.
Oh, she preferred his company over Richard by far, but she wasn't sure how to be around the Pegasus. Scorpion spoke very little of his old herd, his family herd but he did speak enough for Roach to know that he didn't have a brother when he left. Yet, she couldn't help but be thankful that He-of-the-Melodies found her foal when he did.
The only highlight of their trip so far was when Creator-of-Whirlpools had walked into camp following her Foal, scaring Richard to the point that her White-Haired had to go and calm him. It showed Roach two things, one: even though He-of-the-Melodies was her foal's companion, he was one of them and two: Richard would not last a single week on the path.
A snicker left her as she watched Richard dance away anxiously from Creator-of-Whirlpools who had only stared at the rude horse before snorting in dismissiveness. She watched though with sharp eyes how close the Kelpie kept close to her foal, knowing though that her foal could tame any beast and that he was of their pack, he still ate the two-legged's.
'Beast…' Richard huffed in dismissal once safely away from them all.
Creator-of-Whirlpools just scoffed in the tongue of two-legged's. "Not even worthy of a snack."
It sent her foal into peels of laughter, which pleased her as his laugh was harder and harder to come by. Her Foal was slowly growing more and more Heartsick by the day. It had her, Pegasus and Anemone on edge even more and Roach has done all she could to push her stubborn White-Hair towards her foal, though both of them were being obstinate.
Creator-of-Whirlpools had only stayed for a short time, enough to lay a blessing of his own over the foal of his pack. The two-legged so much like his own Restless-Foal, a soul to match that he was not expecting. He bid goodbye to She-Who-Wanders and her foal before making his way back the keep.
X
Richard didn't like the smelly human who rode him, who proclaimed him his new master. He longed for the warm stalls of his original master, at least there it was warm and clean, and he was fed the finest of fruits and grains.
Here he had to deal with the beasts, the grass, snow and rain. He loathed the two other horses that joined them, the mare and the stallion who had abnormalities, both just as crude as their handlers. Though, he had to admit that between the two of the adults, the colourful one was the better, even if he did smell like varmints and magic. The child was feral, just like her sire by the looks of it and it only seemed to annoy Richard more.
It shocked him to learn that the child was a princess, and it was the only reason Richard suffered the indignity of being filthy and the child's mount.
Every night the white-haired ones went off into the woods, leaving the colourful one to set the camp and untack them while they ran off into the dirty woods to come back with dead things or covered in grime and unspeakable things. So, he must be the servant, even if the other two were peasants to begin with.
'You colourful one, come brush me, my hair's a mess.' He snorted, stamping his hoof and flicked his hair. 'That abomination can wait.'
"Excuse me?" The colourful one snapped with rage in his eyes. "She is not."
'She is not a horse either!' Richard snorted, lifting his head and ignoring the looks he got in return.
'Reeks of magic, therefore she is not like me, a pure-bred stallion from Temeria! I was bred for a lord from a proud line!' Richard snorted once more, huffing towards them as he flicked his hair and tail.
"Oh, I'm sorry my lord, shall I go fetch you the finest of apples, the warmest of blankets while I'm at it? Perhaps you would like a song sung of your prowess but unfortunately out here in the wilds, we don't follow a hierarchy." Jaskier snapped back with a haughty bow. "You can wait your turn like everyone else."
'You don't get to command my foal!' Roach huffed furiously, tail swishing.
'He's not your foal, the two-legged are far beneath us!' Richard snapped back earning a screech of rage from Anemone who flew down to land on Eyas-Foal's shoulder, feathers fluffed in agitation.
He-Who-Loves-Melodies quickly stepped between them all, wings flaring wild while White-Hair and White-Foal were off hunting, letting them stretch before they had to be hidden once again. His companion had already brushed him down and fixed his feathers, arranging them as neatly as they could with the help of Rider-of-Currents, and he did not wish to ruffle them again.
If he allowed She-Who-Wanders to attack the horse for the offence then there would be bloodshed. Everyone knew that you just don't aggravate the unicorns and though Roach doesn't have hers, that was a matter of choice, not that she couldn't still gouge out the idiot's innards… Plus, Pegasus knew that Roach planned to feed Horse to Midnight and Pegasus wanted to see how she would sneak that around his brother.
'Everyone needs to calm down, we still have a long way to go to reach your home and get the white-foal safe.' Pegasus stated, turning his gaze from one to the other. 'We must keep the peace till then. White-Foal's life is more important than petty squabbles.'
Roach huffed as he moved around to face away from the horse and flicked her tail in displeasure as her Noisy-Foal began to brush her down once more. She nickered softly to him, butting her head against his chest to show her love to him, he was her foal and no one would be able to convince her otherwise and death be on those who even dared. When she was finally brushed, she gave her foal a pleased sound as he held out a shiny apple and a sugar cube for her to munch on whispers of it being the last one and a secret between them falling from his lips as he made his way over to Richard.
'Finally.' Richard huffed. 'My mane is tangled and there is a burr somewhere, fix it.'
"You are insufferable, very much like a certain troubadour that I know of." Jaskier muttered as he began to brush down the black stallion that Ciri has claimed as her own for now. He, like the others, was severely unimpressed by the attitude and though Jaskier complained sometimes, not like this, not anymore. "Just as peacocky as you."
He had a feeling that either Richard was going to break from traversing the Path or adapt to it and Jaskier hoped it was the latter for Ciri's sake.
XX
Richard shook himself and the light blanket of snow that had fallen across his back from the night. It was another rough sleeping in the wild with bugs and creatures, not a dwelling of warm hay and fresh oats in sight.
Already so far they had to divert the path for unknown reasons, picking up another two-legged who reeked of magic but dressed like that of the lords and ladies he remembered from his home before being stolen. She smelt like the finest perfumes and Richard preferred her over the others very much, even if she barely gave him a glance.
'I desire a better blanket to cover me, this one is subpar.' Richard snorted as he reluctantly began to graze at the sparse greenery.
"Well unfortunately we are low on coin and it'll have to do, some of us don't even have that." Jaskier snapped back as he held his hands in front of the fire with a grimace, fighting down the anxiety being this close to the fire. His eyes flickering to the conjured tent that Yennefer had, at least Ciri got to sleep in the warmth.
'How much longer, this journey is tedious and bothersome!' He asked with a grumble, eyeing the apple that the abominations got to much on. 'Give me an apple, I desire one.'
"You desire a lot of things but that was the last of them." Jaskier sighed as he checked over their gear once more. Geralt was running low on potions, having very little to begin with since he and Ciri left the keep.
'Then why didn't I get the apple? Why did the abominations?' Richard huffed as he stamped his feet.
"Again, not abominations, they're horses with a bit of flare!" Jaskier chuckled, ignoring as the stallion threw another tantrum, he really was starting to remind him of Valdo. Same huffy attitude, the haughty look and disposition as well as the foot stamp.
'They barely even class as horses.' Richard scoffed. 'They don't even have proper names or lineage.'
'You're the one to talk, you do not even have a Name. You are named as one of the two-legged, you have forgotten what it is to be a Horse.' Roach scoffed over the back of He-of-the-Melodies who had taken it upon himself to always stand between the two so she wouldn't bite him.
Well, no, Roach wouldn't bite him, she doesn't know where he's been and he already leaves a bad taste in her mouth as it is. Not her foal my hoof! She grumbled to herself as she began to graze once more, perking up at a smattering of wildflowers.
'How tedious of you,' Richard replied with a toss of his head. Who wished to be named with a Name, none of his herd that he was born into had a long name, they were named in the way of Two-Legged as they were their masters and yet also equals.
Jaskier snickered as he listened to the two bicker back and forth, sharing a look with Anemone who had taken a tendency to fly off and hunt every day now to be rid of the constant arguing, much to his jealousy.
"What are you laughing at now husband?" Yennefer asked as she stepped out of the tent, brow raised.
"Oh nothing, just listening to the animals and composing, wife." Jaskier teased back, opening his arms for Ciri to run into them.
"Oh! Are Roach and Richard arguing again?" She asked with a laugh, her eyes switching from her mount to Geralt's who looked to be fed up with the black beast as she munched on some remaining wildflowers.
"Indeed they are! Our Roach is completely offended by Richard and poor Pegasus is stuck in the middle; he's making sure she doesn't bite him." Jaskier explained with a laugh.
Yennefer raised her brows, her eyes flicking from the huffing and snorting horses and then to Jaskiers smirking face as he whispered to Ciri a story of what they were saying, but as she listened and watched, something didn't quite add up. It was too precise, there were no embellishments and the more she watched, the more the animals responded to him as well.
Her eyes narrowed as she pushed out her barely regained magic to wrap around him. There was nothing but the glamour that he carried, and she already knew what that was for. Curious. She could see Geralt watching with a confused frown, moving ever closer to Jaskier and causing her to smirk. Perhaps she would have something to figure out and keep her occupied this winter after all.
Richard huffed as he turned away from them all, he was done arguing with the mare and talking in circles was bothersome. Though he had to admit that the attention he got afterwards from the white-haired child who rode on his back was quite nice. Maybe, just maybe, it was worth it.