Bringing Up the Rear

"All we need do is follow Amu." Gonyaul gently reminded the horse.

They were once again getting off the imaginary trail the rest of the group was blazing into the plains. While the rest took a very efficient path carved out by Islana's scouting and Alexis's leadership, Gonyaul had been perfecting the art of serpentine riding. This effectively put him at the rear. More then the rear to be accurate.

He didn't seem to mind. In fact if any were to look back at him, it would seem he was having the time of his life from the smile on his face. He was not accustomed to being in a saddle, let alone for this long; he was getting "creative". He was constantly trying to improve and at times would seem to get it all together and start to catch up. Yet then out of nowhere he would be off course. And other times he would be completely off the horse again and be trying to get back on.

It could not be completely blamed on his beginner riding skills. In fact, his balance was looking natural and very impressive for someone new to the art. In truth, the real culprit was he was often daydreaming; looking off into the the past and the imaginative future. And if it wasn't that, he was experimenting.

At one point he was laying forward along the horse's mane, his arms wrapped around Amu's neck with his face near the ear whispering something. Another time he had taken his feet out of the stirrups completely, turned around onto his back and was resting on the horse looking up at the clouds; laughing to himself as the white bodies put on a show for those down below. He would practice rolling off the side. Tried riding backwards facing. Went a stretch trying to steer using his bare feet while he held his boots in his hands.

Amu, being a well educated horse, at times despite Gonyaul would pick up the pace to keep closer to the group. Occasionally this would cause Gonyaul to fall off the horse onto the ground as it would take him by surprise and he was not always in the best position for a speed change. The agile young man always landed safely on his feet, hands and feet, or in the off-balance falls would recover enough to roll out of it easily. At one point he was even standing up in the saddle. But regrettably no one saw this. When he tried to do a one-legged standing split though, he was able to hold it for a couple of seconds before falling off again.

Despite all of his playful antics, when the others looked back all they saw was him riding normally trying to get his horse to straighten out and speed up. Or he was walking next to the horse calmly with the reins in his hands and a mischievous grin on his face.

"We no get caught." he whispered to Amu.

Not but a few seconds after he whispered this, did he spot a burrow in the ground off in the distance. Two bunny rabbits were frolicking, flirting and enjoying the spring time grass together. He wanted to inform the others, but didn't because he thought Islana would shoot them for dinner. They were enjoying life too much to ruin. Gonyaul smiled, stopped Amu, and got back on the horse.

He whispered into the wind a blessing to the two bunnies in Vauxian, "Happy is he that hath your view ... but more happy is he that sighs for you." He signed, hope and a prosperous future, to them and then returned to his serpentine riding.