Had the elf wanted to, he easily could’ve caught up to Arielle but she guessed that between still needing his notebook and a presumably scheduled class, he had better things to do. Hands stuffed into her pockets, Arielle slowed into a casual walk, trying to wrap her head around the whole interaction.

Back in Maliorn, all the species there lived at peace with each other. It was a simple province where the only thing that mattered was making a living.

The things that caused fights and tavern brawls were topics like affairs and being shortchanged in the market.

Arielle never considered herself a sheltered person, someone with a practical sensibility where even if she didn’t fully understand a situation, she could get by just based on common sense.

The thing was, there was nothing common about that scenario. To think the elf was going to slap her. “What have I gotten myself into,” she muttered. So lost in thought, by the time Arielle actually took a moment to see where she was going, she had already arrived at another destination. Her stomach complained that it wasn’t the dining all, but her heart warmed at the sight of the stables.

Grinning, Arielle walked in through the large open doors and spun in a wide circle, taking in the grandeur of the barn. “Wow, we could fit three of the village’s barns in here,” exclaimed Arielle.

Moving over to a stall door, Arielle admired a beautiful mare with splotches of white, black and brown covering her body. “What are you doing all the way here, lovely? You’re from Maliorn, my home.” Arielle held out her hand and let the mare approach at her own pace. Once the horse was close enough, she gave the mare the biggest scratches behind the ear and along her neck. “Your mane needs some combing, who in the world is taking care of you?”

Maliorn Mares were known to be excellent horses, built for sturdiness, not speed. They were farm horses, but of course, could be bred to be used for things like military campaigns. While Arielle was glad to have found a piece of home so soon, she was saddened to see a lack of shine in the horse’s coat.

Her family owned two horses back at home, both of which she was responsible for caring for and she wouldn’t be allowed dinner until both the horses were cared for after a long day of work. Not that she needed a potential punishment to motivate her, the horses were family and she would never do such a thing.

Looking around, Arielle spied a pile of brushes near the tack set up and went to grab two brushes. With them in hand, she climbed atop the stall door and called the horse to her. As though sensing Arielle’s intent, the mare maneuvered herself sideways so that there was easy access to her mane.

Using the first brush, Arielle worked slowly through the horse’s mane. More than once she needed to set the brush aside to work through some knots before being able to continue on. Once she was satisfied with the mane, Arielle placed the first brush down.

With the other brush in hand now, Arielle jumped down into the stall and began working on the mare’s body. “My, you really are a beautiful creature you know that,” Arielle whispered. She didn’t know how long she was at this, but Arielle didn’t bother to check. It was a welcome escape for her current problems, and helping her ease into this hellscape she’d found herself in.

“You’re not supposed to be in here or doing that,” announced a voice from behind her.