Inktober drawing of Lisanth making Jafkar eat his dust.
“Do you. have any idea what you’re doing?” Lisanth asked.
           “Not really. This is actually quite terrifying.” Jafkar took a moment to fumble with his reins, and Lisanth had to bite back a laugh, because after seeing Jafkar be so confident in everything else, seeing him so out of his element was very funny. “But I knew you’d be here on your horse running about, and I didn’t think you’d let me get a good word in before galloping off.”
           “Oh, good idea.” At this, Lisanth gathered up his reins, which jolted Cobra out of his relaxed walk. “I have no interest in talking to you. Have a good day.” Lisanth dug his heels into Cobra’s ribs, and Cobra burst into a lope straight out of a walk. Â
           “Lisanth!” came Jafkar’s call, but it was soon drowned out by the sound of wind and hoofbeats, as well as Cobra’s snorting. Lisanth laughed then, letting Cobra have his head. Cobra wasn’t as explosive before, but he never turned down the chance to run, so his canter lengthened into a gallop as Lisanth stood higher in the stirrups. Thankfully the crowds were lighter today, so for the most part there was no one to dodge or warn before Cobra flew past.
           They made a loop before Lisanth heard the returning hoofbeats, and when he glanced over his shoulder, he saw Jafkar catching up, albeit with zero grace. It didn’t look to be Jafkar’s choice in the matter—the horse was dragging him along, with Jafkar clinging desperately to its mane. Horses did not like to be left behind, so the horse had likely run off after Cobra despite Jafkar’s efforts to pull him back. With a pitying sigh, Lisanth squeezed Cobra’s reins a few times before finally taking hold, and Cobra’s gait shortened until falling back into a trot. The gray caught up, sweaty and heaving, with Jafkar as its reluctant passenger both reins hanging loose. Had they run any further, it was likely Jafkar would have fallen off, considering both of his feet had lost their stirrups. Lisanth didn’t want to talk to Jafkar, but he also didn’t want to kill him, so he stopped his horse and reached out to take the gray’s reins. Once the horse was stopped, Jafkar practically leapt from the saddle, landing clumsily on one foot before collapsing into a puff of dirt on the ground.
           “I must give you credit for being amusing,” Lisanth said as he pressed a heel into Cobra’s ribs to guide him closer to Jafkar’s prone form. “Have you ever ridden a horse before?”
           “Not much of a pasttime on our island, no,” Jafkar grumbled as he pushed himself to his feet, brushing dirt off his the tails of his coat. “Don’t laugh.”
           Lisanth pressed his lips together to keep from grinning. “I’m impressed you stayed on this long.”
           “How you manage to control these beasts is beyond me.” Jafkar patted down his arms, then whipped around to look up at Lisanth. “But I am glad to amuse you, if that what it takes to get your attention for a few minutes.”
