Prompt 4 - Let it Snow

Adrian walked along the stables of Silver Fist, brushing the occasional horse’s nose and enjoying the warmth of the building. No matter how well constructed the keep was, there wasn’t really a way to keep the building completely warm. There was always a little bit of a draft somewhere, or just the fire wasn’t never quite big enough for the space of the room. 

Sure, there were exceptions, the great hall or his offices and bedroom. He’d protested, but his staff and the people there had insisted and always took extra care to make sure his rooms were warm. The stables were the other exceptions, the large animals keeping the space filled with warmth. The ones in the keep were large, though there were other stables just outside the wall. The compliment had grown over the years and horses took space. 

A distressed whinny drew Adrian’s attention, and he turned to regard the tall grey on chestnut stallion. The horse’s eyes were wide, and while he wasn’t completely panicked it was clear something had alarmed him. 

“What’s wrong?” Adrian walked over, reaching out slowly to try to reassure the stallion. He didn’t enter the stall yet, not certain if the horse would try to bolt or not, but he didn’t want the stallion hurting themselves if they spooked, so it was best to calm them now. 

The stallion butted against his hand, hard, their dark skinned nose soft as they tossed their maned head, showing off the dark chimera marking on half their face. 

“It’s okay.” Adrian murmured reassuringly. He didn’t see anything in the stall that would have spooked the horse. Just bedding, food, and the water trough. Nothing new. No barn cats, mice, or anything. “What’s got you so worked up?” 

The cordillera stallion stomped their grey legs, the darker markings near their knees getting lost in the shadows, though the white mountain peaks stood out brilliantly. They looked out the window, their eyes widening again, and then turned their gemstone eyes back to Adrian. 

Adrian looked out the window and then back at Half ‘n Half, and then back out the window. He didn’t see anything unusual. It was the first snow of the year, but that was hardly of note. He was about to ask again when it occurred to him that Half ‘n Half had come from further south. Maybe they’d never seen snow before. 

“Is it the snow?” Adrian asked, petting the horse’s nose gently, and then moving up to the chimera marking, carefully undoing the latch to the stall. If he could calm them down enough to go into the small turnout, it was time to introduce the stallion to the snow. It snowed enough around Silver Fist he couldn’t have the stallion freaking out every time this happened. 

The cordillera stallion looked outside and then back to Adrian as if verifying the falling what stuff was in fact what the paladin was talking about. 

“Yep, snow. It’s just like the rain, only colder. Why don’t we take you outside for a bit to see it. Most of the other horses like it.” 

Half ‘n Half seemed skeptical, but allowed Adrian to slip the lead rope on and tentatively followed the tall elf outside. 

The air was cold, and he balked with the falling white snow hit him, but it didn’t hurt. It just kinda tickled, if he noticed it at all. It was definitely cold, but not too cold. He was betting it could get colder, but for the moment it was surprisingly soft and pleasant when he walked in it. 

Adrian led him to the small turnout, Half ‘n Half still eyeing the white coated ground with wide eyes. Though now the look was were more of wonder than fear. 

“Seems it’s not so bad after all, is it?” Adrian chuckled as he undid the lead rope and patted Half ‘n ‘Half’s hind quarters as he turned the stallion loose to explore. 

Like most horses, it didn’t take the stallion long to decide he liked the cold and even the snow. He sniffed around for a bit, nuzzling the snow away to get at what very little forage remained in the cold before racing around the pen as much as the confines of the space allowed. He even made a show of kicking the snow up, splattering Adrian as he passed. 

The grey on chestnut stallion paused, regarding the white-haired elf as he brushed the snow off his blue and gold tunic. He didn’t seem mad, and as soon as he heard the laughter, the stallion took back off. He wasn’t sure why he’d been afraid of the snow in the first place. 

Adrian backed off as he brushed the last of the snow off, not worried about Half ‘n Half at this point, but certainly not wanting to catch a chill himself. The cold weather always seemed to turn horses into excitable children, and he hadn’t introduced one to the snow in years. He’d forgotten what that unbridled excitement looked like. 

Half ‘n Half flopped over, rolling in the rapidly accumulating snow. It was coming down even thicker now, the far parts of the keeps walls nearly lost under the white haze and the keep had gone the kind of silent that only comes with snowfall. 

There were still people moving about, but the sound was now muffled by the soft white around them. It was a time he always liked, and from the excited snort from the stallion as he stood, Half ‘n Half seemed to agree. 

“What do you think? Want to stay out here for a bit?” Adrian asked as the horse came close enough for him to pat its neck, the fur soft and warm under his fingers. It was cold out, but not so cold as to cause the thick coated horse a problem. He couldn’t leave the stallion out for long, but an hour or two wouldn’t be a problem. 

Half n’ Half gave another excited huff and turned back to run around the space, trying to catch snow on his tongue as Adrian laughed. First snows were special for everyone, horses and people alike. A magical moment when the world was made innocent and clean looking in a blanket of pure white. It was perhaps an illusion, but it was still a lovely sight. There was nothing that would ever change that.