When you smile, I smile

[Lexa]

Lexa wondered if, during her time in the wilderness, all concepts of moderation became lost on the Ark woman. Lexa followed quickly, trying not to be too harsh as she grossly underestimated how much instruction Clarke needed for basic horseriding. It was a folly of thinking too highly of her intellect.

"For a start," she began as she drew in closer once the gap between them was closed. "You need to stop being so forceful." Her horse was getting whiplash from the haphazard instructions it was getting. Once again, she asked Clarke to ease up on the reigns.

"If you don't intend to go on a gallop, don't tap the horse anymore once it begins its walk. Then, don't yank back hard on their head unless it's absolutely necessary for a stop," she criticized, but not unkindly. It was simply a matter of pointing out where she was going wrong. Clarke wasn't in the right mindset for riding. She didn't seem to be able to strike a balance between a lack of control, or too much.

No matter, they would get it right together. "You will be travelling from my tower to your camp, in a company of horses and guards. That is no small distance to cover," she lectured. "I want you to be comfortable on a horse, and it's a good skill to know on the ground. They are obedient, and reliable if you only know how to lead them."

"Stay there and watch me," she instructed. Her back was straight, her hands tight on the reigns in a closed grip, but not pulling on the horse. She tapped the girth of her horse twice, and it began to walk. As it took a few steps, Lexa slowly began to pull back, and it stopped.

"Now you try. Join my side, and stop. If you do as I did, you will manage it."

Clarke Griffin

[Clarke Griffin]

Maybe life should be about
more than just _surviving.
Don’t we deserve better
than that?

Every time Clarke eased up on the reigns they somehow found their way creeping past her anxiously white knuckles. Even when she hadn't been in charge of the horse clinging too tightly was a problem the girl from space had always had. Now she had to actively remind herself to relax, that she wouldn't fall off, but hurtling through space on a few hundred pound animal was something she wasn't used to yet. Hurtling through space on a few hundred ton spacecraft had seemed a lot safer. Even if it was killing them all slowly.

She listened intently to Lexa's instructions, her pale eyes fixed firmly on the other girl as she worked to pick up the skills. There were little things she noticed: the way Lexa held herself, and the small counter movements against the horses sway, that Clarke hadn't noticed before. There was a balancing required to moving stately on a horse that the girl from space hadn't figured out quite yet.

Wanheda, for once, did as she was commanded. The girl kicked the horse once, jolting it into a swaying walk, and let it follow after Lexa's. The herd instinct hadn't made steering necessary. Which was good, because in a counter-effort to not choke the horse too much she'd ended up giving it too much slack. Regardless, she made it to Lexa's side and shot the Commander a weak smile. At least she hadn't fallen off.

"How long does it take to get to Arkadia from here?" she asked, not particularly looking forward to such a long journey on horseback.

Lexa

[Lexa]

At Clarke's weak smile, Lexa nodded approvingly. It wasn't perfect, but it was an improvement and the task was performed without issue. A subtler, more confident version of a smile crept into Lexa's expression unbidden. How lofty her authoratative stoicism was around Clarke. It was difficult to hide all traces of her fondness.

"A full day's ride and then some," she informed. That was without the required rests, and any complications they might meet in the way. It was a lot of riding for a novice. She had faith in Clarke, but did Clarke have faith in herself?

She considered this before speaking again. "I am confident you can manage it, but if you're not comfortable riding yourself we could always arrange for you to share a horse with a more experienced rider," she suggested. What she dared not suggest, as much as she would love to, was that Clarke could ride with her. It was something she wouldn't allow herself even if Clarke wished it; not in the company of her people. Such intimacies were highly criticized by her Fleimkepa even when they were private.

"Ride next to me," she ordered, but without a demanding tone. She tapped the girth of the horse to prompt a gentle trot. "Keep your grip strong, Clarke. Don't pull, but hold the reigns tight in your palm. Try to keep your back straight and be mindful of your posture." Lexa would keep giving her suggestions as long as it took to get it right.

Clarke Griffin
This would be so much more romantic if they were riding together, alas XD

[Clarke Griffin]

Maybe life should be about
more than just _surviving.
Don’t we deserve better
than that?

A full days ride? Plus!? Clarke slumped at the news, her pale eyes widening, and her skin losing some of it's color at the thought. She wasn't afraid of a long journey. The Griffin girl had basically been on one ever since she'd left Arkadia after the war. It was the journey being on a horse and surrounded by enemy warriors that bothered her almost as much as going home did. The blonde made a soft groaning noise, letting her hair curtain her frowning face from the Commander's view.

She perked back up when Lexa assured her she could do it. That confidence that she didn't have in herself, that she hadn't had in herself since she'd tried and failed to save everyone, made her feel a little better. Clarke's pale gaze met Lexa's with a new determination. "I can do it," the delinquent princess said resolutely even as her knuckles whitened against the reigns.

Clarke steered her horse next to Lexa's, or tried to, her horse shied when she tried to pull it too close and trotted a few prancing steps to the left. It took a few panicked seconds for the animal to get back under control. She was pulling too hard on the reigns again, but she managed to get her animal to hasten into a trot and follow after Lexa's.

At the reminders the girl from space shifted, trying to keep all of these things in mind at the same time was difficult. Eventually she'd build up the muscle memory, but today she'd just have to try and remember everything. "Do you know why we have to ride horses?" Clarke asked Lexa, her mind wandering with the repetitive physical tasks. "In the old footage of earth we had in space they rode around in vehicles with wheels. Do those still exist?"

Lexa
Ooc:  We can contrive some evil plan to get them on the same horse. >D  Like, Clarke's horse can spook, throw her off, and run away.