#[drabble for....cavalier class access!!! yaaaaaay horse]

[egittae]

[drabble] occurrimus iterum

tw for mention of animal death. Current day, Garreg Mach Monastery

It was after much training that he was finally allowed to have his own mount, and Lambert was excited about it. There was something in him that felt attached to those animals, and when he was able to ride a couple laps around with his new mount it felt as if he had been doing that for years- the way he handled his balance, the reins, the subtle commands to the horse were almost automatic to the point he barely even felt like he needed to think to do it. It just happened, like that.

I suppose I was a fairly good rider back then, he thought to himself. At last! His own horse.

With a low whistle, Lambert looked up at the animal, who was busy with a mouthful of hay. “Now this is one beast of a horse, is it not?” A shire stallion, entirely black save for the feathers framing its hooves and a single mark on its face, in white. At the shoulder, he stood at 185 cm- easily towering over most equines inside the other stalls. “And he looks strong too, those legs are no joke.” Pure muscle, head to hoof.

And yet, the stallion was a docile little thing. He happily ate hay, every now and then trying to reach Lambert with its nose to sniff him but never trying to bite. The truest form of a giant gentle.

“I thought those horses were draft animals, for pulling carriages and weight. But I suppose it makes sense to ride one into battle…the enemy probably will not expect a horse the size of a wall bulldozing the frontlines, hahaha!” The mental image was definitely horrifying, but to Lambert it was great. Intimidation was key in battle. He ran one hand up and down the horse’s face, gently caressing him as he munched on hay.

“Do you have any ideas for a name?”

“What?” Lambert finally turned around to face the individual that had been there alongside him the entire time- the guy who managed the monastery’s stalls. He…might have forgotten that the guy was there, having been too focused on the horse, but oh well. “A name? Huh…not really, not yet. Thank you for reminding me, now give me a minute...”

A name for his mount…naming living beings was so very difficult, so much so that he felt a headache coming through- earning a bothered hum from the teacher. “...Löwen!” He blurted out suddenly, though the horse remained unfazed. The stall manager on the other hand began writing down the name on a document.

“-Dauphin Spaghetti.”

The manager paused, then stared at Lambert. 

“What?”

“Spaghetti?”

“Yes, any problem with it?”

The poor man was stunned beyond belief. It wasn’t uncommon for students and faculty to add multiple names to their mounts- nor for them to add some names that were puns or inside jokes, but that was…unexpected at best, a little ridiculous at worst. “I mean, sir…you are naming your horse Spaghetti of all things…are you sure?”

“Very much so. Besides, that is only the last name. I shall still call him Löwen.” Lambert didn’t seem bothered in the slightest at the manager’s reaction to the name he picked. Löwen Dauphin Spaghetti. He knew it sounded ridiculous, he wasn’t naive. “End of the story.”

“...yes, professor. Noted.” Looking a bit defeated and…almost as if trying to hold back a laugh, the manager wrote down the mount’s name on the document and left. 

“Besides, you do not seem like the type to get angry over those things anyway, am I right Löwen?” Lambert scoffed slightly, still rubbing the stallion’s face as he quietly talked to him. In response, the horse huffed, slightly angling his head so Lambert could scratch a spot he liked. “...so you do like scratches, do you not? Goofy thing!” The man laughed, happily indulging the animal in scratches.

It felt nice, almost nostalgic- though the fog remained ever so strong.

In the end, the stallion’s name was coined Löwen Dauphin Spaghetti.

—

Imperial year 1148, Garreg Mach Monastery

“You need to pick a good name for it, Your Highness!” A student urged the prince- who seemed rather aloof to it all. Lambert had just gotten his first horse at the Academy after much training, and he was excited to finally be able to advance on his riding classes. That horse had been given to him from the royal stables in Faerghus, so it was really his horse.

A gray Zangersheide, slightly dappled. Not enormous, but a fast, sporty and bold stallion. Perfect for quick maneuvers with a lance- perfect for Lambert, bred and trained exactly to fit his tastes. He was absolutely delighted with the animal, who ate hay in his stall- but every now and then tried to get a bite or two out of the prince’s blond hair. He didn’t mind it at all, though. Found it funny, even.

He just needed a name for the horse now.

“What kind of name do you suggest, Thilo?” The prince asked his classmate, who shook his head in return- flustered.

“Your Highness, please! I can’t suggest it for you…it’s your personal mount, you should name it yourself.” Because Thilo was from a lower ranked noble house in the kingdom, he often acted submissive towards the prince. Lambert wasn’t a fan of it- he wanted to be seen and interacted with as a fellow classmate, but there were times he just wouldn’t bother trying to correct the other. The blond prince sighed, rolling his eyes. “Fine, boring…you know I’m not good with names though.”

He leaned against the stall’s door, tapping his finger on the wood. 

“What if I name him Spinnin’ Spaghetti?”

“H-HUH?!” Thilo exclaimed louder than he should, but Lambert only broke into a laugh. “You can’t do that, Your Highness! That name is- it’s-”

“You said I had to name him whatever I wanted, right? What if I want to name him that?” Lambert crossed his arms, looking at his classmate with a true little shit smirk. “Will you tell me no?”

Thilo stood there in shock, mouth opening and closing as he wasn’t sure what to say, before he dropped his shoulders in defeat. “Your Highness….you can’t be serious…”

The prince looked over to the stallion, who was still busy eating but his ears were clearly focused on their conversation. “I am very serious! Besides, there is strategic value in a silly name.” One glance at his classmate and Lambert knew the point didn’t go through. “Just think, Thilo. Which name, if exclaimed on the battlefield, do you think the enemy will remember more accurately? Sir Drakengard the Second or Spaghetti Doe?”

Thilo frowned. “Both…?”

“Maybe, but Sphaguetti’s so ridiculous that it’ll catch their attention more. And as the Commander, I want to make my mark. I want the enemy to lock on me and remember my face and my name as well as the name of my horse.” Lambert placed his hands on his hips. “Some call it Croc Cattling- serving as bait for the enemy so the others have a better chance at surviving. But to me, it’s my duty. I command, I go first, I’m the one who has beef with the enemy’s lead.”

He stepped forward, poking Thilo’s forehead. “And I should be the one burned into their memory, first and foremost, so that if they have any vengeance later- they direct it to me, not you. Got it?”

The boy nodded, after a pause. Lambert, however, laughed. “Besides, imagine what it does to an army’s morale if they get defeated by a horse named Spaghetti of all things!”

In the end, the stallion’s name was coined Duke Diffanhae Spaghetti.

—

Imperial year 1176, Fhirdiad  Ongoing report on the death toll of the Duscur Ambush

Several animals have been reported slain or lost. A list of individual equines that have been identified so far is as follows. Velacena Tygo R.S. Nantonos Bannuo Argiris Cyllea Galatia K. Storm Vanderblit Danyka Kie L. Thorunn Astrid Bella Twirre The king’s personal mount by the name of "Duke Diffanhae S." was reported dead at the scene as well.