A New Deer Friend (Beast Tamer Class Training)

Cyrus gazed up at the vast landscape of beautiful mountains; he had finally arrived in Kou...in a carriage. His sister and her husband had taken their two horses he swore that when he found his sister again he would knock her silly for taking his horse. Stepping further into the small city, he noticed an animal grazing in one of the barns on the outskirts of the city. A beautiful and young creature with brown fur with white spots…a fawn? A foal?  Before he could really be able to discern what it was the little creature dashed off away from the small town into the spruce trees. He sighed and shrugged “Can’t be helped I guess…if it was a foal I could train it to be my trusty steed…” after exploring the town a bit more, Cyrus would go explore the mountains. Making a point to savour the forest as it changed colour.
The autumn leaves and the wind blowing between the trees was something that he remembered about being here as a very young child. Despite all the differences in this strange land, the trees were still the same. The forest was quiet and peaceful he couldn’t understand why he had such a hard time when he was here almost a decade and a half ago. The deeper he walked into the forest the brighter everything seemed to be. The fiery colors of the leaves were so much more vibrant and as the wind swept through the trees it reminded him of the comforting way that his father and sister had made him feel when they would swing him around and feeling the wind in his hair. Those days were long gone now but it was something that his missed terribly. It was the thing that he was missing throughout his adult life. A family...or at the very least someone he could take care of and love. In a clearing in the centre of the forest he noticed the four-legged creature. Was it a baby deer or horse or something in between? It was a small reindeer with a brown coat and spots of white with a bit of a mane parted to the side just like Cyrus.

Spoiler:

He laughed a little bit at the similarity of their hairstyles. He pushed his orange hair, still very long he hadn’t cut it since travelling, and spoke softly “are you ok little one where’s your herd?” It was rare to see such a young animal all by itself and it was obvious that the little deer was scared. Cyrus tried to approach it a again but it leaped off into another part of the forest. Cyrus decided to give up on it at this point. It wasn’t worth trying to chase it into anymore deciding to go back to his residence that his father apparently had and sleep for a while. As we walked out of the fiery forest and back into the city he realized that he wanted to be a best tamer. He would be able to have a pet that could fight alongside him and he would have something to care for like his horse that his sister took from him.    

533/2000

Dejected at the fact that he couldn’t see the fawn again Cyrus decided to take a walk through the forest being absorbed by the falling leaves and thinking of the little deer going back to the point were he had seen it before hoping that no animal had decided to gobble the little creature up every day for about a month while he was in Kou Cyrus would look for that little deer which probably wouldn’t be so little any more he guessed.  He had a ritual. He would put out some food a few nuts an berries for it then take a walk in the forest hoping to see it one more time. Some times he would see it other days there would be nothing or even other animals that would come to feed off of his items. Cyrus waited until autumn until the little was able to be able to trust Cyrus fully. He held out his hand one day when the creature was there. The dear blinked and hesitated a bit before coming up to him and ate out of his hand for the very first time. Cyrus was thrilled he had finally gotten a new little friend. He thought that his sister would be rolling around jealous. Happy he tried to keep it with him by tying him up to the stable. That went as well as one would think it went he promptly got a kick in the ribs and the deer ran off. Utterly defeated, Cyrus ran off to his room in utter rage. He tried to sleep it of but all he could think about is how people never really acknowledged him he wanted to be accomplished and well respected but not even the animals would give him the time of day. In his deepest and wildest dreams Cyrus had but one simple wish, to be respected by his peers he was no longer the first in his family to visit a dungeon like his mother, he wasn’t a great warrior like his sister nor was his a good salesman like his father nor was he a magician like his brother but Cyrus knew that he had talent and was good enough for something good even if it wasn’t going to be something epic like saving the world or creating his own country. As he slept that night Cyrus realized his dreams, being a 2-time dungeon capturer, being respected in within his family and finally feeling like he mattered. it didn’t matter until now that he was wandering trying to find himself for the last year as common for a dumb 23 year old. Finally awaking from his fantasy, Cyrus would look outside in the snow the pagodas glistening in the morning frost of late autumn. He saw the deer outside again not eating just standing in the fire coloured leaves, perhaps it was Cyrus’s time to shine and get to know this creature. He went outside and held out his hand, the as the rest of the leaves fell from the trees around him, and despite the cold and the heavy wind the fawn didn't run away it stayed with the young man. All he could do was smile he wasn't some failure doomed to wither way in the cold and snow but perhaps be a part of a new unit with this young deer.

1107/2000

Walking up to the deer he felt a spark something that endeared him to this animal for the first time. He got near it but this time it didn’t run away. In this joyous occasion, Cyrus walked to lead him to the stables where he could introduce him to the other domesticated animals there were yaks horses and other deer there. Leaving his restraints loose, he left the stables. He wanted to get the creature to understand that humans weren’t all bad he left him for a hours before coming back in a jubilant mood he did not leave! He was Cyrus’s deer! Now that he had claimed it as his own it was time to train it. The long arduous process of making it obey him had begun. In the autumn fields Cyrus began training his animal companion. He knew that he had changed in the interim between the seasons.  As winter rolled around, the creature adapted to the weather turning into a regal stag who stood proudly in the forest, Its coat going from an orangey brown to a ebony and white like snow on a mighty tree.

Spoiler:

 The buck was large enough for Cyrus to ride him as a powerful steed, which was a lot more difficult than riding a horse. It was time to get him to try to learn something new how to be ridden without it getting hurt. It was at this time he decided to name his newfound friend. If he were going to be riding it as a mount and be his trusty steed he would have to give it a name. He thought long and hard about it before he would go training with it opting on the name Rokusai. Something strong yet invoking the natural surroundings of where he was in Kou. By the time spring rolled around, Cyrus knew that he did not have much time before he would have to find his sister fight his way out of Kou.
Preparing for the upcoming battles ahead Cyrus and Rokusai needed to learn how to fight together as one solid mounted unit. When he got up on the deer, Rokusai was not too happy. He tried to buck him almost immediately.  Slowly he gently stroked the stag on the snout calming him down to the point that he would try again, this time slowly distributing his weight onto the Rokusai When he was securely on top of the stag, Cyrus would get him to start moving. Holding on to his neck as Rokusai ran further and further into the forest that they were in, Cyrus felt their bond growing ever larger.  Once they got the hang of riding together, both saddled and bareback, Cyrus would try to fight on Rokusai’s back. This proved to be a lot more difficult that he had anticipated.  Cyrus tried sparing with some of the warriors in the village that he met when he stopped before reaching the Kou capital. In the outskirts of the city near the forest Cyrus tried to fight whilst being on a mount he was not used to the unevenness of being not having his feet on the ground had having to use his core to balance. He fell off multiple times but Rokusai was good at protecting his new master, doing his best to shoo off the attackers with his horns.  Getting up Cyrus was thankful and looked at his new companion with determination and pride he was almost ready.

1692/2000

It took a long time but he finally started to get the hang of being on top of a mount fighting the good fight. He was finally ready to confront his sister but first, a bout of light sparing. Readying his scythe he would begin to charge through the mass of people, Rokusai using his antlers to push people out of the way, and Cyrus would use his scythe to injure people along the way. Cyrus twirled his scythe and would strike the first person he saw he managed to balance on top of the creature and fight with a bit more fluency than he did before. Dancing with the blade on top of another creature was not easy but Cyrus. He was getting the hang of it slowly. He still wasn’t ready to even be seen with his sister. He just needed to be able to be able to hook attackers with his scythe on the stag, which was easier said than done. Day and day Cyrus would practice riding and fighting at the same time, his movements getting more fluid each time. Rokusai and he were becoming more of a unit and before he knew it he was able to best three or four guys at once whilst riding the Stag. He was ready to go to his sister and have her test him before he would fight. Closing in on the capital Cyrus and Rokusai were prepared for he knew that he would have one more battle. Not of swords or of wit but of ideas. His sister was a hardened gladiator turned solider fighting for Kou and Cyrus would try to get her to leave that life behind and create a diplomatic organization. Before they got to the outskirts of the city, Cyrus and Rokusai found a man being harassed by what looked like soldiers. Cyrus was ready he only needed to look at his Stag before he charged at them ready butting at the 3 men and trying to trample them with his sturdy hooves. However the soldiers were not prepared to give up just yet meaning that Cyrus would get involved in the fight. Running at Rokusai Cyrus would jump and land on him. Swinging his scythe around like an embodiment of death himself and Rokusai reared up to slam his hooves down on a soldier’s chest crushing it. Cyrus sliced at the other soldiers with his scythe killing one of them before leaving one to live another day. Kindly he turned to the man that was being harassed but he had vanished, retreating back to the city. Cyrus would do the same. Entering the city to find his sister and her husband was really easy. However, confronting his would talk a lot of courage and conviction.

2059/2000