"Pretty good, how was lunch?  Sorry, I had to bail.  I wanted to meet with Master Fenton to let him know about adding Janessa to the list and I wanted to find Master Rain to make sure I had some actual money on hand."

The staff do not yet know what kind of mount Ariadne prefers. They have an idea for Jon by now, of course, and one of the stableboys is loitering purposefully by the entrance to the stables, clearly waiting for an excuse to leap into action and service. The stableboy is young, maybe eleven or twelve.

Jon gives a nod to the boy, "Sable, please."

Ariadne smirked
"Lunch was amazing,  as always.   It was simple food, but just so incredibly done.  I'm honestly worried that when i go back to Earth,  I'll need to eat only at the finest restaurants just to keep up with my taste buds"

Jon chuckles "I know what you mean.  I'm not sure local inns back home will be as good as I remember. I may need to eat at the palance more."

Smiling,  Ariadne looked around
"So...what have you got for a rider who's a bit out of practice?"

The boy disappears into the stable and, lo, Sable, all coal-dark her coat is brought out, saddled and ready to go, with a thoughtful saddle bag for the goodies the prince is no doubt going to buy in the city already included.

The boy smiles eagerly at Ariadne, revealing a gap between his teeth. He's not just pretending to be knowledgable when he starts speaking, but he's grown up with horses and is as near a horse as a human being can darned well be: "Ah, well, that depends on how much practice the rider had beforehand, m'lady. Did you ever know more than the basics or were you always a pretty staid rider?"

Armed with Ariadne's answer to this, the stableboy hurries inside. The two royals can see him joined by an older stablehand, and together they choose a mount for Ari.

OOC: Ari, go hog-wild with it! Choose the horse you want Ari to ride right-off. :)

Jon smiles. "Thank you." he says with true appreciation.  He walks over to Sable and extends his hand letting her know it is him.  He gentle gives her a pat and pulls out an apple for her. "How are you Sable?  Ready for some exercise?" he asks the horse and he feeds her the apple and pats her gently.  He does listen intently to Ari's answer and awaits to see who Sable's companion will be.

In reply to Storyteller (msg # 10):

Ariadne found it oddly humiliating to tell the groomsmen that the wasn't an expert rider, but she shook off the feeling.
...darn it, I'll start acting like a real princess before too long, all snobby and whatnot, if I keep this up...

She smiled, hopefully sincerely, and shrugged.
"I'll admit that I don't have a lot of experience.  I had lessons as a child, and rode horses for my work just a few years ago, though those were only short distances and were very well trained.
So something not to difficult would be preferable."

The young man left with a smile, and returned with a gelding a soft brown color, walking him gently.
"His name is Thistle, Your Ladyship.  And he'll not win any races, but he'll also not act up when you need him to be calm."

Not really knowing much about horses, Ari just nodded.
"He sounds perfect!!  Thank you, Groomsman."
He boy seemed to puff up at the title, perhaps not being called that by the average visitor.
 Ariadne boosted herself up onto the saddle, not looking completely awkward and new to the concept.
She looked at Jon.
"Very well, I'm close enough to ready"

Jon smiles and gives Ari a nod. He mounts Sable. "Thank you again. Excellent service as usual."
He aim Sable for town and starts off at a nice trot.

Ari started slow and wobbly,  a bit like a novice ice skater,  but eventually got back into the habit.  She didn't look completely comfortable,  and indeed seemed to be putting effort into how she was sitting, but she kept up with Jon.

Jon sets an easy pace without seeming to be doing so purposefully. "So what do you think of Nessa? She is as different from you and Lance.  Much like you are different from Lance. Meaning that beyond language, there doesn't seem to be much similarities between you three even though you are all from the same place."

Ariadne chuckled,  shrugging
"Honestly,  talking to her made me feel a bit homesick,  but I'm happy to have her around.    The more people who understand my odd jokes,  the better. "

*Chuckles* "That is Cool. But it is nice to have a sixth cousin to balance out the buddy system."

Ariadne rolled her eyes and smirked
"Well, the buddy system is already a lost cause, i think, since everyone else seems insistent on rushing out into the wild by themselves "

As they go down the mountain, they are occasionally treated to respectful nods or bows by those who know who they are and are on their way up to the castle on business. It isn't exactly bustling, as the castle is in many ways its own little city contained within another city, but it's more crowded than they've seen it yet. Must be the time of day, or the day.

Amber City waits, bathed in light and noise, the air sweet (except for where it's not, of course), merchants hawking their wares, a rather cosmopolitan spread of people considering cross-shadow travels.

The address that Jon was given for the 'strongminded' old woman is in the same neighborhood as the weaponsmith from which he/they purchased the throwing axes for the night picnic game, and there's the weaponsmith's stall, although it's a different person there today, a strong-armed young woman with blue eyes who might be the weaponsmith's daughter.

"Ah, here is the shop from other night.  Let's see what they have."  Jon pulls over and dismounts. "Afternoon, Miss."

Ari smelled the air,  and still marveling at the difference between Amber and Los Angeles.  There was definitely a disadvantage of the occasional whiff of horse manure (at least, she REALLY hoped it was from horses) and sweaty bodies, but she had to admit that it was still a bit of an improvement over car exhaust and dank city streets and alleys,  especially when the fragrance of fresh baked bread, cinnamon and other spices,  and freshly grilled meats managed to waft her way.

Despite being in exceptional physical condition for a human, Ariadne was still a bit sore and cramped when they arrived at their destination,  though she suspected that was more from her sloppy riding style, one she was still figuring out.

She dismounted gratefully,  joining Jon.
"I'm always up for some shopping "

Jon smiles at Ari. "Good to know." he starts looking over the items on display seeing if anything piques his interest while he waits for the proprietress to finish what she is doing.

The blue-eyed woman is very ready to give her time to the two young royals, not a person given to smiles, too serious, but nonetheless welcoming as she leaves off the sharpening she was doing to say, "Milord, milady, may I help you?"

Jon smiles and gives her a nod "Yes, Miss, I am looking for a good dependable, versatile and functional hunting knife.  Nothing to heavy or too brittle.  I expect it to get a lot of use and be built to last.  As it could very mean the difference between life and death."

"Of course." The woman, very seriously, nods and shows Jon and Ariadne a selection of hunting knives. Some have designs worked onto the blades, others onto their hilts. The fanciest-looking has a hilt carved like a series of leaping hounds and a deer at its apex, good feel to the hand.

While the fancy one feels good in hand, Jon tries out the fancy blade, checking its balance, pushing on the blade to see if there is any wiggle room or if it is really secure.  Switching grips, making sure the ornate nature doesn't interfere.  Once done testing it, he sets it aside, indicating he is interested in it, but not decided.

Jon then tests a few other. "Do you have a recommendation?" he asks the proprietress

"If you want a specialty knife for skinning, I would recommend any of these," she says, pragmatically, gesturing to a different display. "The ones I showed you will be versatile. Anything in my father's shop is good. There is no blade better."

There are (for Ariadne's interest, perhaps) axes on display, although they're the same as the ones she saw the day before. Significantly less, of course, after the royal cousins' purchases. There are also some good leather belts, sheaths, some black leather lovingly tooled with designs--it smells rich, foresty, warm, and one is set with a purple stone that catches the light like purple fire's at its heart. This particular sheath has no blade next to it, although most of the sheaths on display do... indeed, there's a noticeable blank spot.

*smiles* "Versatility is what I need.  I may be skinning, fighting for my life, or eating with it."  He tests a few more, comparing them to the "fancy" one.  Ultimately the "fancy" one feels the best, seems to be the best built. "I'll take this one." he sets down "and a durable sheath to go with it, something that blends in."

He looks over at Ariadne. "See anything you like?"