Usha and Ryah have a day

   Usha looked around her stall. A stall of all the indignities. No self-respecting Temee had ever had to stay in a stall. Only her love for her rider, Nahla, had kept her where she was last night. She hadn't slept away from Nahla since Usha had chosen her. Every other time that Usha had slept in one of the wooden cages that the uncivilized had forced her to stay in she hadn't been alone. Before at least, Nahla had slept there with her and Ryah, but not last night. Last night for some reason Nahla hadn't shown up and neither had Ryah. The other mounts in the group were stupid and not worthy of her consideration. It had been an all around unsatisfying night and Usha was upset.

     So when Nahla had finally appeared with Ryah at her heels Usha was in no mood to be forgiving. Eventually though Nahla had won her forgiveness with many treats and a lot of comforting brushing with hugs. That was when the small noisy one that traveled with Nahla had shown up and asked if Nahla wanted to see more of the city.  Usha thought that going to see the city was a wonderful idea but when Nahla had started to bring her out of the wooden cage the small one had told her not to. This had confused all three of them. They were accustomed to always being together. One of them going off without the other two was almost unnatural to all of them.

    Eventually the smallest one convinced Nahla to leave both Usha and Ryah here while she went and explored. This was a decision that annoyed both Usha and Ryah. After all They both wanted to see the city too.  Usha was more than a little annoyed at the whole situation. She decided to remove herself from the stall cage thing and make her way out to the common yard used to corral the various mounts. It didn't take long for Usha and Ryah to be bored there as well. The two of them were used to the intelligent companionship of other Temee and Nahla. There was no one that even realized that the two of them were intelligent enough to talk to much less pay any real attention to.

    That was when Usha decided that it was time to go and find Nahla. It had to be a mistake that the small noisy one convinced Nahla to leave them behind. After all Usha went everywhere that Nahla did. Usha was very clear on this point and would brook no dissent. It was both Usha's place and solemn duty to stay with Nahla at all times. Nahla was still very young and might get into trouble if she didn't have her companions at her side. Usha of course only considered Ryah and herself as companions. The ones they traveled with were only that, ones that they traveled with. They didn't even treat herself, Usha, with the respect due to a Temee of her skill and color. After all she was a white Temee and they were considered to be the most intelligent of all Temee. And there was no such thing as a stupid Temee.

    "Ryah," Usha said, "We need to go after Nahla. She will need our guidance and help in this strange place."

    Usha hadn't expected the look that Ryah gave her. It was a combination of resignation and worry.

     Usha looked at her lifelong friend with a tad bit of concern mixed with stubbornness. Certain that Ryah was going to try to stop her and might actually have a good reason why.

      "Usha," Ryah started knowing that trying was probably going to get her no where. "We really should stay here. Nahla has the other two leggers to keep her safe. This really isn't the kind of place that we should wonder around in."

       Usha's look was one of complete disgust. How dare Ryah imply that they were unsuited to follow Nahla. Usha knew that Nahla would rather have them with her even if the smallest one had suggested otherwise. But before she could speak her rebuttable Ryah shook her whole body and merely agreed to go with her to find Nahla. Only asking Usha to at least try to fit into those around them. Not that it would do any good, Usha heard Ryah mutter to herself almost silently.

      Usha decided to be the bigger creature and merely turned to the fence that was supposed to keep all of the various mounts corralled in. To a Temee however it was to short to stop and she merely stepped over it while Ryah jumped over at her side.. Her timing could have been a bit better however. Just as she was stepping over the top bar one of the stable hands came out to check if they were out there since none of them had taken the duo out of their stable. The poor fellow cried out and tried to catch up to them before they left the grounds. An attempt that was doomed to failure since Usha and Ryah could easily out pace him and did so. Disappearing into the crowds and buildings that dwarfed even the tall Temee with ease.

    It didn't take long for the intrepid duo to get completely lost. Sure both Ryah and Usha could track Nahla by scent but neither of them had realized that scent could get confused when one was crossing streets and going into and out of various shops. There was however the problem of all the different scents on top of the one they were trying to follow. The most distracting was all of the wonderful food scents. Many of which neither of them had ever smelled before. All of which smelled totally delicious. It was very difficult for Usha to stay on track when there were so many wonderful food scents everywhere. More than once Usha caught herself starting to go for food when she was supposed to be following Ryah's nose to Nahla. There was no way that Usha was going to admit that of course. For some reason however Ryah seemed to figure that out and would laugh at her every time it happened.

    Shops that were equally upset whether it was Usha's huge head or Ryah's lupine one that poked in to see if their person was in there. The outraged shouts and hurled objects quickly taught the two of them that maybe looking into the shops wasn't such a good idea after all. It was worse when the shop they were looking into sold food. For some reason that happened to be the overwhelming majority of shops that one or both of them stuck their noses into. A fact that Usha was fairly certain she would never live down.

    After a while Usha noticed that they were developing a following of children. This was fun as far as Usha and Ryah were concerned. As friends and close companions to a Shaman the two of them spent a lot of time distracting the young ones around. So Usha and Ryah started playing simple games with any and all children that were willing to play with them. It quickly turned into every child nearby, as those that were there started to call their friends and older siblings to come and play with the wonderful animals that seemed to understand them somehow.

     For quite a while the duo stayed there and played with the children. Having the time of their lives. That was when Usha had, what was to her, a brilliant idea. Since they could find her by trying to follow her scent, they should try for height. If they stayed on her scent and tried to find a high spot they should be able to find their Nahla. For lack of anything better to try, since Ryah knew that going back and waiting wasn't an option. They decided on that for their plan of action. Matching deeds to words they headed for the nearest watch tower, the nearest high point that they could find that was on the scent trail.

     When they entered the tower the guards at the doors had no idea what to make of a very tall Temee and an overly large Ashfan Hound walking in like they owned the place. The confusion when the duo walked right past them and up the stairs to the tower heights was even more confusing. This wasn't a situation that they were trained for after all. Actually as far as anyone knew it was completely unique in the annuals of the guard. No one had even hinted that something like this might happen in any piece of fiction ever written.

    Usha and Ryah were contentedly looking around at the top of the tower. They both completely ignored the two stunned  and amazed guards that had been quietly eating their lunches while they watched the street below them. The only thing on their minds was finding Nahla. And the rest of the group if they must. They were both overjoyed when they heard Nahla's voice below them. They could tell that Nahla was more than a little upset at them. Nahla was being quite descriptive of their bad habits and what she was going to do to them when she got her hands on them.

     Usha looked over to her friend. "Nahla doesn't sound happy. Maybe we should go down and meet her?" Usha asked, with an almost sheepish tone.

     Ryah looked up at her large companion an amused look on her face and in her voice. "That would be a great idea. Any idea on how your going to get down?"