The droll way Théadan handled Vari basically sneezing on him doubled Navia’s laughter and she had to reach up to wipe a tear from her eye. It had just been such perfect timing on the horse’s part; never could she have planned it. Théadan was soon pointing out for Vari to touch her snout to her own face however, and Navia immediately sobered, not moving to let the horse obey him but prepared to jump back should the horse show signs of snorting. To her credit, Varinata did no such thing, and Navia was instead graced with the pleasant feel of the horse’s velvety snout pressing to her cheek. Amused Vari had chosen to snort on Théadan and not her, Navia leaned into the way the horse nuzzled her, eyes wickedly landing on Théadan to see what he thought of it. He appeared annoyed, much to her enjoyment, but he was also quick to take advantage.<br/><br/>“Théadan, no!” Navia protested when he rubbed his face on the shoulder of her green dress. She had so little clothing while they traveled and limited ways to keep them clean that having him smear horse muck on her dress was disappointing. Pouting at him, she reached up and tried to brush as much of it off as she could and was considering how she could make him regret it when Théadan questioned if it was customary for all Khluri horses to learn<i>vivartas</i>. “I bet Wyn still knows that command,” Navia grinned, glancing over at the black horse, “He liked practicing with me.” She probably could have taught him even more if Théadan hadn’t panicked over Wyn taking to the commands. They were working with Vari though, and Théadan had a point that teaching the mare new things would help build trust.<br/><br/>“Here, work with her for a minute,” Navia suggested, holding the makeshift long reins out to Théadan for him to take, “Maybe practice going forward and backward, just so you both get used to how it sounds with your accent.” Once he was occupied with Vari, Navia returned to the tree they’d set their belongings under and where Théadan had set up a fire. “Since Vari doesn’t know<i>tulana</i>, I’d say she probably wasn’t learning a<i>vivarta</i>, but her owner had another reason for her to back up on command,” Navia dug around in the wood Théadan had gathered for the fire while she spoke, “But if we want to teach her a few things, we should start with that and we can work our way up to the harder commands.” Once she’d found a stick she thought was long enough to use, Navia paused to kick her khussas off. It had been quite some time since she’d felt grass beneath her feet, specifically the day she’d left Khlurios with Théadan. She’d always enjoyed the sensation and was happy to take advantage of the thick, grassy meadow they’d found.<br/><br/>She returned to Théadan and Varinata, snapping little twigs off the stick to make it easier to use. “Will you keep hold of the reins in case she tries to step away? She’s stubborn, so she might try to avoid me,” Navia chuckled, not put off by the horse’s personality but making sure to account for it. With Vari on the other side of Théadan she walked past him to reach the horse, giving his rear a light smack with her new stick. It was payback for mucking up her dress and Navia grinned evilly at Théadan as she took her place beside Vari’s shoulder. Once there, she let one hand rest on the horse’s side while the other used the stick to tickle the back of Vari’s front leg, between the ankle and knee. “<i>Tulana</i>,” Navia said firmly, only to frown when Vari did nothing but turn her head and look at Navia drolly. “Can you come closer and have her take a few steps forward?” Navia asked, “Sometimes if the horse is already taking a step, they’ll just step higher to avoid the stick.” She couldn’t resist giving Théadan another quick swat with the stick when he came to join her though and she laughed as she went to tickle the back of Vari’s leg again.<br/><br/>“<i>Tulana!</i>” She repeated, but instead of raising her leg like Navia wanted, Vari turned her head, took hold of the stick in her mouth, and crunched down on it, splitting the stick in half as Navia gasped her shock from it. "Hey!" Navia protested, tugging half the stick out of Vari's mouth before holding it up and looking to Théadan, her dark eyes owlish, "Maybe she's too tired from all the riding today?"