There was surprise evident on Navia's face, considering how obedient Wyndagar had been throughout their journey, and the strong bond between Théadan and Wyn, Théadan could understand why Navia found it to be such a surprising turn of events for the ever reliable Wyn to out right refuse to be ridden. It frustrated Théadan a little that Wyndagar had chosen to act out like this, but he supposed he needed to give his horse a break after everything he had been through. These moments from Wyn were rare, if they ever happened at all. Navia suggested he perhaps needed a little more time to loosen up, so they should perhaps walk to the outskirts and seek their meal before he tried mounting Wyndagar once more. There wasn't really anything else for it, if Wyn didn't want to be ridden, he would not be ridden. So Théadan gave a nod, and stopped trying to climb onto Wyn's back, instead taking his reins and leading him in the direction Navia showed.<br/><br/>At least lunch proved to be more satisfying, as they found some grilled meat on sticks which had proven to be quite tasty to Théadan's tongue, but there had been the disconcerting moment when the man with the food cart eyed him warily. It was closer to the frosty reception Théadan had been anticipating from Khlurios, and was a brief reminder that while he had not met with any trouble in Balaja, the Khluri were not going to forget the war with Mes'Mo'Tan any time soon. He hoped the other experiences of Khluri he had were more representative of the people he would meet, but the doubt nagged at his mind until Navia had them stopping at another food cart to buy some fresh fruit. She had bought them strawberries, and it had given Théadan the idea to buy a few apples to tempt Wyn with.<br/><br/>Upon reaching the outskirts of the city, and finding the dirt road that disappeared off into the surrounding fields, they stopped to retry riding once more, with Navia wondering if he put the saddle on too tight for Wyn, even checking to be sure. Théadan gave a shake of his head, letting out an aggravated sigh. He wasn't aggravated with Navia at all, he was just frustrated that Wyndagar had refused to let him ride on his back, Théadan could not even recall the last time he had done that. "No, I think he's just being moody because he was stuck on that ship for so long." Théadan said, walking up to Wyn's side and giving his mane a brush with his hand. He reached his hand to Wyn's chin to draw his attention to him, offering a small smile. "But perhaps a little bribery will go a long way, hmm?" This would likely work, as clever as Wyndagar was, he could be bribed, and had a definite love of apples. It was a nice shiny red one, Théadan presented before his mouth in an effort to appease the disgruntled horse. Wyn did not hesitate in snatching it up in his teeth, and munching down on it. "See, you can't resist the allure of your favoured red apples, Wyn." Théadan said triumphantly, feeling certain Wyn would be content to let him ride now.<br/><br/>One foot in the stirrup, and an attempt to swing his leg over Wyn's saddle later, and Théadan was finding himself falling on to his back in the dirt, as Wyn unceremoniously dumped him to the floor with a quick trot and a sharp turn. "Ah! Wyn!" Théadan complained to his horse, only to hear a few giggles escape the lips of some passersby, making his face turn a little red. Wyn was calmly trotting back over to Navia and Varinata, shaking his head at Théadan when he came to a stop. "Look I'm sorry we kept you cooped up on that boat for so long. But it's done now, we can finally get back to riding again, you love that." Wyndagar only shook his head free when Théadan tried to reach for his reins. Again Wyndagar stepped away, but this time putting himself between Navia and Varinata. "Seriously?" Théadan asked as though he would actually get an answer from the horse, Wyn merely nibbled at Navia's shoulder. All those times they had joked about who Wyndagar preferred, and over his ownership, now Wyn was acting like this. "You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?" Wyndagar merely brushed up closer to Navia. Truthfully, as pleased as he always was to see how well Navia got along with Wyndagar, and how Wyn had accepted Navia as another rider, it did hurt a little that it appeared Wyn was seemingly choosing to let Navia ride over him. "Looks like it's just me he doesn't want riding him right now."