Bellhoof is so such a relief. It’s not easy by any fuckin means, turns out if an enlightenment era dude gets his hands on cryptids, he can make them into science that I, hundreds of years later, then I have to learn.

Yesterday we didn’t get to meet any of the cool creatures because we spent the morning in a junior level cryptid veterinary class (they were learning about the ways an Orkai goat’s stomach is different than an earth goat’s, and all I retained from the whole lesson was that They Are Indeed Different) and then the afternoon in the main cryptozoology lab, which is essentially a very chaotic natural history museum for cryptids. We spent a very enjoyable couple of hours looking at strange, otherworldly skeletons, pelts, feathers and claws, not to mention amazing photos.

SPEAKING OF WHICH, you know that classic photo of sasquatch? Like THE photo of sasquatch? Turns out it was one of a series of photos of an actual Greater Ape, which Palefish confiscated and now displays in their lab to the delight of Palefish students.

Today we were back in the arena, and Elena and Sammy were just a little bit late. We were all a little bit nervous at first obviously, considering what happened last time grad students were late to teach our class, but it turned out they were only late because they were finishing saddling up the Orkai goats because our activity for the day was riding.

“Now, we don’t want anyone to worry,” Elena said, raising her voice over our murmuring. “These Orkai goats were hand raised at the Emporium by Paul Rivers himself, and are part of the oldest known herd on this plane of existence. They’re as tame as any horses.”

Andie, who was sitting in the front as usual, raised their hand. “Will we be graded on whether we ride or not?” they asked and I heard Marina, who was sitting right behind me, snort derisively.

“Yeah, what if you’re terrified of horses, too?” she asked loudly and something about her tone, and the way Andie’s shoulders seemed to hunch ahead of us, made me think that Marina was teasing them.

“Oh we won’t make you ride,” Sammy said cheerfully. “But it’s great fun. Do we have any volunteers?”

I’ve actually ridden Orkai goats before, last year at the Emporium, so I was tempted to volunteer. But I was still thinking about putting my hand up, heart pattering, when Marina stood up on the bleachers and said loudly, “I’ll do it.”

“Oh wonderful,” Elena said. “Have you ridden horses much before?”

“Oh yeah,” Marina said, striding confidently up to one of the goats. It was a huge creature, as tall and broad as a Clydesdale, with thick powerful haunches, a sort of shaggy white coat, and two enormous spiral horns sticking out of it’s great head. It stamped as Marina set a foot in the stirrup, and with a little hop, pulled herself up into the saddle.

“Well done,” Sammy said, beaming at her.

“My father kept horses growing up,” Marina said, adjusting her seating and taking the reins Sammy offered her. Her time on horseback transferred fairly well because Marina was perfectly at ease on the huge creature, guiding it around the arena, it’s heavy cloven hooves making deep satisfying thumping noises in the soft arena footing. In comparison I would have looked like a sack of nervous potatoes up there, and I was feeling sort of embarrassed for even thinking I should volunteer by the time Elena called for us all to pair up and come meet our goats.

“Think they’ll let all three of us go together?” Bass asked, and I was mentally daring them to try to split us up in my head when I happened to glance down at Andie, who was still seated in the front row, alone, obviously doing their best not to look lost. Marina’s friend Lynlea knocked Andie’s shoulder as she climbed down to join Marina in the arena and I don’t know why it pissed me off so much but I told Bass not to worry about it and hopped down along the bleachers to reach Andie.

“Hey,” I said and they looked up, surprised. “You have a partner yet?” And they smiled this relieved smile and shook their head.

Our Orkai goat was named The Bees Knees, but Elena called him Knees. He was extra huge. No, I’m sure he wasn’t. But I felt like he was and that’s the important part.

But if I was nervous, it was nothing compared to Andie. They were like… rigid with fear. Marina was watching us. She said something to Lynlea and then both of them craned to look our direction.

“I um,” Andie managed, carefully not looking towards them. “I don’t really like riding.”

From the looks of things, they didn’t like being anywhere near the goat.

“It’s okay,” I said, climbing onto the mounting step. “I’ll go first.”

It would have been a lot easier to mount up if my legs weren’t still stiff and sore. As it was, the goat shifted it’s weight as I clambered inelegantly onto it’s back and I just about pitched right over its back into the arena footing. But once I was in the saddle, holding the reins, I could at least pretend not to be terrified haha.

By the time Bass and I had followed each other around the arena a couple times, I was feeling pretty giddy so when Elena called, “If you give them a little kick with your heels, they’ll speed up!” I was willing to give it a try. Not that I was any good lol I was bouncing like a bobblehead in the saddle, not at all like Marina’s smooth, upright posture, but at least I could get Knees to go the direction I wanted at the speed I asked for. Bass’ goat, who’s name was The Cat’s Pajamas, flat refused to go any faster than a slow, contemplative plod.

When it was Andie’s turn I offered to hold Knees’ reins like April did for me that first time at the Emporium and Andie gritted their teeth and nodded. They climbed onto the mounting block, and reached up to put their hands on the saddle. They stood there breathing deeply for a long moment. They put their foot in the stirrup. They stood there on one foot, breathing some more. They bounced on their knee a couple times, squeezing their eyes shut and then —

“For goodness sake Andie, just mount the damn thing!” Marina called from one mounting block over, which startled Andie, which startled Knees so bad that he sidestepped abruptly, dragging Andie — who’s foot was still in the stirrup — right off the mounting block and into the dirt. Their head made that same thump sound when it hit the arena footing as the goat’s hooves.

“Hey, that’s alright, everyone stay calm, let’s give them some space!” Sammy called. He sounded very calm but I noticed that he put his body between Andie and the nearest other goats as Elena rushed towards us.

Andie was frantic, trying to scramble away from the saddle, but their foot was properly caught in the stirrup now and they were sort of dangling by it. Marina hopped off the mounting block to help disentangle them but I beat her there, and yanked on Andie’s foot so hard their boot came right off and Knees danced away from us, tossing his horned head.

“Are you okay?” Marina gasped, kneeling down, but Andie pushed away from her and scrambled to their feet.

“I’m fine!” they said, but they had tears in their eyes and they didn’t seem to be able to put weight on their bare foot.

There was a very awkward pause.

“Alright, that’s okay Andie, lets get you off to the nurse, yeah?” Elena said. “They’ll get you fixed right up. Can you get there?”

“I’ll help them,” Marina said, moving forward, and I don’t know what possessed me, but I was closer, and Andie was doing their best not to look at anyone or cry, so I stepped forward and ducked under Andie’s arm to help support their weight before Marina could get there.

“It’s okay,” I said. “I got it.”

Marina stared at me, then at Andie, who wouldn’t meet her eye. “Okay,” she said. “Whatever.” And she turned back to Lynlea without a backwards glance. They were already laughing about something by the time we’d reached the arena gates.

“Thanks,” Andie mumbled.

“It’s cool,” I said. “Marina’s a bitch.”

“She’s not that bad,” Andie replied heavily. “She’s just…” they trailed off.

“A bitch?” I suggested, which won me a little laugh.

“She’s my cousin,” Andie said. “We’ve always given each other hell a little bit. I’m the smart one, she’s the — ” they winced on their ankle and tried to cover it with a queasy smile, “everything else one.”

That’s the most I’ve ever heard Andie talk come to think of it. Honestly I don’t know why this little incident is like… sticking out in my head so much, like it was really not that big of a deal.

But when we all came to dinner like an hour later Andie was already there, their ankle all wrapped up, their nose in a book, sitting all alone at the end of the table, I brought my plate and went to sit beside them. They looked up a little bit surprised when I slid onto the bench and I realized that maybe they sit alone because they like to sit and read, and maybe they didn’t actually like us there, but then Bass climbed in on their other side and said, “So you hate horses, huh?”

And they said, “My aunt and uncle raised them and —” they hesitated awkwardly, and then said, “I fell off one when I was a kid,” in a tone that made me wonder if there was more to the story.

Down the table I caught Marina watching us, a sort of funny look on her face.

Bass didn’t seem to notice. “Yeah,” he said. “I get that. A wasp flew into my mouth when I was little and I’m still terrified of them.”

So then I asked how on earth he managed to get a wasp in his mouth, and Bass was off to the races telling us about a wasp keeper slash assassin that sometimes stays at the Red Rock, and like magic, the conversation was not awkward at all. Bless Bass tbh, because Rook, Andie and I can’t make conversation happen to save our goddamn lives.

And now I’m sitting up in our dorm. Andie is reading again and we haven’t spoken in like an hour, but like… not in an awkward way lol. Wayne Muir and Tucker Gowie are listening to loud music down the hall. We have our window cracked, so we can smell the sweet, salty breeze floating up off the orchard. I talked to my mom earlier.

I feel so much better than I have in weeks. Even if I did realize today that I have to study basic biology, and then also magic biology.