A beast?

The horses got noticeably more unsettled; Celina even took a few steps backwards. Glaweder snorted and pawed the ground. Vel patted his neck and tried his best to radiate calm. It seemed to have some effect, Glaweder calmed a bit and Celina at least stopped moving backwards, though she was still noticeably nervous.

Adeline’s eyes were fixed on the tree line, she looked nervous as she patted her horse’s neck. Vel wasn’t overly worried. Bandits or other vagrants would not dare come so close to the estate, and what large animals did exist in the area were unlikely to be out and about in broad daylight. It was likely a loose hound or something. That should pose no real danger as long as they could keep the horses from panicking, which shouldn’t be a problem for Glaweder, who was bred and trained for war. Celina on the other hand was a show animal, meant to be beautiful and to be shown off, and Adeline was not the most confident rider. The only real danger here was probably Celina getting spooked and throwing her rider. Vel wished he’d taken his bow with him.

Adeline audibly gasped as something burst out of the copse and onto the road in front of them, something that definitely wasn’t a hound. At least no hound that Vel had ever seen. It had four legs and a tail, but that was about where the similarities ended. The tail was far longer and more like that of a cat than a hound, its fur was of a color that no hound had ever been, a deep almost purplish black. It had a shaggy grey mane that extended nearly halfway down its back. And most disturbingly, there was its size. If there were hounds that large, Vel didn’t want to meet them. This thing’s head was almost as high as Glaweder’s shoulder, and he was a tall courser. It moved its head, which happened to be the most hound-like part of it, to look at Vel and Adeline.

"What in the shit is that?” Adeline almost whined. Something about the fear in her voice snapped Vel out of his initial shock. Blessedly, the horses were still fairly calm, and he moved himself and Glaweder in front of Adeline and Celina to block the path between them and the beast. It was still a good 70 feet away from him, but judging by its powerful legs it could close that distance quickly. Vel vowed to himself to never leave the estate unarmed again. The beast cocked its head at this development, and to Vel’s eyes it looked like it was curious more than anything else. “Stop, we should get out of here” Adeline whispered from behind him. He wasn’t sure why she was whispering, probably fear. “I don’t think we should. Whatever that thing is, it’s clearly a predator, turning and running might just embolden it to come after us. And I fear it might beat Celina in a sprint.” His twin cursed in response “What do we do then?” That was a good question. Glaweder could have stomped a hound or two to **** without much issue, but this thing would make short work of any horse. Vel doubted that even the other horse he owned, a massive coal black destrier, would stand a chance. “I’m not sure, Adi. Let’s ju-“

Vel stopped mid-sentence, as he suddenly felt the beast. There was no other way to put it. It had not moved any closer physically, but its presence suddenly pushed up against him. He could feel it, like it was sniffing around his mind, he got a distinct impression of curiosity or inquisitiveness again. As crazy as it seemed, Vel didn’t really question that his and the beast’s minds were bumping up against each other, why doubt what was clearly happening. I have to make sure I don’t seem like prey, Vel thought to himself. He dug deep and summoned all the resolve and mental fortitude he could muster into a single command “FUCK OFF.” He didn’t say it out loud, but he pulsed it into what he felt to be the beast’s mind.