Two Friends of Difference

 Napoleon's side eye that large, heavy hoof. Napoleon's huge black stallion, Juste, shook his head and pawed with the leg closest to his master. He continued brushing out Juste's substantial mane.

Juste Von Autumn Breeze," remarked Napoleon's scratchy voice in mock irritation," what would your mother think of this behavior?"

Juste stopped pawing and started nickering and pointed his ears forward like he fully understood and wanted no part of that.

"Ah, ho, hoo." rose a chuckle from Napoleon's broad chest; his bear-sized hand petted the horse's neck.

Juste, seventeen hands high and Napoleon standing six foot and five were a splendid match. The heavy horse had a heavy rider as Napoleon easily slid over the two hundred seventy-five pounds. Mostly muscle, a bit of fat here and there.

Ka Thump, ka thump, ka thump. The sound of another horse's hooves drawing near. Juste whinnied, and Napoleon tossed the brush onto the bench.

"Yes, Juste, our friends Javen and Garrido are here for a visit. I’d know that hoof sound anywhere.”

Napoleon rounded the barn door to see Javen jumping down from this tall chestnut., built more for a race than for war like Juste was. Whirling around, Napoleon's best friend, maybe his only genuine friend's, face split in half with the broadest smile; Showing sparkling white teeth; Napoleon had wished he had.  

Javen threw wide his long, muscled arms. His blond hair mussed about,Deep blue eyes are sparkling. He let out a loud ”GRRRAAAA” just before he and Napoleon chest collide. They stood in a back slapping hug.

"It has been a while since I've seen you, my friend.", stated Napoleon as he pushed back, clasping elbows with his friend

"If I could drag you off this farm of yours more than once a year; we would see more of one another." Declared Javen sounding gruff sounding, but the smile stayed on his handsome face. 

The men turned to walk to his small porch.

"It just seems that I say I need to do more seeing others, then I get busy with this and that." Napoleon clarified. 

Napoleon shook his head from side to side, causing his handsome red beard to swish against his ampel front..

"Suddenly, a few months have passed." Hauurr", sighed Napoleon. Javen remained quiet.

They pulled out sturdy chairs, and Javen plopped down. Six foot three and muscled made Javen quick and spry. He was also fifteen years younger than Napoleon,who sat down a bit slower than Javen. 

Javen pulled two glasses forward as Napoleon uncorked the bottle of grog. 

Napoleon poured the beverage and remarked,

 "I was glad to see old Mr. Dobbs coming down my road two and plus weeks ago. First I  gave him that note for you and gave him his coin. Then I bought a small pot from him. I don't know if he or I was more surprised at that." Ho, no, hum.”

 Javen just took a swallow of grog,

They sat in uncomfortable silence for a bit Javen raised his eyes from his drink and stared directly at Napoleon's forehead. “Now or never I think.” he got his nerve up to ask what he had wondered for all their years of friendship

"Nap, his nickname for Napoleon. We have been friends for a few years now and you're the best friend a man could have. I never asked you this before and telling me it’s none of my business is fine.

You and I always have good laughs and good talks. But I almost never see you out and about. 

“Why are you such a loner? 

“You're a knowledgeable fellow and can tell a delightful or funny story now and again. I worry that one day I'll come by to find you dead or something."

Napoleon turned his head toward Javen's face with his violet eyes, looking hard into Javen's eyes before he spoke again. He ran a hand down his red beard a couple of times. Violet eyes staring into Javen’s sapphires, hard.

"Hump." came from Napoleon. He released their eye lock.

"I've always needed time alone to learn a thing no matter what it is. My dad was like that. Bother him when he was thinking, and you would get smacked or backhand off your feet. Napoleon’s voce dropped to a raspy anger.

“ Of course you'd get the same at times just for breathing. Until I got too big." 

I remember the day that ended. He reared back that arm as I was putting hay in the troughs.

My arm met his half swing and I took him to the ground. Put my arm across his throat and leaned toward his bugging out eyes. Quite as could be I said “Don't you ever try that again.

That ended it for me and Ma too.

''Anyway I tend to work out problems more in my head first; it's where I see the answer come together. I need quiet. Can't even have old Juste around stomping and snorting."

Javen stared at his friend, who was looking straight into his grog. What he could see of Naps' face was red, embarrassed. "

"This gentle giant who could easily knock three men flat, was raised by a father who had created this pain of uncertainty and cramped it down his throat in his son. Shit,"

Javen realized his jaw hurt. He was clenching those pearly whites hard.

"Hem, "Javens cleared his throat. He knew he had to make a joke of it to relieve his friend's embarrassment.

"The toughest thing at the tavern, where we haven’t been in two year, is reading their booze blotches, chewed on  menus; and you already know the whole thing from other visits.They never change anything,  anyway!"

 Javen started wildly gesturing, with his long arms resembling a rooster gone crazy.

"Oh, ho, ho, ho, stop marking me laugh before I break a rib!" Napoleon sputtered out as he threw his head back.

"If you say no, I'll get up and do the chicken dance all over your place." Javen leaped to his feet, arms threatening.

"No, please no, the last time you did, you were so drunk you fell out the tavern door! You scared Juste and Carrido, so they yanked the rail off its post.!" Napoleon threw his head back, howling with laughter.

Napoleon sucked in air and wiped his violet eyes on his shirt sleeve, still laughing hopelessly.

"They looked so cute speeding down the road with it bridging between them. Can’t you just see anyone’s face coming the other way?”Javen was now snorting oink, oink-like laughing hysterically, and missed the edge of the pouch. Only his quickness landed his backside on one stair rather than the ground. Napoleon's big hand slapped down on the top of Javen's shoulder so hard, "Oof" came out of Javerns mouth as Napoleon leaned a large portion of his weight on it; he lowered his two hundred-plus pounds on it to sit on the stair as well.

Both men regained their breath and what they had left of their dignity.

Carrido and Juste made their objections at seeing the fun had felt out by winiing and prancing at the end of their reins.

"See, my friend, even! our horses want to go." What Saturday evening shall I ride up here and  no excuses, we go to dinner?"

"NONE !” 

"I do not need a babysitter. You pick the Saturday  and I will make you, no excuses. I will meet you at the fork, except next Saturday."

Javen's jaw dropped like a fishing lure, but he quickly reeled it in. So they set the date and time. 

                                       Manner of Dress

That second Saturday evening rolled around too fast for Napoleon.

"What have I got myself into?" He grumbled to himself.

"I'm sitting here looking back and forth at two shirts with no rational decision. Good god, man, make a decision!"

“ Alright, that plain blue. I need to get Juste brushed and saddled. Well, it would be dumb to dress and then brush him Should I take the shirt out with me to the barn or come back to the house and put it on?"

The situation made Napoleon sweat, though it was not overly warm.

"Come here, shirt." Napoleon grabbed the blue shirt and rushed to his kitchen, leaving it near the sink.  He filled a small basin with water in the sink, tossing a clean kitchen rag next to it. The shirt went on the back of the chair as he hustled out to prepare Juste.

"Deep breaths before I work on him, or Juste will get all twitchy!"

Javen ran his fingers through his long blond hair rather than looking for his whale's tooth comb. 

He hummed as he took out the fresh shirt he had purchased for this special occasion. It was pink. Pulling the blouse shirt on, he stared into his old mirror with approval on his smiling face. 

His scar went from his hairline and across to his lower lip, it was evident to him.

 "I was thirteen and dumb, plus big for my age."

 Instead of wishing once more that he had not made that knight so mad, he was logical.

 "What did I expect from a knight when I hit him with my broken down sword? Oh boy, not what I got from his sword.”

 Tonight is to be a happy one, he thought. Looking closer into his mirror, he could see the image of darker shades of pink, against the room lighting, making his sapphire eyes twinkle and his blond hair almost golden. Jaren chuckled low in his muscular chest. He checked out his good black leather pants, which were tight against well-muscled thighs. They had gone into the black leather boots he had polished earlier, and they looked so fine.

"Haar," he sighed, ``time for a glass of wine before I head out to meet up with Napoleon.”

 Clapping his hands together once, he headed to the cupboard where he kept his wine stash.

                                      Meeting At The Fork

Javen's horse, Carrido, pranced and nickered. “Yes, Carrido Juste is near. In a minute, you'll be nose to nose with each other."  

Carrido answered, snorting and twirling around. Heavy clomps soon brought the immense Justi out from the last of the trees.

"Enough, settle down now." came sternly from   Javen as he reined the horse to face down the road they would go.

Napoleon steered Justi up beside them.

"They barely fit side by side anymore."

"It's been a couple of years since they walked this road together.

"Hum." Then Napoleon went entirely quiet.

" Oh my, now he is going to think about when that was and unless I don't let him."

"So Nap, do you have an opinion about my new shirt?"

"PFTT!" croaked Napoleon as he lost control of his stifled laugh. "Har, ha, ha! I had hoped to escape THAT question. "Har, ha."

Are you one of those people who think pink is just for women to wear?"

"Not anymore! I must say it looks quite good on you. What with your blonde locks and all."

Javen popped his head sideways and went wide-eyed, seeing Napoleon with a straight face as he was in front of a judge.

                                            The Tavern

Javen pushed the large wood door inward, and ducking his head, he and Napoleon entered the tavern's smoky room.  Javen scanned the room as they walked further.

"Ah, just what we need," Javen announced, starting for a table in the middle of the room. Javen cut right to a table on the back wall and stopped. He glanced back toward Napoleon and caught the fleeting look of misery on Nap's face. Turning to face Na, asking, "How about this Nap?"

"THis is fine, Javen, just fine." Javen quickly nodded his head, so glad to see the more relaxed look on Nap's face.

They sat just looking around a bit. Many people were in the tavern—drunks, people, working people, fishers, farmers, and local people. Javen's eyes stopped at the end of the bar. The two men he saw there were knights, swords and all. 

"I have only my knife. Oh, what the hell."

"A drink a drink, my kingdom for a drink."

Napoleon was sitting with his giant arms crossed on the table, and he groaned, "Ohhh, and we haven't even had a drink yet."Promptly dropping his head like a sack of potatoes onto his arms.

Hearing Javen's chair scrape back, Napoleon's head came up quickly. His violet eyes narrowed as he was deciding who to kill first.

"Forgive me, good people. I seemed to have forgotten I don't have a kingdom. I would still like a drink very much.

Javen bent at his slim waist and did a ridiculous bow. For a moment, there was complete silence before the bar erupted into group laughter. The knights laughed the hardest of all.

Javan sat down, and Napoleon stopped squinting, giving up on the plan of mayhem.

"You are going to be the death of me one of these days, Javen. Napoleon issued this with a  parental sound to it.

"NAW< bet you we just get better service."

Napoleon, who was gazing over Javen's shoulder, stated, "You may be right about that, Javen.         

 "Um, hum."

Javen turned to see who had spoked that; she met him with a flip of long black hair off  a woman's face. She was fluttering her eyebrows, so Napoleone thought they might take flight.

She was staring right into Juven's big blue eyes, wide as saucers. He watched as her tongue touched her red upper lip. she placed one of her hands on one of her ample hips; the other went past Juven's shoulder to his chair.

"What can I get, Ya honey?"

Javen found his ability to speak out "Meed, tow, quickly!"

She leaned in closer, and one of her ample breasts threatened to smother Jaden. He flung his head back hard with a loud clunk on the back of his chair.

His eye shifted sideways to Napoleon. He was begging for help.

He saw Napalone stand straight up to his six-foot-five, an angry scowl on his face, which had gone as red as his beard.

Napoleon's teeth gnashed, and "Grrrrrr, came through them Griselly like

"MOVE ON FROM HIM, NOW!" it hissed at her and roof one step toward her.

"PHHF." came from her as she turned and walked quickly away.

Javen wheezed in deeply as if he had not been breathing.

"THANK you. My dear friend Nap." Napoleon shrunk back to normal and sat and smiled shyly.

"One who is an introverted person can become an extroverted one when it counts the most.