Portable Kelpie?

K understood it was a trap then and his animal instinct kicked in. Since this was not his mistress, then it would have to be none other than... food!

He bristled and pulled his muzzle away, moving the bridle away from Arthur's grasp. Arthur grabbed at air but he did not have time to lament his loss. If he let his guard down now, then he would be in grave danger.

Ignoring the warning in K's nicker, Arthur jumped out from behind the boulder, aiming directly for the line of seaweed bridle. K tried to rear back to avoid Arthur but there was simply not enough space for him to navigate his large body.

Caught in this quandary, K gave up his evasion and turned on the offensive instead. He huffed through his nostrils and tried to bite at Arthur's arm. The horse was ultimately an animal because he did not realize when he tried to chomp at Arthur's outstretched arm, the forward momentum would carry the bridle forward... right into Arthur's open palm.

The seaweed felt slick and slimy in Arthur's hand. Just as K's jaw was about to close in on Arthur's limb, the young man pulled on the bridle and everything stopped.

It was hard for Arthur to believe it but the information provided by the internet was true. Just as he had the handle on K's bridle, it was as if the animal was given a hundred shots of sedative. The aggression that he showed seconds ago winnowed away, leaving behind a creature that was as tame as a pony. The transformation was... well, appropriately magical.

After K was tame, it tried to endear himself to Arthur. He nuzzled his muzzle at the crook of the young man's neck, tickling with Arthur with his breath. Arthur chuckled at the horse's childlike behavior, he found it difficult to believe this creature was trying to kill him minutes ago.

Arthur patted the top of K's head and he neighed happily from the show of physical affection. As obedient as K had become, Arthur knew better than to let his guard down. He did not loosen his grasp on the bridle just in case once he did, K turned back into a man-eating monster. Arthur was lucky to be able to get the jump on K once, he was not sure he would be lucky enough to do it again. That was a chance that Arthur was not willing to take.

It was also why when K tried to urge Arthur to get onto his back to give his a ride, the young man politely but firmly refused. What if the creature decided to take him for a dip into the ocean?

However, that led Arthur to another problem. He stood there examining the large horse that stood before him and the single question on his mind was, 'Now how am I supposedly to bring you back to your owner?'

Then, he realized there was another issue that preceded that question. Where was he going to find Miss S? The petition only specified for him to find the woman's horse and he did. Technically, his assignment was already completed so where was his reward?

If the client was supposed to be one to provide him with the reward, then Arthur needed to locate Miss S. to hand her horse back to her. That was the most logical conclusion, Arthur returned Miss S. her horse and she as the client would provide him with the payment, it was a fair trade.

Arthur thought about it and decided he would return to the Midnight Emporium. For one, it was the only location where he had met Miss S. before, he had no other clues where else she could have been. Perhaps she might return to the shop once her pet had been found? For two, the Midnight Emporium was where the Book of Thoth was located and the tome sat in the middle of this transaction. It was the book who introduced Arthur to Miss S' petition and Arthur suspected it was also the book who informed Miss S. that her petition had been accepted.

If this was a game, then the Book of Thoth would be the task giver and now that his assignment had been completed, it was only logical for him to return to the task giver to complete his quest.

This led Arthur back to his previous problem, how was him going to lead K back to the Midnight Emporium with him?

If the young man dared to ride on K's back then it would greatly shorten the time it would require to traverse the distance. Arthur eyed the horse who was looking at him with openly curious blue eyes and he shook his head, there was too high of a risk involved.

His next option was to use the same method he took to arrive at Caroline Shore, the public transport. Arthur could not imagine fitting a horse K's size into a public bus. It looked and sounded preposterous.

Arthur's last option was to walk. As fit as the young man was, he was not in the mood for an extended power walk across town. He would die from dehydration and exhaustion before he arrived at the Midnight Emporium.

He scratched his mind trying to come up with a solution, then a description of Kelpie that he read online crossed the young man's mind. According to legends, Kelpie was a magical shape-shifter.

He turned to the horse and even though Arthur was not sure the animal would understand him or not, he approached K with a request, "K, I know this might be a bit too unusual for someone to ask but... is it possible for you to shape-shift into something more portable, more easy to carry around?"

K titled his head to the side and he looked at Arthur side-ways with a befuddled look in his eyes that seemed to say, 'Huh? What are you talking about?'