~ The Man who Rides Like a Woman ~
Dedicated to The Copper C@t (check out her stories. They're pretty slush, and I've never read any of them, but she's got more reviews than me, so....uh huh)
I would like to dedicate this story to my (snigger) 'friend', The Copper C@t , after she very stupidly made a mistake when talking to my about TP's Song of the Lioness Quartet. So yeah. Cheers, Metal Kitten! This is for you
~
Chapter 1
Alanna swore (great beginning, hey?), after studying her map. She should have reached the desert by now, but for some strange unknown reason, she wasn't even in warm country. In fact, at that very minute, an icy blizzard was whipping around her ears, causing her teeth to chatter. She could swear that an icicle was hanging off her nose, and she couldn't even see further than three feet around her.
"I /hate/ the cold," she told Faithful, between gritted teeth....which were not staying very gritted. On the contrary, if you had shoved a piece of wood into her face at that very minute, you would have a nice pile of toothpicks in no time at all. Although you would probably have to see it through a rapidly swelling eye. I mean, if you were in the middle of a raging blizzard, with limited sight, what would /you/ do if some moron just came waltzing along, and shoved a chunk of wood through your teeth?
{Well it was /your/ idea to try and seek adventure} replied Faithful, who was curled up in a not-so-warm position, on Alanna's saddle.
"True," admitted Alanna. Then, casting a dirty look around the three feet of plain white blizzard that she could see, she added, "But I thought that I would be somewhere /warm/. Even Tortall is warmer than this Mithros- abandoned place."
Moonlight whickered agreement, tossing her head. The mare didn't like cold any more than her passengers did, although, being larger, she was not as affected as her smaller friends were.
Sighing, Alanna smoothed the mare's mane. It was no use whining. Even though whining was fun. Better to save her breath for when she would really need it.
"Oh well. Might as well just find somewhere where we can stay, until the storm passes," said Alanna. Faithful purred, glad that his charge had finally come to her senses.
As Alanna did her best to look for some sign of civilisation (which she must be given credit for, in hopefulness, as she could not see further than three feet), Faithful opened his senses, to try to locate some form of life.
{I've got it!} he yowled excitedly, sensing two strong forms of life that were nearby.
"Huh? What?" Alanna shook her head, fighting the urge to sleep. "Where?"
{Right-} suddenly, Faithful realised what the two life forms were. {Oops. Nothing}
The young woman frowned, and stroked her pet. "Never mind," she finally sighed. "Moonlight'll find her way, won't you, girl?"
The mare whinnied, lifting Alanna's spirits. However, if the lady knight had understood just what her mount had just said, she would not be so pleased with the horse.
{Think again, stupid} grumbled Moonlight. Faithful chuckled softly to himself.
It was freaky, just how human-like those two animals were. Just like my brother. But /everyone/ knows that brothers can't /possibly/ be human. JK.
"Mithros, why do /I/ get all the bad luck?" exploded Alanna, a sudden wave of depression washing over her. Her real identity being found out in the most embarrassing way, being short (not that there's anything wrong with being short), and Coram disappearing rather suddenly one morning without so much as a goodbye!
A sudden explosion of hissing from the ground woke Alanna from her stupor, and she looked down in alarm.
{Cold!} wailed Faithful, from the snowy ground. {Cold!}
"Oh!" Alanna leaned down from the saddle quickly, and scooped the cat up. "What happened?" she asked, rubbing the warmth back into the cat.
After freeing himself from his owner's anxious grip, Faithful seated himself back into his cup on the saddle, and began grooming himself with long, exaggerated licks. Finally, he gathered his pride and flung it into the wind, saying, {You startled me and I fell}.
The purple-eyed knight gaped at her cat, and burst out laughing.
"You /what/?" she hooted.
A/N Man, I make Alanna sound like a total idiot, don't I? E/A/N (End of Author's Note)
Faithful fixed her with a steady purple eye, and replied that /he/ did not see what was so funny about being startled by some self-pitying knight.
"I'm sorry," said Alanna kindly, smoothing the fur on Faithful's back.(Be gross if you didn't know that Faithful was a cat, hey? Fur on the back. Yeugh!).
"I didn't see it your way."
{Obviously} sniffed Faithful, his pride still stinging.
{Humans} said Moonlight.
{Totally} agreed Faithful.
* A/N
That's all for now. PLEASE review. I really love reading reviews, even though I don't get that many....sigh. Well, anyway. Read The Copper C@t's stories, if you're the kind that likes slush. And if you want humour, you can read silverthorn's stor....y....it's really cool. The last time I asked her, it was called 'Alanna versus Ralon'....or something like that.
But anyway. For those with short-term memories....please review.
Dedicated to The Copper C@t (check out her stories. They're pretty slush, and I've never read any of them, but she's got more reviews than me, so....uh huh)
I would like to dedicate this story to my (snigger) 'friend', The Copper C@t , after she very stupidly made a mistake when talking to my about TP's Song of the Lioness Quartet. So yeah. Cheers, Metal Kitten! This is for you
~
Chapter 1
Alanna swore (great beginning, hey?), after studying her map. She should have reached the desert by now, but for some strange unknown reason, she wasn't even in warm country. In fact, at that very minute, an icy blizzard was whipping around her ears, causing her teeth to chatter. She could swear that an icicle was hanging off her nose, and she couldn't even see further than three feet around her.
"I /hate/ the cold," she told Faithful, between gritted teeth....which were not staying very gritted. On the contrary, if you had shoved a piece of wood into her face at that very minute, you would have a nice pile of toothpicks in no time at all. Although you would probably have to see it through a rapidly swelling eye. I mean, if you were in the middle of a raging blizzard, with limited sight, what would /you/ do if some moron just came waltzing along, and shoved a chunk of wood through your teeth?
{Well it was /your/ idea to try and seek adventure} replied Faithful, who was curled up in a not-so-warm position, on Alanna's saddle.
"True," admitted Alanna. Then, casting a dirty look around the three feet of plain white blizzard that she could see, she added, "But I thought that I would be somewhere /warm/. Even Tortall is warmer than this Mithros- abandoned place."
Moonlight whickered agreement, tossing her head. The mare didn't like cold any more than her passengers did, although, being larger, she was not as affected as her smaller friends were.
Sighing, Alanna smoothed the mare's mane. It was no use whining. Even though whining was fun. Better to save her breath for when she would really need it.
"Oh well. Might as well just find somewhere where we can stay, until the storm passes," said Alanna. Faithful purred, glad that his charge had finally come to her senses.
As Alanna did her best to look for some sign of civilisation (which she must be given credit for, in hopefulness, as she could not see further than three feet), Faithful opened his senses, to try to locate some form of life.
{I've got it!} he yowled excitedly, sensing two strong forms of life that were nearby.
"Huh? What?" Alanna shook her head, fighting the urge to sleep. "Where?"
{Right-} suddenly, Faithful realised what the two life forms were. {Oops. Nothing}
The young woman frowned, and stroked her pet. "Never mind," she finally sighed. "Moonlight'll find her way, won't you, girl?"
The mare whinnied, lifting Alanna's spirits. However, if the lady knight had understood just what her mount had just said, she would not be so pleased with the horse.
{Think again, stupid} grumbled Moonlight. Faithful chuckled softly to himself.
It was freaky, just how human-like those two animals were. Just like my brother. But /everyone/ knows that brothers can't /possibly/ be human. JK.
"Mithros, why do /I/ get all the bad luck?" exploded Alanna, a sudden wave of depression washing over her. Her real identity being found out in the most embarrassing way, being short (not that there's anything wrong with being short), and Coram disappearing rather suddenly one morning without so much as a goodbye!
A sudden explosion of hissing from the ground woke Alanna from her stupor, and she looked down in alarm.
{Cold!} wailed Faithful, from the snowy ground. {Cold!}
"Oh!" Alanna leaned down from the saddle quickly, and scooped the cat up. "What happened?" she asked, rubbing the warmth back into the cat.
After freeing himself from his owner's anxious grip, Faithful seated himself back into his cup on the saddle, and began grooming himself with long, exaggerated licks. Finally, he gathered his pride and flung it into the wind, saying, {You startled me and I fell}.
The purple-eyed knight gaped at her cat, and burst out laughing.
"You /what/?" she hooted.
A/N Man, I make Alanna sound like a total idiot, don't I? E/A/N (End of Author's Note)
Faithful fixed her with a steady purple eye, and replied that /he/ did not see what was so funny about being startled by some self-pitying knight.
"I'm sorry," said Alanna kindly, smoothing the fur on Faithful's back.(Be gross if you didn't know that Faithful was a cat, hey? Fur on the back. Yeugh!).
"I didn't see it your way."
{Obviously} sniffed Faithful, his pride still stinging.
{Humans} said Moonlight.
{Totally} agreed Faithful.
* A/N
That's all for now. PLEASE review. I really love reading reviews, even though I don't get that many....sigh. Well, anyway. Read The Copper C@t's stories, if you're the kind that likes slush. And if you want humour, you can read silverthorn's stor....y....it's really cool. The last time I asked her, it was called 'Alanna versus Ralon'....or something like that.
But anyway. For those with short-term memories....please review.
