| Chapter 4: The Stone, The 'Horse' and the Chosen. |
| "I can't decide whether to
curse whoever is giving us the coins, or praise them," Sophi muttered
under her breath as she found the same amount of coin in the saddle
bages. "Either way, it isn't going to help any," Tanja responded quickly, brushing Anaya with a curry comb. For the past week they had been traveling with Anaya, living in and out of Waystations and inns, finding no extra money for clothing what-so-ever. On the showing of Anaya they had sold off Sophi's ill-tempered dappled mare, settling for Anaya and the almost white mare, now dubbed 'Ol' Iron Sides', thanks to her appearance compared to the Companion. From what they knew about the money here, they sported a fair price for the ill-tempered animal. Sophi was simply overjoyed to find that they had enough silver now to buy a set of breeches, a shirt and a tunic for each of them so they didn't have to ride about in filthy Outworlder clothing. Even thought they now had to be careful with spendings. Although, Sophi had persuaded Tanja to let her buy two tight-knitted cloaks, presumably waterproof. But what was concidered waterproof here meant that you would only get damp, so it wasn't truely waterproof. The fact that they had served no purpose at all so far did not help with the glances Tanja gave off, each one saying 'I told you so'. "I wish it would help," muttered Sophi as she rummaged through the saddlebags for the map. "Where the hell are we? We would've been better off bringing a map from the Mage Wars at this rate," she grumbled, trying to find their place on the poorly-treated map. Tanja sighed and rolled up her sleaves, setting down the comb and walking to the map. She paused for a moment and then pointed to a small thin line on the map. "There, about half day from Haven," her fingers walked to the large blue dot in the right of the map. "Should be in view of it shortly." She glanced to Sophi, who rubbed the back of her neck, staring blankly at the map. "Eh, whatever you say," she shrugged, rolling the map up and stuffing it into her saddlebag. "You're the Herald, afterall." "And don't you forget it," Tanja responded quickly with a slight chuckle, turning back to Anaya, who lipped tenderly at one of her sleaves. Sophi shook her head and looked to the gray mare, gently patting her neck. Hopefully we'll be in Haven soon, I don't know how much longer I can stand without some actual food and a bed. She sighed and slowly glanced around at the current settings. It was somewhat chilly for spring, she thought, but of course she wasn't used to the climate here. Birds sang cheerfully to their newborn hatchlings as they fed, thin squirrels were feeding on fresh-fallen nuts on the ground as a back of wolves were heard playing and what-not beyond the curtain of trees along the road. They had passed the last town about two days ago, running into little farms and holds every-so-often. They no longer attracted warry staring, but now they lived in and out of Waystations. Odd thing was, now that they were sleeping in Waystations, the coins were fewer and fewer and sometimes didn't appear at all. Whatever was giving them these coins didn't want their trip to be that easy, obviously. She let out a deep breath, realizing that she had been holding it. A calm wind played through her hair, making the long locks fall over her right eye. She turned now to look at Tanja, leaning her arm aginst the mare. "I'm not hungry," She now said quickly. "Maybe we should push on until we reach Haven." "You'll regret it later on," Tanja responded shortly, now feeding Anaya. "You can go hungry if you like, but I'm going to grab something to eat." At that, Tanja went about her business again, not once looking Sophi's dirrection. Sophi wrinkled her nose slightly, thinking that there had been an air of annoyance in her friend's response. She simply nodded and tethered the mare to a tree, looking off into the distance a moment or two. "I'm going to walk a bit," she said shortly and went off down the road before Tanja could respond, if she did say anything, Sophi didn't hear it. The sun had slipped behind a cloud in the cloudless sky as Sophi walked her way down the road. A rock had crossed her path a while back and she kicked it along with her, staring at the ground rather than where she was going. She figured if anyone was comming up the road, she would hear them in time to get herself and the stone out of the way. She was apparently very wrong. They next thing she knew, she kicked the worn rock down the path, watched after it a ways as it ran straight into a silver hoof, skipped up and ran up a silky white leg before thudding lifelessly to the ground. "Oh, no," a small gasp escaped Sohpi's lips as she prepared to appologize to a rather upset Herald and Companion. As her eyes jumped up to the back of the Companion, she blinked, finding the saddle empty. Great, I hit a Companion who's going out to Choose. Worse than I thought. She cringed mentally and prepared to grovel and stumble appologies to the 'horse'. The Companion scraped a hoof on the road and kicked the stone so it flung back at Sophi, hitting and riquishaying off her shoe. She blinked and looked up to the Companion, her mouth slightly agape. Her first mistake was hitting the Companion, her second was looking straight into it's deep sapphire eyes. She was immediately swept up in the intelligence and over all lovliness of those eyes and the bright shimmer that came from its coat that she lost all words. ::Do you bluggen all Companions with stones, Chosen?:: A deep and humor-filled voice reached her mind as the Companion whickered softly, bobbing it's head lowly to lip her shoulder. Chosen!? Oh dear. She took a step back, holding her hands up in protest. "Oh no! We already have one Pre-Herald around here, we don't need two in Grays! You have made a mistake, I don't even like horses!" Sophi stammered out quickly. He snorted in response and tossed his head. ::We don't make mistakes, Chosen. And since when are Companions horses? You were meant to be a Herald.:: Sophi groaned and melted into a crosslegged possition on the ground, setting her head in her hands. She sat a while, her head spinning in circles and sat up straightly again, looking dirrectly to the Companion, who was waiting patiently in front of her. "Well," she began slowly, running a hand through her hair. "If you're going to follow us around like a lost puppy, we might as well know your name." The Companion whickered and nodded. ::Ezra is my name.:: He replied simply, taking a step towards her, offering a large stone beside him as a stepping stone. "Ezra?" She wrinkled her nose as she gripped the pommel, trying to climb into the saddle. "Sounds like a girls' name." Ezra snorted and side stepped once, dragging her off the rock and onto the ground, catching her foot in a stirup. "Oof, ok ok!" Sophi yelped at him from her laying place. "Appologies, sheesh!" ::Serves you. Besides, what kind of name is 'Solphin', anyway?:: Ezra stomped a foot, bobbing his head once as Sophi untangled her foot. She blushed and cleared her throat. "It's a family name, thats what kind of name it is. People call me Sophi, and that's a girls' name, thats what kind of name it is," her foot fell lifelessly to the ground as she untangled it. She stood and brushed herself off. "How far is it from Haven anyhow?" She looked up to Ezra as he lined himself up with the stepping stone again. ::On Companion's back, you'll be there before dinner.:: "You were lucky we were so near by, you might've actually had to travel, otherwise!" Sophi teased gently, making sure she was in the saddle before saying so. In response, Ezra jolted forward, then back again, making her bones ache and teeth rattle. As she groaned, she heard a light whickering from the Companion. Very funny, she thought sharply at the pair of white ears in front of her, figuring to try out some mindspeech. ::I thought it was.:: The good-humored response came shortly afterward. Sophi gave a small chuckle, then sighed, the same thought that had been going off in her mind returned: Tanja is going to have a cat. Tanja was lounging peacefully in the sunlight, leaning back on Anaya, who was laying down in a patch of deep green grass. She watched the sun through closed eyes, making her see warm variations of orange and red. ::She's taking and awful long time, don't you think?:: She thought to Anaya. ::Oh, I suppose so.:: A soft sigh was heard in the back of her mind. ::I'm sure there is a good excuse.:: Tanja turned her head a bit, giving Anaya a curious look, getting the impression she wasn't telling the whole truth. The Companion simply layed silent, appearing to be asleep. Tanja sighed and turned back, looking over to the gray mare, who was lounging in the shade. She closed her eyes again and tilted her face toward the sun, shivering slightly as she immediately got a feeling of pure warmth. ::Perhaps we should go look for her, I'm really kind of anxious to get going again to Haven.:: She thought once more to Anaya. ::Calm down, you're worrying too much. I'm sure the-- she's alright.:: Tanja opened her eyes, catching the slip before she could correct it. "They?" At that moment she head the sound of a Companion trotting towards them, she turned quickly as Anaya opened her eyes, raising her head up. ::Yes, they.:: And into view came a brilliant white Companion, trotting smoothly and picking his feet high in a comical manner. The bells across the bridle jingled merrilly as he trotted about, and on his back was a small girl, her dark hair whipping behind her like a cloak would, grinning sheepishly. Tanja stood, setting a hand on her hip. "I should've known," she chuckled slightly, shaking her head. Once in hearing range, the Companion stopped and Sophi rubbed the back of her neck. "Eh..." She began. "Look what followed me hom. Can we keep him, Momma?" She grinned from ear to ear, huggling the Companion's neck. Tanja played along, giving her a stern look. "First off, I'm not you're Momma, I feel bad for your Momma or anyone who has to put up with you." Sophi cringed and lurched backward, clutching her chest as if she'd just been hit. Tanja simply smiled a little. "Secondly, I don't know, he'll eat a lot and be a lot of work, if you promise to take care of him--" Sophi laughed a little, breaking her control on her expression as she cracked a smile, chuckling. "Yay! Ezra can stay!" Sophi exclaimed in childish glee, throwing her hands up in the air. Tanja smiled a bit. ::Ezra? Isn't that a girl's name?:: ::Don't ask, just don't ask.:: Anaya told her, walking up beside her and giving Ezra a slight nuzzle with her velvet nose in greeting. Sophi blinked as Ezra returned the gesture. "Hey! None fo that until we get back to Haven, you two!" She grinned at Anaya, then to Tanja, then seemed to get a distant sort of look in her eyes. A small, semi-monotone 'voice' lifted into Tanja's mind. ::This could be...interesting. Mare and Stallion, let's just hope we're not important enough for them to be Grove-Born!:: Tanja blinked, Sophi's smile warming a bit, obviously relieved that it worked. She now concentrated hard on Sophi, seeing if she could project a thought. ::Interesting is an understatement.:: Sophi's eyes grew a bit wider as she stiffled a laugh, giving Tanja all the answer she needed. Just in case it wasn't enough, Sophi gave her a very deliberate, slow wink. Ezra snorted and shook his head lowly, Sophi getting the same slow, distant look. They're talking now. Tanja turned to Anaya and shrugged a bit. ::We should be going soon. With the gray mare, it'll take longer than usual.:: Tanja nodded in agreement, looking to the gray mare, who was still lounging in the shade of her tree, but much of her attention was on Ezra. Great, a love struck horse. And with a Companion! She shook her head a bit and looked to Sophi, who was waiting patiently. "Anaya says we should get going soon. With the mare, it'll take us a while longer than usual." Sophi nodded in response. "Ezra agrees. Let's pack up and get going." "Already done, we just have to find a way to teather the mare behind us so she'll follow," Tanja turned to run a hand along the back of Anaya's saddle. "I think we can lead her if you take the front," she paused. "Sound good?" Ezra nodded, Anaya giving her a small warm 'touch' of assurance. "Lovely," Sophi began. "Let's get her hooked up then." She slid off from Ezra's back, walking to the mare quickly. |
