Then the days, or so it seemed to Kate, flew by much too fast. And
no sooner had she gotten used to the idea of Dante as a potential lover,
he'd announced that they'd be leaving sometime the next morning.
Kate had reluctantly agreed to pack what little she had, and stowed it away
in a corner of the room. Things seemed gloomy, if an old dank cottage
could be any gloomier than it already was, and in a way Kate didn't want to
leave it. But she knew - and Dante knew - that the longer they stayed
here, the easier it'd be for Pyrte to find them. And when, after a
seemingly endless night of worrying, Dante rose from his place on the floor
and set about cleaning up, Kate held her tongue and did all she could to
help him.
"Bring your things outside," he said at last, after they'd shared a breakfast of cold rabbit and spring water, "We'll pack up and leave as soon as Deyan's ready to go." That stopped Kate in her tracks. "Deyan?" Dante simply smiled and pointed out of the open front door to the place where a white stallion stood at the ready. "Wha . . .?" Kate looked at the horse and then back to Dante, "Where'd HE come from?" "He got here last night," Dante explained, breezing past Kate and out into the sunshine, "I asked him to wait in the village East of here until we were ready to leave." He tied his packs to the animal's saddle and turned to face Kate, who still stood inside the cottage. "Well? Aren't you coming?"
Kate shook herself from her reverie and walked out into the open, squinting as she handed her things to Dante. When was the last time she'd been outside? Apparently it was too long ago. "So . . . how did he know when to get here, then?" she asked, feeling a bit foolish, and more than a little out of place in the presence of the hulking horse.
"I told him, of course." Dante replied, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"But - he's a HORSE, Dante. And," she was cut short by a toss of the stallion's head.
::I am not just any horse,:: a voice sternly retorted into Kate's mind, causing her silver-flecked eyes to dart to Dante.
"I didn't say a word," Dante smirked, and tightened the girth on the stallion's saddle.
"Then who-" Kate, once again, was interrupted.
::I did, Dark One.:: the voice said, and the stallion turned its elegant head to face her, ::I am Deyan, and I am NOT a horse.::
Kate clamped her mouth shut on the rest of her sentence and stared directly into the horse's - and why she didn't notice sooner was a mystery - sapphire eyes. A second look told her that this couldn't be just a horse, as she'd postulated earlier. His coat was an unearthly white, shimmering in the sunlight like polished silver. His hooves were silver, and when he walked, they rang instead of clomping. His eyes had no depth to them, as though one was gazing into a deep blue sky - without an end in sight. "So," she managed to choke, "Since you're not a horse, what ARE you?"
"He's a Companion, Kate," Dante replied, mounting swiftly and settling into the saddle, "And a Grove-Born Companion, at that. Come." And he held out his hand. Apparently there was more to this man than Kate could see . . . She gripped his hand and mounted the horse - the Companion - behind Dante, and wrapped her arms around his waist.
"Ready?"
"Ready."
"Alright." Without a word, a command or even so much as a word, Deyan set off, tail swishing, down the path toward - Kate assumed - Valdemar.
"Bring your things outside," he said at last, after they'd shared a breakfast of cold rabbit and spring water, "We'll pack up and leave as soon as Deyan's ready to go." That stopped Kate in her tracks. "Deyan?" Dante simply smiled and pointed out of the open front door to the place where a white stallion stood at the ready. "Wha . . .?" Kate looked at the horse and then back to Dante, "Where'd HE come from?" "He got here last night," Dante explained, breezing past Kate and out into the sunshine, "I asked him to wait in the village East of here until we were ready to leave." He tied his packs to the animal's saddle and turned to face Kate, who still stood inside the cottage. "Well? Aren't you coming?"
Kate shook herself from her reverie and walked out into the open, squinting as she handed her things to Dante. When was the last time she'd been outside? Apparently it was too long ago. "So . . . how did he know when to get here, then?" she asked, feeling a bit foolish, and more than a little out of place in the presence of the hulking horse.
"I told him, of course." Dante replied, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"But - he's a HORSE, Dante. And," she was cut short by a toss of the stallion's head.
::I am not just any horse,:: a voice sternly retorted into Kate's mind, causing her silver-flecked eyes to dart to Dante.
"I didn't say a word," Dante smirked, and tightened the girth on the stallion's saddle.
"Then who-" Kate, once again, was interrupted.
::I did, Dark One.:: the voice said, and the stallion turned its elegant head to face her, ::I am Deyan, and I am NOT a horse.::
Kate clamped her mouth shut on the rest of her sentence and stared directly into the horse's - and why she didn't notice sooner was a mystery - sapphire eyes. A second look told her that this couldn't be just a horse, as she'd postulated earlier. His coat was an unearthly white, shimmering in the sunlight like polished silver. His hooves were silver, and when he walked, they rang instead of clomping. His eyes had no depth to them, as though one was gazing into a deep blue sky - without an end in sight. "So," she managed to choke, "Since you're not a horse, what ARE you?"
"He's a Companion, Kate," Dante replied, mounting swiftly and settling into the saddle, "And a Grove-Born Companion, at that. Come." And he held out his hand. Apparently there was more to this man than Kate could see . . . She gripped his hand and mounted the horse - the Companion - behind Dante, and wrapped her arms around his waist.
"Ready?"
"Ready."
"Alright." Without a word, a command or even so much as a word, Deyan set off, tail swishing, down the path toward - Kate assumed - Valdemar.