Chappie two
The glade was silent; the leaves bristled in the wind. Dean heard it all, the music of life, it called to him, wanting him to help it along. He smiled remembering how he used to be beaten for sing as a child; women's work his father called it. To escape his father's wrath, Dean would wander away into the fields and forests that surrounded the small farm on which he and his 14 brothers and siblings worked, listening to the songs of nature. He sighed, he didn't hate or regret how his father had treated him, he did not understand the music that dean heard everywhere he went, and now things where better, at least since he met Charlie.
At the thought of Charlie, he called out to her, his back turned from the bush that she was changing behind, "You almost ready yet."
An exasperated voice called out from behind, " It's not my fault my chest is too big!" Dean nearly choked on the air he breathed on. Charlie smiled; sometimes it was fun to mess with Dean's simple mind. She bit her lip, it was that same emotion that scared her, Dean was her best friend, she didn't want anything to change between them; but she guessed it was to late to stop it anyway.
She stepped out from behind the bush, fully clothed, as silently as she could and tapped her bard friend on the shoulder.
Dean jumped in alarm, turned, and saw Charlie there as smug as ever," God dammit." He swore, "What was that for."
She smiled at him. "You're getting careless bard." She winked at him," Maybe your age is catching up with you, old man." She mocked.
Dean stood straight, "So what if I am few year older than you." He sighed, " It's a pity you're a herald, bardic reds suite you much more."
Rohan, Charlie's companion, sent a thought into her mind: Don't listen to him: he thought : I'm worth looking bad in white, aren't I : He tossed his white mane in a hurt way.
Charlie smiled at her companion "Of course, Rohan." She patted his neck affectionately, and began to remove the traditional herald gear, the blue saddle with it's many bells, and placed the normal saddle that a bard would use. After she looked into his eyes, "Rohan, Dean will need to ride you, is that okay?"
Rohan pondered a moment:: It's seems it would be alright: he gestured with his head at Dean:: It's a pity he's not a herald.:
Charlie giggled, " But then how could we do missions like this one?"
Rohan whinnied his reply: That's what makes us so formidable, we do not work with just our own kind.:
Charlie wrapped her arms around Rohan's neck:: Now if only I could have you both…:
Dean tried not to be weirded out by this mental conversation with the horse, although Rohan was more than just any normal stead. It was the whole being connected so deeply with another creature that made him uneasy. Maybe that's why Charlie could never love him, he thought, she was already bonded too strongly to some one else.
He recovered his composure, " Have you finished you two? We still have a mission to complete if you don't mind." He walked forward and patted Rohan on the nose, "I apologize, sir Rohan, but I must ride you and not your mistress. It would look too odd if my assistant rode a finer stead then her Teacher."
Rohan nuzzled Dean, tossing his mane gently: He is considerate of the bonds of Herald and their companion:
: Are you already looking for a replacement for me: Charlie thought at Rohan with a sarcastic attachment. She handed the reins to Dean, "Be careful," she warned," If Rohan so much as makes one complaint about you, I will have to break the bond between you and what makes you a man." She smiled sweetly at him, "No pressure."
Dean took in a deep breath, "I believe you." Then he winked at her, "And that would only make my voice higher than it is already."
Charlie snorted as she mounted Dean's mule, "And we wouldn't want that now, would we."
Dean, already astride Rohan, quickly leaned over and kissed her lightly on the cheek, " Only say the word, deary, and I would do anything for you." He pulled away before she could slap him, or stab him; he wasn't sure which was worse.
Charlie, flushed to a crimson red, was already plotting a way to humiliate him, when Rohan sent a thought: He is a bold one:
Charlie smiled at the back of Dean's head, his brown black ponytail swayed as Rohan walked towards the town: But at times, that's what makes me the most frustrated, and what makes him my best friend: