Closed Following Starlight

[Dante Starlight]

.
........The Animal Inside You, is no Match for the Demon Me...

1st Day of Summer, 515 AV

Dante listened to his footsteps rocking the beat to the melody the grass and winds made around him. The sun was high above him and hitting the green blades that caressed his walk with beautiful reflections. His swirling brown hair blew around him in the softness of the breeze and the warmth it carried kissed the skin of his travel worn cheeks.

A soft smile as the silence he was so familiar with etched itself slowly across his face as he continued on. Heading to another job down in Claridon, another person trying to escape the law. Hopefully not another person that was going to fight him, and the thought stole the small smile from his face as if it had never existed.

His eyes opened revealing deep green gems set into the countenance his soul. The read the Sea of Grass like a novel, seeing chapters and characters and stories brought to life against the canvas of green. He saw his friends as they played the drums against the warmth of their bonfire. Listened to the thrum of birds as they fluttered in the tress of Falyndar, and even heard the lullabies of the sea as the wind blew. Making the Sea of Grass reflect a storm of brilliantly green waves.

He kept his mind focused on that image for a while, just the picture of green against the canvas of hazy blue beyond. Not wanting to let anything from his past slip into the tranquility of this moment. The moments before someone from the horse clans would certainly find him, he was surprised they hadn't already. Actually, surprised was not a term he would use. Dante was happy that they hadn't come upon him just yet. Happy that for at least a while, he had been able to be alone without having to mask everything away, or test his emotions, or do anything other than just walk and keep walking.

He stopped a for a chime and took a couple of swigs from his waterskin. Now that he thought about it, he hoped they found him just so he could get resupplied. Answered by silence he gave himself a crooked smile. Dying of thirst, he thought, it would be something like that wouldn't it?

Shaking his head, he replaced his waterskin and continued walking.

"Myrian" | "Pavi"

[Amunet]

She wasn’t The Watch. She wasn’t a Hunter. The red hair was fluttering in the wind as the passionate girl road in that morning against the wild of the green. Those blue eyes matched the expanse of sky that met the equal expanse of green that was just as errant and free flowing as the girl’s heart. Her strider was a dark bay that reflected mahagony shine against the sun. it reflected her companion’s red locks that flowed behind her like some unspoken banner that here in laid the fire of the Drykas.

Neither the mare nor the carefree girl expected there to be a traveler as the mare suddenly startled and leaped off to the side having smelled the man. Amunet had to grip her thighs quickly and shift her weight with a relaxed motion of one who was born on the back of a horse. The mare and the girl looked straight at the object that caused the startle. Shetanae snorted out rather boldly at the man. Those blue eyes sparked with the same boldness and fearless quality as the brow furrowed to see if the man was friend or foe. The tall mare pranced in place as the halterless head tossed up and jutted her head up as if to challenge the man’s very presence to these lands.

One small hand calmed the mare as her head bowed to the diminutive companion on her back. She signed to the mare. ‘calm, guard.’ Then called out to the man,“You .. Lost?” She said it in Pavi forgetting that the stranger may not know it. She added in common “Hello.” Amunet was alright with the language but she went long spells without speaking it. She guessed as that was the most used language across the races of peoples of Mizahar. There was caution and hesitation as she kept a safe distance from the man. There was no obvious weapon other than a dagger at her waist that she took no effort to hide. The young Drykas woman tried to read the man’s face as she read the land for usable herbs or edibles. Only this wasn’t green flora or some shy flower. She found it difficult as discerning men especially was confusing.

[Dante Starlight]

.
........The Animal Inside You, is no Match for the Demon Me...

Dante

Dante felt the wind shift from blowing in his face to coursing up from behind him. Shoving his long brown hair in front of his visage. A pause as he slid a hand over the top of his head, overhearing the whining of a horse over on one of the hillsides ahead of him. The change of wind probably carrying his foreign scent to the mare as it shook its head defiantly at him.

The young girl riding on the unbridled steed stared at him like a book she couldn't understand the language of. From a top of the horse, she seemed confused as to why Dante had been there. She spoke Pavi to him, two words he thankfully understood before saying hello in the common of Mizahar.

Dante let his left hand fall slowly to the pommel of his sword hilt, resting his wrist flat and open against the weighted end. Something of caution, but he didn't feel threatened so did not feel the need to actually grasp his sword hilt itself. Simultaneously, he raised his right hand easily, his coat picking up as the wind caught the rising flaps.

"Not Lost, Thank you." he said in rough Pavi, trying to be as pleasant as possible even though he was sad to see the moment of isolation leave. He then continued in common, switching as she had done, and because it was also easier for him. "Are you from the horse clans?" he asked, his voice deep, like water over rocks as it flitted in the wind.

He remained as motionless as one could be, letting his right hand fall to his side as he waited for the young girl to respond. his eyes flickered between her and the waving grass, seeing if there were anymore around.

"Myrian" | "Pavi"

[Amunet]

He spoke both. Her blue eyes caught his green ones with a steady look. Moments passed as the wind danced with her red hair as it did with his brown. The hand that slowly drifted to a sword hilt gave her pause and she softly gasped. Did he really think she was a threat? The mare had a no nonsense way about her as she gave a warning sound to the man. The mare was very protective. Rider and strider looked about ready to bolt at a moment’s notice.

He wasn’t lost. Most strangers usually got lost in the sea of grass without a guide. The sea of grass was every changing and only those familiar with how it changed knew how to navigate. Amunet wandered if The Watch was aware of this stranger wandering through the grass or maybe they was allowing the sea to take care of this solitary person. The sea of grass was unpredictable as it was beautiful. It was much the same as the girl that was before him.

“Yes, I am with Horse clans.” It was obvious her common was passing good. “What brings you to Sea of Grass.” The curious girl had not moved from her spot, nor did she feel it safe to dismount and greet properly. She can be naïve about some things. This she was not a fool to not be cautious with strangers. The mare was a tall one. The wiry framed girl would seem dwarfed on the sixteen hand mare. The flaring snort continued to be cautious and uncertain about this stranger.

[Dante Starlight]

.
........The Animal Inside You, is no Match for the Demon Me...

Dante

Dante noticed the subtle reactions from both the mare and the young girl. The natures of them both, the eyes that stayed locked onto his own. Blue and beautiful, with a story of their own. For a moment, he pondered the possibility of reading that book. Memorizing the pages and looking for the typos in the script that made her who she was. Made her the young woman, daring to stand motionless before him.

"I am just passing through," Dante answered with calm politeness, "Hoping to find myself a horse. Some water if you have it to spare." His voice was not unkind, but it was laced with the tone that suggested not to many were kind in return. His whole demeanor screamed that simple ideal, and even reflected in the way his gaze fluttered from the girl to their surroundings.

"I don't mean any harm." he stated shortly as an after thought. For some reason he had an uneasy feeling there were more around. Even though he always had uneasy feelings about everything, there was no reason not to be careful about it. He did not know this girl, and though he had been through the lands of Cyphrus before many times, he was not as versed in the way the Sea of Grass seemed to forever change against him. Almost seemingly alive with the pretense that, whenever Dante was alone, the grass itself could do him in. Of course, it was always only after he had talked with lone riders such as the girl did the uneasiness fade. Letting him go on his way to whatever business he was attending. However, this trip was longer than the others. More of a suicide walk, but, weren't they all?

"Myrian" | "Pavi"

[Amunet]

She always had water with her. The girl made a face or two till she dismounted. Her kind always told her she had a big heart. “You should always take plenty of water with you.” The skein of water looked to be recently filled. “Here. I can find more.”

The herbalist girl was five foot four and looked up into his eyes. Those blue eyes could hold the very sky that was cast above them or it could hold the lightning that peeled across the storms. There was life and heart in those eyes. “The amethyst clan usually has horses for sale outside of Endrykas. “ Those horses who are of low quality in the standards of striders or they were acquired breeds elsewhere for whatever reason. Those that raid into the grasslands or travel often disappear. There mounts often going wild. The amethyst clan catches these wild mounts now and again to increase their stock as those mounts that survive the wilds of the sea of grass prove to be strong and breed their strength into the strider strain. The lord of thunder blessings being on those that survives in the eyes of the Drykas.

“I am Amunet. Who are you?” Those schooled in these sorts of things would have probably cautioned her from giving her name, but she isn’t. The red head offered her name as an olive branch. The girl smelled of herbs, flowers, horses and sweat. She wore a bit of the flora in her hair as she is often out foraging. The errant strands danced around her face in the same passion that she speaks.

She looked behind her as surely The Watch would be aware of strangers. “Be careful approaching the city, They will know if they don’t already. “ Her eyes off of the stranger she left herself open to a lot of actions in her naïve way.

[Dante Starlight]

.
........The Animal Inside You, is no Match for the Demon Me...

Dante

Dante's eyes opened a bit wider as the young girl spoke, dismounted and headed towards him. An action he thought would never occur to an outsider within the Sea of Grass. She spoke about the horses the were the Endrykas traded beyond the Sea of Grass, and as she came closer, handed him the skein of water.

Dante's deep green eyes could not look away from her blue ones. When she had dismounted of her mare, he had believed that maybe more had come. His eyes quickly scanning about him, but found nothing as she closed the gap between them. The winds breeze died down just enough so that it seemed to blow in from every direction, kicking her sweet scent in Dante's direction.

He breathed in the warmth of her skin, the softness of her touch as their fingers gently nudged each other as he accepted the skein. The smell of flowers that radiated everything that made her beautiful and rare spiraled around her like a wild flower in a storm of dandelions; and she was rare, and looking into the ocean before him, her blue eyes became their own modest jewel.

"I am Amunet. Who are you?" she spoke in common once more. Her eyes reflecting everything that made up the sounds of her voice. There was trust there, something that Dante was ultimately unfamiliar with. Even though it may not have been the trust that one would have for a friend, Dante felt the storm of his own green eyes quiet against the calm of blue pressed against them.

"Are you not afraid...?" he asked in Pavi slowly, trying to remember the few words he did know. Staring at Amunet with a sea of green that fluttered between confused storms and passionate desire at the feign of acceptance. Why would this warmth dare stand so close to the cold? They were less than an arms length away and Dante almost felt the urge to close that gap, to erase the space between as feel what this warmth would be like if he braced it against him. Trying so hard as the moment ticked on to mask the tragedies everyone rooted themselves in. Even a half mask would do, anything that would hide the demons in himself to this little creature that didn't flee away from the scar roaming the Sea of Grass.

"Myrian" | "Pavi"

[Amunet]

When he asked her if she was afraid the red head laughed softly and smiled that lit up like the sun. “What is it I have to be afraid of?” Slipping into Pavi as the quick mind did note his slow and broken Pavi. The signs came with ‘home, known, all around’ Her fingers danced gracefully. Her mare was at her elbow. He seemed hesitant and cautious. Well she couldn’t blame him as times such as they are, everyone seems to be tense and anxious. Strangers proved to be a danger more often than not. She found it hard to believe that all strangers there in are all bad. That just didn’t sound right.

“Rak’keli teaches that all people deserve to be healed. Water can quench a thirst and ease a mind if nothing more than that which it is offered in as much as it is for peace.” Those blue eyes looked up into his again. He was very close but she didn’t seem to pay much heed to it. The Drykas didn’t pay heed to personal space too much. The couple of feet that was between them seemed to suffice proprietary needs in as much as the young lady knew.

“You, a long way from home?” Though he didn’t offer a name she thought of asking other questions to get more from the man. He was a man for surviving such a walk through the sea more or less in one piece. The heart beat strongly beneath her chest. Her slight movements spoke of a natural grace. The fire in her soul sparked in those blue eyes seeing the ice that had caged the inner self of this wayward traveler. Those eyes of hers narrowed in thought as compassion crossed those small features of her face. A hand did dare to reach for the face unafraid, unabashed in its raw unadulterated state in a quest to know why. Why was he cold and so buried? No one should be caged like that. In her young mind that had yet to have those icy thorns cage away those parts of a soul that most people do to protect their heart from further harm. He was alone. So alone that it had circled around the very center of his being and solidified it to an unfeeling wretched person that simply existed.

The girl pulled her hand back as she uttered the simple soft words. “I’m Sorry.” That was for lack of anything else to say. Her perception born of intuition and the caring of people lent her a unique perspective.

[Dante Starlight]

.
........The Animal Inside You, is no Match for the Demon Me...

Dante

Dante listened to her explanations, noting the mare at her shoulder a bit as he eased into the situation. Steadying his breathing and keeping his eyes only on her own. As she spoke about healing and minds and peace, Dante's own conscious drifted into the solemn memories that clouded his countenance. The scene before him flickering between lush greens and burning reds. He saw her lips move, and just her voice asking him a question came ticks after.

Before he could stop her, the young girl had crossed the small gap between them and touched his face. Her skin was warm and soft against his cheek, and yet his eyes were immediately drawn to hers like a caged wolf cornered. It wasn't intentional, it was reaction. Years upon years of blood ridden experiences that forced deep blue eyes to become thrown behind locked bars. Where the cold steel breaks only when something gets to close to unlock the door.

The door was open, and her hand still rested on her face, and Dante fought the urge to grab at her hand. His right arm shook from restraint as it remained forced to his side. The very breath from his lungs was still as he gazed down upon green eyes that seemed to peer straight through his soul. Her perception was incredible, if she was in fact reading the fabrics of his soul. His mind raced to look for the signs in her body language, the twitching of fingers, the bulge of clothing. Though she carried her dagger there was no notion to retrieve it.

The small amount of time that had spanned between her touching his face and removing her hand was only a few ticks. Though it seemed like a millennium of tiny moments wrapped into scarlet flames enveloped around smoldering blue fire. She breathed sparks into him, those deceptively blue eyes stretched even deeper into the ocean that made them up. Almost drawing him in as she retreated away, apologizing. The door to the cell closed, and the demons slept again.

In the aftermath of the touch, she seem to stand there as if she had done something wrong but unsure of what it was. She was so young, and had Dante been another stranger maybe she would be in graver trouble. Swallowing hard, he pushed passed the lump in his throat and spoke to her as warmly as he could. It sounded fake but, honest enough.

"There is no need to apologize for following your own notions," he started looking towards the expanse of grass around them, unable to talk while looking dead at her. Slipping back into common as he did not know the words to continue speaking Pavi, "If you didn't, you might as well not even be alive. Our hearts are all we have."

Hypocrite, he thought slowly to himself as he finished. He meant it, but he had a tendency to play devils advocate to his own reasoning. There was something about this girl. Shaking his head he let the smallest of smiles appear on his face. It was obvious his face was not accustomed to the stretch.

"My name is Dante." he answered her finally, bowing his head. His right forearm crossing his waist slow and firmly in the politeness his mentor had taught him years ago.

"Myrian" | "Pavi"

[Amunet]

Amunet was unaware of these demons. The fiery soul that ran the grasslands as her playground tilted her head at his words. There was a gentle huff and a soft growl of agreement at his words. The girl looked away from him as her eyes graced the waving green that moved with the ebb and flow of time and tide of the winds.

“Dante.” The girl let that name roll on her tongue a moment or two before looking at him making a decision. If the Watch found him, they might not be too kind as they grill strangers rather strongly. “Come.” She said as her hand waved him to the side of her Strider.

“The Watch will probably meet us a bit outside of the city. Once there you will have to explain yourself as best as you can. The sea of grass can be unpredictable.” The nurturer in her could not leave this stranger, who was no longer a stranger, out here with little to nothing in the way of defense. Sure he has a sword but there was more out here that would eat a warrior alive.

She would help him mount Shetanae who she had to give succinct commands in Pavi to keep still. Once settled up on the girl smoothly went up behind him. “hold onto these.” As she directed him to hang onto the handles, her arms wound go around his waist to keep him centered and the mare was soon running at a smooth canter. The mare had no bridle, yet she maneuvered the strider with the barest nudge of leg pressure and heel pressure. Once he was more or less settled, the mare opened up into a loose run.

It was a couple of bells they ran towards a direction. Amunet shifted a little bit of the direction now and then with no apparent reason or nothing discernible. Her body moved with the striders as music in motion. As predicted The Watch met her a mile or so out of the city.

“Amunet…” The man looked upward. “so bringing home strays this time instead of herbs?”

The girl shrugged. “This is Dante, He was on foot and needed water. Thought to give him a ride as he wanted to buy a horse. “ The girl said innocently and rather pointedly.

“Amunet, you can't be so trusting.” Bayon put his hand on the guards shoulders as he came into view. He went quiet.

“We have it from here Amunet. Go home and we will bring our visitor into the city.” Bayon’s tone was kind but firm. He was constructive but gave the impression there was no argument.

Amunet nodded. “yes, sir. “ Once she helped Dante down from the Strider. The girl looked at Dante as she gave him an encouraging smile. “Blessings to you Dante.” She waved goodbye towards as she road on towards Endrykas.