Lost In The Sea of Grass (Open)

[Flye]

Season of Spring, Day 44, 511 AV

Flye opened her eyes, to find her face resting in a forming pool of water. Her body felt cold, and numb, but she could still feel the slight pressure of small rain droplets tapping on her skin. Her head hurt awfully, and she was tempted to shut her eyes and go back to sleep, but realized she wasn't breathing.

She lifted her head, and took a sharp intake of air. It was a relief to have air refill her lungs, but she felt so weak. Lifting herself up on her forearms, she glanced around. She was surrounded by very tall grass. Looking up, she saw the a very steep hill. It looked almost unclimbable. 'What...happened?' She pushed herself up until she was in a kneeling position. She could feel the dirt caked in her hair and body, looking down at her arm, she saw the faintest hint of blood.

Her hand came up to rub at the side of her head, "I was...going to Endrykas..." She pulled her hand back, revealing even more blood, but she couldn't find the energy to panic. She was with someone, wasn't she? Yeah. She looked around still dazed, "Mokin?" The boy was no where in site.

She was alone.

She swallowed softly, finally deciding to stand. Though, it was not without difficulty. She was dizzy from the loss of blood, and that fall had left her body sore. She barely avoided falling, when he knees buckled.

She clenched her eyes shut. She felt no broken bones, but she was in pain. She straightened her stance, doing all she could to keep her balance. To her left, a few feet away, layed her bag, her clothes and items strewn out across the ground.

She limped over to it, and carefully placed them all back into her bag, before resting the strap on her shoulder. She though to herself. Endrykas was in the east, and east was...that way. She looked in the eastward direction. Barings found, she took a deep breath, and began her long limping journey. Nothing was going to stop her from finding a life for herself.

[Erzotol Silverden]

Erzotol journeyed out on the grass, dutifully scouting ahead for his rather odd present party, looking out for any signs of monsters and travelers nearby. At least this was how he would justify his disappearance when he returned to the camp around midday. In truth Erzotol just needed to get out, stretch his legs, and spend some bonding time with his horse. He had spent two whole days with the woman and pycon, and while he enjoyed all the newness of the situation the strangeness of his new friends would take some time to get used to.

As ever he enjoyed these early morning rides, and was more relaxed than alert but he never took his eyes off of his surroundings. It wouldn't due to be caught unawares in the Sea of Grass after all. Life was harsh, but it was rewarding as well he thought to himself with a grin.

That smile quickly disappeared however when he saw someone limping ahead of him, some distance away. Urging his horse gently, they galloped towards the figure, him eventually coming alongside what upon closer inspection, appeared to be a woman.

Hopping down easily from the yvas, he landed on the ground softly, and he walked towards the girl. "Milady, how badly are you hurt?" he asked trying to get a better look at her wounds. She looked pretty banged up, and dirt smeared her features. Even under the caked dust however, she still looked very pretty and fair. If she looked like this filthy as she was, wonder what she might look like all cleaned up he mused, before shaking the thoughts out of his head and turning his mind to the task at hand.

Thinking that she might be rather hungry, and thirsty, he undid his water skin from his belt, and handed it to her before rummaging through his backpack. A then produced half a loaf of bread and handed that to her, a little disappointed in himself that he did not have more to offer her at the moment.

[Flye]

Flye couldn't even explain the relief that washed over her when a man came riding up to her on a horse. She had half expected it to be the Drykas whom she had been traveling with, but this rider was unfamiliar. She regarded him with a sweet, but weak smile, "Not badly, sir. Nothing that will not fade with the day." The smile faded when the man handed her food and water, "Oh, no. You don't have to. I'm not worth such troubles."

She tried to offer the food back to him, but realized he would not take it back. She looked down out it, but the sudden change in head posiions was a little much for her, and made her dizzy. With an awkward step back, she landed on her bottom, but refused to drop the food and water.

She sat there for a moment, wondering vaguely how long she had been asleep for. As soon as she had enough barrings on the goings on around her, she apologized to the man, "Sorry. I think I hit the ground pretty hard when I landed."

[Erzotol Silverden]

Erzotol frowned slightly when she offered him his offerings back, and all he could do in response was cross his arms and refuse to accept them back. After all it was his way of helping her, and an expression of generosity on his part. No force would ever make him accept back what he freely offered; his pride wouldn't stand for it.

Suddenly the woman before him seemed to go off balance, but she fell to quick for him to catch her, so he ended up nearly falling over himself in his attempt to grab her. He manages to right himself just in time however and straighten his posture before too much attention could be attracted to him. With any luck the woman before him didn't notice his little awkward dive, and all would be well. Offering his hand out to her to help her up he gave her a warm smile. " How, may I ask did you come about to be hurt and lost all the way out here? " he asked with a hint of concern in his voice that did not belittle her but instead sounded more compassionate.

He pulled her up to her feet gently, and then stepped back to let her dust herself off. " I’m afraid I have little skill in the way of healing, but your injuries look shallow enough to treat in Endrykas, or back at my pavilion if you would prefer " he added. Back at his family’s tent, all he could offer her was a chance to clean her wounds up, but at least that was better than what he could offer her hear, running so bare on supplies as he was. He was due for a checking in with his family anyways, and the visit would be good for him, but he was fine for going to Endrykas as well, as he could refresh his supplies at very little expense there as well.

[Flye]

Flye gave him a greatful smile, "Thank you." Dusting herself off, she took note of his question. "I was traveling...with a man, and...I'm not really sure what happened." The horse we were on got spooked, and I remember getting thrown off...and strange screams. They were horrible." Her eyes became distant in recolection, but it did not last long. She shook her head, "I don't know how long I was asleep. A day or two maybe. Or that's what it feels like."

She lifted the water skin up to her mouth, and listened to him speak, but she really only seemed to hear one thing. She almost choked on the water, "Endrykas?" Her eyes widened, and she couldn't help the wide smile that formed on her lips. "That is where you journey?" She felt a sudden wave of joy wash over her. She shut her eyes, silently thanking the gods, "That's perfect..." She still had a chance.

[Erzotol Silverden]

" Sounds like quite the nasty encounter " Erzotol murmured looking around to see if whatever had spooked the rider and horse was nearby. Thankfully by all appearances it wasn't, but it wasn't wise to stay in one spot in the wilds for long. Taking in a deep breath of the cool air of the morning, he returned his steady gaze back towards her and offered a slight smile.

"Endrykas it is then, I have business there as well" he said smiling and looking out to the horizon. With the crude skills he possessed at navigation, he made his attempt at refiguring the direction towards the encampment. His previous group had already been heading in its direction, so he knew the general location, but with all the talk with the young woman he had nearly lost in which direction he was supposed to be heading. Gazing out all along the horizontal land, he began to get a tingling sensation through his body, that he had recently started feeling when he concentrated on finding a location. He smiled to himself and assumed this was the right direction to go. Since it was spring it would be near the coastal city of Claridon, which thankfully wasn't more than a three day ride from their location.

Sliding over to Airaiet, he stroked the beautiful horse's mane and smiled. " I suppose that you are familiar with riding? " he asked, his usual question when taking on riders. After all he did want the ride to be uncomfortable for whoever wished to ride with him, or more importantly his beloved horse. He laid his head briefly against its powerful neck, becoming attuned with its steady breathing, before climbing onto the horse and securing himself in his white yvas.

Erzotol sat easily in his dyed leather yvas, and glanced back over to the woman extending his arm to help her up. " We’ll make better progress, and stay safer if we ride " he said with a smile.

[Flye]

Flye looked at his hand hesitantly, still spooked from the last ride she had been on. Taking a few breaths, she pushed her fear aside, and shakily took his hand, which seemed so much larger than hers in comparison. She used his strength and her own to pull herself up. She was not a person who rode very often, but she couldn't help to smile at the irony of it all.

Getting comfortable on the seat, she situated her body close to his, and wrapped her arms around his waist tightly. Just in case she were to fall off. She couldn't help it when her head came to rest tiredly on his back. "I'm ready."

Of course, she was lying, but like he said. They could not stay in one place for very long. She shut her eyes, and waited for the man to press on. Suddenly she perked up, "Excuse me sur, but...what is your name?"

[Erzotol Silverden]

He waited patiently in his seat for the few moments it took her to get comfortable, and reflexively spread his arms so she could get a better grip on his waist. After hearing of her recent tumble, he wasn't surprised by her need to feel secure. Safety was never a issue when riding with him, so she needn’t have worried, but he sympathized with her case as he'd probably feel the same way where the roles reversed.

" I am Erzotol Silverden of the Diamond Clan, and what may I ask is your name miss?" he asked warmly, as he gently spurred his horse on into a trot, and urged it to gradually increase its speed. Her body felt warm against his back, and with the extra rider it took him a few moments to get into the rhythm of riding. He hadn't taken on another rider ever before, so this was a bit new to him, but he decided to keep this a secret from the woman holding on to him. No reason to cause her to worry any more than she has to after all he thought biting his lip.

He hoped his horse understood the situation, and he was sure he did. Airaiet was strong and kind steed, and someone he always knew he could depend on so he rested assured that his horse could get them where they needed going. Soon they were in a full gallop, and the grass began to zoom past them. Erzotol would wait for his horse's nudging, before he finally decided to break for camp, and he suspected that he wouldn't need a rest for a few hours. Not to long a time, hopefully not too long for her he thought as they rode quickly through the grass.

"We will break for camp in after a few bells, then I’ll see what I can do about those wounds" he said over his shoulder, not entirely sure if she heard him, or if she was sound asleep.

After midday sun had begun to sink in the sky, he finally decided to stop and break for camp. The shallow grassy dip in the grasslands afforded some protection from the continual winds, as did it from any predators that might be looking out over the plains for easy to find prey. Smoothly dismounting first, he looked up at the woman, and helped her down gently, before unstrapping the yvas off of his strider and allowing him to graze in peace. "Well here we are, I don’t have much in the way of a tent or anything, but I suspect that this place will be as good as any to try and ruff it for the night. If you'd like us to try and find somewhere better, I'd be more than happy to grant your request" he said turning back to look at her.

[Flye]

"Flye. My name is Flye Albridge." The ride was long and tiring, and Flye couldn't help but doze off right in the middle of it. She had awoken to Erzotol's voice, and was informed that they had a place to rest. He had helped her down from the horse, and now she stood, taking in the sight of their stopping point. He had continued to speak to her, and offered to find a better place to stay, but Flye would not have it.

She shook her head, still finding it hard to walk. She was still tired from falling asleep during the ride, and that didn't help her situation any. She walked around a bit, stretching her legs, "I would not have you run all over this place and get yourself hurt on my account. This place is perfect."

Walking over to a fairly dry bit of land, she sat down, and watched Erzotol's horse graze. Behind it, was the slowly dropping sun, making a beautiful sight to behold to anyone. Flye's golden eyes shimmered with the sun, as she watched. Horses were truly majestic creatures.

[Erzotol Silverden]

He bowed he head. " It is as you say miss " Erzotol said in a soft voice before turning back and taking off his pack to rummage through it. He sighed softly when he realized he didn't have any cloths in his pack, but thinking on his feet he discreetly pulled out a razor from his back and cut of a pair of thick strips from both ends, trying to make them as even as possible. Erzotol carefully replaced the razor in his backpack, grab his bar of soap, and tucked the ends of his pants in his boots, before heading over to the woman.

As he approached her, he took a brief detour to pick up his water skin, and then kneeled on the grass before her. "I don’t have much in the way of medical supplies, but I managed to scavenge what I could he explained, as he unstoppered the water skin and poured a very small amount of it on a neatly folded square of tan cloth. He then stoppered the water skin and then took a pinch out of the bar of soap, rubbing it thoroughly into the cloth. Carefully, so he wouldn't hurt her to bad, he wiped her forehead, cleaning away the dirt from the crisscrossing of tiny cuts that she had on her smooth skin. "Tell me if it hurts too much" he said as he wiped down the rest of her face and neck like he did her forehead. After her finished with that he discarded the top cloth, and then leaned over on his side to get a better look at the wound on the back of her head. It was a small gash, but it had matted bits of her hair together, and could become infected if not cleaned well enough. He then took another pinch of soap, and turned his attentions to the wound, carefully wiping away the dried blood clinging to her hair and skin, and then with all the gentleness he could muster, he cleaned the wound itself, and was relieved to see that it had already begun the beginning stages of healing itself. Satisfied that he had done what he could, he discarded another strip, and handed two slightly damp strips over to her.

" I did what I could, I’ll leave you to clean your body " he said, and then blushed slightly as if the suggestion embarrassed him. He then got up in a rigged motion, his movements seeming awkward as he walked back over to Airaiet. Erzotol grabbed up a brush from his bag and started gently brushing the horse’s coat, while thinking about the woman.