[Sukina Geysers] In Search of Wonder (Weyliss + Sam)

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

"I'm getting mine," he protested, laughing. "Get your own!"

He was, in fact, collecting a bit of a supply of the root himself. One had to eat, after all, and if these plants sold for money, that meant food for him and for Horse.

Speaking of Horse, the witty animal bared its teeth at Weyliss as if the stallion knew he was thinking evil thoughts at him. Then he went back to cropping bits of greenery.

[Weyliss]

The warrior shuddered. horses.

Leaning down, he started to grasp at another plant.

I love you.

The warrior whirled, looking all about. He had heard.... her. Whe-

Shaking his head, the man sighed. Some things would not die. Would not rest. For a long moment, the man simply stood there. Staring into the distance. How long could he do this? He felt old. Far older then he should have.

Turning, he studied the other man. It wasn't that he felt the other man was younger, or inexperienced, or even less suited for the various things that Weyliss did. He simply had different experiences. Different goals. Weyliss found himself looking at a man, who didn't carry the weight of sin like he did. Murder. Sometimes, with people you could tell. It haunted them, being around a death, being around themselves in reflection. Wether it was guilt for inaction, or sorrow for the loss of a loved one. These where hard times. Sam seemed ...'bright' in almost direct contrast to himself.

Why did he do what he did? Why help people? Why take the mere pressures of surviving off of their shoulders? He found himself curious.

"Sam, if I gave you ten thousand gold miza's. What would you do? Not just with the money, with your life."

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

Sam blinked at the sudden question, then gave it a little thought as he pulled another plant free of the loamy soil at the bottom of the pool. He blew air through his lips and looked up to take in the sky rather than it's rippled, ruined reflection.

His ghosts were held at bay by years and distance, let the sunlight banish them, and night time laughter when Syna set for her rest. A whole sprawling extended family, massacred in one night, save him. Save him. Save me, he had so often prayed the the gods, even Dira at times.

An unutterable sadness crumpled his face, and he tossed the wet bush to Weyliss so he could turn away, ostensibly to find another specimen without ruining the balance of this pool.

"Oh, I don't know," he said, the cleared his throat to rid his voice of its sudden huskiness. Really, he wasn't a mess; the question had just come out of the blue and then memory had blindsided him. "Perhaps buy a stable, or build one. Breed horses, raise them, train them. But then we wouldn't be able to wander. I've never really thought about it, though. I've always just tried to survive, and keep Horse alive too. That's just the logical thing, I think, the stable."

[Weyliss]

Weyliss nodded. Nothing to say really. What had he expected with that question? The mind would find what it wanted to. In his case, he had been looking for a reason. In almost direct contrast, this man had never bothered with considering the future. Survival. That is why he did what he did. So that someday, people like Sam, could look ahead, they could love, family, a rewarding career, whatever it took.

Stuffing the plant into the pouch, the man yawned. Not much for it really. Times where hard, and not getting any easier.

Then he realized that Sam wanted to spend his life, near horses. More then one horse. As in ... multiple servants of Ivak. Truly this man had lived a hard life.

Blinking, he eyed the animal. What could people POSSIBLY see in such creatures? Grumpily the man spied another plant.

"On a different note, I think I'm almost done."

He grasped another plant and counted five total. Honestly, it was probably more then enough. He looked for some more.

"What sort of things do you trade anyway?"

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

"Whatever I find, really. Meat, furs, herbs... Trading riding lessons for other lessons at the moment, so whatever I have for whatever I need."

He stood up and stuffed a couple of root clusters into a game bag to take back to Syliras himself. Horse decided to chomp down on the greenery left behind. This gave Sam momentary pause, but Horse generally had a good idea of what he could safely consume.

"A ride on Horse for a tip on medicinal herbs," he added for Weyliss's benefit with a new smile.

[Weyliss]

Weyliss laughed. He had more then enough plants now, and with a smile he tugged the pouch filled with the plants away beneath the cloak.

"If you plan on selling them, remember, its a muscle relaxer. It will make you droopy and release all of the tightness or tension in the muscle. I was looking for it to mix with another herb, Kiln's Favor, in an effort to cure a paralyzed man. It would loosen all of his muscles up, and the Kiln's Favor would start to slowly energize those muscles again. The mage made it sound like putting out a fire, and then re-lighting it anew, with more firewood. So what you have can be sold as a cure for muscle spasms, strains, and other related injuries. I'm not a herbalist myself, I only know enough to add to my knowledge of medicines."

Approaching the other man, he gave the horse an unhappy look.

"Ready to head back?"

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

"Mix with Kiln's Favor," he said, memorizing this bit of herbalism. One never knew when it might come in handy, and certainly it would when trying to sell these roots to an herbalist in town. Nodding, the lore committed to memory, he got ready to go. But, noticing the man's dubious look, he cocked his head to the side curiously.

"Not keen on horses, are you? Not to worry. I can keep Horse calm and you in the saddle. I've been riding since I could walk."

That said, he vaulted easily into the saddle and offered a hand down to the man to help him mount. Horse's saddle was big enough that they could both sit him with relative ease, and Weyliss didn't look big enough to weigh enough to be a significant burden to the big windrunner.

[Weyliss]

Weyliss took the offered hand, pulled himself, up, and over the animal.

"On the contrary! I love horses...in bite-sized, charred, manageable bites. Preferably on the end of a stick."

Instead of looking up, or about him, the warrior looked down at the animal, hoping to judge wether it was about to hurl him by how the muscles moved. Blinking, the man looked up, regarding Sam, by leaning over a bit.

"...this one have a name?"

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

Sam had pulled Weyliss up in front of him and readjusted his seat for maximum comfort. The shorter man seemed nice enough, but Sam didn't want to make it easier for him to slip a knife into his ribs and steal Horse. Stunned a bit by the cannibalism joke, he shook his head to shake out the disturbing vision.

"Ahh, he's called Horse."

[Weyliss]

Weyliss blinked, looking back at the other man.

"H-Horse?"

Frowning, the man looked down at his companion's steed. Of all the things to name a horse...


"Listen, friend. You can't name a horse... horse. What if someone else starts shouting horse. What if you become famous? What if the damned thing has to talk to a lady horse?"

Baffled, the man faced forward, using the conversation to distract himself. In all honesty, the last time he had mounted a horse, things had gone badly...

Touching at his shoulder, Weyliss looked about as they started to move.