Open The girl and the Sand Horse

[Lys]

Summer, 513, the 70th


For what it was worth, the sandy colored mare offered just enough shade to cool the girl's legs. This was enough to keep going despite the heat. They had long ago passed water and things were beginning to look hopeless. A dark haired girl, the age of eighteen, a woman really, glanced out at the open lands. Her mother had given her directions. You will not find it if you do not follow my directions exactly, she had said as her last words on a bed of grass and leaves. Lys shivered at the thought and her mare, Tempo, nudged her gently. She wasn't one to let a strange emotion from her girl go unnoticed or uninvestigated. Lys reached out a dry hand and let it linger on the mare's sweaty neck. Her bracelet, which sported round marbles of various stones; brown, grey, even green, slipped down her arm. It was her favorite, worn and coated with dust and fur. It made it all the more charming.

The mare heaved a sigh, bringing Lys from her previous thoughts to the present, which was where Tempo remained at all times. The landscape was much of the same; sand, grass, and more grass. Tall grasses, though, not the sweet, short grass of a lush meadow. Still it brought with it waves of emotions. Lys could feel it's gentle, unrelenting power. It had held her interest for long periods of her journey since the grass began appearing more and more. Tempo, even, had found it edible and didn't even bother at spooking at it's swaying movement. Now though, as the pair made their way down a rocky slope, albeit a gentle one, Lys was looking for somewhere to camp out until it cooled of. Poor Tempo, who despite being incredibly tough and persistent, was beginning to breathe heavily. Lys stopped under a thorny tree and unloaded the equipment that was tied up on her small horse's back. "There, now," she said, her voice soft and gentle. Never with an unkind manner would she approach her steed. No matter the bad mood she was in, it never came out on her horse. In return, the mare followed loyally and allowed the girl to ride without argument, a gift that Lys was grateful for each and every day. She sat down, leaning against her large bulge, which was all neatly wrapped in a plastic tarp her mother had traded for ages ago. That way, it was quick to remove everything from Tempo's back and just as quick to heave it back up.

"Here," Lys said, removing a cloth backpack from the twined bulge and digging through it until she found an apple, which was warm and had dark spots. She tossed it to Tempo, who took it from the ground and ate it gently, stepping over to nudge the backpack. She was used to getting what she desired, but now Lys frowned. Their food supply was running awfully low. Besides this, she had seen odd shapes last night in the sky near this area. A single rider and horse was easy prey, though it was also easier to hide. She just wished she would get to wherever she was supposed to be going. It was difficult to know when one has reached the end of a journey if they never knew where the final destination was, or what it looked like. A place to fit in, which to Lys was like trying to find a specific flower without a clear description of it. She wasn't sure what she was expecting but she was pretty sure a welcome party was out of the question. Still she had been expecting some sort of sign. This place she had entered early this morning seemed to be calling to her, but her confidence in her own abilities wasn't enough to go on. SO this was it? Traveling? Always wondering what her mother had been trying to show her? She didn't like the feeling.

[Naiya]

Rue

Rue rode Wildfire hard at a gallop for the space of four or five chimes leaving the tent city behind. It was stifling there, with the attacks becoming more frequent the tension levels in the city rose until Rue found herself going off to be alone more and more often despite the dangers it presented. This time her reason was tracking. She would ride out and find a trail, see if she could follow it until she found the creature it belonged to.

But first, she wanted to ride. She shifted her weight and her stallion slowed to a canter, the wind across the expanse of grass didn't cease and Rue was free to lose her self in the slow burn of the afternoon heat and the tossing, twisting motions of Wildfire's mane in the wind.

For a while they just rode this way, curving out and away from the city, but even in the bright light of day Rue did not want to fall too far from the city. Sooner than she would have liked she began to turn, slowing to a walk and searching for signs of prey in the grasses.

Surprisingly she found a trail rather quickly, heading further out into the Sea of Grass. The grass was trampled in a wide path, hoof prints showed in the ground and grass alike. She couldn't help but wonder where the horse had been off to. she walked around some, looking for paths from the rest of the herd, but there were none. It must have been a rider out alone.

That worried her.
It really wasn't safe out here these days, and while Rue was doing the same thing, she decided to go find the rider, they could head back together. Tracking wasn't important to her at this point, her ride had helped clear her mind and now she just wanted to find this person and return to the city.

Maybe it was because she was looking for someone now, or maybe it was her subconscious whispering about the likelihood of the rider still being alive, but all the same she grew slightly nervous, pulling her bow from her shoulder and fitting an arrow to the string. She held the bow low to the side, careful of her strider, but easily ready to aim and release.

She kept an eye out for the horse and its rider, as she followed their path, hoping they would be okay. They came to a high grade in the grasses and Rue tightened her calves and lifted herself off Wildfire's back, making the climb easier for him, but more difficult for her. She almost fell backwards off his back when he stopped suddenly near the top of the grade, her bow leaving her with little to grip mane with.

"What are you doing? Trying to knock me on my back?" Wildfire snorted and tossed his head, climbing the rest of the distance while Rue kept a hold of his mane. At the top she saw why Wildfire had stopped, not too much further off a horse stood in the meager shade of a tree.

"Hello?" Rue called out as she approached them at a careful pace, "Are you alright?"

Nightsong

[Lys]

Lys took her time reattaching the backpack to the rest of her supplies. She tied the rope around the handle and made sure the rope was tight around the opening so none of her precious supplies would slip out. Tempo was not satisfied with this. She chewed on the bag gently, her ears swiveling. "I know, but we gotta eat tomorrow too, you know." Lys said, as the mare reached out to snort warm air in the girls face. Lys blew back gently. Despite being lost she was glad that Tempo was here. She couldn't imagine having to take this journey on her own.

Lys surveyed the sky, noting the sun's position. The heat was beginning to be too much and the lack of trails gave hint to how little wanderers were actually out here. It made Lys nervous. But it wasn't until Tempo raised her head abruptly that Lys actually stood up. Tempo flicked her ears back before swiveling her head. Lys stared at the hill they had just come from but she couldn't make out anything. She pulled her stuff closer anyways, ready to pack up and leave if she had too. She also quietly removed the eating knife from her side, where it hug by a sliver of rope around her waist. She held it close, in case it was a rabbit or something more dangerous. After a moment of silence Tempo let out a soft nicker, which made Lys jump.

But now she could see what her mare had noticed. A horse and rider stood on the top of the small hill, glancing down at them, a bow in the riders hand. She slipped the knife behind her back, deciding she would rather not fight if she didn't have to. The pair started toward them and then the girl asked her a question. Tempo let out another neigh, louder, and shook her head. A black crow feather fluttered from her two-toned mane and landed by Lys' feet. She didn't make a move to pick it up though. "Hi," she called back, "I'm fine, just a little lost."

[Naiya]

Rue

Rue sighed in relief at the girl's response. She wasn't hurt, and her horse seemed to be in the same condition judging from its calls. Convinced of their safety she tucked her arrow away safely back in her quiver, but kept her bow in hand, still feeling slightly spooked.

Rue slid off Wildfire's side, closing the remaining distance between them on foot, wildfire staying within easy reach while Rue still held her bow. "I'm Rue," She said once she was close enough to be heard, "and I might be able to help. Where were you trying to go?"

The girl looked tired and red with the heat, and her horse didn't look much better. They must have been riding hard, or maybe just for a long time. Rue reached up to wipe sweat from her brow, she couldn't have looked too much better than the other girl, hair tousled from the wind and sweaty from her ride.

Nightsong

[Lys]

As the girl noticeably relaxed, replacing most of her weapon, Lys did the same. Once her knife was back in its spot, she offered the girl, who introduced herself as Rue, a polite nod. "I'm Lys," she replied as beside her Tempo fidgeted, uneasy with the strangers.

"I'm not sure where I'm going exactly," she admitted with a blush, which was mostly lost on her already red face. "My mother, she said she knew of a place where others like me lived. She called it a safe haven but besides that I don't know what I'm looking for." She touched a sweating palm to her mare to quiet her dancing and then remembered one more thing she figured she ought to mention. "Sea Grass," She said softly, pausing. That didn't seem right; this wasn't exactly a sea. Then she finished with, 'Sea OF Grass, maybe. Have you heard of it?'

She studied the red haired girl for a moment. She looked about as hot as Lys felt. She figured she belonged somewhere, reasoning that somehow being a lone wanderer didn't seem to fit the girl. She was about the same age, and with a horse of her own, which Lys let her eyes slide over to. It was a beautiful horse, and obviously loyal by the manner in which he stuck nearby. Lys' own horse continued staring at the unknown horse. Lys wondered if Tempo missed her familiar lands and small groups of horses she had used to run off to play with for hours on end.

[Naiya]

Rue

Rue couldn't help the small smile that crossed her features, "Well, Lys, it's nice to meet you, but I think you might be a little off in your search. You've made it to the Sea of Grass, but it's not exactly a place to stay." She looked up towards the sky almost paranoid now that the thrill of running off had faded. "Maybe you are looking for the city, though. Endrykas. We roam the sea as a people, and it's about as safe as you can get in the Sea of Grass... usually anyway."

She was surprised the girl had made it so close without detection, usually they would have sent someone to intercept anyone who wandered the grasses. All the same, it wouldn't hurt anyone to take the girl back to the tent city.

"I was just going to head in, if you'd like I can show you the way?"

Nightsong

[Colt]

Summer had reached and passed its zenith, and it was easier to imagine that maybe, just maybe the backbreaking heat had eased a degree or two. For his part, Shahar had opted to go about his usual routine as quickly as possible, setting and resetting traps where he could. He made sure that his snares were hidden, not from animals, but from eyes that looked from above.

The city was on edge. The Zith presence was known now, and felt like the eyes of a lion on the back of an antelope. Though no one said it—a Drykas’ pride was far too steeled for that—it was a knowledge that haunted the hunter’s mind with chilling foreboding. The storm of spring. The plague of winter. Too many of the horseclans had fallen to disaster already. If they were struck again… no. No, that was too much to worry about. At least for now.

He came upon a snare he had set the night before, a lean hare in its noose. It struggled at his approach, but the thin wire held it fast. He snapped its neck cleanly, reset the trap and whistled for Akaidras. He’d no intention of staying away from the city longer than he had to.

Because even he had not escaped the dread that clutched at the people. Every movement of Endrykas saw his camp a little closer to the many, and his mornings with Khida were always spent with one eye cautiously turned to the sky.

The stallion appeared with haste, as uneasy as his rider about even the small distance they had put between themselves and Endrykas. Shahar secured the hare to the yvas, and he was about to swing onto the horse’s back when something caught his eye: a trail. Wait, no… two trails. Caution raised, Shahar bid Akaidras stay and moved to examine the break in the grass closer. The first had been made some time before by a horse, with prints heavy enough to suggest both a rider and equipment on its… her back. He was certain that the prints were female. The steps were close together, so they had not been going very quickly. That, as well as the extra weight, suggested that the horse and rider were travelers. Were they Drykas? They had to have been, to survive so deep in the Sea of Grass, but the path had not come from Endrykas and neither was it going towards Endrykas. That certainly left the hunter confused.

The other, however, was a bit easier to define. A male horse, burdened by rider but not by excessive equipment, with strides that were long and definitive. A quick pace, more recently, so he had to assume that it had been following the first trail.

It was here that the hunter began to feel concern. Two Drykas moving so far away from the city invited trouble, no matter how skilled they were. The Zith menace had been increasing steadily since its inception; were these riders mad, to dance so closely with Dira?

A strange mangle of concern, fear and extreme annoyance took him then, pulling him back onto Akaidras’ back and wheeling the strider to face the trail. The stallion whickered in alarmed confusion to remind his rider that where they were already was not safe, and that to venture even farther into the Sea was unspeakably foolish. Shahar patted the beast’s neck in reassurance—not that it really did anything to reassure him—and bid him along the path. Akaidras resisted, and after the first few strides attempted to suddenly turn around, but Shahar continued to press him; there were others out here, and that meant that there were other Drykas that could very possibly be in extreme danger.

[Lys]

Well, this was Lys' lucky day. Not only had she made it this far but the girl she had found was nice and her smile was a bit infectious. Though Rue's nervous glance to the sky was also a bit infectious. Plus, "not exactly a place to stay" didn't sound very reassuring. But when she spoke again a word came up that Lys recognized. It had been lost, buried down with all the other things she had learned but not quite remembered.

"Endrykas!" she said, a brighter look on her face than she had worn in quite a while. "That name sounds familiar, actually." Beside her, Tempo had gotten curious enough to wander out a bit, leaving the shade to munch on the grass, one ear facing the other girl's horse and one ear on Lys. At Rue's offer Lys finally let a real smile spread on her face. "Really? No one will mind?"

This place wasn't exactly a forest of rabbits and fruit and Lys didn't want to intrude on them. Still, she didn't want to stay here come nightfall and get a better look at whatever she had seen from a distance the night before. It was then that Tempo lifted her head, taking a quick step back in a spook. Lys didn't like how uneasy the mare was, but she didn't blame her; these were unknown lands with unknown dangers that seemed to be lurking everywhere. But Tempo seemed to be doing more than just natural nervous horse antics, it appeared that she had heard something.

[Naiya]

Rue

Rue watched the mare shy, obviously startled by something. Her eyes flicked quickly to Wildfire, he stood still, keeping Rue's quiver in her easy reach, but his flicked in the direction of the sound that the two girls could not yet hear.

Almost without thought Rue had her bow in hand and an arrow nocked pointing in the direction of whatever it was that had startled the horses. Wildfire nudged her left side with his nose, just a touch, letting her know that he had moved to keep her quiver in reach of her hand.

"We shouldn't be out this far." Rue spoke softly, listening for sounds of approach, "We should have left the moment I arrived." She cursed softly then spoke again. "Tack up, get ready to move." Her words were a command and left little room for argument, she didn't know the girl, didn't know what use -if any- she would be, so it was best for her to just get out of the way.

All too quickly she could hear the sounds of approach, but she was no hunter and hadn't the ear to distinguish what made the sound. All she knew was that whatever it was was blocking their path back the the tent city. So she waited, bow in a half draw, eyes focused on the top of the rise, and hoped that the girl behind her was listening.

Nightsong

[Colt]

The stallion broke into a jagged canter, though it was really only his rider’s urging that kept him there. Akaidras, too, could feel the danger they invited by venturing so far, but Shahar couldn’t let him turn around, not until he knew that the two Drykas would be coming back with him.

The trail was fresh now, very fresh; they couldn’t be more than a few minutes ahead. With this in mind, he bid Akaidras to greater speed; he wanted to get this over with quickly.

The massive strider and his Drykas rider crested one of the low hills and Shahar caught sight to the two horses he had been following. A sandy mare and an ochre-colored palomino were eyeing them warily, and between them were two young women—one with an arrow already nocked in her bow. And that one looked familiar.

He paused, narrowing his eyes at the two, and after a few moments spurred towards the one with the bow. He remembered her.

We are Drykas together, he greeted, movements hurried. Worry and irritation were both in the way he sat upon his horse and in the quickly-gestured signs he gave to the archer-woman.

Worry, he said. Danger. Alone, foolish, must return. Too long already, much danger, return quickly.