Trees, trees, and more trees (open)

[Amina]

Day 45 of Summer, 512 AV

Amina was literally falling asleep on the saddle. She had been riding for hours and still hadn’t found anything even remotely interesting to see. Sure, traveling had its exciting moments, but most of the time it was just plain boring. Amina began to sway a little bit, her eyelids feeling as if they were weighted down, and she fought to stay awake. Finally she toppled over and landed gracelessly in a heap on the ground. Her horse, Yin, stopped walking and nudged her with his nose. Amina groaned. She sat up, much more awake than before, and eyed her horse carefully. Thankfully, he hadn’t been hurt by her clumsiness, but he looked down at her as if she were a fool. She smiled, happy that their relationship had come so far that he felt comfortable enough to give her a horse-glare. Just a few months ago he had been terrified of even letting her touch him, much less ride him, as his instincts clearly told him that she was a predator. Once she had made it clear, however, that she wasn’t going to make him into a meal, Yin had become increasingly more accepting of her. Recently he was even bordering on affectionate. She petted him gently on his nose as he leaned over to nudge her again. Amina sighed and stood up slowly, stiff from being in the saddle for so long. She dusted the dirt off of her cloak before grabbing her horse by the reins, and leading him into the woods.

After a few minutes she found a small clearing where she could camp for the night, but she was too tired to set anything up. Yin gave her a look for being so lazy, but Amina knew that he was just as worn out as she was. She unsaddled him and tied him to a nearby tree even though Yin wouldn’t wander, just to be safe. Then, one-by-one she brought the saddle bags with her up the tree, tying each one high enough so no thieves could get at them. Finally, she took out the bedroll and climbed to a point on the tree where two branches grew right next to each other. She curled up between them, wrapped snuggly in her bedroll, and gave in to sleep.

Crack. Amina’s eyes flew open. Someone or something was down there. Slowly she maneuvered herself until she could lean over and look below her, waiting for more signs of movement.

After several minutes of staring at absolutely nothing, Amina decided that she had just imagined it. It was probably just the remnant of a dream or something. She sighed with relief, before tying the saddlebags and bedroll around her waist, grabbing her staff, and climbing awkwardly down the tree with only three limbs. At the bottom, she undid the knots and let her saddlebags fall to the ground, placing her staff among her pile of things. Yin nickered at her, saying good morning. She smiled and walked over to him, before stroking his neck with her long-fingered hand. He seemed restless somehow, his ears pointing in different directions as his feet shifted uneasily. Amina continued to stroke him, speaking to him in a calming tone of voice, and wondering what was making him so agitated.

[Amina]

Day 46 of Summer, 512 AV

Amina felt absolutely disgusting. Her wrappings protected her, true, but they also kept a lot of her body heat in. Under the hot summer sun she was soon feeling it. Amina squinted up at the sun, glaring at it while guessing that it must be midday. She was damp with sweat and could feel it gliding down her pale skin, tracing pathways until being soaked up by her wrappings. This was the problem of the daylight world. Everything was so bright, and so damn hot all the time. Amina had grown up in the cool darkness of her home, but she knew that interacting with humans meant she had to stay out in the sunlight. She lifted her waterskin skin to her lips and was disappointed by the few drops left of water. Worried, the possibility that she might pass out from the heat actually crossed her mind. She needed more water--fast.

Amina slowed Yin with a gentle tug on the reins and closed her eyes, listening. After a few moments, Amina's brow furrowed in worry. She couldn't hear any water. Rivers were generally easy to hear when you're alone in the woods, but Amina just heard the singing of the birds above her. Wait a minute...birds! Amina squinted at the trees. All animals needed water, and birds meant that somewhere there was a water source. She turned Yin where the ground seemed to slant slightly down. Water always ran downhill, so this would be her best bet. Every few minutes she would stop to listen, hoping for the sound of water. After about the fourth time doing this, she heard it. A grin split across her face--fangs and all--and Yin sped up towards the sound. The trees ended in a clearing, through which a small stream ran. She let him drink and dismounted, before filling her waterskin and then drinking straight from her cupped hands. Amina splashed a little on her face and relished the feeling immediately. She stood up, looking to the woods around her. No one was around, and the water was just too tempting. After a moment of thought, Amina made her decision.

She took off her armor, laying it neatly on the nearby rocks. Then she began to unwrap herself. She started at her neck, working her way down her body and rinsing each section of cloth in the river next to her. Finally she peeled the last of the wrappings off her body and jumped joyfully into the river. Amina gasped at the cold water, but soon had gotten used to the temperature. The stream only went up to her hips, but she submerged herself in the water anyway, enjoying the fresh feeling. Amina stood, letting the water drip off her pale body, her hair draping down her back as it clung to her damp skin. She stood hip-deep in the water, her back to the clearing, and began to scrub the dirt of the road off her body.

[Rothyr Windbourne]

He caught the trail. After searching through the woods, he found a deer-trail, and after hours of searching, he found his quarry. The chase was on, he tried to keep up with the deer, while attempting to get on its flank to make a shot, but Rothyr still finds himself unused to riding in a wooded area, and more than a few times he only narrowly avoided running into a tree, though he did bump his head once on a low hanging branch, which he grunted a curse not out of pain, but his lack of attention.
Still he rode on, leaping across a stream following his prey, and to his luck it slipped! Rothyr wasted no time riding up on its flank, and hurling his ax at it. Fortune found him today, as the bit ripped into its flank, and he threw himself from the saddle upon it, using his knife to take its life. "I honor your sacrifice, my cloven-hoofed friend," He said as the creature quivered in its final breaths, "May you find your way to the other side." He bowed his head in respect for the buck, and as it finally died, he began to tie up the legs, and place it upon the saddle of his horse.
"With the pay I get from this haul, I may be able to get a decent bow!" He said to himself, then looking to his horse, "Then you won't have to run so far! How'd you like that, old friend?" Rothyr's horse, Windlass, nodded her approval. As he finished collecting his kill, draping it over the back of his horse, he re-mounted. "Best clean the kill somewhere closer to town, lest the smell of blood draws unwanted visitors, ey Windlass?"
Rothyr then began leading his horse and prize back towards the stream he had lept over, planning to follow it downstream back to town, hoping to leave no trail as the water would wash away any tracks and cover any scents, if fortune still favored them.

[Rothyr Windbourne]

He stopped his horse in the stream to allow it a moment to drink, the chase being long and arduous. Looking around for predators, he spied a Symenestra downstream, and rather than sit around and have to fight over his fresh kill, he rode swiftly for town.