The pair of riders moved out towards the Sea of Grass, the pace slow and steady. Taurina knew the other girl and her strider were likely capable of going much faster than they were -even when surrounded by so much heat- and felt at fault for the crawling strides they were taking. It was not even Melody’s fault, the colorsplash was capable of going much faster than they were, instead it was completely Taurina’s doing. She was unknowing and cripplingly slow. Her hands gripped at the handle on the yvas and Melody’s mane so hard that her already pale knuckles turned a deathly shade of white. Why fear gripped her so tightly she did not know, but it did and she was unable to bury it.
The heat surrounding them was suffocating and the sweat it created caused the clothe’s on Taurina’s back to stick to her. She was uncomfortable and growing weary, Melody likely was as well. Such a trek probably was not very good on either horse, but they kept moving. The Eth was unsure of how much longer they would go and how much more the horses could take, but she kept her mouth shut for the time being. There was not even anything to say for it was what it was. Nothing either rider could do about it but keep moving for the time being.
Taurina was only distracted from the misery the heat created when Jasmine’s horse began to move, lunging forward into a trot. It had likely tired of this horrible slow pace Taurina knew was her fault for setting. Melody rose her head at the sudden difference of pace set by the other horse, her own step picking up. Melody was brought back down to the pitiful walk quickly, however, for all of Taurina’s muscles tensed and her heels dug into the mare’s sides. Melody slowed easy and Taurina calmed, everything back to how it was just in time for the order to stop for a moment came from the other woman’s lips. Taurina recognized the signs given directed towards her and simply nodded as she directed Melody to a stop.
It seemed as though they were just sitting there for several chimes, not doing anything. Taurina watched the other girl curiously, facing her back so she was unable to see the glow of Jasmine’s mark and wonder what it meant. Instead Taurina just staid still and watched the land surrounding them. She was relaxed in the yvas, but within herself she was very tense. If danger stumbled upon them she knew she would be in trouble and trouble was never a good thing to be in.
The silence came to an end soon and while fear still remained, it broke up and dispersed. Only smaller shards of it remained lodged in the back of Taurina’s mind. She was told that the horses needed to rest and that (while Taurina had no idea how the other girl knew) there were boulders for them to go to the left. The Ethaefal just signed her acceptance of the situation and trusted the other girl to lead. Perhaps it was a Drykas thing that told her where the boulders were or perhaps something else entirely. Taurina did not know, but it was too hot to ask questions. Maybe later, after they had rested.
Relief washed over the Ethaefal rider when the boulders came into view for she was drenched in sweat by this point and looked forward to some relief that both her and Melody would enjoy. The time it had taken to get to the boulders had been far too long, but that had again been Taurina’s fault with the stupidly slow pace. She felt bad for the Drykas woman and her strider. Both were likely wishing to be going much faster, but had staid at the slow pace for the beginner that was with them. Taurina was grateful for that, but still felt the weight of guilt.
After they reached the boulders, Taurina got off her mare and loosened the straps of the yvas. She did not take it off for she did not wish to deal with the struggle of getting it back on, but she did loosen it so Melody could have an easier time of things. She stroked the mare’s neck gently, feeling the thick layer of sweat that covered her coat. Taurina sighed softly before covering her own piece of cloth with water and running it over the mare’s face and down her neck. If it was up to Taurina she would cool Melody’s whole body with water, but she did not have the resources for that. They would just have to make do.
“There you go darling, that’s a little better,” Taurina murmured to the mare in common, stroking her cheek with care before going into one of the yvas bags and retrieving her journal.
Taurina smiled softly before parting from her mare and going over to join Jasmine in the shade of the rocks, journal in hand. Oh how nice it was to just sit in the darkness shade brought! Syna’s rays no longer assaulted Taurina for a little while and it felt so good. The woman closed her eyes for a moment, just savoring the cool surface of the stone against her back before she opened them again to look at her mare who was grazing along with the other horse. It was after that that Taurina turned her attention to Jasmine, a small smile still lighting her face. The fear of the potential dangers out here was gone and buried in the back of her mind, no longer present enough to have much of her attention. Instead, the Eth was much more interested in getting to know about her companion for the day.
“So..” she began, finding her way back to her broken pavi, “I’m curious… um.. interested to know about you. I’m still rather unknowing about Drykas, still learning. Whatever you wish to tell me, about your life, family, strider, anything. I desire to learn.”
Taurina signed the best she could to accompany her words, fumbling around for the best ones she could remember that would match with her words. She wished to learn about this Drykas, about her life and family. She was curious about how the other girl had come to know where these boulders were, but she did not ask that. Taurina did not want to ask to much of the girl for after all, despite how friendly the girl was, they were still basically strangers. Taurina did not wish to overstep her bounds or ask to much of Jasmine. She also did not want too much to be asked of her either. So while she was willing to exchange stories and information with the girl, somethings she was determined to keep locked away during this time of waiting and resting. So to keep from asking too much, she left her request vague to allow the Drykas woman to tell her as much or as little as she wished.
“Also,” Taurina paused a moment to bring grab her journal off the grass where she had rested it, “I can begin to show you some things now if you wish, while we wait and talk. If you want that is.”
Common | Pavi | ’Thoughts’
