[Araluen] My Neck of the Woods

[ivory]

She fought the tears threatening to line her eyes. He was getting rid of her.

It shouldn't hurt, she told herself. She was, after all, well used to it. She'd always been cartered off. Her parents had loved her, but she'd never fit in. They didn't understand her want of an adventurous life, her reason for not wanting to become a Lady. By the Heavens, she should be well used to it.

She gave a sharp nod of her head before turning on her heals and leaving the house. She swallowed past the tightness in her throat and sought inside her for the comfort of anger.

It came in a burst of speed, but she clenched it inside as her hands balled into fists. She glared past the shine, refusing to let the tears fall. They hardly ever did, despite the aching in her heart. She didn't care anyways. He was just a stupid man Jordain had hired to make her look like a fool.

No, not look like one, feel like one. She swallowed again at his accomplishments. In all his tries, he'd never managed to make her feel like a fool. Well, congradulations you jerk, you'd managed it this time. She glared at the ground, kicked out at a rock, cursed and then ignored the aching in her toe.

She stopped by the edge of the woods for a second before storming inside. She didn't care if she made a ruckus, it wasn't as if he was trying to find her anyways. It'd all been a joke, a sick twisted joke. The meanest of them all.

He'd showed her a glimsp of Heaven, had been informed of what she wanted and had ruthlessly used it against her. She had hated being forced to become a Lady, now she would loathe it. She'd forever live in a living hell not only through her activities, but through her thoughts. He'd planted the seed that her parents weren't really her parents. A lie she knew it to be now, but she also knew she'd never forget it. She'd remember and begin to question and slowly drift away from the two adults who'd offered her love but no understanding.

She broke into a run as if she could actually escape the pain. She'd always found solace in it, the fierce command of strength from her muscles, the harsh working of her lungs as they fought to take in air in deep controlled breaths. She loved the feeling of being able to feel the blood pumping in her veins, the air surging through her vessels, the wind whipping at her face. She not only loved it, she found her only comfort in it. Even the harsh whipping of the branches across her skin didn't take away the grace she saw in it.

Many minutes passed before she slowed to a jog, a quick pace, and then a softer walk. She didn't rest until the sun was at its zenith and the shadows at their depths. She sat down amongst the floor of the woods, bracing her back against the rough bark of a tree.

An hour later, she was running again, this time not stopping until the stars peaked out to watch her.

She picked a spot where she could see the sky and lay upon her back to make them the last thing she saw before she drifting into sleep. Peace could always be found there and she ruthlessly took it now.

Dawn found her curled into a ball, her head tucked in the cranny of an elbow, her face wet from either dew or something else entirely.

[JezusBagels]

((she's kind of thick, isn't she?))

Monkuta sighed, watching her run off. He would have to deal with it upon his return. They must have known it was going to happen. Who decided to give him a mission now of all times? He had to do something about it, but it would have to wait.
He turned Jaeado and sprinted into the woods, off towards his destination, pushing the worries to the back of his mind... or at least trying to.
He couldn't help but feel guilty. He had no doubt that he'd crushed some part of her, even if she didn't realize it. It was distracting him. He couldn't deal with distractions during a time like this. He had to fix it.
________________________________________________________________

He didn't find Marina until the morning, stopping Jaeado a couple yards away and dismounting. He'd covered half the distance between them when she started to wake up.
"Morning, princess," he said loudly.
He took the ranger cloak draped over his shoulder and tossed it at her, though she'd barely opened her eyes yet.
"Come on. We've got a job to do and we're going to be... very delayed... if you're coming along."

[ivory]

[she's been hurt too many times; trust me, she'll harden]

She'd grabbed a rock at the sound of his voice, planning on launching it at his thick head. Instead, it landed within the folds of the cloak he'd thrown at her and as the cloak was heading her way, it collided with her too.

She cursed as she pushed the cloak off her and forced herself not to rub her forehead where the rock had hit and glared at him instead.

"Don't call me-"

She stopped as his words clicked in, but her mouth stayed open in shock. She blinked once, twice, three times before realizing it was just another cruel joke and her eyes once again hardened. "I'm not-"

She bit her lip. Whatever they'd planned, it had to beat home...

"Fine," she snapped out and climbed quickly to her feet. She brushed herself off before facing him with defiance in her eyes as she waited for him to follow his next 'instructions'.

[JezusBagels]

Monkuta crossed his arms and rolled his eyes.
"You're going to need to stop assuming I'm out to get you if we're going to get along. Now put the cloak on. I brought an extra bow and quiver. We just need to get you a pony. Jaeado here is strong, but even he has his limits," he said.
Behind him, Jaeado whinnied in obvious disagreement.
He turned back and said, "Yeah, yeah..." He turned back to Marina. "That thing thinks he can do anything? I'd let him, but he might break something and then where would we be?"
He started walking back towards Jaeado, gathering up the remainder of Marina;'s equipment and giving it to her.
"Lucky for us, we can walk there."

[ivory]

Marina warily accepted the equipment he handed to her before looking behind him at the horse. She hadn't paid much attention to the beast, but she found him looking quite comfortable right now. Her trek through the woods had required sore muscles this morn.

With a concealed sigh, she turned her attention back to the ranger. "Walk where?"

[JezusBagels]

Monkuta thought about his answer, rubbing his chin.
"Pony-land," he said simply, without even looking at her. "Now come on, we're almost there."
The thought amused him, though he had to work to be light-hearted now that they'd left the clearing. he could already feel the paranoia coming up on him... though he'd never admit it.

[ivory]

Marina nearly sighed in relief at his answer. She wouldn't complain, but it'd be hell to walk much further. She offered a silent prayer, thanking the Heavens that she'd run in the 'right' direction.

"Why though? What'd the scroll say?"

[JezusBagels]

Monkuta rolled his eyes. "Questions, questions, questions. We're doing this because we were going to need to eventually regardless. We're doing it now because there's a bad man who needs incarcerating. King doesn't want to send in Knights because... well, people don't like to go where we're headed," he explained.
They walked a little further and emerged into a huge field occupied by a large barn and small house. They rest of the area was fenced off for the exercise of the ponies.
"This is where ranger ponies are raised and trained," he said over his shoulder.
He led the way to the house and knocked on the door.
"Anybody home? Got an apprentice in need of a pony!"

[ivory]

Marina was curious about the place, but she didn't ask anymore questions. She'd just have to bite her tongue and wait for whatever was supposed to happen to happen.

"This is where ranger ponies are raised and trained," he said over his shoulder.

Well, that explained of her questions...and caused about a dozen more. Why'd rangers have certain horses? Did they have to be certain breeds? Or could any type 'become' one? What was special about them?

She flicked her eyes to Jaeado, but didn't see anything promising. He acted kind of weird sometimes, but other than that, he seemed uh...horsey enough.

She ignored the thrill at being called his apprentice, reminding herself that it was all just a joke anyways. But Good Lord, how many people were in on it?

[JezusBagels]

((time skipping a little for lack of a horse-trainer...))

As the trainer closed the door to the house, Monkuta watched him from the middle of the field. Then he turned his attention to Jaeado who was busy prancing around like a newborn pup. He smiled, remembering when he'd first met the dumb beast in this very place.
He turned his attention to Marina and the new pony.
He patted the dark-brown animal on his back, rubbing his hand back and forth.
"Marina, meet Dadal. He's your new best friend."

[ivory]

[you can't choose my horse's name *grin* lol. :-)]

She stared at Mankuta for a second before turning her gaze to the horse. Hers? But if this was a trick...

She ignored the thought as she quickly climbed onto the horse. If it was hers she might as could darn well do what she wanted.

Horse riding had been a major part of her training as a Lady. Though taught sidesaddle, she'd bribed one of the stable boys to teach her how to ride like a guy until she got the hang of it. Then she'd punched him in the jaw just for good measure. They'd been best friends ever since and though he was no longer living, she'd thought well on him.

Her smug grin she'd pointed at the ranger quickly evaporated as the horse bucked her off. She twisted as she flew through the air, turning to hit her shoulder and then come up into a roll. She'd hit harder than she was expecting and took a moment to get over the shock.

She glared at the horse even as she fought back a smile. The horse had guts. She liked him.

Marina picked herself up and stalked back over to the ranger. "What's his deal?" she asked with a feigned snarl as she jerked her finger over her shoulder to the beast. Eyes narrowing, she jammed that same finger into his chest. "Actually, what's your deal?"

[JezusBagels]

((I didn't. The trainer did. Remember, NOT a horse, pony. Rangers don't ride horses.))

Monkuta laughed a bit and then sighed, batting her finger away. "That's what you get for rushing into it and not waiting for me to explain. This is a ranger pony, princess. They don't just let anybody get on top of them and start ordering them around. You gotta know the code phrase. These animals are trained from birth to respond to it. In Dadal's case, it's... What did he say? Oh yeah, 'May I, now?'"
As he spoke the words, the pony instantly turned to him and whinnied. He smiled back.
"See? That and plenty of treats and you two will be getting along in no time. Try it," he said.
He stepped back and watched with a calm smile on his face, though inside the clock was ticking. He didn't want to miss their opportunity. He'd never hear the end of it if they did.

[ivory]

[lol. Okay smart pants. *grin* Oh, and wouldn't it be ironic if the code phrase was something like: I will be patient. lol. :-)]

Marina looked at him, her disbelief evident in her eyes. A PONY (*grin*) that couldn't be ridden without a code word? The idea was absurb!

She'd opened her mouth to say so, but stopped with a shrug and figured she'd go along with his sense of humor.

"May, I know?" Her voice was soft, gentle, soothing as she spoke to Dadal. She stroked his head as she spoke just in case he was wrong and she just needed to get to know the guy. Sensing something 'human' in the horse's eye as if he actually understood, she mounted him yet again.

She gripped him tighter this time lest he try that move again and smiled brightly when he didn't. She leaned down to pat him on the neck and whisper soft words in his ear.

Marina looked to her mentor and gave a single nod of her head. "I'm good." She'd sensed his impatience and smiled wolfishly to herself at finding herself with more patience than he at the moment. Of course, that was only because she didn't know the full course of details, a subject she would be sure to bring up on their ride to...well, wherever they were going.

[JezusBagels]

Monkuta nodded, looking around.
"Good, good," he said, already moving to mount Jaeado. "Time to go," he whispered into the pony's ear. Climbing up, he said loudly, "As much as I would have preferred to give you a formal lesson on ranger pony's, time is of the essence right now. We've got a lot of ground to cover, so you'll have to figure it out as we go."
Jaeado brought him to Marina's side and turned his head, making obvious eye contact with Dadal. Both ponies made a quiet sound.
"Well, at least they like each other."

[ivory]

Marina leaned to the side to look Dadal more in the eye before turning to Jaeado and saw exactly what he meant.

She turned her gaze back ahead as she began the path he was leading her on. She wondered briefly if she'd meet her real father, but quickly pushed the thought aside. She had met her real father. His name was Fletcher, married to her mother Penelope and father to her four sisters.