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Post by JezusBagels on Jun 13, 2009 18:19:54 GMT -5
Night was close. The sun was just disappearing under the horizon now. They'd been riding all day and now Monkuta was looking for a good place to stop to sleep. They'd made good distance today, all things considered. He estimated that they'd made it about a third of the way to the coast, judging by their surroundings. Spotting a good clearing on the side of the road, Monkuta pulled Jaeado onto the grass and dismounted.
"We'll stop for the night," he said and started looking for firewood.
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Post by ivory on Jun 13, 2009 19:04:10 GMT -5
Marina tried not to let her weariness show as she slid off Dagal after giving him a pat on his neck. She turned toward him once her feet touched the ground and leaned her head against him as she closed her eyes and whispered soft words.
She rested there for a moment before brushing him down for the night and curling up beside him. Within seconds, she was asleep.
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Post by JezusBagels on Jun 13, 2009 19:35:30 GMT -5
Monkuta returned, arms full of what dry sticks and bark he could find, and saw Marina asleep on the ground. He knew that back home he would have been amused, but now, he felt nothing about it. He ignored the jading and promptly lit the fire.
He sat in silence, stringing his bow. Marina wasn't fit to keep watch, even if he woke her up. He didn't mind. It wasn't like he would be able to sleep anyway.
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Post by ivory on Jun 13, 2009 20:02:48 GMT -5
The storms had darkened into a timber gray, threatening to bring rain in seconds. She looked up to the sky, waiting in the clearing, eyes closed. A splash landed on her cheek and then another, and then another. But the weight was wrong. She opened her eyes and a splash of red entered her left one. She staggered back a few feet in horror, mouth open at the -
Marina woke with a gasp and wiped hard at her face. She peeled her hand away to look at it, breath calming slightly when she saw it was slick with blood. Nevertheless she wiped it on her pants as she looked around, jolting when she saw Monkuta.
"I-I-I," she stammered before swallowing and trying again. "I thought I felt something slither over my hand." She wasn't afraid of snakes, but figured it was an okay excuse since she knew many guys that actually were, Jordain among them.
[if you want him to be asleep, then she just thinks he's awake, she'll realize it quick enough and then we can skip to dawn if that's okay? *grin*]
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Post by JezusBagels on Jun 13, 2009 20:16:29 GMT -5
((he's an insomniac anywhere outside of his clearing. he's awake, lol))
Monkuta had been sitting, wrapped in his, cloak beneath a tree with Jaeado. It surprised him when she awoke, but he didn't show it. It was for the best. She shouldn't be sleeping in the rain.
He looked up at her with the blank expression that often plagued his appearance when traveling.
"You're tired," he said. "Imagining things. Bring Dadal into the cover of the trees and go back to sleep. It's not bright enough to ride safely yet."
He stood up, stretching his arms and legs, then picked up his strung bow and looked around for any signs of someone watching them.
"If it makes you feel any better, remember that you're sleeping with knives at your waist."
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Post by ivory on Jun 13, 2009 20:39:45 GMT -5
[insomniac?]
She gave a feeble nod before doing as he said, for once not complaining. She wanted to pass it off as still being half-asleep, but knew the real cause for it. The nightmares were starting again.
She bedded down beneath the trees and rolled on her side, back to him. She didn't even bother to close her eyes; sleep never came afterwards. And if he said anything, she didn't hear it.
As the sun stretched into the sky, so bags lined her eyes.
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Post by JezusBagels on Jun 13, 2009 20:44:40 GMT -5
((can't sleep, at least, not easily))
Monkuta sighed as dawn came upon them. He unstrung his bow and looked to Marina.
"Get up. We should cover twice as much distance as we did yesterday. We've got the time," he said.
He quickly removed three apples from a bag hanging over Jaeado's back, putting one in the mouth of each pony and tossing one to Marina.
"Light breakfast. We've gotta move."
He mounted up, waiting for her to follow.
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Post by ivory on Jun 13, 2009 20:56:13 GMT -5
[gotcha. thnx! ^-^]
She mounted seconds after him, blinking her grogginess away. A yawn stretched her mouth and she asked as soon as she was able, "How much further? And you still haven't told me where we were going. Or why for that matter. What'd the scroll say?" Another yawn as she nudged Dagal into a walk.
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Post by JezusBagels on Jun 13, 2009 21:00:56 GMT -5
Monkuta urged Jaeado a walk, giving the pony a chance to stretch his legs before the run and so that they could have a chance to talk.
He turned to Marina as they rode and said, "We need to get to the coast, where we'll cross the water to Seacliff, then travel to the southernmost part of the island and take a boat to our final destination... The Southern Cliffs of the Mountains of Rain and Night. There's quiet talk of illegal things happening there. It's unlikely, but somebody thought it was worth checking on. I suspect another two days to the coast... A day to cross Seacliff... then a couple days on the water to make the journey south... The trick is going to be keeping our travels quiet."
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Post by ivory on Jun 13, 2009 21:06:57 GMT -5
She nodded as her mind screamed at her that she was heading into the very same Mountains of Rain and Night that Morgarath (that's how you spell it right?) had attacked from, had lived in for years. The same Morgarath that had been feared for years. That could control Wargals. The same Wargals that were [OOC: no chance against Dougal, srry, couldn't help adding that, but just forget it. lol. :-)] mindless, bloodythirsy creatures.
She could barily supress her shiver of excitement.
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Post by JezusBagels on Jun 13, 2009 21:12:28 GMT -5
Monkuta noticed her excitement out of the corner of his eye and rolled his heavily bagged eyes.
"Don't start jumping with joy yet. If what I've been told is true, we're very likely going to die sometime in the next few weeks," he said calmly.
He hopes that might calm her nerves a little... or make them worse. He wasn't entirely sure.
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Post by ivory on Jun 13, 2009 21:24:56 GMT -5
It calmed her...for all of five seconds. To think what adventures she'd be able to tell! Her excitement crashed at her sudden realization. She didn't have anyone to tell.
A smile split her face as the thought entered her mind. It even reached her eyes, a practice she'd long ago made into habit.
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Post by JezusBagels on Jun 13, 2009 21:28:58 GMT -5
Monkuta saw the expression on her face, and though he knew what the answer probably he was, he couldn't resist asking, "What is it?"
He didn't turn back to ask the question. His eyes were trained on the road ahead of them for any sign of attackers or spies.
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Post by ivory on Jun 13, 2009 21:38:00 GMT -5
She flashed her grin in his direction. "Just wondering if you're dragging me into this if you're paying the expenses for my burial." She cocked her head to the side. "For some reason that'd make me feel a whole lot better about this death thing."
Lying had also become a major part of her life. She didn't want to disappoint those around her more than she normally did, so she'd weaved deceit into herself.
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Post by JezusBagels on Jun 13, 2009 21:44:01 GMT -5
Monkuta shrugged, thinking for a moment and saying, "Well, if you die, it will probably be by the hands of some bandit or assassin who would only kill you if I didn't kill them first... or possibly by falling from a very high cliff. Either way, if you die, it's your killer's decision what happens to the body," he said calmly.
He wondered what reaction that would spark from her.
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