Spirits Unseen (open)

[Doronlas]

Moving like a black phantom through the silent trees, the bulk of a sturdily built black mare thudded along without a path. The forest path had been left far behind, the beast crashing through the undergrowth and finding gaps between the ancient trees. Far away hawks and ravens cried while songbirds twittered and whistled hidden among the turning branches of the autumn trees. Vivid reds and dusty browns mixed together, setting the black mare off like onyx in a setting of gold. Dark cloak billowing behind him, the mare's rider hunched over the equine's powerful neck as her heavy hooves pushed her along an unseen path that was nonetheless there, woven by generations of various animals dwelling in the woodland. The marry bubbling sounds of a brook filled the air as the mare broke from the undergrowth. Swerving right, the heavyset black mare galloped alongside the rippling waters, her rider casting only the faintest of disdainful glances toward the water. Straightening up, the rider atop the mare pulled the reins, calling a halt to their long gallop. The mare complied, slowing her powerful stride until she came smoothly to a halt, flanks heaving and black ears twitching.

"Well done Rywin" murmured the slightly rough human voice of the mare's rider.

The mare bobbed her head while the man atop her back swung down from the saddle with his dark cloak billowing about him in the playful autumn breeze. With the hood of the cloak drawn up, the man surveyed the area with the creek to his left and the woodland stretching on from all directions. Not nearly as vast or alive as the fabled elven forests, this forest would nonetheless suffice for his needs.

Pushing back the hood of his cloak, the man revealed a relatively handsome face with a slight beard and medium brown hair kept short. His blue-grey eyes were intelligent and keen, his build tall but his stride purposeful and graceful as he took Rywin's reins and led the mare at a walk farther down the creek. It was his stride, memory, intuition and bonds with nature that gave away he was not entirely human. He was part elf from his mother whom had been one of those commonly known as a half-elven. For the most part though, Gabriel showed no other signs of being part elf and was what men commonly referred to as a "druid."

Stopping near a flat boulder that jutted out over the creek, Gable adjusted Rywin's reins so the mare could walk without stepping through them and let the big mare wander. Turning his attention to the creek, Gable took the pack from Rywin's back and set about preparing the site. He took out a bowl and a braid of lavender and white sage. Placing the rope of herbs in the bowl, Gable placed it on the boulder and set about making a small fire. He lit the end of the braided herbs and let it burn for a moment before snuffing the flame so the end of the braided herbs smoked.

Crushing several berries from his pack, Gable painted protective symbols around the bowl at each directional point, north, south, east and west. Cleaning his fingers, Gable sprinkled the petals of a white lily around the bowl with the smoking herb braid. Kneeling in front of the boulder facing the creek, Gable rested his hands on his legs and began to sing softly an elvish song of protection during a long journey, his voice deeper than a normal elven voice. Behind him, Rywin grazed among the fallen autumn leaves, content to wait for her master.

[Zane Colt]

my darling, i'm not here to cause a scene.
stupid little bunnies cause scenes
and i am not a bunny

Moving through the forest at a slow and lazy walk, came a bulky stallion, with a very small looking human upon his back. This stallion was a Shire horse, thus explaining his extremely large appearance and height of 17.3 hands, but maybe the most striking quality of this beast was his blue roan pelt. Hannah was one of the people who admired blue roan horses, for they weren't extremely common and especially for such color to be found on this breed of horse, that made it an even rarer sight. The fragile human closed her book, leaving it in her lap as her hands fondly patted both sides of her horse's neck. "Where are you taking me Caladwen, my light?" The charming equine nickered in response, though he had no idea what his human friend had said. Rolling her eyes and then laughing childishly, Hannah placed her elvish book into one of the many bags hanging from the wide saddle upon her steed. Bare feet tapped Caladwen's flanks, urging him onward, bringing his gate to that of a trot. Most didn't appreciate the trot of a horse, it was too bumpy for them, but she enjoyed the motion of bouncing up and down with the rhythm of the horses hooves. As the pair moved into a clearing in the forest, Hannah knotted both her hands into his mane and then tapped his flanks again. Like a bird, he was airborne, running with such speed, even for his size, that she couldn't help but to put her arms out in the air like a bird. Closing her eyes as Caladwen galloped through the clearing, she tried to imagine a better feeling than this, but smiled smugly as she assured herself that riding her stallion during one of his runs was a feeling that could not be matched.

Opening her eyes, Hannah found herself slowing the horse down just in time to keep them from crashing into the thick forest ahead. Her eyes found a small opening to their right and she kicked her horse forward, relaxing as the saddle once they began their lazy walk through the woods once more. Deciding to practice her ability to speak the elvish language, she spoke to her horse,"Nîn roch, mas thelich baded?" [My horse, where do you intend to go?]. A smile spread open her lips, while she brought her head near his eye, laughing once more as he gave her a look as if to say "it's not up to me you silly human". "And you are right Caladwen, it isn't up to you... Well, actually, yes it is! You just take me somewhere and once you stop, I will fix us some food!" Suddenly filled with glee at the prospect of allowing her horse to choose a place for them to eat. Still smiling, Hannah reached into another bag and pulled out an apple, chomping into it as if it were the most wonderful tasting fruit ever. Which, according to her taste buds, she thought the fruit to be just that! Munching on her fruit, she looked about the trees with wide eyes, taking in as much of the forest as possibly. It was rather interesting to take in the feeling of this forest, to be so beautiful and yet seem so empty and lonely at the same time. She twitched her mouth to the side, giving her one-of-a-kind pout.

That pout was easily switched to a smile as the sound of a brook reached her ears. Hannah put her unfinished apple back into a bag and then grabbed Caladwen's mane, urging her to trot toward the sound. Upon reaching the water source, the equine immediately stopped and drank the liquid greedily. The child-like human didn't mind her horse drinking his fill, but she did want to make her way down the creek. She needed to at least find a suitable place to sit while the stallion ate his oats and the remaining apple she hadn't eaten. Pulling up on his mane and pulling gently to the right, she began a pretty hum as Caladwen walked forward, his oversized hooves going into the water occasionally. Only after twenty or so feet, Hannah came to notice a person and his horse ahead. Excitement instantly flooded her system, this could be an elf! Now, lets go ahead and get this set straight. Hannah did not 'worship' elves, she simply admired them and found their language to be fascinating and any chance she got to talk to an elf she would practice her elvish.

Hurrying her Shire horse was no small task, he was ready to stop and rest, and seeing the beings ahead made him want to stop even sooner. The stallion had been nearly given to her by some random people she had met in one of the many villages about this land, because he was she shy of people. Sometimes he would begin to rear and kick, once he had even kicked Hannah the animal was in such a fright! She slid off the saddle, jumping down heavily on the bank, as it was long jump from the back of her horse to the ground. Whoever it was, he would probably be taken a back by her appearance. Hannah had no shoes on and the only shoes she did have were sandals which were somewhere deep within one of the bags on her saddle. She wore a very worn purple dress, which had been cut very short to prevent tears. The human had a white tie around her head, like a head band, but so thin that it wasn't good for much except for looks. The hilt for a dagger was around her waist and other than a gold bracelet around her wrist, she wore nothing else.

Closer now, she could hear his singing, recognizing the elvish words, she nearly burst with happiness. "Suilad" [Greetings]. Hannah waved her hand shyly and continue to approach him, eyeing the bowl, along with the flower petals and symbols painted around it. She eyed them suspiciously, almost angry with herself that she had no idea what they were. Pushing those thoughts to the side, the human waited impatiently for him to turn around, wishing to see his face. She looked back to eye her stallion, smiling to see that he had found some flowers and grass by the bank to nibble on, turning back toward her potential friend, Hannah bit her lip nervously.

words 1,073
muse wowwwwwwwww
notes =O

[Doronlas]

Rywin raised her ebony head, ears twitching as a massive roan came into view. The big horse jumped the creek making Rywin snort indignantly and shuffle away, closer to her singing human. Swishing her tail, Rywin whinnied, trying to get Gable's attention as the purple-dressed maiden slid from the big horse's back. Flicking her ears, Rywin whinnied again. This time, Gable's rough human voice ceased its flow of musical elven words. Snorting, glad to finally have his attention, Rywin lowered her head slightly, not happier that her human was back in the realm of the real rather than whatever trances he tended to fall to while singing his strange but soothing songs.

For his part, Gabriel looked up at Rywin as if not seeing the human maiden. "Rywin, what troubles you?"

Receiving a snort from the mare, Gable turned his head toward the human maid though she looked less like a human maid than the child of the fey. Perhaps not elven but mayhap something else? No elf maiden would wear so short a dress but perhaps a woodland sprite that had taken a liking to a human daughter? "Mára aurë mellon nin" Gable replied in elvish. (Hello my friend) His intelligent blue-grey eyes roamed quickly over the maid though he seemed to show none of the temperaments shown in a typical rouge. No, Gable liked to think he had better respect for the fairer gender than all that. "Be troubled not by the signs you see, they mean to ward evil, not call upon it."

How many times had Gable been practically mobbed for burning a smudge stick or adorning a threshold with warding symbols like his mother had taught him? He may not be fully elven but Gable knew well enough what evils lurked in the shadows of the night, waiting to cross into one's home and poison the sleeping mind. Many an innkeeper had been enfuriated by such things though the symbols were protective only and he would always erase them before taking his leave for a new town upon Rywin's back.

Despite said human blood, Gable showed little physical sign of his mother's half-elven heritage. His eyes were more soulful than those of a normal human and his face a touch more ageless but apart from that his main elven gifts laid within the mind in the form of memory and intuition that never left him astray. Sadly this one quarter of elven blood he had often left him on the outer fringes of both elven and human society though he could hide among the humans if he wished to go to the effort to hide his more elvish tendencies.

"Pay no heed to Rywin, she is seldom amongst her kind. In that respect, she and I are much the same."

Rising, Gable murmured a farewell toward the bowl and laid his hand over the burning end of the braided herbs until the smoke disappeared. Taking the herb braid, Gable broke off the cindered end into the bowl with the petals and scattered them into the creek for the current to carry.

[Zane Colt]

my darling, i'm not here to cause a scene.
stupid little bunnies cause scenes
and i am not a bunny

Whilst waiting for the man to turn, Hannah's orbs wandered over to his midnight black beast. The mare was rather beautiful, and though her appearance was nothing compared to the handsome features of Caladwen, the human couldn't help but to fancy owning such a creature. Hmp. While owning the mare would be nice, riding the equine would be an entirely different story indeed. In her opinion, there was no better experience than to ride upon the wide back of a draft horse. To ride such a small horse, well, it just wouldn't suit her, besides, she needed a strong horse to carry her weight as well as the weight of the many bags hanging from the saddle! Smiling with a deep fondness at the thought of Caladwen, Hannah turned to look at her horse once more, wondering if he would mind waiting a while before eating his oats... A voice reached her ears saying, "Mára aurë mellon nin." Along with the sound entering her ears came the reckless attack of reality, sending a shockwave through her brain, so that the human realized that she had lost track of time. Without showing a startled expression on her cherubic face, Hannah smiled and waved like a silly little school girl, mean while unable to prevent a embarrassed blush to color her cheeks rosey red.

Now that she could have a chance to not only see his face, but to also focus on its details, Hannah began to dissect his appearance. After studying his blue-grey orbits for a moment, she suspected that he was at least part elf, though it was clear that he was mostly human. Well, at least he was handsome, that had to count for something. Looking briefly at his clothes, she took in the dark colored material and then compared it with his bodily mien, finding that it seemed to suit him very well. The main quest she had before her was to investigate into the case of whether or not his dark clothes matched his personality. Somehow, she had a feeling that he was one of those to be a bit more proper and to not have much 'silly' fun with others. Just observing how well kept he was gave Hannah a deep insight, thus the reason she had come to the conclusion that he wasn't one to have a lot of fun. This man was all business, but hopefully, with the slightest bit of luck, she would find that he was not as bad as she presently thought.

"Pay no heed to Rywin, she is seldom amongst her kind. In that respect, she and I are much the same." A brilliant smile showed white teeth as she stared at him with a certain measure of respect. He seemed a horse lover, but then again, Hannah might have been jumping to conclusions, however grand those conclusions where. "Oh I don't mind her at all!" Her mouth opened to say more, but she was interrupted by a massive Shire head appearing by her shoulder. Moving her hand to his cheek, she turned her head toward him, laughing lightly at the concerned expression that was so readily presented by his colossal brown eyes. "What is this? Have you actually found the courage to approach strangers? I am proud of you Caladwen!" Reaching into a random bag, hopeing it to be the bag of oats, she triumphantly removed a handful of the fine horse treat and let her stallion eagerly eat from her palm. Brushing her hands together, trying to remove oat dust and horse saliva from her hands, but finally just rubbed them on her dress. Perhaps he would find that to be a bit nasty, but if she was right about him being a horse lover, then surely he wouldn't care.

Caladwen stepped forward, pushing his mistress forward as well, so that she stood a few feet closer to her newly found acquaintance. The stallion sniffed the air, snorting loudly to show that he had no trust for these strangers. Hannah simply rolled her eyes and patted his neck, her eyes turning to stare at the man as he messed with his bowl of.. uh... whatever it was. "Um, I haven't intruded upon anything have I...? Because I can leave if you want me too. Really, I can." Pausing to let him speak, she twirled a lock of hair with her left hand, her fingers messing with her hair subconsciously. Meanwhile, she put her clockwork at high speed, trying desperately to think of what she should talk about with him... She needed to say something that would create conversation, a long conversation, because Hannah enjoyed company, but she often had trouble keeping her friends interested. You see, it wasn't that she didn't have trouble talking, oh that was easy, but actually making conversation, well, that was sometimes difficult. Hannah was one to just speak the random thoughts that entered her mind... Speaking of random thoughts... "What was that bowl of... stuff?" Jeez, she was already starting it, just asking random, very bluntly worded, questions. Well, all she could do now was hope that he didn't run away. Usually though, at some point or another, her friends would simply become too weirded out.

words 871
muse its all good!
notes nada

[Doronlas]

Gable smiled, his features fitting the expression well. Many had told him he was handsomer when he laughed or smiled though he seldom entertained the thought. In truth it did suit him to smile, it made him look welcoming and warm, like a brother with open arms. He could still fondly remember the days when he would come out of the forest with his father to find his sisters running down the path to meet him, flinging themselves into his arms to be twirled around and then run to their father for similar treatment. Ah how he missed his family! But, that had been the point of today's little ride now hadn't it? Still, the girl, though odd, looked nearly as harmless as a blooming flower and just as innocent.

"There is no need to leave if you do not wish to" Gable bid, going to Rywin. The mare stood still while Gable placed the remains of the herb rope into a saddle bag that had the faint hint of various herbs. "The herbs were white sage and lavendar, smoked for protection. What I was just doing was for the protection of the departed. Not many appriciate my craft but I find it soothes my soul."

Rywin's velvety black muzzle bumped Gabriel's arm as the mare eyed the big Shire reluctantly. In the world of equines, Rywin was far from a pony. Built powerfully with feathered legs and powerful shoulders, the mare was sixteen hands tall and had the regal attitude of a dutchess when around Gable. Still, she was the closest thing he had to actual family anymore so he let her be spoiled and act like a princess from time to time. She was, after all, his only companion on his lonely roads. Might as well treat her well and keep her around.

Patting the mare's big nose, Gable turned and regarded the maiden with mild curiousity and interest in his blue-grey eyes. Others would say he could see the soul but it was merely that he had elven blood evident in his eyes. It made his eyes deep and soulful, more intense than normal human eyes that he often found to be dull and flat. Still, he was good at reading others, especially humans. They were open books to him and though he may not be an enigma, at least Gable knew how to keep his face neutral when he had to. His mother had always said mortals with elven blood like him were so much more dangerous because of their eyes. Eyes were the windows to the soul and like elves, part-elves could often "close" those windows, shuddering them with indifference or some other emotion. When they wished however, their eyes could be open and deep enough to make other full mortals squirm under their gaze much like the full elves could. It was an interesting thing.

"You seem healthy in body and soul, surely you do not seek the aid of an herb-weaver?" Gable said lightly, going to the small fire he had started earlier.

Using a stick, Gable stirred the flames back to life, whispering softly in elvish as though trying to coax the flames back to life. When he was satisfied with the consistancy of flames, Gable turned to Rywin and removed her saddlebags, saddle and bridle leaving the mare free to graze more comfortably.

"Where is it you wander on such a lonely woodland road?"