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Post by Khalidah Leaf-Fall on Jul 15, 2013 9:43:10 GMT -5
Khalidah Minuialwen Leaf-Fall 
The hybrid threw her leg over the horses neck and slid off his back so that she was standing on the ground, holding his reins in her hands with a scowl on her usually gentle features. Khalidah was not one for vicious expression ordinarily, but she had been pushed to her limit by the prince of brats, Peregrine. She didn't care how many aliases he used as they travelled, but his latest scheme was ludicrous! According to the royal brat it was perfectly fine to invite a princess along that would inevitably draw attention to them on their travels, but he had a problem with her inviting Brier along?! Brier was a trader that hardly drew attention to himself other than with his seductive charms. Khalidah would have to be an idiot to deny that she failed to notice it. Certainly she noticed his charms, and appreciated them... and may have fallen for them somewhat.
However, she had backed off from him rather quickly as well when Peregrine had interrupted the beginning of what could have been a rather passionate kiss. Khalidah was uncertain of what she should do or feel around the trader that just so happened to causing her heart to flutter whenever he flashed her that charming smile of his. Yes, Khaliah was attracted to him alright, but it was only something natural and they were something to be ignored... possibly. Her job was to keep the prince safe... and now a princess.... keep them both alive. She was a healer, that was her calling – not to go fawning over some good looking trader that had a wit to match his charm.
Khalidah unwittingly thought back to Brier. He was shorter than her, she would have guessed about 5'3” while she stood at 5'8”, but he was half Nymph, most nymphs that she had met were shorter than her. But he had a confidence that seemed to belong to a man twice his size, and he was friendly enough.... and he had saved her life. Brier was funny and intelligent.... but Khalidah had guessed correctly that he was a seducer, why else would he have been so interested in what she had to say and where she was headed? Why did a man that seemed so perfect have to have that one gigantic flaw?!
The sidhe-vampire shook her head fiercely to clear her head of those pesky thoughts. She hardly knew the man! He was a stranger, and she had a task complete. Along with a journey to focus on... she had to concentrate solely on keeping Peregrine alive long enough that either she could return home to her family or see him to his rightful throne. “No more of this”, Khalidah told herself in the ancient tongue, loosing her white knuckled grip on Zephyr's reins, leading him towards the lake. So this was where Peregrine had met his princess? Khalidah had only come here to see what was so alluring about this place for herself. She could see what could only be assumed as the princesses castle in the distance. So how had Peregrine managed to get a princess to come with them? Were they her guards.... or her kidnappers?
Khalidah narrowed her eyes slightly in thought as she allowed her horse to drink from the lake before she tied him to a branch of a nearby tree. The young woman removed the stallions saddle and set it down on the ground before sitting down herself. Perhaps they would rest for a time... it was a nice day after all. Aside from scoping out the truth of Peregrine's story Khalidah had only really come to the lake to get away for a time – Peregrine had gone off in another of his sulks because he so clearly hated Brier, and Brier was doing whatever he had to do. She considered her two.... no, three... traveling companions: a princess, a prince in disguise and a trader. Then there was herself: a healer merchant. She knew more about the prince than the other two... and even then she didn't know much. But already Brier knew more about her than she knew of him.
Brier.... Brier... the very name sounded more like a surname than a given name. So what was his real name? Sure, she had introduced as 'Khali' but that was more of less true... it was only short a few letters. Khalidah leaned against the tree and closed her eyes, it was too nice a day to dwell on thoughts: perhaps she could catch up on some much needed sleep she had done away with since her escape from Riasglach.
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Post by Marcell Brier on Jul 18, 2013 1:43:04 GMT -5
road to ruin After departing the tavern, Brier had made his way back to the stable, his four-legged band following behind. When he arrived, he told the stable boys to get his wagon ready, and help him harness his horses. The geldings were disappointed to be leaving so soon, and Brier felt guilty for not giving them the several days rest they'd been looking forward to. They deserved it too. But he had also made up his mind several weeks ago to retire them soon, and he thought Teumnach was a better place for them than anywhere else; he could leave them with his mother. Plus, in Teumnach he'd be able to find cleverer horses to replace them; as loyal and excellent as they were, they were not the sharpest tools in the shed. Once Goren and Basil were hitched to the wagon, Brier drove them down to the market, where he unloaded some of his less useful merchandise; trinkets, bolts of fancy, expensive cloth, and silver, and replaced them with cheaper, more durable cloth, for patching clothes, and dry food goods. He wasn't sure how frequently his companions would want to stop, where they would want to stop, or for how long, so he felt it was wise to have a supply of necessities on hand. He kept it light, wanting to give his boys an easy time of it, but ensured he had at least a few weeks worth of everything he could think of. After that, he set off. He planned to make camp at the lake where Jack had met his little princess; he could have taken the horses and wagon back to the stable until they were all ready to depart, but with Jack's clear desire to travel without him, he thought it would be wise to be ready to go. And chances were the lake would be the mustering point; if not, well, at least he could continue travelling solo. So he drove the horses down to the lake, the dogs running ahead, The Cat on the seat next to him, all as it should be. The boys trotted into the clearing around the lake and snorted, greeting another horse that was tied to a tree. Brier reined his geldings in under a copse of trees and hopped down, looking at the other horse for a moment, before looking for its owner. She was lying against a tree, seemingly dozing, but Brier recognized her immediately, and smiled. He whistled loudly as he unhitched his horses, letting them wander over to the lake. He followed them, but neither drank, Goren blew on the water and Basil stared out across the blue expanse. Turning back to Khali, he smiled rakishly. "Fancy meeting you here." |
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Post by Khalidah Leaf-Fall on Jul 18, 2013 10:42:43 GMT -5
Khalidah Minuialwen Leaf-Fall
The sun kissed her skin and lulled her off into a light sleep for about an hour or so while she listened to what few birds there were flitting amongst the trees. Aside from being full of volcanoes and dragons that could equally burn you to a crisp, this little piece of paradise made Khalidah feel revitalised and somewhat at home. She missed the forests of Teumnach immensely, so a nap in what illusion of a forest Sgaithte possessed was good enough for a time. The stallion, Zephyr, was content with grazing on the grass beneath his hooves, lipping at his mistress's hair occasionally before ripping off another chunk of grass to chew on absently while he waited patiently for her to awaken. Even the wolves were noticeably absent, having gone off to hunt again, even to bring something for their pack member who had neither jaws or claws to dispatch a prey with... even though she had fangs and a bow to double her dangerous potential.
Her session of dozing in this minor paradise had already been coming to a close when the sound of wagon wheels clattering as they turned, holding up the weight of what could either be a lavish couch or a humble wagon. The latter proved to be true, pulled by two stocky black geldings that snorted in greeting to the pale grey stallion. Khalidah had finally worked out his breeding: he was a cross of Thoroughbred and Clydesdale, a sturdy hybrid that could be used for both heavy hauling and riding. He could have also been a knight's charger the stallion was that stocky and bold if someone had the time to battle proof him.
The corners of her lips lifted into a soft smile as a familiar voice announced the presence of none other than her fellow hybrid: Brier. “So you found me then”, she murmured quietly, peeking open an eye before opening the other to look at him with a friendly smile. “Only this time I am not being harassed by scoundrels”.
The sidhe-vampire rose to her feet and walked over to her horse, untying the reins from the tree branch before unhooking them from his bridle, setting him loose with a slap of her hand on his rump – but leaving most of the bridle on his head so that she had a way to catch him. Zephyr ambled down the hill to join the black geldings at the lake, dropping his nose to graze on the grass nearby.
Throwing the reins down with the saddle Khalidah finally focused her attention on Brier.
“Or perhaps you are a scoundrel and you're following me until I was all alone to do something wicked”, she teased with a grin. “A kiss not enough for you?”
Watching the horses at the lake made Khalidah feel a tad hungry herself so she turned to her saddle bags and pulled out one of the several apples that she had purchased with the last of her coins: a treat considering how inhospitable this kingdom was. The hybrid smiled at Brier before throwing an apple at him. “Catch”.
She chuckled faintly, taking a bite of her apple before she walked a short distance away, looking around this Garden of Eden that was a stark contrast of the surrounding kingdom that Khalidah had come to view as the borderlands of Hell. Hell was Riasglach; Sgaithte was almost hell.
“Figured I'd escape from the brat for a time”, she explained over her shoulder with a laugh. “He's gone off sulking again. It's like you're his nemesis with the way he reacted”.
Khalidah turned back around, glancing at the wagon. “Camping beneath the stars already?” she asked, wandering over to stand in front of the trader that had so attracted her attention. She let her eyes trail over his form, taking in every feature and committing it to memory – even noticing for the first time that he really was shorter than her. She just hadn't noticed how much shorter. “If you were trying to sneak away without me noticing, you failed dismally”.
If Brier had allowed himself to look at her properly he would have noticed that she was tall with a curvy figure that was a classic hourglass, toned from years of hunting with a bow and horse riding. Khalidah was deceptively strong and fast, as well as flexible – a fine specimen of the female gender.
“Gods... you're short”, she commented off hand with a smirk. “How adorable”.
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Post by Khalidah Leaf-Fall on Aug 10, 2013 13:17:05 GMT -5
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